bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pollination and reproductive success in the gynodioecious endemic Thymus loscosii (Lamiaceae)
Authors: Orellana Maria Renée , Rovira Anna Maria , Blanché Cèsar , Bosch Maria
Published: February 2005

Sexual dimorphism can have implications in the reproductive biology of gynodioecious species, affecting sex fitness. We explored the effects of flower sex on pollination visitation rates and pollinator efficiency in terms of stigmatic pollen loads, as well as on quantitative and qualitative aspects of reproductive success in two populations of Thymus loscosii Willk. (Lamiaceae) endemic to the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. We also assessed the dependence of T. loscosii on insect pollination in both hermaphrodite and female plants by performing an insect exclusion test. Apis mellifera and different species of Bombylidae were the most frequent pollinators (68% of approaches to studied plots and 93% of total visited flowers). Hermaphrodite plants received more visits than female ones, possibly as a response to visual attraction, since flowers of the former are larger. Conspecific pollen deposition was higher on stigmas of hermaphrodite flowers than on those of females; in contrast, female stigmas received more heterospecific pollen loads, notably higher in one population. Despite these differences, seed set from open-pollinated flowers was similar in both sexes and in both populations, and relatively low (around 0.51 nutlet per fruiting calyx, on average). Thymus loscosii is self-compatible as it was able to produce seeds by spontaneous selfing, but at very low rates, indicating that it is insect-dependent for pollination. In addition, bagged female flowers also set seeds formed by apomitic mechanisms. In general, seeds from females were slightly heavier and began to germinate earlier and at higher rates than those from hermaphrodites, even those formed by apomixis. These results suggest that female plants enjoy a resource allocation advantage that allows increased seed quality and contributes to the maintenance of gynodioecy.Key words: gynodioecy, pollinator visitation, pollen loads, seed set, sex fitness, Thymus loscosii.
Risk analysis of dissolved organic matter-mediated ultraviolet B exposure in Canadian inland waters
Authors: Molot L A , Keller W , Leavitt P R , Robarts R D , Waiser M J , Arts M T , Clair T A , Pienitz R , Yan N D , McNicol D K , Prairie Y T , Dillon P J , Macrae M , Bello R , Nordin R N , Curtis P J , Smol J P , Douglas M SV
Published: February 2005

With depleted ozone levels and the possibility that climate change might lower dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations, the risk of exposure of fresh waters in Canada to ultraviolet B (UV-B) was evaluated. First, the distribution of a UV-B-sensitive zooplankton genus, Daphnia, was examined as a function of DOM concentration and maximum depth (Zmax) in 258 systems. Distribution was not restricted by UV-B, although very clear, shallow systems are underrepresented. Secondly, the depth at which 1% of surface radiance at 320 nm occurs (Z320,1%) was compared with Zmax in over 1000 aquatic systems in 15 ecozones to determine the proportions of optically clear systems (Zmax ≤ Z320,1%) and systems that may become clear (i.e., are "at risk") should DOM decrease by 50%. South of the treeline, <6% of systems were clear, with the exception of two ecozones with 10%20%. The proportion of systems at risk was 0% in most regions, with 5%9% in four regions. DOM levels appear adequate to prevent extirpation of sensitive taxa like Daphnia through direct exposure to UV-B in most regions south of the treeline. However, optically clear and at-risk ponds were much more common in the three Artic ecozones, especially the Northern Arctic and Arctic Cordillera.
Inverse regional responses to climate change and fishing intensity by the recreational rockfish (Sebastes spp.) fishery in California
Authors: Bennett William A , Roinestad Kimy , Rogers-Bennett Laura , Kaufman Les , Wilson-Vandenberg Deb , Heneman Burr
Published: February 2005

The interactive effects of ocean climate and fishing pressure on nearshore rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) were examined using historical commercial passenger fishing vessel catch records from California. Principal component analysis was used to characterize the dominant patterns in catch per unit effort (CPUE) over time (19571999) and space (10′ latitude × 10′ longitude blocks). Ocean climate explained 60% of the variation in CPUE and revealed opposite responses in northern and southern California. In warm El Niño years, CPUE was 4.2 times higher in the north and 1.8 times lower in the south. CPUE responded similarly to low-frequency climate shifts by increasing in the north and decreasing in the south after 19761977. Four geographic regions responded as discrete units to environmental forcing and fishing intensity: North, Central, South, and Channel Islands. Over time, annual fish landings declined sharply in the South, with fishing effort remaining stationary and high relative to that in the other regions. In the North, landings and fishing effort remained tightly coupled, with effort an order of magnitude lower than in the South. These findings support a management strategy for nearshore rockfishes in California based on regional responses to ocean climate and fishing intensity.
Winter growth and survival of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in experimental raceways
Authors: Parrish Donna L , Hawes Ethan J , Whalen Kevin G
Published: February 2005

