bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
True blue football fan: Tattoo reaction confined to blue pigment
Authors: Yoong Corinne , Vun Yin Yin , Spelman Lynda , Muir James
Published: February 2010

A tattoo reaction which appeared solely on the blue pigment of a 6‐month old red and blue football club tattoo of an ardent fan was investigated. The patient was otherwise asymptomatic and no other abnormality was detected on full physical examination. Histology revealed a florid sarcoidal granuloma reaction to blue pigment. Preliminary investigations for systemic sarcoidosis did not reveal any abnormality. The tattoo reaction flattened clinically with the institution of a short course of topical mometasone furoate 0.1% ointment and as the subject remained asymptomatic, close surveillance for the development of systemic sarcoidosis is to continue. The possibility of delayed type hypersensitivity is discussed.
Simultaneous scrofuloderma and intracranial tuberculomas: A rare presentation of systemic tuberculosis
Authors: Wong Kenneth Kien Siang , Oliver Guy Fergus
Published: February 2010

Tuberculosis can involve multiple organ systems concurrently. We report a case of simultaneous brain tuberculomas and scrofuloderma occurring in the same patient. Skin biopsies confirmed scrofuloderma and the patient was successfully treated for tuberculosis with resolution of the brain masses. This case illustrates the importance of dermatological manifestations of systemic disease as an accessible source for diagnosis and guidance in appropriate therapy.
Bilateral tibialis anterior muscle herniation simulating a soft tissue tumour in a young amateur football player
Authors: Ceyhan Ali Murat , Chen Wenchieh , Yener Mahmut , Yildirim Mehmet , Yesildag Ahmet , Akkaya Vahide Baysal
Published: February 2010

Muscle herniation is a focal protrusion of muscle tissue through a defect in the deep fascial layer. Anterior tibial muscle is the most commonly affected muscle of the lower extremities because its fascia is the most vulnerable to trauma. Clinically it is characterized by asymptomatic or painful, skin‐coloured, soft, subcutaneous nodules of various size depending on the position. The diagnosis is usually made clinically based on its typical manifestations, but ultrasonographic examination is useful for detecting the fascial defect and excluding other conditions caused by soft tissue tumours such as lipomas, angiolipomas, fibromas, scwhannomas or varicosities. Although this entity is not rare, it has been less well documented in the dermatological literature. We report a case of bilateral tibialis anterior muscle herniation mimicking a soft tissue tumour in a young amateur football player.
Early‐stage testicular cancer: A rare association with dermatomyositis
Authors: Tan Eugene , Young David , McLaren Blair , Wright Alan
Published: February 2010

Dermatomyositis has a known association with malignancy. We report a case of dermatomyositis occurring in early‐stage testicular cancer where the patient was in remission. It stresses the importance of considering testicular cancer as an association with dermatomyositis, as it is a potentially curable malignancy.
Allergic contact dermatitis to propyl gallate and pentylene glycol in an emollient cream
Authors: Foti Caterina , Bonamonte Domenico , Cassano Nicoletta , Conserva Anna , Vena Gino A.
Published: February 2010

A 62‐year‐old man, with a 20‐year history of seborrhoeic dermatitis, presented with a worsening of his dermatitis. He had previously been demonstrated to be allergic to various topical corticosteroids, so he had been using an emollient cream (Sebclair®), containing piroctone olamine and various anti‐inflammatory substances, for 6 months, with good effect. Patch testing to the cream and its ingredients revealed positive reactions to both propyl gallate and pentylene glycol. A positive reaction to propylene glycol was also detected, whereas patch testing to butylene glycol was negative. Complete remission followed avoidance of the offending substances.
Types and timing of breastfeeding support and its impact on mothers' behaviours
Authors: Kervin Beth E , Kemp Lynn , Pulver Lisa Jackson
Published: February 2010

Aim:  To determine the types and timing of breastfeeding support for mothers of newborn babies and the extent to which this affects breastfeeding intentions and behaviours in a region with low rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration.

Methods:  A cross‐sectional study by interviewer‐administrated questionnaire was undertaken of women birthing at a large teaching hospital in South Western Sydney, between August and October 2006 (n= 164), with a 2‐week follow‐up of breastfeeding or breastfeeding‐intending women (n= 107). Types, timing and satisfaction with personal and professional sources of support (e.g. antenatal classes, help at birth, practical lessons on how to breastfeed, providing information, and attitude towards breastfeeding) and the impact of these on breastfeeding intention and behaviours were assessed.

Results:  Most women had intended to breastfeed (76.2%), and, within the first 24 hours, 77.4% of babies were breastfed to some extent (45.1% exclusively), and at 2 weeks 65.9% were breastfed (9.7% exclusively). Women felt most supported by their partners and least supported by their health‐care team. Antenatal classes, breastfeeding help within half an hour of birth and positive health‐care team attitudes were related to improved breastfeeding intentions and behaviours. However, these supports were infrequently reported. Personal support was commonly reported although support delivered by professionals was related to better breastfeeding behaviours.

