bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Future of Stroke Imaging
Authors: Leiva-Salinas Carlos , Wintermark Max
Published: September 2010

Clinical trials of reperfusion therapies for acute ischemic stroke patients in an extended time window have shown mixed results. Advanced neuroimaging for stroke, more specifically vascular imaging and perfusion/penumbral imaging, have been hypothesized to be powerful selection tools in this setting. However, a number of improvements and validation steps are needed to make these imaging techniques operational and accurate in the stroke community in general. This article briefly describes the needs in this field and recommends future steps to achieve them.
Is Patent Foramen Ovale a Modifiable Risk Factor for Stroke Recurrence?
Authors: Kent David M. , Thaler David E.
Published: September 2010

Although the prevalence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in the general population is ≈25%, it is approximately doubled among cryptogenic stroke (CS) patients. This has generally been attributed to paradoxical embolism, and many physicians recommend PFO closure to prevent recurrence. However, the benefit of PFO closure in patients with stroke has not been demonstrated. Furthermore, the epidemiology of stroke recurrence in patients with CS with PFO versus without PFO and in those with large right-to-left shunts versus small right-to-left shunts has yielded results that appear difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis that paradoxical embolism is an important cause of stroke recurrence. The purpose of this review is to critically examine the epidemiologic evidence that PFO is a potentially modifiable risk factor for stroke recurrence in patients with CS. The evidence suggests that many patients with CS and PFO have strokes that are PFO attributable, but many have strokes that are unrelated to their PFO. We introduce the concept of “PFO propensity,” defined as the patient-specific probability of finding a PFO in a patient with CS on the basis of age and other risk factors. We show that this value is directly related to the probability that CS is PFO attributable. Because there is substantial heterogeneity in both PFO propensity and recurrence risk among patients with PFO and CS, stratification for PFO closure by these joint probabilities will likely prove crucial for appropriate patient selection.
Stratifying Patients With Stroke in Trials That Target Brain Repair
Authors: Cramer Steven C.
Published: September 2010

A number of therapies are emerging that have the potential to reduce poststroke disability by promoting repair. Careful evaluation of patients with stroke might help distinguish those who are most likely to respond to a restorative therapy from those who lack biological substrate needed to achieve gains. Potential approaches to such stratification are considered, including measures of brain injury or of poststroke brain function.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cerebral Microbleeds
Authors: Poels Mariëlle M.F. , Vernooij Meike W. , Ikram M. Arfan , Hofman Albert , Krestin Gabriel P. , van der Lugt Aad , Breteler Monique M.B.
Published: September 2010

Background and Purpose—

We previously reported on the high prevalence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in community-dwelling people aged 60 years and older. Moreover, we found that their spatial distribution likely reflects differences in underlying etiology. We have since almost quadrupled the number of participants in our study and expanded it to include persons of 45 years and older. We examined the prevalence and determinants of microbleeds in this larger and younger cohort from the general population.

Methods—

In 3979 persons (mean age, 60.3 years), we performed brain MRI at 1.5T, including a sequence optimized for visualization of CMBs. Associations between APOE genotype, cardiovascular risk factors, and markers of cerebrovascular disease with the presence and location of CMBs were assessed by multiple logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, and relevant confounders.

Results—

Microbleed prevalence gradually increased with age, from 6.5% in persons aged 45 to 50 years to 35.7% in participants of 80 years and older. Overall, 15.3% of all subjects had at least 1 CMB. Cardiovascular risk factors and presence of lacunar infarcts and white matter lesions were associated with microbleeds in a deep or infratentorial region, whereas APOE ε4 and diastolic blood pressure were related to microbleeds in a strictly lobar location.

Conclusions—

Findings in this larger population are in line with our previous results and, more importantly, extend these to a younger age group. CMBs are already present at middle age, and prevalence rises strongly with increasing age. We confirmed that determinants of the presence of cerebral microbleeds differ according to their location in the brain.
Enhanced Capillary Amyloid Angiopathy-Associated Pathology in Tg-SwDI Mice With Deleted Nitric Oxide Synthase 2
Authors: Van Nostrand William E. , Xu Feng , Rozemuller Annemieke J.M. , Colton Carol A.
Published: September 2010

Background and Purpose—

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy Type 1 is characterized by amyloid β protein deposition along cerebral capillaries and is accompanied by perivascular neuroinflammation and accumulation of phospho-tau protein. Tg-SwDI mice recapitulate capillary amyloid deposition and associated neuroinflammation but lack accumulation of perivascular phospho-tau protein.

Methods—

Tg-SwDI mice were bred onto a nitric oxide synthase 2 gene knockout background and aged for 1 year. Brains were harvested and analyzed using immunohistochemical and quantitative stereological methods to determine the extent of capillary amyloid deposition, perivascular activated microglia, and cell-specific accumulation of phospho-tau protein. Similar methods were also used to compare Tg-SwDI/NOS2
−/−
and human cerebral amyloid angiopathy Type 1 brain tissues.

