bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Uncertainty Quantification of Aeroelastic Stability
Authors: Georgiou Georgia , Khodaparast Hamed Haddad , Cooper Jonathan E.
Published: November 2013

The application of uncertainty analysis for the prediction of aeroelastic stability, using probabilistic and non-probabilistic methodologies, is considered in this chapter. Initially, a background to aeroelasticity and possible instabilities, in particular “flutter,” that can occur in aircraft is given along with the consideration of why Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) is becoming an important issue to the aerospace industry. The Polynomial Chaos Expansion method and the Fuzzy Analysis for UQ are then introduced and a range of different random and quasi-random sampling techniques as well as methods for surrogate modeling are discussed. The implementation of these methods is demonstrated for the prediction of the effects that variations in the structural mass, resembling variations in the fuel load, have on the aeroelastic behavior of the Semi-Span Super-Sonic Transport wind-tunnel model (S4T). A numerical model of the aircraft is investigated using an eigenvalue analysis and a series of linear flutter analyses for a range of subsonic and supersonic speeds. It is shown how the Probability Density Functions (PDF) of the resulting critical flutter speeds can be determined efficiently using both UQ approaches and how the membership functions of the aeroelastic system outputs can be obtained accurately using a Kriging predictor.
Feral Government?
Authors: Maddison Annie
Published: November 2013

Using workflow technologies as a metaphor for Critical Success Factors (CSFs), this chapter considers their use to improve the performance of major government IT projects, asking whether context can be ignored without repercussion or whether it is highly significant. Focusing on the UK, this exploration begins by defining “context,” then considering what it means in terms of government. A case study demonstrates that context limits the value of CSFs to a major government IT project. Whilst claiming to submit to the imposed workflow technology, the project team developed feral behaviour, manipulating the CSFs to match previous ways of working with no action being taken to ensure compliance. However, increased governance is not the answer. It would simply force these generic solutions on to unique problems; more contingent solutions should be sought to the problem of IT project failure in order to take these highly specific contexts into account.
Feral Information Systems and Workarounds
Authors: Kerr Don
Published: November 2013

This chapter looks at the extent of feral information systems in organisations and provides some insights for the possible reason for their development in relation to the user resistance literature. The factors associated with FIS development relate to individual, system, organisational, and process issues, and the relationships to each of these issues are presented in the context of existing reserch that has been conducted in three different sites in three different countries, namely Australia, the United Kingdom, and Denmark.
Understanding Feral IT Practices as Deviance
Authors: Thatte Shubhankar , Grainger Nick , McKay Judy
Published: November 2013

In this chapter, the authors discuss the concept of feral IT practices, which are defined as work practices of employees who use information technologies in ways that deviate from organizational norms. Such practices are in the main conducted beyond the control and/or knowledge of organizational IT management. The authors argue that feral practices can be looked at from many different perspectives, and thus may sometimes be viewed as innovative and beneficial for organizations, as opposed to being regarded as risky and potentially detrimental to the organization. However, such a view of feral practices is relatively under-theorized at present, and a challenge for researchers is to develop knowledge of how an organization can benefit from this unsanctioned innovation, while protecting itself through adequately managing the risks to which they may be exposed through these feral practices. Merton’s Theory of Anomie provides deeper insights into the phenomenon of non-compliance, and in this chapter, the authors aim to explore how the concept of deviance (non-compliance) can usefully be applied to offer new insights into the phenomenon of feral practices. A conceptual framework based on Merton’s theory is proposed that suggests that feral IT practices may arise from structural strain that inhibits the ability of an individual or group to achieve their goals and objectives. The organizational structure factors contributing to structural strain are discussed. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the potential contribution of Merton’s theory to understanding and ultimately managing feral practices in organizations such that risks are minimized and benefits maximized.
Feral Systems in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Authors: Burgess Kevin
Published: November 2013

In order to gain deeper insights into the causal factors associated with feral systems, it is necessary to first understand how the underlying, and often unchallenged, assumptions of current theories shape, influence, and ultimately limit our understanding of these phenomena. A meta-theoretical analysis is presented to make more explicit the foundational assumptions guiding much of the current literature and demonstrating the various limitations associated with these assumptions. The implications of these limitations for theory development are then examined. The main conclusion drawn is that the dominant discourse in the ERPS literature has used overly simplified concepts to understand complex phenomena like feral systems, which are open, non-linear, context-sensitive, and value-driven. The efforts of scholars would be more effective if directed to a clearer appreciation of the present limitations on how feral systems are understood rather than simply conducting more research using the same approaches that have dominated to date.
Universal HRM and the Gulf Leadership Style
Authors: Scott-Jackson William , Michie Jonathan
Published: November 2013

This case study aims to allow students, using various business dilemmas, to explore differences in approach between the most commonly taught “universal” models of human resource management (HRM), mostly based on Western culture and practices (Brewster, Farndale, & Ommeren, 2000) and a more contingent HRM predicated on the leadership culture prevalent in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Scott-Jackson, 2008). It aims to generate discussion of strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches to leadership and HRM as well as some recognition that there is a valid, distinctive Gulf Arab Management Style that is worthy of study and provides an alternative to more commonly recognized approaches. The supporting research was carried out between January 2011 and June 2012. It was largely based on interviews with 50 Gulf Arab leaders, together with action research and advisory work in 5 large Gulf companies (including the family conglomerate forming the basis for this case).
MALAK Technologies Ltd.
Authors: Eid Niveen , Warren Lorraine
Published: November 2013

This case examines a critical and often overlooked organizational and managerial function, the need for effective talent management systems. The issues surrounding employees’ voluntary turnover at a leading Palestinian ICT vendor are explored. Overall, the firm’s culture, leadership, and HR practices were appreciated by the majority of the staff. However, the structure of the organization and a lack of retention strategies were leading to the loss of indispensable IT engineers. Retention strategies in IT organizations might need to be reshaped to accommodate employees’ expectations. Talent development and succession management relevant to all employees should be firmly embedded within the company’s talent management system.
Management Response to Improve the Educational Performance of Engineering Students
Authors: Hussein Bassam , Hage-Diab Ali , Hammoud Mohammad , Kawtharani Anwar , El-Hage Hisham , Haj-Ali Amin
Published: November 2013

This case presents the managerial techniques applied to improve the quality of engineering education at the largest private university in Lebanon, the Lebanese International University (LIU). As the university grew rapidly since its inception 10 years ago, it faced serious challenges in fulfilling a key objective of its mission, which is to empower students to be culturally engaged to achieve innovative outcomes. A team was put together to identify cultural factors affecting quality of education, students’ achievement, assess their impact, and propose a plan of action. The findings led to a series of actions aimed at improving English language proficiency, smoothing high school/college transition, encouraging hands on laboratory experience, establishing industrial COOP program, and preparing for international accreditation. The new programs have been in effect for approximately one year. Quantitative evaluation of the programs is not yet fully available. Nevertheless, there are already some tangible indicators that suggest successful outcomes.
A Case of Leadership Styles
Authors: Abu-Dieh Musa , Abu-Dieh Ala’a , Warren Lorraine
Published: November 2013

This case examines the extent to which leadership styles influence organizational effectiveness. It compares two different leadership styles in the local office of an international auditing firm and their impact on the success of the business overall. A shift in office management had a very negative impact on employee satisfaction that resulted in a high employee turnover in addition to customer dissatisfaction and, therefore, poor company performance. This situation is linked to conceptualizations of leadership. Concluding reflections explore what could have been done differently to avoid this negative trajectory, considering not only leadership style, but the overall relationship of the office to its parent organization. This case is based in part on interviews with the office employees who compared the two different leadership styles.
Who Will Be Next?
Authors: Khoury Elena , Khoury Maria C.
Published: November 2013

This case is about a family business, Taybeh Brewing Company (TBC), with strategic and succession planning issues including the need to prepare the second generation of decision makers to take over. It covers the centralization of control and issues that arise when it is time for a founder of a company to relinquish control or share in the decision making process. It also deals with the lack of interest by the second generation to continue what others initiated as a family legacy. The business has been approached to become listed on the stock exchange, but the owners have not made a decision. By reading about the small family business, students can learn about business structure that is proper for a company’s future, the pitfalls of founder’s syndrome, and succession planning, which according to Muna and Khoury (2012) becomes imperative for the first and second generations to take seriously.
Downsizing at Paltel
Authors: Baidoun Samir , Farraj Wojdan
Published: November 2013

This case demonstrates not only the technical but also the human aspect of the downsizing process. Paltel was faced with a situation where downsizing was its only option. This case explores the planning and implementation of the downsizing process at Paltel. The degree to which Paltel considered the impact of this decision on employees exemplifies how employee-oriented the company was. This consideration played a central role in how the downsizing process was executed. Also demonstrated in this case are the manner in which the circumstances were communicated to Paltel’s stakeholders, namely employees and the labor union and how this impacted their reaction to the situation. Paltel showed how managing stakeholder relationships and bringing key stakeholders on board with management contributed to the success of this process.
Downsizing and the Organizational Performance
Authors: Odeh Rasha , Abu-Assab Samah
Published: November 2013