Conclusion:  Despite the effectiveness of professional support interventions, particularly those delivered in the antenatal and immediate post‐natal period, access to these sources of support was very low. For breastfeeding outcomes to be improved, effective professional support strategies need to be much more widely available.
‘Everybody expects the perfect baby … and perfect labour … and so you have to protect yourself ’: discourses of defence in midwifery practice in Aotearoa / New Zealand
Authors: Surtees Ruth
Published: February 2010

SURTEES R. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17: 82–92 ‘Everybody expects the perfect baby … and perfect labour … and so you have to protect yourself ’: discourses of defence in midwifery practice in Aotearoa / New Zealand

Increasing fears of litigation among those involved in childbirth impact differently on the 40 midwives I interviewed and observed in the field during the course of my doctoral research. ‘Defensive practice’ within a culture of ‘risk’ was a theme that emerged strongly from the interview transcript data from this study, the primary aim of which was to analyse the actions between women and midwives that constitute midwifery partnerships. The context for the analysis was a large ethnographic study undertaken with a variety of midwives working in a main city in Aotearoa/New Zealand in 2003. Complex and contesting forms of knowledge production were analysed drawing on insights from Foucauldian‐influenced discourse analysis. My work highlights the ways in which the practices of contemporary midwives in Aotearoa/New Zealand are caught within the intersection of an array of competing discourses. In the data from my study, the midwives talked of their complex negotiations of time and space, and their abilities to balance elements of risk within realms of restraint and responsibility in partnership with women. For the midwives I interviewed, ‘keeping ourselves safe’ takes place in different locations. Risk is located by some midwives as within the birthing body, and by some, within the spaces of labour ward itself. Both labouring bodies in the midwifery partnership, however, that of the pregnant body of the woman, and that of the working body of the midwife, together occupy spaces of risk/safety where they are amenable to various, and increasingly subtle, forms of governance.
Intervention to enhance empowerment in breast cancer self‐help groups
Authors: Stang Ingun , Mittelmark Maurice B
Published: February 2010

STANG I and MITTELMARK MB. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17: 47–57 Intervention to enhance empowerment in breast cancer self‐help groups

As arduous psychological reactions and loss of control almost inevitably represent a challenge for women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, a participatory intervention study was initiated that aimed to enhance empowerment in breast cancer self‐help groups. Women newly diagnosed with breast cancer were invited to participate. The intervention encompassed three professionally led self‐help groups running sequentially, each group for approximately 4 months. Each group of five to seven participants met weekly. Several empowerment strategies were initiated by two professional facilitators, aiming to promote empowerment processes and to manage stress. The participants experienced group participation as both empowering and as a valuable source of support, and although the group processes developed very differently, a strong sense of fellowship developed in all three groups. The discussion highlights the findings in relation to several theoretical perspectives including social capital, social cohesion, risky agreements, helper‐therapy and power/empowerment. We conclude that empowerment strategies that are implemented in professionally led breast cancer self‐help groups can contribute to participant empowerment and function as an important source of re‐discovery and confirmation of the participants’ strengths and abilities.
The textual organization of placement into long‐term care: issues for older adults with mental illness
Authors: Lane Annette , McCoy Liza , Ewashen Carol
Published: February 2010

LANE A, McCOY L and EWASHEN C. Nursing Inquiry 2010: 17: 3–14 The textual organization of placement into long‐term care: issues for older adults with mental illness

Arranging placement of older adults from hospital mental health units into nursing homes or assisted living facilities can be difficult and protracted. The difficulty in placing these individuals is often attributed to stigma; that is, personnel in nursing homes are reluctant to accept mentally ill older adults because of the fear of mental illness and violence. Using an institutional ethnographic approach, we argue the importance of exploring how nursing home access is organized, especially the institutional process of placement. Our study, examining the process of placing older adults from mental health units into nursing homes or assisted living facilities within a western Canadian city, reveals how three specific textual points within the institutional process of placement do not work well for older adults with mental illness. These textual points include: constructing the older adult as a ‘placeable’ person, the first‐level match and the second‐level match. After exploring why the three specific points in the process do not work well for mentally ill individuals, we reconsider the explanation of stigma, and then suggest implications for change.
Public health nursing practice with ‘high priority’ families: the significance of contextualizing ‘risk’
Authors: Browne Annette J , Hartrick Doane Gweneth , Reimer Joanne , MacLeod Martha LP , McLellan Edna
Published: February 2010

BROWNE AJ, HARTRICK DOANE G, REIMER J, MacLEOD MLP and McLELLAN E. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17: 27–38 Public health nursing practice with ‘high priority’ families: the significance of contextualizing ‘risk’