Results—

The absence of nitric oxide synthase 2 gene had no effect on the regional pattern or frequency of capillary cerebral amyloid angiopathy or the numbers of perivascular activated microglia in Tg-SwDI mice. On the other hand, Tg-SwDI/NOS2
−/−
mice accumulated phospho-tau protein in perivascular neurons and activated microglia. Tg-SwDI/NOS2
−/−
mice exhibited a very similar distribution of capillary amyloid, activated microglia, and perivascular phospho-tau protein as seen in human cerebral amyloid angiopathy Type 1.

Conclusions—

These findings indicate that Tg-SwDI/NOS2
−/−
mice more fully recapitulate the pathological changes observed with capillary amyloid in human cerebral amyloid angiopathy Type 1.
Emerging Risk Factors in Women
Authors: Rexrode Kathryn M.
Published: September 2010

Stroke is a major cause of long-term disability and death for women in the United States, with recent evidence suggesting a higher rate of stroke in midlife women than men, as well as higher lifetime risk of stroke for older women. Several recent studies highlight emerging areas of interest for research on risk factors for stroke in women. This article reviews data published in the last year, focusing on 3 potential risk factors that may partially explain these differences between men and women: central adiposity and related adipocytokines, endogenous sex hormones, and depression.
Neonatal Stroke in Mice Causes Long-Term Changes in Neuronal Notch-2 Expression That May Contribute to Prolonged Injury
Authors: Albéri Lavinia , Chi Zhikai , Kadam Shilpa D. , Mulholland Justin D. , Dawson Valina L. , Gaiano Nicholas , Comi Anne M.
Published: September 2010

Background and Purpose—

Notch receptors (1–4) are membrane proteins that, on ligand stilumation, release their cytoplasmic domains to serve as transcription factors. Notch-2 promotes proliferation both during development and cancer, but its role in response to ischemic injury is less well understood. The purpose of this study was to understand whether Notch-2 is induced after neonatal stroke and to investigate its functional relevance.

Methods—

P12 CD1 mice were subjected to permanent unilateral (right-sided) double ligation of the common carotid artery.

Results—

Neonatal ischemia induces a progressive brain injury with prolonged apoptosis and Notch-2 up-regulation. Notch-2 expression was induced shortly after injury in hippocampal areas with elevated c-fos activation and increased cell death. Long-term induction of Notch-2 also occurred in CA1 and CA3 in and around areas of cell death, and had a distinct pattern of expression as compared to Notch-1. In vitro oxygen glucose deprivation treatment showed a similar increase in Notch-2 in apoptotic cells. In vitro gain of function experiments, using an active form of Notch-2, show that Notch-2 induction is neurotoxic to a comparable extent as oxygen glucose deprivation treatment.

Conclusions—

These results suggest that Notch-2 up-regulation after neonatal ischemia is detrimental to neuronal survival.
Imaging Small Vessel Disease
Authors: O'Sullivan Michael
Published: September 2010

Small vessel disease is a major contributor to the growing burden of cognitive impairment and dementia. In addition to diagnosis, MRI techniques provide a means to investigate mechanisms of cognitive decline. Studies that incorporate diffusion tensor MRI show that variance in cognitive performance is largely accounted for by alterations in brain structure. Unresolved questions about the link between structure and function include: (1) the relative importance of a small number of strategic lesions versus the cumulative effect of multiple lesions; (2) the underlying basis for the characteristic profile of cognitive impairment, with selective deficits of executive function, processing speed and working memory. This update focuses on MRI approaches to these problems and techniques to analyze spatial distribution of damage in relation to the networks that subserve major cognitive functions. Lesion mapping and voxel-based analysis, and the application of diffusion tensor MRI tractography to reconstruct critical white matter projections, are highly promising approaches for improving understanding of the relationship between structure and function and the mechanisms of cognitive decline.
Ultrasound-Assisted Thrombolysis for Stroke Therapy
Authors: Hitchcock Kathryn E. , Holland Christy K.
Published: September 2010

Background and Purpose—

Ultrasound has been shown to increase recombinant tissue plasminogen activator thrombolysis through stable cavitation, or sustained bubble activity, but this mechanism needs further optimization. Use of low-frequency ultrasound in combination with microbubbles stabilized against dissolution, in the form of ultrasound contrast agents, has resulted in greater lytic efficacy in vitro.

Summary of Review—

This article reviews the motivation for developing ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis and the existing evidence for its potential as an intervention for ischemic stroke. Stable cavitation is discussed and current in vitro and ex vivo studies of bubble-mediated recombinant tissue plasminogen activator clot lysis are summarized.

