Benefits and losses: a qualitative study exploring healthcare staff perceptions of teamworking

ABSTRACT Objectives: To examine staff perceptions of teamworking practice in the field of stroke care. Design: Qualitative interview study. Setting: Three teams providing care to patients with stroke across a typical care pathway of acute hospital ward, specialist stroke unit, and community rehabilitation. Participants: 37 staff members from a range of professions. Main outcome measures: Healthcare staff perceptions of teamworking. Results: Through detailed coding and analysis of the transcripts, five perceptions regarding the impact of teamworking on staff and patients were identified. These were: (1) mutual staff support, (2) knowledge and skills sharing, (3) timely intervention/discharge, (4) reduced individual decision-making and responsibility and (5) impact on patient contact time. Conclusions: Teamworking practice may be associated with a number of perceived benefits for staff and patient care; however, the potential for losses resulting from reduced patient contact time and ill-defined responsibility needs further investigation

Corner transfer matrices in statistical mechanics

Corner transfer matrices are a useful tool in the statistical mechanics of simple two-dimensinal models. They can be very effective way of obtaining series expansions of unsolved models, and of calculating the order parameters of solved ones. Here we review these features and discuss the reason why the method fails to give the order parameter of the chiral Potts model.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, for Proceedings of Conference on Symmetries and Integrability of Difference Equations. (SIDE VII), Melbourne, July 200

Bethe Equation of τ(2)\tau^{(2)}-model and Eigenvalues of Finite-size Transfer Matrix of Chiral Potts Model with Alternating Rapidities

We establish the Bethe equation of the $\tau^{(2)}$-model in the $N$-state chiral Potts model (including the degenerate selfdual cases) with alternating vertical rapidities. The eigenvalues of a finite-size transfer matrix of the chiral Potts model are computed by use of functional relations. The significance of the "alternating superintegrable" case of the chiral Potts model is discussed, and the degeneracy of $\tau^{(2)}$-model found as in the homogeneous superintegrable chiral Potts model.Comment: Latex 25 pages; Typos corrected, Minor changes for clearer presentation, References added-Journal versio

Water quality monitor

The preprototype water quality monitor (WQM) subsystem was designed based on a breadboard monitor for pH, specific conductance, and total organic carbon (TOC). The breadboard equipment demonstrated the feasibility of continuous on-line analysis of potable water for a spacecraft. The WQM subsystem incorporated these breadboard features and, in addition, measures ammonia and includes a failure detection system. The sample, reagent, and standard solutions are delivered to the WQM sensing manifold where chemical operations and measurements are performed using flow through sensors for conductance, pH, TOC, and NH3. Fault monitoring flow detection is also accomplished in this manifold assembly. The WQM is designed to operate automatically using a hardwired electronic controller. In addition, automatic shutdown is incorporated which is keyed to four flow sensors strategically located within the fluid system

Integrability of qq-oscillator lattice model

A simple formulation of an exactly integrable $q$-oscillator model on two dimensional lattice (in 2+1 dimensional space-time) is given. Its interpretation in the terms of 2d quantum inverse scattering method and nested Bethe Ansatz equations is discussed.Comment: Talk given at the conference ``New frontiers in exactly solved models'', ANU, July 21-22, 200

New Q matrices and their functional equations for the eight vertex model at elliptic roots of unity

The Q matrix invented by Baxter in 1972 to solve the eight vertex model at roots of unity exists for all values of N, the number of sites in the chain, but only for a subset of roots of unity. We show in this paper that a new Q matrix, which has recently been introduced and is non zero only for N even, exists for all roots of unity. In addition we consider the relations between all of the known Q matrices of the eight vertex model and conjecture functional equations for them.Comment: 20 pages, 2 Postscript figure

A computer solution for the dynamic load, lubricant film thickness, and surface temperatures in spiral-bevel gears

A computer method for determining the dynamic load between spiral bevel pinion and gear teeth contact along the path of contact is described. The dynamic load analysis governs both the surface temperature and film thickness. Computer methods for determining the surface temperature, and film thickness are presented along with results obtained for a pair of typical spiral bevel gears

Two-dimensional Rydberg gases and the quantum hard squares model

We study a two-dimensional lattice gas of atoms that are photo-excited to high-lying Rydberg states in which they interact via the van-der-Waals interaction. We explore the regime of dominant nearest neighbor interaction where this system is intimately connected to a quantum version of Baxter's hard squares model. We show that the strongly correlated ground state of the Rydberg gas can be analytically described by a projected entangled pair state that constitutes the ground state of the quantum hard squares model. This correspondence allows us to identify a first order phase boundary where the Rydberg gas undergoes a transition from a disordered (liquid) phase to an ordered (solid) phase