Weaving the Fabric of Patient Safety

It is critical to support Colorado's leaders in health care, business and government to build a culture of safety, ensure safe and efficient transitions of care, and foster the creation of a Patient Safety Organization. This summary -- developed by the Colorado Patient Safety Leadership Task Force with support from The Colorado Trust -- provides a roadmap for patient safety activities in Colorado. The complete agenda, Weaving the Fabric of Patient Safety in Colorado, is available from the Colorado Patient Safety Coalition

Support needs of ASD families in the Manawatu DHB catchment area : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Figure 1 Te Whare Tapa Whā removed for copyright reasons but may be accessed via https://www.maorimenshealth.co.nz/te-whare-tapa-wha-health-whare/Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is becoming increasingly understood as being both widely heterogeneous and complex for the individual on the spectrum. Similarly, families are also highly variable and complex; they are arguably the most important support unit a child with ASD has, with their own resources, constraints, values and beliefs. Service individualisation, which accounts for such variances within the individual, and the collective, is broadly seen as critical for service delivery success. To date, little research has gauged the extent of ASD service individualisation abroad, and an understanding of how this is done in Aotearoa New Zealand is absent. The intent of this research was to investigate whether or not existing services and supports target the uniqueness of both the individual with ASD, and their families to enable them to participate in society. In particular, a key focus was if services are appropriate, accessible and sufficient. To accomplish the intent of the research a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design was utilised. Both quantitative and qualitative data was gathered from caregivers of autistic children – firstly, through an online survey featuring several lifespan themes, and subsequently, qualitative data was collected through caregiver interviews carried out with participants recruited from the MidCentral and Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (DHB) areas. Analyses of the prioritised qualitative data indicated that a variety of service delivery factors prevented families with autistic children from optimal functioning, and participating in society. Furthermore, systemic issues were theorised to be the underlying causes of several of the difficulties faced by autistic children, and their families. The importance of individualised care packages that meet the needs of the families spoken to was emphasised, and the 'wicked problem' (Stace, 2011) of services that are appropriate, accessible and adequate remains ongoing. Recommendations for meeting the needs of individuals with ASD and their families are discussed

Trust in electronic banking

Trust among stakeholders is vital for the successful implementation of IS projects such as electronic banking, because such IS initiative do not typically require face-to-face interactions. The Business-to-Business (B2B) model is an example of a relationship that facilitates the implementation of electronic banking. For example, ICT suppliers in alliance with banks to provide and support the IT infrastructure required for electronic banking implementation. These different stakeholders may have different perceptions of trust, which may affect electronic banking implementation. This short paper’s aim is to examine how trust from the stakeholder theory perspective impacts the implementation of electronic banking. This paper proposes, from the stakeholder perspective, an integrated framework that conceptualizes trust between B2B relationships as antecedent to the successful implementation of electronic banking. The research will be based on the multi-case study method. Our proposed study provides a foundation for researchers and practitioners alike in understanding the concept of trust and its impact on IS projects

Process Planning Based on User Preferences

Typical approaches to adaptive slicing in previous literature have typically used surface finish requirements to control the slicing process. As a result, slice schemes improve the part's surface quality, but do not enable explicit trade-offs between finish and build time. The purpose of this article is to present a process planning method that enables the preferences of the user for surface finish, build time, and accuracy to control how trade-offs are made in a process plan. A multiobjective goal formulation is used by this method to evaluate how well user preferences are met by a process plan. This method consists of three modules, for determining part orientation, for slicing the part, and for determining other parameter values. An example with several scenarios representing different user preferences is provided to illustrate the process planning method.Mechanical Engineerin

