136 research outputs found
COMPUTER TRAINING AND COMPUTER ANXIETY IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS
The 1980s witnessed the widespread introduction of microcomputer technology into educational institutions and the workplace. Microcomputer software training has achieved mixed results due to both training methods and individual factors, such as computer anxiety. The present research addresses the topic of software training by presenting the results of two studies. The first study validates a measure of computer anxiety, while the second study contrasts the effects of training method and computer anxiety on training outcomes. The training method demonstrated stronger relationships with training outcomes than did computer anxiety. In addition, the second study contrasted two training methods and found that training labelled as play resulted in enhanced training outcomes as compared with training labelled as wor
Diffusion in Model Networks as Studied by NMR and Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy
We have studied the diffusion of small solvent molecules (octane) and larger hydrophobic dye probes in octane-swollen poly(dimethyl siloxane) linear-chain solutions and end-linked model networks, using pulsed-gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), respectively, focusing on diffusion in the bulk polymer up to the equilibrium degree of swelling of the networks, that is, 4.8 at most. The combination of these results allows for new conclusions on the feasibility of different theories describing probe diffusion in concentrated polymer systems. While octane diffusion shows no cross-link dependence, the larger dyes are increasingly restricted by fixed chemical meshes. The simple Fujita free-volume theory proved most feasible to describe probe diffusion in linear long-chain solutions with realistic parameters, while better fits were obtained assuming a stretched exponential dependence on concentration. Importantly, we have analyzed the cross-link specific effect on probe diffusion independently of any specific model by comparing the best-fit interpolation of the solution data with the diffusion in the networks. The most reasonable description is obtained by assuming that the cross-link effect is additive in the effective friction coefficient of the probes. The concentration dependences as well as the data compared at the equilibrium degrees of swelling indicate that swelling heterogeneities and diffusant shape have a substantial influence on small-molecule diffusion in networks.
Levels of resilience and delivery of HIV care in response to urban violence and crime
Aims To understand the impact of urban violence and crime on HIV care delivery.
Background Urban violence and crime can put pressure on the health care system and on nursing staff. Whilst the impact this has at the individual level has been researched, there is less research that places this within the context of the overall social eco system.
Design A qualitative design using inductive thematic analysis.
Methods Between July 2016 February 2017, inâdepth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses working in two neighbourhoods with high levels of violence in Cape Town, South Africa.
Results The effects of crime and violence were evident at multiple levels resulting in participants feeling âsafe and unsafeâ in a context where crime is viewed as endemic. Resilience emerged as a key concept in the findings. Resilience was apparent at individual, community and organizational levels and enabled continued delivery of HIV care.
Conclusion The findings demonstrate the potential role of resilience within the social ecoâhealth system required to sustain delivery of HIV care in the midst of urban violence and gangsterism.
Impact This study examined the impact of and response to urban violence on HIV care delivery. The findings indicate that resilience manifests at all levels of the social ecoâsystem. Understanding the mechanisms employed to cope with endemic violence helps to address these challenges in the study setting, but also has a much wider application to other areas with endemic urban violence and crime
Constitutional patriotism
Constitutional patriotism is a political theory that seeks to provide an explanation for the sense of ownership that most individuals have towards their national constitutional system. Specifically, constitutional patriotism assumes that free-thinking individuals involved in a discussion over the common good will reach an agreement that is perceived, at least by those involved in the debate, as having normative value. The awareness that such a deliberative process has historically been a part of the constitutional system also induces a sense of ownership of past historical accommodations of constitutional principles. The shared perception of being part of historically grounded institutions within a deliberative democracy is sometimes called the ânormative surplus effectâ or ânormative spill-over effectâ of the deliberative process. The theory, in its current form, was proposed by JĂŒrgen Habermas and Jean-Werner MĂŒller.
Debates over the common good might take place informally or within the stateâs institutions. Pell-mell informal debates, with few exceptions, have a limited effect on amending constitutional norms. Yet, the prerogative to openly discuss laws and policies legitimised by constitutional norms is normally sufficient to develop an inner sense of belonging to a constitutional system. Deliberative debates within public institutions (e.g. parliaments and courts) are more likely to change the functioning of a constitutional system, but they are, by way of comparison to informal political discussions, normally constrained by the system of rules that regulate representative democracy and the administration of justice. Thus, the theory of constitutional patriotism provides an explanatory model for the historical development of a democratic constitutional system.
