bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Randomized trial of two schedules of low‐dose gemtuzumab ozogamicin as induction monotherapy for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia in older patients not considered candidates for intensive chemotherapy. A phase II study of the EORTC and GIMEMA leukaemia groups (AML‐19)
Authors: Amadori Sergio , Suciu Stefan , Selleslag Dominik , Stasi Roberto , Alimena Giuliana , Baila Liliana , Rizzoli Vittorio , Borlenghi Erika , Gaidano Gianluca , Magro Domenico , Torelli Giuseppe , Muus Petra , Venditti Adriano , Cacciola Emma , Lauria Francesco , Vignetti Marco , De Witte Theo
Published: March 2010

This study compared two schedules of low‐dose gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) as induction monotherapy for untreated acute myeloid leukaemia in older patients unfit for intensive chemotherapy, to identify the more promising regimen for further study. Patients were randomized to receive either best supportive care or a course of GO according to one of two schedules: 3 mg/m2 on days 1, 3 and 5 (arm A), or GO 6 mg/m2 on day 1 and 3 mg/m2 on day 8 (arm B). Primary endpoint was the rate of disease non‐progression (DnP), defined as the proportion of patients either achieving a response or maintaining a stable disease following GO induction in each arm. Fifty‐six patients were randomized in the two GO arms (A, n = 29; B, n = 27). The rate of DnP was 38% [90% confidence interval (CI), 23–55] in arm A, and 63% (90% CI, 45–78) in arm B. Peripheral cytopenias were the most common adverse events for both regimens. The all‐cause early mortality rate was 14% in arm A and 11% in arm B. The day 1 + 8 schedule, which was associated with the highest rate of DnP, met the statistical criteria to be selected as the preferred regimen for phase III comparison with best supportive care.
The impact of a complex care clinic in a children's hospital
Authors: Cohen E. , Friedman J. N. , Mahant S. , Adams S. , Jovcevska V. , Rosenbaum P.
Published: March 2010

Background  The number of medically complex and fragile children (MCFC) cared for in children's hospitals is growing, necessitating the need for optimal care co‐ordination. The purpose of this study was to describe the impact of a nurse practitioner/paediatrician‐run complex care clinic in a tertiary care hospital on healthcare utilization, parental and primary care provider (PCP) perceptions of care and parental quality of life.

Methods  MCFC and their parents were recruited for ambulatory follow‐up by the hospital team to complement care provided by the PCP in this mixed methods single centre pre‐ or post‐evaluative study. Parents participated in semi‐structured interviews within 48 h of discharge; further data were collected at 6 and 12 months. Healthcare utilization was compared with equal time periods pre‐enrolment. Parental health was assessed with the SF‐36; parental perceptions of care were assessed using the Larsen's Client Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Measure of Processes of Care; PCPs completed a questionnaire at 12 months. Parental and PCP comments were elicited. Comparisons were made with baseline data.

Results  Twenty‐six children and their parental caregivers attended the complex care clinic. The number of days that children were admitted to hospital decreased from a median of 43 to 15 days, and outpatient visits increased from 2 to 8. Mean standardized scores on the SF‐36 increased (improved) for three domains related to mental health. A total of 24 PCPs responded to the questionnaire (92% response); most found the clinic helpful for MCFC and their families. Parents reported improvements in continuity of care, family‐centredness of care, comprehensiveness and thoroughness of care, but still experienced frustrations with access to services and miscommunication with the team.

Conclusion  A collaborative medical home focused on integrating community‐ and hospital‐based services for MCFC is a promising service delivery model for future controlled evaluative studies.
The Lifestyle Behaviour Checklist: evaluation of the factor structure
Authors: West F. , Morawska A. , Joughin K.
Published: March 2010

Objective  Childhood overweight and obesity have been identified as a significant global health problem, and have multiple health and socio‐emotional sequelae. The family context and parenting behaviours in particular play an important role in childhood overweight and obesity; however, limited research has explored the relationship between parenting and child obesity. The aim of this research was to refine the content of a tool designed to assess child lifestyle behaviour problems and parents' confidence in managing these behaviours.

Design  Content revisions of the Lifestyle Behaviour Checklist (LBC) were undertaken, and the psychometric properties were examined.

Subjects  One hundred and fifty‐six parents of an overweight or obese child completed the LBC, as well as questionnaires regarding child behaviour in general and parenting practices.

