Component Framework Research Articles

Liminal leadership: leading betwixt and between

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to review the literature on liminal leadership, present a comprehensive perspective of it compared to other types of leadership, propose a conceptual framework of liminal leadership and provide a case on how liminal leadership addresses modern workplace issues in the ever-changing and competitive global environment.Design/methodology/approachThis research is conceptual in nature. For this, the authors searched literature on organizational and leadership theories of liminality within organizational settings and analyzed various leadership perspectives to develop a construct of liminal leadership.FindingsThe comparative analysis revealed different and/or similar characteristics of liminal leadership with other types of leadership theories. On the basis of the comparative analysis, a synthesis of liminal leadership and a proposed conceptual framework to pursue future studies of liminal leadership are provided.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the notion of liminal leadership is emerging; few have been conducted to investigate the concept. Therefore, the authors’ approach to compose the theoretical background of liminal leadership is limited. Second, they drew a logical framework of leadership components a liminal leader might use from chosen leadership theories which had some kinship and likeness to liminal leadership. However, the comparative analysis of the relationship is limited because of the conceptually based nature of analysis. Third, the proposed model of liminal leadership is tentative and conceptual in nature. Empirical studies are needed to verify the psychometric structure and reliability of the model.Originality/valueDespite its importance and a sense of urgency, almost no discussion on liminal leadership or liminality can be found in the field of HRD. The limited knowledge associated with liminal leadership places high value on the results of this study. This paper will provide a seminal base that may stimulate future human resource development (HRD) scholars. The purpose for this study is to contribute a conceptualization of liminal leadership as it applies to the field of HRD as leading and facilitating organizational changes.

Technological Interventions for Medication Adherence in Adult Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review.

BackgroundMedication adherence is critical to the effectiveness of psychopharmacologic therapy. Psychiatric disorders present special adherence considerations, notably an altered capacity for decision making and the increased street value of controlled substances. A wide range of interventions designed to improve adherence in mental health and substance use disorders have been studied; recently, many have incorporated information technology (eg, mobile phone apps, electronic pill dispensers, and telehealth). Many intervention components have been studied across different disorders. Furthermore, many interventions incorporate multiple components, making it difficult to evaluate the effect of individual components in isolation.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to conduct a systematic scoping review to develop a literature-driven, transdiagnostic taxonomic framework of technology-based medication adherence intervention and measurement components used in mental health and substance use disorders.MethodsThis review was conducted based on a published protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42018067902) in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses systematic review guidelines. We searched 7 electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Engineering Village, and ClinicalTrials.gov from January 2000 to September 2018. Overall, 2 reviewers independently conducted title and abstract screens, full-text screens, and data extraction. We included all studies that evaluate populations or individuals with a mental health or substance use disorder and contain at least 1 technology-delivered component (eg, website, mobile phone app, biosensor, or algorithm) designed to improve medication adherence or the measurement thereof. Given the wide variety of studied interventions, populations, and outcomes, we did not conduct a risk of bias assessment or quantitative meta-analysis. We developed a taxonomic framework for intervention classification and applied it to multicomponent interventions across mental health disorders.ResultsThe initial search identified 21,749 results; after screening, 127 included studies remained (Cohen kappa: 0.8, 95% CI 0.72-0.87). Major intervention component categories include reminders, support messages, social support engagement, care team contact capabilities, data feedback, psychoeducation, adherence-based psychotherapy, remote care delivery, secure medication storage, and contingency management. Adherence measurement components include self-reports, remote direct visualization, fully automated computer vision algorithms, biosensors, smart pill bottles, ingestible sensors, pill counts, and utilization measures. Intervention modalities include short messaging service, mobile phone apps, websites, and interactive voice response. We provide graphical representations of intervention component categories and an element-wise breakdown of multicomponent interventions.ConclusionsMany technology-based medication adherence and monitoring interventions have been studied across psychiatric disease contexts. Interventions that are useful in one psychiatric disorder may be useful in other disorders, and further research is necessary to elucidate the specific effects of individual intervention components. Our framework is directly developed from the substance use disorder and mental health treatment literature and allows for transdiagnostic comparisons and an organized conceptual mapping of interventions.

