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Daunting Task (daunting + task)
Selected AbstractsMoral Education Between Hope and Hopelessness: The Legacy of Janusz KorczakCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 1 2008SARA EFRAT EFRON ABSTRACT The responsibility for addressing morality and moral education in the current moral climate is a daunting task for conscientious educators. What educational response can extricate us from the debilitating feelings of hopelessness and helplessness as we are confronted by horrific terrorist actions, controversial use of military might, displays of corruption and greed and a growing general tension and anxiety? At this demoralizing juncture of uncertainty and doubt, the figure of Janusz Korczak (1878,1942), a Jewish-Polish educator, looms large. For more than 30 years, Korczak devoted his life to educating orphaned Jewish and non-Jewish children. He stayed with the Jewish children to the end as they all perished in a concentration camp. At a time when the surrounding society surrendered to fascism, anti-Semitism, and self-destruction, Korczak encouraged individual autonomy and caring relationships within the context of a community where a vision of justice and trust was an integral part of life. The orphanages he directed were democratic, self-ruled communities, where the children had their own parliament, court, and newspaper. This article describes the principles and the actualization of Korczak's moral education and explores how Korczak reconciled the differences between the ethical world he created in his institutions and the surrounding immoral society. The example set by Korczak's educational praxis serves as an inspiring model of school life across the boundaries of time and place and touches our need to believe in education's responsibility to strive and struggle for a better world, even when it seems an unattainable goal. And the hour shall come when a man will know himself, respect, and love. And the hour shall come in history's clock when man shall know the place of good, the place of evil, the place of pleasure, and the place of pain. (Korczak, 1978, p. 237) [source] Pediatric psoriasis and psoriatic arthritisDERMATOLOGIC THERAPY, Issue 5 2004Debra Lewkowicz ABSTRACT:, Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are not uncommon among the pediatric population. Recognizing and treating these chronic disorders in children present unique challenges for the dermatologist. Paucity of clinical trials and a dearth of available treatment modalities, many of which carry significant risk or adverse effects, can make treating pediatric psoriasis and PsA a daunting task. This review attempts to define and consolidate the current state of knowledge with regards to this disease spectrum. The need for further clinical trials to investigate treatment options in the pediatric population is also discussed. [source] Diagnosis of recurrent synovial sarcoma by fine needle aspiration cytology,a case reportDIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 8 2007D.C.H., Ghazala Mehdi M.D. Abstract Cytodiagnosis of synovial sarcoma can be a daunting task, owing to the varied cytomorphological appearances possible, depending on whether the tumour is monophasic or biphasic in architecture. We report herewith a case of recurrent synovial sarcoma in a young male who presented with a swelling in the neck. The diagnosis was established by fine needle aspiration cytology. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2007;35:521,524. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] REVIEW: Consilient research approaches in studying gene × environment interactions in alcohol researchADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Kenneth J. Sher ABSTRACT This review article discusses the importance of identifying gene-environment interactions for understanding the etiology and course of alcohol use disorders and related conditions. A number of critical challenges are discussed, including the fact that there is no organizing typology for classifying different types of environmental exposures, many key human environmental risk factors for alcohol dependence have no clear equivalents in other species, much of the genetic variance of alcohol dependence in human is not ,alcohol specific', and the potential range of gene-environment interactions that could be considered is so vast that maintaining statistical control of Type 1 errors is a daunting task. Despite these and other challenges, there appears to be a number of promising approaches that could be taken in order to achieve consilience and ecologically valid translation between human alcohol dependence and animal models. Foremost among these is to distinguish environmental exposures that are thought to have enduring effects on alcohol use motivation (and self-regulation) from situational environmental exposures that facilitate the expression of such motivations but do not, by themselves, have enduring effects. In order to enhance consilience, various domains of human approach motivation should be considered so that relevant environmental exposures can be sampled, as well as the appropriate species to study them in (i.e. where such motivations are ecologically relevant). Foremost among these are social environments, which are central to the initiation and escalation of human alcohol consumption. The value of twin studies, human laboratory studies and pharmacogenetic studies is also highlighted. [source] Is Thabo Mbeki Africa's Saviour?INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2003Gerrit Olivier Foreign relations are the main preoccupation of South African president, Thabo Mbeki. His role perception is dominated by a mission to improve the plight of Africa, and second to that, to act as the Third World's überdiplomat. Under his administration, South Africa's foreign policy has become almost an adjunct of his more holistic diplomatic pursuits. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is the magnum opus of Mbeki's foreign policy, and the success or failure of this grand design for an African renaissance will determine his legacy and make or break his leadership in South Africa and in the rest of Africa. The success of his NEPAD diplomacy is a daunting task, requiring the support of his African peers, his South African constituency, and the leadership of the developed nations of the world. Dealing with these diverse elements, Mbeki's policy-making oscillates between realism and idealism, and between ideology and interests, giving the impression of a style of a prudent bureaucrat rather than that of a single-minded reformer. In the end, his diplomacy seems to founder because it fails to satisfy the contradictory demands of any of these three constituencies. However, even if NEPAD should fail as a project, its role could be that of a harbinger of a new political and economic era in Africa and the movement away from post-colonial orthodoxy. [source] A practical large-strain solid finite element for sheet formingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2005Jue Wang Abstract An alternative approach for developing practical large-strain finite elements has been introduced and used to create a three-dimensional solid element that exhibits no locking or hourglassing, but which is more easily and reliably derived and implemented than typical reduced-integration schemes with hourglassing control. Typical large-strain elements for forming applications rely on reduced integration to remove locking modes that occur with the coarse meshes that are necessary for practical use. This procedure introduces spurious zero-energy deformation modes that lead to hourglassing, which in turn is controlled by complex implementations that involve lengthy derivations, knowledge of the material model, and/or undetermined parameters. Thus, for a new material or new computer program, implementation of such elements is a daunting task. Wang,Wagoner-3-dimensions (WW3D), a mixed, hexahedral, three-dimensional solid element, was derived from the standard linear brick element by ignoring the strain components corresponding to locking modes while maintaining full integration (8 Gauss points). Thus, WW3D is easily implemented for any material law, with little chance of programming error, starting from programming for a readily available linear brick element. Surprisingly, this approach and resulting element perform similarly or better than standard solid elements in a series of numerical tests appearing in the literature. The element was also tested successfully for an applied sheet-forming analysis problem. Many variations on the scheme are also possible for deriving special-purpose elements. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Preparing a large data set for analysis: using the Minimum Data Set to study perineal dermatitisJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 4 2005Kay Savik MS Aim., The aim of this paper is to present a practical example of preparing a large set of Minimum Data Set records for analysis, operationalizing Minimum Data Set items that defined risk factors for perineal dermatitis, our outcome variable. Background., Research with nursing home elders remains a vital need as ,baby boomers' age. Conducting research in nursing homes is a daunting task. The Minimum Data Set is a standardized instrument used to assess many aspects of a nursing home resident's functional capability. United States Federal Regulations require a Minimum Data Set assessment of all nursing home residents. These large data would be a useful resource for research studies, but need to be extensively refined for use in most statistical analyses. Although fairly comprehensive, the Minimum Data Set does not provide direct measures of all clinical outcomes and variables of interest. Method., Perineal dermatitis is not directly measured in the Minimum Data Set. Additional information from prescribers' (physician and nurse) orders was used to identify cases of perineal dermatitis. The following steps were followed to produce Minimum Data Set records appropriate for analysis: (1) identification of a subset of Minimum Data Set records specific to the research, (2) identification of perineal dermatitis cases from the prescribers' orders, (3) merging of the perineal dermatitis cases with the Minimum Data Set data set, (4) identification of Minimum Data Set items used to operationalize the variables in our model of perineal dermatitis, (5) determination of the appropriate way to aggregate individual Minimum Data Set items into composite measures of the variables, (6) refinement of these composites using item analysis and (7) assessment of the distribution of the composite variables and need for transformations to use in statistical analysis. Results., Cases of perineal dermatitis were successfully identified and composites were created that operationalized a model of perineal dermatitis. Conclusion., Following these steps resulted in a data set where data analysis could be pursued with confidence. Incorporating other sources of data, such as prescribers' orders, extends the usefulness of the Minimum Data Set for research use. [source] Individual responses of seabirds to commercial fisheries revealed using GPS tracking, stable isotopes and vessel monitoring systemsJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Stephen C. Votier Summary 1.,The large amount of discards produced by commercial fisheries can have major impacts on marine predator populations: this abundant food may increase populations of some scavengers or decrease others via accidental bycatch. Yet, despite the conservation implications of discard practices, the ecology of individual scavengers is poorly understood. 2.,Here, we assess the influence of commercial fisheries' activity on the foraging behaviour of individual breeding northern gannets Morus bassanus. Using recent developments in stable isotope mixing models (Stable Isotope Analysis in R or SIAR) we estimate individual discard consumption. Using GPS tracking and the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), we investigate behavioural responses to trawlers. 