Physical stress on halibut larvae

Halibut larvae were exposed to physical stress in the form of different levels of airation. Survival rate, development, dry weight, RNA, DNA and protein were measured. At the end of the experiment the larvae exposed to gentle airation had the highest survival rate, total dry weight, dry weight of the yolk sac, content of RNA and RNA-DNA ratio. However, the group without airation had the highest dry weight of larval body, growth rate and yolk conversion efficiency. The functional jaw development had the same value and were highest in these two groups

Effective Leadership: A case study in Work Psycodynamics

Based on a psychodynamic analysis of a leadership interview, the article discusses how public modernisation initiatives have put educational leaders on terms where they handle their leadership roles by drawing on special forms of defence. It is asked if the demands for ‘effectivity of leadership’ can trigger defensive patterns of interaction that are counterproductive rather than effective – at least if effectivity means the ability of the leader and the employee to handle the increasing complexity caused by modernisation

The legal implications of the banchomarbae

The general rule regarding women and property in early Irish law is that a woman is not allowed to own or deal with land except for her obligations through marriage. However, if a man died in default of sons, his daughter was entitled to a life-interest in the land, and was considered the rightful owner of this land until she died. The legal situation of the banchomarbae, 'female heir', was therefore quite different from a woman's normal legal situation. This article offers a detailed analysis of the legal implications of a woman being considered the rightful owner of land, and how this would affect her legal standing and contractual capacity in early Irish society

Introducing New Technologies to Users in User-Centered Design Projects:: An Experimental Study

In user-centered design the users play an important role in the development process. The users are included in near every step of the process and it is often a problem that they do not have the necessary overview of a technology intended used in the end system. They do not need to know all the technical details, but they do need to know what possibilities the technology makes available. To do this one needs to introduce the users to the technical possibilities, but how does one do this? We had two suggestions as to how this could be done. We proposed introducing the possibilities through abstract concepts not tied to the users' domain. The reason being we did not want to lock the users to concrete ideas given by us, but let them use the abstract concepts to come up with ideas in their own domain. The other suggestion was giving the users hands-on experience with the concepts. Human knowledge is usually derived from experience, and we believe touching and trying out the possibilities of a technology would also be helpful in this kind of setting. To test whether hands-on experience and abstract concepts is valuable in an introduction of new technologies we conducted an experiment involving two workshops. Both workshops got a theoretical presentation of the abstract concepts, while one workshop let the participants explore a demonstrator made by us giving them hands-on experience. These workshops were then analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The quantitative analysis showed that the workshop incorporating hands-on experience generated more unique ideas and also ideas in more categories than the other workshop. However due to low comparability between the groups due to factors such as prior experience with the technologies and current work situation, we do not give these findings much significance. Through the qualitative analysis we see that hands-on experience can be valuable. For one participant in particular, the hands-on experience was very valuable. In addition we found it valuable as a motivational exercise in a user-centered design process. The abstract concepts were analyzed qualitatively, and these were not as valuable as hoped. The users found it hard to map the abstract concepts to their domain. We now see the value of examples closer to the users' domain, but they should be kept as small building blocks for the users to combine to solve larger problems. We end this paper with a suggested approach to introducing new technological possibilities. We still recommend using the abstract concepts, but taking care to exemplify them through many small domain-specific examples. Hands-on experience is recommended if it is feasible to do this within the domain. We also recommend for time to mature and revisiting the participant after they've been back in their domain for a while

Physical stress on halibut larvae

Halibut larvae were exposed to physical stress in the form of different levels of airation. Survival rate, development, dry weight, RNA, DNA and protein were measured. At the end of the experiment the larvae exposed to gentle airation had the highest survival rate, total dry weight, dry weight of the yolk sac, content of RNA and RNA-DNA ratio. However, the group without airation had the highest dry weight of larval body, growth rate and yolk conversion efficiency. The functional jaw development had the same value and were highest in these two groups

Awareness of Non-functional Requirements in Agile Software Projects

In this master thesis, we have researched how different companies in the software development sector in Norway handles non-functional requirements, and which requirements should be emphasized. This has been conducted by interviewing eight informants on four different projects with different experience and roles. Our findings indicate that software teams have some awareness of non-functional requirements, but they are not prioritized and handled at the same level as functional requirements. Also, the technical knowledge of both the client and customer has an impact on how non-functional requirements are emphasized

An exploration of deprescribing barriers and facilitators for older patients in primary care in Ireland – the potential role of the pharmacist