Using the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care Framework to evaluate women's experiences of different models of care: A qualitative study

ObjectiveThere is evidence that continuity of care - increasingly a focus of maternity care policy in the UK - contributes to improved outcomes. However, uncertainty remains about which models of care are most effective in which circumstances, and why this is. A plausible explanation is grounded in the idea that the continuity elements of care contribute to and reinforce best quality care. The Quality Maternal and Newborn Care Framework describes the components and characteristics of quality care. As a first step in developing a maternity care evaluation toolkit, we adapted this Framework to see if it could be used to evaluate perceptions and experiences of different models of care. DesignA qualitative comparative enquiry using focus groups. From a six-phase thematic analysis, we first derived then compared the principal sub-themes from the focus groups and mapped these to the original Framework. SettingTwo health boards in Scotland. ParticipantsPregnant women, new mothers, midwives and obstetricians who had experience of various models of maternity care. This paper reports findings from the pregnant women and new mothers. ResultsThese are presented in two parts: the seven focus groups with pregnant women and new mothers are reported in this paper; the five focus groups with midwives and obstetricians in our accompanying paper. Those using the maternity services had experience of caseloading midwifery, ‘modified universal provision’ and ‘high risk’ models of maternity care. While women from all groups shared certain perspectives, those with experience of caseloading midwifery were consistently positive, reporting positive relationships, tailored care and effective communication. Women experiencing other models of care, especially the modified universal provision model, tended to report more negative relational experiences: lack of information, lack of tailored care, and anxiety and confusion. Timing of the focus group (i.e. during pregnancy or after the birth) appeared to make little difference to responses. Mapping responses to the Framework's characteristics of care was straightforward; mapping also showed how the Framework's components of care are interlinked. Key conclusionsOur adaptation of the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care Framework as a data collection tool allowed us to compare women with experience of different models of care, and relational factors were identifiable in many responses. Positive responses were found in all models but were most emphasised in the caseloading midwifery model, suggesting that the experience of caseloading continuity and its relational elements is highly valued. While further work is required to identify if this can be linked to improved clinical outcomes, we have established that the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care Framework can be adapted as an exploratory tool for assessing perceptions and experiences of maternity care.

How to ensure provision of accurate data to enhance decision-making

Data is increasingly under the spotlight as regulators and clients demand more from financial institutions. In order to address this issue, this paper puts forward a framework for improving the accuracy and overall quality of data that is used to inform decision-making. Drivers for adopting a more systematic approach to improving data quality are explained in terms of the current regulatory and business context. The paper describes ‘fitness for use’ in terms of various aspects of quality that will be important to the various consumers in an organisation. The importance of data governance as an appropriate control mechanism is emphasised and a framework of necessary components is put forward. An overarching approach to corporate internal controls is vital to provide the strategic context and management backing for a data governance initiative and the various components are explained in detail. This then sets the scene for the specific data components of the framework. The paper describes how to catalogue data inventory and put meaning and relevance at the heart of explaining the data requirements of the business. Analysis of how the data is used in frontto- back processes provides the link to data lineage and describes accountability and ownership for data quality, so implementing governance within the day-to-day business. Ongoing monitoring of data quality and the types of metrics that should be used is discussed and an example of their use in a buy-side value chain adds real-world context. Finally, the meaning of data accuracy in relation to future trends in the world of ‘Big Data’ and analytics leads to the conclusion that organisations should be aiming for ‘good enough’ for a given situation. This, and future business success and profitability, however, is predicated on a fundamental understanding of the nature of the data that the business requires.

Fostering Reuse in Scientific Computing With Embedded Components

Component-based programming is a programming paradigm that eases software reuse but has yet to be widely adopted in scientific computing. We propose to embed component frameworks inside high-performance languages directly to improve flexibility compared to the literature. We present this approach through the example of a high-performance Bayesian inference application.

Shared patient and provider values in end-stage renal disease decision making: Identifying the tensions

ObjectiveTo examine concordance and tensions in values among stakeholder groups across the shared decision making process for end-stage renal disease patients treated with hemodialysis. MethodsA thematic analysis of transcripts from three stakeholder groups: hemodialysis patients (2 groups, n = 17), nephrologists (1 group, n = 9), and non-physician providers (dietitians, social workers, and registered nurses) (1 group, n = 8). A framework of decision-making components (communication, information, decision, behavior, and outcome) guided analysis of values within and across groups. ResultsShared values included communication that informed patients and involved family; information about function, trajectory, life context, and patient experience; behavior to manage diet; and outcomes of function, safety, and survival. Identified thematic tensions in patient-provider values were: personalized vs. routinized communication; shared vs. separate information; managed vs. adherent behavior; and participating vs. protected outcome. Patient behavior emerged as a contested area of control. ConclusionEmphasizing shared values and bridging values conflicts may ease tensions surrounding self-care behavior by facilitating discussions about diet, medications, and consistent dialyzing. Practice implicationsMore individualized information needs to be delivered to patients in a personalized communication approach that can still be achieved within a busy dialysis clinic setting.

