bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Library School Fieldwork Placements: Problems and Practice
Authors: Hall Audrey W.
Published: February 2008

This brief survey looks at library school fieldwork placements and the current problems and constraints. It does not approach the subject from a theoretical viewpoint, but looks at the practicalities of the situation, as they are experienced by placement tutors/liaison officers, host librarians and students. No attempt is made to review the considerable literature originating on both sides of the Atlantic and elsewhere. The emphasis is on current views and all material was collected between October 1985 and February 1986. Comments on library school practices have deliberately been kept brief, as their point is not to inform academics, who are well aware of the position, but to promote understanding. All too often there is a communication gap, and many librarians, and indeed many students, may not realise the parameters within which a school is operating. Similarly tutors and students may not fully understand the constraints affecting librarians/information officers in a vast range of institutions. Tutors and librarians may lose sight of the students' needs and the heavy demands that placement can make on them.
4. Planning Research
Authors: Palmer Judith
Published: February 2008

The objective, sustenance and reward of research is information. But information does not yet grow on trees nor through the agency of monoclonal antibodies. It requires careful harvesting, winnowing and dissemination, albeit with electronic tools.
5. The Use of General Information in Marketing Decision Making
Authors: Tibbetts Mike
Published: February 2008

This is a welcome opportunity to talk about a variety of subjects including, I hope, the Domesday Project. I am now with BBC Television working on the Domesday Project. Previously I was with BBC Data which is the in‐house information service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. I was its marketing manager — opening up the resources to people outside the BBC on a variety of bases, including commercial reference publications, an enquiry service, the Hulton Picture Library and so on. Before this my entire career — 16 years — was with Procter & Gamble Ltd, which is one of the largest multinational companies in the world, making washing powders, consumer products and industrial goods. Thus I think I can claim a reasonable in‐depth history in marketing and marketing management, with some familiarity with the information world.
8. Information for Managers
Authors: Ettinger Andrew
Published: February 2008

Writing about information for managers is in some ways quite a daunting task because one could quite easily argue that the art and science of management is all about utilising information, and there are a number of definitions of management which illustrate that point. But what I want to cover here is based on my personal experience of the ways managers actually use and perceive information, focusing on what they find pertinent. I think that this is a crucial area of experience that information professionals are lacking: at what point do managers use information in the process of decision making?
9. Creating a Do‐It‐Yourself Database
Authors: Fraser Janet
Published: February 2008

What I'm going to do is tell you a little about the way in which I am setting up a text database for an Aberdeen‐based company. This is being done using BASIS — Batelle's Database Management System. It would be possible to use BASIS to handle a variety of types of textual material. In this particular application, the prototype is intended exclusively for the storage and retrieval of minutes.
2. International Consulting in the Era of Teleconferencing
Authors: Dyer Esther R.
Published: February 2008

The projected growth of teleconferencing for the remainder of the 1980s parallels the dynamic growth of computers in the early 1970s. At the beginning of the current decade, the proliferation of personal computers for managers and executives, and word‐processing technology for secretarial operations plus burgeoning access to online research services clearly signalled the integration of computers into the mainline of American business and professional life. By the 1990s teleconferencing will be integrated into the communications technology in both the public and private sectors making the next decade the era of teleconferencing.
User‐centred Libraries and Information Services
Authors: Bakewell K.G.B.
Published: February 2008

Some libraries and information services are quite definitely user‐centred; some think they are but are not always; some seem to be designed for librarians rather than users. The purpose of this monograph is to encourage the development of libraries to meet the perceived needs of users — I hope it will be found useful by librarians and information workers as well as by students.
The One‐Person Library: Professional Development and Professional Management
Authors: Woolley Marcus
Published: February 2008

Developing a library while developing oneself is both an enviable and an alarming experience. This case study is valuable for two reasons: first because it is a uniquely realistic blow‐by‐blow description of the upgrading of a poorly organised, under‐resourced, industrial library. As such, it contains useful practical guidance for the many librarians who have similar problems to contend with. Second, and perhaps even more important, because so rare, is the critical and evaluative attitude taken throughout the report. The author identifies his own mistakes, as well as his successes. The report covers the adoption of new information retrieval systems; the devising of a new issue system for a split‐site library; developing periodicals circulation; evaluation of collection use and relevance; proposing the introduction of on‐line services — against a background of financial stringency and entrenched bureaucracy. The author also evaluates his own performance and the training he received, in his first year of running a one‐person library.
STATISTICAL SURVEY METHODS: THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE
Authors: Pluck Ronald A.
Published: February 2008

