Practice activity trends among oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Australia

© 2004 Brennan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to describe practice activity trends among oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Australia over time. METHODS: All registered oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Australia were surveyed in 1990 and 2000 using mailed self-complete questionnaires. RESULTS: Data were available from 79 surgeons from 1990 (response rate = 73.8%) and 116 surgeons from 2000 (response rate = 65.1%). The rate of provision of services per visit changed over time with increased rates observed overall (from 1.43 ± 0.05 services per visit in 1990 to 1.66 ± 0.06 services per visit in 2000), reflecting increases in pathology and reconstructive surgery. No change over time was observed in the provision of services per year (4,521 ± 286 services per year in 1990 and 4,503 ± 367 services per year in 2000). Time devoted to work showed no significant change over time (1,682 ± 75 hours per year in 1990 and 1,681 ± 94 hours per year in 2000), while the number of visits per week declined (70 ± 4 visits per week in 1990 to 58 ± 4 visits per week in 2000). CONCLUSIONS: The apparent stability in the volume of services provided per year reflected a counterbalancing of increased services provided per visit and a decrease in the number of visits supplied.David S Brennan, A John Spencer, Kiran A Singh, Dana N Teusner and Alastair N Gos

Centralized vs. decentralized computing : organizational considerations and management options

The long-standing debate over whether to centralize or decentralize computing is examined in terms of the fundamental organizational and economic factors at stake. The traditional debate is examined and found to focus predominantly on issues of efficiency vs. effectiveness, with solutions based on a rationalistic strategy of optimizing in this tradeoff. A more behavioralistic assessment suggests that the driving issues in the debate are the politics of organization and resources, centering on the issue of control. The economics of computing deployment decisions is presented as an important issue, but one that often serves as a field of argument that is based on more political concerns. The current situation facing managers of computing, given the advent of small and comparatively inexpensive computers, is examined in detail, and a set of management options for dealing with this persistent issue is presented

Mechanism of magnetic field effect on hydrocarbon systems

Purpose. The aim is to analyze the problem of preventing the asphalt-resin-paraffin deposits (ARPD) in the oil industry equipment and to justify application of paraffin control methods; to review modern approaches to ARPD problem and possible methods of its solution; to analyze existing methods of hydrocarbons ‘treatment by magnetic field. Methods. Investigations showed that application of magnetic anti-paraffin device (MAPD) makes it possible (during 24-hour operation of the oil well) to double the time between overhauls of oil wells equipped with sucker rod pump installations. Findings. The results obtained due to MAPD application in oil wells equipped with sucker rod pumps give an opportunity to use it in oilfield practice employing free-flow production method or in wells serviced by centrifugal pumps and in oil pipe lines. Originality. Application of up-to-date magnets with poles from 60 to160 kA/m enables to decrease ARPD in oil equipment. Practical implications. The results of MAPD implementation at Boryslav field, in particular in wells No 1343, 797, 948 proved the efficiency of the device application and doubled the overhaul period. Magnetic field effect on hydrocarbons is analyzed in the article.Мета. Проаналізувати ефективність застосування магнітного поля на вуглеводневі системи. Викласти сучасні погляди на стан проблеми асфальтосмолистопарафінових відкладень (АСПВ) у нафтопромисловому обладнанні та можливі методи її розв’язання. Подати короткий перелік існуючих методів обробки вуглеводневих систем магнітним полем. Методика. Дослідами встановлено, що застосування МАП (магнітного антипарафінового пристрою) дає можливість (при цілодобовому режимі роботи свердловини) в середньому збільшити у два рази міжремонтний період роботи нафтових свердловин, які обладнанні штанговими свердловинними насосними установками. Результати. Отримані результати використання МАП у нафтових свердловинах, які обладнанні штанговими свердловинними насосними установками, дають можливість використовувати його у нафтопромисловій практиці при експлуатації свердловин фонтанним способом або свердловин, що експлуатуються електровідцентровими насосами, а також на нафтопроводах. Наукова новизна. Використання новітніх магнітів з багатореверсними полями від 60 до 160 кА/м дозволяє зменшити відклади АСПО на нафтовому обладнанні. Практична значимість. Результати впровадження МАП на Бориславському родовищі, а зокрема на свердловинах №1343, 797, 948, довели ефективність використання даного пристрою, що призвело до збільшення міжремонтного періоду у два рази.Цель. Проанализировать эффективность применения магнитного поля на углеводородные системы. Изложить современные взгляды на состояние проблемы асфальтосмолистопарафиновых отложений (АСПО) в нефтепромышленном оборудовании и возможные методы ее решения. Привести краткий перечень существующих методов обработки углеводородных систем магнитным полем. Методика. Опытами установлено, что применение МАП (магнитного антипарафинового устройства) дает возможность (при круглосуточном режиме работы скважины) в среднем увеличить в два раза межремонтный период работы нефтяных скважин, оборудованных штанговыми скважинными насосными установками. Результаты. Полученные результаты использования МАП в нефтяных скважинах, оборудованных штанговыми скважинными насосными установками, дают возможность использовать его в нефтепромысловой практике при эксплуатации скважин фонтанным способом или скважин, эксплуатируемых центробежными насосами, а также на нефтепроводах. Научная новизна. Использование новейших магнитов с многореверсными полями от 60 до 160 кА/м позволяет уменьшить отложения АСПО на нефтяном оборудовании. Практическая значимость. Результаты внедрения МАП на Бориславском месторождении, а в частности на скважинах №1343, 797, 948, доказали эффективность данного устройства, что привело к увеличению межремонтного периода в два раза.The present study would have been impossible without support from PJSC “Ukrnafta”, oil and gas production unit “Boryslavnaftogaz”. We express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to perform tests on Boryslavnaftogaz oil fields

