A proper understanding of Millikan

Ruth Millikan’s teleological theory of mental content is complex and often misunderstood. This paper motivates and clarifies some of the complexities of the theory, and shows that paying careful attention to its details yields answers to a number of common objections to teleological theories, in particular, the problem of novel mental states, the problem of functionally false beliefs, and problems about indeterminacy or multiplicity of function

Implementing the PIE (Person, Interaction and Environment) programme to improve person-centred care for people with dementia admitted to hospital wards: a qualitative evaluation

Background Improving person-centred care for people with dementia in hospitals is a UK policy priority. The PIE (Person, Interaction, Environment) programme comprises cycles of observations of care by staff, identification of areas for improvement and plans for practice change and evaluation. The aim of the research reported here was to describe and evaluate PIE implementation in three UK NHS regions. Methods A qualitative design was adopted in ten case study sites (wards). Site selection was based on readiness for change criteria. Following a training workshop, PIE cycles were introduced into each ward. Data collection comprised observation, interviews, documentary analysis and an events log. Normalisation Process Theory provided a guiding framework for analysis. Results PIE was fully adopted in two study wards over 18 months, which resulted in sustained practice change and increased awareness of person-centredness. Partial implementation of PIE took place in a further two wards but progress stalled before significant action. The remaining six wards failed to implement PIE. Factors influencing implementation were: salience of PIE, collective team involvement, fit with strategic priorities, adequate resources, effective clinical leadership, good facilitation and organisational stability. Conclusions PIE has the potential to help staff improve person-centred care for people with dementia admitted to hospital wards. However, the evidence is limited to ten wards of which only two fully implemented the programme. Implications for practice • A programme for improving person-centred care for people with dementia in acute hospital wards requires sustained commitment from both the organisation and the ward. • Successful practice change depends on multiple key factors, including effective clinical leadership and good facilitation. • Contextual factors at various levels of an organisation need to be considered. • Use of the PIE tool has the potential to enable staff’s attention to focus on person centred care for older people with dementia in acute settings

The evolution and development of visual perspective taking

I outline three conceptions of seeing that a creature might possess: ‘the headlamp conception,’ which involves an understanding of the causal connections between gazing at an object, certain mental states, and behavior; ‘the stage lights conception,’ which involves an understanding of the selective nature of visual attention; and seeing-as. I argue that infants and various nonhumans possess the headlamp conception. There is also evidence that chimpanzees and 3-year-old children have some grasp of seeing-as. However, due to a dearth of studies, there is no evidence that infants or nonhumans possess the stage lights conception of seeing. I outline the kinds of experiments that are needed, and what we stand to learn about the evolution and development of perspective taking

Discovery limits for Techni-Omega production in eγe\gamma Collisions

In a strongly-interacting electroweak sector with an isosinglet vector state, such as the techni-omega, $\omega_T$, the direct $\omega_T Z \gamma$ coupling implies that an $\omega_T$ can be produced by $Z \gamma$ fusion in $e \gamma$ collisions. This is a unique feature for high energy $e^+e^-$ or $e^-e^-$ colliders operating in an $e\gamma$ mode. We consider the processes $e^- \gamma \to e^- Z\gamma$ and $e^- \gamma \to e^- W^+ W^- Z$, both of which proceed via an intermediate $\omega_T$. We find that at a 1.5 TeV $e^+e^-$ linear collider operating in an $e\gamma$ mode with an integrated luminosity of 200 fb$^{-1}$, we can discover an $\omega_T$ for a broad range of masses and widths.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on High Energy Physics, Vancouver, July 1998, 5 pages, Latex, 7 postscript figure

Report of the Subgroup on Alternative Models and New Ideas

We summarize some of the work done by the P3 subgroup on Alternative Models and New Ideas. The working group covered a broad range of topics including a constrained Standard Model from an extra dimension, a discussion of recent ideas addressing the strong CP problem, searches for doubly charged higgs bosons in e gamma collisions, and an update on discovery limits for extra neutral gauge bosons at hadron colliders. The breadth of topics reflects the many ideas and approaches to physics beyond the Standard Model.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Contributed to the APS/DPF/DPB Summer Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2001), Snowmass, Colorado, 30 Jun - 21 Jul 200