Converging sources of evidence and theory integration in working memory: A commentary on Morey, Rhodes, and Cowan (2019)

Morey et al. (2019) offer a critique of the dominance of the multiple component framework of working memory in the interpretation of patterns of impairment and sparing in individuals with focal brain damage associated with specific impairments of immediate, serial-ordered verbal recall. They argue that the lack of pure cases of verbal short-term memory impairments, that recognition performance is higher than recall in such patients, that digits are remembered better than other verbal material, and that problems with replicability in patient studies undermine this traditional theoretical interpretation of the impairments from which these patients suffer. They further speculate that an alternative theoretical framework for working memory, incorporating embedded processes and perception-action links offers a more plausible account of the data from these patients. This commentary points to a range of errors and misconceptions in the arguments presented, notably that such patients are not as rare as suggested, that their recognition is actually no better than their recall, that digits offer substantial advantages for memory, and that results have been shown to be replicable between and within individuals. It is proposed that attempts to integrate more recent theoretical developments in working memory with those shown previously to be highly successful in accounting for impairments in these patients, and for generating hypotheses and accounts across a wide range of contexts may be a more fruitful approach to advancing understanding of cognition in the healthy and damaged brain.

Improving teacher professional development for online and blended learning: a systematic meta-aggregative review

In order to fully realise the potential of online and blended learning (OBL), teacher professional development (TPD) strategies on how to teach in an online or blended learning environment are needed. While many studies examine the effects of TPD strategies, fewer studies target the specific important components of these strategies. This study addresses that gap by conducting a systematic review of qualitative data consisting of 15 articles on TPD that targets OBL. Using a meta-aggregative approach, six different synthesised findings were identified and integrated into a visual framework of the key components of TPD for OBL. These synthesised findings are the base for the action recommendations which present specific and contextualised suggestions. Taken together, the findings can inform in-service teachers and trainers, together with further research and development efforts that are concerned with TPD for OBL.

A methodology for measuring the form of organic settlements

This article introduces a methodology that aims to develop a detailed framework and guideline for analyzing and measuring the urban form of any settlement, and especially the urban fabric that represents an organic layout. The basis of the methodology lays on Conzenian approach that analyzes the urban morphology by categorizing it in three main elements: streets, plots, and buildings. Since then, many studies are conducted in the field of urban morphology but only few of them focuses on measuring the spatial features of the urban space. Especially, the measurement of irregular (organic) settlements has been a real challenge since it represents a high complexity that is difficult to be measured with mathematical tools. This study tries to develop a method that is useful for measuring the spatial qualities of an organic historic settlement. Firstly, it makes a more detailed categorization and structure of the urban components. Secondly, it makes detailed mathematical measurement to extract the distances, dimensions, areas, proportions and other relationships in the settlement in different scales. The methodology uses AutoCAD and GIS tools for producing maps and making different measurements.•The methodology is useful for measuring the complexity of urban form in organic settlements.•It makes a detailed framework of urban components and is helpful for synthesizing the information and understanding the relationships among different units of the complex urban system.•It can be useful to develop an automated software/tool that makes these measurements and makes correlations between different features of measured units.

Common Ground: Frameworks for Teaching Improvisational Ability in Medical Education

Issue: The practice of medicine is intrinsically unpredictable. Clinicians must respond skillfully to this uncertainty; therefore, medical educators are using improvisational theater training methods to teach improvisational ability in areas such as communication and professionalism. This teaching approach is called “medical improv.” Although early reports of medical improv suggest promise, the collective descriptions of curricular content lack consistency. This ambiguity creates impediments for further implementation and research of this new educational technique. To address this challenge, the author presents two unifying conceptual frameworks for medical improv curricula. Evidence: Medical improv evolved from previous work done in improvisational (improv) theater and “applied improv,” which is the broader category of improv-based training in nontheater environments. The author synthesized curricular elements from all three fields of improv into two conceptual frameworks: core curricular components (skills, principles, and exercises) and core skill groups (attunement, affirmation, and advancement). The curricular component framework simplifies terminology and clarifies a previously vague distinction between skills and principles. The skill group framework harnesses a redundant and wide-ranging list of improv skills into three categories. Together, the frameworks provide a simple structure that encompasses and organizes the core concepts of medical improv. Implications: These curricular frameworks enable educators and learners to more easily understand the scope and depth of medical improv concepts and to identify areas where medical improv could enhance existing medical education strategies. For example, there is substantial overlap between improvisation skills and current curricular objectives for communication skills, as outlined by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education benchmarks (e.g., Milestones, Competencies, Entrustable Professional Activities). Medical improv courses could be an efficient way to achieve many of these objectives. In addition, improv-based exercises represent an experiential learning modality that is underutilized in communication skills training; therefore, exercises could be integrated into existing coursework to bridge the learning pathway between texts and simulation. Furthermore, the deliberate cultivation of affirmation skills could enhance resilience and wellness in clinical and learning environments. In summary, through their conceptual simplicity, these curricular frameworks for medical improv can help educators understand, study, and optimize teaching of improvisation in medical education.

