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Biomedical subjects

P Draper

Publications and source records attributed to P Draper.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Quality of life as quality of being: an alternative to the subject-object dichotomy.

The opening section of this paper is concerned with certain questions concerning the concept 'quality of life'. Is it possible for one person to make judgements about the quality of life of another? If it is possible, then is it morally acceptable? Given that quality of life is a concept and therefore not amenable to direct observation, which visible phenomena will be chosen as its indicators, and how can their choice be justified? Do the components of a life of quality vary from person to person, or can features be identified which are common to all? Next, it is argued that instruments which have been developed to measure quality of life give clues to the ontological beliefs of their authors; those which address fragments of the human experience, or accept the artificial limits of the subjective/objective dichotomy, are expressive of a fractured and reductionist view of what it means to be a human being. Finally, it is suggested that the adoption of insights drawn from Heidegger's work would enable us to develop a rather more unified view of quality of life as quality of being, and that this theoretical principle might constitute a common link between nurses of varying professional backgrounds.

Attitude↗
PubMed1991

The ideal and the real: some thoughts on theoretical developments in British nursing.

Two types of nursing theory are described: the realistic, whose purpose is to account for the complex reality of nursing; and the idealistic, whose purpose is to describe an idealized world of nursing as it 'ought to be'. It is argued that British nurses have overemphasized the importance of idealistic theory, and that this has retarded the development of our understanding of the real world of nursing. I recommend that the hermeneutical approach, as described by Gadamer (1989) might provide a base from which the balance might be redressed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1991

Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: and evolutionary theory of socialization.

The concept of "reproductive strategy" drawn from the field of behavioral ecology is applied to the study of childhood experience and interpersonal development in order to develop an evolutionary theory of socialization. The theory is presented in terms of 2 divergent development pathways considered to promote reproductive success in the contexts in which they have arisen. One is characterized, in childhood, by a stressful rearing environment and the development of insecure attachments to parents and subsequent behavior problems; in adolescence by early pubertal development and precocious sexuality; and, in adulthood, by unstable pair bonds and limited investment in child rearing, whereas the other is characterized by the opposite. The relation between this theory and prevailing theories of socialization, specifically, attachment, social-learning, and discrete-emotions theory, is considered and research consistent with our evolutionary theory is reviewed. Finally, directions for future research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Change in nursing and the introduction of the support worker.

Many changes have occurred in the British nursing profession over the last 15 years, including the introduction of the nursing process, the change in emphasis to holistic care, the contemporary focus on wellness rather than illness, models of nursing, primary nursing and Project 2000. These changes are discussed as the outcome of the interaction between groups of nurses of various ideological persuasions. Firstly, the ideologies of professionalism, bureaucracy and paramedicine are identified and described. Next, the historical relationship between these ideological groups is discussed. The paramedical ideology, as an expression within nursing of the controlling power of the medical profession, dominated nursing for many years. Its position was maintained through means that included the division of labour (as seen in task allocation) and the control of knowledge (as seen in a medically modelled nursing curriculum). More recently, however, the professionalists have gained the upper hand. In the paper, each of the changes identified above is seen as part of a strategy of professionalisation. The main thrust of this strategy has been to reunite the divided nursing function, and to redefine the nature of nursing knowledge through the development of nursing theory. The introduction of the support worker grade is an attempt to consolidate professionalist control by re-dividing nursing labour between the stages of the nursing process, with professional nurses being responsible for care planning, while support workers undertake its delivery. The professionalists can now be described as an occupational hegemony.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

The development of theory in British nursing: current position and future prospects.

This paper is concerned with the development of theory in the discipline of nursing as it is practised in Great Britain. It stems from dissatisfaction with the generally uncritical adoption by British nurses of models of nursing which have been developed to explain and enhance North American practice. After the introductory paragraph, four roles for nursing theory are proposed. These are: to define nursing by describing nursing phenomena; to form a realistic basis for curriculum design; to provide tools for the professional practice of nursing; and to provide a nursing language. It is then argued that although British nurses have recognized the need for an adequate theoretical basis for practice, their response has been rather uncritical adoption of American models of nursing. As a basis for practice, it is argued that American models generally fail to meet the needs described above, and therefore fail to have impact on clinical work. Structural and philosophical reasons for this failure are identified. Following a brief discussion of the inductive and deductive approaches to the development of theory, the paper closes with the argument that British nurses should be concerned with the development of new theory which, if grounded in the reality of practice, would be likely to be both useful and realistic.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1990

Personality development in the evolutionary perspective.

A relationship between personality processes and evolution can be seen when behaviors associated with sexual maturation, mating, and parenting are examined. This article stipulates the types of proximal cues implicated in the shaping of personality variables that become important in the development of the individual's reproductive behavior.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1990

Estimating parity of parents: application to the history of infertility among the !Kung of Southern Africa.

