Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Experts
Kinds of Experts Terms modified by Experts Selected AbstractsEVALUATION OF IDEAL WINE AND CHEESE PAIRS USING A DEVIATION-FROM-IDEAL SCALE WITH FOOD AND WINE EXPERTSJOURNAL OF FOOD QUALITY, Issue 3 2005MARJORIE KING ABSTRACT Most information regarding the suitability of wine and cheese pairs is anecdotal information. The objective of this research was to provide recommendations based on scientific research for the most desirable "wine & cheese pairs" using nine award-winning Canadian cheeses and 18 BC wines (six white, six red and six specialty wines). Twenty-seven wine and food professionals rated the wine and cheese pairs using a bipolar structured line scale (12 cm). The "ideal pair," scored at the midpoint of the scale, was defined as a wine and cheese combination where neither the wine nor the cheese dominated. For each cheese, mean deviation-from-ideal scores were determined and evaluated by analysis of variance. Scores closest to six were considered "ideal," while higher or lower scores represented pairs where the "wine" or the "cheese" dominated, respectively. In general, white wines had mean scores closer to six ("ideal") than either the red or specialty wines. The late harvest, ice and port-type wines were more difficult to pair . Judges varied considerably in their individual assessments reflecting a high degree of personal expectation and preference. [source] PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF FOOD RISK ISSUES AND FOOD RISK MESSAGES ON THE ISLAND OF IRELAND: THE VIEWS OF FOOD SAFETY EXPERTSJOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 4 2005MARTINE DE BOER ABSTRACT Food safety experts have a key role in constructing food risk messages and thus their perceptions will influence how food risk issues are communicated to the public. This research examined the perceptions of food safety experts regarding public understanding of food risk issues and food risk messages on the island of Ireland. It also looked into expert views of the barriers to effective food risk communication and how to improve food risk messages. One hundred and forty-three experts, working in areas related to food safety, completed an online questionnaire. Questionnaire and statement design was guided by the results of four in-depth interviews with food safety experts. The findings indicate that most experts surveyed have little confidence in the public's understanding of food risk issues, their assessment of food risks, their ability to deal with scientific information and their food safety practices. Experts are of the view that the public under-assesses the risk associated with some microbiological hazards and over-assesses the risk associated with other hazards such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The opinion of experts with regard to GMOs is not supported by previous consumer research. Experts noted that the level of education and age were important determinants for the level of understanding of food risk issues and messages. Experts were of the view that early intervention via school curricula was the best method to improve public understanding of food risk messages in the long term. Furthermore, experts are of the view that the media have the ability to improve awareness and knowledge about food risk issues but believe that the media tend to communicate information that is misleading. The majority of experts also believe that they should communicate uncertainty but are not confident that the public is able to cope with this uncertainty. Many of the experts also indicated a desire for training on how to interact with the media. The results may be used by those experts who are involved in the construction of food risk messages to improve the design and communication of food risk messages. [source] ARE MORAL PHILOSOPHERS MORAL EXPERTS?BIOETHICS, Issue 4 2010BERNWARD GESANG ABSTRACT In this paper I examine the question of whether ethicists are moral experts. I call people moral experts if their moral judgments are correct with high probability and for the right reasons. I defend three theses, while developing a version of the coherence theory of moral justification based on the differences between moral and nonmoral experience: The answer to the question of whether there are moral experts depends on the answer to the question of how to justify moral judgments. Deductivism and the coherence theory both provide some support for the opinion that moral experts exist in some way. I maintain , within the framework of a certain kind of coherence theory , that moral philosophers are ,semi-experts'. [source] Development of a knowledge-based system for nonpowered hand tools (Tool Expert): Part I,The scientific basisHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 3 2004Berman Kayis The need for developing a clear and concise guide for designing, selecting, and using hand tools would minimize if not eliminate acute,chronic trauma exposure factors and help improve efficiency, well-being, and morale. Despite several research efforts devoted to the exploration and understanding of the interrelation between human capabilities, task requirements, nature of tasks, and ergonomically designed hand tools, there appear to be several problems in utilizing existing knowledge in practical use. One of the most important barriers is the lack of interaction of several specialists from different backgrounds. In this article, TOOL-EXPERT, a knowledge-based system developed to assert the ergonomical nonpowered hand tool design, selection, and use, is explained, which will provide a guideline to several users from various backgrounds. The system is designed to run in any IBM-compatible personal computer system. Knowledge from several domains was included. The type of knowledge used in the research was selected to be a declarative knowledge. Altogether it includes 423 goals, 35 questions, and 40 rules. