Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Faces A Number (face a + number)
Selected AbstractsNGOs' transnational advocacy networks: from ,legitimacy' to ,political responsibility'?GLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 4 2001Alan Hudson NGOs that operate as part of transnational advocacy networks face a number of ,legitimacy challenges' concerning their rights to participate in the shaping of global governance. Outlining the legitimacy claims that development NGOs make, the article argues that ,legitimacy' is a socially constructed quality that may be ascribed to an NGO by actors and stakeholders with different viewpoints. NGOs operating transnationally link disparate communities and conceptions of legitimacy, and undermine the discourse and practice of sovereignty. Therefore such NGOs will find it difficult to be universally regarded as legitimate, especially by states that hold a sovereignty-based conception of legitimacy. However, relationships are the building blocks of networks, and efforts to improve them should not be abandoned simply because ,legitimacy' is too closely connected with sovereignty. In particular, NGOs ought to improve their relationships with the poor and marginalized communities whose interests they claim to promote. To this end, the concept of ,political responsibility' is suggested as a pragmatic approach to understanding power relations as they arise in transnational advocacy networks and campaigns. [source] Unpacking the effect of IT capability on the performance of export-focused SMEs: a report from ChinaINFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008Man Zhang Abstract., Export-focused small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China face a number of barriers to success, two primary ones being the liability of foreignness and resource scarcity. In order to transcend these challenges and be able to survive/prosper in the hypercompetitive international market, where players include large resourceful multinational organizations with experience in varied national contexts, these firms need to develop different organizational capabilities. In this paper, we specifically examine the role of a key organizational capability , information technology (IT) capability , and its different dimensions, in determining performance of export-focused SMEs in China. Our study reveals that IT capability has a positive impact on such firms' performance. This finding indicates the need for their owners/managers to invest in IT capability. Further, the study also highlights specific sub-dimensions of IT capability that export-focused Chinese SMEs should (or should not) develop, so as to derive maximum performance-related gains for the minimum amount spent on IT. [source] Assessment of organochlorine pesticides and metals in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, MadagascarAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2009Thomas R. Rainwater Abstract Like most of Madagascar's endemic primates, ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) face a number of threats to their survival. Although habitat loss is of greatest concern, other anthropogenic factors including environmental contamination may also affect lemur health and survival. In this study, we examined ring-tailed lemurs from the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), southern Madagascar for exposure to organochlorine (OC) pesticides and metals and examined differences in contaminant concentrations between sexes and among age groups, troops, and habitats. A total of 14 pesticides and 13 metals was detected in lemur blood (24 individuals) and hair (65 individuals) samples, respectively. p,p,-DDT, heptachlor, aldrin, heptachlor epoxide, endrin aldehyde, and endrin were among the most prevalent pesticides detected. Surprisingly, the persistent metabolite of p,p,-DDT, p,p,-DDE, was not detected. The most commonly detected metals were aluminum, zinc, boron, phosphorus, silicon, and copper, whereas metals considered more hazardous to wildlife (e.g. arsenic, cadmium, lead, selenium, vanadium) were not found above detection limits. Overall, concentrations of OC pesticides and metals were low and similar to those considered to be background concentrations in other studies examining the ecotoxicology of wild mammals. Few inter-sex, -age, -troop, and -habitat differences in contaminant concentrations were observed, suggesting a uniform distribution of contaminants within the reserve. Several statistically significant relationships between lemur body size and contaminant concentrations were observed, but owing to the lack of supportive data regarding contaminant exposure in wild primates, the biological significance of these findings remains uncertain. Results of this study document exposure of ring-tailed lemurs at BMSR to multiple OC pesticides and metals and provide essential baseline data for future health and toxicological evaluations of lemurs and other wild primates, especially those in regions with expanding agricultural and mining operations. Am. J. Primatol. 71:998,1010, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Prevention programs in the 21st century: what we do not discuss in publicADDICTION, Issue 4 2010Harold Holder ABSTRACT Prevention research concerning alcohol, tobacco and other drugs faces a number of challenges as the scientific foundation is strengthened for the future. Seven issues which the prevention research field should address are discussed: lack of transparency in analyses of prevention program outcomes, lack of disclosure of copyright and potential for profit/income during publication, post-hoc outcome variable selection and reporting only outcomes which show positive and statistical significance at any follow-up point, tendency to evaluate statistical significance only rather than practical significance as well, problem of selection bias in terms of selecting subjects and limited generalizability, the need for confirmation of outcomes in which only self-report data are used and selection of appropriate statistical distributions in conducting significance testing. In order to establish a solid scientific base for alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention, this paper calls for discussions, disclosures and debates about the above issues (and