bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mapping the environment for corporate social responsibility
Authors: Ihlen Øyvind
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to seek to improve how companies map their environment in order to identify the social norms and values that exist in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical discussion is accompanied by a short case study that includes analysis of ten sustainability reports published by the oil company Shell.

Findings

The mapping tools recommended in the literature of management and public relations have limitations. There are also weaknesses in the way that Shell, a supposed leader in the CSR movement, maps its environment. The public sphere concept is suggested as a fruitful supplement.

Research limitations/implications

More in‐depth case studies accompanied with qualitative interviews are needed to back up the conclusions put forward.

Practical implications

The norms, values and expectations regarding CSR are not fixed entities, and it is thus vital for organisations to engage in ongoing listening and dialogue to keep abreast of these changing factors. Companies have to attempt to be well informed and well read participants in civic society. Conceptualizing their environments as made up of stakeholders and a public sphere, can help in this endeavour.

Originality/value

The paper points to the limitation of current environmental mapping tools, and discusses how such mapping exercises can be improved.
Who's in and who's out?
Authors: Verhoeven Piet
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper aims at providing a theoretical perspective to study the effects of the communication management/public relations of organizations on the social cohesion of individuals, groups and societies.

Design/methodology/approach

The possible connections between communication management and social cohesion, social integration and diversity are explored by looking at the concept of social capital. After discussing aspects of the hypothesis of decreasing social capital and of the hypothesis of increasing contingency of Western societies, questions are raised about the societal role of communication management as a profession that is usually described as being concerned with building relations. To study questions like these empirically, the actor network theory (ANT) is suggested as an analytical perspective and a methodological approach to elaborate the position of reflective communication management.

Findings

ANT or the sociology of associations seems a suitable theoretical perspective for studying the relations between communication management, social capital and social cohesion. ANT sheds a light on fact and meaning construction, on issues of power and framing and on coalition building activities and translation: who is bridging or bonding with whom and with what consequences?

Originality/value

Research from the perspective of ANT could result in a comprehensive understanding of communication management/public relations incorporating functionalistic, social psychological, relationship and rhetorical approaches.
Integrated online marketing communication: implementation and management
Authors: Gurău Călin
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the particularities of integrated marketing communication (IMC) in the online environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Both secondary and primary data (face‐to‐face interviews with 29 marketing or communication managers of UK online consumer retail firms) are analysed in order to identify the various meanings of the integrated online marketing communication, the opportunities and challenges raised by online communication, and the structure of an efficient integrated online marketing communication system.

Findings

The transparency, interactivity and memory of the internet force the organisation to adopt a proactive‐reactive attitude in online communication, and to combine consistency and continuity with flexibility and customisation.

Research limitations/implications

The number of interviews used to collect primary data is relatively small; the use of the information collected is general and unstructured; and the findings are applicable only to online customer product retailers.

Practical implications

The messages sent by the company to its online audiences have to be transformed/adapted in a three‐stage process.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the specific opportunities and challenges raised by the internet for integrated marketing communication, and proposes an original model for the adaptation of online messages to core corporate values, communication strategy and tactics, and targeted audience/communication channels.
Service development in traditional product manufacturing companies
Authors: Gebauer Heiko , Krempl Regine , Fleisch Elgar
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The primary objective of this paper is to explore antecedents for developing different types of services. A second objective is to address the neglected role of service development in manufacturing firms.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research approach is used. While the study is qualitative due to its context, it is positioned between deductive and inductive qualitative studies, being neither a test of an already developed theory nor a development of a new theory. Rather, it is an extension of existing theories on service development through dialectic interaction between field studies and existing theory.

Findings

The findings suggest that three types of service (customer service, product‐related services, and customer support services) differ in their configuration of antecedents for service development.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on case‐study research, but the external validity (generalisability) of the antecedents could not be assessed. Future research would benefit from insights obtained from quantitative data.

Practical implications

The combination of different service types and antecedents forms a model that can guide managers in typical product manufacturing companies who wish to extend the service business by developing services successfully.

Originality/value

Based on three in‐depth case studies and 18 bi‐polar mini cases, this paper explores the relationship between types of services in manufacturing companies and typical antecedents that are necessary for service development.
Perceptual navigation in web mining
Authors: Elsayed Adel
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to present an epistemological perspective of how web mining can be performed by human agents, and a technical overview of a possible approach to achieve this.

Design/methodology/approach

The concept of visual mining of information is based on the principle of creating a fused information space that could be navigated using visual perception, just as is possible within a natural environment. It is argued that, as the information available through human‐created artefacts increases, conventional methods of information acquisition will fail to circumvent the bottle‐neck created by the associated information overflow.

