bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Engaging the Public in Technology Policy
Authors: Bell Larry
Published: February 2008

As science museums become increasingly engaged with informal education about technology, consideration of both social values and ethical controversies becomes more central to their role. While science has traditionally been represented as largely independent of these considerations, technology more visibly presents society with choices. The Museum of Science in Boston has been experimenting with a variety of public engagement approaches designed to help visitors think and talk about the societal implications of nanotechnology. These approaches are generally interactive and two-way, allowing for the collection of data about what people think in addition to simply disseminating information about technology to them. This aspect raises ethical issues in itself. What, if anything, should museums do with information about the opinions expressed?
Mediating Uncertainty
Authors: Ebeling Mary F. E.
Published: February 2008

The commercialization of nanotechnologies and the rapid development of hyperbole around their commercialization can provide a fertile field for research into how the potentials and expectations of an emerging technology are communicated to investors. As the commercialization of nanotechnologies intensifies, this area will grow in significance. This article explores how the financial potentials of nanotechnologies and the promise of high returns for investors are constructed by marketing professionals and mediated through financial media. Attention is focused on how the immense uncertainties that surround nanotech as a commercialized field are managed by scientists, marketers, public relations professionals, and journalists and on the communication strategies used to take advantage of the ambiguities of nanotech in order to translate the technologies into a profitable industry.
After the Flood
Authors: Griffin Robert J. , Zheng Yang  , ter Huurne Ellen , Boerner Francesca , Ortiz Sherry , Dunwoody Sharon
Published: February 2008

In an effort to understand what motivates people to attend to information about flood risks, this study applies the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model to explore how local residents responded to damaging river flooding in the Milwaukee area. The results indicate that anger at managing agencies was associated with the desire for information and active information seeking and processing, as well as with greater risk judgment of harm from future flooding, greater sense of personal efficacy, lower institutional trust, and causal attributions for flood losses as being due to poor government management.
How Brazilian and North American Newspapers Frame the Stem Cell Research Debate
Authors: Reis Raul
Published: February 2008

Stem cell research has become one of the hottest scientific topics in the past few years. By combining the ability to exactly self-duplicate and the potential to differentiate themselves to constitute any organic tissue, embryonic stem cells have presented geneticists and medical researchers with a new wealth of possibilities to treat and cure degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. By relying heavily on discarded embryonic lines, stem cell research has also generated a new host of ethical and political controversies. The concept of media frames was employed to analyze how some of the main Brazil- and U.S.-based newspapers have framed and presented the stem cell research debate. The analysis indicates that while in Brazil the issue has been presented from a scientific (and mostly positive) point of view, in the United States the debate has been dominated by its political and ethical dimensions.
“To Booze or Not to Booze?” Newspaper Coverage of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Connolly-Ahern Colleen , Broadway S. Camille
Published: February 2008

This article reports the results of a qualitative framing analysis of the coverage of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The findings indicate that media discourse about FASD is characterized by differing story types and competing frames. The study also documents the recent emergence of a new frame in opposition to the prevailing abstinence frame in health coverage. This frame has shown physicians to be conflicted in their advice about drinking during pregnancy.
A Review of Narrative Ethics
Authors: Adams Tony E.
Published: February 2008

If we use stories as “equipment for living,” as tools to understand, negotiate, and make sense of situations we encounter, then a discussion of narrative ethics is a relevant, if not required, endeavor. In other words, if we learn how to think, feel, and interact with society via narratives, we also learn ethical ways of being with others, “correct” and “appropriate” ways that serve as foundations for many of our interactions. This latter epistemological assumption guides this study. In this article, the author synthesizes ethical themes of life research, themes of narrative privilege, media, and evaluative criteria. He then illustrates how these themes influence narrative inquiry.
Qualitative Research in Question
Authors: Johnson Tara Star
Published: February 2008

This article narrates the author's experience of obtaining institutional review board (IRB) approval for her dissertation study. Although her research topic was particularly sensitive, this case is illustrative of the increasing level of difficulty qualitative researchers are facing in conducting not only risky research but also work that is not aligned with the National Research Council's conception of “scientific” methodology. The author nests her story within the larger social context of surveillance and disciplinary power operating on today's educational researchers. She focuses her attention on the complex power relations among researchers, IRBs, and arbiters of what counts as quality research.
Talking and Thinking About Qualitative Research
Authors: Ellis Carolyn , Bochner Arthur , Denzin Norman , Lincoln Yvonna , Morse Janice , Pelias Ronald , Richardson Laurel
Published: February 2008

