13,751 research outputs found
Establishing links between organizational climate, employee well-being and historical patient outcomes
This research undertaken in collaboration with Queensland Health analysed the links between dimensions of workplace climate/employee well-being contained in a number of
Queensland Health databases, including the Patient Satisfaction Survey, the Clinical Incident database, the compliments and complaints database, the Variable Life Adjusted Display (VLAD) Database and the Better Workplaces
Staff Opinion Survey database. Queensland Health sought to identify in what ways workplace climate is related to patient outcomes using existing datasets collected within the Queensland Health Centre for Healthcare Improvement. The process of establishing links involved matching aggregated data for specific facilities (where possible), or failing that, larger facilities (e.g. Hospital), or the Health Service District. Once the datasets had been matched on location or facility, correlations were calculated between the aggregated scores. The results demonstrated links between the data sets. These links showed that a better workplace climate is associated with greater reported numbers of clinical incidents, especially “no harm” clinical incidents. There was also a link between workplace climate and patient compliments/complaints which show that unsolicited compliments received from patients and their families are clearly related to a number of positive aspects of workplace climate (workplace morale, role clarity, and appraisal and recognition) and individual
morale. The results linking workplace climate and patient satisfaction showed that there is a strong positive relationship between overall patient satisfaction and role clarity, and a negative relationship between overall patient satisfaction and both workplace distress and
excessive work demands. While these results relate to historical data and therefore should not be construed to reflect the current state of operation within Queensland Health, they are still indicative of some very important
relationships. This is the first study to demonstrate that more positive clinical management practices, better perceptions of the workplace climate and better employee
well-being are a reflection of a better incident reporting and learning culture in a health care organization, ultimately resulting in improved patient outcomes
Branching process approach for Boolean bipartite networks of metabolic reactions
The branching process (BP) approach has been successful in explaining the
avalanche dynamics in complex networks. However, its applications are mainly
focused on unipartite networks, in which all nodes are of the same type. Here,
motivated by a need to understand avalanche dynamics in metabolic networks, we
extend the BP approach to a particular bipartite network composed of Boolean
AND and OR logic gates. We reduce the bipartite network into a unipartite
network by integrating out OR gates, and obtain the effective branching ratio
for the remaining AND gates. Then the standard BP approach is applied to the
reduced network, and the avalanche size distribution is obtained. We test the
BP results with simulations on the model networks and two microbial metabolic
networks, demonstrating the usefulness of the BP approach
A CMOS-Based Lab-on-Chip Array for Combined Magnetic Manipulation and Opto-Chemical Sensing
Accepted versio
Coarsening Dynamics of Granular Heaplets in Tapped Granular Layers
A semi-continuum model is introduced to study the dynamics of the formation
of granular heaplets in tapped granular layers. By taking into account the
energy dissipation of collisions and screening effects due to avalanches, this
model is able to reproduce qualitatively the pattern of these heaplets. Our
simulations show that the granular heaplets are characterised by an effective
surface tension which depends on the magnitude of the tapping intensity. Also,
we observe that there is a coarsening effect in that the average size of the
heaplets, V grows as the number of taps k increases. The growth law at
intermediate times can be fitted by a scaling function V ~ k^z but the range of
validity of the power law is limited by size effects. The growth exponent z
appears to diverge as the tapping intensity is increased.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Creation and the people of God : creation tradition and the boundaries of the covenant in Second Temple Jewish writings and in Paul's letter to the Galatians.
SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX186858 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
Predicting Seismic Liquefaction Using Neural Networks
Neural networks have emerged as a powerful computational technique for modeling nonlinear multivariate relationships. The neural network is a product of artificial intelligence research. This paper examines the feasibility of using neural networks for assessing liquefaction potential, from actual field records. The paper starts with a brief overview of the basic architecture and concepts of neural networks. The application of the neural network methodology to evaluate seismic liquefaction potential is then presented
Strong suppression of superconductivity by divalent Ytterbium Kondo-holes in CeCoIn_5
To study the nature of partially substituted Yb-ions in a Ce-based Kondo
lattice, we fabricated high quality Ce_{1-x}Yb_xCoIn_5 epitaxial thin films
using molecular beam epitaxy. We find that the Yb-substitution leads to a
linear decrease of the unit cell volume, indicating that Yb-ions are divalent
forming Kondo-holes in Ce_{1-x}Yb_xCoIn_5, and leads to a strong suppression of
the superconductivity and Kondo coherence. These results, combined with the
measurements of Hall effect, indicate that Yb-ions act as nonmagnetic impurity
scatters in the coherent Kondo lattice without serious suppression of the
antiferromagnetic fluctuations. These are in stark contrast to previous studies
performed using bulk single crystals, which claim the importance of valence
fluctuations of Yb-ions. The present work also highlights the suitability of
epitaxial films in the study of the impurity effect on the Kondo lattice.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Development of the Interactive Whiteboard Acceptance Scale (IWBAS): An initial study
The purposes of this study were to develop and to conduct an initial psychometric evaluation of the Interactive Whiteboard Acceptance Scale (IWBAS). The process of item-generation for the IWBAS was carried out through the sequential mixed-method approach. A total of 149 student teachers from a teacher-education institution in Australia participated in the project. The principal component analysis (PCA) yielded a five-factor model comprising 14 items, and its factorial validity was confirmed through the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using structural equation modelling (SEM). The IWBAS reached the minimum thresholds for an acceptable model fit. In addition to the factorial validities, the convergent validity and discriminant validity of the IWBAS were examined, both showing satisfactory validity and good internal consistency for all five constructs. On this basis, the IWBAS can be considered a valid and reliable instrument designed specifically for assessing IWB acceptance among student teachers
A box-covering algorithm for fractal scaling in scale-free networks
A random sequential box-covering algorithm recently introduced to measure the
fractal dimension in scale-free networks is investigated. The algorithm
contains Monte Carlo sequential steps of choosing the position of the center of
each box, and thereby, vertices in preassigned boxes can divide subsequent
boxes into more than one pieces, but divided boxes are counted once. We find
that such box-split allowance in the algorithm is a crucial ingredient
necessary to obtain the fractal scaling for fractal networks; however, it is
inessential for regular lattice and conventional fractal objects embedded in
the Euclidean space. Next the algorithm is viewed from the cluster-growing
perspective that boxes are allowed to overlap and thereby, vertices can belong
to more than one box. Then, the number of distinct boxes a vertex belongs to is
distributed in a heterogeneous manner for SF fractal networks, while it is of
Poisson-type for the conventional fractal objects.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, a proceedings of the conference, "Optimization
in complex networks." held in Los Alamo
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