bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practices in the Republic of Ireland Through a Meta-Analysis of Functionalist Exchange
Authors: Leonard Liam , Kenny Paula
Published: December 2010

This article presents an analysis of restorative justice practice in the Republic of Ireland. This is achieved through an examination of data on restorative justice conferencing events in various venues around Ireland. From these data, the authors analyze these restorative events through an examination of the “functionalist exchange,” which occurs during the interaction between participants in such events. The extent of functionalist exchange is measured through an application of the meta-analysis first utilized in relation to restorative justice practice by Jeff Latimer, Craig Dowden, and Danielle Muise. The study assesses the extent to which functionalist roles become significant in restorative conference outcomes. The article argues that to be truly restorative, events must incorporate the extent to which remorse and subsequent satisfaction is expressed. In addition, the theories of restorative justice are shown to require a further analysis from the practitioners’ perspective, which this article provides. By examining the concepts such as Tomkins’ affect theory and Nathanson’s compass of shame, along with the practitioner-based perspective of Morris and Maxwell, this research constructs a wider understanding of the significance of the functionalist roles of participants during restorative events.
Oversight of Prison Conditions and Investigations of Deaths in Custody: International Human Rights Standards and the Practice in Ireland
Authors: Martynowicz Agnieszka
Published: December 2010

This article examines the mechanisms currently available in Ireland for the oversight of prison conditions and investigation of deaths in custody. It further analyses those against international human rights standards. The establishment of appropriate oversight and investigative mechanisms is increasingly important in the context of the deteriorating conditions in Irish prisons that have been regularly criticized by international bodies such as the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. This article concludes that some significant reforms are needed in Ireland to ensure effective protection of prisoners’ rights.
Explaining Educational Achievement and Career Aspirations among Young British Pakistanis: Mobilizing ‘Ethnic Capital’?
Authors: Shah Bindi , Dwyer Claire , Modood Tariq
Published: December 2010

This article offers an explanation for recent trends that indicate higher numbers of young British Pakistani men and women pursue higher education compared to their white peers. Our qualitative research provides evidence for shared norms and values amongst British Pakistani families, what we term ‘ethnic capital’. However, our findings also highlight differences between families. The Bourdieuian notion of ‘cultural capital’ explains educational success among middle-class British Pakistani families. We argue, however, that insufficient attention has been given to the relation between education and ethnicity, and particularly the role of ‘ethnic capital’ in ameliorating social class disadvantage. Our research also recognizes the limitations of ‘ethnic capital’ and traces the interplay of ethnicity with gender and religion that produces differences between, and within, working-class British Pakistani families. We also emphasize how structural constraints, selective school systems and racialized labour markets, influence the effectiveness of ‘ethnic capital’ in promoting educational achievement and social mobility.
An Assessment of Parking Fare Rate Deregulation in Taipei
Authors: Shyr Oliver , Wu Kuo-Chun
Published: December 2010

During the period of exhibition events such as COMPTEX, the traffic in downtown Taipei is often congested. To manage parking demand effectively, city officials had proposed to open bidding for public parking facilities with or without regulated rates. The regulated rates are calculated based on the optimisation of total social welfare which includes consumer and producer surplus as well as the external costs of all modes of transport. We find that the deregulated parking fees are mostly higher than the existing rates, while the regulated rates are generally higher than the deregulated rates, except for a few special cases. Although raising parking fees seems to be inevitable and is justified by the optimisation of social welfare, it is not necessarily a politically correct decision for local politicians. It is expected that new regulated rates to be lower than projected rates, but higher than existing rates.
Physicians, Guidelines, and Cognitive Tasks
Authors: Bracha Yiscah , Brottman Gail , Carlson Angeline
Published: December 2010

Using a case study analysis of the Expert Panel Report 3 ( EPR-3) : Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma, this article compares the workflows and knowledge requirements of primary care practice to the structure and content of a well-respected set of clinical guidelines. The authors show that there are discrepancies between physician workflow and the structure of the EPR-3, as well as between physicians’ knowledge requirements and the content of the EPR-3. The analysis suggests that closing the gap between medical knowledge and practice will require alternative ways to represent guidelines’ knowledge and recommendations.
Individual differences in music consumption are predicted by uses of music and age rather than emotional intelligence, neuroticism, extraversion or openness
Authors: Chamorro-Premuzic Tomas , Swami Viren , Cermakova Blanka
Published: December 2010

