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Contemporary Developments (contemporary + development)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	40%
Medical Sciences	20%
Education	20%

Selected Abstracts

Contemporary Development of Marxist Philosophy in China

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 2 2002
Ouyang Kang
First page of article [source]

Journeying to professionalism: The case of Irish nursing and midwifery research

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 4 2004
Sarah L Condell RGN RM RNT BNS MA
This paper gives a ,discursive' account of the contemporary development of nursing and midwifery research in the Republic of Ireland in the context of advancing professionalism. Initially, the paper views the landscape by placing research in the current framework of Irish nursing and midwifery. It then examines the map of our present location by documenting a baseline. It ascertains the signposts that are in place by exploring the strategic direction for development. Finally, it uses the compass to orienteer the route through the various obstacles by examining the challenges of the role of the joint appointee leading the implementation of the national Research Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery in Ireland. [source]

Engaged Elites Citizen Action and Institutional Attitudes in Commission Enforcement

EUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 1 2000
Richard Rawlings
The subject of this article is a classic one in European law and administration: the general powers of the Commission to take infringement proceedings against the Member States. The topic merits a basic reconsideration by reason of contemporary developments that put in question the role and nature of the process. Emphasis is laid on the challenges to an e´lite model of regulatory bargaining, in the form both of demands for citizen ,voice' and pressures for a firmer and more formal approach to Commission enforcement. The dynamic character of the process is seen in part to reflect different institutional attitudes, with particular attention being paid to the stance of the European Ombudsman. Practical proposals include a re-balancing of Commission procedures to improve the position of complainants, a central role for the principle of complementarity in terms of public and private legal action, and a creative application to the Commission of the disciplines of the New Public Management. A further aim of the article is to demonstrate the utility of socio-legal studies in European administrative law: for many years a retarded, insufficiently theorised discipline, with too narrow a court-oriented focus. [source]

The End of Violence and Introduction of ,Real' Politics: Tensions in Peaceful Northern Ireland

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2001
Arponen, Kaisa Kuusisto
This article discusses contemporary developments in the Northern Ireland peace process, and pays particular attention to some of the main paths away from political violence towards ,real' politics. Even the peace process has left many tensions in Northern Ireland. The article focuses on the gap between formal governing or decision,making and everyday life in localities, and the role of geographical scales in the peace initiatives is touched upon. In particular, the Belfast Agreement and its effects on localities are assessed to illustrate some of the advances and drawbacks of the multi,level peace developments. By looking at the local context of Derry/Londonderry, this study shows how ambiguous the very existence of peace is in Northern Ireland: for international media there is peace in Northern Ireland, for local politicians ,yes, maybe', but for many locals ,no'. In the localities territoriality, secured boundaries and collective identities remain crucial elements of everyday life. [source]

Geographies of Corporate Decision-Making and Control: Development, Applications, and Future Directions in Headquarters Location Research

GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2010
Murray D. Rice
This article surveys the body of investigation related to the location of headquarters and other elite corporate decision-making activities, a research field known as quaternary location studies. The discussion includes four main sections following an introduction. The first reviews the initial development of headquarters location research from the early 20th century to 1980. The second section discusses contemporary developments and criticisms of the field that have diversified the field beyond its early focus on large-firm headquarters alone to examine the geography of all activities related to corporate decision making. We posit that incorporation of rapidly growing firms in quaternary research is a key element of this diversification. The third section examines the possibilities for further headquarters location research by making a connection between decision-making location and the literature of techno-economic paradigms. The article concludes by summarizing the current state of the field, and argues that a continued diversification of research interests and perspectives is vital to the advancement of quaternary location studies as an important contributor to improved corporate strategies and more effective public policy. [source]

Interpreting the Process of Change in Higher Education: The Case of the Research Assessment Exercises

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2003
Ted Tapper
Given that the current Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2001) has been completed, it is an appropriate time to explore the impact of the RAEs upon the character of British higher education. This timeliness is reinforced by the earlier publication of HEFCE's own ,Review of Research' (September 2000), the report from the House of Commons' Select Committee on Science and Technology Committee (April 2000), with a report due in April 2003 from the Joint Funding Bodies (under the auspices of Gareth Roberts). We are therefore in a period of review and consultation, which may culminate in a new assessment regime or, as its severest critics would hope, even its demise. While our analysis genuflects to these contemporary developments, it is constructed within a framework that interprets the RAE process as constituting a continuous struggle for the control of the production of high-status knowledge. [source]

