Advertising value equivalence: PR’s orphan metric

The academic approach to measurement and evaluation has long favoured social science methodologies (Broom and Dozier, 1990, Michaelson and Stacks, 2011 and Stacks, 2002), but there has been persistent, widespread practice use of advertising value equivalence (AVE) to express the economic and financial value of public relations activity. This paper investigates the evolution of AVE and discusses whether it arose from clippings agencies, press agentry or other influences on public relations, such as advertising and product promotion

Resting autonomic nervous system activity is unrelated to antisocial behaviour dimensions in adolescents: Cross-sectional findings from a European multi-centre study

Purpose: Autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning has long been studied in relation to antisocial behaviour, but relevant measures (heart rate, heart rate variability, pre-ejection period, respiration rate) have rarely been considered together. This study investigated the relationship between these measures and antisocial behaviour. Methods: Using a sample of 1010 youths with (47.8%) and without conduct disorder (52.2%) aged between 9 and 18. years (659 females, 351 males, mean age = 14.2. years, SD = 2.4), principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to various measures of psychopathology and antisocial behavior. Structural equation modelling was performed in order to test whether the ANS measures predicted PCA-dimensions. Cluster analysis was used in order to classify patterns of ANS activity. Analyses were performed separately for males/females and controlled for body-mass-index, age, caffeine use, cigarette smoking, sports, socioeconomic status, medication, cardiac problems. Results: The PCA yielded three components: antisocial behaviour/comorbid psychopathology, narcissistic traits, and callous-unemotional traits. ANS measures were only weakly correlated with these components. Cluster analysis yielded high and low arousal clusters in both sexes. When controlling for covariates, all associations disappeared. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that resting ANS measures are only weakly related to antisocial behaviour and indicate that smoking should be considered as an important covariate in future psychophysiological studies

Engaging with Health Markets in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Many low and middle-income countries have pluralistic health systems with a variety of providers of health-related goods and services in terms of their level of training, their ownership (public or private) and their relationship with the regulatory system. The development of institutional arrangements to influence their performance has lagged behind the spread of these markets. This paper presents a framework for analysing a pluralistic health system. The relationships between private providers of health services and government, or other organisations that represent the public interest, strongly influence their performance in meeting the needs of the poor. Their impact on the pattern of service delivery depends on how the relationships are managed and the degree to which they respond to the interests of the population. Many governments of low and middle-income countries are under pressure to increase access to safe, effective and affordable health services. In a context of economic growth, it should be possible to improve access by the poor to health services substantially. Innovations in information technologies and in low cost diagnostics are creating important new opportunities for achieving this. It will be important to mobilise both public and private providers of health-related goods and services. This will involve big changes in the roles and responsibilities of all health sector actors. Governments, businesses and civil society organizations will need to learn how to make pluralist health systems work better through experimentation and systematic learning about what works and why

The FLASSH study: protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating falls prevention after stroke and two sub-studies

This randomised controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-factorial falls prevention program for stroke survivors who are at high risk of falling when they return home after rehabilitation. Intervention will consist of a home exercise program as well as individualised falls prevention and injury minimisation strategies based on identified risk factors for falls. Additionally, two sub-studies will be implemented in order to explore other key areas related to falls in this population. The first of these is a longitudinal study evaluating the relationship between fear of falling, falls and function over twelve months, and the second evaluates residual impairment in gait stability and obstacle crossing twelve months after discharge from rehabilitation

Shaping agricultural innovation systems responsive to food insecurity and climate change

Climate change and variability present new challenges for agriculture, particularly for smallholder farmers who continue to be the mainstay of food production in developing countries. Recent global food crises have exposed the structural vulnerability of globalized agri-food systems, highlighting climate change as just one of a complex set of environmental, demographic, social and economic drivers generating instability and food insecurity, the impacts of which disproportionately affect poorer groups in marginal environments. Rather than search for single causes, there is a need to understand these changes at a systemic level. Improved understanding of and engagement with the adaptive strategies and innovations of communities living in conditions of rapid change provides an appropriate starting point for those seeking to shape agricultural innovation systems responsive to food insecurity and climate change. This paper draws lessons from selected country experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals. It reviews three cases of systems of innovation operating in contrasting regional, socio-economic and agro-ecological contexts, in terms of four features of innovation systems more likely to build, sustain or enhance food security in situations of rapid change: (i) recognition of the multifunctionality of agriculture and opportunities to realize multiple benefits; (ii) access to diversity as the basis for flexibility and resilience; (iii) concern for enhancing capacity of decision makers at all levels; and (iv) continuity of effort aimed at securing the well-being of those who depend on agriculture. Finally, implications for policymakers and other stakeholders in agricultural innovation systems are presented

Estimation of evapotranspiration in Malawi

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:7520.345(IH-R--110) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Exploring the opportunities of social media to build knowledge in learner-centered Indigenous learning Spaces

This chapter explores the opportunities online learning environments offer toaddress issues related to Indigenous pedagogy and Indigenous approaches toteaching and learning, with a specific focus on social and mobile media. Socialmedia tools have created many opportunities for social approaches to teachingand learning, and specifically to developing Indigenous learning communities,and overall much more explicitly learner-centered approaches. In thischapter we argue that social media are well suited to address the learning needsof Indigenous students in Australia, and at the same time we use BatchelorInstitute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, and its ‘both-ways’ philosophy, as acase study to explore some of the opportunities and potential barriers that socialmedia present within learner-centered pedagogy