Dux Nest

I’ve heard many predictions about medical breakthroughs, some even claiming that the word ‘disabled’ will become obsolete. It all seems too much like sci-fi. Then again, many concepts that seems far fetched in the original Star Trek have become part of our modern lives.

If only we could bring help to those who need it. Make the blind man see. Cell-based therapies might be an effective way to treat human corneal blindness and vision impairment due to the scarring that occurs after infection, trauma and other common eye problems, said senior investigator James L. Funderburgh, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Ophthalmology. The Pitt corneal stem cells were able to remodel scar-like tissue back to normal. In the next steps, the researchers intend to use the stem cells to treat lab animals that have corneal scars to see if they, too, can be repaired with stem cells. Under the auspices of UPMC Eye Center’s recently established Center for Vision Restoration, they plan also to develop the necessary protocols to enable clinical testing of the cells. University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences; Stem cell therapy makes cloudy corneas clear, according to Pitt researchers. (2009, April). NewsRx Health & Science,207.

Research led by David Hess of the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario has identified how to use selected stem cells from bone marrow to grow new blood vessels to treat diseases such as peripheral artery disease. It’s one of the severe complications often faced by people who’ve had diabetes for a long time. Reduced blood flow (ischemia) in their limbs can lead to resting pain, trouble with wound healing and in severe cases, amputation. University of Western Ontario; Stem cell therapy grows new blood vessels. (2009, April). NewsRx Health & Science,70.

Transplant therapy using embryonic stem cells or their derivatives is currently under way in a small patient trial for spinal cord injury, but widespread use is still some years in the future. WHEN WILL STEM CELLS BE USED FOR TREATMENTS AND CURES? (2009, April 13). Wisconsin State Journal,A.2.

Dr. Funderburgh anticipates “stem-cell therapies for lots of parts of the body in the next 15 to 20 years.” David Templeton.  (2009, April 9). STEM CELL SUCCESS COULD HELP MORE THAN CORNEA. Pittsburgh Post - Gazette,A.1.

The medical research race…

Research into implants continues with great progress. Steven Siegel says the percentage of repeat surgeries has decreased in recent years due to improved equipment and techniques. Laura Johannes.  (2008, December 2). An Implant That Hits a Nerve. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition),  p. B.14. By definition, an implantable device will require an operation, the current devices all require moderately complex surgery during which at least one of the components must be very precisely placed to achieve a good functional result. Close cooperation with surgeons will be needed in order to ensure that the required surgery is feasible. P Counter.  (2008). Implantable hearing aids. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Part H Journal of Engineering in Medicine, 222(H6), 837-52. The future of cochlear implants is bright, with multiple outstanding possibilities for even higher levels of performance Advances in electronics, nanotechnology, micromechanics, polymer chemistry, and molecular biology should lead to cochlear implants that give high-fidelity sound. The research is the basis for a new discipline, which should also contribute to spinal cord repair and the relief of blindness. Graeme M Clark.  (2008). Personal reflections on the multichannel cochlear implant and a view of the future. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 45(5), 651-93.

It doesn’t matter which medical research will provide the breakthrough as long as everyone benefits.

Tags: Bone Marrow, Cochlear, Implant, Medical Research, Stem Cells, Surgery, Technology, Therapy, Transplant.

No sometimes it isn’t about me. Those who seek or even reach fame have achieved a power that can be used to influence others which in turn can add value to their life and others. Sorry Britney Spears but this isn’t about you either.

Elizabeth Taylor found meaning in her life after searching for many years through the bottom of a bottle of liquor. Beer goggles or perhaps in this case cocktail glasses don’t exactly make it easier to find meaning in life instead this was found in one of the most unexpected places. Dame Elizabeth Taylor found her calling in both prevention of HIV infection and care for those living with HIV/AIDS.

There is no cure for AIDS, but HIV infection is preventable. HIV can infect anyone regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or economic means. According to the CDC, 25 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States don’t know they’re infected with HIV. The only way to know whether you are infected is to get tested. Early diagnosis is the key to living well with HIV/AIDS. TRACEY JACKSON (2008, November 30). Let’s come together in a unified effort to combat deadly virus. Spartanburg Herald - Journal.