This script comes from an edited transcript of a session titled “Talking and Thinking About Qualitative Research,” which was part of the 2006 International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on May 4-6, 2006. This special session featured scholars informally responding to questions about their personal history with qualitative methods, epiphanies that attracted them to qualitative work or changed their perspectives within the qualitative tradition, ethical crises, exemplary qualitative studies, the current state of qualitative methods, and challenges and goals for the next decade. Panelists included Arthur Bochner (communication), Norman Denzin (sociology/communication/critical studies), Yvonna Lincoln (education), Janice Morse (nursing/anthropology), Ronald Pelias (performance studies/ communication), and Laurel Richardson (sociology/gender studies). Carolyn Ellis (communication/sociology) served as organizer and moderator.
Rating E-Tailers' Money-Back Guarantees
Authors: Posselt Thorsten , Gerstner Eitan , Radic Dubravko
Published: February 2008

Most e-tailers offer money-back guarantees (MBGs) on product returns, but coverage and durations of different policies vary significantly across e-tailers (taking into account restocking fees, shipping and handling fees, and coverage duration). To help consumers and e-tailers evaluate MBG policies, we developed three different “MBGQual” (money-back guarantee quality) indexes that measure the insurance protection, costs, and attractiveness of the MBGs to consumers. The usefulness of these indexes is illustrated by examining MBGs offered by electronic product e-tailers.
The Impact of Service-Time Uncertainty and Anticipated Congestion on Customers' Waiting-Time Decisions
Authors: Kumar Piyush , Krishnamurthy Parthasarathy
Published: February 2008

Customers often decide between service providers on the basis of their anticipated waiting times. The duration of the wait depends on two factors: the customer processing speed at the service location and the level of congestion at the time of arrival. While processing speed is an intrinsic operating characteristic of a service provider, congestion is a contingent characteristic that depends on customers' choices between the service provider and its competitors. Consequently, a customer's waiting time at a service location is characterized by an externality because it depends on the concurrent choices made by other customers. In this article, the authors examine how customers account for this externality when choosing between service providers that differ in the uncertainty surrounding their service times. The authors show that the uncertainty surrounding anticipated congestion at service locations suppresses risk aversion with respect to service times. However, if the overall market is expected to be over- or undercrowded, then risk aversion is restored and customer choices favor the low-uncertainty service provider. A partial explanation for the variance in customers' decision strategies lies in the extent to which they focus on the arrival process versus the service process when making their decision.
The practice of free-traveling
Authors: Zuev Dennis
Published: February 2008

The article explores the case of youth travel in modern Russia. Free-traveling is conceptualized as a spatial practice which is a set of techniques that allows young people to gain access to foreign space and in foreign space. The issue of free-traveling is problematized in the context of spatial dimension of social exclusion of young people — access and its physical, financial and information aspects. The concept of spatial practice is proposed to explain how young people struggle with information, financial and physical limitations of access. Through the analysis of free-traveling the author intends to show how young people in Russia cope with the issue of access.
Modernization of upper secondary school in Denmark
Authors: Bøje Jakob Ditlev
Published: February 2008

The Danish upper secondary school is currently undergoing a hyper complex process of modernization where new organizational forms, teacher-student roles and principles of management are introduced. The process is set-off most directly by a new reform. This article explores the implementation of that reform by focusing on how it is interpreted locally and put into practice by the headmasters of two different schools. On the basis of that analysis the article discusses the consequences that different ways of interpreting and managing the reform might have for the students — how do they understand, recognize and execute the new pedagogical discourses and constructions of students that the headmasters are launching? The theoretical and methodological approach of the article is based on Basil Bernstein's sociology of education. Empirically the article draws on qualitative interviews with the headmasters under analysis.
Media audiences, ethnographic practice and the notion of a cultural field
Authors: Athique Adrian
Published: February 2008

This article will consider in detail the implications of a diffuse social imagination for existing paradigms of ethnographic audience research. The notion of a 'cultural field research model will be offered here as an alternative structure for locating media communities as sites of social practice. This is a theoretical framework that reformulates the conception of media audiences as 'imagined communities by replacing a demographically constituted ethnographic model with an emphasis on surveying the diverse inhabitants of a cultural field constructed around participation in particular instances of media practice.
Property TV
Authors: McElroy Ruth
Published: February 2008

This article explores how home is made and re-made on national television screens by reference to new domestic lifestyle genres. Through a comparative analysis of the property TV of English-language broadcasters in the UK and US, as well as the minority-language Welsh broadcaster S4C, this article examines the inter-relationship of domestic scenes of private homes with the formation of national constructions of homelands and national belonging. The aestheticization of everyday home life is tied both to distinct material cultural practices and to the politics of taste in the formation of cultural identities within distinct national locales.
The beautiful in the commonplace
Authors: Skatvedt Astrid , Schou Kirsten Costain
Published: February 2008

