bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Have traditional career paths given way to protean ones?
Authors: McDonald Paula , Brown Kerry , Bradley Lisa 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThis mixed‐method study aims to determine the extent to which the career paths of senior managers conform with the traditional versus protean elements described in the careers literature and whether these paths vary by gender.Design/methodology/approachA total of 15 senior managers (seven women and eight men) in a large public sector agency in Australia were interviewed about their career trajectories to date. Data were coded according to four major areas which characterise and distinguish between traditional and protean careers: development, orientation of the employee, definition of success, and organisational environment. A total of 81 managers (34 women and 47 men) from the same organisation were also surveyed. Variables of interest were those that could be triangulated with qualitative data such as the availability of career opportunities.FindingsResults suggest that, contrary to much existing literature which proposes that all careers have been fundamentally altered, the traditional career which relies on length of service, geographic mobility and a steady climb up the corporate ladder, is still the dominant model in some organisations. However, the trend towards protean careers is evident and is more pronounced for women than for men.Research limitations/implicationsThe specific nature of the organisation (large, male‐dominated, public sector) may limit the generalisability of results.Practical implicationsThe framework used to explore career paths according to traditional/ protean elements in this study may assist human resource practitioners to develop appropriate strategies which maximise the professional development of employees.Originality/valueThe results of this research challenge the universality of change in the nature of careers, particularly in public sector environments.
How to individualise your balanced scorecard
Authors: Ahn Heinz 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThe paper aims to explain how the balanced scorecard concept can be improved through customising the normal four perspectives.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of existing methods for developing a balanced scorecard reveals that the goals identified by using the approaches may not correspond to the company's mission and values. Against this background, fundamental multi‐criteria decision‐making principles are applied to design a method which helps to overcome this weakness.FindingsSince the core idea is to derive the perspectives directly from the mission statements of a company, the method described here helps to develop an individualized balanced scorecard. A case study illustrates how the method works in practice.Practical implicationsThe paper has practical relevance for the effectiveness and credibility of the balanced scorecard inside a company, particularly as it is gaining additional importance due to the fact that the concept is increasingly being used for external reporting.Originality/valuePointing out how an important methodical shortcoming of the balanced scorecard concept can be eliminated, the paper is especially of interest for practitioners.
Business performance measurement practices in construction engineering organisations
Authors: Robinson Herbert S. , Anumba Chimay J. , Carrillo Patricia M. , Al‐Ghassani Ahmed M. 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThe need for performance improvement has led to the implementation of industry‐specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and greater awareness of the benefits of measurement in construction engineering organisations. This paper aims to present and discuss the findings of a survey based on the practical experiences of leading UK construction engineering organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a questionnaire survey, the findings of which are discussed and analysed. The survey focused on establishing current industry practice and forms part of a larger study, which involved detailed case studies and led to the development of an innovative framework for links knowledge management initiatives with business performance measurement.FindingsThe survey shows that a significant proportion of organisations are now using a range of financial and non‐financial measures to assess business performance, and a growing number are adopting the excellence model and/or the balanced scorecard to facilitate a structured approach to implementing continuous improvement strategies. The paper identifies the barriers to the use of performance measurement models and discusses the differences between the practices in smaller and larger construction engineering firms.Originality/valueThe paper concludes with some practical considerations for implementing performance measurement models, which will be of value to business improvement managers and other senior managers in construction and other project‐based industries.
An attempt to quantify the quality of student bibliographies
Authors: Middleton Anne 
Published: April 2005

PurposeTo provide a possible methodology by which the quality of student bibliographies can be measured.Design/methodology/approachThe citations in some undergraduate business student bibliographies were categorised by resource type which were designated as either “scholarly” or “non‐scholarly”. A ratio of scholarly/non‐scholarly references – the “scholarly index”, was calculated for each bibliography as an indication of its quality.FindingsThe scholarly index did allow differences in bibliography quality to be detected between the different module assignments that were examined.Research limitations/implicationsThere are a number of variables affecting the quality of student bibliographies including the library. As a measurement of library impact student bibliography quality has a limited value unless library factors can be isolated from other variables.Originality/valueThis methodology and the scholarly index, could be employed where it is required to assess or compare the quality of student bibliographies.
Does the student's love of the search engine mean that high quality online academic resources are being missed?
Authors: Markland Margaret 
Published: April 2005

