The Plant Ambassador

正hYou could say the roots of my association with China grew in the backyard of my home in Accra,the capital of Ghana.Back ome,people also use herbal medicine for various diseases.I would say about 70 percent of Ghanaians use roots and shoots of herbs as the f irst line of treatment.But the scientif ic aspect of the treatment is not so well developed in Ghana.Not everyone who uses herbs knows what the exact dosage should be.So when the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and     

Responsiveness to the chlorhexidine epidural tragedy: a mental block?

Paralysis following an epidural anaesthetic is a rare event. The mechanism usually involves accidental injection of skin antiseptic instead of local anaesthetic. Two recent cases, one involving paralysis, the other a "near-miss", are described. The first case resulted in an extensive root cause analysis and an admission of liability by the hospital. The response of the anaesthetic community and the New South Wales Department of Health was swift but failed to produce uniform protocols across the region. Furthermore, the requirement of medical staff to double check medications with a second person before their administration was not addressed. Abandoning a more effective but neurotoxic antiseptic solution in favour of a solution with weaker antiseptic properties, as had previously occurred in one Sydney hospital, could incur higher risks of epidural infection. Defensive medical practice can lead to unwanted negative consequences.     

Rethinking organisational learning in local government

The article outlines the results of research undertaken with 146 local authorities in England and Wales. There are two aims to this paper. First, to identify some of the ways in which local government understands and puts into practice the notion of organisational learning. Second, to encourage a broader understanding and practice than exists at present. Our research suggests that local authorities have created a self‐limiting notion of organisational learning particularly based on performance management and management development imperatives orientated towards the individual employee. We suggest various ways in which authorities might shift the focus from individual to organisational learning.     

Power to the parishes ‐ a (missed) opportunity

Parish and town councils form the lowest tier of local government in England, but have been left out of government proposals for a new duty for local authorities. The proposed new duty will give local authorities wide‐ranging power to promote economic and social well‐being. Unlike principal authorities, it is likely that these grass‐roots councils will have to rely on their power under s.137 to spend on activities outside their specific powers. This article reviews the findings of a recent national survey which was designed to assess the extent to which parishes are constrained by current s.137 arranagements.     

The case for Agrarian capitalism: A response to albritton

Albritton finds Brenner's designation ‘agrarian capitalism’ inappropriate for early English agriculture, as the law of value and the commodification of labour are undeveloped. But Brenner is not theorising a ‘full‐blown’ capitalism. His theory traces a process of transition, by which new rules for social reproduction and a new capitalist logic unfolded gradually. Albritton's evidence, moreover, actually supports Brenner's thesis. Charges of class reductionism misconstrue Brenner's efforts to overcome the tendency to dichotomise society into political and economic spheres. Brenner's theory provides what the bourgeois paradigm does not: a logical explanation of how market dependency and capitalist classes emerged.