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Central Aspects (central + aspect)
Selected AbstractsOverview of retinoid metabolism and functionDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 7 2006Rune Blomhoff Abstract Retinoids (vitamin A) are crucial for most forms of life. In chordates, they have important roles in the developing nervous system and notochord and many other embryonic structures, as well as in maintenance of epithelial surfaces, immune competence, and reproduction. The ability of all- trans retinoic acid to regulate expression of several hundred genes through binding to nuclear transcription factors is believed to mediate most of these functions. The role of all- trans retinoic may extend beyond the regulation of gene transcription because a large number of noncoding RNAs also are regulated by retinoic acid. Additionally, extra-nuclear mechanisms of action of retinoids are also being identified. In organisms ranging from prokaryotes to humans, retinal is covalently linked to G protein-coupled transmembrane receptors called opsins. These receptors function as light-driven ion pumps, mediators of phototaxis, or photosensory pigments. In vertebrates phototransduction is initiated by a photochemical reaction where opsin-bound 11- cis -retinal is isomerized to all- trans -retinal. The photosensitive receptor is restored via the retinoid visual cycle. Multiple genes encoding components of this cycle have been identified and linked to many human retinal diseases. Central aspects of vitamin A absorption, enzymatic oxidation of all- trans retinol to all- trans retinal and all- trans retinoic acid, and esterification of all- trans retinol have been clarified. Furthermore, specific binding proteins are involved in several of these enzymatic processes as well as in delivery of all- trans retinoic acid to nuclear receptors. Thus, substantial progress has been made in our understanding of retinoid metabolism and function. This insight has improved our view of retinoids as critical molecules in vision, normal embryonic development, and in control of cellular growth, differentiation, and death throughout life. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol 66: 606,630, 2006 [source] The effects of graphical overviews on knowledge acquisition in hypertextJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 2 2002T. De Jong Abstract A central aspect of designing hypertext for learning concerns the structure of the information in the hypertext and the view the learner is offered of this structure. In this study, a hypertext environment was enhanced with a graphical overview that represented the basic, inherent, structure of the domain and the layout was designed in such a way that learners were unobtrusively encouraged to follow a sequence of exploration that followed the domain structure. This so-called ,visual' lay-out was compared with two lay-outs that presented randomly positioned nodes. One of these two lay-outs contained hints (using ,highlighting') to stimulate learners to follow a domain related exploration similar to the one incorporated in the visual lay-out. The other (,control') lay-out did not provide such hints. Results showed that participants from both the ,visual' and the ,hints' conditions demonstrated a more domain-related exploration pattern than participants from the ,control' condition. Participants in the ,visual' lay-out did not show a better recall of the content of the nodes as such, but showed a significantly better acquisition of knowledge of structure than participants from the other two conditions. These data indicate that a visual display conveys knowledge in its own right and that knowledge gained does not depend on the exploration route followed in the hypertext material. [source] Power in telephone-advice nursingNURSING INQUIRY, Issue 1 2010Vesa Leppänen LEPPÄNEN V. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17: 15,26 Power in telephone-advice nursing Power is a central aspect of nursing, especially in telephone-advice nursing, where nurses assess callers' medical problems and decide what measures that need to be taken. This article presents a framework for understanding how power operates in social interaction between nurses and callers in telephone-advice nursing in primary care in Sweden. Power is analysed as the result of nurses and callers being oriented to five social structures that are relevant to their actions in this context, namely the organization of telephone-advice nursing, the social stock of medical knowledge, the professional division of labour between nurses and doctors, structures of social interaction and structures of emotions. While structural constraints govern some actions to a high degree, calls take place in an organizational free room that give nurses more leeway for acting more creatively. The discussion focuses on the introduction of new technologies of control, for instance computerized decision support systems and audio recording of calls, and on how they reduce the free room. Empirical data consist of 276 audio-recorded telephone calls to 13 nurses at six primary-care centres and of qualitative interviews with 18 nurses. [source] Multilateral development banks, transparency and corporate clients: ,public,private partnerships' and public access to informationPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2003Paul J. Nelson The multilateral development banks (MDB) recognise and promote transparency as a principle of good governance. Public release of information about policies and projects is a central aspect of this transparency, and the five MDBs studied here each adopted new policies during the 1990s to increase the accessibility of such information. The flow of information to local communities is important to the effectiveness of MDBs' social and environmental safeguards and to securing public support. But MDBs also embrace a second strategy, which sometimes conflicts with transparency: each MDB (or an affiliate) lends to private corporations as well as to member states and each bank modifies its information disclosure rules, giving corporate clients greater discretion than member governments. Environmental and social safeguards apply to corporate borrowers as well as to governments and there is a relatively high level of controversy over corporate projects' environmental and social impact. When subjected to a qualitative review of their disclosure standards, emphasising fullness of disclosure, accessibility of information, timeliness of information and availability of recourse, the disclosure policies of all five MDBs are clearly found to accommodate corporate confidentiality while compromising public demands for information. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] PUBLIC SERVICE PERSPECTIVES ON REFORMS OF ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION AND SUPPLY: A MODULAR ANALYSISANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2010Ute Dubois ABSTRACT,:,This article analyzes organizational change in electricity distribution and retail businesses and its impact on public service issues. Organizational change has resulted from the European electricity directives, especially the EU Electricity directive 2003/54/EC, which has imposed major transformations on these activities, requiring legal unbundling of electricity distribution networks by 1 July 2007. Organizational change has also resulted from an adaptation of companies to the newly competitive environment. This has led to a diversity of organizational choices across Europe. We analyze this diversity by using a modular approach, which decomposes reforms in electricity distribution and retail into logical ,blocks'. We then examine how European countries have dealt with two policy and regulatory issues related to customer protection in that new environment: the regulation of quality of distribution, which is a task of regulators, and energy affordability policies for vulnerable customers, which are a central aspect of public service policies in the electricity sector. [source] Reclaiming the social body through self-directed violence: Seeking anthropological understanding of Suicide attacks (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY, Issue 5 2010Natalia Linos Suicide bombings receive tremendous attention in the media and are a central aspect of the Western public's imagination of terrorism, yet anthropology has remained relatively silent in debates around this form of violence. Drawing on constructs central to anthropology, namely embodiment and agency, I suggest that when political and structural violence threatens the body and thus the identity of both individual and group, this force can be ultimately rejected and the body can be ,reclaimed' through self-directed violence. In trying to explain the horror that this act generates in the West the article introduces a new element central to anthropology - namely pollution - that has not previously been examined in discourse around suicide bombing. This is a theoretical piece that tries to problematize the role of the body, as a physical entity central to this ,act' and offers some questions and potential hypotheses for further research. [source] Stuck in the past: negative bias, explanatory style, temporal order, and evaluative perspectives in life narratives of clinically depressed individualsDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 11 2008Tilmann Habermas Ph.D. Abstract This study attempted to replicate negative bias and depressive explanatory style in depression using life narratives. The two central aspects of narrative, temporal succession and evaluation, were also explored. These aspects were tested for the first time using entire life narratives of 17 depressed inpatients and non-depressed controls matched for sex and educational level. Negative bias and depressive explanatory style were replicated as typical for the depressed group. Life narratives of depressed patients also deviated more from a linear temporal order and compared less frequently the past with the present. Contrary to expectations, the depressed did not differ in the overall frequency of evaluations. However, they used more past than present evaluations and more experience-near evaluations than cognitive evaluations, suggesting that they are more immersed in past experiences. It is concluded that negative bias and depressive explanatory style can be found also in a naturalistic narrative measure, and that depression affects the two major aspects of narrative. It is argued that life narratives, as measures close to everyday clinical practice and as the most encompassing form of self-representation, should complement more experimental procedures in the study of cognitive and communicative processes in psychopathology. Depression and Anxiety, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Measuring the emergence of tobacco dependence: the contribution of negative reinforcement modelsADDICTION, Issue 2004Thomas Eissenberg ABSTRACT This review of negative reinforcement models of drug dependence is part of a series that takes the position that a complete understanding of current concepts of dependence will facilitate the development of reliable and valid measures of the emergence of tobacco dependence. Other reviews within the series consider models that emphasize positive reinforcement and social learning/cognitive models. This review summarizes negative reinforcement in general and then presents four current negative reinforcement models that emphasize withdrawal, classical conditioning, self-medication and opponent-processes. For each model, the paper outlines central aspects of dependence, conceptualization of dependence development and influences that the model might have on current and future measures of dependence. Understanding how drug dependence develops will be an important part of future successful tobacco dependence measurement, prevention and treatment strategies. [source] The Swedish Welfare State and the Emergence of Female Welfare State OccupationsGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 4 2000Lars Evertsson The Swedish welfare state has, during the twentieth century, developed into the primary guarantor of health and social services as well as economic security. As the welfare state has developed, a new group of professions has emerged which can be described as welfare state professions. In this paper I will point out a few central aspects of how female-dominated welfare state professions have emerged and developed within the framework of the Swedish welfare state's expansion. These ideas will then be demonstrated on two female-dominated occupations, nurses and occupational therapists, which have developed in close association with the expansion