bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Muscle glutathione metabolism during ischemia and reperfusion in patients undergoing aorto‐bifemoral bypass surgery
Authors: Westman B. , Johansson G. , Söderlund K. , Wernerman J. , Hammarqvist F.
Published: May 2006

Background:  After an ischemia time of 1 h during aortic aneurysm surgery, muscle glutathione redox‐status is not altered, indicating that this ischemic insult is well within the scavenging capacity of muscle glutathione, the most important endogenous scavenger. In the present study, the impact of elective aorto‐bifemoral bypass surgery, involving a longer ischemia time, on muscle glutathione and its redox‐status was investigated.

Methods:  Leg muscle biopsies were obtained pre‐operatively, at maximal ischemia, after 10 min and 24 h of reperfusion from 12 patients undergoing aorto‐bifemoral bypass surgery. Muscle glutathione, free amino acids and energy‐rich compounds were determined.

Results:  Clamping times were 113 (99–120 min); median (quartiles). At maximal ischemia, muscle lactate increased by 7.5 (4.0–10.7) mmol/kg dry weight (dw) (P < 0.001) and phosphocreatine (PCr) decreased by 14.6 (8.9–23.3) mmol/kg dw (P < 0.001). At maximal ischemia, reduced glutathione (GSH) was unaltered but muscle glutamate decreased by 0.51 (0.30–0.85) mmol/kg wet weight (ww) (P < 0.001). At 24 h post‐operatively, the reduced glutathione decreased by 0.47 (0.34–0.65) mmol/kg (ww) (P < 0.001) without changes in oxidized glutathione (GSSG) or in glutathione redox‐status. Cysteine and glycine, the two other constituent amino acids to glutathione, did not change during the study period.

Conclusion:  Ischemia of 2 h during aorto‐bifemoral bypass was associated with changes in muscle energy‐rich compounds but without any changes in glutathione redox‐status. A decreased antioxidative capacity, as reflected by a decrease in muscle glutathione concentrations, was seen 24 h post‐operatively, still without changes in glutathione redox‐status. This is not different from the changes seen after abdominal surgery not involving ischemia‐reperfusion.
Understanding children's motivation from a self‐determination theoretical perspective: Implications for practice
Authors: Poulsen Anne A. , Rodger Sylvia , Ziviani Jenny M.
Published: May 2006

Background:  This paper investigates three human psychological needs — autonomy, competence and relatedness — within the context of self‐determination theory (SDT). Meeting these needs in therapeutic environments is congruent with principles of client‐centred practice.

Aims:  A key objective is to describe how SDT can increase understanding of children's motivation and their willingness to engage in occupations. An additional objective is to investigate commonalities between SDT and specific client‐centred approaches such as cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance (CO‐OP).

Method and Results:  Literature about SDT is reviewed and a model of motivation based on self‐determination and flow theory is presented. Clinical examples are used to highlight theoretical principles.

Conclusions:  It is proposed that understanding theories of motivation, such as SDT and flow, can further occupational therapists’ understanding of the psychological processes involved in client‐centred practice, particularly when working with children. This information has the potential to enhance clinical knowledge about activity choices to promote children's participation.
Markers of inflammation and atherosclerosis in Egyptian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: SABRY ALAA A , ELBASYOUNI SHERIEF REFAT , KALIL ABDALLA M , ABDEL‐RAHIM MONA , MOHSEN TAREEK , SLEEM AML
Published: May 2006

Background:  Cardiovascular events are markedly increased in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the mechanism of atherogenesis remains poorly understood. Low‐grade inflammation and endothelial dysfunction play pivotal roles in the initiation, progression and propagation of the atherosclerotic process. Several methods have been employed to assess endothelial function, among them the measurement of biomarkers of endothelial activation and dysfunction (intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)‐1). Since then, it has been reported that such biomarkers play a more important role than traditional risk factors in cardiovascular disease.

Objective:  To measure (tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐6 and ICAM‐1) levels as markers of inflammation and atherosclerosis in 40 Egyptian patients with SLE with various degrees of activity in comparison with 20 healthy volunteers, and to investigate their relationship to disease activity and hypertension.

Methods:  Sixty subject (40 with SLE and 20 healthy controls) were the subject of this study, their clinical disease activity was scored according to the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), and serum sampling was obtained for TNF‐α, IL‐6 and ICAM‐1 level assay. Renal biopsy was carried out and examined by light microscopy.

Results:  The mean level of TNF‐α, IL‐6 and ICAM‐1 were significantly higher in SLE patients with active disease (766.95 ± 357.82 Pg/mL, 135.4 ± 54.23 Pg/mL, 826.05 ± 367.1 Pg/mL) when compared with those with inactive disease (314.01 ± 100.87 Pg/mL, 47.33 ± 18.61 pg/mL, 441.33 ± 225.19 Pg/mL) and healthy control volunteers (172.7 ± 39.19 Pg/mL, 21.15 ± 10.99 Pg/mL, 111.5 ± 17.36 Pg/mL), respectively. Furthermore, these levels were significantly higher in hypertensive (614.08 ± 333.05 Pg/mL, 107.86 ± 54.96 Pg/mL and 862.13 ± 333.29 Pg/mL) compared to normotensive patients (267.5 ± 112.72 Pg/mL, P = 0.008, 35.75 ± 20.26 Pg/mL, P = 0.02I, and 337.25 ± 235.62 Pg/mL, P = 0.02) for TNF‐α, IL‐6 and ICAM, respectively. There were no statistically significant difference regarding age, sex, smoking, cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) levels between hypertensive and normotensive patients.