The tourist with a hidden agenda?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006
Shifting roles in the field of tourism research
Abstract This article focuses on the way tourism researchers have to shift between different roles when in the field. The complex reality of the tourism arena with its multidisciplinary character requires a certain flexibility when it comes to the approach and perspective used by the researcher when interacting with the actors in the field. This role switching and flexibility has certain consequences when it comes to the position of the researcher. Furthermore, contemporary developments in the world (such as globalisation, technological developments and increased human mobility) have altered the practice of ethnographic research. The article explores and reflects upon some of the (methodological) issues that tourism researcher are confronted with when conducting ethnographic research, by discussing a number of empirical examples from different researchers in the field. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd. [source]

The new Quest for Healing: when Therapy and Spirituality Intermingle,

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF MISSION, Issue 380-381 2007
Bernard Ugeux
For some decades one has noted an increased interest in spirituality outside the traditional religions of the West, viz. the three monotheisms. New spiritual quests often develop on the fringes of the churches, and sometimes even as a reaction to the churches' vision of what it means to be human. In this regard, those interested in spirituality often see their spiritual search as something linked to a general care for wellbeing or health, and reproach Christianity for being too disembodied. The association of the spiritual with the therapeutical leads to a certain permeability between the spiritual and therapeutical in terms of the claims each makes. It also leads to the creation of new alternative proposals. This porousness runs the risk of bringing confusion to everything, and using the spiritual and religious to serve therapeutic needs. However, the way in which the claims of the spiritual and therapeutical realms evolve presents a challenge to Christianity. This can be put in terms of, ,What place does Christianity attribute to the body, affectivity, pleasure, and legitimate personal development?' Some individuals and groups in the Christian churches, rather than trying to justify existing approaches, propose more "incarnated" ones that will respond to the new audience in a Christian way. From a theological, pastoral and missiological viewpoint, Christian communities are thus intended to become communities of healing and reconciliation, although not at any price. If Christian spirituality also has to favour the empowering and development of a person , for Christ has assumed everything of humanity, except sin , one should not reduce salvation to healing or ignore the paschal mystery as a way of avoiding the element of pain that this mystery contains. In short, Christianity is invited to do a work of inculturation that not only keeps in mind contemporary developments but also is accompanied by an authentic interdisciplinary discernment. [source]

State-of-the-Art in Longitudinal Studies on Aging: An Overview of the Supplement

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2010
Ruth M. Tappen RN
The articles in this supplement are based on a conference held in January 2008 sponsored by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The purpose of the conference was to summarize major findings and methodological issues in previous and ongoing longitudinal studies on aging and to identify potentially fruitful areas for future research. This article is a review and synthesis of the articles in this supplement. Each of the articles makes important contributions to summarizing existing research, identifying challenging methodological issues, or proposing areas that should be explored in future research. Three themes were identified: general improvement in the health status of the population aged 65 and older in the United States, a shift in longitudinal research on aging from a focus on the endpoints of disease to a focus on the preclinical stage and underlying mechanisms of these diseases, and contemporary developments in longitudinal research methodology. A number of practical suggestions were also drawn from the articles reviewed. [source]

Childhood, Agency and Youth Justice

CHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 4 2009
Roger Smith
This article seeks to reframe debates in the sphere of youth justice in order to move away from narrow and one-sided conceptualisations of young people who offend and appropriate forms of intervention with them. Whilst different positions have been adopted within the field of youth justice, largely around ,justice' or ,welfare' models of practice, the apparent polarisation of this conflict has obscured an underlying consensus, namely that the ,problem' is the child or young offender, and he/she needs either to be helped or coerced into becoming a conforming adult citizen. Largely absent from the field of youth justice have been other theoretical influences such as consideration of the nature of ,agency' and the construction of childhood. These alternative perspectives could offer us some insight into the limitations of historical debates in youth justice policy and practice, as will as pointing the way towards innovative and progressive alternative forms of practice. The strengths and shortcomings of contemporary developments, such as restorative interventions, will be discussed in this context, and the article will conclude that there is scope for developing positive, young person-centred models of youth justice practice if we base these on a proper understanding of childhood and children's agency. [source]