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Purpose Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is a standardized method to assess somatosensory function. The collection of qualitative information, during the QST procedure, could be an interesting way to facilitate the characterization of altered sensory perception and the identification of different pain phenotypes. The aims of this study were 1) to classify qualitative fieldnotes of sensory abnormalities collected during an independent QST study, and 2) to generate a qualitative interview guide that could be included in the traditional QST procedure as a step towards the implementation of a mixed methods approach. Patients and Methods QST data were collected from 48 chronic neuropathic pain patients treated with spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Three body areas, with or without SCS, were tested: the painful limb targeted by SCS, the contralateral area, and the ipsilateral upper limb. After each trial of each QST modality, patients were encouraged to report any sensory abnormalities they could identify with a pain quality scale or using their own words. Results Qualitative self-reported sensory abnormalities were dichotomized into two groups: altered sensory intensities and altered sensory perceptions. Altered sensory intensities were classified as sensory loss or sensory gain subgroups. Altered sensory perceptions were classified as paresthesia and dysesthesia subgroups Overall, 630 qualitative fieldnotes of altered sensations were collected: 385 on the painful limb, 173 at the contralateral area, and 72 at the ipsilateral upper limb. Based on these qualitative data, we propose a standardized method to collect qualitative data involving 9 open- and close-ended questions and 21 codes. Conclusion Our findings have highlighted the value of qualitative sensory evaluation during QST and constitute an important milestone in the development of a mixed methods protocol in phenotyping research., Video abstract Point your SmartPhone at the code above. If you have a QR code reader the video abstract will appear. Or use: https://youtu.be/LoRb5V0s7Hk

PurposeIdentifying handovers is an important but difficult to achieve goal for companies as handovers have advantages allowing for specialisation in processes as well as disadvantages by creating erroneous interfaces.Design/methodology/approachConceptualisation of a method based on theory and evaluation with company data using a process model repository.FindingsThe method allows to evaluate handovers from the perspective of roles in processes and grouping of employees in organisational units. It uses existing process model repositories connected with organisational chart information in companies to determine the density of handovers. The method is successfully evaluated using the example of a major telecommunications company with 1,010 process models in its repository.Practical implicationsCompanies can determine on various levels, up to the overall organisational level, in which parts of the company efforts are best spent to manage handovers in an optimal way.Originality/valueThis paper is first in showing how handovers can be conceptualised and identified with a large-scale method.

Highly-configurable systems are such systems which are not developed for single scenario. However, perhaps they have variable functionality and they are developed for hybrid scenarios. Producing a good highly-configurable system within time and with customer satisfaction is not easy. Handling requirements effectively in such a way that it take least time to market, is one of the most difficult tasks in highly-configurable system. In this paper, a quantitative requirement prioritization technique for highly-configurable systems is proposed. This technique involves all stakeholders and can be used primarily for large scale software projects. The proposed technique is evaluated by taking a case study of the highly-configurable point of sale for automotive industry. The result shows that the proposed technique provides promising results and can be enhanced with more future work.

In this paper, we present a pilot study aimed at investigating the impact of subsistence strategies and environmental pressure on the distribution of ethnographically documented strategies to cope with drought and its effects across 35 current societies in Africa. We use freely accessible ethnographic databases to retrieve data on how a number of African societies deal with the circumstances of drought, and ascertain the impact of geography on their distribution in order to measure possible relationships between them, a set of subsistence choices, and proxies of environmental constraints. We use Canonical Correspondence Analysis to explore the emerging patterns and find that subsistence strategy strongly impacts the choice of drought management strategies, especially if considered with a proxy of local environmental condition. Spatial proximity and aridity per se have only marginal impact, highlighting other relevant processes of cultural transmission that at least partly transcend (a) the intensity of human interaction over geographic gradients and (b) local adaptation primarily dependent on water availability. This study supports the wide applicability of quantitative and replicable methods to cross-cultural evidence on a variety of adaptive strategies and uses ethnographic data to propose new hypotheses that can inform future archaeological research by showing recurrent and non-case-specific choices highlighting resilient practices and adaptive behaviour in Africa., This research and this publication were funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project CULM–Modelling plant cultivation in prehistory HAR2016-77672-P, PI Debora Zurro) and by the quality research group of the Generalitat de Catalunya (CaSEs–2017 SGR 212). SB is supported by RAINDROPS, (ERC-Stg-2017, grant agreement no. 759800, PI Carla Lancelotti).