During fieldwork in a rehabilitation institution for drug abusers, I 1 became aware that certain, apparently commonplace, informal interaction situations between residents and staff appeared to constitute emotionally moving and identity-constructing situations which apparently had a great impact on the residents. These situations seem, on the surface, to be trivial, minor, superficial and very common. Still, and perhaps because of their 'smallness , they show qualities that suggest authentic interaction, immediate and unfeigned, by participants. This article draws upon an analysis of what I have called 'love-bearing interaction situations (Skatvedt, 2001) and connects this with theoretical insights drawn from the work of Erving Goffman and Johan Asplund, and from Howard Becker s labelling theory.2 Of particular interest is a notion touched upon by Goffman, namely, the expression of love in commonplace interaction.
Meetings
Authors: Metcalfe Andrew , Game Ann
Published: February 2008

This article examines the different theories of meeting offered by Durkheim, Mauss, Sartre, Lévi-Strauss, Bohm, Levinas and Buber. Through this examination we question the common assumption that social life, and more particularly the gift, is based on exchange — on the sequence of giving, receiving and reciprocating — which is fundamentally a Hegelian logic of subjects and objects. While many aspects of social life take this form, true meeting is characterized by a quality of grace; it occurs only when the Hegelian world gives way to a presence that has a different temporality, spatiality and ontology. This world is glimpsed, but inadequately conceptualized, in Durkheim s theory of religious congregation, which is characterized by a tension between identity and relational logics.
Textiles and Clothing in South Asia
Authors: Adhikari Ratnakar , Weeratunge Chatrini
Published: February 2008

Phasing out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) have had different degrees of impact on the South Asian countries depending on their level of competitiveness, factor endowment and marketing calibre. Based on the data available for the first two years after the phasing out of quotas, it can be inferred that temporary safeguards imposed on China have provided some breathing space for the relatively less competitive countries in the region. However, the entire landscape of the Textiles and Clothing (T&C) sector in the region will change after the elimination of these safeguards in 2008. This article argues that despite several constraints, the South Asia region has a potential to develop itself as a global T&C hub. Therefore, concerted efforts need to be made at three levels to realize this potential. First, to form a common position at the international negotiations forum to overcome protectionist market access barriers. This should be done in tandem with the use of the regional cooperation platform to remove barriers to trade, investment and technology transfer within the region. Second, to make investments in addressing supply side constraints in order to enhance the competitiveness of the South Asian T&C sector in a phased manner. Third, to adopt strategies used successfully by countries within and outside the region to ward off competitive pressures, which are likely to ensue when the T&C trade becomes free from all restrictions.
SPS Regulations and Competitiveness
Authors: Kumar C. Nalin , Muraleedharan V.R.
Published: February 2008

This article investigates India's export performance of spices (whole pepper and capsicum) in the markets of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and South and Southeast Asia, which constitute a substantial market for Indian spices. A Constant Market Share model is used to decompose the growth in exports of spices into size of the market effect, market composition effect and competitiveness effect. The analysis is performed for the exports during the nineties, the period India had to resort to increased challenges of food safety. The study confirms that there has not been substantial trade effect for Indian spices due to quality issues, such as sanitary and phytosanitary regulations. This article argues that increase in exports to neighbouring regions is explained more by the increased demand and supply and not by the stringent quality requirements of traditional importing countries.
Using niin-interrogative to treat the prior speaker's action as an exaggeration
Authors: Halonen Mia , Sorjonen Marja-Leena
Published: February 2008

This article examines an interrogative construction with which recipients in Finnish interactions treat the co-participant's prior action as having exhibited a stance that was overstated. A key element in the interrogative is the intensifier niin which foregrounds the scalar character of its head word (e.g. niin hirmune `so/that/as terrible') and suggests that the place it points to is too high on the scale. We will show that the niin-interrogative can target something the co-participant explicitly mentioned or only implied, and it can have in its scope either the prior turn or a longer stretch of talk. Niin-interrogatives form one means for indicating that the co-participant's claim departed from some normal way of perceiving social life, and they orient to a moral norm of walking the golden mean. As compared to other ways of dealing with exaggeration, a niin-interrogative allows the recipient to express her disagreeing stance in a fashion that avoids an open conflict.
`Did you have permission to smash your neighbour's door?' Silly questions and their answers in police—suspect interrogations
Authors: Stokoe Elizabeth , Edwards Derek
Published: February 2008

We examine the asking and answering of `silly questions' (SQs) (for example, `might sound a bit silly, but do you know whose window it is?') in British police interviews with suspects, the courses of action SQs initiate, and the institutional contingencies they are designed to manage. We show how SQs are asked at an important juncture toward the ends of interviews, following police officers' formulations of suspects' testimony (e.g. `so you've admitted throwing eggs'). These formulations are confirmed or even collaboratively produced by suspects. We then examine the design of SQs and show how they play a central role in the articulation of suspects' reported `state of mind', and particularly attributing to them criminal intentions constitutive of the offence with which they may be charged. In cases where SQs do not produce unambiguous answers about `state of mind' or intentionality, police officers move toward direct questioning about suspects' intent, thus making explicit the project of SQs in such interviews. Following SQ—Answer sequences, police officers reformulate suspects' testimony, with subtle but crucial differences with regard to suspects' knowledge state and criminal intent. Suspects overwhelmingly align with police officers' formulations of their testimony, and such agreements have the interactional shape of affiliation. Yet SQs may work in ways that are institutionally adversarial with regard to criminal charges, relevant evidence and self-incriminating testimony.
Researching `at Home' as an Insider/Outsider
Authors: Al-Makhamreh Sahar Suleiman , Lewando-Hundt Gillian
Published: February 2008