The current study examined the association of different uses of music, music consumption, and individual differences in personality, trait emotional intelligence, and demographics. A total of 535 British participants completed a battery of scales including the Uses of Music Inventory, the International Personality Item Pool, and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (Short-Form), a novel scale designed to assess music consumption, and provided their demographic details. Results showed significant positive effects of all music uses factors, as well as negative effects of age, onto music consumption. In addition, effects of Neuroticism on emotional music use and Openness on cognitive music use were replicated, though the hypotheses of a positive effect of Extraversion onto background music use or trait EI onto emotional use of music were not supported. Results are discussed in terms of their applied implications for consumer research, as well as their theoretical implications with regard to the psychology of musical preferences.
Neoliberalism as unexceptional: Economic zones and the everyday precariousness of working life in South India
Authors: Cross Jamie
Published: December 2010

The economic enclaves that are being built across South India would appear to exemplify what Aihwa Ong has called ‘neoliberalism as exception’. Drawing on fieldwork in and around one ‘special economic zone’ in the state of Andhra Pradesh, this article critiques the language of exceptionality by exploring the structural continuities and dynamic interconnections between the zone and what continues to be called the ‘informal economy’. Rather than valorize India’s economic zones as manifestations of a juridical-discursive ‘exception’ in which the state experiments with alternative forms of market-oriented rule or as carceral spaces in which working populations are subjected to innovations in bio-political government this article shows how these zones formalize conditions of precariousness and political subjectivity that already characterize working life in much of South India, incorporating social networks and livelihoods that extend beyond their walls.
The spectacle of nature in the global economy of appearances: Anthropological engagements with the spectacular mediations of transnational conservation
Authors: Igoe Jim
Published: December 2010

Demands for economic growth are often visibly at odds with public concerns about what this growth portends for the future of our planet. In this context the production and dissemination of images not only shape people’s perceptions of the world, but mediate social and human—environmental relationships. Debord saw such mediation as a central feature of late capitalism, in which images become commodities alienated from the relationships that produced them and consumed in ignorance of the same. As biodiversity conservation and capitalism become increasingly intertwined, human— environmental relationships are being spectacularized in a proliferating smorgasbord of images and media. This article presents a theoretical framework for thinking about these transformations as they pertain to biodiversity conservation, consumerism and the environmental contradictions of global neoliberalism. I then use fieldwork from Tanzania to demonstrate the value of this approach. I conclude by discussing the larger social and theoretical implications of this material.
Older Adults and the “One-Size-Fits-All” Medical Home Model
Authors: Hoff Timothy
Published: December 2010

The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) represents a promising approach to improving U.S. health care delivery. Yet overemphasis on a “one-size-fits-all” PCMH model could alienate specific patient populations such as older adults and result in PCMH-type care that does not meet its potential for all patient groups. This article suggests that better aligning the standard PCMH model to the needs, preferences, and care realities of older adults could increase long-term success of the model. The field of gerontology has an important role to play in achieving this alignment.
Breastfeeding Initiation in a Rural Sample: Predictive Factors and the Role of Smoking
Authors: Bailey Beth A. , Wright Heather N.
Published: December 2010

The study objective was to identify demographic, medical, and health behavior factors that predict breastfeeding initiation in a rural population with low breastfeeding rates. Participants were 2323 women who experienced consecutive deliveries at 2 hospitals, with data obtained through detailed chart review. Only half the women initiated breastfeeding, which was significantly associated with higher levels of education, private insurance, nonsmoking and non-drug-using status, and primiparity, after controlling for confounders. Follow-up analyses revealed that smoking status was the strongest predictor of failure to breastfeed, with nonsmokers nearly twice as likely to breastfeed as smokers and with those who had smoked a pack per day or more the least likely to breastfeed. Findings reveal many factors placing women at risk for not breastfeeding and suggest that intervention efforts should encourage a combination of smoking cessation and breastfeeding while emphasizing that breastfeeding is not contraindicated even if the mother continues to smoke.
A Career Decision-Making Profile of Latina/o Incoming College Students
Authors: Risco Cristina M. , Duffy Ryan D.
Published: December 2010

The current study explored the work values, career decidedness, and career choice comfort of 236 Latina/o incoming college students. Of a possible 13 work values, students placed more importance on work enjoyment, genuine interest in the field, and job security and less importance on family expectations, having free time, and working without close supervision. Latina students placed more importance on genuine interest in the field and using their career to make a difference, whereas Latino students placed more importance on high anticipated earnings and working without close supervision. Additionally, regression analyses revealed that 17% of the variance in the prediction of career decidedness was determined by self-clarity, indecisiveness, and career choice importance; these same variables were found to predict 41% of the variance in career choice comfort. Among these variables, Latina students were found to be more indecisive and to have lower career choice importance. Research and practice implications are suggested.
Opting In Between
Authors: Grant-Vallone Elisa J. , Ensher Ellen A.
Published: December 2010