Public health nurses (PHNs) play a vital role in supporting families at risk; few studies, however, have focused on how PHNs actually work with families to provide support, build trust, and use their clinical judgment to make decisions in complex, at‐risk situations. In this study, we report on findings from research that illustrate how PHNs use relational approaches in their work with ‘high priority’ families. Drawing on data collected from interviews and focus groups with 32 PHNs, we discuss three central features inherent to working relationally with families at risk: (i) contextualizing the complexities of families’ lives; (ii) responding to shifting contexts of risk and capacity; and (iii) working relationally with families under surveillance. These findings show that the ability to recognize risk and capacity as intersecting aspects of families’ lives, and to practice from a stance that recognizes risk as contextualized is foundational to effective working relationships with high‐priority families.
Power in telephone‐advice nursing
Authors: Leppänen Vesa
Published: February 2010

LEPPÄNEN V. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17: 15–26 Power in telephone‐advice nursing

Power is a central aspect of nursing, especially in telephone‐advice nursing, where nurses assess callers’ medical problems and decide what measures that need to be taken. This article presents a framework for understanding how power operates in social interaction between nurses and callers in telephone‐advice nursing in primary care in Sweden. Power is analysed as the result of nurses and callers being oriented to five social structures that are relevant to their actions in this context, namely the organization of telephone‐advice nursing, the social stock of medical knowledge, the professional division of labour between nurses and doctors, structures of social interaction and structures of emotions. While structural constraints govern some actions to a high degree, calls take place in an organizational free room that give nurses more leeway for acting more creatively. The discussion focuses on the introduction of new technologies of control, for instance computerized decision support systems and audio recording of calls, and on how they reduce the free room. Empirical data consist of 276 audio‐recorded telephone calls to 13 nurses at six primary‐care centres and of qualitative interviews with 18 nurses.
Dealing with the patient’s body in nursing: nurses’ ambiguous experience in clinical practice
Authors: Picco Elisa , Santoro Roberto , Garrino Lorenza
Published: February 2010

PICCO E, SANTORO R and GARRINO L. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17: 39–46 Dealing with the patient’s body in nursing: nurses’ ambiguous experience in clinical practice

The core of nursing in western countries is interaction with the patient and with his/her body in particular. As all nursing practices revolve around caring for the patient’s body, nurses need to understand the frailty of the body, the intimacy surrounding it, the story it tells, as well as the discomfort and difficulties both illness and close contact can generate in the nurse–patient relationship. With this study, we wanted to explore the ward experiences of a small group of nurses in their day‐to‐day interaction with patients and their bodies, to highlight their perceptions and possible difficulties in providing care. We collected qualitative data from in‐depth interviews with 14 nurses working in departments of general internal medicine, neurology, and geriatrics. The interviews were conducted between April and June 2006 and interpreted using an interpretive phenomenological approach. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that while the nurses recognize the centrality of the body in nursing, they also expressed a certain ambiguity toward it: being able to improve a patient’s well‐being through attentive care to the body is a major source of job satisfaction, but various coping and defense strategies are deployed to overcome care‐giving situations that elicit avoidance or refusal reactions to the patient’s body.
A review of empathy education in nursing
Authors: Brunero Scott , Lamont Scott , Coates Melissa
Published: February 2010

BRUNERO S, LAMONT S and COATES M.Nursing Inquiry2010;17: 65–74 A review of empathy education in nursing

The ability for nurse educators to improve the empathy skill set of nurses has been the subject of several studies with varied outcomes. The aim of this paper is to review the evidence for empathy education programmes in nursing and make recommendations for future nurse education. A review of CINAHL, Medline, Psych Info and Google Scholar was undertaken using the keywords empathy, person centredness, patient centredness, client centredness, education and nursing. The studies included were required to have measured the effectiveness of empathy training in postgraduate and or undergraduate nurses. The included studies incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methods and were published in peer‐reviewed journals. Studies were ranked for level of evidence according to The Joanna Briggs Institute criteria. Seventeen studies from the literature review were found that met the inclusion criteria. Of the 17 studies, 11 reported statistically significant improvements in empathy scores versus six studies that did not. Several variables may affect empathy education that need to be accounted in future studies such as; gender, cultural values and clinical speciality experience. Models of education that show most promise are those that use experiential styles of learning. The studies reviewed demonstrated that it is possible to increase nurses’ empathic ability.
An exploration of ruling relations and how they organize and regulate nursing education in the high‐fidelity patient simulation laboratory
Authors: Limoges Jacqueline
Published: February 2010

LIMOGES J.Nursing Inquiry2010;17: 58–64 An exploration of ruling relations and how they organize and regulate nursing education in the high‐fidelity patient simulation laboratory