Conclusion:  A high concentration of soluble ICAM‐1 in Egyptian patients with SLE and nephritis is reported here for the first time. Our finding of increased concentrations of TNF‐α, IL‐6 and ICAM‐1 in Egyptian patients with SLE and lupus nephritis underlines the importance of inflammation and endothelial involvement in this disorder, but their predictive value in the disease monitoring needs to be further studied.
Guiding the transition of nursing practise from an inpatient to a community‐care setting: A Saudi Arabian experience
Authors: Simpson Elaine , Butler Mollie , Al‐Somali Shayda , Courtney Mary
Published: May 2006

Abstract  The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Transitional Practise Model, which was used as the educational learning program to guide the transition of two Saudi nurses from an acute inpatient environment into a community setting. This model was informed by Benner’s “novice to expert” concept and is grounded in experiential learning and critical thinking. The aim was to enhance knowledge and skills by providing opportunities for learning in order to make an effective transition from an acute inpatient environment into community nursing. The model was effective in guiding and bridging the gap for nurses to undertake a transition from a hospital inpatient environment into a community setting. The use of preceptors was invaluable in providing an understanding of the nature of professional practise through learning opportunities, mentoring, and support.
International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG) Conference abstracts
Authors: Skirton Heather
Published: May 2006

The annual conference of the International Society of Nurses in Genetics was held in Salt Lake City, USA on October 23–25, 2005. The abstracts published below were peer‐reviewed submissions that were selected as spoken presentations to the conference. Nurses from any country who have an interest in genetic healthcare are welcome to join ISONG. Further details are available on the website (http://www.isong.org/).
The Contribution of Health Visitors (Public Health Nurses) in Supporting Parents Who Have A Child Referred for Genetic Investigation in Northern Ireland
Authors: Barr Owen G.
Published: May 2006

An increasing number of children are likely to be referred for genetic investigations as a wider range of tests becomes available. Despite the growing expectation that nurses in primary care will provide support to parents of children referred for genetic investigation, previous studies have highlighted the limited support from staff in these services. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of health visitors (public health nurses) to supporting parents of children referred for genetic investigation.

A questionnaire based survey of 345 health visitors was undertaken across Northern Ireland during Nov–December 2003 wit ha response rate of 56.2% (n = 194). Many health visitors were unsure of the location of the regional clinical genetics service and overall respondents reported limited contact with staff from these services. The majority of health visitors were not informed that children on their caseload had an appointment. It was found that health visitors did not routinely visit parents of children referred for genetic investigation and viewed this as the responsibility of the regional genetics services. Furthermore their confidence in supporting parents was significantly related to their previous contact with genetic services and knowledge of genetics in relation to their role as health visitors.
Pilot Study Examining the Utility of Microarray Data to Identify Genes Associated with Weight in Transplant Recipients
Authors: Cashion Ann , Driscoll Carolyn , Conley Yvette , Xu Lijing , Mandrell Belinda , Homayouni Ramin
Published: May 2006

Purpose/Methods:  Obesity, a complex, polygenic disorder and a growing epidemic in transplant recipients, is a risk factor for chronic diseases. This secondary data analysis identified if microarray technologies and bioinformatics could find differences in gene expression profiles between liver transplant recipients with low Body Mass Index (BMI < 29; n = 5) vs. high (BMI > 29; n = 7). Blood was hybridized on Human U133 Plus 2 GeneChip (Affymetrix) and analyzed using GeneSpring Software.

Results:  Groups were similar in age and race, but not gender. Expression levels of 852 genes were different between the low and high BMI groups (P < 0.05). The majority (562) of the changes associated with high BMI were decreases in transcript levels. Among the 852 genes associated with BMI, 263 and 14 genes were affected greater than 2‐ or 5‐fold, respectively. Following functionally classification using Gene Ontology (GO), we found that 19 genes (P < 0.00008) belonged to defense response and 15 genes (P < 0.00006) belonged to immune response.