Conclusions—

Ultrasound-driven stable cavitation nucleated by an infusion of an echo contrast agent facilitates recombinant tissue plasminogen activator thrombolysis. Optimization of this gently effervescent phenomenon has the potential to reduce the morbidity and mortality of victims of ischemic stroke.
Therapeutic Hypothermia for Brain Ischemia
Authors: Yenari Midori A. , Hemmen Thomas M.
Published: September 2010

Mild hypothermia is an established neuroprotectant in the laboratory, showing remarkable and consistent effects across multiple laboratories and models of brain injury. At the clinical level, mild hypothermia has shown benefits in patients who have experienced cardiac arrest and in some pediatric populations experiencing hypoxic brain insults. Its role, however, in stroke therapy has yet to be established. Translating preclinical data to the clinical arena presents unique challenges with regard to cooling in patients who are generally awake and may require additional therapies, such as reperfusion. We review the state of therapeutic hypothermia in ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and provide an outlook for its role in stroke therapy.
Can Molecular and Cellular Neuroprotection Be Translated Into Therapies for Patients?
Authors: Tymianski Michael
Published: September 2010

Background and Purpose—

The concept of neuroprotection is based on sound scientific data derived in preclinical studies. However, candidate neuroprotectants have never been successfully translated to patients.

Methods—

A review of past approaches to cellular and molecular neuroprotection, preclinical neuroprotection studies, and clinical approaches was undertaken.

Results—

Although there is no evidence for fundamental barriers in biological principles that limit the translation of promising therapies to humans, ample evidence exists as to a lack of rigor in preclinical studies, obstacles posed by the complexities of acute ischemic stroke syndromes, and regulatory barriers. Alternative methods to translating stroke drugs may require trials in restricted stroke indications in well-defined patient populations.

Conclusions—

The translational gap between cellular and molecular neuroscience and patient therapy may be bridged by first developing therapies for narrow stroke indications. A single success may stimulate further research, funding, and a capacity to generalize initial results to broader stroke populations.
MRI Evaluation of White Matter Recovery After Brain Injury
Authors: Jiang Quan , Zhang Zheng Gang , Chopp Michael
Published: September 2010

We discuss the use of MRI in detecting and staging white matter reorganization after brain injury with and without neurorestorative treatment. Based on variations of diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) methodology, we demonstrate that MRI can detect white matter remodeling after brain injury. In addition, we demonstrate that Q-space DTI can detect early stage axonal remodeling, which involves randomly oriented crossing axons. With the information obtained from conventional and Q-space DTI, it is possible to stage white matter remodeling after brain injury.
Leukoaraiosis and Stroke
Authors: Smith Eric E.
Published: September 2010

Leukoaraiosis is a common finding in stroke patients and has been strongly associated with risk of incident stroke and dementia. Leukoaraiosis may also be an independent predictor of stroke outcomes. There is increasing evidence from neuroimaging to support the concept that some leukoaraiosis is caused by white matter infarcts, which may be particularly frequent in patients with aggressive small vessel diseases such as cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The relatively similar distribution of leukoaraiosis regardless of the distribution of vascular pathology suggests a conserved vulnerability to white matter injury across various vascular diseases, possibly related to resting patterns of blood flow. More insights into the pathophysiology of leukoaraiosis are sorely needed to reduce the burden of disability associated with this common condition.
Annexin A2
Authors: Fan Xiang , Yu Zhanyang , Liu Jianxiang , Liu Ning , Hajjar Katherine A. , Furie Karen L. , Lo Eng H. , Wang Xiaoying
Published: September 2010

Hemorrhagic transformation, incomplete reperfusion, neurotoxicity, and the short treatment time window comprise major challenges for thrombolytic therapy. Improving tissue plasminogen activator therapy has become one of the highest priorities in the stroke field. Recent efforts have been aimed at identifying new strategies that might enhance the thrombolytic efficacy of tissue plasminogen activator at the same time as reducing its associated complications related to hemorrhage and neurotoxicity. We believe that the combination of low-dose tissue plasminogen activator with recombinant annexin A2 (a tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen coreceptor) might constitute a promising approach. Our pilot study using a focal embolic stroke model in rats supports this hypothesis.
Neuroprotective Strategies for Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Authors: Kellner Christopher P. , Connolly E. Sander
Published: September 2010

Intracerebral hemorrhage is a devastating neurological illness with few treatment options. In the past 10 years, 6 clinical trials have been completed examining the potential role that putative neuroprotective agents might play in improving outcome. Although each of these trials failed to show a benefit, animal research continues to supply the translational pipeline and 5 clinical trials evaluating neuroprotective agents in intracerebral hemorrhage are currently ongoing. Despite initial failures, neuroprotective agents continue to show promise in the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage, but improvements in clinical trial design and more accurate predictive outcome models are necessary.
Where Vascular Meets Neurodegenerative Disease
Authors: Schneider Julie A. , Bennett David A.
Published: September 2010

