The Effects of Abstract Subcategory Representations on Selection Demands

Selecting the appropriate response to a situation can be difficult for children. We investigated how abstract representations reduce these demands, by introducing subcategories into the Blocked Cyclic Naming (BCN) task. During BCN, participants name objects in two conditions: items from the same category and different categories. Significant naming delays occur in the same-category condition compared to the different-category condition, because activations of similar items in the same category create high competition, resulting in high selection demands when participants name items (Schnur et al., 2006). To introduce abstract representations, we labeled items on the exemplar and subcategory levels. Results showed a trend for children given subcategory labels to have improved selection, suggesting that the abstract representations reduced selection demands. In summary, selection plays a major role in daily life and the current study suggests that abstract representations may be able to help us understand the mechanism behind the selection process

Reducing Stress in Creative Spaces: Art Therapy with Adults Living with Physical Disabilities, A Literature Review

Historically and currently, adults living with physical disabilities encounter life dilemmas, triggering high levels of stress. Despite the seriousness of these situations, the support and recognition of the struggle such obstacles cause tend to go ignored by society. Since persons living without disabilities do not personally feel or even perceive the gravity of the stress, accessibility demands remain overlooked. Monumental changes in political and societal constitutions take time, however, current methods that are often used with individuals coping with stress are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based therapy. These treatments reduce stress among varied populations, specifically when treating individuals living with disabilities. Art and art therapy have become strong aids in reducing stress for adults with disabilities, but there is still a large gap in the literature regarding the efficacy and reliability of their use with individuals with disability. For this reason, my thesis examined whether stress can be reduced in adults with disabilities through art therapy treatments. My findings show that art therapy has proved helpful when working with diverse populations with varying needs. Through this research process, I found that group therapy appears to resonate stronger for this populations and that there is great need for advocacy for this population in social, political, and therapeutic spaces. There is still an urgent need to further investigate the stress endured by adults with physical disabilities

The Evolution of a New Technological University in Terms of Policy Definition and Control of Implementation

This paper derives from a Doctoral case study completed in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in 2008. The main issues of the case study are still being addressed today as DIT prepares to amalgamate with the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) in 2015. The combined new institute will become a university in 2016 and is in the process of a move to a green field site. The rate and scope of these changes are challenging for all concerned. Through a series of interviews and focus groups in 2008, a story of DIT emerged. The McNay model was used as a Conceptual Framework and Analytical Tool to examine various types of university model and compare them with the cultures, practices and understandings of stakeholders in DIT. The classic entrepreneurial model from the USA was shown to be unlikely to be successful, largely because of the Institute’s inability to raise money on the scale of the US model. The corporate model using managerialist practice was also rejected by stakeholders. It was concluded that a European style of University with Collegial Innovation was appropriate, that bureaucracy needed be greatly reduced and that the culture and power residing within the organisation must be acknowledged in the process of change

The Evolution of a New Technological University in Terms of Policy Definition and Control of Implementation

This paper derives from a doctoral case study completed in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in 2008. The main issues of the case study are still being addressed today as DIT prepares to amalgamate with the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) in 2015. The combined new organisation will become a university in 2016 and is in the process of a move to a greenfield site. The rate and scope of these changes are challenging for all concerned. Through a series of interviews and focus groups in 2008 a story of DIT emerged. The McNay model was used as a Conceptual Framework and Analytical Tool to examine various types of university model and compare them with the cultures, practices and understandings of stakeholders in the DIT. The classic entrepreneurial model from the USA was shown to be unlikely to be successful, largely because of the Institute’s inability to raise money on the scale of the US model. The corporate model using managerialist practice was also rejected by stakeholders. It was concluded that a European style of University with Collegial Innovation was appropriate, that bureaucracy needed be greatly reduced and that the culture and power residing within the organisation must be acknowledged in the process of chang

The Evolution of a New Technological University in Terms of Policy Definition and Control of Implementation