of the welfare state. The results indicate that the emergence of a centrally planned welfare state and the occupational groups' organizational resources have been of crucial importance for the professional development of female-dominated health and care occupations in Sweden. The welfare state has opened up new professional fields and created a stable labour market, which has provided good conditions for professional organizing. The state has also been quick to establish relationships with occupational groups whose professional competence has been deemed to be suited to the welfare political context. However, the state's interests in professional matters have often been in conflict with those of the professions themselves, regarding, for example, education, sub-specialization and certification. One conclusion that can be drawn is that the Swedish welfare state has acted both as an engine and a brake regarding professional development and status. [source] The challenges for nurses communicating with and gaining valid consent from adults with intellectual disabilities within the accident and emergency care serviceJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 9 2007Margaret Sowney MSc Aim., This paper reports the challenges experienced by nurses within accident and emergency departments in communicating with and gaining valid consent from adults with intellectual disabilities. Background., Consent is both a legal requirement and an ethical principle required to be obtained by health-care professionals, prior to the start of any examination, treatment and/or care. Central to the process of seeking consent is effective communication. However, evidence shows that people with intellectual disabilities are not viewed by professionals within acute general hospitals as a vital source of information, neither are they often communicated with directly, nor involved in discussions or decisions about their health care and are frequently not directly asked for their consent. Method., A purposive sample of nurses working within the accident and emergency departments of five general hospitals was recruited to participate in this qualitative study. Data were collected from five focus groups. Findings., Effective communication was identified as the most challenging aspect in caring for adults with intellectual disabilities within this environment, having an impact on the assessment of needs, informing patients of their health status and seeking valid consent. Conclusions., Fundamental to the provision of quality care are the concepts communication, choice and control. However, these issues are perceived to be more challenging in the provision of health care to people with intellectual disabilities. Communication and consent, therefore, require further consideration within the educational and clinical areas to strengthen nurses' competence in caring for people with intellectual disabilities, with an emphasis and understanding that choice and control are key principles for all people, being central aspects to the provision of an inclusive service for people with intellectual disabilities. Relevance to clinical practice., All nurses need to have a greater awareness of learning disability, how to increase opportunities for effective communication and be very familiar with the issue and guidelines relating to consent, to ensure that people with learning disabilities have choice, control and are more active in decision making regarding their health. [source] Patients' perceptions of the concept of the quality of care in the psychiatric setting: a phenomenographic studyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 1 2006Agneta Schröder MSc Aim., The aim was to describe how patients perceived the concept of quality of care in psychiatric care. Background., It is important to include patients' experiences in defining quality of care and in the development of instruments measuring quality of psychiatric care, as patients have unique information. But only a limited number of studies have directly involved patients. Design., It was a qualitative interview study with 20 adult in and outpatients from psychiatric care. Method., A phenomenographic approach was used for the analysis of the interviews. Results., The results showed that quality of care was perceived as a positive concept, namely as ,good' quality of care. The normative component was striking. Five descriptive categories emerged: The patient's dignity is respected; The patient's sense of security with regard to care; The patient's participation in the care; The patient's recovery; and The patient's care environment. Two conceptions emerged that had not emerged explicitly in earlier studies of quality of care: Being helped to reduce the shame and Being looked upon as like anyone else. Conclusions., The findings emphasize the importance of the interpersonal relationship between patients and staff. There is a need for further exploration of central aspects of quality in psychiatric care. Relevance to clinical practice., It is important that the knowledge about how patients perceived the quality of care in psychiatric care is included in the planning and evaluation of care. The guidelines should designate quality of care from the patient perspective as the goal of interventions. [source] Professional Competence as Ways of Being: An Existential Ontological PerspectiveJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 7 2009Jörgen Sandberg abstract Current theories propose that professional competence is primarily constituted by scientific and tacit knowledge, knowing-in-action, understanding of work or practice. While providing valuable insights we contend that they present a fragmented understanding of professional competence. In particular, they do not adequately explain how central aspects of practice such as knowledge and understanding are integrated into a specific professional competence in work performance. An existential ontological perspective is proposed as offering a more comprehensive and integrative analysis of professional competence. It is explored through an empirical study of corporate lawyers and the findings suggest that professional competence should be understood as ways of being. The results show that different ways of practising corporate law distinguish and integrate a specific understanding of work, a particular self-understanding, other