Vascular and neurodegenerative disease commonly cooccur in older persons. We review findings from the Rush Religious Orders Study and Memory and Aging Project. Both studies enroll subjects without diagnosed dementia, perform annual evaluations, and obtain autopsies proximate to death. We found that macroscopic infarcts are common, lower the threshold for cognitive impairment, and often coexist with Alzheimer’s disease pathology. We also found that vascular pathology may be associated with memory impairment and may be difficult to distinguish from clinical Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, because dementia in older persons often results from mixed pathology and the clinical phenotypes overlap, some risk factors may increase risk for clinical Alzheimer’s disease through an increase in vascular pathology.
A cross-national multi-level study of family meals
Authors: Davidson Rebecca , Gauthier Anne H
Published: September 2010

This article aims to broaden the understanding of the factors that predict the frequency of meals a family takes as a unit, as well as to assess the potential role country-level variables may have in accounting for cross-national differences in the frequency of family meals. Logistic regression and logistic hierarchical modeling are employed to achieve this goal. Findings indicate that family functioning and family composition predict the frequency of family meals and that country-level values help to explain international variations. The article concludes with directions for future research.
Cross-national interaction and cultural similarity: A relational analysis
Authors: Bonikowski Bart
Published: September 2010

The study examines the relationship between the structure of cross-national relations and the dyadic cultural similarity of 19 countries over 10 years, based on the assumption that patterns of interaction between state, private sector, and civil society actors influence national cultures. The relations analyzed include trade, military alliances, IGO memberships, phone calls, and military conflicts. The findings demonstrate that cross-national interactions, particularly trade and IGO memberships, are strong predictors of cultural similarity that complement the modernizing effects of economic development. In addition to explaining variation in cultural similarity between country dyads, the study challenges primordialist approaches to comparative cultural research that rely on civilizational country classifications. Instead, systematic measures of religious tradition, geographic region, linguistic heritage, and imperial history are used to identify factors that shape countries’ dyadic cultural similarities. Of these, only membership in former empires is a significant predictor of cultural similarity.
Globalizing security? Media framing of national security in France and the United States from the Cold War through 11 September
Authors: Hotchkiss Nikole
Published: September 2010

This article offers a longitudinal examination of the public discourse on national security, as indicated by media frames, in France and the United States. The analysis presented here encompasses an era characterized by key changes to issues of national security in both nations, including the Cold War and the fall of Communism, and Islamic extremist-led terrorist attacks in each country. The focus is on cross-national and longitudinal differences in the way the media frames security issues. I seek to extend previous work on cross-national media framing which finds stability and persistence of national cultural repertoires over time. I test for change in framing strategies drawing on world polity and media transnationalism approaches. Results point to changes on multiple fronts between 1984 and 2004, though these changes occur against a backdrop involving the apparent persistence of national cultural repertoires. Implications for theory and research on national security, media, and culture are discussed.
A Head-to-Head Comparison of the Postprandial Effects of 3 Meal Replacement Beverages Among People With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Fonda Stephanie J. , Jain Asha , Vigersky Robert A.
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 3 meal replacement beverages on glycemic response among people with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

The study examined Glucerna® Weight Loss Shake, Slim-Fast® Shake, and Ensure® with Fiber Shake, using a prospective, 3-way, cross-over design. Eighteen subjects with type 2 diabetes drank the beverages in random order on different weeks. The volume of each beverage was adjusted to include 50 grams of carbohydrates. Glucose was measured 0 to 180 minutes postprandial. Analyses included 2-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures on both factors, calculation of area under the curve (AUC), and 1-way repeated measures ANOVA of AUC.

Results

The postprandial glucose profiles of the shakes differed. Glucerna® had the best profile as indicated by the graph of mean postprandial glucose levels and its lower incremental AUC. Despite the superiority of Glucerna®, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose values exceeded the ADA’s recommended upper limit for 22% of the subjects.

Conclusions

Meal replacement beverages are a popular and potentially effective option for people trying to lose or maintain weight; however, it is unknown to what degrees they affect postprandial blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. Because postprandial glycemic excursion is linked to cardiovascular disease, identifying a meal replacement beverage with the lowest glycemic response may mitigate some of the risks in patients with diabetes. Of the meal replacements observed in this study, Glucerna® had the smallest effect on postprandial glucose. Glycemic response to meal replacements should be monitored given product and individual variability.
An Ethnic/Racial Comparison of Causal Beliefs and Treatment Preferences for the Symptoms of Depression Among Patients with Diabetes
Authors: Noël La Tonya
Published: September 2010

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to explore African American, Latino, and Non-Hispanic White adult patients with type 2 diabetes cultural perceptions of symptoms of depression and factors that predict depression care treatment preferences between these groups.

