Borg's rating of perceived exertion scales: do the verbal anchors mean the same for different clinical groups?

Objective: To examine the interpretation of the verbal anchors used in the Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scales in different clinical groups and a healthy control group. Design: Prospective experimental study. Setting: Rehabilitation center. Participants: Nineteen subjects with brain injury, 16 with chronic low back pain (CLBP), and 20 healthy controls. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Subjects used a visual analog scale (VAS) to rate their interpretation of the verbal anchors from the Borg RPE 6-20 and the newer 10-point category ratio scale. Results: All groups placed the verbal anchors in the order that they occur on the scales. There were significant within-group differences (P > .05) between VAS scores for 4 verbal anchors in the control group, 8 in the CLBP group, and 2 in the brain injury group. There was no significant difference in rating of each verbal anchor between the groups (P > .05). Conclusions: All subjects rated the verbal anchors in the order they occur on the scales, but there was less agreement in rating of each verbal anchor among subjects in the brain injury group. Clinicians should consider the possibility of small discrepancies in the meaning of the verbal anchors to subjects, particularly those recovering from brain injury, when they evaluate exercise perceptions.

Employees' external representation of their workplace: key antecedents

Drawing on attitude theory, this study investigates the drivers of employees' expression of favorable opinions about their workplace. Despite its theoretical and managerial importance, the marketing literature largely ignores the topic. This study advances prior research by developing, and empirically testing, a conceptual framework of the relationship between workgroup support and favorable external representation of the workplace, mediated by emotional responses to this support. The present research investigates four new relationships: between workgroup support and emotional exhaustion, workgroup support and organizational commitment, workgroup support and job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion and external representation of the workplace. Based on a sample of over 700 frontline service employees, this study finds that workgroup support affects favorable external representation of the workplace through various emotional responses (i.e., emotional exhaustion, organizational commitment and job satisfaction). In addition, the results identify employees' organizational commitment as the most important determinant of favorable external representation of the workplace, followed by job satisfaction and reduced emotional exhaustion. These results suggest that companies should develop practices that encourage workgroup support and organizational commitment to achieve favorable external representation of the workplace.

Accounts of the English Crown with Italian merchant societies, 1272-1345

The credit arrangements between the three Edwards and Italian merchants were crucial for financing England’s ambitious foreign policies and ensuring the smooth running of governmental administration. The functioning of this credit system can be followed in detail through the well-kept but mostly unpublished records of the English Exchequer. This volume combines a transcription of the most important surviving accounts between the merchants and the Crown, with a parallel abstract presenting the core data in a double-entry format as credits to or debits from the king's account. This dual format was chosen to facilitate the interpretation of the source while still retaining the language and, as far as possible, the structure of the original documents. The wealth of evidence presented here has much value to add to our understanding of the financing of medieval government and the early development of banking services provided by Italian merchant societies. In particular, although the relationship between king and banker was, for the most part, mutually profitable, the English kings also acquired a reputation for defaulting on their debts and thus 'breaking' a succession of merchant societies. These documents provide an essential basis for a re-examination of the 'credit rating' of the medieval English Crown.

Numerical study of a M-cycle cross-flow heat exchanger for indirect evaporative cooling

In this paper, numerical analyses of the thermal performance of an indirect evaporative air cooler incorporating a M-cycle cross-flow heat exchanger has been carried out. The numerical model was established from solving the coupled governing equations for heat and mass transfer between the product and working air, using the finite-element method. The model was developed using the EES (Engineering Equation Solver) environment and validated by published experimental data. Correlation between the cooling (wet-bulb) effectiveness, system COP and a number of air flow/exchanger parameters was developed. It is found that lower channel air velocity, lower inlet air relative humidity, and higher working-to-product air ratio yielded higher cooling effectiveness. The recommended average air velocities in dry and wet channels should not be greater than 1.77 m/s and 0.7 m/s, respectively. The optimum flow ratio of working-to-product air for this cooler is 50%. The channel geometric sizes, i.e. channel length and height, also impose significant impact to system performance. Longer channel length and smaller channel height contribute to increase of the system cooling effectiveness but lead to reduced system COP. The recommend channel height is 4 mm and the dimensionless channel length, i.e., ratio of the channel length to height, should be in the range 100 to 300. Numerical study results indicated that this new type of M-cycle heat and mass exchanger can achieve 16.7% higher cooling effectiveness compared with the conventional cross-flow heat and mass exchanger for the indirect evaporative cooler. The model of this kind is new and not yet reported in literatures. The results of the study help with design and performance analyses of such a new type of indirect evaporative air cooler, and in further, help increasing market rating of the technology within building air conditioning sector, which is currently dominated by the conventional compression refrigeration technology.

Is intrinsic energy efficiency reflected in the pricing of office leases?

This paper investigates whether the intrinsic energy efficiency rating of an office building has a significant impact on its rental value. A sample of 817 transactions for offices with Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in the UK is used to assess whether a pricing differential can be identified, depending on the energy rating. While previous analyses of this topic have typically relied on appraisal-based and/or asking rent data, the dataset used in this research contains actual contract rents as well as information on lease terms. The results indicate a significant rental premium for energy-efficient buildings. However, it is found that this premium appears to be mainly driven by the youngest cohort of state-of-the-art energy-efficient buildings. The results also show that tenants of more energy-efficient buildings tend to pay a lower service charge, but this link appears to be rather weak and limited to newer buildings. Hence, it is argued that the information contained in the EPC is still not fully taken into account in the UK commercial property market with the possible exception of both the highest and the lowest EPC ratings.

