Project communication variables : a comparative study of US and UK industry perceptions

Research undertaken at the Construction Industry Institute (CII) in the USA has indicated the need for project managers to focus their attention on six ‘Critical Communication Variables’ as a means of ensuring the fulfillment of time cost and quality targets. These variables refer to the accuracy, timeliness and completeness of information presented to participants, as well as the level of understanding, barriers to and procedures for project based communication. The findings and tools generated by the CII study have been used as part of case study based research examining construction projects in the Central Belt region of Scotland. In addition to the CII data collection tools employed, the Scottish study included semi-structured interviews as a means of contextualising the communication and decision-making taking place. This paper presents the results of this benchmarking exercise, and highlights significant issues that project team members need to improve upon in order to achieve the timeliness quality and cost required in today’s construction industr

Signs and classrooms : historical perspectives on the role of signs in human development, with particular reference to an urban classroom

Abstract\ud The role of language in development has been a central theme in post-war English. However, the European history of ideas about the role of signs has been insufficiently appreciated. I aim to enrich readings of contemporary urban classrooms by recovering something of this history. As the culmination of this work, I trace the story of a poem, written by a Black student in a London classroom, back into the history of discussions and debates that a class conducted with itself over five years. From perspectives provided by the history of ideas and recent work in social memory, I show how the student's representation of a childhood recollection (a visit to the site of a former plantation) was mediated and shaped by 'pedagogical artefacts'. I give a history of one such artefact as an instance of the role of signs in a contemporary classroom.\ud A picture of language as human invention was drawn in the first instance during the European Enlightenment. From this picture a seminal theory about the role of signs in the mastery of mental operations emerged. On this view, memory and imagination depend upon signs. In the aftermath to the French Revolution, language was linked to conceptions of citizenship and human advancement. In Germany, the picture of language was redrawn in the light of Kant's epistemology, and connected to an educational ideal of selfcultivation.\ud In the nineteenth century, 'cultural' psychology attempted\ud unsuccessfully to combine a notion of signs in the development of higher mental functions with findings in experimental psychology. Subsequently, the introduction of a distinction between mental 'contents' and mental 'acts' fostered new research into the role of signs in consciousness. Concurrently, an ethical vision of symbolisation as the 'common ground' of humanity issued from a philosophy of symbolic forms. As a whole the thesis seeks to show the continuing relevance of this history

Blue cone monochromacy: causative mutations and associated phenotypes.

PurposeTo perform a phenotypic assessment of members of three British families with blue cone monochromatism (BCM), and to determine the underlying molecular genetic basis of disease.MethodsAffected members of three British families with BCM were examined clinically and underwent detailed electrophysiological and psychophysical testing. Blood samples were taken for DNA extraction. Molecular analysis involved the amplification of the coding regions of the long (L) and medium (M) wave cone opsin genes and the upstream locus control region (LCR) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Gene products were directly sequenced and analyzed.ResultsIn all three families, genetic analysis identified that the underlying cause of BCM involved an unequal crossover within the opsin gene array, with an inactivating mutation. Family 1 had a single 5'-L-M-3' hybrid gene, with an inactivating Cys203Arg (C203R) mutation. Family 3 had an array composed of a C203R inactivated 5'-L-M-3' hybrid gene followed by a second inactive gene. Families 1 and 3 had typical clinical, electrophysiological, and psychophysical findings consistent with stationary BCM. A novel mutation was detected in Family 2 that had a single hybrid gene lacking exon 2. This family presented clinical and psychophysical evidence of a slowly progressive phenotype.ConclusionsTwo of the BCM-causing family genotypes identified in this study comprised different hybrid genes, each of which contained the commonly described C203R inactivating mutation. The genotype in the family with evidence of a slowly progressive phenotype represents a novel BCM mutation. The deleted exon 2 in this family is not predicted to result in a shift in the reading frame, therefore we hypothesize that an abnormal opsin protein product may accumulate and lead to cone cell loss over time. This is the first report of slow progression associated with this class of mutation in the L or M opsin genes in BCM

Disks and Jets : Gravity, Rotation and Magnetic Fields

Magnetic fields are fundamental to the dynamics of both accretion disks and the jets that they often drive. We review the basic physics of these phenomena, the past and current efforts to model them numerically with an emphasis on the jet-disk connection, and the observational constraints on the role of magnetic fields in the jets of active galaxies on all scalesPeer reviewe

Translational Retinal Research and Therapies.

The following review summarizes the state of the art in representative aspects of gene therapy/translational medicine and evolves from a symposium held at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania on November 16, 2017 honoring Dr. Gustavo Aguirre, recipient of ARVO's 2017 Proctor Medal. Focusing on the retina, speakers highlighted current work on moving therapies for inherited retinal degenerative diseases from the laboratory bench to the clinic