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 14: 257,268, 2004. [source] On Elkan's theorems: Clarifying their meaning via simple proofsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 2 2007Radim B, lohlávek This article deals with the claims that "a standard version of fuzzy logic collapses mathematically to two-valued logic" made by Charles Elkan in two papers [Proc 11th National Conf on AI, Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press, 1993, pp 698,703; IEEE Expert 1994;9:3,8]. Although Elkan's effort to trivialize fuzzy logic has been questioned by numerous authors, our aim is to examine in detail his formal arguments and make some new observations. We present alternative, considerably simpler proofs of Elkan's theorems and use these proofs to argue that Elkan's claims are unwarranted. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 22: 203,207, 2007. [source] Collaborative Community-Based Care for South African Children Orphaned by HIV/AIDSJOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN PEDIATRIC NURSING, Issue 1 2010Colonel John S. Murray PhD Colonel John S. Murray Ask the Expert provides research-based answers to practice questions submitted by JSPN readers. [source] Curriculum development: The venous thromboembolism quality improvement resource roomJOURNAL OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2006Sylvia McKean MD Abstract BACKGROUND The role of the hospitalist has evolved over the last decade, with hospitalists increasingly being asked to lead systems-based initiatives to improve the quality of inpatient care. The educational strategy of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) includes development of practice-based resources to support hospitalist-led improvement in clinically important measures of hospital care quality. OBJECTIVE To develop a resource at the SHM Web site to present quality improvement (QI) principles for systems-based care in the hospital and to help individual hospitalists improve specific patient outcomes. DESIGN The SHM defined the role of the hospitalist in QI, performed an assessment of the educational needs of hospitalists, and executed a Web-based educational strategy to address these needs. The organization identified the most common cause of preventable inpatient deaths, hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE), and prioritized the need to improve prophylaxis. RESULTS This new resource at the SHM Web site presents principles for conducting QI in the hospital. To enable learning that is practice based, the VTE Quality Improvement Resource Room (QI RR) features Ask the Expert, an interactive discussion community, and an original Improvement Workbook, a downloadable project outline and tutorial that hospitalists can use to guide and document steps in an effort aimed at reducing hospital-acquired VTE. CONCLUSIONS This QI resource serves as a template for the development of subsequent hospital-based resources. User feedback will refine the QI RR and its format so that similar offerings can target other significant inpatient problems. Additional research is needed to evaluate learning and the clinical impact of this quality improvement resource on hospital performance measures and patient outcomes. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2006;1:124,132. © 2006 Society of Hospital Medicine. [source] Review article: pain and chronic pancreatitisALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 7 2009J. G. LIEB II Summary Background, Pain in chronic pancreatitis chronic pancreatitis is a frustrating and challenging symptom for both the patient and clinician. It is the most frequent and most significant symptom. Many patients fail the currently available conservative options and require opiates or endoscopic/surgical therapy. Aim, To highlight the pathophysiology and management of chronic pancreatitis pain, with an emphasis on recent developments and future directions. Methods, Expert review, utilizing in addition a comprehensive search of PubMed utilizing the search terms chronic pancreatitis and pain, treatment or management and a manual search of recent conference abstracts for articles describing pain and chronic pancreatitis. Results, Pancreatic pain is heterogenous in its manifestations and pathophysiology. First-line medical options include abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, pancreatic enzymes, adjunctive agents, antioxidants, and non-opiate or low potency opiate analgesics. Failure of these options is not unusual. More potent opiates, neurolysis and endoscopic and surgical options can be considered in selected patients, but this requires appropriate expertise. New and better options are needed. Future options could include new types of pancreatic enzymes, novel antinociceptive agents nerve growth factors, mast cell-directed therapy, treatments to limit fibrinogenesis and therapies directed at the central component of pain. Conclusions, Chronic pancreatitis pain remains difficult to treat. An approach utilizing conservative medical therapies is appropriate, with more invasive therapies reserved for