Post-occupancy studies of an office environment: Energy performance and occupants’ satisfaction

It is generally accepted that the physical workplace environment affects employees’ satisfaction and, consequently, their perceived productivity and well-being. This study investigated whether employee “satisfaction” variables can predict perceived productivity, well-being and enjoyment at work, and if so, to what extent. The study also explored whether limiting employees’ control over their environment could save energy without compromising employees’ satisfaction and perceived productivity. Preoccupancy and post-occupancy evaluation studies were conducted, in terms of both energy consumption and employee perceptions, to make comparisons between a company’s old and current headquarters buildings, both located in the same area of London. The results showed that employees were more satisfied with their work environment at their new HQ, in general, than with that of their previous office. Also, employees’ self-reported productivity, well-being and enjoyment at work improved after the move. It was revealed that the combination of employees’ level of satisfaction with “interior use of space” and “physical conditions” was the best predictor of their perceived productivity, while satisfaction with “indoor facilities” was not a good predictor. In terms of energy performance, although the new HQ’s energy consumption per m2 was significantly less than that of the previous building, there was still a gap between the refurbishment design target and the actual performance of the building. The findings suggest that this gap could be due to a number of factors, including an ineffective use of interior space, and occupants’ behaviour.

Does energy efficiency matter to home-buyers? An investigation of EPC ratings and transaction prices in England

This paper investigates whether energy performance ratings, as measured by mandatory Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), are reflected in the sale prices of residential properties. This is the first large-scale empirical study of this topic in England involving 333,095 dwellings sold at least twice in the period from 1995 to 2012. Applying hedonic regression and an augmented repeat sales regression, we find a positive relationship between the energy efficiency rating of a dwelling and the transaction price per square metre. The price effects of superior energy performance tend to be higher for terraced dwellings and flats compared to detached and semi-detached dwellings. The evidence is less clear-cut for rates of house price growth but remains supportive of a positive association. Overall, the results of this study suggest that energy efficiency labels have a measurable and significant impact on house prices in England

A comparative review of skill assessment: performance, prediction and profiling

The assessment of chess players is an increasingly attractive opportunity and an unfortunate necessity. The chess community needs to limit potential reputational damage by inhibiting cheating and unjustified accusations of cheating: there has been a recent rise in both. A number of counter-intuitive discoveries have been made by benchmarking the intrinsic merit of players’ moves: these call for further investigation. Is Capablanca actually, objectively the most accurate World Champion? Has ELO rating inflation not taken place? Stimulated by FIDE/ACP, we revisit the fundamentals of the subject to advance a framework suitable for improved standards of computational experiment and more precise results. Other domains look to chess as the demonstrator of good practice, including the rating of professionals making high-value decisions under pressure, personnel evaluation by Multichoice Assessment and the organization of crowd-sourcing in citizen science projects. The ‘3P’ themes of performance, prediction and profiling pervade all these domains.

Is speeding a "real" antisocial behavior? A comparison with other antisocial behaviors

The relationship between speed and crashes has been well established in the literature, with the consequence that speed reduction through enforced or other means should lead to a reduction in crashes. The extent to which the public regard speeding as a problem that requires enforcement is less clear. Analysis was conducted on public perceptions of antisocial behaviors including speeding traffic. The data was collected as part of the British Crime Survey, a face-to-face interview with UK residents on issues relating to crime. The antisocial behavior section required participants to state the degree to which they perceived 16 antisocial behaviors to be a problem in their area. Results revealed that speeding traffic was perceived as the greatest problem in local communities, regardless of whether respondents were male or female, young, middle aged, or old. The rating of speeding traffic as the greatest problem in the community was replicated in a second, smaller postal survey, where respondents also provided strong support for enforcement on residential roads, and indicated that traveling immediately above the speed limit on residential roads was unacceptable. Results are discussed in relation to practical implications for speed enforcement, and the prioritization of limited police resources. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is Energy Efficiency Priced in the Housing Market? Some Evidence from the United Kingdom.

This paper investigates whether energy performance ratings, as measured by mandatory Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), are reflected in the sale prices of residential properties. This is the first large-scale empirical study of this topic in the UK involving approximately 400,000 dwellings in the period from 1995 to 2011. Applying hedonic regression and an augmented repeat sales regression, we find a positive relationship between the energy efficiency rating of a dwelling and the transaction price per square metre. The price effects of superior energy performance tend to be higher for terraced dwellings and flats compared to detached and semi-detached dwellings. The evidence is less clear-cut for house price growth rates but remains supportive of an overall positive association. Overall, the results of this study appear to support the hypothesis that energy efficiency levels are reflected in UK house prices, at least in recent years.

The relationships of age and length of service with job satisfaction: an examination of hotel employees in Thailand

Earlier studies suggest age is positively associated with job satisfaction, while others use length of service, or tenure, as a predictor of job satisfaction levels. This article examines whether age and tenure are individual determinants of satisfaction, or whether there is an interaction between the two. The results indicate that employee age is not significantly associated with overall job satisfaction level, but that tenure is. There is also significant relationship between tenure and facets of satisfaction (job, pay and fringe benefits), but the effect of tenure on satisfaction is significantly modified by age.