Axe-making and Axe Distribution from Two Quarries in East Australia

This study is about axe making at two quarries. I have derived a model based on formal economic theory for explaining the transfer of axes into a distribution system. There are three major kinds of axe output from quarries: (1) Axes for local use. (2) Axes for non-local exchange. (3) Axes traded for gain. I argue that these outputs can be differentiated by their distribution, together with: (1) The exchange potential of a good, which is established by symmetry in the shape of an axe and enables the axe to be recognised and accepted by others in an exchange transaction. (2) Value-adding economic decisions in axe making, which can be established by measuring efficiency in the control of production. This gives an advantage to axe producers at some quarries. Axe trade for gain would incorporate symmetrical axes, efficient production and a non-local distribution pattern. My predictions for the two quarries, one at Gulong and one at Warren are initially derived from distribution patterns. The output at Gulgong was predicted to be trade-driven in that the axes would be symmetrically shaped for exchange, and axe making would be a value-adding economic activity within which efficient knapping actions controlled axe making. In contrast, output at Warren (Little Mount quarry) was predicted not to be based on trade for gain. The axes would not be symmetrical in shape and would not be manufactured by efficient means. The potential of the quarries to supply axes for exchange and trade for gain is evaluated by, the selection and extraction of raw material, the process of shaping preforms, and the toolkits used in manufacture at the quarries

Healthcare IT Adoption under Different Government Models: Debating the HITECH Impacts

Governments around the world are investing in healthcare as they attempt to increase access to care and the quality of care, while simultaneously lowering the costs of providing care. Many of these investments are in healthcare IT (HIT). The IT software industry is preparing for intensive competition for their HIT packages and workers in response to government and private industry investments. Yet different national healthcare models have produced widely differing healthcare outcomes and HIT adoption rates, with the U.S. performing poorly on both. The objective of this panel is to provide insights based on HIT research conducted in multiple healthcare contexts under different national government models, and then to engage the panel audience in debating the prospects for success of three IT-enabled healthcare delivery reforms being government-funded in the U.S. over the next 5 years. Our larger goal is to provide a forum for information sharing that will motivate other IS researchers across the global IS research community to contribute to the design of solutions and the capturing of best practices that will address some of the key goals of IT-enabled healthcare reform: improved access and quality, and decreased costs

Are you reading me? Narrative and the student experience in education for archaeology

In this study, I set out to address a problem of conceptualisation in archaeology. That problem concerns the role and scope of education in the discipline and has consequences for practice. Despite initiatives in teaching and learning in the discipline in recent decades, a thorough understanding of and attention to the educational task is still not accorded the place it merits in disciplinary activity. Central to a better understanding of the priorities and purposes of education for archaeology is an understanding of the student perspective. This perspective: of what students believe archaeology is for; what formal study of the subject offers; and, the role they see for the discipline in their lives is critical for educational planning and practice. Knowledge of the student perspective is critical because it is where the transactional process of learning begins. Without this knowledge, articulated and explicated in a systematic and in-depth way, educational ventures may be at worst misconceived and at best operating from an unduly partial perspective. Students' reasons for studying are often conceived and represented, by and to themselves and to others, as narrative. Herein, I develop understanding of the student perspective by placing it in the context of disciplinary, educational and narrative theory to illuminate the emergence and development of student interest in archaeology. Such a study has not previously been attempted and is a major step in developing the truly student-centred learning advocated by educational theorists. The study also throws light, from the student perspective, on the discipline itself: its current preoccupations and its ontological and epistemological complexities. I also explore how we can apply a lens to the process of research in archaeology education through the application of an appropriate qualitative methodology for investigating perceptual questions, a grounded theory approach. Foundational to the proposition that knowledge of the student perspective is critical for educational practice, is the consideration that research in the discipline should be extended to education just as it is applied to research about the human past. This study thus looks beyond achieving good teaching techniques and argues for a research culture of education in archaeology, a scholarship of teaching and learning

The expression of the mouse VpreB/λ5 locus in transformed cell lines and tumors of the B lineage differentiation pathway