Conclusion:  These data could point the way toward therapeutic interventions and identify those at‐risk. These results demonstrate that we can (1) extract high quality RNA from immunosuppressed patients; (2) manage large datasets and perform statistical and functional analysis.
Smokers’ Perceptions about Genetic Contributions to Smoking
Authors: Houfek Julia F. , Atwood Jan R. , Barron Cecilia R. , Dodendorf Diane M.
Published: May 2006

Identification of genes affecting smoking will likely lead to individualized treatment based on genotype. Use of genotypes will necessitate that smokers give informed consent, which requires an understanding of genetic contributions to smoking. Little is known about the effects of genetic information about smoking on smokers’ thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe smokers’ (N = 8) perceptions of genetic contributions to smoking after participating in an education session about genes affecting dopamine transmission and nicotine metabolism. The session was part of a pilot study about the effects of genetic education on smoking behaviors. Data were obtained in audio‐taped interviews and analyzed with content analysis. Participants’ viewed genetics as a cause of smoking maintenance, but not initiation. They had greater interest in genotyping if they perceived they were genetically predisposed to smoking. Participants saw few drawbacks with genotyping, with privacy and confidentiality violations of most concern. When discussing genetic predisposition to lung cancer, participants indicated they would want to know their risk and minimized the potential for psychological distress. When compared to genetic information presented, they underestimated genetic contributions to smoking. All participants had a multifactorial perception of smoking that included personal, environmental, and genetic factors.
A Pioneer Nursing Genomics Staff Development Program
Authors: Pestka Elizabeth , Moessner Anne , O’Neil Marybeth
Published: May 2006

In 2001, a large Midwestern medical center determined that providing genomics education to all members of its health care team was a top priority. Two advanced practice nurses were selected to coordinate education for a diverse group of over 6000 nurses. A needs assessment conducted during an entry level genomics course revealed 82% of nurse attendees had no working knowledge of genomics but 83% considered genomics relevant to their clinical practice. Genomics education has been delivered using a variety of methods that prepares nurses in all practice settings to understand and clinically apply genomics information. Creation of a Nursing Genomics Interest Group has served to develop expertise in a core group of nurses using a ‘train the trainer’ approach which maximizes genomics education to all nursing specialties and strengthens the infrastructure for ongoing education. This presentation includes information on how to implement a nursing genomics staff development program and expand it in a logical and structured manner. Nurses are in a unique position to step forward to meet the burgeoning genomic education demands of patients and families. A structured nursing genomics staff development program can enhance capacity to provide state of the art health care within the profession of nursing.
Psychosocial Issues Associated with Genetic Testing in Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening
Authors: Tluczek Audrey
Published: May 2006

Two studies examined the psychosocial issues related to cystic fibrosis (CF) newborn screening (NBS). Study 1: Most parents of 15 infants reported high levels of depressive symptoms documented by Epidemiological Studies Depression Scales (CES‐D) (Median = 16; Range = 1–42) during their wait for the sweat test appointment (Median = 7 days; Range = 3–25 days). Six‐month follow‐up Interviews showed that parents’ uncertainty and emotional distress was influenced by physicians’ approaches to informing them, parents’ prior knowledge about NBS and CF, and the infant’s health. Parents coped by requesting a sweat test as soon as possible, searching for information, assessing infant’s risk/health, and seeking support.

Study 2: Parents of 34 infants with abnormal CF NBS identified preferences for genetic counseling at the time of the sweat test to include probability of a CF diagnosis, description of sweat test procedure, explanation about disease and genetics of CF presented in a straight forward manner by a CF expert. They also identified preferences for emotional support including a choice about the timing and amount of CF information, empathy for their distress, a sense of hope, personalized counseling, and comfort measures. Counseling that matched parents’ preferences decreased emotional distress while mismatched counseling increased distress among parents awaiting their infant’s sweat test results.
Pre‐operative oral carbohydrate loading in colorectal surgery: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Noblett S. E. , Watson D. S. , Huong H. , Davison B. , Hainsworth P. J. , Horgan A. F.
Published: May 2006

Objective  Surgery induces a catabolic response with stress hormone release and insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of pre‐operative carbohydrate administration on grip strength, gastrointestinal function and hospital stay following elective colorectal surgery.

Methods  Thirty‐six patients undergoing elective colonic resection were randomized into one of three groups. Group 1 were fasted; Group 2 were given pre‐operative oral water, Group 3 received equivalent volumes of a Maltodextrin drink. Time to first flatus, first bowel movement and hospital stay were recorded. Muscle strength was measured pre‐operatively, and on alternate days thereafter until discharge using a grip strength dynamometer.

Results  Patients in the carbohydrate group had a median postoperative hospital stay of 7.5 days compared with 13 days in the water group (P > 0.01) and 10 days in the fasted group (P = 0.06). The median time postsurgery to first flatus was 3 days for both the fasted and water groups compared with 1.5 days in the carbohydrate group (P = 0.13). First bowel movement occurred on day 3 in the carbohydrate group, day 4 in the fasting group and day 5 in the water group. The fasted group showed a significant reduction in postoperative grip strength (P < 0.05) with a median drop of 10% at discharge. Neither the water nor the carbohydrate groups showed significant reductions in muscle strength.

Conclusion  We found that pre‐operative administration of oral carbohydrate leads to a significantly reduced postoperative hospital stay, and a trend towards earlier return of gut function when compared with fasting or supplementary water.
Transanal endoscopic microsurgery: a necessary requirement?
Authors: Tilney H. S. , Heriot A. G. , Simson J. N. L.
Published: May 2006

Introduction  There has been a gradual introduction of transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) into UK practice although the uptake remains variable. This study aimed to assess the availability, application and referral pattern of TEM amongst colorectal surgeons.

