Home About us Contact | |||
Class
Kinds of Class Terms modified by Class Selected AbstractsCONSUMING CLASS: Multilevel Marketers in Neoliberal MexicoCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2008PETER S. CAHN ABSTRACT Since the 1980s, Mexican leaders have followed other Latin American countries in pursuing neoliberal economic policies designed to stimulate foreign investment, reduce public spending, and promote free trade. Recent studies of indigenous movements and popular protests challenge the idea that these market-based economic reforms enjoy a broad consensus and suggest that elites impose them by force. By turning the focus to middle-class Mexicans, I argue that some nonelite sectors of society avidly welcome the reign of the free market. Although they do not profit directly from unregulated capitalism, the middle class looks to neoliberalism to ensure access to the material markers of class status. The rising popularity of multilevel marketing companies in Mexico, which glorify consumption and celebrate the possibilities of entrepreneurship, demonstrates the appeal of neoliberalism to citizens fearful of diminished purchasing power. By tying consumption to globalized free markets, neoliberalism does not need coercion to win acceptance. [source] A MASTER CLASS IN UNDERSTANDING VARIATIONS IN HEALTHCARECYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2006M. Mohammed That there is wide-spread variation in healthcare outcomes cannot be denied. The question is what does the variation mean and what can we do about it? Using a series of well-known case-studies, which include data from the Bristol and Shipman Inquiries, fundamental limitations of traditional methods of understanding variation will be highlighted. These methods, which include comparison with standards, league tables and statistical testing, have flaws and they offer little or no guidance on how to re-act to the variation. Fortunately, there is a theory of variation that overcomes these limitations and provides useful guidance on re-acting to variation, which was developed by Walter Shewhart in the 1920s in an industrial setting. Shewhart's theory of variation found widespread application and won him the accolade ,Father of modern quality control'. His work is central to philosophies of continual improvement. Application of Shewhart's theory of variation, also known as Statistical Process Control (SPC), to case-studies from healthcare will be demonstrated, whilst highlighting the implications and challenges for performance management/monitoring and continual improvement in the healthcare. References:, 1. M A Mohammed, KK Cheng, A Rouse, T Marshall. "Bristol, Shipman and clinical governance: Shewhart's forgotten lessons" The Lancet 2001; 357: 463,7. 2. P Adab, A Rouse, M A Mohammed, T Marshall. "Performance league tables: the NHS deserves better" British Medical Journal 2002; 324: 95,98 [source] CREATIVE CITIES: THE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES AND THE CREATIVE CLASSGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2008Andy C. Pratt ABSTRACT. The aim of this article is to critically examine the notion that the creative class may or may not play as a causal mechanism of urban regeneration. I begin with a review of Florida's argument focusing on the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings. The second section develops a critique of the relationship between the creative class and growth. This is followed by an attempt to clarify the relationship between the concepts of creativity, culture and the creative industries. Finally, I suggest that policy-makers may achieve more successful regeneration outcomes if they attend to the cultural industries as an object that links production and consumption, manufacturing and service. Such a notion is more useful in interpreting and understanding the significant role of cultural production in contemporary cities, and what relation it has to growth. [source] Current concepts in cyclooxygenase inhibition in breast cancerJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 5 2002G. Singh-Ranger BSc (Hons) MBBS MRCS (Eng) Summary The prospect that simple medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could be recruited into the physician's armamentarium of anticancer drugs is intriguing, especially in the context of breast cancer, one of the leading causes of mortality in the Western world. There has consequently been a wider exploration of the role of cyclooxygenase (COX) in breast cancer, and we now accept that COX-2, one of its isoenzymes, is clearly implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease. This would seem to translate into a viable role for cyclooxygenase inhibitors in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer, but also raises issues regarding safety and tolerability of these drugs. In this article we discuss the theoretical consequences of cyclooxygenase inhibition, the significance of findings from experimental studies, large scale epidermiological investigations, and the relevance of large population studies of COX-2 inhibitors such as CLASS and VIGOR. [source] Constraints on a quintessence model from gravitational lensing statisticsMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2005M. Sereno ABSTRACT Constraints on an exact quintessence scalar-field model with an exponential potential are derived from gravitational lens statistics. An exponential potential can account for data from both optical quasar surveys