bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Convergent and divergent country trends in coordinated wage setting and collective bargaining in the public hospitals sector
Authors: Grimshaw Damian , Jaehrling Karen , Van Der Meer Marc , Méhaut Philippe , Shimron Nirit 
Published: October 2007

ABSTRACTDrawing on the findings of research in the public hospitals sector in five European countries1—France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK—this article assesses the character of change in wage setting and collective bargaining. It demonstrates the diversity of national arrangements by comparing key characteristics: (i) the bodies of collective representation (unions, professional associations and employer bodies); (ii) the degree of integration with the wider public sector framework; (iii) coordination (or competition) with the private hospitals sector; and (iv) the practice of à la carte provisions within individual hospitals. Despite national varieties of wage setting and collective bargaining, each country sector faces similar tensions—most notably the opposition between public (labour market) rules and health (product market) rules, and pressures to segment or integrate employment conditions by labour force group. By examining the nature of change in institutions for wage setting and collective bargaining in each country, the article contributes to our understanding of the extent of coordination and change of public sector wage setting and describes three scenarios: fragmentation (Germany); continuity (France and the Netherlands); and reconstruction (the UK and Norway).
Strategizing the Decennial Census of Housing for Poverty Reduction in Kenya
Authors: K'AKUMU O. A. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractAs the world gropes for an understanding of and solutions to poverty, one of its typologies that has come to the fore is housing poverty. Housing poverty afflicts developing countries in particular, and solving it may bring about solutions to other forms of poverty. One of the strategies that can be used to promote the understanding of housing poverty, and hence show the way to its reduction, is the decennial census of housing. This essay intends to determine whether the decennial census of housing can be used as a strategy for the reduction of housing poverty in Kenya. It evaluates the whole census business and recommends that some of the missing UN‐recommended housing topics be incorporated in order to give a complete picture of housing poverty in the country. It also recommends that the analysis and reporting of the census survey should be more sensitive to the geographical and social extents of housing poverty. This would transform the decennial census of housing into an effective strategy for poverty reduction in Kenya and, for that matter, in any developing country in the world.RésuméTandis que le monde cherche à comprendre la pauvreté et à lui trouver des solutions, l'une des typologies manifeste aujourd'hui est la pauvreté du logement. Elle affecte notamment les pays en développement et sa résolution pourrait permettre de résoudre d'autres formes de pauvreté. L'une des stratégies qui servirait à faciliter la compréhension de ce type de pauvreté, donc à ouvrir la voie vers son recul, est le recensement décennal de l'habitat. Cet article vise àétablir si un recensement décennal de l'habitat pourrait servir de stratégie pour le recul de la pauvreté du logement au Kenya. Il évalue l'ensemble de l'activité de recensement et conseille que certaines rubriques de logement qui manquent dans les recommandations de l'ONU soient intégrées afin de donner une image complète de la pauvreté du logement national. De plus, il propose que l'analyse et le compte rendu du recensement tiennent davantage compte des champs géographiques et sociaux de la pauvreté du logement. Cela ferait du recensement décennal de l'habitat une stratégie efficace de diminution de la pauvreté au Kenya et, d'ailleurs, dans tout autre pays en développement au monde.
Radical Religion and the Habitus of the Dispossessed: Does Islamic Militancy Have an Urban Ecology?
Authors: BAYAT ASEF 
Published: October 2007

