bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Child health indicators for Europe. A priority for a caring society
Authors: Reading Richard
Published: February 2004

Background  Measurement of children's health is important for two reasons: first, because young people are citizens in their own right, yet largely unable to act as self‐advocates, particularly at the population level; and second, because their health determines the health of the future population. Indicators based on measurements of child health are important for identifying progress, problems and priorities, changes over time, and newly emergent issues. The European Community Health Monitoring Programme (HMP) is a comprehensive programme to develop and implement a set of national‐level indicators. The Child Health Indicators of Life and Development (CHILD) project is the only population group‐specific project, seeking to determine a holistic set of measures.

Methods  The project endeavoured to address all aspects of child health and its determinants, balancing positive and negative aspects. It undertook a structured search of published evidence to seek to identify, and validate, indicators of health and illness, health determinants and challenges to health, quality of healthcare support and health‐promoting national policies. A systematic approach was used in identifying valid indicators, and in assembling a balanced composite list. All ages from infancy to adolescence were covered.

Results  The project's final report identifies 38 core desirable national indicators, citing purpose and evidence for each. Of equal importance, it also identifies 17 key child health topics on which further research work is needed in order to identify and validate indicators appropriate across different national settings.
Ecology and government policies: the GM crop debate*
Authors: Gray Alan J.
Published: February 2004

The current controversy over the possible commercial‐scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in Europe presents enormous challenges for the science of ecology. In little more than a decade, ecology has come to occupy centre stage in a very heated public debate.

In outlining the challenge to ecology I discuss some of the key elements in the GM debate, and trace the growing importance of ecological questions within the regulatory and advisory system in the UK. The need to understand, and predict, some of the potential wider environmental impact of genetically modified (GM) crops has both driven changes in the regulations and led directly to farm‐scale evaluation of herbicide‐tolerant crops.

Several examples illustrate how ecological science is being used, and abused, in the public debate and in the provision of advice to regulators. In particular short‐term or laboratory studies identifying possible hazards or impacts often receive widespread media attention but the thorough ecological field‐based studies which either evaluate exposure to a hazard or assess fitness over several generations are rarely carried out, or, in the classic case of the impact of Bt maize on the Monarch butterfly, pass almost unnoticed.

It is increasingly important that trained ecologists become involved in the public debate. The challenge of dealing with the problems of variability, complexity and uncertainty, and of developing the necessary predictive tools for risk assessment, bring with it a huge responsibility, not only to be clear about the limitations of our science, but to recognise and acknowledge the boundary between science and informed opinion.
Capercaillie breeding success in relation to forest habitat and predator abundance
Authors: Baines D. , Moss R. , Dugan D.
Published: February 2004

The capercaillie Tetrao urogallus is widely valued as a game bird and an indicator of forest ecosystem quality. In Scotland, its numbers have declined since the 1970s, due primarily to poor breeding success. We investigated whether differences in breeding success among forests are related to predator abundance or to aspects of forest structure, with a view to identifying beneficial management practices.

Capercaillie breeding success was estimated in 7–14 forest areas in Scotland each year during 1991–2001. Forest habitat, including ground vegetation, and indices of predator abundance were assessed in each of the 14 areas in 1995.

Capercaillie breeding success increased with increasing bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus ground cover, but did not improve further above 15–20% cover.

The main predators were carrion crow Corvus corone, fox Vulpes vulpes and raptors. Indices of their abundance were confounded such that their respective effects on capercaillie breeding success could not readily be distinguished. However, capercaillie breeding success was negatively related to a principal component score that represented the combined abundance of crows, foxes and, to a lesser extent, raptors.

A management trial in one forest showed that capercaillie bred better when most crows and some foxes were killed than when they were not.

An index of pine marten abundance was related neither to the other predator indices nor to capercaillie breeding success.

Synthesis and applications. Capercaillie reared more young in forests with more bilberry and fewer predators. Management to improve the breeding success of capercaillie should aim for at least 15–20% bilberry ground cover, and legal control of crows and foxes.
Elements that promote highway crossing structure use by small mammals in Banff National Park
Authors: McDonald Wayne , St Clair Colleen Cassady
Published: February 2004

Corridors provide important structural connectivity in habitats that have been fragmented by human activities, but more empirical work is needed to identify the attributes of effective corridor design under a broad range of ecological conditions.

We tested the efficacy with which murid rodents in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, used crossing structures constructed across the Trans‐Canada Highway. We studied the effects of size, vegetative cover at entrances, and distance from home ranges as determinants of crossing structure use with potential relevance to other corridor types.

We translocated animals across underpasses and overpasses, coated them with fluorescent dye, released them at standardized distances, and followed them to obtain detailed information on two scale‐dependent movement parameters, return success and tortuosity (or complexity) of movement paths, as well as a scale‐independent metric of movement, the fractal dimension.

