The role of trust in relationship development and performance improvement

The importance of inter-organizational trust to project success has been increasingly highlighted in the construction industry. This study aims to explore the role of trust between project parties. It adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Based on the analysis of the responses of a questionnaire survey, trust is demonstrated to have a significant contribution to the development of cooperative or collaborative relationships; fostering trust proves to have a major influence on the improvement of project performance; and some relationship and performance indicators are found to have closer associations with trust than others so that trust is more important to
the development of relationship and the improvement of performance in these aspects. The analysis of questionnaire responses also provides significant evidence for the reduction in monitoring and control following the increase of mutual trust. The questionnaire survey is followed by a series of expert interviews, both of which contribute to the establishment of a model that links trust with relationship and performance and distinguishes the new approach that is based on trust from the traditional mechanism that relies on monitoring and control.

Development and Application of Medication Appropriateness Indicators for Persons with Advanced Dementia: A Feasibility Study

Background: No studies have been conducted in the UK context to date that categorise medications in terms of appropriateness for patients with advanced dementia, or that examine medication use in these vulnerable patients.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to categorise the appropriateness of a comprehensive list of medications and medication classes for use in patients with advanced dementia; examine the feasibility of conducting a longitudinal prospective cohort study to collect clinical and medication use data; and determine the appropriateness of prescribing for nursing home residents with advanced dementia in Northern Ireland (NI), using the categories developed.

Methods: A three-round Delphi consensus panel survey of expert clinicians was used to categorise the appropriateness of medications for patients with advanced dementia [defined as having Functional Assessment Staging (FAST) scores ranging from 6E to 7F]. This was followed by a longitudinal prospective cohort feasibility study that was conducted in three nursing homes in NI. Clinical and medication use for participating residents with advanced dementia (FAST scores ranging from 6E to 7F) were collected and a short test of dementia severity administered. These data were collected at baseline and every 3 months for up to 9 months or until death. For those residents who died during the study period, data were also collected within 14 days of death. The appropriateness ratings from the consensus panel survey were retrospectively applied to residents’ medication data at each data collection timepoint to determine the appropriateness of medications prescribed for these residents.

Results: Consensus was achieved for 87 (90 %) of the 97 medications and medication classes included in the survey. Fifteen residents were recruited to participate in the longitudinal prospective cohort feasibility study, four of whom died during the data collection period. Mean numbers of medications prescribed per resident were 16.2 at baseline, 19.6 at 3 months, 17.4 at 6 months and 16.1 at 9 months. Fourteen residents at baseline were taking at least one medication considered by the consensus panel to be never appropriate, and approximately 25 % of medications prescribed were considered to be never appropriate. Post-death data collection indicated a decrease in the proportion of never appropriate medications and an increase in the proportion of always appropriate medications for those residents who died.

Conclusions: This study is the first to develop and apply medication appropriateness indicators for patients with advanced dementia in the UK setting. The Delphi consensus panel survey of expert clinicians was a suitable method of developing such indicators. It is feasible to collect information on quality of life, functional performance, physical comfort, neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive function for this subpopulation of nursing home residents with advanced dementia.

Development and testing of an intermediate temperature glass sealant for use in mixed ionic and electronic conducting membrane reactors

High temperature ceramic membranes have interesting possibilities for application in areas of new and developing technologies such as hydrocarbon combustion with carbon dioxide capture and electrochemical promotion of catalysis (EPOC). However, membrane module sealing remains a significant technical challenge. In this work a borosilicate glass sealant (50SiO₂·25B₂O₃·25Na₂O, mol%) was developed to fit the requirements of sealing an air separation membrane system at intermediate temperatures (300-600 °C). The seal was assessed by testing the leak rates under a range of conditions. The parameters tested included the effect of flowrate on the leak rate, the heating and cooling rates of the reactor and the range of temperatures under which the system could operate. Tests for durability and reliability were also performed. It was found that the most favourable reactor configuration employed a reactor with the ceramic pellet placed underneath the inner chamber alumina tube (inverted configuration), using a quartz wool support to keep the membrane in place prior to sealing. Using this configuration the new glass-based seal was found to be a more suitable sealant than traditional alternatives; it produced lower leak rates at all desirable flowrates, with the potential for rapid heating and cooling and multiple cycling, allowing for prolonged usage. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental and social supply chain management sustainability practices: construct development and measurement

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise and operationalise the concept of supply chain management sustainability practices. Based on a multi-stage procedure involving a literature review, expert Q-sort and pre-test process, pilot test and survey of 156 supply chain directors and managers in Ireland, we develop a multidimensional conceptualisation and measure of social and environmental supply chain management sustainability practices. The research findings show theoretically sound constructs based on four underlying sustainable supply chain management practices: monitoring, implementing systems, new product and process development and strategy redefinition. A two-factor model is then identified as the most reliable: comprising process-based and market-based practices.