3.,Analysis of conventional diet samples, as well as stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in blood (plasma and cells), highlight marked individual differences in the proportion of fishery discards in the diet. Individual differences in foraging behaviour revealed by stable isotopes show evidence of both short-term consistency and behavioural flexibility. 4.,At-sea path tortuosity of 25 gannets (tracked using GPS loggers) revealed scale-dependent adjustments in response to VMS-derived fishing vessel locations, as well as to sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a concentration and copepod abundance. The results also indicate individual variability in behavioural response to trawlers. 5.,Individual differences in the amount of discards estimated from SIAR were negatively correlated with differences in foraging trip length and body condition, indicating potential fitness consequences. 6.,Synthesis and applications. The management of commercial fisheries and apex predators is a daunting task. Ultimately, reducing bycatch and removing dependency on discards remain key conservation priorities, but managers should also ensure that scavenging species have sufficient alternative food to meet their energetic needs, to ameliorate potential unforeseen knock-on consequences. The results of Stable Isotope Analysis (SIAR) reveal intra-population differences in discard consumption by gannets; differences that have impacts on foraging effort and body condition. The use of GPS tracking and Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) reveal that gannet at-sea behaviour is influenced by fishing vessels, although this also varies among individuals. A combination of SIAR, GPS tracking and VMS can be used to study fishery/scavenger interactions in detail at the individual level, to answer fundamental questions about scavenging behaviour. [source] Conceptualising spirituality and religion for healthcareJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 21 2008Barbara Pesut Aims., To discuss some of the challenges of conceptualising spirituality and religion for healthcare practice. Background., With the growing interest in spirituality in healthcare, has come the inevitable task of trying to conceptualise spirituality, a daunting task given the amorphous nature of spirituality, the changing understandings of spirituality among individuals and the diverse globalised society within which this task is taking place. Spirituality's relationship to religion is a particularly challenging point of debate. Design., Critical review. Conclusions., Three social and historical conditions , located in the context of Western thought , have contributed to current conceptualisations of spirituality and religion: the diminishment of the social authority of religion as a result of the Enlightenment focus on reason, the rise of a postmodern spirituality emphasising spiritual experience and current tensions over the ideological and political roles of religion in society. The trend to minimise the social influence of religion is a particular Western bias that seems to ignore the global megatrend of the resurgence of religion. Current conceptualisations are critiqued on the following grounds: that they tend to be ungrounded from a rich history of theological and philosophical thought, that a particular form of elitist spirituality is emerging and that the individualistic emphasis in recent conceptualisations of spirituality diminishes the potential for societal critique and transformation while opening the door for economic and political self interest. Relevance to clinical practice., Constructing adequate conceptualisations of spirituality and religion for clinical practice entails grounding them in the wealth of centuries of philosophical and theological thinking, ensuring that they represent the diverse society that nursing serves and anchoring them within a moral view of practice. [source] Tips on selling a companyJOURNAL OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 2 2006William H. Venema Selling a company is more of an art than a science,and it can be a daunting task, even for seasoned professionals. The author provides some practical tips to help you through this difficult process. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] SOX 404: How do you control your internal control?JOURNAL OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 4 2005J. Ralph Byington Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) makes most publicly traded companies report on the effectiveness of their internal controls. That can be a daunting task. But this article offers practical advice and valuable checklists that will make the job easier. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Modelling the evolution of legacy systems to Web-based systemsJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 1-2 2004Janet Lavery Abstract To advance operational legacy systems, with their out-of-date software, distributed data and entrenched business processes, to systems that can take advantage of current Web technologies to give consistent, customized and secure access to existing information bases and legacy systems is a complex and daunting task. The Institutionally Secure Integrated Data Environment (INSIDE) is a collaborative project between the Universities of St Andrews and Durham that is addressing the issues surrounding the development and delivery of integrated systems for large institutions, constrained by the requirement of working with the existing information bases and legacy systems. The work has included an exploration of the incremental evolution of existing systems by building Web-based value-added services upon foundations derived from analysing and modelling the existing legacy systems. Progressing from initial informal models to more formal domain and requirements models in a systematic way, following a meta-process incorporating good practice from domain analysis and requirements engineering has allowed the project to lay the foundation for its development of Web-based services. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Strategic Alliance Success FactorsJOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2000Judith M. Whipple SUMMARY There is recognition that competition is shifting from a "firm versus firm perspective" to a "supply chain versus supply chain perspective." In response to this shift, firms seeking competitive advantage are participating in cooperative supply chain arrangements, such as strategic alliances, which combine their individual strengths and unique resources. Buyer-supplier sourcing relationships are a primary focus of alliance improvement efforts. While interest in such arrangements remains strong, it is well accepted that creating, developing, and maintaining a successful alliance is a very daunting task. This research addresses several critical issues regarding that challenge. First, what factors contribute most to long-term alliance success? Second, what conditions define the presence of those success factors? Third, do buyers and suppliers in an alliance agree on those success factors and defining conditions? The research results demonstrate a remarkably consistent perspective among alliance partners regarding key success factors, despite the acknowledgment that the resultant success is based on a relatively even, but not equal, exchange of benefits and resources. Additionally, within an alliance's intended "win-win" foundation, suppliers must recognize their innate dependence on customers. Finally, significant opportunities for improvement exist with respect to alliance goal clarification, communication, and performance evaluation. [source] High Conflict Divorce, Violence, and Abuse: Implications for Custody and Visitation DecisionsJUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL, Issue 4 2003CLARE DALTON ABSTRACT Today, judges are faced with the daunting task of determining the best interests of the child and making appropriate custody awards to that end. The best interests of children becomes a critical question when domestic violence is involved; yet, determining what constitutes domestic violence is often debated. Research is often divided on what constitutes domestic violence. One body of research focuses on conflict, another focuses on domestic violence. What the first group identifies as intense emotional distress and disagreement, the other identifies as abuse. Judges making custody determinations in such cases are faced with the difficult challenge of distinguishing between a divorce with "high conflict" and a domestic violence case with ongoing abuse. This article will summarize the legal, philosophical, and historical understandings of the "high conflict" family and its potential impact on children. It will also provide practical judicial guidelines for making the important distinction between high conflict and domestic violence and subsequently crafting appropriate and safe child custody awards. [source] THE PUZZLE OF FALLIBLE KNOWLEDGEMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2008HAMID VAHID Abstract: Although the fallible/infallible distinction in the theory of knowledge has traditionally been upheld by most epistemologists, almost all contemporary theories of knowledge claim to be fallibilist. Fallibilists have, however, been forced to accommodate knowledge of necessary truths. This has proved to be a daunting task, not least because there is as yet no consensus on how the fallible/infallible divide is to be understood. In this article, after examining and rejecting a number of representative accounts of the notion of fallible knowledge, I argue that the main problems with these accounts actually stem from the very coherence of that notion. I then claim that the distinction is best understood in terms of the externalist/internalist conceptions of knowledge. Finally, I seek to garner some independent support for the proposal by highlighting some of its consequences, including its surprising bearing on certain recent and seemingly distant controversies involving issues in epistemology and philosophy of mind. [source] HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL: A WASTE-FUEL BLENDING APPROACHPRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003A. DALE FLOWERS The disposal of hazardous wastes creates major economic and environmental problems. One productive use of hazardous wastes is to blend them into fuel, which mitigates damage to the environment by recycling waste into fuel and reducing fossil-fuel consumption. Operations personnel face a daunting task of efficiently blending hazardous waste into fuel, while simultaneously maintaining environmental regulatory requirements. This research develops a goal-programming approach to the waste-fuel-blending process that considers the diverse objectives of fuel managers. A realworld case study at a cement kiln illustrates the effectiveness of this approach, where the implementation followed principles of team building and quality management. [source] Honesty As Good Policy: Evaluating Maryland's Medicaid Managed Care ProgramTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2003DEBBIE I. CHANG Throughout the 1990s, the states launched many large-scale innovations in health care financing and delivery. The demands associated with designing, implementing, and managing such initiatives compete for those resources needed to evaluate the impact of the innovations. But without a good faith effort to launch a credible evaluation, innovative and controversial programs may not be able to be sustained. Striking a balance between advocating for change and honestly determining how well the desired changes have been achieved is a delicate and daunting task, and state policymakers often do not spend much time evaluating their efforts, even