PurposeTo compare the resource discovery network (RDN) hubs and Google as search tools within an academic context, taking into account well documented user information seeking behaviours. To find out whether the students' apparent preference for search engines as an information retrieval tool means that they might miss quality online resources to support their academic work.Design/methodology/approachWith key factors about user behaviour and service provision in mind, to conduct a small study to see what students are actually presented with when they search for online information for their academic studies, by comparing search results from the RDN hubs and Google.FindingsAnalysis of results suggests that the exclusive use of search engines will lead to users missing the high quality resources provided by the RDN hubs, that if users use subject gateways in the same way that they use search engines they are likely to miss much that the hubs' sophisticated structures and search options have to offer them, and that search engines do provide access to quality resources.Research limitations/implicationsA larger scale investigation of the level of sophistication of searching behaviour among hubs users is called for.Practical implicationsThe study emphasizes the need for online information service developers to take into account well documented user behaviours when designing new services.Originality/valueThe paper will be of value to researchers in the fields of information retrieval and information seeking behaviour, and to developers and providers of online information services to the academic community.
AIB‐ISTAT statistics: the first time for Italian public libraries
Authors: Boretti Elena 
Published: April 2005

PurposeAim of the paper is to report on the first Italian national library statistics.Design/methodology/approachNo national library statistics existed in Italy. In Italy there is no national law governing public library services and no national authority for them. The Official Publications Working Group of the Italian Library Association, in collaboration with the Central Institute for the Union Catalogue of Italian Libraries and the Italian National Statistics Institute (ISTAT), carried out a survey, financed by the University of Perugia, to collect information about the presence of official publications in Italian public libraries. A high percentage of answers was collected. The few questions, useful for the identification of the main peculiarities of the answering libraries, were able to supply for the first time some national data about Italian public libraries.FindingsThe paper presents aims and objectives of the survey, methodology, the unexpected success. ISTAT methodological office stated that the responding libraries constituted a valid sample of Italian public libraries and the results of the survey could be considered the first Italian national library statistics. Results, limits, impact and some prospectives for the future are presented.Research limitations/implicationsThe first official national statistics about Italian public libraries are an unexpected success.Practical implicationsIt has proved however that we need wider agreements among institutions and funds, to have regular national library statistics.Originality/valueThanks to this survey, for the first time we can speak about Italian public libraries in terms of numbers.
Subcutaneous panniculitic T‐cell lymphoma in a cardiac allograft recipient
Authors: Bregman Shelli G. , Yeaney Gabrielle A. , Greig Bruce W. , Vnencak‐Jones Cindy L. , Hamilton Katherine S. 
Published: April 2005

Background:  Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is the third leading cause of death in heart transplant patients beyond the immediate peri‐operative period (Ouseph R, Denny DM, Erbeck KM. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 1998; 11: 758; Armitage JM, Kormos RL, Stuart RS, et al. J Heart Lung Transplant 1991; 10: 877; Swinnen LJ, Mullen M, Carr TJ, et al. Blood 1995; 86: 3333; Ying AJ, Myerowitz D, Marsh WL. Ann Thorac Surg 1997; 64: 1822). The majority of PTLD cases are of B‐cell origin whereas T‐cell neoplasms have been reported as rare, aggressive, and late complications of solid‐organ transplantation (Fatio R, Sütsch G, Mayer K, et al. Transplant Proc 1998; 30: 1118).Case report:  A 50‐year‐old cardiac allograft heart transplant patient presented with subcutaneous nodules involving his trunk and extremities.Results:  Light microscopy revealed features characteristic of subcutaneous panniculitic‐like T‐cell lymphoma. Immunohistochemical analysis showed expression for CD45RO, TIA‐1, and focal CD3 positivity by tumor cells. Flow cytometry performed on a subsequent subcutaneous nodule demonstrated an abnormal T‐cell population with expression of CD3, CD8, CD56, and T‐cell receptor alpha‐beta, and no expression of CD4. T‐cell gene rearrangement studies revealed a clonal population of cells with a bi‐allelic gene rearrangement.Conclusion:  We report a case of an unusual subtype of PTLD in a cardiac allograft recipient.
CD10 is expressed in cutaneous clear cell lesions of different histogenesis
Authors: Perna Ashley G. , Smith Megan J. , Krishnan Bhuvaneswari , Reed Jon A. 
Published: April 2005