Translocated animals returned with higher success across smaller crossing structures than across larger ones, perhaps because these structures afforded more overhead cover from predators.

Adding overhead cover to crossing structure entrances further improved return success and correlated with more tortuous movement of translocated animals.

Animals translocated further (60 m) from crossing structures returned with lower success than those translocated closer to them (20 and 40 m). Among the three species studied (deer mice Peromyscus maniculatus, meadow voles Microtus pennsylvanicus and red‐backed voles Clethrionomys gapperi), deer mice had significantly higher return success at 60 m, perhaps owing to their larger home range sizes and willingness to cross the road directly.

Synthesis and applications. Ideal crossing structure characteristics will often be species‐specific, even within guilds of animals. Our results imply that wildlife corridors, more generally, need to offer sufficient cover and be placed with a frequency that corresponds to the spatial scale over which targeted species move.
Systematic collection data in North American invertebrate conservation and monitoring programmes
Authors: Goldstein Paul Z.
Published: February 2004

Although likely to yield less copious collections than their tropical counterparts, temperate inventories focused on invertebrates require individuals not only trained to deal with a wide array of taxa but also versed in the techniques used to process and archive specimens.

Due in part to the prevalence of physically intensive conservation management practices (e.g. prescribed burning) or resource management practices (e.g. selective logging), and in part to a better understanding of temperate invertebrate faunas relative to their tropical counterparts, temperate conservationists bear an inescapable responsibility for monitoring the effects of such practices on species assemblages of conservation concern.

Counterintuitively, North American conservation programmes, particularly those involving monitoring, run the risk of turning away from concerns for invertebrate assemblages, despite their being relatively well‐understood, recognized as powerful conservation tools or indicators, and in some areas the demonstrable majority of the most threatened of animal species.

Synthesis and applications. To prevent further erosion or underuse of invertebrate monitoring and inventories, there is a recognizable need for professional space in the North American conservation community for parataxonomist‐like individuals. These should be trained to deal with both the required field procedures and the standards and practices associated with maintaining systematic voucher and reference collections in natural history museums and herbaria. In particular, the relevance of discovery‐orientated biological inventories and collections‐based systematic research to the design and implementation of adequate natural areas management and monitoring remains underemphasized and underappreciated by some allegedly science‐based conservation programmes.
Measurements of sublethal effects on individual organisms indicate community‐level impacts of pollution
Authors: Crowe Tasman P. , Smith Emma L. , Donkin Peter , Barnaby Deborah L. , Rowland Steven J.
Published: February 2004

Due to the cost and complexity of sampling biological communities, surrogate biological measures or concentrations of toxic contaminants are often used to indicate environmental impacts. Such indicators can be powerful tools, but their effectiveness requires evaluation. Mussels are widely used as bioindicators of environmental contamination. For example, physiological measurements on live mussels form the basis of scope for growth (SFG), an integrated indicator of environmental stress. However, the effectiveness of SFG as an indicator of community level effects has rarely been tested in the field.

In this study of six sites on the west coast of the UK, the diversity of macrofaunal communities associated with mussels was reduced at sites with low SFG (< 10 J g−1h−1) compared with those with high SFG (> 15 J g−1h−1). At smaller scales, variation in community structure was related to biomass of mussels, mass of coarse sediments and the fractal dimension of the surface of the mussel bed.

We measured hydrocarbon contamination as a first step in identifying contaminants that might underpin the relationship between SFG and diversity. Unresolved complex mixtures (UCM) are often the most abundant hydrocarbon contaminants in the environment, but have, until recently, been largely ignored. We found generally good accordance between UCM concentration in mussel tissues, SFG and diversity, but other pollutants are also likely to be involved.

Synthesis and applications.Our findings illustrate the complexity of relating changes in diversity to synoptic or sublethal measures of environmental stress in the field. However, the results represent a significant step towards a biotic indicator of environmental quality that integrates impacts across a range of levels of biological organization (from intra‐individual to community). Such indicators may be of particular value in the implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive in Europe and similar environmental legislation elsewhere.
Inverted follicular keratosis simulating malignant melanoma
Authors: Thom Graham A , Quirk Christopher J , Heenan Peter J
Published: February 2004

A 93‐year‐old woman was noted to have a single pigmented lesion on the posterior aspect of her neck. Clinical examination revealed a 12 × 8‐mm flat lesion, with an irregular border and variegated pigmentation. Dermatoscopic examination revealed a lesion with multiple colours, featureless areas and black dots, suggestive of malignant melanoma. With a presumed clinical diagnosis of malignant melanoma, an elliptical excision was performed, with a 1‐cm margin. However, histological examination revealed the unexpected diagnosis of pigmented inverted follicular keratosis.
Granular cell basal cell carcinoma
Authors: Dundr Pavel , Štork Jiří , Povýšil Ctibor , Vosmík František
Published: February 2004

