Reflexivity in Teams: A Measure and Correlates

Reflexivity -the extent to which teams reflect upon and modify their functioning- has been identified as a possible key factor in the effectiveness of work teams. The aim of the present study was to develop a questionnaire to measure (aspects of) reflexivity, with a focus on team reflection. The questionnaire was tested in two different samples, namely a first sample of 59 teams from fourteen different organizations (Study 1) and a confirmation sample of 59 school management teams (Study 2). In both samples, two factors of reflection were identified. These were labeled evaluation/learning and discussing processes/principles. Scale statistics showed good psychometric properties for the scales in both studies. We conclude that the scales form a parsimonious and valid instrument to assess reflexivity in teams

Prosthetic knee stability during the push-off phase of walking - experimental findings

Most of the energy needed for ambulation is generated during the double support phase of walking. Knee flexion during push-off is crucial to maintain the walking velocity. Since users of an above-knee prosthesis have to stabilize the knee with the hip muscles, and regular knee mechanisms are not stable during flexion, this may cost a large effort. This paper deals with experimental findings of walking with different types of knees. The results indicate that for walking with a more stable knee, the symmetry increases and the net hip moments of force, required to stabilize the knee, reduce. The mechanical work however, performed at the hip joint at the prosthetic side, remains about equa

An overview of head support solutions for people with reduced or altered head mobility

Objective: To create an overview of existing assistive devices for supporting the head of people with decreased or altered head mobility. Additionally, to investigate if there are any functionalities missing in the current head support solutions. Search strategy: A systematic literature review was performed, combined with searches in technology manufacturer databases and websites, to get an overview of existing head support solutions. Expert opinions were gathered, as well as feedback from a number of head support users by means of semi-structured interviews. Selection of articles: A database was constructed from the assistive devices that were found. Evaluation of articles and results: Devices were categorized with respect to type of interface with the user, functionality and amount of adjustability in the system. Conclusion: Existing solutions that stabilize the head are mainly static, meaning that the head can only be stabilized in one position. Some systems offer freedom of movement but do not really support the head. Additionally, some systems can be configured such that there is a certain level of adaptability to the user. However, if head support systems are adjustable, most often it are systems which enable the caregiver and/or end user to manually change the head support to another position. Based on feedback from experts and users there can be concluded that there is a need for assistive devices that provide independent adjustability in such a way that changes in position of the trunk and head are combined with continuous stabilization

Forecasting US bond default ratings allowing for previous and initial state dependence in an ordered probit model

In this paper we investigate the ability of a number of different ordered probit models to predict ratings based on firm-specific data on business and financial risks. We investigate models based on momentum, drift and ageing and compare them against alternatives that take into account the initial rating of the firm and its previous actual rating. Using data on US bond issuing firms rated by Fitch over the years 2000 to 2007 we compare the performance of these models in predicting the rating in-sample and out-of-sample using root mean squared errors, Diebold-Mariano tests of forecast performance and contingency tables. We conclude that initial and previous states have a substantial influence on rating prediction

Music and Dress in West Europe

Music and dress have played a significant role in the civilization process in West Europe. Both being aesthetic fields meant to be performed and put into play by human gesture, they have proved to be efficient tools for cultivating the movements, postures and gestures of the body. The material, cut and shape of the dress has manipulated the body to move in certain ways, as have rhythms and expressions in music. Significant for West Europe has been a duality between spirit and body, causing a division between high culture and popular culture, that has been reflected in the way music and dress has been used as display of ‘civilization’ from the early Middle ages to the Nineteenth century, and the way fashion and pop music subsequently has been perceived as ephemeral, irrational or even immoral. Following the democratization process, music and dress from early to late modernity has formed a unique liaison in youth culture, with the notion of image as a unifying concept. Here dress, gesture and pattern of movement emphasizes the underlying bodily gestures indicated by the sounds and rhythms in various music styles, and in this way encapsulates the identity of the individual participating in the manyfragmented taste groupings in society. In the same sense, dress and music have worked as a gate-opener to society for ethnic European outsiders like gays or working class, or non-Western immigrants, that could define their position in society through expressing themselves in hybrid subcultures

