A practical approach to project management in a very small company

This article shows how a very small company has tailored Scrum according to its own needs. The main additions made were the “sprint design” phase and the “sprint test” phase. Before the sprint 0, the requirements elicitation and the functional specification were made in order to meet deadlines and costs agreed with clients. Besides, the introduction of an agile project management tool has supported all the process and it is considered the main success factor for the institutionalization of the Scrum process

2018 Navigating the Future: Transforming the Transition Experience for Service Members and their Families

This report, prepared by the Caster Center, is an evaluation of Year 3 of zero8hundred. Zero8hundred is a cross-sector community initiative whose mission is to proactively link transitioning service members and their families to resources and opportunities in the community, helping them successfully transition to civilian life.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-military/1005/thumbnail.jp

Sikap Pengguna Terhadap Jasa Layanan Sirkulasi Pada Kantor Arsip Dan Perpustakaan Daerah Kota Manado

The role of libraries is great because in addition to acting as one of the places of learning, he also acts as a source of information in the process of learning the general population of children to adults.Aim to find out how user attitudes toward circulation services at Library and Archive Office of Manado City. The method used in this research is quantitative descriptive method.Utilization of services in the circulation of Library and Archive Office of Manado City is still relatively low. This is evidenced by the attitude expressed through the answers to the questionnaire that was completed by 25 respondents were included in this study. The attitude of the registration of members of the library service users showed 17 people or (68%) of all respondents replied that these services are less well masi. As for the book loan service to be positive where the number of respondents who answered either there are 17 people or 68%. Returns the book there are 17 people or (68%) who say the same thing and 6 or (24%) expressed very well only one person who answered the less good and not good

Nanofabrication of spin-transfer torque devices by a PMMA mask one step process: GMR versus single layer devices

We present a method to prepare magnetic spin torque devices of low specific resistance in a one step lithography process. The quality of the pillar devices is demonstrated for a standard magnetic double layer device. For single layer devices, we found hysteretic switching and a more complex dynamical excitation pattern in higher fields. A simple model to explain the resistance spikes is presented.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, submitted to J. Appl. Phy

Active and passive radon concentration measurements and first-step mapping in schools of Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska

Radon concentration measurements were performed in all 25 primary schools in Banja Luka city, the capital of Republika Srpska, during 2011 and 2012, using both active RAD7 continual radon measuring instruments and CR-39 passive (commercially known as Gamma) detectors. The two complimentary methods were employed not only to obtain annual averages, but also to study the dynamics of radon concentration changes during the week. For each school, average and temporal variations of radon concentrations were analysed, taking into consideration local geology, building materials and meteorological conditions. The influence of forced ventilation, caused by frequent opening of doors and windows during working hours, with typical dawn and weekend peaks is evident in most but not all schools. Elevated levels of radon concentration (>400 Bq m-3) were found in a few schools using both methods. Although high correlation factor of 0.8 between passive and active methods was found, still short-time (one-week) measurements cannot be used for annual estimation of radon activity but screening one. Thus, the conclusion concerns only long time measurements as valid indicator of annual radon activity.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Working with alcohol prevention in occupational health services: "Knowing how" is more important than "knowing that" - the WIRUS OHS study

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is a major public health challenge; the majority of employees consume alcohol regularly and a considerable proportion of employees can be characterized as risky drinkers in need of interventions. Occupational health services (OHS) are uniquely positioned for implementing alcohol prevention interventions targeting employees, but rarely do so. Studies have shown that lack of knowledge among OHS personnel is a barrier to alcohol prevention activity. This study aimed to explore OHS personnels' levels of theoretical and practical alcohol knowledge, and whether these two ways of knowing were differentially associated with alcohol prevention activity. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, survey data were collected from 322 OHS personnel in Norway in 2018 (response rate=53.6%). The survey included variables of two ways of knowing (theoretical and practical) and three types of doing (intervention frequency, conducting individual interventions, and conducting group interventions). Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, paired sample t-tests, bivariate correlations, and adjusted linear and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: OHS personnel rated their theoretical alcohol knowledge higher than their practical knowledge (η2=0.33, p<0.001). Higher reported levels of practical knowledge were associated with higher intervention frequency (b=0.39, β=0.60, p<0.001) and greater likelihood of conducting individual interventions (OR=1.60, p<.001) as well as group interventions (OR=1.84, p<0.001). Theoretical knowledge was not associated with conducting interventions, and there was no evidence of an interaction between the two ways of knowing in their association with doing. Sensitivity analyses did not indicate clustering effects of OHS personnel being employed within different units. CONCLUSIONS: Different ways of knowing about alcohol among OHS personnel were dissimilarly associated with conducting alcohol prevention interventions in occupational health settings. For doing, knowing how seems to be more important than knowing that. Training programs for OHS personnel should emphasize knowledge about how to deal with alcohol-related issues and how to conduct prevention interventions, rather than focus on detrimental effects of alcohol.publishedVersio