The Color-Octet intrinsic charm in η′\eta^\prime and B→η′XB\to \eta^\prime X decays

Color-octet mechanism for the decay B\to \eta^\prime X is proposed to explain the large branching ratio of Br(B\to \eta^\prime X)\sim 1\times 10^{-3} recently announced by CLEO. We argue that the inclusive \eta^\prime production in B decays may dominantly come from the Cabbibo favored b\to (\bar c c)_8s process where \bar c c pair is in a color-octet configuration, and followed by the nonperturbative transition (\bar c c)_8\to \eta^\prime X. The color-octet intrinsic charm component in the higher Fock states of \eta^\prime is crucial and is induced by the strong coupling of \eta^\prime to gluons via QCD axial anomaly.Comment: 9 pages, RevTex, 1 PS figur

The person, interactions and environment programme to improve care of people with dementia in hospital: a multisite study

Background: Improving care of people with dementia on acute hospital wards is a policy priority. Person-centred care is a marker of care quality; delivering such care is a goal for service improvement. Objectives: PIE (Person: Interaction; Environment) comprises an observation tool and systematic approach to implement and embed a person-centred approach in routine care for hospitalised patients with dementia. The study aims were to: evaluate PIE as a method to improve the care of older people with dementia on acute hospital wards; and develop insight into what person-centred care might look like in practice in this setting. Methods: We performed a longitudinal comparative case study design in ten purposively selected wards in five Trusts in three English regions; alongside an embedded process evaluation. Data was collected from multiple sources: staff, patients, relatives, organisational aggregate information and documents. Mixed methods were employed: ethnographic observation; interviews and questionnaires; patient case studies (patient observation and conversations ‘in the moment’, interviews with relatives and case records), patient and ward aggregate data. Data was synthesised to create individual case studies of PIE implementation and outcomes in context of ward structure, organisation, patient profile and process of care delivery. Cross case comparison facilitated a descriptive and explanatory account of PIE implementation in context, the pattern of variation, what shaped it and the consequences flowing from it. Quantitative data was analysed using simple descriptive statistics. Qualitative data analysis employed grounded theory methods. Results: The study furthered understanding of dimensions of care quality for older people with dementia on acute hospital wards and the environmental, organisational and cultural factors that shaped delivery. Only two wards fully implemented PIE, sustaining and embedding change over 18 months. The remaining wards either did not install PIE (‘non-implementers’); or were ‘partial implementers’. The interaction between micro-level contextual factors (aspects of leadership (drivers, facilitators, team, networks), fit with strategic initiatives and salience with valued goals) and miso and macro level organisational factors, were the main barriers to PIE adoption. Where implemented, evidence suggests that the programme directly affected improvement in ward practice with positive impact on the experience of patients and caregivers, although the heterogeneity of need and severity of impairment meant that some of the more visible changes did not affect everyone equally. Limitations: Although PIE has potential to improve the care of people with dementia when implemented, findings are indicative only: data on clinical outcomes was not systematically collected; and PIE was not adopted on most study wards. Research implications: Further research is required to identify more precisely the skill-mix and resources necessary to provide person-focused care to hospitalised people with dementia, across the spectrum of need, including those with moderate and severe impairment. Implementing innovations to change practices in complex organisations requires more in-depth understanding of contextual factors that impact the capacity of organisations to absorb and embed new practices

Relativistic quantum model of confinement and the current quark masses

We consider a relativistic quantum model of confined massive spinning quarks and antiquarks which describes leading Regge trajectories of mesons. The quarks are described by the Dirac equations and the gluon contribution is approximated by the Nambu-Goto straight-line string. The string tension and the current quark masses are the main parameters of the model. Additional parameters are phenomenological constants which approximate nonstring short-range contributions. Comparison of the measured meson masses with the model predictions allows one to determine the current quark masses (in MeV) to be $m_s = 227 \pm 5,~ m_c = 1440 \pm 10,~ m_b = 4715 \pm 20$. The chiral $SU_3$ model[23] makes it possible to estimate from here the $u$- and $d$-quark masses to be $m_u = 6.2 \pm 0.2$~ Mev and $m_d = 11.1 \pm 0.4$ Mev.Comment: 15 pages, LATEX, 2 tables. (submitted to Phys.Rev.D