bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Collaborative Information Literacy by Government
Authors: Kauhanen-Simanainen Anne
Published: September 2005

Information literate governments are able to utilize information widely and effectively. Governments based on democratic principles share ‘empowering information’ with the citizens via upto-date services and publications. Comprehensive literacy by government covers information retrieval, assessment, interpreting, organizing, producing, distributing and sharing processes and skills. Information literacy by government can be assessed by asking: How do governments read their environment? How accessible, usable and readable are government information assets? In Finland governmental information is widely available. Various information professionals offer information services also for decision-making. However, there is a lot to be done. The new tasks emphasize the usability and architecture of information and the sharing of knowledge concerning information. The aim of Collaborative Information Literacy is to change the role of the information professionals.
Nordic Networking: cooperation in Nordic LIS research
Authors: Pharo Nils
Published: September 2005

The article presents organized efforts at cooperation between Nordic library and information science education on PhD level. A short description of the premises for such cooperation is presented. The two most important programmes, called NordIS-Net and Norslis, are presented. In order to analyse the effect of the programmes a small bibliometric study has been performed, which is described in the article. Some conclusions about Nordic cooperation are drawn.
Cooperative Virtual Libraries: training librarians and editors via the Internet
Authors: Babini Dominique
Published: September 2005

The development of virtual libraries that offer Internet users access to full-text documents requires the teamwork of librarians, editors and webmasters. This paper proposes the option of cooperative virtual libraries and describes how the Latin American Social Science Council (Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales – CLACSO) organized a distance training course via the Internet for a group of librarians and editors of eighteen countries of Latin American and the Caribbean, pointing out the factors that must be considered for the organization of courses via the Internet.
Managing the Electronic Collection with Cost per Use Data
Authors: Franklin Brinley
Published: September 2005

This paper reviews some of the early efforts to develop cost per use data for electronic collections and discusses some of the ways libraries, consortia, and publishers currently use unit cost information to make management decisions. Emerging trends in the standardization of electronic usage statistics and concurrent utilization of cost per use data to manage electronic collections hold tremendous potential for libraries and library consortia to increasingly employ reliable cost and use data to support collection development and management decisions.
Images and Sounds in Uruguay
Authors: Sambaìno Samira
Published: September 2005

Offers a vision of the institutions of Uruguay which aim to compile and preserve the audiovisuals that constitute the heritage of the country. The work focuses on the collection and the preservation showing how they work, which are the difficulties and which the advantages. Excellent institutions in this area are considered, standing out by their national reach, such as the ‘Archivo Nacional de la Imagen’ (National Image Archive) and the ‘Museo de la Palabra’ (Word Museum), whose commitment is to compile and conserve still and moving images in the first case, and voice in the second case. The Special Collections Section of the National Library and the Montevideo Photographic Archive are also included.
Efficiency Enhancement of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Device in Pulsed Operation by Synchronous Charge Inversion
Authors: Badel A. , Guyomar D. , Lefeuvre E. , Richard C.
Published: September 2005

This paper presents a new application of the ‘Synchronized Switch Harvesting on Inductor’ (SSHI). This nonlinear technique results in a significant increase of the electromechanical conversion capability of piezoelectric materials. Previous studies have shown the interest of this technique on steady state excited structures equipped with piezoelectric elements where the harvested power may be increased nearly tenfold compared to the standard technique. It is herein demonstrated that this technique is also very effective for pulsed excitation. It is shown that the SSHI technique increases the harvesting process efficiency between 250 and 450%, depending on the electromechanical coupling coefficient of the structure.
On the Effectiveness of Vibration-based Energy Harvesting
Authors: Roundy Shad
Published: September 2005

There has been a significant increase in the research on vibration-based energy harvesting in recent years. Most research is focused on a particular technology, and it is often difficult to compare widely differing designs and approaches to vibration-based energy harvesting. The aim of this study is to provide a general theory that can be used to compare different approaches and designs for vibration-based generators. Estimates of maximum theoretical power density based on a range of commonly occurring vibrations, measured by the author, are presented. Estimates range from 0.5 to 100mW/cm 3for vibrations in the range of 1–10 m/s 2at 50–350 Hz. The theory indicates that, in addition to the parameters of the input vibrations, power output depends on the system coupling coefficient, the quality factor of the device, the mass density of the generator, and the degree to which the electrical load maximizes power transmission. An expression for effectiveness that incorporates all of these factors is developed. The general theory is applied to electromagnetic, piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, and electrostatic transducer technologies. Finally, predictions from the general theory are compared to experimental results from two piezoelectric vibration generator designs.
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting with a Clamped Circular Plate: Experimental Study
Authors: Kim Sunghwan , Clark William W. , Wang Qing-Ming
Published: September 2005

