bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Models of social enterprise in the homelessness field
Authors: Teasdale Simon
Published: May 2010

Purpose

There is much current policy and practitioner enthusiasm for using social enterprise to tackle the problems faced by homeless people. However, there is no evidence base to support (or negate) this policy focus. The purpose of this paper is to identify the different ways in which social enterprise responds to the needs of homeless people, and some of the challenges faced by social enterprises in the homelessness field.

Design/methodology/approach

Desk‐based research of the grey literature identified different models of social enterprise in the homelessness field. A review of the two sets of literature on homelessness and social enterprise was conducted to identify the implications of these models for homeless people.

Findings

Six models of social enterprise in the homelessness field are identified. Social enterprise involves balancing social and economic objectives. As third sector organisations become more business focused, there is a risk that those homeless people with the most complex or acute needs are abandoned as they are not profitable to work with.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to bring together two sets of literature in order to identify how social enterprise responds to homelessness. The paper is of use to policy makers aiming to develop targeted approaches to tackling homelessness. It is also of use to organisations in the homelessness field looking to develop social enterprise models.
A more entrepreneurial mindset? Engaging third sector suppliers to the NHS
Authors: Baines Sue , Bull Mike , Woolrych Ryan
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical overview of claims and counter claims around increased expectations that the third sector organisations (TSOs) will compete for contracts to deliver public services. It does this through the lens of contested notions of being “businesslike” and “entrepreneurial” across the public and third sectors. Then it assesses how some of these tensions are currently played out between public sector commissioners and third sector service providers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a one‐year project funded under the ESRC Business Engagement Opportunities scheme (2009‐2010) in which the authors are working with NHS Manchester (responsible for commissioning and directing NHS funds into a wide range of services for communities across the city) and local third sector delivery and infrastructure organisations. The project consists of a set of knowledge exchange activities (scoping, workshops, placements and an on‐line tool) intended to help NHS Manchester reshape its local provider profile through market making and commissioning new service contracts from TSOs, especially social enterprises. Preliminary findings are reported from the review of academic and policy literature that formed the scoping stage of this project.

Findings

Public sector commissioners and TSOs often struggle to make sense of each others' world views and working assumptions. This cannot be easily overcome but ways of improving dialogue are proposed through exploration of third sector outcomes and entrepreneurial language, practices and mindsets.

Originality/value

This paper offers a new, grounded reflection on the nexus of public sector contracts, entrepreneurship and third sector values.
Speke: a view of regeneration in a localized third sector setting
Authors: Davison Robbie
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of regeneration on one community – Speke in Liverpool, indexed as the most deprived area in England with a population of 9,000 people. The focus is on the role, activity and capacity of the third sector as part of the regeneration effort.

Design/methodology/approach

The study period was 2000‐2009. A “practitioners point of view” was sought. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted and triangulated method followed using NVivo.

Findings

There is no evidence to indicate the success of national third sector policy and its intent to improve the capacity of the sector at the local level. Service delivery is largely being led by public sector delivery structures. The local third sector is found to have significantly weakened. Community representation in regeneration is also weak, with no community forums in place. As a model, Social enterprise is underdeveloped.

Originality/value

The findings are contribution to theory, policy and practice and provide a practitioners view of third sector delivery at a local level. The evidence is of use to the researchers host organisation to undertake a lead role in developing as a fully representative area development trust.
Appraising climate change information reported to Congress
Authors: Auer Matthew R. , Cox Michael
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the sources and qualities of information on climate change commissioned by the US Congress from its affiliated research bodies.

Design/methodology/approach

Cited material in reports commissioned by Congress from three legislative research bodies were categorized and tallied for the years 1990‐2005. Qualities of cited material, such as indicators of primary‐level data analysis and references to peer‐reviewed academic scholarship were considered.

Findings

Of the three agencies, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) makes reference to peer‐reviewed academic scholarship most often. Nevertheless, only around a quarter of all cited material in CBO reports are from academic journals and comparatively few cites are to articles in top‐tier journals. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) cites its own past publications more often than it cites peer‐reviewed scholarship.

Research limitations/implications

Refereed academic journals are not the only source of rigorous scientific information in the reference materials used by the three legislative research bodies. Primary‐level data are found in governmental gray literature, and these data are analyzed by the legislative research bodies in their reports to Congress. The research bodies also make use of peer‐reviewed research by private research organizations, though these latter materials may not be published in academic journals. Further research is needed to determine whether and to what extent the legislative research bodies' reports are consequential in shaping lawmakers' deliberations versus other sources of information and persuasion, e.g. reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, news reportage, constituent perspectives, witness testimony in hearings, campaign contributions, etc.

