Suchergebnisse

Objective: The present study investigated whether performance across a range of cue-based cognitive tasks differentiated the diagnostic performance of power control operators into three distinct groups, characteristic of novice, competence, and expertise. Background: Despite its increasing importance in the contemporary workplace, there is little understanding of the cognitive processes that distinguish novice, competent, and expert performance in the context of remote diagnosis. However, recent evidence suggests that cue acquisition and utilization may represent a mechanism by which the transition from novice to expertise occurs. Method: The study involved the application of four distinct cue-based tasks within the context of power system control. A total of 65 controllers, encompassing a range of industry experience, completed the tasks as part of an in-service training program. Results: Using a cluster analysis, it was possible to extract three distinct groups of operators on the basis of their performance in the cue-based tasks, and these groups corresponded to differences in diagnostic performance. Conclusion: The results indicate assessments of the capacity to extract and utilize cues were able to distinguish expert from competent practitioners in the context of power control. Application: Assessments of the capacity to extract and utilize cues may be used in the future to distinguish expert from nonexpert practitioners, particularly in the context of remote diagnosis.

Local government finance in England in the 2010s can be characterised by two major trends: large (albeit varying) cuts to council budgets; and a shift from centralised redistribution of funding towards a greater emphasis on fiscal incentives for revenue growth, most notably via the introduction and potential extension of the business rates retention scheme (BRRS). It is in this context that this report, jointly written by researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) and PwC, looks at how the views of councils' decision-makers relate to the characteristics of the councils they represent or work for. In particular, we focus on views in two key areas: the quality of service provision; and the impact and design of the BRRS. Such an analysis allows us to examine whether perceptions of two key issues differ systematically between areas with different financial, political and socio-economic characteristics.

Recent excavations and high-precision radiocarbon dating from the largest Iron Age (IA, ca. 1200–500 BCE) copper production center in the southern Levant demonstrate major smelting activities in the region of biblical Edom (southern Jordan) during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. Stratified radiocarbon samples and artifacts were recorded with precise digital surveying tools linked to a geographic information system developed to control on-site spatial analyses of archaeological finds and model data with innovative visualization tools. The new radiocarbon dates push back by 2 centuries the accepted IA chronology of Edom. Data from Khirbat en-Nahas, and the nearby site of Rujm Hamra Ifdan, demonstrate the centrality of industrial-scale metal production during those centuries traditionally linked closely to political events in Edom's 10th century BCE neighbor ancient Israel. Consequently, the rise of IA Edom is linked to the power vacuum created by the collapse of Late Bronze Age (LB, ca. 1300 BCE) civilizations and the disintegration of the LB Cypriot copper monopoly that dominated the eastern Mediterranean. The methodologies applied to the historical IA archaeology of the Levant have implications for other parts of the world where sacred and historical texts interface with the material record.