A MINDFULNESS BASED APPROACH TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (EMIS) UTILIZATION AND PERFORMANCE

The 13th of November terrorist attacks in Paris highlight a critical need within the emergency management (EM) domain to demonstrate the value of technological system capacities that support decision making. The world watched scores of police, paramedic, and fire teams communicating and coordinating together to save innocent civilian lives. Many researchers agree that systems should be designed informed by the “cognitive processes” used to respond to unanticipated emergencies. Mindfulness, within emergency management organizations (EMOs,) is created by the complex engagement of five organizational principles. They activate processes which produce capabilities uniquely supported by technology to anticipate and contain unexpected incidents for the EM domain. This paper explores organizational mindfulness (OM)) as a theoretical and methodological mechanism for design, assess and evaluation of emergency management information systems (EMIS). Mindfulness provides a basis for understanding both the EM domain and the organizational capabilities which allow for multiagency coordination. Design Science is proposed to conceptualize an IS artefact that refines our understanding of coordinated real- time decision making (CRDM). This research-in-progress paper adds to literature focused on system utilization and performance through the lens of the EM domain focusing on EMIS utilization to engage in CRDM within operational centres

A psychological framework to enable effective cognitive processing in the design of emergency management information systems

Human cognitive processing and decision making are essential aspects in emergency management. Emergency situations imply additional demands to information processing. To meaningfully support decision makers in emergencies, a comprehensive understanding of the human perception and decision making processes and their underlying principles is required in the design of Emergency Management Information Systems (EMIS).This paper presents a psychological framework that models the stages and components of decision making in the context of emergency management. To this end, psychological research on human perception and information processing, knowledge and competence modelling, human judgement and decision making, individual and situational factors, stress, and self-regulation are identified as important compents of the framework. The psychological framework represents a comprehensive model of decision making of emergency managers, for a better understanding of the involved cognitive processes and influencing factors on the person level and on the context level. The paper posits the framework as a guide in the identification of requirements for emergency managers during systems analysis. This comprises systematically describing decision tasks in emergency situations and identifying needs for supporting them. The knowledge on human perception and decision making represented by the framework can also be used to inform the user interface design of the EMIS. It may also inform the evaluation of EMIS as it provides a theoretically founded representation of relevant aspects of human-computer interaction, which facilitates the identification of success indciators to be addressed in user-centred evaluation. The framework furthermore supports the design and implementation of training programmes through the differentiation and modelling of knowledge and competence relevant in emergency decision making. To demonstrate the application of the psychological framework in the design, development, and testing of EMIS a set of concrete design principles as well as exemplary paper prototypes applying these principles are presented

Correlates of Physical Activity in a Cypriot Sample of Sixth-Grade Children

This study examined the association between self-reported physical activity and a number of potential correlates in a sample of 256 Grade 6 children. Physical activity was assessed in both summer and winter, and children and parents completed questionnaires assessing potential correlates of physical activity. Analyses revealed that gender, time spent playing outside, self-efficacy in overcoming barriers, and number of items of exercise equipment at home were variables associated with physical activity in both seasons. School location was a variable associated with physical activity only in the summer, whereas private-lesson attendance, sports-club attendance, and best friend's physical activity were variables associated with physical activity only in winter. Variance explained in physical activity were 42% and 51% in winter and summer, respectively

Pro-inflammatory flagellin proteins of prevalent motile commensal bacteria are variably abundant in the intestinal microbiome of elderly humans

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The effect of polymer end-group on the formation of styrene – maleic acid lipid particles (SMALPs)

