3,591 research outputs found
An analysis of short haul air passenger demand, volume 2
Several demand models for short haul air travel are proposed and calibrated on pooled data. The models are designed to predict demand and analyze some of the motivating phenomena behind demand generation. In particular, an attempt is made to include the effects of competing modes and of alternate destinations. The results support three conclusions: (1) the auto mode is the air mode's major competitor; (2) trip time is an overriding factor in intermodal competition, with air fare at its present level appearing unimportant to the typical short haul air traveler; and (3) distance appears to underly several demand generating phenomena, and therefore, must be considered very carefully to any intercity demand model. It may be the cause of the wide range of fare elasticities reported by researchers over the past 15 years. A behavioral demand model is proposed and calibrated. It combines the travel generating effects of income and population, the effects of modal split, the sensitivity of travel to price and time, and the effect of alternative destinations satisfying the trip purpose
Social presence in the 21st Century: an adjustment to the Community of Inquiry framework
The Community of Inquiry framework, originally proposed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) identifies teaching, social and cognitive presences as central to a successful online educational experience. This article presents the findings of a study conducted in Uruguay between 2007 and 2010. The research aimed to establish the role of cognitive, social and teaching presences in the professional development of 40 English language teachers on Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes delivered in blended learning settings. The findings suggest that teaching presence and cognitive presence have themselves 'become social'. The research points to social presence as a major lever for engagement, sense-making and peer support. Based on the patterns identified in the study, this article puts forward an adjustment to the Community of Inquiry framework, which shows social presence as more prominent within the teaching and cognitive constructs than the original version of the framework suggests
Periods for flat algebraic connections
In previous work, we established a duality between the algebraic de Rham
cohomology of a flat algebraic connection on a smooth quasi-projective surface
over the complex numbers and the rapid decay homology of the dual connection
relying on a conjecture by C. Sabbah, which has been proved recently by T.
Mochizuki for algebraic connections in any dimension. In the present article,
we verify that Mochizuki's results allow to generalize these duality results to
arbitrary dimensions also
Impact of Level of Effort on the Effects of Compliance with the 3-Hour Rule
Objective
To determine if patientsâ level of effort (LOE) in therapy sessions during traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation modifies the effect of compliance with the 3-Hour Rule of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Design
Propensity score methodology applied to the TBI-Practice-Based Evidence (TBI-PBE) database, consisting of multi-site, prospective, longitudinal observational data.
Setting
Acute inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF).
Participants
Patients (n=1820) who received their first IRF admission for TBI in the US and were enrolled for 3 and 9 month follow-up.
Main Outcome Measures
Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective-17, FIMTM Motor and Cognitive scores, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9.
Results
When the full cohort was examined, no strong main effect of compliance with the 3-Hour Rule was identified and LOE did not modify the effect of compliance with the 3-Hour Rule. In contrast, LOE had a strong positive main effect on all outcomes, except depression. When the sample was stratified by level of disability, LOE modified the effect of compliance, particularly on the outcomes of participants with less severe disability. For these patients, providing 3 hours of therapy for 50%+ of therapy days in the context of low effort resulted in poorer performance on select outcome measures at discharge and up to 9 months post discharge compared to patients with <50% of 3-hr therapy days.