Practical implications

Legislative research organizations are official conveyors of policy‐relevant information to Congress. It is reasonable to expect these organizations to provide competent analyses derived from peer‐reviewed science. The present paper suggests that commissioned reports by these organizations vary in terms of the range of source materials relied on, but reference materials are seldom derived from top‐tier academic journals. At least one research body, the CRS, frequently refers to its own reports as a major source for information on climate change. Two out of three of the legislative support bodies make greater use of governmental gray literature versus academic scholarship.

Originality/value

References to purported shortcomings in the legislative research bodies' technical/analytical capacities exist in the public affairs literature, but are anecdotal. The present paper offers an empirical exploration of this concern, focusing on the most important environmental problem of the time.
Micro‐insurance against drought risk in a changing climate
Authors: Hochrainer Stefan , Mechler Reinhard , Kull Daniel
Published: May 2010

Purpose

Novel micro‐insurance schemes are emerging to help the poor better deal with droughts and other disasters. Climate change is projected to increase the intensity and frequency of disasters and is already adding stress to actual and potential clients of these schemes. As well, insurers and reinsurers are increasingly getting worried about increasing claim burdens and the robustness of their pricing given changing risks. The purpose of this paper is to review and suggest ways to methodologically tackle the challenges regarding the assessment of drought risk and the viability of index‐based insurance arrangements in the light of changing risks and climate change.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on novel modeling approaches, the authors take supply as well as demand side perspectives by combining risk analysis with regional climate projections and linking this to household livelihood modeling and insurance pricing. Two important examples in Malawi and India are discussed, where such schemes have been or are about to be implemented.

Findings

The authors find that indeed micro‐insurance instruments may help low‐income farming households better manage drought risk by smoothing livelihoods and reducing debt, thus avoiding poverty traps. Yet, also many obstacles to optimal design, viability and affordability of these schemes, are encountered. One of those is climate change and the authors find that changing drought risk under climate change would pose a threat to the viability of micro‐insurance, as well as the livelihoods of people requesting such contracts.

Originality/value

The findings and suggestions may corroborate the case for donor support for existing or emerging insurance arrangements helping the poor better cope with climate variability and change. Furthermore, a closer linkage between climate and global change models with insurance and risk management models should be established in the future, which could be beneficial for both sides.
Assessing impact of global change on flood regimes
Authors: Radojevic Biljana D. , Breil Pascal , Chocat B.
Published: May 2010

Purpose

Global change results both from climatic and land practice evolution in response to anthropogenic needs for development and human safety. The purpose of this paper is to describe a method to assess the respective effect of both sources of change on the flood regimes.

Design/methodology/approach

The research takes place in the Western periurban part of Lyon (France), which is characterized by a rapidly expanding, scattered urban development since the 1970s. An increase in frequency of large floods is reported. At the same time, a long daily rainfall time series exhibits sensitive changes in rainfall durations and intensities. Independent analysis of global change components is performed using observed rainfall and land‐use data from two disconnected decades. A marked difference in natural climatic regime variability between decades is used as a surrogate to study effect of climate change.

Findings

Anthropogenic activity at the observed rate of land use change, in particular urban change, mainly influences the frequent flood distribution. The observed large flood increase results both of longer rainfall events and more heavy daily rainfall. From simulations, a 43 percent urban cover as planned from 2025 projection would have a very sensitive effect also on larger floods, giving the hand to a more anthropogenic‐based flood control.

Originality/value

Despite an expected increase in rainfall and flow variability regimes as a result of climate change and a projected growing of the world urban population, there is a lack of methodology to address combination of both processes on the flood regimes. A method is proposed to judge on the respective importance and interplay of these processes.
The legal foundations of financial collapse
Authors: Sissoko Carolyn
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the consequences of the “safe harbor” provisions of the US Bankruptcy Code that were enacted from 1984 through 2005 and that protect certain financial contracts from standard bankruptcy procedures.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative methods are used to evaluate whether these provisions of the Bankruptcy Code were successful in their stated goal of reducing systemic risk in the financial system. A model of systemic risk is presented verbally in order to frame the discussion.

Findings

Recent evidence indicates that the “safe harbor” provisions, in fact, destabilized the financial system by encouraging collateralized interbank lending, discouraging careful analysis of the credit risk of counterparties and increasing the risk that creditors will run on a financial firm.

Practical implications

This paper indicates that the rewriting of the Bankruptcy Code to favor financial firms has had a profoundly destabilizing effect on the financial system. To put the financial system on more secure foundations, the author proposes that large complex financial institutions be prohibited from posting collateral on over the counter derivative transactions and that the repo‐related bankruptcy amendments passed in 2005 be repealed.

