Support Of Members Research Articles

The application of distributed optical strain sensing to measure the strain distribution of ground support members

A distributed optical strain-sensing technique is presented as a solution for measuring the strain distribution along ground support members used in tunnelling and mining works. The technique employs a Rayleigh optical frequency domain reflectometry technology, which measures strain at a spatial resolution of 0.65 mm along the length of a standard optical fiber. A rationale for selecting this technology as a potential monitoring technique for ground support elements over alternative commercially available technologies is discussed. The development of a technique to couple optical fiber sensors with rock bolt, umbrella arch, and cable bolt support members is also demonstrated. A robust laboratory investigation of such optically instrumented support members demonstrated the capability of the technique to capture the expected in situ support behaviour in the form of coaxial, lateral, and shear loading arrangements as would be anticipated in the field. Moreover, the micro-scale data obtained by this optical sensing technique are shown to provide unprecedented insight into the local/micro-scale geomechanistic complexities associated with the bearing capacity of ground support members, especially when compared with data obtained by discrete strain-sensing technologies.

AOL-3 - Medical oncology group of Australia: taking a leading role in medical oncology education, patient care & research

Background: The Medical Oncology Group of Australia (MOGA) is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology in Australia and is a specialty society of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Founded in 1973, MOGA is the key point of reference on all matters relating to medical oncology education, patient management and research in Australia. Membership: MOGA brings together 660 medical oncologists (519 consultants: 141 trainees); representing approximately 98% of the Australian medical oncology workforce. Supporting members: MOGA supports its members through: “Post-graduate medical oncology training; “Developing career development initiatives; “Developing Scientific and Academic meetings, programs & workshops; “Contributing to the development and promotion of evidence-based standards for cancer care, management and clinical practice; “Advocacy, lobbying and professional representation; “Research activities and special projects; and “Consumer and Community Support via key organisations. Education and research: MOGA takes a leading role in advancing medical oncology training and education through several initiatives including; Communications Skills Training, Young Oncologists Education Programs, a Sciences of Oncology Program as well as an Annual Scientific Meeting. MOGA organises the Australia Asia Pacific Oncology Research Development (ACORD) Workshop that has trained more than 498 oncology professionals in clinical trials design. Patient management and clinical practice: MOGA is committed to ensuring that the highest standards of international best practice clinical care. Initiatives include the preparation and dissemination of practice guidelines and tools, and advocacy through major organisations. MOGA is proactive in working for oncology treatment access. Conclusion: MOGA takes pride in its place as a hub for all Australian medical oncology issues nationally, speaking with a strong voice for the discipline and members of the profession.

Culturally adapted Family Intervention (CaFI) for African-Caribbean people diagnosed with schizophrenia and their families: a mixed-methods feasibility study of development, implementation and acceptability

BackgroundAfrican-Caribbean people in the UK experience the highest incidence of schizophrenia and the greatest inequity in mental health care. There is an urgent need to improve their access to evidence-based care and outcomes. Family intervention (FI) is a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-approved psychosocial intervention. Although clinically effective and cost-effective for schizophrenia, it is rarely offered. Evidence for any research into FI is lacking for ethnic minority people generally and for African-Caribbean people specifically.Aims(1) To assess the feasibility of delivering a novel, culturally appropriate psychosocial intervention within a ‘high-risk’ population to improve engagement and access to evidence-based care. (2) To test the feasibility and acceptability of delivering FI via ‘proxy families’.DesignA mixed-methods, feasibility cohort study, incorporating focus groups and an expert consensus conference.SettingTwo mental health trusts in north-west England.ParticipantsWe recruited a convenience sample of 31 African-Caribbean service users. Twenty-six family units [service users, relatives/family support members (FSMs) or both] commenced therapy. Half of the service users (n = 13, 50%), who did not have access to their biological families, participated by working with FSMs.InterventionsAn extant FI model was culturally adapted with key stakeholders using a literature-derived framework [Culturally adapted Family Intervention (CaFI)]. Ten CaFI sessions were offered to each service user and associated family.Main outcome measuresRecruitment (number approached vs. number consented), attendance (number of sessions attended), attrition (number of dropouts at each time point), retention (proportion of participants who completed therapy sessions), and completeness of outcome measurement.ResultsOf 74 eligible service users, 31 (42%) consented to take part in the feasibility trial. The majority (n = 21, 67.7%) were recruited from community settings, seven (22.6%) were recruited from rehabilitation settings and three (9.7%) were recruited from acute wards. Twenty-four family units (92%) completed all 10 therapy sessions. The proportion who completed treatment was 77.42% (24/31). The mean number of sessions attended was 7.90 (standard deviation 3.96 sessions) out of 10. It proved feasible to collect a range of outcome data at baseline, post intervention and at the 3-month follow-up. The rating of sessions and the qualitative findings indicated that CaFI was acceptable to service users, families, FSMs and health-care professionals.LimitationsThe lack of a control group and the limited sample size mean that there is insufficient power to assess efficacy. The findings are not generalisable beyond this population.ConclusionsIt proved feasible to culturally adapt and test FI with a sample of African-Caribbean service users and their families. Our study yielded high rates of recruitment, attendance, retention and data completion. We delivered CaFI via FSMs in the absence of biological families. This novel aspect of the study has implications for other groups who do not have access to their biological families. We also demonstrated the feasibility of collecting a range of outcomes to inform future trials and confirmed CaFI’s acceptability to key stakeholders. These are important findings. If CaFI can be delivered to the group of service users with the most serious and persistent disparities in schizophrenia care, it has the potential to be modified for and delivered to other underserved groups.Future workA fully powered, multicentre trial, comparing CaFI with usual care, is planned.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN94393315.FundingThis project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research programme and will be published in full inHealth Services and Delivery Research; Vol. 6, No. 32. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

