bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving Developmental Screening in Pediatric Resident Education
Authors: Thompson Lindsay A. , Tuli Sanjeev Y. , Saliba Heidi , DiPietro Meredith , Nackashi John A.
Published: April 2010

Objective. Given that pediatricians cite low competency in developmental screening, this study aims to effectively teach screening to residents. Design. Using a quasiexperimental design, residents received an educational module and one-on-one teaching of 3 validated developmental screeners (Denver II, ASQ [Ages and Stages Questionnaire], and PEDS [Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status]), with subsequent independent use with all 3 screeners with their own continuity patients. Outcome measures included changes in knowledge, skills, and preferences. Results. All residents achieved significantly increased skills with all screeners. They strongly preferred the ASQ (70%), citing that this taught them normal (30.2%) and pathological (27.9%) development while negatively noting time (72.1%), scheduling issues (30.2%), and difficulties with child cooperation (20.9%). Knowledge specifics did not significantly increase. Conclusions. In-depth developmental screening education revealed marked improvement in skills and preferences. These evaluations led to full adoption of the ASQ in resident clinics. Future research must test if effective development teaching in residency leads to increased routine screenings in practice.
Reform in an Urban School District: The Role of PSAT Results in Promoting Advanced Placement Course-Taking
Authors: Sidney Vaughn E.
Published: April 2010

According to Arthur Powell “Advanced Placement courses have probably brought more challenging academic experiences to more students than any other single reform in recent American high school history” ( Lessons from Privilege: The American Prep School Tradition, p. 243). To this end, there has been a significant increase in Advanced Placement (AP) course offerings, course enrollments, and AP test-taking throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation. In this article, the effect of an urban school district’s initiative to expand PSAT test-taking as a means of identifying academically able students is examined in relationship to increased AP course-taking and completion. Three years worth of data involving over 4,000 high school graduates are included in the study. Logistic regression is used to model the relationship between students’ ninth grade GPA, 10th grade PSAT scores, race, gender, and graduation year on completing at least one AP course in high school. Suggestions are included for improved use of PSAT results to identify students who might succeed in AP courses. Finally, model adequacy is considered with an eye in identifying additional variables for use in future studies.
Overlapping Student Environments: An Examination of the Homeschool Connection and Its Impact on Achievement
Authors: Garas-York Keli
Published: April 2010

This study of the impact of the homeschool connection on achievement was part of a larger interpretive case study which examined high achieving readers in a low performing school. The primary participants in the study were 7 African American 6th graders. Caregivers’ thoughts on education and their aspirations for their children were examined through the lens of social reproduction theories, cultural-ecological theory, and the notions of cultural capital and habitus. Discourse analysis, analytic induction, and the constant-comparative method were used to analyze the data. Findings show disconnect among caregivers’ aspirations for their children, how these aspirations are fostered, and student achievement.
Morale of Teachers in High Poverty Schools: A Post-NCLB Mixed Methods Analysis
Authors: Byrd-Blake Marie , Afolayan Michael O. , Hunt John W. , Fabunmi Martins , Pryor Brandt W. , Leander Robert
Published: April 2010

This study tested how well Fishbein and Ajzen’s Theory of Reasoned Action predicted the attitudes and morale of urban teachers in high poverty schools under the pressures of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). NCLB forced local administrators to target schools that had not made adequately yearly progress (AYP) for two or more consecutive years. Teachers from 4 schools in an urban school district in Southern Illinois were surveyed under the scope of the theory of reasoned action. Quantitative and qualitative results were analyzed to determine that the pressure of NCLB adversely affected teachers’ morale.
Organizational social capital, structure and performance
Authors: Andrews Rhys
Published: April 2010

Organization theorists suggest that the social capital within organizations is a potentially powerful resource for improving organizational performance. In addition, organizational structures may strengthen or weaken the effects of social capital, by furnishing greater or fewer opportunities for its growth. This article explores the independent and combined effects of organizational social capital and structure on the performance of over 100 organizations between 2002 and 2005, using panel data. The statistical results suggest that cognitive and relational dimensions of social capital are positively related to performance, but that the structural dimension of social capital is unrelated to service outcomes. Further analysis revealed that organizational structure has complex and contradictory effects on the impact of each dimension of social capital.
Employee reactions to office redesign: A naturally occurring quasi-field experiment in a multi-generational setting
Authors: McElroy James C , Morrow Paula C
Published: April 2010

Outcomes associated with an office redesign aimed at decreasing workspace while enhancing perceptions of organizational culture and work-related attitudes are examined within a financial services organization. Findings show that employees assigned to the redesigned office environment report less workspace and more distractions than those who remained in a cubicle environment, but that this finding was moderated by age generation. Employees moved to the newly redesigned space reported more favorable perceptions of culture and work-related attitudes, with no age moderating effects. Taken together, results provide support for the theory that office redesign is an effective strategy for implementing organizational change.
Expenditures and Information Disclosure in Two-Stage Political Contests
Authors: Sheremeta Roman M.
Published: April 2010

