Evaluation of a manufacturing task support system using the Task Technology Fit Model

This paper presents an exploratory study of a Task Support System (TSS) supporting manufacturing task operations. The study investigated the degree to which a TSS, in use in a company, actually supports the task of the shop floor personnel. The approach has been to adopt the Task-Technology Fit (TTF) instrument to measure the degree of fitness between the TSS and the associated task. The analysis gives an indication of the state of the TSS and the potential improvements that can be made. The study also shows that the instrument can be used as a foundation for the development of a hypermedia TSS and a benchmarking tool for a TSS

Synaptic Plasticity in A Visual Cortical Region Induced by Early-Deafness

When organisms learn and adapt to their environment or lose a sensory modality, neurons in the brain undergo a cellular process called ‘plasticity.’ This thesis explores the loss of a non- visual system (early deafness) and how it can affect visual plasticity. To examine this question, Golgi-stained cortical neurons were studied from the visual region PLLS from early-deaf cats and their hearing controls. Dendritic spine density and dendritic spine diameter are well-known indicators of synaptic plasticity and these neuronal features were measured using light microscopic techniques and Neurolucida. Within the visual PLLS, the mean spine density for the deaf cats was 1.171 ± 0.295 spines/micron, while for hearing cats it was 0.984 ± 0.227 spines/micron, which was a statistically significant increase (p\u3c0.0001). The mean spine diameter for the deaf cats was 0.478 ± 0.119 microns, while for hearing cats it was 0.527 ± 0.211 microns, which is a statistically significant decrease (p\u3c0.0001). These changes in dendritic spine properties indicate that the neurons in the PLLS underwent synaptic plasticity. These findings are significant because they show that visual regions of cortex can be affected by non- visual conditions or treatments such as early deafness

Social Justice, The Common Weal and Children and Young People in Scotland

This paper argues that: • Scotland should organise itself around social justice, which addresses entitlements, redistribution, recognition and respect. • Children and young people have particular views on what social justice means for them. • Rights have a particular contribution to make to social justice in term of entitlements, claims and minimal standards. • The combination of piecemeal incorporation of children’s rights, an apolitical wellbeing framework and a lack of strong legislation to hold local authorities and other public services, private sector organisations and the third sector to account, results in children and young people encountering discrimination on an everyday basis. • To achieve social justice, a change is needed in how adults perceive children and childhood, young people and youth. Children and young people need to be recognised as contributors to their families, institutions and communities now – and not just in the future. • For children and young people to be included in the Common Weal, it needs to be concerned with the full and diverse range of structural, cultural and individual barriers that they encounter in their lives

Changing Opportunities for Partnership for Men and Women Lawyers During the Transformation of the Modern Law Firm

Considerable controversy surrounds partnership in law firms, particularly regarding the possibility of systematic gender bias and discrimination. This article contributes to the existing literature by considering explanations of women\u27s under-representation in partnerships within the historical context of changes in the structure of law practice. Such changes include transitions in the organization and scale of contemporary law firms, the emergence of branch offices and international markets, the diversification of recruitment practices and mobility routes through modified firm hierarchies, and rising expectations of billable hours. Using a survey of over 1,000 lawyers in Ontario law firms, the authors examine opportunities for partnership in terms of individual resources, firm characteristics, economic climate, and women\u27s representation in law practice. The findings of this study reveal a profession undergoing rapid structural transformation involving reduced partnership opportunities for women and men, with women faring worse than men in this competition. The authors assess causes of this gender disparity and suggest policy recommendations toward the achievement of gender equality in law firms

Changing Opportunities for Partnership for Men and Women Lawyers During the Transformation of the Modern Law Firm

Considerable controversy surrounds partnership in law firms, particularly regarding the possibility of systematic gender bias and discrimination. This article contributes to the existing literature by considering explanations of women\u27s under-representation in partnerships within the historical context of changes in the structure of law practice. Such changes include transitions in the organization and scale of contemporary law firms, the emergence of branch offices and international markets, the diversification of recruitment practices and mobility routes through modified firm hierarchies, and rising expectations of billable hours. Using a survey of over 1,000 lawyers in Ontario law firms, the authors examine opportunities for partnership in terms of individual resources, firm characteristics, economic climate, and women\u27s representation in law practice. The findings of this study reveal a profession undergoing rapid structural transformation involving reduced partnership opportunities for women and men, with women faring worse than men in this competition. The authors assess causes of this gender disparity and suggest policy recommendations toward the achievement of gender equality in law firms