though this may be critical to the success of their programs. This article describes one state's assessment of a statewide, prepaid, Medicaid managed care program. We look at the evaluation as both an exercise in policy analysis and an indication of the response to various constituencies' concerns. Three of us either worked for the state or contracted with the state to help evaluate the program. [source] Competency Testing Using a Novel Eye Tracking DeviceACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2009Paul Wetzel Assessment and evaluation metrics currently rely upon interpretation of observed performance or end points by an ,expert' observer. Such metrics are subject to bias since they rely upon the traditional medical education model of ,see one, do one, teach one'. The Institute of Medicine's Report and the Flexner Report have demanded improvements in education metrics as a means to improve patient safety. Additionally, advancements in adult learning methods are challenging traditional medical education measures. Educators are faced with the daunting task of developing rubrics for competency testing that are currently limited by judgment and interpretation bias. Medical education is demanding learner-centered metrics to reflect quantitative and qualitative measures to document competency. Using a novel eye tracking system, educators now have the ability to know how their learners think. The system can track the focus of the learner during task performance. The eye tracking system demonstrates a learner-centered measuring tool capable of identifying deficiencies in task performance. The device achieves the goal of timely and direct feedback of performance metrics based on the learner's perspective. Employment of the eye tracking system in simulation education may identify mastery and retention deficits before compliance and quality improvement issues develop into patient safety concerns. [source] Phylogeny of ,-proteobacteria: resolution of one branch of the universal tree?BIOESSAYS, Issue 5 2004James R. Brown The reconstruction of bacterial evolutionary relationships has proven to be a daunting task because variable mutation rates and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) among species can cause grave incongruities between phylogenetic trees based on single genes. Recently, a highly robust phylogenetic tree was constructed for 13 ,-proteobacteria using the combined alignments of 205 conserved orthologous proteins.1 Only two proteins had incongruent tree topologies, which were attributed to HGT between Pseudomonas species and Vibrio cholerae or enterics. While the evolutionary relationships among these species appears to be resolved, further analysis suggests that HGT events with other bacterial partners likely occurred; this alters the implicit assumption of ,-proteobacteria monophyly. Thus, any thorough reconstruction of bacterial evolution must not only choose a suitable set of molecular markers but also strive to reduce potential bias in the selection of species. BioEssays 26:463,468, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Analysis of Twin Data Using SASBIOMETRICS, Issue 2 2009Rui Feng Summary Twin studies are essential for assessing disease inheritance. Data generated from twin studies are traditionally analyzed using specialized computational programs. For many researchers, especially those who are new to twin studies, understanding and using those specialized computational programs can be a daunting task. Given that SAS (Statistical Analysis Software) is the most popular software for statistical analysis, we suggest that the use of SAS procedures for twin data may be a helpful alternative and demonstrate that we can obtain similar results from SAS to those produced by specialized computational programs. This numerical validation is practically useful, because a natural concern with general statistical software is whether it can deal with data that are generated from special study designs such as twin studies and if it can test a particular hypothesis. We concluded through our extensive simulation that SAS procedures can be used easily as a very convenient alternative to specialized programs for twin data analysis. [source] UniFAFF: a unified framework for implementing autonomic fault management and failure detection for self-managing networksINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2009Ranganai Chaparadza Today's network management, as known within the Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security (FCAPS) management framework, is moving towards the definition and implementation of ,self-managing' network functions, with the aim of eliminating or drastically reducing human intervention in some of the complex aspects or daunting tasks of network management. The fault management plane of the FCAPS framework deals with the following functions: fault detection, fault diagnosis, localization or isolation, and fault removal. Task automation is at the very heart of self-managing (autonomic) nodes and networks, meaning that all functions and processes related to fault management must be automated as much as possible within the functionalities of self-managing (autonomic) nodes and networks, in order for us to talk about autonomic fault management. At this point in time there are projects calling for implementing new network architectures that are flexible to support on-demand functional composition for context- or situation-aware networking. A number of such projects have started, under the umbrella of the so-called clean-slate network designs. Therefore, this calls for open frameworks for implementing self-managing (autonomic) functions across each of the traditional FCAPS management planes. This paper presents a unified framework for implementing autonomic fault management and failure detection for self-managing networks, a framework we are calling UniFAFF. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 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