This laboratory experiment studies two-stage contests between political parties. In the first stage, parties run their primaries, and in the second stage, the winners of the primaries compete in the general election. The resource expenditures in the first stage by the winning candidates are partially or fully carried over to the second stage. Experimental results support all major theoretical predictions: the first-stage expenditures and the total expenditures increase, while the second-stage expenditures decrease in the carryover rate. Consistent with the theory, the total expenditures increase in the number of candidates and the number of parties. Contrary to the theory, however, expenditures in both stages of the competition exceed theoretical predictions. Disclosing information about the opponent’s expenditures in the first stage increases the second-stage expenditures and decreases the first-stage expenditures.
Leaders as Linchpins for Framing Meaning
Authors: Eddy Pamela L.
Published: April 2010

Community college leaders serve as linchpins for framing meaning on campus. The current pressures on institutions (given declining financial resources, demands for accountability, changing faculty ranks, and societal need for new knowledge) require presidents to juggle multiple priorities while presenting a cohesive message to campus constituents. This study examined how the presidents at nine community colleges communicated with college constituents and framed the meaning of those communications to help the college community make sense of ongoing change. Interviews with the presidents, as well as with key administrators, faculty members, and staff members, revealed that the presidents used emissaries to disseminate information in four distinct ways. Study findings also showed that the presidents framed the meaning of their communications through visionary framing (emphasizing future possibilities), step-by-step framing (emphasizing the immediate next steps required to achieve institutional goals), or connective framing (emphasizing dialogue and collaborative learning).
The Community College Accountability Network: Understanding Institutional Accountability at Aspen Grove Community College
Authors: Harbour Clifford P. , Gray Davies Timothy , Gonzales-Walker Roxanne
Published: April 2010

This article reports on a qualitative, interpretive case study examining how trustees, administrators, faculty members, and staff members at a rural community college understand their institution’s accountability environment. Data analysis and interpretation established that participants conceptualized institutional accountability as dialogic, involving ongoing communication with state authorities, employers, students, high schools, and universities about the formal and informal expectations assigned to the college. In addition, participants’ understandings of accountability were shaped by their specific roles and responsibilities within the institution. The study’s findings suggest the need for further research on how local institutional contexts influence institutional responses to accountability expectations.
Crossing Boundaries Creating Community College Partnerships to Promote Educational Transitions
Authors: Amey Marilyn J. , Eddy Pamela L. , Campbell Timothy G.
Published: April 2010

Community college partnerships with institutions in other educational sectors (including schools and universities) are important and strategic ways of meeting the educational needs of college constituents and maximizing resources to achieve local and state economic development goals. Understanding what is required for effective partnerships is important in determining when and how to engage in these collaborative, but sometimes costly, arrangements. This article presents a model of partnership development that emphasizes the role of social and organizational capital in the formation of partnership capital that contributes to the long-term success of collaborative efforts.
Correlation of Filler Loading and Silane Coupling Agent on the Physical Characteristics of Epoxidized Natural Rubber-Alumina Nanoparticles Composites
Authors: Mohamad Noraiham , Muchtar Andanastuti , Ghazali Mariyam Jameelah , Mohd Dahlan Hj. , Azhari Che Husna
Published: April 2010

Studies were conducted on the effects of filler loading and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (SCA) on the physical characteristics of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR)-alumina nanoparticles composites (ENRAN). The filler loading varied from 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 phr in the absence and presence of 2 phr SCA in every formulation. The alumina nanoparticles have a positive interaction with the ENR matrix since they increase the glass transition temperature of the composites [Mohamad, N., Muchtar, A., Ghazali, M.J., Dahlan, H.M. and Azhari, C.H. (2008). The Effect of Filler on Epoxidized Natural Rubber-Alumina Nanoparticles Composites, Eur. J. Sci. Res., 24: 538—547]. The addition of SCA decreased the maximum torque (MH) and the torque difference (MH-ML) of ENRANs compound as well as causing the curing process to occur at a very fast rate. The spherical alumina particles were dispersed in ENR matrix and a uniform particle distribution was observed under scanning electron microscope enabling the increase of the torque values in the composites.
Modeling Finite Deformation Behavior of Semicrystalline Polymers under Uniaxial Loading—Unloading
Authors: Dusunceli Necmi
Published: April 2010

