Modeling Musical Capabilities – Guitar Playing

While it is possible for one to detect a person’s dexterity upon an instrument visually, auditorily and sometimes even kinaesthetically, it is the hypothesis here that there are other sets of skills which are just as important to musical capability as the manual technique applied when playing the instrument. Modeling is a process whereby an observer gathers information about the activity of a system with the aim of constructing a generalised description (a model) of how that system works. The purpose of this study is to identify strategies and patterns in how musicians organized their experience of the world around them and then acted in that world so that we may gain some new insights on how they operate. In order to get relevant data, direct observation and interview were employed. For this purpose three exemplar were selected. With each of them an in-depth interview was conducted (videotaped). All the components of the schema were elicited, using an interview schedule (Darlington & Scott, 2002, 141), which followed Dilts logical level model (Dilts, 1998). At the end of the interview each exemplar was asked to perform a piece of music for a live observation of exemplar achieving their results (Frost, 2011)

Allergy skin testing with nonirritating concentrations of anesthetic agents

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions to anesthetic agents are rare, but with a worrying morbidity and mortality rate. Allergy evaluation is mandatory when hypersensitivity reactions to anaesthetic agents are suspected. Skin prick tests and intradermal tests are important tools due to their clinical utility in establishing the diagnosis of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity and evaluation of cross-reactivity. This article presents, for informational purposes only, the nonirritating concentrations of general anesthetics and adjuvant agents, neuromuscular blocking agents and agents used in local and regional anesthesia, used in clinical practice for allergy skin testing according to international guidelines. The delayed hypersensitivity adverse reactions can be assessed by patch testing. Concentrations used for such skin testing with topical anesthetic agents from the European baseline series, international comprehensive baseline series and medicament series, are also presented

Are Tattooing Indicators of Dark Personalities? An Analysis of Body Modification within the Framework of Dark Triad of Personality

There are several displays commonly labeled as body modifications, including body piercings, scarification, tattoos, cutting, etc. In this study, we were focused on one distinct form of body modification, namely tattoos. The current exploratory study investigated the connection between body modifications (BM) and Dark Triad personality for a sample of 77 university students with BM, compared to a control group of 77 non-BM individuals. Three self-administrated questionnaires were used to collect the data: Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Short Form, Mach-IV scale, and Narcissistic Personality Inventory. The findings suggest that subclinical psychopathy is most strongly connected to body modifications. An increased number of tattoos was also significantly correlated with a higher level of anti-sociality. Participants with visible body modifications had significantly higher affective callousness and overall self-reported subclinical psychopathy levels, compared with individuals with non-visible alterations

Exploring the Knowledge Management Impact on Business Education

Knowledge management developed in the last decades as a dynamic symbiosis between science and art with significant implications on business and business education. Knowledge management operates within the organizational management, but it focuses on intangible resources, which are distinguished from the tangible ones as a result of their abstraction, metaphorical semantic, and nonlinearity. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the impact of knowledge management on business education through the mediation of academic curriculum and the influence of the business environment. The methodology is based on both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative phase focuses on a critical literature search and a semantic analysis of the main concepts and ideas, which allowed us to construct the research model and design a questionnaire addressed to business students and professors. The quantitative approach uses the statistical software packages SPSS 26.0 version, including the PROCESS macro for SPSS version 3.5 and the known reliability, validation, and interpretation criteria. Findings show that knowledge management impacts business education through the mediation of the academic curriculum and the influence of the business environment. The originality of the present research comes from the dynamics between knowledge management and business education and the research model’s design

Life-Cycle and Seismic Fragility Assessment of Code-Conforming Reinforced Concrete and Steel Structures in Bucharest, Romania

Abstract In this article, the fragility of reinforced concrete and steel structures in Bucharest, a city of high seismic hazard, designed using the recent building codes in Romania, is assessed. A total of 24 reinforced concrete and steel structures with heights varying from five stories to 13 stories were analyzed. Their seismic fragility was evaluated using two procedures from the literature. In the first procedure (SPO2FRAG), the fragility was derived based on the pushover curves using the SPO2IDA algorithm, while in the second procedure (FRACAS), the fragility was derived from nonlinear time-history analyses. The analyzed structures were designed for three levels of peak ground accelerations, corresponding to mean return periods of 100, 225, and 475 years. Subsequently, the damage assessment of the analyzed structures was performed using ground motions generated from a Monte-Carlo simulated earthquake catalogue for the Vrancea intermediate-depth seismic source. The damage degrees that were estimated using the SPO2FRAG approach are higher than those estimated using the FRACAS approach. The life-cycle analysis of the structures shows that a further increase of the design peak ground acceleration for Bucharest is feasible from an economic point of view using the SPO2FRAG results. However, based on the FRACAS results, the opposite conclusion can be drawn. Finally, generic lognormal fragility functions are proposed as a function of building height and structural system