A series of block copolymers comprising styrene and maleic acid (SMA) has been prepared using RAFT polymerisation. RAFT often results in a large hydrophobic alkylthiocarbonylthio end group and this work examines its effect on the solution behaviour of the copolymers. SMA variants with, and without, this end group were synthesised and their behaviour compared with a commercially-available random copolymer of similar molecular weight. Dynamic light scattering and surface tension measurements found the RAFT-copolymers preferentially self-assembled into higher-order aggregates in aqueous solution. Small angle neutron scattering using deuterated styrene varients add support to the accepted model that these agreggates comprise a solvent-protected styrenic core with an acid-rich shell. Replacing the hydrophobic RAFT end group with a more hydrophilic nitrile caused differences in the resulting surface activity, attributed to the ability of the adjoining styrene homoblock to drive aggregation. Each of the copolymers formed SMALP nanodiscs with DMPC lipids, which were found to encapsulate a model membrane protein, gramicidin. However, end group variation affected solubilisition of DPPC, a lipid with a higher phase transition temperature. When using RAFT-copolymers terminated with a hydrophobic group, swelling of the bilayer and greater penetration of the homoblock into the nanodisc core occurred with increasing homoblock length. Conversely, commercial and nitrile-terminated RAFT-copolymers produced nanodisc sizes that stayed constant, instead indicating interaction at the edge of the lipid patch. The results highlight how even minor changes to the copolymer can modify the amphiphilic balance between regions, knowledge useful towards optimising copolymer structure to enhance and control nanodisc formation

The National Competency Framework for registered nurses in adult critical care: An overview

In the years following the abolition of the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (ENB) in 2002, concerns were raised within the Critical Care nursing community about a lack of consistency in post-registration education programmes. In response to this the Critical Care Network National Nurse Leads (CC3N) formed a sub-group, the Critical Care Nurse Education Review Forum (CCNERF) to address these concerns. A review of UK course provision confirmed marked inconsistency in the length, content and associated academic award. The CCNERF commenced a two phase project, first developing national standards for critical care nurse education such as length of course and academic credit level; followed by the development of a national competency framework1, 2. Following significant review and revision, version two of the National Competency Framework for Registered Nurses in Adult Critical Care was published by CC3N in 20153. This paper introduces the National Competency Framework and provides an overview of its background, development and implementation. It then considers the future direction of UK post-registration Critical Care nurse education

An approach for training decision making competences in a multi-modal online environment

In this paper, we describe an approach for training decision making competences in emergency situations with the help of a multi-modal online environment. Decision making is an essential aspect of emergency management and a successful response to an emergency situation highly depends on whether decisions are being taken in an effective and timely manner. For this reason effective training programs are needed, in order to guarantee that emergency managers respond adequately to disasters. This paper addresses these needs by outlining and structuring the competences required for making meaningful decisions and by presenting an approach on how these competences can be trained in an online environment

Mutation in erythroid specific transcription factor KLF1 causes Hereditary Spherocytosis in the Nan hemolytic anemia mouse model

KLF1 regulates definitive erythropoiesis of red blood cells by facilitating transcription through high affinity binding to CACCC elements within its erythroid specific target genes including those encoding erythrocyte membrane skeleton (EMS) proteins. Deficiencies of EMS proteins in humans lead to the hemolytic anemia Hereditary Spherocytosis (HS) which includes a subpopulation with no known genetic defect. Here we report that a mutation, E339D, in the second zinc finger domain of KLF1 is responsible for HS in the mouse model Nan. The causative nature of this mutation was verified with an allelic test cross between Nan/+ and heterozygous Klf1(+/-) knockout mice. Homology modeling predicted Nan KLF1 binds CACCC elements more tightly, suggesting that Nan KLF1 is a competitive inhibitor of wild-type KLF1. This is the first association of a KLF1 mutation with a disease state in adult mammals and also presents the possibility of being another causative gene for HS in humans

Synthesis and tribological testing of poly(methyl methacrylate) particles containing encapsulated organic friction modifier

The tribological behaviour of polymer particles containing an encapsulated, organic friction modifier (FM) is presented. Particles comprising of a poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shall and a methanol core, into which FM was dissolved, were produced via a dispersion polymerization producing a core-shell morphology. The inclusion of these particles dramatically increased the overall concentration of FM which could be blended into dodecane. The tribological behaviour of the particles produced, both with and without encapsulated FM, was tribologically tested in pure dodecane. The addition of as little as 1.5 wt% particles was found to decrease the friction coefficient and measured wear volumes below those for dodecane saturated with FM. Data suggests that the FM delivery method may be dominated by a bursting mechanism