The impetus for the establishment of a scheme that would protect authors and publishers from unauthorised use of copyright material came in part from a ten year struggle (successfully concluded in 1982 with the inception of the Public Lending Right scheme) to obtain payment for authors for copyright material lent to the public through public libraries. As photocopying machines became more readily available so copyright material became more vulnerable to unauthorised use in part or in whole. An area where photocopying was thought to be particularly extensive was that of education, and within that area the largest users are the Local Education Authorities. As this represented an area that was relatively well documented and the associations of local authorities were co‐operative in this matter, it was thought to be the point at which the task of collecting payment for the photocopying of copyright material should begin.
THE COLLECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF LITERARY AND DRAMATIC RIGHTS — AUTHORS' LICENSING AND COLLECTING SOCIETY (ALCS)
Authors: Hurrell Janet
Published: February 2008

Writers in Britain traditionally license a wide range of rights to publishers and broadcasters, often through agents. This tradition, known as the “Anglo‐American” as opposed to the “European” tradition of licensing collectively such rights, has meant individual negotiations, up‐front money and residuals.
COPYRIGHT LICENSING AND LIBRARIANS
Authors: Wall Raymond A.
Published: February 2008

Librarians and other information service professionals are naturally concerned with the needs of their end‐user communities as well as their own service requirements. This overview of licensing methods lays more emphasis on print than on non‐print materials. Since copying from books is rare outside schools, the main concern here is copying from journals of academic, industrial or professional interest.
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Morris Beryl
Published: February 2008

Anne Rehahn has given us an interesting account of her Master's programme on pages 29–30; a rather more tailored course than the MBA course described by Patrick Noon in Vol. 9 No. 2 of Information and Library Manager.
SEMINAR REPORT: DEVOLUTION IN LOCAL MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION
Authors: Bakewell Ken
Published: February 2008

Another of Capital Planning Information's successful series of seminars was held at the George Business Centre, Stamford, Lincolnshire, on 28 June 1990, this one dealing with the implications of the move in local government towards devolution of budgets and accountability to subdepartmental levels of service, or resource centre management.
Why Marketing?
Authors: arap Tanui Tirong , Kitoi Andrew S.
Published: February 2008

Marketing is about the way in which an organization matches its own human, financial and physical resources to the wants of its customers. The Institute of Marketing defines marketing as “the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”.
City technology colleges
Authors: Baker Kenneth
Published: February 2008

This is an extract from a paper, Into the New Era, presented by the Education Secretary at an Industrial Society Conference last December.
Further education's new image
Authors: Baker Kenneth
Published: February 2008

In his keynote speech to the Annual Conference of the Association of Colleges of Further and Higher Education, the Education Secretary outlined the most radical set of proposals for the reform of FE for many years, a strategy designed to end the “Cinderella” image of this sector.
Business growth training
Authors: Fowler Norman
Published: February 2008

The Secretary of State for Employment presented this article at the launch of this scheme which comprises a comprehensive package of training services for employers to help them improve business performance and long‐term profitability, which it was intended would directly help some 100,000 companies in its first year.
Making the most of MSC?
Authors: Fowler Graham
Published: February 2008

The author, an educational consultant, in this latest contribution in a series dealing with Where Education Meets Training, explains that the question posed in the title is intended to imply that doing so called for involvement in the art of the impossible. The White Paper referred to herein is Employment for the 1990s, to which we will doubtless be returning.
Teacher training is taut
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

Our regular contributor discusses four publications, all written by university teachers, dealing with teachers' problems. The teaching profession has been under critical scrutiny lately and is low in public opinion. The new Education Reform Act has highlighted the need for teachers to be fully aware of their responsibilities, and these four books deal in different ways with various aspects of teacher training.
Training — The European challenge
Authors: Kinross Vyvyan
Published: February 2008

It is no secret that Britain has failed to keep up with most of its European partners in the quantity and quality of both its public and private sector training. For many years now, commentators have not been slow to point out that British firms consistently undervalue their most valuable resource — people. There are clear commercial consequences of this policy failure: most notably a lack of international competitiveness, the inability to maximise available skills, a failure to adapt to change, and a pervasive problem with employee morale.
Value for money: The new criterion in education
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

Our regular contributor on the educational scene discusses four books which deal in various ways with an area of continuing debate:
Parents of children with cystic fibrosis: how they hope, cope and despair
Authors: Wong M. G. , Heriot S. A.
Published: February 2008

Background Cystic fibrosis is a chronic, life‐threatening illness. Coping, vicarious hope and vicarious despair are constructs that may explain why some children and parents adjust well to cystic fibrosis, while others adjust poorly. Vicarious hope refers to parent expectations that desirable things will occur in their child's future, whereas vicarious despair refers to parent expectations that undesirable things will occur in their child's future. The aims of this study were: (1) to examine parent coping strategies and associations with child and parent adjustment to cystic fibrosis; (2) to investigate the effects of vicarious hope and vicarious despair on coping, parent adjustment and child adjustment; and (3) to examine distinctions between coping, vicarious hope and vicarious despair.

