The species concept for prokaryotic microorganisms—An obstacle for describing diversity?

Species are the basis of the taxonomic scheme. They are the lowest taxonomic category that are used as units for describing biodiversity and evolution. In this contribution we discuss the current species concept for prokaryotes. Such organisms are considered to represent the widest diversity among living organisms. Species is currently circumscribed as follows: A prokaryotic species is a category that circumscribes a (preferably) genomically coherent group of individual isolates/strains sharing a high degree of similarity in (many) independent features, comparatively tested under highly standardized conditions. Although the number of described prokaryotic species is underrepresented in the living world, this phylo-phenetic or polythetic species concept currently in use is considered to be pragmatic, operational and universally applicable and successfully used for identification processes.     

Concept mapping—An effective method for identifying diversity and congruity in cognitive style

This paper investigates the effects of cognitive style for decision making on the behaviour of participants in different phases of the group concept mapping process (GCM). It is argued that cognitive style should be included directly in the coordination of the GCM process and not simply considered as yet another demographic variable. The cognitive styles were identified using the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory, which locates each person’s style on a continuum ranging from very adaptive to very innovative. Cognitive style could explain diversity in the participants’ behaviour in different phases of the GCM process. At the same time, the concept map as a group’s common cognitive construct can consolidate individual differences and serves as a tool for managing diversity in groups of participants. Some of the results were that: (a) the more adaptive participants generated ideas that fit to a particular, well-established and consensually agreed paradigm, frame of reference, theory or practice; (b) the more innovative participants produced ideas that were more general in scope and required changing a settled structure (paradigm, frame of reference, theory or practice); and (c) the empirical comparison of the map configurations through Procrustes analysis indicated a strong dissimilarity between cognitive styles.     

Social capital: A useful concept for social work?

Abstract

In recent years, Australian governments at all levels have adopted social capital and related concepts to frame social policy. Hence, these ideas provide the backdrop within which much contemporary social work practice and social policy development occurs. Despite extensive coverage of social capital concepts in the social science literature there has been limited discussion of their application to social work practice. In this paper we review the origins and meaning of social capital. We then turn to a discussion of its application to progressive social work as well as a consideration of the criticisms of social capital concepts. We introduce a synergy model of social capital formation that incorporates a dual focus on local community networks and the role of the institutions of government, non-government agencies and business in the creation of social capital. The paper concludes with consideration of how a synergy approach can be applied in, and developed through, social work practice.

Karen Healy and Anne Hampshire lead a three year research project entitled: ‘Creating Better Communities: A Study of Social Capital Creation in Four Communities’. The study examines processes of social capital creation in urban, regional and rural contexts. The study is jointly funded by The Australian Research Council and The Benevolent Society     

An Ontological Turn for Childhood Studies?

The so‐called ‘ontological turn’ in the social sciences has brought with it yet another layer of theoretical concerns, except that this time the interest is in ontology rather than epistemology. New materialist thinking which has emerged in recent years promises to rethink the task of social theory in ways that circumvent modernist dualisms. In this paper, I explore what this might entail for childhood studies. What might such an ontological shift which emphasises among others relationality, connectedness and materiality mean for the further development of childhood studies? How would a decentring of children and the field's overpowering concerns for studying children's perspectives/voices/standpoints help rethink childhood studies and its remit? How, in short, would a shift from the child as an independent unit of analysis and of childhood as a categorical identity to a new ontology of emerging phenomena which implicate children, adults and non‐human forces affect the field's direction in the future?     

Nordic cultural studies — An introduction

ABSTRACT

Histories of representation of Blackness are quite distinct in Australia and in America. Indigenous Australian identities have been consistently ‘fatal’, in Baudrillard's use of that term. So, while Black American representation includes intensely banal images of middle-class, materialistic individuals, such histories are largely absent in the Australian context. This implies that the few such representations which do occur — and particularly those of everyday game shows such as Sale of the Century and Family Feud — are particularly important for presenting a trivial, unexciting version of Aboriginality. This also clarifies the distinction between American and Australian versions of Blackness, and suggests that the latter set of representations might be more usefully viewed in relation to Native American rather than Black American images. The status of indigeneity might prove to be more relevant to Australian Aboriginal representation than the previously favoured identity of skin colour (Blackness).     

