bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Motivation and retention of health workers in Ghana's district hospitals
Authors: Adzei Francis A. , Atinga Roger A. 
Published: November 2013

PurposeThis study seeks to undertake a systematic review to consolidate existing empirical evidence on the impact of financial and non‐financial incentives on motivation and retention of health workers in Ghana's district hospitals.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a purely quantitative design with a sample of 285 health workers from ten district hospitals in four regions of Ghana. A stepwise regression model was used in the analysis.FindingsThe study found that financial incentives significantly influence motivation and intention to remain in the district hospital. Further, of the four factor model of the non‐financial incentives, only three (leadership skill and supervision, opportunities for continuing professional development and availability of infrastructure and resources) were predictors of motivation and retention.Research limitations/implicationsA major limitation of the study is that the sample of health workers was biased towards nurses (n=160; 56.1 percent). This is explained by their large presence in remote districts in Ghana. A qualitative approach could enrich the findings by bringing out the many complex views of health workers regarding issues of motivation and retention, since quantitative studies are better applied to establish causal relationships.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that appropriate legislations backing salary supplements, commitment‐based bonus payments with a set of internal regulations and leadership with sound managerial qualities are required to pursue workforce retention in district hospitals.
Managerialism and professional strategies: a case from nurses in Portugal
Authors: Carvalho Teresa 
Published: November 2013

PurposeThere have been profound changes in the Portuguese national health system (NHS), instigated under the influence of managerialism and the new public management (NPM) “philosophy”. These changes have been in line with what has happened in other developed countries. At the beginning of the new century, important reforms that emphasised the efficient use of scarce resources were implemented. The objective of this study is to understand how nurses are adapting to a more managerial environment, one in which economic rationalism and market‐driven initiatives are the key principles behind the health reforms.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study was developed, based on semi‐structured interviews with 83 nurses with managerial duties in ten hospitals in Portugal. All interviews were tape‐recorded and each interviewee's discourses were subjected to content analysis.FindingsData analysis led to the conclusion that under the new logic of the market and managerialism, these professionals have tried to (re)define their professionalisation route by emphasising the importance of care but also by trying to incorporate management as their dominant role in the social division of work. In reconfiguring their notion of professionalism, nurses were incorporating new practices in their day‐to‐day activities. This empirical study confirms that professionalism can also be conceptualised as a technology of self‐control being able to discipline professionals at the micro level.Originality/valueThis research is an empirical study based on the effects of managerialism on nurses with managerial duties in Portugal. This study contributes to a better understanding of the complex process of the professionalisation of nurses in a context of institutional change.
Measuring and comparing the performances of energy retail companies
Authors: Capece Guendalina , Di Pillo Francesca , Levialdi Nathan 
Published: November 2013

Purpose
– In the last decade, the Italian natural gas market has undergone profound changes. The slow ongoing process of liberalization that began in 2000 has produced many changes in the industry as companies have had to react to the new regulatory framework. Many companies have sought agreements, alliances and mergers to consolidate their position in the market, other companies have sought to diversify their product range by becoming multi-utility companies, others, unable to react to the new competitive pressures, have gone bankrupt. The aim of the work is to analyse the performance of natural gas retail companies after the liberalization of the sector.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors carry out a financial statement analysis for indexes in order to evaluate business management in terms of the financial, profitability and liquidity aspects. The authors analysed a sample of 111 companies operating in Italy for a six-year period (2004-2009) following the full liberalization of the sector (January 1, 2003).

Findings
– Results show that many of the firms in the sample are suffering from a reduction in profits and present serious financial weaknesses. In particular, the companies that perform the worst are the small, new entrants and those in the south of Italy. In regard to the new entrants it should be noted that although more than ten years have passed since the beginning of the liberalization process, entry barriers are still present. As regards the business diversification, the best financial and operating results are achieved by large firms, listed companies and those which grew mainly through M&As.

Research limitations/implications
– Even though there are numerous theoretical and empirical studies on the effects of diversification strategies and M&As, very few researchers have analyzed these effects in the context of a liberalization process of an energy sector. Starting from this gap in the literature, the work aims to analyse the strategies implemented by the Italian companies in the natural gas retail segment.

Practical implications
– The empirical findings will help the policy makers of Italy in understanding that more than ten years since the beginning of the natural gas market liberalization, entry barriers are still present. Although all consumers have been free to choose their supplier since 2003, the incumbent firms have maintained a dominant position in the market, thanks to a “weak” unbundling (often the incumbent retail operator belongs to the same group as the distribution network operator) and to the advantage in the supply phase by means of a long-term contract with a “take or pay” clause.