Methods Participants were 35 parents of children with cystic fibrosis.

Results Self‐blame and behavioural disengagement were coping strategies associated with child and parent maladjustment. Social support predicted less parental emotional impact. Vicarious hope and vicarious despair predicted child mental health, parent anxiety and parent emotional impact.

Conclusions Results indicate that vicarious hope and vicarious despair are distinct constructs from coping. Interventions directed at parent coping, vicarious hope and vicarious despair are implicated.
Correlates of sexuality communication among mothers and 6–12‐year‐old children
Authors: Pluhar E. I. , DiIorio C. K. , McCarty F.
Published: February 2008

Purpose  This study assessed the extent to which personal characteristics, knowledge and beliefs, and family interactions and relationships are related to the occurrence of mother–child communication about sexuality.

Methods  The study used a descriptive, cross‐sectional design among a convenience sample of 298 predominantly lower‐ to middle‐income African American mothers and 298 of their 6–12‐year‐old‐children recruited from a youth‐serving, community‐based organization. Participants completed a computer‐based interview to collect data on sexuality communication, general mother–child communication, parental involvement and monitoring, parent relationship with child's peer group, child's social skills and problem behaviours, mothers' self‐efficacy, outcome expectations, comfort with sexuality communication, and demographics.

Results  Mothers were more likely to communicate with daughters and older children. Greater self‐efficacy and comfort in sexuality communication were related to greater sexuality communication. We also explored several inconsistent findings in previous studies – mother's age, socio‐economic status and religiosity. Mother's age and socio‐economic status were not significant, and religiosity approached statistical significance.

Conclusions  Mother's self‐efficacy and comfort are potentially modifiable variables and therefore should be taken into consideration when designing interventions that aim to increase parent–child communication about sexuality.
Alcohol use and abuse in adolescence: proposal of an alternative analysis
Authors: Simões C. , Batista‐Foguet J. M. , Matos M. G. , Calmeiro L.
Published: February 2008

Background  A national, representative, school‐based sample of Portuguese youths was used to examine the prevalence of alcohol use in this population and to analyse differences between demographic variables such as gender and age, as well as to propose a statistical procedure that optimally quantifies categorical variables.

Methods  Data on 6109 state school students from Portugal, in the 6th, 8th and 10th grades, aged 11–18, who participated in the 2002 (Health Behaviour in School‐aged Children/WHO) survey of adolescent health, were analysed. Adolescents aged between 11 and 14 were placed in the younger group, and those 15–18 years old were placed in the older group. Optimal scaling was used to optimize the computation of factor scores, which were subsequently submitted to multiple regression analysis in order to analyse the impact of gender and age on alcohol use.

Results  The results of this study show that the majority of Portuguese school‐aged adolescents attending regular school at 6th, 8th and 10th grades do not drink alcoholic beverages (beer, wine or spirits) on a regular basis (at least once a month). However, about 8% of these adolescents do drink beer, 3% do drink wine and 12% do drink spirits on a regular basis. With regard to age and gender, about a quarter of the older boys stated that they drink beer or spirits regularly. The multiple regression analysis showed that age and gender had a significant impact on alcohol use.

Conclusion  Alcohol – in particular spirits – is a substance used by some Portuguese adolescents. Alcohol use and abuse is more frequent in boys and increases with age. The importance of these findings for health promotion strategies is discussed.
Arabidopsis PCFS4, a homologue of yeast polyadenylation factor Pcf11p, regulates FCA alternative processing and promotes flowering time
Authors: Xing Denghui , Zhao Hongwei , Xu Ruqiang , Li Qingshun Quinn
Published: February 2008

The timely transition from vegetative to reproductive growth is vital for reproductive success in plants. It has been suggested that messenger RNA 3′‐end processing plays a role in this transition. Specifically, two autonomous factors in the Arabidopsis thaliana flowering time control pathway, FY and FCA, are required for the alternative polyadenylation of FCA pre‐mRNA. In this paper we provide evidence that Pcf11p‐similar protein 4 (PCFS4), an Arabidopsis homologue of yeast polyadenylation factor Protein 1 of Cleavage Factor 1 (Pcf11p), regulates FCA alternative polyadenylation and promotes flowering as a novel factor in the autonomous pathway. First, the mutants of PCFS4 show delayed flowering under both long‐day and short‐day conditions and still respond to vernalization treatment. Next, gene expression analyses indicate that the delayed flowering in pcfs4 mutants is mediated by Flowering Locus C (FLC). Moreover, the expression profile of the known FCA transcripts, which result from alternative polyadenylation, was altered in the pcfs4 mutants, suggesting the role of PCFS4 in FCA alternative polyadenylation and control of flowering time. In agreement with these observations, using yeast two‐hybrid assays and TAP‐tagged protein pull‐down analyses, we also revealed that PCFS4 forms a complex in vivo with FY and other polyadenylation factors. The PCFS4 promoter activity assay indicated that the transcription of PCFS4 is temporally and spatially regulated, suggesting its non‐essential nature in plant growth and development.
Sequential cell wall transformations in response to the induction of a pedicel abscission event in Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia)
Authors: Lee YeonKyeong , Derbyshire Paul , Knox J. Paul , Hvoslef‐Eide Anne Kathrine
Published: February 2008