This article discusses aspects of the socio-cultural context of an organizational ethnographic study of social work practice — the impact of culture and gender on researching social work practice in Jordanian hospitals. The authors analyse and discuss aspects of the complexities of gender and the socio-cultural context and their influence on strategies for negotiating insider/outsider status when carrying out ethnographic fieldwork in an Arab society. This study of hospital social work in Jordan illustrates how gender, culture and strategies of insiders and outsiders shape participant observation in the field setting. We reflect on ways of negotiating access and interacting more freely with respondents of differing status and gender within the social constraints of Arab societies.
Trafficking in Facts
Authors: Taylor Carolyn
Published: February 2008

In contemporary social work writing has been given limited attention. Documents tend to be regarded as a medium for the transmission of information about something else. In the social sciences there has been greater recognition of the pervasiveness of texts and the functions they perform. Texts are active in influencing and structuring the world and this applies as much to social work as to everyday activities in modern society. Insights from ethnomethodology and literary criticism can help us to explore writing practices in social work, and these are used here in relation to reports, case records and reflective practice. They show how these work to persuade of their claims to truth and, in doing so, how they categorize practitioners and service users. By focusing on texts we further our understanding of social work's communicative practices and professional culture.
Systemic innovation in a distributed network: the case of Danish wind turbines, 1972—2007
Authors: Andersen Poul Houman , Drejer Ina
Published: February 2008

What motivates firms to engage in shared innovation activities in complex technologies, where appropriation of value is interdependent on others? Transaction cost economics prescribes that innovations that are complex and systemic in nature should not be distributed among several actors. Here the firm is clearly the locus of innovation. Opposed to this, the network-based view suggests that a distributed organization may be the most efficient way to organize innovative processes under uncertain and rapidly changing conditions and that, because the locus of innovation is the collaborative network, firms are forced to join in order to stay informed. However, these two contrasting views both overlook the complexities of real-life activities. Understanding that firms' motives and propensity to collaborate are contingent on and evolve as industries evolve is the key to understanding their attitude towards sharing and co-developing knowledge.
Performance effects of firms' expansion paths within and across industries and nations
Authors: Hutzschenreuter Thomas , Guenther Fabian
Published: February 2008

This article contributes to the emerging discussion on the diversification—performance relationship from a dynamic perspective.The research focuses on the ability of firms to handle complexity associated with added product scope during a period of time and the effect this may have on performance.The authors hypothesize that firms undertaking expansion steps during a given period of time, involving a higher level of added product scope, and those that expand into unrelated industries in an irregular fashion, i.e. with a higher variability, will gain less from expansion. Likewise, the authors hypothesize that if the degree of expansion steps involving internationalization is higher or shows more variance, firms will gain less from expansion.These hypothesized relationships are tested using detailed longitudinal data on 3503 expansion steps undertaken by a panel of 91 German firms, whose expansion programs have been tracked for periods ranging between five and 20 years.
The Idea of National HRD: An Analysis Based on Economics and Theory Development Methodology
Authors: Wang Greg G. , Swanson Richard A.
Published: February 2008

Recent human resource development (HRD) literature focuses attention on national HRD (NHRD) research and represents problems in both HRD identity and research methodology. Based on a review of development economics and international development literature, this study analyzes the existing NHRD literature with respect to the theory development methodology. The study presents four propositions that challenge the present idea of NHRD. This study concludes that the methods used in the NHRD literature fall short in rigor when compared to economic theory research. This study also presents detailed implications for NHRD policy research and theory development.
Integrative Literature Review: Diversity Management Interventions and Organizational Performance:A Synthesis of Current Literature
Authors: Foster Curtis Ellen , Dreachslin Janice L.
Published: February 2008

Despite the growing body of literature focused on diversity management and its implications for career experiences and perceptions, team dynamics, customer service, and other dimensions of organizational performance, a significant gap remains. To address the gap, this article reviews the managing diversity literature published between January 2000 and December 2005 to identify the subset of the literature that examines the effectiveness of specific diversity interventions implemented in organizations. Only 38 such studies were identified. We conclude that the current evidence base provides limited guidance to human resource professionals as they design and implement diversity interventions. Each study identified in the review is categorized by research methodology and by type of intervention: diversity training and education; mentoring; and other organizational development interventions. Characteristics of effective interventions are identified. Gaps in the literature and areas for future research are described.
The crystal structure of ammoniojarosite, (NH4)Fe3(SO4)W(OH)6and the crystal chemistry of the ammoniojarosite–hydronium jarosite solid-solution series
Authors: Basciano L. C. , Peterson R. C.
Published: February 2008

