Loyalty without Conformity: Tailoring Self-perception as a Means of Balancing Belonging and Differentiation

We argue that members of individualist cultures balance their desire to belong with their desire to be different by maintaining a self-image as being loyal but relatively immune to group influence. Consistent with this, in Study 1 there was a strong tendency for people to rate themselves as being more independent (i.e., less conformist) than other people in their college. College students also rated themselves as being highly loyal to the group, however no self - other discrepancies were found on this dimension. This is despite the fact that traits of loyalty were rated more positively than were traits of independence. Study 2 provided evidence that culture influences the pattern of self - other discrepancies. Whereas people from individualist countries self-enhance on independence dimensions, people from collectivist countries self-enhance on loyalty dimensions. Again, these effects could not be explained as being a function of how positive these traits were seen to be, suggesting a cultural explanation rather than a straight forward superiority bias explanation for the observed discrepancies in self - other ratings. Results are discussed in relation to the SCENT model.

Multi-level zero-inflated Poisson regression modelling of correlated count data with excess zeros

Count data with excess zeros relative to a Poisson distribution are common in many biomedical applications. A popular approach to the analysis of such data is to use a zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression model. Often, because of the hierarchical Study design or the data collection procedure, zero-inflation and lack of independence may occur simultaneously, which tender the standard ZIP model inadequate. To account for the preponderance of zero counts and the inherent correlation of observations, a class of multi-level ZIP regression model with random effects is presented. Model fitting is facilitated using an expectation-maximization algorithm, whereas variance components are estimated via residual maximum likelihood estimating equations. A score test for zero-inflation is also presented. The multi-level ZIP model is then generalized to cope with a more complex correlation structure. Application to the analysis of correlated count data from a longitudinal infant feeding study illustrates the usefulness of the approach.

Experimental studies of lobe growth in the lichen Parmelia conspersa (Ehrh. Ex Ach.) Ach.

The radial growth of individual lobes of the foliose lichen, Parmelia conspersa (Ehrh. Ex Ach.) Ach. was studied to determine whether (1) adjacent lobes exchange carbohydrate and (2) marginal competition between lobes influences radial growth. In a survey of thalli of different size, the number of marginal lobes was linearly related to thallus circumference. However, the relationship between mean lobe width and thallus circumference was fitted by a second order polynomial. Hence, mean lobe width may reach a maximum in thalli approx. 3 cm in diameter. The interactions between marginal lobes were studied by either painting single lobes with acrylic paint or by removing lobes from the thallus. Painting the whole lobe virtually stopped its radial growth while partially painted lobes grew less than control lobes. The radial growth of a lobe was unaffected by either completely painting or removing its neighbour. Removal of both neighbouring lobes did not influence the radial growth of a lobe but severing the lobe from the thallus reduced its radial growth. In addition, lobe width increased significantly when both neighbouring lobes were removed. These results suggest that adjacent lobes have a considerable degree of independence and that there is little exchange of carbohydrate between them. In addition, marginal competition between adjacent lobes may restrict the lateral extension of the lobe and this may maintain a more constant mean lobe width in larger thalli. It is possible that the intensity of marginal competition between adjacent lobes may vary with thallus size and this could be a factor determining the growth curve of a foliose lichen throughout its life.

Ethnic conflict and war crimes in the Balkans:the narratives of denial in post-conflict Serbia

In the years following the fall of Slobodan Milo evic, Serbian social, cultural and political responses to the wars of the 1990s have fallen under intense international scrutiny. But is this scrutiny justfied, and how can these responses be better understood? Jelena Obradovic engages with ideas about post-conflict societies, memory, cultural trauma, and national myths of victimhood and justified war to shed light upon Serbian denial and justification of war crimes - for example, Serbia's reluctant cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Rather than treating denial as a failure to come to terms with the past or as resurgent nationalism, Obradovic argues that the justification of atrocities are often the result of a societal need to understand and incorporate violent events within culturally acceptable boundaries.

