Building Cross Cultural Competencies.

The Building Cross Cultural Competencies project was developed with the aim of equipping undergraduate students at the University of York with skills to work in the globalised world, while at the same time assisting with the induction and orientation of international students, new to the institution and to study in the UK. The inspiration for the programme dates back to 2006, when one of the authors visited three Universities in New Zealand and Australia. These Universities were perceived to be further down the route to internationalisation (as defined by Knight 2003) than was the norm in the UK at the time. Innovations observed at Massey and Waikato Universities in New Zealand and the University of Sydney, Australia, were redesigned and redeveloped for use at the University of York, with the agreement of the staff involved at those institutions. In particular, a cross cultural communication module and two distinctive peer mentor schemes provided the nucleus of the idea for a new initiative at York that would span the employability and internationalisation agendas This paper identifies how the project redesigned and developed ideas taken from Australian and New Zealand Universities for use in a UK context. It makes links to the literature on student adjustment and institutional adaptation; peer teaching and cross cultural communication skills. It will also consider the problems and difficulties experienced as the project progressed

The Experience of Work Stress in Newly Qualified Counselling Psychologists Working in Multi-Disciplinary Team Settings: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

This study explores the experiences of work stress in newly qualified (NQ) counselling psychologists (CoP) working in multi-disciplinary teams (MDT). Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the transcripts analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis from a constructivist epistemological position. The analysis highlighted four main themes as important to NQ CoPs’ experiences of work stress in MDTs: (1) Stress in transition: The qualified role as a baptism of fire, (2) Stress in navigating MDT dynamics, (3) Necessities and tensions in support networks, and (4) Managing stress in the qualified space: ‘You just have to get on with it’. Each theme highlighted elements of participants’ experiences of work stress within the CoP journey, such as feeling that there were greater work-related demands on qualifying, in the context of fewer internal and external resources. The transition left some feeling deskilled, unprepared, and pressured to adapt and ‘catch up’. This was all whilst navigating difference and power in the MDT, and the emotional demands of the CoP role. Participants sought to feel part of the MDT ingroup yet stay true to their CoP values, which sometimes meant risking becoming professionally isolated by presenting alternative views to the predominant medical model. Additionally, participants seemingly experienced tensions regarding the use of support networks for managing stress due to the ethical limitations and emotional demands of client work. Moreover, seeking to avoid being consumed by work, and feeling pressure to represent the CoP community and ‘get on with it’, it seemed necessary on qualifying for participants to take responsibility for managing their work stress. Recommendations seek to help NQ CoPs and those within the CoP field think how best to prepare for, evaluate, cope with, and adapt to qualification and MDT working so the potential for burnout, in an already emotionally demanding role, can be reduced

Passing the Turing Test Does Not Mean the End of Humanity

In this paper we look at the phenomenon that is the Turing test. We consider how Turing originally introduced his imitation game and discuss what this means in a practical scenario. Due to its popular appeal we also look into different representations of the test as indicated by numerous reviewers. The main emphasis here, however, is to consider what it actually means for a machine to pass the Turing test and what importance this has, if any. In particular does it mean that, as Turing put it, a machine can “think”. Specifically we consider claims that passing the Turing test means that machines will have achieved human-like intelligence and as a consequence the singularity will be upon us in the blink of an eye

NERVA irradiation program, GTR test 21. Volume 4 - Effect of radiation on structural materials tested at cryogenic and elevated temperatures

Effect of radiation on structural materials for NERVA engine tested at cryogenic and elevated temperatures - Vol.

Developing the Business Process Management Performance of an Information System Using the Delphi Study Technique

Information systems are used to manage an organisation’s business process management (BPM), its operations and performance. Thus, organisations will benefit from systematic processes for evaluating their business information systems with the aim of developing BPM and business information systems performance. The Delphi Study Technique (DST) is a structured business study technique that can be used as a systematic and interactive assessment process based on controlled feedback from business experts, professionals, or others with relevant experience. The Delphi study technique (also known as the Delphi method) has produced significant achievements in evaluating and improving BPM through identifying BPM values to be used as key indicators. This paper describes the essential stages for measuring the performance of an information system by combining the Delphi method and BPM values to improve an organisation’s business performance. The paper provides examples of the use of DST and discusses empirical results from the published literature

Complete recovery from anxiety disorders following Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in children and adolescents: a meta analysis

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a well-established treatment for childhood anxiety disorders. Meta-analyses have concluded that approximately 60% of children recover following treatment, however these include studies using a broad range of diagnostic indices to assess outcomes including whether children are free of the one anxiety disorder that causes most interference (i.e. the primary anxiety disorder) or whether children are free of all anxiety disorders. We conducted a meta-analysis to establish the efficacy of CBT in terms of absence of all anxiety disorders. Where available we compared this rate to outcomes based on absence of primary disorder. Of 56 published randomized controlled trials, 19 provided data on recovery from all anxiety disorders (n = 635 CBT, n = 450 control participants). There was significant heterogeneity across those studies with available data and full recovery rates varied from 47.6 to 66.4% among children without autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) and 12.2 to 36.7% for children with ASC following treatment, compared to up to 20.6% and 21.3% recovery in waitlist and active treatment comparisons. The lack of consistency in diagnostic outcomes highlights the urgent need for consensus on reporting in future RCTs of childhood anxiety disorders for the meaningful synthesis of data going forwards

Developing the Business Process Management Performance of an Information System Using the Delphi Study Technique

Information systems are used to manage an organisation’s business process management (BPM), its operations and performance. Thus, organisations will benefit from systematic processes for evaluating their business information systems with the aim of developing BPM and business information systems performance. The Delphi Study Technique (DST) is a structured business study technique that can be used as a systematic and interactive assessment process based on controlled feedback from business experts, professionals, or others with relevant experience. The Delphi study technique (also known as the Delphi method) has produced significant achievements in evaluating and improving BPM through identifying BPM values to be used as key indicators. This paper describes the essential stages for measuring the performance of an information system by combining the Delphi method and BPM values to improve an organisation’s business performance. The paper provides examples of the use of DST and discusses empirical results from the published literature

X 1908+075: An X-ray Binary with a 4.4 day Period

X 1908+075 is an optically unidentified and highly absorbed X-ray source that appears in early surveys such as Uhuru, OSO-7, Ariel V, HEAO-1, and the EXOSAT Galactic Plane Survey. These surveys measured a source intensity in the range of 2-12 mCrab at 2-10 keV, and the position was localized to ~ 0.5 degrees. We use the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) All Sky Monitor (ASM) to confirm our expectation that a particular Einstein IPC detection (1E 1908.4+0730) provides the correct position for X 1908+075. The analysis of the coded mask shadows from the ASM for the position of 1E 1908.4+0730 yields a persistent intensity ~ 8 mCrab (1.5-12 keV) over a 3 year interval beginning in 1996 February. Furthermore, we detect a period of 4.400 +- 0.001 days with a false alarm probability < 1.0e-7 . The folded light curve is roughly sinusoidal, with an amplitude that is 22 % of the mean flux. The X-ray period may be attributed to the scattering and absorption of X-rays through a stellar wind combined with the orbital motion in a binary system. We suggest that X 1908+075 is an X-ray binary with a high mass companion star.Comment: 6 pages, two-column,"emulateapj" style, submitted to Ap