The atomic structure of ammoniojarosite,[(NH4)Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6], a = 7.3177(3) Å, c = 17.534(1) Å, space groupRm,Z= 3, has been solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) towR3.64% and R 1.4%. The atomic coordinates of the hydrogen atoms of the NH4group were located and it was found that the ammonium group has two different orientations with equal probability. Hydronium commonly substitutes into jarosite group mineral structures and samples in the ammoniojarosite–hydronium jarosite solid-solution series were synthesized and analysed using powder XRD and Rietveld refinement. Changes in unit-cell dimensions and bond lengths are noted across the solidsolution series. The end-member ammoniojarosite synthesized in this study has no hydronium substitution in theAsite and the unit-cell dimensions determined have a smaller a dimension and larger c dimension than previous studies. Two natural ammoniojarosite samples were analysed and shown to have similar unit-cell dimensions to the synthetic samples. Short-wave infrared and Fourier transform infrared spectra were collected for samples from the NH4–H3O jarosite solid-solution series and the differences between the end-members were significant. Both are useful tools for determining NH4content in jarosite group minerals.
Metamorphic effects on agate found near the Shap granite, Cumbria, England: as demonstrated by petrography, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic methods
Authors: Moxon T. , Reed S. J. B. , Zhang M.
Published: February 2008

Agates from a 430 Ma host at Stockdale Beck, Cumbria, England have been characterized. The crystallite size of the Stockdale Beck agates was found to be ~60% greater than any other agates from five regions aged 400–1100 Ma. Raman spectroscopy identified moganite in all agates tested except those from Stockdale Beck. Infrared spectroscopy showed that the silanol content of the Stockdale Beck agates was near zero. The properties of agates from Stockdale Beck and the 1.84–3.48 Ga metamorphosed hosts found in Western Australia were similar but different from agates found in other hosts aged 400–1100 Ma. Cathodoluminescence demonstrates further differences between agates from hosts aged 13–1100 Ma and those from Stockdale Beck and Western Australia. Agates from the latter areas have a lower proportion of defects causing a red emission band (~660 nm) but an increased proportion of defects causing blue (~470 nm) and orange (~640 nm) emission bands. Agates found in hosts aged 13–1100 Ma are also differentiated from the Stockdale Beck and Western Australian agates in a ternary plot of the relative intensities of violet to blue to orange emission bands. Single scans producing this combination of colours are only found in the Stockdale Beck and Western Australian agates. The properties shown by the Stockdale Beck and Western Australian agates demonstrate that an agate or chalcedony infill can be used to identify post-deposition palaeoheating within a host rock.
Physician perceptions of managed care strategies, and impact of these on their clinical performance, in the South African private health sector
Authors: Pillay Rubin
Published: February 2008

Managed care strategies have been introduced into the South African private health sector a decade ago to help reduce medical costs in this sector. A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among primary care physicians in this sector to access their perceptions of these strategies and to analyse impact of these on their clinical behaviour. The results indicate that although insurers were not using these strategies extensively, doctors generally perceived them negatively. It was, however, pleasing to note that the newer generation of doctors, appear to be more accepting of this new philosophy of health-care delivery.
Trend and variation of prescription drug cost in the veterans health-care system
Authors: Gao Jian , Campbell James
Published: February 2008

Using descriptive statistics, this paper revealed that the prescription drug cost as a percentage of total health-care cost in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care system has outpaced the national trend. Given the fact that the national drug expenditure is the most fast-growing component in the health-care expenditure, the drug cost trend in VA commands further assessment for its financial and clinical impact. Furthermore, by applying simple log linear regression, we analysed the geographic variation in prescription drug use in the VA health-care system. We found a 30% deviation from the predicted drug cost at medical centre level and 15% deviation at Network level. Although this variation is relatively small compared with the variation in other medical service use, reduction of the variation has significant clinical and financial implications. Since the method used in this study is easy to implement, this paper provides a practical tool for large health-care systems such as VA, States and health maintenance organizations to identify those hospitals that over- or under-prescribe drugs.
The influence of teamwork culture on physician and nurse resignation rates in hospitals
Authors: Mohr David C , Burgess James F , Young Gary J
Published: February 2008

