1,008 research outputs found
Acoustic pressure and particle motion thresholds in six sciaenid fishes
Sciaenid fishes are important models of fish sound production, but investigations into their auditory abilities are limited to acoustic pressure measurements on five species. In this study, we used auditory brainstem response ( ABR) to assess the pressure and particle acceleration thresholds of six sciaenid fishes commonly found in Chesapeake Bay, eastern USA: weakfish ( Cynoscion regalis), spotted seatrout ( Cynoscion nebulosus), Atlantic croaker ( Micropogonias undulatus), red drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus), spot ( Leiostomus xanthurus) and northern kingfish ( Menticirrhus saxatilis). Experimental subjects were presented with pure 10 ms tone bursts in 100 Hz steps from 100 Hz to 1.2 kHz using an airborne speaker. Sound stimuli, monitored with a hydrophone and geophone, contained both pressure and particle motion components. Sound pressure and particle acceleration thresholds varied significantly among species and between frequencies; audiograms were notably flatter for acceleration than pressure at low frequencies. Thresholds of species with diverticulae projecting anteriorly from their swim bladders ( weakfish, spotted seatrout, and Atlantic croaker) were typically but not significantly lower than those of species lacking such projections ( red drum, spot, northern kingfish). Sciaenids were most sensitive at low frequencies that overlap the peak frequencies of their vocalizations. Auditory thresholds of these species were used to estimate idealized propagation distances of sciaenid vocalizations in coastal and estuarine environments
Towards a new theory of practice for community health psychology
The article sets out the value of theorizing collective action from a social science perspective that engages with the messy actuality of practice. It argues that community health psychology relies on an abstract version of Paulo Freireâs earlier writing, the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which provides scholar-activists with a âmapâ approach to collective action. The article revisits Freireâs later work, the Pedagogy of Hope, and argues for the importance of developing a âjourneyâ approach to collective action. Theories of practice are discussed for their value in theorizing such journeys, and in bringing maps (intentions) and journeys (actuality) closer together
Construction and psychometric testing of the EMPATHIC questionnaire measuring parent satisfaction in the pediatric intensive care unit
Abstract
PURPOSE: To construct and test the reliability and validity of the EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care (EMPATHIC) questionnaire measuring parent satisfaction in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
METHODS: Structured development and psychometric testing of a parent satisfaction-with-care instrument with the results of two cohorts of parents (n = 2,046) from eight PICUs in the Netherlands.
RESULTS: In the first cohort, 667/1,055 (63%) parents participated followed by 551/991 (56%) parents in the second cohort. The empirical structure of the instrument was established by confirmatory factor analysis with the first sample of parents confirming 65 statements within five theoretically conceptualized domains: information, care and cure, organization, parental participation, and professional attitude. The standardized factor loadings were greater than 0.40 in 63 statements. Cronbach's α, a measure of reliability, per domain ranged from 0.73 to 0.93 in both cohorts with no significant difference documenting the reliability over time. Beside rigorous content and face validity, the congruent validity of the instrument showed adequate correlation with four gold standard questions measuring overall satisfaction. The non-differential validity was confirmed with no significant differences between the population characteristics and the domains, except that parents with a child for a surgical admission were more satisfied on information issues.
CONCLUSIONS: The final EMPATHIC questionnaire incorporates 65 statements. The empirical structure of the satisfaction statements and domains was satisfactory. The reliability and validity proved to be adequate. The EMPATHIC questionnaire is a valid quality performance indicator to measure quality of care as perceived by parents
Perceptions of parents on satisfaction with care in the pediatric intensive care unit: the EMPATHIC study
Abstract:
PURPOSE: To identify parental perceptions on pediatric intensive care-related satisfaction items within the framework of developing a Dutch pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) satisfaction instrument.
METHODS: Prospective cohort study in tertiary PICUs at seven university medical centers in The Netherlands.
PARTICIPANTS: Parents of 1,042 children discharged from a PICU.