AbstractThere is a commonplace but powerful argument that links the religious resurgence in the Muslim world to the urban ecology of overcrowded slums in the large cities. Poverty and precarious life, together with anomie and lawlessness, condition the dispossessed to embrace ideologies and movements that offer communities of salvation and support while preaching radical politics. This article questions the premises of such arguments in an attempt to nuance the relationship between the urban dispossessed and radical Islam. By examining the politics of slums and militant Islamism in the Middle East, notably Egypt and Iran, I suggest that key to the habitus of the dispossessed is not anomie or extremism but ‘informal life’— one that is characterized by flexibility, pragmatism, negotiation, as well as constant struggle for survival and self‐development. The relationship between the urban dispossessed and radical Islamists tends to be both contingent and instrumental.RésuméOn rencontre communément une thèse convaincante qui relie le renouveau religieux du monde musulman à l'écologie urbaine des quartiers pauvres et surpeuplés des grandes villes. Pauvreté et précarité, associées à anomie et non‐droit, poussent les déshérités à rallier des idéologies ou mouvements qui proposent des communautés de salut et de soutien tout en prêchant des politiques radicales. Cet article revient sur les postulats utilisés et tente de nuancer le lien entre exclus urbains et Islam radical. En étudiant les politiques des quartiers pauvres et l'islamisme militant au Moyen‐Orient, notamment en Egypte et Iran, il suggère que la clé de l'habitus des déshérités ne tient ni à l'anomie ni à l'extrémisme mais à une existence ‘hors cadres’– dominée par la flexibilité, le pragmatisme et la négociation, autant que par une lutte permanente pour la survie et le développement personnel. Finalement, la relation entre exclus urbains et islamistes radicaux paraît à la fois plutôt contingente et instrumentale.
Autologous suction blister grafting for chronic leg ulcers
Authors: Costanzo U , Streit M , Braathen LR 
Published: October 2007

AbstractBackground  Non‐healing leg ulcers represent a treatment problem.Objective  Investigate grafting of autologous suction blister roofs as treatment.Methods  Twenty‐nine chronic, non‐healing leg ulcers of various aetiologies in 18 inpatients were treated by autologous epidermal grafting using the roofs of suction blisters.Results  55% of ulcers completely healed 2 to 6 weeks after grafting. A 50–90% reduction in size was documented in 34% and no change was observed in 11% of ulcers. Twelve weeks after grafting, 89% of ulcers were healed completely. In most ulcers, we observed a stimulation of reepithelialization from the wound edge (‘edge effect’) and an accelerated formation of healthy granulation tissue. During a follow‐up period of 12 months, 90% of the ulcers remained healed.Conclusion  Grafting of autologous suction blister roofs is an effective treatment option for non‐healing leg ulcers. The advantages of the method are its lack of pain, low costs and immediate availability.
Telediagnosis and face‐to‐face diagnosis reliability for melanocytic and non‐melanocytic ‘pink’ lesions
Authors: Fabbrocini G , Balato A , Rescigno O , Mariano M , Scalvenzi M , Brunetti B 
Published: October 2007

AbstractBackground  Telemedicine is a worldwide healthcare practice that, during the last years, has dramatically reduced the time of consultation for patients. Teledermoscopy aids in the current management of skin cancers in general and particularly of melanoma; telemedicine and teledermoscopy give the chance to provide consultations with experts also by long distance.Objective  The purpose of this study is to determine the diagnostic reliability, according to interobserver agreement, between clinical and dermoscopic diagnosis of lesions with poor and/or absent pigmentation, comparing face‐to‐face diagnosis and telediagnosis.Materials and methods  Forty‐four lesions were examined by two different dermatologists with good and similar experience in the clinical field and dermoscopy. A store‐and‐forward teledermatological system, based on clinical and dermoscopic images, was done by the two skilled dermatologists.Results  Our results underline that teledermoscopy of ‘pink’ lesions does not provide a similar degree of diagnostic accuracy as otherwise in face‐to‐face diagnosis perhaps due to the absence of typical criteria. Atypical skin lesions are characterized by the absence of typical dermoscopic patterns, and their teleconsultation does not always increase the diagnostic accuracy.
Treatment of mild to moderate seborrhoeic dermatitis with MAS064D (Sebclair®), a novel topical medical device: results of a pilot, randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial
Authors: Veraldi S , Menter A , Innocenti M 
Published: October 2007