Methods  A questionnaire was sent to all consultant members of the Association of Coloproctology. This considered their practice, the availability, application and referral pattern for TEM, and their views on application regarding a selection of rectal tumour scenarios.

Results  There were 142 replies representing 116 hospitals and 297 colorectal surgeons. The median catchment area was 280 000 (range 70 000–1 000 000). TEM was available in 18% of hospitals and 72% either performed or referred patents for TEM. Of 21 units performing TEM, 15 received referrals. From 305 TEM procedures performed over the previous year, 206 were referred cases. Eighty‐five per cent of consultants considered TEM a necessary technique for optimum management of rectal lesions. Although 61% of consultants considered endoanal excision optimal for low benign rectal tumours, 58% said TEM was optimal for midrectal lesions and between 30% and 55% for high rectal lesions depending if the tumour position was anterior or posterior, respectively. One‐third of consultants would perform TEM for a low T1 rectal carcinoma although half would proceed to anterior resection.

Discussion  TEM is considered to have a significant role in the optimal management of rectal lesions. The presence of the technique in a limited number of hospitals does appear to provide adequate resources although audit should continue to be centralized.
Raised alanine transaminase and decreased adiponectin are features of the metabolic syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Hickman Ingrid J. , Whitehead Jonathan P. , Prins Johannes B. , Macdonald Graeme A.
Published: May 2006

Aim:  The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the metabolic syndrome (MS), adiponectin and abnormal liver enzymes in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods:  Fasting serum was collected from 189 patients with type 2 diabetes, adiponectin was measure using radioimmunoassay and features of the MS were assessed.

Results:  Mean ALT was significantly higher in patients with the MS and higher ALT was associated with lower adiponectin levels. As the number of features of MS increased, ALT increased and adiponectin decreased independent of glycaemic control.

Conclusion:  Hypoadiponectinemia and the MS may be linked with liver injury in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Low‐dose oral tri‐iodothyronine does not directly increase food intake in man
Authors: Martin N. M. , Small C. J. , Lee J. L. , Ellis S. , Dhillo W. S. , Smith K. L. , Kong W. M. , Frost G. S. , Bloom S. R.
Published: May 2006

Previously, we have shown that low‐dose tri‐iodothyronine (T3) increases food intake in rodents. This randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study aimed to investigate the effects of low‐dose T3 on food intake in normal body weight individuals. However, despite an elevation in fT3 comparable to our earlier studies, administration of low‐dose T3 in the fasted state did not stimulate food intake in man.
Alcohol intake, consumption pattern and beverage type, and the risk of Type 2 diabetes
Authors: Hodge A. M. , English D. R. , O'Dea K. , Giles G. G.
Published: May 2006

Aims  To examine associations between amount and frequency of alcohol consumption, and Type 2 diabetes.

Methods  A prospective study of 36 527 adults aged 40–69 at baseline. Incident cases of Type 2 diabetes were identified by questionnaire 4 years later. Sex‐specific logistic regression models, adjusting for country of birth, dietary glycaemic index, energy intake and age, and in a second model body mass index (BMI) and waist–hip ratio (WHR), were used.

Results  Diabetes status was ascertained for 31 422 (86%) participants, and 362 cases identified. Former drinkers had higher risks than lifetime abstainers. Female drinkers had lower risk than lifetime abstainers (ORs < 10 g/day 0.54, 95% CI 0.36–0.82; 10–19.9 g/day 0.57, 0.34–0.94; ≥ 20 g/day 0.46, 0.24–0.88, P trend = 0.005). There was no relationship after adjustment for body size. For men, a weak inverse association was observed after adjustment for body size (ORs relative to lifetime abstainers: < 10 g/day 1.56, 0.95–2.55; 10–19.9 g/day 1.21, 0.69–2.10; 20–29.9 g/day 0.80, 0.40–1.60; = 30 g/day 0.86, 0.50–1.58, P trend = 0.036). Wine was the only beverage for which an inverse association was observed. Compared with men who did not drink in the week before baseline, men who drank ≥ 210 g over 1–3 days had an increased risk of diabetes (OR 5.21, 1.79–15.19), while the same amount over more days did not increase risk.

Conclusions  Total alcohol intake was associated with reduced risk only in women. Alcohol from wine was associated with reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes. A high daily intake of alcohol, even on only 1–3 days a week, may increase the risk of diabetes in men.
Mortality in African‐Americans with Type 1 diabetes: The New Jersey 725
Authors: Roy M. , Rendas‐Baum R. , Skurnick J.
Published: May 2006

Aim  To determine rates and risk factors for all‐cause mortality in African‐Americans with Type 1 diabetes from a 3‐year observational follow‐up study of 725 African‐Americans with Type 1 diabetes conducted between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2001.

Methods  Date of death was ascertained either from telephone contact with the patient's family or from relatives or on line review of the US Social Security death index.

