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Different Dimensions (different + dimension)
Selected AbstractsRevisiting the Impact of Union Structures on Wages: Integrating Different Dimensions of CentralizationLABOUR, Issue 4 2003Nicole GürtzgenArticle first published online: 26 NOV 200 In particular, two dimensions along which centralization may occur, namely the professional and firm line, are integrated into one modelling framework. It will be shown that, when taking into account different centralization dimensions, wage outcomes of different bargaining regimes cannot simply be ranked according to the degree of bargaining centralization. The argument will be that negotiated wages rather depend on the technical relationship between different groups of labour and goods as well as upon the dimension along which centralization takes place. [source] Validation of a questionnaire for assessment of asthma patient knowledge and behaviourALLERGY, Issue 1 2009F. Trebuchon Background:, For several years, educational programmes have been highlighted because care success depends on patient's knowledge and patient's asthma management. However, no tool is available to assess change in patient knowledge and behaviour before and after completing an educational programme. Objective:, To validate a questionnaire measuring the knowledge and behaviour of asthmatics participating in an educational programme and to gauge the benefit of such a programme. Methods:, The Asthma Behaviour Change (ABC) questionnaire was generated from literature, patient surveys and clinical situations. It was organized in eight dimensions assessing patient behaviour in seven different clinical situations and two assessing patient (pathophysiology and therapeutic) knowledge. A total of 139 asthmatics filled out the questionnaire before, during and after the educational programme. Results:, The principal component analysis confirmed the structure empirically made by clinical situations. Internal consistency analysis yielded high Cronbach's alpha values. Different dimensions and the two global scores were able to discriminate patients according to asthma severity. Finally, the effect size of difference before and after educational programme was at least 0.47, and was larger than 0.74 for both global behaviour and knowledge scores. The difference between visit 1 and 3 for global behaviour and knowledge scores reached 18.84 ± 20.83 (P < 0.001, 95% CI: 13.18,24.43) and 11.06 ± 14.98 (P < 0.001, 95% CI: 7.10,15.03), respectively. Conclusion:, ABC questionnaire is a valid tool to assess asthmatics' knowledge and behaviour. Furthermore, this study confirmed that educational programmes lead to better awareness of asthma by patients. [source] Women's Careers Beyond the Classroom: Changing Roles in a Changing WorldCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 3 2001Nina Bascia Drawing from our own and others' research over the past decade and a half, we present four "readings," each illuminating a different dimension of women educators' career development, particularly their movement into work beyond the classroom. The majority of the participants in our studies are women who work for change in their classrooms, schools, and district organizations, using the opportunities, vehicles, and channels available,or apparent,to them. They do this work in professional and personal contexts that are continually changing, sometimes as a result of their own choices and actions and sometimes not. While there is a growing body of literature on women's movement into, and their lives in, educational administration, we are concerned here with the broader and more varied manifestations of leadership beyond the classroom. In the four readings, we bring together several strands in the literature on women educators' lives and careers. We first lay out the taken-for-granted oppositional contrasts in the educational discourses that have tended to obscure more complex understandings of work lives and careers. Next, we explore how the particular kinds of work available to women actually encourage some to move beyond narrow conceptions of the distinctions between classroom and nonclassroom work. Third, we discuss the developmental nature of individual career paths. Fourth, we note the spatial and temporal nature of leadership work by showing how it is influenced and changed by greater economic, social, and political forces. We believe that these multiple interpretations are required to understand the range and combination of influences that propel and compel women educators to take up various forms of leadership work beyond the classroom. [source] Determination of Transverse Dispersion Coefficients from Reactive Plume LengthsGROUND WATER, Issue 2 2006Olaf A. Cirpka With most existing methods, transverse dispersion coefficients are difficult to determine. We present a new, simple, and robust approach based on steady-state transport of a reacting agent, introduced over a certain height into the porous medium of interest. The agent reacts with compounds in the ambient water. In our application, we use an alkaline solution injected into acidic ambient water. Threshold values of pH are visualized by adding standard pH indicators. Since aqueous-phase acid-base reactions can be considered practically instantaneous and the only process leading to mixing of the reactants is transverse dispersion, the length of the