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First Objective (first + objective)
Selected AbstractsResearch to practice: Effectiveness of controlled workplace interventions to reduce musculoskeletal disorders in the manufacturing environment,critical appraisal and meta-analysisHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 2 2008Setenay Tuncel Previous studies on the effectiveness of interventions in reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in manufacturing facilities had contradictory results, indicating a need for a quality assessment of these studies followed by a quantitative assessment of the overall effectiveness of the interventions. These assessments may also provide suggestions for practical implementations. The first objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of controlled workplace interventions to reduce the occurrence of MSD in the manufacturing environment by utilizing meta-analysis integrated with the study quality score. The second objective is to translate the research findings into practical guidelines. Two hypotheses were tested pertinent to the first objective: (1) Controlled workplace interventions are effective in reducing the occurrence of MSD in different body regions among manufacturing workers and (2) the study quality scores do not depend on the evaluator. The study quality was assessed for all articles, however, meta effect size (meta-OR) was calculated only for the articles that reported prevalence of low back disorders (LBDs), using the Mantel,Haenszel method. The effect of study quality was included into meta-OR. The chi-square test of independence was employed to test the second hypothesis. Seven articles were identified. Study quality was poor (0.39 out of 2) to moderate (0.97). Insignificant reduction in LBDs prevalence (meta-OR = 0.925; 95% CI: 0.566,1.512) was found. Integration of the study quality did not have a substantial effect on the meta-OR (meta-OR = 0.933; 95% CI: 0.571,1.525). Each evaluator's study quality scores were not independent from the agreed quality scores (p < 0.01). The results suggested that practitioners should consider scientific evidence during design and implementation of an intervention, especially in terms of study duration, confounders, outcome measures, and data analysis. The articles reviewed exhibited the following: (1) the statistical insignificance of the meta-OR; (2) the relatively low methodological quality of studies; and (3) the small number of studies included in the meta-OR. The extent of the generalizability of meta-OR for LBD to other body regions was also in question. Future research should consider the following: (1) the physical and nonphysical work environment should be assessed to determine the workplace-specific needs, and the intervention should be structured around these needs; (2) group comparability, participation rate, subject loss, and randomization of subjects should be taken into account; (3) exposure and outcome measurement methods should be reported, as well as blinding of the observers and subjects, when applicable, to ensure reliability and validity; and (4) data analysis should be conducted adjusting for covariates and confounders, different lengths of follow-up, and level of exposure. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Quantifying tibial plafond fracture severity: Absorbed energy and fragment displacement agree with clinical rank orderingJOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 8 2008Donald D. Anderson Abstract The energy of producing a fracture is considered one of the most important factors relating to injury severity, prognosis, and risk of complications, yet there has been no objective way to measure this important variable. The purpose of this study was to compare assessments of fracture severity made using new objective computed tomography (CT),based methods versus the expert opinion of experienced orthopedic traumatologists. Fracture energy, fragment displacement, and soft tissue swelling were quantified in twenty tibial plafond fractures by analyzing injury CT scans. Three experienced orthopedic traumatologists then independently performed a rank order analysis of fracture severity, using plain radiographs. The concordance among the three clinicians ranged from 87% to 91%. Objective fracture severity measurements made with the CT algorithm agreed well with the clinical assessments (fracture energy concordance from 73% to 76%, fragment displacement from 82% to 89%, and soft tissue swelling from 61% to 65%). These are the first objective, CT-based measures of fracture severity. With further refinement, this conceptually novel method has the potential to serve as a valuable tool to provide objective measurement of fracture severity, allowing one to control for this previously confounding variable in large multicenter studies. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 26:1046,1052, 2008 [source] OSCE! Variations on a theme by HardenMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 12 2003Brian Hodges Background, In 1979, Harden described the first objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Harden's OSCE dramatically changed the assessment of professional competence because it used actors and choreographed scenarios to evaluate the performance of professional behaviours. Analysis, Because of the intense focus on performance, OSCEs have had a powerful influence on doctor training and practice. However, the immediate psychometric characteristics of OSCEs rather than their performance effects have been the subject of most research. Conclusion, The time has come to undertake a sophisticated sociological investigation of how OSCEs affect medical practice, including the ways in which they shape doctor interaction with patients, families and other health professionals. [source] DOHA, DEVELOPMENT AND DISCRIMINATION*PACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2007Bernard Hoekman This paper explores whether moves to achieve the first objective will help achieve the latter, and whether specific actions to pursue more seriously economic development objectives through the WTO could help move the system closer to achieving the goal of non-discrimination. [source] Changing the economic landscape: The phenomenon of regional inversion in the US manufacturing sector,PAPERS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2002Luis Fernando Lanaspa-Santolaria Regional Inversion; US manufacturing sector; unit root tests; structural breaks Abstract Regional inversion is the name given to the phenomenon whereby the traditional industrial areas of certain countries lose their