bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Histological Study of Scala Communis with Radiological Implications
Authors: Makary Chadi , Shin Jennifer , Caruso Paul , Curtin Hugh , Merchant Saumil
Published: April 2010

Objectives: Scala communis or interscalar septum (IS) defect is a developmental abnormality of the inner ear characterized by a dehiscence in the partition separating the turns of the cochlea. The goals of the present study were to (1) study this anomaly and describe its characteristics compared to control ears using a histological analysis of temporal bones, (2) discuss radiological implications regarding its diagnosis, and (3) describe its embryological derivation. Methods: Out of 1775 temporal bones assessed, 22 specimens were found to have scala communis in cochleae containing all 3 turns (basal, middle and apical). These 22 ears were studied in detail by qualitative and quantitative methods using light microscopy. Results: Scala communis occurred as an isolated inner ear anomaly, or in association with other congenital cochlear and/or vestibular anomalies. The defect occurred most often between the middle and apical turns of the cochlea. Compared to control ears, scala communis ears were found to have a smaller modiolar area (p < 0.0001) and flattening of the interscalar ridge (point of attachment of the IS to the inner lumen of the cochlea; p < 0.0001). Scala communis was compatible with normal hearing. Conclusions: Flattening of the interscalar ridge has the potential to improve the diagnosis of scala communis in patients using CT scanning. The anomaly may result from a mesodermal defect such as excessive resorption of mesenchyme during the formation of the scalae, an error in the formation of bone, or both.
Prevention of Mast Cell Degranulation by Disodium Cromoglycate Delayed the Regression of Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension in Rats
Authors: Maxová Hana , Vasiľková Marianna , Novotná Jana , Vajnerová Olga , Baňsová Alena , Vízek Martin , Herget Jan
Published: April 2010

Background: Pulmonary vascular remodeling induced by chronic hypoxia regresses after return to normoxia. This regression is associated with an increased amount of collagenase in pulmonary mast cells and increased collagenolytic and elastolytic activity in the lung tissue. Objective: The role of lung mast cells during recovery from chronic hypoxia was tested by the inhibition of their degranulation by disodium cromoglycate (DSCG). Methods: Male Wistar rats (n = 46) were exposed to isobaric hypoxia (3 weeks, FiO2 0.1). Thirteen of them were tested immediately at the end of exposure, 17 were treated with DSCG during the first 4 days of recovery and tested on the 5th or 14th day of recovery, 16 untreated animals were measured at the same time intervals. These groups were compared with 12 animals kept in normoxia. The rats were anesthetized (Thiopental) and their pulmonary arterial blood pressure (PAP), cardiac output and heart weight were tested, as well as the collagen composition of the walls of the peripheral pulmonary arteries. Results: DSCG applied during the first 4 days of recovery from chronic hypoxia blocked the decrease in PAP during the early phase of recovery and had no influence on PAP at a later phase. DSCG administration prevents collagen splitting in peripheral pulmonary vessels at the early phase of recovery. PAP and right ventricle hypertrophy were normalized after 14 days of return to normoxia. Conclusions: Mast cell degranulation plays a role in the regression of pulmonary hypertension during the early phase of recovery from chronic hypoxia.
Etiology and Outcome of Community-Acquired Lung Abscess
Authors: Takayanagi Noboru , Kagiyama Naho , Ishiguro Takashi , Tokunaga Daidou , Sugita Yutaka
Published: April 2010

Background: Anaerobes are the first and Streptococcus species the second most common cause of community-acquired lung abscess (CALA) in the West. The etiologic pathogens of this disease have changed in Taiwan, with Klebsiella pneumoniae being reported as the most common cause of CALA. Objective: To determine the etiologies of community-acquired lung abscess. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 205 Japanese adult patients with CALA to evaluate etiologies and outcomes. We used not only traditional microbiological investigations but also percutaneous ultrasonography-guided transthoracic needle aspiration and protected specimen brushes. Results: Of these 205 patients, 122 had documented bacteriological results, with 189 bacterial species isolated. Pure aerobic, mixed aerobic and anaerobic, and pure anaerobic bacteria were isolated in 90 (73.8%), 17 (13.9%), and 15 (12.3%) patients, respectively. The four most common etiologic pathogens were Streptococcus species (59.8%), anaerobes (26.2%), Gemella species (9.8%), and K. pneumoniae (8.2%). Streptococcus mitis was the most common among the Streptococcus species. Mean duration of antibiotic administration was 26 days. Six patients (2.9%, 3 with actinomycosis and 3 with nocardiosis) were treated with antibiotics for 76–189 days. Two patients with anaerobic lung abscess died. Conclusions: The first and second most common etiologic pathogens of CALA in our hospital were Streptococcus species and anaerobes, respectively. The etiologies in our study differ from those in Taiwan and are similar to those in the West with the exception that Streptococcus species were the most common etiologic pathogens in our study whereas anaerobes are the most frequent etiologic pathogens in Western countries. S. mitis and Gemella species are important etiologic pathogens as well. The identification of Actinomyces and Nocardia is important in order to define the adequate duration of antibiotic administration.
Peer Aggression and Mental Health Problems
Authors: Ybrandt Helene , Armelius Kerstin
Published: April 2010

