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A Bowles

Publications and source records attributed to A Bowles.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

A comparative study of transformational leadership in nursing development units and conventional clinical settings.

AIMS: This is a comparative study of the leadership provided by nurse managers and leaders in Nursing Development Units and conventional clinical settings in England. BACKGROUND: Nursing development units (NDUs) were originally conceived as centres of nursing excellence, innovation and leadership development. This article describes the first published use of a leadership practices inventory (LPI) explicitly based upon a model of transformational leadership. This style of leadership has been commended as highly effective and suitable for nursing. METHODS: The use of the LPI was piloted as a postal questionnaire and as a schedule for telephone interviewing, these pilots supported the use of telephone interviewing in the main study. Two matched samples of 70 nurses in total were recruited from across England, comprising 14 nurse leaders and 56 of their day to day colleagues. Data was collected by telephone interviewing over a 6-week period between February and April 1998. Six null hypotheses were developed to identify significant inter-group differences in leadership behaviour. Descriptive and inferential data analysis techniques were employed using SPSS for Windows. FINDINGS: The leadership provided by NDU leaders was evaluated more highly than non-NDU leaders. A higher level of congruence between self and observer evaluations was shown by NDU leaders. Statistically significant inter-group differences were apparent in three of the five practices of exemplary leadership and in the overall leadership behaviour. NDU leaders show greater self awareness and are more transformational than their non-NDU counterparts. The limitations of the study design are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: NDU leaders provide leadership of a more transformational nature than their counterparts working in conventional settings. This finding suggests that NDU leaders have enhanced leadership potential and that formalizing nursing development within NDUs may promote the emergence of transformational leadership and provide a microculture in which it might flourish. The LPI is regarded as a useful, adaptable tool suitable for use in UK nursing applications including research, leadership development and education.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1992

Neuromuscular causes of prolonged ventilator dependency.

We prospectively evaluated 21 patients with prolonged ventilator dependency, to determine the frequency of unsuspected neuromuscular disease as a cause of this condition, and to determine the types of such diseases. Assessment was performed with routine and specialized electrophysiologic procedures. None of the patients had known prior neuromuscular disease, and none had ongoing medical problems that could account for their continued ventilator dependency. Sixty-two percent were found to have a neuromuscular disease severe enough to account for the ventilator dependency. Most of the remaining cases had a contributory neuromuscular disease. In addition to critical illness polyneuropathy, several other significant categories were identified. Myopathic EMG changes were found in 50% of the subgroup assessed by quantitative EMG. We conclude that neuromuscular disease is the most important factor in prolonged ventilator dependency, and that diseases other than critical illness polyneuropathy represent an important cause of this syndrome.

Critical Care↗
PubMed1990

Simulation of interactions between migrating whales and potential oil spills.

A numerical model system was developed to quantify the probability of endangered bowhead and gray whales encountering spilled oil in Alaskan waters. Migration and diving-surfacing models for bowhead and gray whales, and an oil spill trajectory model comprise the system. The migration models were developed from conceptual considerations, then calibrated with and tested against observations. The distribution of whales is represented in space and time by discrete points, each of which may represent one or more whales. The movement of a whale point is governed by a random walk algorithm which stochastically follows a migratory pathway. Stochastic diving-surfacing models are used to stimulate surfacing behavior sequences for each species. The oil spill model accounts for oil transport and spreading in open water and in the presence of sea ice. Historical wind records and ice cover data sets provide the environmental conditions to generate stochastic oil spill scenarios. The oil spill, whale migration and diving-surfacing models are linked to provide quantitative estimates of whale-oil interactions. The model system was applied to the Alaskan Beaufort Sea to investigate the probability that bowhead whales would encounter oil spilled in this region.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1978

Use of [75Se]selenomethionine in immunoglobulin biosynthetic studies.

The gamma-emitting amino acid analog, [75Se]selenomethionine, has been used as a biosynthetic label for immunoglobulins secreted by plasmacytomas in tissue culture. The secreted products are structurally intact with respect to their antibody combining sites and their class and allotype antigenic specificities. A component of [75Se]selenomethionine preparations was found to bind to fetal calf serum proteins, in a manner releasable by mercaptoethanol, but not by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and urea. Methods for circumventing the problems caused by this binding are described.

Animals↗