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Concepts Used (concept + used)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	35%
Medical Sciences	23%
Life Sciences	11%

Selected Abstracts

Modelling hydrological management for the restoration of acidified floating fens

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 20 2005
Stefan C. Dekker
Abstract Wetlands show a large decline in biodiversity. To protect and restore this biodiversity, many restoration projects are carried out. Hydrology in wetlands controls the chemical and biological processes and may be the most important factor regulating wetland function and development. Hydrological models may be used to simulate these processes and to evaluate management scenarios for restoration. HYDRUS2D, a combined saturated,unsaturated groundwater flow and transport model, is presented. This simulates near-surface hydrological processes in an acidified floating fen, with the aim to evaluate the effect of hydrological restoration in terms of conditions for biodiversity. In the acidified floating fen in the nature reserve Ilperveld (The Netherlands), a trench system was dug for the purpose of creating a runoff channel for acid rainwater in wet periods and to enable circum-neutral surface water to enter the fen in dry periods. The model is calibrated against measured conductivity values for a 5 year period. From the model simulations, it was found that lateral flow in the floating raft is limited. Furthermore, the model shows that the best management option is a combination of trenches and inundation, which gave the best soil water quality in the root zone. It is concluded that hydrological models can be used for the calculation of management scenarios in restoration projects. The combined saturated,unsaturated model concept used in this paper is able to incorporate the governing hydrological processes in the wetland root zones. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Compliance and its evaluation in patients with hypertension

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 6 2000
Tiina S. Lahdenperä MA
,,Compliance has been evaluated from a wide range of scientific perspectives since 1950. The fact that there are many concepts referring to ,compliance' (such as ,adherence' and ,commitment') and that there is no agreement on a commonly accepted definition of the concept complicates evaluation. ,,This paper aims to describe the ways in which the compliance of hypertensive patients has been defined and evaluated in earlier studies. The material was collected from the MEDLINE and CINAHL databases and analysed using content analysis. ,,The review indicates that the concepts used in evaluating compliance of hypertensive patients vary considerably and that the most commonly used is ,compliance'. Regardless of the concept used, the methods of measurement and results of the studies indicate that compliance is conceived as observance of health-related advice given by healthcare personnel. ,,This knowledge can be used in the evaluation of hypertensive patients' compliance in general and in developing the measurement of compliance. [source]

Playing the Odds: A New Response to Lucretius's Symmetry Argument

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2010
Jeremy R. Simon
There remains, however, dispute as to what the flaw is. After establishing what I understand the target of Lucretius's argument to be (a desire for a longer life as such), I argue for a novel interpretation of what the flaw is, namely, that extending one's life into the time before one was actually born would be an uncertain bet for one who wanted to extend his life, whereas extending one's life beyond the time one actually dies is a sure bet. This account of what the flaw is has the particular merit of relying only on simple concepts used in everyday reasoning and thus can explain why Lucretius's argument gains no traction even in the absence of sophisticated philosophical analysis. [source]

Developments in research concerning Mesozoic,Tertiary Tethys and neotectonics in the Isparta Angle, SW Turkey

GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 3-4 2003
Alastair H. F. Robertson
Abstract The Isparta Angle has played a critical role in the development of concepts concerning the tectonic evolution of the Mesozoic,Tertiary Neotethys in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Following early regional studies, mainly by the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey (MTA), during the 1960s and 1970s, a French team mapped the area and confirmed a regional tectonostratigraphy of three great allochthonous systems of mainly Mesozoic,Early Tertiary age, termed the Antalya, Lycian and Hoyran-Bey,ehir-Had,m nappes. During the 1970s and 1980s a British group studied the Neotethyan evolution of what they termed the Antalya Complex, utilizing knowledge of plate tectonic processes. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s MTA systematically remapped the area at 1:25,000 scale. The root zone of the Antalya allochthon was either a southerly Neotethys, within and to the south of the Isparta Angle, or a northerly Neotethys, many hundreds of kilometres to the north. The southerly origin is nowadays favoured but some questions remain. Attention focused in the 1990s until present to the post-collisional, neotectonic evolution of the Isparta Angle and its links with the neighbouring Mediterranean Sea. Here, we trace the development of research and the ongoing debates concerning alternative tectonic concepts used to explain the evolution of the Isparta Angle from Mesozoic to Recent time. We conclude by outlining several tectonic models for the evolution of the Antalya allochthon within a southerly Neotethys that require to be tested by future field studies. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The Environmental Approach to Prehistoric Studies: Concepts and Theories

HISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 4 2003
Olena V. Smyntyna
This article examines the main approaches to prehistoric environmental studies. The history of theories and concepts used in contemporary prehistory, archaeology, cultural and social anthropology, ecology, sociology, psychology, and demography is discussed. The author concludes with a plea for the concept of "living space" as a way to address certain problems in interdisciplinary studies of prehistoric societies. [source]

The influences on women joining and participating in unions

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 5 2005
Gill Kirton
ABSTRACT This article brings gender to the centre of concepts used to explore union joining and participation, demonstrating that a gender-sensitive analysis adds to our understanding. Using qualitative data from a study of women in two large male-dominated UK trade unions, the article explores four key influences on women's union joining and participation,family, union, work and feminism. While prior beliefs and values played a role in promoting joining and participation, gendered experiences of unions and the workplace had a more profound influence. Feminism affected the nature of participation in that self-identified feminists were more critical of the masculine character of trade unionism. [source]

"Quasi Track-One" Diplomacy: An Analysis of the Geneva Process in the Israeli,Palestinian Conflict,

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2010
Amira Schiff
The diversity of unofficial diplomacy activities in the last three decades has led to extensive attention in theoretical literature to the role of unofficial diplomacy in conflict resolution processes and to the development of a broad range of concepts used to describe different types of unofficial diplomatic activities. Yet certain unofficial activities, such as the process that preceded the Geneva Accords, do not neatly conform to the prevailing unofficial diplomacy concepts. This study seeks to contribute to the theoretical development of the unofficial diplomacy theory through an examination of the assumptions underlying models and concepts relating to unofficial diplomacy as applied to the process leading to the drafting of the Geneva Accords. The study suggests that the unofficial diplomacy process leading to the Geneva Accords was in fact "a quasi track-one" diplomacy,a diplomacy characterized by unique features, some of which weakened its potential contribution to the policy-making process. [source]

Compliance and its evaluation in patients with hypertension

Acute pancreatitis in dogs

JOURNAL OF VETERINARY EMERGENCY AND CRITICAL CARE, