bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chemical Composition and Some Rheological Properties of Mesona Blumes Gum
Authors: Feng T. , Gu Z. B. , Jin Z. Y.
Published: March 2007

A gum was extracted from the leaves of Liangfen Cao ( Mesona Blumes), the extraction yield was 29.36%. The crude gum contains 9.74% protein, 30.89% ash, 2.98% crude fibre and 42.19% total sugar (w/w). Monosaccharide components of the gum were mainly galactose, glucose, arabinose and uronic acid with mole ratios of 3.1:2.3:2.3:1.4, respectively. Minerals in the ash were mainly 40.26mg/g sodium, 10.57mg/g potassium, 1.42mg/g magnesium and 2.81mg/g calcium. Molecular weight of the two fractions of the gum were 16,264 and 7,372 Da, respectively. The intrinsic viscosity of the gum was 91.01 mL/g in distilled water at 25°C. Its rheological properties were dependent on shear rate, gum concentration, sugar, temperature, pH, and salt. The gum exhibited pseudoplastic behaviour with shear rate increment. The apparent viscosity increased with the increase of the gum concentration, also increased with the sugar addition and varied according to pH, the highest viscosity was reached at pH 10.0 and the lowest at pH 6.0. Decrease of apparent viscosity was observed with increase of temperature. The activation energy of 10% (w/w) gum was 17.58kJ/mol. The apparent viscosity decreased with Na+ addition and also with the addition of [Ca++]<1%, while it increased with the addition of [Ca++]> 1% (w/w).
Voice, Silence and the Business of Construction: Loud and Quiet Voices in the Construction of Personal, Organizational and Social Realities
Authors: Fletcher Denise , Watson Tony
Published: March 2007

An ethnographically based narrative about the interactions and relationships of people involved with a small construction business is used to examine the interplay of voice and silence in organizations in a way which goes beyond some of the limitations of recent work on this topic. In place of the current literature’s emphasis on the motives behind individuals’ speaking up or staying quiet, a relational analysis is developed which gives full recognition to the emergent, day-to-day routine and contextual aspects of organization. The lives and relationships of a set of characters in a small building company are portrayed and their voices heard. There are loud voices, quiet voices and silences, all of which play a part in the way these people deal with the everyday realities of small communities, family life and organizational power.
Webs of Knowledge and Circuits of Communication: Constructing Rationalized Agency in Swedish Health Care
Authors: Hasselbladh Hans , Bejerot Eva
Published: March 2007

In this article we analyse an institutional transformation of Swedish health care that is underway. We combine the recent work from the ‘Governmentality’-tradition with contributions by John Meyer and associates. The latter is used to explain how these changes are rendered as necessary and natural. The main part of our analysis concerns how the institutional construction of rationalized agency is instrumented. To accomplish that, Dean’s (1999) categories technologies of agency and technologies of performance are used to conceptualize some of the means and principles mobilized in the ongoing institutional transformation of Swedish health care. Firstly, we display the emergence of a complex landscape of new actors, arenas and new practices that regulate and coordinate medical practice. Secondly, various attempts to imbue agency into the patients are analysed as an example of a technology of agency put to use. The conclusions present a more comprehensive picture of governing through new forms of agency. Technologies of agency are closely intertwined with appeals to common goods, the formation of new arenas and forms of expertise.
‘The Work You Want, The Help You Need’: Constructing the Customer in Jobcentre Plus
Authors: Rosenthal Patrice , Peccei Riccardo
Published: March 2007

In this article we explore the concept of the customer and its application within the contemporary public sector. While the centrality of the customer ideal to ‘the new public management’ is clear, the nature, appropriateness and implications of its use are less so. Debates on these issues turn on meanings ascribed to the customer role. In the first part of the article we consider shifting conceptions of the customer appearing in literatures on consumption, organization and the new public management. The second part of the article explores the representation of the customer in an organization emblematic of the new public management in Britain. Jobcentre Plus is an emerging organization charged with delivery of the government’s work-focused welfare agenda. The agency is involved in constructing customers from what once were benefit claimants and/or the unemployed. Through analysis of internal and public documents and observation of six sites, we explore the explicit and implicit meanings of the customer as conveyed through language and labelling, operational practices and features of the physical environment. We find a complex interaction of narratives of customer sovereignty and control. In the final part of the article we consider how this case may be read according to the academic narratives previously outlined.
Straightening our Perspective: The Logos of the Line
Authors: King Ian W.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the role of the straight line in perspectival art through a close discussion of two 15th century paintings, from Italy and the Netherlands. The discussion here suggests that the convergence of Art with Science occurring in the Renaissance period subsequently played a significant role in early management writings. The article, through these two paintings, argues that the rules governing Science may have conditioned the understanding of studies of management to produce accounts that appear to be persuasive but upon closer, informed inspection fail to engage with its essence. Thus, producing accounts that are disappointing and this may help to explain the juncture that continues to pervade the division between management practice and theory.
Individualization at Work?: Subjectivity, Teamworking and Anti-Unionism
Authors: McCabe Darren
Published: March 2007