Findings

Four types of human‐created artefacts are identified: cognitive externalisations, artistic expressions, communicative accounts, and factual records. It is the communicative artefacts that are responsible for the information overflow. As a possible way forward, it is suggested that an information space could be constructed in two layers: a perceptual layer and a cognitive layer. The information in the perceptual layer could be encoded in iconic cues to create an information landscape that could be navigated visually. The cognitive layer, on the other hand, will operate on the information‐engendering data structures of the communicative artefacts.

Practical implications

When developed, the perceptual layer could provide a subject domain landscape that induces social familiarity with frequently traversed information environments. This should be particularly helpful for learning where frequent traversal provides opportunities for repeated rehearsal, a necessary condition for long‐term retention.

Originality/value

The objective of this paper is to facilitate a shift in cognitive loading associated with knowledge acquisition from post‐perceptual to perceptual operations. The appealing nature of perceptual processing underpins the claim about enhancing long‐term retention.
The plausibility of computing the h‐index of scholarly productivity and impact using reference‐enhanced databases
Authors: Jacsó Péter
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a general overview, to be followed by a series of papers focusing on the analysis of pros and cons of the three largest, cited‐reference‐enhanced, multidisciplinary databases (Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science) for determining the h‐index.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper focuses on the analysis of pros and cons of the three largest, cited‐reference‐enhanced, multidisciplinary databases (Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science).

Findings

The h‐index, developed by Jorge E. Hirsch to quantify the scientific output of researchers, has immediately received well‐deserved attention in academia. The theoretical part of his idea was widely embraced, and even enhanced, by several researchers. Many of them also recommended derivative metrics based on Hirsch's idea to compensate for potential distortion factors, such as high self‐citation rates. The practical aspects of determining the h‐index also need scrutiny, because some content and software characteristics of reference‐enhanced databases can strongly influence the h‐index values.

Originality/value

The paper focuses on the analysis of pros and cons of the three largest, cited‐reference‐enhanced, multidisciplinary databases.
Problems with complaint handling: expectations and outcomes
Authors: Cowan Jane , Anthony Sandy
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current debate about problems with the NHS complaints system.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines, in light of a recent audit of NHS complaint handling by the Healthcare Commission, the underlying reasons for complaints and for dissatisfaction with the way a complaint is handled. It discusses the implications of various recommendations and research findings for enhancing and improving complaints handling.

Findings

More emphasis is needed on the quality of interpersonal interaction with complainants for successful resolution of complaints. Attending to the process alone will not reduce dissatisfaction among complainants.

Practical implications

Learning from complaints to improve services is important to complainants as well as to healthcare providers and communicating this should be an integral part of the process.

Originality/value

The value of the paper is that it re‐emphasises the important role that complaints can play in the continuous improvement of services. It also sheds light on possible reasons for dissatisfaction with the way complaints are handled.
Assessment of selected heavy metals in some water treatment plants and household tap water in Greater Cairo, Egypt
Authors: Lasheen M.R. , El‐Kholy G. , Sharaby C.M. , Elsherif I.Y. , El‐Wakeel S.T.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess and monitor a sample of heavy metals, namely lead, cadmium and copper, in water treatment plants at Greater Cairo, Egypt, to assess the efficiency of water treatment plants for metals removal and to monitor lead concentrations in the distribution system.

Design/methodology/approach

Water samples were collected from two water treatment plants. In addition, randomly flushed tap water samples from different districts at Greater Cairo were analyzed for lead concentration. Other water quality parameters also were monitored in water samples.

Findings

The study indicated that for water treatment plant intake, the mean concentrations were 4.44, 0.38 and 5.54μg/l for lead, cadmium and copper respectively. However, the final effluent shows that the mean concentrations of lead, cadmium and copper were 2.0, 0.15 and 2.78μg/l respectively. The drinking water mean metals concentrations were below World Health Organization drinking water guidelines and the Egyptian drinking water standards. The results revealed that water‐treatment plants have a high efficiency for metals removal where lead, cadmium and copper concentrations were reduced by 54.9, 60.5 and 49.8 per cent respectively. On the other hand, as expected, the water treatment plant sludge showed high accumulation with metals in concentrations decreased in the following order Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd. The mean lead concentration was 9.5μg/l in tap water samples.

Originality/value

Water treatment plants have a high efficiency for metals removal; water treatment plant sludge contains high concentrations of metals and should be treated before discharge; lead contamination from the distribution system is well established and lead concentration in homes in studied areas were higher than concentrations in plant effluent.
The composition of productive government expenditure
Authors: Monteiro Goncalo , Turnovsky Stephen J.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

Recent research supports the role of productive government spending as an important determinant of economic growth. Previous analyses have focused on the separate effects of public investment in infrastructure and on investment in education. This paper aims to introduce both types of public investment simultaneously, enabling the authors to address the trade‐offs that resource constraints may impose on their choice.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a two‐sector endogenous growth model, with physical and human capital. Physical capital is produced in the final output sector, using human capital, physical capital, and government spending on infrastructure. Human capital is produced in the education sector using human capital, physical capital, and government spending on public education. The introduction of productive government spending in both sectors yields an important structural difference from the traditional two‐sector growth models in that the relative price of human to physical capital dynamics does not evolve independently of the quantity dynamics.