In a companion article, a model for a clamped circular unimorph piezoelectric plate has been developed for the purpose of analyzing the influence of geometric design parameters and electrode configuration on the amount of electrical energy that can be harvested from an applied pressure source. It has been shown that the ratio of layer thickness (piezoelectric layer to substrate layer) and electrode pattern have a significant effect on energy conversion for harvesting. Specifically, the theoretical analysis shows that regrouping of the electrodes (i.e., segmenting the electrode into a specific pattern) can lead to optimized energy harvesting in a clamped circular plate structure. This article provides experimental validation of these results. In this article, three circular plate piezoelectric energy generators (PEGs), one unmodified and two regrouped unimorph PEGs, were used to support the analysis.
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting with a Clamped Circular Plate: Analysis
Authors: Kim Sunghwan , Clark William W. , Wang Qing-Ming
Published: September 2005

Energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials is not a new concept, but its small generation capability has not been attractive for mass energy generation. For this reason, little research has been done on the topic. Recently, increased interest in wearable computer concepts and remote electrical devices has provided motivation for more extensive study of piezoelectric energy harvesting. The theory behind cantilever-type piezoelectric elements is well known, but the transverse moving plate elements, which can be used in energy generation from pressure sources is not yet fully developed. The power generation in a pressure-loaded plate depends on several factors. Among them, the thickness of each layer is important, as is the electrode pattern used. In this article, two clamped circular plate structures, a fully electroded unimorph, and a so-called regrouped electrode unimorph, are modeled. These models are then used to calculate energy generation with varying thickness ratios. The results of this analysis are presented with an eye toward guidelines for design of useful energy harvesting structures.
Enhancing Power Harvesting using a Tuned Auxiliary Structure
Authors: Cornwell P. J. , Goethal J. , Kowko J. , Damianakis M.
Published: September 2005

Future, self-contained sensors and processing units will need onboard, renewable power supplies to be truly autonomous. One way of supplying such power is through energy harvesting, a process by which ambient forms of energy are converted into electricity. One energy harvesting technique involves converting kinetic energy, in the form of vibrations, into electrical energy through the use of piezoelectric materials. This study examines the use of auxiliary structures, consisting of a mechanical fixture and a lead zirconate/lead titanate (PZT) piezoelectric element, which can be attached to any vibrating system. Adjusting various parameters of these structures can maximize the strain induced in the attached PZT element and improve power output.
Optimum Piezoelectric Bending Beam Structures for Energy Harvesting using Shoe Inserts
Authors: Mateu Loreto , Moll Francesc
Published: September 2005

The small amount of power demanded by many present-day electronic devices opens up the possibility to convert part of the energy present in the environment into electrical energy, using several methods. One such method is to use piezoelectric film-bending beams inside a shoe, and use part of the mechanical energy employed during normal walking activity. This study analyzes several bending beam structures suitable for the intended application (shoe inserts and walking-type excitation) and obtains the resulting strain for each type as a function of their geometrical parameters and material properties. As a result, the optimum configuration can be selected.
Modeling, Optimization, and Design of Efficient Initially Curved Piezoceramic Unimorphs for Energy Harvesting Applications
Authors: Yoon Hwan-Sik , Washington Gregory , Danak Amita
Published: September 2005

The piezoceramic, lead zirconate titanate (PZT), is capable of producing large voltages with relatively minimal currents in response to an applied mechanical load when employed in initially curved laminates. This study addresses the issue of optimizing design parameters of a curved PZT unimorph to maximize charge generation due to mechanical loading. A horizontally placed PZT unimorph structure generates surface charge when vertically loaded and the charge can be collected using charge-collecting circuitry. In order to identify and optimize the variables fundamental to the design process, an analytical model of the curved PZT unimorph was developed using shallow thin shell theory and linear piezoelectric constitutive equations. An expression for charge generation was then derived in terms of geometrical dimensions, material properties and applied loading. The model was experimentally verified with samples consisting of different geometries and loadings. Finally, the analytical model was used to generate optimal design characteristics or ‘rules of thumb’ necessary for optimum design. It is envisioned that these ‘rules of thumb’ will be used by practitioners to design efficient charge generating devices.
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Device Optimization by Synchronous Electric Charge Extraction
Authors: Lefeuvre Elie , Badel Adrien , Richard Claude , Guyomar Daniel
Published: September 2005

This article presents a nonlinear approach to optimize the power flow of vibration-based piezoelectric energy-harvesting devices. This self-adaptive principle is based on a particular synchronization between extraction of the electric charge produced by the piezoelectric element and the system vibrations, which maximizes the mechanical to electrical energy conversion. An analytical expression of the optimal power flow is derived from a simple electromechanical model. An electronic circuit designed to perform the synchronous charge extraction is proposed. Theoretical predictions confirmed by experimental results show that the new principle increases the harvested power by 400% as compared with a quasilinear impedance adaptation optimization method.
An Optimal Working Function Based on the Energetic Cost for Myriapod Robot Systems: How Many Legs Are Optimal for a Centipede?
Authors: Nohara B. T. , Nishizawa T.
Published: September 2005