This article explores how power can individualize, rendering us isolated and fearful, but also how power can be wielded to challenge such conditions. It is argued that subjectivity should not be confused with individualism, for although we are all individualized, and understand ourselves as individuals, subjectivity is constituted through social relations, that give rise to collective meaning, sentiments and affiliations. These issues are considered in the context of an automobile manufacturing company, where there was an attempt to constitute individualistic employees through anti-unionism and, paradoxically, teamworking. The article elucidates the polarity within the Labour Process debate, arguing that much of the controversy and confusion stems from a dualistic reading of the issues involved.
New Work Ethics?: The Corporate Athlete’s Back End Index and Organizational Performance
Authors: Kelly Peter , Allender Steven , Colquhoun Derek
Published: March 2007

Drawing on Michel Foucault’s later genealogies of the Self the paper will illustrate particular dimensions of the increasingly powerful individualizing and normalizing processes shaping the lifeworlds of worker-citizens in a globalizing risk society. Processes that require those who wish to be positively identified as professional, entrepreneurial, resilient, effective, athletic to do particular sorts of work on themselves. Here the paper argues that we can identify the emergence of what we call New Work Ethics. We illustrate this more general argument via an analysis of the ways in which a large Information Technology (IT) organization seeks to produce—via a workplace health and fitness program—employees who imagine themselves as embodying the behaviours and dispositions that mark the person as a corporate athlete. Knowledge of the Self in these terms can, it is promised, enhance the performance of the Self, and the organization.
An autistic dimension
Authors: Bejerot Susanne
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on the possibility that autism spectrum disorder (ASD: Asperger syndrome, autism and atypical autism) in its milder forms may be clinically important among a substantial proportion of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and discusses OCD subtypes based on this proposition. The hypothesis derives from extensive clinical experience of OCD and ASD, and literature searches on MEDLINE. Neuropsychological deficits are more common in OCD than in panic disorder and depression. Moreover, obsessive-compulsive and schizotypal personality disorders are over-represented in OCD. These may constitute misperceived clinical manifestations of ASD. Furthermore, repetitive behaviours and hoarding are common in Asperger syndrome. It is suggested that the comorbidity results in a more severe and treatment resistant form of OCD. OCD with comorbid ASD should be recognized as a valid OCD subtype, analogous to OCD with comorbid tics. An odd personality, with paranoid, schizotypal, avoidant or obsessive-compulsive traits, may indicate these autistic dimensions in OCD patients.
Sensory correlations in autism
Authors: Kern Janet K. , Trivedi Madhukar H. , Grannemann Bruce D. , Garver Carolyn R. , Johnson Danny G. , Andrews Alonzo A. , Savla Jayshree S. , Mehta Jyutika A. , Schroeder Jennifer L.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the relationship between auditory, visual, touch, and oral sensory dysfunction in autism and their relationship to multisensory dysfunction and severity of autism. The Sensory Profile was completed on 104 persons with a diagnosis of autism, 3 to 56 years of age. Analysis showed a significant correlation between the different processing modalities using total scores. Analysis also showed a significant correlation between processing modalities for both high and low thresholds, with the exception that auditory high threshold processing did not correlate with oral low threshold or touch low threshold processing. Examination of the different age groups suggests that sensory disturbance correlates with severity of autism in children, but not in adolescents and adults. Evidence from this study suggests that: all the main modalities and multisensory processing appear to be affected; sensory processing dysfunction in autism is global in nature; and sensory processing problems need to be considered part of the disorder.
GABA(A) receptor alpha5 subunit as a candidate gene for autism and bipolar disorder
Authors: Delong Robert
Published: March 2007

Our earlier family history studies of individuals with autism found a high incidence of major affective disorder, especially bipolar disorder, and unusual talents or intellectual abilities among family members. We now describe a subgroup of such families, selected from a large clinical experience, illustrating specific features of major affective disorder, special talents or intellectual ability, and familial patterns of trait transmission, with the additional feature of oculocutaneous albinism in some cases. These observations, suggesting parent-of-origin and gain-of-function effects, considered together with recent genetic findings in the literature, suggest a genetic hypothesis possibly unifying disparate observations found in families of individuals with autism.
Language development among the siblings of children with autistic spectrum disorder
Authors: Chuthapisith Jariya , Ruangdaraganon Nichara , Sombuntham Tasnawat , Roongpraiwan Rawiwan
Published: March 2007