plume is controlled by the ratio of transverse dispersion to advection. We use existing closed-form expressions for multidimensional steady-state transport of conservative compounds in order to evaluate the concentration distributions of the reacting compounds. Based on these results, we derive an easy-to-use expression for the length of the reactive plume; it is proportional to the injection height squared, times the velocity, and inversely proportional to the transverse dispersion coefficient. Solving this expression for the transverse dispersion coefficient, we can estimate its value from the length of the alkaline plume. We apply the method to two experimental setups of different dimension. The computed transverse dispersion coefficients are rather small. We conclude that at slow but realistic ground water velocities, the contribution of effective molecular diffusion to transverse dispersion cannot be neglected. This results in plume lengths that increase with increasing velocity. [source] Treatment of psychosis: 30 years of progressJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 6 2006I. R. De Oliveira MD PhD Summary Background:, Thirty years ago, psychiatrists had only a few choices of old neuroleptics available to them, currently defined as conventional or typical antipsychotics, as a result schizophrenics had to suffer the severe extra pyramidal side effects. Nowadays, new treatments are more ambitious, aiming not only to improve psychotic symptoms, but also quality of life and social reinsertion. Our objective is to briefly but critically review the advances in the treatment of schizophrenia with antipsychotics in the past 30 years. We conclude that conventional antipsychotics still have a place when just the cost of treatment, a key factor in poor regions, is considered. The atypical antipsychotic drugs are a class of agents that have become the most widely used to treat a variety of psychoses because of their superiority with regard to extra pyramidal symptoms. We can envisage different therapeutic strategies in the future, each uniquely targeting a different dimension of schizophrenia, be it positive, negative, cognitive or affective symptoms. [source] Brain electrical correlates of dimensional weighting: An ERP studyPSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Klaus Gramann Abstract In visual search, there is a reaction time (RT) cost for targets on a given trial if the previous target was defined in a different dimension. According to the "dimension-weighting" account (Müller, Heller, & Ziegler, 1995), limited attentional weight needs to be shifted to the new dimension, resulting in slower RTs. The present study aimed at identifying brain electrical correlates associated with the weight shift. Analyses of ERPs revealed several components to reflect dimension changes whether the task was to detect the target or to identify its defining dimension. N2 amplitudes were more negative whenever the dimension changed. The P3 exhibited latency differences that mirrored RTs in both tasks, but the amplitudes showed no direct relation to stimulus- or response-related processes. Finally, slow-wave amplitudes were enhanced for dimension changes. Taken together, the results provide support for relatively early, perceptual processes underlying dimension change costs. [source] The role of stakeholders in Sydney's green gamesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002Kate Kearins This paper focuses on the various roles played by stakeholders in the construction of Sydney Olympics as the Green Games. It draws material from the official website of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the websites and other material made public by major stakeholders, and the considerable commentary generated by the greening efforts of the games' organizers and their many partners and critics. Sydney's ,Green Games' is shown to involve a wide variety of stakeholders in both its construction and deconstruction. Environmental groups both assisted in defining the agenda and, in retaining their independence, reserved the right to evaluate and publicly critique performance. It is argued that through the engagement of stakeholders, organizations can be expected to understand and elucidate the different dimensions of the environmental challenge they face,even though at times, as the Sydney ,Green Games' example shows, they may not fully meet these more exacting expectations, and the environmental groups themselves thus risk becoming compromised. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment. [source] Journeys of Expansion and Synopsis: Tensions in Books That Shaped Curriculum Inquiry, 1968,PresentCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 1 2010WILLIAM H. SCHUBERT In honor of the 40th volume of Curriculum Inquiry, I begin by claiming that pursuit of questions about what is worthwhile, why, and for whose benefit is a (perhaps the) central consideration of curriculum inquiry. Drawing autobiographically from my experience as an educator during the past 40 years, I sketch reflections on curriculum books published during that time span. I situate my comments within both the historical backdrop that preceded the beginning of Curriculum Inquiry and the emergence of new curricular languages or paradigms during the late 1960s and early 1970s. I suggest that two orientations of curriculum books have provided a lively