Part-time Specialists Research Articles

Optimizing Routes and Schedules of Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

According to occupational health and safety law of 6331, companies employing the certain number of workers or focusing the certain level of hazardous works must employ a full-time occupational health and safety (OHS) professional or be serviced by a part time one for prespecified durations. Many companies prefer to be serviced by part-time specialists since it is more cost-effective. Specialists working for independent joint health and safety units visit companies and service during predefined times daily basis by starting and ending the tours from/to their homes or offices. They spend long times among visits in traffic. Therefore, minimizing travel distances of specialists creates leisure times for rest and service. This problem is very similar to the Vehicle Routing Problem that has already been studied and applied many areas varied from logistic to security for long years. In this study, daily routing and scheduling activities of a specialist based on three scenarios are modelled with the mixed integer linear programming, frequently used to solve VRPs. Optimal routes and schedules for three scenarios are demonstrated and discussed. The main aim of the study is to show decision makers and specialists in the OHS area how to use operations research tools in their daily basis activities.

Training in pediatric hepatology across Europe: a survey of the National Societies Network (2016-2019) of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

BackgroundThe widely recognized burden of liver diseases makes training in pediatric hepatology (PH) imperative. The aim of this survey, which was part of a global survey on training in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition (PGHN) across Europe, was to assess the PH and liver transplantation (LT) infrastructure, staff and training programs in PGHN training centers.MethodStandardized questionnaires were collected from training centers via the presidents/representatives of the National Societies Network of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) from June 2016 to December 2019.ResultsA total of 100 PGHN training centers participated in the survey (14/100 were national referral centers in PH and/or LT). Dedicated PH clinics were available in 75%, but LT clinics in only 11%. Dedicated beds for PGHN inpatients were available in 47/95 (49%) centers. Full-time or part-time specialists for PH care were available in 31/45 (69%) and 11/36 (31%) centers, respectively. Liver biopsies (LB) were performed in 93% of centers by: a PGHN specialist (35%); an interventional radiologist (26%); a pediatric surgeon (4%); or a combination of them (35%). Dividing the annual number of LBs in the centers performing LBs by the number of trainees gave a median (range) of 10 (1-125) per trainee. Transient elastography was available in 60/92 (65%) of centers.ConclusionsThe survey highlighted the differences and shortcomings in PH training across Europe. ESPGHAN should take initiatives together with National Societies to ensure the acquisition of PH knowledge and skills according to the ESPGHAN curriculum.An infographic is available for this article at: http://www.annalsgastro.gr/files/journals/1/earlyview/2022/Infographic-Hepatology-training-paper.pdf

Maintenance and Mutability amongst Specialist Potters on the Northeast Coast of New Guinea

This paper examines a central concern in archaeological research: the interplay between technological and social flux over the longue durée. This is done by describing ceramic technological continuity and change, and its correspondence with broader social processes, on the northeast coast of New Guinea in the recent past. It presents new ethnographic information from Madang, Papua New Guinea, involving Bilbil and Yabob potters, to outline the chaîne opératoire of pottery production at present. Comparisons with ethnohistorical texts then allow us to model technological change over a longer period of c. 150 years, following the direct historical approach. This shows distinct continuity, but also substantial modification throughout the nineteenth–twenty-first centuries, as the potters negotiated major social upheavals during the colonial and post-independence periods, such as forcible relocation from their offshore islands onto the mainland. This expands our understanding of how social and technological change can take place amongst small-scale, part-time pottery specialists over the longue durée and how this change is reflected in the finished products and raw materials.