The objective of this paper is to obtain working functions for the legs of a myriapod robot from a kinetic energy point of view. The realization of the high performance of energy consumption is indispensable in the battery-based robot system. We introduce the cost of transport and reduce to the minimum problem of the cost of transport. The calculus of variations is applied to obtain governing equations and the functions for legs. We obtain optimal functions for legs in an octarupedal robot.
FiniteElement Vibration Characteristics of Composite Hypar Shallow Shells with Various Edge Supports
Authors: Sahoo S. , Chakravorty D.
Published: September 2005

A review of the literature reveals that information regarding fundamental frequencies and mode shapes of shallow laminated composite hypar shells with practical civil engineering boundary conditions is not available. The present investigation aims to fill this gap by applying an eight-noded isoparametric shell element as the tool. Numerical experiments are carried out for different parametric variations including boundary conditions and stacking orders to obtain the fundamental frequencies and mode shapes. Some of the results are used for validating the correctness of the present approach by comparing with the existing benchmark, while the other results are studied meticulously to extract a set of meaningful conclusions regarding the free vibration characteristics of composite shallow hypar shells.
SomeConsiderations on the Rayleigh–Lamb Wave Propagation in Visco-thermoelastic Plates
Authors: Sharma J. N.
Published: September 2005

The aim of present paper is to study the thermoelastic interaction in an infinite Kelvin–Voigt-type viscoelastic, thermally conducting plate. The upper and lower surfaces of the plate are subjected to stress-free/rigidly fixed, thermally insulated or isothermal boundary conditions. Coupled dynamical thermoelasticity is employed to study the problem. We derive complex secular equations for the plate in closed from and isolated mathematical conditions for symmetric and skew-symmetric wave mode propagation in completely separate terms. The results for coupled and uncoupled theories of thermoelasticity have been obtained as particular cases from the derived secular equations. In general, the obtained secular equations are complex each of these on separating real and imaginary parts leads to two real frequency equations. These equations contain complete information regarding wavenumber, phase velocity, group velocity and attenuation coefficients of different propagating modes. The regions and the corresponding forms of Rayleigh–Lamb-type secular equations have been obtained and discussed in addition to Lame modes, decoupled shear horizontal modes and thin plate results. At short wavelength limits, the secular equations for symmetric and skew-symmetric waves in stress-free insulated and stress-free isothermal plate reduce to Rayleigh surface wave frequency equations. The amplitudes of temperature and displacement components during symmetric and skew-symmetric motion of the plate have been computed and discussed. In order to illustrate and compare the theoretical results, the numerical solution is carried out for copper material by using the functional iteration method. The dispersion curves, attenuation coefficients, amplitudes of temperature change, and displacements in case of symmetric and skew-symmetric wave modes are presented graphically.
Opportunities and Challenges for Rural Transit
Authors: Stommes Eileen , Brown Dennis
Published: September 2005

Rural areas present special challenges for meeting the transportation needs of individuals, especially people without cars. Recognizing this, the Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program was established in 1998 to assist states and localities develop transportation services to connect welfare recipients and other low-income residents to jobs and other support programs. This study documents case studies of eight rural areas receiving JARC funding in 1999. The report highlights specific program elements, including the implementation process, transportation services provided, and the solutions developed to deal with the challenges of distance and low population densities that rural transit systems frequently face.
Estimating the Restoration and Modernization Costs of Infrastructure and Facilities
Authors: Lufkin Peter S. , Desai Anand , Janke Jay
Published: September 2005

Underspending for the maintenance of public facilities and infrastructure is a well-known issue. At least part of the problem can be attributed to our poor understanding of precisely what funding is required. Methodological limitations diminish the credibility of budget estimates that for many agencies, are based on ad hoc approximations or historical trends. Estimates based on physical inspections are more defensible but are expensive and more useful for defining remedial projects than estimating future budget requirements. Carefully defining facility restoration and modernization (R&M) requirements yields a collection of determinants—including obsolescence, changing uses, and extraordinary damage—closely related to the concept of economic depreciation. Once this link is made, the methods of economic capital theory are available for understanding R&M needs. More specifically, R&M costs can be estimated using depreciation rates defined by Hulten and Wykoff (1980) and later adapted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis—an approach useful for any large organization requiring credible R&M cost estimates but unable to bear the costs of frequent physical inspections. The U.S. Department of Defense will begin using the approach as the basis for projecting R&M funding requirements beginning in fiscal year 2008. Among other uses, the depreciation model can provide long-term recapitalizion targets for complying with Executive Order No. 13327, requiring real property asset management plans from all major federal agencies.
Airport Security Screening
Authors: Mew Keith
Published: September 2005

