‘Don't forget to put the cat out’ — or why collaborative authoring software and everyday writing pass one another by!

Abstract

Hypermedia technology is seen as offering potentially innovative support for the process of writing as much as information access and reading. However authoring environments to date have had little impact in the real-world production of text. One possible reason is our poor conceptualisation of current writing practice. In the present paper, 31 adult writers kept diaries of their writing activities over the course of one week. The results indicate that for most people, real world writing is a short communicative act aimed at a limited audience and that technological support for such writing is less likely to resemble a hypermedia workstation than a portable personal communication device. Implications for work in the design of authoring tools are developed.     

The researcher's companion: enhanced library support for postgraduates

The British Library Research and Innovation Centre research study What makes a digital librarian?, completed in February 1998 by research partners University of Sunderland Information Services, Gateshead MBC Libraries and Arts and Education for Change Ltd., looked at critical success factors and barriers which underpin or inhibit the development of the networked digital library. The study focused on staff skills, knowledge and attributes, management culture and attitudes, through a series of qualitative research exercises in public and academic libraries. This article summarises the literature review and looks at what LIS commentators have to say about institutional culture, organisational structures and management styles, leadership, communications, staff attributes and individual attitudes, staff training and development, in the context of developing electronic and digital library services. The author is convinced of the value of a more rigorous application of organisational and management theory to the problems and complexities of the LIS sector, as ICT innovations are breaking down older structures. LIS commentators also seem to be out of tune with staff views on such issues as effective management styles, professional and non‐professional roles in electronic library environments and the influence of the library's parent organisation on development.     

Pantoprazole Attenuates MAPK (ERK1/2, JNK,p38)–NF-κB and Apoptosis Signaling Pathways after Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) in the kidney is the most common cause of acute renal dysfunction through different cell damage mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate, on molecular basics for the first time, the effect of pantoprazole on renal IRI in rats. Different biochemical parameters and oxidative stress markers were assessed. ELISA was used to estimate proinflammatory cytokines. qRT-PCR and western blot were used to investigate the gene and protein expression. Renal histopathological examination was also performed. IRI resulted in tissue damage, elevation of serum levels of creatinine, urea nitrogen, malondialdehyde, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, up-regulation of NF-κB, JNK1/2, ERK1/2, p38, and cleaved caspase-3 proteins. Furthermore, it up-regulated the expression of the Bax gene and down-regulated the expression of the Bcl-2 gene. Treatment of the injured rats with pantoprazole, either single dose or multiple doses, significantly alleviated IRI-induced biochemical and histopathological changes, attenuated the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, down-regulated the expression of NF-κB, JNK1/2, ERK1/2, p38, and cleaved caspase-3 proteins, and the Bax gene, and up-regulated Bcl-2 gene expression. Moreover, treatment with pantoprazole multiple doses has an ameliorative effect that is greater than pantoprazole single-dose. In conclusion, pantoprazole diminished renal IRI via suppression of apoptosis, attenuation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines’ levels, and inhibition of the intracellular signaling pathway MAPK (ERK1/2, JNK, p38)–NF-κB.     

Associations between jet lag and cortisol diurnal rhythms after domestic travel.

Objective: Millions of adults in the United States travel abruptly across time zones each year. Nevertheless, the impact of traveling over relatively short distances (across 3 or fewer time zones) on diurnal patterning of typical physiological response patterns has yet to be studied in a large, epidemiological sample. Design: The current research focuses on 764 middle-aged men comparing variations in diurnal cortisol regulation based on number of time zones traveled eastward or westward the day before. Main Outcome Measure: Participants provided samples of salivary cortisol at waking, 30-min postwaking, 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and bedtime. Results: Eastward travel was associated with a steeper salivary cortisol awakening response (p     

History of prevention and prevention groups: Legacy for the 21st century.

This article provides a context for this special journal issue devoted to the topic of evidence-based prevention groups. To begin, a history of the field of prevention is presented. Second, the authors highlight how prevention groups have evolved as part of the broader history of prevention. Finally, the authors discuss the implications of the history of prevention and prevention groups for future research and practice in the field of group work. The overall goal of this article is to provide a base of knowledge that practitioners and researchers may utilize to expand and advance the field of prevention group practice and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The regulation of British colonial lunatic asylums and the origins of colonial psychiatry, 1860–1864.

In this paper I outline a brief period in the history of the British Empire, during which colonial lunatic asylum policy began to be formulated. I begin with a scandal that erupted in Jamaica and suggest that this set in motion processes that led to critical changes in asylum administration. The first of these processes was an audit of hospitals and asylums in the colonies. The results of the audit and the policy that emerged from it marked the beginning of systematic regulation of lunatic asylum practice across the British Empire. It revealed a formulation of policy that was intended to cut across the self-governing regimes that had up to this point been allowed to evolve. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and Nikolas Rose, I argue that the policy and the practices associated with it contribute to an understanding of the emergence of the psy-sciences in colonial settings. They illustrate the establishment of a panoptic gaze on previously neglected insane spaces. Systematic surveillance constituted government at a distance and made colonial lunacy administration a governable discursive space. The regulation of the medical officers, lunatic attendants, and hospital boards began the process of creating a professional psychiatric workforce. I conclude with a discussion of the implications and the mixed impact of this policy change for the mentally ill across the empire, over the ensuing decades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

3Desque: interface elements for a 3D graphical user interface

This paper explores some design possibilities and constraints for 3D enhancements of graphical user interfaces (GUIs). This is done with the aim of conveying more information in less screen space, while avoiding visual clutter. Design elements include the use of ‘slapped‐back’ windows obtained by projecting windows and icons into three dimensions; ‘trays’, an alternative to folders or piles; the use of transparent ‘beams’ for indicating hierarchy; and the use of ‘periphs’ for a form of fisheye projection on window borders. In addition we employ shading and shadows to enhance the interface, and automatic placement algorithms to prevent visually confusing occlusion. By considering these approaches together, rather than in isolation, the interactions between the different modifications are made explicit. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accelerated publication 16.4% total-area conversion efficiency thin-film polycrystalline MgF2/ZnO/CdS/Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Mo solar cell

This communication reports an MgF₂/ZnO/CdS/Cu(In,Ga)Se₂/Mo/glass polycrystalline solar cell with a confirmed total-area conversion efficiency of 16.4%. the thin-film Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ absorber was fabricated by computer-controlled physical vapor deposition (PVD) from the elemental sources. the resulting absorber has a Gal/In compositional grading that we refer to as a notch. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements also reveal a graded doping profile in the region near the electronic p-n junction. the enhanced device performance is characterized by an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 660 mV and a particularly high fill factor (FF) of 78.7%.