Creating generation Y sources of motivation for enhanced performance

New challenges have been created in the modern work environment as the diversity of the workforce is greater than ever in terms of generations. There will become a large demand of generation Y employees as the baby boomer generation employees retire at an accelerated rate. The purpose of this study is to investigate Y generation specific characteristics and to identify motivational systems to enhance performance. The research questions are: 1. What are Y generation characteristics? 2. What motivational systems organizations can form to motivate Y generation employees and in turn, create better performance? The Y generation specific characteristics identified from the literature include; achievement oriented; confident; educated; multitasking; having a need for feedback; needing management support; sociable and tech savvy. The proposed motivational systems can be found in four areas of the organization; HRM, training and development, communication and decision making policies. Three focus groups were held to investigate what would motivate generation Y employees to achieve better performance. Two of these focus groups were Finnish natives and the third consisted of international students. The HRM systems included flexibility and a culture of fun. It was concluded that flexibility within the workplace and role was a great source of motivation. Culture of fun was not responded to as favorably although most focus group participants rated enjoyableness as one of their top motivating factors. Training and development systems include training programs and mentoring as sources of potential motivation. Training programs were viewed as a mode to gain a better position and were not necessarily seen as motivational systems. Mentoring programs were not concluded to have a significant effect on motivation. Communication systems included keeping up with technology, clarity and goals as well as feedback. Keeping up with technology was seen as an ineffective tool to motivate. Clarity and goal setting was seen as very important to be able to perform but not necessarily motivating. Feedback had a highly motivating effect on these focus groups. Decision making policies included collaboration and teamwork as well as ownership. Teams were familiar and meet the social needs of Y generation employees and are motivating. Ownership was equated with trust and responsibility and was highly valued as well as motivating to these focus group participants.

Polymer light emitting devices with Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films: Enhanced performance due to an electron-injecting layer of ionomers

Polymer light-emitting devices (PLEDs) have been produced with Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films from poly(2-methoxy-5-hexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene (OC1OC6-PPV) as the emissive layer and an ionomer of a copolymer of styrene and methylmethacrylate (PS/PMMA) as an electron-injection layer. The main features of such devices are the low operating voltages, obtainable firstly due to the good quality of the ultrathin LB films that allows PLEDs to be produced reproducibly and secondly due to the improved electrical and luminance properties brought by the electron-injection layer. Also demonstrated is the superior performance of an all-LB device compared to another one produced with cast films of the same materials. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Oxygen Supplementing, Biocompatible Outer Membranes for Enhanced Performance of Implantable Glucose Sensors

Lack of linearity and sensitivity, oxygen dependence, biofouling and tissue inflammation hinder the development of implantable biosensors for continuous monitoring of glucose. Herein, we report the development of stacked outer membranes based on LBL/PVA hydrogels that improve sensor sensitivity, linearity, oxygen independence and counter biofouling and inflammation. While the inner LBL membrane affords tunable diffusivity, the outer PVA is capable of releasing anti-inflammatory drugs/tissue response modifying agents to counter acute and chronic inflammation, and to induce neo-angiogenesis at the implant site. Sensors were fabricated by immobilizing GOx enzyme on top of 50 μm platinum wires, followed by deposition of stacked LBL/PVA hydrogel membranes. The response of the sensors at 0.7V to various glucose concentrations was studied. Michelis-Menten analysis was performed to quantify sensor performance in terms of linearity and oxygen dependence. The interplay between sensor performance and inward glucose diffusivity was elucidated using (i) various LBL membranes and (ii) various freeze-thaw (FT) cycles of PVA. Incorporation of LBL/PVA stacked membranes resulted in an 8 fold increase in sensor linearity and a 9 fold decrease in oxygen dependence compared to controls. The enhancement in the sensor performance is attributed to (i) the oxygen storing capability of PVA hydrogel due to the formation of hydrophobic domains during its freezing/ thawing employed for its physical crosslinking and (ii) regulation of glucose flux by the inner LBL membrane. Such membranes offer significant advantages over presently available outer membranes in lieu of (i) their ability to control inflammation, (ii) their modulus that closely matches that of subcutaneous human tissue, (iii) non-necessity of reactive chemical crosslinking agents, (iv) tunable sensitivity and (v) supplemental storage of oxygen.