We used experimental raceways to determine overwinter mortality of wild-reared immature and mature post-young-of-the-year Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Secondarily, we investigated the effects of differing treatments (velocity and shelter) on winter growth and survival. Overall survival from November to April was 94%, and survival of immature (98%) and mature (90%) parr, although statistically different, was very similar. Immature parr grew more in length than mature parr, and both immature and mature parr in higher velocity (12 cm·s1) raceways grew more than those in lower velocity (0.6 cm·s1) raceways. Stomach contents were twofold greater in parr occupying higher velocity raceways than those in lower velocity raceways. Caloric content of immature and mature parr did not differ in any of five monthly samples. Lowest caloric content occurred in early February and increased between February and March when water temperatures were well below those considered optimal for growth. Although ice cover was present, isolating parr from conditions that occur in natural settings may have helped parr achieve nearly 2.5 times greater survival than parr in the wild. Further, whereas previous studies showed parr select habitats to minimize energetic loss, our results show a distinct advantage for parr to expend energy to feed during winter.
Interactive effects of substrate sand and silt contents, redd-scale hydraulic gradients, and interstitial velocities on egg-to-emergence survival of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Authors: Lapointe Michel F , Bergeron Normand E , Bérubé F , Pouliot M -A , Johnston P
Published: February 2005

We conducted laboratory incubation experiments with Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) eggs to test a number of hypotheses concerning the relative sensitivity of the incubating eggs to variations in silt (diameter < 0.063 mm) in interaction with sand (0.63 mm < diameter < 2 mm) fractions in the incubating gravels, as well as to different strengths of local hydraulic gradients pushing flow across the egg pocket. Our results show that variations of only a few percent of silt content can strongly degrade survival to emergence. Higher silt loadings (>0.5%) are detrimental to survival for all substrate mixtures, except those that are very sparse in sands (<5%). For sand contents over 10%, an increment of 1% silt has over three times the effect on survival as a 1% increment in sand. Increasing hydraulic gradients had a positive effect on median survival, but the effect depended both on the details of the fines composition and on the gradient level. Our results suggest that silt loadings over 1.5% in redds cannot easily be mitigated by stronger gradients. Our data conclusively show that there is no single threshold interstitial flow velocity that insures survival to emergence. Even when maintaining a constant interstitial velocity, survival tended to reduce in higher fines-content substrate.
Phosphorus flux due to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in an oligotrophic upland stream: effects of management and demography
Authors: Nislow Keith H , Armstrong John D , McKelvey Simon
Published: February 2005

Little is known concerning the role of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in the transport of nutrients to and from river systems. We used demographic data from the River Bran, an oligotrophic river in Scotland, UK, to construct a budget for the transport of phosphorus (P) and applied it to investigate the effects of management strategies and demographic rates on potential transport. At present, because few adults return to their spawning grounds, salmon export 0.20.5 kg P·year1. In contrast, increasing passage rates to a level sufficient to maintain a population without stocking would likely result in a gain of up to several kilograms per year. However, this effect depended on the retention of adult-derived P, which varies across systems and is poorly known at present. Egg-derived P exceeded that from adults at low (<25%) retention rates but was insufficient on its own to balance losses. Increased marine survival rates also increased the potential for positive P flux, while reduction in eggsmolt survival reduced the magnitude of transport. These results indicate the importance of considering within-river movements of individuals and nutrients and the need to fill critical data gaps in assessing the role of Atlantic salmon in nutrient transport.
Nitric oxide, VEGF, and VEGFR-2: interactions in activity-induced angiogenesis in rat skeletal muscle
Authors: Milkiewicz Malgorzata , Hudlicka Olga , Brown Margaret D. , Silgram Haley
Published: February 2005

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered to be important in promotion of capillary growth in skeletal muscles exposed to increased activity. We studied its interactions with nitric oxide (NO) by examining the expression of endothelial NO synthase (NOS), VEGF, and VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) proteins in relation to capillary growth in rat extensor digitorum longus muscles electrically stimulated for 2, 4, or 7 days with and without NOS inhibition by Nω-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA, 3 mg/day). Stimulation increased all proteins from 2 days onward, concomitantly with capillary proliferation (labeling for proliferating cell nuclear antigen). Capillary-to-fiber ratio was elevated by 25% after 7 days. Concurrent oral administration of l-NNA did not affect the increase in endothelial NOS but depressed its activity, as shown by increased blood pressure and decreased arteriolar diameters in 2-day-stimulated muscles. NOS inhibition eliminated the increased expression of VEGFR-2 and VEGF proteins in muscles stimulated for 2 and 4 days but not for 7 days. However, it depressed capillary proliferation and the increase in C/F at all time points. We conclude that, in stimulated muscles, NO, generated by activation of neuronal NOS by muscle activity or endothelial NOS by increased blood flow and capillary shear stress, may increase capillary proliferation in the early stages of stimulation through upregulation of VEGFR-2 and VEGF. With longer stimulation, capillary growth appears to require NO, and high levels of VEGF and VEGFR-2 may be contributing to maintenance of the increased capillary bed.
Carotid distensibility, baroreflex sensitivity, and orthostatic stress
Authors: Steinback Craig D. , O’Leary Deborah D. , Bakker Jason , Cechetto Angela D. , Ladak Hanif M. , Shoemaker J. Kevin
Published: February 2005