This study examined whether self-esteem mediates the association between peer aggression and internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents. A total of 204 Swedish adolescents aged between 12- and 16-years-old completed self-report measures; self-esteem was assessed with ‘I think I am’ (ITIA) and internalizing and externalizing problems with Youth Self-Report (YSR). Our results showed that internalizing problems in peer aggressors could be understood as problems with low self-esteem, while internalizing problems in peer victims could be understood both as problems with low self-esteem and as an effect of being victimized. Externalizing problems in peer aggressors and peer aggressor—victims could be understood as problems with being involved in peer aggression, while the same problems in peer victims could be understood as problems with low self-esteem. This article also discusses the importance of self-esteem in adolescents’ development of their own identities and for peer aggressive-related psychological psychopathology.
Psychological Intervention in Thinking Skills with Primary Education Students
Authors: de Acedo Lizarraga María Luisa Sanz , De Acedo Baquedano María Teresa Sanz , Oliver María Soria
Published: April 2010

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the instruction method ‘Thinking Actively in an Academic Context’ (TAAC) in the thinking skills of 6th grade students in primary education. The sample consisted of 58 subjects, aged between 11- and 13-years-of-age, 27 in the experimental group and 31 in the control group. A pre-test intervention—post-test design was employed, and the assessment instruments were administered before and after the intervention to measure variables related to thinking and academic achievement. The eight-phase instruction method was administered to all the didactic units of the syllabus-content of environmental knowledge, language and mathematics during one academic course. The stages of the method allow the conjoint teaching of thinking skills and the syllabus-content. The results of the analysis of variance suggest that the intervention produced a significant improvement in both thinking skills and academic achievement, and indicated also that the method produced different effects in reasoning as a function of gender.
Nicholas Wolterstorff, Justice: Rights and Wrongs
Authors: Biggar Nigel
Published: April 2010

This response to Justice, Rights and Wrongs argues that Wolterstorff’s defence of rights attaching to human subjects withstands Oliver O’Donovan’s critique; that the concept of multiple rights is compatible with the affirmation of a larger moral order; that there is a problem with rights thought to be determined in advance of moral deliberation; that love should not only recognize rights (with Wolterstorff) but should react to their violation with retribution (against Wolterstorff); that a biblical and theological case can be made for a Christian form of eudaimonism; and that Wolterstorff ’s attempt to ground human worth in the love of God rather than in some capacity or other does not work.
Rights, Obligations, Priorities
Authors: O'Neill Onora
Published: April 2010

In Justice: Rights and Wrongs Nicholas Wolterstorff argues for the priority of rights over obligations, and suggests that assigning priority to obligations will take too little account of the wrongs suffered by many types of victim. In this comment on the book I suggest various reasons for assigning priority to obligations, emphasise the importance of offering an account of imperfect as well as perfect obligations, and question the reading of Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork on which some of Wolterstorff’s arguments against the priority of obligations rely.
Three Concepts of Natural Human Rights
Authors: Rivers Julian
Published: April 2010

This article argues that Wolterstorff’s concept of rights is ambiguous between the interest and will theories. It provides possible reconstructions and points towards a more suitable third concept theologically grounded in an account of humans as constituted relationally, juridically and eternally.
Comments on Nicholas Wolterstorff’s Justice: Rights and Wrongs
Authors: Porter Jean
Published: April 2010

Wolterstorff ’s Justice: Rights and Wrongs is a bold and welcome theological defense of human rights, carrying radical implications for moral and legal philosophy. However, Wolterstorff’s concept of the scope of human rights is too comprehensive and thereby paradoxically weakens the force of the human rights claims he rightly champions. Rights claims are not coterminous with obligations generally but represent very distinctive claims, notably the power of individuals to demand specific kinds of forbearance or treatment from specifiable others; Tierney has identified such claims as the ‘subjective natural rights’ uncovered by late medieval thinkers. Our obligations towards one another incorporate a wide and heterogeneous variety of considerations, which do not lend themselves to any kind of neat, formulaic summary but which are specified only in the process of forming practical judgements in concrete cases.
Response to My Commentators
Authors: Wolterstorff Nicholas
Published: April 2010

