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Appropriate Methodology (appropriate + methodology)
Selected AbstractsDefending the Scientific Foundations of the Firearms and Tool Mark Identification Discipline: Responding to Recent ChallengesJOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 3 2007Ronald G. Nichols M.Ch.M. ABSTRACT: Recent challenges have brought the discipline of firearms and tool mark identification to the forefront in recent court cases. This article reviews those challenges and offers substantial support for the scientific foundations of the firearms and tool mark identification discipline. A careful review of the available literature has revealed that firearms and tool mark identification is rooted in firm scientific foundations, critically studied according to the precepts of the scientific method culminating in the Association of Firearms and Toolmark Examiners' Theory of Identification. Firearms and tool mark identification has been validated in a manner appropriate for evidence of the kind to be expected in firearms and tool mark examinations. Proficiency tests and error rates have been studied and can provide consumers of the disciple with a useful guide as to the frequency with which misidentifications are reported in the community using appropriate methodologies and controls. As a result, the primary issues in recent challenges do not invalidate the firearms and tool mark discipline as a science nor should it detract it from its admissibility in a court of law. [source] The effect of diet on total antioxidant status, ceruloplasmin, transferrin and ferritin serum levels in phenylketonuric childrenACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 10 2010Kleopatra H Schulpis Abstract Objectives:, To investigate the effect of diet on total antioxidative status (TAS), transferrin, ferritin and ceruloplasmin serum levels in phenylketonuric (PKU) children. Patients and methods:, Seventeen poorly controlled PKU children underwent clinical and laboratory examinations before, ,off diet', and 60 days after adhering to their special diet ,on diet', whereas controls (N = 24) were examined once. Blood chemistry was performed with the appropriate methodologies. Results:, Phenylalanine levels differed significantly among the examined groups. Lipids and lipoproteins were higher in ,off diet' than in ,on diet' group, except of high density lipoprotein and apolipoprotein AI that remained unaffected. Total antioxidative status (386 ± 30 vs 204 ± 23 ,mol/L, p < 0.001), ferritin (48.2 ± 2.3 vs 33.0 ± 2.8 ,g/L, p < 0.001) and ceruloplasmin (40.02 ± 2.5 vs 25.5 ± 2.8 mg/dL, p < 0.001) levels were significantly higher in ,on diet' patients' group compared to ,off diet' one. The low lipoprotein and the high TAS and ferritin levels in patients with PKU ,on diet' may be related to the vegetarian diet and the rich in iron formula supplementation. Conclusions:, The low ferritin levels found in ,off diet' patients with PKU may be attributed to a decreased liver production of ceruloplasmin, which evaluation may be a useful tool for the follow-up of patients with PKU. [source] Exploring the Frontier of Livelihoods ResearchDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2005Leo De Haan This article discusses the value of livelihoods studies and examines the obstacles which have prevented it from making a greater contribution to understanding the lives of poor people over the past decade. After examining the roots of the livelihoods approach, two major challenges are explored: the conceptualization of the problem of access, and how to achieve a better understanding of the mutual link between livelihood opportunities and decision-making. The article concludes that access to livelihood opportunities is governed by social relations, institutions and organizations, and that power is an important (and sometimes overlooked) explanatory variable. In discussing the issue of access to livelihood opportunities, the authors note the occurrence of both strategic and unintentional behaviour and the importance of structural factors; they discuss concepts of styles and pathways, which try to cater for structural components and regularities; and they propose livelihood trajectories as an appropriate methodology for examining these issues. In this way, the article also sets the agenda for future livelihoods research. [source] Foregut ossicles morphology and feeding of the freshwater anomuran crab Aegla uruguayana (Decapoda, Aeglidae)ACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 4 2010Veronica Williner Abstract Williner, V. 2009. Foregut ossicles morphology and feeding of the freshwater anomuran crab Aegla uruguayana (Decapoda, Aeglidae). ,Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 408,415. The acquisition and processing of food is critical to animal survival and reproductive success. This work describes the foregut ossicles of Aegla uruguayana, which have been proposed to impart trophic characteristics. In addition, stomach contents were analysed using Index of Relative Importance and Weighted Result Index to characterize the diet. The Pearre index was applied to analyse trophic selectivity. We found A. uruguayana has a morphological foregut typical of macrophage organisms. Stomach contents