Paper based approach to clinical documentation such as handwritten notes among health care providers are cause of errors in medical field. Therefore, health record system needs to be replaced with electronic health record (EHR). Many health professionals in developing countries specifically in Iraq refuse to use the systems implemented for their benefits due to many reasons. Thus, the use of electronic services is important for successful electronic health implementations. Therefore, this study is intended to identify the main factors affecting the intention of use of the electronic health record in Iraq. Health professional staff who work in the main hospital in Dhi-Qar is chosen because this province is the first local province that implemented many electronic projects. The present study examined use of user acceptance of technology, based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). Moreover, the quantitative method approach for data collection using survey from staff who work in the main hospital in Dhi-Qar. Data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS. The results indicated significant relationship between Ease of Use, Usefulness, Usefulness, Attitude, and Intention of use of EHR. These finding have implementation for decision makers in Iraq government to improve future implementation of e-health services.

Since economic growth is a macro indicator of successful development, all countries striveto get maximum economic growth to create public welfare, especially for developing countries. Therefore, using the example of a city in one such country, namely Lamongan in Indonesia, let’s examine the effects of local income, capital expenditure and partial investment simultaneously on economic growth. Thus, the object of theresearch isthe influence oflocally-generated revenue, capital expenditure, partial investment, and simultaneously economic growth in the Lamongan in 2010–2019. This research was established with a quantitative approach. The data used are secondary data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Lamongan, the Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency of Lamongan, the Office of investment, and One-Stop Services, Lamongan in 2010–2019. The results of the study conclude that partially thelocally-generated revenue variable has a significant negative effect on economic growth in Lamongan in 2010–2019, capital expenditure has a significant positive impact on economic growth in Lamongan in 2010–2019, and investment did not hurt economic growth in Lamongan in 2010–2019. Simultaneously, the locally-generated revenue variables, capital expenditure, and acquisition significantly affected Economic Growth in Lamongan in 2010–2019. This study’s results are expected to become information, reference materials, and references to develop and expand future research. For the Lamongan government, this research can be used as a necessary consideration and input to improve policies related to increasing economic growthof country.

PurposeBy drawing upon institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of four critical resources (credit, electricity, contract enforcement and political governance) in explaining the quality of entrepreneurship and the depth of the supporting entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach based on ordinary least squares regression analysis was used. Three data sources were employed. First, the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) of 35 African countries was used to measure the quality of entrepreneurship and the depth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa which represents the dependent variable. Second, the World Bank’s data on access to credit, electricity and contract enforcement in Africa were also employed as explanatory variables. Third, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance was used as an explanatory variable. Finally, country-specific data on four control variables (GDP, foreign direct investment, population and education) were gathered and analysed.FindingsTo support entrepreneurship development, Africa needs broad financial inclusion and state institutions that are more effective at enforcing contracts. Access to credit was non-significant and therefore did not contribute to the dependent variable (entrepreneurship quality and depth of entrepreneurial support in Africa). Access to electricity and political governance were statistically significant and correlated positively with the dependent variables. Finally, contract enforcement was partially significant and contributed to the dependent variable.Research limitations/implicationsA lack of GEI data for all 54 African countries limited this study to only 35 African countries: 31 in sub-Saharan Africa and 4 in North Africa. Therefore, the generalisability of this study’s findings to the whole of Africa might be limited. Second, this study depended on indexes for this study. Therefore, any inconsistencies in the index aggregation if any could not be authenticated. This study has practical implications for the development of entrepreneurship in Africa. Public and private institutions for credit delivery, contract enforcement and the provision of utility services such as electricity are crucial for entrepreneurship development.Originality/valueThe institutional void is a challenge for Africa. This study highlights the weak, corrupt nature of African institutions that supposedly support MSME growth. Effective entrepreneurship development in Africa depends on the presence of a supportive institutional infrastructure. This study engages institutional theory to explain the role of institutional factors such as state institutions, financial institutions, utility providers and markets in entrepreneurship development in Africa.