Language development in 32 preschool siblings (aged 2–6 years) of children with diagnosed autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) was compared with that of a control group of 28 typical preschool children. Groups were matched by siblings' age, gender, maternal educational level and family income. The mean ages of the siblings group and the control group were 4.2 and 4.4 years. Eight of the siblings had delayed language development, of whom three received a diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD) and one of ASD. The sibling with ASD and two of those with DLD were excluded; the remaining 29 siblings and the controls were administered the Stanford–Binet IV. Verbal IQs of siblings were not significantly different from the control group. Siblings of children with ASD associated with intellectual impairment (‘mental retardation’ (MR) in Thailand) had significantly lower verbal IQ scores than siblings of children with ASD but without MR.
Restricted object use in young children with autism
Authors: Bruckner Cornelia Taylor , Yoder Paul
Published: March 2007

There are currently no measures of restricted object use in young children with autism. In this study the object play of 27 young children with autism was measured in a semi-structured context to quantify restricted object use. It was hypothesized that children who engaged in less restricted object use would show better responding, joint attention, motor imitation, and intentional communication. Partial correlation coefficients were calculated between restricted object use measured at time 1 and response to joint attention, motor imitation, and coordinated attention to object and person, at time 1 and time 2 (6 months later), controlling for developmental play level. The construct validity of this measure of restricted object use was supported by the statistically significant correlations in the predicted direction of all expected associations.
The Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test (CAST)
Authors: Allison Carrie , Williams Jo , Scott Fiona , Stott Carol , Bolton Patrick , Baron-Cohen Simon , Brayne Carol
Published: March 2007

The Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test (CAST) is a 37-item parental self-completion questionnaire designed to screen for high-functioning autism spectrum conditions in epidemiological research. The CAST has previously demonstrated good accuracy for use as a screening test, with high sensitivity in studies with primary school aged children in mainstream schools. This study aimed to investigate test–retest reliability of the CAST in a high scoring sample. To this end, 73 parents filled in the second CAST (CAST-2) within approximately 2 months of the first administration of the CAST (CAST-1). Agreement above and below the cut-point of 15 was investigated. The kappa statistic for agreement (<15 versus ≥15) was 0.41. It was found that 70 percent (95% CI: 58, 80) of children did not move across the cut-point of 15. The correlation between the two test scores was 0.67 (Spearman's rho). The CAST shows moderate test–retest reliability in a high scoring sample, further evidence that it is a relatively robust screening tool for epidemiological research.
Autism and attachment
Authors: Rutgers Anna H. , Van IJzendoorn Marinus H. , Bakermans-Kranenburg Marian J. , Swinkels Sophie H. N.
Published: March 2007

Children with autism are able to show secure attachment behaviours to their parents/caregivers. Most studies on attachment in children with autism used a (modified) Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to examine attachment security. An advantage of the Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) over the SSP is that it can be attuned to the secure-base behaviour of children from special populations. In this study experts in the field of autism (both clinicians and researchers: N = 59) defined an AQS criterion sort for children with autism and tested its content validity. Separate criterion sorts were defined for the social subtypes aloof and active-but-odd, but the two criterion sorts could be combined into one AQS criterion sort for children with autism. It is concluded that with minor amendments the original Attachment Q-Sort is applicable in observing the attachment behaviour of children with autism.
Who joins support groups among parents of children with autism?
Authors: Mandell David S. , Salzer Mark S.
Published: March 2007

This study identified factors associated with support group participation among families of children with autism. A survey was administered to 1005 caregivers of children with autism in Pennsylvania. Two-thirds of respondents (66.4%) had ever participated in an autism-specific support group. In adjusted analyses, demographic characteristics, including age and sex of the child, ethnicity and parental education and income, were associated with support group participation. Parents of children with self-injurious behavior, sleep problems or severe language deficits were more likely to belong, as were parents whose diagnosing clinician referred them to a support group. The results of this study suggest the importance of clinician referrals to groups, and the need to make groups available to under-served populations.
The cultural context of women prisoners’ mental health
Authors: Kruttschnitt Candace , Vuolo Mike
Published: March 2007

A rise in governmentality, the development of the risk society and shifts in cultural sensibilities have all been used to explain recent trends in crime control and penal policies most notably in the USA and in England and Wales. Despite the importance of this discourse, we see it as flawed in two respects: (1) it has left the experiences of those who are living out these transformations on the sidelines; and (2) when these experiences are addressed, attention is directed primarily to the experiences of male offenders. We examine indicators of the mental health of 2911 women held in two prisons in California and three prisons in England to determine whether and how different aspects of prison life and prisoners’ experiences affect their well-being and whether generalities about transnational changes in penal life are warranted.
Punishment and democracy
Authors: Dzur Albert W. , Mirchandani Rekha
Published: March 2007