Composition, Processing and Properties of Composite Ceramic Sickle Blades from Mesopotamia

ABSTRACTCeramic tools were made in lowland Mesopotamia from about 4500 to 2750 B.C.E. At first hammers, adzes, axes and sickles were made. By about 3300-3100 B.C.E., only sickles were made. We reverse engineered the technology to show that local, salty montmorillonite clay and quartz sand were formed into a composite blade and handle from a biconical coil and fired to 1120-1170°C based on analysis of refiring tests. At 1200°C the montmorillonite clay transforms to glass, so the firing range was right on the edge of slumping the ceramic into a useless mass. To prevent plastic deformation of the clay about 25-33 vol% of quartz sand was added. The extensive glassy matrix phase enabled the best blades to be resharpened by pressure flaking. The compositions, phase assemblage, firing temperature range, material limits on processing, and properties have been characterized for 15 sickle samples from Nippur using Xeroradiography, SEM-EDS, EPMA, and analysis of refiring tests. Strength and hardness tests and toughness calculations were conducted on replicate test tiles made using clay from Pit M at Nippur, Iraq, and sand.Based on finds of small groups of well-fused sickles that were overfired and melted together and our experiments that demonstrated the difficulty of controlling peak temperature range and firing time for the somewhat variable raw material, the sickles probably were fired in small groups, of perhaps 10-15, in small arched, tunnel kilns that achieved high temperatures by facing somewhat predictable oncoming wind flows that provided natural draft. No evidence of workshops has been located, but, based on the archaeological finds at Nippur and our analyses, we propose that sickle-making may have been practiced as a local, seasonal, popular technology with tools being made by farmers or part-time specialists who fired in small, temporary tunnel kilns in fields or near settlements during the dependable seasonal winds. This research investigated the sickles as a well-engineered, but risk-prone ceramic manufacture that fulfilled an important a societal need, agricultural success. The technological choices of craftsmen were narrowed by raw material constraints, risk-taking, practice and workmanship to achieve desired properties and performance characteristics.

SIKYATKI POLYCHROME: STYLE, ICONOGRAPHY, CROSS-MEDIA COMPARISONS, AND ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION

Sikyatki Polychrome (A.D. 1385–1629) is one of the most easily recognized, yet least understood, pottery types in the Southwest. This article explains the history of the Sikyatki Polychrome type description and how its chronological range was established. It explores the stylistic and iconographic repertoire of Sikyatki Polychrome, and compares pottery painting with rock art, mural painting, and depictions of textiles. I suggest that at least some Sikyatki Polychrome vessels may have been produced by part-time specialists, who most likely worked in family groups. Men may have painted some Sikyatki Polychrome vessels, as well as textiles and kiva murals rendered in the same style.

Early copper smelting at Itziparátzico, Mexico

Archaeological fieldwork and archaeometallurgical analysis have identified a Late Postclassic regional centre of copper production in western Mexico. The total output from a single unit of production at the site of Itziparátzico is an estimated ten tons of copper and nearly forty tons of slag over the lifetime of the installation. It is argued that this smelting was based on slag-tapping furnaces, a technology previously unknown from Mesoamerican archaeological sites. The smelting site is in dense woodland with ample fuel supply, some 125 km from the next mining area with documented contemporary ore extraction; the copper produced would have been passed on to the capital, another 60 km away, for further distribution and working. The scale of production at Itziparátzico indicates that copper smelting was done by part-time specialists embedded in a predominantly agricultural economy, and formed part of a centrally organized network of mining, smelting and processing of copper to supply the Tarascan state.

A Microscopic View of Ceramic Production: An Analysis of Thin-Sections from Monte Albán

This paper presents the results of a recent petrographic study of Monte Albán grayware pottery. Using INEGI bedrock maps, optical mineralogy, and sedimentary petrology techniques, I demonstrate that the organization of gray-ware production changed greatly through time at Monte Albán. During the Late-Terminal Formative period (Monte Albán I-II), the majority of the gray wares consumed at Monte Albán were probably imported to this hilltop center from some distance. Furthermore, I found the paste composition of this pottery was highly variable, suggesting that many small-scale part-time specialists were engaged in gray-ware production at this time. With the transition to the Classic period (Monte Albán III-IV), the organization of gray-ware production may have changed dramatically and nearly all of the gray wares recovered from Monte Albán were probably produced at this hilltop center. At the same time, we see extensive evidence of specialized gray-ware production at Monte Albán from both survey and excavation data.