A 69‐year‐old woman presented with a 2‐year history of a slowly growing tumour on the nose. The clinical diagnosis was basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and a complete excision was performed. Histologically, the tumour had the general features of a BCC but with sheets and nests of cells with granular cytoplasmic changes in the centre of the lesion. A pathological diagnosis of granular cell BCC was made. On immunohistochemical examination, the tumour cells were Ber‐EP4, cytokeratin AE1/AE3 and cytokeratin CAM 5.2 positive but S100 protein negative. Only the granular cells were CD68 antigen (monoclonal antibody KP1) positive.
Aoteaoroa/New Zealand nursing: from eugenics to cultural safety ...
Authors: Richardson Sandy
Published: February 2004

The concept of cultural safety offers a unique approach to nursing practice, based on recognition of the power differentials inherent in any interaction. It is from within the context of nursing in Aoteaoroa/New Zealand (A/NZ) that the concept developed and was subsequently integrated into nursing education. Cultural safety is based within a framework of biculturalism, and is congruent with the tenets of the nation's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi. Clarification of the concept is offered, together with a review of the historical shift in nursing attitudes that has led to the emergence of ‘cultural safety’ as a viable and valued component of nursing practice.

The argument is made that cultural safety has allowed for a more reflective, critical understanding of the actions of nursing to develop. This includes recognition that nurses’ attitudes and values have inevitably been influenced by social and political forces, and as such are in part reflective of those within the wider community. Comparison between the support given by nurses in the early 1900s to the theory of eugenics and the current acceptance of cultural safety is used to highlight this point. An examination of the literature identifies that ideological and conceptual changes have occurred in the approach of A/NZ nurses to issues with cultural implications for practice. A review of background factors relating to Maori health status and the Treaty of Waitangi is presented as a necessary context to the overall discussion.

The discussion concludes with an acknowledgement that while the rhetoric of cultural safety is now part of nursing culture in New Zealand, there is no firm evidence to evaluate its impact in practice. Issues identified as impacting on the ability to assess/research a concept, such as cultural safety, are discussed. For cultural safety to become recognised as a credible (and indispensable) tool, it is necessary to further examine the ‘end‐point’ or ‘outcomes’ of the process.
Researching emotion: the need for coherence between focus, theory and methodology
Authors: Savage Jan
Published: February 2004

There is a longstanding awareness of the significance of emotion in nursing and yet it remains one of the more elusive areas of practice. Surprisingly, there has been little discussion in the nursing literature of how the phenomenon of emotion might be understood or studied. This paper gives an overview of theoretical and methodological approaches to emotion, and how the researcher's emotions may inform the research process. In addition, it draws on ethnographic research exploring the role of emotion in the practice and clinical supervision of a group of psychosexual nurses undergoing Balint seminar training to help highlight some of the inherent problems of researching emotion. The paper argues that these sorts of problems may be avoided or reduced by ensuring coherence between the research focus, the way emotion is theorised, and the methodological approach of the study.
Involving users with learning difficulties in health improvement: lessons from inclusive learning disability research
Authors: Walmsley Jan
Published: February 2004

In this paper the author considers the lessons to be drawn from what is termed ‘inclusive’ learning disability research for user involvement around health improvement. Inclusive learning disability research refers to research where people with learning difficulties (intellectual disability) are involved as active participants, as opposed to passive subjects. There is by now a considerable body of such research, developed over the past 25 years. From the review, the author draws attention to areas which can inform practice in involvement of users in a way that adds value.
Caring holistically within new managerialism
Authors: Wong Woon Hau
Published: February 2004

This article explains the attempts of nurses to practice humanistic, holistic care in line with their professionalizing strategy. Ideally, the intention of nurses is to broaden their concerns beyond the physiological needs of patients, thereby circumventing biomedical control over their work. However, the author argues that resource constraints, and the coalescing of biomedical and managerial definitions of patients, suggest that holistic notions of care are subjected to a new form of calculus and normalizing technology. Critically, nurses are more preoccupied with the day‐to‐day struggle to free up resources for healthcare, in particular bed spaces, and to pre‐empt the problem of bed blocking. Such work suggests that the ‘emptying of beds’ is not just a symbol of accomplishment for nursing work. From the governmentality theory of Foucault, the administration of ‘beds’ has become part of the managerial power/knowledge discourse and an instrument for making nurses toe the financial bottom‐line.
Caregivers of persons with a brain tumor: a conceptual model
Authors: Sherwood Paula , Given Barbara , Given Charles , Schiffman Rachel , Murman Daniel , Lovely Mary
Published: February 2004

