Characteristics of Continuous EEG Programs in the Critical Care Setting

Introduction. The use of cEEG in the care of critically ill patients is increasing. A 2014 survey of neurophysiologists described cEEG practices (Gavvala et al, 2014), but further characterization has been lacking. This study explores the structure of cEEG programs in the adult critical care setting. Methods. We conducted 21 in-depth interviews from 13 institutions that use cEEG in the adult critical care setting and additionally surveyed 36 physicians to provide information about their institutions. The interview and survey questions addressed cEEG program structure and processes. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a directed content analysis approach. Results. The interviewees and survey respondents reported the characteristics of their institutions, fellowship programs, and their own practices in reading cEEG. There was variability between institutions in terms of resources available and structure of the programs. Most interviewees and respondents reported use of the ACNS nomenclature for cEEG reporting but consistency of use was variable. The majority reported using quantitative EEG with variable application. The process of communication regarding cEEG varied, with some institutions utilizing a more defined structure of communication. Conclusion. Despite the growing demand for cEEG, program structure and practices varied between institutions. There remains a need for defining parameters for cEEG program structures between institutions with different characteristics. The lack of uniformity between programs must be considered given the widespread use of cEEG in clinical decision-making for critically ill patients. In order to ensure health equity and effective systems, there must be standardization across hospitals

The Effect of Continuous Running Training Programs and Interval Training Programs in Improving Physical Fitness

This study carried out an in-depth analysis of two popular physical training programs: continuous running and interval training. The research method involved a number of statistical tests, including checking the normality of data distribution, uniformity analysis, and independent T tests. Participants from both training programs were used to gain a more detailed understanding of the nature of each program and comparisons of performance between the two. The analysis results show that continuous running approaches a normal data distribution, indicating data stability and consistency. Meanwhile, the finding that performance variability was similar across the two programs led to new insights into the consistency of performance within the groups. The main finding was the superiority of continuous running in performance gains, with average scores consistently higher than interval training. This indicates the potential of continuous running in increasing physical capacity and endurance. The practical implications are relevant for the design of exercise programs, providing guidance for coaches and individuals seeking improved physical performance. Although the results show the superiority of continuous running, interval training may require adapting strategies to achieve better results. This research also opens up opportunities for further research, especially in understanding the factors that influence achievement in these two training programs. Further exploration of variations in training duration, intensity and frequency in the context of both could provide new insights into the world of fitness and sport. These findings provide a strong empirical basis for decisions regarding physical exercise programs, support data-driven decision making, and provide insight into scientific approaches in guiding more effective and efficient physical exercise practices

Organisational culture in airworthiness management programs: Developing a measurement model

All civil and private aircraft are required to comply with the airworthiness standards set by their national airworthiness authority and throughout their operational life must be in a condition of safe operation. Aviation accident data shows that over twenty percent of all fatal accidents in aviation are due to airworthiness issues, specifically aircraft mechanical failures. Ultimately it is the responsibility of each registered operator to ensure that their aircraft remain in a condition of safe operation, and this is done through both effective management of airworthiness activities and the effective program governance of safety outcomes. Typically, the projects within these airworthiness management programs are focused on acquiring, modifying and maintaining the aircraft as a capability supporting the business. Program governance provides the structure through which the goals and objectives of airworthiness programs are set along with the means of attaining them. Whilst the principal causes of failures in many programs can be traced to inadequate program governance, many of the failures in large scale projects can have their root causes in the organisational culture and more specifically in the organisational processes related to decision-making. This paper examines the primary theme of project and program based enterprises, and introduces a model for measuring organisational culture in airworthiness management programs using measures drawn from 211 respondents in Australian airline programs. The paper describes the theoretical perspectives applied to modifying an original model to specifically focus it on measuring the organisational culture of programs for managing airworthiness; identifying the most important factors needed to explain the relationship between the measures collected, and providing a description of the nature of these factors. The paper concludes by identifying a model that best describes the organisational culture data collected from seven airworthiness management programs

Development and validation of the social emotional competence questionnaire (SECQ)

Reliable and valid measures of children’s and adolescents’ social emotional competence (SEC) are necessary to develop in order to assess their social emotional development and provide appropriate intervention in child and adolescent development. A pool of 25 items was created for the Social Emotional Competence Questionnaire (SECQ) that represented five dimensions of SEC: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship management and responsible decision-making. A series of four studies are reported relating to the development and validation of the measure. Confirmatory factor analyses of the responses of 444 fourth-graders showed an acceptable fit of the model. The model was replicated with another 356 secondary school students. Additional studies revealed good internal consistency. The significant correlations among the five SEC components and academic performance provided evidence for the predictive validity of the instrument. With multiple samples, these results showed that the scale holds promise as a reliable, valid measure of SECpeer-reviewe