Leading contemporary branches of punishment theory stemming from the traditional schools of consequentialism and retributivism support a role for public deliberation to secure core values communicated through punishment and to encourage greater accountability for punishment practices. Drawing on Habermas’s democratic theory to develop the ideal of public deliberation, this article explores how punishment policies might be subjected to public rational-critical debate. Two contrasting cases exemplify the importance of the deliberative standards stressed by Habermas. Neglecting standards of rational-critical debate results in mere opinion rather than public opinion, the shortcomings of which are illustrated by three strikes legislation where punishment policy emerged from the public but in an unreflective way. In contrast, recent innovations in the imposition of punishment represented by problem-solving courts, like the drug, domestic violence, mental health and community courts developing in jurisdictions around the United States, show how rational-critical public debate can flourish. Habermas’s procedural theory does not advocate particular principles, but shows how civic accountability for punishment reflecting multiple values can gain deeper roots in public culture.
Criminal disenfranchisement reform in California
Authors: Campbell Michael C.
Published: March 2007

The United States denies voting rights to ex-convicts, parolees, probationers and prisoners on a scale unmatched among democratic nations. State laws establishing voting eligibility vary markedly from no disenfranchisement in some states, to permanent disenfranchisement in others. Existing research suggests that more exclusive laws are associated with larger percentages of nonwhites in the State’s general population and in states with higher percentages of nonwhite prisoners. Little historical research exists explaining how and why certain states have retained disenfranchisement while others have revised these laws. This article adopts a deviant case analysis framework, where California is examined as a seemingly exceptional example of reform in order to refine existing explanations of disenfranchisement. Through extensive archival research and a content analysis of a key media source, this article explains how and why California changed its disenfranchisement laws in 1974, a year existing research would predict a punitive legal shift. The findings suggest that repeal of disenfranchisement may be linked to the activities and framing strategies of reformers, particularly African-American legislators, the presence of advocacy organizations and political context. This research also suggests that media coverage of criminal justice policy issues is an important factor in the political feasibility of reform.
Stalking
Authors: Malsch Marijke
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the criminalization of stalking, the reasons for stalking being criminalized and the sanctions that are imposed in stalking cases. The development process of the Dutch anti-stalking law is discussed. The article presents the findings from an empirical analysis of 77 stalking cases tried by Dutch courts. The way in which stalking occurs is discussed, and defendants’ and victims’ backgrounds are taken into account. The penalties imposed in these cases are summarized. Early interventions against stalkers, made possible by the new law, are also considered, and it is contended that these may be even more important than punishing the offender. The article ends with conclusions.
Intimate apartheid
Authors: Bourgois Philippe , Schonberg Jeff
Published: March 2007

Ten years of participant-observation fieldwork and photography among a multi-ethnic social network of homeless heroin injectors and crack smokers in California reveal hierarchical interpersonal relations between African Americans, whites and Latinos despite the fact that they all share a physical addiction to heroin and live in indigent poverty in the same encampments. Focusing on tensions between blacks and whites, we develop the concept of ‘ethnicized habitus’ to understand how divisions drawn on the basis of skin color are enforced through everyday interaction to produce ‘intimate apartheid’ in the context of physical proximity and shared destitution. Specifically, we examine how two components of ethnic habitus are generated. One is a simple technique of the body, a preference for intravenous versus intramuscular or subcutaneous heroin injection. The second revolves around income-generation strategies and is more obviously related to external power constraints. Both these components fit into a larger constellation of ethnic distinction rooted in historically entrenched political, economic and ideological forces. An understanding of the generative forces of the ethnic dimensions of habitus allows us to recognize how macro-power relations produce intimate desires and ways of being that become inscribed on individual bodies and routinized in behavior. These distinctions are, for the most part, interpreted as natural attributes of genetics and culture by many people in the United States, justifying a racialized moral hierarchy.
Reluctant solidarity
Authors: Bähre Erik
Published: March 2007

The World Bank, the United Nations, some NGOs, as well as some of the research on development, portray solidarity as a warm, supportive, and uncomplicated practice. Too easily they emphasize how creative, supportive, and full of agency the poor are, particularly women. This article will dispute such a romantic notion of solidarity and social relations in general. Based on extensive research in a township of Cape Town, South Africa, it becomes clear why ambivalence is crucial to an appropriate analysis of solidarity. When a disrespected and disrespectful woman dies of AIDS, immediately conflicts emerge among neighbours and relatives about organizing mutual support. This study reveals how fierce disputes over inclusion, respect, and mutual support are the materials of solidarity.
Trans-scription as a social activity
Authors: Vigouroux Cécile B.
Published: March 2007