Originality/value

This paper proposes an original framework for understanding systemic risk which drives the results in the paper.
The economic impact of a shift from hard to fuzzy contracts
Authors: Sumner Glenna , Williams Anita
Published: May 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the economic impact of the change in the degree of contract enforcement in the USA since August 2008. This change, from solid enforcement (hard contracts), to uncertain enforcement (fuzzy contracts), is a result of political expediency during an economic crisis. The purpose of the paper is to point out that political decisions are not made in an economic vacuum, and that there is an economic impact to the move away from hard contracts.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a time value of money, net present value approach with specific emphasis on the investor's adjustment to the required rate of return in the face of uncertain contract enforcement. Both closed and open economic systems are addressed.

Findings

The paper finds that in the shift to a fuzzy contract environment, investors will increase the required rate of return on future investment contracts, thereby lowering the value of those assets. Both individually, and in the aggregate, asset values will fall.

Research limitations/implications

The paper makes no attempt to evaluate reasons for or against the institutional changes that produced the move to fuzzy contracts. The paper examines only the resulting impact of the change on asset valuations.

Practical implications

Reducing the certainty of contract enforcement reduces asset valuations and investment.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills a need to be cognizant of the fact that actions of politicians can have unintended economic consequences, using the specific example of the shift in contract enforcement in the USA since August 2008.
Development of an efficient engineering methodology for non‐linear damage and post‐buckling analysis of large‐scale structures
Authors: Belesis S. , Labeas G.
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an efficient engineering methodology for solving the problem of non‐linear (NL) damage and post‐buckling of large‐scale structures, which is of high importance mainly for the aircraft industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology takes advantage of the capabilities of finite element substructuring technique in the simulation of large/complex structures and exploits the advantages of local‐global analysis logic. The main innovation deals with the appropriate modification of superelement method, such that it can deal with NL behaviour and efficiently model the entire large‐scale structure. In this study, the proposed methodology is demonstrated in the treatment of geometrical non‐linearity and its efficiency is assessed in the case of a large‐scale fuselage section.

Findings

A method capable of solving large‐scale NL problems by taking advantage of the linear response of the different model regions is developed.

Research limitations/implications

Further development of the proposed method is required for handling other means of non‐linearity.

Originality/value

The proposed approach is advantageous in terms of computational effort over the corresponding conventional ones.
Improvement fatigue limit of steel containing a small crack‐like surface defect by overload effect
Authors: Mizukami Hiroshi , Hanaori Kazuya , Takahashi Koji , Tange Akira , Ando Kotoji
Published: May 2010

Purpose

Surface defects reduce fatigue strength and may greatly reduce component reliability, particularly in pressure vessel weld regions, springs, and other applications. The fatigue strength of components, and thus their reliability, can be substantially increased by tensile overloading prior to use. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of tensile overload on small cracks by applying a tensile overload to steel plates containing semicircular slits that simulate small surface cracks and by determining the degree of increase in the fatigue strength. The effect of tensile overload on the apparent fatigue threshold stress intensity factor range (ΔKth) was also investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

A tensile overload stress of 1,000 or 1,200 MPa was applied once to all test pieces. Then, bending fatigue tests were conducted with a stress ratio R=0.1. The slit region was subjected to applied cyclic tensile stress by four‐point bending throughout the fatigue test. A test specimen to which no overload stress was applied was tested for comparison.

Findings

The improvement in ΔKth by tensile overload is observed in the specimen with a small crack like surface defect. However, in the specimen with a small crack like surface defect, the improvement in ΔKth by tensile overload is saturated as increasing tensile overload. The improvement rate of ΔKth by tensile overload and the upper limits of improvement in ΔKth were predicted. The predicted values of the improvement rate of K were well in agreement with the experimental results.

Practical implications

The proposed method can be applied to pressure vessels and springs.

Originality/value

The overload effects on fatigue strength are studied for large cracks. However, the effect is not understood at all for small cracks. This study focused the over load effects for small cracks. This is the original point of the present study.
For which future? Exploring the implicit futures of service‐learning
Authors: Beatty Joy E.
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a review of the history of the service‐learning movement, a description of the contemporary philosophical models of service‐learning, and an interpretation of which futures are implied in each model's learning objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

A historical and philosophical review of service‐learning is conducted.

Findings

Current service‐learning practice has a 40‐year history, evolving from a social movement to a more mainstream pedagogical method. Historical and contemporary versions of service‐learning show three separate models with different assumptions about the purpose of service‐learning. The models are the professional model, which focuses on career training with cognitive learning goals; the civic engagement model, which focuses on developing active and engaged citizens, with affective learning goals; and the social change model, which focuses on empowerment and social justice, also with affective learning goals. While the civic engagement and social change models represent the historic values of the service‐learning movement, evidence suggests the professional model is most common.

