Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Developing Theories (developing + theory)
Selected AbstractsDeveloping theory-based risk-reduction interventions for HIV-positive young people with haemophiliaHAEMOPHILIA, Issue 1 2001J. R. Schultz Eleven haemophilia treatment centres in the United States collaborated in the Hemophilia Behavioural Intervention Evaluation Projects (HBIEP) to develop theory-based interventions to reduce the risk of HIV transmission from seropositive adolescents and young adults with haemophilia. While the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change and the Theory of Reasoned Action provided the theoretical underpinnings, the exact form in which these theories would be applied depended on developmental research. This paper presents the various phases of the process to develop the theory based interventions: literature review, qualitative interviews, quantitative surveys, a provider survey, a materials review, and the actual planning. All or portions of this process could be applied to the development of interventions for many behaviour-change projects. A description of the HBIEP interventions is also provided. [source] Towards an integration of ecological stoichiometry and the metabolic theory of ecology to better understand nutrient cyclingECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 5 2009Andrew P. Allen Abstract Ecologists have long recognized that species are sustained by the flux, storage and turnover of two biological currencies: energy, which fuels biological metabolism and materials (i.e. chemical elements), which are used to construct biomass. Ecological theories often describe the dynamics of populations, communities and ecosystems in terms of either energy (e.g. population-dynamics theory) or materials (e.g. resource-competition theory). These two classes of theory have been formulated using different assumptions, and yield distinct, but often complementary predictions for the same or similar phenomena. For example, the energy-based equation of von Bertalanffy and the nutrient-based equation of Droop both describe growth. Yet, there is relatively little theoretical understanding of how these two distinct classes of theory, and the currencies they use, are interrelated. Here, we begin to address this issue by integrating models and concepts from two rapidly developing theories, the metabolic theory of ecology and ecological stoichiometry theory. We show how combining these theories, using recently published theory and data along with new theoretical formulations, leads to novel predictions on the flux, storage and turnover of energy and materials that apply to animals, plants and unicells. The theory and results presented here highlight the potential for developing a more general ecological theory that explicitly relates the energetics and stoichiometry of individuals, communities and ecosystems to subcellular structures and processes. We conclude by discussing the basic and applied implications of such a theory, and the prospects and challenges for further development. [source] Frayed Edges: Exploring the Boundaries of Conflict ResolutionPEACE & CHANGE, Issue 4 2002Larissa A. Fast This article examines the boundary areas of the field of conflict resolution. It proposes that to advance as a practice and academic discipline, conflict resolution must define more clearly its theoretical and practice boundaries. Based on the assumption that this field requires its theory, practice, and research to complement one another, the article first outlines two boundary areas, that of theory about structural conflict and that of impartiality and neutrality in conflict resolution practice. The author proposes that developing theories about structural conflict will promote better interventions, an area where conflict resolution practice currently is underdeveloped. The debates about impartiality and neutrality in conflict resolution practice lead the author to propose two delimiters for practice,impartiality and inclusiveness,that will differentiate conflict resolution from other related fields. The article concludes with a recommendation about how integrating theory, practice, and research can advance the field as a whole. [source] LIGHT, DARKNESS, AND AFRICAN SALVATION: VELÁZQUEZ'S SUPPER AT EMMAUSART HISTORY, Issue 1 2008TANYA J. TIFFANY This study locates Velázquez's Supper at Emmaus (c. 1617/18) within early seventeenth-century debates on the Christian conversion of Seville's African slaves. Through a careful analysis of writings by Sevillian clerics, the essay argues that Velázquez gave pictorial form to discourse on African spiritual ,illumination' and developing theories of skin colour. Treatises by Seville's ecclesiastics also provide crucial insight into the original, elite audience for whom Velázquez surely constructed his African subject. In Supper at Emmaus, Velázquez presented his male beholder with one possession encompassed within another: a female slave in a painting by Seville's most promising young artist. [source] A Striking Profile: Soil Ecological Knowledge in Restoration Management and ScienceRESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Mac A. Callaham Jr. Abstract Available evidence suggests that research in terrestrial restoration ecology has been dominated by the engineering and botanical sciences. Because restoration science is a relatively young discipline in ecology, the theoretical framework for this discipline is under development and new theoretical offerings appear regularly in the literature. In reviewing this literature, we observed an absence of in-depth discussion of how soils, and in particular the ecology of soils, can be integrated into the developing theory of restoration science. These observations prompted us to assess the current role of soil ecological knowledge in restoration research and restoration practice. Although soils are universally regarded as critical to restoration success, and much research has included manipulations of soil variables, we found that better integration of soil ecological principles could still contribute much to the practice of ecosystem restoration. Here we offer four potential points of departure for increased dialog between restoration ecologists and soil ecologists. We hope to encourage the view that soil is a complex, heterogeneous, and vital entity and that adoption of this point of view can positively affect restoration efforts worldwide. [source] How Adolescents Come to See Themselves as More Responsible Through Participation in Youth ProgramsCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2009Dustin Wood This qualitative study was aimed at developing theory about the process underlying the development of responsibility grounded in accounts of youth who reported experiencing this change. A total of 108 high-school-aged (M = 16.5) youth from 11 programs were interviewed about their experiences within the program, and 24 reported becoming more responsible through their participation. The youth's accounts suggested that this process was driven largely by successfully fulfilling program expectations. This process was driven by youth's adherence to their commitments and their consideration of the consequences of their actions on others. Youth mentioned changes in responsibility most frequently in three programs, which appeared to differ from the remaining programs in having more structure and placing greater ownership and accountability on youth. [source] | |||||||||||||