Methods

A community sample of African Americans, Latinos, and White diabetic adults receiving services in 1 of 2 central Austin, Texas facilities participated in the study. Each participant was given a survey, which consisted of the following 5 components: (1) illness screener questions, (2) demographic questions, (3) Patient Health Questionnaire, (4) Depression Treatment Questionnaire, and (5) Illness Perception Questionnaire. A binary logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between cultural perceptions of symptoms and the predictor variables. A multinomial logistic regression analyses was used to examine the relationship between treatment and provider preferences for the symptoms of depression and ethnicity.

Results

The first research question addressed whether there were differences across ethnicity in how symptoms of depression are attributed among patients with diabetes. There were 7 causal beliefs that were associated with differences in cultural endorsements of the causes of depressive symptoms. In addition, culture was associated with treatment preferences but not with provider preferences.

Conclusions

The utility of assessing a patient’s understanding of symptoms of depression to determine how personal illness models impact treatment preferences and clinical implications of how knowledge of patient’s causal attributions can aid medical and behavioral health providers working in collaborative management of diabetes and depression are discussed.
The contents of partnership agreements in Britain 1990-2007
Authors: Samuel Peter , Bacon Nicolas
Published: September 2010

This article assesses the contents of the majority of employer-union partnership agreements signed in Britain from 1990 to 2007. Few agreements contain the expected partnership principles and most express modest overall aims and limited ambition. Typical agreements are substantively hollow with more than one-third containing no substantive provisions; and procedurally biased, with more than four-fifths offering unions greater involvement in employers’ decisions. Partnership agreements continue the procedural bias of traditional British collective agreements representing the lowest common denominator of agreement — unions work towards the success of the enterprise in return for involvement in employers’ decisions. The implications for New Labour’s Third Way approach and the policy of encouraging voluntary partnership agreements to promote fairness at work are considered.
Survey errors and survey costs: a response to Timming’s critique of the Survey of Employees Questionnaire in WERS 2004
Authors: Forth John , Bewley Helen , Bryson Alex , Dix Gill , Oxenbridge Sarah
Published: September 2010

A recent article in this journal provided a critique of the design of the Survey of Employees Questionnaire within the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. The principal criticisms concerned the use of vague response categories, double-barrelled questions, needless ordinal measurements and the use of multiple binary items in place of ordinal or scalar measures. The critique highlighted some areas worthy of attention but we argue that, in other areas, it took insufficient account of the survey’s core objectives and of the practical and financial constraints guiding its design. We offer a broader assessment of sources of error within the WERS 2004 Survey of Employees.
The transition to motherhood and part-time working: mutuality and incongruence in the psychological contracts existing between managers and employees
Authors: Dick Penny
Published: September 2010

In this article, the psychological contract existing between line managers and employees is examined in the context of the transition to motherhood and reduced hours or part-time working. The article argues that professional work norms, including working long hours and being ever-available, operate to legitimise the reduction in career development opportunities that accompanies the transition from full to part-time work in professionalised occupations. On one level, therefore, these norms generate mutuality between managers and employees. When combined with demands of motherhood, however, they fundamentally influence how each party interprets their obligations to each other, generating incongruity and, potentially, a breach of the psychological contract. These arguments are illustrated with the use of case study data collected from part-time police officers and their managers in three UK police forces. The theoretical and practical implications of this analysis are developed and discussed.
Childbirth and cohort effects on mothers' labour supply: a comparative study using life history data for Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain
Authors: Fouarge Didier , Manzoni Anna , Muffels Ruud , Luijkx Ruud
Published: September 2010

The negative effect of childbirth on mothers’ labour supply is well documented, though most studies examine only the short-term effects. This study uses retrospective life history data for Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain to investigate the long-term effects of childbirth on mothers’ labour supply for successive birth cohorts. Probit estimates with correction for selection into motherhood and the number of births show strong drops in participation before first childbirths and strong recovery after the birth of the last child, especially in Great Britain. Younger cohorts display a less sharp decline in participation around childbirth and a faster increase in participation in the 20 years after childbirth, especially in the Netherlands. However, mothers’ participation rates do not return to pre-birth levels in any of the countries studied here. Labour market conditions and institutional public support seem to contribute to explaining the cross-country variation in participation after childbirth.
‘Lost in translation’: an analysis of temporary work agency employment in hotels
Authors: Knox Angela
Published: September 2010

Temporary work continues to stimulate research and debate in many developed countries. This research provides contemporary data on temporary work agency employment in the Australian hotel industry. Findings reveal that an absence of regulation governing the temporary work agency industry in conjunction with strong migrant labour supply and extremely active agency-client firm interactions has entrenched TWA employment and restructured the labour market in a coercive fashion.
The myth of the reflexive worker: class and work histories in neo-liberal times
Authors: Atkinson Will
Published: September 2010