Recently, schools of nursing have adopted the use of high‐fidelity human patient simulators in laboratory settings to teach nursing. Although numerous articles document the benefits of teaching undergraduate nursing students in this way, little attention has been paid to the discourses and texts organizing this approach. This institutional ethnography uses the critical feminist sociology of Dorothy E. Smith to examine the literature and interviews with Practical and Bachelor of Science in Nursing students, and their faculty about this experience. The research shows how discourses rationalize and sustain certain processes at the expense of others. For example, ruling discourses such as biomedicine, efficiency, and the relational ontology are activated to construct the simulation lab as part of nursing and nursing education. The analysis also highlights the intended and unintended effects of these discourses on nursing education and discusses how emphasizing nursing knowledges can make the simulation lab a positive place for learning.
Clinical utility of the Chinese version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and narcolepsy
Authors: Yang Chien‐Ming , Huang Yu‐Shu , Song Yu‐Chen
Published: February 2010

Aim:  The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS) and the utility of the PDSS as a screening tool for pathological daytime sleepiness in teenagers with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and narcolepsy.

Methods:  The PDSS was first administered to 238 middle and high school students to assess the reliability of the scale, and then administered to 28 teenagers with OSA, 31 teenagers with narcolepsy, and 34 normal controls to evaluate its clinical utility.

Results:  Test–retest reliability and internal consistency were acceptable. The PDSS scores were significantly higher in narcoleptic subjects than in subjects with OSA, and higher in OSA syndrome (OSAS) subjects than normal controls. Furthermore, the scores decreased in narcoleptic subjects after medical treatment. Both reliability and validity were proven to be good. As a screening tool for narcolepsy, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the PDSS, with a cut‐off score of 16/17, had good sensitivity (87.1%) and fair specificity (74.3%) for identifying individuals with narcolepsy. When used for screening OSA, however, the differentiating power was not as good.

Conclusion:  The PDSS is a reliable and valid tool for the measurement of sleepiness in clinical youth populations. When used as a screening tool, it is useful for sleep disorders involving more severe pathological sleepiness, as in narcolepsy.
Clinical efficacy of individual cognitive behavior therapy for psychophysiological insomnia in 20 outpatients
Authors: Sato Miki , Yamadera Wataru , Matsushima Masato , Itoh Hiroshi , Nakayama Kazuhiko
Published: February 2010

Aim:  Twenty patients (14 of them women) suffering from psychophysiological insomnia (PPI) were enrolled for cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The mean age of the patients was 56.9 years, and the mean duration of insomnia morbidity was 8.9 years. Each received individual combined CBT treatments consisting of stimulus control, sleep reduction, cognitive therapy and sleep hygiene education over a period of 1 month.

Methods:  Just before the CBT and after its completion, sleep measurements were conducted that involved (i) sleep logs, Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); (ii) actigraphy measurement; (iii) dissociation between subjective and objective evaluation of sleep calculated from sleep logs and actigraphy results; and (iv) correlation between DBAS and the aforementioned sleep parameters. Because the intention was to focus on patients' incorrect cognition about sleep, the definition ‘changes in dissociation between the sleep log and actigraphically measured sleep’ was used as the primary outcome and ‘changes in DBAS score’ as the secondary outcome.

Results:  After the CBT the following was found: (i) underestimation by PPI patients of the objective evaluation of sleep; (ii) a decrease in the dissociation between the subjective and objective evaluation of sleep; (iii) improvement of the DBAS; and (iv) improvement of sleep logs and actigraphy measurements. Moreover, there was a correlation between the improvement of PSQI, sleep logs and DBAS.

Conclusion:  CBT for insomnia is able to redress incorrect cognition about sleep, leading to improvement of the disorder.
No association between polymorphism in tyrosine hydroxylase and personality traits in healthy Japanese subjects
Authors: Tsuchimine Shoko , Yasui‐Furukori Norio , Kaneda Ayako , Saito Manabu , Nakagami Taku , Sugawara Norio , Kaneko Sunao
Published: February 2010

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there is an association between the (TCAT)n repeat polymorphism in the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene and personality. The (TCAT)n repeat polymorphism in the TH gene was genotyped in 898 healthy Japanese subjects. Personality traits were evaluated using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). There was no significant difference in the TCI scores of subjects with and without the T9 allele. Furthermore, no significant association was found between each genotype and the TCI scores, even when the TCI scores were compared with the homozygous genotype. These findings suggest that the (TCAT)n repeat polymorphism in the TH gene does not contribute to the personality traits evaluated on the TCI in healthy Japanese subjects.
Attitudes of early‐career psychiatrists in Japan toward child and adolescent psychiatry and their career decision
Authors: Tateno Masaru , Kato Takahiro , Nakano Wakako , Teo Alan R. , Nakagawa Atsuo , Miyajima Kaya , Kanba Shigenobu , Nakamura Jun , Saito Toshikazu
Published: February 2010

