1,950 research outputs found

    Development of auditing in Malaysia: legal, political and historical influences

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    This work investigates the role and contribution of external auditing as practised in the Malaysian society during the forty year period from independence in 1957 to just before the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. It applies the political economic theory introduced by Tinker (1980) and refined by Cooper & Sherer (1984), which focuses on the social relations aspects of professional activity rather than economic forces alone. In a case study format where qualitative data was gathered mainly from primary and secondary source materials, the study found that the function of auditing in the Malaysian society in most cases is devoid of any essence of mission; instead it is created, shaped and transformed by the pressures which give rise to its development over time. The largely insignificant role that it serves is intertwined within the contexts in which it operates.external audit; Malaysia; politics; history; economy; Companies Act 1965; Companies Act 1985; British Companies Acts; Accountants Act 1967; Asian Financial Crisis

    Surviving the big chill: overwintering strategies of aquatic and terrestrial insects.

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    The purpose of this paper is to describe the cold-hardiness of aquatic insects and to use the literature to compare physiological and behavioral strategies that aquatic and terrestrial insects use to cope with minimum winter temperatures. In sharp contrast to terrestrial insects, aquatic insects from seven different orders had limited ability to supercool and did so to temperatures of only āˆ’3 to āˆ’7Ā°C. Inability to supercool may be due to inoculative freezingā€”the penetration of external ice crystals through pores or orifices of the insect's cuticle. Furthermore, our results suggest that terrestrial adult stages of aquatic insects may have greater capacity to supercool than aquatic stages of the same taxon. Our results and others' suggested that few aquatic species are freeze tolerant, and those that are appear to be restricted to the order Diptera. Consequently, behavioral avoidance of ice or the capacity to remain unfrozen while encased in ice may be particularly important for overwintering aquatic insects. Ecological implications of insect coldhardiness at the individual, population, and community level are discussed for both terrestrial and aquatic insects

    Understanding spiritual care-perspectives from healthcare professionals in a norwegian nursing home

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    This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/)Nursing home professionals have reported that spiritual care is an unclear concept, and research suggests that healthcare professionals have a limited understanding of this dimension of care. The provision of spiritual care is well-investigated internationally, but research is sparse within Norwayā€™s secularized society. This study investigated healthcare professionalsā€™ understanding of spiritual care in one nursing home. Methods: Data were collected from individual interviews (N = 8) and one focus group (N = 5) of nursing home personnel; the study used qualitative content analysis and a hermeneutic methodology. Results: One central question emerged during the data analysis: what is spiritual care versus good care? This starting point resulted in four themes (1) caring for the whole person, (2) having a personal touch, (3) seeing the person behind the diagnosis, and (4) more than religiousness. Some healthcare professionals had not heard of spiritual care, and many were not aware of this in their daily work with older patients. Nevertheless, they facilitated and cared for the patientā€™s spiritual needs, but they did not address it as spiritual care. Other participants were familiar with the concept and understood spiritual care as an essential part of daily care. Conclusion: healthcare professionalsā€™ understanding of spiritual care is broad and varied, including practical and non-verbal aspects. The results indicated a need for an open dialogue about spiritual needs and resources in clinical practice and the teaching of personnel about how to facilitate older peopleā€™s spirituality. Moreover, there is a need for more research into spiritual care and how it differs from the concept of good fundamental care.publishedVersio

    Introduction

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    Surviving the Big Chill: Overwintering Strategies of Aquatic and Terrestrial Insects

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    The purpose of this paper is to describe the cold-hardiness of aquatic insects and to use the literature to compare physiological and behavioral strategies that aquatic and terrestrial insects use to cope with minimum winter temperatures. In sharp contrast to terrestrial insects, aquatic insects from seven different orders had limited ability to supercool and did so to temperatures of only āˆ’3 to āˆ’7Ā°C. Inability to supercool may be due to inoculative freezingā€”the penetration of external ice crystals through pores or orifices of the insect\u27s cuticle. Furthermore, our results suggest that terrestrial adult stages of aquatic insects may have greater capacity to supercool than aquatic stages of the same taxon. Our results and others\u27 suggested that few aquatic species are freeze tolerant, and those that are appear to be restricted to the order Diptera. Consequently, behavioral avoidance of ice or the capacity to remain unfrozen while encased in ice may be particularly important for overwintering aquatic insects. Ecological implications of insect coldhardiness at the individual, population, and community level are discussed for both terrestrial and aquatic insects

    Theology, News and Notes - Vol. 60, No. 02

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    Theology News & Notes was a theological journal published by Fuller Theological Seminary from 1954 through 2014.https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/tnn/1173/thumbnail.jp

    A qualitative hermeneutical understanding of spiritual care in old age when living in a nursing home: The residents' voices

