Analysing the role of business-to-business media in South Africa in the emergence of communities of practice.

Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.The purpose of this dissertation was to understand and analyse the facilitative role of specialist and niche business-to-business (trade) media in the emergence of communities of practice, part of the knowledge management discipline, using models from systems theory to assist in the qualitative research process. First, it was considered how to define communities of practice and business-tobusiness (B2B) media. How communities of practice (CoPs) emerge and why they are an important part of a management toolkit going forward in business, is described. Sharing knowledge emerged as the key to the creation of CoPs as well as being the core currency that business-to-business media trade in to service their stakeholders. How learning takes place through shared experience, narratives and storytelling emerged as essential to how knowledge is created. Soft systems methodology as the analytical lens through which to measure the data set was also investigated once it was decided to use a qualitative inductive approach to collating and analysing the data. A semi-structured interview schedule was employed and 17 research subjects interviewed. The respondents to this study were drawn from leading media houses in South Africa, including award-winning B2B publications, bar one from a US online think tank on new media. The impact of new media technologies/internet on communication and the distribution of information and engagement of communities in the CoP and B2B space, was a strong theme throughout this dissertation. The findings revealed that while communities of practice is not a widely used term in the networks that B2B media utilise to embed themselves in industries, it is true that some of the networks and associations they are close to and derive meaning from, do in fact contain characteristics common to CoPs and could be termed CoPs, even when formally unrecognised as such. What was a stronger theme emerging from the data was that B2B media could in fact benefit more from facilitating CoPs to aid information gathering and improve credibility within the industry sectors they serve. B2B media in South Africa, in particular, were regarded as immature and sometimes lacking in ethics and innovation, according to respondents. To improve their sustainability, several characteristics emerged from the research that B2B media should focus on as a 'model for sustainability': 1) Special interest/niche communities - to assist in building knowledge assets; 2) Sustainability - through a multi-media platform business model; 3) Values - for application to serve their industry sectors; 4) Educational role through the facilitation of networks such as CoPs; and, 5) Communication channels - utilised for deeper engagement with their communities in emergent new media models where their own stakeholders were influencing content. The value inherent in this dissertation lies in the original research undertaken into the B2B media industry in South Africa which has not been formally studied, particularly not from a knowledge management perspective. This study could also be of interest to knowledge management practitioners who are interested in the role specialist media can play in aiding CoPs with information for knowledge creation

Modified Pilates as an adjunct to standardphysiotherapy care for urinaryincontinence: a mixed methods pilot for arandomised controlled trial

Background Urinary incontinence (UI) is a distressing condition affecting at least 5 million women in England and Wales. Traditionally, physiotherapy for UI comprises pelvic floor muscle training, but although evidence suggests this can be effective it is also recognised that benefits are often compromised by patient motivation and commitment. In addition, there is increasing recognition that physical symptoms alone are poor indicators of the impact of incontinence on individuals’ lives. Consequently, more holistic approaches to the treatment of UI, such as Modified Pilates (MP) have been recommended. This study aimed to provide preliminary findings about the effectiveness of a 6-week course of MP classes as an adjunct to standard physiotherapy care for UI, and to test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design. Methods The study design was a single centre pilot RCT, plus qualitative interviews. 73 women referred to Women’s Health Physiotherapy Services for UI at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust were randomly assigned to two groups: a 6-week course of MP classes in addition to standard physiotherapy care (intervention) or standard physiotherapy care only (control). Main outcome measures were self-reported UI, quality of life and self-esteem at baseline (T1), completion of treatment (T2), and 5 months after randomisation (T3). Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subgroup at T2 and T3. Due to the nature of the intervention blinding of participants, physiotherapists and researchers was not feasible. Results Post-intervention data revealed a range of benefits for women who attended MP classes and who had lower symptom severity at baseline: improved self-esteem (p = 0.032), decreased social embarrassment (p = 0.026) and lower impact on normal daily activities (p = 0.025). In contrast, women with higher symptom severity showed improvement in their personal relationships (p = 0.017). Qualitative analysis supported these findings and also indicated that MP classes could positively influence attitudes to exercise, diet and wellbeing. Conclusions A definitive RCT is feasible but will require a large sample size to inform clinical practice. Trial registration ISRCTN74075972 Registered 12/12/12 (Retrospectively registered)

Bacteria isolated from lung modulate asthma susceptibility in mice

Asthma is a chronic, non-curable, multifactorial disease with increasing incidence in industrial countries. This study evaluates the direct contribution of lung microbial components in allergic asthma in mice. Germ-Free and Specific-Pathogen-Free mice display similar susceptibilities to House Dust Mice-induced allergic asthma, indicating that the absence of bacteria confers no protection or increased risk to aeroallergens. In early life, allergic asthma changes the pattern of lung microbiota, and lung bacteria reciprocally modulate aeroallergen responsiveness. Primo-colonizing cultivable strains were screened for their immunoregulatory properties following their isolation from neonatal lungs. Intranasal inoculation of lung bacteria influenced the outcome of allergic asthma development: the strain CNCM I 4970 exacerbated some asthma features whereas the pro-Th1 strain CNCM I 4969 had protective effects. Thus, we confirm that appropriate bacterial lung stimuli during early life are critical for susceptibility to allergic asthma in young adults