Results  Since the initial examination, 131 (18.1%) patients, 60 (20%) men and 71 (17%) women, have died. At the time of death, the mean age of the men was 40.7 ± 10.6 years and that of the women 39.4 ± 10.5 years. The median duration of diabetes at the baseline examination was 8.04 years, interquartile range (IQR) 3.76–15.22 years for men and median 10.54, IQR 4.49–18.36 years for women. Three‐year mortality rates were 7.1% for women and 10.6% for men. Age‐adjusted mortality rates were not significantly different between men and women. Relative to the general US and the New Jersey African‐American population, standardized mortality ratios of African‐Americans with Type 1 diabetes were 12 and six times greater for women and men, respectively. Older age, low socio‐economic status, low body mass index, high diastolic blood pressure, macroangiopathy, proteinuria, severe diabetic retinopathy and heavy alcohol consumption were independent risk factors for all‐cause mortality. In patients with microproteinuria at initial examination, the mortality rate for men was twice that of women.

Conclusion  Microproteinuria and other potentially modifiable factors, including hypertension, macroangiopathy and heavy alcohol consumption, are independent risk factors for mortality in this ethnic group.
Abundance, species richness and energy availability in the North American avifauna
Authors: Evans Karl L. , James Neil A. , Gaston Kevin J.
Published: May 2006

Aim  To determine how species richness, abundance, biomass, energy use and mean number of individuals per species scale with environmental energy availability in wintering and breeding avian assemblages, and to contrast assemblages of (i) common and rare species and (ii) breeding residents and migrants. To assess whether such patterns are compatible with the ‘more individuals hypothesis’ (MIH) that high‐energy areas are species‐rich because they support larger populations that are buffered against extinction.

Location  The North American continent (latitudinal range 23.4 °−48.1 °N; longitudinal range 124.2°−68.7° W).

Methods  Avian species richness, abundance, biomass and energy use were calculated for 295 Resident Bird Count plots. Environmental energy availability was measured using ambient temperature and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a close correlate of plant productivity. Analyses took plot area into account, and were conducted (with and without taking habitat type into account) using general linear models and spatial mixed models.

Results  Positive species–energy relationships were exhibited by both wintering and breeding assemblages, but were stronger in the former. The structure of winter assemblages responded more strongly to temperature than NDVI, while breeding assemblages tended to respond more strongly to NDVI. Breeding residents responded to annual measures of energy availability while breeding migrants and the winter assemblage responded more strongly to seasonal measures. In the winter assemblage, rare and common species exhibited species–energy relationships of a similar strength, but common breeding species exhibited a much stronger relationship than rare breeding species. In both breeding and wintering assemblages, abundance, biomass and energy use increased with energy availability and species richness. Energy availability was a poor predictor of the mean number of individuals per species.

Main conclusions  The nature of the species–energy relationship varies seasonally and with the manner in which energy availability is measured. Our data suggest that residents are less able to respond to seasonal fluxes in resource availability than long‐distance migrants. Increasing species richness and energy availability is associated with increasing numbers of individuals, biomass and energy use. While these observations are compatible with the MIH our data provide only equivocal support for this hypothesis, as the rarest species do not exhibit the strongest species–energy relationships.
BRITISH LAND USE PLANNING ‐A RADICAL CRITIQUE
Authors: Ambrose Peter
Published: May 2006

Urban redevelopment plays the part of a secondary process parallel to that of industrial production. It is a compensating process: when the surplus value created by industry sinks to a low level, surplus value created by construction and speculative development rises instead. Urban planning masks this relationship and in so doing prevents not only a clear understanding of urban phenomena, but also the proper use of the city itself. This is why planning must be subjected to a radical critique which in the end will refute the state, its strategies and its misuse of urban space.
The Northern Ireland Conflict: A Framework for Discussion1
Authors: Pringle D.G.
Published: May 2006

At the Dublin Antipode Conference of March 1978, a debate occurred on the Northern Ireland question. In what follows we present extended versions of two of the papers (those by Boal and Anderson). We have also included other pertinent material in the form of Pringle's essay and Perron's review. Hopefully both of these papers will add a further dimension to the debate. In the case of Anderson's paper, due to both time and space limitations, the editorial collective reduced his original work substantially.
Toward a Transcendental Human Geography of Places*
Authors: Hufferd James
Published: May 2006

The behaviorist research paradigm represented in human geography is anachronistic and manifestly inappropriate for explaining the results of human activities, such as distinctly constructed cultural landscapes. Phenomenological method is appropriate for explaining human actions on an individual scale, but is not applicable as it stands to the group or regional scale investigated by geography. The suggested technique adapts the fragmented reference plain featured by both phenomenology and relativity‐based explanation in physics, to afford justifiable explanations of cultural phenomena.
Mobilizing for a New Life: “Canico” Settlement Rehabilitation in the Bairro of Maxaquene, Mozambique*
Authors: Pinsky Barry
Published: May 2006

Located on the east coast of Africa, Mozambique won its independence from Portugal in 1975 following a protracted 10‐year guerilla war led by FRELIMO—the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique. The experience of collective participation which was necessary for rural peasants to win the war against a much better equipped Portuguese army is now being carried over to all aspects of life including the rehabilitation of the shanty settlements which surround the larger cities and towns.