This article is a response to the commentaries on my book Justice: Rights and Wrongs in the previous contributions in this issue of Studies in Christian Ethics (23.2) .
Embedding international migration: the response of Bolivian local governments and NGOs to international migration
Authors: Nijenhuis Gery
Published: April 2010

International migration is an integral part of the lives of many people in the South, and many households add remittances to their income in order to finance the daily costs of living that cannot be met by their traditional source of income. In the literature, a debate has emerged on the impacts of these remittances on development, focusing in particular on the micro level, namely the impact on households. Many studies also contend that national governments should try to redirect the impacts of remittances. However, the role of actors in local governance structures seems to be overlooked in this discussion. We argue that in the discussion on managing development through remittances, local governments and other stakeholders at the local level — such as NGOs — might also play a role, especially in those countries that have implemented decentralization. However, thus far, interventions aimed at leveraging remittance flows and facilitating migration processes are only in an initial phase. Our study of 12 municipalities in Bolivia shows that a lack of knowledge and capacities among local governments and NGOs is a decisive factor.
Water in Mexico City: what will climate change bring to its history of water-related hazards and vulnerabilities?
Authors: Romero Lankao Patricia
Published: April 2010

This paper describes the risks that Mexico City faces from flooding and water scarcity, how these risks developed over time and how climate change will affect them. It begins by discussing the climatic and hydrological conditions that explain the abundance of water resources and the droughts and floods that have affected the city and its surrounds for centuries. It then presents the water-relevant implications of climate change for the city and considers who is likely to be most impacted. Floods, droughts and other water-relevant hazards are the result not only of “nature” (and now of human-induced climate change) but also of past and present socio-environmental changes. This helps explain why Mexico City’s population, infrastructure and systems are less able to cope with climate change.
Securing land for urban transformation through sustainable brownfield regeneration - the case of Eskişehir, Turkey
Authors: Cahantimur Arzu Ispalar , Öztürk Rengin Beceren , Öztürk Ayşen Celen
Published: April 2010

This paper explores how urban regeneration strategies, focused on increasing the social, economic and spatial values of old industrialized areas, are being experienced in Turkey. It examines the brownfield regeneration process in five old industrial sites in one of Turkey’s earliest industrialized cities, Eskişehir. The examples described are evaluated based on the sustainability objectives of brownfield development. The aim is to investigate the potential of these cases of brownfield regeneration to secure land for sustainable urban development. The conclusions suggest that local experience in the re-use of old industrial buildings and sites provides valuable input to the development of urban development policies. Greater attention to sustainable outcomes could add a new and vital dimension to brownfield regeneration. The leading role of local government in providing integrated approaches to land management policies and sustainable urban development must be noted.
Migration and environment in Ghana: a cross-district analysis of human mobility and vegetation dynamics
Authors: Van der Geest Kees , Vrieling Anton , Dietz Ton
Published: April 2010

Migration—environment linkages are at the centre of media attention because of public concern about climate change and a perceived “flooding” of migrants from less developed countries into more affluent parts of the world. In the past few years, a substantial body of conceptual literature about environmentally induced migration has evolved, but there is still a paucity of empirical work in this area. Moreover, the environmental causes of migration have been studied largely in isolation of the environmental consequences. In this paper we present an analysis of migration and vegetation dynamics for one country (Ghana) to assess four migration—environment linkages. On the one hand, we look at two environmental drivers of migration: environmental push and pull. On the other hand, we look at the environmental impact of migration on source and destination areas. Census data at the district level (N=110) are used to map domestic migration flows in Ghana, which are then related to vegetation dynamics retrieved from a remotely sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset (1981— 2006). The analysis shows that at the national level, there are significant but weak correlations between migration and vegetation cover and trends therein. Districts with a migration deficit (more out-migration than in-migration) tend to be more sparsely vegetated and have experienced a more positive NDVI trend over the past quarter century than districts with a migration surplus. A disaggregation of data in three principle migration systems shows stronger correlations. Namely that north—south migration and cocoa frontier settlement have important environmental dimensions, but environmental factors do not seem to play a major role in migration to the capital, Accra. An important insight from this paper is that migration flows in Ghana can be explained partly by vegetation dynamics but are also strongly related to rural population densities. This is because access to natural resources is often more important than the scarcity or abundance of natural resources per se. This study further shows that satellite remote sensing can provide valuable input to analyses of migration—environment linkages.
The impact of land use conversion on a residential district in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Authors: Ayotamuno A. , Gobo A.E. , Owei O.B.
Published: April 2010

This paper examines the changes in land use and economic activities between 1986 and 2005 in a residential development in Port Harcourt that was originally developed for senior civil servants and military personnel. It shows how land ownership has changed and also the rapid expansion of commercial activities within what was exclusively a residential development. With no enforcement of land use regulations, this has led to a decline in the quality of life for the residents.
The implementation of models-based practice in physical education through action research
Authors: Casey Ashley , Dyson Ben
Published: April 2010

