An action research study of clinical leadership, engagement and team effectiveness in working across NHS boundaries.

Clinical leadership and engagement across organisational boundaries has been gaining significant attention over the last few years. Within the NHS, there has been an increased focus within policy directives and the literature on partnership working, collaborations, cross-organisation and cross-profession working. These innovative ways of working are a means of improving the quality and co-ordination of patient care across the pathway, thus influencing the patients’ experience. Despite this focus, the evidence of what constitutes and therefore what can deliver effective inter-organisational clinical leadership and engagement within this context is sparse. This paper identifies the characteristics and impact of effective clinical leadership, clinical engagement and team effectiveness when working across organisational boundaries. The paper demonstrates that there are significant improvements in the delivery of healthcare and patient experience when clinicians work effectively across the whole of the patient pathway, spanning organisational boundaries. Guidelines on critical areas for future development and sustainability is expounded upon as an outcome of this study

Quantum Gravity Corrections to the One Loop Scalar Self-Mass during Inflation

We compute the one loop corrections from quantum gravity to the self-mass-squared of a massless, minimally coupled scalar on a locally de Sitter background. The calculation was done using dimensional regularization and renormalized by subtracting fourth order BPHZ counterterms. Our result should determine whether quantum gravitational loop corrections can significantly alter the dynamics of a scalar inflaton.Comment: 47 pages, 3 figures, 20 tables, uses LaTeX 2 epsilon, version 2 revised for publication in Physical Review

A field study for assessing risk-contingent credit for Kenyan pastoralists and dairy farmers

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility of risk-contingent credit (RCC) by presenting an experimental and participatory game designed to explain the concept of RCC to Kenyan pastoralists and dairy farmers. The paper investigates the uptake potential of RCC through qualitative assessment of field experiments and focus groups. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a method of community engagement through a participatory game played in a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The paper also presents theoretical justification of RCC in credit market structure. Findings: The game effectively explains the concept and mechanism of RCC by reflecting local situation and production potential. Participatory exercises within focus group discussions indicate that there exists a strong interest and support for RCC. Research limitations/implications: The methodology described in this paper can be used in extension programs for promoting innovative rural microcredit in developing countries but should be modified according to the local production and associated weather and market risks. Originality/value: Micro-insurance and credit program delivery can be improved by the innovative approach of community engagement for explaining financial products

Computing the Primordial Power Spectra Directly

The tree order power spectra of primordial inflation depend upon the norm-squared of mode functions which oscillate for early times and then freeze in to constant values. We derive simple differential equations for the power spectra, that avoid the need to numerically simulate the physically irrelevant phases of the mode functions. We also derive asymptotic expansions which should be valid until a few e-foldings before first horizon crossing, thereby avoiding the need to evolve mode functions from the ultraviolet over long periods of inflation.Comment: 11 pages, uses LaTex2

The Parameterized Post-Friedmann Framework for Theories of Modified Gravity: Concepts, Formalism and Examples

A unified framework for theories of modified gravity will be an essential tool for interpreting the forthcoming deluge of cosmological data. We present such a formalism, the Parameterized Post-Friedmann framework (PPF), which parameterizes the cosmological perturbation theory of a wide variety of modified gravity models. PPF is able to handle spin-0 degrees of freedom from new scalar, vector and tensor fields, meaning that it is not restricted to simple models based solely on cosmological scalar fields. A direct correspondence is maintained between the parameterization and the underlying space of theories, which allows us to build up a `dictionary' of modified gravity theories and their PPF correspondences. In this paper we describe the construction of the parameterization and demonstrate its use through a number of worked examples relevant to the current literature. We indicate how the formalism will be implemented numerically, so that the dictionary of modified gravity can be pitted against forthcoming observations.Comment: 24 pages, updated to match version published in PRD. Discussion of section 4 extended. Suggestions for the busy reader are given at the end of section