bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stress Distribution in Adhesive Joints with Tapered Laminates — Effect of Tapering Length and Material Properties
Authors: Haghani Reza , Al-Emrani Mohammad , Kliger Robert
Published: August 2009

One major problem when using bonded fiber-reinforced plastic laminates to strengthen and upgrade existing structures is the high stresses in the adhesive layer, in the area close to the end of the laminate, which might govern the failure of the joint. One method that has been put forward as a means of reducing the stress concentration in this area, is to taper the end of the laminate. Although this method has been suggested by some design guidelines, no specific information is usually provided about the tapering type, required tapering length, and limitations associated with this method. A parametric study has been carried out to investigate the effect of tapering length and the material properties of joint constituents, i.e., stiffness of the laminate and adhesive, on stress distribution in adhesive joints using the finite element method. Two different configurations, including normal and reverse tapering, were considered. The results indicated that the effect of tapering on stress distribution is highly dependent on the stiffness of the laminate and the adhesive used in the joint. It was concluded that tapering is more effective in joints with softer laminates and stiffer adhesives. Reverse tapering was found to have more favorable effects on stress reduction in comparison to normal tapering.
Whites’ Concern about Crime: The Effects of Interracial Contact
Authors: Mears Daniel P. , Mancini Christina , Stewart Eric A.
Published: August 2009

In recent decades, crime has emerged as a prominent policy focus nationally. Accordingly, a large literature on public views about crime has developed, one strand of which highlights the racialization of crime as a factor central to public opinion and policy discourse. Drawing on this work and studies on the effects of interracial contact, the authors seek to advance theory and research on public opinion about crime.To this end, they draw on data from an ABC News and Washington Post poll to test competing hypotheses about the effects of interracial friendship among Whites on concern about local and national crime. The results suggest that interracial contact increases concern about crime among urban Whites.The authors discuss the implications of these findings for theory, research, and policy.
The Effect of Weight Reduction Interventions for Persons With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Huisman Sasja D. , De Gucht Véronique , Dusseldorp Elise , Maes Stan
Published: August 2009

Purpose

The main purpose of this article was to investigate the value of a self-regulation approach for weight reduction interventions in patients with type 2 diabetes. In addition, the potentially moderating effect of other intervention characteristics was explored.

Methods

In a meta-analysis of 34 studies, overall effect sizes were calculated for weight and A1C. The focus of the analysis was, however, on the moderating effect of intervention characteristics, especially whether interventions that score high on self-regulation produce stronger effects.

Results

The overall effect sizes (d) for weight loss in the short term (<6 months) were low and even lower in the longer term (>6 months). The overall effect sizes for A1C outcomes were higher and remained stable in the longer term. Interventions that scored high on self-regulation characteristics produced significantly better effects on both weight and A1C outcomes. Furthermore, “goal reformulation” increased the effect on weight outcomes whereas “emotion regulation” increased the effect on A1C. With respect to the other intervention characteristics, only the “inclusion of a patient’s partner or relative” increased the effect on weight loss.

Conclusions

This meta-analysis underlines the importance of a self-regulation approach for weight reduction interventions in diabetes patients, in particular, for A1C outcomes. However, more research is needed to fully understand the relationship among self-regulation, weight, and A1C.
Variations on Stochastic Curtailment in Sequential Mastery Testing
Authors: Finkelman Matthew David
Published: August 2009

In sequential mastery testing (SMT), assessment via computer is used to classify examinees into one of two mutually exclusive categories. Unlike paper-and-pencil tests, SMT has the capability to use variable-length stopping rules. One approach to shortening variable-length tests is stochastic curtailment, which halts examination if the probability of changing classification decisions is low. The estimation of such a probability is therefore a critical component of a stochastically curtailed test. This article examines several variations on stochastic curtailment where the key probability is estimated more aggressively than the standard formulation, resulting in additional savings in average test length (ATL). In two simulation sets, the variations successfully reduced the ATL, and in many cases the average loss, compared with the standard formulation.
Three Approaches to Using Lengthy Ordinal Scales in Structural Equation Models
Authors: Chongming Yang  , Nay Sandra , Hoyle Rick H.
Published: August 2009