tension in curriculum literature,one expansive and the other synoptic,while cautiously wondering if both may have evolved from different dimensions of John Dewey's work. I speculate about the place of expansion and synopsis in several categories of curriculum literature: historical and philosophical; policy, professional, and popular; aesthetic and artistic; practical and narrative; critical; inner and contextual; and indigenous and global. Finally, I reconsider expansive and synoptic tendencies in light of compendia, heuristics, and venues that portray evolving curriculum understandings without losing the purport of myriad expansions of the literature. [source] Hierarchical Integration: The Dollar Economy and the Rupee EconomyDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 2 2008Anirudh Krishna ABSTRACT While contemporary globalization makes the world more interconnected, it also reworks and builds on existing cleavages and uneven development. This is an under-researched dimension of the emerging twenty-first century international division of labour. The core question is whether new developments (associated with exports, offshoring and outsourcing) spin off to the majority in the countryside and the urban poor. This article examines the relationship between the dollar economy and the rupee economy in India. It documents the ways in which inequality is built into and sustains India's development. The authors discuss other instances of multi-speed economies and analytics that seek to come to grips with these relations, from combined and uneven development to global value chains. They present three ways of capturing contemporary inequality: asymmetric inclusion, enlargement-and-containment and hierarchical integration, each of which captures different dimensions of inequality. [source] Comparison of the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function and the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test in hemiplegic CPDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 12 2008K Klingels MSc This study investigated interrater reliability and measurement error of the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function (Melbourne Assessment) and the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST), and assessed the relationship between both scales in 21 children (15 females, six males; mean age 6y 4mo [SD 1y 3mo], range 5,8y) with hemiplegic CP. Two raters scored the videotapes of the assessments independently in a randomized order. According to the House Classification, three participants were classified as level 1, one participant as level 3, eight as level 4, three as level 5, one participant as level 6, and five as level 7. The Melbourne Assessment and the QUEST showed high interrater reliability (intraclass correlation 0.97 for Melbourne Assessment; 0.96 for QUEST total score; 0.96 for QUEST hemiplegic side). The standard error of measurement and the smallest detectable difference was 3.2% and 8.9% for the Melbourne Assessment and 5.0% and 13.8% for the QUEST score on the hemiplegic side. Correlation analysis indicated that different dimensions of upper limb function are addressed in both scales. [source] Food Security in Protracted Crises: Building More Effective Policy FrameworksDISASTERS, Issue 2005Margarita Flores This paper considers the principal elements that underpin policy frameworks for supporting food security in protracted crisis contexts. It argues that maintaining the food entitlements of crisis-affected populations must extend beyond interventions to ensure immediate human survival. A ,policy gap' exists in that capacities for formulating policy responses to tackle the different dimensions of food insecurity in complex, fluid crisis situations tend to be weak. As a result, standardised, short-term intervention designs are created that fall short of meeting the priority needs of affected populations in the short and long term and only partially exploit the range of policy options available. The paper discusses key attributes of agency frameworks that could support more effective policy processes to address longer term as well as immediate food security needs. Additionally, it points to some main challenges likely to be encountered in developing such frameworks and, with the participation of beneficiaries, translating them into effective action. [source] Socio-economic status predicts drinking patterns but not alcohol-related consequences independentlyADDICTION, Issue 7 2010Taisia Huckle ABSTRACT Aim To identify independent relationships between socio-economic status and drinking patterns and related consequences and to identify socio-economic groups at risk for heavier consumption. Design and setting Three comparable national telephone surveys were utilized: 1995, 2000 and 2004. The respondents were aged 18,65 years. Contextual information includes that a number of liberalized alcohol policy changes occurred over the time of the surveys. Results Educational qualification, income and occupation were associated independently with alcohol consumption. There were indications that the different dimensions of drinking (quantity and frequency) had different relationships with socio-economic status (SES). For example, lower SES groups drank heavier quantities while higher SES groups drank more frequently. SES, however, did not play a major role predicting drinking consequences once drinking