AbstractAim  MAS064D (Sebclair®) is a novel steroid‐free cream containing multiple active ingredients. Objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MAS064D in the treatment of mild to moderate SD of the face.Methods  Patients (n = 60) with SD were randomized to receive MAS064D (n = 40) or a matching vehicle (n = 20). The primary study endpoint was investigators’ global assessment (IGA) score at day 28, compared with baseline. Secondary endpoints included: IGA score at day 14; investigators’ assessment of erythema and scaling; patients’ assessment of burning/stinging, pruritus and global response to MAS064D; resort to rescue medication; quality of life.Results  Use of MAS064D for 4 weeks was associated with a higher percentage of success in the MAS064D group than in the vehicle group (~68% vs 11%, P < 0.0001). The effects of MAS064D were significantly better than those of vehicle for investigator‐assessed erythema and scaling, and patients’ assessed pruritus and global response to MAS064D (P 0.01). No patient in the MAS064D group required rescue medication, compared with two patients in the vehicle group. Four patients (two each in the MAS064D and vehicle groups) reported a total of six non‐serious adverse events.Conclusions  MAS064D appears to be an effective and well tolerated cream for the treatment of mild to moderate SD of the face. Further clinical evaluation of MAS064D in SD is warranted.
Evaluation of safety and efficacy of variable pulsed light in the treatment of unwanted hair in 77 volunteers
Authors: Nahavandi H , Neumann R , Holzer G , Knobler R 
Published: October 2007

AbstractBackground  Several studies on hair removal with intense pulsed light (IPL) and various laser sources have been done, but adequate data on long‐term follow up are scarce. The present uncontrolled prospective pilot study evaluated safety and long‐term efficacy of variable pulsed light (VPL™) on hair removal in the face for medical and/or cosmetic indications.Study design/material and methods  The VPL™ system (Energist Ltd, UK) was used for the treatment of hypertrichosis in the face, mainly hirsutism, in 77 female volunteers. The minimum follow‐up time after the last treatment was 9 months (mean: 12.74 ± 2.87 months).Results  Over 50% of hair clearance was observed in 68 (88.3%) of all cases.Erythema and leucotrichia were the most often associated side‐effects encountered. Transient pigmentary changes were not reported.Conclusion  The VPL™ System presents as a relatively efficient and safe treatment alternative for long‐term removal of unwanted hair. It seems to be particularly effective in fair‐skinned patients with dark hair (skin types II–III–IV). Adverse effects were minimal and transient and, in no patient, significant enough to interrupt treatment.
The Leicestershire Intellectual Disability Tool: A Simple Measure to Identify Moderate to Profound Intellectual Disability
Authors: Tyrer Freya , McGrother Catherine W. , Thorp Catherine F. , Taub Nicholas A. , Bhaumik Sabyasachi , Cicchetti Domenic V. 
Published: October 2007

Background  It is often useful to ascertain whether adults have moderate to profound intellectual disability (approximate IQ < 50; developmental age <108 months) when deciding whether to refer to specialist or mainstream services. The aim of the present study was to develop a simple measure to estimate moderate to profound intellectual disability in adults with a potential need for specialist care.Materials and Methods  Three hundred and twenty‐two individuals with information on home interviews from the Leicestershire Learning Disability Register were also assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales. A variety of variables concerning intelligence, adaptive functioning and dependency were used to predict developmental age (as estimated from the Vineland) using backward stepwise regression. The derived equation formed the Leicestershire Intellectual Disability (LID) tool. A cut‐off point was chosen using a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve to achieve 95% sensitivity in identifying moderate to profound intellectual disability.Results  Seven variables from the home interviews were found to predict estimated developmental age at the 10% level (P ≤ 0.1). When the tool was used to detect adults with moderate to profound intellectual disability, the area under the ROC curve was 0.93. The chosen cut‐off point was 95% sensitive and 65% specific. The positive predictive value was 95%, the negative predictive value was 65%, and the overall diagnostic accuracy was 91%.Conclusions  These preliminary findings suggest that the LID tool may help to identify adults with moderate to profound intellectual disability among those with potential need for specialist care. Further evaluation is recommended.
Learning disability against itself: the self‐injury/self‐harm conundrum
Authors: Lovell Andrew 
Published: October 2007