Professional women with children are inundated with conflicting messages about how to manage their careers and personal lives and whether they should “opt in” or “opt out” of the workforce. Using in-depth interviews with 23 professional women, this study focused on the career choices that women make after having children. The authors found that many mothers neither opt in or opt out but successfully function in between these two choices, or opt “in between,” by working flexible hours, by working part-time, and/or by being involved with home-based entrepreneurial endeavors. Using the boundaryless career typology of knowing why, knowing how, and knowing whom, the authors summarize the key strategies that mothers use to opt in between. The interviewees were clear about why they were working, managed their careers by finding the right organizational fit, did not focus on guilt or perfectionism, and maintained excellent networks of friends, bosses, colleagues, and day care providers.
What Constitutes an Episode in Episodic Memory?
Authors: Ezzyat Youssef , Davachi Lila
Published: December 2010

The idea of episodic memory implies the existence of a process that segments experience into episodes so that they can be stored in memory. It is therefore surprising that the link between event segmentation and the organization of experiences into episodes in memory has not been addressed. We found that after participants read narratives containing temporal event boundaries at varying locations in the narrative, their long-term associative memory for information across event boundaries was lower than their memory for information within an event. This suggests that event segmentation during encoding resulted in segmentation of those same events in memory. Further, functional imaging data revealed that, across participants, brain activity consistent with the ongoing integration of information within events correlated with this pattern of mnemonic segmentation. These data are the first to address the mechanisms that support the organization of experiences into episodes in long-term memory.
Combined effects of niacin and chromium treatment on heart of hyperlipidemic rats
Authors: Döger M Mutluhan , Sokmen Bahar B , Yanardag Refiye
Published: December 2010

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of the combination of niacin and chromium(III)-chloride on heart glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels, serum paraoxonase (PON), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activities and protein carbonyl contents (PCC) of hyperlipidemic rats. In this study, female Swiss albino rats were used. They were divided into four groups. The animals of the first group (group I) were fed with pellet chow. The rats (group II) were fed with a lipogenic diet consisting of 2% cholesterol, 0.5% cholic acid and 20% sunflower oil added to the pellet chow, and given 3% alcoholic water for 60 days. The rats (group III) were fed with the same lipogenic diet and treated by gavage technique with CrCl3 6H2O to a dose of 250 µg/kg and 100 mg/kg niacin for 45 days, 15 days after experimental animals were done hyperlipidemic. Group IV was fed with pellet chow and treated with 250 µg/kg CrCl3 6H2O and 100 mg/kg niacin for 45 days. On the 60th day, the heart tissue and blood samples were taken from animals. As a result, heart LPO, serum GGT activity and serum PCC were increased; serum PON activity and heart GSH levels were decreased in hyperlipidemic rats. Treatment with combined niacin and chromium reversed these effects. In conclusion, the combined treatment with niacin and chromium might induce a protective effect on heart tissue.
Assessing and quantifying inter-rater variation for dichotomous ratings using a Rasch model
Authors: Petersen Jørgen Holm , Larsen Klaus , Kreiner Svend
Published: December 2010

We present a new model-based approach to the analysis of agreement between raters in a situation where all raters have supplied dichotomous ratings of the same cases in a sample. The model is a logistic regression model with random effects – a Rasch model. In the rater setting, the Rasch model includes parameters that allow raters to have different propensities to score a given set of individuals positively or negatively – the rater bias. An exact score test of the hypothesis of no rater bias is proposed and is shown to be an exact generalised McNemar's test. Based on the model, we suggest quantifying the rater variation as a suitable measure of the variation of the rater odds ratios. An important example that will serve to motivate and illustrate the proposed model, is the study of Umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry used by obstetricians to assess the status of a foetus. The purpose of the assessment is to improve the foetus' chance of survival by choosing the optimal time of elective delivery. In the study, data related to 139 perinatal deaths were sent to 32 experts who were asked whether the use of Doppler velocimetry might have prevented each death.
Global Adjustment Perspectives of Indian Professionals
Authors: Sharma Ekta
Published: December 2010

The present article examines the personality of the Indian expatriates. Along with the Multi personality questionnaire (MPQ) to assess personality, three levels of adjustment were also used. The study took place among a sample of expatriates (N = 120) during their assignments in Japan, US, UK and other countries. The MPQ has scales for cultural empathy, open-mindedness, social initiative, emotional stability and flexibility. Married expatriates showed higher levels of adjustment than expatriates who were single or separated. Among the MPQ factors, open-mindedness and emotional stability shows the strongest relation. Cultural empathy turns out to be the predictor of personal adjustment. Flexibility is strongly correlated to social adjustment. Indian expatriates score highest on open-mindedness.
Inter-Relationship of Web Site Interactivity and Customer Outcomes
Authors: Mann Bikram Jit Singh , Sahni Sunpreet Kaur
Published: December 2010