Carboplatin binding to a model protein in non-NaCl conditions to eliminate partial conversion to cisplatin, and the use of different criteria to choose the resolution limit

Hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) co-crystallisation conditions of carboplatin without sodium chloride (NaCl) have been utilised to eliminate partial conversion of carboplatin to cisplatin observed previously. Tetragonal HEWL crystals were successfully obtained in 65% MPD with 0.1M citric acid buffer at pH 4.0 including DMSO. The X-ray diffraction data resolution to be used for the model refinement was reviewed using several topical criteria together. The CC1/2 criterion implemented in XDS led to data being significant to 2.0{\AA}, compared to the data only being able to be processed to 3.0{\AA} using the Bruker software package (SAINT). Then using paired protein model refinements and DPI values based on the FreeR value, the resolution limit was fine tuned to be 2.3{\AA}. Interestingly this was compared with results from the EVAL software package which gave a resolution limit of 2.2{\AA} solely using crossing 2, but 2.8{\AA} based on the Rmerge values (60%). The structural results showed that carboplatin bound to only the N{\delta} binding site of His-15 one week after crystal growth, whereas five weeks after crystal growth, two molecules of carboplatin are bound to the His-15 residue. In summary several new results have emerged: - firstly non-NaCl conditions showed a carboplatin molecule bound to His-15 of HEWL; secondly binding of one molecule of carboplatin was seen after one week of crystal growth and two molecules were bound after five weeks of crystal growth; and thirdly the use of several criteria to determine the diffraction resolution limit led to the successful use of data to higher resolution.Comment: 14 pages; submitted to Acta Cryst D Biological Crystallography reference number tz504

Returning to Learning: Adults' Success in College Is Key to America's Future

Provides an overview of research on adult learners' characteristics, risk factors, and needs at four-year institutions and in for-credit and non-credit courses, and what changes institutions and governments can implement to help adult students succeed

An investigation into manufacturing technology sourcing practices

This paper investigates the decisions that companies make when choosing the source of their manufacturing technology. It builds on previous research that has identified differences between the practices of US and Japanese manufacturing companies. A structured study of manufacturing technology sourcing practices at 14 US-based manufacturing companies is described. This research has confirmed that there is a trend in the companies studied to acquire manufacturing technology from sources external to their organisations. However, no formal processes are used to form these policies. When a rationale for this behaviour was sought, companies gave a series of reasons concerned with business focus, efficiency of technology acquisition, and the extent, defence and support of manufacturing capabilities

Motor Timing Intraindividual Variability in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Cognitively Intact Elders at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

Introduction: Intraindividual variability (IIV) in motor performance has been shown to predict future cognitive decline. The apolipoprotein E-epsilon 4 (APOE-ε4) allele is also a well-established risk factor for memory decline. Here, we present novel findings examining the influence of the APOE-ε4 allele on the performance of asymptomatic healthy elders in comparison to individuals with amnestic MCI (aMCI) on a fine motor synchronization, paced finger-tapping task (PFTT). Method: Two Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk groups, individuals with aMCI (n = 24) and cognitively intact APOE-ε4 carriers (n = 41), and a control group consisting of cognitively intact APOE-ε4 noncarriers (n = 65) completed the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the PFTT, which requires index finger tapping in synchrony with a visual stimulus (interstimulus interval = 333 ms). Results: Motor timing IIV, as reflected by the standard deviation of the intertap interval (ITI), was greater in the aMCI group than in the two groups of cognitively intact elders; in contrast, all three groups had statistically equivalent mean ITI. No significant IIV differences were observed between the asymptomatic APOE-ε4 carriers and noncarriers. Poorer episodic memory performance was associated with greater IIV, particularly in the aMCI group. Conclusions: Results suggest that increased IIV on a fine motor synchronization task is apparent in aMCI. This IIV measure was not sensitive in discriminating older asymptomatic individuals at genetic risk for AD from those without such a genetic risk. In contrast, episodic memory performance, a well-established predictor of cognitive decline in preclinical AD, was able to distinguish between the two cognitively intact groups based on genetic risk