Accessible summary

This article compares the use of the term self‐injury to refer to the behaviour of people with learning disabilities and self‐harm to describe the behaviour of those without learning disabilities.
It suggests the two types of behaviour to be more similar than usually believed.
It presents evidence from the lives of a number of individuals with learning disabilities.
The term ‘career’ is used to describe the way in which some people with learning disabilities build self‐injury into their lives.

AbstractThe article begins with a critical look at the existing literature explaining self‐injury by people with significant learning disabilities and self‐harm by those with mental health difficulties. It suggests that the different conceptualizations are perhaps less distinct than might initially appear, and that behavioural similarities between those with and those without learning disabilities might be greater than previously believed. The notion of ‘career’ is presented as a means of explaining the process by which people with learning disabilities engage in self‐injury and subsequently integrate it into their lives. Data are subsequently presented from a number of life histories of people with learning disabilities to illustrate the development of self‐injury over the life course. The findings of the research indicate that the development and consolidation of self‐injury over time conforms to the expectations of a career and provides reason to question the contemporary separate categorization of the behaviour of people with significant learning disabilities. The evidence suggests that the relationship between self‐injury and learning disability is best explicable in terms of its intelligibility, rational behaviour in the context of the individual’s life.
A multi‐centre audit of the use of medication for the management of behavioural problems in adults with intellectual disabilities
Authors: Unwin Gemma L. , Deb Shoumitro 
Published: October 2007

Accessible summary

Doctors prescribe people with learning disabilities medicine for a behavioural problem. The behaviours are things like hitting other people, screaming and breaking things.
Doctors and nurses should give people information about the medicine that has been prescribed to them and asked whether they agree to take the medicine.
Doctors who prescribe medicine for behavioural problems should write in the case notes what they have done.

SummaryThe aim was to investigate prescribing practices surrounding the use of medication for the management of behavioural problems in adults with intellectual disabilities with reference to a national guideline development project. A case note review methodology was employed to explore adherence to the audit criteria that were derived from the recommendations made in the guideline. A total of 154 cases were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. There was some variation in adherence to the examined audit criteria with some areas achieving high compliance whereas others were deemed as lacking. Such areas achieving high compliance included assessment of the behaviour, assessment of surrounding behavioural, medical, psychological/psychiatric and social issues and communication of the treatment plan to other relevant professionals. However, the assessment of capacity issues and acquizition of consent or assent were rarely documented. The results highlighted certain areas of clinical practice that may need to be formally documented in patient case notes in order to provide evidence of the quality of healthcare an individual has received.
Introduction: The EU in International Trade Negotiations*
Authors: DÜR ANDREAS , ZIMMERMANN HUBERT 
Published: October 2007

AbstractThis special issue presents new research on the EU's role in international trade negotiations. In the introduction, we sketch out the relevance of this topic, introduce some of the core institutional features of trade policy‐making in the EU, review the existing literature dealing with the EU in international trade negotiations, and briefly present the contributions included in this issue.
Trade Politics Ain't What It Used to Be: The European Union in the Doha Round*
Authors: YOUNG ALASDAIR R. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractThe European Union is a key player in the Doha Development Round of multilateral trade negotiations. This article argues that its negotiating position reflects distinctive patterns of politics underlying three aspects of trade policy – traditional trade policy, commercial policy and social trade policy – characterized by different sets of actors and political dynamics. Although there is significant variation in the substance of the EU's position within each aspect of trade policy, their distinctive patterns of politics help to explain why the EU's negotiating position is most liberal in traditional trade policy and least in social trade policy.
EU Trade Policy as Protection for Exporters: The Agreements with Mexico and Chile*
Authors: DÜR ANDREAS 
Published: October 2007

