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The motivation for this research work is the need for an efficient software tool for inductance calculation of components in flexible electronics. A software package PROVOD has been developed and it has produced very accurate results but the applied numerical method can lead to a huge amount of calculations. The aim of this research is to apply the parallel computing to this specific computational technique and to investigate the impact of increasing the number of parallel executing threads.

The largest possible amount of operations is put in parallel using the fact that the inductance between two segments is a sum of independent elements. OpenMP and Microsoft's Concurrency Runtime have been tested as parallel programming techniques.

Parallel computing with a different number of threads (up to 24) has been tested with OpenMP. A significant increase in computational speed (up to 21 times) has been obtained.

The research is limited by the available number of parallel processors.

Accurate and fast inductance calculation for flexible electronic components is possible to achieve. The impact of parallel processing is proven.

The proposed method of calculation acceleration of inductances can be helpful in the design and optimization of new flexible devices in electronics.

Parallel computing is applied to the design of flexible electronic components. It is shown that a large number of parallel processors can be efficiently used in this type of calculation. The obtained results are interesting for people involved in the design of flexible components, and generally, for researchers/engineers dealing with similar electromagnetic problems.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) can be a debilitating disorder that is difficult to identify and treat. Failure to adequately manage IIH symptoms may force patients to present at emergency departments (EDs) seeking symptom relief. The purpose of this paper is to empirically characterize ED use by previously diagnosed IIH patients.

Patients diagnosed with IIH, and who registered with the Intracranial Hypertension Registry by 2014, were solicited for study inclusion. A survey was designed to elicit ED use during the period 2010–2012. Information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, IIH signs and symptoms, time since diagnosis, perspectives of ED use and quality of life was collected. Quality of life was assessed using an adaptation of the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric hypothesis tests.

In total, 39 percent of IIH patients used emergency services over the study period; those that did used the services intensely. These patients were more likely to be non-white, live in households making less than $25,000 annually, have public insurance and have received a diversional shunt procedure. Patients who used the ED were less likely to live in households making $100,000, or more, annually and have private insurance. Participants who used the ED had significantly lower quality-of-life scores, were younger and had been diagnosed with IIH for less time.

ED staff and outside physicians can utilize the information contained in this study to more effectively recognize the unique circumstances of IIH patients who present at EDs.

The aim of this paper is to explain how the globalisation of services can be limited or enhanced by societal effects.

This analysis is based on a single case study. The authors use a qualitative and longitudinal approach, with in‐depth interviews and archives collected during a six‐year period of participant observation inside the firm.

The authors argue that societal dimensions are at play in the evolution of services activities, and that their influence is especially strong in ex‐public services monopolies. They illustrate the limits of strategic change due to the specific dynamics of societal effects. The authors first look at the evolution of strategic fit before and after multiple changes in La Poste. They then identify different types of reactions at local level. They conclude by insisting on the enduring influence of social patterns and traditions on the adoption of new technologies and modes of organisation.

The main limitation of this research is that a more thorough comparison with other European national leaders in postal services would have helped strengthen this analysis.

A first practical implication for services firms is that societal changes should be greatly considered in their globalisation process and that societal changes are often underestimated. Another practical implication is that a globalisation of services process must certainly be situated at a global level based on national and local specificities built in time.

While comparative studies on international management have often focused on the different modes of organisation depending on culture and institutions, the impact of globalisation on services have been left relatively under‐explored. This paper takes the example of the service industry to show that cultural reasons are not sufficient to explain why the internationalisation of services may encounter difficulties. Other factors such as societal effect should be included.

Most studies in information behaviour have focussed on information behaviour aspects such as environmental uncertainty, scanning behaviour of top management executives, student and women information behaviour, information source and credibility, while little is known about the information behaviour of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) when the need for emerging information and communication technology (EICT) adoption decision-making arises. This paper, therefore, aims to explore the major determinants of perceived information need for EICT adoption by UK small service-oriented businesses.

The study adopted qualitative method to explore 13 key determinants of SME managers’ information behaviour for EICT adoption decision-making by using both unstructured and semi-structured interviews at two different stages with 20 participants drawn purposeful from Luton directories.

