Team Leadership Approaches for Corporate Project Managers

The study of Critical and Creative Thinking (C&CT) methods introduced me to a number of new approaches and tools that have vital and practical applications for today’s corporate team leaders. The primary purpose of my paper and the Genuity Inc. case example, is to demonstrate how these C&CT approaches and tools can be used by corporate team leaders to motivate, direct and lead their teams. Towards this end I have organized my paper into two major sections: 1) In the first, I lay the groundwork by defining the challenges facing today’s project managers and the cross-functional teams they lead. 2) In the second section, I introduce and discuss C&CT concepts for analyzing and defining thinking styles of team members, and how this knowledge can be used by project managers for more effective leadership. The concepts covered will help team leaders address the wide range of challenges they face today. These concepts include the conceptual blocks to better problem solving, including common barriers to creative thinking, cultural blocks, emotional blocks, perceptual blocks, and intellectual blocks, as described by James Adams in Conceptual Blockbusting, a Guide to Better Ideas

Exploring Resiliency and Family Functioning for Families of Premature Infants

The impact of a premature birth on a family is a crisis requiring a process of adjustment and adaptation. The Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (RMFAA) describe this process for families and was the conceptual framework for the current study. A modified model of the RMFAA was used to explore family resiliency for Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) families of premature infants through the identification of protective and recovery factors. The aims of the current study explored the association between protective and recovery factors and family functioning. Biological mothers of premature infants (\u3c 37 weeks gestational age) and one other family member, who identified as either NHB or NHW were recruited in five separate Level III or IV neonatal intensive care units. Fifty-five NHW (N = 110) and 24 NHB (N = 48) families completed five scales that assessed their use of protective and recovery factors and their perception of family functioning. Mean scores for family functioning indicated that most family members viewed themselves as functioning effectively at that point in time. Specific demographic variables (age, education and income) were not significantly correlated with any of the protective and recovery variables from the scales and subscales. The subscale for the Family Inventory of Resources for Management (FIRM), Financial Well-Being, was moderately correlated with income for NHW. . Six subscales with the strongest correlations to family functioning from the four instruments as well as the covariates of income, education, and race were entered in a hierarchical regression analysis to predict family functioning. The prediction model was statistically significant F (9, 145) = 26.26, p = .00, and accounted for approximately 60% of the variance of family functioning. The subscales Strengths I (β = -.44, t (5.24), p = .00), a measure of family esteem, respect, communication, mutual assistance, problem-solving and autonomy, and Commitment (β = -.32, t (5.24), p = .00), which measured dependability and the ability to work together were the strongest predictors of family functioning. In the final model, race was not a statistically significant predictor. The assessment of protective and recovery factors appear relevant to the support and development of resiliency in families of premature infants. The optimal development of the premature infant is dependent on effective family functioning. Nursing assessment of resiliency factors to influence nursing interventions support family development and may affect family functioning

Discharge Teaching, Readiness for Discharge, and Post-discharge Outcomes in Parents of Hospitalized Children

Purpose This study explored the sequential relationships of parent perceptions of the quality of their discharge teaching and nurse and parent perceptions of discharge readiness to post-discharge outcomes (parental post-discharge coping difficulty, readmission and emergency department visits). Design/methods In this secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal pilot study of family self-management discharge preparation, the correlational design used regression modeling with data from a convenience sample of 194 parents from two clinical units at a Midwest pediatric hospital. Data were collected on the day of discharge (Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale; Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale), at 3 weeks post-discharge (Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale), and from electronic records (readmission, ED visits). Results Parent-reported quality of discharge teaching delivery (the way nurses teach), but not the amount of content, was positively associated with parent perception (B = 0.54) and nurse assessment (B = 0.16) of discharge readiness. Parent-reported discharge readiness was negatively associated with post-discharge coping difficulty (B = − 0.52). Nurse assessment of discharge readiness was negatively associated with readmission; a one point increase in readiness (on a 10 point scale) decreased the likelihood of readmission by 52%. Conclusion There is a sequential effect of quality of discharge teaching delivery on parent discharge readiness, which is associated with parent coping difficulty and child readmission. Practice Implications Efforts to improve discharge outcomes should include strategies to build nurse teaching skills for high-quality delivery of discharge teaching. In addition, routine nurse assessment of discharge readiness can be used to identify children at risk for readmission and trigger anticipatory interventions

Random boundaries: quantifying segmentation uncertainty in solutions to boundary-value problems

Engineering simulations using boundary-value partial differential equations often implicitly assume that the uncertainty in the location of the boundary has a negligible impact on the output of the simulation. In this work, we develop a novel method for describing the geometric uncertainty in image-derived models and use a naive method for subsequently quantifying a simulation's sensitivity to that uncertainty. A Gaussian random field is constructed to represent the space of possible geometries, based on image-derived quantities such as pixel size, which can then be used to probe the simulation's output space. The algorithm is demonstrated with examples from biomechanics where patient-specific geometries are often segmented from low-resolution, three-dimensional images. These examples show the method's wide applicability with examples using linear elasticity and fluid dynamics. We show that important biomechanical outputs of these example simulations, namely maximum principal stress and wall shear stress, can be highly sensitive to realistic uncertainties in geometry

Development of a Self‐Management Theory‐Guided Discharge Intervention for Parents of Hospitalized Children

Background Parents of hospitalized children, especially parents of children with complex and chronic health conditions, report not being adequately prepared for self‐management of their child\u27s care at home after discharge. Problem No theory‐based discharge intervention exists to guide pediatric nurses\u27 preparation of parents for discharge. Purpose To develop a theory‐based conversation guide to optimize nurses\u27 preparation of parents for discharge and self‐management of their child at home following hospitalization. Methods Two frameworks and one method influenced the development of the intervention: the Individual and Family Self‐Management Theory, Tanner\u27s Model of Clinical Judgment, and the Teach‐Back method. A team of nurse scientists, nursing leaders, nurse administrators, and clinical nurses developed and field tested the electronic version of a nine‐domain conversation guide for use in acute care pediatric hospitals. Conclusions The theory‐based intervention operationalized self‐management concepts, added components of nursing clinical judgment, and integrated the Teach‐Back method. Clinical Relevance Development of a theory‐based intervention, the translation of theoretical knowledge to clinical innovation, is an important step toward testing the effectiveness of the theory in guiding clinical practice. Clinical nurses will establish the practice relevance through future use and refinement of the intervention

Nurse Researchers in Children\u27s Hospitals

Little is known about the role of nurse researchers (NRs) and the structure of nursing research programs in children\u27s hospitals in the United States. This descriptive study obtained survey data from 33 NRs. Data suggest that the NR role is emerging and has both commonalities and unique components when compared with the previous studies of NRs in adult hospitals. Most participants have been in their position for less than 4 years. Conducting research, having staff development related to research, and facilitating evidence-based practice or research were common responsibilities. The structure of nursing research programs impacts both the NRs and the program outcomes

Development of a prediction tool for utility boiler performance

Coal combustion looks set to continue in the near future, however, with the pressure being put on power generators, by the UK government, to reduce carbon emissions, ways of reducing CO2 emissions are constantly being sought Co-firing of biomass in pulverised coal-fired boilers is one possible solution. An investigation into this technology has been carried out with particular attention being paid to combustion modelling techniques. Following a comprehensive review of related literature two tasks were carried out the simulation of a 500kW downfired furnace using the FLUENT CFD code, and the development of a universal boiler performance prediction tool. During the CFD task, blends of 5%* and 10%th sewage sludge and pure coal were simulated. Particle impaction rates were predicted on two deposition probes however, the task highlighted the need to produce a high quality computational grid as part of the modelling process. In the second task empirical correlations, later to be replaced by artificial neural networks, were derived, which could predict the temperature profile, deposition performance and corrosion performance of a full-scale boiler. These models were tested using predictions for the 618MWth Langerlo boiler and the 1316MWth Cottham boiler, producing consistent results. These results were found to satisfy what was expected from the literature