Exploring novel auditory displays for supporting accelerated skills acquisition and enhanced performance in motorsport

This paper explores the design, development and evaluation of a novel real-time auditory display system for accelerated racing driver skills acquisition. The auditory feedback provides concurrent sensory augmentation and performance feedback using a novel target matching design. Real-time, dynamic, tonal audio feedback representing lateral G-force (a proxy for tire slip) is delivered to one ear whilst a target lateral G-force value representing the ‘limit’ of the car, to which the driver aims to drive, is panned to the driver’s other ear; tonal match across both ears signifies that the ‘limit’ has been reached. An evaluation approach was established to measure the efficacy of the audio feedback in terms of performance, workload and drivers’ assessment of self-efficacy. A preliminary human subject study was conducted in a driving simulator environment. Initial results are encouraging, indicating that there is potential for performance gain and driver confidence enhancement based on the audio feedback.

PREPARATION OF POLYELECTROLYTE MEMBRANES EMBEDDED WITH ZEOLITE NANOPARTICLES FOR ENHANCED PERFORMANCE IN FORWARD OSMOSIS

Water scarcity is a global issue that has already affected every continent. Membrane technology is considered as one of the most promising candidates for resolving this worsening issue. Among all the membrane processes, the emerging forward osmosis (FO) membrane process is osmotically-driven and has unique advantages compared with other traditional pressure-driven membrane processes. One of the major challenges to advancing the FO membrane process is the lack of a suitable membrane. Polyelectrolyte thin film prepared via layer-by-layer (LbL) technique has demonstrated its excellent performance in many applications including electronics, optics, sensors, etc. Recent studies have revealed the potential of polyelectrolyte thin films in acting as the active separation layer of FO membranes, but significant efforts are still needed to improve the membrane performance and understand the transport mechanisms. This dissertation introduces a novel approach to prepare a zeolite-embedded polyelectrolyte composite membrane for enhanced FO performance. This membrane takes advantages of the versatile LbL process to unprecedentedly incorporate high loading of zeolite nanoparticles, which are anticipated to facilitate water transport due to the uniquely interconnected structure of zeolites. Major topics discussed in this dissertation include: (1) the synthesis and evaluation of the polyelectrolyte-zeolite composite FO membrane, (2) the examination of the fouling resistance to identify its technical limitations, (3) the demonstration of the membrane regenerability as an effective strategy for membrane fouling control, and (4) the investigation of crosslinking effects on the membrane performance to elucidate the transport mechanisms involved in the zeolite-embedded polyelectrolyte membranes. Comparative studies have been made between polyelectrolyte membranes with and without zeolite incorporation. The findings suggest that the zeolite-embedded membrane, although slightly more susceptible to silica scaling, has demonstrated enhanced water flux and separation capability, good resistance to organic fouling, and complete regenerability for fouling control. Additionally, the embedded zeolite nanoparticles are proved to be able to create fast pathways for water transport. Overall, this work provides a novel strategy to create zeolite-polymer composite membranes with enhanced separation performance and unique fouling mitigation properties.

Real-time fault injection using enhanced on-chip debug infrastructures

The rapid increase in the use of microprocessor-based systems in critical areas, where failures imply risks to human lives, to the environment or to expensive equipment, significantly increased the need for dependable systems, able to detect, tolerate and eventually correct faults. The verification and validation of such systems is frequently performed via fault injection, using various forms and techniques. However, as electronic devices get smaller and more complex, controllability and observability issues, and sometimes real time constraints, make it harder to apply most conventional fault injection techniques. This paper proposes a fault injection environment and a scalable methodology to assist the execution of real-time fault injection campaigns, providing enhanced performance and capabilities. Our proposed solutions are based on the use of common and customized on-chip debug (OCD) mechanisms, present in many modern electronic devices, with the main objective of enabling the insertion of faults in microprocessor memory elements with minimum delay and intrusiveness. Different configurations were implemented starting from basic Components Off-The-Shelf (COTS) microprocessors, equipped with real-time OCD infrastructures, to improved solutions based on modified interfaces, and dedicated OCD circuitry that enhance fault injection capabilities and performance. All methodologies and configurations were evaluated and compared concerning performance gain and silicon overhead.

