House building productivity : a study of labour requirements on Scottish house building sites using activity sampling methods

This study is concerned with labour productivity in traditional house building in Scotland. Productivity is a measure of the effective use of resources and provides vital benefits that can be combined in a number of ways. The introduction gives the background to two Scottish house building sites (Blantyre and Greenfield) that were surveyed by the Building Research Establishment (BEE) activity sampling method to provide the data for the study. The study had two main objectives; (1) summary data analysis in average manhours per house between all the houses on the site, and (2) detailed data analysis in average manhours for each house block on the site. The introduction also provides a literature review related to the objectives. The method is outlined in Chapter 2, the sites are discussed in Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 covers the method application on each site and a method development made in the study. The summary data analysis (Chapter 5) compares Blantyre and Greenfield, and two previous BEE surveys in England. The main detailed data analysis consisted of three forms, (Chapters 6, 7 and 8) each applied to a set of operations. The three forms of analysis were variations in average manhours per house for each house block on the site compared with; (1) block construction order, (2) average number of separate visits per house made by operatives to each block to complete an operation, and (3) average number of different operatives per house employed on an operation in each block. Three miscellaneous items of detail data analysis are discussed in Chapter 9. The conclusions to the whole study state that considerable variations in manhours for repeated operations were discovered, that the numbers of visits by operatives to complete operations were large and that the numbers of different operatives employed in some operations were a factor related to productivity. A critique of the activity sampling method suggests that the data produced is reliable in summary form and can give a good context for more detailed data collection. For future work, this could take the form of selected operations, with the context of an activity sampling survey, that wuld be intensively surveyed by other methods.

Quantifying the pathology of neurodegenerative disorders:Quantitative measurements, sampling strategies and data analysis

The use of quantitative methods has become increasingly important in the study of neurodegenerative disease. Disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) are characterized by the formation of discrete, microscopic, pathological lesions which play an important role in pathological diagnosis. This article reviews the advantages and limitations of the different methods of quantifying the abundance of pathological lesions in histological sections, including estimates of density, frequency, coverage, and the use of semiquantitative scores. The major sampling methods by which these quantitative measures can be obtained from histological sections, including plot or quadrat sampling, transect sampling, and point-quarter sampling, are also described. In addition, the data analysis methods commonly used to analyse quantitative data in neuropathology, including analyses of variance (ANOVA) and principal components analysis (PCA), are discussed. These methods are illustrated with reference to particular problems in the pathological diagnosis of AD and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

Quantitative methods in neuropathology

The last decade has seen a considerable increase in the application of quantitative methods in the study of histological sections of brain tissue and especially in the study of neurodegenerative disease. These disorders are characterised by the deposition and aggregation of abnormal or misfolded proteins in the form of extracellular protein deposits such as senile plaques (SP) and intracellular inclusions such as neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Quantification of brain lesions and studying the relationships between lesions and normal anatomical features of the brain, including neurons, glial cells, and blood vessels, has become an important method of elucidating disease pathogenesis. This review describes methods for quantifying the abundance of a histological feature such as density, frequency, and 'load' and the sampling methods by which quantitative measures can be obtained including plot/quadrat sampling, transect sampling, and the point-quarter method. In addition, methods for determining the spatial pattern of a histological feature, i.e., whether the feature is distributed at random, regularly, or is aggregated into clusters, are described. These methods include the use of the Poisson and binomial distributions, pattern analysis by regression, Fourier analysis, and methods based on mapped point patterns. Finally, the statistical methods available for studying the degree of spatial correlation between pathological lesions and neurons, glial cells, and blood vessels are described.

Quantitative microscopic analysis of histological sections of brain tissue

This article reviews methods for quantifying the abundance of histological features in thin tissue sections of brain such as neurons, glia, blood vessels, and pathological lesions. The sampling methods by which quantitative measures can be obtained are described. In addition, methods are described for determining the spatial pattern of an object and for measuring the degree of spatial correlation between two or more histological features.