Special Libraries, Winter 1986

Volume 77, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1986/1000/thumbnail.jp

Information Outlook, August 2005

Volume 9, Issue 8https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2005/1007/thumbnail.jp

A comparative study of the function of heterospecific vocal mimicry in European passerines

Although heterospecific vocal imitation is well documented in passerines, the evolutionary correlates of this phenomenon are poorly known. Here, we studied interspecific variation in vocal mimicry in a comparative study of 241 European songbirds. We tested whether vocal mimicry is a mode of repertoire acquisition or whether it resulted from imperfect song learning. We also investigated the effect of the degree of contact with the vocal environment (with species having larger ranges, abundance, or being long lived having a higher degree of mimicry) and a possible link with cognitive capacity (an overall larger brain in species with mimicry). Finally, we determined the potential evolutionary role of vocal mimicry in different interspecific contexts, predicting that mimicry may affect the intensity of brood parasitism, predation, or degree of hybridization. While controlling for research effort and phylogenetic relationships among taxa, we found that effect sizes for intersong interval, brain size, breeding dispersal, abundance, age-dependent expression of repertoires, and predation risk reached a level that may indicate evolutionary importance. Vocal mimicry seems to be a consequence of song continuity rather than song complexity, may partially have some cognitive component but may also be dependent on the vocal environment, and may attract the attention of predators. However, estimates of sexual selection and interspecific contacts due to brood parasitism and hybridization varied independently of vocal mimicry. Therefore, mimicry may have no function in female choice for complex songs and may be weakly selected via interspecific associations. These findings provide little evidence for vocal mimicry having evolved to serve important functions in most birds

Introduction

Husserl’s philosophy, by the usual account, evolved through three stages: 1. development of an anti-psychologistic, objective foundation of logic and mathematics, rooted in Brentanian descriptive psychology; 2. development of a new discipline of "phenomenology" founded on a metaphysical position dubbed "transcendental idealism"; transformation of phenomenology from a form of methodological solipsism into a phenomenology of intersubjectivity and ultimately (in his Crisis of 1936) into an ontology of the life-world, embracing the social worlds of culture and history. We show that this story of three revolutions can provide at best a preliminary orientation, and that Husserl was constantly expanding and revising his philosophical system, integrating views in phenomenology, ontology, epistemology and logic with views on the nature and tasks of philosophy and science as well as on the nature of culture and the world in ways that reveal more common elements than violent shifts of direction. We argue further that Husserl is a seminal figure in the evolution from traditional philosophy to the characteristic philosophical concerns of the late twentieth century: concerns with representation and intentionality and with problems at the borderlines of the philosophy of mind, ontology, and cognitive science

Knowledge Cartography: Software tools and mapping techniques

Knowledge Cartography is the discipline of mapping intellectual landscapes.The focus of this book is on the process by which manually crafting interactive, hypertextual maps clarifies one’s own understanding, as well as communicating it.The authors see mapping software as a set of visual tools for reading and writing in a networked age. In an information ocean, the primary challenge is to find meaningful patterns around which we can weave plausible narratives. Maps of concepts, discussions and arguments make the connections between ideas tangible and disputable. With 17 chapters from the leading researchers and practitioners, the reader will find the current state–of-the-art in the field. Part 1 focuses on educational applications in schools and universities, before Part 2 turns to applications in professional communitie