Mechanical fatigue performance of PCL-chondroprogenitor constructs after cell culture under bioreactor mechanical stimulus

In tissue engineering of cartilage, polymeric scaffolds are implanted in the damaged tissue and subjected to repeated compression loading cycles. The possibility of failure due to mechanical fatigue has not been properly addressed in these scaffolds. Nevertheless, the macroporous scaffold is susceptible to failure after repeated loading-unloading cycles. This is related to inherent discontinuities in the material due to the micropore structure of the macro-pore walls that act as stress concentration points. In this work, chondrogenic precursor cells have been seeded in Poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) scaffolds with fibrin and some were submitted to free swelling culture and others to cyclic loading in a bioreactor. After cell culture, all the samples were analyzed for fatigue behavior under repeated loading-unloading cycles. Moreover, some components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) were identified. No differences were observed between samples undergoing free swelling or bioreactor loading conditions, neither respect to matrix components nor to mechanical performance to fatigue. The ECM did not achieve the desired preponderance of collagen type II over collagen type I which is considered the main characteristic of hyaline cartilage ECM. However, prediction in PCL with ECM constructs was possible up to 600 cycles, an enhanced performance when compared to previous works. PCL after cell culture presents an improved fatigue resistance, despite the fact that the measured elastic modulus at the first cycle was similar to PCL with poly(vinyl alcohol) samples. This finding suggests that fatigue analysis in tissue engineering constructs can provide additional information missed with traditional mechanical measurements.

The Effect of Skate Blade Radius of Contour and Radius of Hollow on Skating Performance in Male Ice Hockey Players

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of skate blade shape on skating performance. A secondary purpose was to evaluate if a change in hollow shape can create additional effects on skating performance. Thirty-seven male ice hockey players (age=18 years, SD=3.4) participated. The intervention consisted of four sharpening trials assessed using three on-ice tests. Participant feedback was also assessed using a Likert scale questionnaire. Statistical analysis included within-subject repeated measures MANOVA of trial by skating variables (p≤0.05). Results revealed Contour 1 enhanced performance compared to baseline on six variables at varsity level and five variables at midget level. Contour 1 enhanced performance compared to Contour 2 on six variables at the varsity and midget levels. Contour 1 also scored highest on the feedback questionnaire. Findings of this study indicate that contouring is a necessary practice to achieve optimal skating performance.

How self-determined choice facilitates performance: a key role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Recent studies have documented that self-determined choice does indeed enhance performance. However, the precise neural mechanisms underlying this effect are not well understood. We examined the neural correlates of the facilitative effects of self-determined choice using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants played a game-like task involving a stopwatch with either a stopwatch they selected (self-determined-choice condition) or one they were assigned without choice (forced-choice condition). Our results showed that self-determined choice enhanced performance on the stopwatch task, despite the fact that the choices were clearly irrelevant to task difficulty. Neuroimaging results showed that failure feedback, compared with success feedback, elicited a drop in the vmPFC activation in the forced-choice condition, but not in the self-determined-choice condition, indicating that negative reward value associated with the failure feedback vanished in the self-determined-choice condition. Moreover, the vmPFC resilience to failure in the self-determined-choice condition was significantly correlated with the increased performance. Striatal responses to failure and success feedback were not modulated by the choice condition, indicating the dissociation between the vmPFC and striatal activation pattern. These findings suggest that the vmPFC plays a unique and critical role in the facilitative effects of self-determined choice on performance.