In 1977 the newly created National Housing Directorate launched the first rehabilitation pilot project in part of the bairro of Maxaquene, in the capital, Maputo. After two years of intensive work, the original project area has quadrupled in size and an urban plan has been put in place encompassing 300 hectares and a population of 36,000.

New water and electricity projects already serve 10,000 people. Infrastructure works and community facilities are being completed as rapidly as limited material and technical resources permit, and a self‐help housing assistance program is underway.

The rapid progress has only been possible because of the community's extraordinary efforts in putting into practice the philosophy of “counting on our own forces”. Hundreds of meetings of planning committees have been held and over 100 new block committees are active in the bairro. The people of Maxaquene are mobilized for a new life and they are succeeding in creating it.
CRISIS OF THE FISCAL CRISIS?
Authors: Schwartz Alex
Published: May 2006

Book reviewed in this articles:

A Review of James O'Connor's The Fiscal Crisis of the State and its Urban Implications
SPACE, SCALE AND LOCALITY*
Authors: DUNCAN SIMON , SAVAGE MIKE
Published: May 2006

Abstracts

The importance of spatial variations for social behaviour has recently been re‐established in social theory. But, paradoxically, space does not exist in the sense of being an object that can have properties and effects. How, then, are these two axioms to be reconciled? Recent attempts to solve this question have been centred around the concept of ‘locality’. In this paper we subject this concept to critical evaluation. First, we consider in abstract terms the way in which spatial variation affects social phenomena. Subsequently, we discuss the implications of this, focusing around the use of ‘locale’ and ‘local labour market’ as operationalisations of ‘locality’. Next, we review and comment on the debate on locality in the light of this discussion. The upshot is that locality is shown to provide an inadequate conceptual scheme for dealing with spatial patterning.
URBAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF HOUSING PROVISION IN NORTH AUSTRALIA*
Authors: DRAKAKIS‐SMITH DAVID
Published: May 2006

Abstracts

This paper examines the role of urban social movements in shaping the built environment. It is based on empirical work undertaken in two relatively small towns, Darwin and Alice Springs, located in the Northern Territory of Australia. This approach has furnished the opportunity to undertake a true comparative study of the role of social movements in what ostensibly appear to be relatively simple urban locations situated in similar local, national and global circumstances, across the same time‐period. In particular, the investigation sets out to examine the contrasting success/failure of social movements to coalesce around the problem of housing provision.

The early sections of the paper review various conceptual issues related to the empirical investigation and try to arrive at a usable definition of ‘urban social movement’.
NEW PATRIARCHAL ECONOMIES IN THE AUSTRALIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY
Authors: JOHNSON LOUISE C.
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTS

Analyses seriously considering the importance of gender in the process of restructuring have been scarce, yet altered gender relations have been integral to these changes at all geographical scales. Vital interconnections exist between a restructuring capitalism and a reconstituting patriarchy. Initially, I clarify the concepts and the feminist politics which inform the analysis, and then I situate the Australian textile industry in a global context of new divisions of labour and capital. Connecting these global changes to a particular national economy provides the necessary background to understanding the transformations which have occurred in one textile plant in Geelong, Victoria over the last twenty years. At all scales, patriarchy and capitalism have interconnected in such a way as to ensure that renewed profitability and reasserted male authority are linked during restructuring. Restoration of capital accumulation in the Australian textile industry has thus been built on a redefined but also reaffirmed patriarchal economy.
STATE, CLASS AND INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL 1: BACKGROUND TO THE BRASILIAN STEEL INDUSTRY
Authors: FOOT S.P.H. , WEBBER MICHAEL
Published: May 2006

By 1980, the Brasilian steel industry had grown to be the eighth largest among the market economies. It is a largely state‐owned industry, much of the expansion of which has been funded by international capital. The pattern of development has not been externally imposed, however, but rather reflects the changing balance of class forces within Brasil as policies oscillate between nationalist, populist limits on foreign investment and open, pro‐development strategies that rely on foreign investment. Both policies develop their own contradictions, that are reflected in frequent military interventions.
WHAT'S IN A PLACE? AN APPROACH TO THE CONCEPT OF PLACE, AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE BRITISH NATIONAL UNION OF MINEWORKERS' STRIKE, 1984–85
Authors: GRIFFITHS M.J. , JOHNSTON R.J.
Published: May 2006

There have been several calls in recent years for a revival of regional geography, focusing on the individuality of places and their roles as contexts within which social structuration occurs. As yet, little has been written about the ways in which such work can be undertaken, providing a framework for the study of places that both emphasises their individuality and sets them in the context of social theory. Using the example of a particular event, the 1984–85 National Union of Mineworkers' strike in Great Britain, and the individuality of one place during that event, this essay provides an initial framework for defining the nature of a place.
ANTI‐RACISM IN ‘WHITE’ AREAS: THE EXAMPLE OF TYNESIDE*
Authors: Bonnett Alastair
Published: May 2006