Lengthy scales or testlets pose certain challenges for structural equation modeling (SEM) if all the items are included as indicators of a latent construct. Three general approaches to modeling lengthy scales in SEM (parceling, latent scoring, and shortening) have been reviewed and evaluated. A hypothetical population model is simulated containing two exogenous constructs with 14 indicators each and an endogenous construct with four indicators. The simulation generates data sets with varying numbers of response options, two types of distributions, factor loadings ranging from low to high, and sample sizes ranging from small to moderate. The population model is varied to incorporate one of the following: (a) single parcels, (b) various parcels as indicators of two exogenous constructs, (c) latent scores as observed exogenous variables, and (d) four and six individual items as indicators of two exogenous constructs. The dependent variables evaluated are biases in the covariance and partial covariance population parameters. Biases in these parameters are found to be minimal under the following conditions: (a) when parcels of indicators of five response options are used as indicators of two latent exogenous constructs, (b) when latent scores are used as observed variables at sample sizes above 100 and with indicators that are relatively less skewed in the case of dichotomous indicators, and (c) when four or six individual items with high or diverse factor loadings are used as indicators of two exogenous constructs. These findings provide guidelines for resolving the inconsistency of findings from applying various approaches to empirical data.
Stress and Depression Among the Oldest-Old: A Longitudinal Analysis
Authors: Jeon Hae-Sook , Dunkle Ruth E.
Published: August 2009

Stress and psychosocial resources play a crucial role in late-life depression. While most studies focus on predominantly those who are young-old, this study used a sample aged 85 and older.The authors’ study aims to examine three research questions: (1) What are the trajectories of depression and its associated factors such as types of stress and psychosocial resources among the oldest-old? (2) What are the longitudinal relationships among the changes in stress, psychosocial resources, and depressive symptoms? (3) Are the effects of the changes in stress on depression trajectory mediated by changes in psychosocial resources? The study used a convenience sample of 193 community-dwelling elders aged 85 and older with four interviews every six months from 1986 to 1988. Using multilevel modeling analyses, longitudinal results showed that changes in positive life events, daily hassles (worries), and mastery were significantly associated with changes in late-life depression among the oldest-old.
Nancy and Derrida
Authors: Luszczynska Ana
Published: August 2009

The following examination explores the relationship between ethics, writing, finitude, spacing and sharing as they are presented in Nancy’s ‘The Free Voice of Man’ and ‘The Inoperative Community’ and in Derrida’s ‘Poetics and Politics of Witnessing’ and ‘Rams’. The interconnection between these events of being cannot be easily untangled since each moment is radically implicated with the others, defying both foundation and chronology. We are in a realm in which being must rather be understood as a series of singular ruptures or interruptions that precisely and radically turns away from any sense of grounding or order. The discussion of being that follows is contextualized by the notion that there is a discursively inaccessible imperative to all philosophical discourses that ultimately implicates being in and as writing, finitude and spacing. This project thus exposes the manner in which being is fundamentally intertwined with the exhaustion of the philosophical endeavour.
Organizing nature
Authors: Garlick Steve
Published: August 2009

Contemporary understandings of nature, or what is ‘natural’, are increasingly subject to debate in our bio-technological age. In this article, I argue that ideas about nature and biology bear a largely unacknowledged relation to normative ideas about sex in western science and philosophy. By examining the concepts of nature and sex in the writings of prominent 18th-century thinkers such as Kant, Rousseau, Burke and Linnaeus, I try to show that in response to the withdrawal, absence or ‘death’ of God that characterizes the Enlightenment worldview, the desire to control sexual expression emerges as a key feature of scientific, aesthetic and philosophical systems of knowledge. Moreover, this desire shapes the concept of nature in such a way that it becomes amenable to the specifically 19th-century figuration of modern biological science.
The Tactual Profile: Development of a procedure to assess the tactual functioning of children who are blind
Authors: Withagen Ans , Vervloed Mathijs P.J. , Janssen Neeltje M. , Knoors Harry , Verhoeven Ludo
Published: August 2009

The Tactual Profile assesses tactual functioning of children with severe visual impairments between 0 and 16 years of age. The Tactual Profile consists of 430 items, measuring tactile skills required for performing everyday tasks at home and in school. Items are graded according to age level and divided into three domains: tactual sensory, tactual motor and tactual perceptual. The development of the instrument is described and the psychometric properties that were studied reported. Most items had an acceptable difficulty level, and test—retest reliability proved to be good. The analyses for the construct validity showed moderately high correlations between the Tactual Profile and intelligence tests. These correlations were higher for the haptic performance subtests than for the verbal tests. High correlations with other haptic tests were found. However, these associations disappeared after factoring out intelligence, possibly because current methods for examining tactual functioning are strongly affected by intelligence. A summary of work planned in further development of the procedure is provided.
Network 1000 Scotland: A report on the opinions and circumstances of blind and partially sighted people in Scotland
Authors: Cairns Clair , Herriotts Paul , Douglas Graeme , Corcoran Christine , Pavey Sue
Published: August 2009

