BLEGen — a code generator for bluetooth low energy services

The BLEGen is a retargeting generation code tool to implement Bluetooth Low Energy services. Based on a specification of the main characteristics of the BLE services, the BLEGen is able to produce all the necessary C code to implement the services for the chosen microchip. The specifications are written using a domain specific language, which was designed to allow a very compact, easy to understand, highly focused on the BLE standard concepts and fully independent of the details and constraints of the target microchip. The BLEGen was conceived based on the builder design pattern to be a retargeting tool. This means that it is able to generate code for distinct target microchips, using the correspondent BLE software stack and taking advantage of the concrete microchip architecture. The BLEGen allows the implementation of new BLE services, reducing significantly the development time and the level of expertise, since it avoids a long learning period to understand the BLE stack used by each manufacturer and the microchip architecture. At this paper, it is presented the motivation, the domain specific language defined to describe the BLE services, the architecture of the BLEGen and the solutions adopted to make it a retargeting tool.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Power Processes in Bargaining

This is a theoretical article that integrates and extends a particular program of work on power in bargaining relationships. Power is conceptualized as a structurally based capability, and power use as tactical action falling within either conciliatory or hostile categories. The core propositions are (1) the greater the total amount of power in a relationship, the greater the use of conciliatory tactics and the lower the use of hostile tactics; and (2) an unequal power relationship fosters more use of hostile tactics and less use of conciliatory tactics than an equal power relationship. Distinct research on power dependence and bilateral deterrence provides support for both propositions. Implications are discussed for power struggle in ongoing relationships

Metatheory and Friendly Competition in Theory Growth: The Case of Power Processes in Bargaining

[Excerpt] This paper analyzes the theoretical development taking place in a program of research on power processes in bargaining (see Bacharach and Lawler 1976, 1980, 1981a, 1981b; Lawler and Bacharach 1976, 1979, 1987; Lawler, Ford, and Blegen 1988; Lawler and Yoon 1990; Lawler 1986, 1992). The theoretical program takes as its starting point a situation where individuals, groups, organizations, or even societies with conflicting interests voluntarily enter into explicit bargaining. Explicit (as opposed to tacit) bargaining assumes the mutual acknowledgment of negotiations, conflicting issues along which compromise is possible, and open lines of communication through which parties can exchange offers and counteroffers in an attempt to resolve the issues that divide them (Schelling 1960; Bacharach and Lawler 1980; Boyle and Lawler 1991). The scope of this theoretical research program assumes further that the parties have a power capability, that they use this power tactically in an effort to achieve desired outcomes, and that they strive for a favorable position during the bargaining process

Resolving Conflict through Explicit Bargaining

This article analyzes the impact of conciliatory initiatives on conflict resolution in two-party bargaining. It specifically develops and tests a theory of unilateral initiatives derived from Osgood\u27s (1962) notion of Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension Reduction (GRIT). The major propositions of the theory indicate that, given a pattern of mutual resistance or hostility, unilateral initiatives and tit-for-tat retaliation in response to punitive action will produce more conciliation and less hostility by an opponent. To test the theory, a bargaining setting was created in a laboratory experiment in which parties exchanged offers and counteroffers on an issue across a number of rounds while also having the option to engage in punitive action against one another. The results indicated that (1) unilateral initiatives produced more concession making and less hostility than a reciprocity strategy, and (2) tit-for-tat retaliation heightened hostility initially but reduced it over time. The article suggests some general, abstract conditions under which two parties in conflict can produce conciliation and reach agreements without the intervention of third parties

A New Athenian Gymnasium from the 4th Century BC?

Schriftquellen belegen, dass das Gymnasium der Athener Akademie vom 6. Jh. v. Chr. bis mindestens zum 2. Jh. n. Chr. benutzt wurde. Der Ort wurde anhand von Texten und einem Horosstein lokalisiert und seit 1929 mehrfach untersucht. Zu den freigelegten Strukturen gehören im Süden ein recht­eckiger Bau mit Hof, der als Palaestra der Akademie gedeutet wurde, und im Norden ein großer quadratischer Peristylbau, der wenig beachtet wurde. Dieser Beitrag revidiert die Identifizierung der beiden Bauten. Es wird gezeigt, dass der Hof des südlichen Baus in die Spätantike gehört und nicht als Palaestra fungiert haben kann. Stattdessen ist der quadratische Bau, dessen Peristyl von Räumen umgeben und der ins 4. Jh. v. Chr. zu datieren ist, anhand von Plan und Inschriften als Palaestra zu identifizieren

A Comparison of Quality of Care in Critical Access Hospitals and Other Rural Hospitals