The 9/11-inspired airport security screening system has been the center of controversy ever since it was created in 2001. Although the federalized system is held in high esteem by the traveling public, two tests of the system by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003 and 2004 to 2005 found significant shortcomings, despite large changes made to the security screening process as a result of the first test. The article identifies other criticisms of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from both an operational and philosophical perspective, and from functions the TSA does do right. Finally, the article identifies why airport security privatization has not progressed and how potential changes to the TSA structure could make it a better functioning entity, including the author’s proposal to transfer TSA oversight responsibility to the U.S. Coast Guard.
New Perspectives on the Costs and Benefits of Mitigating Radon in Drinking Water
Authors: Raucher Robert S. , Crawford-Brown Douglas , Harrod Megan
Published: September 2005

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued proposed a federal drinking water standard for radon, in 1999. A final rule is anticipated from the EPA in 2005 or 2006. In this article, important additional insights are gleaned by applying an incremental net benefits perspective to the data and analyses presented by Vitaliano in a 2003 article published in this journal. In addition, updates to Vitaliano’s risk analysis are made, based on emerging scientific evidence on the risks posed by radon at levels seen in residential settings. The updated analysis indicates the relevant policy insights that are obtained by applying an incremental net benefits approach in lieu of average net benefits, and suggests the proposed standard may require careful reconsideration.
America
Authors: Kemp Roger L.
Published: September 2005

This article examines the types of public infrastructure and compares the grading of the various components of the infrastructure by the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE). The ASCE’s first “report card” on our nation’s infrastructure took place in 1988. The author compares and contrasts the 2005 report card against the first one from 1988. Most categories have received worse ratings over the years. The importance of a sound infrastructure for economic development is also examined. The article concludes that national leadership is needed to solve America’s infrastructure problems. The political posture of our national government needs to become more positive and proactive to achieve a solution to our infrastructure issues. America’s thousand of local governments cannot be left to their own devices to come up with comprehensive solutions to these nationwide issues concerning our public infrastructure. This article also includes a comprehensive bibliography for this field, as well as a listing of internet resources.
Role of Municipalities in Water Services in Namibia and Lithuania
Authors: Pietilä Pekka
Published: September 2005

Before gaining independence in 1990, both Namibia and Lithuania were part of a country ruled by a strong central government. Since independence, both countries have decentralized their administrative structure to a large degree, and local authorities have assumed a vital role as providers of services to citizens. Public water services are among the key responsibilities of local authorities. The conditions under which municipalities provide water services are quite different in these two countries. Lithuania was independent between the two world wars, and water supply was the responsibility of municipalities but transferred to state water companies during the Soviet regime. In Namibia, only a few of the largest towns operated their own water services before independence, and the rest of the country was taken care of by the centrally managed Department of Water Affairs. This article examines how well this worthy principle of decentralization has succeeded and how well local authorities have managed in their task to provide water services to the citizens.
‘They are just like any of us’: improving teaching students' understanding of marginalized urban pupils through the use of contextualized literature
Authors: Abbate-Vaughn Jorgelina
Published: September 2005

In this article, I describe the use of ethnic autobiographies along with extended immersion in an urban diverse community in the education of teaching students to enhance their understanding of pupils from such backgrounds. The strategy is also acquiescent to professional development in schools where the staff' social markers manifestly differ from those of the pupils. For this teacher research case study, the setting is a small urban enclave inhabited by various Latino groups in the north-eastern part of the United States. The ethnic literary works implicated are meant to raise awareness and promote understanding of the populations they symbolize in terms of their cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic markers. The outcomes of this study suggest that ethnic autobiographies can help teaching students identify their pupils' prior knowledge, beliefs and values, and thus design consequential curriculum and instruction that incorporate their pupils' lived experiences.
The cultural context of ‘disruptive behaviour’: an overview of research considerations for school educators
Authors: Monroe Carla R.
Published: September 2005

Despite increased professional attention to the role of culture in school environments, implications of the construct for student behavior remain underexamined. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, I examine factors that contribute to the overrepresentation of black male students in school exclusion rates from a cultural perspective. Secondarily, I set forth and discuss several broad guidelines for how teachers should approach disciplinary concerns for diverse students. Irvine's (1990) conceptualization of cultural synchronization frames the article's discussion and conclusions.
A struggle to leave no child behind: the dichotomies of reform, urban school teachers, and their moral leadership
Authors: Easley Jacob
Published: September 2005