Employee turnover is a critical concern, particularly for hospitals, because they face a very tight labour market for hiring replacements, and high turnover itself may have substantial negative effects on the continuity and quality of patient care. Hospitals with a stronger teamwork culture may experience lower turnover but this has not been formally studied. Research on determinants of employee turnover has not separated out resignations from the larger, more inclusive definition of turnover that includes retirement. This study investigated the relationship between the teamwork culture of hospitals and physician and nurse resignation rates. The study setting was the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Each hospital was assessed on teamwork culture based on a survey of current employees. Hospital-level resignation rates were obtained for physicians and nurses. Separate multivariate regression models on physicians and nurses were employed. The models included hospital-level characteristics and labour market variables. Analysis of covariance was also performed to attempt to further reveal effects in high versus low teamwork culture hospitals. Teamwork culture was negatively associated with nurse and physician resignation rates, but was statistically significant in the nurse resignation model only. Additional analyses indicated a 0.47 standard deviation (SD) difference in nurse resignation rates and a 0.40 SD difference in physician resignation rates between hospitals in the top and bottom quartiles of the distribution for teamwork culture. In conclusion, these results suggest that developing and emphasizing a teamwork culture may facilitate greater retention of health-care employees, especially nurses.
Exploring the lack of progress in improving patient safety in Australian hospitals
Authors: Leggat Sandra , Bartram Timothy , Stanton Pauline
Published: February 2008

Objectives

This study aimed to build on the increasing evidence of a link between good people management practice, and organizational and patient outcomes in public health care to document the important human resource management practices in our hospitals.

Methods

The design included large scale survey of hospital managers' perceptions of the use of human resource management practices. The questionnaire included Human resource management (HRM) measures and additional questions related to the Australian hospital accreditation standards. Data were collected in December 2003 until April 2004 from a total sample of 92 hospitals/hospital organizations from the State of Victoria, Australia. The participants were Chief Executive Officers, Human Resource Directors and two other senior managers of the hospital organizations were invited to complete the questionnaire. There were no interventions. The main outcome measure, one-way analysis of variance was used to determine differences in the perceptions of the three groups of managers' concerning the use of HRM practices. Frequency and descriptive statistics were used to determine use of HRM practices.

Results

A 67% response rate enabled us to document human resource management practices in Victorian hospitals. The respondents reported limited strategic and organizational HRM.

Conclusion

This study found limited evidence of sophisticated HRM practices among hospitals and hospital organizations in the State of Victoria, Australia. Despite the increasing evidence of a relationship among effective HRM and health-care outcomes, these hospitals reported limited performance management, training and development, and employee empowerment and decision-making. The authors suggest that it is unlikely that attempts to improve patient safety in this sector will be successful until the deficits in HRM are addressed.
Socioeconomic status and health-care utilization: a study of the effects of low income, unemployment and hours of work on the demand for health care in the European Union
Authors: Economou Athina , Nikolaou Agelike , Theodossiou Ioannis
Published: February 2008

The purpose of this study was to shed light on the individual socioeconomic status and demographic determinants of the demand for health care in a cross-comparison study of nine European Union countries. It focuses on the effects of individual employment status on alternative indicators of demand for health care that constitutes a largely unexplored area. The evidence supports the existence of an employment status-demand for health-care relationship, although it varies with respect to the type of health care examined and the institutional and environmental settings of the countries utilized in the study.
Awareness of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis after sexual exposure and emergency hormonal contraception in HIV-positive women
Authors: Samuel M , Taylor C , Brady M , Mcdonald C , Poulton M , Tenant-Flowers M
Published: February 2008

Women attending a dedicated medical gynaecology and family planning referral clinic for women with HIV were surveyed using a standard questionnaire about their knowledge and attitudes to post-exposure prophylaxis after sexual exposure (PEPSE) and emergency hormonal contraception (EHC). Eighty percent of them had not heard of PEPSE, but once informed about it, 86% said they would inform a partner about it. Less than 10% had any idea of the duration of effectiveness. Seventy-three percent of the women knew about EC and 45% of them had used it previously. Ninety-eight percent of them would use it in the future if necessary. Eighty percent of them knew its period of effectiveness. There is a clear need for information about PEPSE, which needs to be delivered around the time of HIV diagnosis and reinforced later. Some women will need help in discussing it with HIV-negative partners.
Creating a Climate of Convenience: Australia's Response to Global Climate Change (1996–2007)
Authors: Stevenson Hayley
Published: February 2008

This article discusses how issue framing and nondecision-making shaped Australia's response to global climate change between 1996 and 2007. The complex and multi-dimensional nature of global climate change enabled state and non-state actors to selectively highlight certain aspects of the issue, thereby framing it as a specific problem with corresponding solutions. The case of Australia provides an interesting example of how such conscious framing, together with underlying institutional biases, may suppress important aspects of global climate change and ensure they are kept off the political agenda. This article unravels four narratives that are evident in the former Australian Government's framing of global climate change during this period. The nondecisions which are embedded within these narratives have important normative implications which will be explored.
Renewable Energy Technologies in Australia: Research, Status and Prospects
Authors: Godfrey R. Bruce
Published: February 2008