Results  The results of this study support the validity of the revised LBC as a measure of parental concerns about weight‐related problem behaviour, and provide evidence for a four‐factor structure and strong internal consistency.
International diagnostic protocols for regulated plant pests
Authors: Clover G. , Hammons S. , Unger J.‐G.
Published: March 2010

The development and use of international standards for phytosanitary measures provides a framework for establishing actions to protect plant health that are harmonized and science‐based. Standards for diagnostic processes are being developed to harmonize detection and identification procedures to enable safe movement and trade of plants and plant products. The aim is to increase the transparency of diagnostic processes and to foster trust and mutual recognition of test results. Diagnostic protocols may also assist in dispute resolution between trading partners and contribute to technical assistance programmes. The Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in 2003 identified the development of international standards for diagnostic procedures for regulated pests as a priority. An ongoing ‘Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols’ was established in 2004 to manage the development of protocols for such pests. The panel was involved in the development of a standard that clarifies the purpose and use of international diagnostic protocols and describes the requirements for them and their development. After consultation the ‘Diagnostic Protocols for Regulated Pests’ standard (ISPM No. 27) was adopted in 2006 by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures. Draft diagnostic protocols are in development for over 30 pests, and a draft protocol for Thrips palmi has been sent for international consultation.
A high‐density random‐oligonucleotide genome microarray for universal diagnostics
Authors: Frey J. E. , Pasquer F. , Pelludat C. , Duffy B.
Published: March 2010

Microarrays offer virtually unlimited diagnostics capability, and have already been developed into diagnostic chips for many different plant pests. The full capacity of such chips, however, has lagged far behind their full potential. The main reason for this is that current chip design relies on a priori genetic information for target organisms and on a consensus on the genetic sequences to be used in particular organism groups. Such information is often unavailable and laborious to obtain. Thus, broad‐application diagnostic microarrays have been limited to narrow organism groups focused on Genera of pests/pathogens or those affecting individual host crops, without applicability for simultaneous detection of diverse pests affecting many crops. This paper describes the development of a diagnostic microarray platform that has universal application based on genomic fingerprinting of any organism without a need for a priori sequence information. Taxon‐specific hybridization patterns are obtained by unique hybridisation of genomic DNA to 100s–1000s of short random oligonucleotide probes. Taxon identification is then achieved by comparison of hybridisation patterns from an unknown sample against a reference‐pattern database. Using bacteria as a model pathogen group, these methods deliver highly reproducible hybridisation patterns with high resolution power and enable discrimination at the species and subspecies level.
Nurses’ perceptions of individualized care
Authors: Suhonen Riitta , Gustafsson Marja‐Liisa , Katajisto Jouko , Välimäki Maritta , Leino‐Kilpi Helena
Published: March 2010

suhonen r., gustafsson m.‐l., katajisto j., välimäki m. & leino‐kilpi h. (2010) Nurses’ perceptions of individualized care. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(5), 1035–1046.

Title.  Nurses’ perceptions of individualized care.

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study of nurses’ perceptions of individualized care, the factors associated with these perceptions, and nurses’ perceptions of the provision of individualized care in different types of healthcare organization.

Background.  Although individualized care has been an internationally‐challenging and long‐standing research topic in nursing, the current literature on individualized care from the perspective of nurses is limited.

Methods.  A cross‐sectional, descriptive and exploratory design using a questionnaire (Individualised Care Scale–Nurse) was employed to survey a stratified sample of 544 nurses (response rate 59%) working as Registered or Enrolled Nurses in one hospital district in Finland in 2008. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (General Linear Model, one‐way analysis of variance) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for reliability analysis.

Results.  Nurses perceived that they supported patient individuality well and that the care they provided took into account patient individuality. Based on the General Linear Model, nurses’ background variables were not associated with their perceptions of individualized care delivery. However, between‐organization differences were found in all study variables: mental health ward nurses had the most positive perceptions, and nurses working in primary health centre long‐term care wards the lowest.

Conclusion.  Healthcare organizations and work environments need to be evaluated as they may have an influence on individualized care provision. The Individualised Care Nurse instrument is sensitive to healthcare working environments and can be used in evaluating nurses’ perceptions of individualized care.
Socio‐demographic factors related to functional limitations and care dependency among older Egyptians
Authors: Boggatz Thomas , Farid Tamer , Mohammedin Ahmed , Dijkstra Ate , Lohrmann Christa , Dassen Theo
Published: March 2010

boggatz t., farid t., mohammedin a., dijkstra a., lohrmann c. & dassen t. (2010) Socio‐demographic factors related to functional limitations and care dependency among older Egyptians. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(5), 1047–1058.

Title.  Socio‐demographic factors related to functional limitations and care dependency among older Egyptians.

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study determining the relationship of socio‐demographic factors to functional limitations and care dependency among older care recipients and non‐care recipients in Egypt.

Background.  The population is ageing in Egypt and age‐related functional limitations are increasing. Age and gender influence this phenomenon, but its relationship to socio‐economic status has not yet been demonstrated for Egypt. Functional limitations are an antecedent to care dependency, which also may be associated with these socio‐demographic factors.

Method.  A cross‐sectional study with a two‐group comparative design was conducted in Greater Cairo. The sample was composed of 267 non‐care recipients and 344 care recipients. Path analysis was used to determine the relationship between variables. Age, gender and acceptance of care were covariates in the multiple regressions. Analyses were conducted separately for care recipients and non‐care recipients.