The study developed an extended technology, organisation and environment (TOE) framework by identifying and incorporating the information context which helped to unveil 13 key determinants of perceived information need and their impact on EICT adoption decision-making in SMEs. This further provided insight into understanding SMEs’ information behaviour. While the determinants associated with TOE and information contexts influence SMEs’ perceived information need for EICT adoption, the extent at which these four constructs shape SMEs’ perceived information need for EICT adoption decision-making differs.

The limitation of this study emerged because of the use of qualitative methodologies in relation to the research design, rigour in the collection and management of the large volume of the raw data, the data analysis and the credibility of the findings. This may lead to unforeseen respondent – and research – bias in the data analysis, which may lead to limited understanding of alternatives and insights into the key determinants of perceived information need for EICT adoption decision. Hence, other measures and approaches such as case study and mix-method could be deployed to further validate the findings. Also, one of the limitations of qualitative study has been the issue of theoretical generalizability of the framework. The generalizability of the formwork needs to be established across a wider range of population. Future studies may apply a confirmatory statistical techniques to test and ascertain the validity and reliability of the framework across a wider population. Such studies may be used as a benchmark for the theoretical constructs and the factors that may lead to success or failure of mobile marketing technology adoption.

The study has further enriched TOE framework and provided an analytical dimension for exploring key determinants of SMEs’ perceived information need for EICT adoption decision-making. It also demonstrates the capacity to provide a reliable explanation of the determinants and serves as a tool for evaluating the benefits or challenges of SMEs’ information behaviours when the need for EICT adoption arises.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the levels of psychological distress in adults entering Western Australia (WA) as refugees through the Australian Humanitarian Programme. To determine if the introduction of mental health screening instruments impacts on the level of referrals for further psychological/psychiatric assessment and treatment.

Participants were 300 consecutive consenting refugee adults attending the Humanitarian Entrant Health Service in Perth, WA. This service is government funded for the general health screening of refugees. The Kessler-10 (K10) and the World Health Organisation’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) screener were the principal outcome measures used.

Refugees had a high rate of current probable PTSD (17.2 per cent) as measured with the PTSD screener and mean K10 scores were significantly higher than general population norms. The K10 showed high accuracy for discriminating those with or without probable PTSD. Being married and having more children increased the risk of probable PTSD. In regard to region of origin, refugees from Western and Southern Asia had significantly higher scores on both screeners followed by those from Africa with those from South-Eastern Asia having the lowest scores. Referral rate for psychiatric/psychological treatment was 18 per cent compared to 4.2 per cent in the year prior to the study.

This study demonstrates increased psychological distress including a high rate of probable PTSD in a recently arrived multi-ethnic refugee population and also demonstrates significant variations based on region of origin. In addition, it supports the feasibility of using brief screening instruments to improve identification and referral of refugees with significant psychological distress in the context of a comprehensive general medical review.

This was an Australian study conducted in a non-psychiatric setting. The outcomes of this study pertain to refugee mental health assessed in a general health setting. The implications of the study findings are of far reaching relevance, inclusive of primary care doctors and general physicians as well as mental health clinicians. In particular the authors note that the findings of this study are to the authors’ knowledge unique in the refugee mental health literature as the participants are recently arrived refugees from diverse ethnic groups.

This study investigated the role of experienced practitioners in promoting pre-service teachers' knowledge construction and social interaction in an online professional learning community.

A repeated measures design with control and experimental groups was adopted. Two practitioners supported pre-service teachers in the experimental group to discuss issues around teaching practice. Social network analysis (SNA) and content analysis (CA) were used in the analytical approach.

CA revealed that the practitioners increased pre-service teachers' levels of knowledge construction and high-cognitive discourse. SNA showed that the practitioners enhanced pre-service teachers' professional ties. Though collaboration in high-level knowledge building occurred predominantly in peers in the same discipline, the presence of the practitioners facilitated the development of more cross-disciplinary ties in the experimental group.

The practitioners can be considered as a pedagogical tool to enhance pre-service teachers' engagement in the process of professional learning. This study suggests that in order to enhance the collaboration among pre-service teachers from different departments, the online activity should be designed to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration.

The study contributes new knowledge about the ways in which practitioners can enhance the collaboration among pre-service teachers in an online PLC. It also provides insight on how to combine CA and SNA, to examine professional learning.