bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nasal mask positive pressure ventilation in paediatric patients with type II respiratory failure
Authors: HERTZOG JAMES H. , COSTARINO ANDREW T.
Published: February 2007

We report our experience with nasal mask ventilation in children and adolescents with type II respiratory failure admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) over an 18‐month period. Seven patients were treated with nasal mask ventilation during part of their PICU stay. All showed significant improvement in arterial pH, PaCO2, and PaO2/FiO2 from presentation to discharge, although at discharge PaCO2 and PaO2/FiO2 fell outside of the normal range. Complications occurred in four patients. When compared to 11 patients with type II respiratory failure not treated with nasal mask ventilation, the nasal mask ventilation group had a similar PICU length of stay and incidence of complications. We conclude that nasal mask ventilation may be useful in maintaining near normal alveolar ventilation in selected children with type II respiratory failure and that a prospective study of this technique is indicated.
Anaesthesia and the Beckwith‐Wiedemann syndrome
Authors: SUAN CRISTINA , OJEDA RAFAEL , GARCÍAPERLA J.L. , PÉREZ‐TORRES M.C.
Published: February 2007

Infants with Beckwith‐Wiedeman syndrome usually present different abnormalities which may require surgical correction. Anaesthetic management may be complicated by abnormal airway anatomy, congenital heart disease and severe hypoglycaemia. Careful preoperative evaluation, perioperative monitoring and suitable choice of anaesthetic technique are required for a successful outcome. We report the perioperative management of a patient with Beckwith‐Wiedemann syndrome presenting for omphalocoele surgery on his first day of life and for bilateral inguinal hernia repair four months later.
Anaesthetic management of the Kenny‐Caffey syndrome using the laryngeal mask
Authors: JANKE E.L. , FLETCHER J.E. , LEWIS I.H.
Published: February 2007

We report the anaesthetic management of a nine‐year‐old, 6.8 kg, 75 cm tall female with the Kenny‐Caffey syndrome presenting for strabismus surgery. Dysmorphic features in our patient included a hypoplastic mandible. A neonatal (size 1) laryngeal mask was successfully used for management of the airway whilst providing surgical access. The general features of this rare syndrome are presented and the literature reviewed.
A comparison of sevoflurane to halothane in paediatric surgical patients: results of a multicentre international study
Authors: KATARIA B. , EPSTEIN R. , BAILEY A. , SCHMITZ M. , BACKUS W.W. , SCHOECK D. , HACKL W. , GOVAERTS M.J.M. , ROUGE J.C. , KERN C. , VAN ACKERN K. , HATCH D.J.
Published: February 2007

Induction, emergence and recovery characteristics were compared during sevoflurane or halothane anaesthetic in a large (428) multicentre, international study of children undergoing elective inpatient surgical procedures. Two hundred and fourteen children in each group underwent inhalation induction with nitrous oxide/oxygen and sevoflurane or halothane. Incremental doses of either study drug were added until loss of eyelash reflex was achieved. Steady state concentrations of anaesthesia were maintained until the end of surgery when anaesthetic agents were terminated simultaneously. Time variables were recorded for induction, emergence and the first need for analgesia in the recovery room. In addition, in 86 of the children in both groups, venous blood samples were drawn for plasma fluoride levels during and after surgery. There was a trend toward smoother induction (induction of anaesthesia without coughing, breath holding, excitement laryngospasm, bronchospasm, increased secretion, and vomiting) in the sevoflurane group with faster induction (2.1 min vs 2.9 min, P= 0.037) and rapid emergence times (10.3 min vs 13.9 min, P= 0.003). Among the children given sevoflurane, 2% developed bradycardia compared with 11% in the halothane group. Postoperatively, 46% of the children in the halothane group developed nausea and or vomiting versus 31% in the sevoflurane group (P= 0.002). Two children in the halothane group developed cardiac dysrhythmia and were dropped from the study. In addition, a child in the halothane group developed malignant hyperthermia, received dantrolene, and had an uneventful recovery. Mean maximum inorganic fluoride concentration was 18.3 μM˙l−1. The fluoride concentrations peaked within one h of termination of sevoflurane anaesthetic and returned rapidly to baseline within 48 h. This study suggests that sevoflurane may be the drug of choice for the anaesthetic management of children.
Pressure support ventilation increases cardiac output in neonates and infants
Authors: GULLBERG NINNA , WINBERG PER , SELLDÉN HANS
Published: February 2007

