Salient Impact Research Articles

Derivation and verification of a vector controller for induction machines with consideration of stator and rotor core losses

The equivalent circuit of an induction machine (IM) without regard to iron loss would lead not only significant mismatch between simulation and experimental results but also deteriorate the vector control performance. This study focuses on modifying the indirect rotor flux-oriented controller subject to the IM equivalent circuit with consideration of stator and rotor core losses. An analytical approach based on the core-loss model for estimating the rotor slip shows salient impact of the stator and rotor core loss on IM performance. A 10 HP IM is performed for laboratory test. The experimental and simulation results validate that the modified vector controller is superior to the conventional vector controller in both transient and steady-state responses.

The Dependence of Mass Transfer Coefficient on the Electrolyte Velocity in Carbon Felt Electrodes: Determination and Validation

In a flow battery, the salient impact of the electrolyte velocity on the mass transfer coefficient in carbon felt electrodes is demonstrated and quantified. A lab-scale flow battery, fed with identical electrolyte solutions containing Fe2+/Fe3+ as active substances in both the anode and the cathode, is used to realize stable tests free from side reactions in a broad range of current densities. The electrolyte velocities ranging from 2.5 to 15 mm s−1 are selected in this work, which are typical in flow through electrodes in most flow batteries. By measuring limiting currents at various flow rates, a correlation between the mass transfer coefficient and the velocity in dimensionless form is obtained as Sh = 1.68 Re0.9. Meanwhile, a 2-D numerical model incorporating this correlation and the experimentally measured electrolyte conductivity is proposed. Voltage losses of the battery fed with adequate reactants at different velocities are both experimentally measured and numerically simulated. The agreement between simulated results and experimental data verifies the applicability of this correlation under normal operating conditions below limiting currents.

Problematic sexual behavior in young adults: Associations across clinical, behavioral, and neurocognitive variables.

A notable number of young adults struggle to control impulsive behavior, resulting in impairment and distress. Assessments of problematic sexual behavior (PSB) have noted clinical differences relative to other populations, but neurocognitive findings have varied. This analysis assesses the clinical presentation and neurocognitive profile of patients with PSB relative to participants without PSB symptoms. A total of 492 participants (18-29) were recruited for a study on impulsivity in young adults. Participants completed diagnostic, self-report, and neurocognitive measures which assessed several cognitive domains. PSB was defined as endorsing fantasies, urges, or sexual behavior that felt out of control or was causing distress. In the sample, 54 (11%) participants reported current PSB. This group was older, reported earlier sexual experiences and alcohol use, and lower quality of life and self-esteem. Comorbidity was greater in the PSB group, particularly for depression and alcohol dependence. The PSB group also showed differences in impulsivity, decision making, spatial working memory, problem solving, and emotional dysregulation. Results suggest associations between PSB psychosocial dysfunction, greater comorbidity, and neurocognitive differences. These associations suggest a more salient impact than typical sexual behavior. Furthermore, this study demonstrated several neurocognitive deficits in the PSB group which have found more mixed support previously.

Facilitators of and barriers to accessing clinical prevention services for the South Asian population in Surrey, British Columbia: a qualitative study.

British Columbia falls short in uptake of recommended clinical prevention services, with even lower rates among immigrant populations. This study explored facilitators of and barriers to uptake of clinical prevention services among people from South Asia, who represent 31% of the population in Surrey, British Columbia. We used a qualitative descriptive approach and employed vignettes in a focus group setting to elicit perspectives of South Asian people on accessing clinical prevention services. Participants aged 40 years or more were recruited between October 2014 and February 2015 from health care and community settings such as older-adult housing, day programs and health education events. Letters of introduction to the study were provided in English or Punjabi or both to all potential participants. We conducted qualitative content analysis of the results. Sixty-two South Asian adults (36 women and 26 men) aged 40-87 years participated in 1 of 8 focus groups in health care or community settings. Facilitators of and barriers to accessing clinical prevention services were noted at the patient, primary care provider and health care system levels. Facilitators at the patient level included taking ownership over one's health, health literacy and respecting the provider's advice; barriers included fear of the diagnosis, death and/or procedures, perceived low risk of disease or utility of the intervention, and side effects of procedures. Provider factors centred on a trust-based patient-provider relationship, strong communication and adequate time during visits. Health care system factors included such facilitators as processes to routinely offer prevention services as part of other health care or social services, systems that encourage prevention-oriented family practice and services at low or no cost to the patient. Our findings validate previously identified facilitators of and barriers to accessing preventive care for immigrant populations. However, the results suggest that system-level factors influencing the duration of primary care visits may have a more salient impact on uptake of clinical prevention services in this population.