The aim of this work is to investigate the finite deformation behavior of polymeric materials under monotonic loading—unloading. The strain rate sensitivity behaviors of polymeric materials were modeled using viscoplasticity theory based on an overstress (VBO) model. The modeling capability of the VBO model was improved to describe the nonlinear stress—strain behavior of the fully inelastic flow region in loading at small strain level. In this model, the tangent modulus (Et) is taken nonlinearly to simulate this polymeric material behavior. The numerical results were compared to the experimental data in the literature. These results were in good agreement with the experimental data.
A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Interviews on Medical School Admissions in Taiwan
Authors: Fan A.P. , Tsai T.C. , Su T.P. , Kosik R.O. , Morisky D.E. , Chen C.H. , Shih W.J. , Lee C.H.
Published: April 2010

Medical schools in Taiwan have recently adopted the U.S. medical school admissions model by incorporating interviews into the selection process. The objective of this study was to investigate factors that contribute to successful medical school applications through the national entrance examination and interview admission routes. The sample consisted of survey data from five entry cohorts of medical students admitted to the National Yang-Ming University Faculty of Medicine from 2003 to 2007. Of the 513 students, 62% were admitted through the traditional national entrance examination route and 38% were admitted early after achieving a threshold score on the composite national exam followed by a structured interview. Students admitted through the interview route were more likely to be female, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.17 (1.20–3.93). Maternal education level was an independent predictor of both early admission through a successful interview and higher medical school grade point average (GPA). Students admitted through the interview route had a 3.20 point higher first-year medical school GPA (p < .001) as determined by regression analyses. Those students who were admitted via interview did not have significantly different personality traits than those admitted through the traditional route. This study calls into question the ability of an admissions interview to select for noncognitive character traits.
Recent trends in minority ethnic entrepreneurship in Britain
Authors: Clark Ken , Drinkwater Stephen
Published: April 2010

This article examines trends in entrepreneurship among minority ethnic groups in Britain. It begins with an analysis of how self-employment rates for different ethnic groups have evolved since the early 1990s. We find that rates of self-employment have fallen for Indians and the Chinese and argue that this is due to increased opportunities in paid employment, partly brought about by demographic change. However, entrepreneurs from these groups still work the longest hours. In contrast, self-employment rates have risen for Black Caribbean males in recent years and remain high for Pakistani males. We also document how the proportion of the self-employed with employees has varied over time and discuss trends in the extent to which the self-employment of different ethnic groups is concentrated within particular sectors.
Review article: Ethnic variations on the small firm labour process
Authors: Jones Trevor , Ram Monder
Published: April 2010

Consistent with a growing recognition that all entrepreneurs irrespective of ethnicity are grounded in social capital, we argue that the deployment of labour in UK Asian firms is best understood by reference to the mainstream literature on small firm industrial relations. Conventionally, Asian firm owners are seen as enjoying exceptional advantages through uniquely privileged access to an unusually cost-effective co-ethnic labour force. Yet reference to the general discourse shows that one of the defining features of the small firm labour process is its great diversity, with workers subject to a varying mix of control strategies. Ethnicity of ownership is only one of a range of factors here, with influences such as sectoral location, market position and managerial role requiring greater attention. Drawing both from the mainstream small business and ethnic minority business literatures and from our own Asian firm case histories in the clothing and catering industries, we demonstrate that, while ethnic ties certainly do help to shape employer-worker relations, they do not operate independently of universal forces that are ethnic-non-specific. As Kloosterman et al. (1999)’s concept of mixed embeddedness suggests, ethnic minority firms must be seen as grounded in an external structural context as well as in their own community networks.
A randomized controlled trial of a wellness intervention for women with fibromyalgia syndrome
Authors: Stuifbergen Alexa K , Blozis Shelley A , Becker Heather , Phillips Lorraine , Timmerman Gayle , Kullberg Vicki , Taxis Carole , Morrison Janet
Published: April 2010

Objective: To examine the effects of a wellness intervention, Lifestyle Counts, for women with fibromyalgia syndrome on the level of self-efficacy for health-promoting behaviours, health-promoting activity and perceived quality of life.

Design: A randomized controlled single-blinded trial with treatment and attention-control groups.

Setting: Community in the southwestern United States.

Subjects: Convenience sample of 187 women (98 treatment, 89 attention control) with fibromyalgia syndrome (mean age = 53.08 years, SD 9.86).

Intervention: The two-phase Lifestyle Counts intervention programme included lifestyle change classes for eight weeks, with goal-setting and telephone follow-up for three months. Participants in the attention-control group were offered an equivalent amount of contact in classes on general disease-related information and health education topics and unstructured follow-up phone calls. Participants were followed for a total of eight months after baseline.

Outcome measures: Self-report instruments measuring self-efficacy for health behaviours, health-promotion behaviours and health-related quality of life (SF-36 and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) were completed at baseline, two months (after the classes), five months (after telephone follow-up) and at eight months.