Alterations in the detection of cell wall polysaccharides during an induced abscission event in the pedicel of Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia) have been determined using monoclonal antibodies and Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) microspectroscopy. Concurrent with the appearance of a morphologically distinct abscission zone (AZ) on day 5 after induction, a reduction in the detection of the LM5 (1→4)‐β‐d‐galactan and LM6 (1→5)‐α‐l‐arabinan epitopes in AZ cell walls was observed. Prior to AZ activation, a loss of the (1→4)‐β‐d‐galactan and (1→5)‐α‐l‐arabinan epitopes was detected in cell walls distal to the AZ, i.e. in the to‐be‐shed organ. The earliest detected change, on day 2 after induction, was a specific loss of the LM5 (1→4)‐β‐d‐galactan epitope from epidermal cells distal to the region where the AZ would form. Such alteration in the cell walls was an early, pre‐AZ activation event. An AZ‐associated de‐esterification of homogalacturonan (HG) was detected in the AZ and distal area on day 7 after induction. The FT‐IR analysis indicated that lignin and xylan were abundant in the AZ and that lower levels of cellulose, arabinose and pectin were present. Xylan and xyloglucan epitopes were detected in the cell walls of both the AZ and also the primary cell walls of the distal region at a late stage of the abscission process, on day 7 after induction. These observations indicate that the induction of an abscission event results in a temporal sequence of cell wall modifications involving the spatially regulated loss, appearance and/or remodelling of distinct sets of cell wall polymers.
Autophagic‐lysosomal perturbation enhances tau aggregation in transfectants with induced wild‐type tau expression
Authors: Hamano Tadanori , Gendron Tania F. , Causevic Ena , Yen Shu‐Hui , Lin Wen‐Lang , Isidoro Ciro , DeTure Michael , Ko Li‐wen
Published: February 2008

The intracellular assembly of tau aggregates is a pathological hallmark shared by Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders known collectively as tauopathies. To model how tau fibrillogenesis evolves in tauopathies, we previously established transfectant M1C cultures from human neuroblastoma BE(2)‐M17D cells that inducibly express human tau. In the present study, these cells were used to determine the role of the autophagic‐lysosomal system in the degradation and aggregation of wild‐type tau. Tau induction for 5 days led to the accumulation of tau with nominal assembly of tau aggregates within cells. When the lysosomotropic agent, chloroquine (CQ), was added following the termination of tau induction, tau clearance was delayed. Decreased tau truncation and increased levels of intact tau were observed. When present during tau induction, CQ led to tau accumulation and promoted the formation of sarkosyl‐insoluble aggregates containing both truncated and full‐length tau. CQ treatment significantly decreased the activities of cathepsins D, B and L, and the inhibition of cathepsins B and L mimicked the effect of CQ and increased tau levels in cells. Additionally, exposure of cells to the autophagy inhibitor, 3‐methyladenine, led to tau accumulation and aggregation. These results suggest that the autophagic‐lysosomal system plays a role in the clearance of tau, and that dysfunction of this system results in the formation of tau oligomers and insoluble aggregates.
The evaluation of a ten‐week programme in Cyprus to integrate children with multiple disabilities and visual impairments into a mainstream primary school
Authors: PAPAGEORGIOU DORA , ANDREOU YIANNOULA , SOULIS SPYROS
Published: February 2008

A basic need for a child is to belong to a group (Maslow, 1970). Groups help children: to develop relationships and to foster individual mental health (Johnson and Johnson, 1989); and disabled and non‐disabled children, when given assistance, can develop relationships with each other (Sideris, 1998). But there are very few opportunities in Cyprus for children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment to learn alongside mainstream school children. A ten‐week pilot programme was developed and implemented in a Cypriot mainstream and specialist school to examine whether interaction between children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment and mainstream school children can be achieved through the co‐education of the two groups. Three primary school children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment from a specialist school and 15 children with no disabilities who attended a neighbouring mainstream primary school took part in this programme. Central to the programme was the principle that every child has the right to participate in common learning and playing (Feuser, 1982). This paper reports those key findings from the evaluation of the programme from the perspective of the children that took part in it. We show that, even over a short period of time, co‐education can be achieved and be of benefit to both groups.
THE CENTRALITY OF INCARNATION
Authors: Pederson Ann Milliken
Published: February 2008

