An exploratory study into the factors that influence patients' perceptions of cleanliness in an acute NHS trust hospital

Purpose – If NHS hospitals wish to influence patients to choose them and, as the literature review suggests, cleanliness will be a key-influencing factor in making that choice, it would seem important for hospitals to understand what factors lead people to decide whether a hospital is clean or dirty. The research aims to identify what the key factors are that influence patients' perceptions of cleanliness and to rank these factors in order of importance. Design/methodology/approach – The project utilised a mixed methodology to collect the data. The hospital staff and people who had been recent patients took part in focus groups in order to gather their views. The current hospital in-patients were surveyed through the use of a paper questionnaire. Findings – The main themes that influence the perceptions of cleanliness emerging from the analysis can be summarised under three broad headings – appearance of the environment, physical cleanliness and staff behaviour. The findings suggest that this subject is much more complex than the production of a list. The appearance of the environment is a complex set of perceptions based on what individuals believe to be important, what they observe and what they expect. The research suggests that the appearance of the environment is the most important factor. Originality/value – The paper starts to explore the factors that influence patient perception of cleanliness and provides practical information to NHS estates and facilities managers.</p

Gamow-Teller GT+ distributions in nuclei with mass A=90-97

We investigate the Gamow-Teller strength distributions in the electron-capture direction in nuclei having mass A=90-97, assuming a 88Sr core and using a realistic interaction that reasonably reproduces nuclear spectroscopy for a wide range of nuclei in the region as well as experimental data on Gamow-Teller strength distributions. We discuss the systematics of the distributions and their centroids. We also predict the strength distributions for several nuclei involving stable isotopes that should be experimentally accessible for one-particle exchange reactions in the near future.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures (from 17 eps files), to be submitted to Phys.Rev.C; corrected typos, minor language change

A study of the relationships between the mechanical response of the tympanic membrane and the electrophysiological indicators of hearing in the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

Mechanical response of frog membrane to stimulating frequencies and electrophysiologically determined hearing area

Chapter 5: The Role of Design in Conserving Product Value in the Circular Economy

Design is integral to human activity and has been practised since humans first made tools to fulfil specific functions. It was formalised during the first industrial revolution; since then it has evolved to become a multidisciplinary profession. Before, the industrial revolution products and buildings were ‘circular’ by default. However, the development of synthetic and composite materials, and product and component miniaturisation, has encouraged linear economic practices in design and manufacture. This has raised concern in the European Union about rising waste, demand on resources, and risk to supply. In this chapter we explore the role of design in the value chain through four industrial sectors and discuss their evolution to understand the potential for circularity and the extent to which design can influence and contribute to circular practice and sustainable development goals now and in the future

Manned simulations of the SRMS in SIMFAC

SIMFAC is a general purpose real-time simulation facility currently configured with an Orbiter-like Crew Compartment and a Displays and Controls (D and C) Subsystem to support the engineering developments of the Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator (SRMS). The simulation consists of a software model of the anthropomorphic SRMS manipulator arm including the characteristics of its control system and joint drive modules. The following are discussed: (1) simulation and scene generation subsystems; (2) the SRMS task in SIMFAC; (3) operator tactics and options; (4) workload; (5) operator errors and sources; (6) areas for further work; and (7) general observations