Policy as a struggle for meaning: disentangling knowledge translation across international health contexts

Over the last decade, research in medical science has focused on knowledge translation and diffusion of best practices to enable improved health outcomes. However, there has been less attention given to the role of policy in influencing the translation of best practice across different national contexts. This paper argues that the underlying set of public discourses of healthcare policy significantly influences its development with implications for the dissemination of best practices. Our research uses Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the policy discourses surrounding the treatment of stroke across Canada and the U.K. It focuses in specific on how concepts of knowledge translation, user empowerment, and service innovation construct different accounts of the health service in the two countries. These findings provide an important yet overlooked starting point for understanding the role of policy development in knowledge transfer and the translation of science into health practice. © 2011 Operational Research Society. All rights reserved.

胶北晚中生代煌斑岩的岩石地球化学特征及其成因研究

胶北煌斑岩分别采自龙口、烟台和威海地区，包括拉辉煌斑岩、斜闪正煌岩和角闪煌斑岩，煌斑岩K—Ar全岩年龄变化于89．3～169．5Ma，为晚中生代岩浆活动的产物。在岩石化学组成上，SiO2=42．02％～54．95％，以钙碱性系列为主．岩石以富集大离子亲石元素（LILE）（Ba，U，K，Th）和LREE，亏损高场强元素（HFSE）（Nb，Ta和Ti）为特征，Mg^#=33．9～53．9，Eu／Eu^＊=0．71～0．89，^87Sr／^86Sr初始比值0．707642～0．709791，εNd（t）为-17．6～-10．4，^206Pb／^204Pb=37．588～38．431，^207Pb／^204Pb=15．423～15．531，^206Pb／^204Pb=17．204～18．179。表明煌斑岩源自俯冲陆壳（扬子下地壳）在地幔源区发生交代作用时形成的富集型地幔的部分熔融体．考虑到煌斑岩具有大陆边缘弧玄武岩的特征，我们认为煌斑岩在成因上同样与古大洋板块的俯冲作用有关，为碰撞后弧岩浆作用形成的脉岩。

Design and analysis of kinetic energy recovery system for automobiles: a case study for commuters in Edinburgh.

Transport and its energetic and environmental impacts affect our daily lives. The transport sector is the backbone of the United Kingdom’s economy with 2.3 million people being employed in this sector. With a high dependency on transport for passengers and freight and with the knowledge that oil reserves are rapidly decreasing a solution has to be identified for conserving fuel. Passenger vehicles account for 61% of the transport fuel consumed in the U.K. and should be seen as a key area to tackle. Despite the introduction and development of electric powered cars, the widespread infrastructure that is required is not in place and has attributed to their slow uptake, as well as the fact that the electric car’s performance is not yet comparable with the conventional internal combustion engine. The benefits of the introduction of kinetic energy recovery systems to be used in conjunction with internal combustion engines and designed such that the system could easily be fitted into future passenger vehicles are examined. In this article, a review of automobile kinetic energy recovery system is presented. It has been argued that the ultracapacitor technology offers a sustainable solution. An optimum design for the urban driving cycle experienced in the city of Edinburgh has been introduced. The potential for fuel savings is also presented

A resource limited artificial immune system for data analysis.

Timmis J and Neal M J. A resource limited artificial immune system for data analysis. In Proceedings of ES2000 - Research and Development of Intelligent Systems, pages 19-32, Cambrige, U.K., 2000. Springer.

Debugging: the good, the bad, and the quirky -- a qualitative analysis of novices' strategies

Murphy, L., Lewandowski, G., McCauley, R., Simon, B., Thomas, L., and Zander, C. 2008. Debugging: the good, the bad, and the quirky -- a qualitative analysis of novices' strategies. SIGCSE Bull. 40, 1 (Feb. 2008), 163-167

Program Representation Size in an Intermediate Language with Intersection and Union Types

The CIL compiler for core Standard ML compiles whole programs using a novel typed intermediate language (TIL) with intersection and union types and flow labels on both terms and types. The CIL term representation duplicates portions of the program where intersection types are introduced and union types are eliminated. This duplication makes it easier to represent type information and to introduce customized data representations. However, duplication incurs compile-time space costs that are potentially much greater than are incurred in TILs employing type-level abstraction or quantification. In this paper, we present empirical data on the compile-time space costs of using CIL as an intermediate language. The data shows that these costs can be made tractable by using sufficiently fine-grained flow analyses together with standard hash-consing techniques. The data also suggests that non-duplicating formulations of intersection (and union) types would not achieve significantly better space complexity.

Engaging with leadership development in Irish academic libraries: some reflections of the Future Leaders Programme (FLP)

Four librarians from Irish university libraries completed the U.K. Future Leaders Programme (FLP) in 2010. In this article they recount their experience and assess the effect of the programme on their professional practice and the value for their institutions. The programme is explored in the context of the Irish higher education environment, which is facing significant challenges due to the demise of the Celtic Tiger economy. A brief review of the literature relating to structured programmes to prepare librarians for senior positions, is presented. The structure and content of the FLP and the learning methodologies, theories, tools and techniques used throughout are discussed. The article suggests that the programme has real value for both individuals and institutions and that it can play a significant role in succession planning and the leadership development of librarians

Computational fire engineering - do we have what we need?