Results.  Among non‐care recipients, lower socio‐economic status was related to more functional limitations and higher care dependency. This relationship was not found among care recipients.

Conclusion.  Older persons from low income groups are more likely to become care dependent but are less able to pay for required care. Currently, untrained volunteer groups of religious organizations try to support these older people in the poorer strata of Egyptian society. Training in the basics of care might help to make their work more effective.
NOD2/CARD15 genotype, cardiovascular disease and cancer in 43 600 individuals from the general population
Authors: Yazdanyar S. , Nordestgaard B. G.
Published: March 2010

Abstract.  Yazdanyar S, Nordestgaard BG (Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, University of Copenhagen; and Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, University of Copenhagen; Herlev, Denmark). NOD2/CARD15 genotype, cardiovascular disease and cancer in 43 600 individuals from the general population. J Intern Med 2010; 268: 162–170.

Objectives.  The NOD2/CARD15 gene is involved in the innate immune response, and thus in inflammation. Three polymorphisms in this gene (Arg702Trp rs2066844, Gly908Arg rs2066845 and Leu1007fsinsC rs5743293) have been associated with increased risk of the inflammatory bowel disease, the Crohn’s disease. We tested whether these polymorphisms are also associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, in which the innate immune system and inflammation may influence pathogenesis.

Design, setting and subjects.  We genotyped 43 596 white individuals from two large Danish general population cohorts followed for 31 years: the Copenhagen City Heart Study (n = 10 597) and the Copenhagen General Population Study (n = 32 999). We examined the risk of cardiovascular disease (2743 and 3890, respectively, in the two studies) and cancer (2144 and 3241, respectively) by NOD2/CARD15 genotype using Cox and logistic regressions in both studies. To maximize statistical power, the three NOD2/CARD15 genetic variants were analysed together as follows: noncarriers for all three variants, heterozygotes for one of the three variants and homozygotes for one of the three variants pooled with compound heterozygotes for two variants.

Results.  Multifactorially adjusted hazard ratios for cardiovascular disease and cancer in NOD2/CARD15 heterozygotes or homozygotes/compound heterozygotes versus noncarries did not differ from 1.0 in the Copenhagen City Heart Study or in the Copenhagen General Population Study. The corresponding multifactorially adjusted odds ratios likewise did not differ from 1.0 in either study.

Conclusions.  The NOD2/CARD15 Arg702Trp, Gly908Arg and Leu1007fsinsC polymorphisms were not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer in the Danish general population.
Can small wildlife conservancies maintain genetically stable populations of large mammals? Evidence for increased genetic drift in geographically restricted populations of Cape buffalo in East Africa
Authors: HELLER R. , OKELLO J. B. A. , SIEGISMUND H.
Published: March 2010

The Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) is one of the dominant and most widespread herbivores in sub‐Saharan Africa. High levels of genetic diversity and exceptionally low levels of population differentiation have been found in the Cape buffalo compared to other African savannah ungulates. Patterns of genetic variation reveal large effective population sizes and indicate that Cape buffalos have historically been interbreeding across considerable distances. Throughout much of its range, the Cape buffalo is now largely confined to protected areas due to habitat fragmentation and increasing human population densities, possibly resulting in genetic erosion. Ten buffalo populations in Kenya and Uganda were examined using seventeen microsatellite markers to assess the regional genetic structure and the effect of protected area size on measures of genetic diversity. Two nested levels of genetic structure were identified: a higher level partitioning populations into two clusters separated by the Victoria Nile and a lower level distinguishing seven genetic clusters, each defined by one or two study populations. Although relatively small geographic distances separate most of the study populations, the level of genetic differentiation found here is comparable to that among pan‐African populations. Overall, correlations between conservancy area and indices of genetic diversity suggest buffalo populations inhabiting small parks are showing signs of genetic erosion, stressing the need for more active management of such populations. Our findings raise concerns about the future of other African savannah ungulates with lower population sizes and inferior dispersal capabilities compared with the buffalo.
Reliable Information Content and Ontogenetic Shift in Begging Calls of Grey Warbler Nestlings
Authors: Anderson Michael G. , Brunton Dianne H. , Hauber Mark E.
Published: March 2010