Climate change adaptation in industry and business

This report delivers a best practice framework to integrate financial risk assessment, governance and disclosure with existing governance principles around climate change adaptation.AbstractThe Australian business community has long been aware of the risks and opportunities associated with greenhouse gas mitigation and climate change policies. Some businesses have taken initial steps to adapt to the expected effects of climate change; however, most enterprises are only vaguely aware of the breadth of adaptation that may be required. Associated with strategic adaptation are the principles of financial/operational risk management and governance, as well as financial impact disclosure to investors and regulators. We develop a consolidated framework in which boards and executive managers can develop a robust approach to climate change adaptation governance, climate change risk assessment and financial disclosure. The project outlines a matrix of disclosures required for investors to enable them to evaluate corporate exposure to climate change risk.The project initially comprised a set of workshops with members of the Australian business community, industry representatives, regulatory authorities and academics with expertise in business risk and disclosure effects. Each workshop focused on a separate theme that built upon the work of previous workshops. A set of follow-up discussions was held with some of the key members who contributed to the project, including the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. This discussion permitted each body to comment on the final report, advise on the mechanics of the costing, reporting and disclosure approaches of climate change adaptation, and lend their expertise to the formulation of an appropriate framework.The scope of the research is constrained to firm behaviour and the requirements for investor disclosure and governance of adaptation activities. The project therefore focuses on financial analyses – including real options – undertaken by firms with regard to investing in climate change adaptation activities and projects. While the economic costs and benefits are important to organisational adaptation activities, they represent a secondary level of analysis that may need to be carried out on either an independent or cumulative scale by governments or other bodies to measure the wider effects.As the degree of sophistication in climate change adaptation activities, modelling and cost estimation increases, along with the anticipated growth in interest of both company boards and managers, it is expected that accounting standards, ASX listing rules and disclosures required under the Corporations Act would need to explicitly reflect these corporate actions. The asset allocation of banks, mutual funds, superannuation funds and other investments is also likely to adapt as companies quantify their exposure to climate change. The makeup of assets in investment portfolios may therefore markedly shift, and thus indirectly adjust to the climate change adaptation activities of companies in the broader market

Transfer Matrix Analysis of the Unidirectional Grating-Assisted Codirectional Coupler

The unidirectional grating-assisted codirectional coupler (U-GACC) has recently been proposed. This unique structure permits irreversible coupling between orthogonal waveguide eigenmodes by means of simultaneous modulation of both the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index in the coupling region. Analysis of the U-GACC has until now relied on coupled mode theory, which can be restrictive in its application as a design tool. We analyze the U-GACC by the transfer matrix method, which demonstrates in a simple fashion why the device operates in a unidirectional manner. In addition, we show that for all practical designs, there is a limit to the minimum cross talk between outputs, a phenomenon that has not been previously identified

Energy absorption and bending stiffness in CFRP laminates : the effect of 45º plies

The impact characteristics of cross-ply and angle-ply composite laminates were investigated, with an instrumented impact drop tester by performing gravity assisted drop tests on [0/90]6s and [0/45/90]4s laminates. The impact energy was kept constant at 12 J for all the tests. From the dynamic responses presented here as force history, energy history and force-displacement plots, relevant characteristics such as contact time, delamination load, absorbed energy, bending stiffness, after impact deflection etc were obtained. The plots were non-smooth, disclosing the salient features of the composites. It was important to note that the [0/45/90]4s was more resistant to impact bending, but incurred more damage as exhibited by its higher contact time and absorbed energy. The laminates were sectioned through the impact point and magnified macro and micro photographs were taken to show the failure modes, which include delamination, matrix cracking etc

Impact characterisation of doubly curved composite structure

Under repeated impact composite domes subjected 6 J energy, changes locally with increasing drop height. The action of the dynamic load generates reactions at the support and bending moments at points on the surface of the composite. The peak loads were noted to increase and stabilise about some mean value; and the 150mm diameter shell was more damage tolerant compared to the 200 mm diameter one

An experimental study of damage accumulation in balanced CFRP laminates due to repeated impact

The behaviour of balanced laminates (symmetric, antisymmetric and asymmetric) under repeated low energy hits of a 12.1 mm hemispheric impactor was evaluated. The resistance to the impulsive force was found to be influenced by the stacking sequence and the crack path through the laminate. The symmetric plate with different ply directions proved to have best resistance to impact. The rate of damage progression in the event was characterised by an equation from the energy profile that correlates the propagation energy and time. This was differentiated to give the rate of damage evolution. A comparison of the bending stiffness obtained from the force-displacement plot of the first impact, revealed that the symmetric composite had the highest stiffness. Noted at perforation were fibre breakage and matrix cracking