This paper derives from a Doctoral case study completed in the Technological University Dublin (DIT) in 2008. The main issues of the case study are still being addressed today as DIT prepares to amalgamate with the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) in 2015. The combined new institute will become a university in 2016 and is in the process of a move to a green field site. The rate and scope of these changes are challenging for all concerned. Through a series of interviews and focus groups in 2008, a story of DIT emerged. The McNay model was used as a Conceptual Framework and Analytical Tool to examine various types of university model and compare them with the cultures, practices and understandings of stakeholders in DIT. The classic entrepreneurial model from the USA was shown to be unlikely to be successful, largely because of the Institute’s inability to raise money on the scale of the US model. The corporate model using managerialist practice was also rejected by stakeholders. It was concluded that a European style of University with Collegial Innovation was appropriate, that bureaucracy needed be greatly reduced and that the culture and power residing within the organisation must be acknowledged in the process of change

Defining the Costs of an Outbreak of Karnal Bunt of Wheat

In determining the economic impact of a possible outbreak of the quarantinable wheat disease Karnal Bunt, an examination was made of the detailed components of the costs involved. The costs were classified as: (a) Direct costs (yield and quality losses); (b) Reaction costs (export bans, quality down-grading, seed industry costs); and (c) Control costs (quarantine zones, fungicides, spore destruction). The relative importance of each of these cost components is measured for a hypothetical outbreak of Karnal Bunt in the European Union, as a means of ensuring that the policy responses to such an outbreak are appropriate considering the costs involved.disease, quarantine, cost, wheat, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Reducing dose for digital cranial radiography : The increased source to the image-receptor distance approach

This investigation proposes that an increased source to the image-receptor distance (SID) technique can be used to optimize occipital frontal and lateral cranial radiographs acquired with direct digital radiography. Although cranial radiography is not performed on a routine basis, it should nonetheless be optimized to keep the dose to the patient as low as reasonably achievable, particularly because it can form part of the facial bone and sinus series. Dose measurements were acquired at various SIDs, and image quality was assessed using visual grading analysis. Statistically significant reductions in the effective dose between 19.2% and 23.9% were obtained when the SID was increased from the standard 100 to 150 cm (P ≤.05), and visual grading analysis scores indicate that image quality remained diagnostically acceptable for both projections. This investigation concludes that increasing the SID effectively optimizes occipital frontal and lateral skull radiographs. Radiology departments must be advised of the benefits of this technique with the goal of introducing an updated reference SID of 150 cm into clinical practice.Peer reviewe

Quantification of risks associated with plant disease: the case of Karnal bunt of wheat.

End of Project ReportThe aim of this study was to assess the economic impact of Tilletia indica, the cause of Karnal bunt of wheat (and triticale) in the EU. The methodologies used are relevant to estimating the costs of controlling other plant and animal diseases. The work was carried out as part of an EU funded research project.European Unio

An Examination of the Management Practices and Perceptions of Chief Advancement Officers and How They View the Relationship with Alumni

Today, in the United States, there are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations (Urban Institute, National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2009). These n onprofits rely on people’s time and financial support in order to advance their organizations. The task of advancing organizations through financial and voluntary efforts is complicated. Given the unstable economy, this reliance on financial and voluntary efforts has become even more pronounced. One example of nonprofit organizations is American colleges and universities. Higher education, like most other industries, has been affected by the unpredictable economy, especially the financial crisis that began in the fall of 2008 (Council for Aid to Education, 2009). To minimize the impacts of the financial crisis, universities can turn to their alumni, the group of individuals most likely to support institutions of higher education (McAlexander, Koenig, & Schouten, 2006; Weerts & Ronca, 2007; Weerts & Ronca, 2008). The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the management practices and perceptions of Chief Advancement Officers (CAOs) towards alumni giving and alumni volunteering and how they view the relationship with alumni. An electronic survey was distributed to CAOs belonging to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) District II . CAOs reported placing a higher value on alumni financial gifts than alumni volunteer efforts. Further, CAOs reported that they target alumni based on age gender for alumni giving and alumni programming. While this study researched perception, the findings contradicted the research found in the literature. This is a recommendation for further investigation