others) as essential. In summary, the best approach is always transparency. [source] Wind power and ,the planning problem': the experience of WalesENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2007Richard Cowell Abstract Across Europe, spatial planning has acquired an important role in steering wind power to more socially acceptable locations. However, the tendency for planning decisions to become a focus of opposition has also led to planning being represented as ,a problem' in meeting renewable energy targets. Using Jessop's dialectical relationship between modes and objects of governance, this paper seeks to understand why certain states are inclined to resolve ,the planning problem' for wind through strengthened national control. The case study is the Welsh Assembly Government's 2005 planning guidance on renewable energy, which superimposes centrally-determined ,Strategic Search Areas' for large-scale, onshore wind farm development onto local decision-making processes. Motivations for adopting this approach reflect the UK's centralizing planning culture, and beliefs that local planning processes will not yield sufficient sites to meet targets for wind power expansion. Responses to this planning guidance suggest that it may stabilizing the regulatory conditions for large-scale wind investment in the short term, in some parts of Wales, but faces a number of points of vulnerability in the longer term. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Super-resolved spatially encoded single-scan 2D MRIMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 6 2010Noam Ben-Eliezer Abstract Single-scan MRI underlies a wide variety of clinical and research activities, including functional and diffusion studies. Most common among these "ultrafast" MRI approaches is echo-planar imaging. Notwithstanding its proven success, echo-planar imaging still faces a number of limitations, particularly as a result of susceptibility heterogeneities and of chemical shift effects that can become acute at high fields. The present study explores a new approach for acquiring multidimensional MR images in a single scan, which possesses a higher built-in immunity to this kind of heterogeneity while retaining echo-planar imaging's temporal and spatial performances. This new protocol combines a novel approach to multidimensional spectroscopy, based on the spatial encoding of the spin interactions, with image reconstruction algorithms based on super-resolution principles. Single-scan two-dimensional MRI examples of the performance improvements provided by the resulting imaging protocol are illustrated using phantom-based and in vivo experiments. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Automated protein identification by tandem mass spectrometry: Issues and strategiesMASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS, Issue 2 2006Patricia Hernandez Abstract Protein identification by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is key to most proteomics projects and has been widely explored in bioinformatics research. Obtaining good and trustful identification results has important implications for biological and clinical work. Although well matured, automated software identification of proteins from MS/MS data still faces a number of obstacles due to the complexity of the proteome or procedural issues of mass spectrometry data acquisition. Expected or unexpected modifications of the peptide sequences, polymorphisms, errors in databases, missed or non-specific cleavages, unusual fragmentation patterns, and single MS/MS spectra of multiple peptides of the same m/z are so many pitfalls for identification algorithms. A lot of research work has been carried out in recent years that yielded new strategies to handle a number of these issues. Multiple MS/MS identification algorithms are now available or have been theoretically described. The difficulty resides in choosing the most adapted method for each type of spectra being identified. This review presents an overview of the state-of-the-art bioinformatics approaches to the identification of proteins by MS/MS to help the reader doing the spadework of finding the right tools among the many possibilities offered. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 25:235,254, 2006 [source] African countries propose a regional oral health strategy: The Dakar Report from 1998ORAL DISEASES, Issue 3 2004NG Myburgh It is clear that the African region faces a number of serious oral diseases, either because of their high prevalence or because of the severe tissue damage or death that can occur. Previous approaches to oral health in Africa have failed to recognise the epidemiological priorities of the region or to identify reliable and appropriate strategies to assess them. Efforts have consisted of an unplanned, ad hoc and spasmodic evolution of curative oral health services. This document focuses on the most severe oral problems that people have to live with like noma, oral cancer and the oral consequences of HIV/AIDS infection. It proposes a strategy for assisting member states and partners to identify priorities and interventions at various levels of the health system, particularly at the district level. The strategy aims at strengthening the capacity of countries to improve community oral health by effectively using proven interventions to address specific oral health needs. The strategy identifies five main ,programmatic areas', including (i) the development of national oral health strategies and implementation plans, (ii) integration of oral health in other programmes, (iii) delivery of effective and safe oral health services, (iv) regional approach to education and training for oral health, and (v) development of effective oral health management information systems. Many of the programmatic areas share similar characteristics described as a ,strategic orientation'. These strategic orientations give effect to the concepts of advocacy, equity, quality, partnership, operational research, communication and capacity building. The WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC) is invited to review the proposed oral health strategy for the African region for the period 1999,2008 and provide an orientation for the improvement of oral health in member states in the region. [source] | |||||||||||||