Worth Doing Research Articles

An Analysis of Global Training and Experience Sharing in Multinational Companies

Global training programs are the training programs which are provided globally to the employees of a multinational company for the purpose of developing the employees’ skills, and find the appropriate leader from a pool of talent. Unilever an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company with a mission to help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services arrange global training for those employees who have the most potential and leadership quality for the company. Through this study the researcher has tried to identify the perspective of global training program of Unilever i.e. importance, cost benefit and worthiness. The methods used to collect data are personal interview, postal service, and telephone interview. It has found that Unilever wants to share all its best practises, ideas and all other skills with all the members of the company across the world. These training programs help the employees to have specialised knowledge of a subject. By taking these training, the employees meet new people from different countries, know about different culture and they learn to adjust with people. This also helps them to do business successfully anywhere in the world. But the flip side of this training program is that the process is very expensive and time consuming. Most of the time the employees decide to leave the job after they come back from the training program. In spite of having some negative opinions most of the managers, management trainees and the HR managers believe that global training programs are very important and worth doing.

If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing twice

If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing twice

Father and Daughter: A Father’s Privilege

CHILD, why would you want to practice medicine?Late hours, night calls, research projects, administration deadlinesDon’t do medicine, look at my lifeDo what makes you happyDaughter, why are you stressing?Don’t do this. There are easier ways to make a livingIt’s not worth it, go ahead and liveDo what makes you happyDoctor, don’t you know that there is a price for learning?Nothing worth doing is done easilyThe struggle cries there must be an easier wayDo what makes you happyDear Heart, you have chosen a difficult road and kept trueIn anesthesiology we meet as equalsAn old man with eyes that leak now and againGlad and proud that you do what makes you happy

Brunnian subgroups of mapping class groups and braid groups

This is the second of a pair of papers on the Delta-group structure on the braid and mapping class groups of a surface. We obtain a description of the homotopy groups of these Delta-groups, and generalize to an arbitrary surface the Berrick-Cohen-Wong-Wu exact sequence relating the Brunnian braid groups of the 2-sphere to its homotopy groups. We prove a similar result for Brunnian mapping class groups. 1 Introduction and statement of results Recent work on braid groups has shown that varying the number of strands can give rise to a combinatorial structure, that of a -group, that contains remarkable information. An example is given by the group of Brunnian braids Brun(Pk+1(M)) of a Riemann surface M comprising those pure braids on k+1 strands that become trivial when any strand is deleted. The paper [2] obtains striking results about these Brunnian braid groups when the surfaceM is either the disc D or sphere S. In general the Brunnian groups are free groups of in nite rank, and would therefore seem a rather crude instrument for calculating the fundamental building blocks of homotopy theory, the nite abelian groups that are the homotopy groups of spheres. The following theorem reveals how this counterintuitive phenomenon occurs. Theorem ([2]). Whenever k 4, there is an exact sequence 1! Brun(Pk+2(S))! Brun(Pk+1(D)) c ! Brun(Pk+1(S))! k(S)! 1: The above result has been described as “one of those mysterious alluring connections which makes mathematics worth doing” [27]. Part of its allure is the possibility it raises of relating seemingly purely geometric data to topological maps of spheres. For example, [2, Subsection 7.2] demonstrates how the Hopf bration that provides the generator of the stable 1-stem in homotopy groups of spheres corresponds to the Brunnian 3-strand braid with which young women have for centuries plaited their hair, and whose closure forms the classical Borromean rings. In general, a -group G comprises an in nite sequence of groups G0; G1; : : : related by face maps. These face maps di : Gn ! Gn 1 (i = 0; : : : ; n) are 2010 Mathematics Subject Classi cation. Primary 20F36; Secondary 55Q40, 55R80, 55U10, 57M07, 57S05. Key words and phrases: braid groups, mapping class groups, con guration spaces, simplicial structures, homotopy groups of spheres, Brunnian groups.