The most critical assumption of communication models regarding parent–offspring conflict is that food solicitation displays of genetic offspring are honest signals to elicit beneficial parental care. A critical requirement of honesty is the reliable change of perceivable aspects of begging calls with physiological needs. We experimentally tested whether and how the acoustic structure and begging call rate of individual Grey WarblerGerygone igatanestlings change with hunger level and age. We also examined a rarely documented component of chick begging calls, namely the temporal dynamics of acoustic modulation after nestlings heard parental feeding calls. Begging call structure narrowed in frequency range and, surprisingly, decreased in amplitude as chick hunger levels increased. We also found that begging calls changed with chick age, with the frequency increasing and the duration decreasing for older chicks. These results indicate that the acoustic properties of nestling Grey Warbler begging calls are complex and may be used to signal several aspects of nestling traits, including hunger level and age (or size, a correlate of age). Overall, begging calls of Grey Warbler chicks appear to be honest, implying that parents are likely to benefit from relying on the acoustic features of their progeny’s calls which predict chick need. Our results have important implications regarding the reliability and information content of nestling solicitation signals for the brood parasite shining cuckooChrysococcyx lucidusexploiting Grey Warbler parental care, in that these begging‐call mimetic specialist cuckoos might also need to match closely the dynamics of acoustic features of their host chicks’ calls.
Morphological characters, inheritance and response to exogenous hormones of a cotton super‐dwarf mutant of Gossypium hirsutum
Authors: Zhang C. , Sun J.‐L. , Jia Y.‐H. , Wang J. , Xu Z.‐J. , Du X.‐M.
Published: March 2010

With 2 figures and 4 tables

A novel super‐dwarf mutant, named AS98, was discovered from an interspecific hybrid in 1998. Compared to the normal line LHF10W99, plant height and internode length were significantly shorter in AS98, but it had only slightly (3–5%) fewer internodes. Therefore, the shorter plant height was the result of shorter internodal length. AS98 was crossed with LHF10W99, and the F1, F2, BC1, and BC2 populations were used for genetic analysis of the dwarf trait. The results showed that the trait was controlled by a single incomplete‐dominant gene. Exogenous application of gibberellin acid (GA3), brassinosteroid and indol acetic acid showed a significant response to GA3, which could restore plant height in AS98. The results thus provide a basis for utilizing the dwarf trait in breeding and studying the biosynthesis of GA or signal transduction in cotton.
Accessory olfactory bulb function is modulated by input from the main olfactory epithelium
Authors: Slotnick Burton , Restrepo Diego , Schellinck Heather , Archbold Georgina , Price Stephen , Lin Weihong
Published: March 2010

Although it is now established that sensory neurons in both the main olfactory epithelium and the vomeronasal organ may be activated by both general and pheromonal odorants, it remains unclear what initiates sampling by the vomeronasal organ. Anterograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin–horseradish peroxidase was used to determine that adequate intranasal syringing with zinc sulfate interrupted all inputs to the main olfactory bulb but left intact those to the accessory olfactory bulb. Adult male treated mice were frankly anosmic when tested with pheromonal and non‐pheromonal odors and failed to engage in aggressive behavior. Treated juvenile females failed to show puberty acceleration subsequent to exposure to bedding from adult males. Activation of the immediate early gene c‐Fos and electrovomeronasogram recording confirmed the integrity of the vomeronasal system in zinc sulfate‐treated mice. These results support the hypothesis that odor detection by the main olfactory epithelium is required to initiate sampling by the vomeronasal system.
Responses to cholecystokinin in the ventromedial nucleus of the rat hypothalamus in vivo
Authors: Sabatier Nancy , Leng Gareth
Published: March 2010

The peptide cholecystokinin (CCK) is a short‐term satiety signal released from the gastrointestinal tract during food intake. From the periphery, CCK signalling travels via the vagus nerve to reach the brainstem from which it is relayed higher into the brain. The hypothalamus is a key integrator of appetite‐related stimuli and the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) is thought to have an important role in the regulation of satiety. We investigated the effect of intravenous injections of CCK on the spontaneous firing activity of single VMN neurons in urethane‐anaesthetised rats in vivo. We found that the predominant effect of CCK on the electrical activity in the VMN is inhibitory. We analysed the responses to CCK according to electrophysiologically distinct subpopulations of VMN neurons and found that four of these VMN subpopulations were inhibited by CCK, while five were not significantly affected. Finally, CCK‐induced inhibitory response in VMN neurons was not altered by pre‐administration of intravenous leptin.
Phantom limb pain in cancer‐related pediatric amputees: recent experience at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Authors: Burgoyne L , Kaddoum R , Pereiras L
Published: March 2010

The purpose of this retrospective study in children and young adults having cancer‐related amputation was to examine the incidence and factors associated with phantom limb pain. Of the 27 patients studied, most had osteosarcoma (59.3%), followed by the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (14.8%). During the year following amputation, 70.4% of patients had experienced phantom limb pain at some time. After 1 year, though, only 8.7% still had phantom limb pain.

