3,899 research outputs found
Occupational complexity and lifetime cognitive abilities
OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between complexity of main lifetime occupation and cognitive performance in later life. METHODS: Occupational complexity ratings for data, people, and things were collected from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles for 1,066 individuals (men = 534, women = 532) in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. IQ data were available from mean age 11 years. Cognitive ability data across the domains of general ability, processing speed, and memory were available at mean age 70 years. RESULTS: General linear model analyses indicated that complexity of work with people and data were associated with better cognitive performance at age 70, after including age 11 IQ, years of education, and social deprivation. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings are supportive of the differential preservation hypotheses that more stimulating environments preserve cognitive ability in later life, although the continued effects into old age are still debated. Studies that have early-life cognitive ability measures are rare, and the current study offers interesting prospects for future research that may further the understanding of successful aging
Information seeking in the Humanities: physicality and digitality
This paper presents a brief overview of a research project
that is examining the information seeking practices of
humanities scholars. The results of this project are being
used to develop digital resources to better support these
work activities. Initial findings from a recent set of
interviews is offered, revealing the importance of physical
artefacts in the humanities scholars’ research processes and
the limitations of digital resources. Finally, further work
that is soon to be undertaken is summarised, and it is hoped
that after participation in this workshop these ideas will be
refined
MEETING PRIVATE GRADES AND STANDARDS IN TRANSITION AGRICULTURE: EXPERIENCES FROM THE ARMENIAN DAIRY INDUSTRY
Livestock Production/Industries,
Podiatry services for patients with arthritis: an unmet need
Foot problems are extremely common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
There is ample evidence that foot pain, either alone or as a comorbidity, contributes
significantly to disability. Despite the high prevalence of foot disease in RA, this
problem is often trivialised or underappreciated. The inequity in foot health provision
for patients with rheumatic disorders in New Zealand has recently been highlighted.
Expertise in dealing with foot problems is often limited among healthcare
professionals, and it has been argued that better integration of podiatric services into
rheumatology services would be beneficial. The aim of this paper is to highlight the
major issues related to foot care for patients with arthritis and provide key
recommendations that should implemented to improve access to podiatric services in
New Zealand
MEETING PRIVATE GRADES AND STANDARDS IN TRANSITION AGRICULTURE: EXPERIENCES FROM THE ARMENIAN DAIRY INDUSTRY
One of the main trends emerging from the agroindustrialization process is the rise of 'grades and standards' (G&S) in food products. G&S were initially developed by the public sector to reduce transaction costs and ensure product quality and safety but have become a strategic instrument of competition in differentiated product markets (Reardon et al, 2001). Firms are using grades and standards to protect and develop brands in the international marketplace and in some cases to fill in for missing public standards. While producers in developed countries have the resources to meet these requirements, in developing countries these changes have tended to exclude small firms and farmers from participating in market growth, because of the implied investment requirements (Reardon et al, 2001). This is leading to already disadvantaged farmers in these countries being forced to produce basic subsistence food crops and become further excluded from the opportunity to join the global food industry. While past research has evaluated the effects and trends of G&S (Reardon, et al, 2001; Farina & Reardon, 2000; Reardon & Farina, 2002) the organizational structure to enable small farmers to meet these requirements has largely been overlooked. In this paper we use a theoretical contract enforcement framework to argue that private enforcement capital developed through the facilitation of an external aid agency can be an effective means for creating credible and sustainable relationships capable of meeting G&S. We draw upon theory from Cocks and Gow (2002), Oliver and Gow (2002) and Gow et al. (2000) to argue that in situations characterized by high discount rates and low reputation or trust levels (such as transition agriculture) that the use of a third party external enforcement agent can be used to provide the necessary linkage between the parties to facilitate transactions. Through the facilitation role of the external agency, private enforcement capital is developed between the firm and the farmers, opening the path for a sustainable mutually beneficial relationship. Empirical evidence is provided by the case of the United States Department of Agriculture Marketing Assistance Project (USDA MAP) in Armenia and its role in establishing farmer owned milk marketing cooperatives. By acting as an external facilitator in the initial establishment and ongoing development of milk supply cooperatives the USDA MAP has provided a solution to the dual market failure problems of reliable supply of the consistent quality of milk required by processors while enabling farmers access to markets and ensuring timely payment and therefore enabling farmers and firms to credibly contract for the collective marketing of their milk. Through the establishment of a unique and flexibly designed combination of leadership development, training in governance, financial management, dairy management, and quality improvement programs, the USDA MAP has assisted the groups in expanding the self enforcing range in such a manner that the cooperative should be capable of sustaining long term credible exchange relationships once the external agency withdraws. This is important as aid programs have often failed at ensuring sustainability once external management and financial support is removed. Data for this paper was collected through a series of semi-structured interview with USDA MAP staff, dairy processing firm managers, cooperative managers, and cooperative presidents during the fall of 2002, and over a two week period in March, 2003.Livestock Production/Industries,
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