Results: Both groups improved significantly (P<0.05) over time on the measures of self-efficacy, health behaviours, fibromyalgia impact and quality of life. There were significant group × time interactions for scores on the Health Promoting Lifestyle II subscales of physical activity and stress management.

Conclusions: The Lifestyle Counts wellness intervention holds promise for improving health-promoting behaviours and quality of life of women with fibromyalgia syndrome.
Rehabilitation in practice: Spasticity management
Authors: Stevenson VL
Published: April 2010

This series of articles for rehabilitation in practice aims to cover a knowledge element of the rehabilitation medicine curriculum. Nevertheless they are intended to be of interest to a multidisciplinary audience. The competency addressed in this article is ‘The trainee consistently demonstrates a knowledge of the pathophysiology of various specific impairments including spasticity’. Spasticity is an extremely common feature of chronic neurological conditions and, if badly managed, it can result in pain, contractures and pressure sores, all of which can impact on function. It is therefore essential that a multidisciplinary management strategy is in place to help the individual manage their particular situation through education with timely access to interventions including instigation of a physical management programme and medication such as baclofen, tizanidine, dantrolene, benzodiazepines and gabapentin. Further treatment options for focal spasticity are botulinum toxin and phenol nerve blocks or intrathecal baclofen or phenol for predominant lower limb spasticity. Ongoing assessment with the use of appropriate outcome measures can both guide choice of treatment and monitor efficacy.
Comparison of the effects of a physiotherapist-supervised exercise programme and a self-supervised exercise programme on quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Dereli Elif E , Yaliman Ayse
Published: April 2010

Objectives: To compare the effects of a physiotherapist-supervised exercise programme in an exercise unit and self-supervised home exercise programme on quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Design: Assessor-blinded, quasi-randomized trial (alternate allocation).

Setting: An outpatient exercise unit; home settings.

Participants: Thirty patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, Hoehn & Yahr I—III, stable medication use.

Interventions: Patients were included in the physiotherapist-supervised or home group. The exercise programme was performed for 10 weeks, three times/week either under the supervision of a physiotherapist or at home without supervision.

Main outcome measures: Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (PDQLQ), Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results: Patients in the supervised physiotherapy group improved more than the home exercise group in Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (total score, Parkinson’s symptoms, emotional function), Nottingham Health Profile total, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (all domains) and Beck Depression Inventory scores.

Conclusions: The exercise programme under physiotherapist supervision was found to be more effective at improving activities of daily living, motor, mental, emotional functions and general health quality in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared with a self-supervised home programme.
Interventions to Improve Patient Comprehension in Informed Consent for Medical and Surgical Procedures
Authors: Schenker Yael , Fernandez Alicia , Sudore Rebecca , Schillinger Dean
Published: April 2010

Background. Patient understanding in clinical informed consent is often poor. Little is known about the effectiveness of interventions to improve comprehension or the extent to which such interventions address different elements of understanding in informed consent. Purpose. To systematically review communication interventions to improve patient comprehension in informed consent for medical and surgical procedures. Data Sources. A systematic literature search of English-language articles in MEDLINE (1949–2008) and EMBASE (1974–2008) was performed. In addition, a published bibliography of empirical research on informed consent and the reference lists of all eligible studies were reviewed. Study Selection. Randomized controlled trials and controlled trials with nonrandom allocation were included if they compared comprehension in informed consent for a medical or surgical procedure. Only studies that used a quantitative, objective measure of understanding were included. All studies addressed informed consent for a needed or recommended procedure in actual patients. Data Extraction. Reviewers independently extracted data using a standardized form. All results were compared, and disagreements were resolved by consensus. Data Synthesis. Forty-four studies were eligible. Intervention categories included written information, audiovisual/multimedia, extended discussions, and test/feedback techniques. The majority of studies assessed patient understanding of procedural risks; other elements included benefits, alternatives, and general knowledge about the procedure. Only 6 of 44 studies assessed all 4 elements of understanding. Interventions were generally effective in improving patient comprehension, especially regarding risks and general knowledge. Limitations. Many studies failed to include adequate description of the study population, and outcome measures varied widely. Conclusions. A wide range of communication interventions improve comprehension in clinical informed consent. Decisions to enhance informed consent should consider the importance of different elements of understanding, beyond procedural risks, as well as feasibility and acceptability of the intervention to clinicians and patients. Conceptual clarity regarding the key elements of informed consent knowledge will help to focus improvements and standardize evaluations.
Effect of Age on Functional and Structural Outcome after Rotator Cuff Repair
Authors: Han Oh Joo , Hoon Kim Sae , Kang Jong Yeal , Hee Oh Chung , Gong Hyun Sik
Published: April 2010

Background

There are numerous reports on the outcome of rotator cuff repair according to age. However, the results are conflicting and driven by univariate analysis, which is not free of confounding factors.

