Determinants of social and institutional beliefs about internet acceptance within developing country’s context: A structural evaluation of higher education systems in Pakistan

This study aims to extend a model of technology acceptance to suit in developing country’s context. The model attempts to identify relationship between social and institutional factors over behavioural intention and usage. Recently, ‘acceptance and adoption of information technology (IT) in multicultural setting’ is becoming topic of interest for IS researchers. In this line, numerous theories and models are proposed to contribute in examining factors of IT acceptance and reluctance. It is argued that the models in published literature are found culturally biased, which successfully present results in only American and European context, however, their validity became questionable when they were tested in south Asian countries context. Additionally, lack of research is observed to predict individual’s cognitive behaviour of acceptance, which are influenced by social factors (i.e. peer influence and superior influence, voluntariness, experience) and institutional factors (i.e. local institutional management influence and top-level governmental policies influence). This study used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Square (PLS) method to analyse the data. The results reveal that the proposed conceptual model achieves acceptable fit and the hypothesised paths are valid

Regularity of solutions to higher-order integrals of the calculus of variations

We obtain new regularity conditions for problems of calculus of variations with higher-order derivatives. As a corollary, we get non-occurrence of the Lavrentiev phenomenon. Our main regularity result asserts that autonomous integral functionals with a Lagrangian having coercive partial derivatives with respect to the higher-order derivatives admit only minimizers with essentially bounded derivatives

Acute Alteration of Plasma Renin Activity by Large Doses of Intravenous Prednisolone

Large doses of intravenous glucocorticoids have been used in an attempt to reverse homograft rejection. The intravenous administration of 1 g prednisolone over 1 hr resulted in a significant acute reduction of plasma renin activity in 5 normal subjects tested and in 11 out of 15 patients bearing renal homografts. No definite explanation for failure to respond nor the mechanism of this prednisolone effect is readily at hand. An acute decrease in renin activity could be salutary for the chronically or acutely rejecting patient in that it could reduce vasopressor and salt-retaining effects. However, several of the non-responders had an increase in renin activity which could have been detrimental. © 1972, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved

Studies on hepatic blood flow and the rate of Bromsulphalein clearance in dogs with portacaval transposition

Hepatic plasma and blood flows were determined in dogs with modified portacaval transposition. Mean hepatic blood flow was 43 ml. per kilogram per minute, approximately that expected in a normal dog. Similarly, the rate of Bromsulphalein clearance was in the range expected for normal dogs. © 1962

Conflicting contexts : midwives' interpretation of childbirth through photo elicitation

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health.BACKGROUND The increasing rates of interventions during childbirth in Australia raise serious concerns about how to keep birth normal. As midwives are the primary care givers for women during labour, it is conceivable that they have a direct influence on birth outcomes. Limited research has been undertaken regarding midwives' beliefs about childbirth and how they interpret the process of labour. This research examines the thought processes and cognitive frameworks that midwives construct around childbirth in order to understand if midwifery care is influencing the use of interventions during childbirth. METHOD A qualitative interpretive study was undertaken using a technique called photo elicitation. The study involved interviewing 12 midwives recruited from a variety of metropolitan maternity hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Photo elicitation is used to draw out in-depth responses from the midwives about their beliefs in relation to labour and to explore how and why they make clinical decisions. During the interview, participants were shown a photograph of a labouring woman and asked specific questions about how they would care for her. This was in the form of semi structured open-ended questions. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, which provided a flexible yet rigorous method for the interpretation and application of the themes. FINDINGS Six themes emerged from the data that clearly indicated midwives felt challenged by working in a system dominated by an obstetric model of care that undermined midwifery autonomy in maintaining normal birth. These themes were: Desiring Normal, Scanning the Environment, Constructing the Context, Navigating the Way, Relinquishing Desire and Reflecting on Reality. Most midwives felt they were unable to practice in the manner they were philosophically aligned with, that is, promoting normal birth, as the medical model restricted their practice. Midwives described a sense of frustration and powerlessness about having to conform to the protocols and procedures that reflected the institutionalised culture of the hospitals. DISCUSSION As the profession of midwifery comes from a history of marginalisation there remains a culture of subordination that inhibits the visibility and validity of midwifery philosophy. This research offers the concept of parrhesia, a Greek word, meaning to speak without fear, as a constructive and pragmatic way to challenge the dominant obstetric model. Parrhesia is suggested by Foucault as a technique to challenge unequal power relationships (Foucault 1983). This research recommends that midwives become skilled and confident in using parrhesia as an effective method to articulate their beliefs and desires for normal birth in the increasingly technological environment of childbirth