Part-time and full-time medical specialists, are there differences in allocation of time?

BackgroundAn increasing number of medical specialists prefer to work part-time. This development can be found worldwide. Problems to be faced in the realization of part-time work in medicine include the division of night and weekend shifts, as well as communication between physicians and continuity of care. People tend to think that physicians working part-time are less devoted to their work, implying that full-time physicians complete a greater number of tasks. The central question in this article is whether part-time medical specialists allocate their time differently to their tasks than full-time medical specialists.MethodsA questionnaire was sent by mail to all internists (N = 817), surgeons (N = 693) and radiologists (N = 621) working in general hospitals in the Netherlands. Questions were asked about the actual situation, such as hours worked and night and weekend shifts. The response was 53% (n = 411) for internists, 52% (n = 359) for surgeons, and 36% (n = 213) for radiologists. Due to non-response on specific questions there were 367 internists, 316 surgeons, and 71 radiologists included in the analyses. Multilevel analyses were used to analyze the data.ResultsPart-time medical specialists do not spend proportionally more time on direct patient care. With respect to night and weekend shifts, part-time medical specialists account for proportionally more or an equal share of these shifts. The number of hours worked per FTE is higher for part-time than for full-time medical specialists, although this difference is only significant for surgeons.ConclusionIn general, part-time medical specialists do their share of the job. However, we focussed on input only. Besides input, output like the numbers of services provided deserves attention as well. The trend in medicine towards more part-time work has an important consequence: more medical specialists are needed to get the work done. Therefore, a greater number of medical specialists have to be trained. Part-time work is not only a female concern; there are also (international) trends for male medical specialists that show a decline in the number of hours worked. This indicates an overall change in attitudes towards the number of hours medical specialists should work.

CHANGING CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY AT TYUONYI, NEW MEXICO

Three types of culinary ware from a stratified plaza test unit at Classic-period Tyuonyi (LA 82) at Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico, were analyzed for changes in hardness, thickness, and temper type to assess the impact on firing regime of possible aggregation-related changes in fuel resources. Imported micaceous ware shows no significant changes over time, which might indicate standardized production by part-time specialists. Local plain ware shows significant changes in all three attributes. Smeared-indented corrugated ware (SIC) shows significant changes in hardness. Potters may have made changes in temper to maintain required hardness in the face of firing regime modifications.

Ceramic Technology and Social Boundaries: Cultural Practices in Kalinga Clay Selection and Use

This study examines cultural sources of variation in ceramic compositional patterning in two pottery-making villages of the highland Philippines. In Dalupa, many potters are part-time specialists whereas in Dangtalan, women make pottery less frequently. Previous studies show that both pottery form and decoration correspond well with Kalinga social boundaries, but how do morphological and decorative patterning relate to compositional variability? Although researchers have made substantial advances in our understanding of natural and postdepositional sources of compositional variability, little is known about behavioral factors that affect chemical and mineralogical compositional patterning. This study examines cultural practices of clay selection and use in an ethnographic setting, and undertakes technical analyses to assess the relationship between behavior and material culture patterning. Our study identified paste differences between the clays and fired ceramics from Dangtalan and those from Dalupa. Findings from our compositional research thus parallel earlier morphological and stylistic studies, and illustrate multivariate differences in ceramics from these two Kalinga communities. This ethnoarchaeological and analytical project contributes, therefore, to understanding objective parameters within a behavioral context. It also provides an example of how a combined characterization approach, using chemical and petrographic techniques, can yield insights on intraregional variation at a finer scale of resolution than is often attempted.

The Assault on Specialty Medicine and the Modern Surgeon

I would like to talk wth you about specialty medicine and the contemporary thoracic surgeon. I shall briefly trace the development of specialty medicine, of which thoracic surgery is a leading example, describe the challenges to the authority of the specialist, and finally suggest some responses called for in this new, rapidly changing, and embattled era. I believe that an assault on the specialist is adding to the burdens of the modern surgeon and calls for a response affirming what we stand for.

