Several Themes (several + themes)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Barriers to, and facilitators of post-operative pain management in Iranian nursing: a qualitative research study

INTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 4 2008
N. Rejeh bscn, mscn
Background:, Unrelieved post-operative pain continues to be a major clinical challenge, despite advances in management. Although nurses have embraced a crucial role in pain management, its extent is often limited in Iranian nursing practice. Aim:, To determine Iranian nurses' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators influencing their management of post-operative pain. Methods:, This study was qualitative with 26 participant nurses. Data were obtained through semi-structured serial interviews and analysed using the content analysis method. Findings:, Several themes emerged to describe the factors that hindered or facilitated post-operative pain management. These were grouped into two main themes: (1) barriers to pain management after surgery with subgroups such as powerlessness, policies and rules of organization, physicians leading practice, time constraints, limited communication, interruption of activities relating to pain, and (2) factors that facilitated post-operative pain management that included the nurse,patient relationship, nurses' responsibility, the physician as a colleague, and nurses' knowledge and skills. Conclusion:, Postoperative pain management in Iran is contextually complex, and may be controversial. Participants believed that in this context accurate pain management is difficult for nurses due to the barriers mentioned. Therefore, nurses make decisions and act as a patient comforter for pain after surgery because of the barriers to effective pain management. [source]


"How Come Nobody Told Me?"

LEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 1 2002
Fostering Self-Realization Through a High School English Curriculum
Through collaboratively designed qualitative inquiry, we investigated the responses of high school students with learning disabilities to a teacher's intervention intended to promote self-realization, a fundamental component of self-determination. Activities were embedded within the general English curriculum and delivered in a special education classroom over the course of an academic year. Several themes emerged from analysis of student interviews, student responses to writing prompts and surveys, a teacher journal, and student portfolio pieces. Silence and misconceptions were prevalent in student experiences. However, through the intervention students acquired information that helped them make sense of their school experiences, redefine themselves in positive ways, and take small steps toward greater self-advocacy within their current school setting. The mediating influence of positive adult voices and concerns about social stigma were evident in students' responses, which prompted us to question teachers' and families' responsibilities for engaging young people in dialogue about special education and disability. [source]


Disclosing Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Research: Views of Institutional Review Boards, Conflict of Interest Committees, and Investigators

THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 3 2006
Kevin P. Weinfurt Ph.D.
Strategies for disclosing investigators' financial interests to potential research participants have been adopted by many research institutions. However, little is known about how decisions are made regarding disclosures of financial interests to potential research participants, including what is disclosed and the rationale for making these determinations. We sought to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of institutional review board chairs, conflict of interest committee chairs, and investigators regarding disclosure of financial interests to potential research participants. Several themes emerged, including general attitudes toward conflicts of interest, circumstances in which financial interests should be disclosed, rationales and benefits of disclosure, what should be disclosed, negative effects of and barriers to disclosure, and timing and presentation of disclosure. Respondents cited several rationales for disclosure, including enabling informed decision making, promoting trust in researchers and research institutions, and reducing legal liability. There was general agreement that disclosure should happen early in the consent process. Respondents disagreed about whether to disclose the amounts of particular financial interests. Clarifying the goals of disclosure and understanding how potential research participants use the information will be critical in efforts to ensure the integrity of clinical research and to protect the rights and interests of participants. [source]


Global Connections and Practicing Anthropology in the 21st Century

ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2006
Carole E. Hill
This chapt er examines the major themes in the chapters that compromise this volume by discussing how the practice of anthropology across nations and regions of the world is changing as a result of globalization. Several themes are delineated that reflect a unity of purpose and concern about the development and structure of practicing and policy anthropology in the 21st century. Divergent viewpoints among the chapters are also examined. Through comparing and contrasting the major points of the chapters, four major interconnected themes are discussed. They are: 1) local/global transformations: challenge to the traditional; 2) the power of practicing anthropology in local/global contexts; 3) academic and practicing transformations, and 4) the closing gap between colonized and colonizer nations. These themes have important implications for the future of global practice and present challenges to the organization and uses of the products of anthropological inquiry. [source]