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    This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Aim: To explore and gain a broader understanding of residents' viewpoints and experiences of spiritual care when living in a nursing home. Design: A qualitative hermeneutical interview study inspired by Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics. Methods: Thirty-eight individual interviews of 14 male and 24 female residents; of these, 24 had a dementia diagnosis. The setting was one large Norwegian nursing home providing long-term care. FACIT-Sp-12 was used as a guide for the interview, in addition to two open-ended questions about thriving and spiritual care. Findings: The older residents' voices portray a broad and diverse understanding of spiritual care, and four themes emerged: (1) Spiritual at-homeness, (2) Spiritual awareness, (3) Philosophy of life and (4) Interconnectedness. Conclusion: Accepting one's life situation in a nursing home can foster a feeling of belonging, leading to feeling more at-home. Spiritual well-being, including finding purpose, spiritual awareness, and beliefs, was found to be interconnected with spiritual at-homeness in the nursing home. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: This study provides insights into older nursing home residents' viewpoints on spiritual care, including persons living with dementia. Impact: The study addressed the limited evidence regarding how older residents themselves experience and express spiritual care. Listening to older nursing home residents' voices provides a unique contribution to the research field. As several individuals with dementia contributed to the findings, this study mirrors the current population of residents in nursing homes. The findings may inform healthcare provision and policymakers and impact upon spiritual care in the field of older people nursing and dementia care services. Reporting Method: The COREQ guideline. Patient or Public Contribution: Participation through interviews of nursing home residents.publishedVersio

    A critical appraisal of guidelines for electronic communication between patients and clinicians: the need to modernize current recommendations

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    Background Patient-provider electronic communication has proliferated in recent years, yet there is a dearth of published research either leading to, or including, recommendations that improve clinical care and prevent unintended negative consequences. We critically appraise published guidelines and suggest an agenda for future work in this area. Objective To understand how existing guidelines align with current practice, evidence, and technology. Methods We performed a narrative review of provider-targeted guidelines for electronic communication between patients and providers, searching Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and PubMed databases using relevant terms. We limited the search to articles published in English, and manually searched the citations of relevant articles. For each article, we identified and evaluated the suggested practices. Results Across 11 identified guidelines, the primary focus was on technical and administrative concerns, rather than on relational communication. Some of the security practices recommended by the guidelines are no longer needed because of shifts in technology. It is unclear the extent to which the recommendations that are still relevant are being followed. Moreover, there is no guideline-cited evidence of the effectiveness of the practices that have been proposed. Conclusion Our analysis revealed major weaknesses in current guidelines for electronic communication between patients and providers: the guidelines appear to be based on minimal evidence and offer little guidance on how best to use electronic tools to communicate effectively. Further work is needed to systematically evaluate and identify effective practices, create a framework to evaluate quality of communication, and assess the relationship between electronic communication and quality of care

    The World Wide Web as a Medium of Instruction: What Works and What Doesn't

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    A conference was held on March 18-20, 1997 to investigate the lessons learned by the Aeronautics Cooperative Agreement Projects with regard to the most effective strategies for developing instruction for the World Wide Web. The conference was a collaboration among the NASA Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology Centers (Ames, Dryden, Langley, and Lewis), NASA Headquarters, the University of Idaho and The Pennsylvania State University. The conference consisted of presentations by the Aeronautics Cooperative Agreement Teams, the University of Idaho, and working sessions in which the participants addressed teacher training and support, technology, evaluation and pedagogy. The conference was also undertaken as part of the Dryden Learning Technologies Project which is a collaboration between the Dryden Education Office and The Pennsylvania State University. The DFRC Learning Technology Project goals relevant to the conference are as follows: conducting an analysis of current teacher needs, classroom infrastructure and exemplary instructional World Wide Web sites, and developing models for Web-enhanced learning environments that optimize teaching practices and student learning

    Fast assembly of bio-inspired nanocomposite films

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    This paper presents a spin-coating layer-by-layer assembly process to prepare multilayered polyelectrolyte-clay nanocomposites. This method allows for the fast production of films with controlled layered structure. The preparation of a 100-bilayer film with a thickness of about 330 nm needs less than 1 h, which is 20 times faster than conventional dip-coating processes maintaining the same hardness and modulus values. For validation of this technique, nanocomposite films with thicknesses up to 0.5 Ī¼m have been created with the common dip self-assembly and with the spin coating layer-by-layer assembly technique from a poly(diallyldimethylammonium)chloride (PDDA) solution and a suspension of a smectite clay mineral (Laponite). Geometrical characteristics (thickness, roughness, and texture) as well as mechanical characteristics (hardness and modulus) of the clay-polyelectrolyte films have been studied. The spin-coated nanocomposite films exhibit clearly improved mechanical properties (hardness 0.4 GPa, elastic modulus 7 GPa) compared to the "pureā€ polymer film, namely a sixfold increase in hardness and a 17-fold increase in Young's modulu
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