This presentation will attempt to address the issue of whether the engineering design community has the knowledge, data and tool sets required to undertake advanced evacuation analysis. In discussing this issue I want to draw on examples not only from the building industry but more widely from where ever people come into contact with an environment fashioned by man. Prescriptive design regulations the world over suggest that if we follow a particular set of essentially configurational regulations concerning travel distances, number of exits, exit widths, etc it should be possible to evacuate a structure within a pre-defined acceptable amount of time. In the U.K. for public buildings this turns out to be 2.5 minutes, internationally in the aviation industry this is 90 seconds, in the UK rail industry this is 90 seconds and the international standard adopted by the maritime industry is 60 minutes. The difficulties and short comings of this approach are well known and so I will not repeat them here, save to say that this approach is usually littered with “magic numbers” that do not stand up to scrutiny. As we are focusing on human behaviour issues, it is also worth noting that more generally, the approach fails to take into account how people actually behave, preferring to adopt an engineer’s view of what people should do in order to make their design work. Examples of the failure of this approach are legion and include the; Manchester Boeing 737 fire, Kings Cross underground station fire, Piper Alpha oil platform explosion, Ladbroke Grove Rail crash and fire, Mont Blanc tunnel fire, Scandinavian Star ferry fire and the Station Nightclub fire.

Exploring the conditional performance of UK unit trusts

We evaluate the conditional performance of U.K. equity unit trusts using the approach of Lynch and Wachter (2007, 2008) relative to three conditional linear factor models. We find significant time variation in the conditional performance of some trust portfolios and individual trusts using the lag term spread as the information variable. The conditional performance of the trusts is countercyclical and larger trusts have more countercyclical performance than smaller trusts within certain investment sectors. These patterns in conditional trust performance cannot be fully explained by the underlying securities that the trusts hold.

Relational dimensions of corporate governance in translation: networked governance in China and India

The effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms has been a subject of academic research for many decades. Although the large majority of corporate governance studies prior to mid 1990s were based on data from developed market economies such as the U.S., U.K. and Japan, in recent years researchers have begun examining corporate governance in transition economies. A comparison of China and India offers a unique environment for analyzing the effectiveness of corporate governance. First, both countries state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform strategies hinges on the Modern Enterprise System characterized by the separation of ownership and control. Ownership of an SOE’s assets is distributed among the government, institutional investors, managers, employees, and private investors. Effective control rights are assigned to management, which generally has a very small, or even nonexistent ownership stake. This distinctive shareholding structure creates conflict of interest not only between management (insiders) and outside investors but also between large shareholders and minority investors. Moreover, because both governments desire to retain some control—in part through partial retained ownership of commercialized SOEs, further conflicts arise between politicians and firms. Second, directors in publicly listed firms in both countries are predominantly drawn from institutions with significant non-market objectives: the government and other state enterprises, particularly in China, and extended families, particularly in India. As a result, the effectiveness of internal governance mechanisms, such as the number of independent directors on the board and the number of independent supervisors on the supervisory committee, are likely to be quiet limited, although this has yet to be fully evaluated. Third, because of the political nature of the privatization process itself, typical external governance mechanisms, such as debt (in conjunction with appropriate bankruptcy procedures), takeover threats, legal protection of investors, product market competition, etc., have not been effective. Bank loans have traditionally been viewed as grants from the state designed to bail out failing firms. State-owned banks retain monopoly or quasi-monopoly positions in the banking sector and profit is not their overriding objective. If political favor is deemed appropriate, subsidized loans, rescheduling of overdue debt or even outright transfer of funds can be arranged with SOEs (soft budget constraints). In addition, a market for private, non-bank debt is limited in India and has yet to be established China. There is no active merger or takeover activity in Chinese stock markets to discipline management. Information available in the capital markets is insufficient to keep at arm’s length of the corporate decisions. In light of the above peculiarities, China and India share many of the typical institutional characteristics as a transition economy, including poor legal protection of creditors and investors, the absence of an effective takeover market, an underdeveloped capital market, a relative inefficient banking system and significant interference of politicians in firm management. Su (2005) finds that the extent of political interference, managerial entrenchment and institutional control can help explain corporate dividend policies and post-IPO financing choices in this situation. Allen et al. (2005) demonstrate that standard corporate governance mechanisms are weak and ineffective for publicly listed firms while alternative governance mechanisms based on reputation and relationship have been remarkably effective in the private sector. Because the peculiarities are significant in this context, the differences in the political-economies of the two countries are likely to be evident in such relational terms. In this paper we explore the peculiarities of corporate governance in this transitional environment through a systematic examination of certain aspects of these reputational and relationship dimensions. Utilising the methods of social network analysis we identify the inter-organisational relationships at board level formed by equity holdings and by shared directors. Using data drawn from the Orbis database we map these relations among the 3700 largest firms in India and China respectively and identify the roles played in these relational networks by the particularly characteristic institutions in each case. We find greatly different social network structures in each case with some support in these relational dimensions for their distinctive features of governance. Further, the social network metrics allow us to considerably refine proxies for political interference, managerial entrenchment and institutional control used in earlier econometric analysis.