and radio-selected sources. Based on the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) sample, lensing statistics provides, for the pressureless matter density parameter, an estimate of ,M0= 0.31+0.12,0.14. [source] A CLASS OF MODELS DESCRIBING AGE STRUCTURE DYNAMICS IN A NATURAL FORESTNATURAL RESOURCE MODELING, Issue 2 2002MICHAEL A. KRAEMER ABSTRACT. The age dynamics of a natural forest is modeled by the von-Foerster partial differential equation for the age density, while the seedling density is obtained as a solution of an integro-differential equation. This seedling density equation contains a small parameter, the ratio of seedling re-establishment time and the life span of an average tree in the forest. Several models are introduced that take into account various mortality curves and growth functions of trees, the dependence of seedlings carrying capacity on forest size, and different types of seedlings re-establishment. Asymptotic, analytic and numerical methods are used to solve typical example problems. [source] Classroom processes and positive youth development: Conceptualizing, measuring, and improving the capacity of interactions between teachers and studentsNEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, Issue 121 2009Robert C. Pianta The National Research Council's (NRC) statement and description of features of settings that have value for positive youth development have been of great importance in shifting discourse toward creating programs that capitalize on youth motivations toward competence and connections with others. This assets-based approach to promote development is consistent with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) framework for measuring and improving the quality of teacher-student interactions in classroom settings. This chapter highlights the similarities between the CLASS and NRC systems and describes the CLASS as a tool for standardized measurement and improvement of classrooms and their effects on children. It argues that the next important steps to be taken in extending the CLASS and NRC frameworks involve reengineering assessments of teacher and classroom quality and professional development around observations of teachers' performance. This might include using observations in policies regarding teacher quality or a "highly effective teacher" that may emanate from the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind and moving away from a course or workshop mode of professional development to one that ties supports directly to teachers' practices in classroom settings. [source] REARGUARD POLITICS: HONG KONG'S MIDDLE CLASSTHE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, Issue 2 2003TAI-LOK LUI This paper reports on the emergence of the middle class in contemporary Hong Kong First, it gives the historical background of the rise of the middle class in the 1970s. This historical background is important to our understanding of Hong Kong's middle class because it highlights its symbolic significance,the realization of the so-called Hong Kong dream,in the context of the local society. It is also relevant to our understanding of the shaping of its political outlook. The second section explores why the middle class stayed away from politics when the future of Hong Kong and democratization were the main topics in the political agenda of the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, the paper rounds up its discussion by reporting on the new grievances of the middle class amid the economic downturn after the Asian Financial Crisis. [source] SIMPLE INSTABILITY CRITERION FOR A CLASS OF SINGULAR SYSTEMS WITH MULTIPLE TIME DELAYSASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 1 2007Yeong-Jeu Sun ABSTRACT In this paper, the instability for a class of singular systems with discrete and distributed time delays is investigated. Simple instability criterion, which is a delay-dependent criterion, is derived to guarantee the instability of such systems. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the use of the main result. [source] CONTROLLABILITY OF A CLASS OF SINGULAR SYSTEMSASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 4 2006Guangming Xie ABSTRACT In this paper, several different concepts of controllability are investigated for a class of linear singular systems which system parameters are piecewise constant. Necessary and sufficient geometric criteria for C-controllability and R-controllability of such systems are established, respectively. These conditions can be easily transformed into algebraic form. By applying the principle of duality, C-observability is discussed as well. Furthermore, the intrinsic relationship between these results and existing results are also discussed. Then, a novel necessary, and sufficient criterion for C-controllability of linear time-invariant singular systems is derived as a byproduct. [source] NETWORK-INDUCED DELAY-DEPENDENT H, CONTROLLER DESIGN FOR A CLASS OF NETWORKED CONTROL SYSTEMSASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 2 2006Xiefu Jiang ABSTRACT This paper is concerned with the problem of robust H, controller design for a class of uncertain networked control systems (NCSs). The network-induced delay is of an interval-like time-varying type integer, which means that both lower and upper bounds for such a kind of delay are available. The parameter uncertainties are assumed to be normbounded and possibly time-varying. Based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional approach, a robust H, controller for uncertain NCSs is designed by using a sum inequality which is first introduced and plays an important role in deriving the controller. A delay-dependent condition for the existence of a state feedback controller, which ensures internal asymptotic stability and a prescribed H, performance level of the closed-loop system for all admissible uncertainties, is proposed in terms of a nonlinear matrix inequality which can be solved by a linearization algorithm, and no parameters need to be adjusted. A numerical example about a balancing problem of an inverted pendulum on a cart is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed design method. [source] ROBUST STABILITY AND STABILIZATION OF A CLASS OF SINGULAR SYSTEMS WITH MULTIPLE TIME-VARYING DELAYSASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 1 2006S. M. Saadni ABSTRACT This paper deals with the problem of robust stability and robust stabilization for uncertain continuous singular systems with multiple time-varying delays. The parametric uncertainty is assumed to be norm bounded. The purpose of the robust stability problem is to give conditions such that the uncertain singular system is regular, impulse free, and stable for all admissible uncertainties. The purpose of the robust stabilization problem is to design a feedback control law such that the resulting closed-loop system is robustly stable. This problem is solved via generalized quadratic stability approach. A strict linear matrix inequality (LMI) design approach is developed. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the application of the proposed method. [source] ROBUST CONTROL FOR A CLASS OF UNCERTAIN STATE-DELAYED SINGULARLY PERTURBED SYSTEMSASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 2 2005H.R. Karimi ABSTRACT This paper considers the problem of robust control for a class of uncertain state-delayed singularly perturbed systems with norm-bounded nonlinear uncertainties. The system under consideration involves state time-delay and norm-bounded nonlinear uncertainties in the slow state variable. It is shown that the state feedback gain matrices can be determined to guarantee the stability of the closed-loop system for all , , (0, ,00) and independently of the time-delay. Based on this key result and some standard Riccati inequality approaches for robust control of singularly perturbed systems, a constructive design procedure is developed. We present an illustrative example to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed design approach. [source] A COMPARISON OF THE IMPRECISE BETA CLASS, THE RANDOMIZED PLAY-THE-WINNER RULE AND THE TRIANGULAR TEST FOR CLINICAL TRIALS WITH BINARY RESPONSESAUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF STATISTICS, Issue 1 2007Lyle C. Gurrin Summary This paper develops clinical trial designs that compare two treatments with a binary outcome. The imprecise beta class (IBC), a class of beta probability distributions, is used in a robust Bayesian framework to calculate posterior upper and lower expectations for treatment success rates using accumulating data. The posterior expectation for the difference in success rates can be used to decide when there is sufficient evidence for randomized treatment allocation to cease. This design is formally related to the randomized play-the-winner (RPW) design, an adaptive allocation scheme where randomization probabilities are updated sequentially to favour the treatment with the higher observed success rate. A connection is also made between the IBC and the sequential clinical trial design based on the triangular test. Theoretical and simulation results are presented to show that the expected sample sizes on the truly inferior arm are lower using the IBC compared with either the triangular test or the RPW design, and that the IBC performs well against established criteria involving error rates and the expected number of treatment failures. [source] MOMENT ESTIMATION IN THE CLASS OF BISEXUAL BRANCHING PROCESSES WITH POPULATION,SIZE DEPENDENT MATINGAUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF STATISTICS, Issue 1 2007Miguel González Summary This paper concerns the estimation of the offspring mean vector, the covariance matrix and the growth rate in the class of bisexual branching processes with population-size dependent mating. For the proposed estimators, some unconditional moments and some conditioned to non-extinction are determined and asymptotic properties are established. Confidence intervals are obtained and, as illustration, a simulation example is given. [source] ,CLASS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS' LONDON, OCTOBER 2009BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, Issue 2 2010Hilary Dewing No abstract is available for this article. [source] Simulation of Direct-Current Microdischarges for Application in Electro-Thermal Class of Small Satellite Propulsion DevicesCONTRIBUTIONS TO PLASMA PHYSICS, Issue 1-2 2007P. S. Kothnur Abstract Microdischarges are miniature non-equilibrium plasma discharges with characteristic dimensions of ,10's,100's ,m and relatively high operating pressures of ,10's,100's Torr. Microdischarges possess several unique properties that have been exploited in a number of new applications. We have recently proposed amicrodischargebased electro-thermal class of microthrusters for small satellite propulsion. These devices utilize intense gas heating in microdischarges to preheat