Complaint in Scotland c. 1424 - c. 1500

This thesis provides the first account of complaint in Older Scots literature. It argues for the coherent development of a distinctively Scottish complaining voice across the fifteenth century, characterised by an interest in the relationship between amatory and ethical concerns, between stasis and narrative movement, and between male and female voices. Chapter 1 examines the literary contexts of Older Scots complaint, and identifies three paradigmatic texts for the Scottish complaint tradition: Ovid’s Heroides; Boethius’s De Consolatione Philosophiae; and Alan of Lille’s De Planctu Naturae. Chapter 2 concentrates on the complaints in Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Arch. Selden. B. 24 (c. 1489-c. 1513). It considers afresh the Scottish reception of Lydgate’s Complaint of the Black Knight and Chaucer’s Anelida and Arcite, and also offers original readings of three Scottish complaints preserved uniquely in this manuscript: the Lay of Sorrow, the Lufaris Complaynt, and the Quare of Jelusy. Chapter 3 focuses on the relationship between complaint and narrative, arguing that the complaints included in the Buik of Alexander (c. 1438), Lancelot of the Laik (c. 1460), Hary’s Wallace (c. 1476-8), and The Buik of King Alexander the Conquerour (c. 1460-99) act as catalysts for narrative movement and subvert the complaint’s traditional identity as a static form. Chapter 4 is a study of complaint in Robert Henryson’s three major works: the Morall Fabillis (c. 1480s); the Testament of Cresseid (c. 1480-92); and Orpheus and Eurydice (c. 1490-2), and argues that Henryson consistently connects the complaint form with the concept of self-knowledge as part of wider discourses on effective governance. Chapter 5 presents the evidence that a text’s identity as a complaint influenced its presentation in both manuscript and print witnesses. The witnesses under discussion date predominantly from the sixteenth century; the chapter thus also uses them to explore the complaints’ later reception history.</p

Complaint in Scotland c. 1424 - c. 1500

This thesis provides the first account of complaint in Older Scots literature. It argues for the coherent development of a distinctively Scottish complaining voice across the fifteenth century, characterised by an interest in the relationship between amatory and ethical concerns, between stasis and narrative movement, and between male and female voices. Chapter 1 examines the literary contexts of Older Scots complaint, and identifies three paradigmatic texts for the Scottish complaint tradition: Ovid’s Heroides; Boethius’s De Consolatione Philosophiae; and Alan of Lille’s De Planctu Naturae. Chapter 2 concentrates on the complaints in Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Arch. Selden. B. 24 (c. 1489-c. 1513). It considers afresh the Scottish reception of Lydgate’s Complaint of the Black Knight and Chaucer’s Anelida and Arcite, and also offers original readings of three Scottish complaints preserved uniquely in this manuscript: the Lay of Sorrow, the Lufaris Complaynt, and the Quare of Jelusy. Chapter 3 focuses on the relationship between complaint and narrative, arguing that the complaints included in the Buik of Alexander (c. 1438), Lancelot of the Laik (c. 1460), Hary’s Wallace (c. 1476-8), and The Buik of King Alexander the Conquerour (c. 1460-99) act as catalysts for narrative movement and subvert the complaint’s traditional identity as a static form. Chapter 4 is a study of complaint in Robert Henryson’s three major works: the Morall Fabillis (c. 1480s); the Testament of Cresseid (c. 1480-92); and Orpheus and Eurydice (c. 1490-2), and argues that Henryson consistently connects the complaint form with the concept of self-knowledge as part of wider discourses on effective governance. Chapter 5 presents the evidence that a text’s identity as a complaint influenced its presentation in both manuscript and print witnesses. The witnesses under discussion date predominantly from the sixteenth century; the chapter thus also uses them to explore the complaints’ later reception history.This thesis is not currently available in ORA

Young people, pathways and crime: beyond risk factors

This is a jointly authored piece representing 3 of the projects in the ESRC network: ‘Pathways into and out of Crime for Young People: Risk, Resilience and Diversity’. It is a major output of the network and was peer reviewed for a special edition of the journal (a leading international criminology journal). The article is ground breaking in its critique of risk factors, and proposes a multi-paradigm approach to risk factor research and policy-making. It is early to assess impact, but the journal has an international audience and is a lead journal for research development and policy critique

Additional file 1: of Modified Pilates as an adjunct to standard physiotherapy care for urinary incontinence: a mixed methods pilot for a randomised controlled trial

Outcome measures - A description of the four outcome measures/questionnaires used: Symptom severity index (SSI)/Symptom Impact Index (SII); Incontinence quality of life questionnaire (I-QOL); International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ); Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE). (DOCX 25 kb

Substance use by young offenders The impact of the normalisation of drug use in the early years of the 21st century

Includes bibliographical referencesAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:4326. 110(261) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Substance use by young offenders

Includes bibliographical referencesSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:3927. 73415(192) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo