Ethical consumerism. How are caterers coping?

Active ethical consumerism is much less obvious in the behaviour of consumers when they eat outside the home. The catering industry argue that the majority of consumers are primarily driven by the taste of food, convenience and the service they receive when eating out. This article examines the drivers for ethical provisioning within the catering industry

The Claims Culture: A Taxonomy of Industry Attitudes

This paper presents an analysis of a familiar aspect of construction industry culture that we have dubbed 'the claims culture'. This is a culture of contract administration that lays a strong emphasis on the planning and management of claims. The principal elements of the analysis are two sets of distinctions. The first comprises economic and occupational orders, referring to two kinds of control that are exercised over the construction process; predicated respectively on economic ownership and occupational competence. The second refers to contrasting attitudes towards relationships and problem solving within these orders: respectively 'distributive' and 'integrative'. The concepts of economic and occupational order entail further sub-categories. The various attitudes associated with these categories and sub-categories are described. They are assessed as to their consequences for change initiatives in the industry

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM: AN EXAMINATION OF THE LEGACY OF THE BULLOCK REPORT

This thesis presents an exploration of the path of writing as a cross-curricular feature of learning in the decades following the Bullock Report A Language for Life (1975). It presents the initial impact that the Bullock Report made on the educational community and the subsequent policies that came after it. It shows that though hopes were high for the establishment of a Language for Life, as described in Bullock, there is little in today’s literacy practice that can be tracked back to Bullock. This research has been conducted as part of a project that combines Action Research and Case Study to develop a better understanding of the issues raised above in order to take literacy policy and practice within the school forward. The research took place in two city high schools. The students involved in the interviews were aged 11-15 and were of varied academic ability. The teachers interviewed teach a variety of subjects across the curriculum. Some have additional roles within the school. The key themes that emerged from the research were: The National Literacy Strategy has had little effect on the development of students’ writing experiences across the curriculum; Teachers are significantly affected by exam requirements when planning writing experiences for their students; There is evidence that teachers lack autonomy to make independent decisions in the delivery of their curriculum. The thesis presents the findings in light of the quest to find what should be done to promote writing across the curriculum. The findings are analysed and new directions sought to take the teaching and learning of writing forward

What Do We Do When We Draw?

This paper is a reflection on drawing in two parts. The first gives a brief outline of anthropology’s engagement with this practice, bringing out the distinction between the ‘retrospective’ approach of Alfred Gell, which begins with the finished drawing and works back to the intentions of the drawer, and the ‘prospective’ approach of Tim Ingold in which drawing is understood and actively engaged with as a skilful activity, as a form of knowing in rhythmic, uncertain negotiation between observation and gesture.  The second part elaborates a series of ruminations on drawing drawn from my own practice, whose aim is to articulate some of the strangeness of drawing as a practice, the way it unsettles any simple understanding of what we do when we draw

Alternative Work Organizations An Exact Comparison (1)

A socio-psychological analysis of contrasting types of work organization on longwall faces in coal mines suggested that the composite form (2) was a better fit to the requirements of the mining system than the more widespread conventional form. To test this hypothesis, two comparative quantitative studies were made of ordinary coal production faces, geologically and technologically similar and not in any way experimental or otherwise atypical. The research design was based on a two-step comparison: the first, between two units with widely different sets of system characteristics, X (conventional) and Y (composite); the second, between two similar units, Y and Y(X), one of which had some of the X system characteristics

Standardized Treatment of Active Tuberculosis in Patients with Previous Treatment and/or with Mono-resistance to Isoniazid: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Performing a systematic review of studies evaluating retreatment of tuberculosis or treatment of isoniazid mono-resistant infection, Dick Menzies and colleagues find a paucity of evidence to support the WHO-recommended regimen

Effect of Duration and Intermittency of Rifampin on Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

In a systematic review of randomized controlled trials on tuberculosis treatment, Dick Menzies and colleagues find shorter courses of rifampin to be associated with poorer treatment outcomes

Antifungal agents for preventing fungal infections in solid organ transplant recipients

Background: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are important causes of morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant recipients. Objectives: This study aims to systematically identify and summarise the effects of antifungal prophylaxis in solid organ transplant recipients. Search strategy: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 3, 2003), MEDLINE (1966-June 2003), and EMBASE (1980-June 2003) were searched. Reference lists, abstracts of conference proceedings and scientific meetings (1998-2003) were handsearched. Authors of included studies and pharmaceutical manufacturers were contacted. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in all languages comparing the prophylactic use of any antifungal agent or regimen with placebo, no antifungal, or another antifungal agent or regimen. Data collection and analysis: Two reviewers independently applied selection criteria, performed quality assessment, and extracted data using an intention-to-treat approach. Differences were resolved by discussion. Data were synthesised using the random effects model and expressed as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Main results: Fourteen unique trials with 1497 randomised participants were included. Antifungal prophylaxis did not reduce mortality (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.44). In liver transplant recipients, a significant reduction in IFIs was demonstrated for fluconazole (RR 0.28, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.57). Although less data were available for itraconazole and liposomal amphotericin B, indirect comparisons and one direct comparative trial suggested similar efficacy. Fluconazole prophylaxis did not significantly increase invasive infections or colonisation with fluconazole-resistant fungi. In renal and cardiac transplant recipients, neither ketoconazole nor clotrimazole significantly reduced invasive infections. Overall, the strength and precision of comparisons however were limited by a paucity of data. Reviewers' conclusions: For liver transplant recipients, antifungal prophylaxis with fluconazole significantly reduces the incidence of IFIs with no definite mortality benefit. Given a 10% incidence of IFI, 14 liver transplant recipients would require fluconazole prophylaxis to prevent one infection. In transplant centres where the incidence of IFIs is high, or in situations where the individual risk is great, antifungal prophylaxis should be considered