Fifteen neonates and infants were investigated during pressure controlled ventilation (PCV) and pressure support ventilation (PSV) on a Servo 300 ventilator. Changes in cardiac output (aortic mean blood flow velocity) were assessed with the Doppler technique. During PSV cardiac output increased by 16% (P<0.01) compared with PCV with equal ventilation. Mean airway pressure decreased significantly during PSV compared with PCV, which may explain the increased cardiac output. During PSV, when inspiratory/expiratory (I:E) relations are dependent on the patient, we found a lower I:E ratio compared with PCV. It can be assumed that at least part of the decreased mean airway pressure is caused by the lower I:E ratio. As the heart rate was unchanged, the variations in cardiac output were caused by alterations in stroke volume. It is concluded that a patient triggered mode should be preferred providing that the neonate/infant has the ability to elicit the ventilator's triggering system.
Expression pattern of genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in diabetic nephropathy
Authors: Moczulski D. K. , Fojcik H. , Wielgorecki A. , Trautsolt W. , Gawlik B. , Kosiorz‐Gorczynska S. , Oczko‐Wojciechowska M. , Wiench M. , Strojek K. , Zukowska‐Szczechowska E. , Grzeszczak W.
Published: February 2007

Aims  Only one‐third of Type 1 diabetes patients develop diabetic nephropathy, and a genetic predisposition is postulated. To obtain more insight into processes that lead to diabetic nephropathy, messenger RNA expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with and without diabetic nephropathy were compared.

Methods  We studied seven male patients with Type 1 diabetes and proteinuria and 12 male patients with Type 1 diabetes and normoalbuminuria after at least 20 years of diabetes duration. The expression of genes was examined using the microarray method with Human Genome U133A Arrays (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA, USA). We analysed the expression of all candidate genes suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy in previously published articles. Altogether, expression of 198 genes was analysed.

Results  We found that thrombospondin 1 (THBS1) and cyclooxygenase 1 (COX1) genes were over‐expressed in patients with diabetic nephropathy, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) genes had lower expression in diabetic nephropathy. For other genes, we did not observe different expression between patients with and without diabetic nephropathy, or the expression was too low for analysis.

Conclusions  The different gene expression pattern in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with diabetic nephropathy might indicate an important pathway in the pathogenesis of this complication.
Metformin improves skin capillary reactivity in normoglycaemic subjects with the metabolic syndrome
Authors: Kraemer de Aguiar L. G. , Laflor C. M. , Bahia L. , Villela N. R. , Wiernsperger N. , Bottino D. A. , Bouskela E.
Published: February 2007

Aims Insulin resistance and a parental history of diabetes mellitus are independently associated with endothelial dysfunction. Oxidative stress has a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of vascular injury. Metformin, in addition to its glucose‐lowering properties, has vasculoprotective effects. We investigated whether metformin has beneficial effects on the nutritive skin capillary circulation and deceases oxidative stress in a group at high risk for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease.

Methods Thirty normoglycaemic subjects with the metabolic syndrome (MS), who had first‐degree relatives with T2DM, participated. The mean age was 39.1 ± 8.4 years and body mass index (BMI) 35.7 ± 4.8 kg/m2(mean ±sd). Subjects were randomized 1 : 1 to receive placebo (n = 14) or metformin (n = 16; 1700 mg/day) in a double‐blind study. At baseline and post treatment, blood and urine samples were collected for biochemical and 8‐epi‐prostaglandin F2α(8‐epi‐PGF2α) analysis, respectively. Microcirculation was assessed by nailfold videocapillaroscopy, analysing afferent (AF), efferent (EF) and apical (AP) diameters of capillary loops, functional capillary density (FCD), red blood cell velocity at rest (RBCV), after 1 min arterial occlusion (RBCVmax) and time (TRBCVmax) taken to reach it.

Results Groups did not differ significantly in anthropometric, clinical, laboratory or microvascular measurements at baseline. In the metformin group, weight, BMI, systolic blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose fell, and lipid profile and microcirculatory parameters FCD, AF, EF, AP, RBCVmaxand TRBCVmaximproved (allP < 0.01). No relationship between clinico‐laboratory parameters and microvascular reactivity was observed, except for changes in total and low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol and RBCVmax. 8‐epi‐PGF2αdid not change significantly in either group.

Conclusions Metformin improved skin capillary reactivity in normoglycaemic MS subjects independently of significant changes in 8‐epi‐PGF2αlevels.
Structural Nested Models and Standard Software: A Mathematical Foundation through Partial Likelihood
Authors: LOK JUDITH J.
Published: February 2007

Abstract.  In observational studies treatment may be adapted to the patient's state during the course of time. These covariates may in turn also react on the treatment under study, and so on. This makes it hard to distinguish between treatment effect and selection bias. Structural nested models aim at estimating treatment effect in such complicated situations, even when treatment may change at any time. We show that structural nested models can often be calculated with standard software, by using standard models to predict treatment as a tool to estimate treatment effect. Robins (Survival analysis, Volume 6 of Encyclopedia of Biostatistics, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1998) conjectured this, but so far it was unproven. We use a partial likelihood approach to choose the estimators and tests as a subclass of the estimators and tests in Lok (math. ST/0410271 at http://arXiv.org, 2004). We show that this is the class of estimators and tests that can be calculated with standard software. The estimators are consistent and asymptotically normal, and have interesting asymptotic properties.
Charitable Activity in England and Wales*
Authors: Austin Mark , Posnett John
Published: February 2007