Systematics of managerial reporting of public higher education institutions

The systematization of managerial reporting of public higher education institutions with the purpose of further formation and development of its theoretical foundations is worked out. The article investigates the features of the public higher education institution activities within the framework of the primary components of the systematics; taking into account the features examined and the achievements of the predecessors, the authors present the definition of managerial reporting of public higher education institutions; such a definition proposes to understand the system of interconnected and interdependent indicators of economic activity both as centers of responsibility, and in general, public higher education institutions for a certain a period that provides the need for information on the internal and external management personnel of the mentioned entities. For the implementation of the final stages of managerial reporting systematics the authors work out the classification of managerial reporting with the following features: by the types of activities; by mandatory submission; by the type of control system functional request; by its content; by relation to the levels of management within the subordination structure of budget funds distributors; by the frequency of compilation and submission; by the way of formalization; by submission form; by the period covered by the activity; by the amount of submitted information; by time factor; by the content of information; by the conditions of the external economic environment; by the level of confidentiality; by the structure; by the levels of managerial goals. The obtained results will contribute to the formation of a structurally complete scientifically substantiated basis of the managerial reporting of public higher education institutions that will ensure the establishment of the methodology for compiling managerial accounting of the mentioned business entities.

Cost function design for the fully adaptive radar framework

By emulating the neuropsychological processes underpinning animal cognition, the field of cognitive radar seeks to improve performance compared to non-adaptive systems. The fully adaptive radar (FAR) framework is an application agnostic means of implementing the perception-action cycle in radars. This work proposes a method of designing the FAR framework's component cost functions inspired by the field of multi-objective optimisation. As an illustration, the general cost functions were used to implement waveform adaptation for single target tracking. Both simulated and experimental results demonstrated how altering the cost functions can tailor the FAR performance to specific radar operating modes.

Associative composition of components with double-sided interfaces

Distributed systems are often organized in chains of components (e.g. business process chains), where each component naturally has a double-sided (left and right) interface. We suggest a corresponding, highly abstract and general framework (in mathematical terms: a monoid) of components and their composition, with minimal assumptions on the underlying global infrastructure (in fact, just a global set of symbols). As a fundamental property, decisive for the composition of more than two components, composition of such properties turns out to be associative. We discuss a number of instantiations of this framework (mainly classes of Petri nets), some of which preserve important properties (such as soundness of workflows) under composition. We glance at a number of generalizations and specializations.

Smart heating in collaborative and reasoning-enabled housing units

In aiming to create added intelligence for Things interfacing with IoT principles in the form of Services, Smart Heating Management is consistently a field of promising research. In the currently demonstrated work, an approach will be described for an operational software framework of modular components that can create intelligence in Housing Units as those presented in our scenario. The framework is based on the lightweight Case Based Reasoning approach and principles in order to describe the Problem and Solution of heating management, as well as to extract knowledge from generic historical data. Collaboration between houses is included through the sharing of anonymized high level problem-solution data, as an instantiation of the same social learning principles that govern human behavior and enable Knowledge diffusion. The approach is validated through historical data acquired in two time periods from the Camden (London) community residencies and demonstrates an average of 22% savings in boiler active time. Knowledge sharing is also analyzed along with the benefits and pitfalls it might produce.

News implied volatility and long-term foreign exchange market volatility

We apply the GARCH-MIDAS-X component framework to investigate the effect of news uncertainty on long-term exchange rate volatility. Strong empirical results reveal that market-wide information, news implied volatility (NVIX), plays an incremental role in explaining the secular volatility of FX markets relative to specific news announcements. In addition, our analysis distinguishes five sources of NVIX: Financial Intermediation, Stock Markets, Government, Natural Disasters and War. The evidence related to the five sub-indexes suggests that news regarding Financial Intermediation, Stock Markets and Government have a more significantly positive, long-run spillover impact on the volatilities of currencies. Moreover, although natural disasters and wars are rare, the news regarding them produces highly destructive impacts on society and exerts an influence on relevant currencies.