a propellant gas stream before it is expanded in a micronozzle to produce thrust; thereby improving specific impulse of the device over a conventional cold gas microthruster. This paper addresses direct-current microdischarge phenomena in a flowing gas stream. A two-dimensional, selfconsistent, fluid model of a helium microdischarge in a bulk gas flow is developed. For relatively high current/power levels considered in this study, the microdischarge operates in an abnormal glow mode with positive differential resistivity. Increasing discharge pressures for fixed power and bulk flow rates results in a decrease in charged species densities and the electron and gas temperatures. Also the discharge becomes increasingly constricted with increasing pressures, resulting in a more normal glow mode-like operation. Increasing bulk flow rates results in exactly the same trends as increasing pressures. For given input power and pressure, there exists an optimum flow rate for which the average outlet gas temperature from the discharge is a maximum. An increase in input electrical power results in an almost linear increase in the gas temperatures; this property of microdischarges is the key feature that is exploited in our microdischarge-based thruster concept. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent , Richard FloridaCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2006Gert-Jan Hospers No abstract is available for this article. [source] An Active Learning Exercise Illustrating A Manufacturing Process in A Cost Management ClassDECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 2 2005Harold P. Roth First page of article [source] Zygomatic complex fractures in a suburban Nigerian populationDENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2005Vincent Ugboko Abstract,,, A retrospective analysis of 128 zygomatic complex fractures was undertaken. There were 109 males (85.2%) and 19 females (14.8%), aged 3,74 years (mean ± SD, 33 ± 12.6 years). Patients in the third decade of life (38.3%) recorded the highest incidence. Road traffic accidents (74.2%) mainly from automobile (61.7%) and motorcycle (9.4%) involvement were the predominant etiology. While 38.8% of them presented within the first 24 h, males were relatively earlier than their female counterparts, although this was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Class 3 fractures were the commonest (50%), followed by classes 2 (zygomatic arch) and 4, respectively. Most class 6 fractures (6.3%) resulted from gunshot injuries. There were 116 unilateral (left 63, right 53) and 12 bilateral fractures with the right side of the face recording more zygomatic arch fractures. In addition, statistical significance was observed between etiology, class and type of fracture (P < 0.05). One hundred and twenty-four (136 fractures) patients were available for treatment as four declined. Twelve cases did not require treatment while others were managed by either closed or open reduction under general anesthesia. Gillies' temporal approach was the commonest (57.1%) surgical technique employed. However the unstable nature of the fractures necessitated open reduction and transosseous wiring in 33 cases. The high prevalence of zygomatic complex fractures arising from vehicular accidents reflects the poor status of the road network in rural and suburban Nigerian communities. Hence government should improve on existing infrastructures, decongest the highways and enforce traffic laws amongst road users. In addition, the need to encourage massive investments in safer alternative transport systems is emphasized. [source] Local Histories, Global Markets: Cocoa and Class in Upland SulawesiDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2002Tania Murray Li Research and policy concerning the Southeast Asian uplands have generally focused on issues of cultural diversity, conservation and community resource management. This article argues for a reorientation of analysis to highlight the increasingly uneven access to land, labour and capital stemming from processes of agrarian differentiation in upland settings. It draws upon contrasting case studies from two areas of Central Sulawesi to explore the processes through which differentiation occurs, and the role of local histories of agriculture and settlement in shaping farmers' responses to new market opportunities. Smallholders have enthusiastically abandoned their diversified farming systems to invest their land and labour in a new global crop, cocoa, thereby stimulating a set of changes in resource access and social relations that they did not anticipate. The concept of agency drawn from a culturally oriented political economy guides the analysis of struggles over livelihoods, land entitlements, and the reconfiguration of community, as well as the grounds on which new collective visions emerge. [source] Expression of multiple class three semaphorins in the retina and along the path of zebrafish retinal axonsDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 10 2007Davon C. Callander Abstract Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) extend axons that exit the eye, cross the midline at the optic chiasm, and synapse on target cells in the optic tectum. Class three semaphorins (Sema3s) are a family of molecules known to direct axon growth. We undertook an expression screen to identify sema3s expressed in the retina and/or brain close to in-growing RGC axons, which might therefore influence retinal-tectal