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that carotid arteries undergo rapid changes in distensibility on moving from the supine to head-up tilt (HUT) postures and, subsequently, that this change in carotid distensibility (cDa) might be associated with concurrent reductions in cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). Thus the effect of posture on carotid vascular mechanics and cardiovagal BRS with consideration for altered central hemodynamics (i.e., stroke volume; Doppler ultrasound) was examined. Carotid pulse pressure (cPP; Millar transducer) and contralateral B-mode ultrasound images were assessed at the carotid artery during supine and 60° HUT postures. From these measures, cDa was calculated at 5-mmHg pressure increments experienced during the cardiac cycle ( n = 6). cPP ( n = 9) was not different in the two postures. A smaller stroke volume being ejected into a smaller carotid artery in HUT explained the maintenance of cPP in HUT. Also, compared with supine, cDa was reset to a lower level in HUT (main effect of posture; P < 0.05). Cardiovagal BRS (sequence method) was diminished in HUT vs. supine ( P < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed between the tilt-induced changes in maximal cDa (in early systole) and cardiovagal BRS ( r2= 0.75; P < 0.05), but there was little predictive relationship between changes in cPP, systolic vessel dimensions, or average cDa and the corresponding change in BRS. The present results indicate that HUT elicits rapid changes in carotid artery mechanics and further suggest that reductions in the maximal cDa measured in early systole contribute to reduced cardiovagal BRS with HUT.
Free Fatty Acid Impairment of Nitric Oxide Production in Endothelial Cells Is Mediated by IKKβ
Authors: Kim Francis , Tysseling Kelly A. , Rice Julie , Pham Matilda , Haji Lutfiyah , Gallis Byron M. , Baas Arnold S. , Paramsothy Pathmaja , Giachelli Cecilia M. , Corson Marshall A. , Raines Elaine W.
Published: February 2005

Objective—

Free fatty acids (FFA) are commonly elevated in diabetes and obesity and have been shown to impair nitric oxide (NO) production by endothelial cells. However, the signaling pathways responsible for FFA impairment of NO production in endothelial cells have not been characterized. Insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) regulation is critical for activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in response to stimulation by insulin or fluid shear stress.

Methods and Results—

We demonstrate that insulin-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 and serine phosphorylation of Akt, eNOS, and NO production are significantly inhibited by treatment of bovine aortic endothelial cells with 100 μmol/L FFA composed of palmitic acid for 3 hours before stimulation with 100 nM insulin. This FFA preparation also increases, in a dose-dependent manner, IKKβ activity, which regulates activation of NF- κB, a transcriptional factor associated with inflammation. Similarly, elevation of other common FFA such as oleic and linoleic acid also induce IKKβ activation and inhibit insulin-mediated eNOS activation. Overexpression of a kinase inactive form of IKKβ blocks the ability of FFA to inhibit insulin-dependent NO production, whereas overexpression of wild-type IKKβ recapitulates the effect of FFA on insulin-dependent NO production.

Conclusions—

Elevated levels of common FFA found in human serum activate IKKβ in endothelial cells leading to reduced NO production, and thus may serve to link pathways involved in inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.
Role of Gas-6 in Adipogenesis and Nutritionally Induced Adipose Tissue Development in Mice
Authors: Maquoi Erik , Vörös Gabor , Carmeliet Peter , Collen Désiré , Lijnen H. Roger
Published: February 2005

Objective—

A potential role of growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas-6) in energy storage in adipose tissue was investigated in murine models of obesity. Gas-6 is a ligand for the Axl, C-Mer, and Sky family of tyrosine kinase receptors.

Methods and Results—

Whereas Gas-6, C-Mer, and Sky were expressed in mature murine adipocytes, the expression of Axl was restricted to the stromal-vascular fraction, which includes pre-adipocytes. During the in vitro conversion of adipogenic 3T3-F442A cells into mature adipocytes, the expression of Gas-6 increased in undifferentiated confluent pre-adipocytes during a transient phase of growth arrest. On treatment of these cells with an adipogenic medium, Gas-6 expression decreased sharply, coinciding with expression of early adipocytes markers. This modulation was not observed in the nonadipogenic 3T3-C2 cells. The Gas-6 mRNA level was transiently downregulated during nutritionally induced expansion of adipose tissues in vivo. When kept on a standard diet, no significant difference in either total body weight or weight of gonadal or subcutaneous fat pads was observed between
Gas-6
deficient and wild-type mice. On exposure to a high-fat diet, however,
Gas-6-
deficient mice had significantly less fat mass than their wild-type counterparts.