Bribery behavior by state owned enterprises

This article extends commercial bribery literature by drawing attention to the ignored phenomenon of SOE bribery and investigates institutional deficiencies that induce SOEs to bribe fellow public officials. We suggest that under weaker institutional environments, SOE managers are likely to have noneconomic motives of managerial rent extraction while bribing for the economic purpose of organizational goal attainment. We complement previous research on commercial bribery by adding the missing component of noneconomic bribery which supplements economic motivations of bribery to determine firms’ actual bribery behavior, particularly for SOEs. Our empirical evidence shows that involvement of noneconomic motivations in SOE bribery systematically differentiates SOE bribery from extensively researched economic bribery and that institutions have a more salient impact in determining the tendency of SOE bribery.

Patient-Centered Prenatal Counseling: Aligning Obstetric Healthcare Professionals With Needs of Pregnant Women

The first trimester aneuploidy screen (FTS) continues to be a leading approach to identify the risk of fetal aneuploidy. This study evaluated how obstetric (OB) professionals counsel women about FTS as one of a growing number of options to assess fetal health. A survey was completed by OB professionals (board-certified obstetrician/gynecologists and certified nurse midwives) between February and March 2011: (1) to identify knowledge and practice patterns with regard to FTS, and (2) to compare pregnant women’s educational needs and decision-making preferences with clinicians’ perceptions of these factors. A total of 216 surveys (11 percent) were completed by OB professionals and analyzed. Several barriers to effective patient counseling were identified, including gaps in obstetric professionals’ mastery of the screening test characteristics and variable approaches to discuss concepts of aneuploidy risk. OB participants reported limited confidence in discussing patient-valued topics, specifically post-screen options and pregnancy termination. Discordance was identified between OB professionals’ perceptions of pregnant women’s educational needs and decision-making preferences specific to FTS and historical data recently collected from 139 pregnant women who underwent the FTS. Study findings illustrate the need for clinician-targeted strategies to support pregnant women as they formulate informed decisions about the tests that may have a salient impact on their prenatal care decisions.

The role of perfectionism, agreeableness, and neuroticism in predicting dyadic adjustment

Research has suggested that perfectionism, agreeableness, and neuroticism may influence relationship adjustment; however, these personality variables have not been examined in conjunction when considering relationship adjustment. In a sample of 222 university students (95 male, 126 female), the perfectionism dimensions of concern over mistakes and parental criticism were found to be significantly negatively related to dyadic adjustment. Agreeableness and neuroticism were also significantly negatively related to dyadic adjustment, and accounted for significant variance in explaining dyadic adjustment, while perfectionism dimensions did not. The results suggest that while negative aspects of perfectionism, such as concern over mistakes, have an impact on dyadic adjustment, the personality variables of agreeableness and neuroticism have a more salient impact. The implications of these findings for research in interventions for perfectionism and relationship adjustment are discussed.

Exploring the nature of transformational leadership in sports: a phenomenological examination with female athletes

Transformational leaders lift and inspire followers to achieve performance beyond expectations and realise their full potential. Transformational leadership fosters performance and increases positive outcomes in a variety of domains (e.g. business, military, and education) and may have a salient impact on the quality of athletes’ sporting experiences. Bass identified four primary behavioural components of transformational leadership: idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration. Yet little is known about what constitutes transformational leadership in a sport setting from a qualitative perspective. This study addressed this issue by interviewing eleven female collegiate athletes about their positive experiences with current or former coaches. Thematic analysis of transcribed interview text revealed four major themes: caring, motivating, teaching life lessons, and trusting. Caring was exemplified by the coach taking the time and energy to establish a personal and individual relationship with athletes. Having high expectations and physically and mentally challenging athletes were salient aspects of motivating. Teaching life lessons was characterised generally by the high quality mentoring that transformative coaches engaged in with athletes. Lastly, trust was perceived when the athletes felt their coaches cared about them, were willing to relinquish some power, and acted in the best interests of the team. Similarities and differences emerged when comparing the themes with Bass’, Podsakoff et al.’s, and Rafferty and Griffin’s components of transformational leadership. Unique elements of sport that may affect the manifestation of transformational leadership in sport include physical coach–athlete interactions, group size, and the motivational reasons for participation.