THIS paper reports the results of a random sample of 418 registered charities in England and Wales for 1975. The sample provides information on total income and assets and the distribution of charities by age, objects and size. The evidence suggests that the charity sector is considerably larger than had previously been thought, with a total income in 1975 of approximately £3,600 m. It is dominated by a relatively small number of large and active charities serving a limited number of objects. By far the most important of these (in terms of income) is the advancement of education, a broad group which includes independent schools and colleges.
Towards a Two‐dimensional Analysis of Welfare Ideologies
Authors: George Peter
Published: February 2007

This article provides a critical analysis of some accounts of welfare ideologies which have appeared in the last eight years. It is argued that in these accounts welfare ideologies have been presented as ranged along a continuum from “anti‐collectivist”, “market liberal”, or “residual” to “Marxist” or “structural” with intermediate positions variously described as “political liberal”, “reluctant collectivist”, “social democratic”, “Fabian socialist”, or “institutional”. It is further argued that these one‐dimensional accounts are seriously misleading because they fail to give sufficient recognition to the part played by conservatism in the development and justification of modern interventionist states and because they identify Marxism with collectivism and ignore the anti‐collectivist strand in socialist thought. These elements are more easily accommodated within an alternative two‐dimensional framework for the analysis of welfare ideologies which is briefly outlined.
Social Policy and the Discipline of Social Administration
Authors: Mishra Ramesh
Published: February 2007

The last ten years have seen a spate of books analysing social policy in terms of ideologies or models of welfare. These models, which combine an explanatory or scientific and a normative or value component, offer the discipline of social administration a terrain or base of its own from which it can legitimately explore a range of normative and scientific issues. It is suggested that the central task of social policy analysis, at the highest level of generality of the discipline, is to tease out the relevant normative and factual propositions or assumptions underlying these models and subject them to close scrutiny. In this the discipline would largely be following, but also extending somewhat, the agenda for social administration outlined by Richard Titmuss in 1968.
The Political Arithmetic of Poverty
Authors: Mansfield Malcolm
Published: February 2007

The article continues the examination of the slippery concept of poverty and in particular the precise definition of “relative deprivation”. Townsend's attempts to bring up to date the measurement of poverty are subject to renewed critical analysis. Attempts to construct a deprivation index are regarded sceptically and the statistical measurement of poverty and of deprivation are shown to be unsatisfactory and unconvincing.
Participation in Practice
Authors: Humphreys Stuart
Published: February 2007

This paper is one of a series written by members of the Mental Handicap Research Project at the University College of North Wales in connection with the All‐Wales Strategy. Previous papers describe local arrangements for the planning of new services and discuss in general terms issues concerning partnership and participation. This paper describes modes of parental participation in the planning of new services for the mentally handicapped.
Sheltered Employment Strategies In Five Countries
Authors: Moores Ken , Booth Peter , Duncan Keith R.
Published: February 2007

The paper outlines sheltered employment strategies drawn from five countries (USA, Sweden, The Netherlands, Britain, and New Zealand) with a view to articulating policy options. The focus for the study was at the level of individual organizations in each country and personnel at all managerial levels were interviewed to ascertain their orientation with respect to the organisation of sheltered employment at three individual, yet interdependent structural levels: the national industry, the individual enterprise, and work itself. Work activity was observed and official documentation was studied to strengthen the validity of interview data. The results indicate that successful workshops were not only well informed of the dominant industry philosophy but also had their own clearly articulated interpretation of that philosophy. A number of policy options were seen to emerge from the patterns observed.
Decentralization & Local Government
Authors: Stoker Gerry
Published: February 2007

Criticism of the achievements of the Welfare State have led to more emphasis on the role of local government in providing new styles of welfare services. This has presented a challenge to Labour party authorities in Britain and can be seen as an aspect of conflict with Conservative party central government. The article analyses the effect of placing more emphasis on local service delivery to which much publicity has been given. Voluntary agencies have also been given an increased role, for a variety of motives. This raises questions about local democracy, answerability, and user‐control, which go beyond mere party polemics and involves fresh discussion of the future role of local government.
Rent Control: its Costly Repercussions
Authors: Albon Robert , Stafford David C.
Published: February 2007