Hypothesis

Age does not affect the anatomical and functional outcomes of rotator cuff repair.

Study design

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Materials and Methods

Eighty-one men and 96 women underwent rotator cuff repair at one institution and received computed tomography arthrography and functional evaluations at least 1 year after surgery. Various structural and clinical features according to age were evaluated. The correlation was assessed between age and outcomes, with adjustment for the preoperative score.

Results

Patient mean age was 60.0 ± 8.7 years. The mean ages were higher in women, nonsmokers, and those with positive paradoxical abduction, lower level of sports activity, the presence of biceps injury, higher fatty degeneration in cuff muscles, inferior isokinetic muscle performance, bigger tear size, more retraction of tear, and symptomatic acromioclavicular arthritis. For the integrity of the repair, the mean age was higher in the retear group (31.1%) than in the intact group (68.9%)—that is, 63.7 ± 7.5 and 58.4 ± 8.7 years, respectively (P < .001). Only the Constant score exhibited a positive correlation with age after adjustment (P = .009). Univariate regression analysis revealed that a 0.313-point increment of Constant score could be expected for each year of age.

Conclusion

On univariate analysis, older age was related with poor postoperative integrity and better functional improvement in Constant score. Multivariate regression revealed that age was not an independent determinant for anatomical or functional outcome whereas the tear retraction and fatty degeneration of the infraspinatus were independent factors for the integrity of repair and the presence of the paradoxical abduction and abduction torque of the unaffected shoulder for the Constant score.
On Ignoring Missing Data and the Robustness of Trade and Conflict Results
Authors: Skrede Gleditsch Kristian
Published: April 2010

Barbieri, Keshk, and Pollins (2009) introduce a new Correlates of War trade data set and express various opinions on issues related to analyzing data on trade and how these may impact our inferences on the relationship between trade and conflict. Since there are 33 references to my name in their paper and the authors believe the expanded trade that I have generated to be highly problematic, I respond to some of the issues raised, clarify the specific sources of disagreement, and outline my thoughts on how trade data can be improved and best used in empirical analyses. Barbieri et al. (2009) could be interpreted as suggesting that inferences on the pacifying effect of trade on conflict are fragile and sensitive to decisions on the data. However, their paper in my view provides few new empirical results and does not change my own interpretation of the evidence that dyadic trade reduces the risk of conflict.
Maternal Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) Homozygosity and Neonatal Outcome: Follow-Up of 42 Pregnancies at Risk
Authors: Pogliani Laura , Muggiasca Luisa , Arrigoni Luisa , Rossi Edoardo , Zuccotti Gianvincenzo
Published: April 2010

From February 2006 to March 2008, 42 pregnant women homozygous for the 677CT-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) allele were recruited in our obstetrics service for pregnancy at risk. All had antithrombotic prophylaxis with low-dose aspirin and/or low-molecular-weight heparin, supplemented with folic acid. In all, 2 women lost the fetus and 4 were lost to follow-up before delivery. A total of 36 women delivered term infants who all underwent transfontanellar ultrasonography within 24 hours of birth. Six (16.6%) had ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebral lesions. No differences were observed in gestational age, birth weight, or umbilical cord pH between the 30 healthy infants and the 6 with cerebral lesions. Neonatal outcomes were negative in spite of maternal folic acid supplementation and antithrombotic prophylaxis during pregnancy. This suggests a relationship between maternal homozygous mutation in the 677CT-MTHFR allele and neonatal cerebral lesions.
Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of High-Frequency Chest Wall Oscillation in Pediatric Patients With Cerebral Palsy and Neuromuscular Diseases: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Yuan Nanci , Kane Peter , Shelton Kristen , Matel Julie , Becker Brian C. , Moss Richard B.
Published: April 2010

Airway secretions and infections are common in cerebral palsy and neuromuscular diseases. Chest physiotherapy is standard therapy but effort is substantial. High-frequency chest wall oscillation is used in cystic fibrosis but tolerability and safety data in cerebral palsy and neuromuscular disease are limited. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial of high-frequency chest wall oscillation and standard chest physiotherapy was performed in participants with neuromuscular disease or cerebral palsy. Outcome measures included respiratory-related hospitalizations, antibiotic therapy, chest radiographs, and polysomnography. Care-givers were questioned regarding therapy adherence. A total of 28 participants enrolled, 23 completed (12 chest physiotherapy, mean study period 5 months). No adverse outcomes were reported. Adherence to prescribed regimen was higher with high-frequency chest wall oscillation (P = .036). Our data suggest safety, tolerability, and better compliance with high-frequency chest wall oscillation. Improvement in airway clearance may help prevent hospitalizations. Larger controlled trials are required to confirm these results.
Incidence of Papilledema and Obesity in Children Diagnosed With Idiopathic ‘‘Benign’’ Intracranial Hypertension: Case Series and Review
Authors: Faz Gabriel , Butler Ian J. , Koenig Mary Kay
Published: April 2010