"If It Isn't Ultimately Aimed at Policy, It's Not Worth Doing": Interview of George W. Comstock by Alfredo Morabia

George W. Comstock (1915-2007), MD, MPH, DrPH, was lecturer and then professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health from 1956 to 2007 and served as editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Epidemiology from 1979 to 1988. This interview of George W. Comstock took place in Hagerstown, Maryland, in the spring of 1990. The selection of questions and answers published here represent approximately 10% of the whole interview, which had been reviewed and hand-corrected by Dr. Comstock. He first describes how epidemiology was taught at Hopkins in the 1950s and 1960s. He then distinguishes "epidemiology per se" from a "practical epidemiology" that works closely with local health departments, and he finally expresses his wish that in the future, epidemiology would become more widely involved in policy and accepted by policy makers.

Internet startups look to reinvent higher education

Massive open online courses promise a convenient, low-cost experience, but high dropout rates threaten to slow their growth.

Ten Questions With …

How and why did you and your brother start Intelliject?My brother and I grew up with severe, life-threatening allergies to all peanuts, seafood, tree nuts, eggs, and many antibiotics. Like many other allergic individuals, we struggled to carry our epinephrine auto-injector with us. As we were traveling to Europe for vacation the summer before entering college, we thought we had left our epinephrine auto-injector at home. Fortunately, our diligent parents did not forget, but a discussion ensued about creating a new auto-injector that could better meet our needs and the perceived needs of other patients like us. As a result, we shaped our education around this idea of a novel epinephrine auto-injector. Eric studied medicine and pharmaceutical science, and I studied mechanical engineering, as well as systems engineering with a focus on human factors.What does the movement of more healthcare into homes mean for design?As more therapies move into the home, it is critical for developers and manufacturers to provide solutions catered to the specific user population. For medicine self-administration, it means focusing on the end user, which can be an adult patient, a child, caregiver, school nurse, or even a nontrained bystander.What's the biggest mistake most medtech manufacturers make?Not incorporating feedback from actual patients, as well as other end users, such as caregivers, during the ENTIRE development process.What's the most exciting development in healthcare on the horizon?We are on the cusp of seeing technology used in many different ways to provide better healthcare management and outcomes for patients. The shift to more medicine delivered in the out of hospital/clinic setting provides opportunities for companies like Intelliject to provide novel approaches to ensure successful use in that setting.What's the best part of your job?The opportunity to work on products that save lives with a management team that shares a purposeful and passionate culture.The worst part?Trying to integrate a demanding career with my focus on my amazing wife and two awesome boys.Who is your hero and why?Tony Dungy. His work, faith, and leadership is inspiring both on and off the field.What is one thing about you that others might be surprised to learn?That I sang five years in a college acapella group and one year for a professional group. Ask the AAMI HF workshop attendees; vocal percussion can be a great way to get participants to come back to their seats after a break.What is your philosophy in 10 words or less?To be a good leader, you need to serve first.What's the best career advice you ever got?The journey IS the reward, the bumps are not separate from the road; they ARE the road. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Finally, if your focus is on the patient, you can never go wrong.

Phylogenetic studies of frequently diagnostically sampled herpesviruses – Possibilities for clinical applications?

With the modern sequencing technologies and the capability to sequence large viral genomes virtually overnight, full-genome sequencing of large DNA viruses and correlating any sequence variation to specific clinical manifestations is now eminently feasible – but is it worth doing, i.e. can such large-scale viral genomic analyses be clinically useful? A few clinical conditions, such as organ and bone marrow transplant recipients, require the regular diagnostic sampling and testing for certain viruses over an extended period of time. Such frequent sampling leads to the routine archiving of multiple samples from the same patient over an extended time period and it is the purpose of this mini-review to explore whether such routinely collected samples can be utilized for viral sequencing studies to produce clinically useful outcomes. Specific examples of this include the monitoring of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) levels in transplant recipients, as rising levels of these viruses in these patients can cause serious and sometimes fatal disease during the post-transplant period when their immune system is gradually recovering from the transplant process. Other herpesviruses, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV), may also reactivate and cause disease in post-transplant and other types of immunocompromised patients, though the specific complications may differ between patients. Although the natural mutation rate for these human herpes DNA viruses are very low, all of these viruses are capable of developing specific drug resistance within a few weeks of therapy, demonstrating that these viruses do have the ability to adapt rapidly to their local environment if the need arises. Specific problems with analyzing these large DNA virus genomes include the selection of the appropriate gene target (unless a full-genome analysis is the aim), and how to deal with overlapping and inverted reading frames, which are discussed in this mini-review.