Several influential social theorists contend that the increased insecurity injected into the labour market by neo-liberal economic policies, coupled with a discourse of flexibility concretised in lifelong learning initiatives, have contributed to the withering of class in contemporary society. Careers and job shifts now follow a ‘de-standardised’ pattern, they argue, in which people incessantly switch between divergent occupations, education, training and benefits, all propelled by a socially-induced reflexivity that knows no class bounds. Empirical assessments of this bold assertion have, so far, been far from supportive but, being chiefly quantitative in orientation, leave many important questions unanswered. This paper, starting out from a theory of class indebted to the late Pierre Bourdieu, draws on a qualitative research project examining the life histories of 55 individuals to fill in the gaps and demonstrate how work trajectories, despite changes that have taken place, are still driven along class tracks by class motors.
Trade union change, development and renewal in emerging economies: the case of Mozambique
Authors: Dibben Pauline
Published: September 2010

Declining membership levels in industrialised and emerging economies have generated debate about the role and potential impact of trade unions and the most appropriate strategies for union renewal. In post-conflict countries within Africa, a re-evaluation of the trade union role is particularly pressing, given the impact of privatisation and restructuring on employment and the large informal sector workforce. Strategies for renewal in advanced economies include the organising model and community unionism, but to what extent are these strategies of value in emerging economies? This article draws on exploratory research in Mozambique to examine union change and development in the context of adversity and the possibilities of, and progress towards, union renewal. Findings reveal some progress on employment rights and engagement with the informal sector. However, future prospects rely on broader economic and institutional changes: improvements in infrastructure; better enforcement of employment legislation; and transition from informal to formal sector work.
Moving beyond skills as a social and economic panacea
Authors: Keep Ewart , Mayhew Ken
Published: September 2010

This article examines two inter-related issues. First, the tendency for UK skills policies to act as a substitute for other social and economic measures. Second, the problem of current conceptualisations of skills policy creating narrowly-drawn, technicist interventions that are frequently incommensurate with the scale of the problems which they purpor t to tackle. The ar ticle suggests that current policy formation processes, particularly in England, are being deployed in a manner that seeks to close off consideration of other potential avenues by which contemporary social and economic problems might be addressed. The case is made for a wider framing of both policy possibilities and avenues for relevant research to support such policy development.
Putting the process back in: rethinking service sector skill
Authors: Hampson Ian , Junor Anne
Published: September 2010

Service skill definitions have been over-extended, by equating compliance with skill, and underdeveloped, by not recognising service jobs’ invisible social and organisational aspects. Existing approaches to determining service skill levels draw on occupational qualifications and capacity for labour market closure, on knowledge worker/ knowledgeable emotion worker dichotomies, and on the conceptual conflation of labour process deskilling, unskilled jobs and unskilled workers. The theoretical and empirical basis for a new framework identifying hitherto under-specified ‘work process skills’ is outlined. This framework allows recognition of the integrated use of awareness-shaping, relationship-shaping and coordination skills, at different levels of experience-based complexity, derived from reflexive learning and collective problem-solving in the workplace. Political struggles over the use of combinations and levels of these ‘skills of experience’ may result either in jobs designed to reduce autonomy, or in improved skill recognition and development, enhancing equity and career paths.
Emotional management in a mass customised call centre: examining skill and knowledgeability in interactive service work
Authors: Jenkins Sarah , Delbridge Rick , Roberts Ashley
Published: September 2010

Researchers have demonstrated the variety of interactive service sector work yet relatively little research has focused on the middle ground of ‘mass customised service work’. In particular, the complex character of emotional work in such workplaces remains under investigated. This article applies Bolton’s emotion management framework to a high-commitment mass customised call centre to extend understanding of the skills and content of such work. The findings show how workers produce ‘appropriate’ emotional displays informed by multiple influences beyond management prescription. The article documents the skilled emotional dexterity shown by such workers and elaborates Bolton’s framework in demonstrating the negotiated and interactive nature of emotion management. In so doing, it demonstrates the significance of heretofore largely unacknowledged skills in the work of mass customised service workers.
Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Indian Talent Pool Management—A Case of MeritTrac
Authors: Gupta Rakesh , Pandit Ajay
Published: September 2010