The pen is mightier than the sword and often those with a well inked pen are better remembered than those with a sharp sword.

Despite the record increase in HIV infections last year (and the 493 new reports in the first three months of 2001), Aids is widely seen as yesterday’s disease; red ribbons aren’t much of a fashion accessory these days. Accordingly, public fundraising is very difficult. As with most causes, it is hard to overestimate the continued importance of celebrity. The Terrence Higgins Trust acknowledges that even the presence of Tamara Beckwith rattling a bucket in Selfridges makes people more likely to donate. It is entirely possible that most people’s understanding of the effects of Aids comes not from information campaigns, but from the HIV storylines in soap operas and the deaths of famous people. In America, the message hit home with Rock Hudson; in the UK it was Freddie Mercury. Princess Diana also made a difference - her bedside vigils, her handshakes with Aids patients, the message that Aids was a virus not a crime. Those who raise money for Aids say that her death robbed them of an ambassador who has yet to be replaced. Elton John? Some generous and invaluable work, quite clearly, but as yet he is still not a member of the royal family. Simon Garfield (2001, June 3). Life: AIDS: THE FIRST 20 YEARS. The Observer,p. 16.

So if you want to be famous and live forever add supporting worthy causes to your list of talents. People are more likely to follow the person that speaks for those that can’t.

Tags: AIDS, Fame, Famous, HIV, Influence.

In school if someone were to inform a teacher of your activities it wouldn’t be considered whistleblowing. Back then, you might have called them a dobber or say they grassed on you. Now, in the corporate world we see the value of whistleblowers.

Whistle-blowing is the act, for an employee (or former employee), of disclosing what he believes to be unethical or illegal behavior to higher management (internal whistle-blowing) or to an external authority or the public (external whistle-blowing). Mathieu Bouville (2008). Whistle-Blowing and Morality. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(3), 579-585.

In the schoolyard we do not even consider that informing a higher authority is ethical behaviour. Similar to the corporate whistleblower, speaking out against bullies is not an easy task for the victim or informant.

Victims of bullying tend to be physically smaller, more sensitive, unhappy, cautious, anxious, quiet, and withdrawn than other children (Byrne, 1993; Hoover, Oliver, & Hazier, 1992). Most victims of bullying can be termed “passive” or “submissive” victims (Olweus, 1993). They are generally insecure and non-assertive, and react by withdrawing and crying when attacked by other students. In this sense, they are vulnerable to being victimized; bullies know these students will not retaliate (Salmivalli, Karhunen, & Lagerspetz, 1996). A less common profile, the “provocative victim,” has also been described. Lee A Beaty,  Erick B Alexeyev. (2008). THE PROBLEM OF SCHOOL BULLIES: WHAT THE RESEARCH TELLS US. Adolescence, 43(169), 1-11.

Elementary students are known for letting adults know about behavior that is meanspirited or against the rules. In fact, elementary teachers and principals will readily admit that supervising a playground is challenging because students’ need to tell is so prevalent. As students mature, however, many victims and witnesses become much more reluctant to seek the advice of a trusted adult to help solve social and safety-related issues. This reluctance makes it difficult to recognize the extent to which destructive behavior may be happening.

By secondary school, many students begin to believe that if adults get involved, the situation will be mishandled or the bullying will intensify. These beliefs are sometimes based on how students have seen adults handle incidents of bullying.

The negative outcomes of bullying behaviors reach far into the school environment, and reports of school tragedies involving violence often reveal that the perpetrator felt victimized, harassed, and intimidated. Students who feel victimized may stay home from school to avoid the mental and physical punishment that a bully inflicts. And the concentration and academic achievement of students who do come to school but who are tormented in class or walk the hallways in fear may also be negatively affected. Judy Brunner,  Dennis Lewis. (2008, February). Tattling Ends but bullying continues. Principal Leadership, 8(6), 38-42.

To develop a corporate environment that encourages whistleblowing perhaps we should start in schools.

Tags: Authority, Bully, Dobber, Grass on, Tattle, Whistleblower, Whistleblowing.

Some might think it is great to be a gym junkie or spend hours playing world of warcraft. In a time when we are becoming more conscious of having a balanced diet, many of us are working longer hours and spending less time with family or even doing exercise.