What we urgently need at the beginning of the twenty‐first century is a christological vision that can shape and inform a new and powerful way of helping humankind to interpret their place within the universe. A christological vision that is unintelligible and uninteresting can have a profoundly deleterious soteriological implication: the orbit of God's saving grace will not be wide enough to encompass the universal place of humankind. Arthur Peacocke's move is clear and to the point: Only when the foundations and universal scope of God's grace are fully established for all of creation, only then can the importance of God's specific work in Jesus the Christ be established.
ARTHUR PEACOCKE'S NATURALISTIC CHRISTIAN FAITH FOR THE TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Authors: Murphy Nancey
Published: February 2008

This article is a brief overview and positive assessment of Arthur Peacocke's essay “A Naturalistic Christian Faith for the Twenty‐First Century.” Here Peacocke further develops his panentheist account of God and provides significant reinterpretations of a number of Christian doctrines using the concept of emergent levels of complex reality with downward efficacy on their constituents.
DIVINING “DIVINE ACTION” IN THEOLOGY‐AND‐SCIENCE: A REVIEW ESSAY
Authors: Yong Amos
Published: February 2008

The topic of divine action has been central to the theology‐and‐science discussion over the last twenty years. Some tentative conclusions are currently being drawn in light of research initiatives that have been engaged on this topic. I review three recent books that have responded in some way to the ongoing discussion. These responses show that, notwithstanding the advances made in the conversation, much work remains to be done before a plausible theory of divine action emerges at the interface of theology and science.
TAKING SCIENCE SERIOUSLY WITHOUT SCIENTISM: A RESPONSE TO TAEDE SMEDES
Authors: Barbour Ian G.
Published: February 2008

In responding to Taede Smedes, I first examine his thesis that the recent dialogue between science and religion has been dominated by scientism and does not take theology seriously. I then consider his views on divine action, free will and determinism, and process philosophy. Finally I use the fourfold typology of Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, and Integration to discuss his proposal for the future of science and religion.
TAKING THEOLOGY AND SCIENCE SERIOUSLY WITHOUT CATEGORY MISTAKES: A RESPONSE TO IAN BARBOUR
Authors: Smedes Taede A.
Published: February 2008

In my response to Ian Barbour's criticisms, I first argue for the anthropological dimensions and contextuality of any theology. Next I examine and criticize Barbour's thesis that I am an in‐compatibilist about divine action. Finally I illustrate the fact that I see genuine opportunities for a dialogue between theologians and scientists without apologetics, category mistakes, or relegating theology to the fringes of science, by pointing to evolutionary explanations of religion.
Estimating Low Pay Transition Probabilities Accounting for Endogenous Selection Mechanisms
Authors: Cappellari Lorenzo , Jenkins Stephen P.
Published: February 2008

We propose a model of transitions into and out of low paid employment that accounts for non-ignorable panel dropout, employment retention and base year low pay status (‘initial conditions’). The model is fitted to data for men from the British Household Panel Survey. Initial conditions and employment retention are found to be non-ignorable selection processes. Whether panel dropout is found to be ignorable depends on how item non-response on pay is treated. Notwithstanding these results, we also find that models incorporating a simpler approach to accounting for non-ignorable selections provide estimates of covariate effects that differ very little from the estimates from the general model.
Modelling Mercury Deposition Through Latent Space–Time Processes
Authors: Rappold Ana G. , Gelfand Alan E. , Holland David M.
Published: February 2008

The paper provides a space–time process model for total wet mercury deposition. Key methodological features that are introduced include direct modelling of deposition rather than of expected deposition, the utilization of precipitation information (there is no deposition without precipitation) without having to construct a precipitation model and the handling of point masses at 0 in the distributions of both precipitation and deposition. The result is a specification that enables spatial interpolation and temporal prediction of deposition as well as aggregation in space or time to see patterns and trends in deposition. We use weekly deposition monitoring data from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program–Mercury Deposition Network for 2003 restricted to the eastern USA and Canada. Our spatiotemporal hierarchical model allows us to interpolate to arbitrary locations and, hence, to an arbitrary grid, enabling weekly deposition surfaces (with associated uncertainties) for this region. It also allows us to aggregate weekly depositions at coarser, quarterly and annual, temporal levels.
Modelling Stochastic Order in the Analysis of Receiver Operating Characteristic Data: Bayesian Non-Parametric Approaches
Authors: Hanson Timothy E. , Kottas Athanasios , Branscum Adam J.
Published: February 2008