Of all the tasks performed by linguists, transcription is certainly one of the most closely scrutinized activities on the data construction chain. Paradoxically it is the least well understood. Despite their diversity, all the approaches to transcription have in common the fact of examining it from the point of view of its outcome: the scription. My point of departure is different: in order to deconstruct scription, I move upstream and investigate the activity that produces it, thus focusing on the trans process. The data on which this analysis rests are videotaped transcription activity performed collaboratively by a linguistic anthropologist and her two consultants. My analysis demonstrates how scription is constructed in a perpetual tension between authority and authorship.
On movement and stillness
Authors: Pinder Ruth
Published: March 2007

This article reflects on a series of ethnographic encounters that took place in a Community Forest during an afternoon bird-watching with seniors suffering mental health impairments. This was part of a wider research project undertaken with epidemiologists to explore the links between health and the environment, and the therapeutic benefits of contact with nature. Through a programme of guided walks and education in countryside lore, this initiative informed a national Community Forestry programme established in 1992 to redress health inequalities and promote well-being for those living on the urban fringe of Britain's cities.
The relevance of judgment and decision making research for marketing: Introduction to the special issue
Authors: Bown Nicola J.
Published: March 2007

Research in judgment and decision making (JDM) endeavors to account for the way individuals make complex decisions, such as those consumers make in the marketplace. This complexity is created by the number of options available, the numerous attributes on which options can be evaluated, and the difficulty of making tradeoffs between these attributes. This article addresses some of the strategies, both functional and dysfunctional, that people adopt to cope with this complexity. It goes on to describe the most recent contributions of JDM researchers to the practice and theory of marketing.
Escaping the tyranny of choice: when fewer attributes make choice easier
Authors: Fasolo Barbara , McClelland Gary H. , Todd Peter M.
Published: March 2007

In the age of the Internet and easy access to almost infinite information, the problem of information overload among consumers is bound to become of great importance to marketers. By means of simulations we show that this ‘tyranny of choice’ is avoidable. Consumers can neglect most product information and yet make good choices, so long as either there is no conflict among the product attributes or the attributes are unequally important. In these conditions, only one attribute is enough to select a good option - one within ten percent of the highest value possible. We conclude with marketing implications of these findings.
Preference reversals resulting from a market value heuristic
Authors: Boothe Jason , Schwartz Janet A. , Chapman Gretchen B.
Published: March 2007

Two studies demonstrated preference reversals using consumer products. Some subjects made a choice between a pair of food or hygiene products while others assigned minimum selling prices to each product. Product pairs were selected such that one item had a high market price but was undesirable (e.g. eggplant roulettes) while the other item had a low market price but was desirable (e.g. a can of soda). As predicted, most subjects choose the low market price/desirable item, but the high market price/undesirable item was assigned a higher minimum selling price. Experiment 1 used a hypothetical questionnaire, while in Experiment 2 responses had real consequences. The results suggest a market value heuristic such that when decision makers are unsure of how to translate their preference into a specific dollar amount they substitute the product's market price for their own preference. The implication of this heuristic is that if merchants consistently set the retail price of a particular product at a certain level, consumers will use that retail price as the basis of their pricing evaluations and will come to value the product at the retail price.
Context effects and models of preferential choice: implications for consumer behavior
Authors: Busemeyer Jerome R. , Barkan Rachel , Mehta Shailendra , Chaturvedi Alok
Published: March 2007

The article summarizes extant research on context effects and choice theories in a straightforward fashion. The context effects are used as benchmarks to compare six choice theories. The context effects include similarity, attraction, compromise, and reference point effects. The considered theories include simple scalability model, random utility model, elimination by aspects model, strategy switching models, componential context model, and connectionist network model of choice. The article discusses the implications of each model for consumer behavior, and suggests that the choice of model should depend on the characteristics of products, consumers and purchase process.
Time and the marketplace
Authors: Read Daniel
Published: March 2007

Consumers often face choices between options that vary in their short- and long-term benefit. This article describes the marketing implications of what we know about how consumers make these choices. The focus is on how consumers put disproportionate weight on short-term benefits, thereby overconsuming goods offering small early benefits at a larger, later cost (vices), and underconsuming those offering large delayed benefits at a smaller, sooner cost (virtues). I examine the strategic issues surrounding the marketing of vices and virtues to consumers whose preferences change as a function of time to consumption. Special attention is paid to the ‘market for willpower’, which is the market for goods that enable sophisticated consumers to overcome their difficult-to-control drive for short-term gratification. I conclude by asking what consumers ‘really’ want, and how marketers can and should respond to these desires.
Implications of behavioral decision theory for health marketing
Authors: Jones Sandra C.
Published: March 2007