Substance Use and Associated Health Conditions throughout the Lifespan.

1) Substance use is often initiated in adolescence, but it is during adulthood that prevalence rates for SUDs peak; and while substance involvement is less common among older adults, the risk for health complications associated with use increases. 2) Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and, increasingly, prescription medications, are the most commonly misused substances across age groups; however, the use pattern of these and other drugs and the salient impact vary depending on life stage. 3) In terms of health outcomes, all ages are at risk for overdose, accidental injury, and attempted suicide. Adolescents are more likely to be in vehicular accidents while older adults are at greater risk for damaging falls. Adulthood has the highest rates of associated medical conditions (e.g., cancer, sexually transmitted disease, heart disease) and mental health conditions (e.g., bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, antisocial personality disorder). Prolonged heavy use of drugs and/or alcohol results in an array of serious health conditions. Addressing SUDs from a life stage perspective with assessment and treatment approaches incorporating co-occurring disorders are necessary to successfully impact overall health.

Life events and Tourette syndrome

IntroductionTourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric developmental disorder characterized by the presence of multiple motor tics and one or more vocal tics. Although TS is primarily biological in origin, stress-diatheses interactions most probably play a role in the course of the illness. The precise influence of the environment on this basically biological disorder is difficult to ascertain, particularly when TS is complicated by comorbidities. Among the many questions that remain unresolved are the differential impact of positive and negative events and specific subtypes of events, and the importance of major crucial events relative to minor daily ones to tic severity. ObjectivesTo examine the relationships between life events, tic severity and comorbid disorders in Tourette Syndrome (TS), including OCD, ADHD, anxiety, depression and rage attacks. Life events were classified by quantity, quality (positive or negative) and classification types of events (family, friends etc.). SubjectsSixty patients aged 7–17years with Tourette syndrome or a chronic tic disorder were recruited from Psychological Medicine Clinic in Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel. InstrumentsYale Global Tic Severity Scale; Children's Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale; Life Experiences Survey; Brief Adolescent Life Events Scale; Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders; Child Depression Inventory/Beck Depression Inventory; ADHD Rating Scale IV; Overt Aggression Scale. ResultsRegarding tics and minor life events, there was a weak but significant correlation between severity of motor tics and the quantity of negative events. No significant correlation was found between tic severity and quantity of positive events. Analysis of the BALES categories yielded a significant direct correlation between severity of vocal tics and quantity of negative events involving friends. Regarding comorbidities and minor life events, highly significant correlations were found with depression and anxiety.Regarding tics and major life events, significant correlation was found between the quantity of major life events and the severity of motor tics, but not vocal tics. Regarding comorbidities and major life events, significant correlation was found between the severity of compulsions, ADHD, and aggression and the subjects’ personal evaluation of the effect of negative major life events on their lives. ConclusionsMinor life events appear to be correlated with tic severity and comorbidities in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome. The lack of an association between major life events and tic severity further emphasizes the salient impact of minor life events that occur in temporal proximity to the assessment of tic severity. Clinically, the results match our impression from patient narratives wherein they “blamed” the exacerbations in tics on social interactions. The high correlation between negative life events and depression, anxiety and compulsions symptoms, were reported also in previous studies. In conclusion, These findings may have clinical implications for planning supportive psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy for this patient population.

Credit Rating Change Modeling Using News and Financial Ratios

Credit ratings convey credit risk information to participants in financial markets, including investors, issuers, intermediaries, and regulators. Accurate credit rating information plays a crucial role in supporting sound financial decision-making processes. Most previous studies on credit rating modeling are based on accounting and market information. Text data are largely ignored despite the potential benefit of conveying timely information regarding a firm’s outlook. To leverage the additional information in news full-text for credit rating prediction, we designed and implemented a news full-text analysis system that provides firm-level coverage, topic, and sentiment variables. The novel topic-specific sentiment variables contain a large fraction of missing values because of uneven news coverage. The missing value problem creates a new challenge for credit rating prediction approaches. We address this issue by developing a missing-tolerant multinomial probit (MT-MNP) model, which imputes missing values based on the Bayesian theoretical framework. Our experiments using seven and a half years of real-world credit ratings and news full-text data show that (1) the overall news coverage can explain future credit rating changes while the aggregated news sentiment cannot; (2) topic-specific news coverage and sentiment have statistically significant impact on future credit rating changes; (3) topic-specific negative sentiment has a more salient impact on future credit rating changes compared to topic-specific positive sentiment; (4) MT-MNP performs better in predicting future credit rating changes compared to support vector machines (SVM). The performance gap as measured by macroaveraging F-measure is small but consistent.