Originality/value
– Italy has always been characterized by the centrality of natural gas in its energy basket and it is the third European country for annual consumption. Despite the importance of this energy source, no substantial work has been done in this regard with reference to Italy.
Through Jewish Eyes: Polemical Literature and the Medieval Papacy
Authors: Rist Rebecca 
Published: November 2013

AbstractAlthough the medieval papacy's stance towards the Jews is a well‐established area of research, Jewish ideas about the papacy remain a surprisingly underdeveloped historical topic. This article explores such ideas through the genre of polemic and disputational literature. Jewish writers were keen to ensure the safety of their communities in western Europe and grateful for statements of papal protection. They fully acknowledged that popes had always played and would continue to play an important role in safeguarding their well‐being and determining their future. Yet although contemporary and later writers often valued papal protection more highly than that of monarchs, emperors or clergy, they also knew that it had its carefully circumscribed limits. Furthermore, although they were respectful of the papacy's power, both spiritual and temporal, they were dismissive of the scriptural and theological formulations on which Christian claims for apostolic authority rested and highly critical of Christian beliefs about the papacy, in particular that of apostolic succession. Jewish ideas about both individual popes and the medieval papacy as an institution are therefore nuanced and complex; they deserve rigorous and wide‐ranging investigation and it is hoped that this article will contribute to their better understanding.
Lost in Translation: The English Policeman through a German Monocle, 1848–1914
Authors: Johansen Anja 
Published: November 2013

AbstractConceptions and misconceptions about foreign models for law enforcement and criminal justice often shape reform debates in important ways by excluding certain options and promoting specific agendas, which are claimed to be more effective, humane or legitimate. This article analyses the reception of the ‘English police model’ in German debates between 1848 and 1914. It argues that the frequent references in German debates to English policing functioned as an important rhetorical device to promote certain reform agendas. Highly diverging projects for police reform were promoted in German debates under the label of the ‘English model’. These projects bore only a partial resemblance to English principles of policing as the original model was deliberately misinterpreted or the elements presented as the ‘English model’ was limited to certain selected elements. Nevertheless, the ‘English model’ as a label had the important function in German debates of shaping which forms of police reform could be considered. Conversely, negative references to other foreign influences – notably French ones – served to undermine the credibility of existing institutions or competing reform projects. Accordingly the ‘englischer Policeman’ in German debates bears little connection to the original model and the English Bobby is only discernible as seen through a German monocle.
Applicability of RAD‐tag genotyping for interfamilial comparisons: empirical data from two cetaceans
Authors: Viricel Amélia , Pante Eric , Dabin Willy , Simon‐Bouhet Benoit 
Published: November 2013

AbstractRestriction‐site‐associated DNA tag (RAD‐tag) sequencing has become a popular approach to generate thousands of SNPs used to address diverse questions in population genomics. Comparatively, the suitability of RAD‐tag genotyping to address evolutionary questions across divergent species has been the subject of only a few recent studies. Here, we evaluate the applicability of this approach to conduct genome‐wide scans for polymorphisms across two cetacean species belonging to distinct families: the short‐beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis; n = 5 individuals) and the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena; n = 1 individual). Additionally, we explore the effects of varying two parameters in the Stacks analysis pipeline on the number of loci and level of divergence obtained. We observed a 34% drop in the total number of loci that were present in all individuals when analysing individuals from the distinct families compared with analyses restricted to intraspecific comparisons (i.e. within D. delphis). Despite relatively stringent quality filters, 3595 polymorphic loci were retrieved from our interfamilial comparison. Cetaceans have undergone rapid diversification, and the estimated divergence time between the two families is relatively recent (14–19 Ma). Thus, our results showed that, for this level of divergence, a large number of orthologous loci can still be genotyped using this approach, which is on par with two recent in silico studies. Our findings constitute one of the first empirical investigations using RAD‐tag sequencing at this level of divergence and highlights the great potential of this approach in comparative studies and to address evolutionary questions.
Under the leopard's skin: Land commodification and the dilemmas of Indigenous communal title in upland Cambodia
Authors: Milne Sarah 
Published: November 2013