Practical implications

To meet the demands of the unscripted future(s), individual teachers and institutions should reflect on their assumptions about the connection between service and learning to ensure that their learning objectives are aligned with their practice.

Originality/value

Teachers benefit from understanding the range of assumptions and values represented in service‐learning, and from the increased personal awareness from comparing their own views and service‐learning objectives with those of the larger field.
Service‐eLearning: educating today's learners for an unscripted future
Authors: Dailey‐Hebert Amber , Donnelli Emily
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer the proposition that by marrying service‐learning and eLearning pedagogies, educators can devise innovative pedagogical approaches that respond to the personal characteristics and educational preferences of today's “millennial” learners.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the complementary pedagogical theories of service‐learning and eLearning in the context of preparing millennial learners for an increasingly “unscripted” future.

Findings

Research suggests that learners today must be equipped to make knowledge applicable in any setting, to gain the dispositions needed to effectively communicate globally, and to operate within advanced technological systems. Technology is not only a part of what shapes and defines learners' unscripted future; it is likewise essential to education within the context of that unscripted future. When considered in light of the unscripted future faced by millennial learners, service‐learning can gain greater relevance when merged with eLearning pedagogy.

Originality/value

The paper presents an integrative pedagogy of service‐eLearning, offering a discussion of both the theoretical frameworks and practical considerations undergirding this approach.
The consequences of Six Sigma on job satisfaction: a study at three companies in Sweden
Authors: Schön Karin , Bergquist Bjarne , Klefsjö Bengt
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a study of how Six Sigma influences job satisfaction among employees at three large companies with manufacturing units in Sweden that have used different implementation strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was performed using a survey distributed to those affected by the implementation at the three company sites, including those not directly involved in any Six Sigma activities.

Findings

Employees participating in Six Sigma feel positive changes in many aspects of job satisfaction. The Black Belts (BBs) felt, on the average, positive changes in almost all the tested areas. The largest changes are related to personal and new skill development, influence on work duties and enjoying the work. BBs also feel more recognition from management. Employees not involved in the Six Sigma projects do, on average, also feel positively influenced by Six Sigma, but the tendency is not as clear.

Research limitations/implications

The results constitute a platform for further studies on the relation between Six Sigma applications and job satisfaction due to the different approaches used in the three studied plants.

Practical implications

The positive results should help alleviate concerns of job satisfaction due to implementation of Six Sigma.

Originality/value

The paper fills a knowledge gap concerning the effect of Six Sigma on employees' well being and job satisfaction.
Introducing OEE as a measure of lean Six Sigma capability
Authors: Gibbons Paul M. , Burgess Stuart C.
Published: May 2010

Purpose

The current paradigm for assessing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is challenged as being anachronistic to the needs of businesses that now require a more holistic indicator of plant and process effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new framework that expands the original OEE measure to inform business performance at multiple levels focusing on adding benchmarkable indicators of asset management effectiveness and process capability. The ability to compare internal performance against external competition and vice verse is argued as being a critical attribute of any performance measurement system.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology taken incorporated an action research approach using a pilot study combining case study research with an action research process of planning, observing and reflecting summarized as taking an action case research design.

Findings

The OEE and related literature is replete with many different enhancements to the original OEE framework. Many of the revised OEE frameworks move away from a standard OEE format taking away the opportunity to benchmark against plant and process performance at multiple levels.

Research limitations/implications

The enhanced OEE framework is developed and testedin situat a single factory manufacturing large batches of similar products. Future research should look to further develop the OEE framework in both continuous process environments and asset intensive service industry environments.

Originality/value

The enhanced OEE framework introduces a measure of Six Sigma process capability using extant data from the OEE framework. Similarly, indicators of plant reliability, maintainability and asset management effectiveness are calculated taking extant data from the OEE framework. This enhanced OEE framework combines measures of process effectiveness, asset management effectiveness, gross process performance, net process performance and Six Sigma process capability into a single lean Six Sigma key performance indicator of process/plant performance.
Large scale screening for haemoglobin disorders in southern Vietnam: implications for avoidance and management
Authors: O’Riordan Sean , Hien Tran Tinh , Miles Katie , Allen Angela , Quyen Nguyen Ngoc , Hung Nguyen Quoc , Anh Do Quang , Tuyen Luc Nguyen , Khoa Dao Bach , Thai Cao Quang , Triet Dao Minh , Phu Nguyen Hoan , Dunstan Sarah , Peto Tim , Clegg John , Farrar Jeremy , Weatherall David
Published: May 2010