Sixteenth-Century Flintknapping Kits from the King Site, Georgia

Excavations at the King Site, a late Mississippian period village in NW Georgia, have yielded over 250 burials, of which 10 contained the flintknapping kits considered in this study. Despite some variation in the kit assemblages, they share strong similarities in hammerstone types and related tools and contain tools that appear to have been used for activities in addition to flintknapping, such as woodworking.The demographic profile of the associated skeletons—flintknappers, presumably—indicates they were primarily older males, some appearing to have held high status, based on other funerary items associated with the burials. But the spatial distribution of flintknapper burials, combined with the overall patterning of associated mortuary goods, suggests that there was no correlation between high status and flintknapping. The knappers appear to have been part-time specialists who held multiple social roles, but their skill as craftsmen conferred little in the way of prestige.

Sixteenth-Century Flintknapping Kits from the King Site, Georgia

Abstract Excavations at the King Site, a late Mississippian period village in NW Georgia, have yielded over 250 burials, of which 10 contained the flintknapping kits considered in this study. Despite some variation in the kit assemblages, they share strong similarities in hammerstone types and related tools and contain tools that appear to have been used for activities in addition to flintknapping, such as woodworking.The demographic profile of the associated skeletons—flintknappers, presumably—indicates they were primarily older males, some appearing to have held high status, based on other funerary items associated with the burials. But the spatial distribution of flintknapper burials, combined with the overall patterning of associated mortuary goods, suggests that there was no correlation between high status and flintknapping. The knappers appear to have been part-time specialists who held multiple social roles, but their skill as craftsmen conferred little in the way of prestige.

Middens, Construction Fill, and Offerings: Evidence for the Organization of Classic Period Craft Production at Tikal, Guatemala

The production of artifacts of stone, shell, and bone at Tikal, an important center in the Southern Maya Lowlands, created quantities of durable waste, referred to as debitage. Yet debitage is not a reliable indicator of production area because of the spatially flexible nature of Prehispanic technology and site-maintenance activities that shifted manufacturing debris into secondary contexts. Nevertheless, debitage, even in secondary context, provides important information on the organization of craft production at Tikal, particularly during the Classic Period (ca. A.C. 250–850). Most crafts were organized as household industries, carried on by independent, part-time specialists living in the central area that surrounded the monumental core of the city. The elite probably supported some full-time production to satisfy their demands for status goods and tools for construction projects. Expedient production by nonspecialists, using locally available materials such as chert and bone, occurred at all times.Production waste was recovered from the construction fill of public and residential architecture and from household middens, mixed with domestic trash. The largest concentrations, however, were found exterior to elite chamber burials and within cached offerings. The delayed identification of debitage from ritual contexts exemplifies the reflexive nature of the way archaeologists classify material culture and their interpretations of the contexts from which it is recovered.

Platforms in the akalche at E1 Mirador, Peten, Guatemala and their implications

AbstractLate Preclassic Period platforms were surveyed and test‐excavated in a seasonal swamp or akalche, at the large ancient lowland Maya site of El Mirador in Peten, Guatemala. Pedological, hydrological, and archaeological evidence suggest that the climatic and hydrological regimes were drier than they are today to permit habitation and warrant the investment in labor. Nevertheless, observations of present conditions, including the clayey soils, indicate that the akalche was almost as inhospitable in antiquity as it is today, that it had the same extremely poor agricultural potentials and that intensive wetland cultivation would have necessitated sizeable investments in dams to dampen the extreme seasonal fluctuations in water levels. Dams are not observed, and evidence is elicited to indicate that they would be readily observable today had they been emplaced here in antiquity. We offer evidence suggesting that these platforms had domestic functions, but we are forced to conclude that intensive wetland cultivation did not sustain them nor this large regional center as a whole. We argue, instead, that these habitations constitute evidence for population pressures on urban upland resources, especially building sites and perhaps agricultural land. Akalche households appear to have sustained themselves, at least in part, by foraging for animal and plant foods, cordage products, building materials, and firewood. The data are inadequate to decide if these structures housed full or part time specialists, or if they were self‐sufficient in subsistence. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Private Practice in the United Kingdom