Findings

The model yields both a long‐run growth‐maximizing and welfare‐maximizing expenditure rate and allocation of expenditure on productive capital. The welfare‐maximizing rate of expenditure is less than the growth‐maximizing rate, with the opposite being the case with regard to their allocation. Moreover, the growth‐maximizing value of the expenditure rate is independent of the composition of government spending, and vice versa. Because of the complexity of the model, the analysis of its dynamics requires the use of numerical simulations the specific shocks analyzed being productivity increases. During the transition, the growth rates of the two forms of capital approach their common equilibrium from opposite directions, this depending upon both the sector in which the shock occurs and the relative sectoral capital intensities.

Research limitations/implications

These findings confirm that the form in which the government carries out its productive expenditures is important. The authors have retained the simpler, but widely employed, assumption that government expenditure influences private productivity as a flow. But given the importance of public investment suggests that extending this analysis to focus on public capital would be useful.

Originality/value

Two‐sector models of economic growth have proven to be a powerful tool for analyzing a wide range of issues in economic growth. The originality of this paper is to consider the relative impact of government spending on infrastructure and government spending on human capital and the trade‐offs that they entail, both in the long run and over time.
CONSPECTUS OF ADVANCED MARKETING COURSES
Authors: Hayhurst Roy
Published: May 2008

Amendments to Conspectus published in Spring 1967 For reasons of space it is not possible to publish in full a revised Conspectus in each issue of this Journal. The following list represents amendments to the first full Conspectus, again in the order of Undergraduate Degree Courses, Postgraduate Diploma and Degree Courses and Post‐experience Courses. A distinction is made between deletions, revised entries, and new entries; where revisions have been made, a full entry is published.
Taking the Strain Management's dangers at work
Authors: Woodcock R.G.
Published: May 2008

Many jobs and professions have their trade diseases — the teacher's nervous breakdown, the miner's silicosis and, at least in popular mythology, the policeman's flat feet. If there is a managerial trade disease it is caused by excessive stress, maintained over an extended period.
OUTSIDE BASED STRATEGIC PLANNING AND SMALL FIRMS' PERFORMANCE
Authors: Bahaee Mahmood
Published: May 2008

There is a general agreement in the strategic planning literature that some small firms, due to their lack of adequate in‐house resources, often rely on outside‐based assistance as surrogate for strategic planning practices. This study reports the findings of an empirical investigation of the effectiveness of outside‐based strategic planning on a group of small firms’ performance. The results indicate that firms which utilized outside experts did not outperform firms which did not use outsiders. Implications for managers of small firms are then discussed.
STRATEGY AND SANCTITY: A CORPORATE ISSUE?
Authors: Hayward Malcolm
Published: May 2008

In a New Yorker article, “Alone with the Secretary General,” Michael Ignatieff (1995) tells of watching, with Boutros‐Ghali, a CNN report of the Serbian attack on Zepa. At the time, the reporter was with the U.N. Secretary General in the “jungles of Zaire,” another nation‐state crumbling or about to crumble. Boutros‐Ghali's reaction was a simple phrase, “‘This is globalization’” (p. 37). The line captures the two sides of globalization. On the one hand, the ubiquity of CNN, its global reach, creates the immediate global village‐“News from around the world every thirty minutes.” Zepa is as near, perhaps as familiar, as Dayton. Yet the veneer of global community masks the ever‐present global disunity: a new world disorder, factionalism, opening seams of ethnic divisions, and new walls of religious and cultural intolerance.
CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING AND THE U. S. ECONOMY: A VIEWPOINT
Authors: Alkhafaji Abbass F.
Published: May 2008

During the past decade Wall Street practitioners devised various methods for converting undervalued corporate shares into instant wealth. Their tactics, however, have had highly negative consequences for a number of companies. Many companies have, in fact, restructured with substantial debt with severe operational consequences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasoning behind such a boom in the hostile takeover activities. It will discuss the importance and implications of restructuring, causes for corporate hostile takeovers and the defense strategies that effectively resist external acquisition.
Facilitating the Transfer of Technology To SMEs In Underdeveloped Countries
Authors: Ng Ignace , Dart Jack , Sarkar Asit
Published: May 2008

Successful technology adoption in an SME is often dependent on a concomitant upgrade in management skills. This report assesses the impact of various marketing, finance, human resources and production management techniques on performance among SMEs in Thailand. The findings have numerous implications for public policy makers and business educators attempting to design management training programs.
Executive Courage Across Cultures: An Organizational Perspective
Authors: Yasin Mahmoud M. , Green Ronald F. , Zimmerer Tom
Published: May 2008

Executive courage is an important cultural variable that influences the survival of a business organization in an increasingly competitive global business environment. This study presents the results of an empirical cross‐cultural investigation of executive courage. Forty American and 29 Arab executives participated in the study. Nine hypotheses were tested. Results indicated that the two samples exhibited significant differences with regard to their perceptions of the dimensions of executive courage, the role of executive courage in today's business organization, the relative importance of personal growth and personal courage, and the interaction between executive courage and the organizational reward system. It is concluded that executive courage is a positive cross‐cultural force, deserving careful consideration by researchers and practitioners. It is also concluded that business organizations can best serve their need for survival by rewarding those who seek to do the right things, rather than those who do the expected things right.
THE EXPORT‐FINANCE INADEQUACY CONFRONTING U.S. SMALL BUSINESS
Authors: Holden Alfred C.
Published: May 2008

The case is strong for declaring an inadequacy of export finance for small business. In 1988–90, the documentation has expanded beyond that of academic research and claims by the Small Business Administration to Congressional testimony by exporters and bankers, surveys by trade associations of manufacturers and bankers, and investigations by the Government's export finance agency as well as our central bank. Nonetheless, small business is exhorted to look abroad in its marketing efforts and so to participate in reducing the U.S. trade deficit. As one means of alleviating this international marketing challenge, the Export‐Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank) has moved to convert a pilot program of 1988–89 into a fall‐fledged decentralized effort to deliver export finance to qualified small firms. The intention is that carefully trained administrators in selected states will be able to match qualified exporters with financial institutions and thereby assure that the small firms receive working capital in adequate quantity to meet terms and conditions of an export contract. While Eximbank's staff is poised to support the marketing and credit analysis work of the state/local administrators, this paper examines the need for a fully cooperative effort among four parties or groups in the face of a national retrenchment by many banks in the provision of export finance for small firms.
OPTEXT: Government Publications on CD‐ROM
Authors: Price‐Wilkin John
Published: May 2008

Video Laser Systems's (VLS) OPTEXT is, in many ways, a harbinger of things to come. It is one of the first products to use the High Sierra Group's standard for the compact disk (CD) data format, and in so doing employs CD technology to make an otherwise awkward and imposing source eminently accessible. It is so successful that it can reasonably be said to obviate use of the paper version of the Code of Federal Regulations. At the same time, it will force us to scrutinize our choice of optimal hardware configurations, while giving us an indication of idiosyncrasies that we can expect to encounter in the burgeoning CD market.
Researching Rock n' Roll: A Guide to Reference Sources
Authors: Feehan Paul
Published: May 2008

The history of rock n' roll music as a distinctive form is usually traced to the mid‐1950s with the emerging popularity of Bill Haley and the Comets and Elvis Presley. A decade was to elapse, however, before the beginnings of a serious literature of rock, with the appearance of Maury Dean's The Rock Revolution (Edmore Books, 1966). So painfully slow was the acceptance of the new subject that it took until 1972 for the entry “rock music” to be first used in the Cumulative Book Index.
Successful Trainer Styles
Authors: Stuart Roger , Holmes Len
Published: May 2008

For a number of years now, parties to management learning events (and we include learners as well as trainers!) have been involved in debates as to the “best” trainer styles—as defined by the type of relationships that can be established between trainer and learner. Our own ex‐perience has indicated that there is no single, best, “all‐purpose” trainer style, but that successful trainers are likely to be those:
Working Together Means Training Together
Authors: Cuthbert Derek , Morris Michael
Published: May 2008

The training support element for Formica Ltd's participation programme — and the training is only that, a support to other activities — took the company into some largely uncharted waters. The training programme is involving the company (uniquely as far as is known) in a programme for all employees, top to bottom, and is seeking to make a contribution to the pieces of mosaic that will, one day, go to make up a “fully participative Formica Ltd”. This article covers:
Distribution models and transport planning
Authors: O'Brien Harry
Published: May 2008

Depots whose vehicles visit more than one outlet per trip and return to the depot within a known number of working shifts are said to be executing multi‐drop distribution.
Physical Distribution futures for UK food industry
Authors: Walters David
Published: May 2008

Two years ago David Walters carried out his well publicised “Delphi” study which attempted to establish cause and effect relationships between changes in retailing and developments in physical distribution (RDM, September/October 1973). This article, proceeding logically from the study, looks into the future development of physical distribution in terms of changes in the grocery retailing environment. For the High Street supermarket, more efficient forecasting and inventory control programmes are already available which should help offset the supermarket's lack of storage space and need to be serviced by small vehicles. Supermarkets in edge‐of‐town locations have fewer problems; storage space is generous and volume is such that orders can be delivered in unit loads on pallets or containers.
Books and Publicity
Authors: Snaith Stanley
Published: May 2008