Urban school reform has most often occurred in a top-down direction as a means to increase student achievement. Schools' personnel are expected to acquiesce to certain norms, beliefs, and behaviors. Teachers, however, hold particular perceptions about the extent to which topdown reforms affect their capacity for innovative teaching within the teaching and learning process. Teachers define their innovative teaching as being grounded in ethical and moral decisions about the ways in which their classroom and instructional practices directly affect the learning and lives of their students. Such decisions are often ignored by top-down policies that define high stakes accountability reform. This phenomenon accents the dichotomous context of reforms that makes problematic the potential for viable and sustainable school reform. This case study reveals that attention to teachers' moral leadership offers a clear perspective toward detangling the tensions of reform and improving the educational experiences of those students attending historically low performing schools.
Learning to Learn with parents: lessons from two research projects
Authors: Hall Elaine , Wall Kate , Higgins Steve , Stephens Linda , Pooley Irene , Welham John
Published: September 2005

This article reports on two action research projects which are part of the Campaign for Learning's Learning to Learn programme. The programme focuses on individual schools' and teachers' research priorities, within an overarching framework which seeks to understand the factors which promote successful learning. The programme has just finished the first cycle of research. The findings reported here are reflections on the process as well as explorations of the interactions between parents and schools. While both schools report increased pupil attainment as a result of the parental involvement, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the research is the way in which teachers and schools are making explicit their ideas about learning and testing them in dialogue with parents. Arguably, this creation of shared understandings could have the most profound impact on the pupils, their parents' views of learning and on the place of the schools within their communities.
‘Strangely familiar’: authentic experience, teacher education and a thought-provoking environment
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: September 2005

In the light of the government's Excellence and Enjoyment primary strategy, the current emphasis on well-being arising from Every Child Matters and recent moves by the QCA, Creative Partnerships and OFSTED to promote creative thinking, and cross-curricular and thematic approaches in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, teacher education is looking again at childcentred and experience-based learning. The article reports on insights from a recent crosscurricular arts project in Kent which can be applied to any environment near your school.
What is journalism?
Authors: Deuze Mark
Published: September 2005

The history of journalism in elective democracies around the world has been described as the emergence of a professional identity of journalists with claims to an exclusive role and status in society, based on and at times fiercely defended by their occupational ideology. Although the conceptualization of journalism as a professional ideology can be traced throughout the literature on journalism studies, scholars tend to take the building blocks of such an ideology more or less for granted. In this article the ideal-typical values of journalism’s ideology are operationalized and investigated in terms of how these values are challenged or changed in the context of current cultural and technological developments. It is argued that multiculturalism and multimedia are similar and poignant examples of such developments. If the professional identity of journalists can be seen as kept together by the social cement of an occupational ideology of journalism, the analysis in this article shows how journalism in the self-perceptions of journalists has come to mean much more than its modernist bias of telling people what they need to know.
The de-pathologization of childhood, disability and aging in an intergenerational art class
Authors: Heydon Rachel M.
Published: September 2005

Based on a naturalistic study of an intergenerational art program at a colocated child and long-term care facility, the purpose of this article is to discuss the implications of the program’s learning opportunities, primarily for young children, in light of current conceptualizations of childhood, aging and disability. Through a critical, postmodern framework which sees childhood, aging and disability as situated phenomena which are produced as objects in relation to power, I argue that programs such as this one are radical in their de-pathologization of these three social groups.
Greek kindergarten teachers' practice in environmental education
Authors: Flogaitis Evgenia , Daskolia Maria , Liarakou Georgia
Published: September 2005

This article reports on an exploratory study of the existing state of EE practice in the kindergarten schools of the Athens area. The study attempted to establish an overall picture on whether and how kindergarten teachers are involved in the application of EE. The following were examined: the extent of EE application in the kindergarten schools of the chosen area; the level of teachers' preparation from in-service training and self-learning practices; their motives for becoming (or not becoming) involved in EE application; the topics and types of activities through which they implement EE; the types of collaborations they have developed; and from whom they receive support in their work. It is indicated that emphasis should be placed on the systematic in-service training of kindergarten teachers concerning theory as well as practical application of EE. It is also suggested that in-service training should take advantage of self-learning practices and be promoted through distance-learning education structures.
Gendered Leaderships and Leaderships on Gender Policy: National Context, Corporate Structures, and Chief Human Resources Managers in Transnational Corporations
Authors: Hearn Jeff , Piekkari Rebecca
Published: September 2005