The aim of the present study was to carry out a national survey to understand the attitude of early‐career psychiatrists toward child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP). The subjects were 348 early‐career psychiatrists. A questionnaire was sent to the subjects and returned anonymously. A total of 234 subjects (67.2%) responded. Ten out of 115 psychiatrists (8.9%) in their first–third year of experience, and 18 of 119 psychiatrists (15.1%) in their fourth–10th year answered that they had interest in CAP. Psychiatry rotations with adequate CAP cases may be necessary to attract early‐career psychiatrists to CAP.
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND HUMAN CAPITAL: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF THE LITERATURE
Authors: Lye Jenny , Hirschberg Joe
Published: February 2010

Abstract Grossman proposed an individual's health can be viewed as one aspect of their human capital. Following this line of thought a number of recent papers have reported a positive impact of alcohol consumption on earnings. The rationale for the existence of such a relationship is the positive impact of alcohol on physical and mental health. We conduct a meta‐analysis to determine whether such factors as: the estimation technique, the presence of ex‐drinkers in the sample, possible sample selection bias and publication bias may all contribute to these findings. An additional suggestion for the positive relationship between alcohol and wages is the presence of a common set of personality traits that determines drinking behaviour and also leads to higher earnings. We examine this relationship by reviewing the literature that investigates if the personality influencing aspects of alcohol consumption influences measures of human capital. We also survey the significant body of research that has examined how alcohol consumption has been found to influence educational outcomes and the work force participation of problem drinkers.
MEASURING HUMAN CAPITAL AND ITS EFFECTS ON WAGE GROWTH
Authors: Tchernis Rusty
Published: February 2010

Abstract Ever since Mincer, years of labour market experience were used to approximate individual's general human capital, while years of seniority were used to approximate job‐specific human capital. This specification is restrictive because it assumes that starting wages at a new job depend only on job market experience. In this paper, I investigate the effects of human capital on wage growth by using a more flexible specification of the wage equation, which allows for a rich set of information on past employment spells to affect the starting wages. In addition, I endogenize the labour mobility decision. In order to illuminate the effects of human capital accumulation patterns on wage growth, I compare counterfactual career paths for representative individuals.
Engagement with Non‐State Service Providers in Fragile States: Reconciling State‐Building and Service Delivery
Authors: Batley Richard , Mcloughlin Claire
Published: February 2010

The OECD questions whether non‐state services in fragile states may delegitimise the state in the eyes of citizens, arguing that ‘state‐building’ depends on governments’ engagement in service management. This article reviews the available evidence to identify what types of engagement are feasible and most likely to contribute to service delivery, or not to damage it. It considers the capacity requirements and the risks associated with state intervention through policy formulation, regulation, contracting and mutual agreements, and concludes by identifying ways of incrementally involving the state, beginning with activities that are least likely to do harm to non‐state provision.
Integrating Poverty and Environmental Concerns into Value‐Chain Analysis: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Bolwig Simon , Ponte Stefano , Du Toit Andries , Riisgaard Lone , Halberg Niels
Published: February 2010

Many policy prescriptions emphasise poverty reduction through closer integration of poor people or areas with global markets. Global value chain (GVC) studies reveal how firms and farms in developing countries are upgraded by being integrated in global markets, but few explicitly document the impact on poverty, gender and the environment, or conversely, how value chain restructuring is in turn mediated by local history, social relations and environmental factors. This article develops a conceptual framework that can help overcome the shortcomings in ‘standalone’ value‐chain, livelihood and environmental analyses by integrating the ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ aspects of value chains that together affect poverty and sustainability.
Integrating Poverty and Environmental Concerns into Value‐Chain Analysis: A Strategic Framework and Practical Guide
Authors: Riisgaard Lone , Bolwig Simon , Ponte Stefano , Du Toit Andries , Halberg Niels , Matose Frank
Published: February 2010

This article aims to guide the design and implementation of action‐research projects in value‐chain analysis by presenting a strategic framework focused on small producers and trading and processing firms in developing countries. Its stepwise approach – building on the conceptual framework set out in a companion article – covers in detail what to do, questions to be asked and issues to be considered, and integrates poverty, gender, labour and environmental concerns.‘Upgrading’ strategies potentially available for improving value‐chain participation for small producers are identified, with the ultimate purpose of increasing the rewards and/or reducing the risks.
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES IN THE NETHERLANDS: AN EMPIRICAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE EXPLORATION OF A CROSS‐CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
Authors: VAN WIJMEN MATTHIJS P.S. , RURUP METTE L. , PASMAN H. ROELINE W. , KASPERS PAM J. , ONWUTEAKA‐PHILIPSEN BREGJE D.
Published: February 2010

Research Objective: This study focuses on ADs in the Netherlands and introduces a cross‐cultural perspective by comparing it with other countries.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to a panel comprising 1621 people representative of the Dutch population. The response was 86%.

Results: 95% of the respondents didn't have an AD, and 24% of these were not familiar with the idea of drawing up an AD. Most of those familiar with ADs knew about the Advanced Euthanasia Directive (AED, 64%). Both low education and the presence of a religious conviction that plays an important role in one's life increase the chance of not wanting to draw up an AD. Also not having experienced a request for euthanasia from someone else, and the inconceivability of asking for euthanasia yourself, increase the chance of not wanting to draw up an AD.