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of action research as a framework to investigate cooperative learning and tactical games as instructional models in physical education (PE). The teacher/researcher taught a tennis unit using a combination of Cooperative Learning and Teaching Games for Understanding to three classes of boys aged 11—12. Data collection included: teacher and pupil evaluations of skill, pupil reflections on the lessons, pupil interviews, teacher field journal and the documentation and course materials from the unit of work. Data analysis was conducted using inductive analysis and constant comparison (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994; Lincoln and Guba, 1985). The results of this research reinforce the concept that the implementation of any new pedagogical approach is time-consuming and highly labour intensive (Fullan, 1999). The conceptual shift the teacher/researcher made to relinquish control to students was one of the most difficult, but important, outcomes of this action research process.
Moving towards quality physical education: Physical education provision in Singapore
Authors: McNeill Michael , Boon San Coral Lim  , Wang Chee Keng John , Tan Wee Keat Clara , MacPhail Ann
Published: April 2010

This study investigated the provision of physical education (PE) in Singapore. Singapore is a small island city state of approximately 699 square kilometres with a population of about 4 million people. This article aims to highlight the current status of PE in Singapore schools and compare it against suggested international standards and recommendations. From questionnaires distributed to every school on a voluntary basis, 164 Heads of Department (HODs) from 78 primary schools, 74 secondary schools and 12 junior colleges, and 474 teachers from 170 schools responded. The findings from these questionnaires focused on the impact of facilities, staffing, timetabling, curriculum time and status, on the provision of PE. In relation to the international context, Singapore faces similar constraints such as inadequate facilities and equipment, and insufficient allocation of time. The study makes a strong case for the improved status and function of PE in schools but three main issues require further attention: (i) primary schools are disadvantaged by staffing issues and general provision; (ii) PE lessons are both inadequate in number and duration to achieve the ‘desired outcomes’ of the PE syllabus; and (iii) class sizes are considered too large for meaningful learning to occur, resulting in teachers prioritising management issues. When these issues are addressed and their solutions translated into practice, Singapore can actualise the vision of making every student physically educated and achieve a world class standard.
Influence of high school physical education on university students’ physical activity
Authors: Kimball Jessica , Jenkins Jayne , Wallhead Tristan
Published: April 2010

The purpose of this study was to use the Lifelong Physical Activity (LLPA) framework to examine the influence of high school physical education (PE) on university students’ level of physical activity (PA). Participants included 365 undergraduate students from the Rocky Mountain West of the USA enrolled in a university physical activity course. Data collection was comprised of a questionnaire and six gender-segregated follow-up focus group interviews consisting of three to six students in each group ( n =16 males; n =11 females). Results revealed misalignment between curricular PA opportunities in high school programs and current modalities of PA. For females, lack of learning and discomfort in participating during high school PE lessons were significant pedagogical negative predictors of current levels of PA. For males, the high school PE experience had a minimal influence on current levels and modalities of PA. High school physical educators need to engage in more inclusive curriculum offerings and pedagogical practices that better prepare students for the lifespan stage transition from late adolescence to young adulthood.
Financial efficiency or relational harmony?
Authors: Schaaf Rebecca
Published: April 2010

Groups and microfinance facilities are intended to produce a variety of economic, social and political outcomes. However, the debate in the development literature about their effectiveness heightens the importance of exploring whether multidimensional outcomes are actually achieved. Drawing on findings from empirical research in Northeast Thailand, where promotion of groups and microfinance schemes is strong, this article highlights the need to understand the context and existing relationships within which community groups and microfinance services are situated, in order to identify important characteristics and processes that limit the outcomes of the groups. In particular, the research illustrates how the groups’ operation has resulted in a trade-off in material and relational wellbeing outcomes, as financial efficiency is valued only to the extent that relational harmony can be assured.
‘The unbearable heaviness of being’
Authors: Brickell Katherine , Chant Sylvia
Published: April 2010

Reviewing existing scholarship and drawing on our own experience of microlevel qualitative research on gender in countries in three regions of the Global South (Cambodia, the Philippines, Costa Rica and The Gambia), this article examines patterns of women’s altruistic behaviour within poor family-based households. As a quality and practice labeled as ‘feminine’, the article illuminates the motives, dimensions and dynamics that characterise this apparently enduring female trait. It also makes some tentative suggestions as to how the links between women and altruism might be more systematically examined, problematized and addressed in development, and gender and development (GAD) analysis and policy.
EBP
Authors: Berger Roni
Published: April 2010

• Summary: This article identifies challenges to the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a result of the dearth of empirical knowledge relevant to issues and populations typically addressed by social workers leading to practitioners’ being trapped between the demand and desire to practice on the basis of evidence and the unavailability of the necessary knowledge. Strategies for addressing the issue are offered.