This article explores the inter-relationship between the two dimensions of a web site—web site interactivity and customer outcomes. The study investigates how web site interactivity leads to positive customer outcomes in the context of Internet Banking web sites. Navigation structure and information content constitute the antecedents of web site interactivity whereas the dimension of customer outcomes has been studied through customer service quality; customer satisfaction; perceived security risk and trust of the web site. In order to gauge the data for internal consistency, various reliability and validity procedures have been carried out. AMOS software has been used for analysis of the data using Structural Equation Modeling technique. The findings indicate that web site design factors like navigation structure and information content are important antecedents to customer service quality, which further influences customer satisfaction and the trust of Internet Banking web sites. The study would provide insights to the global marketers by providing accurate and timely information along with security measures; thus it can enhance customer service quality, customer satisfaction and trust. The overview of the study reveals the importance and contribution of each construct in the formation of trust towards Internet Banking web site.
Developing a Conceptual Framework for Strategic Technology Management Using ISM and MICMAC Methodology
Authors: Sahoo Tapan , Banwet D.K. , Momaya K.
Published: December 2010

The Automotive Industry has been one of the sunrise industries in India and is poised to enhance its contribution from 5 per cent of GDP in 2006 to 10 per cent by 2016. With the liberalization and globalization process which started in 1991, the industry is in the process of transforming itself from being a ‘Job order fulfiller’ to being an ‘Integrated Organisation’. Most automobile and auto-component players in India have chosen the path of attempting to progress on operational/manufacturing capabilities. For advancing on technology capability dimension, they mostly relied on international collaborations. Without a holistic framework of Strategic Technology Management (STM), most of the collaboration has been of limited help and many players are progressing very slowly on technology capability. The key objective of this article is to review the situation related to STM in the industry and evolve a macro level conceptual framework for STM. For this purpose, we did extensive fieldwork and used the methodologies like Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and MICMAC, as they help in identifying the linkages, hierarchies and levels of various enablers of STM and thus provide insights into the complex issue. Factors for STM were evolved from literature survey and expert opinion. A key contribution of the article is evolving a conceptual framework for STM in emerging economy context. The conceptual framework can act as a valuable guide for leaders of the automotive and other industries to think and decide about the future path they need to take to succeed in the emerging era.
Impulse Buying
Authors: Kalla Supriya M. , Arora A.P.
Published: December 2010

This article reviews extant literature in the field of impulse buying. This review has been undertaken with a specific focus on understanding the phenomenon of ‘impulse buying’ and the factors that work towards motivating impulsive action in perspective of buying. Starting with a historical overview that provides genesis of this thought, the review moves into analysis of current definitions of ‘impulse buy-ing’. After providing a thorough picture of this phenomenon, the article deals with internal and external motivators of impulse buying. At various points in the article and at the end, future research directions that follow the relevant sections are discussed as propositions.

Design/methodology/approach: The existing body of academic literature in the area under consideration is reviewed and an attempt has been made to provide an integrated portrayal of current level of knowledge in this field. In addition, this literature review comprises contributions from different and yet relevant fields of knowledge, in order to present a holistic perspective of impulse buying phenomenon. This article covers thoughts on the subject from domain of marketing and for developing a deeper understanding of consumer with respect to the phenomenon of ‘impulse buying’; this review looks into disciplines of psychology and social psychology. Academic papers, books and other electronic sources that were used for this purpose were then chronologically placed from 1959–2009. Research papers and books from this time period have been selected basis their relevance to topic of this review. As a first step, the keywords used in electronic journal databases were ‘impulse’ and ‘impulse buying’. As a second step, contributions that concentrate on previously suggested scope of review were selected. References from these studies were examined to identify further contributions from additional sources.