The growth of knowledge economy and its increasing contribution to the global economy has brought into focus the importance of highly educated and quality manpower. As the knowledge economy expands, the issue of qualified, skilled and highly educated manpower is going to assume strategic importance for countries as well as for companies. The effect of changing demographic profile and the increasing trend of outsourcing in the services sector has brought into focus the talent pool of many developing and emerging economies of the world. In this context, the Indian talent pool assumes significance for a number of reasons; one is the sheer number of students graduating every year, which makes it the largest talent pool in the world. The other factor is the growth story of the Indian economy that, to a large extent, is dependent on the growth of the services sector, especially the skill-intensive services. This case examines in detail the talent pool of India and its higher education infrastructure in the light of the emerging scenario. It looks into the depth and quality of the talent pool to identify the gap areas to see whether certain niche entrepreneurial opportunities exist that can help in overcoming these gap areas. MeritTrac is an example of one such enterprise, which highlights the existence and relevance of these entrepreneurial initiatives.
Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited—Restructuring the Marketing Division
Authors: Khurshid Anwar , Chaudary Muddassir Shafique
Published: September 2010

This case describes the restructuring initiative undertaken to change the forty-year-old structure of the marketing division into a more flexible and rewarding set-up. Towards the beginning of 2008, Khalid Mir, General Manager, Marketing, at Engro Chemical, realized that significant changes were needed in order to address major issues the company was facing in terms of employee turnover, poor inventory control, low market development and sub-optimal merchandizing efforts in its original marketing structure. In March 2008, Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited (ECPL) undertook the restructuring of its marketing division. As Mir progressed through the planning and implementation of the new structure and related changes, he came across several challenges and issues emanating from this change effort. At the end of the case, Mir is contemplating his next steps. How successful had the restructuring effort been? Should he fine-tune the new structure or was another round of restructuring imperative? How could Engro reap maximum benefits out of this newly implemented structure? What lessons could be learnt regarding change management that might be helpful in future restructuring efforts? These questions still remained to be answered.
The Awakening of the ‘Sleeping Partner’ at U-Brand
Authors: Spraggon Martin , Bodolica Virginia , Ali Nabeela
Published: September 2010

This case study relates the story of U-Brand, a new venture resulting from a partnership agreement between two old friends. The partnership operates in the media industry of the United Arab Emirates. It describes the internal and external dynamics surrounding the set-up, evolution and development of U-Brand activities for the period between 2006 and 2009. Although, since its very inception, U-Brand enjoyed a successful start, a series of events and managerial decisions has brought the company on the verge of collapse.
HRM at Affluent Advertising (Pvt.) Ltd
Authors: Muhammad Faiza , Khan Farzad Rafi
Published: September 2010

Affluent Advertising establishes a Human Resource (HR) department in response to increasing external competition and internal turnover. The department’s prerogative, however, is primarily limited to the espousal of administrative discipline and communication of top managements’ decisions to employees, after anchoring them in rhetoric of management knowledge and organizational efficiency. An early and unexpected failure of this department raises several questions regarding its need and significance as well as its future in the organization. At a more broad level, the case highlights the use or abuse of HR department as a tool for reinforcing systems of dominance and legitimizing the self-interested decisions of top management and firm owners. In doing so, it not only challenges the unitarist theories of management that treat workplace as an integrated and harmonious entity, wherein employees and employers share common interests, but also contests the self-alleged neutrality, objectivity and impartiality of main-stream management practices by bringing to light its dark, biased and (value and) power-laden aspects. It thus sheds light on the real agenda behind the HRM development, and elucidates how the recommendations (structural, strategic, cultural and procedural) forwarded by so-called impartial HR departments are actually embedded with patterns of organizational power distribution. Lastly, the case also elaborates how various structural arrangements, traditionally known for their effectiveness (that is, Matrix and Product Team configurations), can adversely impact work environment, if employed without need, for bureaucratic purposes solely.
Political Theory Is Not a Luxury: A Response to Timothy Kaufman-Osborn’s “Political Theory as a Profession”
Authors: Brown Wendy
Published: September 2010

In “Political Theory as a Profession,” Timothy Kaufman-Osborn calls for political theorists to shed attachments to political science subfields. This call inadequately reckons with the perils to political theory posed by the combined contemporary forces of scientization and neoliberalization in knowledge. Focusing on these perils, the author argues for the strategic preservation of the political theory subfield. However, this preservation will not be advanced by intensified professionalization or a turn toward market applicability. Paradoxically, the survival of political theory rests in resisting professional and neoliberal metrics and reaching for publicly legible and compelling intellectual purposes.
Generation and Utopia
Authors: O’Donnell Mike
Published: September 2010

This article offers some theoretical reflections on how to categorize or type 1960s radicalism — termed as the ‘Movement’ here — in the USA and Britain. Particular reference is made to the work of Karl Mannheim, notably to his use of the concepts of ‘generation’ and ‘utopia’ and related terms. The article concludes that the radical ‘generational unit’ or student movement of the 1960s, despite weaknesses, was in certain respects ‘societally’ or ‘realistically utopian’ rather than manifestly ‘unrealistic’ as some critics have argued. References supportive of the main argument are made to Mills and Marcuse’s understanding of 1960s radicalism and to data based on interviews with a number of British and American activists. It is argued that the strong cultural theme of 1960s radicalism is highly characteristic of its realistically transcendent utopian character.
Socializing into fear
Authors: Cops Diederik
Published: September 2010