When data drive health: an archaeology of medical records technology

Medicine is often thought of as a science of the body, but it is also a science of data. In some contexts, it can even be asserted that data drive health. This article focuses on a key piece of data technology central to contemporary practices of medicine: the medical record. By situating the medical record in the perspective of its history, we inquire into how the kinds of data that are kept at sites of clinical encounter often depend on informational requirements that originate well outside of the clinic, in particular in health insurance records systems. Although this dependency of today's electronic medical records on billing requirements is widely lamented by clinical providers, its history remains little studied. Following the archaeology of medicine developed by Michel Foucault in The Birth of the Clinic and expanding his methodology in light of more recent contributions to the field of media archaeology, this article excavates some of the underexplored technological conditions that help constitute today's electronic medical record. If in some contexts, it is true that data drive health, then an archaeology of medical records helps reveal how health insurance records often impact clinical care and, by extension, health and disease

Chaos and Quantum-Classical Correspondence via Phase Space Distribution Functions

Quantum-classical correspondence in conservative chaotic Hamiltonian systems is examined using a uniform structure measure for quantal and classical phase space distribution functions. The similarities and differences between quantum and classical time-evolving distribution functions are exposed by both analytical and numerical means. The quantum-classical correspondence of low-order statistical moments is also studied. The results shed considerable light on quantum-classical correspondence.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Co-administration of GF120918 significantly increases the systemic exposure to oral paclitaxel in cancer patients

Oral bioavailability of paclitaxel is very low, which is due to efficient transport of the drug by the intestinal drug efflux pump P-glycoprotein (P-gp). We have recently demonstrated that the oral bioavailability of paclitaxel can be increased at least 7-fold by co-administration of the P-gp blocker cyclosporin A (CsA). Now we tested the potent alternative orally applicable non-immunosuppressive P-gp blocker GF120918. Six patients received one course of oral paclitaxel of 120 mg/m2 in combination with 1000 mg oral GF120918 (GG918, GW0918). Patients received intravenous (i.v.) paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 as a 3-hour infusion during subsequent courses. The mean area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) of paclitaxel after oral drug administration in combination with GF120918 was 3.27 ± 1.67 μM.h. In our previously performed study of 120 mg/m2 oral paclitaxel in combination with CsA the mean AUC of paclitaxel was 2.55 ± 2.29 μM.h. After i.v. administration of paclitaxel the mean AUC was 15.92 ± 2.46 μM.h. The oral combination of paclitaxel with GF120918 was well tolerated. The increase in systemic exposure to paclitaxel in combination with GF120918 is of the same magnitude as in combination with CsA. GF120918 is a good and safe alternative for CsA and may enable chronic oral therapy with paclitaxel. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

SIMULANT DEVELOPMENT FOR SAVANNAH RIVER SITE HIGH LEVEL WASTE

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site vitrifies High Level Waste (HLW) for repository internment. The process consists of three major steps: waste pretreatment, vitrification, and canister decontamination/sealing. The HLW consists of insoluble metal hydroxides (primarily iron, aluminum, magnesium, manganese, and uranium) and soluble sodium salts (carbonate, hydroxide, nitrite, nitrate, and sulfate). The HLW is processed in large batches through DWPF; DWPF has recently completed processing Sludge Batch 3 (SB3) and is currently processing Sludge Batch 4 (SB4). The composition of metal species in SB4 is shown in Table 1 as a function of the ratio of a metal to iron. Simulants remove radioactive species and renormalize the remaining species. Supernate composition is shown in Table 2

“What if There's Something Wrong with Her?”‐How Biomedical Technologies Contribute to Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare

While there is a steadily growing literature on epistemic injustice in healthcare, there are few discussions of the role that biomedical technologies play in harming patients in their capacity as knowers. Through an analysis of newborn and pediatric genetic and genomic sequencing technologies (GSTs), I argue that biomedical technologies can lead to epistemic injustice through two primary pathways: epistemic capture and value partitioning. I close by discussing the larger ethical and political context of critical analyses of GSTs and their broader implications for just and equitable healthcare delivery