included items typical of omnivorous, generalist and opportunistic feeding modes. Vegetal remains included algae (filamentous, unicellular and colonial morphotypes), insect larvae, oligochaetes, microcrustaceans (copepods and cladocerans), mites, tardigrades, juveniles of A. uruguayana and rotifers. Morphological descriptions of the foregut can reveal feeding habits and provide data on the possible trophic profile of a species, while guiding the selection of appropriate methodology for subsequent analysis. Our stomach content data corroborated the foregut description, but the presence of small prey suggested A. uruguayana utilizes both predation and detritivory trophic strategies. [source] Application of Atomic Force Microscopy as a Nanotechnology Tool in Food ScienceJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 4 2007Hongshun Yang ABSTRACT:, Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides a method for detecting nanoscale structural information. First, this review explains the fundamentals of AFM, including principle, manipulation, and analysis. Applications of AFM are then reported in food science and technology research, including qualitative macromolecule and polymer imaging, complicated or quantitative structure analysis, molecular interaction, molecular manipulation, surface topography, and nanofood characterization. The results suggested that AFM could bring insightful knowledge on food properties, and the AFM analysis could be used to illustrate some mechanisms of property changes during processing and storage. However, the current difficulty in applying AFM to food research is lacking appropriate methodology for different food systems. Better understanding of AFM technology and developing corresponding methodology for complicated food systems would lead to a more in-depth understanding of food properties at macromolecular levels and enlarge their applications. The AFM results could greatly improve the food processing and storage technologies. [source] The Role of Forensic Anthropology in the Examination of the Daegu Subway Disaster (2003, Korea),JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 3 2009Dae-Kyoon Park M.D., Ph.D. Abstract:, Meticulous recovery of victims in the Daegu subway disaster was possible, because charred and fragmented victims were left in situ. Because bodies were piled one over another within the train, appropriate methodology during the recovery was critical to identifying the victims. The disaster area was thoroughly documented with notes, photographs, and schematic drawings of the various locations. The recovery team, comprising two medical examiners and one forensic anthropologist, decided when charred body parts and cremated bones were linked to the same individual based on the anatomy and forensic anthropological examination. Without these recovery procedures, it would not have been possible to efficiently harvest representative DNA sample from most of the victims' body parts. After the entire process of identification, 136 victims were positively identified, and six victims remained unidentified. This study supports the crucial role of forensic anthropologists in the recovery of victims, especially in fire scenes. [source] Responsible business decisions: an over-arching frameworkJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 3-4 2006Alan Gully Contemporary businesses face increasing pressures on formulating, implementing and monitoring their strategic policies. Their long-term success in attaining these strongly relies on developing a proactive two-way, or even multi-way, stakeholder dialogue to become aware of the moral aspects of decisions. Openness and transparency should help to provide stakeholders with information on how and why particular courses of action have been adopted. In order to be effective and efficient, responsible business decision-making requires the willpower and commitment by management to implement, monitor and evaluate the ethical action which ought to be based on the organisation's evolving values and priorities. Although inclusive relationships may be accomplished in several ways, the normative interpretation of stakeholder theory is the most appropriate methodology to enable moral judgement to be made. An over-arching framework is presented to assess, review and re-balance the different techniques for any business to achieve its intended outcomes through the triple bottom line. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Lung function in infants and young children with chronic lung disease of infancy: The next steps?PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Janet Stocks PhD Abstract Over the past year, a series of papers have reviewed the literature concerning assessment and interpretation of lung function in infants and young children with chronic lung disease of infancy. This manuscript, which represents the final paper in that series, summarizes the findings to date and highlights key areas for future research. Despite the huge literature in this field, interpretation of results and their use in guiding clinical management are still limited by difficulties in ,normalizing data' according to body size and maturation and selection of appropriate control groups. Furthermore, sensitive tests that more