Conclusions—

Gas-6 enhances the accumulation of adipose tissue in diet-induced obese mice.
International Migration and National Belonging in the Swedish Debate on Dual Citizenship
Authors: Gustafson Per
Published: February 2005

This article uses a theoretical framework derived from migration studies to examine different understandings of migration and national belonging in the debate preceding Sweden’s full legal acceptance of dual citizenship in 2001. The empirical question concerns the place of nationally versus transnationally oriented conceptions of migration in the debate, and the analysis of a wide range of public documents demonstrates that both kinds of conceptions were present. Opponents of dual citizenship generally gave expression to a national understanding and considered migration a temporary deviation from a normality of undivided national belonging. Some proponents of dual citizenship, on the contrary, held a more transnational view of migration, and regarded mobility and the maintenance of dual or multiple national bonds as normal. However, there were also many proponents who, from a national perspective, treated migration as more or less problematic, but still advocated dual citizenship as a tool for reducing some of the individual and social problems that it brought about.
Labour Market Rewards and the Neo-Classical Soup
Authors: Bihagen Erik
Published: February 2005

Earlier research indicates clear gaps in wages and wage mobility between social classes. However, it has been argued that classes may be in the process of dissolving. Using Swedish cross-sectional and panel data, the following conclusions are drawn. The mismatch between class and economic reward increased in the last quarter of the 20th century, i.e. the data show a growing proportion of people whose wages are similar to those in other classes despite diverging mean differences in wages classes in the 1990s. Two processes are detected explaining this development: (1) changing age effects in the working class and (2) a dramatically widening sector cleavage within the service class. It is argued that these processes have implications for two of the main tasks of class analysis, i.e. assessing the development of inequality of opportunity and using class as an explanatory factor.
Nursing on the line: Experiences from England and Quebec (Canada)
Authors: Collin-Jacques Caroline , Smith Chris
Published: February 2005

Some industries, like telecommunications, finance and retail, have been operating call centres for several years and there has been growing academic interest in exploring the work experience of employees taking calls and answering telephone queries assisted by computers. Nurses who staff telephone centres in the healthcare industry are different from their counterparts in other fields. These are highly qualified workers with a strong occupational identity and distinct spheres of competence. However, occupation is not a constant as a mediator of technology and it is argued that the extent to which nurses were able to shape their call centre work differed cross-nationally owing to the simultaneous interplay of different societal constructions of nursing and the national-historical development of tele-health centres. This article uses cross-national qualitative case study research to examine the different effects of occupation, nation and timing of industry formation on the design and experience of call centre work in the healthcare industry.
The future of the business school: Knowledge challenges and opportunities
Authors: Starkey Ken , Tempest Sue
Published: February 2005

Despite its importance, there is relatively little serious academic research into the business school. This article sets out to stimulate debate that will fill this gap. We review the origins and evolution of the business school and debates about management research and teaching in terms of ideals and practice. Increasingly, the role of the business school is being questioned but much of this debate looks at the business school in isolation from changes in the wider university sector. We situate our analysis within the broader context of debates about the university as a privileged knowledge space. We conclude by suggesting that the future of the business school can best be discussed in terms of changes in knowledge production and that the business school has the opportunity to position itself as a unique site of knowledge generation and diffusion.
An Experimental and Numerical Study on the Impact Energy Absorption Characteristics of the Multiaxial Warp Knitted (MWK) Reinforced Composites
Authors: Rongxing Zhou , Hong Hu , Nanliang Chen , Xunwei Feng
Published: February 2005

In this paper, an experimental and numerical study on the energy absorption characteristics due to the low-velocity impact of the composites reinforced by the multiaxial warp knitted (MWK) structures with double loop pillar stitch and common tricot stitch are presented. The influences of the MWK structural parameters on the impact behavior and energy absorption properties are discussed. A good agreement between the experimental results and simulation is obtained.
In-plane and Out-of-plane Characteristics of Three-dimensional Textile Composites
Authors: Takatoya Takeshi , Susuki Ippei
Published: February 2005

In an effort to achieve high performance and low cost manufacturing of composite structures, this study focuses on the resin film infusion (RFI) process and the three-dimensional (3-D) textile preform, which consists of in-plane and out-of-plane fibers for the near net-shape. Bismaleimide resin system is selected for the RFI process. In this study, the fundamental properties of 3-D textile composites under room temperature and dry conditions are characterized and compared with those of two-dimensional laminate composites of the same resin system. The 3-D textile composites show 0-13% lower in-plane properties, but 10-47% higher properties for open-hole and impact damage.
Implementing an Empowerment-Based Diabetes Self-management Education Program
Authors: Funnell Martha M. , Nwankwo Robin , Gillard Mary Lou , Anderson Robert M. , Tang Tricia S.
Published: February 2005

Diabetes educators are challenged to develop culturally appropriate, integrated, behaviorally based, effective education programs. This article describes the intervention used in a problem-based educational program for urban African Americans with diabetes. The intervention consisted of six 2-hour, weekly group educational and data collection sessions. No lectures were used, and the content was determined by participants’ questions and concerns. Culturally tailored written educational materials were also provided.
Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose in a Multiethnic Population of Rural Older Adults With Diabetes
Authors: Skelly Anne H. , Arcury Thomas A. , Snively Beverly M. , Bell Ronny A. , Smith Shannon L. , Wetmore Lindsay K. , Quandt Sara A.
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to describe self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) practices of 698 older adults with type 2 diabetes in the rural Southeast, to identify characteristics differentiating testers from nontesters, and to identify personal and support-related predictors of monitoring frequency.

Methods

The ELDER (Evaluating Long-term Diabetes Selfmanagement Among Elderly Rural Adults) study was a population-based, cross-sectional survey of African American, Native American, and white Medicare recipients = 65 years with diagnosed diabetes. Data were obtained through in-home interviews. Multiple logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with SMBG and frequency of monitoring.

Results

Seventy-seven percent of respondents practiced SMBG in the previous week; 40% tested every day in that week. No ethnic differences were seen. Significant independent predictors of any SMBG were medication regimen (taking oral agents or insulin with or without oral agents) and health care provider (HCP) recommendation to test. Among those monitoring, significant independent predictors of SMBG frequency were medication regimen, HCP recommendation to test, duration of diabetes, and receiving help with testing, which was negatively associated with monitoring frequency.

Conclusions

Among rural older persons with diabetes, HCP recommendation significantly affected practicing SMBG and SMBG frequency. These findings suggest points of intervention by diabetes educators with this vulnerable population. Further research is needed to determine how older adults use SMBG data in their self-care regimen.
Developing a New Generation of Ongoing Diabetes Self-management Support Interventions
Authors: Tang Tricia S. , Gillard Mary Lou , Funnell Martha M. , Nwankwo Robin , Parker Ebony , Spurlock David , Anderson Robert M.
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact of an innovative, community-based, ongoing self-management intervention aimed at enhancing and sustaining self-care behaviors over the long term among urban African Americans with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

Sixty-two African American men and women completed the study. Participants were invited to attend 24 weekly, consecutive, diabetes self-management support/ education groups. The flow of the weekly group sessions was guided by questions and concerns of the patients. Baseline and 6-month follow-up metabolic functioning, lipid profiles, cardiovascular functioning, and self-care behaviors were assessed.

Results

Ninety percent (n = 56) of the sample attended at least 1 session; 40% attended at least 12 or more sessions. Paired t tests found significant improvements in body mass index (P< .001), total cholesterol (P< .01), high density lipoprotein (P< .05), and low-density lipoprotein (P< .001). Significant increases were also found for self-care behaviors (P< .05).

Conclusions

Preliminary evidence suggests that participation in this weekly problem-based, self-management support intervention can yield diabetes-related health benefits.
Plenty of Sickness
Authors: Wenzel Jennifer , Utz Sharon W. , Steeves Richard , Hinton Ivy , Jones Randy A.
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The purposes of this study were to (1) describe facilitators and barriers to self-care for African Americans with type 2 diabetes living in a rural community, (2) compare experiences of men and women, and (3) solicit recommendations for programs of care.

Methods

Focus groups with small numbers of men and women (n = 7) were held to explore facilitators and barriers to self-management. Groups were led by moderators of the same gender and race as participants. Data from these information-rich cases were analyzed thematically using Folio Views ® and Inspiration ®software.

Results

Final categories included “being diagnosed,” “diabetes as betrayal by the body,” “provider-individual-family relationship,” “self-management,” and “difficulty getting help.” Although limited by sample size and methodology, results indicate differences by gender that require additional investigation.