Originality/value: This study critically reviews the current state of research and knowledge across related disciplines. From an academic perspective, it may serve as a starting point for a future research agenda that addresses current knowledge gaps in this field of ‘impulse buying’. From a practitioner’s perspective, it is helpful for understanding relevant influence factors and for developing appropriate selling strategies.
Indian Nations as Interest Groups
Authors: Boehmke Frederick J. , Witmer Richard
Published: December 2010

The expansion of Indian gaming has produced significant financial gains for Indian nations across the United States. In response to this influx of revenue, tribes have expanded their political activity, particularly in those areas that are heavily resource dependent. In this article the authors argue that adopting an organized interests perspective enhances scholars’ understanding of tribal political activity. To demonstrate this, they study Indian gaming contributions received by senators from 1990 to 2004. The authors apply broadly utilized theories of contribution patterns based on the value of access for a group and the cost of access to a member, focusing on ideology, access, electoral security, and constituency characteristics. The results indicate that tribes respond to all of these factors in ways similar to more traditional organized interests.
Explaining Perceptions of Advertising Tone
Authors: Ridout Travis N. , Fowler Erika Franklin
Published: December 2010

The authors investigate whether the news media and the tone of actual ads aired during a political campaign influence people’s perceptions of campaign ad tone. Using data on the content of political advertising, local television news coverage, and local newspaper coverage in nine races in five midwestern states in 2006, the authors discover that perceptions of ad tone respond to both exposure to advertising and exposure to local news media. Both positive and negative advertising drive tone perceptions, and the impact of ad coverage depends not on its volume or mentions of tone but on whether that coverage is framed strategically or not.
Color and texture analysis using emerging parallel architectures
Authors: Igual Francisco D , Mayo Rafael , Hartley Timothy DR , Çatalyürek Ümit V , Ruiz Antonio , Ujaldon Manuel
Published: December 2010

While image texture is effective for use in pattern-recognition and image-analysis algorithms, textural features are time-consuming to calculate on standard CPUs. Therefore, we present novel implementations of textural-feature algorithms on graphics processors (GPUs), enabling fast color and texture analysis. Since different textural-feature calculations exhibit diverse characteristics, we focus on using general and algorithm-specific techniques to exploit the inherent parallelism and computational power of a GPU. Common operations required during the textural-feature pipeline range from streaming computations to recursive procedures, from arithmetically intensive transcendental functions to matrix operations. Some of these kernels are well-suited to GPUs, while others require considerable programming effort to fully exploit the memory hierarchy due to their memory-usage patterns. In this paper, different strategies for computing textural features on GPUs are compared with counterpart implementations on multicore CPUs, and experimental results show GPU results reaching a speedup of 500 times for certain operations.
Subjective task value in physical activity participation: The perspective of Hong Kong schoolchildren
Authors: Pang Bonnie , Sau Ching Ha Amy
Published: December 2010

Subjective Task Value (STV) is a multidimensional construct of values predominantly used to examine western culture (Eccles et al., 1983); it is influential in motivating individuals to make choices and display long-lasting behaviours. While existing studies were conducted with western populations, the manifestation of value has yet to be investigated from the viewpoint of the Chinese culture. This study sought, first, to test the validity of the construct with schoolchildren in the Hong Kong cultural context; second, to investigate gender differences in children’s STV and physical activity participation, and last, to examine relationships between the STV components and physical activity participation. Questionnaires were completed by 172 boys and 163 girls (mean age = 10.71) in assessing their STV in physical activity, and participation in physical activity. Significant findings were as follows. (1) Confirmatory factor analysis provided initial support to the multidimensional construct of STV (intrinsic, attainment and utility value) as construed by Eccles et al. (1983). (2) The three value constructs significantly correlated with the children’s physical activity participation. (3) Boys and girls differed in their intrinsic value and utility value but not attainment value. (4) Utility value had the greatest effect in predicting boys’ and girls’ physical activity participation. These results supported the validity of the STV model with Hong Kong Chinese schoolchildren and provided empirical evidence that there is a need to embed cultural and gender strategies in order to further promote Hong Kong children’s participation in physical activity.
Self-efficacy expectations in teacher trainees and the perceived role of schools and their physical education department in the educational treatment of overweight students
Authors: Martínez-López Emilio , Zagalaz Sánchez María , Ramos Álvarez Manuel , de la Torre Cruz Manuel
Published: December 2010

This study is about the relation between self-efficacy expectations and the attitude towards child and youth obesity, as well as the role of the school in this matter. A questionnaire was given to a sample of 436 trainee physical education teachers from eight universities in Andalusia (Spain). The questionnaire was a version of Teaching Self-Efficacy in Higher Education (Prieto, 2007) and of Perceptions of Youth Obesity among Physical Educators (Greenleaf and Weiller, 2005). The results indicated that those trainees who possessed a higher level of perceived self-efficacy for the assessment of not only their own teaching, but also of the knowledge acquired by overweight students and of school intervention in their learning process, tended to show more favourable attitudes towards the educational treatment of child and youth obesity, and towards obese students’ fitness and healthcare. The trainees with a perceived higher level of self-efficacy for the assessment of the progress made by overweight students and with a more favourable disposition towards revising their teaching practice tended to show a more negative attitude towards obese people.
Inferior vena cava agenesis and deep vein thrombosis: 10 patients and review of the literature
Authors: Lambert Marc , Marboeuf Philippe , Midulla Marco , Trillot Nathalie , Beregi Jean-Paul , Mounier-Vehier Claire , Hatron Pierre-Yves , Jude Brigitte
Published: December 2010