Polar Opposites:

The university student who spends virtually all there waking hours studying and neglects their social life

Or

The university student who spends most their time joining in social activities and neglects their studies

Even though in the back of our mind we know we should have a balanced lifestyle it is as if we become fixated on one aspect of our lives and neglect the rest.

So what do the experts suggest in maintaining a balanced life?

If employers play a role in our work-life imbalance, then there’s hope for the future. Experts foresee a major shakeup over the next decade, as the labour force changes from a buyers’ market to a sellers’ market. Today’s employers rely on unpaid overtime and would go under if employees truly had balance, Linda Duxbury, a professor at Ottawa’s Carleton University, who co-authored a seminal 2001 study on work-life conflict says. In the near future, with fewer young people entering the workforce to replace aging boomers, the most desirable employees will have the power to demand a family life. If employers are going to require work outside of normal business hours, they will have to cut employees some slack during slower times.

“As a society we haven’t become flexible about when things happen,” says Duxbury. “We need to reconceptualize; sometimes work takes priority, sometimes family takes priority. We’re never going back to nine-to-five, so balance on a day-to-day basis is unattainable.” It’s no longer possible to separate life into neat little compartments. However, Higgins points out that if we truly want worklife balance, it will be up to us to turn off the technology that allows work to interfere at all hours. “I see too many parents on their BlackBerrys at their kid’s hockey game.” T K Demmings (2008, April). Balance backlash. Today’s Parent, 25(4), 96,98,100.

To stem an exodus of talented women a few years ago, the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche began radically changing its corporate culture, from one that valued overtime and hours logged in the office to one that prizes flexibility and efficiency.

From the start, the company made changes from the top down, thanks largely to the foresight of J. Michael Cook, who retired as CEO in May. Executives, for instance, learned to openly say they were having dinner at home or watching a school play, rather than saying they were “with a client.”

When a CEO isn’t afraid to openly value his own balance, employees are more likely to believe they can too. Maggie Jackson Associated Press (1999, July 21). More CEOs try better work-family equilibrium. Journal Record,p. 1.

The idea of recognising when a passion becomes an obsession can be a complicated concept.

Gornick (2005) suggests while the United States leads the world in gross domestic product per worker, we are ranked eighth among the OECD countries in GDP per worker-hour. It is possible that, as a society, we could shift some hours from work to family and see a rise in our hourly output. What is clear is that the current workfamily arrangement-with its weak protections and limited benefits for working parents-is problematic on many fronts, and that large numbers of American parents and their children are poorly served. Janet C Gornick (2005, July). Overworked, Time Poor, and Abandoned by Uncle Sam. Dissent, 52(3), 65-69.

Yang (1996) argues that regardless of culture, work-family conflict was bidirectional in nature: work interfered with family life, and vice versa. Culture was an important predictor of work-family conflict and outcomes, both moderating the magnitude of multiple role pressures on individual employees’ time and energy, and influencing their cognitions of the conflict origin. On average, American respondents perceived more global work-family conflict, and Chinese respondents perceived more work interference with family. Yang, Nini (1996) Effects of individualism-collectivism on perceptions and outcomes of work family conflict: A cross-cultural perspective. Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo, United States — New York.

Many experts on obsessive behavior agree that there are striking similarities between addictions to substances like drugs and food and addictions to activities like gambling, shopping, sex and computer games. Some addiction counselors have begun to focus on compulsive game players.

But help, addiction experts say, seldom means giving up the games or computers. A common approach to treating computer game addicts is to try to teach them moderation, said Peggy Reynolds, a professor of human development counseling at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

”You can’t go cold turkey,” said Dr. Reynolds, explaining that asking a compulsive game player to quit would be like asking an overeater to stop eating. ”Computers have become part of our life style. People have to know how to manage them.” Michel Marriott (1998, March 12). When Love Turns to Obsession, Games Are No Game. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)),  p. 8.

In conclusion, I believe it is important that we strive to achieve a balance life as well as a balance diet. I never said it was easy but we shouldn’t give up trying.

Tags: Balance, Culture, Hours, Life, Lifestyle, Obsession, Obsessive Behaviour, Time.