Partnering with healthcare: The experiences of consumer representatives

The importance of consumer advocacy in person-centred healthcare service planning and delivery is growing. In Australia, the role of the Consumer Representative (known internationally as Patient and Family Advisors ) is to advocate for patients and their families\u27 needs to improve service planning, healthcare design, and service evaluation. As the role of consumer representatives evolves and matures within the healthcare setting, it is crucial to comprehend their experiences and identify key insights to support and enhance their role within healthcare organizations. To achieve this, a focus group of four Consumer Representatives was conducted and their views were compiled into a single commentary. Our findings suggest that Consumers Representatives are driven by a desire to assist others, but they may feel dissatisfied if their role is perceived as tokenistic or lacks meaningful engagement. Consumer Representatives suggested various ways to improve consumer participation, including role clarification, meeting facilitation, and the development of supportive consumer networks. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Patient, Family & Community Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://www.theberylinstitute.org/ExperienceFramework). Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

Longitudinal Double Spin Asymmetry in Inclusive Jet Production at STAR

This contribution reports on the first measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry $A_{LL}$ for the inclusive production of jets in polarized proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200 \mathrm{GeV}$. The data were collected with STAR at RHIC in the years 2003 and 2004, and correspond to a sampled integrated luminosity of $0.3 \mathrm{pb}^{-1}$ with beam polarizations up to 45%. The results on $A_{LL}$ cover jet transverse momenta $5 < p_{T} < 17 \mathrm{GeV/c}$ and agree with perturbative QCD evaluations based on deep-inelastic scattering parametrizations for the gluon polarization in the proton. The results disfavor large positive gluon polarization in the polarized proton.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

New Challenges to Hydrodynamics from Azimuthal Anisotropy at RHIC

This paper presents $v_{4}/v_{2}^2$ ratio as a function of transverse momentum ($p_{t}$), pseudorapidity ($\eta$) and collision centrality in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV using the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). It is found that $v_{4}/v_{2}^2$ is larger than Hydrodynamic calculations, the centrality and transverse dependence of this ratio can not be fully described by Hydrodynamics, and the pseudorapidity dependence is opposite to what one expects from Hydrodynamics. The $p_{t}$ dependence of $v_{1}$ is also presented. It is found that $v_{1}(p_{t})$ for $|\eta|<1.3$ changes sign, and two possible explanations of the sign change are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. CIPANP 06 proceedin

An Integrated Tracker for STAR

The STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider RHIC studies the new state of matter produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions and the spin structure of the nucleon in collisions of polarized protons. In order to improve the capabilities for heavy flavor measurements and the reconstruction of charged vector bosons an upgrade of the tracking system both in the central and the forward region is pursued. The integrated system providing high resolution tracking and secondary vertex reconstruction capabilities will use silicon pixel, strip and GEM technology.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 9th Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP 2006), Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, May 30 - June 3, 200

Inclusive Hadron Production in p+p Collisions at STAR

The STAR experiment at RHIC has measured a variety of inclusive hadron cross sections in $p+p$ collisions at Sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. Measurements of the differential cross section for inclusive charged pion production at mid rapidity and for inclusive neutral pion production at forward rapidity (3.0 < eta < 4.2) as well as the first preliminary result from STAR for the differential cross section for inclusive neutral pion production near mid rapidity are presented. These cross sections are compared to next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and can provide constraints on the pion fragmentation functions. Good agreement between data and pQCD has been found for all three cross sections.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to be published in the Proceedings of the 9th Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP 2006), Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, May 30 - June 3, 2006, v2 with updated reference

Hill's Equation with Random Forcing Parameters: The Limit of Delta Function Barriers

This paper considers random Hill's equations in the limit where the periodic forcing function becomes a Dirac delta function. For this class of equations, the forcing strength $q_k$, the oscillation frequency \af_k, and the period are allowed to vary from cycle to cycle. Such equations arise in astrophysical orbital problems in extended mass distributions, in the reheating problem for inflationary cosmologies, and in periodic Schr{\"o}dinger equations. The growth rates for solutions to the periodic differential equation can be described by a matrix transformation, where the matrix elements vary from cycle to cycle. Working in the delta function limit, this paper addresses several coupled issues: We find the growth rates for the $2 \times 2$ matrices that describe the solutions. This analysis is carried out in the limiting regimes of both large $q_k \gg 1$ and small $q_k \ll 1$ forcing strength parameters. For the latter case, we present an alternate treatment of the dynamics in terms of a Fokker-Planck equation, which allows for a comparison of the two approaches. Finally, we elucidate the relationship between the fundamental parameters (\af_k,q_k) appearing in the stochastic differential equation and the matrix elements that specify the corresponding discrete map. This work provides analytic -- and accurate -- expressions for the growth rates of these stochastic differential equations in both the $q_k \gg1$ and the $q_k \ll 1$ limits.Comment: 29 pages, 3 figures, accepted to Journal of Mathematical Physic

Enhancing Communication Within Multi-Generational organizations

In order to capture the essence of employee dynamics within the ever-changing landscape of modern organizations, a naturalistic inquiry using a holistic approach was employed. This technique emphasized the millennial generation’s communication strengths as compared to those of previous generation workers. The perceptions of millennial students, millennial workers, multi-generational managers, university professors, and IT professionals were analyzed through a constant, comparative analysis and grouped so that grounded theory was allowed to emerge. The products of this inquiry include practical solutions aimed at reducing the uncertainty for multi-generational managers, specifically regarding the supervision of younger generation workers. In addition, the results of this study suggest that traditional business communication practices, when coupled with an increased use of information and communication technologies that are specifically designed to bolster collaboration and interpersonal communication, have the potential to maximize internal and external communication effectiveness. The data collected within this study provided an overview of the underlying values and perceptions behind millennial behavior. This synopsis, captured through millennial focus groups and face-to-face interviews, acquiesces to the literature surrounding the millennial generation. As outwardly portrayed, the individuals within this study are technically advanced, goal-oriented people who want the freedom and balance to work efficiently and effectively. In addition, the millennials used herein respect the traditional organizational structure, but only to the limit that its hierarchical nature does not stunt innovation achieved through adaptability and collaboration

Asymmetric Quark/Antiquark Hadronization in e+e- Annihilation

We point out that the fragmentation of a strange quark into nucleons versus antinucleons is not necessarily identical $D_{p/s}(z,Q^2) \neq D_{\bar p/s}(z,Q^2)$, even though the perturbative contributions from gluon splitting and evolution are $p \leftrightarrow \bar p$ symmetric. The observation of such asymmetries in the hadronization of strange and other heavy quarks can provide insight into the nonperturbative mechanisms underlying jet fragmentation in QCD.Comment: Latex, 12 page

Positivity Constraints for Spin-Dependent Parton Distributions

We derive new positivity constraints on the spin-dependent structure functions of the nucleon. These model independent results reduce conside\-rably their domain of allowed values, in particular for the chiral-odd parton distribution $h_1 (x)$.Comment: 8 pages,CPT-94/P.3059,LaTex,3 fig available on cpt.univ-mrs.fr directory pub/preprints/94/fundamental-interactions/94-P.305