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1 – 5 of 5Although first rank symptoms focus on positive symptoms of psychosis they are shared by a number of psychiatric conditions. The difficulty in differentiating bipolar disorder from…
Abstract
Although first rank symptoms focus on positive symptoms of psychosis they are shared by a number of psychiatric conditions. The difficulty in differentiating bipolar disorder from schizophrenia with affective features has led to a third category of patients often loosely labeled as schizoaffective. Research in schizophrenia has attempted to render the presence or absence of negative symptoms and their relation to etiology and prognosis more explicit. A dichotomous population is a recurring theme in experimental paradigms. Thus, schizophrenia is defined as process or reactive, deficit or non-deficit and by the presence or absence of affective symptoms. Laboratory tests confirm the clinical impression showing conflicting responses to dexamethasone suppression and clearly defined differences in autonomic responsiveness, but their patho-physiological significance eludes mainstream theory. Added to this is the difficulty in agreeing to what exactly constitutes useful clinical features differentiating, for example, negative symptoms of a true deficit syndrome from features of depression. Two recent papers proposed that the general and specific cognitive features of schizophrenia and major depression result from a monoamine-cholinergic imbalance, the former due to a relative muscarinic receptor hypofunction and the latter, in contrast, to a muscarinic hypersensitivity exacerbated by monoamine depletion. Further development of these ideas will provide pharmacological principles for what is currently an incomplete and largely, descriptive nosology of psychosis. It will propose a dimensional view of affective and negative symptoms based on relative muscarinic integrity and is supported by several exciting intracellular signaling and gene expression studies. Bipolar disorder manifests both muscarinic and dopaminergic hypersensitivity. The greater the imbalance between these two receptor signaling systems, the more the clinical picture will resemble schizophrenia with bizarre, incongruent delusions and increasingly disorganized thought. The capacity for affective expression, by definition a non-deficit syndrome, will remain contingent on the degree of preservation of muscarinic signaling, which itself may be unstable and vary between trait and state examinations. At the extreme end of muscarinic impairment, a deficit schizophrenia subpopulation is proposed with a primary and fixed muscarinic receptor hypofunction.
The genomic profile of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia overlap and both have a common dopaminergic intracellular signaling which is hypersensitive to various stressors. It is proposed that the concomitant muscarinic receptor upregulation differentiates the syndromes, being marked in bipolar disorder and rather less so in schizophrenia. From a behavioral point of view non-deficit syndromes and bipolar disorder appear most proximate and could be reclassified as a spectrum of affective psychosis or schizoaffective disorders. Because of a profound malfunction of the muscarinic receptor, the deficit subgroup cannot express a comparable stress response. None -theless, a convergent principle of psychotic features across psychiatric disorders is a relative monoaminergic-muscarinic imbalance in signal transduction.
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David Peetz, Olav Muurlink, Keith Townsend, Adrian Wilkinson and Madeleine Brabant
The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in the degree of innovation in employment relations (ER) between emerging and established firms,
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in the degree of innovation in employment relations (ER) between emerging and established firms,
Design/methodology/approach
A large national telephone survey (N=1,416) of both emerging (<5 years) and established firms was conducted.
Findings
Emerging firms were more casualised, less unionised, and experiencing higher levels of market expansion and unpredictability. Despite these differences, younger firms showed otherwise remarkable similarity to older firms across a range of ER practices, and both categories showed a reliance on business networks, rather formal training, for ER knowledge. While introducing ER changes more rapidly than older (and larger) firms, they were converging towards a suite of ER practices similar to that adopted by older firms. The results suggest that, if anything, established firms may have been engaged in greater innovation in more unusual ER practices.
Research limitations/implications
Only managers were surveyed. The data are cross-sectional rather than longitudinal. As the study was undertaken in only one country, replication in other settings would be desirable.
Originality/value
The results raise major doubts about the notion that new firms represent the cutting edge of innovation, and highlights the degree to which newer firms match or mimic older firms’ ER architecture.
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Andrzej Krzysztof Kozminski, Anna Katarzyna Baczyńska, Ilona Skoczeń and Pawel Korzynski
The main purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness, with constraints as a mediating variable, and to introduce the main…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness, with constraints as a mediating variable, and to introduce the main assumptions of the Bounded Leadership Model (BLM).
Design/methodology/approach
The total sample included 242 leaders in a top managerial position. Data were collected directly from leaders via self-reports. In total, five hypotheses were formed which related to the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness and the role of constraints. Hypotheses were tested by analysing several regression models and mediation effects. Moreover, internal consistency and construct validity were assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha and assessing the intercorrelations between study variables.
Findings
The study results demonstrate that leader’s competencies are positively related to leadership effectiveness. The authors also found an indirect effect of leadership competencies on effectiveness via constraints. Overall, it can be concluded that the scales included in the BLM have satisfactory reliability and validity indicators.
Practical implications
The paper examined the relationship between leadership competencies and effectiveness with constraints as a mediator. Moreover, it introduces the BLM which takes a broader view on leadership and includes variables that seem to play an important role in leaders’ adjustment and success. These findings can be applied in different training processes and also in assessment and development centres to serve as a facilitator in the process of enhancing leadership competencies and effectiveness and in overcoming leadership constraints.
Originality/value
The study overcomes previous research limitations because it offers a selection of leadership competencies that play an important role in leadership effectiveness, as well as may serve as a potential facilitator in the process of overcoming individual constraints. This knowledge can be used for future research and practical purposes.
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Noor Hamzani Farizan, Rosnah Sutan, Rozita Hod and Kulanthayan KC Mani
This study aimed to develop and validate a health education booklet (Be SAFE booklet) as a guide to improving knowledge, attitude, and practice toward drowning prevention and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to develop and validate a health education booklet (Be SAFE booklet) as a guide to improving knowledge, attitude, and practice toward drowning prevention and water safety among parents of primary school children in a local community in Selangor.
Design/methodology/approach
This methodological study was conducted in two phases: the development of the content, and validation of the educational material. Booklet development involved content survey and design development. These steps consisted of a content analysis method, information from current literature, document analysis from the stakeholder, and input from parents or guardians and children. The validation by nine panel experts and 15 parents/guardians involved both review, content validity, and face validity.
Findings
The booklet was developed by emphasizing on four main aspects related to drowning prevention and water safety; namely, supervision, alertness, first aid, and education. The assessment rated by the content validity index (CVI), resulted in an I-CVI ranging from 0.78 to 1 and S-CVI of 0.94; the face validity achieved a level of agreement with an average of 94 percent. The results indicated that the Be SAFE booklet was validated and could be considered useful in helping to promote drowning prevention and water safety among primary school pupils' parents.
Originality/value
This article contributed ideas for the concept and aspect of health messages to be incorporated into health education materials for drowning prevention and water safety.
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