The report provides an insight into the views, experiences and needs of blind and partially sighted people in Scotland, helping to inform Scottish policy. Direct interviews with 165 blind and partially sighted people in Scotland were undertaken by telephone. The interviews took place as part of a UK-wide data collection exercise in 2006 (Douglas et al., 2006). A range of findings were produced: 52 per cent of the population lived alone; 10 per cent of the population did not know the name of their eye condition; only 25 per cent of the working-age population were in employment; 70 per cent of the population reported having long-term health problems in addition to their visual impairment; and 40 per cent of the population said they would like to leave home more often. The report highlights for the first time the situation facing registered blind and partially sighted people in Scotland at the beginning of the 21st century.
Measuring the Importance of Precursor Steps to Transformative Learning
Authors: Brock Sabra E.
Published: August 2009

Transformative learning has been important in the development of adult education since Jack Mezirow proposed it more than 35 years ago as a theoretical description of the steps learners undergo in changing their worldviews. However, despite much qualitative research, little quantitative study has been made of the incidence of transformative learning or the 10 steps predicted by Mezirow to precede it. This study of 256 undergraduate business school students reports the incidence of transformative learning and each of the 10 precursor steps. The more steps respondents remembered experiencing, the more they also reported transformative learning. The highest incidence of reporting transformative learning was associated with the precursor step of critical reflection, followed by the steps of disorienting dilemmas and trying on new roles. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.
School Psychology in Canada
Authors: Jordan Jason J. , Hindes Yvonne L. , Saklofske Donald H.
Published: August 2009

School psychology in Canada has evolved in recent years from being comprised mainly of “testers” to being regarded as an important partner in promoting the psychological and educational needs of children and supporting the mandates of our educational systems. As well, school psychology is now recognized as an area of specialization within professional psychology, and graduate training programs follow a more prescribed curriculum, especially at the doctoral level. This survey is intended to provide a glimpse at the current practices and profession of Canadian school psychology as viewed by the practitioners.
Examination of the Effects of Self-Modeling on Autobiographical Memory
Authors: Margiano Suzanne G. , Kehle Thomas J. , Bray Melissa A. , Nastasi Bonnie K. , DeWees Kayla
Published: August 2009

The intent of this preliminary study is to explore the effectiveness of self-modeling in altering maladaptive behavior in children through the mediating effect of modifying their autobiographical memories of their dysfunctional behaviors. We proposed that the alteration of inappropriate classroom behaviors afforded by the self-modeling intervention would be accompanied by commensurate alteration in the memory of those behaviors and changes in self-concept. The process of a self-modeling intervention capitalizes on a broad range of experimentally confirmed phenomenal and experimental factors and mechanisms involved in memory alteration, providing sufficient cognitive, perceptual, contextual, semantic, and affective information to closely approximate a “true” memory, and facilitate source misattribution, suggestibility, biases, and thereby, memory alteration/implantation. Results of this study provided evidence of autobiographical memory alteration in narrative recall, recollective experience, and self-concept reports following self-modeling intervention. These initial findings support memory alteration as a mediating factor in eliciting behavior change through self-modeling intervention. However, this study should be replicated and expanded to definitively build the research on the relationship between malleability of memory relative to positive behavior changes.
Branched Chain Amino Acids as Adjunctive Therapy to Ketogenic Diet in Epilepsy: Pilot Study and Hypothesis
Authors: Evangeliou Athanasios , Spilioti Martha , Doulioglou Vai , Kalaidopoulou Panagiota , Ilias Anestis , Skarpalezou Astrinia , Katsanika Irini , Kalamitsou Serafia , Vasilaki Konstantina , Chatziioanidis Ilias , Garganis Kiriakos , Pavlou Evangelos , Varlamis Sotirios , Nikolaidis Nikolaos
Published: August 2009

A pilot prospective follow-up study of the role of the branched chain amino acids as additional therapy to the ketogenic diet was carried out in 17 children, aged between 2 and 7 years, with refractory epilepsy. All of these patients were on the ketogenic diet; none of them was seizure free, while only 13 had more or less benefited from the diet. The addition of branched chain amino acids induced a 100% seizure reduction in 3 patients, while a 50% to 90% reduction was noticed in 5. Moreover, in all of the patients, no reduction in ketosis was recorded despite the change in the fat-to-protein ratio from 4:1 to 2.5:1. Although our data are preliminary, we suggest that branched chain amino acids may increase the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet and the diet could be more easily tolerated by the patients because of the change in the ratio of fat to protein.
The Effect of Teacher Certification on Middle Grades Achievement in an Urban District
Authors: Curran Neild Ruth , Nash Farley-Ripple Elizabeth , Byrnes Vaughan
Published: August 2009