This article examines the theory and practice of rent control in the UK and elsewhere in order to contribute to the important debate on the future of the private rental sector in the UK. Our opposition to rent and eviction controls is unequivocal. We shall show that wherever rent control has been imposed the effects have been, at best, adverse and at worst, appalling. The effects on the quantity and quality of a housing stock can be so devastating that one Swedish socialist economist, Assar Lindbeck (1967) concluded: “In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing.” Controls which lead to an excess demand for housing foster unfortunate practices such a discrimination on various grounds other than willingness and ability to pay rent, and the creation of a black market. Rent and eviction controls also have a major impact on the mobility of labour. The encouragement to immobility can lead to the perpetuation of structural imbalances in an economy prompting rigidities which can have considerable economic and social costs.
Active Employment Policies in Europe
Authors: Strati Antonio , Strati Filippo
Published: February 2007

In this paper the authors examine the theoretical framework of the set of laws, provisions, regulations, recommendations and pronouncements that embody the active employment policies in Europe. They illustrate that the theoretical framework is influenced in its attribution of meaning and significance to its subject matter by its relationship with the definitions of employment. To do this they provide an analysis of: the collective agencies, the courses of action, the recipient groups, the relations between the collective agencies, the courses of action decided upon and their recipient subjects, the supporting measures by which these courses of action will be implemented.
Deregulation, markets and the 1988 Housing Act
Authors: Kemp Peter
Published: February 2007

This paper looks at the deregulation of private sector rents. It examines two recent articles on this topic published in Social Policy and Administration, which take very different positions on the need for and desirability of rent deregulation, one very pro‐market the other very anti‐market in outlook. It is argued here that both articles hold idealized views of ‘the market’, though for different reasons, and that a less partisan view of the arguments and the evidence would suggest that deregulation of relettings, as provided by the Housing Act 1988, will be neither so significantly beneficial nor so deleterious in its effects as these two articles respectively would suggest.
Citizens Advice Bureaux: Problems of an Emerging Service in Rural Areas
Authors: Blacksell Mark , Clark Andrew , Economides Kim , Watkins Charles
Published: February 2007

Nineteen eighty nine marked the Golden Jubilee of the CABx in the UK. Over the past 50 years it has established itself nationally as the prime provider of generalist advice, but there are special problems associated with delivering the service in rural areas. These include: the logistical difficulties of serving remote communities with small and scattered populations; maintaining the independence of bureau, especially from the local authorities that mainly fund them; and matching the professional standards now demanded by NACAB. These issues are examined with reference to a questionnaire survey of bureaux managers in Cornwall and Devon carried out as part of the AJRBP project at the University of Exeter.
Mental & Social Diagnosis and the English Prison Commission 1914–1939
Authors: Forsythe Bill
Published: February 2007

In this article the author argues that there was a strengthening optimism about the value of psychological treatment between 1914 and 1939 amongst medical personnel employed by the English Prison Commission. This optimism contrasted with the pessimistic eugenic notion that there was an increasing and unreformable underclass which transmitted its inferior mental and physical characteristics biologically. Prison Commission medical staff became openly critical of eugenic proposals during the interwar years and, advised by a number of its medical personnel such as medical inspector and later Medical Commissioner William Norwood East, the Prison Commission was influenced towards the mental hygienism advocated by a growing number of American and British clinicians. Fherefore the Commission initiated a number of experiments in psychological treatment and psychoanalysis in English prisons.
Adapting to the social fund
Authors: Huby Meg , Walker Robert
Published: February 2007

The introduction of the social fund in April 1988 was surrounded by uncertainties. The change in some awards from grants to loans and the emphasis on discretionary decision‐making within the constraints of a limited budget represented a radical departure from the system of single payments and urgent needs payments which it replaced. These changes had effects on all of the actors on the social security stage. Not only did potential applicants and advisory agencies have to learn how best to use the new scheme, but DSS local offices were also faced with the need to adapt to new practices of administration. The first eighteen months of the fund's operation cannot give an accurate picture of how it will operate in later years, but by examining the processes through which various groups adapt their behaviour in using the scheme, it is possible to gain some insight into how it might evolve in the future.
Mental Health Policy in Northern Ireland
Authors: Prior Pauline
Published: February 2007

Mental health policy in Northern Ireland has moved through a number of phases during the past seventy years. This article examines some of the developments during each of these phases in the context of political factors which had an effect on policy formation and implementation. The services which existed in 1921 were deeply rooted in the lunacy legislation and provision of nineteenth century Ireland. The political uncertainty and financial stringency, which characterized the following two decades, resulted in a situation of almost complete stagnation in those services. The contribution of Northern Ireland during the Second World War guaranteed a financial commitment by Britain to the building of a comprehensive health service in the post‐war era. The expansion in mental health services was unprecedented. The relative stability of this era was shattered by the political “troubles” of the 1970s and the imposition of “direct rule” from Westminster. Though advantageous to health service development at first, this has now led to tighter central controls and the further loss of local autonomy. In policies dictated from Westminster, Area Boards moved towards a reduction in psychiatric beds to 1,500—the level of provision in 1870. History tells us that the needs of mentally ill people have not had a significant impact on services in the past. Will the future be any different?
Maintaining Quality in Human Services
Authors: Wilding Paul
Published: February 2007

In the 1980s there was a new emphasis on the achievement of clear standards of Quality in public services in Britain. This has been accompanied by a wide ranging discussion of how Quality is most effectively promoted and maintained.