In order to obtain an approximate assessment of the public health burden that will be posed by the inherited disorders of haemoglobin in southern Vietnam, several thousand individuals were screened for these conditions. A smaller sample was screened for glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. The important haemoglobin disorders identified were β thalassaemia, haemoglobin E and a variety of different forms of α thalassaemia. There were sufficient G6PD‐deficient individuals to materially affect malaria control programme design. The most remarkable finding was wide variation in the gene frequencies of these conditions among the ethnic groups sampled. The approximate number of babies expected to be born with clinically significant haemoglobin disorders in Vietnam was estimated from the gene‐frequency data. This study emphasizes the importance of wide‐scale population screening, including ethnic subgroups, to establish the requirements for inherited haemoglobin disorder programmes in resource‐limited settings.
Aberrant expression of Fas and FasL pro-apoptotic proteins in basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas
Authors: Wang X.-Y. , Zhang R. , Lian S.
Published: May 2010

Background. Fas and FasL are cell-surface receptors involved in apoptosis.

Aim. To investigate Fas and FasL expression levels in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) to gain an insight into the mechanisms of Fas/FasL apoptosis and immune evasion in epidermal tumours.

Methods. Real-time PCR and streptavidin–biotin immunohistochemistry techniques were used to detect Fas and FasL expression in BCC, SCC and normal skin specimens.

Results. Fas and FasL mRNA expression and immunostaining levels were lower in the 21 BCC specimens than in normal skin, whereas they were higher in the 15 SCC specimens than in normal skin.

Conclusion. FasL immunostaining correlated with the capability of the tumour to invade and metastasize; the absent or weak immunostaining in the BCC specimens correlated with low capability, and the strong staining in the SCC specimens correlated with high capability.
Development of GIS as a tool in the Ministry of Mining and Energy, Serbia
Authors: Sokolović Dejan , Simanić Dragan , Popović Petar
Published: May 2010

On behalf of the Serbian Government, the Ministries of Mining and Energy and of Science and Environment Protection are signatories to a master plan for the promotion of the mining industry in Serbia. This is being achieved with the assistance of the Japanese Government through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who engaged a mining company from Tokyo–Mindeco (Mitsui Mineral Development Engineering Co. Ltd) to partner the Serbian ministries, the Mining and Geology Faculty in Belgrade, the Geological Institute of Serbia (Belgrade), the Copper Institute (Bor), and the Military Geographical Institute (Belgrade), as well as private companies dealing in geological exploration, etc. Apart from other things, the master plan contains a newly‐formed GIS application, which registers exploration, exploitation fields and other relevant data. This GIS web application was one the first steps towards the realization of ‘e‐Government’ in the field of geological exploration and mining activities within the Republic of Serbia.
From clergymen to computers—the advent of virtual palaeontology
Authors: Garwood Russell J. , Rahman Imran A. , Sutton Mark D.
Published: May 2010

Palaeontology was established as a science in the Victorian era, yet has roots that stretch deeper into the recesses of history. More than 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle deduced that fossil sea shells were once living organisms, and around 500 ad Xenophanes used fossils to argue that many areas of land must have previously been submarine. In 1027, the Persian scholar Avicenna suggested that organisms were fossilized by petrifying fluids; this theory was accepted by most natural philosophers up until the eighteenth century Enlightenment, and even beyond. The late 1700s were notable for the work of Georges Cuvier who established the reality of extinction. This, coupled with advances in the recognition of faunal successions made by the canal engineer William Smith, laid the framework for the discipline that would become known as palaeontology. As the nineteenth century progressed, the scientific community became increasingly well organized. Most fossil workers were gentleman scientists and members of the clergy, who self‐funded their studies in a new and exciting field. Many of the techniques used to study fossils today were developed during this ‘classical’ period. Perhaps the most fundamental of these is to expose a fossil by splitting the rock housing it, and then conduct investigations based upon the exposed surface (Fig. 1). This approach has served the science well in the last two centuries, having been pivotal to innumerable advances in our understanding of the history of life. Nevertheless, there are many cases where splitting a rock in this way results in incomplete data recovery; those where the fossils are not flattened, but are preserved in three‐dimensions. Even the ephemeral soft‐tissues of organisms are occasionally preserved in a three‐dimensional state, for example in the Herefordshire, La Voulte Sûr Rhone and Orsten ‘Fossil Lagerstätten’ (sites of exceptional fossil preservation). These rare and precious deposits provide a wealth of information about the history of life on Earth, and are perhaps our most important resource in the quest to understand the palaeobiology of extinct organisms. With the aid of twenty‐first century technology, we can now make the most of these opportunities through the field of ‘virtual palaeontology’—computer‐aided visualization of fossils.