Conclusions

Knowledge of self-care patterns is foundational to designing culturally appropriate interventions and programs of care for rural African Americans living with diabetes.
Remembering probation in Scotland
Authors: McNeill Fergus
Published: February 2005

Set within the contexts of probation’s upcoming centenary in Scotland (in 2005) and the current debate about the future of criminal justice social work in Scotland (and probation in England and Wales), this article provides an account of the early history of probation in Scotland, focussing on the rarely discussed period between 1905 and 1968. Following Nellis’s (2001) injunction to develop a ‘historically tutored memory’ as a defence against the narrowing of our visions for the future, and drawing on Vanstone’s (2004) recent work on the history of the service in England and Wales, the article pieces together and seeks to understand a significant change in Scottish probation’s core identity and purpose from providing supervision as an alternative to punishment to providing ‘treatment’ as a means of reforming offenders. In the concluding discussion, the article briefly summarises the subsequent move towards a welfare-oriented approach after 1968 and, more recently the drift towards public protection as an overarching purpose (Robinson and McNeill, 2004). The article concludes that the current debate in Scotland should shift from ‘second order’ questions around organizational arrangements to ‘first order’ questions around which aspects of these various purposes and identities should endure in the 21st century.
Probation in the Republic of Ireland: Context and challenges
Authors: Healy Deirdre , O’Donnell Ian
Published: February 2005

The role of probation in the Republic of Ireland is poorly understood and has attracted little critical attention. The guiding legislation is outdated and the Probation and Welfare Service does not generate the information required to evaluate its own performance. To become more accountable, and demonstrably effective, will require a determined effort both to meet rigorous quality standards in terms of research design and to overcome some of the problems of scale that beset small jurisdictions.
Analyzing the analysts
Authors: Field Graham
Published: February 2005

AQUTE is an online product, developed by AQ Research in collaboration with Bureau van Dijk, to facilitate the process of equity research ranking of companies and take account of factors that are usually measured by opinion polls and by objective performance measures. The analysis sets out to judge research analysts on the performance of their own products, including the forecasts and recommendations which are included in virtually every research report issued by investment banks and research houses, using two key metrics: the Accuracy Quotient (AQ); and the Recommendations Quotient (RQ). The AQ metric takes account of three factors: the percentage difference between an analyst’s forecast of a company’s earnings per share (eps) and the eps value which the company actually reports; the number of changes made by the analyst to the forecast over a two year period; and the average size of those changes. The RQ metric measures the performance of recommendations made by analysts in a wide range of factors, including: simple buy/sell advice; highly speculative advice; take profits advice; and trading buy advice. The process provides standardized recommendations which are assessed over the past 12 months to assess the accuracy of the forecasts. The practical applications of the technique include: assessing which brokers are best; screening the consensus; identifying predictable companies; and determining how predictable are the company earnings. AQUTE analysis has as its ultimate aim the ability to contribute to a better understanding and use of the large volume of equity research that is produced by current business analysis.
Work-life balance
Authors: Byrne Una
Published: February 2005

This article discusses the development of the concept of the ‘work-life balance’ as a means of tackling the problem of increasing amounts of stress in the work-place as people try to juggle a wide range of factors in their life/work environment, including: work; family; friends; health; and spirit/self. It is argued that, of the factors involved, work is the one which is most elastic and can be managed in such a way as to avoiding jeopardizing the other factors. A major driver of the trend towards achieving work-life balance is the fact that younger people are not prepared to work in the same way as their parents, wanting greater control, and a bigger say in the structure of their jobs and what they could potentially offer in the future. The search for work-life balance is a process in which people seek to change things in accordance with changes in their own priorities, physical, psychological or both, and these can be triggered in their turn by factors such as: age; changes in working conditions; the demands of new technology; and poor management. Employees benefit through: having a greater responsibility and a sense of ownership; having better relations with management; avoiding bringing problems at home to work, and vice versa; having the time to focus more on life outside work; and having greater control of their working lives. The achievement of better work-life balance can yield dividends for employers in terms of: having a more motivated, productive and less stressed workforce that feels valued; attracting a wider range of candidates, such as older part-time workers and carers; increased productivity and reduced absenteeism; gaining the reputation of being an employer of choice; retaining valued employees; achieving reduced costs; and maximizing available labour. The author considers some of the issues which might arise when implementing a work-life balance strategy and offers advice on implementing such a scheme.
Gender, Family Characteristics, and Publication Productivity among Scientists
Authors: Fox Mary Frank
Published: February 2005

This paper concentrates upon the relationship between marriage, parental status, and publication productivity for women in academic science, with comparisons to men. Findings indicate that gender, family characteristics, and productivity are complex considerations that go beyond being married or not married, and the presence or absence of children. For women particularly, the relationship between marriage and productivity varies by type of marriage: first compared with subsequent marriage, and occupation of spouse (in scientific compared with non-scientific occupation). Further, type of family composition is important: women with preschool children have higher productivity than women without children or with school-age children. Women with preschool children are found to be a socially selective group in their characteristics, particularly in their allocations of time.
Dockets, Deals, and Sagas
Authors: Owen-Smith Jason
Published: February 2005