• Findings: The current professional environment requires social workers to employ EBP. Contemporary literature has identified components, principles and steps of EBP as well as practitioners’ and organizational-related barriers to implementing it, including lack of resources (time, access to technology, capacity to train practitioners in new treatment modalities), organizational culture, reluctance to change, absence of leadership commitment, and, conflicting as well as inconsistent findings. Specifically, the absence of knowledge about minority population groups and relational issues is discussed as a barrier to effective EBP.

• Application: Strategies to bridge the gap and make research relevant to issues and populations faced by practitioners are suggested, including practitioners’ involvement with and leading of relevant research with the support of consultants, collaboration with researchers and developing their own research skills as well as conducting knowledge needs assessment and population-specific and action research.
Discourse Analysis, Foucault and Social Work Research
Authors: Garrity Zoë
Published: April 2010

• Summary: This article critically engages with the usage and appropriations of discourse analysis in certain critical social work texts. Through arguing for the importance of a coherent and rigorous foundation to research, one possible methodology based on Foucault’s archaeological approach to discourse is mapped out.

• Findings: While welcoming the turn toward and engagement with discourse, this article argues that limitations in the analytical involvement and detailed methodological treatment with the technical aspects of Foucauldian discourse analysis compromise the value of this social work research. A possible methodology, based on Foucault’s archaeological approach to discourse, is developed to demonstrate the possibilities discourse analysis can bring to social work research. This is contrasted with various misappropriations of Foucault’s conception of discourse within a range of methodological, political and epistemological contexts that have influenced the construction of critical social work.

• Application: Alongside demonstrating the specific merits of archaeological discourse analysis as a tool to enable the scrutiny and investigation of received social work values, practices and policies in terms of their social function, this article highlights the necessity of engaging with the technical aspects of complex social theory in order to maintain robust methodological foundations.
Using visual methodologies to explore contemporary Irish childhoods
Authors: White Allen , Bushin Naomi , Carpena-Méndez Fina , Ní Laoire Caitríona
Published: April 2010

Drawing on the use of children-centred visual research methods, primarily artwork and photography, in Irish primary schools, this article compares the use of artwork and photography as visual methods and outlines the theoretical frameworks within which the data produced can be made meaningful. The ways in which the social worlds of migrant children both converged with, and diverged from, those of children who were born in Ireland are also explored.
Favourites and others: reflexivity and the shaping of subjectivities and data in qualitative research
Authors: Bott Esther
Published: April 2010

This article discusses some of the dilemmas still surrounding researcher subjectivity and reflexivity in qualitative research. It explores the example of qualitative research into British migration to Tenerife, which involved ethnographic data collection in two principal employment areas: lap dancing and timeshare sales. It explains the setting and methodology of the research project, exploring the especially thorny ground of researching into a group whose ‘otherness’ on some levels manifests in ‘good’ data, partly because the group’s opinions and discourses jar with one’s own political ideology. Exploring the British migrants’ reasons for moving to Tenerife was central to the research, and the data showed that these migration motives were couched in ideas about class, gender, and race identity. Collecting data of that nature brought to the fore ideas about inequality, othering and difference and these ‘outed’ notions became pivotal to my relationships with the migrants in the field. The article considers the dynamics of reflexivity of this particular empirical situation, exploring how and why certain groups become ‘unloveable’ and how this affects the research in terms of ethics, epistemology and ultimately data.
Considering quality in qualitative interviewing
Authors: Roulston Kathryn
Published: April 2010

Within the field of qualitative inquiry, there has been considerable discussion of how ‘quality’ might be demonstrated by researchers in reports of studies. With the growth in the application of qualitative methods in social research, along with the proliferation of texts available to qualitative researchers over the last four decades, there has been increasing diversity in how quality has been demonstrated in reports. In this article, I focus on the use of qualitative interviews in research studies, arguing that with a growing array of theorizations of the qualitative interview, researchers must demonstrate the quality of their work in ways that are commensurate with their assumptions about their use of interviews. I sketch a number of possibilities for how qualitative interviews might be theorized, and show the different ways in which quality might be demonstrated from each perspective. I propose this typology as one means by which novice researchers might begin to work through design decisions involved in the process of proposal writing, the conduct of interview studies, and the writing up and representation of findings.
Qualitative method and compromise in applied social research
Authors: Brown Alison P.
Published: April 2010