The planning and management of health for development:a model for Zimbabwe

In this thesis, I view the historical background of Zimbabwe to show the patterns of traditional life that existed prior to settlerism. The form, nature, pace and impact of settlerism and colonialism up to the time of independence are also discussed to show how they affected the health of the population and the pace of development of the country. The political, social and economic underdevelopment of the African people that occurred in Zimbabwe prior to independence was a result of deliberate, politically motivated and controlled policy initiatives. These led to inequatable, inadequate, inappropriate and inaccessible health care provision. It is submitted that since it was the politics that determined the pace of underdevelopment, it must be the politics that must be at the forefront of the development strategy adopted. In the face of the amed conflict that existed in Zimbabwe, existing frameworks of analyses are shown to be inadequate for planning purposes because of their inability to provide indications about the stability of future outcomes. The Metagame technique of analysis of options is proposed as a methology that can be applied in such situations. It rejects deterministic predicative models as misleading and advocates an interactive model based on objective and subjective valuation of human behaviour. In conclusion, the search for stable outcomes rather than optimal and best solutions strategies is advocated in decision making in organisations of all sizes.

Pathways to leadership:board independence, diversity, and the emerging pipeline in the US for women directors

In the wake of this decade's corporate scandals, crimes and excesses, improving the effectiveness of corporate governance in the United States has become a priority. An important influence on a board's effectiveness at monitoring is its members’ degree of independence from senior management. While the current definition of independence revolves around the absence of familial and economic connections between a firm and its directors, research suggests that this standard may be inadequate in ensuring independent oversight. Rather, diversity along racial, gender and other dimensions has been proposed as a potentially more effective standard for board independence. This is especially welcome news for women, who currently comprise 51 per cent of the US managerial workforce but only 14.8 per cent of the directors on boards of large, publicly traded US corporations. Some explain the current dearth of women board members by claiming that there are no qualified women available for board service and/or that women are not interested in board service. However, there is more anecdotal rather than empirical evidence on the issue. Surveying women at a women's leadership conference in Boston, this research investigates the extent to which women are currently involved in some type of board service and the extent to which women aspire to future board service. We find that women are currently more active in governance activities than prior research on corporate boards suggests and that they aspire to play a continued and expanded role in governance activities.

Community-based older adults' perceptions of factors that influence successful aging in place

The purpose of this study was to obtain an understanding of older adults' perceptions of independence and the factors that allow them to remain living independently in the community. A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 500 community-based older adults. One hundred seventy eight questionnaires were returned (36%). Respondents were asked questions related to independence, self-health rating, functional difficulties, and social supports. Most respondents indicated Mental Health (97%), Physical Health (97%), Control of choices (97%), and Social Support Systems (93%) contributed to maintaining independence in the community. Age, education, fewer chronic health conditions, and a higher self-health rating were found to be significant predictors of actual independence. Family members were identified as the primary source of assistance with advice on major life decisions and financial matters. Findings indicate age, education, health status and the social support of family and friends all play an important role for older adults to live independently in the community. Occupational therapy could be instrumental in extending the health, highest level of independent functioning, and the number of years older adults remain living in the community.

Beliefs of Icelandic elderly living in the greater Reykjavik area toward autonomy and paternalism in caregiving of the elderly

With the aging population and the increase in health care costs, issues of independence and autonomy will have a greater impact on formal and informal health care. Changes in occupational functioning that accompany increased age has raised the demandfor family assistance to the elderly. It is important for occupational therapists to understand the elderly's perceptions toward autonomy and paternalism in caregiving of the elderly because it is assumed that attitudes and beliefs affect how people interact and care for the elderly. A convenience sample of 57 Icelandic elderly were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward autonomy and paternalism in caregiving of the elderly. Results indicated that Icelandic elderly held strong beliefs toward autonomy but were undecided toward paternalism. Significant differences were found between groups. Elderly living at home indicated stronger beliefs on both autonomy and paternalism compared to those living in senior housing complexes. Elderly women held stronger beliefs in autonomy in contrast to the males, who were more paternalistic, and married subjects held stronger beliefs than did single respondents.

Analysis of residuals in contingency tables: another nail in the coffin of conditional approaches to significance testing.