University Technology Licensing Offices (TLOs) are strategic sites for examining efforts to concretize, frame, and market early stage technologies. This paper draws on 18 months of fieldwork in a private university TLO to analyze collective decision-making efforts during licensing meetings. I describe three processes - docket description, deal framing, and problem resolution - that highlight the central roles that locally sensible strategies and languages play in describing and comparing disparate technologies. Such approaches reflect the collective experience of licensing associates and, when rationalized through organizational learning, represent the processual underpinnings of ongoing transformations in the institutional arrangements of US universities. Close examination of meeting discussions reveals multiple ‘conceptual spaces’ that support TLO decision-making and more closely connects theoretical work in science and technology studies with theories of organizational learning and with economic sociology’s growing emphasis on commensuration.
BRCA Patients and Clinical Collectives
Authors: Bourret Pascale
Published: February 2005

Since the late 1980s, in France and in a number of other countries, cancer genetics testing has become a clinical reality, particularly for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA tests allowing for the assessment of an increased cancer risk among patients and their healthy relatives are now being routinely performed as part of clinical practice. Based on fieldwork on French clinical cancer genetics and on the French Cancer Genetics Collaborative Network, this paper examines the configuration of entities, actors and activities mobilized by the performance of BRCA testing, and argues that the development of clinical molecular genetic practices is predicated upon the development of new forms of collaborative work that lead to a transformation of the content and organization of medical activities and judgements. The paper analyses three major collective configurations - local multidisciplinary collectives, data collectives and new clinical collectives - and argues that they not only provide the material conditions needed to carry out the relevant activities, but also articulate a series of distinctive bio-clinical interventions. These interventions provide an interface with research activities, produce the epidemiological measurements and tools that are a sine qua non for clinical work in this field, and, most importantly, establish the conventions that underlie practices, which define the criteria that turn tools and novel entities into operational components of clinical settings. It thus appears that in the field of clinical cancer genetics, bioclinical collectives, as a locus of expertise, have replaced the individual judgement of the practicing clinician.
The Didactic Power of Metaphor in the Aphoristic Sayings of Proverbs
Authors: Brown William P.
Published: February 2005

Many proverbial sayings make significant use of metaphor not simply to enhance their rhetorical appeal but to convey essential meaning. By examining aphorisms that refer to human discourse, this article argues that a cognitive approach to metaphor not only sheds light on the didactic power of aphorisms, but also opens new avenues of intertextual analysis among the various sayings and collections of Proverbs. Such an approach highlights, for example, the differing metaphorical schemas employed by the socalled Solomonic and Hezekian collections.
Affirming Less as More: Scholarly Engagements with Aphoristic Rhetoric
Authors: Kuntz J. Kenneth
Published: February 2005

Focused on perceptible gains and trends in biblical scholarship during the past two decades as it engages the self-contained aphorisms that abound in Proverbs 10–29, this essay offers a critical discussion of diverse insights advanced by three categories of scholars: those whose comprehensive studies in Biblical Hebrew poetry target the free-standing proverb (Kugel, Berlin, Alter, Watson, Alonso Schökel, Gillingham, and Fokkelman); those whose monographs and articles center in more specific ways on the literary dimensions of the sapiential couplet (Williams, Murphy,McCreesh, Perry, Storøy, Wehrle, Salisbury, Martin, Forti, and Nel); and those who address issues that bear upon traditional sayings and proverb performance (Fontaine, Westermann, and Golka).
Situating Maslow in Cold War America
Authors: Cooke Bill , Mills Albert J. , Kelley Elizabeth S.
Published: February 2005

This article makes the case for situating understandings of Abraham Maslow and his ideas within Cold War America. After discussing the general significance of Maslow, we set out the historical conditions of Cold War culture and social institutions in the United States. We then make links between these conditions and Maslow’s life, his work, and his reflexive awareness of them. This analysis maps, inter alia, Maslow’s place and agency in the Cold War academy and his positions on (un)Americanism, liberalism, religion and secularism, and modernization and Marx. The links identified reveal new explanations of Maslow’s life, work, and significance in the management canon and indicate that the Cold War should be considered as a hitherto missing grand narrative, within which the history of management ideas more generally should be situated.
Japan’s Socialization into Janus-Faced European International Society
Authors: Suzuki Shogo
Published: February 2005

This article joins the debate on the entry of non-European states into International Society by examining the socialization of Japan into the normative framework of European International Society during the Meiji period. Despite recent arguments that the English School has pioneered an interpretivist approach in the study of international politics, their conceptualization of the expansion of International Society has paid scant regard to non-European perspectives. As a consequence, International Society is commonly portrayed as playing a progressive role in mitigating conflict and enhancing world order. The article challenges the lopsided portrayal of how non-European states were socialized into International Society. It illustrates that Japan was socialized into a Janus-faced International Society. Finally, it argues that the English School’s normative commitment to international order and exclusion of non-European perspectives is in danger of undermining its interpretivist credentials.
Student fraud: The need for clear regulations for dismissal or transfer from healthcare training programmes for students who are not of good character
Authors: Semple Martin , Kenkre Joyce , Achilles John
Published: February 2005

