Indications of mentoring efficacy in the development of school administrative assistants

This study was approached as an action research project where school administrative assistants (SAA) responded to a questionnaire that examined their current workplace performance against their job description. A mentoring package was used as an intervention to develop and align workplace performance with their job description in four (4) key areas: (1) Generic Competencies, (2) Office and Administration, (3) Financial Management and (4) Teacher and Student Support. After completion of the mentoring package, school administrative assistants responded to the original questionnaire again. Using quantitative measures, the study found indications of mentoring efficacy in the development of school administrative assistants within public schools. The implications of these findings recommend that mentoring be used to meet the training and development needs of all administrative roles within the public school sector

The association between muscle strength and activity limitations in patients with the hypermobility type of Ehlers–Danlos syndrome : the impact of proprioception

Purpose: The patients diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Type (EDS-HT) are characterized by pain, proprioceptive inacuity, muscle weakness, potentially leading to activity limitations. In EDS-HT, a direct relationship between muscle strength, proprioception and activity limitations has never been studied. The objective of the study was to establish the association between muscle strength and activity limitations and the impact of proprioception on this association in EDS-HT patients. Methods: Twenty-four EDS-HT patients were compared with 24 controls. Activity limitations were quantified by Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Six-Minute Walk test (6MWT) and 30-s chair-rise test (30CRT). Muscle strength was quantified by handheld dynamometry. Proprioception was quantified by movement detection paradigm. In analyses, the association between muscle strength and activity limitations was controlled for proprioception and confounders. Results: Muscle strength was associated with 30CRT (r = 0.67, p = <0.001), 6MWT (r = 0.58, p = <0.001) and HAQ (r = 0.63, p = <0.001). Proprioception was associated with 30CRT (r = 0.55, p <0.001), 6MWT (r = 0.40, p = <0.05) and HAQ (r = 0.46, p < 0.05). Muscle strength was found to be associated with activity limitations, however, proprioceptive inacuity confounded this association. Conclusions: Muscle strength is associated with activity limitations in EDS-HT patients. Joint proprioception is of influence on this association and should be considered in the development of new treatment strategies for patients with EDS-HT. Implications for rehabilitation : Reducing activity limitations by enhancing muscle strength is frequently applied in the treatment of EDS-HT patients. Although evidence regarding treatment efficacy is scarce, the current paper confirms the rationality that muscle strength is an important factor in the occurrence of activity limitations in EDS-HT patients. Although muscle strength is the most dominant factor that is associated with activity limitations, this association is confounded by proprioception. In contrast to common belief proprioception was not directly associated with activity limitations but confounded this association. Controlling muscle strength on the bases of proprioceptive input may be more important for reducing activity limitations than just enhancing sheer muscle strength

Investigation of gamma-ray sensitivity of neutron detectors based on thin converter films

Currently, many detector technologies for thermal neutron detection are in development in order to lower the demand for the rare 3He gas. Gas detectors with solid thin film neutron converters readout by gas proportional counter method have been proposed as an appropriate choice for applications where large area coverage is necessary. In this paper, we investigate the probability for gamma-rays to generate a false count in a neutron measurement. Simulated results are compared to measurement with a 10B thin film prototype and a 3He detector. It is demonstrated that equal gamma-ray rejection to that of 3He tubes is achieved with the new technology. The arguments and results presented here are also applicable to gas detectors with converters other than solid 10B layers, such as 6Li layers and 10BF3 gas.Comment: Submitted to Journal of Instrumentatio