Fewer than 20 states require middle grades certification; in most states, credentials overlap so that both elementary and secondary certified teachers may teach in the middle grades. Moreover, in many urban districts, getting teachers for the middle grades is a challenge. Despite this crazy-quilt of certifications and a growing body of work on teacher qualifications, there have been few studies that examine the teachers’ impact on learning in the middle grades. This paper uses a data set from an urban district to estimate the impact of different certifications (and lack of certification) on middle-grades students’ learning gains in mathematics and science. In mathematics, we find that students with elementary- and secondary-certified teachers outscore those with uncertified teachers and those who are certified in special education. Especially strong effects are seen in science, where students with secondary science-certified teachers substantially outscore those with any other kind of teacher.
Researching literary reading as social practice
Authors: Allington Daniel , Swann Joan
Published: August 2009

This article first discusses ‘the reader’ as generally conceived within literary studies (including stylistics), grounding its claims with an empirical analysis of articles published in Language and Literature from 2004 to 2008. It then surveys the many ways in which real readers have been empirically investigated within cultural studies, the history of reading, and cultural sociology. Lastly, it introduces the remaining papers in this special issue as contributions to the study of language and literature.
‘Folk stylistics’ and the history of reading: a discussion of method
Authors: Halsey Katie
Published: August 2009

The Reading Experience Database 1450—1945 contains more than 25,000 pieces of evidence about reading habits and practices over five centuries, and of these, more than 1500 directly discuss the literary style of the works read, while others make indirect comments on style. This evidence shows literary critics and common readers alike commenting on issues of ‘good’ or ‘imitable’ style; describing how easy the work is to read aloud, recording their impressions of the ‘morality’ of the style; identifying anonymous authors by their style; and making literary judgements on the basis of style. By tracing these remarks over a long historical period (1450 to 1945), we can reconstruct the prevailing stylistic concerns of individual readers and communities of readers, and test grand historical or literary narratives against the everyday experiences of common readers. This article focuses on the period 1800—1945, and considers the ways in which the historicist and evidence-based methods of the new sub-discipline of the history of reading might be used to complement traditional stylistic analyses and methods.
Avid versus struggling readers: co-construed pupil identities in school booktalk
Authors: Eriksson Barajas Katarina , Aronsson Karin
Published: August 2009

In the present article, we argue for a combination of reader reception studies and discursive psychology that we would like to call discursive reception studies: that is, discursive-psychological analyses of reader reception data. Such approaches provide possibilities to analyse the role of social interaction in the co-construction of the reading of a given book (or talk on a film or other reader reception data). Drawing on detailed analyses of video-recorded teacher-led booktalk sessions in grades 4—7, pupils’ self presentations and other types of co-construed categorizations of readers are examined and discussed in relation to the pupils’ and teachers’ co-construction of two contrasting categories of reader positions: avid readers ( bokslukare ; literally, book-devourers), on the one hand, and struggling readers , on the other. These categorizations in turn involve two different sets of continua in terms of the participants’ (pupils’) spontaneous positionings: one based on motivation (willing versus unwilling readers) and one based on reading speed (fast versus slow readers). Both sets of contrasting categories involve implicit local hierarchies, yet these two continua do not necessarily overlap. An important finding is that the position of a fast reader does not imply the position of a book-lover. Through detailed examinations of the participants’ co-construed local hierarchies in booktalk, this study documents ways in which discursive reception studies may contribute to a deeper understanding of reading as a situated social practice. Our findings have implications for teacher training, with respect to the promotion of literary reading among children.
Reading race in Small Island: discourse deviation, schemata and the textual encounter
Authors: Lang Anouk
Published: August 2009

This article uses the work of Cook and Semino on discourse deviation to investigate the schemata — the existing cognitive frameworks — that readers bring to their encounters with texts. It aims to challenge the tendency within some strands of discourse analysis and literary theory to ignore empirical readers and to focus on the effects of texts on readers while neglecting the role played by readerly agency. The analysis centres on a discussion between Liverpool residents with various levels of involvement in Small Island Read 2007: a project encouraging residents of the city to read Andrea Levy’s novel Small Island as part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Slave Trade Abolition Bill. In this discussion, hedging around lexical items connected to ethnicity and slavery suggests that these readers came to Small Island with a marked reluctance to discuss these topics. When coupled with corroborating data from online questionnaire responses on the topic of ethnicity, this finding is a significant one for understanding the effect of Small Island on its readers, as it offers a degree of contextualization missing from extant claims that readers have been transformed in some way by the novel, and brings empirical depth to discussions which have so far been predominantly theoretical. As an exploratory study, the analysis also offers a model for other investigations into the effects of reading which, I argue, would be enhanced by considering what readers bring to — as well as take from — their textual encounters.
Editorial
Authors: Kumar Manasi , Burman Erica
Published: August 2009