Mean flow instabilities of two-dimensional convection in strong magnetic fields

The interaction of magnetic fields with convection is of great importance in astrophysics. Two well-known aspects of the interaction are the tendency of convection cells to become narrow in the perpendicular direction when the imposed field is strong, and the occurrence of streaming instabilities involving horizontal shears. Previous studies have found that the latter instability mechanism operates only when the cells are narrow, and so we investigate the occurrence of the streaming instability for large imposed fields, when the cells are naturally narrow near onset. The basic cellular solution can be treated in the asymptotic limit as a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. In the limit of large imposed field, the instability occurs for asymptotically small Prandtl number. The determination of the stability boundary turns out to be surprisingly complicated. At leading order, the linear stability problem is the linearisation of the same nonlinear eigenvalue problem, and as a result, it is necessary to go to higher order to obtain a stability criterion. We establish that the flow can only be unstable to a horizontal mean flow if the Prandtl number is smaller than order , where B0 is the imposed magnetic field, and that the mean flow is concentrated in a horizontal jet of width in the middle of the layer. The result applies to stress-free or no-slip boundary conditions at the top and bottom of the layer

Book Reviews

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The quest for a culture of learning: a South African schools perspective

Within the media and the literature the need is often expressed for the establishment of a culture of learning within South African schools. The contrasting view tends to be one of dysfunctional schools that have come into being, giving rise to significant learner behaviour problems and poor pass rates being encountered in practice. This paper is directed at gaining conceptual clarity as to what is meant by a “culture of learning” and exploring two fundamentally different views as to how such a culture can be nurtured within South African schools. The study is based on a multidisciplinary literature review to gain an understanding of the concept and the theories advocated for bringing about a culture change. A key finding emanating from the study is that the traditional culture management approach advocated in the literature may not be all that effective in practice and that an alternative approach that views “culture of learning” as an emergent phenomenon that has its origins in the social interaction taking place within classrooms, schools and learning communities may be more effective

Liquid waste management: The case of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Background: Human beings pollute the environment with their industrial and domestic wastes. In Bahir Dar Town there is no conventional municipal waste water collection and treatment system.Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the liquid waste disposal practices of the residents of Bahir Dar Town and to assess the performance of waste water disposing institutions.Methods: Data were collected from 270 households and 16 experts working in liquid waste management institutions. Different closed and open ended structured questionnaires were prepared to collect the data from the samples.Results: Sixty-four percent of the respondents discharge their waste water in to the streets and open fields. The inadequacy of sanitation services resulted in defecating in open fields and discharging of raw waste water into inappropriate places and these, in turn, have created serious environmental problems.Conclusion: There is a weak implementation of the regional sanitation regulations in Bahir Dar. Controlling offenders through strict enforcement of the regulations should be encouraged. Skilled environmental health workers should be assigned at each kebele and sub-city to implement sanitation regulations and coordinate the sanitation efforts at thegrassroots levels. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2012;26(1):49-53

Psychosocial Impacts of Mentally Retarded Children on Parents in Sudan

This study was conducted on a community sample from Khartoum state, Sudan to explore the psychological and social impacts of the mentally retarded child on his/her parents. The study hypothesized that these effects are directly related to the age, number of handicapped children in the family as well as the degree of mental retardation.Methods and population: Seven centers for teaching and training of handicapped children were recruited in Khartoum State.Ninety-one children aged 5-16 years were randomly selected and their intelligence quotient (I.Q) was determined. Interviews for 82 mothers and 64 fathers of these children were held using a standardized anonymous questionnaire including socio-demographic data and information about thepsychological and social impacts of the disability of children on their parents. The parents also completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess the presence of anxiety and depression.Results and discussion: The parents reported different psychological effects when they realized the children's disability. However, they tend to overcome their problem and become adapted to the situation. Sometimes, problems arise in the marital life and in social participation. The researchshowed that most parents suffered from degrees of anxiety and depression ranging mainly from severe to moderate. The number, age or degree of retardation of the children did not affect the social and psychological impacts on the parents significantly. The study recommends preventative measures to reduce the factors that lead to mental retardation. It also recommends the provision of rehabilitation services and training of children in schools and special institutes, besides supporting their families psychologically and socially to reduce theirburden. Keywords: Anxiety, depression, divorce, marital stability