Researchers have documented negative physical and emotional consequences for both family caregivers of persons with cancer as well as caregivers of persons with a neurologic disorder. However, there is a unique subset of caregivers who must provide care for someone who may suffer from both a short, terminal trajectory of disease, as well as neurological and neuropsychiatric sequelae — the caregiver of a person with a primary malignant brain tumor. The purpose of this article was to describe a conceptual framework for providing care for a person with a primary malignant brain tumor. The demands of this particular care situation are described, as well as potential resources available to the caregiver to meet those demands. Finally, the stress response that results from the balance between care demands and caregiver resources is illustrated. Development of a conceptual framework for this caregiving population is the first step in assisting nurses to identify factors that place caregivers of persons with a primary malignant brain tumor at risk for negative consequences, and to design interventions to improve caregiver health.
Ethnomethodological insights into insider–outsider relationships in nursing ethnographies of healthcare settings
Authors: Allen Davina
Published: February 2004

This article re‐examines insider–outsider relationships in nursing ethnographies of healthcare settings as a case study in the wider sociological debate around reflexivity in field research. It focuses on the practices through which the fieldwork role is accomplished and the ‘identity work’ of nurse ethnographers. Insights derived from ethnomethodology are utilized in order to analyse selected aspects of real‐life field experiences in order to enhance our understanding of this relatively neglected dimension of the research process. The article is offered as a contribution to an emerging body of scholarship that is directed at promoting a more rigorous and theoretically informed understanding of the conduct and reportage of ethnographic fieldwork.
Allelopathic effect of leaf debris, leaf aqueous extract and rhizosphere soil of Ophiopogon japonicus Ker‐Gawler on the growth of plants
Authors: IQBAL ZAHIDA , FURUBAYASHI AKIHIRO , FUJII YOSHIHARU
Published: February 2004

Laboratory and greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the allelopathic potential of dwarf lily turf (Ophiopogon japonicus Ker‐Gawler) on lettuce, alfalfa, timothy and mustard plant growth. Dry leaf debris, aqueous extract of fresh leaves and O. japonicus grown soil were investigated. Emergence, dry weight, and root and shoot length of all bioassay species were inhibited when grown in soil incorporated with oven‐dried leaves of O. japonicus. The inhibitory effects were often dependent on the concentration. However, the degree of inhibition varied among the test plant species. The aqueous leaf extract was highly phytotoxic and it significantly reduced germination, seedling growth, and the fresh weight of all the test species at all rates. The emergence and growth of all four tested plants were severely inhibited when planted in O. japonicus contaminated soil. These results indicate that O. japonicus incorporated leaf debris, leaf aqueous extract and its rhizosphere soil suppress seed germination, radicle growth, seedling emergence and seeding growth of certain weeds and suggest that these responses were attributed to an allelopathic effect.
Effect of naringenin on the growth and lignin biosynthesis of gramineous plants
Authors: DENG FAN , AOKI MIYAKO , YOGO YASUHIRO
Published: February 2004

Lignin biosynthesis is essential for plant growth. 4‐Coumarate CoA ligase (4‐CL, EC6.2.1.12) is involved in the monolignol synthesis and occupies a key role in regulating carbon flow into the phenylpropanoid metabolism pathway. Naringenin, one of the metabolites in this pathway, is known as a potent in vitro inhibitor of 4‐CL. The growth of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Koshihikari), maize (Zea mays L. cv. Yellow corn) and Echinochloa oryzicola Vasing seedlings at the 2nd leaf stage was inhibited after continuous root application with 0.1 mmol L−1 naringenin for 1 week, although naringenin did not kill these gramineous plants. The highest inhibition of fresh weight increase was observed in maize, followed by rice and E. oryzicola. The symptoms in these plants were root browning, delay of leaf/root development and shoot dwarfing. Naringenin treatment increased the contents of 4‐CL substrates, cinnamic acid, 4‐coumaric acid, caffeic acid and ferulic acid from 1.2 to 7.2 times and from 1.2 to 3.5 times in shoots and roots, respectively, except for ferulic acid in E. oryzicola roots. It also caused a slight decrease of the lignin content and alteration of lignin constitutions in rice plants. These results suggested that the monolignol pathways after 4‐CL towards lignin has the possibility to be the novel action sites of plant growth retardants, although further investigations are needed to clarify the mode of action.
Is Induction Epistemologically Prior to Deduction?
Authors: Couvalis George
Published: February 2004

Most philosophers hold that the use of our deductive powers confers an especially strong warrant on some of our mathematical and logical beliefs. By contrast, many of the same philosophers hold that it is a matter of serious debate whether any inductive inferences are cogent. That is, they hold that we might well have no warrant for inductively licensed beliefs, such as generalizations. I argue that we cannot know that we know logical and mathematical truths unless we use induction. Our confidence in our logical and mathematical powers is not justified if we are inductive sceptics. This means that inductive scepticism leads to a deductive scepticism. I conclude that we should either be philosophical sceptics about our knowledge of deduction and induction, or accept that some of our inductive inferences are cogent.
Loar's Defence of Physicalism
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: February 2004