Although mainstream research on leadership, organizations and management generally continues to ignore gender relations, over recent years there has been major expansion of international research on gender relations in organizations. This article examines a key aspect of gender leadership (and indeed non-leadership), namely that on gender policy development in large transnational businesses. Three levels of analysis of gendered leaderships and non-leaderships are addressed: the national (Finnish) context, corporate structures, and chief Human Resources managers. These three levels are reviewed using secondary material; a questionnaire survey of the largest 100 Finnish companies on their gender organization and gender policy development; and interviews with chief HR managers, respectively. The interviews were conducted in seven corporations that are ‘relatively active’, ‘moderately active’ and ‘largely inactive’ in relation to gender equality policy. Chief HR managers’ accounts are focused upon in terms of the extent of positive leadership or non-leadership on gender policy, how this interlinks with other levels, and how they make sense of relations and tensions between levels.
Charismatic Leadership and Corporate Cultism at Enron: The Elimination of Dissent, the Promotion of Conformity and Organizational Collapse
Authors: Tourish Dennis , Vatcha Naheed
Published: September 2005

Enron stands out as one of the most spectacular failures in business history. Thus far, most attention has been focused on its accountancy practices. This article, by contrast, explores its internal culture and the leadership practices of its top people. These included a particular emphasis on charismatic leadership, particularly in the persons of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling; the promotion of a compelling vision by these leaders of a totalistic nature; individual consideration, expressed in a recruitment system designed to activate a process analogous to conversion; and the promotion of a culture characterized by conformity and the penalizing of dissent. Drawing on the vast archive of material now available on Enron, and in particular on the best known accounts of former employees, the article discusses to what extent Enron can be usefully regarded as an example of a corporate cult. Finally, the discussion is located in the context of emerging trends in business and leadership practice, and considers the extent to which what happened at Enron is suggestive of a growing business phenomenon.
The Stroke unit Discharge Guideline, a prognostic framework for the discharge outcome from the hospital stroke unit. A prospective cohort study
Authors: Meijer R , van Limbeek J , Peusens G , Rulkens M , Dankoor K , Vermeulen M , de Haan R J
Published: September 2005

Objective: To investigate which factors during the subacute phase post stroke have predictive value for the discharge outcome from the hospital stroke unit.

Methods: In a prospective cohort of 338 patients admitted to a hospital stroke unit 26 potentially prognostic factors, arranged in clinical and social subdomains, were scored and analysed by binary logistic regression analysis. The outcome of the research consisted of the various discharge destinations.

Results: The overall predictive value of the discharge model is high (91%). Factors predictive of a poor discharge outcome are a low Barthel Index score (odds ratio (OR) 0.78 per point increase; p < 0.001), a poor sitting balance (OR 5.96; p < 0.001), a depression (OR 7.23; p < 0.001), poststroke cognitive disability (OR 3.51; p = 0.007) and older age (OR 1.05 per point increase; p = 0.008). If present, a personality disorder, premorbid cognitive disability and premorbid functional disability all show a tendency towards poor discharge outcome, but these factors did not reach statistical significance in this study, possibly due to their low prevalence. Readiness of the family circle to provide support was only significant in the univariate analysis.

Conclusions: Somatic, biological and psychological factors predict the discharge outcome. Functional and cognitive factors play a decisive role in the future ability to live independently after a stroke. The prognostic importance of social factors could not be demonstrated. Urinary incontinence did not emerge as a prognostic factor. This is in contrast to scientific findings till now, but in accordance with clinical experience.
A new method for predicting functional recovery of stroke patients with hemiplegia: logarithmic modelling
Authors: Koyama Tetsuo , Matsumoto Kenji , Okuno Taiji , Domen Kazuhisa
Published: September 2005

Objective: To examine the validity and applicability of logarithmic modelling for predicting functional recovery of stroke patients with hemiplegia.

Design: Longitudinal postal survey.

Subjects: Stroke patients with hemiplegia staying in a long-term rehabilitation facility, who had been referred from acute medical service 30-60 days after onset.

Methods: Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores were periodically assessed during hospitalization. For each individual, a logarithmic formula that was scaled by an interval increase in FIM scores during the initial 2-6 weeks was used for predicting functional recovery.

Results: For the study, we recruited 18 patients who showed a wide variety of disability levels on admission (FIM scores 25-107). For each patient, the predicted FIM scores derived from the logarithmic formula matched the actual change in FIM scores. The changes predicted the recovery of motor rather than cognitive functions. Regression analysis showed a close fit between logarithmic modelling and actual FIM scores (across-subject R2 = 0.945).

Conclusions: Provided with two initial time-point samplings, logarithmic modelling allows accurate prediction of functional recovery for individuals. Because the modelling is mathematically simple, it can be widely applied in daily clinical practice.
Electromyography characterization of stretch responses in hemiparetic stroke patients and their relationship with the Modified Ashworth Scale
Authors: Cooper A , Musa I M , van Deursen R , Wiles C M
Published: September 2005

Objectives: To determine the validity of the Modified Ashworth Scale as a measure of spasticity by determining its relationship to surface electromyography activity and contracture.