The V4 Countries’ Foreign Policy concerning the Western Balkans

Abstract This contribution explores the Visegrad Four’s (V4) foreign policy initiatives in the Western Balkans by considering each state’s interests and policies and the evolution of joint V4 objectives. My underlying hypothesis is that the foreign policy‑related behaviour of individual states is shaped by certain roles that they assume and by their national interests. This work uses role theory to explain the V4 states’ foreign policies both generally and in the specific case of the Western Balkans. The V4 have prioritised cooperation with this region, and I analyse the programmes of the last four V4 presidencies (Slovakia 2014-2015, the Czech Republic 2015-2016, Poland 2016-2017 and Hungary 2017-2018) to reveal key foreign policy objectives and explore why they were selected. At the same time, I examine the interests of each V4 country and the reasons for their joint attention to the Western Balkan region. My analysis shows that the V4 perceive themselves as supportive and constructive EU and NATO members and see their policies as reflective of European values. Moreover, they believe they should contribute to EU enlargement by sharing experiences of economic and political transformation with the Western Balkan states and serving as role models.

Cutting Edge of the Contemporary: KNUST, Accra, and the Ghanaian Contemporary Art Movement

Cutting Edge of the Contemporary: KNUST, Accra, and the Ghanaian Contemporary Art Movement

Breaking bad news of a breast cancer diagnosis over the telephone: an emerging trend.

This study evaluated how breast cancer diagnoses were shared with patients. Current members of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation's Army of Women cohort were sent one email with a link to a survey assessing how their breast cancer diagnosis was communicated, a description of their support system during treatment, basic demographic information, and breast cancer diagnosis details. Participants (n = 2896) were more likely to be given their diagnosis over the telephone in more recent years (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.08). Up until about 10years ago (1967-2006), breast cancer diagnoses were communicated in person more often than by telephone. Since 2006, more than half of participants learned about their diagnosis over the telephone. From 2015 to 2017, almost 60% of participants learned about their diagnosis over the telephone. Among those who heard the news in person, a steady 40% were alone. Characteristics of those who received the news over the telephone included having identified support members, heterosexual identity, and a diagnosis of in situ breast cancer. Receiving a telephone call about breast cancer diagnosis may be the norm rather than the exception in health care today. Trends in practice, as well as current best practices based primarily on expert opinion, may not provide optimal care for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Patient outcome research to guide future practice, such as the impact of modes of delivery of bad news, is urgently needed to determine appropriate patient-centered approaches for notification of breast cancer diagnoses.

Implementing the rotational restraint effects of surrounding support members into plate buckling strength design

ABSTRACTPlate buckling is a primary criterion for plated-structural design. In current structural design practice, the edges of plate elements are assumed to be simply supported. In reality, however, the plate edges are supported by longitudinal stiffeners and transverse frames, and thus there are some degrees of rotational restraints along the plate edges that are neither zero nor infinite but rather dependent on the torsional rigidity of the support members. The objective of this paper is to develop a method for implementing the rotational restraint effects into the plate buckling strength design. It aims to minimise the structural weight while maximising the plate buckling strength. In this paper, the buckling strength of plate elements subjected to compressive loads is calculated using design formulations. Examples are shown for the buckling strength design of steel plates in a Very Large Crude Carrier class tanker and a naval ship, demonstrating that the structural weight can be reduced by implementing the rotational restraint effects while meeting the plate buckling strength requirements associated with the structural safety design criteria.