patterns were controlled for, although there were some exceptions. It was the lower-to-average SES groups that were at greater risk for drinking heavier quantities compared to other SES groups in the population (as they had sustained increases in the quantities they consumed over time where other SES groups did not). Conclusion Socio-economic status was related independently to drinking patterns and there were indications that SES interacted differently with the different dimensions of drinking (quantity and frequency). For the most part, socio-economic status was not related independently to the experience of alcohol-related consequences once drinking patterns were accounted for. It was the lower-to-average SES groups that were at greater risk for drinking heavier quantities compared to other SES groups in the population. [source] The relation between different dimensions of alcohol consumption and burden of disease: an overviewADDICTION, Issue 5 2010Jürgen Rehm ABSTRACT Aims As part of a larger study to estimate the global burden of disease and injury attributable to alcohol: to evaluate the evidence for a causal impact of average volume of alcohol consumption and pattern of drinking on diseases and injuries; to quantify relationships identified as causal based on published meta-analyses; to separate the impact on mortality versus morbidity where possible; and to assess the impact of the quality of alcohol on burden of disease. Methods Systematic literature reviews were used to identify alcohol-related diseases, birth complications and injuries using standard epidemiological criteria to determine causality. The extent of the risk relations was taken from meta-analyses. Results Evidence of a causal impact of average volume of alcohol consumption was found for the following major diseases: tuberculosis, mouth, nasopharynx, other pharynx and oropharynx cancer, oesophageal cancer, colon and rectum cancer, liver cancer, female breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, alcohol use disorders, unipolar depressive disorders, epilepsy, hypertensive heart disease, ischaemic heart disease (IHD), ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, conduction disorders and other dysrhythmias, lower respiratory infections (pneumonia), cirrhosis of the liver, preterm birth complications and fetal alcohol syndrome. Dose,response relationships could be quantified for all disease categories except for depressive disorders, with the relative risk increasing with increased level of alcohol consumption for most diseases. Both average volume and drinking pattern were linked causally to IHD, fetal alcohol syndrome and unintentional and intentional injuries. For IHD, ischaemic stroke and diabetes mellitus beneficial effects were observed for patterns of light to moderate drinking without heavy drinking occasions (as defined by 60+ g pure alcohol per day). For several disease and injury categories, the effects were stronger on mortality compared to morbidity. There was insufficient evidence to establish whether quality of alcohol had a major impact on disease burden. Conclusions Overall, these findings indicate that alcohol impacts many disease outcomes causally, both chronic and acute, and injuries. In addition, a pattern of heavy episodic drinking increases risk for some disease and all injury outcomes. Future studies need to address a number of methodological issues, especially the differential role of average volume versus drinking pattern, in order to obtain more accurate risk estimates and to understand more clearly the nature of alcohol,disease relationships. [source] Decreasing effective nanofluidic filter size by modulating electrical double layers: Separation enhancement in microfabricated nanofluidic filtersELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 23 2008Hansen Bow Abstract Conventional methods for separating biomolecules are based on steric interactions between the biomolecules and randomly oriented gel fibers. The recently developed artificial molecular sieves also rely on steric interactions for separation. In this work, we present an experimental investigation of a method that can be used in these sieves to increase separation selectivity and resolution. This method exploits the electrostatic repulsion between the charged molecules and the charged nanofluidic structure. Although this method has been mentioned in the previous work, it has not been examined in detail. We characterize this method by comparing the selectivity with that achieved in devices with different dimensions. The results of this study are relevant to the optimization of chip-based gel-free biomolecule separation and analysis. [source] Acoustic Features of Female Chacma Baboon BarksETHOLOGY, Issue 1 2001Julia Fischer We studied variation in the loud barks of free-ranging female chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) with respect to context, predator type, and individuality over an 18-month period in the Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. To examine acoustic differences in relation to these variables, we extracted a suite of acoustic parameters from digitized calls and applied discriminant function analyses. The barks constitute a graded continuum, ranging from a tonal, harmonically rich call into a call with a more noisy, harsh structure. Tonal barks are typically given when the signaler is at risk of losing contact