Brian Loar believes he has refuted all those antiphysicalist arguments that take as their point of departure observations about what is or isn’t conceivable. I argue that there remains an important, popular and plausible‐looking form of conceivability argument that Loar has entirely overlooked. Though he may not have realized it, Saul Kripke presents, or comes close to presenting, two fundamentally different forms of conceivability argument. I distinguish the two arguments and point out that while Loar has succeeded in refuting one of Kripke's arguments he has not refuted the other. Loar is mistaken: physicalism still faces an apparently insurmountable conceptual obstacle.
Can we Describe Possible Circumstances in which we would have Most Reason to Believe that Time is Two‐dimensional?
Authors: Oppy Graham
Published: February 2004

How one answers the question whether time could be two‐dimensional depends upon what one takes to be the essential properties of time. I assume that it is essential to time that it has a ‘sense’ or ‘direction’; and, on the basis of this assumption, I argue that no‐one has yet succeeded in giving a clear account of how it could be that time is two‐dimensional. In particular, I argue that no‐one has yet succeeded in describing possible circumstances in which we would have serious reason to entertain the hypothesis that time is two‐dimensional.
Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy
Authors: Malachowski Alan
Published: February 2004

Book reviewed:

Bernard Williams. Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy.
The Influence of Attitudes and Affect on Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Communication
Authors: Yashima Tomoko , Zenuk‐Nishide Lori , Shimizu Kazuaki
Published: February 2004

This article investigates results and antecedents of willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second Language (L2) through 2 separate investigations conducted with Japanese adolescent learners of English. In the first investigation, involving 160 students, a model was created based on the hypothesis that WTC results in more frequent communication in the L2 and that the attitudinal construct international posture leads to WTC and communication behavior. This model was tested with structural equation modeling and was found to fit the data well. The second investigation with 60 students who participated in a study‐abroad program in the United States confirmed the results of the first. Finally, frequency of communication was shown to correlate with satisfaction in interpersonal relationships during the sojourn.
Uptake in Incidental Focus on Form in Meaning‐Focused ESL Lessons
Authors: Loewen Shawn
Published: February 2004

Uptake is a term used to describe learners’ responses to the provision of feedback after either an erroneous utterance or a query about a linguistic item within the context of meaning‐focused Language activities. Some researchers argue that uptake may contribute to second Language acquisition by facilitating noticing and pushing learners to produce more accurate linguistic forms. This study investigated the occurrence of uptake in 32 hr of meaning‐focused lessons in 12 English as a second Language classes in Auckland, New Zealand. It also examined which characteristics of incidental focus on form predicted uptake and successful uptake. The results indicated that uptake occurred in these classes and that characteristics such as complexity, timing, and type of feedback influenced both the production of uptake and the successfulness of it.
Outline of a New Semantics for Counterfactuals
Authors: Gundersen Lars Bo
Published: February 2004

Abstract: It is argued that the so‐called principles of “strong centering” and “weak centering” central to the traditional Lewis‐Stalnaker semantics for counterfactuals are both fallacious. A foundation for an alternative semantics without these prinsciples is outlined. The core idea is that the statistically normal worlds – rather than those worlds most qualitatively similar to the actual world – should serve as the semantical fulcrum.
Causation in the Phaedo
Authors: Kelsey Sean
Published: February 2004

Abstract:  In the Phaedo Socrates says that as a young man he thought it a great thing to know the causes of things; but finding existing accounts unsatisfying, he fell back on a method of his own, hypothesizing that Forms are causes. I argue that part of what this hypothesis says is that certain phenomena – the ones for which it postulates Forms as causes – are the result of processes whose object was to produce them. I then use this conclusion to explain how Socrates’ discussion of causality in the Phaedo might be supposed to contribute to his final argument for immortality.
Is An Agreement An Exchange of Intentions?
Authors: Mintoff Joe
Published: February 2004

Abstract:  Margaret Gilbert has argued that an agreement is not exchange of promises, since no such exchange plays all the roles she claims are distinctive of agreements. After briefly discussing the notion of intention and the principles governing intentions, I argue that a certain type of exchange of intentions – in which one person forms a conditional intention to act if the other does, and the other forms an unconditional intention to act on the presumption that the first will do what they have said – plays all these roles, and so conclude that an agreement is in fact an exchange of intentions.
Blameworthiness, Vice, and The Objectivity of Morals
Authors: Montague Phillip
Published: February 2004