HRM practices during the global recession (2008‐2010)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate human resource management (HRM) practices adopted by firms during the recession period of 2008‐2010, their impact on employees' happiness at work, and whether there are any differences by the size of the firm.Design/methodology/approachTwo survey questionnaires were developed for the study, one targeting non‐managerial employees and the other targeting senior managers. Two random samples of non‐managerial employees (n=263) and senior managers (n=76) attached fulltime to globally distributed software development firms in Sri Lanka responded. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used.FindingsIt was found that reduction in financial rewards, reduction in benefits, and training and development provision significantly vary by the size of the firm. Further, the communication of information, performance management, reduction in financial rewards, and reduction in benefits significantly predict employees' happiness at work during recession.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was designed as a cross‐sectional study employing survey methodology. Respondent senior managers were reluctant to provide actual data on layoffs and quits during the recession period.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study would contribute for practitioners to better understand the HRM practices adopted by the firms during recession and effects of these HRM practices on employees' level of happiness at work.Social implicationsEmployees' happiness by doing what is worth doing, pursing important goals, and using one's skills and talents during the economic recession could be affected by the HRM practices adopted during the recession.Originality/valueIt is evident that firms facing economic recession launch cost reduction initiatives such as pay cuts and freeze in new hires. From the academic and practical standpoint it is important to identify the influence of such HRM practices adopted during the recession on employees' happiness at work. However, available research does not provide sufficient understanding about the influence of HRM practices on employees' happiness at work during recession as empirical research on this area is presently lacking.

Clinical recall from the NHS Breast Screening Programme: is it worth doing?

Within the NHSBSP, ladies with normal mammograms may be recalled, if they proffer significant clinical symptoms. A clinical recall may then be initiated by the reader according to local guidelines. The purpose of this study was to determine the recall rate of ladies undergoing clinical recall and the cancer detection rate in this group.

Only High Vitamin D Intake Cuts Fracture Risk

Only High Vitamin D Intake Cuts Fracture Risk

Above- and belowground biomass and nutrient pools of Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) in a South American salt marsh

In order to examine the role of position in the tidal range on biomass production and nutrient pools in Spartina alterniflora in an Argentinian estuary, we estimated productivity, the concentration of C, N and P in tissues and pools (concentration×biomass) of these elements in low (LM) and high (HM) zones. Aboveground biomass of S. alterniflora was higher in HM than in LM. Aboveground primary productivity was 106 and 439 g dry wt m−2 year−1 in LM and HM, respectively. Belowground biomass was similar in LM and HM. Belowground primary productivity was 526 and 744 g dry wt m−2 year−1 for LM and HM, respectively. Nutrient pools were higher in HM than in LM. Biomass and productivity values were low, which makes nutrient pools low. The lower values of the parameters analysed in LM than in HM indicate that position in the tidal range is an important factor in this system, possibly due to the effect of flooding. Moreover, this pattern is opposite to the general one observed in the northern hemisphere, meaning that studying marshes from different environments is worth doing. Because pools were higher in HM, this zone would be more important for nutrient input to the estuary.