Conclusions
LOE is an active ingredient in inpatient TBI rehabilitation, while compliance with the 3-Hour Rule was not found to have a substantive impact on the outcomes. The results support matching time in therapy during acute TBI rehabilitation to patientsâ LOE in order to optimize long-term benefits on outcomes
Quality improvement activities associated with organisational capacity in general practice
Copyright © 2007 Australian College of General Practitioners Copyright to Australian Family Physician. Reproduced with permission. Permission to reproduce must be sought from the publisher, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.BACKGROUND Clinical audit is recognised worldwide as a useful tool for quality improvement. METHODS A feedback report profiling capacity for chronic disease care was sent to 97 general practices. These practices were invited to complete a clinical audit activity based on that feedback. Data were analysed quantitatively and case studies were developed based on the free text responses. RESULTS Eighty-two (33%) of 247 general practitioners participated in the clinical audit process, representing 57 (59%) of 97 general practices. From the data in their feedback report, 37 (65%) of the 57 practices recognised the area most in need of improvement. This was most likely where the need related to clinical practice or teamwork, and least likely where the need related to linkages with other services, and business and finance. Only 25 practices (46%) developed an action plan related to their recognised area for improvement, and 22 (39%) practices implemented their chosen activity. Participating GPs judged that change activity focused on teamwork was most successful. DISCUSSION The clinical audit process offered participating GPs and practices an opportunity to reflect on their performance across a number of key areas and to implement change to enhance the practiceâs capacity for quality chronic disease care. The relationship between need and action was weak, suggesting a need for greater support to overcome barriers.Cheryl Amoroso, Judy Proudfoot, Tanya Bubner, Edward Swan, Paola Espinel, Christopher Barton, Justin Beilby and Mark Harri
Status of the ROTSE-III telescope network
ROTSE-III is a homogeneous worldwide array of 4 robotic telescopes. They were designed to provide optical observations of Îł-ray burst (GRB) afterglows as close as possible to the start of Îł-ray emission. ROTSE-III is fulfilling its potential for GRB science, and provides optical observations for a variety of astrophysical sources in the interim between GRB events
Realization of an Inductance Scale Traceable to the Quantum Hall Effect Using an Automated Synchronous Sampling System
In this paper, the realization of an inductance scale from 1~H to 10~H
for frequencies ranging between 50~Hz to 20~kHz is presented. The scale is
realized directly from a series of resistance standards using a fully automated
synchronous sampling system. A careful systematic characterization of the
system shows that the lowest uncertainties, around 12~H/H, are obtained
for inductances in the range from 10~mH to 100~mH at frequencies in the kHz
range. This new measurement system which was successfully evaluated during an
international comparison, provides a primary realization of the henry, directly
traceable to the quantum Hall effect. An additional key feature of this system
is its versatility. In addition to resistance-inductance (R-L) comparison, any
kind of impedances can be compared: R-R, R-C, L-L or C-C, giving this sampling
system a great potential of use in many laboratories around the world
High-resolution contact networks of free-ranging domestic dogs Canis familiaris and implications for transmission of infection
This is the final version. Available on open access from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this recordData Availability: All data and code supporting these analyses are available on Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.7v62484.Contact patterns strongly influence the dynamics of disease transmission in both human and non-human animal populations. Domestic dogs Canis familiaris are a social species and are a reservoir for several zoonotic infections, yet few studies have empirically determined contact patterns within dog populations. Using high-resolution proximity logging technology, we characterised the contact networks of free-ranging domestic dogs from two settlements (n = 108 dogs, covering >80 % of the population in each settlement) in rural Chad. We used these data to simulate the transmission of an infection comparable to rabies and investigated the effects of including observed contact heterogeneities on epidemic outcomes. We found that dog contact networks displayed considerable heterogeneity, particularly in the duration of contacts and that the network had communities that were highly correlated with household membership. Simulations using observed contact networks had smaller epidemic sizes than those that assumed random mixing, demonstrating the unsuitability of homogenous mixing models in predicting epidemic outcomes. When contact heterogeneities were included in simulations, the network position of the individual initially infected had an important effect on epidemic outcomes. The risk of an epidemic occurring was best predicted by the initially infected individualâs ranked degree, while epidemic size was best predicted by the individualâs ranked eigenvector centrality. For dogs in one settlement, we found that ranked eigenvector centrality was correlated with range size. Our results demonstrate that observed heterogeneities in contacts are important for the prediction of epidemiological outcomes in free-ranging domestic dogs. We show that individuals presenting a higher risk for disease transmission can be identified by their network position and provide evidence that observable traits hold potential for informing targeted disease management strategies.Carter Cente
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