An evaluation of sleep hypnotic and stimulant effect on human performance using a computerized psychological test battery

This study evaluated the administration-time-dependent effects of a stimulant (Dexedrine 5-mg), a sleep-inducer (Halcion 0.25-mg) and placebo (control) on human performance. The investigation was conducted on 12 diurnally active (0700-2300) male adults (23-38 yrs) using a double-blind, randomized sixway-crossover three-treatment, two-timepoint (0830 vs 2030) design. Performance tests were conducted hourly during sleepless 13-hour studies using a computer generated, controlled and scored multi-task cognitive performance assessment battery (PAB) developed at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Specific tests were Simple and Choice Reaction Time, Serial Addition/Subtraction, Spatial Orientation, Logical Reasoning, Time Estimation, Response Timing and the Stanford Sleepiness Scale. The major index of performance was "Throughput", a combined measure of speed and accuracy.^ For the Placebo condition, Single and Group Cosinor Analysis documented circadian rhythms in cognitive performance for the majority of tests, both for individuals and for the group. Performance was best around 1830-2030 and most variable around 0530-0700 when sleepiness was greatest (0300).^ Morning Dexedrine dosing marginally enhanced performance an average of 3% with reference to the corresponding in time control level. Dexedrine AM also increased alertness by 10% over the AM control. Dexedrine PM failed to improve performance with reference to the corresponding PM control baseline. With regard to AM and PM Dexedrine administrations, AM performance was 6% better with subjects 25% more alert.^ Morning Halcion administration caused a 7% performance decrement and 16% increase in sleepiness and a 13% decrement and 10% increase in sleepiness when administered in the evening compared to corresponding in time control data. Performance was 9% worse and sleepiness 24% greater after evening versus morning Halcion administration.^ These results suggest that for evening Halcion dosing, the overnight sleep deprivation occurring in coincidence with the nadir in performance due to circadian rhythmicity together with the CNS depressant effects combine to produce performance degradation. For Dexedrine, morning administration resulted in only marginal performance enhancement; Dexedrine in the evening was less effective, suggesting the 5-mg dose level may be too low to counteract the partial sleep deprivation and nocturnal nadir in performance. ^

Benefits of all work and no play: The relationship between neuroticism and performance as a function of resource allocation

The authors evaluate a model suggesting that the performance of highly neurotic individuals, relative to their stable counterparts, is more strongly influenced by factors relating to the allocation of attentional resources. First, an air traffic control simulation was used to examine the interaction between effort intensity and scores on the Anxiety subscale of Eysenck Personality Profiler Neuroticism in the prediction of task performance. Overall effort intensity enhanced performance for highly anxious individuals more so than for individuals with low anxiety. Second, a longitudinal field study was used to examine the interaction between office busyness and Eysenck Personality Inventory Neuroticism in the prediction of telesales performance. Changes in office busyness were associated with greater performance improvements for highly neurotic individuals compared with less neurotic individuals. These studies suggest that highly neurotic individuals outperform their stable counterparts in a busy work environment or if they are expending a high level of effort.

How does your model grow? An empirical investigation of the effects of ontological clarity and application domain size on query performance

Semantic data models provide a map of the components of an information system. The characteristics of these models affect their usefulness for various tasks (e.g., information retrieval). The quality of information retrieval has obvious important consequences, both economic and otherwise. Traditionally, data base designers have produced parsimonious logical data models. In spite of their increased size, ontologically clearer conceptual models have been shown to facilitate better performance for both problem solving and information retrieval tasks in experimental settings. The experiments producing evidence of enhanced performance for ontologically clearer models have, however, used application domains of modest size. Data models in organizational settings are likely to be substantially larger than those used in these experiments. This research used an experiment to investigate whether the benefits of improved information retrieval performance associated with ontologically clearer models are robust as the size of the application domains increase. The experiment used an application domain of approximately twice the size as tested in prior experiments. The results indicate that, relative to the users of the parsimonious implementation, end users of the ontologically clearer implementation made significantly more semantic errors, took significantly more time to compose their queries, and were significantly less confident in the accuracy of their queries.