with the group or when a mother and infant have become separated (contact barks). The harsher variants are given in response to large predators (alarm barks). However, there are also intermediate forms between the two subtypes which may occur in both situations. This finding is not due to an overlap of individuals' distinct distributions but can be replicated within individuals. Within the alarm bark category, there are significant differences between calls given in response to mammalian carnivores and those given in response to crocodiles. Again, there are intermediate variants. Both alarm call types are equally different from contact barks, indicating that the calls vary along different dimensions. Finally, there are consistent, significant differences among different individuals' calls. However, individual identity in one call type cannot directly be inferred from knowledge of the individuals' call characteristics in the other. In sum, the barks of female baboons potentially provide rich information to the recipients of these signals. The extent to which baboons discriminate between alarm and contact barks, and classify calls according to context and/or acoustic similarity will be described in a subsequent paper. [source] Tuning for shape dimensions in macaque inferior temporal cortexEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 1 2005Greet Kayaert Abstract It is widely assumed that distributed bell-shaped tuning (e.g. Radial Basis functions) characterizes the shape selectivity of macaque inferior temporal (IT) neurons, analogous to the orientation or spatial frequency tuning found in early visual cortex. Demonstrating such tuning properties requires testing the responses of neurons for different values along dimensions of shape. We recorded the responses of single macaque IT neurons to variations of a rectangle and a triangle along simple shape dimensions, such as taper and axis curvature. The neurons showed systematic response modulation along these dimensions, with the greatest response, on average, to the highest values on the dimensions, e.g. to the most curved shapes. Within the range of values tested, the response functions were monotonic rather than bell-shaped. Multi-dimensional scaling of the neural responses showed that these simple shape dimensions were coded orthogonally by IT neurons: the degree and direction of responses modulation (i.e. the increase or decrease of responses along a dimension) was independent for the different dimensions. Furthermore, for combinations of curvature-related and other simple shape dimensions, the joint tuning was separable, that is well predicted by the product of the tuning for each of the dimensions. The independence of dimensional tuning may provide the neural basis for the independence of psychophysical judgements of multidimensional stimuli. [source] Roots, rhizosphere and soil: the route to a better understanding of soil science?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2006P.J. Gregory Summary The centenary of Hiltner's recognition of a rhizosphere effect is a convenient point to assess the impact of such thinking on the direction of soil science. A review of the major soil journals suggests that for much of the last century, Hiltner's insight had little effect on mainstream thinking outside of soil microbiology, but this situation is changing rapidly as the consequences of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on soil functioning assumes greater importance. Studies of root growth, root distributions and of rhizosphere processes over the last 25 years demonstrate both the size and distribution of root systems and the associated inputs from roots to soils. These inputs result in a plethora of dynamic reactions at the root,soil interface whose consequences are felt at a range of temporal and spatial scales. Root growth and respiration, rhizodeposition, and uptake of water and nutrients result in biological, chemical and physical changes in soils over variable distances from the root surface so that the rhizosphere has different dimensions depending on the process considered. At the root length densities common for many crop species, much of the upper 0.1 m of soil might be influenced by root activity for mobile nutrients, water and root-emitted volatile compounds for a substantial proportion of the growing season. This brief review concludes that roots are an essential component of soil biology and of soil science. [source] Study of crack growth in solid propellantsFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 10 2001E. E. Gdoutos The stress and displacement fields in an edge-cracked sheet specimen made of a solid propellant and subjected to a uniform displacement along its upper and lower faces was studied. The solid propellant was simulated as a hyperelastic material with constitutive behaviour described by the Ogden strain energy potential. A non-linear finite deformation analysis was performed based on the finite element code ABAQUS. A detailed analysis of the stress field in the vicinity of the crack tip was undertaken. The deformed profiles of the crack faces near the crack tip were determined. The results of stress analysis were coupled with the strain energy density theory to predict the crack growth behaviour including crack initiation, stable crack growth and final termination for two specimens with different dimensions. Crack growth