people, and tools into distinct forms of competence in corporate law. [source] Regulation of Technology Transfer to Developing Countries: The Relevance of Institutional Capacity,LAW & POLICY, Issue 1 2005KEVIN E. DAVIS This article revisits the debate over appropriate approaches to the regulation of technology transfer to developing countries. It begins by contrasting two stylized approaches, labeled for convenience the "New International Economic Order" model and the "Globalization" model, which have historically struggled for acceptance. It then explores the implications for the choice between these or alternative models of the fact that many developing countries presently lack the institutional capacity required to provide optimal regulation of technology transfer. Existing discussions appear either to assume that developing countries possess sufficient institutional capacity to design and implement sophisticated regulatory regimes, or to take the opposite approach and assume a drastic shortage of institutional capacity. Both approaches ignore the intermediate category of countries that do face constraints upon institutional capacity but are striving to overcome them. The analysis here is intended to demonstrate the general point that a country's present and future institutional capacity ought to be considered highly relevant to the design of central aspects of the regime that it uses to regulate technology transfer. The analysis is also designed to highlight the specific need for attention to the distinctive questions of regulatory design which arise in countries that are in the process of enhancing their institutional capacity in this and other regulatory contexts. [source] Polymerization and Sickle Cell Disease: A Molecular ViewMICROCIRCULATION, Issue 2 2004FRANK A. FERRONE ABSTRACT The present molecular-level understanding of polymerization and sickling is reviewed for 2 central questions in sickle hemoglobin pathophysiology, viz., what determines when cells sickle, and what determines when cells get stuck. The description of sickling includes the central aspects of the double nucleation mechanism, as well as recent results on the effects of crowding, with an emphasis on the physiological applicability of this fundamental knowledge. In considering when cells get stuck, new measurements of individual fiber stiffness and the processes of depolymerization are also considered. Finally, a fundamental connection is shown between thermodynamics and rheology. [source] Reduced fat oxidation and obesity risks among the Buryat of Southern Siberia,AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2009William R. Leonard Over the last 20 years, obesity and associated metabolic diseases have emerged as major global health problems. Among urbanizing populations of developing regions of the world, childhood undernutrition often coexists with adult overnutrition, a phenomenon known as the "dual nutritional burden". A recent work (Frisancho 2003: Am J Hum Biol 15:522,532) suggests that linear growth stunting in early childhood may contribute to adult obesity by reducing the body's ability to oxidize fat. We test central aspects of this model drawing on data from 112 adult Buryat herders (53 males; 59 females) from Southern Siberia. The results are consistent with the predictions of the model, but only for women. Shorter Buryat women (height-for-age Z -scores , ,1) have significantly lower fasting fat oxidation levels compared to their taller counterparts. Shorter women are also significantly heavier and fatter, and have higher serum lipid levels. Among all Buryat women, reduced fat oxidation is significantly correlated with percent body fatness, serum triglyceride levels, and serum leptin levels, after controlling for relevant covariates. Additionally, Buryat women with high dietary fat intakes and low fat oxidation are significantly fatter and have higher lipid and leptin levels than those with low fat intakes and high fat oxidation. These results suggest that developmental changes in fat oxidation may play a role in the origins of obesity among populations with high rates of linear growth stunting. Further longitudinal research is necessary to elucidate the pathways through which early-life undernutrition may increase risks for adulthood obesity and cardiovascular disease. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REFORMS ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN DANISH SCHOOLSPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2008SIMON CALMAR ANDERSEN Many resources have been invested in reforming the public sectors of most countries in the world during the last 20 years. Greater focus on evaluation and performance is one of the most central aspects of these reforms, but despite much academic research virtually no systematic evaluations of the outcome of the reforms themselves are found. This paper presents a study of the effect of performance management reforms of Danish public schools on the achievements of more than 80,000 lower secondary students. The study finds no or very small effects on performance measured as average exam scores, but highly significant effects on inequity in the sense that students with low socioeconomic status perform worse at reforming schools than at similar non-reforming schools. These results, as well as the methodological challenges involved in estimating reform impact, emphasize the need for more empirical scrutiny of what effects the reforms have. [source] John Ruskin's Political Economy: ,There is No Wealth but Life'BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2010Christopher May In 2010 it will be 150 years since John Ruskin's major intervention in political economy was published. While in many ways Ruskin remains a well-known British commentator, his work on political economy has languished, relatively under-appreciated and seldom discussed. In this short review of Ruskin's political economy, the central aspects of his analysis are introduced and summarised. This is then allied to a short indication of how these ideas remain (especially) relevant today, as a prompt to those interested in thinking through analytical alternatives in light of the current travails of contemporary capitalism, to examine and re-engage with John Ruskin's insights into the character and problems of economics. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||