The evaluation of the performance of a continuous diagnostic measure is a commonly encountered task in medical research. We develop Bayesian non-parametric models that use Dirichlet process mixtures and mixtures of Polya trees for the analysis of continuous serologic data. The modelling approach differs from traditional approaches to the analysis of receiver operating characteristic curve data in that it incorporates a stochastic ordering constraint for the distributions of serologic values for the infected and non-infected populations. Biologically such a constraint is virtually always feasible because serologic values from infected individuals tend to be higher than those for non-infected individuals. The models proposed provide data-driven inferences for the infected and non-infected population distributions, and for the receiver operating characteristic curve and corresponding area under the curve. We illustrate and compare the predictive performance of the Dirichlet process mixture and mixture of Polya trees approaches by using serologic data for Johne's disease in dairy cattle.
OLDER WORKERS, GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR AGEING POPULATIONS OF A GLOBALISING ECONOMY
Authors: Jorgensen Brad , Taylor Philip
Published: February 2008

Though there is a consensus surrounding the importance of people working at older ages – and in a more flexible way – trends in employment and trade patterns mean that existing policies are not as effective as they need to be.
THE ECONOMICS, POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF AGEING POPULATIONS
Authors: Stein Gabriel
Published: February 2008

It is likely that most developed countries will see populations shrink over the coming generations. This brings with it various problems that are highlighted in this article. However, one medium‐term benefit of the process of ageing may be a return to a higher level of saving in the USA. This will bring the US current account back towards balance.
DEMOGRAPHIC EFFECTS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CONSEQUENCES FOR THE PROVISION OF PENSIONS
Authors: Misoulis Nicholas
Published: February 2008

As the population of an economy ages saving declines and, through that channel, economic growth can decline too. Returns to physical capital fall, making the provision of pensions more and more difficult. The income of the working population deteriorates and they respond by having fewer children. This intensifies the problem even further.
SUSTAINABLE PENSION REFORM IN INDIA: TOWARDS A MARKET‐BASED SYSTEM
Authors: Juurikkala Oskari
Published: February 2008

Market‐based pensions are developing slowly in India because of distorting tax rules and draconian investment regulations. Recent reform proposals point in the right direction but fail to address the fundamental issues. Instead of creating large‐scale pension policy blueprints, India needs to develop better tax rules, reduce regulation and let markets develop products to meet the needs of the people.
BINGE BORROWERS OR RATIONAL CONSUMERS? THE FSA AND GOVERNMENT FAILURE
Authors: Dawson Graham
Published: February 2008

The FSA seeks to address the putative financial incompetence of the borrowing public by improving its financial capability. The response of rational agents to asset price inflation in the UK is one indication of the competence with which many people use innovations in the financial services industry. The FSA succeeds only in shielding government failures in the money and housing markets.
DEVELOPING A CONSTITUTION FOR A LIBERAL EUROPEAN UNION
Authors: Herbert George
Published: February 2008

In many ways the EU Reform Treaty represents an advance over the status quo: it streamlines decision‐making and makes institutions more accountable. However, the Treaty ignores opportunities for important institutional reforms and is unlikely to provide strong constraints on institutional power or halt centralisation.
Dual Economies and International Total Factor Productivity Differences: Channelling the Impact from Institutions, Trade, and Geography
Authors: CHANDA AREENDAM , DALGAARD CARL‐JOHAN
Published: February 2008

This paper provides a framework that decomposes aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) into a component reflecting relative efficiency across sectors, and another component that reflects the absolute level of efficiency. A development accounting analysis suggests that as much as 85% of the international variation in aggregate TFP can be attributed to variation in relative efficiency across sectors. Estimation results show that recent findings highlighting the importance of strong protection of property rights, financial development and geographical advantage for the level of TFP, can be explained by their impact on relative efficiency.
Predictors of management development effectiveness: an Australian perspective
Authors: D'Netto Brian , Bakas Fotini , Bordia Prashant
Published: February 2008

Management development is increasingly adopted by organizations seeking to attract and retain talented employees. This research project assessed the current state of management development in Australia. Specifically, this paper sought to identify variables associated with management development effectiveness. A model of management development effectiveness was developed and tested in this study through path analysis using the Analysis of Moment Structures Program. Data were collected from 206 managers in 153 organizations in Australia. Eighteen different industries are represented in the sample. The observed model had a good fit with the predicted model and all the predicted paths were significant and in the expected direction. Link to corporate strategy and opportunities for skill utilization were the two variables most closely associated with management development effectiveness. The implications of these findings for improving management development effectiveness are discussed.
Corporate social responsibility: issues for human resource development professionals
Authors: Fenwick Tara , Bierema Laura
Published: February 2008