This paper discusses the development of anti‐racist consciousness amongst educationalists in a predominantly white location in Britain (Tyneside). The notion that the emergence of anti‐racism in ‘white’ areas can be adequately conceptualized in terms of anti‐racism's move from ‘multiracial’ locations is rejected. It is argued that the development of anti‐racist attitudes amongst Tyneside educationalists needs to be examined in terms of their experiences of working and living in the area. Through the use of a series of interviews it is shown how this group has reformulated anti‐racism in the light of local social conditions.
EXCLUDING THE POOR FROM LOW INCOME HOUSING PROGRAMS: THE ROLES OF STATE AGENCIES AND USAID IN JAMAICA*
Authors: Klak Thomas
Published: May 2006

This paper investigates why low‐income housing agencies in Jamaica do not accomplish their self‐imposed progressive mandates to assist large numbers of poor people. To expose what produces gaps between policy and practice, the analysis focuses on how housing programs are organized, both in Jamaica's two largest state agencies and in USAID. The crucial organizational features include the housing agencies' sources of funding, reliance on the private sector, and associated motives and interests. Among the three agencies, a set of inter‐related forces block low income access to housing assistance: (1) most of the policy influences of international development agencies such as USAID, (2) the pervasiveness and increased penetration of market logic into low‐income housing programs, (3) state agency bureaucratization and careerism, and (4) an elitist neglect of the housing needs of the poor. Prejudices against the poor based on the belief that they do not repay housing loans are not justified by empirical evidence, much less by the fact that the programs were explicitly created to improve their housing conditions.
STRUCTURAL IMPERATIVES BEHIND RACIAL CHANGE IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
Authors: Wilson Bobby M.
Published: May 2006

While it is agreed that capital made use of race to restructure for more profitable production, there have been few attempts to incorporate race within the general framework of historical materialist inquiry and class politics. This paper discusses the social construction of race in Birmingham, Alabama for the industrial, Fordist, and post‐Fordist phases of U.S. capitalist development. No other industrial city in America would rely upon black labor so early in its industrial development as Birmingham, providing the opportunity to examine the social construction of race from an early stage of industrial capitalism. While southern periodizations of capitalist development correspond in some ways to those of the regulationists, they also diverge in other important ways, precisely because the southern road to capitalism was different, defining the path for the entry of blacks into capital‐labor relations.
CORPORATE IDEOLOGY AND THE POLITICS OF ENTREPRENEURISM IN NEW ORLEANS
Authors: Miron Louis F.
Published: May 2006

In this article, Louis F. Miron presents a case study of the effects of local ideology and culture on corporate‐lead progrowth movements in New Orleans. Miron borrows from critical theory to illustrate how “hegemonic” ideologies such as economic growth may be resisted in local settings. The findings suggest that economic structural relations do not predetermine the course of human agency, and that the success of progrowth movements is contingent upon local cultural conditions and ethos. Through a document analysis of “fiscal reform,” a pro‐growth ideology advanced by corporate and political elites in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana, the author probes the connections among material conditions, ideology, and the politics of entrepreneurism.
THE EFFACEMENT OF PLACE? US FOREIGN POLICY AND THE SPATIALITY OF THE GULF CRISIS
Authors: Tuathail Gearóid Ó
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTS

The production of a “Gulf Crisis” out of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, and the subsequent inscription and mediation of the conflict, created a spatiality that facilitated the pulverization of peoples and places in Iraq and Kuwait in early 1991. This paper attempts to open up this spatiality to empirical investigation and theoretical reflection. It addresses four issues: firstly, how the crisis came to be narrated as the “Gulf Crisis,” secondly, the official geographing of the crisis with particular sets of meanings and imaginary geographies by the Bush administration, thirdly, the role speed played in the crisis, and finally, the electronic, televisual spatiality of the conflict. How one describes the spatiality of the Gulf conflict poses a difficult theoretical question. One possibility is to geographicalize Levinas and Bauman's arguments concerning “the effacement of the face.” However, narratives of “the effacement of place” ultimately rest on an innocenting of place.
PLACE AND SPACE IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE: SOME LESSONS AND REFLECTIONS*
Authors: Beynon Huw , Hudson Ray
Published: May 2006

The “localities debate,” stimulated by the Economic and Social Research Council's “Changing Urban and Regional Systems” initiative, was conducted in the pages ofAntipodeandSociety and Spaceat a length that showed scant regard for emerging environmental sensitivities. Much of it involved politically contentious claims and increasingly exhausted theory; it resolved very little and in that sense was little more than a storm in a pretty familiar pudding basin. A later flirtation with postmodernism simply pushed aside questions of explanation while raising the political stakes as celebration of the differences between places became the order of the day. Nonetheless, important issues emerge from or relate to that debate, and we draw on our experiences to comment on three of them: (i) agents, structures, the production of space and the material bases of place: some issues of theory; (ii) the production of places, people's attachment to place, and place‐based political strategies: some issues of practice; (iii) localities, postmodernism and the difference that place makes: is the regressive turn to postmodernism as approach avoidable?
SOCIAL SEGREGATION IN ATHENS
Authors: Maloutas Thomas
Published: May 2006

