1,957 research outputs found
Comparing verbal media for alarm handling: Speech versus textual displays
The rise of computers in command and control domains has meant that control operations can be performed via desk-based visual display terminals. This trend has also produced the potential to display information to operators in a variety of formats. Of particular interest has been the use of text-based displays for alarm presentation. There are possible limitations to the use of text for alarm presentation, not least of which is the need for a dedicated alarms display screen (or, at least, a display page). Given the capability of computers to synthesize speech, it is possible that speech-based alarms could generate the same information as text-based displays without the need for dedicated screen space. In this paper an experimental comparison of speech-based and text-based displays for presentation of alarms is reported. The findings show that speech leads to longer response times than text displays, but that it has minimal effect on the efficacy of fault handling. The results are discussed within the alarm initiated activities framework and implications for alarm system design are outlined
Task analysis for error identification: Theory, method and validation
This paper presents the underlying theory of Task Analysis for Error Identification. The aim is to illustrate the development of a method that has been proposed for the evaluation of prototypical designs from the perspective of predicting human error. The paper presents the method applied to representative examples. The methodology is considered in terms of the various validation studies that have been conducted, and is discussed in the light of a specific case study
Using behavioral economics concepts to increase organizational learning in an NHS hospital
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the dissemination systems that hospitals use to spread information about particular safety incidents can be enhanced using behavioural economics concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
The current service evaluation took place within eight wards in a single acute care hospital. It was conducted as a randomized controlled trial with two groups. In the control group nothing was altered. In the intervention group ward managers received additional support to disseminate information to their nurses. Nurses were randomly selected to be surveyed during their scheduled shifts. The surveys revealed how the nurses learned about particular safety incidents and how many they remembered.
Findings
Nurses in the intervention group were more likely to learn about particular safety incidents than nurses in the control group.
Practical implications
Enhancing common dissemination systems in hospitals can increase organizational learning about safety incidents. The current study presents some means by which dissemination systems can be enhanced.
Originality/value
The current service evaluation is a unique application of behavioural economics concepts to enhance organizational learning of particular adverse safety incidents in an NHS hospital
Supergravity Solution of Intersecting Branes and AdS/CFT with Flavor
We construct the supergravity solution for fully localized D2/D6
intersection. The near horizon limit of this solution is the supergravity dual
of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in 2+1 dimensions with flavor. We use this
solution to formulate mirror symmetry of 2+1 dimensional gauge theories in the
language of AdS/CFT correspondence. We also construct the supergravity dual of
a non-commutative gauge theory with fundamental matter.Comment: 17 Pages, 2 figures, references added. Minor corrections to eqs (5.3)
and (5.4
Updated clinical recommendations for the use of tibolone in Asian women
Tibolone, which is indicated for the relief of climacteric symptoms and the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, has a tissue-specific mode of action different to that of conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). A large proportion of Asian postmenopausal women experience symptoms that most frequently include musculoskeletal pain, insomnia, forgetfulness, hot flushes and sexual dysfunction, and there is a need to address their specific requirements. Recent studies show that, in comparison to HRT, tibolone is as effective in alleviating menopausal symptoms and preventing bone loss, has a greater positive effect on sexual dysfunction and is associated with less vaginal bleeding, but it is rarely mentioned in guidelines for menopausal treatment. Levels of awareness amongst women about treatments for menopausal symptoms vary between Asian countries but, even in countries where awareness is high, HRT usage is much lower than in the West. To provide a practical approach to the use of tibolone in Asian postmenopausal women, a panel of experts in the management of menopause from 11 Asia Pacific countries has developed recommendations for its use, based on the evidence from clinical studies published since 2005. However, as much of the clinical data reviewed are from international studies, the recommendations and the treatment algorithm presented here are widely applicable
A randomised trial of adaptive pacing therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, graded exercise, and specialist medical care for chronic fatigue syndrome (PACE): statistical analysis plan
BACKGROUND: The publication of protocols by medical journals is increasingly becoming an accepted means for promoting good quality research and maximising transparency. Recently, Finfer and Bellomo have suggested the publication of statistical analysis plans (SAPs).The aim of this paper is to make public and to report in detail the planned analyses that were approved by the Trial Steering Committee in May 2010 for the principal papers of the PACE (Pacing, graded Activity, and Cognitive behaviour therapy: a randomised Evaluation) trial, a treatment trial for chronic fatigue syndrome. It illustrates planned analyses of a complex intervention trial that allows for the impact of clustering by care providers, where multiple care-providers are present for each patient in some but not all arms of the trial. RESULTS: The trial design, objectives and data collection are reported. Considerations relating to blinding, samples, adherence to the protocol, stratification, centre and other clustering effects, missing data, multiplicity and compliance are described. Descriptive, interim and final analyses of the primary and secondary outcomes are then outlined. CONCLUSIONS: This SAP maximises transparency, providing a record of all planned analyses, and it may be a resource for those who are developing SAPs, acting as an illustrative example for teaching and methodological research. It is not the sum of the statistical analysis sections of the principal papers, being completed well before individual papers were drafted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN54285094 assigned 22 May 2003; First participant was randomised on 18 March 2005
Social isolation is linked to declining grey matter structure and cognitive functions in the LIFE-Adult panel study
Social isolation has been suggested to increase the risk to develop cognitive decline. However, our knowledge on causality and neurobiological underpinnings is still limited. In this preregistered analysis, we tested the impact of social isolation on central features of brain and cognitive aging using a longitudinal population-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study. Assaying 1335 cognitively healthy participants (50-80 years old, 659 women) at baseline and 895 participants after ∼6 years follow-up, we found baseline social isolation and change in social isolation to be associated with smaller volumes of the hippocampus, reduced cortical thickness and poorer cognitive functions. Combining advanced neuroimaging outcomes with prevalent lifestyle characteristics from a well-characterized population of middle- to older aged adults, we provide evidence that social isolation contributes to human brain atrophy and cognitive decline. Within-subject effects of social isolation were similar to between-subject effects, indicating an opportunity to reduce dementia risk by promoting social networks
Pseudo-potentials and loading surfaces for an endochronic plasticity theory with isotropic damage
The endochronic theory, developed in the early 70s, allows the plastic
behavior of materials to be represented by introducing the notion of intrinsic
time. With different viewpoints, several authors discussed the relationship
between this theory and the classical theory of plasticity. Two major
differences are the presence of plastic strains during unloading phases and the
absence of an elastic domain. Later, the endochronic plasticity theory was
modified in order to introduce the effect of damage. In the present paper, a
basic endochronic model with isotropic damage is formulated starting from the
postulate of strain equivalence. Unlike the previous similar analyses, in this
presentation the formal tools chosen to formulate the model are those of convex
analysis, often used in classical plasticity: namely pseudopotentials,
indicator functions, subdifferentials, etc. As a result, the notion of loading
surface for an endochronic model of plasticity with damage is investigated and
an insightful comparison with classical models is made possible. A damage
pseudopotential definition allowing a very general damage evolution is given
A detailed study of quasinormal frequencies of the Kerr black hole
We compute the quasinormal frequencies of the Kerr black hole using a
continued fraction method. The continued fraction method first proposed by
Leaver is still the only known method stable and accurate for the numerical
determination of the Kerr quasinormal frequencies. We numerically obtain not
only the slowly but also the rapidly damped quasinormal frequencies and analyze
the peculiar behavior of these frequencies at the Kerr limit. We also calculate
the algebraically special frequency first identified by Chandrasekhar and
confirm that it coincide with the quasinormal frequency only at the
Schwarzschild limit.Comment: REVTEX, 15 pages, 7 eps figure
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