We welcome readers to the first special issue (11.1) of the Journal of Health Management. We hope the readers find the articles and various reviews enriching and provocative, both in terms of the range of ideas and critical approaches addressed. The key theme of this double issue concerns the political limits of mega-development projects such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The primary focus of the articles collected here is to provide an insightful, constructive and in-depth critique of the United Nations (UN) MDGs along with critical deliberations on their short- and long-term implications not only for health management but also for a wide range of issues around development and social change.
What's Millennial about the MDGs? Discursive Boundaries of Public Health in Southeast Asia
Authors: Thiesmeyer Lynn
Published: August 2009

The Millennium Development Goals are framed within the post-war discourses of development that also gave us Basic Human Needs and Human Security. The Goals set out a consideration of the failures of earlier strategies along with an agenda for the accelerated reduction of poverty and its accompanying human insecurities. Though the more critical aspects of the MDG discourse were sorely needed, they also left space for the repetition of earlier top–down development strategies, and, more generally, for a (re)vision and wider implementation of globalised intervention by developed countries into the less-developed. In this discourse developed countries identify needs on the part of the less-developed and then supply these needs. The ‘need’ discourse focussed on here represents inferior public health that requires services, goods and equipment to be provided by developed countries; what it ignores are negative health consequences that can arise from development schemes themselves.
A Case for Intercultural Inquiry and Cognitive Justice in the Internationalisation of HIV/AIDS
Authors: Frizelle K.L.
Published: August 2009

Through the globalisation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), policies and prevention measures related to the epidemic have become increasingly influenced by the knowledge claims of international experts and organisations. This article critically analyses the mechanisms through which international expertise has come to influence the practice of rapid testing within the South African context. Through this analysis the article aims to illustrate the unintended consequences of the process of HIV/AID globalisation and internationalisation. While the article argues that knowledge claims about the pandemic are always produced through an interaction of local and international processes, it contends that these interactions are characterised by inequalities when the experiences of local people and contextual factors are not adequately fed into the process of policy development and implementation. The article concludes by arguing that more intercultural inquiry that prioritises cognitive justice is required if we are to develop more contextually appropriate and effective HIV/AIDS related policies and interventions.
Health Inequality in Resource Poor Environments and the Pursuit of the MDGs
Authors: Assan Joseph K. , Assan Samuel K. , Assan Nicola , Smith Lauren
Published: August 2009

The article examines health inequalities and the impact of changing healthcare provision in rural Indonesia. Traditional medicine is often the only source of medical care for a majority of the population in rural Indonesia. However, the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) requires the provision and implementation of modern healthcare systems. Using case studies from four rural districts in Kaledupa, a remote island in southeast Sulawesi in Indonesia, the study shows that although modern healthcare facilities are present in the sampled island, they seem to be remote with limited access in comparison with the number of traditional practitioners. High costs, cultural beliefs, distrust and distance to modern healthcare facilities appear to be the most common reasons for people opting for traditional healthcare. However, social reconstruction in the perception and provision of care has also led to a gradual disappearance of the traditional healthcare provision. The study calls for policy intervention approaches that are geographically and culturally sensitive as the most pragmatic means towards the attainment of MDG targets for the health sector of Indonesia.
Experience With Electrolyte Levels After Craniotomy for Pediatric Brain Tumors
Authors: Madden Jennifer R. , Dobyns Emily , Handler Michael , Foreman Nicholas K.
Published: August 2009

Children with brain tumors routinely undergo craniotomies for tumor resections. Nurses and nurse practitioners are critical in closely monitoring these patients. Postoperatively, these children may develop inappropriate vasopressin secretion, cerebral salt wasting syndrome, or a combination of both. Inappropriate fluid and electrolyte administration may exacerbate symptoms. Both high and low sodium levels are associated with significant complications. Sodium levels were prospectively observed for 72 hours perioperatively. Overall, 36 patients had 201 serum sodium levels measured over the course of 1 year. Postoperatively, 79 (39%) of the sodium levels were <135 mEq/L or >145 mEq/L. Of these abnormal sodium levels, 3 (1%) were <125 mEq/L and 2 (1%) were >165 mEq/L. All the abnormal sodium levels occurred in patients with suprasellar or hypothalamic lesions. This study suggests that children with resections of suprasellar or hypothalamic tumors need specialist attention in postoperative management of fluid and electrolytes. The nurse is in the ideal role to monitor closely the pediatric brain tumor patient at high risk for abnormal sodium levels.
Competing Motivational Discourses for Weight Loss: Means to Ends and the Nexus of Beauty and Health
Authors: Kwan Samantha
Published: August 2009