failure of this conservative approach. Treatment options will continue to improve with new and novel therapies on the horizon. [source] assessment: Checking the checklist: a content analysis of expert- and evidence-based case-specific checklist itemsMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2010Agatha M Hettinga Medical Education 2010: 44: 874,883 Objectives, Research on objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) is extensive. However, relatively little has been written on the development of case-specific checklists on history taking and physical examination. Background information on the development of these checklists is a key element of the assessment of their content validity. Usually, expert panels are involved in the development of checklists. The objective of this study is to compare expert-based items on OSCE checklists with evidence-based items identified in the literature. Methods, Evidence-based items covering both history taking and physical examination for specific clinical problems and diseases were identified in the literature. Items on nine expert-based checklists for OSCE examination stations were evaluated by comparing them with items identified in the literature. The data were grouped into three categories: (i) expert-based items; (ii) evidence-based items, and (iii) evidence-based items with a specific measure of their relevance. Results, Out of 227 expert-based items, 58 (26%) were not found in the literature. Of 388 evidence-based items found in the literature, 219 (56%) were not included in the expert-based checklists. Of these 219 items, 82 (37%) had a specific measure of importance, such as an odds ratio for a diagnosis, making that diagnosis more or less probable. Conclusions, Expert-based, case-specific checklist items developed for OSCE stations do not coincide with evidence-based items identified in the literature. Further research is needed to ascertain what this inconsistency means for test validity. [source] Communication skills knowledge, understanding and OSCE performance in medical trainees: a multivariate prospective study using structural equation modellingMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2002G M Humphris Aim, To test the stability of medical student communication skills over a period of 17 months as exhibited by performance in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and to determine the strength of prediction of these skills by initial levels of knowledge and understanding. Design, This is a prospective study using a 2-wave cohort. Participants, Medical undergraduates (n = 383) from 2 years intake (1996 and 1997) were followed through the first 3 years of a medical curriculum. Procedure, The study procedure involved the objective structured video examination (OSVE) conducted at formative and summative examinations during the first year. Two OSCE measures were employed: expert examiners and simulated patients completed the Liverpool Communication Skills Assessment Scale (LCSAS) and the Global Simulated Patient Rating Scale (GSPRS), respectively. The OSCE data were collected at Level 1 and 17 months later at Level 2 examinations. Results, The measurement model followed prediction. A causal model using latent variables was fitted with Level 2 OSCE performance regressed on Level 1 OSCE and OSVE marks. Expert and simulated patient OSCE data were fitted separately and combined to determine strength of model fit according to professional and patient opinion of student skills. The overall fit of the models was acceptable. Communication skills performance showed a high level of stability. Some negative effect of cognitive factors on future skills performance was found. Conclusion, Early development of communication skills shows stable performance following an introductory course. Knowledge of communication skills has a small but significant influence on performance, depending on the time of testing. New assessments of cognitive factors are required to include both tacit and explicit knowledge. [source] On Being a Legal ExpertPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 4 2003Ronald J. Kulich PhD No abstract is available for this article. [source] On Being a Legal ExpertPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 4 2003Albert L. Ray MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] On Being a Legal ExpertPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 4 2003John Banja PhD No abstract is available for this article. [source] They've Gotta Learn Something Unless They're Just Out To Lunch: Becoming an Expert in a Salmon HatcheryANTHROPOLOGY OF WORK REVIEW, Issue 1-2 2004Yew-Jin Lee First page of article [source] Expert testimony in recovered memory trials: Effects on mock jurors' opinions, deliberations and verdictsAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Julie A. Buck The current study examined the impact of adversarial expert testimony on deliberations and verdicts in a mock trial involving recovered memories of child sexual abuse. Participants (N,=,238) were randomly assigned to one of the six conditions in a 2 (Defense Expert: absent or present),×,3 (Plaintiff Expert: absent, general or specific/therapist) factorial design. After reading the mock trial transcript, participants completed a questionnaire and deliberated to reach a jury verdict. The defense expert's statements effectively reduced the number of pro-plaintiff verdicts and the plaintiff's credibility. These effects were not mitigated by the plaintiff experts, suggesting