weight in favor of what were formerly peripheral zones. Against this background our first objective is to offer a formal and rigorous definition of the concept of regional inversion from an econometric standpoint. To that end we relate such a process with the long-run concepts of convergence and catching-up. Secondly, we test this definition through the use of unit root statistics and apply these to demonstrate the presence of this phenomenon in some of the US two-digit SIC industries. [source] Attitudes Towards Personnel Selection Methods: A Partial Replication and Extension in a German SampleAPPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2003Bernd Marcus Cette recherche qui fait appel à un échantillon de 213 étudiants allemands porte sur les attitudes envers un ensemble de méthodes utilisées dans la sélection professionnelle. Son but premier était d'apporter un nouvel éclairage sur les différences culturelles qui marquent les réactions des candidats devant les techniques de sélection en reconstituant partiellement une étude de Steiner & Gilliland (1996) qui recueillirent des évaluations de l'acceptation du processus pour dix procédures différentes auprès d'étudiants français et américains. Des divergences significatives sont apparues au niveau des moyennes, mais aucune structure sous-jacente ne put rendre compte de ces différences. En général, les sujets des trois nations ont note les plus favorablement les méthodes répandues (l'entretien et le C.V.), ainsi que les procédures en rapport évident avec le travail (les tests d'échantillon de travail), puis les tests papier-crayon, tandis que les contacts personnels et la graphologie étaient négativement appréciés. Autre objectif important: éprouver la validité des courtes descriptions des instruments de sélection généralement utilisées dans les études comparatives portant sur ce thème. On a évalué deux fois les attitudes envers quatre types de tests imprimés, une premiére fois après la présentation de la description et une seconde fois à l'issue de la passation du test. La convergence prétest-posttest, de basse à moyenne, met en évidence de sérieux problémes en ce qui concerne ces descriptions des tests papier-crayon. On aborde aussi les leçons à en tirer quant aux jugements sur les pratiques de sélection du point de vue des candidats et pour les recherches à venir. This research examined attitudes towards a variety of personnel selection methods in a German student sample (N= 213). Its first objective was to shed further light on cultural differences in applicant reactions to selection techniques by partially replicating a study by Steiner and Gilliland (1996), who obtained ratings of process favorability for ten different procedures from two groups of French and American students. Results indicated a number of significant mean discrepancies but no systematic pattern appeared to underlie these differences. In general, subjects in all three nations rated widespread methods (e.g. interview, résumés) or obviously job-related procedures (work sample tests) most favorably, followed by paper-and-pencil tests, whereas personal contacts and graphology appeared in the negative range. A second major objective was to examine the validity of the brief descriptions of selection instruments often used in comparative studies on this topic. Attitudes towards four different types of written tests were assessed twice for this purpose, once after presenting descriptive information, and a second time after actual test administration. Low to moderate pretest,posttest convergence pointed to serious problems with these descriptions for paper-and-pencil tests. Implications for current evaluations of selection practices from the applicants' perspective and for future research are discussed. [source] Manganese Black Pigments in Prehistoric Paintings: the Case of the Black Frieze of Pech Merle (France)ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 2 2001B. Guineau Different black pigments of natural origin (mineral or organic) have been examined by means of several analytical methods (colour measurements, elemental analysis and structural analysis). The results, after being compared with each other, then served as reference points in the study of the ,Black Frieze' of the cave of Pech Merle (Lot). After that, colour measurement was investigated in situ on the paintings as a means of displaying small differences (in hue or chroma) between the black colours. The aim of this study was to verify several hypotheses concerning the techniques used by the painters of Pech Merle, and specifically by the one(s) of the Black Frieze. A first objective was that of identifying the nature and, if possible, the origin of the black pigments used in these figures. A second objective was that of determining in which parts of the frieze one or the other (or one and the other) had been used; and the final objective was to provide new technical information that might help us better to understand how the Pech Merle frieze was produced, whether by a single painter and in one episode, for the most part, or, on the contrary, in several episodes and by a succession of different painters. [source] Modeling of the Intestinal Peptide Transporter hPepT1 and Analysis of Its Transport Capacities by Docking and Pharmacophore MappingCHEMMEDCHEM, Issue 12 2008Alessandro Pedretti Dr. Abstract An early pharmacokinetic screen for peptidomimetic drugs should have the ability to predict molecules with high affinity for intestinal transporters, as peptide-like derivatives are seldom absorbed passively. Hence, the first objective of this study was to generate a reliable model for the structure of the hPepT1 protein, which is the main intestinal transporter involved in the absorption of both dietary peptides and peptidomimetics. The modeling was based on the resolved structure of the homologous bacterial lactose permease LacY using a fragmental strategy. The interaction capacities of the hPepT1 model were explored by docking a set of 50 known ligands. Despite the known predilection of hPepT1 for hydrophobic ligands, docking results unveiled the key role of the polar interactions stabilized by charged termini, especially concerning the ammonium head group. The docking results were further verified by developing a pharmacophore model that confirmed the key features required for optimal hPepT1 affinity. The consistency of the docking results and the agreement with the pharmacophore model afford an encouraging validation for the proposed model and suggest that it can be exploited to design peptide-like molecules with an improved affinity for such a transporter. [source] | ||||||||||