,I can see parents being reluctant': perceptions of parental involvement using child and family teams in schools

CHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2009
Jocelyn DeVance Taliaferro
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes beliefs, and perceptions of school and community personnel regarding parental involvement via the implementation of child and family team meetings. Interviews were conducted with 10 school and community personnel in a high school in a small county in the south-eastern region of the USA. Several themes emerged from the data, including the definition of parental involvement, parental work and life circumstances, and parental esteem and position within schools. Findings suggest that school and community personnel hold conflicting beliefs regarding parents' desire and ability to be involved in their children's schooling. Recommendations for social work practitioners' implementation of child and family team meetings in the school context are provided. [source]


Context and Current and Future Activities of the Society of Clinical Psychology

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE, Issue 3 2006
(Division 12 of the American Psychological Association)
Several themes and activities of the Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12 of APA) are discussed: a seemingly inexorable trend towards more and more specialization, posing a challenge to the very identity of clinical psychology; the importance of broad and general education in core content areas, especially in the science of psychology; continuing education; a newly established committee on diversity to help promote and support the inclusion of diversity variables in both the scientific and political activities of the Society; and the Evidence-Based Practices in Psychology report, recently adopted by the Council of Representatives as the basis of APA policy. [source]


GOVERNING FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND WITH LOVE: PARENTS AND CHILDREN BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL

EDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 1 2008
Benjamin Baez
Where these two objectives converge is in their techniques: they both use the parent-child relationship and what appears to motivate it. Drawing on Michel Foucault's conceptualization of government as "the conduct of conduct," Baez and Talburt analyze two pamphlets with an eye to several themes: the "commonsensical" nature of its address to loving parents; the "responsibilization" of parents and children; the insidious entry of school goals and behavioral norms into homes; and the seeming empowerment of the parent as partner in his or her child's learning. Finally, the authors discuss how the logic of modern forms of governing families and schools might be contested. [source]


How Adolescent Children of African Jamaican Immigrants Living in Canada Perceive and Negotiate their Roles within a Matrifocal Family

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 3 2009
GEOFFREY S. NAVARA PH.D.
This research project examined the adolescent/young adult-parent relationships of African Jamaican immigrants currently living in Canada. Specifically, we focused on the transmission of cultural values and beliefs within these relationships and how the adolescents navigated and negotiated potential changes in these values because of their acculturative experiences. An examination of various mundane family/cultural practices provided insight into perceived transmission attempts by parents and the adolescent/young adult interpretation of these attempts. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with adolescent/young adult members of African Jamaican immigrant families living in Canada. Using Grounded Theory methodology (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), several themes emerged during the analysis of the interviews,the most significant being the issue of matrifocality within the African Jamaican family. Issues of respect and adolescent agency are also discussed as they related to the manner in which the adolescent/young adult attempted to negotiate various roles within the family. RESUMEN En este proyecto de investigación se analizaron las relaciones entre adolescentes o jóvenes adultos y sus padres en familias de inmigrantes afro-jamaiquinos que actualmente viven en Canadá. Específicamente, nos centramos en la transmisión de valores y creencias culturales dentro de estas relaciones y en cómo los adolescentes atravesaron y negociaron posibles cambios en estos valores como consecuencia de sus experiencias aculturativas. Un análisis de diversas prácticas culturales o familiares rutinarias permitió la comprensión de los intentos de transmisión percibida que hicieron los padres y la interpretación que tuvieron los adolescentes o jóvenes adultos de estos intentos. Se realizaron veinte entrevistas minuciosas a adolescentes o jóvenes adultos miembros de familias inmigrantes afro-jamaiquinas que viven en Canadá. Mediante la aplicación del método de muestreo teórico (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), surgieron varios temas durante el análisis de las entrevistas (el más importante fue el tema de la matrifocalidad dentro de la familia afro-jamaiquina). También se habla de los temas de respeto y capacidad de acción de los adolescentes, ya que se relacionaron con la manera en la que los adolescentes o jóvenes intentaron negociar distintos roles dentro de la familia. Palabras clave: aculturación familiar, relación entre padres e hijos, socialización [source]


Does size matter for dispersal distance?

GLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
David G. Jenkins
ABSTRACT Aim, The aim of this study is to answer the questions: (1) do small organisms disperse farther than large, or vice versa; and (2) does the observed pattern differ for passive and active dispersers? These questions are central to several themes in biogeography (including microbial biogeography), macroecology, metacommunity ecology and conservation biology. Location, The meta-analysis was conducted using published data collected worldwide. Methods, We collected and analysed 795 data values in the peer-reviewed literature for direct observations of both maximal dispersal distance and mass of the dispersing organisms (e.g. seeds, not trees). Analysed taxa ranged in size from bacteria to whales. We applied macroecology analyses based on null models (using Monte Carlo randomizations) to test patterns relative to specific hypotheses. Results, Collected dispersal distance and mass data spanned 9 and 21 orders of magnitude, respectively. Active dispersers dispersed significantly farther (P < 0.001) and were significantly greater in mass (P < 0.001) than passive dispersers. Overall, size matters: larger active dispersers attained greater maximum observed dispersal distances than smaller active dispersers. In contrast, passive-disperser distances were random with respect to propagule mass, but not uniformly random, in part due to sparse data available for tiny propagules. Conclusions, Size is important to maximal dispersal distance for active dispersers, but not for passive dispersers. Claims that microbes disperse widely cannot be tested by current data based on direct observations of dispersal: indirect approaches will need to be applied. Distance,mass relationships should contribute to a resolution of neutral and niche-based metacommunity theories by helping scale expectations for dispersal limitation. Also, distance,mass relationships should inform analyses of latitudinal species richness and conservation biology topics such as fragmentation, umbrella species and taxonomic homogenization. [source]


IFORS: the formative years

INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2000
G.K. Rand
In 1999 IFORS (The International Federation of Operational Research Societies) celebrated 40 years since its formation. The purpose of this article is to explain how it came into being following the first international conference in Operational Research, and to examine the foundations that were laid in the years leading up to its first General Meeting, held at the second international conference. A further article will examine several themes in IFORS' subsequent history. [source]


Who are organic food consumers?

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2-3 2007
A compilation, review of why people purchase organic food
This paper integrates and synthesizes the findings of published research on organic food consumption. We identify several themes that reflect the various rationales used by consumers when deciding to purchase organic food. The literature clearly indicates that the word "organic" has many meanings, that consumers of organic foods are not homogeneous in demographics or in beliefs, and that further research could help better describe the various constituencies that are often lumped together as "organic food consumers". The organic and broader food industries must better understand the variety of motivations, perceptions, and attitudes consumers hold regarding organic foods and their consumption if their own long-term interests, as well as those of other stakeholders of food marketing, are to be best served. We conclude with implications and suggestions for further research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Stakeholder Perspectives about Marine Oil Spill Response Objectives: A Comparative Q Study of Four Regions

JOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2009
Seth Tuler
Marine oil spills can cause major social, economic, and ecological disruptions. Spill response managers must weigh different options and objectives when deciding what to do. We investigated the ways in which preferences for spill response objectives vary among those who are responsible for oil spill contingency planning and response in Buzzards Bay, Delaware Bay, San Francisco Bay, and Washington State regions. We begin this paper with a discussion of the research method used in the study: the Q method. In Buzzards Bay, Delaware Bay, and San Francisco Bay three perspectives were identified in each case. In Washington State, two perspectives were identified. An analysis of the 11 case-specific perspectives reveals that they can be described by four ,composite' perspectives that describe how different stakeholders prioritize spill response objectives. These four perspectives are compared on several themes, including the emphasis they placed on mitigating economic impacts, protecting health and safety, mitigating ecological impacts, implementing a coordinated and timely response, addressing the needs and concerns of the affected public/communities, gaining public support for the response, mitigating cultural impacts, and mitigating social nuisance impacts. The implications for spill response planning and spill response evaluation are discussed. [source]