Background:  CD10, the Common Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Antigen, is a neutral endopeptidase commonly used as a marker of early B‐cell differentiation in the classification of lymphomas. Neoplasms of other histogenesis may express CD10, including renal cell carcinoma. Renal cell carcinoma metastatic to the skin (MRCC) can simulate other more common clear cell lesions in which expression of CD10 has not been described.Methods:  Fifty‐two cutaneous clear cell lesions including xanthomas (CX), xanthelasmas (XA), xanthogranulomas (XG), balloon cell nevi (BCN), nodular/clear cell hidradenomas (CCH), and MRCC were examined by immunohistochemistry for the expression of CD10, noting frequency and pattern of labeling.Results:  CD10 was expressed in 32/35 of the xanthomatous lesions (CX, XA, and XG), 3/3 MRCC, but only 2/8 BCN and 2/6 CCH. BCN and CCH expressed CD10 in fewer than 10% of the clear cells, whereas all MRCC and most xanthomatous lesions had labeling in greater than 10% (p < 0.001). Xanthomatous lesions exhibited a predominantly membranous pattern of labeling compared to the cytoplasmic pattern of MRCC (p < 0.025).Conclusions:  Cutaneous clear cell lesions of different histogenesis express CD10, limiting its use as a specific diagnostic marker for MRCC. Among other clear cell lesions, however, BCN and CCH have a lower frequency of labeling than does MRCC, and xanthomatous lesions show a membranous pattern compared to the cytoplasmic pattern of MRCC, BCN, and CCH. This latter observation may be indicative of altered protein function or trafficking.
Immunoglobulin M predominance in cutaneous lupus erythematosus
Authors: Kontos Andrew P. , Jirsari Maryam , Jacobsen Gordon , Fivenson David P. 
Published: April 2005

Background:  Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (LE). Our goal was to characterize the most frequent immune reactants in the skin biopsies of cutaneous LE and identify the most common immunofluorescence staining patterns.Methods:  DIF results of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, IgM, C3, and fibrinogen from 199 patients between 1989 and 1998 were retrospectively analyzed. Confirmatory clinical and serological diagnosis of LE subtype was available for 95 patients. Intensity of staining was ranked from 0 to 4+ but only included as significant if ≥2+. Laboratory values were gathered and analyzed for all patients who had distinct granular immune deposition for Ig and/or complement.Results:  The most commonly detected individual Ig was IgM in 149 (75%) specimens. IgM and C3 combination was the most common pair expressed with 98 (49%) specimens. The most common triplet was IgM, C3, and fibrinogen in 63 (32%) specimens. The most common quadruplet was the combination of IgG, IgM, C3, and fibrinogen in 42 (21%) specimens. All the five immunoreactants were detected in only 25 (13%) specimens. Systemic LE patients had a higher percent of abnormal laboratory values compared to discoid LE (DLE) and subacute LE (SCLE) patients (p = 0.02). Fibrinogen staining was found to be significantly higher in DLE patients and lowest in SCLE patients (p = 0.05).Conclusions:  This study demonstrates a marked predominance of IgM ± C3 in cutaneous LE. When used in conjunction with other data, DIF is an extremely powerful tool in the routine evaluation of the LE patient. Our report emphasizes the importance of IgM expression in the diagnosis of LE by DIF and how positive staining with multiple conjugates can raise its sensitivity.
Detection of the BRAF V600E mutation in melanocytic lesions using the ligase detection reaction
Authors: Turner Daniel J. , Zirvi Monib A. , Barany Francis , Elenitsas Rosalie , Seykora John 
Published: April 2005