closely reflect the underlying pathophysiology of ,new' bronchopulmonary dysplasia, together with simple and reliable methods of assessing lung maturity at birth and true oxygen requirements at specified time points are urgently required. Research in this field is also challenged by the need to separate the independent effects of genetic predisposition, gene,environment interactions, preterm delivery, neonatal respiratory disorders and various treatment strategies on the growing lung. The extent to which disruption of lung growth following premature exposure to the extra-uterine environment leads to an earlier or more aggravated decline in respiratory function in later adult life remains to be elucidated. Whatever its origin, given the increasing survival of smaller and more immature infants, the long term sequelae of neonatal lung disease, are likely to continue to change, requiring ongoing, carefully designed longitudinal studies. Future research strategies need to encompass a multicenter, multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach with closer links between clinicians and basic scientists, to ensure that the most relevant research questions are addressed using appropriate methodology and that findings are implemented into clinical practice in a more timely fashion. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:3,9. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on JudgingAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010Christina L. Boyd We explore the role of sex in judging by addressing two questions of long-standing interest to political scientists: whether and in what ways male and female judges decide cases distinctly,"individual effects",and whether and in what ways serving with a female judge causes males to behave differently,"panel effects." While we attend to the dominant theoretical accounts of why we might expect to observe either or both effects, we do not use the predominant statistical tools to assess them. Instead, we deploy a more appropriate methodology: semiparametric matching, which follows from a formal framework for causal inference. Applying matching methods to 13 areas of law, we observe consistent gender effects in only one,sex discrimination. For these disputes, the probability of a judge deciding in favor of the party alleging discrimination decreases by about 10 percentage points when the judge is a male. Likewise, when a woman serves on a panel with men, the men are significantly more likely to rule in favor of the rights litigant. These results are consistent with an informational account of gendered judging and are inconsistent with several others. [source] NURSING RESEARCH IN PRACTICE: THE CASE STUDY REVISITEDAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 5 2000Dirk M. Keyzer ABSTRACT: This paper makes reference to some of the many issues and problems surrounding nursing research in the context of the rural and remote areas of Australia. The focus is on the use of case studies as an appropriate methodology for small-scale research projects and for students preparing for examinations at higher degree levels. Throughout this paper, the term rural will be used to denote rural and remote area nursing. This is for convenience and does not deny the special qualities of rural or remote area nursing. [source] Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic ReviewBRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003David Tranfield Undertaking a review of the literature is an important part of any research project. The researcher both maps and assesses the relevant intellectual territory in order to specify a research question which will further develop the knowledge base. However, traditional ,narrative' reviews frequently lack thoroughness, and in many cases are not undertaken as genuine pieces of investigatory science. Consequently they can lack a means for making sense of what the collection of studies is saying. These reviews can be biased by the researcher and often lack rigour. Furthermore, the use of reviews of the available evidence to provide insights and guidance for intervention into operational needs of practitioners and policymakers has largely been of secondary importance. For practitioners, making sense of a mass of often-contradictory evidence has become progressively harder. The quality of evidence underpinning decision-making and action has been questioned, for inadequate or incomplete evidence seriously impedes policy formulation and implementation. In exploring ways in which evidence-informed management reviews might be achieved, the authors evaluate the process of systematic review used in the medical sciences. Over the last fifteen years, medical science has attempted to improve the review process by synthesizing research in a systematic, transparent, and reproducible manner with the twin aims of enhancing the knowledge base and informing policymaking and practice. This paper evaluates the extent to which the process of systematic review can be applied to the management field in order to produce a reliable knowledge stock and enhanced practice by developing context-sensitive research. The paper highlights the challenges in developing an appropriate methodology. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||