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1 – 10 of over 2000
Book part
Publication date: 12 October 2011

Sharon Landesman Ramey, Nancy A. Crowell, Craig T. Ramey, Cathy Grace, Nedaa Timraz and Louise E. Davis

Professional development (PD), including coaching and mentoring, for early childhood education and care providers has received increasing attention over the past decade. PD…

Abstract

Professional development (PD), including coaching and mentoring, for early childhood education and care providers has received increasing attention over the past decade. PD, particularly coaching/mentoring, has been shown to improve classroom quality. We recognize the importance of content and format of PD, but argue that dosage (overall amount) and density (spacing) are important aspects of PD that are worthy of careful consideration. We hypothesize that when PD conveys new information and complex new skills, a dense initial period is likely to produce better results than a less dense delivery. In this chapter, we review the program of research that has led us to a focus on both dosage and density of coaching. We conclude with the results from an ECEPD project in which we systematically varied the density of coaching while maintaining the same overall dosage. Classrooms all received 120h of in-classroom coaching and were randomly assigned to a dense “immersion” condition (20 full days of coaching spread over 5 weeks) or to a low density condition (one full day per week of coaching over 20 weeks). Classrooms in the immersion condition showed gains in quality, albeit modest, over the course of the school year, whereas those in the low-density condition either remained the same or decreased in quality over the school year.

Details

The Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Grant: Research and Practice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-280-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2018

Pamela Miles Homer and Sayantani Mukherjee

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of supplement form and dosage level on consumers’ perceptions of dietary supplement efficacy.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of supplement form and dosage level on consumers’ perceptions of dietary supplement efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw upon literature on dietary supplements and accessibility–diagnosticity theory to derive their hypotheses. Hypotheses are tested through two experiments that use a 2 (supplement form: single-ingredient [SI] vs multi-ingredient [MI]) × 2 (dosage level: low vs high) factorial design.

Findings

The findings show that consumers perceive that lower dose MI supplements are more effective than lower dose SI supplements, consistent with a “more is better” heuristic. In contrast, under high doses, the supplement form effect is insignificant; that is, MI and SI supplements are perceived to be comparable in terms of efficacy.

Practical implications

Dietary supplements are not regulated the same way as prescription drugs. Consumers often draw inferences about supplement efficacy based on their perceptions rather than objective evidence. This may leave consumers vulnerable to potentially harmful consequences. This research has implications for designing supplement marketing efforts and public policy, which could help consumers to make informed choices when purchasing dietary supplements.

Originality/value

A growing awareness of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle has motivated consumers of all ages to consider alternative remedies, most notably using dietary supplements. Past research offers little insight into understanding consumer reactions to dietary supplement form such as SI and MI supplements and their dosage levels. The studies reported here address this gap in research. Public policy and marketing implications are also discussed.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2010

Cho‐Pei Jiang

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for fabricating tumor vessel phantom and then investigate the thermal dosage profile caused by high‐intensity‐focused ultrasound…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for fabricating tumor vessel phantom and then investigate the thermal dosage profile caused by high‐intensity‐focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a thermal sensitive powder has been added to silicon‐based gel as a vessel phantom raw material for displaying the thermal dosage profile caused by HIFU. A fused deposition modeling system was used for fabricating the shell casting mold and the vessel arbor mold. The arbor prototype, made of wax, was solidified in the cavity of vessel arbor mold. The vessel phantom object embedded with the arbor prototype was created in the shell mold casting process. The vessel phantom was obtained by immersing the vessel phantom object into hot water (65°C) for melting the vessel arbor prototype. A HIFU experiment has been conducted for verifying the feasibility of displaying the thermal dosage profile of the fabricated vessel phantom. The HIFU experimental parameters including the driving power of HIFU transducer, ultrasound exposure duration and volume flow rate were used for investigating the thermal dosage variation by the perfusion of vessel phantom.

Findings

The properties of fabricated mimicking phantom agree well with those of human tissue. The experimental results show that the proposed method can fabricate the Y‐type vessel phantom. The proposed method has been proved as a promising fabrication process in fabricating the vessel phantom and it displays the thermal dosage profile in HIFU experiment.

Originality/value

The proposed method and the developed experimental apparatus are helpful for pre‐clinical HIFU surgery.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 16 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 April 2018

Oliver Hutt, Kate Bowers, Shane Johnson and Toby Davies

The purpose of this paper is to use an evaluation of a micro-place-based hot-spot policing implementation to highlight the potential issues raised by data quality standards in the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use an evaluation of a micro-place-based hot-spot policing implementation to highlight the potential issues raised by data quality standards in the recording and measurement of crime data and police officer movements.