Fraud is defined as deliberate intention to deceive, and is contrary to the two most valued qualities of nurses—honesty and integrity. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2002a) states in its Code of Professional Conduct that the nurse must be trustworthy. Students on an educational programme leading to a professional qualification as a registered nurse or midwife, which gives them the right to practise those professions, are subject to particular standards of behaviour. Professionalism in nursing means that nurses profess to something that makes them guardians of certain values. Evidence of a growth in plagiarism and other offences among students raises concerns about the trustworthiness of individuals who aspire to enter the NMC professional register whereupon they will be expected to act as guardians of certain values.
Recent trends in undergraduate nurse research at a district general hospital in the UK: Threats and mitigation
Authors: Smith Phillip , Scott Julie , Gooch Sally , Pal Sandip
Published: February 2005

The amount and type of research carried out by undergraduate nurses at an acute secondary care NHS Trust (district general hospital) in England before and after the Department of Health introduced the Research Governance Framework (RGF) was assessed. A total of 22 studies were identified. These were mainly questionnaires directed to staff and contributed little to areas of National Priority (other than ‘building research capacity’). Thirteen nurses were identified who were still at the Trust and for whom there was a current contact postal or email address. These nurses were sent a questionnaire to describe their experiences and perceived benefits of completing a research project. There were five respondents who all indicated that the projects were based on a reflection of local practice and that the completion of a research project increased their confidence to complete a further research project. However, only one person had actually completed a project after graduation. Since the RGF was introduced in 2001 there were no projects registered by undergraduate nurses. This paper discusses these findings and assesses ways to promote nursing research. The main conclusion is that nurses should conduct a research project as part of undergraduate training.
Clinical academic careers for educators and researchers in nursing
Authors: Butterworth A. , Jackson C. , Brown E. , Hessey E. , Fergusson J. , Orme M.
Published: February 2005

In 2003 the two UK Government departments of Health and Education and Skills commissioned a team of investigators to examine a growing crisis in the educator and researcher workforce in the health, social care and education communities. The team were asked to look at all professions and take forward an extensive consultation process. This article describes the approach taken by the project team, articulates issues facing educators and researchers in nursing and suggests some models for career development. A series of recommendations are listed and shown to cover three main areas: (1) strategic drivers; (2) employment practices; and (3) matters relating to labour market intelligence. It can be shown that many of the problems facing nurse educators and researchers are shared with other staff groups in health and social care and that some ‘quick win’ solutions are possible. Although some effective costneutral work can be undertaken now, investment by Government is needed to make more substantial changes. Some of this investment may be found from existing funding streams but additional funding is likely to be necessary.
Nursing in Slovenia
Authors: Panjkihar M. , Butterworth A.
Published: February 2005

This paper is concerned with the utility of nursing theories in Slovene nursing. Slovene nurses cannot realistically expect help from randomly and uncritically selected nursing theories in the development of education curricula and further, should not blindly accept them in practice. This is essentially because existing theories have often been developed to help nurses from other countries work in different health and nursing environments. Slovene nurses can use different theories from other countries, but they need to be evaluated and tested in Slovene health and nursing environments before they are utilised. If not, they run the risk of being merely a professional/cultural imperialism imposed on Slovene nurses by those from other countries, therefore adding little advantage.
Presenting a framework for developing nursing roles in Scotland
Authors: Lockhart Karen
Published: February 2005

Nursing has been at the forefront of developing new roles for many decades. However, there is a view that such developments have been piecemeal and fragmented and that the value for patients has not always been explicit. In addition, there has not always been strong managerial support for new roles, resulting in burn-out, lack of succession planning and excessive workload. As part of Scotland's focus on recruitment and retention of nurses and midwives, it was decided to develop a framework for the development of new roles that would ensure a sound planning process, a clear focus for the role and structures for its support and sustainability. This paper describes the process of developing the framework for consultation.
Playing house: A ‘sideways’ glance at literacy and identity in early childhood
Authors: Kendrick Maureen
Published: February 2005

Drawing on theoretical perspectives related to play and identity, play as a literary and social text, and multimodality, I present an analysis of a play narrative centred on the theme of playing house. The narrative exemplifies the interconnections between literacy and identity in the social and cultural world of a young girl growing up in a multilingual, multi-literate household in an inner-city area of a western Canadian city. The example brings to the forefront how systematic examinations of children’s play narratives have the potential to contribute to current thought on literacy learning and self-construction in early childhood. Understanding the imagined identities children portray in play may be particularly revealing in terms of understanding how they position themselves in the world.