In support principally of environmental goals – principally reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector – Australian Federal and State governments have put in place a range of measures to support the deployment of increasing levels of renewable energy products and services. These market-making mechanisms complement Australia's leadership in a wide range of technologies for stationary energy applications of renewable energy, including photovoltaics, electricity storage, concentrating solar power, small wind turbines, energy efficiency products, hot dry rock geothermal and wave power. Industry is responding to these market and technology opportunities, and associated policy measures to support their growth, with the aim of growing a sizeable renewable energy sector that delivers economically competitive solutions for Australian and export markets.
Australia's Energy Use and Export
Authors: Duncan Ian J.
Published: February 2008

Australia is dependent on fossil fuel and exports significant quantities of coal and gas. Additionally, it has major uranium reserves and is the world's second largest exporter. It has one research reactor but no nuclear power electricity generation. Until 2007, Australia declined to endorse the Kyoto Protocol but has volunteered to limit the growth of CO2 emissions. This paper considers the greenhouse debate and nuclear energy. It concludes that whether the cause of global warming is the use of fossil fuel or solar activity, the remedy is the same. Reducing CO2 in the atmosphere will allow more heat to escape to space. Reducing the use of fossil fuel will reduce atmospheric CO2. For environmental, economic and global reasons the more populated Australian states should now consider the use of nuclear powered electricity generation.
Employee identification before and after an internal merger: A longitudinal analysis
Authors: Bartels Jos , Pruyn Ad , de Jong Menno
Published: February 2008

Earlier studies have shown that perceived external prestige (PEP) and communication climate influence employees' overall organizational identification. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study into the determinants of organizational identification at two organizational levels during an internal merger. Data were collected in a university where four divisions merged into two new divisions. Respondents filled out a questionnaire on organizational identification, PEP and communication climate 4 months before the merger (T1) and 2 years after the merger (T2). Results indicate that pre‐merger identification primarily influences post‐merger identification at the same organizational level. Furthermore, the determinants of employees' overall organizational identification differ from the determinants of employees' division identification. Internal communication climate is particularly important for employees' identification with their division. PEP affects employees' identification with the overall organization. Management implications are discussed for monitoring employee identification both in times of (internal) mergers and in general.
Effect of Specimen Preparation Method on the Stress-Strain Behavior of Sand in Plane-Strain Compression Tests
Authors: Wanatowski D. , Chu J.
Published: February 2008

Experimental results are presented in this paper to study the effect of specimen preparation method on the stress-strain behavior of sand in plane-strain compression tests. The data obtained from K0 consolidation, drained, undrained and strain path tests conducted on medium loose specimens prepared by the moist-tamping (MT) and the water sedimentation (WS) methods are compared. The test data show that the plane-strain compression behavior of medium loose sand under K0, drained and strain-path controlled (including undrained) conditions is affected by the specimen preparation method. Under K0 conditions, the K0 values obtained from the MT specimens are generally lower than those obtained from the WS specimens. Under drained conditions, more contractive behavior was observed for the MT sand. However, the failure stress ratio (or the failure friction angle) was not affected by the specimen preparation method. The data presented in this paper also illustrate that the compression behavior of medium loose sand in strain-path testing can be affected by the specimen preparation method. However, the differences in the stress-strain behavior will also depend on the strain increment ratio (dεv/dε1) imposed on the specimens. In general, different behaviors of the moist-tamped and water-deposited specimens reflect the influence of soil fabrics on the stress-strain behavior of sand.
Mehrkanalige THz-Bildgebung zur Qualitätskontrolle (Multichannel THz Imaging for Quality Management)
Authors: Pradarutti Boris , Müller Ralf , Brückner Claudia , Riehemann Stefan , Notni Gunther , Tünnermann Andreas , Matthäus Gabor , Nolte Stefan
Published: February 2008

Wir stellen ein mehrkanaliges THz-Ultrakurzpuls-Bildgebungssystem mit elektrooptischer Liniendetektion vor. Das System basiert auf einem kompakten und robusten faserverstärkten Femtosekunden-Lasersystem mit hoher Ausgangsleistung. Das THz-Bildgebungssystem vereint dabei die Vorteile der schnellen Vielkanaldetektion mit dem hohen Signal/Rausch-Verhältnis der balancierten elektrooptischen Detektion.
Terahertz-Forschung begegnet Kunststofftechnik (Terahertz Research Meets Polymer Technology)
Authors: Wietzke Steffen , Krumbholz Norman , Vieweg Nico , Koch Martin , Hochrein Thomas , Kretschmer Karsten , Bastian Martin
Published: February 2008

Die Terahertz-Messtechnik kann in Zukunft vermehrt Einzug in die Prozess- und Qualitätskontrolle der Kunststofftechnik halten. Zeitbereichsspektroskopie und ein neuer Algorithmus zur äußerst genauen Datenauswertung ermöglichen es, den Gehalt von Zusatzstoffen präzise inline zu überwachen oder Kunststoffbauteile zerstörungsfrei zu prüfen. Im Gegenzug versprechen aber auch Funktionswerkstoffe auf Polymerbasis Mehrwert als THz-Systemkomponenten.
Berührungsfreie Prüfung von Materialoberflächen mit THz-Strahlung (Contactless Testing of the Surface of Materials)
Authors: Hils Bernd , von Spiegel Wolff , Löffler Torsten , Roskos Hartmut
Published: February 2008