Health care professionals' views of paediatric outpatient non-attendance:implications for general practice

Background. Non-attendance at paediatric hospital outpatient appointments poses potential risks to children's health and welfare. Prevention and management of missed appointments depends on the perceptions of clinicians and decision makers from both primary and secondary care, including general practitioners (GPs) who are integral to non-attendance follow-up. Objectives. To examine the views of clinical, managerial and executive health care staff regarding occurrence and management of non-attendance at general paediatric outpatient clinics. Methods. A qualitative study using individual semi-structured interviews was carried out at three English Primary Care Trusts and a nearby children's hospital. Interviews were conducted with 37 staff, including GPs, hospital doctors, other health care professionals, managers, executives and commissioners. Participants were recruited through purposive and 'snowball' sampling methods. Data were analysed following a thematic framework approach. Results. GPs focused on situational difficulties for families, while hospital-based staff emphasized the influence of parents' beliefs on attendance. Managers, executives and commissioners presented a broad overview of both factors, but with less detailed views. All groups discussed sociodemographic factors, with non-attendance thought to be more likely in 'chaotic families'. Hospital interviewees emphasized child protection issues and the need for thorough follow-up of missed appointments. However, GPs were reluctant to interfere with parental responsibilities. Conclusion. Parental motivation and practical and social barriers should be considered. Responsibilities regarding missed appointments are not clear across health care sectors, but GPs are uniquely placed to address non-attendance issues and are central to child safeguarding. Primary care policies and strategies could be introduced to reduce non-attendance and ensure children receive the care they require. © The Author 2013.

Do women earn less even as social entrepreneurs? The gender pay gap among UK social enterprise directors

Based upon unique survey data collected using respondent driven sampling methods, we investigate whether there is a gender pay gap among social entrepreneurs in the UK. We find that women as social entrepreneurs earn 29% less than their male colleagues, above the average UK gender pay gap of 19%. We estimate the adjusted pay gap to be about 23% after controlling for a range of demographic, human capital and job characteristics, as well as personal preferences and values. These differences are hard to explain by discrimination since these CEOs set their own pay. Income may not be the only aim in an entrepreneurial career, so we also look at job satisfaction to proxy for non-monetary returns. We find female social entrepreneurs to be more satisfied with their job as a CEO of a social enterprise than their male counterparts. This result holds even when we control for the salary generated through the social enterprise. Our results extend research in labour economics on the gender pay gap as well as entrepreneurship research on women’s entrepreneurship to the novel context of social enterprise. It provides the first evidence for a “contented female social entrepreneur” paradox.

Sampling and measurement methods for a study of childhood refractive error in a UK population

Background There is a paucity of data describing the prevalence of childhood refractive error in the United Kingdom. The Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction study, along with its sister study the Aston Eye Study, are the first population-based surveys of children using both random cluster sampling and cycloplegic autorefraction to quantify levels of refractive error in the United Kingdom. Methods Children aged 6–7 years and 12–13 years were recruited from a stratified random sample of primary and post-primary schools, representative of the population of Northern Ireland as a whole. Measurements included assessment of visual acuity, oculomotor balance, ocular biometry and cycloplegic binocular open-field autorefraction. Questionnaires were used to identify putative risk factors for refractive error. Results 399 (57%) of 6–7 years and 669 (60%) of 12–13 years participated. School participation rates did not vary statistically significantly with the size of the school, whether the school is urban or rural, or whether it is in a deprived/non-deprived area. The gender balance, ethnicity and type of schooling of participants are reflective of the Northern Ireland population. Conclusions The study design, sample size and methodology will ensure accurate measures of the prevalence of refractive errors in the target population and will facilitate comparisons with other population-based refractive data.

Adherence to antiepileptic medicines in children:a multiple-methods assessment involving dried blood spot sampling

Purpose - To evaluate adherence to prescribed antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in children with epilepsy using a combination of adherence-assessment methods. Methods - A total of 100 children with epilepsy (≤17 years old) were recruited. Medication adherence was determined via parental and child self-reporting (≥9 years old), medication refill data from general practitioner (GP) prescribing records, and via AED concentrations in dried blood spot (DBS) samples obtained from children at the clinic and via self- or parental-led sampling in children's own homes. The latter were assessed using population pharmacokinetic modeling. Patients were deemed nonadherent if any of these measures were indicative of nonadherence with the prescribed treatment. In addition, beliefs about medicines, parental confidence in seizure management, and the presence of depressed mood in parents were evaluated to examine their association with nonadherence in the participating children. Key Findings - The overall rate of nonadherence in children with epilepsy was 33%. Logistic regression analysis indicated that children with generalized epilepsy (vs. focal epilepsy) were more likely (odds ratio [OR] 4.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.37–15.81) to be classified as nonadherent as were children whose parents have depressed mood (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.16–11.41). Significance - This is the first study to apply the novel methodology of determining adherence via AED concentrations in clinic and home DBS samples. The present findings show that the latter, with further development, could be a useful approach to adherence assessment when combined with other measures including parent and child self-reporting. Seizure type and parental depressed mood were strongly predictive of nonadherence.