VOTERS AND CITIZENS IN A NEW DEMOCRACY: SOME TREND DATA ON POLITICAL ATTITUDES IN SPAIN

General Franco's death in 1975 saw the end of a long dictatorshipand the beginning of political changes of extraordinary importance.This article examines the most outstanding political attitudesof the Spanish people during the processes of transition anddemocratic consolidation. Using survey data from different sources,the authors try to trace the patterns of continuity and changewhich arise from the political indicators selected. The findingsreveal moderate, reformist and supportive attitudes towardsdemocratic principles. These attitudes are compatible with perceptionsof political mistrust and inefficacy, and with limited politicalparticipation.     

Strategic fit among knowledge attributes,knowledge management systems,and service positioning

Knowledge management systems (KMSs) support high-quality services while shaping and improving positioning of services. Given such strategic importance of KMS, this study explores the effects of different types of KMS, which respond to the attributes (i.e., diversity and tacitness) of collective knowledge, on service (re-)positioning. Through a case study of a financial consulting company at the core of KMSs, combinations of the two knowledge attributes are used to determine which type of KMS (i.e., information library, deepened stock, thought islands, and shared brain) offers the greatest efficiency and effectiveness in service (re-)positioning. The joint concerns of service innovation scope and specificity are also considered. Finally, the study discusses the theoretical and practical implications on KMS design and functionality in the new business age of service innovation.     

Application of association and decision rules on intellectual capital

Intellectual capital (IC), leading to sustainable competitiveness shapes the patterns of business reality nowadays. IC disclosure has become a critical necessity in this new framework. Being a novel interdisciplinary study, the aim of this paper was to examine IC disclosure by Greek publicly traded firms implementing association and decision rules. Firms were divided into three classes (low, medium and high) according to their IC disclosure, measured by the content analysis methodology. The association rules of each class were specified, highlighting IC reporting profile and focus of the firms belonging to each class. Firms in the high class were shown to have strongly realised the crucial need for a reporting change. Teamwork, corporate culture and extra-firm potential appeared to be underlined. Applying the decision tree methodology, the paper succeeded in proving the remuneration–incentive system, R&D and business collaborations items as the IC reporting-related factors differentiating classes.     

In Physics Education,Perception Matters

Student difficulties in science learning are frequently attributed to misconceptions about scientific concepts. We argue that domain‐general perceptual processes may also influence students' ability to learn and demonstrate mastery of difficult science concepts. Using the concept of center of gravity (CoG), we show how student difficulty in applying CoG to an object such as a baseball bat can be accounted for, at least in part, by general principles of perception (i.e., not exclusively physics‐based) that make perceiving the CoG of some objects more difficult than others. In particular, it is perceptually difficult to locate the CoG of objects with asymmetric‐extended properties. The basic perceptual features of objects must be taken into account when assessing students' classroom performance and developing effective science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching methods.     

A Model of How Different Biology Experts Explain Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms

Constructing explanations is an essential skill for all science learners. The goal of this project was to model the key components of expert explanation of molecular and cellular mechanisms. As such, we asked: What is an appropriate model of the components of explanation used by biology experts to explain molecular and cellular mechanisms? Do explanations made by experts from different biology subdisciplines at a university support the validity of this model? Guided by the modeling framework of R. S. Justi and J. K. Gilbert, the validity of an initial model was tested by asking seven biologists to explain a molecular mechanism of their choice. Data were collected from interviews, artifacts, and drawings, and then subjected to thematic analysis. We found that biologists explained the specific activities and organization of entities of the mechanism. In addition, they contextualized explanations according to their biological and social significance; integrated explanations with methods, instruments, and measurements; and used analogies and narrated stories. The derived methods, analogies, context, and how themes informed the development of our final MACH model of mechanistic explanations. Future research will test the potential of the MACH model as a guiding framework for instruction to enhance the quality of student explanations.     

Evaluation of Oxidative Stress and hsCRP in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in a Tertiary Care Hospital

PCOS is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder with diverse clinical presentation. Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiology of this disease. Serumhigh sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), a marker of chronic low grade inflammation, is indicative of future development of cardiovascular disease. Our aim is to evaluate the oxidant status and hsCRP levels in PCOS. The study involved 61 cases and 61 controls in the age group of 18–40 years diagnosed with PCOS. Erythrocyte malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), serum hsCRP, gonadotrophins, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin, glycemic status and lipid profile were estimated. Erythrocyte MDA (p < 0.001), SOD (p = 0.007) and serum hsCRP (p < 0.001) were significantly elevated in PCOS patients than controls. Oxidative stress is present in women with PCOS along with elevated hsCRP.     

Association of Aberrations in One Carbon Metabolism with Intimal Medial Thickening in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

The present work was aimed to study the association of one carbon genetic variants, hyperhomocysteinemia and oxidative stress markers, i.e., serum nitrite, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) on intimal medial thickening (IMT) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). A total number of 76 subjects from ACS Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, India were included in the study, i.e., Group I (n = 42) of T2D and Group II (n = 34) of age- and sex matched healthy controls. The glycated haemoglobin was measured by ion-exchange resin method; plasma homocysteine by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay method; serum nitrite (nitric oxide, NO), plasma MDA and GSH by spectrophotometric methods; the IMT by high frequency ultrasound. The polymorphisms of one carbon genetic variants were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and amplified fragment length polymorphism methods. Results indicate that methyltetrahydrofolate homocysteine methyl transferase (MTR) A2756G allele was found to be protective in T2D and the other variants were not significantly associated with T2D. Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCP II) C1561T (r = 0.34; p = 0.05) and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T (r = 0.35; 0.04) showed positive correlation with plasma homocysteine in T2D cases. In this study, MTR A2756G allele was found to be protective in T2D; GCP II C1561T and MTHFR C677T showed positive association with plasma homocysteine in T2D cases. Among all the genetic variants, MTR A2756G was found influence IMT. RFC 1 G80A and TYMS 5′-UTR 2R3R showed synergistically interact with MTR A2756G in influencing increase in IMT.