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Selected AbstractsTurkish women's perceptions of antenatal educationINTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 3 2010P. Serçeku Serçeku, P. & Mete S. (2010) Turkish women's perceptions of antenatal education. International Nursing Review57, 395,401 Background:, Antenatal education is considered essential for expectant women. Although there are a number of studies on the effects of antenatal education, there are few studies featuring substantial evidence in this area. For this reason, the benefits have not been clearly defined. Aim:, To describe women's perceptions of the effectiveness of antenatal education on pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period, and also to describe their impressions on the type of education received. Methods:, A qualitative approach was used. The study featured 15 primipara women who had attended antenatal education. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed using the content analysis method. Findings:, The results of this study showed that education provided a basis of knowledge about pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period. It was found that education could have positive effects on pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, motherhood and infant care, and that it could at the same time have a positive or negative effect on fear of childbirth. Although different advantages were found to be perceived in both individual and group education, it was discovered that the study participants were much more satisfied with attending group sessions. Key conclusions and implications for practice:, Antenatal education should be planned in such a way that its content and methodology do not increase fear. When the lower costs incurred and the higher satisfaction level attained are considered, group education appears to be the type of antenatal education that should be preferred. [source] Profiling the Yorkshire county elector of the early eighteenth century: new material and methodsHISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 184 2001Richard Hall This article investigates the possibilities for re-examining the political motivations of eighteenth-century county electors in the light of their socio-economic status. It focuses upon the linkage of estate and electoral records for several townships in Yorkshire, with particular attention paid to the deeds registries of Yorkshire as a source for the political historian. Whilst the argument stresses the importance of developing a broader understanding of the voters' motivations, its key conclusion is that the more one knows about individual electors, the less confidence one can have in generalizations based upon aggregate analyses of poll books. [source] Introduction: Local Democratic Governance, Poverty Reduction and Inequality: The Hybrid Character of Public ActionIDS BULLETIN, Issue 6 2009Peter K. Spink It has largely been assumed that as societies get better at being broader and more open (decentralisation, local government, participation and governance), so services tend to improve and things will get better for those in situations of poverty. In testing this assumption, the LogoLink network has drawn on studies of innovative experiences by members of its partner organisations. The emphasis of the joint project was on the local actors and the social processes involved. The results show how effective action and impact requires not only community-based organisations, social movements and NGO networks, but also public sector actors who can make links between the institutional environment, the public sector and communities. Recognising this hybrid character of public action has been a key conclusion from the studies. [source] An assessment of ,international best practice' in visitor attraction management: does Scotland really lag behind?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007Brian Garrod Abstract This paper compares and contrasts selected management practices among visitor attractions in Scotland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The catalyst for the study was the growing perception that management practices among visitor attractions in Scotland are becoming increasingly outdated and that the sector needs to learn from ,international best practice' in this respect. A postal questionnaire was sent to all paid-admission visitor attractions in the four countries. In total, 1022 visitor attractions replied, representing an overall response rate of 41%. Chi-square analysis was then used to test various hypotheses relating to the uptake of these management practices. A key conclusion is that although management practices do vary significantly among the four countries, Scotland does not necessarily lag behind. Indeed, Scottish visitor attractions seem to lead the way in many respects. Meanwhile, the study finds no strong evidence to suggest that visitor attractions in the other three countries have indeed identified and are following a common ,international best practice'. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Editors' Introduction: Birds and AgricultureJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2000S.J. Ormerod 1.,Around 10% of recent papers in the Journal of Applied Ecology have examined interactions between birds and agriculture. This statistic reveals the important role now played by ecologists in assessing the effects of agricultural development worldwide. It also reflects the position of birds as both indicators and targets of agricultural change: their patterns of behaviour, distribution, seasonal phenology and demography track closely onto the spatial and temporal scales of agricultural intensification. 2.,Papers in this Special Profile illustrate how research in this sphere has shifted towards assessing the processes by which birds are affected ecologically by agricultural change. The works examine spatial patterns in extinction; assess long-term trends in bird abundance and agricultural practice; reveal how foraging and breeding performance in farmland birds varies between habitats; and evaluate the role of large-scale modelling in examining hypotheses about the influences of land management on birds. The final paper shows that birds can have intrinsically positive value in agricultural systems. 3.,All the papers propose management prescriptions for agricultural areas that blend the microscopic , for example, how to modify local land structure to benefit birds , and the macroscopic , for example, by suggested inputs into land-use policy. Perhaps most pertinent is the key conclusion that agricultural change is multivariate, so that straightforward univariate effects on birds are unlikely. Restoration of impacted populations might therefore require holistic strategies that encourage appropriately scaled agricultural extensification. Success would be most likely if farmers, conservationists and other key players were engaged collaboratively in the process. 