A split nodule showing the fossil within, in this case a cockroachoid insect. Fossil 4 cm long (From Garwood & Sutton, in press).

image
Pre‐Holocene age of Humboldt's 1430 eruption of the Orotava Valley, Tenerife, Canary Islands
Authors: Carracedo J.C. , Singer B. , Jicha B. , Torrado F.J. Pérez , Guillou H. , Badiola E.R. , Paris R.
Published: May 2010

Errors in the interpretation of clouds, fumarolic activity and forest fires as volcanic eruptions in Tenerife, mainly in relation with Teide volcano, are common in references by passing navigators and other eyewitness accounts from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In the case of the most common, historical, multiple‐vent fissure eruptions in the Canaries, vent locations provided by these accounts are frequently uncertain or are clearly erroneous and often conflict with geological evidence. Significant examples are the general association of the latest eruption of Teide volcano, dated at 1150 ± 140 bp, with the reference made by Christopher Columbus in 1492 to an eruption ‘on the flanks of Teide’, which actually corresponds to an eruptive vent (Boca Cangrejo volcano) situated in the NW Rift, dated at 400 ± 110 bp. Similar conflicting vent locations occurred in the 1730–36 eruption of Lanzarote and the 1677 eruption of La Palma. This article considers the volcanic cones located in the Orotava Valley, erroneously assigned by Chevalier de Borda and Alexander von Humboldt to a 1430 ad eruption. Geological evidence and radiocarbon dating of charcoal underlying the lapilli, and 40Ar/39Ar dating of one of the lava flows, show that these volcanic cones and lavas correspond to an eruption that took place about 30 000 yr bp. Analysis of the influence of these erroneous ages for the recent volcanism of Tenerife shows an overestimation of eruptive hazards of this island.
Eyjafjallajökull volcano causes widespread disruption to European air traffic
Authors: Gertisser Ralf
Published: May 2010

It started with the usual fire fountains and lava flows that are typical of Iceland's basaltic fissure eruptions, quickly turned into one of the country's major tourist attractions, and when they thought it was all over, the first eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 200 years suddenly brought Europe's air traffic to a halt.
An assessment of lifestyle video education for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Dyson P. A. , Beatty S. , Matthews D. R.
Published: May 2010

Background:  Education plays a key role in the development of self‐management skills for people with type 2 diabetes, although there is limited evidence for the use of video education.

Aims:  To develop a video‐based lifestyle education programme for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and to evaluate changes in knowledge, biomedical indices and quality of life.

Methods:  Forty‐two newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic subjects were recruited and randomly allocated to either a video education or control group. Data were collected at baseline and 6 months after the intervention. Subjects (43% male) had a mean (SD) age of 60.8 (9.6) years, weight 89.5 (15.5) kg, BMI 31.3 (5.1) kg m2, glycated haemoglobin (A1c) 7.4 (1.7)%, total cholesterol 4.7 (1.2) mmol L−1, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol 1.15 (0.34) mmol L−1, triglycerides 1.8 (1.0) mmol L−1, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol 2.8 (1.0) mmol L−1, pedometer reading 5721 (3446) steps per day. There were 63.7% correct answers given to the ADKnowl questionnaire and the WHO‐5 Well‐Being score was 65.8%.

Results:  At 6 months, the intervention group showed increased knowledge compared to controls (74.3% versus 56.4% correct answers, P ≤ 0.0001). Although there were no significant differences in changes over 6 months between the two groups, the intervention group showed improvements in A1c (−0.7%, P = 0.024), total cholesterol (−0.5 mmol L−1, P = 0.017), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (−0.5, P = 0.018) and increased physical activity measured by pedometer (1266 steps per day, P = 0.043) from baseline, with no significant changes in the control group.

Conclusions:  A brief video intervention increased diabetes knowledge amongst those newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and may comprise an effective way of directing education to such individuals.
Attachment behaviour towards support staff in young people with intellectual disabilities: associations with challenging behaviour
Authors: De Schipper J. C. , Schuengel C.
Published: May 2010

Background  Attachment research has shown the importance of attachment behaviour for the prevention of dysregulated behaviour due to emotional distress. The support of an attachment figure may be especially important for people with intellectual disability (ID), because they are less adept in dealing with stressful situations on their own. Our purpose was to examine the role of support staff as targets of attachment behaviour for young people with ID by testing the hypothesis that young people who more often engage in attachment interactions with group care staff are less at risk for challenging behaviours. The study design included professional caregivers' report of young persons' attachment behaviour across different relationships to address the relationship‐specific nature of attachment behaviour in a group care context.