This paper begins by setting out the key elements of a Quality service — accessibility, acceptability, effectiveness and openness. It then analyses and evaluates four elements in the maintenance of Quality. First it examines the role of management in setting standards and monitoring performance and in promoting a culture of Quality. Then it analyses the importance of organizational structures in generating staff commitment to the goal of Quality. Third, it assesses the role and potential or user involvement. Finally it looks at legalistic approaches — the promulgation of guidelines and procedures, the setting of explicit standards with clear complaints systems and guaranteed redress if standards are not maintained.

The discussion draws primarily on British material but the argument clearly has a wider relevance. Many of the issues are universal rather than peculiar to one particular society.

The conclusion is that Quality is only achieved by a balance between these various mechanisms.
Measuring Third World Poverty by the International Poverty Line: The Case of Reform China*
Authors: Wong Chack Kie
Published: February 2007

This article selects a fast growing economy, China, under Deng Xiao‐ping's economic reforms, as a case example for exploring the use of the median income‐linked international poverty line in measuring third world poverty. Those third world countries which have a fast growing economy have the prospect of increased income inequality. Henceforth, the widening income inequality justifies a comparable poverty measurement which takes into account the relation between economic affluence and income distribution.
Social Security in South Korea and Singapore: Explaining the Differences
Authors: Ramesh M.
Published: February 2007

The paper sets out statutory social security arrangements in Korea and Singapore and then explains the differences between them. It finds that while Korea has a relatively advanced social security system based primarily on social insurance, Singapore has a patchwork of programmes based on forced saving, tax allowance, public assistance, and public insurance schemes run along commercial lines. Moreover, the increasing share of government expenditure devoted to social security in Korea stands in sharp contrast to the declining share in Singapore. The paper accounts for the variations in terms of the different economic objectives of the two states and the different international and societal constraints they face.

In contrast to South Korea* which has rapidly established an elaborate set of income maintenance and health care programmes, Singapore continues to resist expansion of such programmes. The objective of this paper is to describe the social security programmes in the two countries and then explain why the supposedly similar political economies have pursued entirely different social security strategies. The paper will argue that to understand the variations, we need to examine the varying economic objectives of the two states and the different international and societal constraints they face.
The Development of Social Assistance and Unemployment Insurance in Germany and Japan
Authors: Seeleib‐Kaiser Martin
Published: February 2007

Both Japan and (West) Germany were subjected to foreign “Allied”Occupation from 1945. In this fiftieth anniversary year of the ending of World War Two and the commencement of these periods of Occupation, this paper assesses and compares the impact of the latter experience on social policy development in Germany and Japan. In particular, it focusses on social assistance and unemployment insurance, on the grounds that provision for “the able‐bodied poor”constitutes a clear guide as to how far each society has progressed or is progressing along the road to “social citizenship”as defined by T. H. Marshall. The import of Allied Occupation was in practice quite different in the two cases, not least because of their very different paths of social policy development beforehand. Developments in the wake of Occupation and upto the present are nonetheless indicative of there being some elements of policy “convergence”, which welfare state regime theory has hitherto failed to allow for in its concentration upon “whole systems”at the expense of more detailed policy “subsystem”review.
The Development of State Welfare in the Asian NICs with Special Reference to Taiwan
Authors: Ku Yeun‐wen
Published: February 2007

This paper explores Taiwan's welfare development from its specific politico‐economic situation. Although education and public health are well developed in Taiwan and social insurance is expanding to cover more and more Taiwanese people, the govenmental welfare effort is still too low to meet the welfare needs of the public. This is especially so given our discovery that military servicemen and related groups receive over 70% of the welfare expenditure of the central government while the disadvantaged receive only around 3%. Furthermore, political crises are often accompanied by a significant growth in social expenditure, implying that the purpose of state welfare is to maintain the stability of the Taiwanese state rather than to protect the well‐being of Taiwanese people. Political isolation forces the Kuomintang (KMT) to secure Taiwan's role in the international community via economic growth. The development of state welfare cannot be allowed to have a negative effect on this highest priority. The limited resources, therefore, are allocated to economic goals as well as to the KMT–state apparatus in order to keep the KMT in power. However, the democratization of Taiwanese politics since the 1980s has forced the KMT to consolidate its legitimacy from the people and the improvement of social welfare is one measure for this purpose. Whether or not Taiwan becomes a Western‐style welfare state through the expansion of state welfare in the near future, it furnishes a useful example with which to examine existing welfare theories.
Exploring the Role of Localities in Health Commissioning: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Balogh Ruth
Published: February 2007

The emerging pattern of NHS purchasing has prompted many health authorites in Britain to experiment with a variety of different approaches to locality‐based commissioning. But published accounts of these experiments are few and little attempt has been made to analyse the resulting experiences in policy terms. This paper reviews the specific literature on locality commissioning in health services and some of the reasons for its emergence.