Omnibus tests of significance in contingency tables use statistics of the chi-square type. When the null is rejected, residual analyses are conducted to identify cells in which observed frequencies differ significantly from expected frequencies. Residual analyses are thus conditioned on a significant omnibus test. Conditional approaches have been shown to substantially alter type I error rates in cases involving t tests conditional on the results of a test of equality of variances, or tests of regression coefficients conditional on the results of tests of heteroscedasticity. We show that residual analyses conditional on a significant omnibus test are also affected by this problem, yielding type I error rates that can be up to 6 times larger than nominal rates, depending on the size of the table and the form of the marginal distributions. We explored several unconditional approaches in search for a method that maintains the nominal type I error rate and found out that a bootstrap correction for multiple testing achieved this goal. The validity of this approach is documented for two-way contingency tables in the contexts of tests of independence, tests of homogeneity, and fitting psychometric functions. Computer code in MATLAB and R to conduct these analyses is provided as Supplementary Material.

County Cork: the experience of members of the establishment whose houses were burned in the IRA arson campaign, 1920-23

Between May 1920 and March 1923, there were seventy-three houses belonging to the County Cork establishment burnt down by IRA and anti-treaty forces. More houses were destroyed by this method in Cork than in any other Irish county in the same timeframe. The establishment were targeted by the IRA for their political, military and social persuasions that were essentially in opposition to the nationalist movement. The motivations behind these burnings is examined, the main reasons being reprisals for actions taken by Crown forces, military reasons, loyalty of house owners to the British government and agrarianism. The geographical distribution of these burnings is also provided to reveal how active individual IRA brigades were that operated within the county. Though there were few areas of the county left unaffected by the occurrence of arson attacks, there were higher concentrations of burnings in some areas. The house burnings in County Cork did not conform to the national pattern of house burnings and the reasons for this are explored. This study argues that the presence of Crown forces in Cork and their implementation of an official reprisal policy in January 1921 escalated military conflict, and arson attacks became a key tactic utilised by IRA forces in response to this policy. The aftermath of house burnings for members of the establishment is revealed through the various compensation committees that were formed after both the War of Independence and Civil War. Key sources for this study included personal papers of both the establishment and military figures, IRA witness statements, local and national newspapers, the 1901 and 1911 Irish Censuses, Colonial Office Papers, compensation claims filed with the British government and Irish Free State, and others from archives throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Civic Humanism and the Classical Tradition in the Early Republic of Chile

The first decades of the 19th century constituted a period of profound change for Chile, the principal results of which were to be seen in the consolidation of the process of independence from Spanish dominion in 1818. The consequences were not limited to a revolution of military and political nature; they also included a renovation of the cultural panorama -at least among the educated patriots who made an effort to distance themselves ideologically from the Monarchy-, with the implicit challenge of establishing a new order for Chile, based on legitimate and universally recognizable foundations. The inspirational framework for these efforts is usually associated with other revolutionary examples -France and the United States- that preceded the emancipation processes in Spanish America, as well as with the discourses of illustrated liberalism. As we will attempt to demonstrate in this study, a new reading of the texts written by the Creoles that lead the Chilean independence process may, nonetheless, also reveal the relevance of the classical tradition as a model for the configuration and legitimization of the first Republican projects that especially admired the ideals of Republicanism.

The making of professionals: Embedded civil society development in a transition country