Introduction: The older population, often defined as people aged ≥ 65 years is growing. With older age, the risk of multimorbidity (commonly defined as the presence of ≥ 2 chronic conditions) increases together with the use of a high number of daily medicines or polypharmacy (≥ 5 daily medicines). These are two risk factors of poor health outcomes in older people, putting them at greater risk of experiencing potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP), adverse drug events (ADEs) and poor quality of life (QoL). To reduce polypharmacy and the associated risk, the number of medications used per patient needs to be reduced by means of carefully considered deprescribing when appropriate. Deprescribing is the process of discontinuing inappropriate medications with the goal of optimising pharmacotherapy and improving health outcomes. Existing research is limited to support the effective and practical implementation of deprescribing. Pharmacists are trained to evaluate PIP and their knowledge and skills may benefit the process of deprescribing. As the majority of prescribing takes place in primary care, it is logical that GPs would liaise with community pharmacists in a collaborative intervention/practice to deprescribe. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to identify the challenges and potential benefits of deprescribing, and to explore the potential involvement of the community pharmacist in deprescribing. Methods: A study design comprising both quantitative and qualitative designs was used. Firstly, a narrative literature review summarised the existing qualitative and quantitative literature on healthcare professionals’ views on deprescribing (Chapter 2). Secondly, a systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines, to determine the effectiveness of existing deprescribing interventions (Chapter 3). Thirdly, to determine if PIP is predominantly a phenomenon of later life or whether it has its origins in early old age, a secondary data analysis of a population-based primary care cohort of patients aged 60-74 years was done over a continuous five-year period (Chapter 4). Fourthly, total net ingredient cost (NIC) was estimated for the PIMs identified in the same population-based primary care cohort studied in Chapter 4 in the period from 2016 to 2018, and a potential cost reduction of the routine application of the STOPP criteria was determined (Chapter 5). Fifthly, the views of community pharmacists on their role in medication optimisation and reducing PIP was examined in a qualitative interview study (Chapter 6). Finally, the views of general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists, on their collaboration and the potential role of the pharmacist in deprescribing, were explored in a qualitative study (Chapter 7). Results: The narrative review (Chapter 2) included 23 studies. The content analysis identified five broad themes describing the barriers and facilitators of deprescribing in older patients with multimorbidity: (i) interprofessional relationships, (ii) medication review, (iii) information, (iv) the patient and (v) environmental needs. The systematic literature review (Chapter 3) summarised findings of 31 studies of which 30 studies were included in the behaviour change component (BCT) analysis and 21 were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that deprescribing interventions are effective in reducing the number of drugs and inappropriate prescribing in older people, although the evidence is mixed. BCT clusters more frequently present in studies reporting intervention effectiveness compared to studies reporting no effectiveness were: goals and planning; shaping knowledge; natural consequences; comparison of behaviour; comparison of outcomes; regulation; antecedents; and identity. A total of 974 participants aged 60-74 years were included in the secondary analysis in Chapter 4 and data from baseline to year 5 of follow-up was studied. The odds of being exposed to potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) increased significantly during years of follow-up (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07 1.09 and OR 1.04 95% CI 1.03, 1.06, respectively). A higher number of medicines and new diagnoses were associated with the increasing trend in both PPO and PIM prevalence. The cost-analysis in Chapter 5 was based on the same population studied in Chapter 4 (n=974) but in the period from 2016 to 2018 (year 6 to year 8 of follow-up). The study showed a high prevalence of PIMs (46%-52%) during the study period. The total net ingredient cost of PIMs identified ranged from €87,152.04 at year 6 and €86,112.48 at year 8 of follow-up. The mean cost of PIM per participant per year was between €178.68 - €179.64 during the three years of follow-up. The qualitative interviews (Chapter 6) included a total 18 community pharmacists. Seven domains from theoretical domains framework (TDF) were identified as relevant to PIP reduction and pharmacist involvement: (i) beliefs about capabilities, (ii) environmental context and resources, (iii) knowledge, (iv) social influences, (v) social professional role and identity, (vi) memory, attention and decision processes, and (vii) reinforcement. In Chapter 7, a total of 26 interviews were conducted with GPs and community pharmacists. The thematic content analysis identified five themes relevant to the role of the community pharmacist in deprescribing: (i) the GP’s role in deprescribing – is there room for a pharmacist?, (ii) working relationship, (iii) the role of the pharmacist in deprescribing, (iv) patients’ interaction with the healthcare system, and (v) environmental factors. Conclusions: The findings presented in this thesis provide a detailed understanding of the potential role of the community pharmacist in deprescribing. The prospective benefits of and the barriers and facilitators to pharmacists involved in this role of deprescribing have also been elucidated. This thesis contributes to the existing literature, through the provision of novel research that demonstrates the need for the community pharmacist support within the context of deprescribing. The community pharmacist is in a favourable position to bring pharmaceutical care closer to the patient through patient counselling and close collaboration with the patient’s GP. To integrate the role of the pharmacist with that of the GP in practice, there is a need to consider the mode of pharmaceutical service delivery and to expand the collaboration between community pharmacists and GPs by building on existing positive experiences of collaboration and clearly define the role and responsibilities of the community pharmacist in deprescribing

Experiences of counselors participating in an innovative project to develop a training program for specialized foster parents of youth (13–18 years)

Background: Children placed in foster care represent a vulnerable and distressed group that requires a high level of care. However, good training programs designed to address specific problems presented in specialized foster care are not easily accessible due to logistical, economic and structural barriers. The lack of easy access and a strong desire to provide high-quality services inspired counselors from a specialized foster care center on the frontline to initiate an innovative, developmentally relevant and locally grounded training program. Aims: This study focuses on counselors’ experiences with the development of the training program and its impact on their work life. Method: A qualitative research design within a participatory approach framework was used to understand the experiences of the counselors. All the counselors employed in the department and the leaders (n = 14) participated in the study. Data were gathered from participants, including the lead and second authors, using a semi-structured interview, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The analyses yielded three main categories: (i) Psychological Factors, (ii) Social Dynamics, and (iii) Leadership Style and Support. Each of the first two categories consisted of three subcategories. At the psychological level, the employees’ experiences reflected the psychological states and traits required to fuel the tasks required by the project. The social dynamics of working in a team influenced the work process and, in turn, were impacted by it. Lastly, leadership style and support provided the foundation for innovation to germinate and grow. Conclusion: Engaging in a locally created training program was associated with a strong sense of collaboration and team spirit. Counselors reported high intrinsic motivation and a strong sense of personal pride and drive for their jobs. They were proactive in seeking colleagues with particular expertise and collaborated on project tasks despite differences. The leadership style reflected the presence of transformational leadership behaviors, signaling an organizational culture conducive to innovation. The study provides an example of how aligning employees’ personal aspirations with workplace goals and professional development can create a workplace in which employees feel it is enjoyable to go to work.publishedVersio