Important decisions in the area of health are made by consumers every day. However, there has been insufficient attention to determining the best theoretical foundations on which promoting health should proceed. This article proposes that, in many cases, behavioral decision theory (BDT) is more useful than traditional economic utility theory for the marketing of health behaviors to the public. The article discusses some of the implications of BDT for health marketing, and reviews the findings of three pilot studies conducted to examine these implications. Study 1 examines the evaluation of multiple gains and multiple losses in the health domain; Study 2 examines the applicability of price-bundling concepts to gymnasium membership usage; and Study 3 examines the effect of time perspectives on health decisions. The implications of these findings for health marketing, and suggestions for future research, are discussed.
Purchase decision-making within professional consumer services
Authors: Jaakkola Elina
Published: March 2007

This article analyses purchase decision-making for products and services that are acquired and used by consumers, but chosen by professional service providers. This is done by comparing the distinct characteristics of purchase decision-making in the contexts of professional consumer services and organizational and consumer buying. Three aspects are elaborated on: the actors involved, the purchase-decision task, and the nature of the decision-making process. It is concluded that professional consumer services represents a unique setting for purchase decision-making and cannot be considered equivalent to the organizational or consumer setting. The article proposes a theoretical framework incorporating the typical characteristics of professional services as a decision-making context, specified in a set of propositions regarding the relative influence of the parties on the purchase decision. Practical and research implications are also presented.
Development of a scale for measuring user computer experience
Authors: Yaghmaie Farideh
Published: March 2007

The use of computers at work has resulted in researchers searching for factors that affect computer performance and usage. One of the factors that has been identified is user computer experience. However there does not seem to be any consensus on the definition or construct of this. Researchers have either used one-item scales of prior experience or measured the years of experience or number of applications used. Some have recognised the need for multiple measures (Szajna and Mackay, 1995), as it is a multi-dimensional construct. Weil, Rosen, and Wugalter (1990) argued that computer experience measured by such objective measures alone would not necessitate positive attitudes as the subjective nature of experience is important. There is a need for a valid and reliable measure of subjective computer experience for future research on information systems.

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring subjective computer experience and test its reliability and validity. Item construction was undertaken following a thorough search of the literature, focus groups and interviews with computer experts and users. The subjective computer experience scale (SCES) with 38 Likert-type items was tested for content validity by a panel of ten experts and face validity by 15 students. Following these processes, the scale was reduced to 25 items. The 25-item SCES was distributed to 202 second- and third-year computer science and business students along with Dambrot’s Computer Attitude Scale (CATT). A test-retest of SCES was given to 162 of the same students. Following Principal Component Analysis, a 12-item scale with two factors was selected. An Internal Consistency reliability of 0.97 and 0.66 and a test-retest reliability of 0.80 or 0.65 were found for the two factors. The two factors correlate with the CATT scale of 0.62 and 0.36 respectively. A useful measure of subjective computer experience has been developed, but it needs further validation in different settings.
Denture care of in-patients
Authors: Jerreat Matthew , Youssouf Nezire , Barker Clare , Jagger Daryll C.
Published: March 2007

The attitude of nursing staff to the denture care of in-patients in hospital following the introduction of written guidelines on denture care was assessed together with the need for further guidelines. A survey in the form of a questionnaire was carried out on 100 nursing staff in a general hospital. The topics covered included usefulness of the guidelines and denture hygiene and general denture care procedures on the ward together with aspects of general denture care included in the nurse training programme. There was a 66% response rate. The results highlighted that the introduction of written guidelines were helpful to the nursing staff but additional training was requested. A computer-aided learning (CAL) programme on denture care aimed specifically at nursing was then developed. A total of 81 nursing staff were surveyed following the introduction of the CAL programme. The results demonstrated that the CAL programme was well received by 100% of the staff surveyed. Further work is to be undertaken on the development of an oral-health educational programme for nursing staff.
An international review of tobacco smoking research in the nursing profession, 1976-2006
Authors: Smith Derek R. , Leggat Peter A.
Published: March 2007

Tobacco smoking represents a contentious issue in the nursing profession, and one that has now become an important topic in nursing research. Despite this fact, the epidemiological quality of research varies widely, and it has been difficult to accurately determine the true incidence of smoking among nurses. Given these inconsistencies, we conducted a state-of-the-art review to identify international trends in tobacco usage among nurses, to ascertain how the epidemiological quality of research has improved over the past 30 years, and also to elucidate the directions in which nursing research has evolved. A total of 73 English-language studies that met the inclusion criteria were located and analysed. Overall, our review suggests that, while tobacco smoking among nurses appears to be decreasing in many countries during recent years, the international trend is far from uniform, and some developed nations still report high smoking rates among their nursing staff. From a methodological perspective, the relative epidemiological quality of smoking research has also fluctuated over time, making it difficult to compare the results of one study to the next. Despite these caveats, tobacco smoking remains a key topic in nursing research, as well as a critically important occupational-health issue for the entire nursing profession. In order to make the next generation of tobacco research data as comparable as possible, future scholars should consider devising and implementing a standardised format for conducting international tobacco smoking research within the nursing profession.
An exploration of the support received by people with intellectual disabilities who have been bereaved
Authors: Gilrane-McGarry U. , Taggart L.
Published: March 2007

Little is known about the views of the primary and secondary support offered to people with intellectual disabilities by formal carers around the time of a death of a loved one. This paper investigates the perceptions of the types of support provided by front-line staff to this population at the time of, and following, bereavement.