Design: A controlled study of hemiparetic stroke patients with spasticity.

Setting: A physiotherapy department in a secondary care hospital.

Subjects: Thirty-one stroke patients and 20 healthy volunteers.

Main measures: The resistance to passive movement around the knee and ankle of the affected and unaffected legs was rated using the Modified Ashworth Scale. Passive range of movement was measured with a goniometer. Surface electromyography recordings of four lower limb muscles were taken during passive stretches of the knee and ankle.

Results: Hemiparetic patients produced surface electromyography responses to stretch that were of greater amplitude (unaffected limbs: mean = 25.82 mV (43.85), affected limbs: mean = 24.77 mV (35.46)) than those of healthy volunteers (mean = 15.85 (29.96)). The affected muscles of hemiparetic patients were more likely to produce surface electromyography responses to stretch of a sustained duration (45% of cases) compared with unaffected limbs (24% of cases) and those of healthy volunteers (16% of cases). The Modified Ashworth Scale showed a positive correlation with the magnitude ( p < 0.05) and duration ( p < 0.001) of the surface electromyography response. High scores on the Modified Ashworth Scale were associated with contracture ( p < 0.001). Contracted muscles produced significantly greater surface electromyography reflex responses compared with noncontracted muscles ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The Modified Ashworth Scale reflects spasticity in terms of surface electromyography stretch responses produced by passive movement, but the relationship of spasticity to contracture remains unclear.
Reliability of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) in medical rehabilitation
Authors: Ostir Glenn V , Smith Pamela M , Smith David , Ottenbacher Kenneth J
Published: September 2005

Objective: To examine the reliability of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) in patients 90 and 100 days after discharge from inpatient medical rehabilitation.

Design: A prospective study.

Subjects: A convenience sample of 31 medical rehabilitation patients.

Main measures: The PANAS.

Results: The average age was 74 years, 80.7% were female and the average length of stay was 13 days. The test-retest intraclass correlation (ICC) values for the positive and negative affect scales (at the 90 and 100 day follow-up assessment) were 0.79 and 0.93, respectively.

Conclusions: Our results show that the PANAS has excellent reliability among a sample of patients who received inpatient medical rehabilitation.
Intensification of the transition between inpatient neurological rehabilitation and home care of stroke patients. Controlled clinical trial with follow-up assessment six months after discharge
Authors: Gräsel E , Biehler J , Schmidt R , Schupp W
Published: September 2005

Objective: An intensified transition concept between neurological inpatient rehabilitation and home care was investigated for effects on the functional status of stroke patients and the physical and emotional health of their carers.

Design: Controlled clinical trial allocating patients to intervention group (intensified transition on ward II) or control group (standard transition on ward I); patients were allocated to whichever ward had a vacancy. Follow-up assessment was carried out six months after discharge.

Subjects: Seventy-one patients and their family carers were included, of which nine cases dropped out. Therefore 62 stroke patients with persisting disability and their family carers were available for assessment at follow-up - 33 patients in the intervention group, 29 patients in the control group.

Intervention: The intensified transition concept consisted of therapeutic weekend care, bedside teaching and structured information for relatives during the second phase of the rehabilitation.

Main measures: Patients were assessed with the Barthel Index, Functional Independence Measure, Ashworth Spastic Scale, Frenchay Arm Test, and Timed Up and Go Test. The carers completed SF-36, and were assessed using the Giessen Symptom List, Depression Scale and Burden Scale for Family Caregivers.

Results: The intensified transition did not lead to significant change in the functional status of the patients or in the physical and emotional health of the family carers. Within the first four weeks after discharge, the patients in the intervention group had fewer new illnesses. In the observation period the use of outpatient care services was more frequent in the intervention group than in the control group.

Conclusion: Even though there are few differences of moderate intensity between the two groups the intensified transition programme does not affect either the functional status of the stroke patients or the health of the carers.
Impairment-oriented training or Bobath therapy for severe arm paresis after stroke: a single-blind, multicentre randomized controlled trial
Authors: Platz T , Eickhof C , van Kaick S , Engel U , Pinkowski C , Kalok S , Pause M
Published: September 2005

Objective: To study the effects of augmented exercise therapy time for arm rehabilitation as either Bobath therapy or the impairment-oriented training (Arm BASIS training) in stroke patients with arm severe paresis.

Design: Single blind, multicentre randomized control trial.

Setting: Three inpatient neurorehabilitation centres.

Subjects: Sixty-two anterior circulation ischaemic stroke patients.

Interventions: Random assignment to three group: (A) no augmented exercise therapy time, (B) augmented exercise therapy time as Bobath therapy and (C) augmented exercise therapy time as Arm BASIS training.