Family Inclusion in Mental Health Service Planning and Delivery: Consumers' Perspectives.

Family inclusion in treatment planning and delivery for people living with mental illness is advocated in government policy but is yet to be widely translated into practice. While external barriers have been identified, including concerns about consumers' best interests, little is known about consumers' own views. This study explores consumers' experiences and perspectives of including family in treatment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 adult consumers who could identify supportive family members. Data were analysed using constant comparative analysis. The findings indicated that the outcomes reported from family inclusion depended on who, how, how much and when family were included, and the degree of choice consumers had regarding these features For consumers to have real choice around these features, family inclusion needed to be accessible, families needed to be willing, and all parties needed to agree upon a consumer-centred purpose. Findings can aid health professionals to facilitate consumer choice.

Relacionamentos interorganizacionais entre empresas exportadoras e assessorias em comércio exterior: um estudo em díades no setor moveleiro

This study aimed to analyze the interorganizational relationships (IORs) between focal firms (export furniture industry) and members of support (advising on foreign trade) in the context of supply chains in the furniture industry. The study are conducted by a multiple cases in three dyads. The results indicated that with the development of IRs, the confidence gained allowed qualifying service delivery. It was identified also that the most frequent personal contact, and employees of the investigated dyads get to know personally allowed a better IOR. On the other hand, the distancing of relations caused the spacing between sectors involved and dissatisfaction on the lack of advisory services to introduce innovations.

Displacement based design of multi level anchored deep excavations

AbstractBraced deep excavations are getting widespread in parallel to the increase in the need to use underground spaces for infrastructures and tall buildings which make them an essential part of geotechnical engineering practice. Braced support system movements shall be small enough to ensure remain within acceptable limits. The limits for the elastic displacement of the vertical support member (e.g., pile wall), are generally recommended either for support systems with strut elements or cantilever walls. However, there is no common specification or guide to assess the permissibility of displacements caused by deep excavations with multi‐level anchors. This paper presents an example study for a deep excavation project supported with multilevel anchors in a clayey soil in Istanbul where Mobilized Strength Design (MSD) method is discussed and a new approach is proposed regarding the limit of the horizontal elastic deflection value of the vertical wall with multi‐level anchors, based on a joint evaluation of the performed finite element study and MSD method.

PBS Goes to Middle School: Building Capacity of Peer Buddies to Implement a PBS Intervention with Fidelity.

During adolescence, peer behavior is a strong stimulus that influences how students initiate and respond to their physical and social environment. Yet, the majority of school-based behavioral studies (Dunlap, Clarke, & Steiner, 1999) do not include peers as intervention agents. This study demonstrated how to include peers as contributing members of a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) team. Findings indicated that peers were able to implement a behavior support plan with fidelity, resulting in decreased challenging behavior and increased activity engagement in a middle school peer with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Adult Connection in Assault Injury Prevention among Male Youth in Low-Resource Urban Environments.

Strengths-based strategies to reduce youth violence in low-resource urban communities are urgently needed. Supportive adolescent-adult relationships may confer protection, but studies have been limited by self-reported composite outcomes. We conducted a population-based case-control study among 10- to 24-year-old males in low-resource neighborhoods to examine associations between supportive adult connection and severe assault injury. Cases were victims of gunshot assault injury (n = 143) and non-gun assault injury (n = 206) from two level I trauma centers. Age- and race-matched controls (n = 283) were recruited using random digit dial from the same catchment. Adolescent-adult connections were defined by: (1) brief survey questions and (2) detailed family genograms. Analysis used conditional logistic regression. There were no significant associations between positive adult connection, as defined by brief survey questions, and either gunshot or non-gun assault injury among adolescents with high prior violence involvement (GSW OR = 2.46, 95% CI 0.81-7.49; non-gun OR = 1.59, 95% CI 0.54-4.67) or low prior violence involvement (GSW OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.34-2.44; non-gun OR = 1.96, 95% CI 0.73-5.28). In contrast, among adolescents with high levels of prior violence involvement, reporting at least one supportive adult family member in the family genogram was associated with higher odds of gunshot assault injury (OR = 4.01, 95% CI 1.36-11.80) and non-gun assault injury (OR = 4.22, 95% CI 1.48-12.04). We were thus unable to demonstrate that positive adult connections protected adolescent males from severe assault injury in this highly under-resourced environment. However, at the time of injury, assault-injured adolescents, particularly those with high prior violence involvement, reported high levels of family support. The post-injury period may provide opportunities to intervene to enhance and leverage family connections to explore how to better safeguard adolescents.