It is also argued that since initiatives of this kind typically seek to address a wide agenda, involving a wide range of stakeholders, there is also a case for examining the wider policy background, including the literature on community development, decentralization and joint collaboration. An account is thus presented of the policy context within which locality commissioning experiments are taking place, and hence the principal issues which are likely to prove contentious or otherwise problematic.
Evaluation: Stakeholder‐focused Criteria
Authors: Thomas Paul , Palfrey Colin
Published: February 2007

Identifying and selecting suitable criteria is an important consideration in evaluating the performance of public sector organizations. Which criteria are chosen, and how they are weighted, will depend largely on the perspective being taken; different stakeholders (for example, clients, providers or commissioners) are likely to emphasize different criteria. In this paper a number of criteria are identified and an argument is developed to indicate which criteria are likely to be valued by various stakeholders. Furthermore, a number of approaches and mechanisms for evaluation are identified and the links between these, the criteria appropriate to them and the various stakeholders are made explicit. Finally, the issue of politics and the distribution of power between the stakeholders is addressed with a call for greater explicitness in using and balancing criteria (for example, as between professionals and the intended beneficiaries of services). In this way, while recognizing the inherent political nature of performance evaluation, the planning and implementation of services may be improved by a more mutually informed approach to evaluation.
Charging and Quasi‐Markets in Community Care: Implications for Elderly People with Dementia
Authors: Means Robin , Langan Joan
Published: February 2007

Social services authorities in the UK are increasingly involved in charging and fee collection activities with clients in receipt of community care services. This article explores the implications of these developments for elderly people with dementia. The starting point of the article is a critique of existing legal and administrative options for handling other people's money, including the difficulties and dilemmas raised for both paid and unpaid carers by the existing arrangements. This is then related to the failure of charging and fee collection systems which have developed as a result of the community care reforms to address the particular needs of elderly people with dementia. A case study of policies in one local authority is outlined and this is followed by the presentation of the view of 37 fieldlevel professionals who were interviewed in focus groups. The concerns of these respondents included the complexity of the assessment task, conflicts between care managers and finance/revenue staff, the difficulty of defining and responding to financial abuse, and dilemmas over the extent to which relatives and carers should be trusted. The final section of the article considers the implications of a move to quasi‐markets in social care for elderly people with dementia, particularly in terms of their vulnerability to financial exploitation.
The “Europeanization” of Spanish Social Policy
Authors: Mangen Steen
Published: February 2007

The principal features of Spanish social policy are examined since the transition to democracy in the mid‐1970s. The period has been dominated by the four governments of the Socialists under Felipe Gonzalez. It will be argued that in terms of the reform of welfare goals and institutional arrangements, as well as welfare inputs and outputs, a significant degree of “Europeanization” has been achieved. This is especially true of the later period of Gonzalez's premiership in which this process, initiated during the Transition, was accelerated.
Indications of Social Policy Convergence in Europe
Authors: Greve Bent
Published: February 2007

This paper explores the extent to which, and the ways in which, it might be justified in talking of a movement towards convergence of social policy within Europe. It reviews definitions and typologies of the welfare state as a prelude to discussion of the different theoretical types and possibilities of social policy integration, which itself leads into consideration of supranational EU developments. The empirical data presented in respect of “social protection” expenditures (and taxation regimes) in general and of “active” and “passive” labour market expenditures in particular, lend support to the notion not merely that the welfare state is not yet over in Europe, but that forms of social policy convergence are in evidence already.
UN/RE‐CONSTRUCTING THE AGRARIAN DREAM: GOING BACK‐TO‐THE‐LAND WITH AN ORGANIC MARKETING CO‐OPERATIVE IN SOUTH‐CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA, USA
Authors: TRAUGER AMY
Published: February 2007