Self-reported quality of care for older adults from 2004 to 2011: a cohort study

Background: little is known about changes in the quality of medical care for older adults over time. Objective: to assess changes in technical quality of care over 6 years, and associations with participants' characteristics. Design: a national cohort survey covering RAND Corporation-derived quality indicators (QIs) in face-to-face structured interviews in participants' households. Participants: a total of 5,114 people aged 50 or more in four waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Methods: the percentage achievement of 24 QIs in 10 general medical and geriatric clinical conditions was calculated for each time point, and associations with participants' characteristics were estimated using logistic regression. Results: participants were eligible for 21,220 QIs. QI achievement for geriatric conditions (cataract, falls, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis) was 41% [95% confidence interval (CI): 38–44] in 2004–05 and 38% (36–39) in 2010–11. Achievement for general medical conditions (depression, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, pain and cerebrovascular disease) improved from 75% (73–77) in 2004–05 to 80% (79–82) in 2010–11. Achievement ranged from 89% for cerebrovascular disease to 34% for osteoarthritis. Overall achievement was lower for participants who were men, wealthier, infrequent alcohol drinkers, not obese and living alone. Conclusion: substantial system-level shortfalls in quality of care for geriatric conditions persisted over 6 years, with relatively small and inconsistent variations in quality by participants' characteristics. The relative lack of variation by participants' characteristics suggests that quality improvement interventions may be more effective when directed at healthcare delivery systems rather than individuals

Construction procurement systems : don’t forget murphy’s law!

What can go wrong will go wrong! The rule of ‘Murphy’ can strike any unsuspecting project team and is best not forgotten. This is especially so if we consider the current UK construction industry agenda for performance improvement through a culture of eliminating waste (time, money, labour, materials) and a desire for ‘zero defects.’ This paper demonstrates (using 11 case study construction projects) that Murphy is alive and well on many projects and may indeed be visiting a site near you today. Design and construction professionals were interviewed on each project and information gathered resulted in the formation of a typology for each project. The typology indicated both project enhancing and detrimental events, which had taken place on each project. The typology allowed for the creation of 11 individual project ‘footprints.’ The footprints are compared and contrasted in this paper and reference is made to the procurement route (traditional, D&B and management) used on each project. The concepts of project risk, uncertainty, procurement systems and project success are also discussed

Adverse childhood experiences during childhood and academic attainment at age 7 and 11 years: an electronic birth cohort study

Objectives Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a negative impact on childhood health, but their impact on education outcomes is less well known. We investigated whether or not ACEs were associated with reduced educational attainment at age 7 and 11 years. Study design The study design used in the study is a population-based electronic cohort study. Methods We analysed data from a total population electronic child cohort in Wales, UK. ACEs (exposures) were living with an adult household member with any of (i) serious mental illness, (ii) common mental disorder (CMD), (iii) an alcohol problem; (iv) child victimisation, (v) death of a household member and (vi) low family income. We used multilevel logistic regression to model exposure to these ACEs and not attaining the expected level at statutory education assessments, Key Stage (KS) 1 and KS2 separately, adjusted for known confounders including perinatal, socio-economic and school factors. Results There were 107,479 and 43,648 children included in the analysis, with follow-up to 6–7 years (KS1) and 10–11 years (KS2), respectively. An increased risk of not attaining the expected level at KS1 was associated with living with adult household members with CMD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.13 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–1.17]) or an alcohol problem (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.16 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–1.22]), childhood victimisation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.58 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37–1.82]), death of a household member (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.14 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.25]) and low family income (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.92 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.84–2.01]). Similar results were observed for KS2. Children with multiple adversities had substantially increased odds of not attaining the expected level at each educational assessment. Conclusion The educational potential of many children may not be achieved due to exposure to adversity in childhood. Affected children who come in to contact with services should have relevant information shared between health and care services, and schools to initiate and facilitate a coordinated approach towards providing additional support and help for them to fulfil their educational potential, and subsequent economic and social participation

Evaluation of a patient self-stratification methodology to identify those in need of shielding during COVID-19

The logistical challenges of rapidly and accurately identifying those patients who needed to shield during the COVID-19 pandemic were unprecedented. We report our experiences of meeting this challenge for &gt;9,000 patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease at our centre, incorporating an element of guided patient self-stratification. Our results indicate that patients are able to stratify their own risk accurately using the BSR COVID-19 risk stratification guidance.</p

Faraday tomography of LoTSS-DR2 data: I. Faraday moments in the high-latitude outer Galaxy and revealing Loop III in polarisation

Observations of synchrotron emission at low radio frequencies reveal a labyrinth of polarised Galactic structures. However, the explanation for the wealth of structures remains uncertain due to the complex interactions between the interstellar medium and the magnetic field. A multi-tracer approach to the analysis of large sky areas is needed. This paper aims to use polarimetric images from the LOFAR Two metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) to produce the biggest mosaic of polarised emission in the northern sky at low radio frequencies (150 MHz) to date. The large area this mosaic covers allows for detailed morphological and statistical studies of polarised structures in the high-latitude outer Galaxy, including the well-known Loop III region. We produced a 3100 square degree Faraday tomographic cube using a rotation measure synthesis tool. We calculated the statistical moments of Faraday spectra and compared them with data sets at higher frequencies (1.4 GHz) and with a map of a rotation measure derived from extragalactic sources. The mosaic is dominated by polarised emission connected to Loop III. Additionally, the mosaic reveals an abundance of other morphological structures, mainly {narrow and extended} depolarisation canals, which are found to be ubiquitous. We find a correlation between the map of an extragalactic rotation measure and the LoTSS first Faraday moment image. The ratio of the two deviates from a simple model of a Burn slab (Burn 1966) along the line of sight, which highlights the high level of complexity in the magnetoionic medium that can be studied at these frequencies.Comment: 20 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in A&