In total, 11 people with intellectual disabilities participated in semi-structured interviews. Practical supports (for example, involvement in events surrounding the death and access to the rites of passage) provided to these individuals were reported to be positive interventions, whereas the provision of emotional support (for example, formal and informal supportive counselling) by front-line staff were cited by the participants to be lacking. The use of alternative approaches (for example, reminiscence work, the creation of a life story book/family tree, art therapy and pictorial material) was also reported to be limited.

These findings highlight the need for education and training to provide front-line staff caring for people with intellectual disabilities with the insights, knowledge and skills necessary to practically and emotionally support this population who are facing the loss of a loved one. In addition, these training needs should be aligned with ongoing managerial and specialist bereavement supports, so that the specific needs of people with intellectual disabilities can be fully addressed.
Reflections on conducting focus groups with people with learning disabilities
Authors: Gates Bob , Waight Mary
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the use of focus groups as a methodological approach when undertaking research with people with learning disabilities. This is presented within the context of an ongoing research project that has principally adopted a participatory research approach and that is seeking to understand how people with learning disabilities conceptualise and understand their mental health. As such, this paper may be seen as a critical case study of the ongoing methodological challenges of using focus groups, as well as exploring some of the thornier practical issues such as recruitment, attendance, data collection, ethical issues and matters of consent, facilitation, venue and payment in adopting this approach when undertaking research with people with learning disabilities. The paper concludes that the focus group approach is a legitimate methodological approach within the research process in the field of learning disabilities.
An investigation into the advocacy role of the learning disability nurse
Authors: Llewellyn Penny , Northway Ruth
Published: March 2007

This paper discusses the interaction between the first and second stages of a three-stage grounded theory study that investigated the advocacy role of learning disability nurses in Wales. Definitions of advocacy and their advocacy support needs obtained from people with learning disabilities in the first stage informed the design of focus groups in which nurses compared their own perceptions of advocacy with those of people with learning disabilities. The nurses also discussed barriers to advocacy, independent advocacy services and their requirements for advocacy education.

Findings revealed that all nurse participants advocated for their clients, but some definitions of advocacy by people with learning disabilities were not considered relevant to their current practice by some nurses. Nurses’ advocacy role varied with their work situation and was influenced by adherence to either the individual/medical or the social model of disability. All nurses recognised barriers to advocacy, but ability to access independent advocacy services was inconsistent, as was participants’ attitude towards and willingness to use these. Nurses’ received education in advocacy varied, but they expressed a need for ongoing support and training in advocacy related to their own work area and had specific requirements regarding how and by whom this should be provided.
Severe upper airway obstruction due to delayed retropharyngeal hematoma formation following blunt cervical trauma
Authors: Lazott Laurie W , Ponzo John A , Puana Rudolph B , Artz Katie S , Ciceri David P , Culp William C
Published: March 2007

Background

We report a case of severe upper airway obstruction due to a retropharyngeal hematoma that presented nearly one day after a precipitating traumatic injury. Retropharyngeal hematomas are rare, but may cause life-threatening airway compromise.

Case presentation

A 50 year-old man developed severe dyspnea with oropharyngeal airway compression due to retropharyngeal hematoma 20 hours after presenting to the emergency department. The patient also had a fractured first cervical vertebra and was diagnosed with a left brachial plexopathy. The patient underwent emergent awake fiberoptic endotracheal intubation to provide a definitive airway.

Conclusion

Retropharyngeal hematoma with life-threatening airway compromise can develop hours or days after a precipitating injury. Clinicians should be alert to the potential for this delayed airway collapse, and should also be prepared to rapidly secure the airway in this patient population likely to have concomitant cervical spinal or head injuries.
Quantitative and qualitative differences in subcutaneous adipose tissue stores across lipodystrophy types shown by magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Al-Attar Salam A , Pollex Rebecca L , Robinson John F , Miskie Brooke A , Walcarius Rhonda , Little Cynthia Harper , Rutt Brian K , Hegele Robert A
Published: March 2007

Background

Lipodystrophies are characterized by redistributed subcutaneous fat stores. We previously quantified subcutaneous fat by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the legs of two patients with familial partial lipodystrophy subtypes 2 and 3 (FPLD2 and FPLD3, respectively). We now extend the MRI analysis across the whole body of patients with different forms of lipodystrophy.