Purpose: The United States has about 2100 rural hospitals. Approximately 1300 are Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) with 25 beds or less. CAHs receive cost-based reimbursement through the federal Flex program with the goal to improve quality and access to health care. Reports on quality of care (QOC) and factors that influence quality in CAHs are mixed. This study compared QOC and factors that influence QOC in CAHs and other rural hospitals. Sample: 385 staff nurses in 6 CAHs and 9 other rural hospitals in North Carolina and Virginia. Method: Descriptive cross-sectional design using nurse surveys aggregated to the hospital level, data from provider of services file, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research files. Variables on community, hospital, and nursing unit characteristics, the nurse work environment, nurse rated QOC and community perception of hospital quality were compared using t-test or chi-square. Findings: There were no differences in the majority of factors influencing QOC. A culture of safety, the nurse work environment, and QOC were rated high in all hospitals. Compared to other rural hospitals CAHs tend to be located in communities with better economic status and their nurses had more years of nursing experience. More nurses in CAHs felt their community recognized their hospital as a good place for minor health issues and would recommend the hospital to family and friends. Conclusions: The high ratings of QOC were accompanied with the presence of safety cultures and work environments rated as highly as in Magnet hospitals. The lower poverty levels in communities with CAHs suggest possible community financial benefits from CAHs. More studies are warranted to explore these relationships. Further reporting to public quality indicator databases by all CAHs should be encouraged and QOC measures relevant for small rural hospitals should be developed

Understandings and social practices of medications for Zimbabwean households in New Zealand

Medications are a central part of health care. How medications are understood and used by people in everyday life remains unclear. This study looks at understanding and social practices of medications in everyday life for Zimbabwean households in New Zealand. This project investigates understandings of medications and their use, taking account of all forms of medications, medical drugs, alternative medicines, traditional medicines and dietary supplements. Four Zimbabwean migrant families who all reside in Hamilton took part in this study. Data were collected using a variety of methods which included individual interviews with the families, household discussions, photographs, diaries, material objects, and media content to capture the complex and fluid nature of popular understandings and use of medications. This research provides insight into the cultural values and practices of these four families pertaining to how they acquired, used, shared, and stored indigenous and biomedical medications. Four key themes were identified: the preference of biomedical over traditional medications, storage, sharing and safety of medications; availability and affordability of medications; and the influence of the media in making decisions to purchase medications. Knowledge of how meanings are linked to the things people do with medications will inform strategies for ensuring that medication use is safe and effective

Job satisfaction in relation to communication in health care among nurses : a narrative review and pratical recommendations

Worldwide, nurse shortage and high turnover rates are observed. Job satisfaction is a major determinant of retention and is influenced by intraorganizational communication and perceived communication satisfaction. This article presents a narrative review on communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, and their mutual relationship as well as their impact on turnover intention and burnout risk in the nursing profession. A literature search was conducted in the databases PubMed, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library, and 47 articles were included. Descriptive analysis identified different types of social networks in the health care workplace. There is a positive association between communication and job satisfaction among nurses, translating into decreased turnover intention and burnout risk. Job satisfaction is required both for organizational stability as for coguaranteeing patient safety. This will be best achieved through an organization-wide multimodal prevention and intervention program, aimed at optimizing different modalities of interprofessional communication, workload, and job satisfaction

Psychiatric Boarding in New Hampshire: Violation of a Statutory Right to Treatment

[Excerpt] New Hampshire law provides for the involuntary commitment of a patient such as Jane when she is a danger to herself or others as a result of mental illness. The patient has a right to treatment under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 135-C:1, et seq. Specifically, the patient should receive adequate and humane treatment pursuant to an individual service plan and in the least restrictive environment necessary. However, appropriate facilities often are not available for patients waiting in emergency rooms, and patients can become trapped for hours or even days. This phenomenon is called psychiatric boarding. New Hampshire is not alone in providing a statutory right to treatment, and the problem of psychiatric boarding is common in other states. While enforcement of statutory rights to treatment often is elusive, the Washington Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling on psychiatric boarding in August 2014, finding that it violated the state laws protecting involuntarily committed patients. Could the Washington court\u27s rationale lead to similar conclusions in other states? Looking to New Hampshire as an example, the state statutes for commitment and treatment rights are analogous to Washington\u27s, and this suggests that the Washington ruling could prove a valuable precedent for barring psychiatric boarding in other states. This Note will compare Washington\u27s involuntary commitment law to New Hampshire\u27s, argue that psychiatric boarding is illegal under New Hampshire law, and propose solutions for complying with the statute, including the continued implementation of community-based services. If New Hampshire implemented its statutory scheme as written, it would satisfy patients\u27 rights to treatment. tion of community-based services. If New Hampshire implemented its statutory scheme as written, it would satisfy patients\u27 rights to treatment

Advanced training systems

Training is a major endeavor in all modern societies. Common training methods include training manuals, formal classes, procedural computer programs, simulations, and on-the-job training. NASA's training approach has focussed primarily on on-the-job training in a simulation environment for both crew and ground based personnel. NASA must explore new approaches to training for the 1990's and beyond. Specific autonomous training systems are described which are based on artificial intelligence technology for use by NASA astronauts, flight controllers, and ground based support personnel that show an alternative to current training systems. In addition to these specific systems, the evolution of a general architecture for autonomous intelligent training systems that integrates many of the features of traditional training programs with artificial intelligence techniques is presented. These Intelligent Computer Aided Training (ICAT) systems would provide much of the same experience that could be gained from the best on-the-job training