Aspects Of Microbial Heterotrophic Production In A Highly Turbid Estuary

The uptake of 14C glucose by natural microbial populations has been studied in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel, U.K.; the turbidity (suspended solids) in the estuary varied between < 5 mg · 1−1 at the seaward extremity to >800 mg · 1−1 in the estuary proper. The heterotrophic potential, Vm, was found to correlate with turbidity and particulate organic carbon but there was no correlation between microbial biomass, as assessed by plate counts, and turbidity or Vm; measurement of Vm ranged from 0.9 × 10−4 to 288 × 10−4μgC·1−1·h−1 and turnover time from <2 to >100 h. In 17 out of 42 experiments, the uptake of 14C glucose did not conform to Michaelis kinetics and in five of these experiments the data suggested that there may be a threshold of glucose concentration below which there is no uptake.

Aspects Of Gametogenesis In The Marine Mussel Mytilus-Edulis-L

Marine bivalve molluscs have in recent years attracted considerable attention for a variety of reasons, not least of which is their importance as a source of food for man. Much of this research has concentrated on studies of reproduction; Mytilus viridis (India: Nagabhushanam & Mane, 1975), M. edulis aoteanus and Aulacomya maoriana (New Zealand: Kennedy, 1977);Choromytilus meridionalis and Aulacomya ater (South Africa: Berry, 1978); Mytilus (= Perna) perna (Brazil: Lunetta, 1969); M. edulis planulatus (Australia: Wilson & Hodgkin, 1967); Mytilus californianus and M. edulis (U.S.A.: Hines, 1979); Mytilus galloprovincialis (France: Lubet, 1959) and M. edulis (U.K.: Chipperfield, 1953; Seed, 1975; Bayne et al. 1978). A review of the literature revealed that in the majority of studies cytology was used as a descriptive tool for the ‘staging’ (Chipperfield, 1953; Lubet, 1957; Seed, 1975, 1976) of the developing gametes and certain anomalies were apparent with regard to the nomenclature of the connective tissue matrix of the mantle lobes.

Population-Growth And Vertical-Distribution Of Calanus-Helgolandicus In The Celtic Sea

Calanus helgolandicus over-winters in the shallow waters (100 m) of the Celtic Sea as copepodite stages V and VI; the minimum temperature in winter is approximately 8.0°C. This over-wintering is not a true hibernation or dormacy, accompanied by a reduced metabolic state with a discontinuation of feeding and development, but more of a lowered activity, involving reduced feeding and development, with predation on available microzooplankton and detritus. Analysis of specimens from the winter population showed that copepodite stages V and VI were actively feeding and still producing and possibly liberating eggs. The absence of late nauplii and young copepodites in the water column until late March indicated that there must be a high mortality of these winter cohorts. The copepodites of the first generation appeared in April–May, the younger stages, copepodites I to III, being distributed deeper in the water column below the euphotic zone and thermocline. This distribution would contribute to amuch slower rate of development. By August the ontogenetic vertical distributions observed in the copepodites were reversed, the younger stages occuring in the warmer surface layers within the euphotic zone. Diurnal migrations were observed in the later copepodites only, the younger stages I to III either remaining deep in spring or shallow in summer. The causal mechanisms which alter the behaviour of the young copepodites remain unexplained. The development of the population of Calanus helgolandicus in 1978, reaching its peak of abundance in August, was typical for the shelf seas around U.K. as observed from Continuous Plankton Recorder data, 1958 to 1977.

Primary Production In A Turbid Estuary

The primary production in the Bristol Channel, U.K., was studied from 1973 to 1977: in this estuary, the euphotic zone extends from less than 0.5 m to greater than 10m and there is a large riverine input of inorganic nutrients. The standing stock of phytoplankton chlorophyll a was measured in 1973 and 1974 and was similar throughout the Bristol Channel but the rate of primary production was much greater where the water was less turbid. The estimated primary production was 6.8g C m−2 for the most turbid region and 164.9g C m−2 for the Outer Bristol Channel. A larger proportion of the annual primary production occurred in the spring in the Outer Channel than in the most turbid regions. Phaeocystis developed into blooms in some, but not all, years and exhibited a different light saturation curve to other phytoplankton populations. Serial incubations of short duration gave higher fixation rates than day-long incubations and it is argued that photoinhibition is probably insignificant in a mixed water column. Excretion rates of dissolved organic carbon by phytoplankton were always low.