Component Structure of Credit Default Swap Spreads and Their Determinants

In this paper, we decompose credit default swap (CDS) spreads into a transitory component and a persistent component and test how these components are affected by the theoretical explanatory variables. We find significant but differing impacts of these explanatory variables on the extracted components. For example, equity volatility seems to have a larger influence on the transitory component, suggesting that its effect may be mostly short-lived, while our proxy for illiquidity has a greater impact on the persistent component indicating its more enduring effect. Also, the slope of the yield curve has impacts with opposite signs on the two components and so our analysis thus helps address the conflicting results reported in earlier studies without such a component framework. These results indicate that a two-factor formulation may be needed to model CDS options.

Multistage Pooling for Blind Quality Prediction of Asymmetric Multiply-Distorted Stereoscopic Images

Quality prediction for asymmetric multiply-distorted stereoscopic images (MDSIs) confronts more challenges than previous stereoscopic image quality assessment (SIQA) issues, whereas the existing no-reference SIQA methods have been limited to understand the asymmetric distortions and multiple distortions simultaneously for general-purpose blind quality prediction. In this paper, we propose a multistage pooling (MUSP) model for quality prediction of asymmetric MDSIs. In the training stage, we establish multimodal sparse representation framework for phase and amplitude components, respectively. In the testing stage, we use an MUSP strategy to simulate the pooling procedure undergoing multimodal quality pooling, feature pooling, binocular pooling, and phase-amplitude quality pooling in order. Experimental results on our new established database (NBU-MDSID Phase-II) demonstrate the effectiveness of our blind metric.

Feeding the Walls: How Does Nutrient Availability Regulate Cell Wall Composition?

Nutrients are critical for plants to grow and develop, and nutrient depletion severely affects crop yield. In order to optimize nutrient acquisition, plants adapt their growth and root architecture. Changes in growth are determined by modifications in the cell walls surrounding every plant cell. The plant cell wall, which is largely composed of complex polysaccharides, is essential for plants to attain their shape and to protect cells against the environment. Within the cell wall, cellulose strands form microfibrils that act as a framework for other wall components, including hemicelluloses, pectins, proteins, and, in some cases, callose, lignin, and suberin. Cell wall composition varies, depending on cell and tissue type. It is governed by synthesis, deposition and remodeling of wall components, and determines the physical and structural properties of the cell wall. How nutrient status affects cell wall synthesis and organization, and thus plant growth and morphology, remains poorly understood. In this review, we aim to summarize and synthesize research on the adaptation of root cell walls in response to nutrient availability and the potential role of cell walls in nutrient sensing.

A formal specification framework for smart grid components

PurposeSmart grid can be considered as the next step in the evolution of power systems. It comprises of different entities and objects ranging from smart appliances, smart meters, generators, smart storages, and more. One key problem in modeling smart grid is that while currently there has previously been a considerable focus on the proof of concept aspect of smart grid, there have been very few modeling attempts and even lesser attempts at formalization. To the best of our knowledge, formal specification has not been applied previously in the domain of smart grid.MethodsUsing a state-based formal specification language namely Z (pronounced as ‘Zed’), we present a novel approach to formally modeling and specify smart grid components.ResultsThe modeling exercise clearly demonstrates that Z is particularly suited for modeling various smart grid components.ConclusionsThe presented formal specification can be considered as a first step towards the modeling of smart grid using a Software Engineering formalism. It also demonstrates how formal specification can be used to model complex systems in general, and the smart grid, in particular.

Multicriteria risk assessment framework for components' risk ranking: Case study of a complex oil and gas support structure

AbstractThis paper develops and applies a methodology for multicriteria risk assessment aiming to overcome the limitations of the conventional failure mode and effect analysis where risk evaluation is performed at the higher level consideration of occurrence, severity, and detection. Breaking down these higher level criteria into a set of parameters and variables makes it possible to analyse in greater detail the physical, environmental, and process conditions of the components in response to the activities of factors of biological, chemical, and mechanical stresses. By adopting a framework comprising multicriteria decision analysis, Delphi method, nominal group technique, and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution, the fidelity, transparency, and repeatability of the assessment are ensured. The highlight of the paper is the demonstration of the capability of the model for time dependent assessment, which allows the comparison between different states of the asset's conditions through alteration in the risk profiles. The analysis conducted shows the efficient applicability of the method for the reference case study of an offshore oil and gas support structure, proving its relevance for systems of similar class.