that the plaintiff experts may only confirm jurors' prior pro-repression beliefs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Eye of the Expert: Walter Benjamin and the avant gardeART HISTORY, Issue 3 2001Frederic J. Schwartz In ,The Work of Art in the Age of its Technical Reproducibility' of 1935/36, Walter Benjamin considers the effects of new conditions of production and commerce on the response to visual stimuli and on the structure of works of art, contrasting reception characterized by ,aura' with that characterized by ,distraction', the gaze of the (bourgeois) art lover with that of the working ,expert'. This essay represents Benjamin's theory of a new and positive form of mass spectatorship; in it he seeks to rise to the challenge of conservative critiques of culture, finding revolutionary potential and cognitive value in seemingly debased modes of apperception. By focusing on the notion of the ,expert', this article seeks to plot new coordinates by which to map the complex conceptual work involved in Benjamin's influential theses. The ,expert' was a key figure in the radical retheorization of cultural values in Weimar Germany, one implicated in the crisis of the traditional intelligentsia as well as in the processes of professionalization that affected fields from the arts to the sciences. Benjamin and those close to him in the Constructivist avant garde felt the pressures of new conditions of intellectual work, and traces of this can be found in the essay. There is also evidence of another process affecting the nature of thought in modernity: as objects of knowledge came to be approached within the parameters of narrowly defined professional concerns, both the origins and uses of the knowledge produced inevitably tended to fall into the blind spots of professional vision. By studying his contact with and borrowings from bodies of professional expertise, this article will question the extent of Benjamin's awareness of changing conditions of knowledge in the twentieth century. [source] Woldemar Mobitz: Early Twentieth Century Expert on Atrioventricular BlockCLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 11 2009Charles B. Upshaw Jr. MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] The Association Between Accruals Quality and the Characteristics of Accounting Experts and Mix of Expertise on Audit Committees,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 3 2010DAN DHALIWAL First page of article [source] Gender, Vulnerability, and the Experts: Responding to the Maldives TsunamiDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2007Emma Fulu ABSTRACT This article examines the initial response by national and international agencies to gender issues during the aftermath of the Maldives tsunami, arguing that it was, in general, inadequate. Some agencies took a gender blind approach, ignoring different impacts on men and women, as well as the effects of complex gender relations on relief and recovery efforts. Other agencies paid greater attention to gender relations in their response but tended to focus exclusively on the universal category of the ,vulnerable woman' requiring special assistance, whilst at the same time ignoring men's vulnerabilities. This article argues that such language entrenched women as victims, excluding them from leadership and decision-making roles and as such served to reinforce and re-inscribe women's trauma. It is suggested that it is partly because of the nature of international bureaucracies and the fact that this disaster drew foreign ,experts' from around the world that the response neglected or over-simplified gender issues. [source] Pathological gambling: an increasing public health problemACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2001Article first published online: 7 JUL 200 Gambling has always existed, but only recently has it taken on the endlessly variable and accessible forms we know today. Gambling takes place when something valuable , usually money , is staked on the outcome of an event that is entirely unpredictable. It was only two decades ago that pathological gambling was formally recognized as a mental disorder, when it was included in the DSM-III in 1980. For most people, gambling is a relaxing activity with no negative consequences. For others, however, gambling becomes excessive. Pathological gambling is a disorder that manifests itself through the irrepressible urge to wager money. This disorder ultimately dominates the gambler's life, and has a multitude of negative consequences for both the gambler and the people they interact with, i.e. friends, family members, employers. In many ways, gambling might seem a harmless activity. In fact, it is not the act of gambling itself that is harmful, but the vicious cycle that can begin when a gambler wagers money they cannot afford to lose, and then continues to gamble in order to recuperate their losses. The gambler's ,tragic flaw' of logic lies in their failure to understand that gambling is governed solely by random, chance events. Gamblers fail to recognize this and continue to gamble, attempting to control outcomes by concocting strategies to ,beat the game'. Most, if not all, gamblers try in some way to predict the outcome of a game when they are gambling. A detailed analysis of gamblers' selfverbalizations reveals that most of them behave as though the outcome of the game relied on their personal ,skills'. From the gambler's perspective, skill can influence chance , but in reality, the random nature of chance events is the