Western cultural discourses generally deem fat unhealthy and unattractive, providing strong motivation for body nonconformists to lose weight. Semistructured interviews with 42 overweight and obese participants illuminate how individuals understand health and beauty weight-loss motivations and the relationship between the two. Interviews indicate that health and beauty motivate because they are seen as means to various ends. Specifically, participants aspire to health to fulfill various social roles and to live long, meaningful lives. Moreover, they aspire to conventional beauty ideals hoping that aesthetic conformity will elicit benefits, both psychological and social. Interviews also illustrate an intertwining of discourses in which participants conflate beauty and health in three ways: indicating that depictions of the beauty ideal are depictions of the health ideal; using beauty indicators as health indicators; and employing beauty as a motivator for health goals. This article concludes with a discussion of the health, social, and policy implications of these findings.
“Overeating is Not About the Food”: Women Describe Their Experience of a Yoga Treatment Program for Binge Eating
Authors: McIver Shane , McGartland Michael , O'Halloran Paul
Published: August 2009

As part of a larger mixed-methods study, data from 20 personal journals were analyzed to examine the experience of a 12-week yoga treatment program for binge eating among a sample of 25 women who were obese. Qualitative analysis revealed a positive shift experienced by the women during the program, summarized by a general structural description: disconnection versus connection. Women’s comments suggested that the program appeared to encourage a healthy reconnection to food, as well as the development of physical self-empowerment, through cultivating present-moment awareness. Specifically, women perceived an overall reduction in the quantity of food they consumed, decreased eating speed, and an improvement in food choices throughout the program. The women also reported feeling more connected to and positive about their physical well-being. These evolving outcomes were summarized through two major themes: the way their physicality changed, and the way their food consumption changed over time. Findings provide insights relevant to therapeutic processes that might occur within eating disorder interventions that draw on meditation-based approaches.
A Cooperative Inquiry Into Action Learning and Praxis Development in a Community Nursing Module
Authors: Jenkins Emrys R. , Mabbett Gaynor M. , Surridge Andrea G. , Warring Joanna , Gwynn Elizabeth D.
Published: August 2009

As nurse lecturers we investigated practice development and action learning approaches aimed at enabling postregistration bachelor’s- and master’s-level nursing students (Community Health Studies, Nursing in the Home) to advance practice in the context of policy and professional developments. A patchwork text was used to assess summatively what students achieved (practice change/development) and how this was informed critically, via an extended epistemology. First-person inquiry supplemented by cooperative inquiry postcourse completion (including reflective discussions with 16 students and 16 practice mentors) were used to assist coresearcher constructions of meaning. A relational, tripartite approach to learning and assessment (students’, teachers’, and practice mentors’ collective contributions) depends on continuing reflective attention. Action learning enhances interrelation of experience with dialectic thinking. The patchwork text functions to promote creative writing, evaluative thinking, and praxis development. Role modeling by all, being genuine and not just “talking” genuine, is challenging yet crucial if people are to function as mutual resources for learning.
Professional Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Among Fiji Specialist Trainees: What Are the Implications for Preventing Migration?
Authors: Oman Kimberly M. , Moulds Robert , Usher Kim
Published: August 2009

The migration of doctors from developing countries threatens the health status of the populations left behind. This qualitative study was conducted to explore why an unexpected number of Fiji specialist trainees left the public sector, often to migrate, using a lens of professional satisfaction. Forty seven Fiji doctors, including 36 of 66 who undertook specialist training in Fiji, were interviewed about the factors that led to their own professional satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Three major components of professional satisfaction emerged: professional growth, service, and recognition, with considerable overlap between categories. The aspects of professional dissatisfaction were more varied but could be categorized as the absence or blocking of the elements of professional satisfaction. From the interviews, a professional satisfaction model was developed featuring the three overlapping central elements of satisfaction on a background of an enabling health system. This model might have implications for health systems seeking to retain their workers.
Participatory Action Research: Practical Strategies for Actively Engaging and Maintaining Participation in Immigrant and Refugee Communities
Authors: van der Velde Jeannette , Williamson Deanna L. , Ogilvie Linda D.
Published: August 2009

In this research we examined the processes involved in implementing and maintaining a participatory action research (PAR) project by uncovering how theoretical PAR tenets hold up in the reality of a community-based project addressing immigrants’ and refugees’ mental health needs. Qualitative data from focus groups with these newcomers were analyzed for thematic content. Findings reveal that active participation is seen as the gateway into a PAR project, whereas knowledge attainment and empowerment are the stimuli for continued participation. The data also suggest that newcomers’ motivations to participate in a PAR-oriented project might vary across ethno-cultural groups. Practitioners working in community-based initiatives would do well to appeal to the diversity of motivational factors, while endorsing individual and group strengths.
Research Participation Among Older Adults With Mobility Limitation
Authors: Schlenk Elizabeth A. , Ross Diana , Stilley Carol S. , Dunbar-Jacob Jacqueline , Olshansky Ellen
Published: August 2009

