1,246 research outputs found
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Participants’ perspectives of feasibility of a novel group treatment for people with cognitive communication difficulties following acquired brain injury
Purpose: To determine whether treatment was acceptable to participants and perceived as beneficial by exploring the experiences of people with cognitive communication difficulties following acquired brain injury who participated in a novel, group, communication, project-based treatment. The purpose of the treatment was to improve participants’ communication skills and quality of life, by focusing group activity towards the production of a project and by incorporating individualised communication goals into group sessions.
Methods: Twenty-one people with acquired brain injury recruited from community settings participated in project-based treatment, which comprised one individual and nine group sessions (of 2-3 people) over six weeks. Structured interviews were conducted post-treatment as part of a broader assessment battery. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis to identify codes, categories and themes.
Results: Themes identified from the analysis centred around the treatment experience (general experience; group experience; project experience; working on goals) and benefit of treatment (communicative benefit; other benefits; emotional effects; meeting others; something to do). These themes were consistent with the treatment being perceived as acceptable and having initial efficacy for the participant group.
Conclusion: The qualitative data presented here provide positive feasibility findings (acceptability and initial efficacy) of project-based treatment for people with acquired brain injury. The results
highlight the value of incorporating participants’ views in assessing feasibility in developing novel interventions
Convolution of multifractals and the local magnetization in a random field Ising chain
The local magnetization in the one-dimensional random-field Ising model is
essentially the sum of two effective fields with multifractal probability
measure. The probability measure of the local magnetization is thus the
convolution of two multifractals. In this paper we prove relations between the
multifractal properties of two measures and the multifractal properties of
their convolution. The pointwise dimension at the boundary of the support of
the convolution is the sum of the pointwise dimensions at the boundary of the
support of the convoluted measures and the generalized box dimensions of the
convolution are bounded from above by the sum of the generalized box dimensions
of the convoluted measures. The generalized box dimensions of the convolution
of Cantor sets with weights can be calculated analytically for certain
parameter ranges and illustrate effects we also encounter in the case of the
measure of the local magnetization. Returning to the study of this measure we
apply the general inequalities and present numerical approximations of the
D_q-spectrum. For the first time we are able to obtain results on multifractal
properties of a physical quantity in the one-dimensional random-field Ising
model which in principle could be measured experimentally. The numerically
generated probability densities for the local magnetization show impressively
the gradual transition from a monomodal to a bimodal distribution for growing
random field strength h.Comment: An error in figure 1 was corrected, small additions were made to the
introduction and the conclusions, some typos were corrected, 24 pages,
LaTeX2e, 9 figure
Orbits and phase transitions in the multifractal spectrum
We consider the one dimensional classical Ising model in a symmetric
dichotomous random field. The problem is reduced to a random iterated function
system for an effective field. The D_q-spectrum of the invariant measure of
this effective field exhibits a sharp drop of all D_q with q < 0 at some
critical strength of the random field. We introduce the concept of orbits which
naturally group the points of the support of the invariant measure. We then
show that the pointwise dimension at all points of an orbit has the same value
and calculate it for a class of periodic orbits and their so-called offshoots
as well as for generic orbits in the non-overlapping case. The sharp drop in
the D_q-spectrum is analytically explained by a drastic change of the scaling
properties of the measure near the points of a certain periodic orbit at a
critical strength of the random field which is explicitly given. A similar
drastic change near the points of a special family of periodic orbits explains
a second, hitherto unnoticed transition in the D_q-spectrum. As it turns out, a
decisive role in this mechanism is played by a specific offshoot. We
furthermore give rigorous upper and/or lower bounds on all D_q in a wide
parameter range. In most cases the numerically obtained D_q coincide with
either the upper or the lower bound. The results in this paper are relevant for
the understanding of random iterated function systems in the case of moderate
overlap in which periodic orbits with weak singularity can play a decisive
role.Comment: The article has been completely rewritten; the title has changed; a
section about the typical pointwise dimension as well as several references
and remarks about more general systems have been added; to appear in J. Phys.
A; 25 pages, 11 figures, LaTeX2
The Revolving Door in International Investment Arbitration
Abstract It is often claimed that international investment arbitration is marked by a revolving door: individuals act sequentially and even simultaneously as arbitrator, legal counsel, expert witness, or tribunal secretary. If this claim is correct, it has implications for our understanding of which individuals possess power and influence within this community; and ethical debates over conflicts of interests and transparency concerning ‘double hatting’—when individuals simultaneously perform different roles across cases. In this article, we offer the first comprehensive empirical analysis of the individuals that make up the entire investment arbitration community. Drawing on our database of 1039 investment arbitration cases (including ICSID annulments) and the relationships between the 3910 known individuals that form this community, we offer the first use of social network analysis to describe the full investment arbitration community and address key sociological and normative questions in the literature. Our results partly contradict recent empirical scholarship as we identify a different configuration of central ‘power brokers’. Moreover, the normative concerns with double hatting are partly substantiated. A select but significant group of individuals score highly and continually on our double hatting index.</jats:p
Backlash and State Strategies in International Investment Law
This book provides an important corrective to existing theories of international law by focusing on how states respond to increased legalisation and rely on legal expertise to manoeuvre within and against international law
Nonequilibrium phase transitions in finite arrays of globally coupled Stratonovich models: Strong coupling limit
A finite array of globally coupled Stratonovich models exhibits a
continuous nonequilibrium phase transition. In the limit of strong coupling
there is a clear separation of time scales of center of mass and relative
coordinates. The latter relax very fast to zero and the array behaves as a
single entity described by the center of mass coordinate. We compute
analytically the stationary probability and the moments of the center of mass
coordinate. The scaling behaviour of the moments near the critical value of the
control parameter is determined. We identify a crossover from linear
to square root scaling with increasing distance from . The crossover point
approaches in the limit which reproduces previous results
for infinite arrays. The results are obtained in both the Fokker-Planck and the
Langevin approach and are corroborated by numerical simulations. For a general
class of models we show that the transition manifold in the parameter space
depends on and is determined by the scaling behaviour near a fixed point of
the stochastic flow
The randomly driven Ising ferromagnet, Part I: General formalism and mean field theory
We consider the behavior of an Ising ferromagnet obeying the Glauber dynamics
under the influence of a fast switching, random external field. After
introducing a general formalism for describing such systems, we consider here
the mean-field theory. A novel type of first order phase transition related to
spontaneous symmetry breaking and dynamic freezing is found. The
non-equilibrium stationary state has a complex structure, which changes as a
function of parameters from a singular-continuous distribution with Euclidean
or fractal support to an absolutely continuous one.Comment: 12 pages REVTeX/LaTeX format, 12 eps/ps figures. Submitted to Journal
of Physics
Using short-term postseismic displacements to infer the ambient deformation conditions of the upper mantle
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophyscial Research 117 (2012): B01409, doi:10.1029/2011JB008562.To interpret short-term postseismic surface displacements in the context of key ambient conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, background strain rate, water content, creep mechanism), we combined steady state and transient flow into a single constitutive relation that can explain the response of a viscoelastic material to a change in stress. The flow law is then used to investigate mantle deformation beneath the Eastern California Shear Zone following the 1999 M7.1 Hector Mine earthquake. The flow law parameters are determined using finite element models of relaxation processes, constrained by surface displacement time series recorded by 55 continuous GPS stations for 7 years following the earthquake. Results suggest that postseismic flow following the Hector Mine earthquake occurs below a depth of ~50 km and is controlled by dislocation creep of wet olivine. Diffusion creep models can also explain the data, but require a grain size (3.5 mm) that is smaller than the inferred grain size (10–20 mm) based on the mantle conditions at these depths. In addition, laboratory flow laws predict dislocation creep would dominate at the stress/grain size conditions that provide the best fit to diffusion creep models. Model results suggest a transient creep phase that lasts ~1 year and has a viscosity ~10 times lower than subsequent steady state flow, in general agreement with laboratory observations. The postseismic response is best explained as occurring within a relatively hot upper mantle (e.g., 1200–1300°C at 50 km depth) with a long-term background mantle strain rate of 0.1–0.2 μstrain/yr, consistent with the observed surface strain rate. Long-term background shear stresses at the top of the mantle are ~4 MPa, then decrease with depth to a minimum of 0.1–0.2 MPa at 70 km depth before increasing slowly with depth due to the pressure dependence of viscosity. These conditions correspond to a background viscosity of 1021 Pa s within a thin mantle lid that decreases to ~5 × 1019 Pa s within the underlying asthenosphere. This study shows the utility of using short-term postseismic observations to infer long-term mantle conditions that are not readily observable by other means.This work was supported by the National
Science Foundation grants EAR-0952234 (A.M.F.), EAR-0810188 (G.H.),
and EAR-0854673 (M.D.B.).2012-07-3
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Setting and achieving individualised social communication goals for people with acquired brain injury (ABI) within a group treatment
Background and Aims: Cognitive-communication disorders are common following an acquired brain injury (ABI). Remediation should involve individualised goal setting, yet few reports describe the effectiveness of setting communication goals in a group setting. This paper aims to describe a process for setting and achieving goals for people with ABI.
Methods and Procedures: Twenty-one participants with ABI participated in a group treatment (triads and dyads) over 6 weeks (20 hours in total). Specific social communication goals were set using Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) with the participant and their communication partner. Goals targeted strategy use that accounted for existing cognitive abilities. The participant and their communication partner evaluated the goals post-treatment and 6-8 weeks later. Data was analysed using Friedman’s Test to identify achievement of GAS goals.
Outcomes and Results: Twenty participants recalled goals independently post-treatment. Significant improvement post-treatment on GAS goals was rated by both the participant (p<0.001) and their communication partner (p<0.001). This improvement was maintained at follow-up. No significant differences in ratings were found between participants and their communication partners at either time point.
Conclusions and implications: Individualised social communication goals can be set and achieved for people with ABI in group treatment, even when participants are several years post-injury. GAS offers a method for structuring and quantifying goal progress. Involving communication partners and cognitive strategies were effective in improving communication
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