Design/methodology/approach

The study focusses on an area of London (UK) which used a predictive algorithm to designate micro-place patrol zones for each police shift over a two-month period. Police officer movements are measured using GPS data from officer-worn radios. Descriptive statistics regarding the crime data commonly used to evaluate this type of implementation are presented, and simple analyses are presented to examine the effects of officer patrol duration (dosage) on crime in micro-place hot-spots.

Findings

The results suggest that patrols of 10-20 minutes in a given police shift have a significant impact on reducing crime; however, patrols of less than about 10 minutes and more than about 20 minutes are ineffective at deterring crime.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the sparseness of officer GPS data, their paths have to be interpolated which could introduce error to the estimated patrol dosages. Similarly, errors and uncertainty in recorded crime data could have substantial impact on the designation of micro-place interventions and evaluations of their effectiveness.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to use officer GPS data to estimate patrol dosage and places particular emphasis on the issue of data quality when evaluating micro-place interventions.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2021

Yonggui Wang, Zeng Zhang, Jianfeng Wang, Rui Sang and Weigang Zhang

A kind of the Z-6020/E-44 modified waterborne hydroxyl acrylate resin (Z-WEA) and its application in volatile organic compound-free waterborne coatings were prepared.

Abstract

Purpose

A kind of the Z-6020/E-44 modified waterborne hydroxyl acrylate resin (Z-WEA) and its application in volatile organic compound-free waterborne coatings were prepared.

Design/methodology/approach

The Z-6020/E-44 modified waterborne hydroxyl acrylate resin (Z-WEA) was obtained dropwise by adding a mixed solution of methyl methacrylate, n-butyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, acrylic acid and an initiator into a pre-prepared solution of isopropyl alcohol and E-44 and by semi-continuous solution polymerization, and this chain was further extended with organosiloxane (Z-6020) through graft copolymer, which was then neutralized with organic base and dispersed with water, with waterborne amino resin curing agent to form a film, and the properties were tested.

Findings

The results showed that when the dosage of initiator was 2.5% accounts for the total acrylic monomer, the hydroxyl content was 10%; the dosage of E-44 was 16%; the dosage of Z-6020 was 6%; the mass ratio of hard and soft monomer was 2.0:1; the neutralization was 100%; Z-6020/E-44 modified waterborne hydroxyl acrylate resin (Z-WEA) had excellent dispersion performance in water and storage stability; water absorption of cured film was 7.8%; pencil hardness reached 5H; adhesive force was 1 level; and the film was uniform and endowed with remarkable heat resistance, high gloss and good fullness.

Practical implications

This paper established a method to synthesize Z-6020/E-44 modified waterborne hydroxyl acrylate resin (Z-WEA) with green surfactants that can be used in the coatings, adhesives, finishing agents and so on.

Originality/value

This paper provides a method of preparing Z-6020/E-44 modified waterborne hydroxyl acrylate resin (Z-WEA) and with waterborne amino resin curing agent to form a film, and the film is uniform and endowed with remarkable heat resistance, high gloss and good fullness and meets the requirements of high-grade paint.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. 50 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2022

Xuemei Guan, Wenfeng Li and Jingyi Huang

The purpose of this paper is to improve the dyeing effect of fast-growing fir wood dyed with reactive dyes.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the dyeing effect of fast-growing fir wood dyed with reactive dyes.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, five factors including temperature, the dosage of dye accelerator, dyeing time, the dosage of fixing agent and fixing time were investigated. Then, the color difference and light resistance of the wood surface after dyeing were used as the evaluation indicators; the best dyeing process under the two indicators was obtained through the range analysis. Finally, the two indicators were considered comprehensively, and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was used to obtain the best dyeing process under the comprehensive indicators.

Findings

The results show that when the comprehensive index was used as the evaluation index, the optimal dyeing process for reactive red X-3B dyeing fast-growing fir veneer was that the dyeing temperature was 65°C; the amount of dye accelerator was 25 g L−1; the dyeing time was 2 h; the amount of fixing agent was 15 g L−1; and the fixing time was 35 min.

Originality/value

The technique of wood dyeing is an important method to increase the value of wood products. When using different kinds of dyes or dyeing substrates for wood dyeing, the dyeing process is different. This study determined the best process for reactive dye dyeing of fast-growing fir veneer and provided a solution for improving the value of fast-growing fir wood.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. 52 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 February 2019

Boby John and Shreya Singhal

The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated engineering process control (EPC)–statistical process control (SPC) methodology for simultaneously monitoring and controlling…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated engineering process control (EPC)–statistical process control (SPC) methodology for simultaneously monitoring and controlling autocorrelated multiple responses, namely, brightness and viscosity of the pulp bleaching process.