This case study sheds light on the disputable organizational and behavioral management issues which occurred when one of the leading educational centers in the West Bank in Palestine began a process of downsizing. The case explores in a comprehensive approach the downsizing process that took place at the EDU-X Center in 2011 and its impact on the stakeholders of the organization before, during, and after one and a half years of the downsizing. The opinions, arguments, and reasons of top management’s decision to downsize are presented as well as the opinions, arguments, and despair of the employees who survived, were laid off, or resigned. Based on the comprehensive model by Kammeyer-Mueller, Liao, and Arvey (2001), the case shows that the downsizing decision at EDU-X was inevitable and turned out to be the right decision. In conclusion, a number of recommendations are proposed to lessen the undesirable effects of the downsizing process for all stakeholders.
Reality of Change
Authors: Karaki Flair J.
Published: November 2013

The purpose of this case is to describe the challenges an organization faces when a situation arises that forces it to make changes, and to illustrate possible strategies employed to manage the potential change. Vision University, decided to introduce a specialized Information System in its departments using simple computer forms. The decision was not the only one the university made to improve how the institution operates. In order to facilitate needs of the human resource department affairs, the President of the university welcomed the installation of a Human Resource Information System (HRIS). During the design and implementation of the HRIS project, resistance to the new system surfaced and continued after the completion of the project. Vision University found the resistance unfounded on the grounds that the benefits outweigh the difficulties and the employees would eventually grow accustomed to the new system.
Interactions and Applications of Fuzzy, Rough, and Soft Set in Data Mining
Authors: Dash Satya Ranjan , Dehuri Satchidananda , Sahoo Uma kant
Published: November 2013

In this paper, interactions among fuzzy, rough, and soft set theory has been studied. The authors have examined these theories as a problem solving tool in association rule mining problems of data mining and knowledge discovery in databases. Although fuzzy and rough set have been well studied areas and successfully applied in association rule mining problem, but soft set theory needs more attention from both theoretical and practical side. Therefore, to make some improvement in this direction, the authors studied soft set theory and its interaction with fuzzy and rough set. Alongside, the authors have taken a numerical example related to a societal problem for realizing the practical importance of these theories.
A New Design of Intelligent Traffic Signal Control
Authors: Daneshfar Fatemeh , RavanJamJah Javad
Published: November 2013

Dynamic traffic signal control in Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) recently has received increasing attention. This paper proposed an adaptive and cooperative multi-agentfuzzy system for a decentralized traffic signal control. The proposed model has three levels of control, the current intersection traffic situation, its neighboring intersections recommendations and a knowledge base, which provides the current intersection traffic pattern. The proposed architecture comprises a knowledge base, prediction module and a traffic observer that provide data to real traffic data preparation module, then a decision-making layer takes decision to how long should the intersection green light be extended. Also every intersection flow is predicted in two different ways: 1- through a recursive algorithm. 2- based on a two stage fuzzy clustering algorithm. The proposed solution is tested with traffic control of a large connected junction and the result obtained is promising in comparison to the conventional fixed sequence traffic signal and to the vehicle actuated traffic signal control strategies which are the most applicable strategies in this area. Also to simulate the proposed traffic control solutions, a Netlogo-based traffic simulator has been developed as the agents’ world which simulates the roads, traffic flow and intersections.
Integrating Modified Delphi with Fuzzy AHP for Concrete Production Facility Location Selection
Authors: Kabir Golam , Sumi Razia Sultana
Published: November 2013

Evaluation and selection of concrete production facility location is an important strategic decision making problem for both public and private sector. The multi-dimensional, multi-criteria nature of the concrete production facility location problem limits the usefulness of any particular single objective model. In this study, social, economical, technological, environmental and transportation factors and sub criteria, have been derived to make the optimal concrete production facility location selection decision more realistic and effectual. In this paper, an improved and more appropriate concrete production facility location evaluation and selection model has been developed by integrating Modified Delphi Method (MDM) with Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP). A numerical example is presented to show applicability and performance of the proposed methodology followed by a sensitivity analysis to discuss and explain the results.
A Meta-Problem Behind the Diverse Perspectives on the Underrepresentation of Girls in Information and Computing Technology Subjects
Authors: Rowan Leonie
Published: November 2013

The percentages of girls in developing countries studying information technology subjects in the post-compulsory years of education has remained persistently low: often under 25%. This is despite the fact that this particular phenomenon has been the subject of international enquiry for over two decades. The persistence of this pattern raises questions about the extent to which the factors influencing girls’ decision making are fully understood and associated questions about the ways in which both the problem and solution are most usefully conceptualized. This paper explores the limitations of dominant ways of explaining girl’s underrepresentation in information technology courses and careers and argues the need for a more holistic approach to designing and enacting interventions. It draws particular attention to the need for ongoing research in this area which seeks to map the persistence of narrow and limiting understandings of gender that continue to thrive in contemporary IT and school contexts. Furthermore it highlights the associated need for teachers to be equipped with skills that allow them to contest and challenge these understandings while also designing IT related subjects that are engaging and relevant to girls and to boys.
Corruption's Effect on Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Pupović Elvira
Published: November 2013

This study introduces a new perspective on the role of corruption in investment growth and provides quantitative estimates of the impact of corruption on the investment inflows. Motivated by these issues, the main objective of this article is to empirically reexamine the effects of corruption on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by incorporating a further link between corruption and investment inflows as new understanding investment concepts. Using data from Transparency International report, World Bank and National Banking Statistical data, it is manifested in a cross sectional setting that corruption has a negative and significant impact on the foreign direct investment inflows. The new model of eliminated unexpected risk involved managing corruption's effect on investments. One has to immediately consider the linkage between corruption and investment inflows and to learn how to manage this phenomenon like old risk of a new model.
A New Application for the Management of the MongoDB Servers
Authors: George Tudorica Bogdan
Published: November 2013

The application presented in the following subsections intends to cover one of the noticeable gaps of the NoSQL domain, namely the relative lack of working tools and systems administration for new large data storage systems. Following the comparative analysis of the NoSQL solutions on the market, the MongoDB system was chosen as target application for this step of development, for reasons mainly related to proven performance, flexibility, market presence already in place and ease of use.
How Can We Incorporate Relevant Findings from Psychology into Systems Methods?
Authors: Martin John N. T.
Published: November 2013

A study of citation patterns shows that it is rare for Systems writers to cite findings from the cognitive sciences, though common in writers in analogous areas. This raises the possibility that there may be useful areas of modern psychology that systems practitioners are currently neglecting. Behavioural economics is suggested as a potential example, introducing the idea of a ‘decision illusion’, the distinction between System 1 and System 2 brain systems which are believed to underlie these illusions, and a range of examples. This raises the problem of how to interface descriptive (and usually reductionist) domains such as psychology with normative systems methods. It is suggested that this can be managed by switching attention from ‘How to do it’ to ‘What might go wrong’, raising the possibility that systems methods might be much enriched by a systematic analysis of failure modes.
Applying the Direct and Indirect Methods of Purchase Intentions to Assess Interest in a Proposed Graduate Student Association
Authors: Roszkowski Michael J. , McManus Margret
Published: November 2013

One purported means for reducing the social desirability inherent in stated purchase intentions is indirect questioning, whereby the respondent is asked to comment about the probable buying behavior of another abstract individual. The contention is that respondents will project their own predilections unto the other person, thereby allowing for a more valid expression of their own purchase intentions. The 343 respondents to a survey intended to gauge interest in the creation of a graduate student association provided ratings of participation likelihood (very unlikely, somewhat unlikely, not sure, somewhat likely, very likely) for both themselves and for “other graduate students” in four potential functions: academic, social, advocacy, and community service. The perceived likelihood of others’ participation did correlate with one’s own stated level of likelihood in all four functions (r = .47 to .51), which is consistent with projection. However, counter to expectations, on only one function — academic — was the self rating higher than the rating of others’ interest, and notably, this was the function for which the expressed self interest was the highest. On all four functions, there was a systematic difference such that (1) other students’ likelihood is rated lower than one’s own likelihood when one’s own interest is high, and (2) other students’ likelihood is rated to be higher than one’s own likelihood when one’s stated likelihood is low. An anchoring and adjustment mechanism with regressive tendencies appears to be operating. The main implication of the results is that ratings of others’ interest are not necessarily going to be lower than the respondent’s own stated interest, even on socially desirable behaviors. Whether the interest rating assigned to others will be higher or lower than the respondent’s own interest depends on whether the self rating is low or high.
Cultural Adaption of Hypermedia
Authors: Dödtmann Judith , Wagner Ralf
Published: November 2013

Culturally adapted hypermedia design attracts increasing scientific attention. Complementing the conventional human-computer interaction studies we investigate the current state of companies’ cultural adaptation of their websites. This study evaluates a sample of 215 websites with respect to design and navigational aspects. Subsequently, we discuss the possibilities of structuring hypermedia and enabling the adaptation to culturally bounded user expectations. Moreover, we introduce metrics for assessing navigational burdens and outline the advantages of multi-trees for structuring hypermedia.
Tracking of Markers for 2D and 3D Gait Analysis Using Home Video Cameras
Authors: Mihradi Sandro , Ferryanto  , Dirgantara Tatacipta , Mahyuddin Andi I.
Published: November 2013