The article discusses the findings of interviews with researchers who use qualitative methods in social research contracts with public sector clients. Issues arising in research projects in relation to understandings of, and implementation of, qualitative methods are discussed. Researchers’ reasons for choosing qualitative methods, conceptions of quality in qualitative research, and how they believe qualitative methods are perceived and used by commissioners are considered. There is great diversity between researchers in their level of confidence in using qualitative methods and their commitment to particular philosophical positions in social science. There is widespread disillusionment with the processes whereby qualitative work is reduced in quality by pressures towards quasi-quantification and superficiality. Particularly where a previous occupational identity instils greater confidence, there is also evidence of hidden resistances of researchers committed to a view of qualitative work as emancipatory and requiring of epistemological integrity.
Modelling engagement in a web-based advertising campaign
Authors: Tan Sabine
Published: April 2010

This article explores the application of APPRAISAL theory, or more specifically, its subcategory ENGAGEMENT, to the analysis of an internet-based advertising campaign, from the viewpoint of dialogicity, heteroglossia and intertextuality, and its role in positioning readers within the heteroglossic diversity of hypermedia discourse. The author’s close analysis demonstrates that ENGAGEMENT can be used as an analytic tool to explore the question of how the multivariate resources in dynamic multimodal texts function to create intersubjective positions for themselves and their audiences through the interplay of visual, verbal and interactive elements, by investigating the heteroglossic function of hypertext objects, the evaluative stance adopted by the various authorial voices present in the text, and by cross-mapping ENGAGEMENT resources and hyper-thematic development.
Gestures of defamiliarization
Authors: Brenner Joni , Horsler Alexander , Moiloa Molemo , Munsie Paula , Vorster Stacey , Zeelie Tim
Published: April 2010

One of the problems with teaching African photography in an urban Johannesburg-based classroom is the tendency to teach the histories and practices of photography in Africa as if they were somehow separate from us. This separation or disjunction is partly because, as Sarah Nuttall and Achille Mbembe point out in their book Johannesburg: The Elusive Metropolis (2008): ‘until very recently, Johannesburg described itself as the largest and most modern European city in Africa’ (p. 18), and consequently South Africans very often fail to see themselves as African. The title of this visual essay — ‘gestures of defamiliarization’ — is taken from their book. To overcome this problem of separation, Joni Brenner introduced an active learning project designed to involve students directly in the thorny realm of subjectivity, identity and representation. This essay was written together with five students who participated, and excelled, in the course. It was developed over a series of weekly supper meetings during which the course project was reflected on, and images made by the students were selected, analysed, debated and written about, sometimes by individual members of the group and sometimes in pairs. In shaping the research into this essay, an effort was made to retain the variety of voices.
Globalization, Biculturalism and Cosmopolitanism
Authors: Gillespie Kate , McBride J. Brad , Riddle Liesl
Published: April 2010

Globalization forces many managers to increasingly interact with new cultures, even if these managers remain in their home countries. This may be particularly true of managers in emerging markets, many of whom experience an encroaching US culture due to media, migration, and trade, as well as the importation of US-style business education. This study explores the possibility of applying acculturation insights developed in the immigrant and sojourner contexts to the context of local managers in emerging markets. By exploring the acculturation of Mexican managers in Mexico, we help to redress what has been identified as a key omission in prior acculturation research — the acculturation of a majority population. Our results suggest that Mexican managers who are bicultural or culturally independent (cosmopolitan) are more likely to be in upper management positions in Mexico. Our study supplements earlier work supporting the efficacy of biculturalism in minority populations. It also supports a growing body of research that conceptualizes individuals who rate themselves low on similarity to two cultures as being cosmopolitans and not marginalized individuals who experience difficulty in life.
Matching Versus Mismatching Cultural Norms in Performance Appraisal
Authors: Mok Aurelia , Cheng Chi-Ying , Morris Michael W.
Published: April 2010

The present study examined how biculturals (Asian-Americans) adjust to differing cultural settings in performance appraisal. Biculturals vary in the degree to which their two cultural identities are compatible or oppositional — Bicultural Identity Integration (BII). The authors found that individual differences in BII interacted with the manipulation of the cultural setting (American or Asian) in determining whether employee outcomes were evaluated as matching or mismatching cultural norms. Results showed that Asian-Americans with high BII gave less weight to employees’ situational conditions in the American setting (matching American cultural norms) and more weight in the Asian setting (matching Asian cultural norms), whereas those with low BII showed the opposite pattern, giving more weight to employees’ situational conditions in the American setting (mismatching American cultural norms) and less weight in the Asian setting (mismatching Asian cultural norms). We discuss the implications of understanding bicultural identity dynamics in managerial judgment and behavior.
A new use for B-type natriuretic peptide: to detect myocardial ischaemia in non-heart failure patients
Authors: Noman Awsan , George Jacob , Struthers Allan
Published: April 2010