Inferior vena cava agenesis (IVCA) is a rare condition, found in almost 5% of patients under 30 years old with unprovoked deep venous thrombosis (DVT). We describe 10 consecutive patients with IVCA-associated DVT and conducted an extensive literature review to investigate the typical spectrum of IVCA-associated DVT. Among our patients (eight men and two women; mean age, 25 ± 4.5 years), DVT followed intense and unusual (major) physical activity for eight of them. DVT was bilateral in six patients and unilateral in four. Ultrasonography was unable to detect IVCA, which was visualized by computed-tomography scans for seven patients, and magnetic resonance imaging and angiography for 10. Hereditary thrombophilia screening, to detect factor V Leiden or prothrombin gene heterozygosity (G20210A mutation), was positive for only two patients. Wearing elastic stockings and taking an indefinite or long-term vitamin K antagonist were prescribed for all 10 patients and nine complied with the latter. To date, 62 patients with IVCA-associated DVT have been reported in the English literature. Analysis of them and our patients yielded a typical spectrum of IVCA-associated DVT characteristics: IVCA occurs in young adults, particularly males, and is revealed by proximal DVT following major physical exertion. All were treated with a prolonged vitamin K antagonist and advised to wear elastic stockings. No precise duration of anticoagulation has been established.
What aspects of vocabulary knowledge do textbooks give attention to?
Authors: Brown Dale
Published: December 2010

Vocabulary researchers have established that multiple aspects of word knowledge need to be mastered in order for a learner to truly know a word. Teachers, however, seem to follow the commonsense view that equates learning words with learning meanings, and to mostly ignore other aspects of word knowledge. This study seeks to discover whether the same is true of textbooks. The vocabulary activities in nine General English textbooks at three proficiency levels were analysed and each activity’s focus on one or more of nine aspects of vocabulary knowledge noted. The results show that a single aspect of vocabulary knowledge — form and meaning — receives by far the most attention in the textbooks at all three levels, while two other aspects — grammatical functions and spoken form — also receive attention. The other six aspects receive little or no attention. This study thus suggests that a more rounded view of vocabulary knowledge needs to be adopted by materials writers, and argues for an approach in which items are revisited regularly as different aspects of vocabulary knowledge are introduced.
Technology uptake in Chinese EFL classes
Authors: Li Li  , Walsh Steve
Published: December 2010

This article presents findings from what we believe to be the first large-scale study of its kind on the use of ICT (information and communications technology) in English language classes in China. Participants are 400 EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers from different types of schools in Beijing. The purpose of the study was to examine these EFL teachers’ computer use and factors affecting the use of computers as an aid to teaching. Questionnaires and follow-up focus group interviews were employed to address the following research questions: What is the current ICT environment in Chinese secondary schools? What are EFL teachers’ ICT skills and what training is provided? How are computers used at present in EFL classes? What factors influence EFL teachers to use computers in their teaching? Findings support the idea that most schools provide a satisfactory learning setting with computers and most teachers in the study had adequate technical computer skills. However, computer use is mainly limited to PowerPoint presentations of pictures, grammar and sentence structures. Positive factors affecting computer integration include the popularity of ICT as a support for learning, the desire to change current teaching methods and the benefits to both teachers and learners, while negative factors include a lack of time, inadequate professional support, poor training and the need for a more integrated approach to ICT integration. The implications are that ICT is recognized as necessary and of benefit to language learners, and that teachers need additional training in two areas: to help teachers attain a higher standard of computer knowledge and skills, and to help teachers to better understand CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) pedagogy and to integrate ICT into their teaching. We suggest that this kind of support could be provided through professional development activities that are specific to the EFL learning context.
The dynamics of socio-connective trust within support networks accessed by informal caregivers
Authors: Ray Robin A. , Street Annette F.
Published: December 2010