With the aim of moving towards a more sustainable society, hospital buildings are challenged to decrease their environmental impact while continuing to offer affordable and qualitative medical care. The aim of this paper was to gain insight into the main drivers of the environmental impacts and costs of healthcare facilities, and to identify methodological obstacles for a quantitative assessment. More specifically, the objective was to assess the environmental and financial impacts of the general hospital Sint Maarten in Mechelen (Belgium) by using a life cycle approach. The hospital building was analyzed based on a combination of a simplified life cycle assessment and life cycle costing. The &ldquo, MMG+_KULeuven&rdquo, assessment tool was used for the calculation of environmental impacts and financial costs. The study revealed that the environmental impact was mainly caused by electricity use for appliances and lighting, cleaning processes, material production, and spatial heating, while building construction and electricity use caused the highest financial costs. The most relevant impact categories identified were global warming, eutrophication, acidification, human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects), and particulate matter. Various methodological challenges were identified, such as the adaptation of existing methods to ensure applicability to hospital buildings and the extraction of data from a Revit model.

The latest Italian seismic events have highlighted a high discrepancy between the potential destructiveness of an earthquake and the consequent economic losses due to damage to buildings. The main reason for this mismatch is the high number of vulnerable residential buildings or the low-to-medium vulnerability of buildings that are reaching the ends of their service lives. Awareness of the economic impact of seismic vulnerability should be a matter of primary interest for public administrations, private and insurance companies, banks, owners, and professionals, despite operating at different territorial levels and with different objectives. Quantification of the expected monetary consequence of seismic vulnerability, in terms of the probable cost of repairing earthquake damage, plays a key role in defining new and more effective seismic risk mitigation strategies. Retrofitting strategies based on intervention priority defined only according to the structural seismic risk level of buildings are incorrect. These strategies neglect several important issues, such as the financial losses caused by building damage. A new procedure for estimating the expected seismic direct economic losses resulting from building damage (repair/replacement measures) is proposed and applied. The fundamental roles of analytical fragility curves and cost ratio functions in the new procedure are highlighted.

In (FEMA 308 in Repair of earthquake damaged concrete and masonry wall buildings, Prepared by ATC for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington DC, 1998) a general framework facilitating decisions on appropriate course of action (accept damage, restore, or upgrade) for damaged buildings after an earthquake was presented. Such Performance-Based Policy Framework relies on performance index of the building in its intact and damaged state and on the relative performance loss as significant indicators for repair and/or upgrade decisions; however, no specific guidance for the establishment of PL and IP thresholds governing damage acceptability was given. This paper proposes an improvement of the PBPF introduced in FEMA 308 by providing it with a set of performance thresholds that can be established based on a clear quantitative approach and presents a set of tools for its practical implementation with reference to Reinforced Concrete frame buildings. In addition to the Repair and Repair and Retrofit options, also the Demolish one is introduced, because it corresponds to a not infrequent decision in case of severely damaged buildings in European-Mediterranean regions. Criteria to establish decision thresholds IP and PL are proposed that allow to clearly connect them to reconstruction costs and probability of failure of the building in the intact and damaged state. Finally, a case study demonstrates the application of the hypothesized policy framework for a Municipality in southern Italy and investigates on the effects of varying decision thresholds on the total reconstruction costs and mean safety level for the considered building stock.