Discussion: This study shows that the subjects of palliative care and end‐of‐life‐decision‐making were very much dominated by the issue of euthanasia in the Netherlands. The AED was the best known AD; and factors that can be linked to euthanasia play an important role in whether or not people choose to draw up an AD. This differentiates the Netherlands from other countries and, when it comes to ADs, the global differences between countries and cultures are still so large that the highest possible goals, at this moment in time, are observing and possibly learning from other cultural settings.
‘VAGUE OVIEDO’: AUTONOMY, CULTURE AND THE CASE OF PREVIOUSLY COMPETENT PATIENTS
Authors: PASCALEV ASSYA , VIDALIS TAKIS
Published: February 2010

The paper examines the ethical and legal challenges of making decisions for previously competent patients and the role of advance directives and legal representatives in light of the Oviedo Convention. The paper identifies gaps in the Convention that result in conflicting instructions in cases of a disagreement between the expressed prior wishes of a patient, and the legal representative. The authors also examine the legal and moral status of informally expressed prior wishes of patients unable to consent. The authors argue that positivist legal reasoning is insufficient for a consistent interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Convention and argue that ethical argumentation is needed to provide guidance in such cases. Based on the ethical arguments, the authors propose a way of reconciling the apparent inconsistencies in the Oviedo Convention. They advance a culturally sensitive approach to the application of the Convention at the national level. This approach understands autonomy as a broader, relational consent and emphasizes the social and cultural embeddedness of the individual. Based on their approach, the authors argue that there exists a moral obligation to respect the prior wishes of the patient even in countries without advance directives. Yet it should be left to the national legislations to determine the extent of this obligation and its concrete forms.
A facilitative effect of negative affective valence on working memory
Authors: GOTOH FUMIKO , KIKUCHI TADASHI , OLOFSSON ULRICH
Published: February 2010

Gotoh, F., Kikuchi, T. &Olofsson, U. (2010). A facilitative effect of negative affective valence on working memory. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 185–191.

Previous studies have shown that negatively valenced information impaired working memory performance due to an attention‐capturing effect. The present study examined whether negative valence could also facilitate working memory. Affective words (negative, neutral, positive) were used as retro‐cues in a working memory task that required participants to remember colors at different spatial locations on a computer screen. Following the cue, a target detection task was used to either shift attention to a different location or keep attention at the same location as the retro‐cue. Finally, participants were required to discriminate the cued color from a set of distractors. It was found that negative cues yielded shorter response times (RTs) in the attention‐shift condition and longer RTs in the attention‐stay condition, compared with neutral and positive cues. The results suggest that negative affective valence may enhance working memory performance (RTs), provided that attention can be disengaged.
Effectiveness in top management group meetings: The role of goal clarity, focused communication, and learning behavior
Authors: BANG HENNING , FUGLESANG SYNNE L. , OVESEN MARIANN R. , EILERTSEN DAG ERIK
Published: February 2010

Bang, H., Fuglesang, S. L., Ovesen, M. R. & Eilertsen, D. E. (2010). Effectiveness in top management group meetings: The role of goal clarity, focused communication, and learning behavior. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 253–261.

To explore the relationship between goal clarity, focused communication, learning behavior, and team effectiveness (i.e., task performance, relationship quality, and member satisfaction), self‐report and observer data from eight top management groups that processed 56 agenda items during meetings were analyzed. We found that goal clarity and focused communication was positively related to team effectiveness. The effect of goal clarity on team effectiveness was partially mediated by focused communication. Speaking up when a goal was unclear increased focused communication, task performance and relationship quality. Speaking up when the discussion was off track was not related to task performance and member satisfaction, and was negatively related to relationship quality. These findings have implications for how to conduct an effective management meeting.
Anger and hostility from the perspective of the Big Five personality model
Authors: SANZ JESÚS , GARCÍA‐VERA MARÍA PAZ , MAGÁN INÉS
Published: February 2010

Sanz, J., García‐Vera, M. P. & Magán, I. (2010). Anger and hostility from the perspective of the Big Five personality model. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 262–270.