Generation and performance of localised surface plasmons utilising nano-scale structured multi-layered thin films deposited upon D-shaped optical fiber

A new generation of surface plasmonic optical fibre sensors is fabricated using multiple coatings deposited on a lapped section of a single mode fibre. Post-deposition UV laser irradiation using a phase mask produces a nano-scaled surface relief grating structure, resembling nano-wires. The overall length of the individual corrugations is approximately 14 μm with an average full width half maximum of 100 nm. Evidence is presented to show that these surface structures result from material compaction created by the silicon dioxide and germanium layers in the multi-layered coating and the surface topology is capable of supporting localised surface plasmons. The coating compaction induces a strain gradient into the D-shaped optical fibre that generates an asymmetric periodic refractive index profile which enhances the coupling of the light from the core of the fibre to plasmons on the surface of the coating. Experimental data are presented that show changes in spectral characteristics after UV processing and that the performance of the sensors increases from that of their pre-UV irradiation state. The enhanced performance is illustrated with regards to change in external refractive index and demonstrates high spectral sensitivities in gaseous and aqueous index regimes ranging up to 4000 nm/RIU for wavelength and 800 dB/RIU for intensity. The devices generate surface plasmons over a very large wavelength range, (visible to 2 μm) depending on the polarization state of the illuminating light. © 2013 SPIE.

Comparison Between Single-Diode Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and LED Multi-Diode (Cluster) Therapy (LEDT) Applications Before High-Intensity Exercise

Background Data and Objective: There is anecdotal evidence that low-level laser therapy (LLLT) may affect the development of muscular fatigue, minor muscle damage, and recovery after heavy exercises. Although manufacturers claim that cluster probes (LEDT) maybe more effective than single-diode lasers in clinical settings, there is a lack of head-to-head comparisons in controlled trials. This study was designed to compare the effect of single-diode LLLT and cluster LEDT before heavy exercise. Materials and Methods: This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind cross-over study. Young male volleyball players (n = 8) were enrolled and asked to perform three Wingate cycle tests after 4 x 30 sec LLLT or LEDT pretreatment of the rectus femoris muscle with either (1) an active LEDT cluster-probe (660/850 nm, 10/30mW), (2) a placebo cluster-probe with no output, and (3) a single-diode 810-nm 200-mW laser. Results: The active LEDT group had significantly decreased post-exercise creatine kinase (CK) levels (-18.88 +/- 41.48U/L), compared to the placebo cluster group (26.88 +/- 15.18U/L) (p < 0.05) and the active single-diode laser group (43.38 +/- 32.90U/L) (p<0.01). None of the pre-exercise LLLT or LEDT protocols enhanced performance on the Wingate tests or reduced post-exercise blood lactate levels. However, a non-significant tendency toward lower post-exercise blood lactate levels in the treated groups should be explored further. Conclusion: In this experimental set-up, only the active LEDT probe decreased post-exercise CK levels after the Wingate cycle test. Neither performance nor blood lactate levels were significantly affected by this protocol of pre-exercise LEDT or LLLT.

Optimized architecture for Tyrosinase-containing Langmuir-Blodgett films to detect pyrogallol

The control of molecular architectures has been a key factor for the use of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films in biosensors, especially because biomolecules can be immobilized with preserved activity. In this paper we investigated the incorporation of tyrosinase (Tyr) in mixed Langmuir films of arachidic acid (AA) and a lutetium bisphthalocyanine (LuPc(2)), which is confirmed by a large expansion in the surface pressure isotherm. These mixed films of AA-LuPc(2) + Tyr could be transferred onto ITO and Pt electrodes as indicated by FTIR and electrochemical measurements, and there was no need for crosslinking of the enzyme molecules to preserve their activity. Significantly, the activity of the immobilised Tyr was considerably higher than in previous work in the literature, which allowed Tyr-containing LB films to be used as highly sensitive voltammetric sensors to detect pyrogallol. Linear responses have been found up to 400 mu M, with a detection limit of 4.87 x 10(-2) mu M (n = 4) and a sensitivity of 1.54 mu A mu M(-1) cm(-2). In addition, the Hill coefficient (h = 1.27) indicates cooperation with LuPc(2) that also acts as a catalyst. The enhanced performance of the LB-based biosensor resulted therefore from a preserved activity of Tyr combined with the catalytic activity of LuPc(2), in a strategy that can be extended to other enzymes and analytes upon varying the LB film architecture.