We derive a method for interpreting information about the reproductive performance of mothers of a sample of informants and apply it to the history of low fertility among the !Kung of the Kalahari desert of southern Africa. The method formalizes the commonsense procedure of weighting mothers with 1 birth by 1, with 2 births by 1/2, with 3 births by 1/3, etc. An expression for the confidence interval of the estimate of mean completed fertility of fertile women in the mothers' cohort is given. Several independent studies show that !Kung women have low fertility, with a population average completed family size of slightly over 4. Our method, applied to the cohort of old informants, shows that fertility is comparable among !Kung women, mothers of old informants, who were born in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. If the cause is an endemic infectious disease of long standing in this region, there are important implications for the history of southern and central Africa.

Africa, Southern↗
PubMed1979

Single column high pressure liquid chromatographic determination of drugs in blood.

1. Analysis of anticonvulsants (phenobarbital, diphenylhydantoin and carbamazepine), theophylline and an antiarrhythmic agent (disopyramide) in blood using a simple high pressure liquid chromatography apparatus equipped with a reversed -- phase column is described. A simple extraction of plasma or serum with organic solvent is used to isolate the anticonvulsants and theophylline. Disopyramide is extracted with ether and is further purified by a back extraction into acid. 2. Hexanesulfonic acid -- methanol solutions are used for chromatography of the anticonvulsants and disopyramide while the mobile phase for theophylline is a NH4H2PO4 -- methanol mixture. Chromatographic analysis time for the drugs is approximately 15 minutes. The drugs are monitored by a UV detector at 254 nm except for theophylline which is measured at 280 nm. Quantitation is accomplished by comparison of peak heights with those of internal standards. Quantities of serum or plasma routinely used for analysis are: 200 ul for the anticonvulsants, 100 ul for theophylline and 0.5 ml for disopyramide. Detection limits are less than 1 ug/ml for these quantities.

Anticonvulsants↗
PubMed1979

Glucose tolerance and erythrocyte insulin receptors in Friedreich's ataxia.

Detailed in vivo and in vitro studies of glucose and insulin metabolism in Friedreich's ataxia patients and unaffected family members have further defined the extent of the abnormalities in carbohydrate metabolism. The high incidence of glucose intolerance and a hyperinsulinemic response to a glucose challenge in a high percentage of Friedreich's ataxia patients has been confirmed. An increased incidence of glucose intolerance among heterozygotes is suggested, while the siblings show a more normal distribution of diabetes and a nearly normal insulin response to the glucose tolerance test. Human growth hormone patterns are normal for all groups. Preliminary studies of insulin binding to erythrocytes suggest a difference in the binding characteristics among diabetic Friedreich's ataxia patients, while the binding in the non-diabetic Friedreich's ataxia group is similar to that of non-diabetic controls. Results from a small group of non-diabetic siblings suggest a normal insulin binding, while a tendency toward increased binding at low insulin concentrations among diabetic family members is noted.

Diabetes Complications↗
PubMed1979

Erythrocyte membrane lipids in Friedreich's ataxia.

In a study of the lipid composition of erythrocyte membranes in Friedreich's ataxia, the concentration of the major membrane components (phospholipids, cholesterol and protein) in ataxic patients, family members, and control subjects were found to be the same. The total fatty acid distribution was also normal. However, an altered distribution of phospholipid classes in erythrocytes was noted (an increase of PI + PS and a decrease of PE in Friedreich's ataxia patients).

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Effects of anionic inhibitors of phagosome-lysosome fusion in cultured macrophages when the ingested organism is Mycobacterium lepraemurium.

The mouse pathogen Mycobacterium lepraemurium is readily phagocytosed by cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages. Ingestion is normally followed by fusion between phagosomes and lysosomes. The influence of some aninonic compounds known to inhibit fusion in other systems was investigated by transmission electron microscopy after ingestion of M. lepraemurium. Fusion was markedly, although temporarily, inhibited by suramin and moderately inhibited by poly-D-glutamic acid. The effects are, however, not sufficient to permit these agents to be used to study the long-term effects of shutting off the secondary lysosome-phagosome fusion system in cultured macrophages infected with M. lepraemurium.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Simple and rapid system for screening and identification of reducing sugars in urine.

As part of our screening programme for metabolic disorders we needed a rapid, simple, inexpensive means to detect reducing sugars in urine, with a simple but precise test for their identification. Our system comprises a bismuth reduction test for reducing sugars, with unidimensional thin layer chromatography on silica gel and color development with diphenylamine--aniline for definitive identification.

Carbohydrates↗