pathfinding. We find that sema3Aa, 3Fa, 3Ga, and 3Gb are expressed in the retina, although only sema3Fa is present during the time window when the axons extend. Also, we show that sema3Aa and sema3E are present near or at the optic chiasm. Furthermore, sema3C, 3Fa, 3Ga, and 3Gb are expressed in regions of the diencephalon near the path taken by RGC axons. Finally, the optic tectum expresses sema3Aa, 3Fa, 3Fb, and 3Gb. Thus, sema3s are spatiotemporally placed to influence RGC axon growth. Developmental Dynamics 236:2918,2924, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Insulin-treated diabetes and driving in the UKDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 6 2002G. Gill Abstract Diabetes, and particularly insulin-treated diabetes, has important implications for motor vehicle driving, largely because of its association with potential hypoglycaemia. For this reason, most countries operate some driving restrictions on insulin-treated diabetic patients, as well as systems of intermittent reassessment of hypoglycaemic risk. In the UK, regulations are operated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which is an agency of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). They are supported by an Expert Panel which advises the Secretary of State on diabetes-related issues relating to fitness to drive. The patient organization Diabetes UK is also concerned with diabetes and driving issues, largely from a position of lobbying policy-influencers and supporting individual cases. All parties involved with diabetes and driving issues recognize the need for more research on the subject, as the current literature is flawed in design, though no convincing excess of accidents amongst diabetic drivers has been conclusively demonstrated. Currently in the UK, Class 2 vehicles (large trucks and passenger vehicles) are barred to diabetic drivers on insulin. European law has recently extended this to so-called C1 (large vans and small lorries) and D1 (minibuses) vehicles, though the law has recently been revised to allow individual consideration for potential diabetic C1 drivers on insulin treatment. Diabetes and insulin-treated diabetes is an emotive and difficult issue, for which a stronger evidence base is urgently needed. [source] Modern Classics: Reflections on Rammstein in the German Class,DIE UNTERRICHTSPRAXIS/TEACHING GERMAN, Issue 1 2008Martina Lüke The decreasing interest in the study of foreign languages forces us to reconsider and re-evaluate new teaching methods and approaches. Nevertheless, the use of music, in particular modern or pop music, for interdisciplinary studies and students' language skills appears to be still neglected. I claim that the lyrics and music of the popular group Rammstein deal with classical German literature and music and therefore should be added to the curriculum. Based on personal teaching experiences while teaching German for a couple of years at both high-school and university level I will provide insight into some aspects dealing with Rammstein in the classroom. [source] Ethnicity, Class, and Wilsonian Internationalism Reconsidered: The Mexican-American and Irish-American Immigrant Left and U.S. Foreign Relations, 1915,1922DIPLOMATIC HISTORY, Issue 4 2001Elizabeth McKillen First page of article [source] The magnocellular theory of developmental dyslexiaDYSLEXIA, Issue 1 2001John Stein Abstract Low literacy is termed ,developmental dyslexia' when reading is significantly behind that expected from the intelligence quotient (IQ) in the presence of other symptoms,incoordination, left,right confusions, poor sequencing,that characterize it as a neurological syndrome. 5,10% of children, particularly boys, are found to be dyslexic. Reading requires the acquisition of good orthographic skills for recognising the visual form of words which allows one to access their meaning directly. It also requires the development of good phonological skills for sounding out unfamiliar words using knowledge of letter sound conversion rules. In the dyslexic brain, temporoparietal language areas on the two sides are symmetrical without the normal left-sided advantage. Also brain ,warts' (ectopias) are found, particularly clustered round the left temporoparietal language areas. The visual magnocellular system is responsible for timing visual events when reading. It therefore signals any visual motion that occurs if unintended movements lead to images moving off the fovea (,retinal slip'). These signals are then used to bring the eyes back on target. Thus, sensitivity to visual motion seems to help determine how well orthographic skill can develop in both good and bad readers. In dyslexics, the development of the visual magnocellular system is impaired: development of the magnocellular layers of the dyslexic lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) is abnormal; their motion sensitivity is reduced; many dyslexics show unsteady binocular fixation; hence poor visual localization, particularly on the left side (left neglect). Dyslexics' binocular instability and visual perceptual instability, therefore, can cause the letters they are trying to read to appear to move around and cross over each other. Hence, blanking one eye (monocular occlusion) can improve reading. Thus, good magnocellular function is essential for high motion sensitivity and stable binocular fixation, hence proper development of orthographic skills. Many dyslexics also have auditory/phonological problems. Distinguishing