resistance curves representing the variation of crack growth increment versus applied displacement were drawn. [source] Analysing Change in Women's Careers: Culture, Structure and Action DimensionsGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 1 2000Julia Evetts This article addresses a number of related issues. It outlines and illustrates three dimensions of explanations about women's careers: cultural, structural and action dimensions. The three dimensions are considered as aspects of determinism and choice in women's careers and are illustrated with regard to different professional sectors. The article argues that change needs to be a prominent feature in the analysis of women's careers but that change is differently perceived and interpreted in analyses in the three different dimensions. [source] Sometimes more equal than others: how health inequalities depend on the choice of welfare indicatorHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2006Magnus Lindelow Abstract In recent years, a large body of empirical work has focused on measuring and explaining socio-economic inequalities in health outcomes and health service use. In any effort to address these questions, analysts must confront the issue of how to measure socioeconomic status. In developing countries, socioeconomic status has typically been measured by per capita consumption or an asset index. Currently, there is only limited information on how the choice of welfare indicators affect the analysis of health inequalities and the incidence of public spending. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the potential sensitivity of the analysis of health related inequalities to how socioeconomic status is measured. Using data from Mozambique, the paper focuses on five key health service indicators, and tests whether measured inequality (concentration index) in health service utilization differs depending on the choice of welfare indicator. The paper shows that, at least in some contexts, the choice of welfare indicator can have a large and significant impact on measured inequality in utilization of health services. In consequence, we can reach very different conclusions about the ,same' issue depending on how we define socioeconomic status. The paper also provides some tentative conclusions about why and in what contexts health inequalities can be sensitive to the choice of living standards measure. The results call for more clarity and care in the analysis of health related inequalities, and for explicit recognition of the potential sensitivity of findings to the choice of welfare measure. The results also point at the need for more careful research on how different dimensions of SES are related, and on the pathways by which the respective different dimensions impact on health related variables. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Classical versus relational approaches to understanding controls on a contract with independent GPs in South AfricaHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 12 2003Natasha Palmer Abstract Contracts have played a central role in public sector reforms in developed countries over the last decade, and research increasingly highlights their varied nature. In low and middle income countries the use of contracts is encouraged but little attention has been paid to features of the setting that may influence their operation. A qualitative case study was used to examine different dimensions of a contract with private GPs in South Africa. Features of the contract are compared with the notions of classical and relational contracts. Formal aspects of the contract such as design, monitoring and resort to sanctions were found to offer little control over its outcome. The relational rather than classical model of contracting offered a more meaningful framework of analysis, with social and institutional factors found to play an important role. In particular, the individual nature of GP practices highlighted the role played by individual motivation where a contract exercised little formal control. Due to the similarity of factors likely to be present, results are argued to be relevant in many other LMIC settings, and policy-makers considering contracts for clinical services are advised to consider the possibility of experiencing a similar outcome. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The relative sensitivity of willingness-to-pay and time-trade-off to changes in health status: an empirical investigationHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 6 2001Richard D. Smith Abstract This paper directly compares the relative sensitivity of time-trade-off (TTO) and willingness-to-pay (WTP) values obtained for various levels of change in health status. This was achieved by administering a TTO and WTP survey to a population of 50 subjects, assessing their valuation of various degrees of change in health status. It was found that, overall, WTP is more sensitive than TTO in distinguishing between different dimensions of health at the same nominal level of health status (only four WTP values not significantly different, compared with eight TTO values). In addition, WTP was also more sensitive to differences in quality of life between different levels of health within each dimension (all values significantly different from each other, with TTO yielding three insignificant relationships). These results tentatively suggest, therefore, that WTP seems to be a more sensitive measure of change in health status than TTO. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The integration of work process knowledge into human resources developmentHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 4 2005Martin Fischer In this contribution the relationship between work process knowledge and human resources development is discussed. The concept of work process knowledge is described as it evolved as an outcome of a research network involving research institutions from 10 European countries (N. C. Boreham, R. Samurçay, & M. Fischer, 2002). Historical origins of the concept are mentioned and different dimensions of work process knowledge are depicted as a topic of ongoing research. How work process knowledge is considered within current research activities focusing on measures of organizational learning is also defined. In this respect, research results from the European research project OrgLearn ("Ways of Organisational Learning in the Chemical Industry and Their Impact on Vocational Education and Training," funded under the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Union and coordinated by the author) are reported. Finally, the implications of the concept of work process knowledge are discussed, which have become apparent in recent developments within vocational education and training in Germany. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 369,384, 2005. [source] What Is Ecological Validity?INFANCY, Issue 4 2001A Dimensional Analysis Ecological validity has typically been taken to refer to whether or not one can generalize from observed behavior in the laboratory to natural behavior in the world. Although common in current discussions of research, the idea of ecological validity has a long history in psychological thought. A brief historical examination of this idea reveals that concerns with ecological validity are evident in multiple dimensions of experimental work, including the nature of the experimental setting, the stimuli under investigation, and the observer's response employed as the measure. One problem with this multidimensionality, however, is that no explicit criteria have been offered for applying this concept to an evaluation of research. One consequence of this problem is that concerns with ecological validity can be raised in most experimental situations. This article includes a discussion of some demands of ecological validity and the nature of these different dimensions, as well as a critical evaluation of research on the development of mobility with respect to these constraints. [source] Unpacking the effect of IT capability on the performance of export-focused SMEs: a report from ChinaINFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008Man Zhang Abstract., Export-focused small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China face a number of barriers to success, two primary ones being the liability of foreignness and resource scarcity. In order to transcend these challenges and be able to survive/prosper in the hypercompetitive international market, where players include large resourceful multinational organizations with experience in varied national contexts, these firms need to develop different organizational capabilities. In this paper, we specifically examine the role of a key organizational capability , information technology (IT) capability , and its different dimensions, in determining performance of export-focused SMEs in China. Our study reveals that IT capability has a positive impact on such firms' performance. This finding indicates the need for their owners/managers to invest in IT capability. Further, the study also highlights specific sub-dimensions of IT capability that export-focused Chinese SMEs should (or should not) develop, so as to derive maximum performance-related gains for the minimum amount spent on IT. [source] Hierarchical Gecko-Like Adhesives,ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 4 2009Christian Greiner The role of hierarchy in gecko-like adhesive surfaces is presented. Experiments on two-level structured surfaces with micropillars of different dimensions demonstrate that hierarchy does not seem to positively influence adhesion of structured surfaces to planar substrates, but may be relevant when stiff materials or rough substrates come into play, where adaptability of the adhesive structure is required for successful contact. [source] Proximity and inter-organizational collaboration: A literature reviewINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS, Issue 2 2006J. Knoben The proximity concept is used in many different ways in the literature. These dimensions of proximity are, however, defined and measured in many different (sometimes even contradictory) ways, show large amounts of overlap, and often are under- or over-specified. The goal of this paper is to specify the different dimensions of proximity relevant in inter-organizational collaboration more precisely and to provide definitions of these dimensions. The research presented contributes to reducing the ambiguity of the proximity concept as used in the literature. Based on the above, the following research question is addressed in this paper: ,Which dimensions of proximity are relevant in inter-organizational collaboration and how are they defined?' A systematic literature review is presented in order to disentangle the dimensions of the proximity concept. Based on this literature review, three dimensions of proximity relevant in inter-organizational collaboration are distinguished: geographical proximity, organizational proximity and technological proximity. Examples (case studies) from the literature are used to illustrate the current conceptual ambiguity as well as to clarify how the proposed dimensions of proximity reduce this conceptual ambiguity. [source] Fatigued Elderly Patients With Chronic Heart FailureINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 2003Anna Ehrenberg PURPOSE To compare descriptions of fatigue based on the NANDA characteristics from interviews with elderly people with congestive heart failure (CHF) and data recorded by nurses at a Swedish outpatient heart failure clinic. METHODS Patients were screened for moderate to severe CHF. A total of 158 patients were interviewed using a revised form of the Fatigue Interview Schedule (FIS) based on the NANDA characteristics. Of these patients, half (n= 79) were offered visits at a nurse-monitored heart failure clinic. Nursing documentation of fatigue at the heart failure clinic was reviewed based on the NANDA characteristics and compared with the content in the patient interviews. FINDINGS Tiredness was documented in 43 (75%) records and indicated in 36 patients based on patient scores on the FIS (X,= 5.5; range 1,9). The most frequently recorded observation related to fatigue was the symptom emotionally labile or irritable, followed by notes on lack of energy and decreased performance. Patients' descriptions of their fatigue were expressed as a decreased ability to perform and a perceived need for additional energy. Results indicated poor concordance in patients' descriptions and record content concerning fatigue. Whereas patients emphasized the physical characteristics of fatigue, nurses emphasised the emotional features. Decreased libido was linked to fatigue according to the patients but not according to the nurses' records. Whereas cognitive characteristics of fatigue occurred rarely in the records, they were more frequent in the patient interviews. DISCUSSION Symptoms such as irritability and accident-proneness may be seen as manifestations of the patients' experiencing the need for more energy or a feeling of decreased performance. These consequences of being fatigued, rather than the different dimensions of fatigue, seemed to have been easy for the nurses to observe and document. Earlier studies indicate that poor observation, medication, and diet in patients with heart failure might partly be explained by cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS Findings of this study highlight the need for nurses to pay attention to the experience of fatigue in patients who suffer from CHF, and to validate their observations with the patients own expressions. Using the patients' words and expressions and the diagnostic characteristics of fatigue in recording can support the nurses in developing both understanding of patients living with CHF and strategies to help patients cope with their restricted ability in daily life. [source] Perspectives on Models of Job PerformanceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 4 2000Chockalingam Viswesvaran Contemporary models of job performance are reviewed. Links between task performance, contextual performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, counterproductivity and organizational deviance are pointed out. Measurement issues in constructing generic models applicable across jobs are discussed. Implications for human resource management in general, and performance appraisal for selection and assessment in particular, are explored. It is pointed out that the different dimensions or facets of individual job performance hypothesized in the literature are positively correlated. This positive manifold suggests the presence of a general factor which represents a common variance shared across all the dimensions or facets. Although no consensus exists in the extant literature on the meaning and source of this shared variance (i.e., the general factor), rater idiosyncratic halo alone does not explain this general factor. Future research should explain the common individual differences determinants of performance dimensions. [source] Poverty among households with children: a comparative study of Norway and GermanyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 4 2006Hans-Tore Hansen The purpose of this study was to compare poverty among lone parent households and couple households with children in Norway and Germany. The study applied three different measurement strategies: income poverty, material deprivation and reception of social assistance. We found that income poverty and material deprivation rates are higher in Germany than in Norway and are also higher for lone parents than for couples with children. Our analysis of the reception of social assistance shows a different pattern in which both Norwegian and German lone parents frequently receive social assistance. The results show that the different dimensions of poverty are not independent of one another, nor do they wholly overlap. Household characteristic variables, factors influencing labour market status and educational levels also seem to influence the risk of experiencing poverty. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||