This study was aimed at examining the relationships of the personality dimensions of the five‐factor model or Big Five with trait anger and with two specific traits of hostility (mistrust and confrontational attitude), and identifying the similarities and differences between trait anger and hostility in the framework of the Big Five. In a sample of 353 male and female adults, the Big Five explained a significant percentage of individual differences in trait anger and hostility after controlling the effects due to the relationship between both constructs and content overlapping across scales. In addition, trait anger was primarily associated with neuroticism, whereas mistrust and confrontational attitude were principally related to low agreeableness. These findings are discussed in the context of the anger‐hostility‐aggression syndrome and the capability of the Big Five for organizing and clarifying related personality constructs.
A covariate‐adjusted adaptive design for two‐stage clinical trials with survival data
Authors: Bandyopadhyay Uttam , Biswas Atanu , Bhattacharya Rahul
Published: February 2010

A randomized two‐stage adaptive design is proposed and studied for allocation of patients to treatments and comparison in a phase III clinical trial with survival time as treatment responses. We consider the possibility of several covariates in the design and analysis. Several exact and limiting properties of the design and the follow‐up inference are studied, both numerically and theoretically. The applicability of the proposed methodology is illustrated by using some real data.
It's not what you do; it's the way that you question: that's what gets results
Authors: HODGE NICK , CHANTLER SUE
Published: February 2010

Many professionals and carers who support people with the label of autism look to lecturers and ‘trainers’ in autism to provide the answers on how to ‘manage’ the ‘condition’. This article describes how two lecturers in autism respond to this challenge by encouraging their students to focus on questions rather than answers. It is argued here that it is through the process of reflective thinking that people will find the most appropriate solutions to the issues that concern them. The article identifies some of the key questions that can support the reflective process and illustrates the applicability of these, beyond the limitations of labels, to every relationship between educator and learner.
Paired reading: a structured approach to raising attainment in literacy
Authors: MACDONALD PAM
Published: February 2010

Competency in reading is a key factor in literacy attainment. If pupils can read proficiently this allows them to access the curriculum in all subjects and helps them to become confident, successful, motivated learners. Paired reading has long been recognised as an effective approach for supporting reading in schools. It helps to build relationships and encourages self‐esteem and motivation. By the pupil reading aloud, either independently or in tandem with their partner, they gain confidence and research suggests that fluency and accuracy improve. However, for pupils who have gaps in their phonological knowledge this approach has limited success as it relies almost exclusively on visual or auditory memory. This research looks at a more structured approach to paired reading that combines both the ‘look‐say’ approach (whole word recognition) of the more traditional paired reading programmes with phonic teaching, to create a tool to improve reading.
Developing Movement as inclusive pedagogy
Authors: PETER MELANIE , WALTER OFRA
Published: February 2010

This article details the emergence of a training framework to support professional development in inclusive Movement teaching. This arose from a collaborative research project in spring 2008 (supported by the Training and Development Agency, UK), between two universities in England and Israel. Movement education is surprisingly underused globally, even in the early years, with some recent revival within special education. This is despite the long‐recognised importance of interactive physical activity for underpinning children's development, and particularly for those with special educational needs, supported by findings from neuro‐science. The training framework falls within a hermeneutic view of the teacher informed by humanistic psychology and reflective practice, with Movement seen as an empowering, creative and dialogic pedagogy.
Socio‐phonetics and social change: Deracialisation of the GOOSE vowel in South African English1
Authors: Mesthrie Rajend
Published: February 2010

This paper examines the degree of sociolinguistic change in the English of young middle‐class South Africans of different ethnic backgrounds in relation to new post‐apartheid opportunities and friendships. Once tightly controlled, social networks of young people of middle‐class background are now deracialising. The paper examines whether young people of the major ethnic groups, Black, Coloured and Indian, are simply adopting prestige White middle‐class norms, adapting them or resisting change. Forty‐eight speakers were analysed within a Labovian framework in relation to the goose vowel (long /u/or /uw/). Over 4000 tokens were analysed acoustically using PRAAT and compared via vowel normalisation procedures based on Watt and Fabricius (2003). The results show that middle‐class speakers of the three ethnicities are fronting the vowel, but in different ways. Black speakers show the greatest accommodation to erstwhile White norms. Females show greater resistance among Coloureds and Indians, but overall it is the Black females of the study who approximate most closely to the norms of the White reference group of their gender.
What's in a name? Language ideology and social differentiation in a Swedish print‐mediated debate1
Authors: Milani Tommaso M.
Published: February 2010

This paper investigates a recent print‐mediated discussion about linguistic phenomena that are perceived by many commentators to be ‘deviant’ from ‘standard Swedish.’ The aim of the paper is to illustrate how this language debate is built on two closely entwined discursive processes: a struggle to define the name, meaning, and value of a specific linguistic phenomenon; and the indexical processes through which such a phenomenon is bound up with a multifaceted image of its purported speakers, in which gender is imbricated in age and ethnicity. Essentially, the argument is that the metalinguistic pronouncements in this debate are ultimately the outer manifestation of deeper social concerns about what it means to be a ‘non‐Swedish’ young man.
CAFTA, CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, AND THE ROLE OF SPECIAL INTERESTS
Authors: DEVAULT JAMES M.
Published: February 2010

This paper analyzes the passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in 2005, paying particular attention to the role of campaign contributions. The CAFTA vote is significant in that the context in which it occurred was one in which campaign contributions were more likely to influence votes. By more carefully identifying the special interest groups actively involved in the CAFTA debate, I provide a more accurate assessment of the impact of the contributions made by these groups. I use instrumental variables to control for the potential endogeneity of campaign contributions and find that these contributions played at best a secondary role in determining the outcome of the CAFTA vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
‘Sad, just sad’: a woman with a learning disability experiencing bereavement
Authors: Campbell Alison , Bell Dorothy
Published: February 2010

Accessible summary

This is the story of how we helped a lady with a learning disability whose mother had died.