This work presents the development of an affordable optical motion-capture system which uses home video cameras for 2D and 3D gait analysis. The 2D gait analyzer system consists of one camcorder and one PC while the 3D gait analyzer system uses two camcorders, a flash and two PCs. Both systems make use of 25 fps camcorder, LED markers and technical computing software to track motions of markers attached to human body during walking. In the experiment for 3D gait analyzer system, the two cameras are synchronized by using flash. The recorded videos for both systems are extracted into frames and then converted into binary images, and bridge morphological operation is applied for unconnected pixel to facilitate marker detection process. Least distance method is then employed to track the markers motions, and 3D Direct Linear Transformation is used to reconstruct 3D markers positions. The correlation between length in pixel and in the real world resulted from calibration process is used to reconstruct 2D markers positions. To evaluate the reliability of the 2D and 3D optical motion-capture system developed in the present work, spatio-temporal and kinematics parameters calculated from the obtained markers positions are qualitatively compared with the ones from literature, and the results show good compatibility.
Design of a Decision Support System for a Home Telehealth Application
Authors: Mohktar Mas S. , Lin Kezhang , Redmond Stephen J. , Basilakis Jim , Lovell Nigel H.
Published: November 2013

A decision support system (DSS) that has been designed to manage patients using a home telehealth system is presented. The DSS has been developed to assist home telehealth clinical support staff with their workload, and to provide more effective communication between multiple home telehealth users. The three-tier system architecture that consists of a data layer; a business logic layer; and a front-end layer employs business processes and uses a rule engine for its logic and knowledge base. This paper discusses the design considerations involved in the construction of a DSS for the purpose of home telehealth, and illustrates how it may be developed using entirely open source software.
The Connective Matrix of Emerging Health Technologies
Authors: Usher Wayne , Laakso E-Liisa , James Daniel , Rowlands David
Published: November 2013

Modern communication systems (Web 1.0, Web 2.0, cloud computing) and mobile wireless technologies (smartphones, iPads, monitoring devices) have, as with all industries, progressed in healthcare over recent years from being a minor, to being a very significant component of the environment. This paper will discuss how advancements in information technology, wireless communication systems and sensor technology have provided new opportunities concerning practices for managing Chronic Disease (CD). This paper will also address future software, touching on Web 3.0 and how, combined with Web 2.0 and cloud computing, has the potential to produce the ultimate architecture of participation. Understanding the benefits of such systems, devices and their increasing emergence and connection with modern healthcare settings, is vital for implementing future successful e-health solutions for people with CD.
Why Uninformed Agents (Pretend to) Know More
Authors: Schanbacher Peter
Published: November 2013

Many social interactions (examples are market overreactions, high rates of acquisitions, strikes, wars) are the result of agents' overconfidence. Agents are in particular overconfident for difficult tasks. This paper analyzes overconfidence in the context of a statistical estimation problem. The authors find that it is rational to (i) be overconfident and (ii) to be notably overconfident if the task is difficult. The counterintuitive finding that uninformed agents which should be the least confident ones show the highest degree of overconfidence can be explained as a rational behavior.
Analysis of Risk and Reliability in Project Delivery Methods
Authors: Schultz Robert , Sarfaraz Ahmad , Jenab Kouroush
Published: November 2013

Risk and reliability are two main factors that must be studied in order to measure the successful rate of a project. As a result, innovative project delivery methods have been proposed to mitigate the risk and improve reliability of a project. The intent of this study is to compare the use of the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) and fuzzy AHP for decisions surrounding the early stages of construction projects based on risk and reliability measures. Financial risk is especially high during the early design stages of a project due to the unknown obstacles that will follow. The case study uses the selection of a project delivery method as an example, and provides a sample project to highlight the project-specific variability of the multi-criteria decision analysis.
A Hierarchical Fuzzy Portfolio Selection Process Considering Transaction Costs with a Hybrid Intelligent Algorithm
Authors: Rabbani Masoud , Bahadornia Seyyed Mostafa
Published: November 2013

This article presents a hierarchical process for multiobjective portfolio selection in fuzzy environment. Methodology proposed in this paper is consist of three main steps; (a) determining weight of each objective including return, risk and liquidity, by fuzzy logarithmic least square according to investors' preferences matrix by the means of DE algorithm, (b&c) assigning pareto frontiers of problem and computing portion of each security by multiobjective mathematical programming in accordance to obtained weights by the means of GA. Also transaction cost related to each security which are rarely considered in previous works are brought in the authors’ model.
The Influence of IT-Related Beliefs on Emotional Trust for a Smartphone and Smartphone Continuance Usage
Authors: Idemudia Efosa C. , Raisinghani Mahesh S. , Samuel-Ojo Olusola
Published: November 2013

