Employee Age as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Ambition and Work Role Affect

Past research has demonstrated a negative relationship between ambition, or the desire to get ahead, and job satisfaction. In the present paper, age was hypothesized to moderate the relationship between ambition and job satisfaction such that the relationship between ambition and satisfaction is more negative for older employees than for younger employees. Three studies, with three criterion variables (promotion satisfaction, extrinsic job satisfaction, overall job satisfaction), were used to test the hypothesis. Results indicated support for the hypothesized interaction. The discussion focuses on the implications of the results for organizational and individual career management strategies

Exploring heritage through time and space : Supporting community reflection on the highland clearances

On the two hundredth anniversary of the Kildonan clearances, when people were forcibly removed from their homes, the Timespan Heritage centre has created a program of community centred work aimed at challenging pre conceptions and encouraging reflection on this important historical process. This paper explores the innovative ways in which virtual world technology has facilitated community engagement, enhanced visualisation and encouraged reflection as part of this program. An installation where users navigate through a reconstruction of pre clearance Caen township is controlled through natural gestures and presented on a 300 inch six megapixel screen. This environment allows users to experience the past in new ways. The platform has value as an effective way for an educator, artist or hobbyist to create large scale virtual environments using off the shelf hardware and open source software. The result is an exhibit that also serves as a platform for experimentation into innovative ways of community co-creation and co-curation.Postprin

A CRISPR-based screen for Hedgehog signaling provides insights into ciliary function and ciliopathies.

Primary cilia organize Hedgehog signaling and shape embryonic development, and their dysregulation is the unifying cause of ciliopathies. We conducted a functional genomic screen for Hedgehog signaling by engineering antibiotic-based selection of Hedgehog-responsive cells and applying genome-wide CRISPR-mediated gene disruption. The screen can robustly identify factors required for ciliary signaling with few false positives or false negatives. Characterization of hit genes uncovered novel components of several ciliary structures, including a protein complex that contains δ-tubulin and ε-tubulin and is required for centriole maintenance. The screen also provides an unbiased tool for classifying ciliopathies and showed that many congenital heart disorders are caused by loss of ciliary signaling. Collectively, our study enables a systematic analysis of ciliary function and of ciliopathies, and also defines a versatile platform for dissecting signaling pathways through CRISPR-based screening

Prevalence of qacA/B genes and mupirocin resistance among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in the setting of chlorhexidine bathing without mupirocin

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the frequency of qacA/B chlorhexidine tolerance genes and high-level mupirocin resistance among MRSA isolates before and after the introduction of a chlorhexidine (CHG) daily bathing intervention in a surgical intensive care unit (SICU). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study (2005–2012) SETTING: A large tertiary-care center PATIENTS: Patients admitted to SICU who had MRSA surveillance cultures of the anterior nares METHODS: A random sample of banked MRSA anterior nares isolates recovered during (2005) and after (2006–2012) implementation of a daily CHG bathing protocol was examined for qacA/B genes and high-level mupirocin resistance. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing was also performed. RESULTS: Of the 504 randomly selected isolates (63 per year), 36 (7.1%) were qacA/B positive ( + ) and 35 (6.9%) were mupirocin resistant. Of these, 184 (36.5%) isolates were SCCmec type IV. There was a significant trend for increasing qacA/B (P= .02; highest prevalence, 16.9% in 2009 and 2010) and SCCmec type IV (P< .001; highest prevalence, 52.4% in 2012) during the study period. qacA/B( + ) MRSA isolates were more likely to be mupirocin resistant (9 of 36 [25%] qacA/B( + ) vs 26 of 468 [5.6%] qacA/B(−); P= .003). CONCLUSIONS: A long-term, daily CHG bathing protocol was associated with a change in the frequency of qacA/B genes in MRSA isolates recovered from the anterior nares over an 8-year period. This change in the frequency of qacA/B genes is most likely due to patients in those years being exposed in prior admissions. Future studies need to further evaluate the implications of universal CHG daily bathing on MRSA qacA/B genes among hospitalized patients

Focused Deterrence and the Prevention of Violent Gun Injuries: Practice, Theoretical Principles, and Scientific Evidence

Focused deterrence strategies are a relatively new addition to a growing portfolio of evidence-based violent gun injury prevention practices available to policy makers and practitioners. These strategies seek to change offender behavior by understanding the underlying violence-producing dynamics and conditions that sustain recurring violent gun injury problems and by implementing a blended strategy of law enforcement, community mobilization, and social service actions. Consistent with documented public health practice, the focused deterrence approach identifies underlying risk factors and causes of recurring violent gun injury problems, develops tailored responses to these underlying conditions, and measures the impact of implemented interventions. This article reviews the practice, theoretical principles, and evaluation evidence on focused deterrence strategies. Although more rigorous randomized studies are needed, the available empirical evidence suggests that these strategies generate noteworthy gun violence reduction impacts and should be part of a broader portfolio of violence prevention strategies available to policy makers and practitioners