Recent human resource development (HRD) scholarship has called for greater focus on social responsibility and ecological sustainability. The purpose of this article is to explore the engagement of HRD professionals in corporate social responsibility (CSR), examining one central question: how do HRD professionals perceive their roles and challenges in implementing CSR in organizations that claim CSR to be a key focus of their corporate identity and operation? Understandings of CSR vary and are widely contested, but for the purposes of this discussion, CSR is defined as treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a responsible manner. Drawing from a qualitative study of HRD managers in eight large North American firms declaring explicit commitment to CSR, the evidence shows that their engagement tends to focus on employee learning and promotion, employee ownership of development, and employee safety and respect. Overall, however, HRD appeared to be only marginally involved or interested in the firms' CSR activities. The article concludes with an argument for greater engagement of HRD in CSR and offers suggestions for research and practice towards this end.
Barriers to implementing e‐learning: a Kuwaiti case study
Authors: Ali Ghadah Essa , Magalhaes Rodrigo
Published: February 2008

The paper reports on a research project that encompasses two key objectives: (1) finding out about the barriers affecting or preventing e‐learning from being adopted by companies as an integral part of their workforce's training and learning processes and (2) establishing a comparison between the barriers and the e‐learning implementation models found in Kuwait and in the practice of Western companies. The practices from Western countries are used as a benchmark for the Kuwaiti experience. The collection of the primary data was carried out through the use of semi‐structured questionnaires with human resources managers as well as IT managers in charge of the e‐learning of 11 of the largest companies in Kuwait. The research results show that the key implementation barriers in Kuwait are (1) lack of management support; (2) language barriers; (3) IT problems; and (4) workload and lack of time. From these, two are common to Western countries (technology and time). The remaining two (management support and language barriers) are specific to Kuwait. Regarding the comparison between the two implementation models, the key finding was that the usual e‐learning development cycle (plan–design–integrate–improve) was not followed in Kuwait. The planning, designing and improving stages were largely ignored, with the emphasis resting almost completely on integrating the e‐learning tools and processes in the rest of the organization. This finding was found to be in line with barrier number one – lack of management support. The key lesson learned from this research is that the problem of e‐learning implementation in Kuwait is not so much one of knowing what the barriers are but one of knowing what the appropriate management processes should be for companies to achieve business success. The paper also provides recommendations for an e‐learning development plan to fit the current business environment in Kuwait.
Exploring the role of goal theory in understanding training motivation
Authors: Smith Rebecca , Jayasuriya Rohan , Caputi Peter , Hammer David
Published: February 2008

A model to test conceptions from goal theory within an existing framework of training motivation was developed and tested with employees participating in training in a non‐profit organization. It was hypothesized that goal orientation ('distal factors’) along with self‐efficacy, expectancy and valence (‘proximal factors’) would predict goal intentions as well as training outcomes such as affective responses to training, perceptions of training utility and intention to transfer or use the training provided. Results revealed that goal orientation predicted a significant proportion of variance in the proximal antecedents (valence (33 per cent), expectancy (39 per cent) and self‐efficacy (31 per cent)) whereas the proximal antecedents explained 43 per cent of the variance in goal intentions. In turn, goal intentions were related to training outcomes (affect (b = 0.7), utility (b = 0.6) and transfer intention (b = 0.5)). Goal intentions mediated the relationship between proximal antecedents and training outcomes, providing evidence that goal intentions play a pivotal role in the causal path from proximal factors to training outcomes. Valence alone was found to be a significant mediator of the relationship between goal orientation and goal intentions.
MAPKAP kinase 2‐deficiency prevents neurons from cell death by reducing neuroinflammation – relevance in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Thomas Tobias , Timmer Marco , Cesnulevicius Konstantin , Hitti Edward , Kotlyarov Alexey , Gaestel Matthias
Published: February 2008

The inflammatory response in the brain is closely associated with the pathogenesis of degenerative neurological disorders. A role for the p38 stress‐activated protein kinase/MAPK‐activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) axis in inflammation and apoptosis is well documented. Here, we provide evidence that neurodegeneration can be prevented by eliminating MK2. In primary mesencephalic neuron‐glia co‐cultures dopaminergic neurons from MK2‐deficient (MK2−/−) mice were significantly more resistant to lipopolysaccharide‐induced neurotoxicity compared with cells from wild‐type mice. This neuroprotection in MK2‐deficient cultures was associated with a reduced inflammatory response, especially with reduced production of the inflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor alpha, keratinocyte‐derived chemokine, interleukin‐6, and nitric oxide (NO). Interestingly, in primary neuron‐enriched cell cultures p38 MAPK, but not MK2, also participates in NO‐mediated neuronal cell death. In the MPTP mouse model for Parkinson’s disease, MK2‐deficient mice show a reduced neuroinflammation and less degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra after MPTP lesion compared with wild‐type mice. In conclusion, our results reveal that MK2 does not directly participate in neuronal cell death, but indirectly contributes to neurodegeneration by the production of neurotoxic substances, such as NO or tumor necrosis factor alpha, from activated glia cells.
Developers in the public interest? The role of urban development corporations in the Anglophone Caribbean
Authors: DODMAN DAVID
Published: February 2008