Patients 18 and older were somewhat more likely to have phantom limb pain after 1 year (P = 0.060). There was no statistically significant difference in the number of patients who had phantom limb pain between the groups that did and did not have pre‐amputation pain, but the patients with pre‐amputation pain tended to have higher rates of moderate or severe pain.
The effect of nutrient deposition on bacterial communities in Arctic tundra soil
Authors: Campbell Barbara J. , Polson Shawn W. , Hanson Thomas E. , Mack Michelle C. , Schuur Edward A. G.
Published: March 2010

The microbial communities of high‐latitude ecosystems are expected to experience rapid changes over the next century due to climate warming and increased deposition of reactive nitrogen, changes that will likely affect microbial community structure and function. In moist acidic tundra (MAT) soils on the North Slope of the Brooks Range, Alaska, substantial losses of C and N were previously observed after long‐term nutrient additions. To analyse the role of microbial communities in these losses, we utilized 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing coupled with community‐level physiological profiling to describe changes in MAT bacterial communities after short‐ and long‐term nutrient fertilization in four sets of paired control and fertilized MAT soil samples. Bacterial diversity was lower in long‐term fertilized plots. The Acidobacteria were one of the most abundant phyla in all soils and distinct differences were noted in the distributions of Acidobacteria subgroups between mineral and organic soil layers that were also affected by fertilization. In addition, Alpha‐ and Gammaproteobacteria were more abundant in long‐term fertilized samples compared with control soils. The dramatic increase in sequences within the Gammaproteobacteria identified as Dyella spp. (order Xanthomonadales) in the long‐term fertilized samples was confirmed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in several samples. Long‐term fertilization was also correlated with shifts in the utilization of specific substrates by microbes present in the soils. The combined data indicate that long‐term fertilization resulted in a significant change in microbial community structure and function linked to changes in carbon and nitrogen availability and shifts in above‐ground plant communities.
PacC in the nematophagous fungus Clonostachys rosea controls virulence to nematodes
Authors: Zou Cheng‐Gang , Tu Hui‐Hui , Liu Xian‐Yong , Tao Nan , Zhang Ke‐Qin
Published: March 2010

Nematophagous fungi are commonly used as biological control agents of plant and animal parasitic nematodes. However, relatively little is known of the environmental attributes conferring pathogenicity in these fungi. In this report, we investigated the role of PacC‐mediated pH response in the pathogenesis of the nematophagous fungus Clonostachys rosea. We identified a pacC orthologue from this fungus and found that its transcript was elevated in C. rosea during the early stage of its infection of nematode. Disruption of pacC resulted in slowed growth at alkaline pH, altered filamentation, reduced conidiation and attenuated virulence to nematodes. The expression of an extracellular serine protease PrC, a putative virulence factor, was downregulated in the pacC mutants. The PrC transcript levels were significantly higher under alkaline growth conditions than under acidic growth conditions. Promoter activity analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated that the regulation of PrC by pH via the PacC pathway occurred at the transcriptional level. In conclusion, PacC functions as a positive regulator of virulence to nematodes in C. rosea.
THE THEORY OF INTERSTELLAR TRADE
Authors: KRUGMAN PAUL
Published: March 2010

This article extends interplanetary trade theory to an interstellar setting. It is chiefly concerned with the following question: how should interest charges on goods in transit be computed when the goods travel at close to the speed of light? This is a problem because the time taken in transit will appear less to an observer traveling with the goods than to a stationary observer. A solution is derived from economic theory, and two useless but true theorems are proved. (JEL F10, F30)
Events and event identity: under‐explored topics in nursing
Authors: Lipscomb Martin
Published: March 2010

Theoretic interest in the nature of events and event identity is apparent across a wide range of fields. However, this interest has not yet made itself known in nursing. In this paper, it is asserted that nurse theoreticians and researchers should consider the problematic of events and event identity. It is suggested that engagement with these issues is important because the manner in which this component of explanation is integrated into argument has concrete implications for our understanding of healthcare practice. Indeed, refusal to engage with such issues may jeopardize explanatory coherence.
Qualitative interviewing as measurement
Authors: Paley John
Published: March 2010

The attribution of beliefs and other propositional attitudes is best understood as a form of measurement, however counter‐intuitive this may seem. Measurement theory does not require that the thing measured should be a magnitude, or that the calibration of the measuring instrument should be numerical. It only requires a homomorphism between the represented domain and the representing domain. On this basis, maps measure parts of the world, usually geographical locations, and ‘belief’ statements measure other parts of the world, namely people's aptitudes. Having outlined an argument for this view, I deal with an obvious objection to it: that self‐attribution of belief cannot be an exercise in measurement, because we are all aware, from introspection, that our beliefs have an intrinsically semantic form. Subsequently, I turn to the philosophical and methodological ramifications of the measurement theoretic view. I argue, first, that it undermines at least one version of constructivism and, second, that it provides an effective alternative to the residually Cartesian philosophy that underpins much qualitative research. Like other anti‐Cartesian strategies, belief‐attribution‐as‐measurement implies that the objective world is far more knowable than the subjective one, and that reality is ontologically prior to meaning. I regard this result as both plausible and welcome.
Is there a place for individual subjectivity within a social constructionist epistemology?
Authors: Roy‐Chowdhury Sim
Published: March 2010

The epistemological turn towards social constructionism has become well established within the field of family systemic therapy. Social constructionism has provided therapists with a theoretical rationale for the concentration upon the social context within which individuals and families live their lives. This is a philosophical position that pushes to the margins the positivist premise that individuals have fixed and measurable personalities in favour of a discourse which proposes that the person is encountered differently within different social contexts. Prompted by the growing interest in systemic practice with individuals and by the rediscovery of the psychoanalytic canon within family therapy literature, the adequacy of this position is examined and an attempt is made to open up a space within social constructionist discourse for a theory of individual subjectivity. Findings from a research project are the starting point for this venture. These findings are understood through the lens of psychoanalytic theory, with particular reference to the work of Jacques Lacan.
Fiji's worst natural disaster: the 1931 hurricane and flood
Authors: Yeo Stephen W. , Blong Russell J.
Published: March 2010

At least 225 people in the Fiji Islands died as a result of the 1931 hurricane and flood, representing the largest loss of life from a natural disaster in Fiji's recent history. This paper explores the causes of disaster and the potential for recurrence. The disaster occurred because a rare event surprised hundreds of people—especially recently settled Indian farmers—occupying highly exposed floodplains in north‐west Viti Levu island. The likelihood of a flood disaster of such proportions occurring today has been diminished by changed settlement patterns and building materials; however, a trend towards re‐occupancy of floodplains, sometimes in fragile dwellings, is exposing new generations to flood risks. The contribution of this paper to the global hazards literature is set out in three sections: the ethnicity, gender and age of flood fatalities; the naturalness of disasters; and the merit of choice and constraint as explanations for patterns of vulnerability.
Vulnerability of schools to floods in Nyando River catchment, Kenya
Authors: Ochola Samuel O. , Eitel Bernhard , Olago Daniel O.
Published: March 2010

This paper assesses the vulnerability of schools to floods in the Nyando River catchment (3,600 km2) in western Kenya and identifies measures needed to reduce this vulnerability. It surveys 130 schools in the lower reaches, where flooding is a recurrent phenomenon. Of the primary schools assessed, 40% were vulnerable, 48% were marginally vulnerable and 12% were not vulnerable. Of the secondary schools, 8% were vulnerable, 73% were marginally vulnerable and 19% were not vulnerable. Vulnerability to floods is due to a lack of funds, poor building standards, local topography, soil types and inadequate drainage. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), established in 2003, provides financial support to cover school construction and reconstruction costs; CDF Committees are expected to adopt school building standards. In an effort to promote safe and resilient construction and retrofitting to withstand floods, this paper presents vulnerability reduction strategies and recommendations for incorporating minimum standards in the on‐going Primary School Infrastructure Programme Design.
Développement financier, croissance économique et productivité globale des facteurs en Afrique Sub‐saharienne**
Authors: Aka Brou Emmanuel
Published: March 2010

Résumé:  L’article analyse empiriquement les liens développement financier (DF)‐croissance économique, et développement financier‐productivité globale des facteurs (PGF) en Afrique Sub‐saharienne. L’étude est basée sur une approche VAR: tests de cointégration de Johansen et modèles à correction d’erreurs. L’échantillon comprend 22 pays et porte sur la période 1960–2002. Les résultats suggèrent que le DF et la croissance, et le DF et la PGF sont cointégrés, dans plusieurs pays. De plus, dans plusieurs cas, la relation entre le DF et la croissance est caractérisée par une causalité bidirectionnelle au sens de Granger, alors que la relation entre le DF et la PGF est caractérisée par une causalité unidirectionnelle allant du DF vers la PGF. Il apparaît, à quelques exceptions près, que le développement financier stimule la croissance dans les pays où cette croissance est soutenue par le progrès technique. L’implication de nos résultats est que toute mesure qui stimule le développement financier, va stimuler la croissance économique à travers l’accélération du progrès technique.

Abstract:  The paper empirically analyzes the financial development (FD)‐growth nexus, and the financial development‐total factor productivity (TFP) link in sub‐Saharan Africa. The study is based on a VAR approach: Johansen cointegration tests and error correction models. The sample includes 22 countries over the period from 1960 to 2002. Results suggest that FD and economic growth and, FD and TFP are cointegrated for many countries. Moreover, in many cases, the relationship between FD and growth is characterized by bidirectional causality in the Granger sense, whereas the relation between FD and TFP is characterized by a unidirectional causality running from FD to TFP. With few exceptions, it appears that financial development spurs economic growth in countries where that growth is supported by technological progress. The implication of the findings is that any reform that causes betterment in the financial sector will foster economic growth through a sharp increase in technological progress.
Constraints in Access to and Demand for Rural Credit: Evidence from Uganda
Authors: Mpuga Paul
Published: March 2010