Supply of Locally Produced Foodstuffs for School Lunches with the Support Members in MD Area, T City

Supply of Locally Produced Foodstuffs for School Lunches with the Support Members in MD Area, T City

Living with schizophrenia in rural communities in north-east Thailand.

In the rural villages of Thailand, rich social support networks exist that bond the community members to help each other. This study explored the barriers and facilitators of living with schizophrenia in Thai villages. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with individuals with schizophrenia, family members, and significant others. Content analysis of transcripts involved examining the data, recording observations, data reduction, and coding themes. Four main themes emerged from the narratives: (i) keep doing day-to-day activities as a way of life; (ii) support sustains day-to-day living; (iii) controlling medication side effects maintains daily living; and (iv) managing self maintains daily living. Self-regulation and social support are keys to moving from dependence to a normative life goal in rural communities. The patterns of living in the rural communities provide a strong social network as people with schizophrenia learn to lead successful lives. Using supportive families and community members as resources is an alternative and effective way of providing supportive care.

Effects of Perceived Organizational Support and Leader Member Exchange on Individual Risk Taking

People’s relationships with their organization and their managers have significant effects on their work and their workplace attitudes. In this paper we look at the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), leader member exchange (LMX), and risk taking. Workers with high levels of POS and LMX have more organizational commitment, have lower absenteeism and turnover rates, and exhibit more citizenship behaviour. We hypothesize that the higher the level of POS and LMX the more likely a person will be to take constructive versus destructive risk. Constructive risk is defined as risk involved in innovation and creativity, and is therefore desirable for organizations. This paper also looks at the links between Perceived Organizational Support and Leader Member Exchange, and at which of these factors is more influential on risk taking. This will allow organizations to best allocate their time and energy on initiatives linked to raising POS and LMX to get the highest return. This paper reflects initial findings of three separate studies looking at POS, LMX and risk taking.

Ethical Decision Making and Reputation Management in Public Relations

ABSTRACTTo support members who frequently grapple with ethical issues, a number of PR professional associations developed models for ethical decision making that they make available to members for reference and professional development purposes. However, the models put forward are, clearly, inadequate for tackling more complex ethical issues. The purpose of this study is thus to supply theoreticians and practitioners with conceptual tools for more effectively thinking through this complexity in ethics decisions. In meeting this objective, we initially set out a conceptual framework that comprises the model’s field of application and theoretical underpinnings, as well as advanced techniques for weighting, balancing interests and managing reputation. In tandem with the theorization, we look at some applications for the conceptual framework through case studies.

Supporting Members

Supporting Members

Supporting Members

Supporting Members

Supporting Members

Supporting Members

Experimental Investigation of Static & Dynamic loading conditions for CLARE Composite Material

In Aerospace and Automobile sector weight plays significant role. The reason behind this is efficient & effective working of aircraft and motor vehicles. It also needs the high strength to weight ratio. This requirement is fulfilled by the composite materials.In this research, CLARE is a hybrid composite consisting of thin aluminium, carbon fiber & epoxy layer is found to be alternate for GLARE materials consisting of thin aluminium, glass fiber, & epoxy layer, have been using over 36 years for wide range of advance aerospace structural applications but having comparatively more weight than CLARE. CLARE laminates offer a distinctive amalgamation of properties such as outstanding fatigue resistance, high specific static properties, exceptional impact resistance, high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance, Stiffness and ease of manufacture and repair. But the delaminating occurs in the sheets of aluminum in GLARE material is eliminate by CLARE materialSolicitation of CLARE materials for the skin or the outer parts here presented the need of CLARE materials in supportive structural members; the present work focuses on the fabrication various structural cross sections of Clare material. For fabrication purpose selected method is hand lay-up. Static & dynamic analysis of these Clare material cross sections was carried out; it follows a comparative study with the aluminium cross sections gives that the Clare has a better performance.