Mussel farming production capacity and food web interactions in a mesotrophic environment

Low trophic aquaculture (LTA), such as bivalve farming, offers promising avenues to supply sustainable seafood and aquafeed. While bivalve farming usually occurs in highly productive coastal areas which already support numerous human activities and suffer from environmental pressures, numerical tools offer a promising avenue to explore and assess biomass production potential and associated ecosystemic impacts for further development of the industry and prospection of new exploitation sites. In this study, we coupled an ecophysiological model, the dynamic energy budget theory (DEB), with an ecosystem model (NORWECOM.E2E) to simulate blue mussel Mytilus spp. farming production and effects based on the food web in the mesotrophic Hardangerfjord in western Norway. We tested several levels of fjord-scale farming intensity and assessed 2 production purposes: aquafeed and human consumption. Results suggested the Hardangerfjord could host large-scale mussel farming for both purposes. However, large exploitation schemes displayed detrimental effects on individual mussel growth (39% less wet mass after 2 yr) and especially on secondary production (decrease of 33% after 1 yr) due to acute trophic competition. Simulations showed short production cycles for aquafeed were more efficient to exploit primary production, since young and small mussels have lower maintenance and reproduction costs. Dissolved nutrient inputs from salmonid farms had marginal effects on primary production (<2%). However, salmonid and mussel farming activities could compete for the sites with the highest production potential.publishedVersio

Mitigating adolescent social anxiety symptoms : the effects of social support and social self-efficacy in findings from the Young-HUNT 3 study

Adolescents’ exposure to negative life events (NLEs) and potentially traumatic events is highly prevalent and increases their risk of developing psychological disorders considerably. NLE exposure has also been linked to the development of social anxiety disorder (SAD) among older children and young adolescents. Despite the relatively low treatment efficacy reported for children and adolescents suffering from SAD, few studies have addressed the extent to which resilience factors, such as social support and social self-efficacy, are associated with SAD symptoms. This study examined whether social support and social self-efficacy predict, and buffer against SAD symptoms using a large, population-based sample of adolescents, among whom a large proportion have experienced NLEs. The results reveal that NLEs are significantly associated with SAD symptoms, while social support and social self-efficacy are both negatively associated with SAD symptoms. Only the NLEs × social support interaction significantly predicted SAD symptoms, with social support attenuating the association between NLEs and SAD symptoms. Moreover, increases in both social self-efficacy and social support were associated with reduced SAD symptoms, over and above variance explained by social support alone. Our cumulative results suggest that interventions that can modify both social support and social self-efficacy may help reduce SAD symptoms in at-risk adolescents.publishedVersionUnit Licence Agreemen

A unique mRNA species for a regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase is specifically induced in haploid germ cells

AbstractCyclic AMP (cAMP) and its action by way of cAMP-dependent protein kinase is important for sperm motility. Previous studies on germ cells have demonstrated a selective decrease in the amount of type I cAMP-dependent protein kinase during spermatid development, and that type II was the major form present in elongating spermatids and in mature sperm. This would indicate activation of a gene in haploid germ cells, encoding a regulatory subunit of type II protein kinase. However, haploid expression of such a gene has so far not been shown. In the present study we demonstrate high-levelled expression of a unique mRNA species for a specific regulatory subunit of type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase at late stages of spermatogenesis, i.e. during spermatid elongation