Abstract:  Like in most developing countries, Uganda's financial sector is largely underdeveloped and concentrated in urban areas, leaving the majority of the agricultural producers in the rural population with no access. However, agriculture forms a significant part of the lives of the rural households, who constitute about 85 per cent of the population. This study uses the Uganda household surveys conducted in 1992/93 and 1999/2000 to shed some light on access to, and the characteristics of demand for credit among the rural population. We employ the probit, tobit and multinomial logit model estimations and we analyse demand for credit and find that Uganda's credit market is highly segmented. The rural peasant producers are largely served by relatives/friends and self‐help credit associations and their loan applications are less likely to succeed, and of those that do, smaller loans are granted. The educated and the young are more likely to demand credit while women are less likely to, and to apply for smaller loans. Therefore, while government's agricultural modernization policy considers credit as an important input to its success and as the government plans to roll out the ‘wealth‐for‐all’ programme, more needs to be done to get credit to the sector and to ensure that it can be usefully utilized. Programmes to promote skills and vocational training to enhance production and training in appropriate use of credit are also needed.
Small Enterprise Growth and the Rural Investment Climate: Evidence from Tanzania*
Authors: Kinda Tidiane , Loening Josef L.
Published: March 2010

Abstract:  This paper analyzes characteristics of nonfarm enterprises, their employment growth patterns, and constraints in doing business in rural Tanzania. Using unique survey data, we describe a low‐return sector struggling to compete in a challenging business environment. However, about one‐third of rural enterprises are growing fast. Most enterprises engage in agricultural trade. Due to a rapidly growing agricultural sector in recent years, limiting demand‐side constraints, rural enterprise constraints in Tanzania mainly operate from the supply‐side, suggesting that in particular access to finance, road infrastructure and rural cell phone communication is associated with employment growth. A major finding is that subjective and objective measurements of business constraints are broadly comparable. We discuss a number of factors that would help to unleash the full potential of private sector‐led growth in rural areas. Marginal improvements of the rural investment climate matter for growth.
Knowledge Distribution, Embodiment, and Insulation
Authors: Reay Mike
Published: March 2010

This article looks at how parts of a social stock of knowledge can become insulated from each other via their uneven distribution both “horizontally” across time and space, and “vertically” with respect to degrees of embodiment in unconscious habits and routines. It uses ideas from Alfred Schutz, Peter Berger, Thomas Luckmann, Michael Polanyi, and others to argue that this insulation can produce a highly dynamic structuring of knowledge, awareness of which has the potential to help explain the existence of ignorance, misperception, and multiple interpretations in different social settings. This potential is illustrated with examples taken from a study of American economists, showing how an approach considering insulation can improve understanding of at least one currently influential branch of knowledge. The article also suggests briefly how such an approach might augment recent theories of habitual action by accounting for both stability and change, and even help with some longstanding epistemological problems in social theory.
Epistemology Contextualized: Social-Scientific Knowledge in a Postpositivist Era
Authors: Reed Isaac Ariail
Published: March 2010

In the production of knowledge about social life, two social contexts come together: the context of investigation, consisting of the social world of the investigator, and the context of explanation, consisting of the social world of the actors who are the subject of study. The nature of, and relationship between, these contexts is imagined in philosophy; managed, rewarded, and sanctioned in graduate seminars, journal reviews, and tenure cases; and practiced in research. Positivism proposed to produce objective knowledge by suppressing the nonlogical and nonobservational aspects of the contexts. Attacks on positivism disputed the effectiveness and rationality of this strategy. Thus “postpositivism” can be understood as a series of attempts to reconstitute the relation between the contexts as the basis for accurate social knowledge. Two of the most important of these attempts—grounded theory and postmodern anthropology—are considered, and a synthesis, which draws from the insights of cultural sociology, is proposed.
EVALUATING CHANGING RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, USING SPATIAL STATISTICS
Authors: JOHNSTON RON , POULSEN MICHAEL , FORREST JAMES
Published: March 2010

Much work on residential segregation in urban areas has focused on aspatial indices of urban residential segregation, largely ignoring locational aspects of the degree of spatial separation of different ethnic groups. The adoption of measures of global and local spatial autocorrelation has recently been suggested as a way of introducing a more explicit spatial approach to studying segregation. This paper uses two of those measures – Moran's I and Getis and Ord's G*– to explore segregation of the four main ethnic groups in Auckland, New Zealand's largest and most multiethnic city, at the four most recent censuses held there. They are used to identify the clusters of census reporting units (meshblocks) where each group is significantly over‐ and under‐represented, and to chart the degree of segregation within such clusters.
Constructive Resilience: The Bahá’í Response to Oppression
Authors: Karlberg Michael
Published: March 2010

Against the backdrop of dramatic struggles for social change in the twentieth century, characterized by non‐violent opposition and civil disobedience, the Bahá’í community of Iran has pursued a distinctively non‐adversarial approach to social change under conditions of violent oppression. This non‐adversarial model has received little attention in the literature on social change. This article therefore seeks to bring the model into focus by outlining the Bahá’í community’s experience of oppression, by examining the principles that inform their collective response to oppression, by discussing the results of their response, and by deriving from this a set of heuristic insights that can guide further inquiry into the dynamics of peace and change.
Ecotheology and Inculturation: Implications for Theory and Practice in Peace and Conflict Studies
Authors: Hrynkow Christopher , Byrne Sean , Hendzel Matthew
Published: March 2010

