The Application of the Hermeneutic Process to Qualitative Safety Data: A Case Study using Data from the CIRAS project

This article describes the new qualitative methodology developed for use in CIRAS (Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System), the confidential database set up for the UK railways by the University of Strathclyde. CIRAS is a project in which qualitative safety data are disidentified and then stored and analysed in a central database. Due to the confidential nature of the data provided, conventional (positivist) methods of checking their accuracy are not applicable; therefore a new methodology was developed - the Applied Hermeneutic Methodology (AHM). Based on Paul Ricoeur's `hermeneutic arc', this methodology uses appropriate computer software to provide a method of analysis that can be shown to be reliable (in the sense that consensus in interpretations between different interpreters can be demonstrated). Moreover, given that the classifiers of the textual elements can be represented in numeric form, AHM crosses the `qualitative-quantitative divide'. It is suggested that this methodology is more rigorous and philosophically coherent than existing methodologies and that it has implications for all areas of the social sciences where qualitative texts are analysed

Information Processing Models: Benefits and Limitations

This paper looks at the three main information processing models from the point of view of researchers in confidential human factors databases. It explores conceptual problems with two of these information processing models, and goes on to explore possible advantages of adopting a ‘connectionist’ paradigm. Links between connectionism and ‘situated cognition’ are demonstrated. Practical work carried out using a connectionist/situated cognition model is described, and the way in which the ‘situatedness’ of discourse can influence the kind of data that can be collected is discussed. Finally it is argued that more emphasis should be placed in ergonomics on sociation, situatedness and embodiment, and that this might help to deal with problems faced in creation and interrogating databases: especially as regards the creation of coherent and reliable ‘coding taxonomies’

Dealing with the Fallout: West Germany's Response to the Solange Decision (1974). ACES Working Papers, 2011

The European Union's powerful legal system has proven to be the vanguard moment in the process of European integration. As early as the 1960s, the European Court of Justice established an effective and powerful supranational legal order, beyond the original wording of the Treaties of Rome through the doctrines of direct effect and supremacy. Whereas scholars have analyzed the evolution of EU case law and its implications, only very recent historical scholarship has examined how the Member States received this process in the context of a number of difficult political and economic crises for the integration process. This paper investigates how the national level dealt with these fundamental transformations in the European legal system. Specifically, it examines one of the Union's most important member states, the Federal Republic of Germany. Faced with a huge number of cases dealing with European law, German judges dealt with the supremacy of European law very cautiously, negotiating between increasingly polarized academic, public and ministerial debates on the question throughout the 1960s. By the mid 1970s, the German Constitutional Court famously limited the power of the ECJ in its Solange decision (1974). This was an expression of a broader discourse in Germany from 1968 onwards about the qualitative nature of democracy and participation in public life and was in some aspects a marker, at which the German elites felt comfortable expressing the value of their national constitutional system on the European stage. This paper examines the political, media and academic build up and response to the Constitutional Court's decision in the 1970s, arguing that the national "reception" is central to understanding the dynamics and evolution of European Union legal history

Examining Nigerian Banking Governance, Leadership Style, and Performance During the Financial Crisis

The 2008–2009 global financial crisis of financial systems negatively affected about 30% of Nigerian banks, leading to profitability issues. The profitability issues led to operational challenges, downsizing, and liquidation of some banks. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between corporate governance structure, perception of leadership style, and bank performance. This study was grounded in agency theory and used survey and archival data. Survey data were collected from 11 participants employed by commercial banks located in Nigeria, using the Multifaceted Leadership Questionnaire. Corporate governance and bank performance data were collected from annual bank reports. The model as a whole was not able to significantly predict bank performance, F(2,11,) = .361, p = .708, R2 = .083. There was no relationship between corporate governance structure, employees’ perception of leadership style of bank leaders, and performance of banks. The social impact for this study is that a lack of corporate governance structures can lead to bank failures. The findings from this study may be valuable to bank executives and employees. However, the findings do not suggest that corporate governance should not be practiced in organizations. When corporate governance is practiced in organizations it strengthens the structure of the banks. The results of this study are designed to be of interest to bank leaders who need to understand the relationship between corporate governance structure, employees’ perception of leadership styles, and bank performance

Examining Nigerian Banking Governance, Leadership Style, and Performance During the Financial Crisis

The 2008–2009 global financial crisis of financial systems negatively affected about 30% of Nigerian banks, leading to profitability issues. The profitability issues led to operational challenges, downsizing, and liquidation of some banks. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between corporate governance structure, perception of leadership style, and bank performance. This study was grounded in agency theory and used survey and archival data. Survey data were collected from 11 participants employed by commercial banks located in Nigeria, using the Multifaceted Leadership Questionnaire. Corporate governance and bank performance data were collected from annual bank reports. The model as a whole was not able to significantly predict bank performance, F(2,11,) = .361, p = .708, R2 = .083. There was no relationship between corporate governance structure, employees’ perception of leadership style of bank leaders, and performance of banks. The social impact for this study is that a lack of corporate governance structures can lead to bank failures. The findings from this study may be valuable to bank executives and employees. However, the findings do not suggest that corporate governance should not be practiced in organizations. When corporate governance is practiced in organizations it strengthens the structure of the banks. The results of this study are designed to be of interest to bank leaders who need to understand the relationship between corporate governance structure, employees’ perception of leadership styles, and bank performance