Main measures: Main outcome measure: Fugl-Meyer arm motor score. Secondary measure: Action Research Arm Test (ARA). Ancillary measures: Fugl-Meyer arm sensation and joint motion/pain scores and the Ashworth Scale (elbow flexors).

Results: An overall effect of augmented exercise therapy time on Fugl-Meyer scores after four weeks was not corroborated (mean and 95% confidence interval (CI) of change scores: no augmented exercise therapy time ( n = 20) 8.8, 5.2–12.3; augmented exercise therapy time ( n = 40) 9.9, 6.8-13.9; p = 0.2657). The group who received the augmented exercise therapy time as Arm BASIS training ( n = 20) had, however, higher gains than the group receiving the augmented exercise therapy time as Bobath therapy ( n = 20) (mean and 95% CI of change scores: Bobath 7.2, 2.6-11.8; BASIS 12.6, 8.4 - 16.8; p = 0.0432). Passive joint motion/pain deteriorated less in the group who received BASIS training (mean and 95% CI of change scores: Bobath -3.2, -5.2 to -1.1; BASIS 0.1, -1.8-2.0; p = 0.0090). ARA, Fugl-Meyer arm sensation, and Ashworth Scale scores were not differentially affected.

Conclusions: The augmented exercise therapy time as Arm BASIS training enhanced selective motor control. Type of training was more relevant for recovery of motor control than therapeutic time spent.
Effects of external rhythmical cueing on gait in patients with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review
Authors: Lim I , van Wegen E , de Goede C , Deutekom M , Nieuwboer A , Willems A , Jones D , Rochester L , Kwakkel G
Published: September 2005

Objective: To critically review studies evaluating the effects of external rhythmical cueing on gait in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Methods: Articles published from 1966 to January 2005 were searched by two physiotherapists in MEDLINE, PiCarta, PEDRo, Cochrane, DocOnline, CINAHL and SUMSEARCH. To be included, articles had to investigate the effects of external rhythmical cueing (i.e., auditory, visual or tactile cueing) on gait parameters in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Both controlled and noncontrolled studies were included. Based on the type of design and methodological quality a meta-analysis or best-evidence synthesis was applied.

Results: Twenty-four studies (total number of patients = 626) out of the 159 screened studies were evaluated in this systematic review. Two out of 24 were randomized controlled trails (RCT), both of high methodological quality. One RCT did not focus specifically on external rhythmical cueing of individual patients with Parkinson's disease, but on group exercises in general, including walking with cues. All other studies were pre-experimental studies. Best-evidence synthesis showed strong evidence for improving walking speed with the help of auditory cues. Insufficient evidence was found for the effectiveness of visual and somatosensory cueing.

Conclusion: Only one high-quality study, specifically focused on the effects of auditory rhythmical cueing, suggesting that the walking speed of patients with Parkinson's disease can be positively influenced. However, it is unclear whether positive effects identified in the laboratory can be generalized to improved activities of daily living (ADLs) and reduced frequency of falls in the community. In addition, the sustainability of a cueing training programme remains uncertain.
Home-based electromyography-triggered stimulation in chronic stroke
Authors: Gabr Usama , Levine Peter , Page Stephen J
Published: September 2005

Objectives: (1) To determine the feasibility of a home-based electromyography triggered neuromuscular stimulation (ETMS) programme; and (2) to determine ETMS efficacy in increasing affected wrist extension and reducing affected arm impairment.

Design: Randomized, controlled, pre-lpost, cross-over design.

Setting: Outpatient rehabilitation hospital.

Patients: Twelve chronic stroke patients with palpable muscle contraction in their affected wrist extensors but no movement (7 males; mean age=59.75 years, age range 44-75 years; mean time since stroke=52.75 months, range 13-131 months).

Intervention: Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either: (a) ETMS use twice every weekday in 35-min increments during an eight-week period followed by an eight-week home exercise programme (ETMS/home exercise programme) (n=8); or (b) an eight-week home exercise programme followed by use of ETMS twice every weekday in 35-min increments during an eight-week period (home exercise programme) (n=4).

Main outcome measures: The Fugl-Meyer, Action Research Arm Test and goniometry.

Results: After home exercise programme participation, subjects showed nominal or no changes on any of the outcome measures. After ETMS, patients showed modest impairment reductions, as shown by the Fugl-Meyer, and no Action Research Arm Test changes. However, both groups showed a 218 increase in active affected wrist extension after ETMS use.

Conclusion: ETMS use is feasible in the home environment. Neither participation in a traditional home exercise programme nor ETMS use conveyed changes on the Fugl-Meyer or Action Research Arm Test. However, ETMS use increased active affected limb extension. This new movement may provide a potential pathway for subjects to participate in other interventions, such as modified constraint induced therapy.