Despite huge amounts of attention paid to the phenomenon of fear of crime in the political and scientific arena, research on fear of crime among young people remains scarce. The few studies that have been conducted have identified several determinants, but the relative weight of these (sets of) variables remains unknown. This article therefore not only tries to identify which factors determine adolescents’ fear of crime but also seeks to distinguish the relative impact of different socializing institutions (parents, peers and media) on fear of crime among adolescents. To do this, analyses are conducted on a representative sample of 1134 Flemish adolescents (14–18 years). The article also connects itself explicitly with the recent paradigm shift in the fear of crime research, seeing this fear as a symbol used for expressing and condensing other, more abstract and hard-to-grasp feelings of social unease, caused by fundamental macro-sociological changes.
Constructing masculinity on a social networking site
Authors: Siibak Andra
Published: September 2010

Social networking website (SNS) Rate is the most popular online environment for young Estonians, which has more than 290000 active users. The study aims to examine visual self-presentations of young men ( N = 108) in Rate. Quantitative content analysis methodology was used to analyze 599 profile images of young men belonging to a community ‘Damn I’m Beautiful!’. The results indicate that media representations of men are often taken as role-models while constructing one’s visual identities online. In particular, young men mostly pose alone in order to emphasize their looks and appear as willing sexual or romantic objects. They appear mostly in the public sphere, however, without being engaged in any purposeful activities. All in all, SNS profile images function on many levels in order to portray different versions of masculinity. The findings highlight the importance of photos as additional impression management tools and confirm their conscious use for identity ‘performances’ on SNS.
Youth and political participation — empirical results for Germany within a European context
Authors: Gaiser Wolfgang , De Rijke Johann , Spannring Reingard
Published: September 2010

Impatience with politics in Germany, disenchantment with political commitment and individualization are labels frequently attached to the political involvement of young people. Empirical analyses, however, show a rather more complex picture. A basic willingness to become politically involved and to express political opinions is apparent. Indeed, many young people make use of numerous and varied opportunities to express themselves politically, although usually no more than occasionally. Not surprisingly, participation in traditional associations has fallen in some cases. On the other hand, affinity and commitment to ‘New Social Movements’(NSMs) remain fairly consistent. Participation patterns among young people differ according to gender, education level and place of origin: federal states of former West Germany (the ‘old’ states) or the former German Democratic Republic (the ‘new’ states). One focus of the article is on the differences between West and East Germany. The results are then discussed within a European context.
Monuments, mundanity and memory: Altering ‘place’ and ‘space’ at the National War Memorial (Canada)
Authors: Szpunar Piotr M.
Published: September 2010

On 1 July 2006, three youths were photographed urinating on the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada. This event affected Canadian collective memory in a very particular and subtle way. It acted as a catalyst for the (re)emergence of two discourses concerning Canadian collective memory. Each had competing claims and demands and became entangled in a negotiation that took place through the mass media. This negotiation led to the alteration of ‘place’ and ‘space’ at the National War Memorial through the introduction of particular tactics of surveillance. These aimed to limit the porosity of the site’s boundaries and, consequently, affected the nature of citizens’ interaction with the memory-site. This small event is important because its mundanity (and lack of intent) highlights the depth of the instability, and subtle dynamism, of collective memory.
The politics of mourning: Survivor contributions to memorials in post-genocide Rwanda
Authors: Ibreck Rachel
Published: September 2010

The memory of the 1994 genocide overshadows the present in Rwanda. The landscape is marked with burial and memorial sites, and April has become a month of mourning with national genocide commemorations held annually. The genocide memorials have been sanctioned and promoted by the state, but they are also the product of initiatives by genocide survivors. This article argues that survivors have made substantial and distinctive contributions to memorialization in Rwanda. It explores a survivor politics of memory and its relationship to trauma and grief.
Understanding Hotel Rwanda: A reception study
Authors: Gudehus Christian , Anderson Stewart , Keller David
Published: September 2010

This study focuses on the movie Hotel Rwanda (2005), which depicts the Rwandan genocide of 1994, and tries to capture how viewers remember the film and how they interpret the actual events. It aims to reconstruct what (e.g. actors, events, motives, causes) is remembered by whom (e.g. age, sex, education) and in what way (e.g. context, dramatization). One important finding is that it is much less the movie’s narration and pictures that shape the interpretation and knowledge of the event as it is the background and personality of its audience that determines how viewers understand the events, what they remember and how these memories are constructed.