Abstract:  The following thesis is defended: whether actions are morally required is an objective matter – that is, independent of the beliefs, intentions, etc. with which the actions are preformed. This thesis needs defending because it seems vulnerable to certain counterexamples. One approach to dealing with these counterexamples centers on the concept of blameworthiness, but this approach is flawed. An alternative approach is developed that relies on the concept of a vicious action. And although it too centers on the concept of blameworthiness, it lacks the flaws that are present in the original approach.
Dion, Theon, and Daup
Authors: Parsons Josh
Published: February 2004

Abstract:  Peter van Inwagen's puzzle of Descartes's foot, and Chrysippus’ similar puzzle of Dion and Theon, do not have as much bearing on the Doctrine of Arbitrary Undetached Parts (or DAUP) as is usually supposed. Van Inwagen's argument against DAUP works via his rejection of the “Remainder Principle”, which, I argue, is in fact independent of DAUP itself.
Two Conceptions of Sparse Properties*
Authors: Schaffer Jonathan
Published: February 2004

Abstract:  Are the sparse properties drawn from all the levels of nature, or only the fundamental level? I discuss the notion of sparse property found in Armstrong and Lewis, show that there are tensions in the roles they have assigned the sparse properties, and argue that the sparse properties should be drawn from all the levels of nature. The issue has direct bearing on reductionism. If the sparse properties are drawn from all the levels of nature, then macro‐scientific properties are just as primary as micro‐scientific properties, and do not need to be reduced to them.
Kant and The Marriage Right*
Authors: Wilson Donald
Published: February 2004

Abstract:  The provision of a marriage right is a distinctive aspect of Kant's political philosophy and seems, initially, difficult to reconcile with the general concern with ensuring external freedom of action apparent in the universal principle of Right and the sole innate right said to follow from this principle. I claim that this provision can be regarded as consistent with this general focus and that Kant's treatment of issue suggests an interesting secular argument for the institution of marriage.
A. G. Dickens and the English Reformation
Authors: Haigh Christopher
Published: February 2004

This article considers the contribution that Professor Dickens made to the flowering of local studies of the Reformation in England, and asks why his influence waned in the nineteen-seventies and after. When Dickens began work on Yorkshire in the early nineteen-thirties, he was one of a number of young scholars looking at the Reformation in the localities. By the nineteen-fifties he was the leading spokesman for a regionalist approach and the search for ordinary people's experience of the Reformation. The cause was helped by the development of county archives, the expansion of postgraduate education and the provision of research grants. But when research students went to diocesan records they did not always find what Dickens had expected, and his interpretation of the Reformation became controversial.
A. G. Dickens and his critics: a new narrative of the English Reformation
Authors: Pettegree Andrew
Published: February 2004

This article considers the debate on the English Reformation triggered by the revisionist assault on the work of A. G. Dickens. It questions the narrow view of Dickens as the protagonist of a ‘rapid Reformation from below’, drawing attention to the far greater subtlety of ideas that permeated Dickens's early work. Finally, it offers an alternative framework for a new Reformation narrative.
A. G. Dickens and the continental Reformation
Authors: Pörtner Regina
Published: February 2004

This article assesses A. G. Dickens's contribution to the study of the continental Reformation, and of German Lutheranism in particular. Dickens's main theses, as formulated in a group of five thematically linked major works that were published between 1964 and 1974, concerned the cultural and historical significance of European Protestantism as an emancipatory national movement whose urban, ‘bourgeois’ variant was subject to constraints of far-reaching historical consequence in Germany. Dickens's further writings, war diaries and private papers are adduced to illustrate the conceptual assumptions underlying this interpretation, which are shown to have been influenced by his Protestant religious convictions and an apparent fascination with Oswald Spengler's theory of civilizations. The article questions Dickens's account of the link between humanism, Lutheran thought and incipient German nationalism, but stresses the relevance of his critique of contemporary German scholarship for adopting a too narrowly national perspective.
Dickens, the German Reformation, and the issue of nation and fatherland in early modern German history
Authors: Von Friedeburg Robert
Published: February 2004

This article offers an outline of the historiographical developments in German Reformation history since the later nineteen-sixties. It argues that Dickens picked up major issues in his treatment of the German Reformation that have again come to the fore in recent years. In particular, his combination of local social history with the history of political thought, and with the history of the new pamphlet medium that emerged from the early sixteenth century, allowed him to try to connect these different arenas of research. This remains a primary concern for current Reformation research, as pioneered by studies such as Andrew Pettegree's book on Emden.1
A. G. Dickens and the late medieval Church
Authors: Duffy Eamon
Published: February 2004

In this article A. G. Dickens's writings about late medieval religion are located in the context of early twentieth-century English historiography, in particular the controversies between Cardinal Aidan Gasquet and Dr. G. G. Coulton. The article argues that despite his desire for judicious objectivity, and despite also his innovatory use of hitherto neglected types of archival material, Dickens's essentially negative assessment of the state of the late medieval Church was shaped by his own early religious formation, and by a Protestant/whig outlook which he shared with Coulton. As a consequence, he understood some mainstream Tudor religious emphases and convictions as ‘medieval’, by which he meant backward-looking minority concerns.
A. G. Dickens as a Yorkshire historian
Authors: Cross Claire
Published: February 2004