No one concerned for the dignity of letters can have failed to notice the increasing voracity and audibility of publishers' advertising of recent years. With this in mind I have been studying the literary section of an issue of the Observer. The results are disquieting. The “Books of the Day” feature runs from page 4 to page 9. On page 4 the text proper occupies three centre columns (not quite full columns, for Michael Joseph butts in with an advertisement across the foot). It is flanked on the left by Hodder and Stoughton, a two‐column spread from top to bottom; on the right is another two‐column spread of which Victor Gollancz has the lion's share. Hodder's display is a series of drab shaded panels, Gollancz's is a characteristically resonant proclamation in heavy type: the two in opposition strike discords in the midst of which the actual matter of the book reviews twitters faintly like a virginal trying to be heard in a mass‐meeting of trombones and bugles. Page 5 is split clean in half, three columns being devoted to text and the remainder—a massive four‐column spread—being again dedicated to Mr. Gollancz's commercial purposes. Page 6 repeats the tale—three columns of text to four of advertisements. On pages 7 and 8 the proportion of advertisement to text is equally heavy. On page 9 (the last of the literary section) the comparatively “decent pomp” of Harrap and Cassell is to the forefront—but by some oversight a dividend of two half‐columns of text above the average quota has been allowed to creep in. In all, the six book pages of one of our leading Sunday journals are carved up, roughly, as: text, nineteen columns; advertisements, twenty‐three columns.
A Publisher looks back
Authors: Paterson Alistair J.B.
Published: May 2008

I Remember with amusement how, at the ripe age of nine, I became imbued with my first great and overwhelming sympathy; it was for the members of my father's congregation; and the reason for this amazing sentiment was that they could not retaliate to my reverend parent's assertions, accusations, and exhortations. The unfairness of it, the tragedy of their silent suffering, as I imagined it then, made my spirit boil. Absurd though these youthful feelings were they served to turn my attention to books. Books, thought I in this spasm of juvenile arrogance, can be discarded if their contents fail to satisfy your moods. The result was an undisciplined romp,—a romp that lasted for nine years,—through the shelves of my father's library.
Management, research, and academic library problems: A way forward
Authors: Smethurst J.M.
Published: May 2008

Institutions of higher learning are traditionally thought to contain the finest analytical brains in the country. But how relevant will the sophisticated techniques of academic research be to the running of college and research libraries in the next few years?
Comparing academic libraries
Authors: Jones Graham
Published: May 2008

BACKGROUND Interlibrary comparisons can be defined as the voluntary exchange among members of a group of libraries of quantitative information about their workloads and costs as regards operations common to all or most members of the group, such information being more detailed and analytical than data supplied regularly to the national or other agencies responsible for collecting statistics from libraries of similar type. Consistently with that definition, obviously at any time two or more libraries sharing common ground can trade such information. History suggests on the other hand that libraries have not often taken such initiatives, and research libraries hardly at all. In practice there are advantages in an external organisation with appropriate experience setting up and master minding the exercise. Such a body is arguably better placed than any one library to obtain consensus as to the outlines of the project, to establish definitions, provide interpretations, supply guidance throughout and arbitration on occasion, collect, tabulate and circulate returns among participants. Particularly if the organisation is one accustomed to deal with a variety of bodies other than libraries there is the possibility of a detached questioning of bibliothecal rituals. On both sides in the exercise a learning situation may be salutary.
The value of pre‐admission assessment clinics in orthopaedics
Authors: Stone M.H. , Miles K.A.
Published: May 2008

The value of pre‐admission assessment clinics prior to elective surgery has been previously reported. However, no assessment of their value to orthopaedics in particular has been made. This preliminary study shows that such clinics can bring about a significant saving in theatre time and hence improved efficiency. Most cancellations at the clinic resulted from change in orthopaedic requirement and not from anaesthetic contraindications.
Resource management and clinical budgeting
Authors: Perrin John
Published: May 2008

All readers of this journal will know of the Griffiths Inquiry and its Report. The main concern of Griffiths was to change the ‘management style’ of the British National Health Service (NHS). This was to be achieved by the introduction of ‘general managers’ at national, regional, district and unit levels. General managers would provide a focus of authority and accountability, and their integrating role would replace the team ‘consensus’ management which had been orthodox doctrine in the NHS since the 1974 reorganisation, if not before. But Griffiths also had advice on the reform of financial management and control in the NHS. It advocated annual cost‐improvement programmes, and also the use of ‘management budgeting’.
Managing the money
Authors: Minty J.C.
Published: May 2008

In most people's minds, the person responsible for managing the money is usually seen to be the treasurer and of course he has a crucial role to play in the process. Managing the money is, however, an integral part of the management process and every senior officer has his or her part to play in helping to achieve the most cost‐effective delivery of health care services. Indeed I would go further and say that every employee within the service should have a commitment to achieving value for money if he truly believes in maximising the delivery of health care services to the population.
The Ibbs Report: Redefining the Bottom Line of the NHS?
Authors: Parston Greg
Published: May 2008