The expression of RNA transcripts from two pre B lymphocyte related genes, VpreB and λ5, has been studied in a series of transformed cell lines which appear frozen at different states of B lineage differentiation, from early progenitors to surface Ig positive B cells. In the HAFTL-1 cell line, which arose from fetal liver by transformation with a retrovlrus containing the Hras oncogene, Northern analysis of poly A+ mRNA as well as in situ hybridization of RNA In single cells revealed that λ5 and VpreB are already expressed at the progenitor stage and increase in expression as the progenitors differentiate to precursor (preB) cells, or are turned off as the progenitors differentiate to myeloid cells. Continued rearrangements of Ig genes in pre B cell lines leading to Ig expression on the surface of NFS-5 pre B cells do not influence the continued expression of VpreB and λ5. Surface Ig-positive B lineage cell lines also express the pre B-related genes. Both Ly1+ as well as Ly1− pre B cells are VpreB and λ5positlve. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation of 70Z/3 pre B cells does not turn off λ5 expression. It therefore appears that, at least In transformed cell lines, the expression of VpreB and λ5, is not directly regulated by the expression of μH, κL, or λL chains, LPS reactivity, or the Ly1 surface antigen. Fusion of plasmacytoma cells with normal pre B cells to generate pre B hybridomas leads to down-regulation of VpreB/λ5 expression. These results suggest that different trans-acting factors in more mature cells might down-regulate the expression of VpreB/λ

Validity of a three-variable juvenile arthritis disease activity score in children with new-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis

<p>Objectives To investigate the validity and feasibility of the Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (JADAS) in the routine clinical setting for all juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) disease categories and explore whether exclusion of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) from JADAS (the ‘JADAS3’) influences correlation with single markers of disease activity.</p> <p>Methods JADAS-71, JADAS-27 and JADAS-10 were determined at baseline for an inception cohort of children with JIA in the Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study. JADAS3-71, JADAS3-27 and JADAS3-10 were determined using an identical formula but with exclusion of ESR. Correlation of JADAS with JADAS3 and single measures of disease activity/severity were determined by category.</p> <p>Results Of 956 eligible children, sufficient data were available to calculate JADAS-71, JADAS-27 and JADAS-10 at baseline in 352 (37%) and JADAS3 in 551 (58%). The median (IQR) JADAS-71, JADAS-27 and JADAS-10 for all 352 children was 11 (5.9–18), 10.4 (5.7–17) and 11 (5.9–17.3), respectively. Median JADAS and JADAS3 varied significantly with the category (Kruskal–Wallis p=0.0001), with the highest values in children with polyarticular disease patterns. Correlation of JADAS and JADAS3 across all categories was excellent. Correlation of JADAS71 with single markers of disease activity/severity was good to moderate, with some variation across the categories. With the exception of ESR, correlation of JADAS3-71 was similar to correlation of JADAS-71 with the same indices.</p> <p>Conclusions This study is the first to apply JADAS to all categories of JIA in a routine clinical setting in the UK, adding further information about the feasibility and construct validity of JADAS. For the majority of categories, clinical applicability would be improved by exclusion of the ESR.</p&gt

Agreement between proxy and adolescent assessment of disability, pain, and well-being in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis have demonstrated substantial disagreement with their proxy's assessment of their disability, pain, and well-being. Our objective was to describe the clinical and psychological factors associated with discordance. STUDY DESIGN: This analysis included 204 proxy-adolescent (median age, 13 years) dyads that completed a Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire for disability with 100-mm visual analogue scales for pain and well-being. Depressive symptoms in adolescents were measured by the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire and in proxies the General Health Questionnaire. Disagreement was assessed using Bland-Altman plots. Associations with discordance were identified using logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: There was higher agreement for disability (84%) than for pain (71%) and well-being (66%). Regression analyses found no association between age, sex, or disease duration and disagreement. However, relationships between disease activity and disagreement in outcomes were identified. Independent associations were found between increasing Mood and Feelings Questionnaire scores and disagreement in pain and well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Proxy and adolescent reports of pain and well-being are more likely to disagree in those with severe disease. Adolescents who report depressive symptoms are also more likely to disagree with their proxy. The reasons for these are multifactorial, and considerations of both reports are important when assessing outcomes in juvenile idiopathic arthritis