Equivalent layered models for functionally graded plates

Functionally graded plates whose material properties vary continuously through the thickness are modelled as exactly equivalent plates composed of up to four isotropic layers. Separate models are derived for analysis using classical plate theory, first-order and higher-order shear deformation theory. For cases where Poisson’s ratio varies through the thickness, the integrations required to obtain the membrane, coupling and out-of-plane stiffness matrices are performed accurately using a series solution. The model is verified by comparison with well converged solutions from approximate models in which the plate is divided into many isotropic layers. Critical buckling loads and undamped natural frequencies are found for a range of illustrative examples

Meaningful associations in the adolescent brain cognitive development study

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is the largest single-cohort prospective longitudinal study of neurodevelopment and children\u27s health in the United States. A cohort of n = 11,880 children aged 9-10 years (and their parents/guardians) were recruited across 22 sites and are being followed with in-person visits on an annual basis for at least 10 years. The study approximates the US population on several key sociodemographic variables, including sex, race, ethnicity, household income, and parental education. Data collected include assessments of health, mental health, substance use, culture and environment and neurocognition, as well as geocoded exposures, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and whole-genome genotyping. Here, we describe the ABCD Study aims and design, as well as issues surrounding estimation of meaningful associations using its data, including population inferences, hypothesis testing, power and precision, control of covariates, interpretation of associations, and recommended best practices for reproducible research, analytical procedures and reporting of results

Impact of Canadian tobacco packaging policy on quitline reach and reach equity

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the impact of the new Canadian tobacco package warning labels with a quitline toll-free phone number for seven provincial quitlines, focusing on treatment reach and reach equity in selected vulnerable groups.MethodsA quasi-experimental design assessed changes in new incoming caller characteristics, treatment reach for selected vulnerable sub-populations and the extent to which this reach is equitable, before and after the introduction of the labels in June, 2012. Administrative call data on smokers were collected at intake. Pre- and post-label treatment reach and reach equity differences were analysed by comparing the natural logarithms of the reach and reach equity statistics.ResultsDuring the six months following the introduction of the new warning labels, 86.4% of incoming new callers indicated seeing the quitline number on the labels. Treatment reach for the six-month period significantly improved compared to the same six-month period the year before from .042% to .114% (p<.0001) and reach equity significantly improved for young males (p<.0001) and those with high school education or less (p=.004).ConclusionsThe introduction of the new tobacco warning labels with a quitline toll-free number in Canada was associated with an increase in treatment reach. The toll-free number on tobacco warning labels aided in reducing tobacco related inequalities, such as improved reach equity for young males and those with high school or less education

Subversion of allocation concealment in a randomised controlled trial : a historical case study

BACKGROUND: If the randomisation process within a trial is subverted, this can lead to selection bias that may invalidate the trial's result. To avoid this problem, it is recommended that some form of concealment should be put into place. Despite ongoing anecdotal concerns about their susceptibility to subversion, a surprising number of trials (over 10%) still use sealed opaque envelopes as the randomisation method of choice. This is likely due in part to the paucity of empirical data quantifying the potential effects of subversion. In this study we report a historical before and after study that compares the use of the sealed envelope method with a more secure centralised telephone allocation approach in order to provide such empirical evidence of the effects of subversion. METHODS: This was an opportunistic before and after study set within a multi-centre surgical trial, which involved 654 patients from 28 clinicians from 23 centres in the UK and Ireland. Two methods of randomly allocating subjects to alternative treatments were adopted: (a) a sealed envelope system administered locally, and (b) a centralised telephone system administered by the trial co-ordination centre. Key prognostic variables were compared between randomisation methods: (a) age at trial entry, a key prognostic factor in the study, and (b) the order in which 'randomisation envelopes' were matched to subjects. RESULTS: The median age of patients allocated to the experimental group with the sealed envelope system, was significantly lower both overall (59 vs 63 years, p < 0.01) and in particular for three clinicians (57 vs 72, p < 0.01; 33 vs 69, p < 0.001; 47 vs 72, p = 0.03). No differences in median age were found between the allocation groups for the centralised system. CONCLUSIONS: Due to inadequate allocation concealment with the sealed envelope system, the randomisation process was corrupted for patients recruited from three clinicians. Centralised randomisation ensures that treatment allocation is not only secure but seen to be secure. Where this proves to be impossible, allocation should at least be performed by an independent third party. Unless it is an absolute requirement, the use of sealed envelopes should be discontinued forthwith

Teaching, Learning, and Leading with Schools and Communities: One Urban University Re-Envisions Teacher Preparation for the Next Generation

Ultimately, the national goals of improving learning outcomes for all students and reducing, if not eliminating, the achievement gap require a teaching corps that brings knowledge and professional competencies to have positive impacts on diverse learners in diverse settings (Gándara & Maxwell-Jolly, 2006). As central actors in schools, teachers have the greatest impact on student achievement (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2005). Nevertheless, due to varied challenges of preparing high-quality teachers within the context of traditional schools of education, preparation programs have yet to consistently and comprehensively produce teachers who accomplish these outcomes (Ball & Forzani, 2009; Larabee, 2004, 2010). While substantive reform and evidence of improved teacher education emerges (Ball & Forzani, 2009, 2010; Zumwalt & Craig, 2005), systemic change that contributes to better pre-kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade (PK-12) student outcomes remains elusive (Darling-Hammond, 2010)