This paper employs a cultural‐economic approach to understanding the labour model strategies employed by an organic marketing co‐operative in a rural community of south‐central Pennsylvania. The co‐operative is composed of self‐described ‘back‐to‐the‐landers’, who are motivated by an agrarian dream of a better quality of life, making a living off the land and contributing to the environmental sustainability of farming. Organic agriculture as a technical practice with a lucrative market holds the promise of realising these dreams, and the co‐operative functions as an alternative food network that delivers organic produce to a regional market. The members of the co‐operative employ a diversity of labour strategies, some of which reproduce the labour processes and outcomes of the conventional food systems, and others which (sometimes simultaneously) configure new social and economic relations with farm workers.
INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES IN RURAL SPACES
Authors: MEIJERING LOUISE , HUIGEN PAULUS , VAN HOVEN BETTINA
Published: February 2007

In this paper, we focus on intentional communities in the Western world. These communities consist of a variety of groups, with different characteristics, ideologies and motivations. Examples are eco‐villages, religious communities and communities of lesbians. These groups intend, at least to some extent, to withdraw from mainstream urban society, challenging norms of urban life, e.g. wasteful behaviour, stressful lives or heterosexual stereotypes, and create their own places in rural areas. Key questions that we seek to address in the paper are: What types of intentional communities can be identified? To what extent are intentional communities withdrawn from the rural areas in which they are established? We attempt to answer these through discussing the results of a survey among 496 communities. Furthermore, we describe an example of the ecological type of community, since these communities are most explicitly challenging urban norms and values.
Early reading in Kannada: the pace of acquisition of orthographic knowledge and phonemic awareness
Authors: Nag Sonali
Published: February 2007

Acquisition of orthographic knowledge and phonemic sensitivity are processes that are central to early reading development in several languages. The language‐specific characteristics of the alphasyllabaries (Bright, 1996), however, challenge the constructs of orthographic knowledge and phonemic sensitivity as discussed in the context of alphabetic scripts. This paper reports a study of 5–10‐year‐olds in Kannada, an alphasyllabary that represents print in units called akshara. It was hypothesised that in Kannada, when compared with the developmental pace reported in English early reading, (a) akshara knowledge acquisition would take longer and (b) phoneme awareness would be slower to emerge. The study found these hypotheses to hold true across grades and in both low‐achieving and effective schools. The paper discusses the nature of the cognitive demands in akshara reading and the akshara‐specific characteristics that set a pace of acquisition of orthographic knowledge and phonemic sensitivity that is quite at variance from what has been documented in the alphabetic scripts.
A Dissociation Between Moral Judgments and Justifications
Authors: HAUSER MARC , CUSHMAN FIERY , YOUNG LIANE , KANG‐XING JIN R. , MIKHAIL JOHN
Published: February 2007

Abstract: To what extent do moral judgments depend on conscious reasoning from explicitly understood principles? We address this question by investigating one particular moral principle, the principle of the double effect. Using web‐based technology, we collected a large data set on individuals’ responses to a series of moral dilemmas, asking when harm to innocent others is permissible. Each moral dilemma presented a choice between action and inaction, both resulting in lives saved and lives lost. Results showed that: (1) patterns of moral judgments were consistent with the principle of double effect and showed little variation across differences in gender, age, educational level, ethnicity, religion or national affiliation (within the limited range of our sample population) and (2) a majority of subjects failed to provide justifications that could account for their judgments. These results indicate that the principle of the double effect may be operative in our moral judgments but not open to conscious introspection. We discuss these results in light of current psychological theories of moral cognition, emphasizing the need to consider the unconscious appraisal system that mentally represents the causal and intentional properties of human action.
Thoughts, Motor Actions, and the Self
Authors: VOSGERAU GOTTFRIED , NEWEN ALBERT
Published: February 2007

Abstract: The comparator‐model, originally developed to explain motor action, has recently been invoked to explain several aspects of the self. However, in the first place it may not be used to explain a basic self‐world distinction because it presupposes one. Our alternative account is based on specific systematic covariation between action and perception. Secondly, the comparator model cannot explain the feeling of ownership of thoughts. We argue—contra Frith and Campbell—that thoughts are not motor processes and therefore cannot be described by the comparator‐model. Rather, thoughts can be the triggering cause (intention) for actions. An alternative framework for the explanation of thought insertion in schizophrenics is presented.
A Recipe for Concept Similarity
Authors: SCHROEDER TIM
Published: February 2007