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine reasons for participation in clinical research among older adults with mobility limitation. A purposive sample of 20 men and 20 women aged 70 years or older was recruited. Data were collected by audiotaped telephone interviews using a semistructured interview guide and transcribed verbatim. Participants expect privacy, professionalism by research staff, and respectful treatment. Benefits to protocol adherence include personal education, comparison of their health status with that of others, opportunity to maintain vitality, and altruism. Barriers to protocol adherence are apprehension, in particular a negative impact on their health care, randomization to the control group, and experimental drugs; and inconvenience. Factors promoting study completion are obligation, reciprocity, receipt of test results, health promotion, and socialization. Implications include meeting expectations, providing health education and study results to participants, reducing barriers to participation, and presenting opportunities for interaction with others.
Renal Translocation Carcinoma With Expression of TFEB
Authors: Suárez-Vilela Dimas , Izquierdo-García Francisco , Méndez-Álvarez José Ramón , Miguélez-García Erasmo , Domínguez-Iglesias Francisco
Published: August 2009

The authors describe a case of renal cell carcinoma with t(6; 11) (p21; q12) in a 22-year-old man. The tumor showed typical histological features of this neoplasm with 2 types of cells and hyaline nodules surrounded by small cells. Characteristically, the tumor showed cystic lumina with hyaline-papillary structures inside and in some areas large and irregular intratumoral vessels. On immunohistochemical study, the tumoral cells were positive for melanocytic markers and transcription factor EB, as also for AE1-AE3 and Cam5.2 anticytokeratin antibodies. The expression of epithelial markers in this neoplasm is uncommon, and we think it is an important finding because otherwise, if melanocytic markers such as HMB45 or Melan A are not used, some renal cell carcinomas with the t(6; 11) (p21; q12) may be mistaken for other more common renal cell carcinomas.
Institutional and Development Issues in Integrated Water Resource Management of Saigon River
Authors: Sajor Edsel E. , Minh Thu Nguyen
Published: August 2009

The article focuses on endogenous institutional factors in the water sector and the challenges and opportunities to an alternative integrated management approach in Vietnam, particularly in the context of its political legacy, current development goal, and Doi Moi reforms, using Saigon River as a case study. It investigates three institutional problem areas constituting major constraints to integrated water resources management (IWRM): (a) bureaucratic fragmentation and separatism, (b) top-downism negating multistakeholder participation, and (c) highly centralized administration. It also highlights how the goal of rapid industrialization and economic growth tends to marginalize environmental concerns in policies in water and river management. The authors argue that despite great incompatibilities of the legacy and present features of water-related institutions to IWRM, broader exogenous factors in the country can provide impetus to water institutional changes. These are the currently ongoing reforms of grassroots participation and decentralization as well as the country’s enhanced integration and cooperation with the international community, especially with development donor agencies.
Compensation for the Conversion of Sloping Farmland to Forest in China: A Feasibility Study of Payment Based on Carbon Sink
Authors: Zanxin Wang  , Ying Lu
Published: August 2009

Although China extended the length of compensation for the Upland Conversion Program (UCP), the sustainability of the program after government compensation expires is still a pending problem. This article proposes an alternative scheme of compensation payment based on the carbon sink of the UCP. Taking Yunnan province as an example, this article explores the feasibility of the scheme by comparing the value and opportunity cost of carbon sink. It is found that it is feasible to change the UCP to a carbon offset project if its length is more than 20 years when the discount rate is 7% and the current bid price (Yuan 91.8/ton) for Chinese carbon offset project prevails. The feasibility becomes higher as site productivity or discount rate decreases, or as the project period is prolonged, ceteris paribus. Increase in carbon sink or price can also make a carbon offset project more feasible. Unlike the existing compensation scheme, this proposed scheme can also provide an incentive for plantation management.
The Research Interview as a Dialogical Context for the Production of Social Life and Personal Narratives
Authors: Tanggaard Lene
Published: August 2009

The aim of the present article is to consider the research interview as a dialogical context for the production of social life and personal narratives. It is emphasized that interviews are inevitable, dialogical social events based on repertoires of socially and culturally embedded and constantly changing words and discourses. Rather than viewing the interview as a setting for unfolding an inner and subjective lifestory uninfluenced by the interview setting, it is suggested that the interview is better described as a setting in which dissenting opinion, diverse discourses, and personal narratives are produced through the social, dialogical context of the interview. In this sense, one major objective of qualitative research interviewing is to identify general discursive repertoires in speaking within particular social settings and to fuel public dialogue about research themes beyond the specific interview setting.
Evaluation of a clinical scoring scale to direct early appropriate therapy in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia
Authors: Wirth Scott M , Macaulay Tracy E , Armitstead John A , Steinke Douglas T , Blechner Michael D , Lewis Daniel A
Published: August 2009

Background. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious adverse effect associated with heparin therapy. Current laboratory confirmation for immune mediated HIT often results in false positives and unnecessary treatment, exposing individuals to possible complications. As a result, clinical evaluation has been recommended in conjunction with laboratory testing. We hypothesize that utilization of a clinical scoring scale, the 4T’s, will result in the initial appropriate therapy for suspected HIT.