Methods  Support staff rated attachment behaviour of 156 young participants with moderate to severe ID who were attending a group care setting. For each participant, we asked two members of the classroom support staff to fill out the Secure Base Safe Haven Observation list. One of them also rated challenging behaviour (Abberant Behavior Checklist).

Results  Young people who showed more secure attachment behaviour towards professional caregivers were less irritable, less lethargic and less stereotypic in their behaviour, even if we controlled for developmental age and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Two results point in the direction of relationship‐specific attachment behaviour: the absence of high consistency in a person's attachment behaviour towards two different caregivers and the independent contribution of each of these relationships to explaining differences in lethargy and stereotypies. A certain preference in attachment behaviour towards specific caregivers was not associated with challenging behaviour.

Conclusions  Findings suggest that attachment behaviour may be part of young persons' adaptation to the stresses and challenges of group care. Furthermore, adaptation may be determined by the integration of relationships with support staff, because each relationship with a care staff member bears uniquely on challenging behaviour.
Coagulation and inflammation biomarkers may help predict the severity of community‐acquired pneumonia
Authors: AGAPAKIS Dimitrios I. , TSANTILAS Dionissios , PSARRIS Panagiotis , MASSA Eleni V. , KOTSAFTIS Panagiotis , TZIOMALOS Konstantinos , HATZITOLIOS Apostolos I.
Published: May 2010

Background and objective:  There are limited data on the relationship between the severity of community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP) and biomarkers of inflammation and coagulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the severity of CAP and serum levels of antithrombin III (AT‐III), protein C (P‐C), D‐dimers (D‐D) and CRP, at hospital admission.

Methods:  This was a prospective observational study in 77 adults (62.3% men), who were hospitalized for CAP. The severity of CAP was assessed using the confusion, uraemia, respiratory rate ≥30 breaths/min, low blood pressure, age ≥65 years (CURB‐65) score.

Results:  Forty patients (52%) had severe CAP (CURB‐65 score 3–5). Serum levels of AT‐III were lower and levels of D‐D and CRP were higher in patients with severe CAP than in patients with mild CAP (CURB‐65 score 0–2) (P < 0.001 for all comparisons). Levels of P‐C were lower in patients with severe CAP compared with those with mild CAP, but the difference was not significant (P = 0.459). At a cut‐off point of 85%, AT‐III showed a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 75%, as a determinant of the need for hospitalization. At a cut‐off point of 600 ng/mL, D‐D showed a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 75% and at a cut‐off point of 110 mg/L, CRP showed a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 79%, as determinants of the need for hospitalization.

Conclusions:  Serum levels of AT‐III, D‐D and CRP at admission appear to be useful biomarkers for assessing the severity of CAP.
A comparison of emergence delirium scales following general anesthesia in children
Authors: BAJWA SAMIRA A. , COSTI DAVID , CYNA ALLAN M.
Published: May 2010

Background:  Emergence delirium (ED) is of increasing interest since the introduction of short‐acting volatiles such as sevoflurane.

Methods:  We compared the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED), Watcha and Cravero scales for assessing the presence of ED in 117 of 118 consecutive children <18 years recovering from general anesthesia. The primary measure was the worst score for ED as assessed on each scale and for each patient during their PACU stay. An experienced anesthetist observer also made a subjective assessment of the presence of ED.

Results:  A PAED score of ≥10 detected ED in 37 children (32%), while the Watcha detected 30 (26%) and Cravero 41 (35%). Twenty‐five patients (21%) fulfilled criteria for ED in all three scales as did all eight patients assessed by the experienced pediatric anesthetist observer. Median PAED scores (interquartile ranges) for patients assessed as having ED or not respectively were for Watcha, 12 (11,14), 7 (4,8); for Cravero, 11 (9,13), 7 (4,8); and for the experienced anesthetist observer, 14.5 (13.5,16.5), 7 (6,10).

Conclusions:  All three scales correlated reasonably well with each other but have individual limitations in their potential to assess whether ED is present. In the absence of developing an improved research tool to assess ED, a PAED score >12 appears to provide greater sensitivity and specificity than a PAED score ≥10. However, the Watcha scale is a simpler tool to use in clinical practice and may have a higher overall sensitivity and specificity than the other scales.
Relationship between GLP‐1 levels and dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 activity in different glucose tolerance conditions
Authors: Pala L. , Ciani S. , Dicembrini I. , Bardini G. , Cresci B. , Pezzatini A. , Giannini S. , Mannucci E. , Rotella C. M.
Published: May 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 691–695 (2010)

Aim  The reduced levels of glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) after an oral glucose load in Type 2 diabetic patients could be dependent either on a reduced synthesis or an increased degradation; but GLP‐1 and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP‐IV) levels during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) have not been studied together. The aim of the present study was to investigate GLP‐1 and DPP‐IV levels during an OGTT in patients with different degrees of glucose tolerance.