surance and private practice have again increased (1). 0*c>edz Growth has been in the face of a National Health Service (NHS) which already provides virtually all of the medical services which private insurance covers. The present National Health Service in the United Kingdom began in 1948. Although there have been several administrative reorganizations, complete coverage of medical, surgical, and hospital care for all UK residents has remained intact. From the beginning medical specialists, if they worked less than fulltime in the NHS, were assured the right to engage in private practice. It was estimated that in 1971-72, part-timers derived a third of their income from private practice (2). However, the levels of supplemental earnings made from private practice by these part-time NHS consultants varied and was a function of specialty (mainly surgery and anesthesiology) and location (London and a few other urban centers). General practitioners (GPs) were also allowed to do private practice without defined limits, but in 1971-72 it made up only 6% of GP income (2). The 1980 contract allowed private practice for full-time as well as part-time specialists (3). This change was in keeping with the goal of the present Conservative government to increase the role of the private sector in health (3). Further evidence of government support for the private health sector is the recent decision that all private insurance payments by employers are no longer taxable as employees' benefits. In this report the nature and growth of private practice and private insurance in the UK will be described, trends analyzed, future implications discussed, and comparisons made with the Canadian health care system.

The professional ecstatic in his social and ritual position

The professional ecstatic is a religious specialist, who has become recognized as a person able to carry out an ecstatic ritual, corresponding with the local cultural expectations in force. The ecstatic ritual per se comprises a number of persons, i.e. it is a collective ritual. Part of the criteria that may be employed as a measure of the professional ecstatic's social status, is covered by the determining designation, social and cultic position. What ecstatic ritual duties does he have, and how large a part in the whole range of collective rituals within his society will his duties comprise? This question is examined through the social and ritual position among the Eskimos in their traditional, and thus relatively stable, societal cultures. The professional ecstatics among the Eskimos may be defined as shamans. However, the shamans were only part-time specialists among the Eskimos. They did have ritual tasks in the economic rituals of their society, and most of them had to pass a special ritual of initiation to obtain recognition as a shaman. The Eskimos have no juridical institutions, and as their informal leaders have no juridical authority, the shaman must exercise a considerable control of social morality. The shaman can here function simultaneously as informal leader, which is an impossible combination in societies with some degree of political organization. A shaman never became a leader due to his shaman powers in isolation. In societies where hunting demanded organized cooperation under a single man's leadership, he should also have organisatorial gifts. If a shaman, apart from his recognized shaman powers, possessed these qualities, he could attain a leader's status. His advice as a shaman, in common situations of crisis, combined with his authority as a leader, would endow him with particularly great authority.

Mochicahui Judio Masks: A Type of Mayo Fariseo Mask from Northern Sinaloa, Mexico

ABSTRACTIn the past ten years, museums and private collections in the western United States have been acquiring masks of a rather distinctive type, which combine a hide helmet with a carved and painted wooden face. These masks, which have been variously identified as Yaqui, Mayo, and “from Northern Mexico,” in reality represent a style of mask local to the Mayo Indians of the lower Rio Fuerte in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. At least some of them are made by part-time specialists.

Essentials of a residency in general practice.

• There is evidence of a distinct upsurge of interest in the practice of general medicine. In the whole nation, 64 % of all physicians in private practice are either general practitioners or part-time specialists. To satisfy the increasing demand for advanced training in general practice, more and better residencies in this field must be offered. Such a residency should be a minimum of two years, must be equivalent in standards and prestige to a specialty residency, and must be primarily of educational value to the resident rather than a service to the hospital.