Consistency of community detection in networks under degree-corrected stochastic block models

Community detection is a fundamental problem in network analysis, with applications in many diverse areas. The stochastic block model is a common tool for model-based community detection, and asymptotic tools for checking consistency of community detection under the block model have been recently developed. However, the block model is limited by its assumption that all nodes within a community are stochastically equivalent, and provides a poor fit to networks with hubs or highly varying node degrees within communities, which are common in practice. The degree-corrected stochastic block model was proposed to address this shortcoming and allows variation in node degrees within a community while preserving the overall block community structure. In this paper we establish general theory for checking consistency of community detection under the degree-corrected stochastic block model and compare several community detection criteria under both the standard and the degree-corrected models. We show which criteria are consistent under which models and constraints, as well as compare their relative performance in practice. We find that methods based on the degree-corrected block model, which includes the standard block model as a special case, are consistent under a wider class of models and that modularity-type methods require parameter constraints for consistency, whereas likelihood-based methods do not. On the other hand, in practice, the degree correction involves estimating many more parameters, and empirically we find it is only worth doing if the node degrees within communities are indeed highly variable. We illustrate the methods on simulated networks and on a network of political blogs.

Comparison Study of Membrane Dehumidification Aircraft Environmental Control Systems

models of other key components of the new system are also given. Based on these component models, performance simulations of the new type of aircraft membrane-based air dehumidification environmental control system are carried out. Two configurations of the membrane-based air dehumidification environmental control system are designed and comparison studies of performance of the new and conventional systems are made based on system simulation results. The simulation results show that application of membrane dehumidification in aircraft environmental control system is theoretically feasible and has great advantages over conventional environmental control system in terms of overall system performance. The membrane-based air dehumidification environmental control system-II is more suitable than membrane-based air dehumidification environmental control system-I for current membrane material. These promising results suggest that further membrane dehumidifier experimental research work is worth doing for practical application of this new type of membrane-based air dehumidification environmental control system to aircraft.