The national debate in the UK that followed publication of the Health Service Review in January 1989 overshadoived growing awareness among those concerned with National Health Service management of the potential importance of another set of Government proposals. These proposals have potential for effecting more significant change in the NHS than do self‐governing hospitals and general practice budgets. Indeed, while local managers and doctors argue about the merits and demerits of ‘Working for Patients’, politicians and civil servants in the higher echelons of Government are focusing much of their attention on this other set of proposals as the basis for more fundamental Health Service reform.
Establishing and Managing Breast Screening Services
Authors: Hine D.
Published: May 2008

The UK National Breast Screening Programme provides a challenge to management in terms of the substantial effort its establishment will require. There are problems of manpower resources and availability of training. If the objective of reducing mortality from the disease is to be achieved, process objectives will have to be met by managers whose role will be to marshal the resources, match these to the population to be served, motivate both providers and recipients of the service, maintain standards and monitor both process and outcome.
The Shallow end
Authors: Shallow Robert
Published: May 2008

It seems to me that nobody talks much about making New Year resolutions nowadays, and newspapers and magazines no longer publish pieces on the good intentions of famous people. Those features have been replaced by others made up of the hopes and predictions, for the forthcoming twelve‐month, of politicians and media‐personalities—an Old Bores' Almanac. (You may be wondering what's so new about a year that has now reached March, June, or whatever, according to your position on the periodicals circulation list. Well, at this end of the production line, it's only January.)
The Shallow end
Authors: Shallow Robert
Published: May 2008

Nearly ten years ago I wrote a sequence of rough verses (NLW May 1974) incited by something J B Priestley said at his seventy‐ninth birthday dinner. He declared that he felt, and thought of himself, as a young person. The sagging face which he saw in the mirror was, he claimed, so incongruous it was as if he had been forcibly made‐up, back‐stage at a theatre, to look like an old man.
Congenital tracheal malformation in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator‐deficient mice
Authors: Bonvin Elise , Le Rouzic Philippe , Bernaudin Jean‐François , Cottart Charles‐Henry , Vandebrouck Clarisse , Crié Antoine , Leal Teresinha , Clement Annick , Bonora Monique
Published: May 2008

In cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, the major alteration in pulmonary function is due to peripheral airway obstruction. In the present study, we investigated the possibility that alterations in the extrathoracic airways, particularly in the trachea that expresses high levels of CFTR (CF transmembrane conductance regulator), may contribute to respiratory dysfunction. We performed morphological analyses of the trachea and airway functional studies in adult Cftr knockout (Cftr−/−) and F508del‐CFTR mice and their controls. Macroscopic and histological examination of the trachea showed the presence of one to seven disrupted or incomplete cartilage rings in Cftr−/− mice (23/25) while only a few Cftr+/+ mice (6/25) had one abnormal ring. Tracheal defects were mainly localized in the proximal trachea. In 14 Cftr−/− mice, frontal disruption of the first three to six rings below the cricoid cartilage were associated with upper tracheal constriction. Similar tracheal abnormalities were detected in adult F508del‐CFTR and in newborn Cftr−/− and F508del‐CFTR mice. Tracheal and ventilatory function analyses showed in Cftr−/− mice a decreased contractile response of the proximal trachea and a reduced breathing rate due to an increase in the inspiratory and expiratory times. In F508del‐CFTR mice, the expiratory time was longer than in controls. Therefore, these structural and functional abnormalities detected in adult and newborn CF mouse models may represent congenital malformations related to CFTR dysfunction. These results raise important questions concerning the mechanisms governing tracheal development within the context of CFTR protein dysfunction and the implication of such abnormalities in the pathogenesis of airway disease in CF.
Bradykinin‐ and sodium nitroprusside‐induced increases in capillary tube haematocrit in mouse cremaster muscle are associated with impaired glycocalyx barrier properties
Authors: VanTeeffelen Jurgen W. G. E. , Constantinescu Alina A. , Brands Judith , Spaan Jos A. E. , Vink Hans
Published: May 2008