This paper deals with changes in the Athenian social structure, mainly in its geographical organization, between 1971 and 1981. These changes are identified by clustering all communities in the Athens region on the basis of socio‐professional location quotients and then examining socio‐professional ratio changes in the resulting clusters. A process of social segregation is found to be well under way although, during the same period, the Athenian social structure tended to depolarize (middle class increase). Explanatory hypotheses are formulated on the basis of industrial stagnation, tertiarization, public sector employment, housing and urban practices and policies as well as urban congestion and air pollution. Finally, a link is attempted with more recent developments and tendencies.
IDEOLOGY AND URBAN LANDSCAPES: CONCEPTIONS OF THE MARKET IN PORTLAND, MAINE*
Authors: Knopp Lawrence , Kujawa Richard S.
Published: May 2006

This paper concerns the role of ideology in the operation of urban land and housing markets. We argue that existing work in this area tends to be overly abstract and to reify ideology. To correct this, we advocate examining understandings of particular land and housing markets. We focus on Portland, Maine, and analyze discourses on the uneven costs of social development, inner‐city redevelopment, a recent decline in the regional economy and Portland's place in that economy. Traditional pro‐market interpretations dominate, but we also identify more politicized understandings ‐ many of which are also pro‐market. They are applied very selectively, for example to explain a crisis but not a boom. We conclude that politicized conceptions of market operations are not necessarily radical and may in fact be crucial to the survival of capitalism.
PUTTING WOMEN IN THEIR PLACE: THE CARNIVAL AT GREENHAM COMMON*
Authors: Cresswell Tim
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTS

In this paper I examine reactions to the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. I argue that the media, local and government responses to the Greenham women reveal geographical assumptions about “normality.” The peace women, by living away from home, on the edge of a military (and therefore masculine) establishment challenged accepted patriarchal understandings of “women's place” and were thus described as “out of place.” More specifically, the women were referred to in terms of hygiene, inadequate culinary ability, sexuality and hysteria. Each of these implies a gendered form of disorder in which social, cultural and geographical boundaries have been transgressed. These reactions are placed within the context of Bakhtin's formulations of the carnivalesque and grotesque realism. I suggest that the women, through their highly visible opposition to a patriarchal military establishment, represent a threat to neatly bounded official culture which finds its geographical expression in the formal territories of the courtroom and the air base. In conclusion this illustration is placed in the wider context of cultural/political protest. I argue that transgression, while serving to reveal normally assumed hegemonic landscapes, is restrained by already existing boundaries.
CONSTRUCTIONS OF CRIMINALITY: POLICE‐COMMUNITY RELATIONS IN TORONTO
Authors: Jackson Peter
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTS

Long considered a safe and tolerant city, Toronto has been shaken during the last ten years by a series of incidents involving the police and black people which has led to a serious deterioration in police‐community relations. Drawing on evidence submitted to the 1989 Ontario Task Force on Race Relations and Policing, on newspaper reports and local interviews, this paper criticizes some commonsense constructions of the relationship between “race”, crime and policing. Rejecting conventional explanations of “ethnic criminality” and personal prejudice, the paper focuses on the question of institutional racism within the police force.
SPATIAL METAPHOR AND THE POLITICS OF EMPOWERMENT: MAPPING A PLACE FOR FEMINISM AND POSTMODERNISM IN GEOGRAPHY?*
Authors: Price‐Chalita Patricia
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTS

Spatial language and constructs are deployed systematically in the writing of many contemporary feminists. Disempowerment is couched in negative spatial terms: as “displacement,” having space denied, or as a negative or non‐space. Empowerment, on the other hand, is written as an appropriation of the spatial: creating new spaces, occupying existing spaces, or revalorizing negatively labeled spaces. Furthermore, the map emerges as a common trope in this writing. Rather than transparently communicating the totality of what exists, however, their maps become rhetorical guides to possible worlds. The spatial provides a textual tool with which many contemporary feminists contest existing power relations. Space is viewed as liberating, empowering, and political. Their use of the spatial contrasts with the apolitical (and, not inconsequentially, gendered) conceptualization of space in some postmodern writing. This divergent deployment of spatial textual devices in the writing of some contemporary feminists and that of some postmodernists opens up another window on the knotty nexus of feminist and postmodern thought in geography.
CONTRADICTIONS ALONG THE COMMODITY ROAD TO ENVIRONMENTAL STABILIZATION: FORESTING GAMBIAN GARDENS
Authors: Schroeder Richard A.
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTS

In the past decade a shift in ecological politics has set off a scramble to “protect” and “defend” putatively pristine ecosystems in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. This aggressive program bespeaks a new sense of manifest ecological destiny among environmental organizations and donors and has given rise to a “politics of stabilization” characterized by new forms of property and labor relationships. This paper traces the impact of ecological policies on commodity production in Gambia where communal market gardens run by women's groups are being converted into privatized orchards managed by male landholders in a state‐directed, donor‐funded initiative designed to meet stabilization goals. The zealous pursuit of commercial objectives has come at the expense of critical food entitlement and livelihood strategies which currently form the basis of the rural Gambian political economy. The paper uses this evidence to urge reconsidering the politics of environmental intervention.