Living through Stories

Storytelling, Self, Society, 8:126-129, 2012 D KOUfi ri Copyright©Taylor &Francis Group, LLC | £ KOU D fi U0QÇJ0 ri ISSN: 1 550-5340 print /1 932-0280 online S' Tay,or &Francls GrouP DOI: 10.1080/15505340.2012.665314 BOOK REVIEWS Living through Stories JackZipes Frank, Arthur. Letting StoriesBreathe: A Socio-Narratology. Chicago:University ofChicago Press, 2010.$25. This is a splendidbook,and anyonewho takesstorytelling seriously shouldfindthetime to exploreArthur Frank'sheartfelt and sophisticated endeavors to forgea theory of socionarratology . Notonlyarehisnotions abouttheessential life-like nature ofstories original, but hisexplanations ofwhy weform andareinformed bystories arealsovibrant andconvincing. He begins theintroduction tohisbookthis way : Stories may not actually breathe, but they cananimate. Thebreath imputed bythis book's title isthe breath ofa godincreation stories, asthat godgives life tothe lump that will become human. Stories animate human life; that istheir work. Stories work with people, for people, andalways stories work onpeople, affecting what people areabletoseeas real, as possible, andas worth doing orbest avoided. What isitabout stories - what aretheir particularities - that enables them towork asthey do?More than mere curiosity isatstake inthis question, because human life depends onthe stories wetell: the sense ofself that those stories impart, the relationships constructed around shared stories, andthe sense ofpurpose that stories both propose andforeclose. (3) Frank, a sociologist, haswritten bookson storytelling, illness, andethicsandis committed to understanding whatmakesstories effective andwhywecannot do without them. Thisdoesnot meanthat all stories aregood.Manycanbedangerous andcausehavocandcalamity. However, becausethey shapethewaywelive,wehaveanethical responsibility toseekoutthose stories that benefit societies andprovide a meansfor understanding thetruths inourlives.Without a critical graspofstories, wecanbemisled bythem, andFrank develops a theory ofsocio-narratology to helpusmakedistinctions among thestories wetellandhear. Inhisintroduction Frank setssixvery different stories byEduardo Galeano,Sharon O'Brien, MaxineHongKingston, Leo Tolstoy, AllenFeldman, andFredrick Douglassasexempla towhich hewillreturn intheother chapters ofthebook.Theywillenableus tocomprehend howstories Address correspondence toJack Zipes, Retired, German Department, University ofMinnesota, 320Folwell Hall, 9Pleasant Street SE,Minneapolis, MN 55455. E-mail: zipes001@umn.edu BOOK REVIEW 127 embody capacities that weneedtoconsider inorder toarticulate anddiscussproblematic issues inourlives.Frank explains that hedoesnotwanttointerpret thesestories. Rather hewants to usethem toexplain theclaimsandoperating premises ofsocio-narratology. He is notinterested ininterpreting stories becausecritics tendtouseheuristics andmethodologies toforeclose the meanings ofstories. Frank wants toanalyze howthestories work byfocusing onhowthey arein dialogue with oneanother, with people'sexperiences andwith societies. Thesourcefor Frank's ideasondialogicnarratology is theRussiancritic MikhailBakhtin, whoelaborated principles ofdialogicphilosophy inhismany works.1 KeyforFrank is thenotion that all utterances are essentially dialogical becausethey depend oncommunication between simultaneous differences andon theinterplay ofmeanings. At thesametime,itis important to bearin mindthatall language usageisa product ofconflicting socialforces that giverisetoconstant reinterpretation. Giventhedialogicalnature oflanguageandhowwe use ittoform narratives that inform us, Frank's basicpremises are: 1. Stories donotbelong tostorytellers andstory listeners becauseallstories are"reassemblies offragments onloan"and"depend onshared narrative sources" (14). 2. Stories notonlycontribute tothemaking ofournarrative selvesbutthey also weavethe threads ofsocialrelationships andmakelifesocial. 3. Stories havecertain distinct capacities that enablethem todo what they dobestandcanbe understood as narrative types orgenres. 4. Though distinct, genres ofstories dependononeanother, forthere is nosuchthing as a pure genre, andalltaletypes havea symbiotic relationship tooneanother. 5. Socio-narratology encourages a dialogical modeofinterpretation so that all voicescanhe heard andopenupa story for various interpretations andpossible uses. 6. "Socio-narratology, although alwaysrelational in recognizing thatall parties act,pays most attention tostories acting. Itanalyzes howstories breathe as they animate, assemble, entertain, andenlighten, andalsodeceiveanddivide people"(16). 7. Analysis demands that we learnfrom storytellers. "Theprimary lessonfrom storytellers is thatthey learnto workwithstories thatarenottheirs butthere, as realities. Master storytellers knowthat stories breathe" (17). Frank divides hisbookintosixchapters, which include numerous references tothesixstories presented inhisintroduction andtoother relevant works. In chapter one,"TheCapacitiesof Stories," Frank makes animportant distinction between "chosen" and"unchosen" stories (a conceptdeveloped bytheFrench sociologist Pierre Bourdieu). Allpeopleareborn intofamilies and cultures without choice.Every person hasa habitus derived from thevalues,behavior, andcustomsofthefamily intowhichheorsheis born.Sincewe arebornintofamilies andsocieties notofourchoice,unchosen stories willinevitably form thetraditions ofeveryone's homeand society. Theymark us,butatthesametime wearealsocapableofchoosing stories andretelling them as wemature andgaincritical consciousness todealwith problems andconflicts. Thereis a widerange ofstories that wecanchoosethat offer usoptions, andFrank discusses capacities ofstories todealwith human troubles andtomaketrouble, todisplay andtest people'scharacter, tomakeoneparticular perspective notonlyplausible butalsocompelling, tomakelifedramatic andopen-ended, tocreate unpredictable behaviors, toprovide a meanstojudgewhat isgoodand bad,toreport truths that havebeenenacted elsewhere, andtoarousepeople'simaginations. 128 ziPES Inchapter two,"Stories atWork," Frank elaborates somenotions developed bytheGerman sociologist Norbert Eliasas wellasBourdieu. He asserts that "narrative makes this earth habitable forhuman beings"(46). Thatis,stories...