only determinant of the outcome of the game. The gambler, however, either ignores or simply denies this fundamental rule (1). Experts agree that the social costs of pathological gambling are enormous. Changes in gaming legislation have led to a substantial expansion of gambling opportunities in most industrialized countries around the world, mainly in Europe, America and Australia. Figures for the United States' leisure economy in 1996 show gross gambling revenues of $47.6 billion, which was greater than the combined revenue of $40.8 billion from film box offices, recorded music, cruise ships, spectator sports and live entertainment (2). Several factors appear to be motivating this growth: the desire of governments to identify new sources of revenue without invoking new or higher taxes; tourism entrepreneurs developing new destinations for entertainment and leisure; and the rise of new technologies and forms of gambling (3). As a consequence, prevalence studies have shown increased gambling rates among adults. It is currently estimated that 1,2% of the adult population gambles excessively (4, 5). Given that the prevalence of gambling is related to the accessibility of gambling activities, and that new forms of gambling are constantly being legalized throughout most western countries, this figure is expected to rise. Consequently, physicians and mental health professionals will need to know more about the diagnosis and treatment of pathological gamblers. This disorder may be under-diagnosed because, clinically, pathological gamblers usually seek help for the problems associated with gambling such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse, rather than for the excessive gambling itself. This issue of Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica includes the first national survey of problem gambling completed in Sweden, conducted by Volberg et al. (6). This paper is based on a large sample (N=9917) with an impressively high response rate (89%). Two instruments were used to assess gambling activities: the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised (SOGS-R) and an instrument derived from the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling. Current (1 year) and lifetime prevalence rates were collected. Results show that 0.6% of the respondents were classified as probable pathological gamblers, and 1.4% as problem gamblers. These data reveal that the prevalence of pathological gamblers in Sweden is significantly less than what has been observed in many western countries. The authors have pooled the rates of problem (1.4%) and probable pathological gamblers (0.6%), to provide a total of 2.0% for the current prevalence. This 2% should be interpreted with caution, however, as we do not have information on the long-term evolution of these subgroups of gamblers; for example, we do not know how many of each subgroup will become pathological gamblers, and how many will decrease their gambling or stop gambling altogether. Until this information is known, it would be preferable to keep in mind that only 0.6% of the Swedish population has been identified as pathological gamblers. In addition, recent studies show that the SOGS-R may be producing inflated estimates of pathological gambling (7). Thus, future research in this area might benefit from the use of an instrument based on DSM criteria for pathological gambling, rather than the SOGS-R only. Finally, the authors suggest in their discussion that the lower rate of pathological gamblers obtained in Sweden compared to many other jurisdictions may be explained by the greater availability of games based on chance rather than games based on skill or a mix of skill and luck. Before accepting this interpretation, researchers will need to demonstrate that the outcomes of all games are determined by other factor than chance and randomness. Many studies have shown that the notion of randomness is the only determinant of gambling (1). Inferring that skill is an important issue in gambling may be misleading. While these are important issues to consider, the Volberg et al. survey nevertheless provides crucial information about gambling in a Scandinavian country. Gambling will be an important issue over the next few years in Sweden, and the publication of the Volberg et al. study is a landmark for the Swedish community (scientists, industry, policy makers, etc.). This paper should stimulate interesting discussions and inspire new, much-needed scientific investigations of pathological gambling. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Guido Bondolfi and Robert Ladouceur Invited Guest Editors References 1.,LadouceurR & WalkerM. The cognitive approach to understanding and treating pathological gambling. In: BellackAS, HersenM, eds. Comprehensive clinical psychology. New York: Pergamon, 1998:588 , 601. 2.,ChristiansenEM. Gambling and the American economy. In: FreyJH, ed. Gambling: socioeconomic impacts and public policy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998:556:36 , 52. 3.,KornDA & ShafferHJ. Gambling and the health of the public: adopting a public health perspective. J Gambling Stud2000;15:289 , 365. 4.,VolbergRA. Problem gambling in the United States. J Gambling Stud1996;12:111 , 128. 5.,BondolfiG, OsiekC, FerreroF. Prevalence estimates of pathological gambling in Switzerland. Acta Psychiatr Scand2000;101:473 , 475. 6.,VolbergRA, AbbottMW, RönnbergS, MunckIM. Prev-alence and risks of pathological gambling in Sweden. Acta Psychiatr Scand2001;104:250 , 256. 