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a natriuretic peptide released primarily by ventricular myocytes in response to various physiological and pathological stimuli. In addition to its established diagnostic role in patients with heart failure, a growing body of evidence suggests that raised levels of BNP in the absence of heart failure can indicate myocardial ischaemia. This appears to be the case in patients with symptomatic, and even asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD). In this review, we discuss the current evidence supporting the role of BNP as a simple marker of cardiac ischaemia and CAD. We also propose some therapeutic interventions that may be useful when BNP detects silent myocardial ischaemia.
Lessons learned from biosimilar epoetins and insulins
Authors: Kuhlmann Martin , Marre Michel
Published: April 2010

Patients with diabetes and renal failure may already be receiving biosimilar epoetin and may receive biosimilar insulin in the near future. Because these biosimilar pharmaceuticals (or follow-on biologics) are complex protein molecules manufactured in lengthy and inherently variable processes involving living organisms, they have the potential to induce an immunogenic, rather than a therapeutic, response. This response is dependent as much on the method of manufacture and formulation, as on the protein itself. Apparently small and innocuous differences in manufacture and formulation can lead to unforeseen clinical consequences. This article discusses two case studies illustrating this principle, that of three insulin formulations which were physicochemically similar to comparator insulins, but with pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles sufficiently different to have potentially serious clinical consequences and that of Eprex, for which an apparently minor change in one formulation caused an upsurge of cases of pure red cell aplasia which resulted in fatalities or complete transfusion dependence. Comprehensive and rigorous testing and long-term pharmacovigilance programmes are essential to detect and forestall such consequences.
Review: Hyperglycaemia and the vascular glycocalyx: the key to microalbuminuria and cardiovascular disease in diabetes mellitus?
Authors: Noble Mark IM , Drake-Holland Angela J
Published: April 2010

The vascular glycocalyx is a gel layer between endothelium and the blood, 0.5 µm thick. Evidence is presented from published studies to indicate that hyperglycaemia causes damage to the vascular glycocalyx. This damage results in microalbuminuria, excess fluid transfer to the interstitium, reduction in nitric oxide (NO) production by arterial endothelium, and leukocyte and platelet adhesion to endothelium leading to atherothrombosis. The lack of NO production proceeds from the fact that glycocalyx is the mechanotransducer transmitting the signal for increased shear stress between blood and arterial wall, and this function is inhibited by hyperglycaemia. When hyperinsulinaemia is also present, the problem is compounded by general arterial dilatation leading to low shear rates throughout the arterial tree. These findings explain the predisposition to atherothrombosis in the pre-diabetic condition of insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome/obesity and diabetes mellitus. It is proposed that greater efforts than ever are required to detect occult insulin resistance, to treat such patients and diabetics with ever more strict blood glucose control while minimising insulin levels, and to carry out further research into how glycocalyx structure and function can be preserved.
Review: Management of hyperglycaemia in acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Devine Matthew J , Chandrasekara Wasala MHS , Hardy Kevin J
Published: April 2010

To review the management of blood glucose in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) a literature search was undertaken using Medline and Embase databases (January 1950—July 2008), bibliographies of retrieved articles, review articles and Department of Health reports. Trials were eligible for inclusion in the review if they (i) included patients with ACS and hyperglycaemia with or without diabetes or compared insulin infusion or glucose-potassium-insulin infusion with active controls, (ii) were randomised, and (iii) assessed mortality and morbidity. Eight trials met the above criteria (two of which have yet to report). Only two of the remaining six trials reported that insulin therapy significantly reduces mortality in ACS patients with hyperglycaemia. In conclusion ACS is of major public health importance in the UK and hyperglycaemia in the setting of ACS is associated with worse outcome. Current variability in management of blood glucose in ACS reflects a paucity of robust evidence to guide practice. Two ongoing trials may resolve the uncertainty about optimum blood glucose management in ACS.
Al-Jazeera English
Authors: el-Nawawy Mohammed , Powers Shawn
Published: April 2010

Launched in November 2006, Al-Jazeera English (AJE) stands out amongst its competitors and is considered by many an anomaly when it comes to its journalistic code and identity. AJE is neither dominated by geopolitical nor commercial interests, and is the first of its kind to have the resources, mandate and journalistic capacity to reach out to typically ignored audiences throughout the world. This study argues that AJE’s model of journalism offers an alternative to today’s mode of news journalism that continues to encourage stereotypical attitudes towards cultural ‘others’. Not only has AJE’s programming represented a fresh break from the traditional news agenda, but audiences around the world found AJE to work towards a conciliatory function, based on a typology of a conciliatory media developed here. These findings point to the possibility of a global news broadcaster that can bring diverse audiences together and encourage dialogue, empathy, responsibility and reconciliation.
Effects of Nitrogen Doping on Photocatalytic Water-splitting Activity of Pt/KTa0.92Zr0.08O3 Perovskite Oxide Catalyst
Authors: Hagiwara Hidehisa , Kumagae Kousuke , Ishihara Tatsumi
Published: April 2010