An Integrated Model for Organization—Public Relational Outcomes,Organizational Reputation,and Their Antecedents

This study is to test a theoretical model regarding the effect of organization—public relationships on organizational reputation. Grounded in multidisciplinary literature, this study proposed that organization—public relational outcomes are hypothesized to influence organizational reputation, considering the exogenous influences of communication behaviors, experience, and familiarity that the research participants hold of the organizations studied. The proposed model illustrated tenable data-model fits, and most of the hypotheses were statistically supported. The key finding of the research includes that, across all organizations studied, organization—public relational outcomes were associated positively with favorable reputation of the organizations studied. Limitations and suggestions for the future research were discussed.     

Chapter 14: Fairview Alive—An Integrated Strategy for Enhancing the Health and Well-Being of Employees

Abstract

This article describes the successful integration between EAP and wellness programs at Fairview Health Services-a program called Fairview Alive.A brief history of integration between EAP and wellness at Fairview is provided including the shared mission these two programs serve at Fairview. Next, this article outlines the Population Health Model on which Fairview Alivewas built, and the specific programs and services provided under each segment of this model. This article then focuses on how Fairview addresses depressionone of their largest cost drivers-in a coordinated effort. Finally, preliminary outcomes from a comprehensive program evaluation, including the impact on medical costs, workers compensation costs and absenteeism costs, are discussed.     

Responding in Times of Crisis— An Exploratory Study of Employer Requests for Critical Incident Response Services

Summary

Increasingly, employers play an active role in assisting their employees in dealing with crisis. This exploratory study conducted analyses using a large national database to examine how companies representing various industry types differed in the frequency of requests for critical incident response services, the types of incidents that evoked the requests, the types of interventions utilized, and the delay time between the request and provision of services. Results demonstrated substantial variability in the types of incidents and frequency of service utilization. However, some consistent patterns were noted. For example, over half of all critical incident response services across industry types were delivered in response to a death impacting the workforce. A different pattern was evident for the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate industry, where robberies were most prevalent and the delay time between the incident and the critical incident response delivery date was shortest. There appeared to be an inverse relationship between the size of the company and the use of critical incident response services. This study has implications for further research regarding the training of practitioners administering critical incident response services and determining themost effective crisis interventions for the situation and recipient population.     

An Ordinary Mind——Woman Bears Tragedies by Practicing Qigong

Iremember clearly how despaired I was seven years ago when I received the doctor's diagnosis of my illness—multiple hysteromyoma. "Mum, you'd better to have the operation," said my 15-year-old son. "Ⅰ'Ⅱ go to the hospital to take care of you." His mention of the operation disheartened me, because I had already had three operations. During these operations, it was my husband who helped me through the difficulties. He cooked delicious food for me and took care of my daily needs. But he has passed away. I did not know how I could go through this fourth operation without his help.     

Working agreements in fieldwork placements—An evaluation

A brief review is made of the literature surrounding the use of contracts in social work and their adaptation into social work education in the form of Working Agreements. The operation of Working Agreements in fieldwork placements is then considered in some depth, based upon features which include differential participation, reciprocal accountability and explicitness. A variety of positive and negative aspects are identified and some limitations in the application of Working Agreements are suggested.     

Field Note—Developing Suicide Risk Assessment Training for Hospital Social Workers: An Academic–Community Partnership

This article describes 1 large urban pediatric hospital's partnership with a university to provide suicide assessment and management training within its social work department. Social work administrators conducted a department-wide needs assessment and implemented a 2-session suicide assessment training program and evaluation. Respondents (97.8%) indicated that the training was either helpful or very helpful in 8 suicide assessment skill-based domains. All attendees reported positive changes in perceived competence in 6 of 8 skill-based domains. A brief and time-efficient in-service training can be instrumental in augmenting hospital social worker competence in suicide risk assessment practice. This model of training program development, implementation, and evaluation is feasible, evidence-informed, and may be replicated.     

Wholly responsible for a part, or partly responsible for a whole? The concept of spiritual care in nursing

Spiritual care is an inseparable part of patient care--not the exclusive province of chaplains, religious nurses, or would-be psychoanalysts. Its essence is the capacity to enter the world of others and respond to them with feeling, and every nurse should feel confident about giving such care.     