AbstractTwo opposing land tenure policies are being implemented in upland Cambodia: indigenous communal title, the product of a decade of advocacy for indigenous rights; and Order 01, a dramatic new initiative to provide private individual titles to thousands of farmers living on state public land. This policy conflict has precipitated painful deliberations in Indigenous villages, whereby the merits of inalienable communal title must be weighed against its risks and constraints; and individual titles must be scrutinised for their potential to accelerate alienation and render frontier areas ‘legible’ for government and markets. I examine these issues through the experiences of one village in Mondulkiri, which recently ‘reconciled’ its communal title claim with the new individually motivated reforms. The village exemplifies Cambodia's commodity frontier: it is of mixed Bunong‐Khmer ethnicity, and has undergone rapid deforestation and market integration since 2005. Thus, when the individual titling commenced in 2012, the already‐fragile communal land claim was abandoned by 25% of its constituents. I explore how this unfolded, revealing powerful moral and racial narratives around Bunong identity and the processes of land fragmentation, commodification and alienation. I also reveal how these processes are enabled by Cambodia's predatory regime, of which Order 01 is an intimate part.
‘Indigenous Peoples’ and land: Comparing communal land titling and its implications in Cambodia and Laos
Authors: Baird Ian G. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractIn 2001 a new Land Law was adopted in Cambodia. It was significant because – for the first time – it recognised a new legal category of people, ‘Indigenous Peoples’ or chuncheat daoem pheak tech in Khmer, and it also introduced the legal concept of communal land rights to Cambodia. Indigenous Peoples are not mentioned in the 1993 constitution of Cambodia or any legislation pre‐dating the 2001 Land Law. However, Cambodia's 2002 Forestry Law also followed the trend by recognising ‘Indigenous Peoples’. These laws have been both symbolically and practically important, as they have provided government‐mandated legitimacy to Indigenous identities and associated land and forest rights, including communal land rights, and have been ontologically significant in dividing Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Peoples on legal grounds. Over a decade after the 2001 Land Law was promulgated, this article considers some aspects of its effects. In particular, when compared with the potential for developing communal land rights in Laos, one has to wonder how advantageous it is to adopt Indigenous identities and the types of communal land rights and community forestry rights presently possible in Cambodia.
Parents of children with neurogenic bowel dysfunction: their experiences of using transanal irrigation with their child
Authors: Sanders C. , Bray L. , Driver C. , Harris V. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractBackgroundNeurogenic bowel dysfunction in children is a lifelong condition often resulting in the need for active bowel management programmes, such as transanal irrigation. Parents are central in the decision‐making process to initiate and carry out treatments until such a time their child becomes independent. Minimal research has focussed on examining parents' experiences of undertaking transanal irrigation with their child. This study aimed to explore parents' experiences of learning about and using irrigation with their child and how parents motivated their children to become independent.MethodsSemi‐structured telephone interviews were conducted with parents with experience of using transanal irrigation with their child. Interviews were undertaken by a parent researcher. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsEighteen telephone interviews (16 mothers, 1 father and 1 carer) were conducted. Parents shared how they had negotiated getting started and using transanal irrigation with their child. They discussed a sense of success derived from their confidence in using and mastering irrigation, the process of making decisions to continue or stop using irrigation and how they motivated themselves and their child to continue with the irrigation regime. Challenges included minimizing their child's distress during the irrigation procedure and how they negotiated and moved towards their child becoming independent.ConclusionDespite the emotional difficulty parents experienced as a result of the invasive nature of transanal irrigation most parents reported an improvement in their child's faecal continence which positively impacted on the child and family's lives. The child's physical ability and emotional readiness to develop independent irrigation skills in the future concerned some parents. The experiences shared by parents in this study has the capacity to inform transanal irrigation nursing and medical care.
Immunological comparison of allergen immunotherapy tablet treatment and subcutaneous immunotherapy against grass allergy
Authors: Aasbjerg K. , Backer V. , Lund G. , Holm J. , Nielsen N. C. , Holse M. , Wagtmann V. R. , Würtzen P. A. 
Published: November 2013

SummaryBackgroundIgE‐mediated allergic rhinitis to grass pollen can successfully be treated with either allergen immunotherapy tablets (SLIT tablet) or SQ‐standardized subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT). The efficacy of these two treatment modalities for grass allergy is comparable, but the immunological mechanisms may differ. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01889875.ObjectivesTo compare the immunological changes induced by SQ‐standardized SCIT and SLIT tablet.MethodsWe randomized 40 individuals with grass pollen rhinitis into groups receiving SCIT, SLIT tablet, or neither and followed them for 15 months with regular serum measurements of specific IgE, IgG4, IgE‐blocking factor, facilitated antigen presentation (FAP), and basophil activation test (BAT). Nasal challenges were used to assess changes in nasal sensitivity.ResultsAfter 15 months of treatment IgG4, IgE‐blocking factor, FAP, and BAT values differed significantly in both SCIT and SLIT‐tablet treatment groups when compared to the control group. Both SCIT and SLIT‐tablet groups were significantly different from the control group after 1–3 months of treatment. In general, the changes induced by SCIT reached twice that of SLIT tablet, with the exception of specific IgE where SLIT tablet induced initial threefold increase compared with SCIT. A slight but significant increase in IgE and BAT after season was seen only in the control group. Significant differences between SCIT and SLIT tablet were observed early, but the differences diminished with the length of treatment, especially for FAP inhibition.ConclusionsBoth SCIT and SLIT tablet induce significant changes in specific antibodies (IgE and IgG4) and competition assays (IgE‐blocking factor, FAP, and BAT). Overall, SCIT induced larger (two‐ to threefold) changes than SLIT tablet, with the exception of FAP, where SLIT tablet showed a gradual increase ending at the same level as SCIT. Maximal change was generally reached after 3 months' treatment.
Ex-vivotolerogenic F4/80+ antigen-presenting cells (APC) induce efferent CD8+ regulatory T cell-dependent suppression of experimental autoimmune uveitis
Authors: Hsu S-M , Mathew R , Taylor A W , Stein-Streilein J 
Published: November 2013