7.,LadouceurR, BouchardC, RhéaumeNet al. Is the SOGS an accurate measure of pathological gambling among children, adolescents and adults?J Gambling Stud2000;16:1 , 24. [source] The International Financial Crisis Viewed by ExpertsECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 1-2 2009Antonio Forte The occurrence of the international financial crisis and the spread out of its effects on the global economy prompted experts around the world to think about how to manage the crisis and which measures to implement in order to restore normal economic and financial conditions. In this paper, we present and discuss the results of an international expert survey. We use these experts' perceptions to pursue a twofold target to understand their perceptions about the causes of the crisis, and of the policies to solve it. Interestingly, experts seem to broadly concur on what caused the crisis but their perceptions diverge regarding the policies. Furthermore, substantial differences in perceptions emerge between the Euro Area and the United States. We also find that the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank monetary policies during the crisis are judged barely adequate. Finally, different views distinguish academicians from other experts. [source] Epilepsy Can Be Diagnosed When the First Two Seizures Occur on the Same DayEPILEPSIA, Issue 9 2000Peter Camfield Summary: Purpose: Experts have suggested that when the first two (or more) unprovoked seizures occur on the same day, they should be considered as a single event and the diagnosis of epilepsy await a further seizure. We have studied the subsequent clinical course of children with their first two seizures on the same day ("same day" group) compared with children with their first two seizures separated by more than one day ("different day" group). Method: The Nova Scotia childhood epilepsy database documented all newly diagnosed children with epilepsy from 1977 to 1985 with follow-up in 1990 and 1991. Epilepsy was defined as two or more unprovoked seizures regardless of the interval between seizures provided that consciousness fully returned between seizures. All patients had their first seizure between the ages of 1 month and 16 years. Seizure types were restricted to partial, generalized tonic-clonic, and partial with secondary generalization. Results: Of the 490 children with partial or generalized tonic-clonic seizures and follow-up of more than 2 years, 70 had their first two or more seizures on the same day and 420 had their first two seizures on different days. Eighty percent (56 of 70) of the "same day" group subsequently had one or more further seizures with (n = 14) or without (n = 42) medication; 80.9% (340 of 420) of the "different day" group had one or more further seizures with (n = 115) or without (n = 225) medication. Seizure types were nearly identical. Cause was the same (except for fewer idiopathic "genetic" cases in the "same day" group: 1 of 70 vs. 42 of 420; p = 0.02). Rates of mental handicap and previous febrile seizures were the same. Children in the "same day" group were younger on average (60 vs. 84 months; p = 0.001) and were somewhat more likely to have neurological impairment. Outcome after 7 years average follow-up was the same: 58% of the "same day" group and 56% of the "different day" group were in remission. Conclusion: If two or more unprovoked seizures (with normal consciousness between) occur on the same day, the child appears to have epilepsy and will have a clinical course identical to that of the child with a longer time interval between the first two seizures. [source] Report from the Rockefellar Foundation Sponsored International Workshop on reducing mortality and improving quality of life in long-term survivors of Hodgkin's disease: July 9,16, 2003, Bellagio, ItalyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 2005Peter Mauch Abstract:, A workshop, sponsored by the Rockefellar Foundation, was held between 9 to 16 July, 2003 to devise strategies to reduce mortality and improve quality of life of long-term survivors of Hodgkin's disease. Participants were selected for their clinical and research background on late effects after Hodgkin's disease therapy. Experts from both developed and developing nations were represented in the workshop, and efforts were made to ensure that the proposed strategies would be globally applicable whenever possible. The types of late complications, magnitude of the problem, contributing risk factors, methodology to assess the risk, and challenges faced by developing countries were presented. The main areas of late effects of Hodgkin's disease discussed were as follows: second malignancy, cardiac disease, infection, pulmonary dysfunction, endocrine abnormalities, and quality of life. This report summarizes the findings of the workshop, recommendations, and proposed research priorities in each of the above areas. [source] The Fall and Renewal of the Commission: Accountability, Contract and Administrative OrganisationEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 2 2000Paul Craig The fall of the Santer Commission, prompted by the Report of the Committee of Independent Experts, sent shock waves throughout the entire Community. This article seeks to examine the nature of the problems which beset the Commission, to place these within the broader context of decision-making by public bodies, and to consider also the responsibilities of the Council and European Parliament for the delivery of agreed Community policies. The article analyses