letter sounds depends on picking up the changes in sound frequency and amplitude that characterize them. Thus, high frequency (FM) and amplitude modulation (AM) sensitivity helps the development of good phonological skill, and low sensitivity impedes the acquisition of these skills. Thus dyslexics' sensitivity to FM and AM is significantly lower than that of good readers and this explains their problems with phonology. The cerebellum is the head ganglion of magnocellular systems; it contributes to binocular fixation and to inner speech for sounding out words, and it is clearly defective in dyslexics. Thus, there is evidence that most reading problems have a fundamental sensorimotor cause. But why do magnocellular systems fail to develop properly? There is a clear genetic basis for impaired development of magnocells throughout the brain. The best understood linkage is to the region of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class 1 on the short arm of chromosome 6 which helps to control the production of antibodies. The development of magnocells may be impaired by autoantibodies affecting the developing brain. Magnocells also need high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids to preserve the membrane flexibility that permits the rapid conformational changes of channel proteins which underlie their transient sensitivity. But the genes that underlie magnocellular weakness would not be so common unless there were compensating advantages to dyslexia. In developmental dyslexics there may be heightened development of parvocellular systems that underlie their holistic, artistic, ,seeing the whole picture' and entrepreneurial talents. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Creative Class and Regional Growth: Empirical Evidence from Seven European CountriesECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2009Ron A. Boschma abstract This article analyzes the regional distribution and economic effect of the "creative class" on the basis of a unique data set that covers more than 500 regions in 7 European countries. The creative class is unevenly geographically distributed across Europe; the analyses show that a regional climate of tolerance and openness has a strong and positive effect on a region's share of these people. Regional job opportunities also have a large effect on the size of a region's population of the creative class. The findings reveal some evidence of a positive relationship among creative class occupation, employment growth, and entrepreneurship at the regional level in a number of European countries. On the basis of the analysis, however, it is not clear whether human capital, measured by creative occupation, outperforms indicators that are based on formal education, or if formal education has the stronger effect. [source] Not so Exquisite Corpses: Character Invention and Development in the Creative Writing ClassENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 3 2001Peter Wilson Abstract A method of helping students to invent characters is described in the context of a creative writing workshop for undergraduates. Using the surrealist technique of ,exquisite corpses', students draw composite characters for which they can write a profile. Student work is used to illustrate how such characters feed into the story writing process. [source] American Individualisms: Child Rearing and Social Class in Three Neighborhoods.ETHOS, Issue 1 2010Adrie Kusserow. No abstract is available for this article. [source] Prognostic significance of soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels in patients with dilated cardiomyopathyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, Issue 6 2003C. J. Limas Abstract Background Activation of T lymphocytes is thought to mediate myocardial dysfunction in dilated cardiomyopathy (CMP), probably through cytotoxic cytokines, but its value as a prognostic factor has not been evaluated. Methods For 2 years we prospectively followed 76 patients (65 males, 11 females, age 49 ± 7 years) with CMP and New York Heart Association(NYHA) Class II,III heart failure; left ventricular (LV) function was assessed echocardiographically. Thirty-three patients (28 males, five females, age 52 ± 6 years) with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and similar NYHA and LV function characteristics were used as controls. Serum sIL-2R levels, peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation (basal, + concanavalin A) and HLA-DQB1 genotyping was carried out in all patients. Results The CMP patients had increased sIL-2R levels (1259 ± 130 pg mL,1) compared with the IHD patients (703 ± 80 pg mL,1, P < 0·01, only 3 > 800 pg mL,1). In the CMP patients, there was a significant (r = +0·45, P= 0·04) correlation between sIL-2R and the LV end-diastolic diameter but not with the LV ejection fraction or NYHA Class. During the 24-month follow up, 17 of the CMP patients had an adverse clinical course (death, need for cardiac transplantation, or worsening heart failure). Of these, 14 (75%) had elevated (, 800 pg mL,1) sIL-2R levels (Group I) compared with only five (6%) with a stable clinical course (Group II). Neither [3H] thymidine incorporation into the peripheral blood lymphocytes nor the excess of HLA-DQB1-30 histidine homozygotes in the Group I patients (38% vs. 17%, P < 0·05) could predict the clinical outcome. Conclusion Increased sIL-2R levels in CMP patients are an independent predictor of a more aggressive clinical course. [source] |