			Home About us Contact

External Challenges (external + challenge)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Changing Internal Governance: A Discussion of Leadership Roles and Management Structures in UK Universities

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2004
Robin MiddlehurstArticle first published online: 13 DEC 200
A series of reviews over the past six years , from Dearing (NCIHE, 1997) to Lambert (Lambert, 2003) , have addressed the question of whether the structure and process of ,governance' in higher education is fit for modern times. This is a proper question to ask as operating environments change and pressures on institutional resources increase. Indeed, it is not coincidental that both the recent government-sponsored reports and those of the previous decade (Jarratt, 1985; NAB, 1987) were associated with significant financial changes in the sector. There are further parallels in that both the reports of the 1980s and those of the later period heralded legislative changes that produced , or will produce , new patterns of higher education provision in the UK (Education Reform Act, 1988; Further and Higher Education Act, 1992; Higher Education Act, 2004). The messages from the reports and White Papers (DES, 1987; DES, 1991; DfES, 2003) published in this twenty-year period have remained broadly similar, even though the wider environment has altered significantly. ,Increase efficiency, find new sources of income and improve performance across an ever-widening range of activities and services' have been the watchwords of successive governments. Given the consistency of the message, it is useful to analyse the changes that universities have been making to meet these requirements and to consider what further changes may be needed in the light of new external challenges. The first part of the paper offers a historical perspective before addressing the evolution of leadership roles and management structures from the late 1980s. The second part considers some of the current drivers of internal and external change before discussing the kind of changes in internal governance that are emerging and that should be considered for the future. I conclude by arguing for a shift in focus from structure and roles to people and processes in the task of leading change in universities. [source]

Globalization and the National Security State: A Framework for Analysis,

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 2 2005
Norrin M. Ripsman
A growing body of scholarly literature argues that globalization has weakened the national security state. In this essay, we examine the globalization school's main propositions by analyzing the national security strategies of four categories of states: (1) major powers, (2) states in stable regions, (3) states in regions of enduring rivalries, and (4) weak and failed states. We conclude that the globalizations school's claims are overstated given that states of all types pursue more traditional security policies than they would expect. To the extent that globalization has affected the pursuit of national security, it has done so unevenly. States in stable regions appear to have embraced the changes rendered by globalization the most, states in regions of enduring rivalries the least. Although the weak and failed states also show signs of having been affected by globalization, many of the "symptoms" they manifest have more to do with internal difficulties than external challenges. [source]

Melanotrope Cells of Xenopus laevis Express Multiple Types of High-Voltage-Activated Ca2+ Channels

JOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
H.-Y. Zhang
Abstract Pituitary melanotrope cells are neuroendocrine signal transducing cells that translate physiological stimuli into adaptive hormonal responses. In this translation process, Ca2+ channels play essential roles. We have characterised which types of Ca2+ current are present in melanotropes of the amphibian Xenopus laevis, using whole-cell, voltage-clamp, patch-clamp experiments and specific blockers of the various current types. Running an activation current,voltage relationship protocol from a holding potential (HP) of ,80 mV/or ,110 mV, shows that Xenopus melanotropes possess only high-voltage activated (HVA) Ca2+ currents. Steady-state inactivation protocols reveal that no inactivation occurs at ,80 mV, whereas 30% of the current is inactivated at ,30 mV. We determined the contribution of individual channel types to the total HVA Ca2+ current, examining the effect of each channel blocker at an HP of ,80 mV and ,30 mV. At ,80 mV, ,-conotoxin GVIA, ,-agatoxin IVA, nifedipine and SNX-482 inhibit Ca2+ currents by 21.8 ± 4.1%, 26.1 ± 3.1%, 24.2 ± 2.4% and 17.9 ± 4.7%, respectively. At ,30 mV, ,-conotoxin GVIA, nifedipine and ,-agatoxin IVA inhibit Ca2+ currents by 33.8 ± 3.0, 24.2 ± 2.6 and 16.0 ± 2.8%, respectively, demonstrating that these blockers substantially inhibit part of the Ca2+ current, independently from the HP. We have previously demonstrated that ,-conotoxin GVIA can block Ca2+ oscillations and steps. We now show that nifedipine and ,-agatoxin IVA do not affect the intracellular Ca2+ dynamics, whereas SNX-482 reduces the Ca2+ step amplitude. We conclude that Xenopus melanotrope cells express all four major types of HVA Ca2+ channel, as well as the resulting currents, but no low-voltage activated channels. The results provide the basis for future studies on the complex regulation of channel-mediated Ca2+ influxes into this neuroendocrine cell type as a function of its role in the animal's adaptation to external challenges. [source]

Reflections on training in child abuse and neglect prevention: Experiences in Brazil

CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 6 2007
Victoria Gabrielle Lidchi
Abstract In cooperation with an international partner, Brazilian professionals based in Rio de Janeiro designed a training programme in child protection to respond to the particular challenges to effective practice posed by the local environment and to address obstacles to its achievement in the existing child protection system. Training participants used a structured process to identify and address such external challenges and internal obstacles. The use of the framework included an exploration of beliefs held by Brazilian child protection professionals. The training was itself envisaged as an intervention opportunity for participants to promote ,bottom up' processes of local systemic change. The programme aimed to provide training that accessed the experience of the international partner's ,community of expertise', but mitigated the risk to effectiveness of a ,transplant' programme that fails to engage with the surrounding social reality and culture. As part of a nine-country international training project initiative (ITPI, International Training Project Initiative by ISPCAN) sponsored by the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), standardised tools were adopted to monitor and evaluate the training process. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]