Methods. This is a retrospective chart review of 108 patients who underwent ELISA testing for HIT at a university hospital. The 4T’s scale was applied, stratifying individuals into low, intermediate, and high-risk categories. Each risk score was compared to the ELISA results to determine if the 4T’s can predict the diagnosis of HIT and result in appropriate management. ELISA optical density scores as well as incidence of adverse events were also compared among risk categories.

Study Results. Individuals with low risk correlate with a negative ELISA compared to intermediate and high-risk individuals (p = 0.01 and p<0.01) and also were significantly more likely to predict institution of appropriate therapy (p<0.01). Median optical density scores were 0.184 (0.046—2.116), 0.226 (0.067—1.887), and 0.476 (0.096—1.309) for low, intermediate, and high 4T scores. Major adverse events include thrombosis and bleeding.

Conclusions. Individuals with low risk were more likely to receive initial, appropriate therapy and were also significantly more likely to have a negative ELISA test result. Individuals with low risk determined by the 4T score therefore may have therapy and serologic testing for HIT withheld.
Chronic Fatigue
Authors: Lasseter Joyce A.
Published: August 2009

Because of the widespread nature of chronic fatigue, health care providers need a common understanding of chronic fatigue to enable effective communication. To aid this understanding a concept analysis was undertaken using a modified version of Rodger’s evolutionary method of concept analysis. The literature review yielded many resources focused on defining fatigue and relating it to many diverse chronic conditions. This article also discusses the differences between chronic fatigue and acute episodes of fatigue. Chronic fatigue is a subjective, unpleasant, changeable, and exhausting experience that adversely affects quality of life. Whereas rest or sleep often relieves acute fatigue, chronic fatigue is unrelenting. Chronic fatigue has multiple antecedents and is a component of a diverse array of chronic diseases.
Technology and Education . . . What If?
Authors: Harris Margaret
Published: August 2009

Whether we like it or not, we now live in a “knowledge-based” economy where workers span several generations and change is the norm. Information is being created at a staggering pace, and corporations have to be ready to adapt in a moment’s notice. If you take a high-growth industry, such as home care and hospice, you see an industry that must continually train workers and create and maintain information storage and distribution. How can home care agencies deal with the challenges of increasing knowledge, high growth, and high turnover?
Firsthand Experience of the Post-Acute Care Demonstration Project
Authors: Jeffrey Karen D.
Published: August 2009

This report describes one agency’s participation in the post—acute care OASIS demonstration project. It provides demographic data on the agency and surrounding areas and a key strategy developed and implemented by the Continuity Assessment Record Evaluation team.
Identifying and Analyzing Extremes: Illustrated by CEOs’ Pay and Performance
Authors: Nystrom Paul C. , Soofi Ehsan S. , Yasai-Ardekani Masoud
Published: August 2009

This article presents statistical methods for identifying outcomes in a given sample that can be inferred as plausible extreme and whether the extremes on two variables are associated. Applications to CEO pay and performance of 50 top-paid CEOs illustrate these methodologies. Thresholds between extremes and nonextremes are found using high probability intervals under the probability distributions that govern sampling variations of the sample extremes. A Bayesian approach is used to compute odds on the association between the extremes of the two variables. The extreme pay—performance analysis of 50 top-paid CEOs reveals astonishing odds in favor of a company being extreme high only on one of the two versus on both variables. The result is considered decisive evidence for a negative association between extreme on CEO pay and extreme on performance among such top-paid CEOs. By contrast, analysis of the nonextreme CEOs yielded no evidence of any association between CEO pay and performance.
Dashboards as a Service
Authors: Pauwels Koen , Ambler Tim , Clark Bruce H. , LaPointe Pat , Reibstein David , Skiera Bernd , Wierenga Berend , Wiesel Thorsten
Published: August 2009

Recent years have seen the introduction of a “marketing dashboard” that brings the firm’s key marketing metrics into a single display. Service firms across industries have created such dashboards either by themselves or together with a dashboard service provider. This article examines the reasons for this development and explains what dashboards are, how to develop them, what drives their adoption, and which academic research is needed to fully exploit their potential. Overcoming the challenges faced in dashboard development and operation provides many opportunities for marketing to exercise a stronger influence on top management decisions. The article outlines five stages of dashboard development and discusses the relationships among demand for dashboards, supply of dashboards, and the implementation process in driving adoption and use of dashboard systems. Key topics for future research include metrics selection, relationships among metrics, and the ultimate question of whether dashboards provide sufficient benefits to justify their adoption.