Background:  BRAF is a member of the RAF kinase family, and it promotes signaling through the RAS‐MAP kinase signal transduction cascade. Research has shown that a majority of melanomas and nevi exhibit an activating V600E (T1799A) mutation in BRAF exon 15. Additional studies of BRAF have demonstrated that the T1799A mutation is absent in uveal melanomas and Spitz nevi.Methods:  The ligase detection reaction (LDR) is a sensitive technique that can identify specific DNA mutations occurring at very low frequency within heterogeneous clinical samples, and it has previously been used to analyze mutations in paraffin‐embedded tissue specimens.Results:  The LDR can readily detect mutations in DNA extracted from non‐microdissected paraffin‐embedded sections of common nevi, dysplastic nevi, and melanomas. In addition, this method demonstrated the absence of the V600E (T1799A) mutation within Spitz nevi.Conclusion:  The LDR is a highly sensitive and specific test for detecting mutations in formalin‐fixed tissue. The LDR can be easily adapted to detect any mutation associated with a cutaneous disorder. The absence of the BRAF V600E mutation in Spitz's nevi may serve as a molecular signature to distinguish these lesions from common nevi, dysplastic nevi, and some types of malignant melanoma.
Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors in squamous cell carcinoma and its precursors
Authors: Nijsten Tamar , Geluyckens Elke , Colpaert Cecile , Lambert Julien 
Published: April 2005

Background:  Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs) mediate several functions that are of interest in carcinogenesis. Although PPARα, PPARβ, and PPARγ are expressed in multiple human, their expression has not been investigated in non‐melanoma skin cancer.Methods:  We performed a retrospective paired immunohistochemical analysis of normal skin, actinic keratosis (AK), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) among 35 individuals. Specimens were considered PPAR immunoreactive when 1% or more of the tumor cells showed clear evidence of immunostaining. Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) expression, the fraction of proliferating endothelial cells, and microvessel density were also evaluated in these samples.Results:  PPARα immunoreactivity was significantly less likely to occur in SCC and AK than in normal skin of each individual. In contrast to PPARα, PPARβ appeared to be upregulated in (pre)malignant skin lesions. For each individual, the likelihood that normal skin, AK, or SCC was immunoreactive against PPARγ was comparable. COX‐2 immunopositivity was significantly associated with PPARβ and PPARγ immunoreactivity. No statistical differences were noted for the angiogenesis parameters and PPARα, PPARβ, or PPARγ expression, except that the microvessel density was significantly higher among PPARβ‐immunoreactive SCCs compared to that among immunonegative SCCs.Conclusion:  Although further research is warranted, these results suggest that PPAR ligands such as fibrates and thiazolidinediones may have chemoprophylactic properties in skin carcinogenesis.
Long‐term acid suppression by omeprazole in gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease patients does not lead to anti‐gastric autoantibody production
Authors: Bergman M. P. , Klinkenberg‐Knol E. C. , Faller G. , van der Aar A. , Lakhai W. , Vandenbroucke‐Grauls C. M. J. E. , Kuipers E. J. , Appelmelk B. J. 
Published: April 2005