Companies and municipalities worldwide are encouraging bring your own devices (BYOD) such as smartphones to the work environment to enhance communication among all employees, job performance, system quality, product quality, and service quality. Thus, understanding factors that have direct and indirect influence on smartphone continuance usage is helpful to companies worldwide that are investing heavily on BYOD. To date, there are no published studies that have investigated both the influence of external variables (i.e. cognitive factors) and emotional trust on smartphone continuance usage. To fill this gap in the literature, the authors develop their research model. This study indicates that emotional trust in a smartphone has a positive and significant effect on smartphone continuance usage. This finding strongly supports both the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model. Familiarity with a smartphone, satisfaction with a smartphone, usefulness of a smartphone’s apps/features, and smartphone functionality have a significant positive effect on emotional trust on a smartphone. The authors’ findings strongly indicate that the continuance usage of a smartphone in their daily activities and tasks involve emotion, cognition, and mental processes.
Would Printed Textbook Survive in the Digital Age?
Authors: Marei Hesham F. , Wajid Gohar
Published: November 2013

The need for a high quality medical service challenged the medical educationists to come with new learning tools, and strategies that can be adapted by the current generation of learners, and on the same side based on scientific learning theories. The new learning theories and technology had an impact on the style, content, and organization of modern textbook, which highlights the need for medical teachers who can renovate their role as a resource developer in the digital age.
Comparison of Cervical and Ocular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials in Dancers and Non-Dancers
Authors: Sinha Sujeet Kumar , Bohra Vaishnavi , Sanju Himanshu Kumar
Published: November 2013

The objective of the study was to assess the sacculocollic and otolith ocular pathway function using cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP) and ocular vestibular myogenic potentials (oVEMP) in dancers and non dancers. Total 16 subjects participated in the study. Out of 16 participants, 8 were trained in Indian classical form of dance (dancers) and other 8 participants who were not trained in any dance form (non dancers). cVEMP and oVEMP responses were recorded for all the subjects. Non Parametric Mann-Whitney U test revealed no significant difference between dancers and non dancers for the latency and amplitude parameter for cVEMP and oVEMP, i.e. P13, N23 latency and P13-N23 complex amplitude and N10, P14 latency, N10-P14 complex amplitude respectively. The vestibular system comprises of several structures. It is possible that the dance style practiced by the dancer’s group assessed in this study does not contribute towards improving the plasticity of the sacculocollic and otolith-ocular pathways. It can be concluded that not all forms of dance training brings about a change in the plasticity of the sacculocollic and otolithocular pathways.
Langs die kus van Kanapitsa
Authors: Greyling Franci
Published: November 2013

No abstract available.
Teaching Creative Writing at South African universities: An overview
Authors: Pieterse Henning J.
Published: November 2013

Creative Writing is a relatively new subject at South African universities. The scope and methodologies of teaching this subject locally have not yet been investigated properly. In this article the teaching of Creative Writing as subject, course and/or programme at South African universities is probed with regard to course content, methodological and pedagogical questions and outcomes. A semistructured questionnaire dealing with course content, didactic aspects of teaching Creative Writing and manuscript outcomes was sent to course co-ordinators of Creative Writing at 11 South African universities. The findings of this inquiry are discussed with regard to each participating university. Creative Writing is mainly taught at postgraduate level, with the focus on MA level. Although there are differences in teaching approaches, it is evident that the workshop serves as the core teaching method for most respondents. Creative Writing at South African universities has grown tremendously in terms of student numbers and published outputs – some figures are provided as illustrations. This increase links South African Creative Writing to a world-wide trend which reflects continuous growth in Creative Writing as university subject. Through published (and often award-winning) outcomes Creative Writing programmes contribute to the varied South African literary landscape.
Necrotizing Fasciitis
Authors: Sadasivan Jagdish , Maroju Nanda Kishore , Balasubramaniam Anandh
Published: November 2013

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is among the most challenging surgical infections faced by a surgeon. The difficulty in managing this entity is due to a combination of difficulty in diagnosis, and also of early as well as late management. For the patient, such a diagnosis means prolonged hospital stay, painful dressings, an extended recovery, and in some unfortunate cases even loss of limb or life. Necrotizing fasciitis is a fairly common condition in surgical practice in the Indian context resulting in a fairly large body of clinical experience. This article reviews literature on MEDLINE with the key words ′′necrotizing,′′ ′′fasciitis,′′ and ′′necrotizing infections′′ from 1970, as well as from articles cross referenced therein. The authors attempt to draw comparisons to their own experience in managing this condition to give an Indian perspective to the condition.
Efficacy of communication amongst staff members at plastic and reconstructive surgery section using smartphone and mobile WhatsApp
Authors: Wani Shabeer Ahmad , Rabah Sari M. , AlFadil Sara , Dewanjee Nancy , Najmi Yahya
Published: November 2013