We know it is difficult for people to talk about death and we know that it can be very difficult to talk to a person with a learning disability about death.

We talk about how we worked with this lady and her carers to help her to cope with her mother’s death.

We worked with this lady for eight sessions during 3 months.

This case study considers the psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of Hannah, a woman with a learning disability who recently experienced the death of her mother. Death still remains a challenging and often taboo subject. Moreover, when the grief is of a person with a learning disability, this combines with underlying difficulties in understanding the emotions of death and leads to an increased risk of behavioural and emotional issues. The assessment process is described; in particular the process with those involved in Hannah’s care. The interventions used to assist Hannah in the bereavement process are also set out and took place during eight sessions over a 3 month period. A discussion and critical review of the case follows.
Should we refer for a dementia assessment? A checklist to help know when to be concerned about dementia in adults with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities
Authors: Whitwham Sarah , McBrien Judith , Broom Wendy
Published: February 2010

Accessible summary

Care staff for people with learning disabilities sometimes need help to know when to ask for help when a resident has a problem with his or her memory.

We’ve made an easy checklist to help them know when to ask for extra help.

We hope it will speed up finding out whether people have dementia so we can offer the best help possible.

It seems to be really useful and we’d like to do more research in the future.

The aim of this research was to develop a simple screening checklist to help carers and professionals know when to make a referral for a dementia assessment. A checklist was completed for all new referrals to a dementia service for people with intellectual disabilities. The obtained scores were compared to the diagnostic outcome of a comprehensive dementia assessment. The data (n = 159) indicate a higher score on the checklist correlates significantly with a subsequent diagnosis of dementia. Cut‐off scores are explored. The checklist appears to be a useful tool to prompt referrals for a full dementia assessment. By helping the referrer to know when to be concerned about dementia, it may reduce the number of people referred late or not at all.
Single‐Principle Versus Multi‐Principles Approaches in Bioethics
Authors: HEINRICHS BERT
Published: February 2010

abstract

The so‐called Principlism of Beauchamp and Childress is one of the most prominent approaches in bioethics. It has, nevertheless, given rise to an ongoing debate on methodology in bioethics. At the bottom of this debate lies the question whether a multi‐principles approach or a single‐principle approach is more convincing in bioethics. In this paper I shall propose a ‘third way’ of bioethical reasoning that is committed neither to a multi‐principles nor to a single‐principle approach. In contrast, I will take up the Kantian differentiation of formal and material principles. This differentiation permits combining the strengths of multi‐principles as well as of single‐principle approaches.
Sentientism, Wellbeing, and Environmentalism
Authors: RODOGNO RAFFAELE
Published: February 2010

abstract

In this article, I wish to explore a plausible alternative to both sentientist ethics and holistic environmental ethics. In particular, I put forward the claim that creatures other than sentient ones have interests and, in virtue of that, moral standing. This thesis is in disagreement with sentientism insofar as it claims that sentience is not a prerequisite for moral consideration. Radical as it may sound, this view does not take us as far as the holism favoured by some environmentalists. In particular, on this view, the interests of collectives such as ecosystems and species are a positive function of the interests of the entities that make them up rather than something of an entirely different kind. Collectives are not the direct object of moral consideration.
Convertible Bond Arbitrage: Risk and Return
Authors: Hutchinson Mark C. , Gallagher Liam A.
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  This paper specifies a simulated convertible bond arbitrage portfolio to characterise the risks in convertible bond arbitrage. For comparison the risk profile of convertible bond arbitrage hedge fund indices at both monthly and daily frequencies is also examined. Results indicate that convertible bond arbitrage is positively related to default and term structure risk factors. These risk factors are augmented with the simulated convertible bond arbitrage portfolio, mimicking a passive investment in convertible bond arbitrage, to assess the risk and return of individual hedge funds. We provide estimates of the performance of two hedge fund indices (an equally weighted and value weighted index) and a sample of convertible bond arbitrage hedge funds using a factor model methodology. Lagged and contemporaneous observations of the risk factors are specified, controlling for illiquidity in the securities held by funds. Our results cover two time periods. Initially we find evidence of abnormal risk adjusted returns in the individual hedge fund data and the equally weighted hedge fund index and no evidence of abnormal risk adjusted returns in the value weighted hedge fund index. When we examine performance during the credit crisis of 2007 and 2008 we find evidence of negative abnormal returns amongst individual hedge funds and the hedge fund indices.