Previous studies have suggested that agonists may increase functionally perfused capillary volume by modulation of blood‐excluding glycocalyx volume, but direct evidence for this association is lacking at the moment. Using intravital microscopic visualization of mouse cremaster muscle, we determined the effects of bradykinin (10−5m) and sodium nitroprusside (10−6m) on capillary tube haematocrit and glycocalyx barrier properties. In control C57Bl/6 mice (n= 10), tube haematocrit in capillaries (n= 71) increased (P < 0.05) from 8.7 ± 0.3% during baseline to 21.2 ± 1.2 and 22.2 ± 0.9% during superfusion with bradykinin and nitroprusside, respectively. In parallel, the exclusion zone of FITC‐labelled 70 kDa dextrans decreased (P < 0.05) from 0.37 ± 0.01 μm during baseline to 0.17 ± 0.01 μm with bradykinin and 0.15 ± 0.01 μm with nitroprusside. Bradykinin and nitroprusside had no effect on dextran exclusion and tube haematocrit in capillaries (n= 55) of hyperlipidemic ApoE3‐Leiden mice, which showed impaired exclusion of 70 kDa dextrans (0.05 ± 0.02 μm; P < 0.05 versus C57Bl/6) and increased capillary tube haematocrit (23 ± 0.8%; P < 0.05 versus C57Bl/6) under baseline conditions, indicating glycocalyx degradation. Our data show that vasodilator substances increase functionally perfused capillary volume and that this effect is associated with a reduction in glycocalyx exclusion of 70 kDa dextrans. Modulation of glycocalyx volume might represent a novel mechanism of perfusion control at the capillary level.
Nuclear pore disassembly from endoplasmic reticulum membranes promotes Ca2+signalling competency
Authors: Boulware Michael J. , Marchant Jonathan S.
Published: May 2008

The functionality of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as a Ca2+storage organelle is supported by families of Ca2+pumps, buffers and channels that regulate Ca2+fluxes between the ER lumen and cytosol. Although many studies have identified heterogeneities in Ca2+fluxes throughout the ER, the question of how differential functionality of Ca2+channels is regulated within proximal regions of the same organelle is unresolved. Here, we studied thein vivodynamics of an ER subdomain known as annulate lamellae (AL), a cytoplasmic nucleoporin‐containing organelle widely usedin vitroto study the mechanics of nuclear envelope breakdown. We show that nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) within AL suppress local Ca2+signalling activity, an inhibitory influence relieved by heterogeneous dissociation of nucleoporins to yield NPC‐denuded ER domains competent at Ca2+signalling. Consequently, we propose a novel generalized role for AL – reversible attenuation of resident protein activity – such that regulated AL (dis)assembly via a kinase/phosphatase cycle allows cells to support rapid gain/loss‐of‐function transitions in cellular physiology.
The Transcriptional Landscape of the Yeast Genome Defined by RNA Sequencing
Authors: Nagalakshmi Ugrappa , Wang Zhong , Waern Karl , Shou Chong , Raha Debasish , Gerstein Mark , Snyder Michael
Published: May 2008

The identification of untranslated regions, introns, and coding regions within an organism remains challenging. We developed a quantitative sequencing-based method called RNA-Seq for mapping transcribed regions, in which complementary DNA fragments are subjected to high-throughput sequencing and mapped to the genome. We applied RNA-Seq to generate a high-resolution transcriptome map of the yeast genome and demonstrated that most (74.5%) of the nonrepetitive sequence of the yeast genome is transcribed. We confirmed many known and predicted introns and demonstrated that others are not actively used. Alternative initiation codons and upstream open reading frames also were identified for many yeast genes. We also found unexpected 3′-end heterogeneity and the presence of many overlapping genes. These results indicate that the yeast transcriptome is more complex than previously appreciated.
Transfer of Conjugative Elements from Rumen and Human
Firmicutes
Bacteria to
Roseburia inulinivorans
Authors: Scott Karen P. , Martin Jenny C. , Mrazek Jakub , Flint Harry J.
Published: May 2008

Studies on
Firmicutes
bacteria from the gut are hampered by a lack of gene transfer systems. Here the human colonic anaerobe
Roseburia inulinivorans
A2-194 was shown to be a transfer recipient for two conjugative transposons, Tn
1545
from
Eubacterium cellulosolvens
and Tn
K10
from
Clostridium saccharolyticum
K10.
Calcineurin Target CrzA Regulates Conidial Germination, Hyphal Growth, and Pathogenesis of
Aspergillus fumigatus
Authors: Cramer Robert A. , Perfect B. Zachary , Pinchai Nadthanan , Park Steven , Perlin David S. , Asfaw Yohannes G. , Heitman Joseph , Perfect John R. , Steinbach William J.
Published: May 2008

The calcineurin pathway is a critical signal transduction pathway in fungi that mediates growth, morphology, stress responses, and pathogenicity. The importance of the calcineurin pathway in fungal physiology creates an opportunity for the development of new antifungal therapies that target this critical signaling pathway. In this study, we examined the role of the zinc finger transcription factor Crz1 homolog (CrzA) in the physiology and pathogenicity of the opportunistic human fungal pathogen
Aspergillus fumigatus
. Genetic replacement of the
crzA
locus in
A. fumigatus
resulted in a strain with significant defects in conidial germination, polarized hyphal growth, cell wall structure, and asexual development that are similar to but with differences from defects seen in the
A. fumigatus
Δ
cnaA
(calcineurin A) strain. Like the Δ
cnaA
strain, the Δ
crzA
strain was incapable of causing disease in an experimental persistently neutropenic inhalational murine model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Our results suggest that CrzA is an important downstream effector of calcineurin that controls morphology in
A. fumigatus
, but additional downstream effectors that mediate calcineurin signal transduction are likely present in this opportunistic fungal pathogen. In addition, the importance of CrzA to the production of disease is critical, and thus CrzA is an attractive fungus-specific antifungal target for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis.
Integration Host Factor Positively Regulates Virulence Gene Expression in
Vibrio cholerae
Authors: Stonehouse Emily , Kovacikova Gabriela , Taylor Ronald K. , Skorupski Karen
Published: May 2008