SummaryBackground : Helicobacter pylori‐associated atrophy of the gastric corpus is associated with the presence of anti‐canalicular autoantibodies. Also, long‐term profound acid suppression in H. pylori‐infected subjects may cause atrophic corpus gastritis.Aim : To investigate whether long‐term acid suppression by omeprazole leads to antigastric autoantibodies.Methods : Fifty patients, of which 34 H. pylori‐positive on entry of the study, were treated with omeprazole (20–40 mg once daily) for reflux oesophagitis, and were evaluated for anti‐gastric autoantibody responses by immunohistochemistry before and after treatment. H. pylori was not eradicated and patients were followed for an average of 6.6 years (range 3–14.1 years). In addition to immunohistochemistry, anti‐H+, K+‐ATPase reactivity was assessed by Western blot in paired sera of 41 patients (26 H. pylori‐positive and 15 uninfected) and results are critically evaluated.Results : In immunohistochemistry, all patients were negative for anti‐canalicular autoantibodies when omeprazole therapy started, except for two patients with corpus‐predominant gastritis in the presence of H. pylori. One patient, who was H. pylori‐negative, newly developed an anti‐canalicular antibody response during therapy.Conclusions : Our results indicate that, as compared with non‐infected patients, long‐term profound acid suppression therapy in H. pylori‐infected gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease patients does not increase or accelerate gastric autoimmunity.
Absorbable vs. non‐absorbable antibiotics in the treatment of small intestine bacterial overgrowth in patients with blind‐loop syndrome
Authors: Di Stefano M. , Miceli E. , Missanelli A. , Mazzocchi S. , Corazza G. R. 
Published: April 2005

SummaryBackground : Small intestine bacterial overgrowth is associated with the presence of predisposing conditions, acting through different mechanisms. Therefore, the failure to define a standardized therapy may be due to a methodological bias: to treat a condition characterized by different pathophysiological mechanisms with the same pharmacological approach. Non‐absorbable antibiotics could have a lower efficacy than absorbable drugs in patients with blind loops which exclude a portion of the intestine from the transit.Aim : To evaluate the efficacy of absorbable vs. non‐absorbable antibiotics in this subgroup of patients.Methods : A group of small intestine bacterial overgrowth patients with total gastrectomy or gastrojejunostomy and blind loop underwent a therapeutic trial comparing rifaximin to metronidazole. Seven patients underwent a course of rifaximin followed by a course of metronidazole on recurrence of symptoms. To compare the effect of the drugs, another two groups of patients underwent two consecutive courses of rifaximin or metronidazole. Hydrogen breath test after glucose administration and symptom severity measurement were performed.Results : Both drugs reduced breath H2 excretion but a much better improvement was achieved after metronidazole. Symptom improvement was higher after metronidazole.Conclusion : Metronidazole is more effective than rifaximin for the treatment of small intestine bacterial overgrowth associated with the presence of a blind loop.
Normalization of oesophageal pH does not guarantee control of duodenogastro‐oesophageal reflux in Barrett's oesophagus
Authors: Todd J. A. , Basu K. K. , De Caestecker J. S. 
Published: April 2005

SummaryBackground : Proton‐pump inhibitors are effective at preventing the acid component of gastro‐oesophageal refluxate from entering the oesophagus. It is not clear whether proton‐pump inhibitors prevent duodenogastro‐oesophageal reflux.Aim : To measure oesophageal exposure to duodenogastro‐oesophageal refluxate while on proton‐pump inhibitors in patients with Barrett's oesophagus.Methods : Twenty‐five patients (23 male) with Barrett's oesophagus underwent 24 h oesophageal pH and Bilitec 2000 monitoring while on omeprazole 40 mg/day (n = 19) or omeprazole 60 mg/day (n = 6). All patients were undergoing argon plasma ablation of their Barrett's epithelium as part of a clinical trial and the Bilitec measurements were only carried out after the ablation had been completed.Results : 20 of 25 (80%) patients had a normal oesophageal pH profile. Fifteen of the 25 (60%) had abnormal oesophageal exposure to bile as measured by Bilitec 2000. Of the 20 patients who had a normal 24 h oesophageal pH profile, 11 (55%) had pathological exposure to bile in their oesophagus.Conclusion : Complete acid suppression does not guarantee elimination of duodenogastro‐oesophageal reflux.