in detail the Reports of the Committee of Independent Experts, and the subsequent reforms initiated by the Prodi Commission, in order to assess the prospects for improved service delivery in the future. [source] A Certain Je Ne Sais QuoiHUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005Verbalization Bias in Evaluation People's evaluations of stimuli may change when they verbally attempt to communicate the reasons underlying their judgments. The reported experiments demonstrate the interactive influence of expertise, verbalizability (i.e., the ease with which stimulus features can be linguistically encoded), and appraisal mode in the verbalization bias phenomenon. In Experiment 1, art novices and experts rated their liking of artworks with compositional features that were easy (e.g., figurative,naturalistic) or difficult (e.g., abstract) to verbalize. When asked to verbalize the reasons underlying their judgments, novices assigned lower ratings to abstract but not figurative works. Experts, in contrast, were not influenced by the verbalization manipulation. Experiment 2 explored the possibility that verbalization bias is attributable to a componential appraisal mode that verbalization induces, rather than the specific reasons that people articulate. We found that verbalizing reasons for liking or disliking one abstract work influenced art novices' judgments of a second work for which they did not attempt to verbalize reasons. Moreover, those who merely attempted to verbalize their perceptual experiences also exhibited this contamination effect. The results of both studies suggest that verbalizing the attributes of complex stimuli can significantly alter the way we evaluate these stimuli. [source] Experts, dialects, and discourseINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 1 2002Rakesh Mohan Bhatt This paper examines "expert" discourse , complexes of signs and practices that organize and legitimize social existence and social reproduction , to demonstrate the ideological processes involved in the manufacture of Standard English ideology and its continual duplication as necessitated by the three axiomatic conceptions of the English-sacred imagined community (cf. Anderson 1991). It is argued that the hierarchical structure needed to sustain the sacred imagined community can only be guaranteed if Standard English is accepted by all members as inevitable and the speakers of this standard accepted as uncontested authorities of English language use. How is this ideological manipulation and indoctrination in fact accomplished? This paper focuses on two sites of ideological manipulation , the learning and teaching of English in post-colonial contexts , and argues that expert promulgations enable what Foucault has called régimes of truth to be organized around the language. Expert discourse establishes a habit of thought which makes the standard variety of English (British/American) desirable, necessary, normal, natural, universal, and essential, and all other varieties instances of deficit and deviation. The key ideological process is a naturalizing move that drains the conceptual of its historical content, making it seem universal and timelessly true (Woolard & Schieffelin 1994). [source] Auditor Independence: A Comparative Descriptive Study of the UK, France and ItalyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2002Joanna E. Stevenson The independence of the external auditor has long been a subject of great debate, particularly by UK and US interested parties. With the growth and globalisation of the large multi-disciplinary firms, it has again been pushed to the fore: new ethical guidance issued by international bodies such as La Fédération des Experts- Comptables Européens (FEE) and The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the activities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Independence Standards Board in the US have encouraged a wider consideration of the issue. In Europe, the European Commission has issued a Consultative Paper containing fundamental principles for adoption into Member States' own regulation on statutory auditor independence. Increasing pressure for the removal of obstacles to a single European audit market have resulted in safeguards of auditor independence in some countries being described as undesirable barriers. This paper considers the issue of statutory auditor independence across three EU Member States: the UK, France and Italy, by comparing the ethical guides and the legal and professional regulations in place, highlighting and discussing areas of divergence, and contrasting them with the EC's Consultative Paper. It takes into account factors such as culture and the historical development of auditing in order to explore the differences found. The paper demonstrates that positions taken in France and Italy on the issue of auditor independence differ markedly from that taken by the UK profession. Of the three countries reviewed, the UK viewpoint has most obviously influenced the drafting of the EC Paper. The implications of these variances for EU harmonisation are discussed, and the paper concludes that there is a clear need for empirical study of this important issue in Europe to better understand the reasons for differing perceptions and attitudes, and the repercussions of these differences on the process of European audit harmonisation. [source] Competencies and skills for remote and rural maternity care: a review of the literatureJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 