248 research outputs found
Reforming Theft: Taking Without Consent
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available via WestlawThis article proposes a new offence of theft, based on intentionally or recklessly
taking or keeping anotherâs property, knowingly or recklessly without consent. It discusses how
this new law is in practical terms an improvement over the current law, and how without
legislative reform the current law might be improved through case law. It argues that the
proposed law is also a better fit in theory, in terms of characterising the wrong of theft
The defence of illegality in private law
This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordThe defence of illegality is invoked across private law, but has a reputation for being confused. This article argues that the
defence can be rendered intelligible and sharply focused by understanding its underlying rationale, and applying that discretely
and to different effect in each of tort, contract, unjust enrichment, and trust
The effectiveness of a new generation of computerized drug alerts in reducing the risk of injury from drug side effects: a cluster randomized trial
External-field-induced tricritical point in a fluctuation-driven nematic-smectic-A transition
We study theoretically the effect of an external field on the
nematic-smectic-A (NA) transition close to the tricritical point, where
fluctuation effects govern the qualitative behavior of the transition. An
external field suppresses nematic director fluctuations, by making them
massive. For a fluctuation-driven first-order transition, we show that an
external field can drive the transition second-order. In an appropriate liquid
crystal system, we predict the required magnetic field to be of order 10 T. The
equivalent electric field is of order .Comment: revtex, 4 pages, 1 figure; revised version, some equations have been
modifie
Results from a Near Infrared Search for Emission-line Stars in the Inner Galaxy: Spectra of New Wolf-Rayet Stars
We present follow-up spectroscopy of emission line candidates detected on
near-infrared narrow band images in the inner Galaxy (Homeier et al. 2003). The
filters are optimized for the detection of Wolf-Rayet stars and other objects
which exhibit emission--lines in the 2 m region. Approximately three
square degrees along the Galactic plane have been analyzed in seven
narrow--filters (four emission--lines and three continuum). We have discovered
4 new Wolf-Rayet stars and present coordinates, finding charts, and K-band
spectra.Comment: To appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Qualitative and quantitative: the yin and the yang or the light and the dark sides of medical education?
Shape modeling technique KOALA validated by ESA Rosetta at (21) Lutetia
We present a comparison of our results from ground-based observations of
asteroid (21) Lutetia with imaging data acquired during the flyby of the
asteroid by the ESA Rosetta mission. This flyby provided a unique opportunity
to evaluate and calibrate our method of determination of size, 3-D shape, and
spin of an asteroid from ground-based observations. We present our 3-D
shape-modeling technique KOALA which is based on multi-dataset inversion. We
compare the results we obtained with KOALA, prior to the flyby, on asteroid
(21) Lutetia with the high-spatial resolution images of the asteroid taken with
the OSIRIS camera on-board the ESA Rosetta spacecraft, during its encounter
with Lutetia. The spin axis determined with KOALA was found to be accurate to
within two degrees, while the KOALA diameter determinations were within 2% of
the Rosetta-derived values. The 3-D shape of the KOALA model is also confirmed
by the spectacular visual agreement between both 3-D shape models (KOALA pre-
and OSIRIS post-flyby). We found a typical deviation of only 2 km at local
scales between the profiles from KOALA predictions and OSIRIS images, resulting
in a volume uncertainty provided by KOALA better than 10%. Radiometric
techniques for the interpretation of thermal infrared data also benefit greatly
from the KOALA shape model: the absolute size and geometric albedo can be
derived with high accuracy, and thermal properties, for example the thermal
inertia, can be determined unambiguously. We consider this to be a validation
of the KOALA method. Because space exploration will remain limited to only a
few objects, KOALA stands as a powerful technique to study a much larger set of
small bodies using Earth-based observations.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in P&S
General practitioners' attitudes and preparedness towards Clinical Decision Support in e-Prescribing (CDS-eP) adoption in the West of Ireland: a cross sectional study
Background: Electronic clinical decision support (CDS) is increasingly establishing its role in evidence-based clinical practice. Considerable evidence supports its enhancement of efficiency in e-Prescribing, but some controversy remains. This study evaluated the practicality and identified the perceived benefits of, and barriers to, its future adoption in the West of Ireland. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out by means of a 27-part questionnaire sent to 262 registered general practitioners in Counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. The survey domains encompassed general information of individual's practice, current use of CDS and the practitioner's attitudes towards adoption of CDS-eP. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed to analyse the data collected. Results: The overall response rate was 37%. Nearly 92% of respondents employed electronic medical records in their practice. The majority acknowledged the value of electronic CDS in improving prescribing quality (71%) and reducing prescribing errors (84%). Despite a high degree of unfamiliarity (73%), the practitioners were open to the use of CDS-eP (94%) and willing to invest greater resources for its implementation (62%). Lack of a strategic implementation plan (78%) is the main perceived barrier to the incorporation of CDS-eP into clinical practice, followed by i) lack of financial incentives (70%), ii) lack of standardized product software (61%), iii) high sensitivity of drug-drug interaction or medication allergy markers (46%), iv) concern about overriding physicians' prescribing decisions(44%) and v) lack of convincing evidence on the systems' effectiveness (22%). Conclusions: Despite favourable attitudes towards the adoption of CDS-eP, multiple perceived barriers impede its incorporation into clinical practice. These merit further exploration, taking into consideration the structure of the Irish primary health care system, before CDS-eP can be recommended for routine clinical use in the West of Ireland.Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland (HISI) research bursary 2007-2009Deposited by bulk impor
Monitoring Community Pharmacist's Quality of Care: A feasibility study of using pharmacy claims data to assess performance
Contains fulltext :
98109.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Public pressure has increasingly emphasized the need to ensure the continuing quality of care provided by health professionals over their careers. Health profession's regulatory authorities, mandated to be publicly accountable for safe and effective care, are revising their quality assurance programs to focus on regular evaluations of practitioner performance. New methods for routine screening of performance are required and the use of administrative data for measuring performance on quality of care indicators has been suggested as one attractive option. Preliminary studies have shown that community pharmacy claims databases contain the information required to operationalize quality of care indicators. The purpose of this project was to determine the feasibility of routine use of information from these databases by regulatory authorities to screen the quality of care provided at community pharmacies. METHODS: Information from the Canadian province of Quebec's medication insurance program provided data on prescriptions dispensed in 2002 by more than 5000 pharmacists in 1799 community pharmacies. Pharmacy-specific performance rates were calculated on four quality of care indicators: two safety indicators (dispensing of contra-indicated benzodiazepines to seniors and dispensing of nonselective beta-blockers to patients with respiratory disease) and two effectiveness indicators (dispensing asthma or hypertension medications to non-compliant patients). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize performance. RESULTS: Reliable estimates of performance could be obtained for more than 90% of pharmacies. The average rate of dispensing was 4.3% (range 0 - 42.5%) for contra-indicated benzodiazepines, 15.2% (range 0 - 100%) for nonselective beta-blockers to respiratory patients, 10.7% (range 0 - 70%) for hypertension medications to noncompliant patients, and 43.3% (0 - 91.6%) for short-acting beta-agonists in over-use situations. There were modest correlations in performance across the four indicators. Nine pharmacies (0.5%) performed in the lowest quartile in all four of the indicators, and 5.3% (n = 95) performed in the lowest quartile on three of four indicators. CONCLUSIONS: Routinely collected pharmacy claims data can be used to monitor indicators of the quality of care provided in community pharmacies, and may be useful in future to identify underperforming pharmacists, measure the impact of policy changes and determine predictors of best practices
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