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is an important cause of headaches in the pediatric population and can lead to permanent blindness if not diagnosed in a timely manner. The aim of this study was to characterize the incidence of papilledema and obesity in children with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients followed at The University of Texas Houston Pediatric Neurology Clinic. Papilledema was absent in 13 (48%) patients. The majority of our patients were nonobese (70%). Our results are contrary to the current medical practice of associating papilledema and obesity with idiopathic intracranial hypertension in childhood and highlight the importance of revised diagnostic criteria in this population needed to detect and manage this condition.
Implementation of a Pharmacist-Led Antimicrobial Management Team in a Community Teaching Hospital
Authors: Laible Brad R. , Nazir Jawad , Assimacopoulos Aris P. , Schut Jennifer
Published: April 2010

Antimicrobial stewardship is an important process proven to combat antimicrobial resistance, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) have provided guidelines for the provision of antimicrobial stewardship. According to these recommendations, antimicrobial stewardship teams should be multidisciplinary in nature, with core members consisting of an infectious disease physician and an infectious disease–trained clinical pharmacist. Due to limited resources, our institution chose to implement a pharmacist-led antimicrobial stewardship service on 1 medical/surgical ward, with the existing clinical pharmacist and 3 infectious disease physicians as core members. This clinical pharmacist was not trained in infectious disease specialty, and stewardship activities were only one part of his daily activities. Pharmacy residents and students were extensively utilized to assist in the stewardship process. Approximately two thirds of stewardship recommendations were accepted using primarily a prospective audit and feedback approach.
Government Performance Reforms and Nonprofit Human Services: 20 Years in Oregon
Authors: Carlson Janet , Kelley Alison S. , Smith Ken
Published: April 2010

Performance measure reforms have greatly influenced the operations of government entities over the past two decades. This case study investigates the impact of these reforms on nonprofit human service organizations in Oregon, a state with a long history of performance activities. The authors pursue two research questions: (1) what impact did these reforms have on the performance and capacity of the nonprofit entities engaged in human services. and (2) what is the impact of the reported performance on the funding decisions made by the state legislature. The authors observe substantial improvement in the performance of the nonprofit organizations as well as increased capacity for their future performance. Somewhat surprisingly, the authors also observe that funding for programs with common performance measures received large increases in funding, whereas programs with unique measures were cut dramatically. The authors compare outcomes measurement from performance measurement, accounting, and evaluation perspectives and conclude with several suggestions for future research.
Social Justice Through Health Care Financing: The Birth and Signaling of a New Nonprofit Field
Authors: Abzug Rikki , Sabrin Murray
Published: April 2010

This research note explores patterns in the ways that nonprofits use their Web sites to signal their membership in new organizational fields. Over the past 15 years, the Volunteers in Medicine movement has created a new organizational model for providing health care to the underserved, to specifically address some of the most unjust gaps in the U.S. health care fabric. Analyzing regional and time-of-founding variations in the content of organizational Web sites of this population of nonprofit organizations, this study helps to answer questions about the use and spread of organizational signals and symbols of field membership and boundaries.
Reflections on Political Engagement and Voluntary Association Governance
Authors: Schachter Hindy Lauer
Published: April 2010

This article explores the nexus between political engagement and voluntary association member participation with the intention of strengthening the ability of nonprofit organizations to prepare people for active citizenship roles. The article examines the reports of participation declines made my two literatures and some of their suggestions for change. It critiques these suggestions but builds on those of Skocpol and Berry to advocate improving voluntary organization governance by positing democratic governance as a prerequisite for federal tax deductible status.
Social origin and the risks of disadvantage in Denmark and Norway: the early life course of young adults
Authors: Wiborg Øyvind Nicolay , Møberg Rasmus Juul
Published: April 2010

This study uses comparable Danish and Norwegian administrative registers in the period 1992 to 2003 to examine how social origin affects unemployment risks and social assistance reception over the early life course. Denmark and Norway have traditionally been viewed as similar in political, cultural and social aspects. However, labour market regulation in Denmark is more liberal than in Norway. This study therefore serves as a unique comparison of the impact of social origin under varying conditions of labour market regulation. Although the absolute probability of being disadvantaged decreases as individuals progress in age from 20 to 30 and varies between Denmark and Norway, the relative impact of social background is stable and similar. The results offer little support to theories that put a strong emphasis on inter-generational transmission through educational achievements, but rather point toward the importance of ascriptive resources. Generalised estimating equations are used to assess the repeated outcomes.
Not the right job, but a secure one
Authors: Ortiz Luis
Published: April 2010