This article introduces the concept of socio-connective trust, the synapse between the social structures and processes that underpin relationships in supportive care networks. Data from an ethnographic case study of 18 informal caregivers providing in-home care for people with life-limiting illness were analysed drawing on theoretical concepts from the work of Giddens and writings on social capital, as well as the construction of trust in the caregiving literature. While conceptions of trust were found to contribute to understanding supportive care relationships, they did not account for the dynamic nature of the availability and use of support networks. Instead, informal caregivers undertook ongoing reflexive negotiation of relationship boundaries in response to their own conception of the current situation and their perception of trust in their relationships with the various members of the support network. The concept of socio-connective trust describes the movement and flow of the flexible bonds that influence relationships among care networks and determine the type and range of support accessed by informal caregivers. Understanding the complexities of socio-connective trust in caregiving relationships will assist health and social care workers to mobilize relevant resources to support informal caregivers.
Exploring patients’ experience of receiving information about cancer: A comparison of interview and questionnaire methods of data collection
Authors: Pollock Kristian , Moghaddam Nima , Cox Karen , Wilson Eleanor , Howard Penny
Published: December 2010

Patient information is widely regarded both as a resource and an entitlement: a means of ‘empowering’ patients to behave as ‘consumers’ of health care. Patient ‘satisfaction’ has come to be regarded as an important outcome of care. This article presents qualitative interview data regarding the experience of patient information provision and the results of a self-completed Information Satisfaction Questionnaire (ISQ) among patients and relatives affected by cancer. It considers the implications of the differences between these for service evaluation and current policy implementation promoting patients as informed and expert consumers of health care. The study findings contribute to growing evidence that the high rate of patients’ expressed satisfaction with different aspects of service provision as indicated by structured questionnaire responses is largely an artefact of the method of data collection. Accounts of negative experiences were common, but did not translate into expressed criticism or overt dissatisfaction. It is important that the limitations of such surveys are contextualized in relation to qualitative findings such as those of the present study. Especially in the face of serious and life-threatening illness, professional constructs such as ‘information delivery’, ‘satisfaction’ and ‘shared decision making’ have little resonance for many patients, who prefer to trust in professional expertise and to eschew the acquisition of specialist knowledge and active involvement in decisions about health care.
‘A beautiful show of strength’: Weight loss and the fat activist self
Authors: Meleo-Erwin Zoë C.
Published: December 2010

This article explores the disciplinary and productive effects of late 20th-century/early 21st-century discourse around the obesity epidemic. For my purposes, both the Fat Activist and Weight Loss Surgery patient may be seen as outcomes of this discursive proliferation. Based on a content analysis of two online accounts of weight loss by prominent fat activists, I examine the ways in which such public declarations can be seen as contemporary examples of Foucault’s notion of the confession. Through debates in the ‘fatosophere’, such activists and their peers simultaneously take up and reject both biomedical and fat activists tenets in ways that are highly ambivalent. In the process, fat activism unsettles and resituates its borders and boundaries and the issue of weight loss becomes a discursive technique of knowledge/power for the understanding of and relating to the fat activist self.
Prostate cancer support groups, health literacy and consumerism: Are community-based volunteers re-defining older men’s health?
Authors: Oliffe John L. , Bottorff Joan L. , McKenzie, Michael M. , Hislop T. Gregory , Gerbrandt Julieta S. , Oglov Valerie
Published: December 2010

In this article we describe the connections between prostate cancer support groups (PCSGs) and men’s health literacy and consumer orientation to health care services. The study findings are drawn from participant observations conducted at 16 PCSGs in British Columbia, Canada and 54 individual interviews that focused on men’s experiences of attending group meetings. Men’s communication and interactions at PCSGs provide important insights for how men talk about and conceptualize health and illness. For example, biomedical language often predominated at group meetings, and men used numbers and measures to engage with risk discourses in linking prostate cancer markers to various treatment options and morbidity and mortality rates. Many groups afforded opportunities for men to interact with health care providers as a means to better understand the language and logic of prostate cancer management. The health literacy skills fostered at PCSGs along with specific group-informed strategies could be mobilized in the men’s subsequent clinical consultations. Consumer discourses and strategies to contest power relations with health care professionals underpinned many men’s search for prostate cancer information and their commitment to assisting other men. Key were patients’ rights, and perhaps responsibility, to compare diverse health products and services in making decisions across the entire trajectory of their prostate cancer. Overall, the study findings reveal PCSGs as having the capacity to contest as well as align with medical expertise and services facilitating men’s transition from patient to informed health care consumers. The processes through which this occurs may direct the design of older men’s health promotion programs.
Heterosexual couples’ uses and meanings of ovarian stimulation: Relatedness, embodiment and emotions
Authors: Silva Susana , Machado Helena
Published: December 2010