SummaryIt is known that inoculation of antigen into the anterior chamber (a.c.) of a mouse eye induces a.c.-associated immune deviation (ACAID), which is mediated in part by antigen-specific local and peripheral tolerance to the inciting antigen. ACAID can also be induced in vivo by intravenous (i.v.) inoculation of ex-vivo-generated tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells (TolAPC). The purpose of this study was to test if in-vitro-generated retinal antigen-pulsed TolAPC suppressed established experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). Retinal antigen-pulsed TolAPC were injected i.v. into mice 7 days post-induction of EAU. We observed that retinal antigen-pulsed TolAPC suppressed the incidence and severity of the clinical expression of EAU and reduced the expression of associated inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, extract of whole retina efficiently replaced interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) in the preparation of TolAPC used to induce tolerance in EAU mice. Finally, the suppression of EAU could be transferred to a new set of EAU mice with CD8+ but not with CD4+regulatory T cells (Treg). Retinal antigen-pulsed TolAPC suppressed ongoing EAU by inducing CD8+ Treg cells that, in turn, suppressed the effector activity of the IRBP-specific T cells and altered the clinical symptoms of autoimmune inflammation in the eye. The ability to use retinal extract for the antigen raises the possibility that retinal extract could be used to produce autologous TolAPC and then used as therapy in human uveitis.
Clinical application of 18F‐fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in breast cancer
Authors: Bernsdorf M. , Graff J. 
Published: November 2013

SummaryPositron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) is not suited for primary diagnostics of breast tumours and it cannot replace sentinel lymph node technique in determining metastases to the axilla. PET/CT has a high sensitivity and specificity regarding the detection of loco‐regional recurrence and metastases to mediastinal and internal mammary lymph nodes, as well as distant metastases. Whether the method can replace conventional methods, or be a supplement when this is non‐conclusive, remains unresolved. PET/CT cannot be recommended for routine follow‐up but is recommended in patients with suspected relapse when conventional imaging has given equivocal results. PET/CT can be applied to confirm isolated loco‐regional relapse or metastatic lesion detected by conventional imaging. PET/CT has a high sensitivity for detecting response to treatment, but a low specificity calls for cautions. Further investigations into the use of PET/CT to predict and monitor response are warranted, before this approach may find its way into a clinical setting. In the future, PET/CT will probably find increasing use in treatment planning and evaluation of patients with breast cancer.
A conceptual model of community dynamics during the transport stage of the invasion process: a case study of ships’ ballast
Authors: Briski Elizabeta , Chan Farrah T. , MacIsaac Hugh J. , Bailey Sarah A. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractAimAfter J. L. Lockwood, P. Cassey and T. Blackburn (2009, Diversity and Distributions, 15, 904–910) first described a theoretical relationship between propagule pressure and colonization pressure, two empirical studies demonstrated that the transport stage of the invasion process can profoundly influence the strength of the relationship among multiple events, as well as predictions of introduction risk. However, studies exploring dynamics of transported communities are rare, as repeated‐measures sampling during transportation by any vector is logistically difficult. We constructed a conceptual model of community dynamics during transportation and supported it by empirical data for propagule pressure and colonization pressure of plankton.LocationGlobal.MethodsA conceptual model of community dynamics was developed based on lognormal species abundance distribution and the simulation model of J. L. Lockwood, P. Cassey and T. Blackburn (2009, Diversity and Distributions, 15, 904–910). We considered four cases: case ‘A’ – no reduction in propagule nor colonization pressure; case ‘B’ – strong reduction in propagule and mild reduction in colonization pressure; case ‘C’ – mild reduction in propagule and strong reduction in colonization pressure; and case ‘D’ – strong reduction in both propagule and colonization pressures.ResultsThe cases ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ were supported by empirical data for invertebrates, dinoflagellates and diatoms from ships’ ballast tanks, respectively. Propagule pressure of invertebrates, dinoflagellates and diatoms decreased 99.95%, 80% and 94% in 25 days, respectively, while colonization pressure decreased 34%, 57% and 64%.Main conclusionsTransport affects both propagule pressure and colonization pressure of taxa, with the magnitude of change dependent on length of transport and taxon‐specific survival and reproduction. Our model demonstrates that introduction risk varies substantially across and within taxa depending on the occurrence and severity of selection pressures during transportation which serve to change species abundance distributions.