Making an Impact: Formalizing Outcome-Driven Grantmaking: Lessons From the Hewlett Population Program

Offers lessons learned and recommendations from Hewlett's experience developing a measurable outcome and scope, researching the field, creating a logic model, metrics, and targets; and comparing the expected social return of potential investments

WRI's Governance Strategy, 2016-2020

Transparent, effective, accountable governance is critical to ensuring that development benefits people and the planet. The Governance Center of Excellence works with civil society, governments, development agencies, businesses, and other institutions to improve decision-making processes and legal frameworks. Our goal is to empower people and strengthen institutions to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable decision-making.In many countries, citizens and communities face social and environmental injustices that can leave them without a say in the development decisions that affect their lives and the resources they depend on.As a global leader on environmental governance, the Governance Center uses data and research to institutionalize fundamental democratic principles - such as transparency, participation, and accountability - into decision-making processes, policies, and legal frameworks. The Governance Center is divided into five practice areas—climate resilience, environmental democracy, energy governance, natural resource governance and urban governance— where our work is concentrated on six priority issues: climate, energy, food, forests, water, and cities

Advancing Alternative Analysis: Integration of Decision Science.

Decision analysis-a systematic approach to solving complex problems-offers tools and frameworks to support decision making that are increasingly being applied to environmental challenges. Alternatives analysis is a method used in regulation and product design to identify, compare, and evaluate the safety and viability of potential substitutes for hazardous chemicals.Assess whether decision science may assist the alternatives analysis decision maker in comparing alternatives across a range of metrics.A workshop was convened that included representatives from government, academia, business, and civil society and included experts in toxicology, decision science, alternatives assessment, engineering, and law and policy. Participants were divided into two groups and prompted with targeted questions. Throughout the workshop, the groups periodically came together in plenary sessions to reflect on other groups' findings.We conclude the further incorporation of decision science into alternatives analysis would advance the ability of companies and regulators to select alternatives to harmful ingredients, and would also advance the science of decision analysis.We advance four recommendations: (1) engaging the systematic development and evaluation of decision approaches and tools; (2) using case studies to advance the integration of decision analysis into alternatives analysis; (3) supporting transdisciplinary research; and (4) supporting education and outreach efforts

Integrating patients' views into health technology assessment: Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as a method to elicit patient preferences

Background: Patient involvement is widely acknowledged to be a valuable component in health technology assessment (HTA) and healthcare decision making. However, quantitative approaches to ascertain patients' preferences for treatment endpoints are not yet established. The objective of this study is to introduce the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as a preference elicitation method in HTA. Based on a systematic literature review on the use of AHP in health care in 2009, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) initiated an AHP study related to its HTA work in 2010. - \ud Methods: The AHP study included two AHP workshops, one with twelve patients and one with seven healthcare professionals. In these workshops, both patients and professionals rated their preferences with respect to the importance of different endpoints of antidepressant treatment by a pairwise comparison of individual endpoints. These comparisons were performed and evaluated by the AHP method and relative weights were generated for each endpoint. - \ud Results: The AHP study indicates that AHP is a well-structured technique whose cognitive demands were well handled by patients and professionals. The two groups rated some of the included endpoints of antidepressant treatment differently. For both groups, however, the same six of the eleven endpoints analyzed accounted for more than 80 percent of the total weight. - \ud Conclusions: AHP can be used in HTA to give a quantitative dimension to patients' preferences for treatment endpoints. Preference elicitation could provide important information at various stages of HTA and challenge opinions on the importance of endpoints

Preventing Delinquency Through Improved Child Protection Services

Research indicates that the prevalence of child abuse or neglect among delinquent offenders is substantially greater than it is among the general population. Moreover, maltreated children are significantly more likely to become involved in delinquent behavior than their nonmaltreated peers, and delinquent youth with a history of abuse or neglect are more likely to continue their offending behavior than delinquents who have not suffered child abuse or neglect. Given the links between child maltreatment and juvenile offending, designing and implementing programs to reduce the incidence of child maltreatment as a means of preventing delinquency are a promising -- though often overlooked -- strategy.After reviewing what is known about the links between childhood maltreatment and juvenile and adult offending, the authors review OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders and examine the role that child protective services' prevention efforts can play in delinquency prevention and intervention