Serial Multiple Mediation of the Impact of Customer Knowledge Management on Sustainable Product Innovation by Innovative Work Behavior

Customer knowledge management (CKM) is a relatively new research domain, aiming at exploring the potential of customer knowledge for the open innovation process of companies. The present paper aims at performing a complex analysis of the serial mediation phenomenon of the impact of CKM on sustainable product innovation (SPI) by innovative work behavior (IWB). The dimensions considered for IWB in the present research are the following: idea exploration, idea generation, idea championing, and idea implementation. In the first phase of our research, we performed a semantic analysis of the main concepts, ideas, and theories, based on a critical literature review. Thus, we reached a deeper understanding of the complexity of the concept of knowledge by learning the theory of knowledge fields and knowledge dynamics. As a result of this conceptual phase, we designed the research model and a questionnaire to be addressed to managers from the business environment. In the quantitative phase of the present research, we used the statistical software packages, SPSS version 26.0, and the PROCESS macro for SPSS, version 3.5. We used well-known criteria for reliability, validation, and interpretation of the numerical results. The final results demonstrate a significant serial mediation phenomenon regarding the impact of CKM on SPI by the IWB. These results are important in developing the co-creation process of new products by using customer knowledge. The present research reveals some original ideas concerning the impact of CKM on SPI by using a serial mediation process performed by basic innovative work dimensions. The implications of the present research are significant for both academics and practitioners in designing open innovation in knowledge ecosystems

Serial Multiple Mediation of the Impact of Customer Knowledge Management on Sustainable Product Innovation by Innovative Work Behavior

Customer knowledge management (CKM) is a relatively new research domain, aiming at exploring the potential of customer knowledge for the open innovation process of companies. The present paper aims at performing a complex analysis of the serial mediation phenomenon of the impact of CKM on sustainable product innovation (SPI) by innovative work behavior (IWB). The dimensions considered for IWB in the present research are the following: idea exploration, idea generation, idea championing, and idea implementation. In the first phase of our research, we performed a semantic analysis of the main concepts, ideas, and theories, based on a critical literature review. Thus, we reached a deeper understanding of the complexity of the concept of knowledge by learning the theory of knowledge fields and knowledge dynamics. As a result of this conceptual phase, we designed the research model and a questionnaire to be addressed to managers from the business environment. In the quantitative phase of the present research, we used the statistical software packages, SPSS version 26.0, and the PROCESS macro for SPSS, version 3.5. We used well-known criteria for reliability, validation, and interpretation of the numerical results. The final results demonstrate a significant serial mediation phenomenon regarding the impact of CKM on SPI by the IWB. These results are important in developing the co-creation process of new products by using customer knowledge. The present research reveals some original ideas concerning the impact of CKM on SPI by using a serial mediation process performed by basic innovative work dimensions. The implications of the present research are significant for both academics and practitioners in designing open innovation in knowledge ecosystems

Group setting: formation criteria and size of training groups, frequency of meetings

The chapter discusses the procedures to conduct a group counselling addressed to underachieving university students. It provides suggestions about the frequency of the sessions, the "ideal" size of the group and about how to adopt narrative media with small group of participants. Moreover, it underlines difficulties in managing group boundaries and work with the group-as-a-whol

INSTALL Project process: formative experiences in three European countries

The sixth chapter—INSTALL Project process: Formative experiences in three European countries (G. Esposito, A. Cannata, D.F. Stănescu, and J. González-Monteagudo)—describes significant phases in the educational programs in the partner countries, the difficulties encountered, and the strategies adopted to address these problems. This chapter is an account of experiences that have similar connotations because of the same training methodology (Narrative Mediation Path), regardless of the different topics covered in the various countries and differences in the participating students. The chapter presents excerpts and accounts of significant experiences that occurred in the various narrative modes (metaphoric, iconographic, writing, and bodily). The training process is re-read and critically analyzed through the Formative Process Account (FPA), which consists of a shared criteria grid for the analysis of the process (e.g., strengths and weakness of the narrative modes, role and functions of the Narrative Group Trainer, dynamics and functions of the group, passages of reflection, and reflexivity)