This article is about how ovarian stimulation is understood within the context of heterosexual couples’ relationships. The empirical research involves 15 semi-structured interviews with patients in Portugal who have undergone IVF programmes performed with eggs collected in stimulated cycles. We argue that the uses and meanings of ovarian stimulation expressed in the patients’ narratives represent situated values and knowledges conveyed by existing emotional resources within multiple gendered relations and identities. We discuss how empirical reconfigurations work in a mode of conversion of physical and emotional pain so that the application of subcutaneous injections to women’s bodies makes sense within IVF couples’ daily routine and in their conjugal relationship. The different practices of men’s involvement in the injection of hormones into women’s bodies are perceived as emotional moments, and men’s cooperation and/ or protection seems to be essential in this domain. The cultural assumptions underlying women’s duties regarding maternity reinforce a moral framework in which the pain and the complications associated with the ovarian stimulation are naturalized, normalized and accepted.
A qualitative analysis of changes in relationship dynamics and roles between people with cancer and their primary informal carer
Authors: Ussher Jane M. , Tim Wong W.K. , Perz Janette
Published: December 2010

It is widely accepted that cancer is an intersubjective experience that impacts upon the psychological well-being of people with cancer and informal carers, as well as on couple relationships. This qualitative study examined the nature and consequences of cancer on the relationship between informal carers and the person with cancer, from the perspective of Australian cancer carers. Sixty-two carers (42 women and 20 men), across a range of cancer types, stages and relationship dyads took part in semi-structured interviews. Participants reported that cancer had precipitated a change in roles and in the dynamics of the relationship, including having to take on quasi-medical tasks and decisions, neglecting self and other relationships, changes to the emotions or personality of the person with cancer, changed patterns of communication, and changes to sexuality and intimacy. The impact of the changed relationship included sadness, anger and frustration, as well as feelings of love and being closer together, resulting in relationship enhancement. Women were more likely to report changes in the person with cancer and to mourn the previous relationship, while more men reported relationship enhancement.
Mental health and stigma in the medical profession
Authors: Wallace Jean E.
Published: December 2010

Until recently, much of the recent upsurge in interest in physician health has been motivated by concerns about improving patient care and patient safety and reducing medical errors. Increasingly, more attention has turned to examining how the management of mental illness among physicians might be improved within the medical profession and one key direction for change is the reduction of stigma associated with mental illness. I begin this article by presenting a brief overview of the stigma process from the general sociological literature. Next, I provide evidence that illustrates how the stigma of mental illness thrives in the medical profession as a result of the culture of medicine and medical training, perceptions of physicians and their colleagues, and expectations and responses of health care systems and organizations. Lastly, I discuss what needs to change by proposing ways of educating and raising awareness regarding mental illness among physicians, discussing approaches to assessing and identifying mental health concerns for physicians and by examining how safe and confidential support and treatment can be offered to physicians in need. I rely on strategically selected studies to effectively draw attention to and support the central themes of this article.
The experience of using complementary therapies after a diagnosis of cancer: A qualitative synthesis
Authors: Smithson Janet , Britten Nicky , Paterson Charlotte , Lewith George , Evans Maggie
Published: December 2010

This article describes a qualitative synthesis of published research on cancer patients’ experiences of complementary therapies. We conducted a systematic search for qualitative studies on this subject published between 1998 and 2007. Twenty-six refereed journal articles met the inclusion criteria. These 26 articles were repeatedly read by the research team and key concepts emerging from them were identified. Differences and variations were examined in association with treatment, therapy type and by stage of cancer (early stage, mid-treatment, advanced cancer, palliative care and long term ‘survivors’). Six overarching concepts were located, which describe the key aspects of patients’ experiences of the use of complementary and alternative medicine after a diagnosis of cancer: Connection; Control; Well-being; Transformation; Integration; and Polarization. These are described in a ‘line of argument’ synthesis, and differences associated with treatment type and stage of disease are noted. The findings are presented in a table showing the six concepts according to treatment type and stage; as a composite story; and in a diagrammatic model showing the individual, practitioner and organizational levels. The synthesis identified various specific ways in which complementary therapies supported cancer patients, as well as occasional negative effects. The most notable barrier was the perceived polarization of complementary therapies and biomedicine; patients reported better experiences in integrated settings.
Echoing with the voices of victims: Reflection on Vietnamese lessons on the Japanese experiences of atomic bombs
Authors: Saito Eisuke , Do Thi Hien  , Khong Thi Diem Hang
Published: December 2010

This article explores the case of a Vietnamese teacher whose conception of teaching changed greatly following a short but intensive series of lessons based on the Japanese experiences with atomic bombs. The following three issues are considered: 1) what types of efforts teachers should make to increase the depth of their lessons, on the basis of children’s reality of learning; 2) what kinds of support teachers require from colleagues, including external resource persons; and 3) how school management should be organized to practise peace education.