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of smartphone and its WhatsApp application as a communication method amongst the staff of plastic and reconstructive surgery section at tertiary care health facility. Materials and Methods: From January 2012 onwards, the authors used smartphones and its WhatsApp application as a communication method amongst their team for various aspects of patient management and as a tool for academic endorsements. Results: During the period of this study, there were 116 episodes regarding patient management, which were handled, in a timely fashion by using this application. In addition opinion of rotating residents in the section was sought regarding the efficacy of this method of communication. Overall majority of residents were satisfied with this mode of communication. Conclusions: This new method of communication is an effective method for clinical and academic endorsements. The method is cheap and quick and easy to operate.
Gross anatomy of superficial fascia and future localised fat deposit areas of the abdomen in foetus
Authors: Kumar Pramod , Pandey Arvind Kumar , Kumar Brijesh , Aithal K. S. , Dsouza Antony Sylvan
Published: November 2013

Background: The development and popularity of body contouring procedures such as liposuction and abdominoplasty has renewed interest in the anatomy of the superficial fascia and subcutaneous fat deposits of the abdomen. The study of anatomy of fascia and fetal adipose tissue was proposed as it may be of value in understanding the possible programing of prevention of obesity. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to understand the gross anatomy of superficial fascia of abdomen and to study the gross anatomy of future localized fat deposits (LFDs) area of abdomen in fetus. Materials and Methods: Four fetus (two male & two female) of four month of intrauterine life were dissected. Attachments & layers of superficial fascia and future subcutaneous fat deposit area of upper and lower abdomen were noted. Results: Superficial fascia of the abdomen was multi layered in mid line and number of layers reduced laterally as in adult. The future abdominal LFD (localized fat deposits) area in fetus shows brownish-white blubbary tissue without well-defined adult fat lobules. Conclusion: The attachment and gross anatomy of superficial fascia of the fetus was similar to that in adults. The future LFD areas showed brownish white blubbary tissue with ill-defined fat lobules.
Facial contouring with parascapular free flap: A case series of 22 cases
Authors: Kalra Guru Dayal Singh , Gupta Ram Krishna
Published: November 2013

Background: The facial asymmetry correction in complex craniofacial malformations presents a challenging problem for reconstructive surgeons. Progressive hemifacial atrophy (HFA) and hemifacial microsomia (HFM) can manifest in different grades of severity. Most patients require only soft-tissue augmentation. Free flaps are the best option for correction of severe facial soft-tissue deficiency. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients of HFM and HFA were included in this study from January 2006 to March 2009 in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, SMS Medical College and Hospital. In all cases, atrophy correction was done using de-epithelialised parascapular free flap with the de-epithelialised surface was placed under the skin. A small skin paddle was taken for monitoring. Results: All cases were reconstructed with de-epithelialised parascapular free flap. There was no flap loss in this series. Hematoma was noted in five cases. Debulking and removal of skin paddle were done in all cases after 6 months. Atrophy recurrence was not observed in any of the cases on follow-up. Conclusion: Contouring of face in cases of HMF and HFA is satisfactorily done with the parascapular free flap. It gives better cosmetic results with minimal donor site morbidity. Facial vessels are better recipient vessels for anastomosis. Keeping de-epithelialised surface of flap under the skin helped in preventing sagging.
Распределения межрекордных наполнений
Authors: Orlov Oleg Pavlovich , Pasynkov Nikolay Yur'evich
Published: November 2013

В последовательности независимых положительных случайных величин с одной и той же непрерывной функцией распределения выделяется монотонная подпоследовательность рекордных значений. Соответствующая им последовательность рекордных моментов разбивает исходную последовательность на межрекордные интервалы. Интервалу между $i$-м и $(i + 1)$-м рекордными моментами сопоставляются числа $\alpha_i^j (j = 1, \ldots , i)$ - случайные величины, значения которых попадают между $(j - 1)$-м и $j$-м рекордами. Получены явные формулы для совместных распределений случайных величин $\alpha_i^j, 1\leqslant j\leqslant i\leqslant n$, доказаны предельные теоремы для распределений $\alpha_i^j$ при $i-j\to\infty$.
A Study of Metaphorical Stories Used by Occupational Therapists to Describe Their Working Lives
Authors: MacKey Hazel
Published: November 2013

Introduction:

This paper describes five metaphorical stories that occupational therapists use in talking about and making sense of health service reforms, and discusses the value of reflecting on metaphorical stories to increase understanding of healthcare practice and concepts of professionalism.

Methods:

A narrative approach was used to examine how occupational therapists define, experience and practice their work, and describe their professional ‘selves’. The empirical research was conducted over a 12-month period across five National Health Service organizations. Fourteen participants were interviewed three times during this period and were asked to keep monthly diaries of critical incidents.

Findings:

Five dominant types of ‘stories’ were identified and given appropriate metaphorical titles: the battle, the love story, the magazine, the journey, and the pantomime. The research article notes the salient features and implicit relationships selected as important in each story. The stories illustrate how occupational therapists relate to and mediate change, by constructing experiences in ways that facilitate making sense of a situation and seeing a possible direction to take.

