REFERQUAL: A pilot study of a new service quality assessment instrument in the GP Exercise Referral scheme setting

Background The development of an instrument accurately assessing service quality in the GP Exercise Referral Scheme (ERS) industry could potentially inform scheme organisers of the factors that affect adherence rates leading to the implementation of strategic interventions aimed at reducing client drop-out. Methods A modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument was designed for use in the ERS setting and subsequently piloted amongst 27 ERS clients. Results Test re-test correlations were calculated via Pearson's 'r' or Spearman's 'rho', depending on whether the variables were Normally Distributed, to show a significant (mean r = 0.957, SD = 0.02, p < 0.05; mean rho = 0.934, SD = 0.03, p < 0.05) relationship between all items within the questionnaire. In addition, satisfactory internal consistency was demonstrated via Cronbach's 'α'. Furthermore, clients responded favourably towards the usability, wording and applicability of the instrument's items. Conclusion REFERQUAL is considered to represent promise as a suitable tool for future evaluation of service quality within the ERS community. Future research should further assess the validity and reliability of this instrument through the use of a confirmatory factor analysis to scrutinise the proposed dimensional structure

Fitting model of ABR age dependency in a clinical population of normal hearing children

The purpose of this study was to present a simple and powerful fitting model that describes age-dependent changes of auditory brainstem responses (ABR) in a clinical population of normal hearing children. A total of 175 children (younger than 200 weeks postconceptional age) were referred for audiologic assessment with normal ABR results. ABR parameters of normal hearing children between 2003 and 2008 were included. The results of the right ears recorded at 90 dB nHL were analyzed. A simple and accurate fitting model was formulated based on these data. A very similar age-dependent effect was found for peaks III and V, and I–III and I–V intervals; latencies decrease as postconceptional age increases. It shows that the total age-dependent effect will be completed after 1.5–2 years. The age-dependent effect can be modeled by a relatively simple and accurate exponential function. This fitting model can be easily implemented to analyze ABR results of infants in daily clinical practice. We speculate about the underlying physiological processes

O Efeito da Sinalização de Qualidade no Contexto de Serviços

Signaling theory states that signals are firms’ actions that communicate information about the quality of a product. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of signal quality in a service context, through the investigation of the signaling effects of price and responsiveness in a service context. Perceived behavior control, regarded as an individual's perception of the ability to perform a behavior, was proposed as a moderator between signaling variables and perceived quality. Two experimental studies with factorial and inter-subject designs were conducted in order to test the hypotheses formulated from the literature review. Results from both experiments show that signaling quality through price and responsiveness can affect perceived quality. The second experiment supports the hypothesis of perceived behavior control moderation between price as a signaling variable and perceived quality, but not between responsiveness and perceived quality. These results and their implications are discussed in the final section of the paper

Ultra-Fast Oleophobic-Hydrophilic Switching Surfaces for Anti-Fogging, Self-Cleaning, and Oil-Water Separation

Smooth copolymer–fluorosurfactant complex film surfaces are found to exhibit fast oleophobic–hydrophilic switching behavior. Equilibration of the high oil contact angle (hexadecane = 80°) and low water contact angle (110°), which, when combined with the inherent ultrafast switching speed, yields oil–water mixture separation efficiencies exceeding 98%

Металлизация поверхности керамики В4С комбинированным электронно-ионно-плазменным методом

Объектом исследования является керамика В4С с металлизированной поверхностью. Цель работы – исследование структуры и свойств систем «пленка (Ti)/(В4С-керамика) подложка» и «пленка (Cu)/(В4С-керамика) подложка», обработанных интенсивным импульсным электронным пучком. В процессе исследования проводились рентгенофазовые исследование; исследование поверхности и излома образцов методом сканирующей электронной микроскопии; исследование микротвердости и коэффициента вязкости разрушения образов. В результате исследования установлено формированию в поверхностном слое толщиной (5-7) мкм многофазной структуры эвтектического типа, состоящей из кристаллитов карбида бора, диборида титана и титана; снижение микротвердости модифицированных образцов керамики Ti/В4С в ≈1,2 раза относительно микротвёрдости исходных образцов. Основные конструктивные, технологические и технико-эксплуатационные характеристики: температура разложения >2450 °C; плотность 2,52 г/см³; теплопроводность 121 Вт/(мК) при 300 °К; микротвёрдость 49,1 ГПа; модуль упругости 450 ГПа; полупроводник p-типа.The object of the research is B4C ceramics with metallized surface. Objective - to study the structure and properties of systems "film (Ti) / (B4C-ceramic) substrate" and "film (Cu) / (B4C-ceramic) substrate" treated with intense pulsed electron beam. The study carried out X-ray phase study; study the surface and break the samples by scanning electron microscopy; study of microhardness and fracture toughness ratio images. The study showed the formation of a surface layer (5-7) m multiphase eutectic structure consisting of crystallites of boron carbide, titanium diboride, and titanium; decrease in microhardness modified ceramic samples Ti / B4C in ≈1,2 times the microhardness of the initial samples. The basic constructive, technological and technical and operational characteristics: the decomposition temperature of> 2450 ° C; density 2.52 g / cm³; thermal conductivity of 121 W / (mK) at 300 ° K; microhardness 49.1 GPa; modulus 450 GPa; p-type semiconductor

A backpacker habitus: the body and dress, embodiment and the self

As all cultures ‘dress’ the body through clothing, tattooing and other forms of body adornment such as cosmetics, dress offers a useful lens through which to explore the ways in which identities are constituted in modern leisure and tourism cultures. An analysis of the dress and embodied subjectivity of western backpackers in Nepal finds that dress is constitutive of self-identity and the ways backpackers imagine themselves. This study argues that dress remains an important aspect of a secondary socialization that, in an evolving process, leads to specific (western) backpacker habitus. The use of Pierre Bourdieu as a theoretical resource unravels the relationship between body and dress, embodiment and the self and shows how dress embellishes the body by adding an array of meanings within backpacking culture

Vegan diets : practical advice for athletes and exercisers.

With the growth of social media as a platform to share information, veganism is becoming more visible, and could be becoming more accepted in sports and in the health and fitness industry. However, to date, there appears to be a lack of literature that discusses how to manage vegan diets for athletic purposes. This article attempted to review literature in order to provide recommendations for how to construct a vegan diet for athletes and exercisers. While little data could be found in the sports nutrition literature specifically, it was revealed elsewhere that veganism creates challenges that need to be accounted for when designing a nutritious diet. This included the sufficiency of energy and protein; the adequacy of vitamin B12, iron, zinc, calcium, iodine and vitamin D; and the lack of the long-chain n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA in most plant-based sources. However, via the strategic management of food and appropriate supplementation, it is the contention of this article that a nutritive vegan diet can be designed to achieve the dietary needs of most athletes satisfactorily. Further, it was suggested here that creatine and β-alanine supplementation might be of particular use to vegan athletes, owing to vegetarian diets promoting lower muscle creatine and lower muscle carnosine levels in consumers. Empirical research is needed to examine the effects of vegan diets in athletic populations however, especially if this movement grows in popularity, to ensure that the health and performance of athletic vegans is optimised in accordance with developments in sports nutrition knowledge