Methods  Fifty six subjects (34 female, 22 male) matched for sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference underwent a 75g oral glucose tolerance test. Twenty‐eight had normal glucose tolerance, 15 had impaired glucose tolerance and 13 had Type 2 diabetes mellitus. GLP‐1 assay was performed with an ELISA kit, and DPP‐IV assay using a colorimetric method.

Results  At 30 min GLP‐1 levels were significantly lower in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to those with normal glucose tolerance. The area under the GLP‐1 curve was significantly different among the three groups; there was a significant decrease between subjects with normal and impaired glucose tolerance(P = 0.004) and between those with normal glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. (P < 0.001), while the area under the curve for DPP‐IV showed no significant difference between the groups.

Conclusions  These results suggest that an increase of GLP‐1 degradation does not play a role in the early stages of diabetes mellitus.
Sequence Patterns of Firms' Acquisition and Alliance Behaviour and their Performance Implications
Authors: Shi Weilei (Stone) , Prescott John E.
Published: May 2010

abstract

Studying repetitive acquisition and alliance behaviours from a temporal perspective, we conceptualize a taxonomy of sequence patterns. Our approach defines sequences as the set of acquisition and alliances a firm initiates each year over its life‐course. Using optimal matching techniques and clustering analysis, we empirically identify seven different sequence patterns and demonstrate that firm and performance attributes differ across these sequences and depending on the contingent effect of a firm's stage of development. We discuss the implications of our taxonomy and findings for our understanding of the temporal management of alliance portfolios and acquisition programmes.
Determinants of Economic Growth and Spread–backwash Effects in Western and Eastern China
Authors: Ke Shanzi
Published: May 2010

This paper comparatively assesses the major contributors to economic growth and spread–backwash effects in Western and Eastern China over the period 2000–2007. The empirical findings indicate that economies in both regions increasingly agglomerated in large cities; the marginal products of domestic capital and labor in the western region were, respectively, two‐thirds and half of those in the eastern region; FDI was more productive than domestic capital. Spatial econometric analysis reveals that the central cities in Western China had mild spread effects on each other and backwash effects on the nearby rural counties and, in contrast, the central cities in the eastern region competed with each other and had backwash effects on nearby rural counties but spread effects on neighboring county‐level cities. The paper draws several policy implications in relation to the improvement of factor inputs and construction of growth centers in the western region.
Cultural neuroscience
Authors: Ames Daniel L. , Fiske Susan T.
Published: May 2010

Cultural neuroscience issues from the apparently incompatible combination of neuroscience and cultural psychology. A brief literature sampling suggests, instead, several preliminary topics that demonstrate proof of possibilities: cultural differences in both lower‐level processes (e.g. perception, number representation) and higher‐order processes (e.g. inferring others' emotions, contemplating the self) are beginning to shed new light on both culture and cognition. Candidates for future cultural neuroscience research include cultural variations in the default (resting) network, which may be social; regulation and inhibition of feelings, thoughts, and actions; prejudice and dehumanization; and neural signatures of fundamental warmth and competence judgments.
Culture and the brain: Opportunities and obstacles
Authors: Zhou Haotian , Cacioppo John
Published: May 2010

A major evolutionary advance of humans is a mind that is capable of constructing, perpetuating, adapting to, and exploiting culture. The birth of cultural neuroscience reflects the growing realization that a full account of the human mind requires understanding of the multiple and reciprocal influences between the biological and the sociocultural. In the present paper, we illustrate how attention to the brain, as exemplified in functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging (fMRI) studies of sociocultural processes, contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the human mind. We end by discussing a set of challenges facing researchers using fMRI and the possible means for dealing with these challenges.
Envisioning the future of cultural neuroscience
Authors: Kitayama Shinobu , Tompson Steve
Published: May 2010

In the present commentary, we first examine the three target articles included in the Asian Journal of Social Psychology special issue on cultural neuroscience. We spell out the contributions that the articles have offered to the field. We extend this examination with our own theoretical model of neuro‐culture interaction, which proposes that brain connectivity changes as a function of each person's active, repeated engagement in culture's scripted behavioural patterns (i.e. practices). We then locate the current endeavour of cultural neuroscience within a broader framework, detailing empirical, theoretical, and meta‐theoretical reasons why the approach of cultural neuroscience is important to both socio‐behavioural and biological sciences. It is concluded that the scholarship demonstrated in the target articles will be an important collective asset for all of us who aspire to understand the human mind as fundamentally biocultural and to study it as such.