Virulence gene expression in
Vibrio cholerae
is dependent upon a complex transcriptional cascade that is influenced by both specific and global regulators in response to environmental stimuli. Here, we report that the global regulator integration host factor (IHF) positively affects virulence gene expression in
V. cholerae
. Inactivation of
ihfA
and
ihfB
, the genes encoding the IHF subunits, decreased the expression levels of the two main virulence factors
tcpA
and
ctx
and prevented toxin-coregulated pilus and cholera toxin production. IHF was found to directly bind to and bend the
tcpA
promoter region at an IHF consensus site centered at position −162 by using gel mobility shift assays and DNase I footprinting experiments. Deletion or mutation of the
tcpA
IHF consensus site resulted in the loss of IHF binding and additionally disrupted the binding of the repressor H-NS. DNase I footprinting revealed that H-NS protection overlaps with both the IHF and the ToxT binding sites at the
tcpA
promoter. In addition, disruption of
ihfA
in an
hns
or
toxT
mutant background had no effect on
tcpA
expression. These results suggest that IHF may function at the
tcpA
promoter to alleviate H-NS repression.
Role of the DksA-Like Protein in the Pathogenesis and Diverse Metabolic Activity of
Campylobacter jejuni
Authors: Yun Jiae , Jeon Byeonghwa , Barton Yi-Wen , Plummer Paul , Zhang Qijing , Ryu Sangryeol
Published: May 2008

DksA is well known for its regulatory role in the transcription of rRNA and genes involved in amino acid synthesis in many bacteria. DksA has also been reported to control expression of virulence genes in pathogenic bacteria. Here, we elucidated the roles of a DksA-like protein (CJJ81176_0160, Cj0125c) in the pathogenesis of
Campylobacter jejuni
. As in other bacteria, transcription of stable RNA was repressed by the DksA-like protein under stress conditions in
C. jejuni
. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of
C. jejuni
81-176 and an isogenic mutant lacking the DksA-like protein showed differential expression of many genes involved in amino acid metabolism, iron-related metabolism, and other metabolic reactions. Also, the
C. jejuni
DksA-like protein mutant exhibited a decreased ability to invade intestinal cells and induce release of interleukin-8 from intestinal cells. These results suggest that the DksA-like protein plays an important regulatory role in diverse metabolic events and the virulence of
C. jejuni
.
Transcription Factors CysB and SfnR Constitute the Hierarchical Regulatory System for the Sulfate Starvation Response inPseudomonas putida
Authors: Kouzuma Atsushi , Endoh Takayuki , Omori Toshio , Nojiri Hideaki , Yamane Hisakazu , Habe Hiroshi
Published: May 2008

Pseudomonas putidaDS1 is able to utilize dimethyl sulfone as a sulfur source. Expression of thesfnFGoperon responsible for dimethyl sulfone oxygenation is directly regulated by a σ54-dependent transcriptional activator, SfnR, which is encoded within thesfnECRoperon. We investigated the transcription mechanism for the sulfate starvation-induced expression of thesesfnoperons. Using an in vivo transcription assay and in vitro DNA-binding experiments, we revealed that SfnR negatively regulates the expression ofsfnECRby binding to the downstream region of the transcription start point. Additionally, we demonstrated that a LysR-type transcriptional regulator, CysB, directly activates the expression ofsfnECRby binding to its upstream region. CysB is a master regulator that controls the sulfate starvation response of thesfnoperons, as is the case for the sulfonate utilization genes ofEscherichia coli, although CysBDS1appeared to differ from that ofE. coliCysB in terms of the effect ofO-acetylserine on DNA-binding ability. Furthermore, we investigated what effector molecules repress the expression ofsfnFGandsfnECRin vivo by using the disruptants of the sulfate assimilatory genescysNCandcysI. The measurements of mRNA levels of thesfnoperons in these gene disruptants suggested that the expression ofsfnFGis repressed by sulfate itself while the expression ofsfnECRis repressed by the downstream metabolites in the sulfate assimilatory pathway, such as sulfide and cysteine. These results indicate that SfnR plays a role independent of CysB in the sulfate starvation-induced expression of thesfnoperons.