The paper addresses the development of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in transition settings. Caught in the balance of knowledge exchange and translation of ideas from abroad, organisations in turbulent setting legitimise their existence by learning through professional networks. By association, organisational actors gain acknowledgement by their sector by traversing the corridors of influence provided by international partnerships. What they learn is how to conduct themselves as agents of change in society, and how to deliver on stated missions and goals, therefore, legitimising their presence in a budding civil society at home. The paper presents a knowledge production and learning practices framework which indicates a presence of dual identity of NGOs - their “embeddedness” locally and internationally. Selected framework dimensions and qualitative case study themes are discussed with respect to the level of independence of organisational actors in the East from their partners in the West in a post-socialist context. A professional global civil society as organisations are increasingly managed in similar, professional ways (Anheier & Themudo 2002). Here knowledge “handling” and knowledge “translation” take place through partnership exchanges fostering capable and/or competitive change-inducing institutions (Czarniawska & Sevon 2005; Hwang & Suarez 2005). How professional identity presents itself in the third sector, as well as the sector’s claim to expertise, need further attention, adding to ongoing discussions on professions in institutional theory (Hwang & Powell 2005; Scott 2008; Noordegraaf 2011). A conceptual framework on the dynamic involved for the construction professional fields follows: • Multiple case analysis provides a taxonomy for understanding what is happening in knowledge transition, adaptation, and organisational learning capacity for NGOs with respect to their role in a networked civil society. With the model we can observe the types of knowledge produced and learning employed by organisations. • There are elements of professionalisation in third sector work organisational activity with respect to its accreditation, sources and routines of learning, knowledge claims, interaction with the statutory sector, recognition in cross-sector partnerships etc. • It signals that there is a dual embeddedness in the development of the sector at the core to the shaping the sector’s professional status. This is instrumental in the NGOs’ goal to gain influence as institutions, as they are only one part of a cross-sector mission to address complex societal problems The case study material highlights nuances of knowledge production and learning practices in partnerships, with dual embeddedness a main feature of the findings. This provides some clues to how professionalisation as expert-making takes shape in organisations: • Depending on the type of organisations’ purpose, over its course of development there is an increase in participation in multiple networks, as opposed to reliance on a single strategic partner for knowledge artefacts and practices; • Some types of organisations are better connected within international and national networks than others and there seem to be preferences for each depending on the area of work; • The level of interpretation or adaptation of the knowledge artefacts is related to an organisation’s embeddedness locally, in turn giving it more influence within the network of key institutions; An overreaching theme across taxonomy categories (Table 1)is “professionalisation” or developing organisational “expertise”, embodied at the individual, organisational, and sector levels. Questions relevant to the exercise of power arise: Is competence in managing a dual embeddedness signals the development of a dual identity in professionalisation? Is professionalisation in this sense a sign of organisations maturing into more capable partners to the arguably more experienced (Western) institutions, shifting the power balance? Or is becoming more professional a sign of domestication to the agenda of certain powerful stakeholders, who define the boundaries of the profession? Which dominant dynamics can be observed in a broadly-defined transition country civil society, where individual participation in the form of activism may be overtaking the traditional forms of organised development work, especially with the spread of social media?

European Union Approaches to Human Rights Violations in Kosovo before and after Independence

This article examines European Union (EU) approaches to the question of human rights violations in Kosovo before and after its proclamation of independence, in February 2008. While the 1999 NATO-led humanitarian intervention in the region was often justified as necessary due to the continuous abuses of human rights, perpetrated by the Serbian forces against the ethic Kosovo Albanians, the post-interventionist period has witnessed a dramatic reversal of roles, with the rights of the remaining Serbian minority being regularly abused by the dominant Albanian population. However, in contrast to the former scenario, the Brussels administration has remained quite salient about the post-independence context – a grey zone of unviable political and social components, capable of generating new confrontations and human rights abuses within the borders of Kosovo. Aware of this dynamic and the existing EU official rhetoric, it is possible to conclude that the embedded human rights concerns in Kosovo are not likely to disappear, but even more importantly, their relevance has been significantly eroded.

Prevalence of surgical wound infection after surgery for breast cancer: systematic review