Urban centres in the Caribbean face a wide variety of infrastructural and planning challenges. One of the key strategies that has been adopted by national governments to address these challenges is the formation of urban development corporations. These are governmental agencies with powers to facilitate urban regeneration in specific areas. This paper examines the history, role and function of urban development corporations in Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago. The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) was formed in Jamaica in 1968, the St John's Development Company (SJDC) in Antigua and Barbuda was created in 1986, and the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) was established in 1994. These bodies share the characteristic of having far‐reaching planning and development powers within specific areas. For example, the SJDC is able ‘to acquire, manage, or dispose of lands and to lay out, construct, and maintain roads, buildings, public parks, piers, car parks, and other public amenities’ within specified designated areas, whilst Jamaica's UDC is empowered ‘to carry out and/or secure the laying out and development of “designated areas”. These three urban development corporations can be seen to act as developers in the public interest, as agents of modernisation, and as responses to neoliberalisation. However, whilst they have succeeded in effecting large‐scale transformations to the urban landscape, this has often been achieved through a top‐down development process with exemption from planning regulations and little accountability to the residents of the cities.
Electronic remote blood issue: a combination of remote blood issue with a system for end‐to‐end electronic control of transfusion to provide a “total solution” for a safe and timely hospital blood transfusion service
Authors: Staves Julie , Davies Amanda , Kay Jonathan , Pearson Oliver , Johnson Tony , Murphy Michael F.
Published: February 2008

BACKGROUND: The rapid provision of red cell (RBC) units to patients needing blood urgently is an issue of major importance in transfusion medicine. The development of electronic issue (sometimes termed “electronic crossmatch”) has facilitated rapid provision of RBC units by avoidance of the serologic crossmatch in eligible patients. A further development is the issue of blood under electronic control at blood refrigerators remote from the blood bank.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This study evaluated a system for electronic remote blood issue (ERBI) developed as an enhancement of a system for end‐to‐end electronic control of hospital transfusion. Practice was evaluated before and after its introduction in cardiac surgery.

RESULTS: Before the implementation of ERBI, the median time to deliver urgently required RBC units to the patient was 24 minutes. After its implementation, RBC units were obtained from the nearby blood refrigerator in a median time of 59 seconds (range, 30 sec to 2 min). The study also found that unused requests were reduced significantly from 42 to 20 percent, the number of RBC units issued reduced by 52 percent, the number of issued units that were transfused increased from 40 to 62 percent, and there was a significant reduction in the workload of both blood bank and clinical staff.

CONCLUSIONS: This study evaluated a combination of remote blood issue with an end‐to‐end electronically controlled hospital transfusion process, ERBI. ERBI reduced the time to make blood available for surgical patients and improved the efficiency of hospital transfusion.
Rh discrepancies caused by variable reactivity of partial and weak D types with different serologic techniques
Authors: Denomme Gregory A. , Dake Louann R. , Vilensky Daniel , Ramyar Lily , Judd W. John
Published: February 2008

BACKGROUND: RhD discrepancies between current and historical results are problematic to resolve. The investigation of 10 discrepancies is reported here.

STUDY DESIGN: Samples identified were those that reacted by automated gel technology and were negative with an FDA‐approved reagent. Reactivity with a commercially available panel of monoclonal anti‐D was performed. Genomic DNA was evaluated for RHD alleles with multiplex RHD exon polymerase chain reaction (PCR), weak D PCR‐restriction fragment length polymorphism, and RHD exon 5 and 7 sequence analyses.

RESULTS: The monoclonal anti‐D panel identified two samples as DVa, yet possessed the DAR allele. Two weak D Type 1 samples had a similar monoclonal anti‐D profile, but only one reacted directly with one of two FDA‐approved anti‐D. Only two of four weak D Type 2 samples reacted directly with one FDA‐approved anti‐D, and their D epitope profile differed.

CONCLUSIONS: The monoclonal anti‐D reagents did not distinguish between partial and weak D Types 1 and 2. Weak D Types 1 and 2 do not show consistent reactivity with FDA‐approved reagents and technology. To limit anti‐D alloimmunization, it is recommended that samples yielding an immediate‐spin tube test cutoff score of not more than 5 (i.e., ≤1+ agglutination) or a score of not more than 8 (i.e., ≤2+ hemagglutination) by gel technology be considered D– for transfusion and Rh immune globulin prophylaxis. That tube test anti‐D reagents react poorly with some Weak D Types 1 and 2 red cells is problematic, inasmuch as they should be considered D+ for transfusion and prenatal care. Molecular tests that distinguish common partial and Weak D types provide the solution to resolving D antigen discrepancies.