Changing intimate relationships: An Israel—UK comparison

A first step toward understanding the association between women's attempts to change the domestic division of labour in their households and their attempts to change spousal communication in their relationships, is offered by this comparative study. The conditions under which married women in the UK and in Israel will attempt to initiate change in their intimate relationships and the relative effectiveness of those initiatives are examined within both institutional and cultural contexts. The study examines the possibility that institutional forces such as the availability of state-subsidised day care facilities and ideological forces such as familiarity with therapeutic ideas are important factors in shaping the context in which women initiate processes of change in their intimate relationships. Two compatible samples of employed, married, mostly middle-class women from Israel and the UK are compared regarding their attempts to increase their partners' participation in domestic tasks and their communicative co-operation. The findings indicate that Israeli women, who operate in a context that recognises their status as 'working mothers', tend to perceive their employment as more legitimate than do the UK women and feel more entitled to challenge existing domestic practices. The findings support the possibility that familiarity with therapeutic ideas is related to more effective attempts to change either domestic arrangements or spousal communication patterns. Cette étude comparative est un premier pas vers la compréhension de la relation entre les tentatives des femmes de modifier la répartition des tâches domestiques au foyer et celles de modifier leur communication dans leurs relations avec leur conjoint. On y examinera à la fois dans les contextes institutionnels et culturels, les conditions dans lesquelles les femmes mariées au Royaume-Uni et en Israël tentent d'initier un changement dans ces relations intimes ainsi que la relative efficacité de ces initiatives. Cette étude avance que l'existence de facteurs institutionnels tels que la présence d'institutions subventionnées par l'Etat pour la garde des enfants ainsi que des facteurs idéologiques tels que la connaissance des idées thérapeutiques, pourraient constituer des éléments importants dans la cristallisation du contexte dans lequel les femmes entreprennent de modifier leurs relations. On y compare des femmes de milieu moyen qui travaillent (en Israël et au Royaume-Uni) et qui tentent de faire prendre àleur partenaire une plus grande part dans les tâches domestiques et la coopération en termes de commutativité. Les résultats indiquent que les femmes israéliennes, fonctionnant dans un milieu reconnaissant leur qualiteéde 'mères qui travaillent', tendent à percevoir leur emploi comme plus légitime que les femmes anglaises et considèrent avoir davantage le droit de défier les pratiques domestiques existantes. Les résultats indiquent que la connaissance des idées thérapeutiques serait en relation directe avec l'efficacité des tentatives de modifier soit le 'statu-quo' domestique soit la communication entre époux.     

Preparing for Practice: An Evaluation of an Undergraduate Social Work ‘Preparation for Practice’ Module

The requirement for social work students to undergo assessed preparation prior to undertaking their first practice placement raises key questions about the type of knowledge and experience that is needed for those at the start of their training. This paper shows the need for social work educators to become re‐engaged in debates about the practice–theory relationship and to explore what is meant by an incremental approach to learning. A Preparation for Practice Learning module which was delivered to a cohort of Level 1 undergraduate social work students at a London university is described and evaluated. The paper highlights the key themes which emerged from the evaluation; these include the importance of work shadowing, observational learning and the centrality of critical reflection in aiding students' personal and professional learning. A discussion of its effectiveness in preparing students for their first practice learning experience follows. It concludes by recommending how students' learning in relation to the nature of social work and the skills required to undertake the role effectively might be addressed within the curriculum. Finally, a Preparation for Practice Learning model based on these findings is proposed.     

Should Surgery for Hypospadias Be Performed Before An Age of Consent?

Hypospadias is a relatively common genital condition in which the urethral opening forms on the underside of the penis, as opposed to at the tip of the glans. Patients with hypospadias are typically referred for surgery during infancy or early childhood. Recent evidence, however, indicates that many individuals with hypospadias do not experience the functional or psychosocial difficulties commonly attributed to the condition, and that surgical intervention for hypospadias carries substantial risk of adverse outcomes. In this article, we review published outcomes data and conduct an in-depth analysis of the typical rationales for hypospadias surgery, taking into consideration both the potential benefits and harms of the procedure, as well as the existence of nonsurgical alternatives. We argue, first, that most childhood surgeries for hypospadias are performed for anticipated future problems concerning function and cosmesis, rather than extant physical and/or psychosocial problems that are adversely affecting the child’s well-being. Second, we contend that the surgery can be safely performed after an age of consent without increasing the absolute risk of surgical complications to an ethically meaningful degree. We conclude, therefore, that surgery for hypospadias should be performed only if requested by the affected individual, under conditions of informed consent.     

Regional Proximity Factor: An Advantage or a Disadvantage for Development?

This paper will focus on the assumption that in the actual globalized system, the role of the State is completely changed due to the new global players that are emerging as international and regional organizations. In this context, the regional proximity factor has acquired great importance, as the three case studies will demonstrate. For this purpose, we will introduce some alternative variables to facilitate the use of economic, political and social tools. Then, we will compare countries’ performances at the global and regional level and their social, economic and political results, in order to improve the utilization of the regional proximity factor as a tool to analyze the international relations dynamics and the innovative national approach to the international opening