Abstract: Sometimes your concept and mine have exactly the same content. When this is so, it is comparatively easy for me to understand what you say when you deploy your concept, for us to disagree, agree, and so on. But what if your concept and mine do not have exactly the same content? This question has occupied a number of philosophers, including Paul Churchland, Jerry Fodor, and Ernie Lepore. This paper develops a novel and rigorous measure of concept similarity, Proportion, such that concepts with different contents but sufficiently high Proportion scores will also conduce to understanding, agreement, and disagreement.
Innate Cognitive Capacities
Authors: KHALIDI MUHAMMAD ALI
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  This paper attempts to articulate a dispositional account of innateness that applies to cognitive capacities. After criticizing an alternative account of innateness proposed by Cowie (1999) and Samuels (2002), the dispositional account of innateness is explicated and defended against a number of objections. The dispositional account states that an innate cognitive capacity (output) is one that has a tendency to be triggered as a result of impoverished environmental conditions (input). Hence, the challenge is to demonstrate how the input can be compared to the output and shown to be relatively impoverished. I argue that there are robust methods of comparing input to output without measuring them quantitatively.
Psoriasis vulgaris and human leukocyte antigens
Authors: Cassia FF , Carneiro SC , Marques MTQ , Pontes LF , Filgueira AL , Porto LCS
Published: February 2007

Background  Psoriasis vulgaris is a skin disease with a complex immunological and genetic background, triggered by environmental factors. The association of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and psoriasis has long been reported on population and familial studies.

Objectives  To review and discuss studies on psoriasis vulgaris and HLA, in Caucasian and non‐Caucasian populations.

Methods  The major population studies on psoriasis vulgaris and the associated HLA antigens and alleles are described and discussed based on a review of the current literature.

Results  Population studies demonstrate the presence of different HLA specificities as well as extended haplotypes in patients with psoriasis, when compared to controls. Some alleles occur in a lower frequency in patients with psoriasis, indicating they could be protection alleles. In all studies which HLA class I was typed, Cw6 or Cw*0602 was present in a significant frequency in patients with psoriasis, mainly when early onset and positive family history were considered. HLA‐DRB1*0701 was also present in a higher frequency in patients in different populations.

Conclusions  Different antigens and alleles from both HLA classes I and II were seen in a significantly higher frequency in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. HLA Cw*0602 and DRB1*0701 were represented in different reports, and the former was related mainly to psoriasis type I.
PROBLEMS IN MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRODERMAL PHENOMENA—CHOICE OF METHOD AND PHENOMENA—POTENTIAL, IMPEDANCE, RESISTANCE1
Authors: Forbes T. W.
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this study is to summarize earlier work on the galvanic skin response (GSR).

Sensitive direct current and alternating current bridge measurement techniques were used.

Differences were shown between potential, resistance, and impedance responses. Potential records showed two component waves with apparent sympathetic and non‐sympathetic characteristics. Methods of measurement make a great deal of difference in the type of response obtained and measurement circuits are of great importance. Complex responses from each skin area may summate or may oppose and mask each other. Three different methods are suggested as suitable for different research purposes.

Electrodermal Response, GSR, Skin Potential, Skin Resistance, Skin impedance responses. (T. W. Forbes)
THE RATIONALE FOR TREATING THE CHANGE IN GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE AS A CHANGE IN CONDUCTANCE
Authors: Darrow Chester W.
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this report is to account for differences in measures of sweating, resistance, skin potential, and conductivity at high and low levels of bodily excitation by simultaneous measurement of the variables and to explain why conductance provides a satisfactory over‐all measure.

Relations between simultaneously recorded sweat, resistance, skin potential and conductance changes are shown graphically.

Two distinctly different response processes occurring respectively at high and low levels of resistance are seen to overlap in the middle range. Together the resistance measurement of these two widely different levels span the gamut of reactivity from the low to the higher levels of bodily excitation. The differing magnitudes of the measures of these two reactive phenomena can be meaningfully combined in, and quantitatively represented on a single scale of measurement when using units of conductance.

Electrodermal, GSR, Sweat, Resistance, Potential, Conductance, Skin, Emotion, Response, Anxiety, Tension, Excitation, Reactivity. (C. W. Darrow)
TWO GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE EFFECTOR ORGANS AND THEIR STIMULUS SPECIFICITY
Authors: Edelberg Robert , Wright David J.
Published: February 2007

This study tested the hypothesis that the palmar galvanic skin response (GSR) involves the sweat gland and an epidermal component each responding preferentially according to the demands of the behavioral situation. Their relative contributions were determined by comparison of simultaneous GSR's from areas with high vs low concentrations of sweat glands and with direct measurement of vapor production as well. Stimuli were tones and lights which were either alerting signals or execution signals for a perceptual or a motor (reaction time) task. The population unexpectedly showed greater relative sweat response to the alerting signal for the reaction time task than to the associated execution signal (71 out of 94 S's). Individual subjects, but not the population as a whole, differentiated significantly between alerting and execution signals for the perceptual task. Results supported the hypothesis that two components present in the palmar GSR manifest stimulus response specificity, but were inconclusive regarding the nature of the class of stimuli to which each responds. The difference can not depend on preparation for motor as opposed to non‐motor activity. GSR, Sweat vapor. Sweat gland, Epidermal, Tones, Lights, Alerting, Response specificity, Adaptive behavior. (R. Edelberg)