TAP Reactor Development and Application in the Kinetic Characterization of Catalysts for Heterogeneously Catalyzed Gas Phase Reactions

This manuscript describes the application and further development of the TAP technique in kinetic characterization of heterogeneous catalysis. The major application of TAP systems is to study mechanisms, kinetics and transport phenomena in heterogeneous catalysis, all of which is made possible by the sub-millisecond time resolution. Furthermore, the kinetic information obtained can be used to gain an insight into the mechanism occurring over the catalyst system. This is advantageous as heterogeneous catalysts with an improved efficiency can be developed as a result. TAP kinetic studies are carried out at low pressure (~1x10-7 mbar) and TAP pulses are sufficiently small (1013-1015 molecules) so as to maintain this low pressure. The use of a small number of molecules in comparison to the total number of active sites means the state of the catalyst remains relatively unchanged. The use of the low intensity pulses also makes the pressure gradient negligible and so allows the TAP reactor system to operate in the Knudsen Diffusion regime, where gas-gas reactions are eliminated. Hence only gas-catalyst reactions are investigated and, by the use of moment analysis of observed exit flow, rate constants of elementary steps of the reaction can be obtained.

In this manuscript, two attempts to further the TAP technique are reported. Firstly, the work undertaken at QUB to attempt to control the number of molecules of condensable reagents that can be pulsed during a TAP pulse experiment is disclosed. Secondly, a collaborative project with SAI Ltd Manchester is discussed in a separate chapter, where technical details and validation of a customised time of flight mass spectrometer (ToF MS) for the QUB TAP-1 system are reported. A collaborative project with Cardiff Catalysis Institute focusing on the study of CO oxidation over hopcalite catalysts is also reported. The analysis of the experimental results has provided an insight into the possible mechanism of the oxidation of CO over these catalysts. A correction function has also been derived which accounts for the adsorption of reactant molecules over inert materials that are used for the reactor packing in TAP experiments. This function was then applied to the selective reduction of O2 in a H2 rich ethene feed, so that more accurate TAP moment based analysis could be conducted.

Understanding Graduate Recruitment, Development and Retention for the Enhancement of Talent Management: Sharpening “the edge” of Graduate Talent

Graduates are deemed to be a key source of talent within many organisations and thus recruiting, developing and retaining them is viewed as a logical talent management (TM) strategy. However, there has been little attention paid to university graduates as part of an organisation’s TM strategy. Such a specific focus addresses the need for further research into the segmentation of talent pools and the specific challenges different talent pools are likely to create. This research, which utilised a qualitative data collection strategy, examined the experiences and practices of six large UK organisations in relation to graduate TM. Drawing from Gallardo-Gallardo, Dries and González-Cruz’s (2013. What is the meaning of ‘talent’ in the world of work? Human Resource Management Review, 23, 290–300.) framework for the conceptualisation of talent, the findings from this research indicate and explain why graduate employers are frequently compelled to use the object approach (talent as characteristics of people) due to the unique characteristics that recent graduates possess, even though other studies have found that a subject approach (talent as people and what they do) is preferred by most employers. Ultimately, employers conceptualise graduate talent by what they describe as ‘the edge’ which needs to be ‘sharpened’ to fully realise the potential that graduates offer.

Development and Validation of a Lateral Flow Immunoassay for the Rapid Screening of Okadaic Acid and All Dinophysis Toxins from Shellfish Extracts

A single-step lateral flow immunoassay was developed and validated to detect okadaic acid (OA) and dinophysis toxins (DTXs), which cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. The performance characteristics of the test were investigated, in comparison to reference methods (liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and/or bioassay), using both spiked and naturally contaminated shellfish. A portable reader was used to generate a qualitative result, indicating the absence or presence of OA-group toxins, at concentrations relevant to the maximum permitted level (MPL). Sample homogenates could be screened in 20 min (including extraction and assay time) for the presence of free toxins (OA, DTX1, DTX2). DTX3 detection could be included with the addition of a hydrolysis procedure. No matrix effects were observed from the species evaluated (mussels, scallops, oysters, and clams). Results from naturally contaminated samples (n = 72) indicated no false compliant results and no false noncompliant results at <50% MPL. Thus, the development of a new low-cost but highly effective tool for monitoring a range of important phycotoxins has been demonstrated.

Integrating personality research and animal contest theory:Aggressiveness in the green swordtail xiphophorus helleri

Aggression occurs when individuals compete over limiting resources. While theoretical studies have long placed a strong emphasis on context-specificity of aggression, there is increasing recognition that consistent behavioural differences exist among individuals, and that aggressiveness may be an important component of individual personality. Though empirical studies tend to focus on one aspect or the other, we suggest there is merit in modelling both within- and among-individual variation in agonistic behaviour simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate how this can be achieved using multivariate linear mixed effect models. Using data from repeated mirror trials and dyadic interactions of male green swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, we show repeatable components of (co)variation in a suite of agonistic behaviour that is broadly consistent with a major axis of variation in aggressiveness. We also show that observed focal behaviour is dependent on opponent effects, which can themselves be repeatable but were more generally found to be context specific. In particular, our models show that within-individual variation in agonistic behaviour is explained, at least in part, by the relative size of a live opponent as predicted by contest theory. Finally, we suggest several additional applications of the multivariate models demonstrated here. These include testing the recently queried functional equivalence of alternative experimental approaches, (e.g., mirror trials, dyadic interaction tests) for assaying individual aggressiveness. © 2011 Wilson et al.