One of the known risk factors for abuse and neglect of the elderly is the decrease in functionat capacity, contributíng to self care dependency of instrumental actívities of daily living and basic activities of daily Itving (OMS, 2015). Methods: Cross-sectional study with non probabilistíc sample of 333 elderly, performed in a hospital, homes and day centers for the elderly. The data collectíon protocol tncluded socio-demographic data, Questíons to elicit Elder Abuse (Carney, Kahan B Paris, 2003 adap. By Ferreira Alves & Sousa, 2005), scale of instrumental actívi - ties of daily living Lawton and Brody and Katz index to assess the levei of independence in actívities of daily living. Objectives: To evaluate the assodation between abuse and neglect in the elderly, instrumental actívitíes of daily living and levei of independence in actívitíes of daily living. Results: Emotional abuse is signifícantty correlated with the levei of independence in activities of daity Uving (p = 0. 000), older peopie with less independence tend to have higher leveis of emotional abuse. The total abuse is signtficantly correlated with the leveis of independence in activittes of daily living (p = 0. 002), less independent elderty tend to suffer greater abuse and neglect. There were no statistically significant associations between abuse and neglect and instrumental activities of daily l1v1ng. Conclusions: The less independent elderly are more vulnerable to situatíons of abuse and neglect, being more exposed to emotional abuse. These results point to the need for health professionals/ nurses develop prevention interventions, including strategies to support carers and early screentng tn less independent elderly. Keywords: Elder abuse. Negligence. Nursing care. Frail elderly. PREVALENCE OF SURGICAL WOUND INFECTION AFTER SURGERY FOR BREAST CÂNCER: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW C. Amaral3, C. Teixeira"'1', F. Sousa'', C. Antãoa "Polythecnic Institute o f Bragança, Bragança, Portugal; bEPI Unit, Public Health Institute, University of Porto, Portugal. Contact details: catarinaisabeln.amaraliSsmaU.com Introduction: Breast câncer is one of the most common mahgnant pathology in European countries, as Portugal, where annual inddence is around 90 new cases per 100,000 women. Breast surgery is the usual treatment for this pathology, however such procedure can be complicated by the infection of surgical site. Objectives: To know the prevalence and determtnants of surgtcal wound infection after breast surgery. Methods: We conducted a systematic review by searching of the Web of Sdence electronic database for articles published over the last s1x years 1n developed countries. Over three hundred dtatíons were obtained and after excludtng citations with reasons, fíve artícles met our inclusion criteria and were included in the present review. Results: Prevalence of surgical wound infection varied across studies between 0. 1% and 12. 5%. Bilateral mastectomy is assodated with higher prevalence of wound infectíon than unilateral mastectomy (3. 6% vs 3, 3%), lumpectomy with immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is related with higher frequency of wound infectíon than surgery with no IBR (0, 5% vs 0, 1%), also, mastectomy with IBR is associated with higher prevalence of wound infectíon than mastectomy wtth no IBR (1, 5% vs 0, 3%) and breast surgery followed by axiltary lymph nade dissectíon is related with higher prevalence of wound infection than surgical procedures wtth no axillary lymph node dissection (2, 82% vs 1, 66%). Conclusions: Nurses that provide post-operatíve care to women after breast surgery should be aware about risk of wound tnfectíon, partícularly after more invasive procedures.

Sociodemographic factors influencing adherence to antenatal iron supplementation recommendations among pregnant women in Malawi: Analysis of data from the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey

Background and Aim: Maternal morbidity and mortality statistics remain unacceptably high in Malawi. Prominent among the risk factors in the country is anaemia in pregnancy, which generally results from nutritional inadequacy (particularly iron deficiency) and malaria, among other factors. This warrants concerted efforts to increase iron intake among reproductive-age women. This study, among women in Malawi, examined factors determining intake of supplemental iron for at least 90 days during pregnancy. Methods: A weighted sample of 10,750 women (46.7%), from the 23,020 respondents of the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS), were utilized for the study. Univariate, bivariate, and regression techniques were employed. While univariate analysis revealed the percent distributions of all variables, bivariate analysis was used to examine the relationships between individual independent variables and adherence to iron supplementation. Chi-square tests of independence were conducted for categorical variables, with the significance level set at P < 0.05. Two binary logistic regression models were used to evaluate the net effect of independent variables on iron supplementation adherence. Results: Thirty-seven percent of the women adhered to the iron supplementation recommendations during pregnancy. Multivariate analysis indicated that younger age, urban residence, higher education, higher wealth status, and attending antenatal care during the first trimester were significantly associated with increased odds of taking iron supplementation for 90 days or more during pregnancy (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The results indicate low adherence to the World Health Organization’s iron supplementation recommendations among pregnant women in Malawi, and this contributes to negative health outcomes for both mothers and children. Focusing on education interventions that target populations with low rates of iron supplement intake, including campaigns to increase the number of women who attend antenatal care clinics in the first trimester, are recommended to increase adherence to iron supplementation recommendations.