The impact of facilities management on patient outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which practicing National Health Service (NHS) facilities managers thought that the contribution of facilities management (FM) could be measured in terms of health outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was distributed to NHS facilities or estate managers from the majority of NHS trusts in England and Wales. Findings – In general, there is little or no evidence from pre-existing research to prove the contribution of FM in terms of health outcomes. However, in spite of this, 59 per cent of facilities managers in the NHS believe that the contribution of FM could be measured yet only a relatively small number of Trusts (16 per cent) have attempted to measure the contribution of FM. The analysis of the secondary data does not show any conclusive evidence of a correlation between FM and health outcomes. Research limitations/implications – The scope of the study did not extend to collecting empirical evidence to prove the contribution of FM to health outcomes – it was only focusing on whether facilities managers thought it was possible, and if so how they would measure the contribution. However, as part of the project some secondary data were tested for a relationship between FM services and health outcomes. Originality/value – This is the first time any study has gathered opinion from facilities managers as to whether they believe their contribution can be measured in terms of organisational outcomes, in this case patient care or health outcomes. It provides a useful starting point in order to develop a future study to prove the contribution from FM to health outcomes.</p

Continuity in cognition

Designing for continuous interaction requires designers to consider the way in which human users can perceive and evaluate an artefact’s observable behaviour, in order to make inferences about its state and plan, and execute their own continuous behaviour. Understanding the human point of view in continuous interaction requires an understanding of human causal reasoning, of the way in which humans perceive and structure the world, and of human cognition. We present a framework for representing human cognition, and show briefly how it relates to the analysis of structure in continuous interaction, and the ways in which it may be applied in design

Visuospatial tasks suppress craving for cigarettes.

The Elaborated Intrusion (EI) theory of desire posits that visual imagery plays a key role in craving. We report a series of experiments testing this hypothesis in a drug addiction context. Experiment 1 showed that a mental visual imagery task with neutral content reduced cigarette craving in abstaining smokers, but that an equivalent auditory task did not. The effect of visual imagery was replicated in Experiment 2, which also showed comparable effects of non-imagery visual working memory interference. Experiment 3 showed that the benefit of visual over auditory interference was not dependent upon imagery being used to induce craving. Experiment 4 compared a visuomotor task, making shapes from modeling clay, with a verbal task (counting back from 100), and again showed a benefit of the visual over the non-visual task. We conclude that visual imagery supports craving for cigarettes. Competing imagery or visual working memory tasks may help tackle craving in smokers trying to quit

Emotional and behavioral reaction to intrusive thoughts.

A self-report measure of the emotional and behavioral reactions to intrusive thoughts was developed. The article presents data that confirm the stability, reliability, and validity of the new seven-item measure. Emotional and behavioral reactions to intrusions emerged as separate factors on the Emotional and Behavioral Reactions to Intrusions Questionnaire (EBRIQ), a finding confirmed by an independent stress study. Test-retest reliability over 30 to 70 days was good. Expected relationships with other constructs were significant. Stronger negative responses to intrusions were associated with lower mindfulness scores and higher ratings of experiential avoidance, thought suppression, and intensity and frequency of craving. The EBRIQ will help explore differences in reactions to intrusive thoughts in clinical and nonclinical populations, and across different emotional and behavioral states. It will also be useful in assessing the effects of therapeutic approaches such as mindfulness

A DECISION MODEL TO ASSESS CATTLE FEEDING PRICE RISK

Traditional break-even/fed cattle price projections do not provide adequate risk information to feeders, investors, lenders, and other stakeholders interested in cattle feeding decisions. The objectives of this study were two-fold: 1) develop a spreadsheet model that could estimate the net income distribution surrounding a cattle placement decision based on historical errors of futures based price forecasts, and 2) determine whether information generated from the model can be used to improve placement and marketing decisions. To accomplish objective 1, model was developed that could estimate the income distribution around a pen of cattle under a cash speculating and short hedge pricing strategy. Distribution estimates were based on 7 alternative forecast horizons and were derived from historical forecast errors. To accomplish objective 2, decision rules were developed that allow the feeder to specify the maximum probability he/she is willing to risk losing a specified level of income. These decision rules were compared to random and naive decision rules by simulating the outcomes over 168 discrete six months feeding periods between 1987 and 2000. Risk averse decision rules were successful in signaling highly unprofitable feeding periods, but also filtered out highly profitable feeding periods.Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Flapping inertia for selected rotor blades

Aerodynamics of helicopter rotor systems cannot be investigated without consideration for the dynamics of the rotor. One of the principal properties of the rotor which affects the rotor dynamics is the inertia of the rotor blade about its root attachment. Previous aerodynamic investigation have been performed on rotor blades with a variety of planforms to determine the performance differences due to blade planform. The blades tested for this investigation have been tested on the U.S. Army 2 meter rotor test system (2MRTS) in the NASA Langley 14 by 22 foot subsonic tunnel for hover performance. This investigation was intended to provide fundamental information on the flapping inertia of five rotor blades with differing planforms. The inertia of the bare cuff and the cuff with a blade extension were also measured for comparison with the inertia of the blades. Inertia was determined using a swing testing technique, using the period of oscillation to determine the effective flapping inertia. The effect of damping in the swing test was measured and described. A comparison of the flapping inertials for rectangular and tapered planform blades of approximately the same mass showed the tapered blades to have a lower inertia, as expected

ERTS image data compression technique evaluation

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Secondary literacy across the curriculum: Challenges and possibilities

This paper discusses the challenges and possibilities attendant upon successfully implementing literacy across the curriculum initiatives – or ‘school language policies’ as they have come to be known - particularly at the secondary or high school level. It provides a theoretical background to these issues, exploring previous academic discussions of school language policies, and highlights key areas of concern as well as opportunity with respect to school implementation of such policies. As such, it provides a necessary conceptual background to the subsequent papers in this special issue, which focus upon the Secondary Schools’ Literacy Initiative (SSLI) – a New Zealand funded programme that aims to establish cross-curricular language and literacy policies in secondary schools

Systems, interactions and macrotheory

A significant proportion of early HCI research was guided by one very clear vision: that the existing theory base in psychology and cognitive science could be developed to yield engineering tools for use in the interdisciplinary context of HCI design. While interface technologies and heuristic methods for behavioral evaluation have rapidly advanced in both capability and breadth of application, progress toward deeper theory has been modest, and some now believe it to be unnecessary. A case is presented for developing new forms of theory, based around generic “systems of interactors.” An overlapping, layered structure of macro- and microtheories could then serve an explanatory role, and could also bind together contributions from the different disciplines. Novel routes to formalizing and applying such theories provide a host of interesting and tractable problems for future basic research in HCI