RESULTS: A 78-item questionnaire was sent to 1,042 parents and completed by 559 (54%). Seventeen satisfaction items were rated with mean scores or =1.65, and thus considered of limited value. The empirical structure of the items was in agreement with the theoretically formulated domains: Information, Care a
âExcellence R Usâ: university research and the fetishisation of excellence
The rhetoric of âexcellenceâ is pervasive across the academy. It is used to refer to research outputs as well as researchers, theory and education, individuals and organisations, from art history to zoology. But does âexcellenceâ actually mean anything? Does this pervasive narrative of âexcellenceâ do any good? Drawing on a range of sources we interrogate âexcellenceâ as a concept and find that it has no intrinsic meaning in academia. Rather it functions as a linguistic interchange mechanism. To investigate whether this linguistic function is useful we examine how the rhetoric of excellence combines with narratives of scarcity and competition to show that the hypercompetition that arises from the performance of âexcellenceâ is completely at odds with the qualities of good research. We trace the roots of issues in reproducibility, fraud, and homophily to this rhetoric. But we also show that this rhetoric is an internal, and not primarily an external, imposition. We conclude by proposing an alternative rhetoric based on soundness and capacity-building. In the final analysis, it turns out that that âexcellenceâ is not excellent. Used in its current unqualified form it is a pernicious and dangerous rhetoric that undermines the very foundations of good research and scholarship
Qualitative study exploring factors influencing escalation of care of deteriorating children in a childrenâs hospital
Sociomateriality Implications of Software As a Service Adoption on IT-workersâ Roles and Changes in Organizational Routines of IT Systems Support
This paper aims to deepen our understanding on how sociomateriality practices influence IT
workersâ roles and skill set requirements and changes to the organizational routines of IT systems support,
when an organization migrates an on-premise IT system to a software as a service (SaaS) model. This
conceptual paper is part of an ongoing study investigating organizations that migrated on-premise IT email
systems to SaaS business models, such as Google Apps for Education (GAE) and Microsoft Office 365
systems, in New Zealand tertiary institutions. We present initial findings from interpretive case studies. The
findings are, firstly, technological artifacts are entangled in sociomaterial practices, which change the way
humans respond to the performative aspects of the organizational routines. Human and material agencies are
interwoven in ways that reinforce or change existing routines. Secondly, materiality, virtual realm and spirit
of the technology provide elementary levels at which human and material agencies entangle. Lastly, the
elementary levels at which human and material entangle depends on the capabilities or skills set of an
individual
Improving parent satisfaction: an intervention to increase neonatal parentâprovider communication
Proposal, project, practice, pause: developing a framework for evaluating smart domestic product engagement
Smart homes are fast becoming a reality, with smart TVs, smart meters and other such âsmartâ devices/systems already representing a substantial household presence. These, which we collectively term âsmart domestic productsâ (SDPs), will need to be promoted, adopted, and normalized into daily routines. Despite this, the marketing canon lacks a substantive discourse on pertinent research. We look to help correct this by melding ideas from organizational sociology, innovation diffusion and appropriation studies, and service dominant logic. Consequently, we suggest a framework for research that responds directly to the specific characteristics of SDPs. Using the SDP eco-system as a context, our framework emphasizes the interplay of embeddedness, practice, value and engagement. It comprises a four-stage horizontal/ longitudinal axis we describe as proposal, project, practice and pause. Cross-sectionally we focus on value, and combine aspects of existing thought to suggest how this impacts each stage of our engagement continuum. We subsequently identify perceived personal advantage as the resultant of these two axes and propose this as the key for understanding consumer and SDP sociomaterial engagement. This article also advances a definition of SDPs and ends with an agenda for further research
Search for rare quark-annihilation decays, B --> Ds(*) Phi
We report on searches for B- --> Ds- Phi and B- --> Ds*- Phi. In the context
of the Standard Model, these decays are expected to be highly suppressed since
they proceed through annihilation of the b and u-bar quarks in the B- meson.
Our results are based on 234 million Upsilon(4S) --> B Bbar decays collected
with the BABAR detector at SLAC. We find no evidence for these decays, and we
set Bayesian 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions BF(B-
--> Ds- Phi) Ds*- Phi)<1.2x10^(-5). These results
are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid
Communications
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