Role for PROMs Data to Support Quality Improvement across the Healthcare System: An Informed Exchange with Senior Health System Leaders

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Triple Aim (initiated in 2007) and several high-level Canadian studies have made general calls to improve health system performance. Managers and administrators have been urged to tackle the challenges of quality improvement and cost control. In the lead essay, McGrail et al. point to patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) as something worth doing, and this has been welcomed as an appropriate response to long-standing calls for action. A recent gathering of senior health system leaders explored the prospect of routinely collecting PROMs data to drive quality improvement. The symposium, Measures of Health Outcomes to Improve Performance, Value and Productivity, was held in Victoria, British Columbia, on December 9, 2010. The symposium delegates considered the challenges and issues involved in moving forward with PROMs, looking closely at the potential for enhancing the quality of data resources available for managing our healthcare system. Senior leaders and administrators from the publicly funded healthcare systems of British Columbia and western and northern Canada participated in a frank discussion of challenges and requirements for moving forward with a PROMs initiative.

Improving Student Learning Through a Second Bite at the Apple: the Value of Second Runs of International Relations Simulations

This paper reports on an investigation of the educational value of a second run of an international conflict resolution role-playing exercise. While the use of simulations and games in the classroom appears to be on the upswing, a second run of the same exercise seems to be a pedagogic tool that is rarely employed. One reason for this may be that having played out a scenario once, there is often little interest on the part of students to play it out a second time. By designing an iterative series of exercises, however, one can hope to make a second run just as valuable educationally than the first. This approach borrows from the realm of governmental policy gaming, where an exercise is set up as a series of discrete moves, each of which requires the participants to assess the situation and elaborate policy choices. In each successive move, new information or an intensification of the crisis, injected by the game controllers, forces the participants to reformulate their policy. By designing an educational game along analogous lines, the instructor can offer students successive scenarios that are sufficiently different to engage student interest, but basically repeat the same substantive questions for resolution – effectively giving the students a second bite at the apple and allowing them to demonstrate a progression in learning. To test this approach, the author designed a role-playing exercise addressing the role of the United Nations in resolving international disputes. By constructing an exercise modeled on African crises brought to the UNSC, in this case encompassing terrorism, the rights of ethnic minorities, cross-border military clashes and competition for energy resources, while raising humanitarian concerns and questions of sovereignty, students were given the opportunity to make those types of decisions for themselves. A further iteration of the scenario, administered a few weeks later, allowed students a second chance to address the same questions based on additional developments that showed the original issues underlying the crisis had remained unresolved.After each session, the students were surveyed on the motivations for their actions during the game, their views on the UN's role in crisis management, their readiness to see the UN address specific types of issues, and their assessment of the UN's effectiveness. The outcome of the surveys conformed to the hope that the simulation design would enhance, rather than diminish, the value of the second run of the scenario. Student assessment of each run of the simulation was highly positive, but even more positive for the second run. The surveys showed definitive and nuanced changes in their attitudes and behavior from the first to the second run. The students felt better prepared and their motivation for action changed in ways indicating greater immersion in the game environment, a greater focus on the appropriate issues for UN engagement, and a correspondingly lesser display of a game mentality. Perhaps most tellingly, none of the students found the second run superfluous and only 12% thought they had gained more knowledge from the first run. Nor was there any sign of boredom. While the verdict was unanimous (100%) that each run had been worth doing, over 80% thought the second run was more fun.

A Study on Periodical Replacement Method in Exhibition for Secure the Scientific Contents in a Science Museum