4.,Current ideas about restoring farmland bird populations share a common assumption: if agricultural practice has reduced populations hitherto, then agricultural practice can restore the losses. We suggest that this assumption carries a range of predictions that now require testing through sustainable farm management , a situation ideally suited to ,BACI' style experiments. 5.,We reiterate the need to expand work on other groups of organisms affected negatively or positively by agricultural management to allow a broader perspective of impacts or benefits. [source] Concepts and Epistemic IndividuationPHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005WAYNE A. DAVIS Christopher Peacocke has presented an original version of the perennial philosophical thesis that we can gain substantive metaphysical and epistemological insight from an analysis of our concepts. Peacocke's innovation is to look at how concepts are individuated by their possession conditions, which he believes can be specified in terms of conditions in which certain propositions containing those concepts are accepted. The ability to provide such insight is one of Peacocke's major arguments for his theory of concepts. I will critically examine this "fruitfulness" argument by looking at one philosophical problem Peacocke uses his theory to solve and treats in depth. Peacocke (1999, 2001) defines what he calls the "Integration Challenge." The challenge is to integrate our metaphysics with our epistemology by showing that they are mutually acceptable. Peacocke's key conclusion is that the Integration Challenge can be met for "epistemically individuated concepts."A good theory of content, he believes, will close the apparent gap between an account of truth for any given subject matter and an overall account of knowledge. I shall argue that there are no epistemically individuated concepts, and shall critically analyze Peacocke's arguments for their existence. I will suggest more generally that the possession conditions of concepts and their principles of individuation shed little light on the epistemology or metaphysics of things other than concepts. My broader goal is to shed light on what concepts are by showing that they are more fundamental than the sorts of cognitive and epistemic factors a leading theory uses to define them.1 [source] Toward a Dynamic Learning Perspective of EntrepreneurshipENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 4 2005Jason Cope This conceptual article introduces a dynamic learning perspective of entrepreneurship that builds upon existing "dominant" theoretical approaches to understanding entrepreneurial activity. As many aspects of entrepreneurial learning remain poorly understood, this article maps out and extends current boundaries of thinking regarding how entrepreneurs learn. It presents key conclusions from emergent empirical and conceptual work on the subject and synthesizes a broad range of contributory adult, management, and individual learning literature to develop a robust and integrated thematic conceptualization of entrepreneurial learning. Three distinctive, interrelated elements of entrepreneurial learning are proposed,dynamic temporal phases, interrelated processes, and overarching characteristics. The article concludes by demonstrating how a "learning lens" can be applied to create further avenues for research in entrepreneurship from a learning perspective. [source] Forensic evaluation of clothing flammabilityFIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 7 2009M. M. Hirschler Abstract A set of 17 commercial garments were purchased, categorized based on their fabric composition and fire tested. Three fire exposures were used: (a) a simile of the United States regulatory test for apparel fabrics (16CFR1610), (b) a small vertical candle on a small swatch of fabric and (c) a candle applied to a full garment, placed on a mannequin. Comparisons were made between the results of the various tests and of the various fabrics tested. A general correlation was observed whereby increased fabric areal density [weight/unit fabric area] resulted in improved fire performance. Where outliers to this generalization were observed the improved fire performance was due to the superior inherent fire performance of specific fabric types such as silk. Overall, the quantitative behavior with regard to flame spread rate observed after ignition of cellulosic, thermoplastic and blended fabrics was more heavily dependent on fabric areal density than on their chemical composition. Two key conclusions are that very lightweight fabrics constitute a potential danger and that the United States regulatory value, set at 88.3g/m2 (2.6oz/yd2), represents an essentially arbitrary cut-off in this regard. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Being ,fat' in today's world: a qualitative study of the lived experiences of people with obesity in AustraliaHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 4 2008Samantha L. Thomas PhD Abstract Objective, To develop an in-depth picture of both lived experience of obesity and the impact of socio-cultural factors on people living with obesity. Design, Qualitative methodology, utilizing in-depth semi-structured interviews with a community sample of obese adults (body mass index ,30). Community sampling methods were supplemented with purposive sampling techniques to ensure a diverse range of individuals were included. Results, Seventy-six individuals (aged 16,72) were interviewed. Most had struggled with their weight for most of their lives (n = 45). Almost all had experienced stigma and discrimination in childhood (n = 36), as adolescents (n = 41) or as adults (n = 72). About half stated that they had been humiliated by health professionals because of their weight. Participants felt an individual responsibility to lose weight, and many tried extreme forms of dieting to do so. Participants described an increasing culture of ,blame' against people living with obesity perpetuated by media and public health messages. Eighty percent said that they hated or disliked the word obesity and would rather be called fat or overweight. Discussion and Conclusion, There are four key conclusions: (i) the experiences of obesity are diverse, but there are common themes, (ii) people living with obesity have heard the messages but find it difficult to act upon them, (iii) interventions should be tailored to address both individual and community needs and (iv) we need to rethink how to approach obesity interventions to ensure that avoid recapitulating damaging social stereotypes and exacerbating social inequalities. [source] |