2 2007Jillian Ireland Abstract Title. Competencies and skills for remote and rural maternity care: a review of the literature Aim., This paper reports a review of the literature on skills, competencies and continuing professional development necessary for sustainable remote and rural maternity care. Background., There is a general sense that maternity care providers in rural areas need specific skills and competencies. However, how these differ from generic skills and competencies is often unclear. Methods., Approaches used to access the research studies included a comprehensive search in relevant electronic databases using relevant keywords (e.g. ,remote', ,midwifery', ,obstetrics', ,nurse,midwives', education', ,hospitals', ,skills', ,competencies', etc.). Experts were approached for (un-)published literature, and books and journals known to the authors were also used. Key journals were hand searched and references were followed up. The original search was conducted in 2004 and updated in 2006. Findings., Little published literature exists on professional education, training or continuous professional development in maternity care in remote and rural settings. Although we found a large literature on competency, little was specific to competencies for rural practice or for maternity care. ,Hands-on' skills courses such as Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics and the Neonatal Resuscitation Programme increase confidence in practice, but no published evidence of effectiveness of such courses exists. Conclusion., Educators need to be aware of the barriers facing rural practitioners, and there is potential for increasing distant learning facilitated by videoconferencing or Internet access. They should also consider other assessment methods than portfolios. More research is needed on the levels of skills and competencies required for maternity care professionals practising in remote and rural areas. [source] Nordic guidelines for neuraxial blocks in disturbed haemostasis from the Scandinavian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care MedicineACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 1 2010H. BREIVIK Background: Central neuraxial blocks (CNBs) for surgery and analgesia are an important part of anaesthesia practice in the Nordic countries. More active thromboprophylaxis with potent antihaemostatic drugs has increased the risk of bleeding into the spinal canal. National guidelines for minimizing this risk in patients who benefit from such blocks vary in their recommendations for safe practice. Methods: The Scandinavian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (SSAI) appointed a task force of experts to establish a Nordic consensus on recommendations for best clinical practice in providing effective and safe CNBs in patients with an increased risk of bleeding. We performed a literature search and expert evaluation of evidence for (1) the possible benefits of CNBs on the outcome of anaesthesia and surgery, for (2) risks of spinal bleeding from hereditary and acquired bleeding disorders and antihaemostatic drugs used in surgical patients for thromboprophylaxis, for (3) risk evaluation in published case reports, and for (4) recommendations in published national guidelines. Proposals from the taskforce were available for feedback on the SSAI web-page during the summer of 2008. Results: Neuraxial blocks can improve comfort and reduce morbidity (strong evidence) and mortality (moderate evidence) after surgical procedures. Haemostatic disorders, antihaemostatic drugs, anatomical abnormalities of the spine and spinal blood vessels, elderly patients, and renal and hepatic impairment are risk factors for spinal bleeding (strong evidence). Published national guidelines are mainly based on experts' opinions (weak evidence). The task force reached a consensus on Nordic guidelines, mainly based on our experts' opinions, but we acknowledge different practices in heparinization during vascular surgery and peri-operative administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during neuraxial blocks. Conclusions: Experts from the five Nordic countries offer consensus recommendations for safe clinical practice of neuraxial blocks and how to minimize the risks of serious complications from spinal bleeding. A brief version of the recommendations is available on http://www.ssai.info. [source] People who judge peopleJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 5 2006David J. Weiss Abstract Experts who judge people usually provide opinions. It can be challenging to evaluate the professional performance of those experts, because for many domains there is no applicable external standard against which to verify the opinions. We review traditional methods for assessment and propose the purely empirical CWS approach as an alternative. Expert judgment entails discriminating among the various stimuli within the domain as well as being consistent when judging similar stimuli. We combine observed measures of these two components to form a ratio that we call the CWS index of expertise. We demonstrate the value of the index in an analysis of prioritization judgments made by occupational therapy students before and after they received specific training. The students' CWS scores improved considerably after training. The promise of the index as a selection tool is supported by the positive correlation of pre-training scores with both post-training scores and with course grades. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||