Methods

We studied five subcutaneous fat stores (supraclavicular, abdominal, gluteal, thigh and calf) and the abdominal visceral fat stores in 10, 2, 1, 1 and 2 female subjects with, respectively, FPLD2, FPLD3, HIV-related partial lipodystrophy (HIVPL), acquired partial lipodystrophy (APL), congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL) and in six normal control subjects.

Results

Compared with normal controls, FPLD2 subjects had significantly increased supraclavicular fat, with decreased abdominal, gluteal, thigh and calf subcutaneous fat. FPLD3 subjects had increased supraclavicular and abdominal subcutaneous fat, with less severe reductions in gluteal, thigh and calf fat compared to FPLD2 subjects. The repartitioning of fat in the HIVPL subject closely resembled that of FPLD3 subjects. APL and CGL subjects had reduced upper body, gluteal and thigh subcutaneous fat; the APL subject had increased, while CGL subjects had decreased subcutaneous calf fat. Visceral fat was markedly increased in FPLD2 and APL subjects.

Conclusion

Semi-automated MRI-based adipose tissue quantification indicates differences between various lipodystrophy types in these studied clinical cases and is a potentially useful tool for extended quantitative phenomic analysis of genetic metabolic disorders. Further studies with a larger sample size are essential for confirming these preliminary findings.
Inefficiency in Legislative Policymaking: A Dynamic Analysis
Authors: Battaglini Marco , Coate Stephen
Published: March 2007

This paper develops an infinite horizon model of public spending and taxation in which policy decisions are determined by legislative bargaining. The policy space incorporates both productive and distributive public spending and distortionary taxation. The productive spending is investing in a public good that benefits all citizens (e.g., national defense) and the distributive spending is district-specific transfers (e.g., pork-barrel spending). Investment in the public good creates a dynamic linkage across policymaking periods. The analysis explores the dynamics of legislative policy choices, focusing on the efficiency of the steady-state level of taxation and allocation of spending. (JEL D72, E62, H20, H50)
Comparison of topical fibrin spray and tranexamic acid on blood loss after total knee replacement
Authors: Molloy D. O. , Archbold H. A. P. , Ogonda L. , McConway J. , Wilson R. K. , Beverland D. E.
Published: March 2007

We performed a randomised, controlled trial involving 150 patients with a pre-operative level of haemoglobin of 13.0 g/dl or less, to compare the effect of either topical fibrin spray or intravenous tranexamic acid on blood loss after total knee replacement.

A total of 50 patients in the topical fibrin spray group had 10 ml of the reconstituted product applied intra-operatively to the operation site. The 50 patients in the tranexamic acid group received 500 mg of tranexamic acid intravenously five minutes before deflation of the tourniquet and a repeat dose three hours later, and a control group of 50 patients received no pharmacological intervention.

There was a significant reduction in the total calculated blood loss for those in the topical fibrin spray group (p = 0.016) and tranexamic acid group (p = 0.041) compared with the control group, with mean losses of 1190 ml (708 to 2067), 1225 ml (580 to 2027), and 1415 ml (801 to 2319), respectively. The reduction in blood loss in the topical fibrin spray group was not significantly different from that achieved in the tranexamic acid group (p = 0.72).
Botulinum toxin type A as an adjunct to the surgical treatment of the medial rotation deformity of the shoulder in birth injuries of the brachial plexus
Authors: Price A. E. , DiTaranto P. , Yaylali I. , Tidwell M. A. , Grossman J. A. I.
Published: March 2007

We retrospectively reviewed 26 patients who underwent reconstruction of the shoulder for a medial rotation contracture after birth injury of the brachial plexus. Of these, 13 patients with a mean age of 5.8 years (2.8 to 12.9) received an injection of botulinum toxin type A into the pectoralis major as a surgical adjunct. They were matched with 13 patients with a mean age of 4.0 years (1.9 to 7.2) who underwent an identical operation before the introduction of botulinum toxin therapy to our unit.

Pre-operatively, there was no significant difference (p = 0.093) in the modified Gilbert shoulder scores for the two groups. Post-operatively, the patients who received the botulinum toxin had significantly better Gilbert shoulder scores (p = 0.012) at a mean follow-up of three years (1.5 to 9.8).

It appears that botulinum toxin type A produces benefits which are sustained beyond the period for which the toxin is recognised to be active. We suggest that by temporarily weakening some of the power of medial rotation, afferent signals to the brain are reduced and cortical recruitment for the injured nerves is improved.