Conclusions:

The article suggests that exploring metaphorical stories encourages reflexivity and analytical decision making by illuminating the choices available when mediating change.
Estudio documental (2006-2013) sobre el autocuidado en el día a día del paciente con enfermedad renal crónica
Authors: Carrillo-Algarra Ana Julia , Laza Vásquez Celmira , Molina Jerena José Ángel
Published: November 2013

Objetivo
Describir las actividades de autocuidado realizadas por los pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica (ERC) que se encuentran en los diferentes tratamientos sustitutivos, reportadas en la literatura científica durante el período 2006 a 2013.
Material y método:
Estudio documental de corte cualitativo, en el cual se revisaron artículos originales de cualquier nacionalidad, publicados en español, inglés y portugués, indexados en las bases de datos: Elsevier Instituciones, cienceDirect, Ciberindex, Nursing@Ovid, Ebsco Host, Pubmed Scielo, Lilacs, usando los descriptores autocuidado, cuidado de si, autogestión, ERC, hemodiálisis,
diálisis peritoneal y trasplante renal. Para el análisis de los datos se utilizó el análisis de contenido.
Resultados:
Se seleccionaron ocho artículos que respondieron al objetivo del estudio, siete realizados en Brasil y uno en Canadá. Seis eran cualitativos. Todos realizados por Enfermeras, dos de ellos presentan explícitamente orientación teórica disciplinar. Promedio de publicación uno por año. Emergieron seis categorías:
Mantenimiento y mejora de la aptitud/condición física; Mantenimiento y mejora del estado nutricional: comportamiento alimentario, Recreación como medida de autocuidado, Protección y mantenimiento de la función de la fistula arteriovenosa,
Uso de terapia farmacológica como medida de autocuidado y Desde la experiencia y la construcción del conocimiento: algunas prácticas autocuidado.
Conclusiones:
Mantenimiento de la condición física y del estado nutricional fueron las actividades de autocuidado que emergieron con mayor relevancia. En la producción científica del autocuidado en pacientes con ERC en tratamientos sustitutivos, se resalta el liderazgo enfermero, pero se evidencia baja producción,
especialmente en países en vía de desarrollo.
Neumoperitoneo en paciente con tratamiento renal sustitutivo con diálisis peritoneal continua ambulatoria
Authors: Durán Muñoz Mª Isabel , Martín Santiago Consuelo , De la Cierva Medina Piedad , Lope Andrea Teresa , Martín Acero Teresa
Published: November 2013

Se denomina neumoperitoneo a la presencia de aire en la cavidad peritoneal. La mayoría de las veces, 85-95% de las ocasiones, la causa del neumoperitoneo es la perforación de una víscera hueca, pero el 5-15% de los casos son no quirúrgicos y se defi nen como neumoperitoneo no quirúrgico, asintomático, benigno o idiopático, que se resuelven con un tratamiento conservador. A continuación describimos el caso clínico de una paciente que presentó un neumoperitoneo.
Assessment of Acid Neutralizing Capacity in Cola-based Drinks and Energy Beverages by Artificial Saliva
Authors: de Oliveira Marcelo Tomas , Felix Kariny Ramos , Bressan Maria Claudia , Kanis Luiz Alberto
Published: November 2013

Objective

To assess the pH of regular and light cola-based drinks and energy drinks, and examine the acid neutralizing capacity by the addition of artificial saliva.

Materials and methods

Ten packages of each product purchased locally at different stores were evaluated. The pH was measured by a pH-electrode calibrated in standard buffer solutions. To assess the pH neutralizing capacity, 1 ml/min of artificial saliva was added until a pH of 5.5 set as a cutoff point was reached in the tested solution. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), at the 0.05 significance level.

Results

The surveyed beverages had an initial acidic pH, ranging between 2.3 and 3.4. The average amount of saliva required to raise the pH of the cola-based drinks above 5.5 ranged between 6.0 and 6.8 ml. Energy drinks used volumes between 11.3 and 12.5 ml; however, it was not possible to achieve a pH of 5.5

Conclusion

According to the methodology used, it was concluded that: (1) All beverages analyzed showed an initial acidic pH. (2) There was no statistical difference between the initial pH level and acid neutralization by the addition of artificial saliva in both regular and light drinks. It was not possible to reach the appropriate pH, set as the cutoff point, for the energy drinks.

How to cite this article

Felix KR, Bressan MC, Kanis LA, De Oliveira MT. Assessment of Acid Neutralizing Capacity in Cola-based Drinks and Energy Beverages by Artificial Saliva. J Contemp Dent Pract 2013;14(4):578-581.