For thirty years after graduating from Oxford in 1932 Dickens, a devoted Yorkshireman, produced a stream of articles on the intellectual, social and political history of the county in the sixteenth century, which culminated in 1959 in his pioneering work Lollards and Protestants in the Diocese of York, 1509–58. After leaving Hull for London in 1962 he never found a county in the south of England to replace Yorkshire in his affections, and moved from the history of the Reformation in its local context to concentrate upon the national and international history of religion in the early modern period.
Elicited Imitation in Children and Adults With Autism: the Effect of Different Types of Actions
Authors: Beadle‐Brown Julie
Published: February 2004

Background  It was proposed by Rogers & Pennington (1991) that an early deficit in imitation, together with a cascade of developmental disorders in emotion sharing and Theory of Mind, could be important in understanding autism. Having already found that imitation appeared not to be specifically or universally impaired in autism, the present study tested whether there were distinctions between different types of actions, such as symbolic versus non‐symbolic, one‐handed versus two‐handed or symmetrical versus asymmetrical actions, on a test of elicited imitation.

Methods  A large battery of tasks was used to elicit imitation from three groups of autistic children and adults (aged 4–34 years of age), two groups of typically developing children and a group of children with mild‐to‐moderate intellectual disabilities.

Results  The majority of children and adults with autism had few impairments relative to the controls, although certain actions did seem more difficult, especially for the youngest children. For example, actions within the categories of ‘symbolic actions’ and ‘asymmetrical actions’ seemed to give some groups more problems. Certain types of errors such as hand reversals and using body parts as objects were found in both autistic and non‐autistic groups, but, for the most part, in the youngest children in the whole sample. A final analysis compared the number of partial imitations for eight specific actions.

Conclusions  The overall picture was not one of an autism‐specific deficit in imitation, but rather of a normal (i.e. age‐related) developmental trend. These results are discussed in terms of Rogers & Pennington's theory and other leading theories.
Clinical and Research Implications of an Investigation into Theory of Mind (TOM) Task Performance in Children and Adults with Non‐specific Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Jervis Nicola , Baker Martyn
Published: February 2004

Background  Theory of Mind (TOM) has rarely been studied in people with intellectual disabilities. Wherever it has been studied, differing results have been found. These may be attributed to a variety of factors (e.g. the different chronological ages of samples). The validity of relating TOM performance to social behaviour has also been questioned in this population. The aim of this study was to compare TOM scores with chronological age and social ability in an attempt to contribute to current debate.

Methods  Twenty children were matched individually with 20 adults, all with non‐specific intellectual disabilities. The British Picture Vocabulary Scale, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and four TOM tasks were administered to the participants. Their carers were then given various sociability measures to complete.

Results  The children achieved significantly higher TOM scores than did the adults. TOM and social ability were significantly positively correlated for the children, but not for the adults. These results are discussed in terms of the different social experiences of adults and children with intellectual disabilities.

Conclusions  Longitudinal research in this area is needed to clarify the present findings. If confirmed, the suitability of some TOM tasks used may be questionable, and there are clear implications for staff and client training.
Person‐Centred Planning or Person‐Centred Action? Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disability Services
Authors: Mansell Jim , Beadle‐Brown Julie
Published: February 2004

Background  This critical review considers the nature and importance of person‐centred planning in the context of current British policy and service development in intellectual disability. The difference between person‐centred planning and other kinds of individual planning is discussed.

Materials and method  The scale of the task of implementing person‐centred planning as a national policy initiative is considered. The limited evidence base for person‐centred planning is reviewed and the reasons for the failure of previous attempts at individual planning are analysed. The assumption that person‐centred services will be produced by a new kind of individual planning is questioned.

Conclusions  Consideration is given to what would be necessary to make services more person‐centred, including changes in power relations, funding arrangements and staff training and supervision.
Person‐Centred Planning or Person‐Centred Action? A Response to the Commentaries
Authors: Mansell Jim , Beadle‐Brown Julie
Published: February 2004

This paper responds to four commentaries on our original paper in this issue. We respond to issues raised under three headings addressing the scale of the task envisaged in the 2001 White Paper Valuing People, the feasibility and effectiveness of individual planning and how to achieve person‐centred action. We conclude that there is substantial agreement about the goals of intellectual disability services and the processes that need to take place around individuals to help them get what they need and want. We disagree about whether person‐centred planning will deliver this, and about whether it will provide a robust basis for claiming and defending the resources people with intellectual disabilities will need in the future.
Person‐Centred Planning in its Strategic Context: Reframing the Mansell/Beadle‐Brown Critique
Authors: Towell David , Sanderson Helen
Published: February 2004

Valuing People, the English national strategy launched in 2001 is founded on the twin principles of self‐determination and social inclusion. It promotes a vision of people with intellectual disabilities in the mainstream of life. To achieve this goal, it seeks to integrate a wide variety of elements, in which person‐centred planning (PCP) is one.

