A Study to Determine the Opinions of Information Technology Professionals Related to the Value of Soft Skills in Technical Work Environments

The goals of this study were to answer the following questions: 1. Do information technology professionals consider soft skills vital to their ability to perform successfully in their careers? 2. How important do soft skills rate today as compared to five years ago in the workplace? 3. What types of soft skills do information technology professionals need to develop to enhance their careers

The management of elderly patients with pain.

This research project is designed to determine a plan of assessment and intervention, which can be used by nurses in the community to help elderly patients cope with painful conditions. A theoretical model is developed, in which coping is defined in terms of the degree of control experienced over pain and other stressors. This model identifies emotional state as the indicator of coping at any particular time. A study is described, in which subjects were 190 retired patients, who were being visited by a district nurse, and who identified that they had persistent or recurrent pain. Data on pain and coping was collected using semi-structured interview. Mood state was measured as the dependent variable. Independent variables for quantitative analysis included pain intensity ratings, pain duration, disability, health, personal and financial problems, age and locus of control. Qualitative data were collected to validate the quantitative findings. Questionnaire data were collected from nurses for purposes of verification and comparison. Nonparametric correlations, and multiple regression analysis, identified that the variables which directly determined coping were feeling the pain to be under control, being occupied, feeling informed about the painful condition, having regrets and non pain-related personal problems (notably bereavement loss). Those who used active occupational and pain-relieving strategies coped better than those who adopted passive coping strategies. Patients generally valued supportive aspects of nursing care, particularly the provision of encouragement and confidence. Nurses systematically underestimated patients' worst pain and overestimated anxiety. There was a significant association between patients' pain complaints and perceived pain exaggeration. Few nurses used a pain assessment protocol, or had received formal education in the management of chronic pain. These results are used to produce guidelines for the nursing management of elderly patients with pain in the community, with particular reference to assessment and intervention, based upon the nursing proces

ARS Assists in Fight Against Kudzu Bug

Sure, this distant relative of the brown marmorated stink bug will feed voraciously on the stems of kudzu, the “Vine That Ate the South.” But Megacopta cribraria also has a taste for soybean and other legumes. In Georgia, where this native of Asia was first discovered in the United States in October 2009, there’s worry that the pest will set its sights on peanut, endangering a $2 billion crop that supplies nearly 50 percent of America’s peanuts (Georgia Peanut Commission, 2009). Like the brown marmorated stink bug, Megacopta—also known as the “bean plataspid”—seeks shelter inside homes, buildings, and vehicles during the fall as temperatures cool. And when disturbed, it too emits a foul smell. Researchers, however, haven’t been idle. For example, at the Agricultural Research Service’s Stoneville [Mississippi] Quarantine Research Facility, entomologist Walker Jones is evaluating a secret weapon in the form of Paratelenomus saccharalis, a tiny black wasp received, under permit, from Japan in 2011

Breeding colony of Common Swifts (Apus apus) in a motorway bridge

Wir beschreiben eine ungewöhnliche Brutkolonie des Mauerseglers unter einer Autobahnbrücke. Im Jahr 2007 bestand die Kolonie aus 38 Brutpaaren, von denen 35 erfolgreich brüteten. Trotzdem war die Überlebensrate der Nestlinge wegen der schlechten Wetterbedingungen sehr niedrig. Nur 7 von 75 Nestlingen flogen aus. Der Standort bietet exzellente Möglichkeiten, weitere Aspekte der Life-History von Mauerseglern zu untersuchen.We describe an unusual site for a nesting colony of the Common Swift situated under a motorway bridge. This colony contained 38 breeding pairs in 2007, 35 of which successfully produced nestlings. However, due to poor weather conditions the survival rate of nestlings was low. Only 7 from a total of 75 nestlings fledged successfully. This site offers an excellent opportunity to study swifts further and to investigate aspects of swift and avian life-history

The Electronic and Superconducting Properties of Oxygen-Ordered MgB2 compounds of the form Mg2B3Ox

Possible candidates for the Mg2B3Ox nanostructures observed in bulk of polycrystalline MgB2 (Ref.1) have been studied using a combination of Z-contrast imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and first-principles calculations. The electronic structures, phonon modes, and electron phonon coupling parameters are calculated for two oxygen-ordered MgB2 compounds of composition Mg2B3O and Mg2B3O2, and compared with those of MgB2. We find that the density of states for both Mg2B3Ox structures show very good agreement with EELS, indicating that they are excellent candidates to explain the observed coherent oxygen precipitates. Incorporation of oxygen reduces the transition temperature and gives calculated TC values of 18.3 K and 1.6 K for Mg2B3O and Mg2B3O2, respectively.Comment: Submitted to PR

The course of mental health problems in children presenting with abdominal pain in general practice

Objective. To investigate the course of mental health problems in children presenting to general practice with abdominal pain and to evaluate the extent to which abdominal pain characteristics during follow-up predict the presence of mental health problems at 12 months' follow-up. Design. A prospective cohort study with one-year follow-up. Setting. 53 general practices in the Netherlands, between May 2004 and March 2006. Subjects. 281 children aged 4-17 years. Main outcome measures. The presence of a depressive problem, an anxiety problem, and multiple non-specific somatic symptoms at follow-up and odds ratios of duration, frequency, and severity of abdominal pain with these mental health problems at follow-up. Results. A depressive problem persisted in 24/74 children (32.9%; 95% CI 22.3-44.9%), an anxiety problem in 13/43 (30.2%; 95% CI 17.2-46.1%) and the presence of multiple non-specific somatic symptoms in 75/170 children (44.1%; 95% CI 36.7-51.6%). None of the abdominal pain characteristics predicted a depressive or an anxiety problem at 12 months' follow-up. More moments of moderate to severe abdominal pain predicted the presence of multiple nonspecific somatic symptoms at follow-up. Conclusions. In one-third of the children presenting to general practice for abdominal pain, anxiety and depressive problems persist during one year of follow-up. Characteristics of the abdominal pain during the follow-up period do not predict anxiety or depressive problems after one-year follow-up. We recommend following over time children seen in primary care with abdominal pain

Propeller/fan-pitch feathering apparatus

A pitch feathering system for a gas turbine driven aircraft propeller having multiple variable pitch blades utilizes a counter-weight linked to the blades. The weight is constrained to move, when effecting a pitch change, only in a radial plane and about an axis which rotates about the propeller axis. The system includes a linkage allowing the weight to move through a larger angle than the associated pitch change of the blade

Oiconomy Pricing - Real price of ground cinnamon from Indonesia

Verstegen is a spices & herbs manufacturer from the Netherlands. Verstegen sources broken and cleaned cinnamon bark from Kerinci, Sumatera, Indonesia. The cassia cinnamon tree is grown in a remote forest setting by smallholders and sold to local collectors. It takes 15 to 25 years to grow cinnamon. To harvest the cinnamon, the whole three, will be cut down to strip the bark of the trunk. Verstegen initiated a crop diversification project with their local partner to overcome the first 5 to 10 years after the trees have been harvested. The case study focesses onnthe inpacts of this mode of production