Effects of N doping in KTa(Zr)O3 on the photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation were investigated and it was found that Pt-loaded K0.93Ta0.92Zr0.08O2.79N0.21 photocatalyst achieved a complete splitting of water under 420 nm cut-off conditions.
A Novel Application of [Cr(en)2]2+ in the Synthesis of 1,2-Diols from Aromatic Aldehydes
Authors: Avila-Sorrosa Alcives , Vega-Ramírez Leticia , Rodríguez-Domínguez Rafael , Salgado-Zamora Héctor , Peralta-Cruz Javier , Reyes-Arellano Alicia
Published: April 2010

A reductive pinacol type arylaldehyde homocoupling process mediated by the [Cr(en)2]2+ complex is described. This procedure affords the meso-stereoisomer as the major product, an unexpected result considering that most organometallic methodologies preferentially yield the dl-isomer. Additionally, the method represents a novel application of the [Cr(en)2]2+.
Acceptability and willingness to pay for primary care videoconferencing: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Stahl James E , Dixon Ronald F
Published: April 2010

We examined videoconferencing in comparison with face-to-face office visits in primary care. Four physicians took part in the study and 175 patients were recruited from a general medical practice. Patients were interviewed and examined in both face-to-face and virtual settings, the order being randomized. Patients and clinicians were surveyed by questionnaire after each visit. Physicians were very satisfied with videoconferencing but preferred face-to-face overall ( P < 0.0001). For videoconferencing, the physical examination and the ability to order appropriate laboratory tests were the least satisfying elements of the encounter. Patients were also very satisfied with videoconferencing but overall preferred face-to-face ( P < 0.0001). This difference was significant for gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and respiratory complaints. However, in terms of willingness to pay (WTP) for videoconferencing access, patients with musculoskeletal and respiratory complaints were the most willing. Age and gender did not significantly predict WTP. The technical quality of the videoconference had a significant effect on satisfaction with the clinical encounter but did not correlate with the patients' WTP for videoconferencing. Travel costs up to $40 and travel times up to 4 hours did not influence the WTP of patients. For non-rural, relatively mobile patients, videoconferencing appears suitable for short visits for relatively simple complaints.
Developing and validating the French-Canadian version of the practitioner and organizational telehealth readiness assessment tools
Authors: Légaré Émilie , Vincent Claude , Lehoux Pascale , Anderson Donna , Kairy Dahlia , Gagnon Marie-Pierre , Jennett Penny
Published: April 2010

Only one telehealth readiness assessment tool, that of Jennett et al., covers all types of telehealth projects, regardless of health-care provision context. However, this instrument is only available in English and has not undergone psychometric evaluation. We developed a French-Canadian version of the Practitioner Telehealth Readiness Assessment Tool and the Organizational Telehealth Readiness Assessment Tool. Transcultural validity was assessed by nine practitioners and 12 clinical project co-ordinators or administrators. For practitioners and managers, there was no significant difference between the scores of the English and the French versions of the questionnaires. The results showed that the telehealth readiness of co-ordinators or administrators was greater than that of practitioners when the range in scores was taken into account. The French-Canadian versions of the two questionnaires make it possible to assess telehealth readiness among French speakers. However, other studies involving patients will be necessary to validate the Patient-Public Telehealth Readiness Assessment Tool.
A systematic review of telemedicine projects in Colombia
Authors: Rey-Moreno Carlos , Reigadas Javier Simó , Villalba Estrella Everss , Vinagre Juan Jose , Fernández Andrés Martínez
Published: April 2010

A systematic review of telemedicine projects in Colombia was conducted. We searched electronic databases, and also searched for relevant Internet websites. Each project manager was contacted by telephone to identify projects which had not actually been carried out. They were interviewed to request information about the projects they were managing, and whether they knew of other projects in Colombia. The search process identified 43 different projects, which were classified into two groups: telemedicine research initiatives and projects for providing health-care services via telemedicine. There were 32 projects which provided telemedicine services, of which 14 had been finished, 11 remained active, 4 were being implemented and no data were available about the state of the other 3. Health-care services had been provided using telemedicine to at least 550,000 patients. The projects had connected more than 650 health-care institutions, mainly in deprived areas of the country. Unfortunately, although many projects seem to have had a positive effect, none of them had been rigorously evaluated, and therefore in the absence of scientific evidence no general recommendations can be made. However, the methodology of the present study appears suitable for similar reviews of telemedicine in other developing countries.