Oil bearing seasonal crops in India:energy and phytoremediation potential

Purpose: A variety of biomass plantations are being raised for energy production. This case study is on energy production potential of seasonal oil bearing crops in India. These crops have the advantage of producing oil (liquid fuel) as well as biomass as agro residue (solid fuel). The purpose of the study is to estimate total energy yields of oil bearing crops and compare with other types of energy plantations. Also oil bearing crops bioaccumulate metals and thus phytoremediate soil. This provides scope for waste water irrigation. Design/methodology/approach: Relevant published papers on energy production by raising oil bearing crops have been analyzed. The effect of waste water irrigation and agronomic practices on increasing productivity is given special attention. Findings: It is shown that the seasonal oil bearing crops such as castor have a high potential to generate energy and this is comparable to energy produced by many perennial grasses. The energy yields of castor under irrigated condition was 196×103 MJ/ha and this is comparable to the reed canary grass which yields 195×103 MJ/ha. Some of the oil bearing crops are also super accumulators of certain toxic metals. Research limitations/implications: In this study, only all the accessible papers on the topic could be analyzed. Practical implications: This case study indicates that raising oil bearing crops such as castor using waste water has many advantages which include high energy yields, utilization of waste water for productive purpose and phytoremediation of soil. Originality/value: The comparison made between various types of energy crops for their energy generation is an original contribution. Findings of economic and environmental benefits by waste water irrigation are also of value

Thermally dominated deep mantle LLSVPs: A review

The two large low shear-wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs) that dominate lower-mantle structure may hold key information on Earth’s thermal and chemical evolution. It is generally accepted that these provinces are hotter than background mantle and are likely the main source of mantle plumes. Increasingly, it is also proposed that they hold a dense (primitive and/or recycled) compositional com- ponent. The principle evidence that LLSVPs may represent thermo-chemical ‘piles’ comes from seismic constraints, including: (i) their long-wavelength nature; (ii) sharp gradients in shear-wave velocity at their margins; (iii) non-Gaussian distributions of deep mantle shear-wave velocity anomalies; (iv) anti-correlated shear-wave and bulk-sound velocity anomalies (and elevated ratios between shear- and compressional-wave velocity anomalies); (v) anti-correlated shear-wave and density anomalies; and (vi) 1-D/radial profiles of seismic velocity that deviate from those expected for an isochemical, well-mixed mantle. In addition, it has been proposed that hotspots and the reconstructed eruption sites of large ig- neous provinces correlate in location with LLSVP margins. In this paper, we review recent results which indicate that the majority of these constraints do not require thermo-chemical piles: they are equally well (or poorly) explained by thermal heterogeneity alone. Our analyses and conclusions are largely based on comparisons between imaged seismic structure and synthetic seismic structures from a set of thermal and thermo-chemical mantle convection models, which are constrained by ∼ 300 Myr of plate motion histories. Modelled physical structure (temperature, pressure and composition) is converted into seismic velocities via a thermodynamic approach that accounts for elastic, anelastic and phase con- tributions and, subsequently, a tomographic resolution filter is applied to account for the damping and geographic bias inherent to seismic imaging. Our results indicate that, in terms of large-scale seismic structure and dynamics, these two provinces are predominantly thermal features and, accordingly, that chemical heterogeneity is largely a passive component of lowermost mantle dynamics

How have Patients\u27 Experiences of Cancer Care Been Linked to Survival? A Systematic Review

Patient experience of care remains an important indicator of health care quality. Although studies show care experiences are associated with health outcomes for some conditions, the situation for cancer is unclear. New datasets on cancer patients in the US, Canada, and UK linking information on experiences and survival may enable an exploration of any association. This review aimed to identify studies linking any aspect of cancer patients’ experiences to their survival, to inform future analyses. We performed a systematic review using Medline database from January 1998 until March 2018. The settings included outpatient oncology clinics, primary care, hospitals, and cancer centres. The participants included adult patients from different demographic groups. 16 Studies (ten observational, two clinical trials, two qualitative, and two consecutive case series) describing a wide range of settings, populations and methods met our inclusion criteria. Patients’ experiences were mostly linked to survival in quantitative studies. Satisfaction with care and psychosocial support were the aspects of experience associated with survival. Although positive associations between experience and survival were more common, negative and lack of association findings were also reported. Overall, there was no agreement on the strength, direction of the association, and the type of measurements to use. In conclusion, a wide range of studies suggest a relationship may exist between patients’ experiences of cancer care and their survival. However, this relationship is complex and methodological challenging to study. Future research should carefully consider different aspects of patient experience and care and the way in which they may affect cancer survival