Die Verwendung der THz-Strahlung bietet diverse Anwendungsmöglichkeiten für die Messtechnik, wie z.B. die hochgenaue berührungslose Bestimmung der Oberflächentopographie technischer Materialien. Interferometrische Methoden im Visuellen und nahen IR scheitern, wenn die mittleren Rautiefen der zu untersuchenden Oberflächen-Werte größer als ein Zehntel der benutzten Wellenlängen annehmen. Wir stellen zwei Methoden zur hochgenauen Formmessung technischer Oberflächen vor: THz-Dunkelfeld-Reflektometrie und THz-Heterodyn-Profilometrie.
Detektion verborgener Objekte mittels eines abbildenden Terahertz-Heterodynempfängers (Detection of Hidden Objects with an Imaging Terahertz Heterodyne Receiver)
Authors: Hübers Heinz-Wilhelm , Böttger Ute , Richter Heiko , Semenov Alexej D.
Published: February 2008

In diesem Artikel wird über ein abbildendes Heterodynspektrometer berichtet, das bei einer Frequenz von 0,8 THz arbeitet. Mit dem System ist es möglich, unter der Kleidung verborgene Objekte innerhalb weniger Sekunden und in einem Abstand von 20 m zu detektieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein echtzeitfähiges, abbildendes THz-Heterodynspektrometer machbar ist.
Terahertz-Bildgebung in industriellen Anwendungen (Terahertz Imaging in Industrial Applications)
Authors: Theuer Michael , Torosyan Garik , Ellrich Frank , Jonuscheit Joachim , Beigang René
Published: February 2008

Terahertz-Bildgebung hat sich als eine sehr nützliche Messtechnik für Anwendungen im Bereich der zerstörungsfreien Materialprüfung und Qualitätskontrolle erwiesen. Unter Verwendung kohärenter Nachweismethoden werden sowohl Amplitude und Phase als auch Laufzeitinformationen detektiert. Je nach gewähltem Auswerteverfahren kann man aus den Messdaten auf verschiedene Objekteigenschaften wie z.B. Dicke, Form, Dichte oder Inhalt schließen. Typische Beispiele der Terahertz-Bildgebung an industriellen Prüfobjekten werden gezeigt und die Grenzen bezüglich räumlicher und zeitlicher Auflösung diskutiert.
American Ethnological Society
Authors: Rothstein Fran
Published: February 2008

•Elsie Clews Parsons Prize Winner 
•The Limits of Emergencies and the Time of Event: The Preevent Configuration of Biological Threats Limor Samimian Darash  •AES/SANA Joint Conference: Democracy, Disorder and Discontent (Wrightsville Beach, NC, April 3?5, 2008)
Anthropology and Environment Section
Authors: Ogden Laura
Published: February 2008

•Environmental Anthropology and Neoliberal Conservation James Igoe
Archeology Division
Authors: Alexander Rani T
Published: February 2008

•Welcome AD President Janet Levy 
•Archaeologists Working with the Military at Home Minette Church  •AD Sponsors 2008 SAA Symposium Janet Levy
Association for Black Anthropologists
Authors: Chin Elizabeth J
Published: February 2008

•An Update on Transforming Anthropology John Jackson, Deborah Thomas
Association for Feminist Anthropology
Authors: Upton Rebecca
Published: February 2008

•In Class with bell hooks
Central States Anthropological Society
Authors: Glaros Angela
Published: February 2008

•2008 Annual Meeting 
•2008 Leslie A White and Beth Wilder Dillingham Awards 
•Reflections From the Field Angela Glaros
Council on Anthropology and Education
Authors: Baltodano Marta P
Published: February 2008

•New CAE Officers 
•2007 Spindler Award Recipient 
•Modeling Participatory Democracy: Using Citizen Panels to Shape Policymaking after NCLB 
•My Last Column
Council for Museum Anthropology
Authors: Herold Joyce
Published: February 2008

•Respectful Treatment of Crow (Aps?alooke) Spiritual Items at Plenty Coups Park C Adrian Heidenreich
Evolutionary Anthropology Society
Authors: Shenk Mary K
Published: February 2008

•Introducing the New EAS Officeholders Patricia Draper  •John Patton, President‐Elect •Michael Alvard, Board Member •Timothy Earle, Board Member •David Nolin, Student Representative •Donna Leonetti, Secretary/Treasurer •John Ziker, Contributing Editor
Society for the Anthropology in Community Colleges
Authors: Miller Lloyd
Published: February 2008

•SACC 2008 Meeting in Washington DC Ann Kaupp
Society for the Anthropology of Conciousness
Authors: McBride Lawrence B
Published: February 2008

•Introducing Consciousness