Three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus as a model for exploring behavioural biology

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 8 2009
F. A. Huntingford
Niko Tinbergen chose the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus for his classic behavioural studies because they are small, robust, common and easy to house in the laboratory under reasonably natural conditions and also because their behaviour, while sufficiently simple to be tractable, is still sufficiently complex to be interesting. An analysis of citation records shows that this was an inspired choice. Research on these small fish has addressed all four of Tinbergen's famous questions (causation, development, functions and evolution) and has contributed to the understanding of many different behavioural systems. The G. aculeatus literature is used here to explore several themes in fundamental behavioural biology (diet choice, shoaling, behavioural syndromes and sexual signalling) and the extent to which research using G. aculeatus has informed both fundamental and applied behavioural biology, the latter in the context of aquaculture research. [source]


Gender differences in the socialization of preschoolers' emotional competence

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT, Issue 128 2010
Susanne A. Denham
Preschoolers' socialization of emotion and its contribution to emotional competence is likely to be highly gendered. In their work, the authors have found that mothers often take on the role of emotional gatekeeper in the family, and fathers act as loving playmates, but that parents' styles of socialization of emotion do not usually differ for sons and daughters. They also found several themes in the prediction of preschoolers' emotion knowledge and regulation. For example, sometimes mother,father differences in emotional style actually seem to promote such competence, and girls seem particularly susceptible to parental socialization of emotion. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Government,nonprofit relations in comparative perspective: evolution, themes and new directions

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2002
Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff
This overview article for the Symposium on Government,Nonprofit Relations in Comparative Perspective summarizes our current understanding of government,nonprofit relations, addresses several themes emerging from the collective papers and Symposium discussions, and discusses new and evolving trends in government,nonprofit relations. The review of government,nonprofit relations encompasses governance models and their incorporation of nonprofits, sector failures and their contribution to government,nonprofit relationships, and cross-sectoral analytic frameworks. Themes addressed include the material and normative benefits sought through nonprofits; various features of government,nonprofit interactions, including their increasing range and multiple facets, the impact of origins, relationship dynamism, and impacts; and what is public and what is private. The article concludes with the identification of selected new and evolving trends, including the influence of information technology on organizational structures and processes, the rise of supranational spheres of government,nonprofit interaction, the continuing tension between cooperation and identity maintenance, and simultaneous global lesson sharing and an emphasis on local-level problem-solving, where nonprofits are viewed as a means to maintaining continuity and redefining community. The article situates our understanding of government,nonprofit relations in a comparative perspective that accounts for dominant global paradigms, increasing interdependence among actors and nations, and evolving models of governance at all levels. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Developing Political Competence: A Comparative Study Across Disciplines

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 4 2001
Joanne W Rains D.N.S.
Political activism is one way that nurses care for individuals and communities, and intervene in the broad range of socioeconomic factors influencing health. Though policy advocacy is a core public health function and a valuable nursing activity, the process of acquiring requisite skills and attitudes for political involvement is not often explored. What crucial experiences enfranchise nursing students toward future policy involvement? What is the student journey toward political competence? Do nursing students vary from students of other disciplines in this process? In-depth interviews were conducted with baccalaureate nursing students and political science students who were near graduation. Content analysis of interview transcripts revealed several themes. Despite rich examples of activism, nursing students viewed public policy as a barrier, and did not see connections between the personal, professional, and political. Nursing seemed grounded in application and service, demonstrating by involvement that they could "walk the walk." Political science involvement originated in theory, and resulted in more articulate discourse on the subject: they could "talk the talk." The data suggest a need for interdisciplinary dialogue, faculty modelling of political competence, opportunities for students to realize personal, professional, and political connections, and a concern of socialization in the context of global citizenship. [source]