급속한 과학기술의 발전 속도에 비해, 국내 종합 과학관들의 전시물 교체주기는 길고, 교체 순서는 산발적(散發的)이며, 예산의 효율적 활용이 이루어지지 못해, 전시품들의 시의성(時宜性)이 과학기술의 발전 속도를 따라가지 못하고 있다. 이는 과학관의 기본 기능인 전시 및 교육기능을 원활하게 수행하지 못한다는 것을 의미하여, 2010년 국회는 이런 문제성을 인지하고, 과학관의 자율성을 보장하고 예산의 효율적 활용을 도모 하고자, 과학관의 법인화를 추진하는 법령을 발의 하였으나, 이는 국내의 여건을 고려하지 않은 발의라는 비판을 받았다. 하지만 과학관의 법인화 추진은 과학관의 자율성 보장과 예산의 효율적 활용이라는 점에서는 과학관이 과학관의 기본 기능을 수행하고 발전시키는데, 지금의 형식보다 효율적임은 외국의 사례를 통해서도 충분히 검증되고 있다.BR 이에 선행 조사 결과, 과학관 법인화를 현재 국내 과학관에의 적용함에 있어서 예상되는 다양한 문제점이있다. 하지만 그중 가장 큰 문제점은 만약 국내 종합과학관이 법인화 추진 이전에 충분한 예산 자립도를 확보하지 못하게 되면 과학관의 자율성 보장을 목표로 했던 법인화 추진의 결과는 과학관이 국민에게 자립을 위한 비용 부담을 전가하는 상황을 유발하게 되고, 이는 모든 국민에게 공평하게 과학을 접할 수 있는 기회를 박탈하는 현상을 초래하게 될 수 있다는 것이다.BR 이에 따라 본 연구에서는 국내 과학관의 법인화에 가장 큰 걸림돌이라 생각되는 예산의 자립도 문제를 해외 과학관과 국내 과학관의 예산의 집행 분야를 비교 분석하여 국내 국립 과학관의 운영방식이 장기적인 예산자립도 향상에 목표를 두지 않고, 유지·관리하는데 초점이 맞춰져 있음을 유추해 냈다.BR 이런 운영 방식은 김찬종1)이 규정한 과학관의 7개의 기능 중, 연구기능의 부실함으로 인한 것이며 이는 과학관으로 하여금 전체 체험물 기획 및 제작을 외부 전문가에 의존하게 하여, 과학관의 자체 콘텐츠 확보 및 누적을 불가하게 함으로써, 과학관 자체 콘텐츠의 융,복합을 통한 새로운 콘텐츠의 재생산으로 이루어지지 못하는, 즉 일련의 인과적인 발전저하를 초래하고 있다는 결과를 얻게 되었다.BR 본 연구에서는 이 일련의 연구 과정으로부터 과학관의 연구기능 활성화를 위한 최소한의 요소와 교체 모델을 설정하여 현 연구의 한계점 내에서 목표에 근접한 교체 방안의 모델 제시를 목표로 한다. 이 모델은 차후 추가 연구를 통하여 좀 더 적합한 모델로서의 역할을 하게 될 것으로 기대되며, 이것은 추가적인 연구를 통해 점진적으로 과학관 자립화에 큰 역할을 할 것으로 기대된다.

PET/CT in anal cancer — is it worth doing?

To evaluate the role of 2-[(18)F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET)/ computed tomography (CT) in the current multidisciplinary management of anal cancer, both in initial staging and in follow-up post-treatment. All patients referred to the region-wide multidisciplinary meeting for anal cancer during the study period received PET/CT imaging in addition to conventional imaging [CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)]. Whether PET/CT altered the stage of the tumour from that suggested by conventional imaging was retrospectively assessed. The effect on management was evaluated. Fifty PET/CT examinations were performed on 44 patients with anal cancer. Thirty were part of initial staging, and 20 were post-chemo/radiotherapy or surgery. Two PET/CTs produced inadequate contemporaneous conventional imaging to allow comparison. Overall PET/CT increased the stage of the anal cancer in 17% of cases (8/48), decreased the stage in 19% (9/48), and did not alter the stage in 65% (31/48). The tumour stage was altered more frequently in initial staging than in follow up imaging. The PET/CT findings altered patient management in 29% (14/48) of cases. The majority (11) of these were cases in which PET/CT was used as part of initial staging. PET/CT alters the initial staging sufficiently frequently that it should be used routinely in anal cancer, where it is available. The role of PET/CT in the follow-up of anal cancer is not as clear. Routine follow-up with PET/CT may not be justified, but selected use is of definite benefit in problem solving or if salvage surgery is planned, after multidisciplinary discussion.

Risk Stratification for CAD: What's Worth Doing?

Several studies in 2011 addressed whether markers such as coronary artery calcium (CAC), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), or even coronary