AbstractRecently, the EU concluded trade agreements with emerging markets in different regions of the world. What explains the EU's pursuit of these agreements? I present an argument that suggests that exporters in the EU mobilize in response to discrimination abroad and push the EU to conclude trade agreements to protect their foreign market access. In two case studies, I show that this protection‐for‐exporters argument offers a plausible account for the EU's agreements with Mexico and Chile.
The EU's Choice of Regulatory Venues for Trade Negotiations: A Tale of Agency Power?*
Authors: ELSIG MANFRED 
Published: October 2007

AbstractThis article focuses on the EU's strategy for choosing regulatory venues to negotiate trade agreements. It analyses the existence of a clear venue hierarchy since the late 1990s and the recent change leading to a blurring of any clear preference for using bilateral, inter‐regional or multilateral settings. The article challenges domestic explanations of the EU's choice of venue, stressing the autonomy of the Commission as a major factor. Using a principal‐agent framework, it shows that the Commission's agenda‐setting powers, the existence of interest divergence among principals (e.g. Member States, business groups) and the multi‐level system facilitate agency.
Conceptual bases for quantifying the role of the environment on gene evolution: the participation of positive selection and neutral evolution
Authors: Levasseur Anthony , Orlando Ludovic , Bailly Xavier , Milinkovitch Michel C. , Danchin Etienne G. J. , Pontarotti Pierre 
Published: October 2007

AbstractTo demonstrate that a given change in the environment has contributed to the emergence of a given genotypic and phenotypic shift during the course of evolution, one should ask to what extent such shifts would have occurred without environmental change. Of course, such tests are rarely practical but phenotypic novelties can still be correlated to genomic shifts in response to environmental changes if enough information is available. We surveyed and re‐evaluated the published data in order to estimate the role of environmental changes on the course of species and genomic evolution. Only a few published examples clearly demonstrate a causal link between a given environmental change and the fixation of a genomic variant resulting in functional modification (gain, loss or alteration of function). Many others suggested a link between a given phenotypic shift and a given environmental change but failed to identify the underlying genomic determinant(s) and/or the associated functional consequence(s).The proportion of genotypic and phenotypic variation that is fixed concomitantly with environmental changes is often considered adaptive and hence, the result of positive selection, even though alternative causes, such as genetic drift, are rarely investigated. Therefore, the second aim herein is to review evidence for the mechanisms leading to fixation.
The Role of Frugivorous Bats in Tropical Forest Succession
Authors: Muscarella Robert , Fleming Theodore H. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractDiscussion of successional change has traditionally focused on plants. The role of animals in producing and responding to successional change has received far less attention. Dispersal of plant propagules by animals is a fundamental part of successional change in the tropics. Here we review the role played by frugivorous bats in successional change in tropical forests. We explore the similarities and differences of this ecological service provided by New and Old World seed‐dispersing bats and conclude with a discussion of their current economic and conservation implications. Our review suggests that frugivorous New World phyllostomid bats play a more important role in early plant succession than their Old World pteropodid counterparts. We propose that phyllostomid bats have shared a long evolutionary history with small‐seeded early successional shrubs and treelets while pteropodid bats are principally dispersers of the seeds of later successional canopy fruits. When species of figs (Ficus) are involved in the early stages of primary succession (e.g. in the river meander system in Amazonia and on Krakatau, Indonesia), both groups of bats are important contributors of propagules. Because they disperse and sometimes pollinate canopy trees, pteropodid bats have a considerable impact on the economic value of Old World tropical forests; phyllostomid bats appear to make a more modest direct contribution to the economic value of New World tropical forests. Nonetheless, because they critically influence forest regeneration, phyllostomid bats make an important indirect contribution to the economic value of these forests. Overall, fruit‐eating bats play important roles in forest regeneration throughout the tropics, making their conservation highly desirable.