Despite the significant recent growth in research relating to instrumental, vocal and composition tuition in higher education, little is known about the diversity of approaches that characterise one-to-one teaching in the conservatoire, and what counts as optimal practice for educating twenty-first-century musicians. Through analysis of video-recorded one-to-one lessons that draws on a bottom up' methodology for characterising pedagogical practices, this paper provides empirical evidence about the nature of one-to-one pedagogy in one Australian institution. The research aims (1) to enable a better understanding of current one-to-one conservatoire teaching and (2) to build and improve upon existing teaching practice using authentic insights gained through systematic investigation. The authors hope the research will lead to a better understanding of the diversity and efficacy of the pedagogical practice within the specific context in which the study was conducted, and beyond, to conservatoire pedagogy generally. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

WOS: 000377152400004, In this study, it is aimed to describe pre-service teachers's perceptions of CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). The gender, the age, the trust in doctor, the number of suffered diseases and the number of CAM techniques were determined as the variables in the study. The participants of the research were 315 students from the education faculty of an university in Czech Republic. A measuring device that the researchers developed by using two scales were used as the data collection device. According to the findings of the research, CAM perceptions were generally positive, that besides woman participants's perceptions were more positive comparing with man, and that perceptions of CAM grew in positive direction with the decrease in the trust in doctors. It was concluded that perceptions towards CAM grew in positive directions with the increase in the number of CAM and the number of suffered disease had no influence on perceptions of CAM.

Konsep belajar mandiri telah mendapat perhatian besar dalam penelitian dan praktik pendidikan selama tiga dekade terakhir. Konsep ini dianggap sebagai suatu pilihan dalam dunia pendidikan modern ini (Scharle & Szabo, 2000) yang menuntut partisipasi yang lebih aktif peserta didik dan kurangnya ketergantungan kepada guru. Di bidang pembelajaran bahasa, banyak peneliti yang telah mengkaji konsep ini dalam rangka mendapatkan pemahaman yang lebih tentang teori dan praktek pembelajaran otonom. Dua pendekatan yang umum digunakan oleh para peneliti dalam pembelajaran otonom adalah pendekatan kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Kedua pendekatan dibahas dalam makalah ini untuk mendapatkan perbandingan tentan keuntungan dan kelemahan masing-masing pendekatan yang akan digunakan untuk penelitian pembelajaran otonom. Pendekatan campuran atau kombinasi pendekatan kualitatif dan kuantitatif juga dibahas dalam makalah ini untuk mendapatkan lebih banyak ide dan pemahaman tentang cara alternatif melakukan penelitian dalam ranah ini. Kata kunci: Pembelajaran otonom, pendekatan kualitatif, pendekatan kuantitatif, pendekatan campuran

Currently, the built environment accounts for about 40% of the total energy consumed in the European Union and this level is continuing to increase. This high level of energy consumption is partially a result of attempts to create an optimum indoor environment for the occupants of buildings. New buildings and renovation projects on existing buildings need to improve their energy performance while maintaining a good and healthy indoor environment. One way of saving energy is to build passive houses. This paper presents the results of a case study of some of the first certified passive houses in Denmark, called Comfort Houses. The indoor environment is evaluated using both quantitative measurements of these houses and qualitative interviews with the occupants about their experiences of the indoor environment. The combination of these two sets of knowledge leads to a more complete and holistic picture of the indoor environment. It is shown that attention needs to be paid to the objectives in the design process, the documentation of the designs and on the occupant’s lifestyle and behaviour. Finally, it is important to educate the occupants on how to live in an appropriate manner to achieve a comfortable indoor environment.

The sharing economy is becoming increasingly popular in many sectors also thanks to the fact that not only young generation, but people of almost all ages are digitally literate, and therefore they readily participate in sharing economy practices. A very important part of their motivation comes from the knowledge that it is a great way to save money, but a no less important reason is the philosophical aspect, which is consistent with efforts to promote more sustainable consumption practices that prioritize access over ownership. The sharing economy has become a subject of interest not only among researchers and practitioners but also among policymakers and stakeholders who are concerned about the further extension of digital ecosystems. Fortunately, theorists from many fields, such as the commercial economy, gift economy, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, etc., pay due attention to this phenomenon. However, there is still room for focused exploration of this entrepreneurial and innovative approach from specific views in order to bring useful findings and insights on given issues. The intention of this study is to analyze the existing related literature and categorize sharing economy-based business models in relation to traditional business models. Potentially, this study can also contribute to a better understanding of the perspectives of the sharing economy in the transition of SMEs towards the Industry 4.0 paradigm.