Distributed control of multi-agent systems with random parameters and a major agent

Distributed control of the multi-agent systems involving a major agent and a large number of minor agents is investigated in this paper. There exist Markov jump parameters in the dynamic equation and random parameters in the index functions. The major agent has salient impact on others. Each minor agent merely has tiny influence, while the average effect of all the minor agents is not negligible, which plays a significant role in the evolution and performance index of each agent. Besides the state of the major agent, each minor agent can only access to the information of its state and parameters. Based on the mean field (MF) theory, a set of distributed control laws is designed. By the probability limit theory, the uniform stability of the closed-loop system and the upper bound of the corresponding index values are obtained. Via a numerical example, the consistency of the MF estimation and the influence of the initial state values and parameters on the index values are demonstrated.

FC03-01 - The relationship of internet addiction with family functioning and mental health among Iranian students

IntroductionOne salient impact of information technology on students’ lives is the ever-increasing use of the Internet. Although there exist many reports in the media regarding the unhealthy Internet use among students, research is still limited.ObjectivesThus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relation of internet addiction with family functioning and mental health among students. Two-hundred and eighty students from high school and guidance school were selected by multiple cluster sampling method. They participated in the present study by completing internet addiction questionnaire, family functioning scale and mental health questionnair.The method of this study was descriptive and correlational in order to analyze the results, descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics (correlations and regression) were used.ResultsThe results showed negative significant correlation between internet addiction and some subscale of family function such as assertiveness, entertainment orientation and religious emphasis. Results also indicated positive significant correlation between 3 subscales of family functioning including dissociation, conflicts and authoritarian family style with internet addiction. No significant correlations were found between other subscales and internet addiction.Regarding the relationship between mental health and addiction to Internet, research results indicate a significant positive correlation between overall mental health score and two subscale of depression and somatization with internet addiction.ConclusionsThe results of this study confirmed the negative effects of Internet addiction on mental health and emphasized the importance of family on intensifying internet addiction. Hence in designing treatment programs, family environment must be considered.

Output versus salient impact in financial economics

If in fine arts imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, in natural and social sciences, it is citation by one's peers. A fairly good measure of the frequency of citation, or impact, is indicated by the Hirsch-Index ( h -index) which quantitatively gauges the impact of articles in core journals in a discipline. In our exploratory study, we attempt to find association between (a) the quantity of research output (as measured by Chan et al., 2002) and (b) its quality or salient impact, indicated by the h -index, of the top 174 finance academics. We find significant correlation (r = 0.469) between (a) and (b) for the entire subset of 174; however, the unexplained variance is high. The h -index could be a useful objective measure in academic decisions.

Out of the Gray: The Impact of Provincial Institutions on Business Formalization in Vietnam

Scholars have long argued that institutional context significantly influences business strategy and economic performance. Research on the relationship between institutions and business strategy, however, has overwhelmingly focused on the decisions of larger, established corporations, mostly neglecting the strategic thinking of smaller, more entrepreneurial ventures. This article seeks to correct this bias by focusing the analysis directly on the critical decision of small-scale entrepreneurs to move from the informal and largely unregulated sector into operation as formal companies. Using a unique dataset and ranking of provincial governance institutions from Vietnam, the authors show that improvements in institutions make firms more likely to choose the formal sector from the start and, for those who do not, to spend less time in the informal sector. The study also finds that property rights have a more salient impact on formalization than other types of institutions.

Positive country images, trust and public support for European integration

In this paper I contribute to the scholarship on public support for European integration by arguing that member-states’ positive images influence individuals’ support decisions. An attribute of this positive image is trust, which individuals utilize given the complexity of the integration process, the salient impact it has on their lives and the low levels of information individuals possess. The use of a member-state's image is therefore a short-cut to evaluate integration's impact on individuals. As the development of integration is strongly influenced by the relatively more economically powerful member-state, trust in Germany increases the level of support, more so than trusting the remaining members.

