Developing a model to predict aircraft maintenance performance

[Abstract]: A three-pronged approach was adopted to the investigation of causes of maintenance errors in army aviation. In the first phase of the research, analysis of maintenance incident reports suggested that individuals were mostly at fault, making errors because they failed to follow procedures and were inadequately supervised. Interviews with maintenance technicians, on the other hand, put the spotlight on organisational variables, such as pressures created by poor planning. In the third phase, a survey instrument administered to 448 maintenance workers was used to develop a structural model that predicted 34% of the variance in psychological health, 16% of the variance in turnover intentions, and 16% of the variance in self-reported maintenance errors. Implications of these findings are discussed

Flexible Ultrathin PolyDVB/EVB Composite Membranes for the Optimization of a Whole Blood Glucose Sensor.

An ultrathin composite membrane has been developed as the outer covering barrier in a model amperometric glucose oxidase enzyme electrode. The membrane was formed by cathodic electropolymerization of divinylbenzene/ethylvinylbenzene at the surface of a gold coated polyester support membrane. Permeability coefficients were determined for O2 and glucose across membranes with a range of polymer thicknesses. Anionic interferents (such as ascorbate), were screened from the working electrode via a charge exclusion mechanism. The enzyme electrode showed an initial 10% signal drift when first exposed to whole human blood over a period of 2 hours, after which responses remained essentially stable. Whole blood patient glucose determinations yielded a correlation coefficient of r2=0.99 compared to standard hospital analyses

Sonochemically fabricated microelectrode arrays for biosensors. Part II. Modification with a polysiloxane coating

A polymer modified sonochemically fabricated glucose oxidase microelectrode array with microelectrode population densities of up to 2.5 x 105 microelectrodes cm-2 is reported. These microelectrode sensors were formed by first depositing an insulating film on commercial screen printed electrodes which was subsequently sonicated to form cavities of regular sizes in the film. Electropolymerisation of aniline at the microelectrode cavities formed polyaniline protrusions containing entrapped glucose oxidase. Chemical deposition of polysiloxane from dichlorodimethysilane was used to deposit a thin protective and diffusion mass transport controlling coating over the electrodes. The physical and electrochemical properties of these films were studied. The performance of the final glucose oxidase based microelectrode sensor array is reported

Electrochemical detection of TNT at cobalt phthalocyanine mediated screen-printed electrodes and application to detection of airborne vapours

We describe the use of cobalt phthalocyanine as a mediator to improve the sensitivity for the electrochemical detection of TNT. Commercial screen-printed electrodes containing cobalt phthalocyanine were employed for determination of TNT. Improved sensitivities compared to screen-printed carbon electrodes without phthalocyanine were observed, current response for cyclic voltammetric measurements at modified electrodes being at least double that of unmodified electrodes. A synergistic effect between oxygen and TNT reduction was also observed. Correlation between TNT concentrations and sensor output was observed between 0–200 µM TNT. Initial proof-of-concept experiments combining electrochemical determinations, with the use of an air-sampling cyclone, are also reported

Strain-Rate Frequency Superposition in Large-Amplitude Oscillatory Shear

In a recent work, Wyss, {\it et.al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett., {\bf 98}, 238303 (2007)] have noted a property of `soft solids' under oscillatory shear, the so-called strain-rate frequency superposition (SRFS). We extend this study to the case of soft solids under large-amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS). We show results from LAOS studies in a monodisperse hydrogel suspension, an aqueous gel, and a biopolymer suspension, and show that constant strain-rate frequency sweep measurements with soft solids can be superimposed onto master curves for higher harmonic moduli, with the {\it same} shift factors as for the linear viscoelastic moduli. We show that the behavior of higher harmonic moduli at low frequencies in constant strain-rate frequency sweep measurements is similar to that at large strain amplitudes in strain-amplitude sweep tests. We show surface plots of the harmonic moduli and the energy dissipation rate per unit volume in LAOS for soft solids, and show experimentally that the energy dissipated per unit volume depends on the first harmonic loss modulus alone, in both the linear and the nonlinear viscoelastic regime.Comment: 10 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review E. Incorporates referee comment

Australian Midwifery Students\u27 Views about Profession-Specific Peer Mentoring

Midwifery is one of the most demanding professions there is, and midwifery students can find coping with the practice aspect of their course difficult. Mentoring is one way of supporting health clinicians’ emotional wellbeing; to date however, there is little research on mentoring for midwifery students. In this study, the aim of which was to discover midwifery students’ views of profession-related peer mentoring, qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 21 midwifery students at one Australian university. Analysis of the data revealed that most participants felt they would benefit from and would like to know more about mentoring. The qualitative themes, ‘Support’ and ‘Knowledge and Guidance’, convey the challenges to being mentored in the clinical area as well as participants’ ‘ideal mentor’ profile. Further work to conceptualise and test a robust clinical mentorship matrix for midwifery students is required

Improving refugee well-being with better language skills and more intergroup contact

The effects of intergroup contact on prejudice are well established. However, its effects on minority group well-being have been rarely studied. We hypothesised that contact with members of the majority culture will be related to better well-being, and that this is facilitated by majority language proficiency. We tested this hypothesis in a three-wave longitudinal study of refugees over two years (N = 180). Cross-lagged path modelling confirmed that intergroup contact at earlier time points was associated with increased well-being at later time points; the reverse associations (from earlier well-being to later contact) were not reliable. Self-rated earlier English language competence was positively associated with later intergroup contact (but not the reverse), suggesting that improving majority language proficiency might be the key to better well-being of refugees, with intergroup contact being the mediator between language and well-being

Believing is achieving: a longitudinal study of self-efficacy and positive affect in resettled refugees

Research has shown that self-efficacy can play an important role in recovery from trauma (Benight and Bandura 2004). We hypothesised that for refugees, whose (often traumatic) experiences pre- and post-resettlement have been linked to a decrease in their wellbeing (e.g., Aspinall and Watters 2010), self-efficacy would play a key role in improving wellbeing. This paper investigates the link between self-efficacy and positive affect among resettled refugees (N = 180). Research used mixed methods. The longitudinal survey with three time points confirmed that higher levels of general self-efficacy were consistently associated with better positive affect at later time points. The reverse effects, from positive affect to later self-efficacy, were not significant. In addition, qualitative interviews with a subsample provide suggestions as to how self-efficacy of refugees might be improved: that is, by improving access to employment and language classes, by clarifying how British social and cultural systems work, including the practical information necessary to navigate daily life, and by providing more opportunities to increase social networks, all suggesting the necessity of a proactive role of the receiving society

Reviewing the Development of Self- Concept: Implications for an Enhanced Model

[2017-2018 UNCG University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund Grant Winner] According to the multiple self-aspects framework, self-concept structure is highly influenced by overlap between self-aspects, and affective spillover may occur when affective reactions to feedback in one domain affect the highly overlapping self-aspects. We review the literature on this framework focusing on developmental implications, and present evidence that trait and emotion information is organized into a self-concept structure at an early age. Further, we propose ways in which examining self-concept contents and structure may inform our understanding of children’s motivation and emotion regulation, the organization of self-aspects across development, and the refinement of models of the emergence and development of self-views