The Mansell and Beadle‐Brown review makes many interesting points about PCP in this context. We reframe their critique in three main ways: by more fully recognising the extent to which PCP is an intrinsic element of the national strategy, helping to operationalise its core principles; by crediting the ways in which individual planning and action are intended to become part of one continuous process; and by showing how the strategy addresses the challenge of scale by prioritising quality rather than quantity in implementing PCP, with the aspiration of creating a virtuous spiral of positive change.
If Person‐Centred Planning did not Exist, Valuing People Would Require Its Invention
Authors: O'Brien John
Published: February 2004

Person‐centred planning is one important tool in making the culture change necessary to realize the Government's promise in Valuing People. Some potential dangers in large scale implementation are identified, a logic for local action is described, the criteria for effective person‐centred planning are defined in terms of supporting personal choice, the contribution of person‐centred planning to organizational culture change is identified, the possibility of failure to implement policy change is acknowledged, and the potential benefits of person‐centred planning under conditions of policy failure is described.
Can Person‐Centred Planning Fulfil a Strategic Planning Role? Comments on Mansell & Beadle‐Brown
Authors: Felce David
Published: February 2004

Policy appears to regard person‐centred planning (PCP) as underpinning strategic planning. While accepting the logic of its role in planning for individuals, this commentary argues that PCP cannot fulfil a strategic planning role because the development of PCP on a wide enough scale to be useful for this purpose is itself a strategic development, which will take considerable time and resources to achieve. There is still a place for population‐based norms or targets based on available epidemiological data to indicate the needed scale of provision and associated resource requirement. Three illustrations are described. In conclusion, it is noted that the current lack of indicative provision targets is a weakness of recently issued policy, an absence which does nothing to safeguard the interests of those who depend on service support.
PlanningandAction: Comments on Mansell & Beadle‐Brown
Authors: Emerson Eric , Stancliffe Roger J.
Published: February 2004

Mansell & Beadle‐Brown (2004) raise a number of concerns about the possible impact of the systematic introduction of person‐centred planning (PCP) across services for people with intellectual disabilities in the UK. We too foresee a danger that system‐wide adoption of PCP will be characterised over zealous ‘selling’ of the purported benefits without sufficient attention to the difficulties and without the necessary changes to system architecture to ensure that those involved in PCP have the authority or resources to achieve the plan's goals. If so, PCP will become another fad, and service users, and their families will become even more discouraged, disheartened and alienated by a system characterised by rhetoric rather than meaningful action. Where we differ, is in the interpretation of the existing evidence regarding the impact of individual planning systems in general and, perhaps, in the way forward.
The Effectiveness and Trustworthiness of Faith‐Based and Other Service Organizations: A Study of Recipients' Perceptions
Authors: Wuthnow Robert , Hackett Conrad , Hsu Becky Yang
Published: February 2004

Drawing on a new community study of more than 2,000 residents of low‐income neighborhoods, we examine information about the kinds of service organizations respondents have contacted for assistance and the perceptions of these respondents about the effectiveness and trustworthiness of those organizations. We compare contact with and perceptions of faith‐based organizations, nonsectarian organizations, government agencies, hospitals, and churches and employ a method that takes account of respondents' varying portfolios of service providers. The results indicate that the recipients of faith‐based organizations resemble those of the public welfare department in the extent of financial need and scope of family problems, and differ significantly from recipients of help from congregations. The results also indicate that recipients' evaluations of the effectiveness and trustworthiness of their portfolio of service organizations are lower when they have sought assistance from public welfare agencies and higher when they have sought assistance from congregations, but are not significantly affected by having contacted faith‐based or nonsectarian organizations.
Innovative Returns to Tradition: Using Core Teachings as the Foundation for Innovative Accommodation
Authors: Finke Roger
Published: February 2004

This article argues that religious groups sustain organizational vitality by preserving core teachings and promoting adaptive innovations. The core teachings guard the sacred beliefs and practices held as timeless, and the innovations adapt these teachings to new cultures and contexts—with the most successful innovations building on the core. Using organizational theory and previous research, I explain how core teachings sustain vitality and I uncover the organizational mechanisms stimulating and blocking innovations. Historical examples are used to illustrate how denominations struggle to preserve the continuity of distinctive core teachings and promote adaptive innovations. Finally, I discuss the implications this thesis holds for the study of American religion, both past and present.