Composite scores for executive function items: demographic heterogeneity and relationships with quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.

Accurate neuropsychological assessment of older individuals from heterogeneous backgrounds is a major challenge. Education, ethnicity, language, and age are associated with scale level differences in test scores, but item level bias might contribute to these differences. We evaluated several strategies for dealing with item and scale level demographic influences on a measure of executive abilities defined by working memory and fluency tasks. We determined the impact of differential item functioning (DIF). We compared composite scoring strategies on the basis of their relationships with volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of brain structure. Participants were 791 Hispanic, white, and African American older adults. DIF had a salient impact on test scores for 9% of the sample. MRI data were available on a subset of 153 participants. Validity in comparison with structural MRI was higher after scale level adjustment for education, ethnicity/language, and gender, but item level adjustment did not have a major impact on validity. Age adjustment at the scale level had a negative impact on relationships with MRI, most likely because age adjustment removes variance related to age-associated diseases.

The impact of superior–subordinate relationships on the commitment, job satisfaction, and performance of virtual workers

While superior–subordinate relationships are expected to have a salient impact on individual work outcomes, the extant research has primarily focused on individuals working in a traditional work mode. Given the increasing popularity of virtual work arrangements, especially among professional-level employees, we examine the extent to which working in a virtual mode moderates the impact of leader–member exchange (LMX) quality on level of commitment, job satisfaction and performance. Based on a survey of 375 professional-level employees who worked to varying degrees virtually, we found that those with high quality relationships, who also worked extensively in this mode, demonstrated the highest levels of commitment, job satisfaction and performance relative to those who worked less extensively in this mode. Whereas those with lower quality relationships, who worked extensively in the virtual mode, demonstrated lower commitment and job satisfaction, but performed somewhat better, than those who worked a limited amount in this mode.

The impact of national and organisational cultures on intergroup coordination in software development in mainland China: a qualitative analysis

Intergroup coordination is critical for the success of large software projects. This paper examines the impact of national culture and organisational culture on intergroup coordination success factors (knowledge sharing, communication, mutual support and stakeholder commitment) through a qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews conducted in mainland China. We draw on a multiple-case study of five different-sized Chinese software companies to identify common patterns of national cultural impact across the cases as well as differences generated due to different organisational cultures. Based on a coding scheme, our research shows that collectivism and concern for 'face' have the most salient impact on these factors. Uncertainty avoidance and power distance also have a slight impact. Interestingly, several organisational culture dimensions (harmony, customer orientation, quality orientation and leadership style) can explain part of the differences among companies. The paper contributes to the team coordination literature, particularly to intergroup coordination in software development, and provides research evidence to support the impact of culture on the implementation of the Capability Maturity Model for Software (SW-CMM). It also has implications for Chinese software project management practice.

A study for evaluation of different diagnostic approaches in acute leukemia in Egypt

Cytomorphology, cytochemistry, immunophenotyping, in addition to cytogenetic and molecular analyses have specific roles in the diagnosis and management of acute leukemias. This work was designed as a comparative study of different available methods for diagnosis of acute leukemia. The study comprised 47 cases with acute leukemia (21 cases with ALL and 26 cases with AML). Peripheral blood and bone marrow samples were subjected to through morphological examination of Leishman-stained smears, cytochemical analysis, immunophenotyping, conventional cytogenetic banding analysis, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for selected cases, and RT-PCR for detection of BCR-ABL rearrangement. The results of the study revealed that careful examination of Romanowsky-stained peripheral blood and BM films is fundamental in the diagnosis of acute leukemias, and when considered together with clinical and hematological features, indicates which of the more specialized techniques are most likely to be useful. The major role of cytochemistry was in the diagnosis of AML, while the major role of immunophenotyping was in the diagnosis of acute leukemia, which is not obviously myeloid. Apart from identification of chromosomal abnormalities unique to specific subtypes of leukemia, cytogenetic analysis had a salient impact on anticipating the prognosis and treatment outcome in acute leukemias. We could conclude that the techniques used in this study are considered complementary rather than alternatives and that stepwise employment of strategies is more cost effective than doing all the tests simultaneously.