Recent educational expansion in many OECD countries has renewed interest in over-education. The educational system has often been highlighted as the main source of over-education, whereas the role of the labour market has been neglected. Using European Community Household Panel data on three countries with similar systems of education but different levels of temporary employment, the association between job security and over-education is explored here. The results show that in quite segmented labour markets, where a permanent contract is an especially valuable asset, human capital might be traded off for job security. Over-education thus becomes paradoxically likelier among permanent workers than among temporary ones.
Rethinking ‘mobile work’: boundaries of space, time and social relation in the working lives of mobile hairstylists
Authors: Cohen Rachel Lara
Published: April 2010

This article investigates the relationship between spatial mobility and the labour process, developing a typology of ‘mobile work’. Working while mobile is a largely white-collar (and well researched) phenomenon whereas mobility as work and mobility for work involve more diverse occupations and have been omitted from sociological analysis of mobile work. The article explores the range of work involving spatial mobility before focusing on a hitherto unexamined form of mobility for work, mobile hairstyling. Relationships between mobility, employment status and the construction of spatial, social and temporal work-life boundaries are excavated. It is shown that previous arguments linking mobile work with decorporealisation or unboundedness are inadequate, applicable primarily to working while mobile. Other types of mobile work may or may not corrode work-life boundaries; whether they do depends in part on workers’ income security. Data are drawn from the Labour Force Survey and interviews with self-employed mobile hairstylists.
Labour market or labour movement? The union density bias as barrier to labour renewal
Authors: Sullivan Richard
Published: April 2010

Most labour scholars view the unionised share of the labour market, union density, as the movement’s primary source of power. Conversely, social movement scholars usually consider power embedded in disruption, organisational networks, resources, or political opportunities. Although many labour scholars promote ‘social movement unionism’ to reverse labour’s decline, they have largely failed to adopt a thoroughgoing social movement perspective. A sign of this is that union density remains the sacrosanct indicator of organised labour’s success and power. I argue that this density bias has significant analytical implications, leading observers to overlook non-market sources of movement power, to reduce a heterogeneous movement to a single organisational form, and to oversimplify the complex processes of movement organizing. I contend that treating labour explicitly as a social movement rather than implicitly as an agent in a market will open new lines of inquiry that may strengthen analyses of labour’s prospects for renewal.
Labour, organisational rescaling and the politics of production: union renewal in the privatised rail industry
Authors: Cumbers Andrew , MacKinnon Danny , Shaw Jon
Published: April 2010

Researchers are becoming more alert to the importance of geography to union renewal in counteracting the strategies of corporate and state actors. In this article the example of the UK’s rail industry is used to show how privatisation created a new geography of employment relations. Unions responded to the destruction of national collective bargaining and a new fragmented geography of employment relations through organisational restructuring, which, in different ways, was marked by a continuing commitment to a politics of production in connecting grassroots workers to national leaderships. Engaging with the new labour geography, however, the article argues that a further critical element in renewal has been the unions’ ability to rethink their internal geographies and scalar relations to contest change at the level of the workplace.
Organising for what? Where is the debate on the politics of organising?
Authors: Simms Melanie , Holgate Jane
Published: April 2010

Many unions that have adopted ‘new’ organising approaches have tended to see organising as a ‘toolbox’ of practices rather than as having an underpinning political philosophy or objective. Adopting such an approach has left out the fundamental question of what are we1 organising ‘for’? Academics studying these developments have tended to evaluate organising outcomes against whatever objectives unions have set themselves and have not dealt with the question of what organising is and what it is for. It is important to examine the politics and processes underpinning organising activity and to keep in mind these fundamental questions. We (re)examine the political dynamics of organising and argue that there is a need for a more robust notion of power and the centrality of worker self-organisation in organising objectives.
Suicide victim of paraquat poisoning make suitable corneal donor
Authors: Tsai Tsung-Yu , Weng Cheng-Hao , Lin Ja-Liang , Yen Tzung-Hai
Published: April 2010