As one of the most persuasive explanatory theories of modern pluralist democracy, constitutional patriotism has attracted a series of well-articulated critiques. It has been suggested, for instance, that constitutional patriotism might not provide a plausible model of social integration for international organisations such as the European Union (EU). In this essay, I will provide an overview of the theory and a selection of its critiques
Intellectual Property, Open Science and Research Biobanks
In biomedical research and translational medicine, the ancient war between exclusivity (private control over information) and access to information is proposing again on a new battlefield: research biobanks. The latter are becoming increasingly important (one of the ten ideas changing the world, according to Time magazine) since they allow to collect, store and distribute in a secure and professional way a critical mass of human biological samples for research purposes. Tissues and related data are fundamental for the development of the biomedical research and the emerging field of translational medicine: they represent the âraw materialâ for every kind of biomedical study. For this reason, it is crucial to understand the boundaries of Intellectual Property (IP) in this prickly context. In fact, both data sharing and collaborative research have become an imperative in contemporary open science, whose development depends inextricably on: the opportunities to access and use data, the possibility of sharing practices between communities, the cross-checking of information and results and, chiefly, interactions with experts in different fields of knowledge. Data sharing allows both to spread the costs of analytical results that researchers cannot achieve working individually and, if properly managed, to avoid the duplication of research. These advantages are crucial: access to a common pool of pre-competitive data and the possibility to endorse follow-on research projects are fundamental for the progress of biomedicine. This is why the "open movement" is also spreading in the biobank's field. After an overview of the complex interactions among the different stakeholders involved in the process of information and data production, as well as of the main obstacles to the promotion of data sharing (i.e., the appropriability of biological samples and information, the privacy of participants, the lack of interoperability), we will firstly clarify some blurring in language, in particular concerning concepts often mixed up, such as âopen sourceâ and âopen accessâ. The aim is to understand whether and to what extent we can apply these concepts to the biomedical field. Afterwards, adopting a comparative perspective, we will analyze the main features of the open models â in particular, the Open Research Data model â which have been proposed in literature for the promotion of data sharing in the field of research biobanks.
After such an analysis, we will suggest some recommendations in order to rebalance the clash between exclusivity - the paradigm characterizing the evolution of intellectual property over the last three centuries - and the actual needs for access to knowledge. We argue that the key factor in this balance may come from the right interaction between IP, social norms and contracts. In particular, we need to combine the incentives and the reward mechanisms characterizing scientific communities with data sharing imperative
In international law we (do not) trust: The persistent rejection of economic and social rights as a manifestation of cynicism
Despite a promising start in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, economic and social rights still retain a second-class status in most national jurisdictions. What explains this reticence with which economic and social rights are (still) regarded? This chapter analyses how the sceptical gaze through which states view economic and social rights legitimises (or attempts to legitimise) government failures to provide for those members of their populace who are in most desperate need, and (unsuccessfully) masks the self-interest that pervades most of international law. The chapter commences with a brief introduction and subsequently proceeds in three subsequent parts. Section 2 demonstrates that cynicism was used as a sword to pierce the normative foundations of economic and social rights generally, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights particularly in the early days both before and after its adoption leading to economic and social rightsâ lower status in the human rights family; Section 3 posits that cynicism has been relied upon as a shield to offer errant states a defence for not meeting their obligations under both international and national (constitutional) economic and social rights norms; and finally Section 4 argues that a certain amount of cynicism is inherent in the history of economic and social rights and how they advanced through the ages, but more optimistically that a light at the end of the tunnel exists because contemporary developments point to less rather than more cynicism in the area of economic and social rights in todayâs world
Legitimacy intermediation in the multilevel European polity and its collapse in the euro crisis
This essay re-examines the dual â republican and liberal â foundations of democratic legitimacy in the Western traditions of normative political theory. Considered in isolation, the European Union conforms to liberal standards but cannot satisfy republican criteria. Given these conflicting standards, debates on the alleged European democratic deficit have remained inconclusive. Moreover, they have failed to pay sufficient attention to the multilevel character of the European polity and to the normative potential of legitimacy intermediation in its two-step compliance and legitimating relationships. I argue, however, that the capacity of democratic member states to legitimate the exercise of European governing functions is being destroyed in the present euro crisis, and I briefly discuss the implications of this new constellation.In der westlichen Tradition der normativen politischen Theorie beruht demokratische LegitimitĂ€t auf der doppelten Grundlage republikanischer und liberaler Prinzipien. FĂŒr sich betrachtet entspricht die EuropĂ€ische Union zwar liberalen Kriterien, aber eben nicht den republikanischen Anforderungen. Angesichts so unterschiedlicher Kriterien konnte es auch im Streit ĂŒber das angebliche europĂ€ische Demokratiedefizit keine Einigung geben. Ăberdies ignorierte diese Diskussion den Mehrebenen-Charakter der europĂ€ischen Politik und das normative Potenzial der Legitimationsvermittlung zwischen Union und BĂŒrgern durch die demokratisch verfassten Mitgliedstaaten. Die gegenwĂ€rtige Eurokrise allerdings zerstört die FĂ€higkeit demokratischer Mitgliedstaaten, die AusĂŒbung europĂ€ischer Herrschaftsfunktionen zu legitimieren. Der Aufsatz erörtert die Implikationen dieser neuen Konstellation.1 Introduction 2 Legitimacy discourses The republican discourse The liberal discourse Differences 3 Constitutional democracies â and the European Union? 4 Legitimacy intermediation in the multilevel European polity 5 The end of legitimacy intermediation in the euro crisis Monetary Union and the failure of output legitimacy Rescuing the euro through supranational intervention 6 Legitimate supranational government? Input-oriented European legitimacy? 7 Reducing the burden on European legitimacy Reference
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