Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Comparing Individuals (comparing + individual)
Selected AbstractsNew Product Development Decision-Making Effectiveness: Comparing Individuals, Face-To-Face Teams, and Virtual Teams,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 4 2001Jeffrey B. Schmidt Abstract A total of 411 subjects participated in two decision-making experiments in order to examine the effectiveness of new product development project continuation decisions. Using escalation of commitment theory, in Study 1, individual versus face-to-face team decision-making effectiveness was compared. Study 2, an extension of Study 1, compared the new product development decision-making effectiveness of individuals, face-to-face teams, and virtual teams. A virtual team is a geographically and temporally dispersed and electronically communicating work group. In Study 2, the virtual teams communicated asynchronously via groupware technology. Our findings suggest that teams make more effective decisions than individuals, and virtual teams make the most effective decisions. [source] Molecular and serological characterization of hepatitis B virus in deferred Ghanaian blood donors with and without elevated alanine aminotransferaseJOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 11 2006D. Candotti Summary., Candidate blood donors in Ghana are frequent carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV). A comparative study of 117 donor samples including 46 with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , 60 IU/L and 71 with ,40 IU/L level was undertaken. S and the basic core promoter-precore regions (BCP/PC) sequencing was used to identify genotypes and variants relevant to HBV natural history, respectively. Age, viral load, HBe status were correlated with molecular data. HBV genotype E (87%) was dominant with little genotypes A (10%) and D (3%). Comparing individuals with or without liver disease, an association between liver disease and older age (P = 0.004) and higher viral load (P = 0.002) whether as a whole population or only genotype E was found. Compared with a commercial assay, BCP/PC sequencing had lower sensitivity to detect mixtures of wild-type and variant viruses but detected BCP deletions. BCP 1762/1764 variants were positively correlated with older age (P < 0.0001) and elevated ALT levels (P = 0.01). PC 1896 stop codon was marginally correlated with viral load (P = 0.09). HBV genotype E infection natural history appears different from genotypes B and C prevalent in Asia. Donors with liver disease being older, with higher viral load and higher BCP variant proportion may be at higher risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [source] Detecting local adaptation in widespread grassland species , the importance of scale and local plant communityJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2006ARMIN BISCHOFF Summary 1Adaptation of plant populations to local environments has been shown in many species but local adaptation is not always apparent and spatial scales of differentiation are not well known. In a reciprocal transplant experiment we tested whether: (i) three widespread grassland species are locally adapted at a European scale; (ii) detection of local adaptation depends on competition with the local plant community; and (iii) local differentiation between neighbouring populations from contrasting habitats can be stronger than differentiation at a European scale. 2Seeds of Holcus lanatus, Lotus corniculatus and Plantago lanceolata from a Swiss, Czech and UK population were sown in a reciprocal transplant experiment at fields that exhibit environmental conditions similar to the source sites. Seedling emergence, survival, growth and reproduction were recorded for two consecutive years. 3The effect of competition was tested by comparing individuals in weeded monocultures with plants sown together with species from the local grassland community. To compare large-scale vs. small-scale differentiation, a neighbouring population from a contrasting habitat (wet-dry contrast) was compared with the ,home' and ,foreign' populations. 4In P. lanceolata and H. lanatus, a significant home-site advantage was detected in fitness-related traits, thus indicating local adaptation. In L. corniculatus, an overall superiority of one provenance was found. 5The detection of local adaptation depended on competition with the local plant community. In the absence of competition the home-site advantage was underestimated in P. lanceolata and overestimated in H. lanatus. 6A significant population differentiation between contrasting local habitats was found. In some traits, this small-scale was greater than large-scale differentiation between countries. 7Our results indicate that local adaptation in real plant communities cannot necessarily be predicted from plants grown in weeded monocultures and that tests on the relationship between fitness and geographical distance have to account for habitat-dependent small-scale differentiation. Considering the strong small-scale differentiation, a local provenance from a different habitat may not be the best choice in ecological restoration if distant populations from a more similar habitat are available. [source] Hepatitis C in ethnic minority populations in EnglandJOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 6 2008A. G. Mann Summary., The aim of the study was to investigate the differing epidemiology of hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease in ethnic minorities in England. We used Hospital Episode Statistics from 1997/98 to 2004/05 to directly age-standardize numbers of episodes and deaths from hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease in ethnic groups using the white English population as standard and the age-structured population by ethnic group from the 2001 Census. We estimated the odds of having a diagnosis of end-stage liver disease amongst hepatitis C-infected individuals in each ethnic group compared with whites using logistic regression. The main outcome measures were age-standardized morbidity and mortality ratios and morbidity and mortality odds ratios. Standardized ratios (95% confidence interval) for hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease ranged from 73 (38,140) in Chinese people to 1063 (952,1186) for those from an ,Other' ethnic group. Amongst individuals with a diagnosis of hepatitis C infection, the odds ratios (95% CI) of severe liver disease were 1.42 (1.13,1.79), 1.57 (1.36,1.81), 2.44 (1.85,3.22), 1.73 (1.36,2.19) and 1.83 (1.08,3.10) comparing individuals of Black African, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian and Chinese origin with whites, respectively. Ethnic minority populations in England are more likely than whites to experience an admission or to die from severe liver disease as a result of hepatitis C infection. Ethnic minority populations may have a higher prevalence of hepatitis C or they may experience a poorer prognosis because of differential access to health services, longer duration of infection or the prevalence of co-morbidities. [source] Comparison of methods to evaluate changes in relative body mass index in pediatric weight controlAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2007Rocco A. Paluch Our objective was to compare three BMI-based adiposity measures to assess change in pediatric weight control: LMS z -BMI, BMI sympercent, and percent overBMI. Comparison 1 presents changes of +1.0, ,1.0, and ,2.0 BMI units for 36 hypothetical children (7-, 11-, and 15-year-old children with BMI values from 19,39 kg/m2). Comparison 2 presents effect sizes over 12 months and the relationship between baseline and change for 140 8,12-year-old children with BMI values ranging from 21 to 37 kg/m2. Comparison 1 showed smaller changes in z -BMI than BMI sympercent or percent overBMI for equal changes in BMI when initial BMI values are greater. Comparison 2 showed similar effect sizes for the three measures, since there is a reduction in both standard deviation and magnitude of LMS z -BMI values as the BMI values increase. The three measures perform differently when considering the relationship of initial value to change. Initial percent overBMI shows a negative relationship with change, as heavier children show larger changes, LMS z -BMI shows a positive relationship, as children with lower baseline values show larger changes, and BMI sympercent changes were inconsistently related to baseline BMI sympercent values. Although all three measures result in similar effect sizes when evaluating treatment over time, we conclude that LMS z -BMI is less appropriate for comparing individuals and percent overBMI is the only measure that shows heavier children have greater change. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 19:487,494, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] A selective review of research on offenders with developmental disabilities: assessment and treatmentCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 3 2005William R. Lindsay The process of deinstitutionalization has changed the nature of research on offenders with developmental disabilities, transferring the focus of enquiry from institutions to the community. As a result, there have been significant increases in the extent of research on assessment, treatment and service systems. This selective review focuses on anger and aggression, fire-setting and inappropriate sexual behaviour to illustrate the way in which developments are beginning to support clinical work in the area. We now have a number of assessments to delineate psychological variables and there are also developments in the assessment of risk for future violence. Treat-ment programmes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, relying increasingly on developments in cognitive techniques. Controlled trials indicate that treatment for anger and aggression may be effective in terms of both proximal and socially validated outcomes. There is a lack of controlled outcome research in other areas. More recent research comparing individuals in different levels of security may have impacts on services.,Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||