This report addresses the possibility of expanding transplant corneal donor pool by inclusion of more patients who have suffered poisoning with paraquat pre-mortem. A 27-year-old depressed man committed suicide by ingesting 50 mL of 24% paraquat (Gramoxone, Syngenta, Taiwan). He was treated aggressively with gastric lavage, with large amounts of normal saline, followed by infusion of activated charcoal and magnesium citrate. Blood paraquat level was 1.90 μg/mL. Charcoal hemoperfusion was performed for 8 hours using a charcoal-containing dialysis machine. Furthermore, pulse therapies of cyclophosphamide (15 mg/kg/day for 2 days) and methylprednisolone (1 g/day for 3 days) were administered, followed by dexamethasone (20 mg/day for 14 days). Methylprednisolone pulse therapy was repeated since PaO2on the 15th day of poisoning was <60 mm Hg. Chest radiography demonstrated diffuse ground glass opacities of both lungs, with thickening of the intralobular interstitium, compatible with interstitial pneumonitis. Arterial blood gas found persistent hypoxemia and large alveolar-arterial oxygen tension differences. Respiratory failure developed on the 21st day and he was intubated for mechanical ventilatory support. As the patient expressed his wish for organ donation, the corneas were harvested after expiration on the 22nd day. His corneas were transplanted in two recipients and visual acuities of the recipients were doing well at 6 months after transplantation.
Estimating screening test sensitivity and tumour progression using tumour size and time since previous screening
Authors: Weedon-Fekjær Harald , Tretli Steinar , Aalen Odd O
Published: April 2010

As mammography screening aims to improve the prognosis through earlier detection/treatment, tumour progression and screening test sensitivity (STS) represent key parameters in the evaluation of screening programs. We will here study some methods for estimation of tumour progression and STS, and show how previously used methods can be combined and developed to utilise more of the data available in modern screening programs. Weedon-Fekjær et al. recently suggested a study design using interview data about time since previous screening to estimate tumour progression and STS in a stepwise Markov model. While useful, the approach does not utilise tumour size measurements, nor link tumour progression to tumour size. Hence, we will here propose formulas for estimating tumour progression and STS using a continuous tumour growth model. To estimate tumour progression and STS, tumour growth curves are followed from one screening to the next, and probabilities for all combinations of tumour sizes at repeated screening examinations calculated. Based on the probabilities for screening detection on subsequent screening examinations, maximum likelihood estimates are calculated. Applied to Norwegian data, the new approach gives similar results to previously published results based on interval data, confirming the earlier estimated large variation in tumour growth rates.
EU Defence Integration and Nuclear Weapons: A Common Deterrent for Europe?
Authors: Jasper Ursula , Portela Clara
Published: April 2010

Nuclear weapons remain the unquestioned core of the defence postures of both France and the United Kingdom. At the same time, the European Union is progressively enhancing its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), notably through the establishment of a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Yet, despite evident progress in the CFSP, whose ultimate purpose is to lead to a ‘common defence policy’, EU member-states still deal with nuclear issues on a predominantly national basis. What is the alleged purpose of European nuclear forces? How is the raison d’être of the French and British nuclear deterrents conceptualized against the background of progressing European (defence) integration? This article examines the construction of the rationale of the French and British nuclear forces and their compatibility with the emerging European defence policy, particularly with regard to a hypothetical integration of both arsenals into a common deterrent. Could and should a ‘European nuclear deterrent’ be envisaged as the final stage in the framing of a European defence?
Civil Society and the Transformation of Turkey’s Kurdish Question
Authors: Kaliber Alper , Tocci Nathalie
Published: April 2010

This article explores the multilayered characteristics of civil society involvement in Turkey’s Kurdish question. It examines the role and impact of Turkish and Kurdish civil society organizations (CSOs) in the conflict in terms of securitizing, holding and desecuritizing activities. It presents a comprehensive analysis of the identities, strategies and actions of these CSOs, as well as of the political opportunity structure in which they operate, including time-contingent factors, the domestic institutional and sociopolitical environment, and the involvement of external actors such as the EU. Despite increasing civil society involvement, Turkey’s Kurdish question is still strongly shaped by the nature of the Turkish state and the manner in which it has responded to the Kurdish nationalist challenge. Whereas the specificities of the Turkish state have moulded the Kurdish nationalist challenge, the latter — and particularly the actions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — have further fuelled the securitizing discourse of the Turkish state establishment, fundamentally shaping and constraining the environment in which civil society operates.
CO2 Restrictions and Cargo Throughput Limitations at California Ports: A Closer Look at AB 32 and Port-to-Port Shipping
Authors: Linder Alison J.
Published: April 2010

Port operations generate economic benefits as well as environmental impacts. As climate change gains greater focus, ports must address emissions reduction challenges without sacrificing productivity. In this article, linear modeling of CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels is used to see if the California Greenhouse Gas Solutions Act (Assembly Bill 32) restricts cargo growth by setting targets for emissions reductions. By relating future emissions to cargo growth, this model predicts future CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels for a 4.6% annual increase in cargo and a no-growth scenario. Findings show that even with three emissions reduction measures the target of Assembly Bill 32 cannot be reached without diverting cargo, providing evidence of a direct environmental constraint on port expansion. Using the results of this analysis, options to reduce emissions from ocean-going vessels with less cargo diversions are discussed, including implementation of new technologies and a cap-and-trade system.