Design/methodology/approach

The pulp bleaching is a process of separating cellulose from impurities present in cooked wood chips through chemical treatment. More chemical dosage or process adjustments may result in better brightness but adversely affect viscosity. Hence, the optimum chemical dosage that would simultaneously minimize the deviation of pulp brightness and viscosity from their respective targets needs to be determined. Since the responses are autocorrelated, dynamic regression is used to model the responses. Then, the optimum chemical dosage that would simultaneously optimize the pulp brightness and viscosity is determined by fuzzy optimization methodology.

Findings

The suggested methodology is validated in 12 cases. The validation results showed that the optimum dosage simultaneously minimized the variation in brightness and viscosity around their respective targets. Moreover, suggested solution has been found to be superior to the one obtained by optimizing the responses independently.

Practical implications

This study provides valuable information on how to identify the optimum process adjustments to simultaneously ensure autocorrelated multiple responses on or close to their respective targets.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to provide application of the integrated EPC–SPC methodology for simultaneously monitoring multiple responses. The study also demonstrates the application of dynamic regression to model autocorrelated responses.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1995

Howard H. Lo and Yung‐Tse Hung

Evaluates the effect of bioaugmentation on the activated sludgetreatment of food wastewaters including those containing potato, starch,sugar and milk. Parameters of study include…

1068

Abstract

Evaluates the effect of bioaugmentation on the activated sludge treatment of food wastewaters including those containing potato, starch, sugar and milk. Parameters of study include live liquid microorganisms, dosage, aeration time and wastewater strength. Concludes that bioaugmentation with addition of live liquid micro‐organisms improves total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency and reduces sludge production. Aerobic bioaugmentation is effective in TOC removal from potato, sugar and milk wastewater but not effective in the case of starch wastewater.

Details

Environmental Management and Health, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-6163

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 March 2020

Andrew Chunkil Park, Leigh Goodrich, Bobak Hedayati, Ralph Albert, Kyle Dornhofer and Erin Danielle Knox

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate delirium as a possible consequence of the application of symptom-triggered therapy for alcohol withdrawal and to explore alternative…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate delirium as a possible consequence of the application of symptom-triggered therapy for alcohol withdrawal and to explore alternative treatment modalities. In the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, symptom-triggered therapy directs nursing staff to regularly assess patients using standardized instruments, such as the Clinical Institute for Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol, Revised (CIWA-Ar), and administer benzodiazepines at symptom severity thresholds. Symptom-triggered therapy has been shown to lower total benzodiazepine dosage and treatment duration relative to fixed dosage tapers (Daeppen et al., 2002). However, CIWA-Ar has important limitations. Because of its reliance on patient reporting, it is inappropriate for nonverbal patients, non-English speakers (in the absence of readily available translators) and patients in confusional states including delirium and psychosis. Importantly, it also relies on the appropriate selection of patients and considering alternate etiologies for signs and symptoms also associated with alcohol withdrawal.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors report a case of a 47-year-old male admitted for cardiac arrest because of benzodiazepine and alcohol overdose who developed worsening delirium on CIWA-Ar protocol.

Findings

While symptom-triggered therapy through instruments such as the CIWA-Ar protocol has shown to lower total benzodiazepine dosage and treatment duration in patients in alcohol withdrawal, over-reliance on such tools may also lead providers to overlook other causes of delirium.

Originality/value

This case illustrates the necessity for providers to consider using other available assessment and treatment options including objective alcohol withdrawal scales, fixed benzodiazepine dosage tapers and even antiepileptic medications in select patients.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN:

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 April 2020

Kimberly Kappler-Hewitt, Heidi Von Dohlen, Jess Weiler, Bonnie Fusarelli and Barbara Zwadyk

The purpose of this study was to examine the architecture of internship coaching models from five innovative principal preparation programs in the Southeastern region of the USA…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the architecture of internship coaching models from five innovative principal preparation programs in the Southeastern region of the USA. The researchers used coaching architecture in this context to include the assignment of coaches to interns, dosages, and enactment of evaluation and confidentiality.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers used a qualitative, collective case study research design that included semi-structured interviews of program directors and coaches from each of five programs, totaling 19 interviews that lasted from 30 min to an hour and 15 min each.

Findings

Commonalities among architectures of principal intern coaching designs included coaching assignment by geography, frequency and format of coaching sessions and length of the internship. All five programs recommend continuing coaching into initial years of administration. Points of distinction pertained to the utilization of external versus internal coaches, confidentiality and evaluation by coaches.

Research limitations/implications

This study may inform coaching models for principal preparation programs within similar contexts. Because all five programs are grant-funded within one US state, generalizability and transferability cannot be assumed.

Practical implications

The authors provide design considerations for coaching programs, as well as policy considerations and directions for future research.

Originality/value

While coaching is increasingly used in leadership preparation programs, there is a paucity of research regarding the nature of coaching models, especially in terms of their architecture. The researchers examine, compare, and contrast coaching model architecture, raising important considerations for coaching designs.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

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