This article explores how an application of two concepts from the contextual theology movement can inform practice and theory in the field of peace and conflict studies. We proceed by constructing an ecotheological metaphor and providing an overview of the concept of inculturation. We then use insights from these two reflections to help mold a vital peacebuilding methodology. Moving from abstraction to practice, we conclude by presenting two brief case studies, one from South Africa and the other from Canada, through the lens of this methodology for dynamic peace.
Labor Contract Duration, Indexation, and Wage Adjustment: Interdependence and Inflation Propagation Mechanisms
Authors: CHRISTOFIDES LOUIS N. , PENG AMY CHEN
Published: March 2010

We study simultaneously the three main outcomes of collective bargaining negotiations, namely indexation, non‐indexed wage adjustment, and contract duration. The wage adjustment equation accommodates varying degrees of wage indexation in the current and previous contracts. The elasticity of indexation, a latent variable, deals with both the incidence and intensity of wage indexation and links consistently with the wage equation. Duration, which may change between contracts, is shown to depend on indexed and non‐indexed wage adjustment, obviating the need for expected inflation in the empirical duration equations of earlier work. Complex intra‐ and inter‐contract inflation propagation mechanisms involve expected inflation and inflation uncertainty in an essential way. The model accounts for the secular doubling of contract duration and dramatic decrease in indexation and non‐contingent wage adjustment.
The role of hydrochory in structuring riparian and wetland vegetation
Authors: Nilsson Christer , Brown Rebecca L. , Jansson Roland , Merritt David M.
Published: March 2010

Hydrochory, or the passive dispersal of organisms by water, is an important means of propagule transport, especially for plants. During recent years, knowledge about hydrochory and its ecological consequences has increased considerably and a substantial body of literature has been produced. Here, we review this literature and define the state of the art of the discipline. A substantial proportion of species growing in or near water have propagules (fruits, seeds or vegetative units) able to disperse by water, either floating, submerged in flowing water, or with the help of floating vessels. Hydrochory can enable plants to colonize sites out of reach with other dispersal vectors, but the timing of dispersal and mechanisms of establishment are important for successful establishment. At the population level, hydrochory may increase the effective size and longevity of populations, and control their spatial configuration. Hydrochory is also an important source of species colonizing recruitment‐limited riparian and wetland communities, contributing to maintenance of community species richness. Dispersal by water may even influence community composition in different landscape elements, resulting in landscape‐level patterns. Genetically, hydrochory may reduce spatial aggregation of genetically related individuals, lead to high gene flow among populations, and increase genetic diversity in populations receiving many propagules. Humans have impacted hydrochory in many ways. For example, dams affect hydrochory by reducing peak flows and hence dispersal capacity, altering the timing of dispersal, and by presenting physical barriers to dispersal, with consequences for riverine plant communities. Hydrochory has been inferred to be an important vector for the spread of many invasive species, but there is also the potential for enhancing ecosystem restoration by improving or restoring water dispersal pathways. Climate change may alter the role of hydrochory by modifying the hydrology of water‐bodies as well as conditions for propagule release and plant colonization.
Developing a questionnaire for conducting cross‐national studies –‘Self‐reported health and needs among elderly Iranians and Swedes’
Authors: Emami Azita , Momeni Pardis , Hossein Malek Afzali Ardakan , Maddah Sadat Seyed
Published: March 2010

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 372–379
 
Developing a questionnaire for conducting cross‐national studies –‘Self‐reported health and needs among elderly Iranians and Swedes’

Purpose:  This paper describes the process of developing and validating a questionnaire to investigate self‐reported health and care needs of elders in Iran and Sweden.

Background:  Both developing and developed countries face dilemmas under the current condition of increasing mental and physical health morbidity globally. In order to fully assess and understand the extent of these dilemmas and the global and local factors that alleviate or worsen them, a comparison of the self‐reported health and care needs in a developed and a developing country is required. To these ends, two research teams within a joint international project worked together to construct a questionnaire to measure self‐reported health in elders in Sweden and Iran.

Methods:  The questionnaire was developed according to a multiphase process, during which the researchers tested the validity and reliability of the questionnaire using various methods and modified it based on the test results. First, the concepts to be used were agreed upon and a literature review was conducted. Thereafter, face and content validity was measured in Iran, looking at the initial items that were developed. The questionnaire was then translated and back‐translated. Finally, both teams conducted a test of content validity using target groups in Iran and Sweden, respectively.

Results:  Validity was established by testing face and content validity with the use of expert groups. Reliability was also determined according to two different dimensions, stability and internal consistency. Both methods gave satisfactory results, indicating that the instrument was reliable.

Conclusion:  The questionnaire was thereby developed and titled, ‘Self‐reported health and health‐care needs’. The results confirm validity and reliability of the final version of the questionnaire.