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Methodological Reflections (methodological + reflection)
Selected AbstractsINCENTIVE REGULATION AND THE ROLE OF CONVEXITY IN BENCHMARKING ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION: ECONOMISTS VERSUS ENGINEERSANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2008Emili GRIFELL-TATJÉ ABSTRACT,:,This note illustrates the potential impact of the specification of a convex production technology on establishing minimal costs compared to the use of a non-convex technology when benchmarking electricity distributors. This methodological reflection is mainly motivated by recent engineering literature providing evidence for non-convexities in electricity distribution. An empirical illustration using non-parametric specifications of technology illustrates this main point using a sample of Spanish electricity distribution firms earlier analysed in Grifell-Tatjé and Lovell (2003). [source] On Currents and Comparisons: Gender and the Atlantic ,Turn' in Spanish AmericaHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2010Bianca Premo This article is part of a History Compass cluster on ,Rethinking Gender, Family and Sexuality in the Early Modern Atlantic World'. The cluster is made up of the following articles: ,On Currents and Comparisons: Gender and the Atlantic ,Turn' in Spanish America', Bianca Premo, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 223,237, doi: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00658.x ,Women and Families in Early (North) America and the Wider (Atlantic) World', Karin Wulf, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 238,247, doi: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00659.x ,Family Matters: The Early Modern Atlantic from the European Side', Julie Hardwick, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 248,257, doi: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00660.x The following essay originated as one of these three contributions to a roundtable discussion held at the 14th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, June 2008. The roundtable, ,Rethinking Gender, Family, and Sexuality in the Early Modern Atlantic World', was meant to be as much invitation as inventory and was astonishingly well attended at 08:00 in the morning, with standing room only for a thoughtful, lively audience whose comments, questions, and suggestions are reflected here (although in no way fully represented). As historians of gender and family in the North Atlantic, European, and Iberian worlds, we had hoped to encourage more central and systematic attention to gender within the Atlantic World paradigm by cataloging some recent works in their fields and pointing the way for future studies. Yet, a funny thing happened on the way to the conference. Independently, each of us began to engage with the challenges of simply inserting family and gender into ,the Atlantic' as both as conceptual place and a historical practice. The essays that emerged, therefore, departed from conventional historiographies that survey the state of the field. Rather, these are theoretical and methodological reflections on the implications of de-centering national and colonial narratives about the history of gender. At a time when transnational historical scholarship on early modern women promises to explode, these essays aim to inspire debate about the conceptual utility of the Atlantic as a paradigm for understanding issues of gender, family, and sexuality, as well as its ramifications for feminist scholarship everywhere. [source] Women and Families in Early (North) America and the Wider (Atlantic) WorldHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2010Karin Wulf This article is part of a History Compass cluster on ,Rethinking Gender, Family and Sexuality in the Early Modern Atlantic World'. The cluster is made up of the following articles: ,On Currents and Comparisons: Gender and the Atlantic ,Turn' in Spanish America', Bianca Premo, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 223,237, doi: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00658.x ,Women and Families in Early (North) America and the Wider (Atlantic) World', Karin Wulf, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 238,247, doi: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00659.x ,Family Matters: The Early Modern Atlantic from the European Side', Julie Hardwick, History Compass 8.3 (2010): 248,257, doi: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00660.x The following essay originated as one of these three contributions to a roundtable discussion held at the 14th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, June 2008. The roundtable, ,Rethinking Gender, Family, and Sexuality in the Early Modern Atlantic World', was meant to be as much invitation as inventory and was astonishingly well attended at 08:00 in the morning, with standing room only for a thoughtful, lively audience whose comments, questions and suggestions are reflected here (although in no way fully represented). As historians of gender and family in the North Atlantic, European and Iberian worlds, we had hoped to encourage more central and systematic attention to gender within the Atlantic World paradigm by cataloging some recent works in their fields and pointing the way for future studies. Yet, a funny thing happened on the way to the conference. Independently, each of us began to engage with the challenges of simply inserting family and gender into ,the Atlantic' as both as conceptual place and a historical practice. The essays that emerged, therefore, departed from conventional historiographies that survey the state of the field. Rather, these are theoretical and methodological reflections on the implications of de-centering national and colonial narratives about the history of gender. At a time when transnational historical scholarship on early modern women promises to explode, these essays aim to inspire debate about the conceptual utility of the Atlantic as a paradigm for understanding issues of gender, family, and sexuality, as well as its ramifications for feminist scholarship everywhere. [source] Resident-oriented care in nursing homes: effects on nursesJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 6 2004Afke J.M.B. Berkhout PhD Background., In a resident-oriented care model the assignment of patients to primary nurses takes place. These primary nurses are responsible for the total nursing care of their patients and make use of the nursing process. According to job demand-control models, these enlarged and enriched jobs can be described in terms of autonomy, job demands and social support, and the presence of these work characteristics has a positive influence on workers' psychological and behavioural outcomes. Aims., This paper reports a study to investigate the extent to which the various features of resident-oriented care were implemented and its effects nurses' on work characteristics and on psychological and behavioural outcomes in three Dutch nursing homes. Methods., In a quasi-experimental design, experimental and control groups were followed over 22 months, using a pretest and two post-tests with questionnaires, interviews and qualitative observations. Results., The quantitative data showed significant increases in resident assignment, the two variables measuring the nursing process and, in the psycho-geriatric experimental group, on resident-oriented tasks. The qualitative data showed that a partly task-oriented division of labour was still used and that the planned delegation of coordination tasks to primary nurses was not fully achieved. Effects on work perceptions were limited. After implementation of the new system, the experimental group showed an increase in job autonomy. Conclusions., The intervention appeared to be only partly successful. Most of the expected results regarding work characteristics and psychological and behavioural outcomes did not materialize. Theoretical and methodological reflections are presented in the light of these findings. [source] Challenges and dilemmas: fieldwork with upland minorities in socialist Vietnam, Laos and southwest ChinaASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 2 2010Sarah TurnerArticle first published online: 28 JUL 2010 Abstract The Chinese, Vietnamese and Lao spaces within the upland Southeast Asian massif, sheltering over 80 million people belonging to geographically dispersed and politically fragmented minority populations, have only recently reopened to overseas academic endeavours. Undertaking social sciences research there among ethnic minority groups is underscored by a specific set of challenges, dilemmas, and negotiations. This special issue brings together Western academics and post-fieldwork doctoral students from the realms of social anthropology and human geography, who have conducted in-depth fieldwork among ethnic minorities in upland southwest China, northern Vietnam, and southern Laos. The articles provide insights into the struggles and constraints they faced in the field, set against an understanding of the historical context of field research in these locales. In this unique context that nowadays interweaves economic liberalisation with centralised and authoritarian political structures, the authors explore how they have negotiated and manoeuvred access to ethnic minority voices in complex cultural configurations. The ethical challenges raised and methodological reflections offered will be insightful for others conducting fieldwork in the socialist margins of the Southeast Asian massif and beyond. This specific context is introduced here, followed by a critique of the literature on the core themes that contributors raise. [source] | ||||||||||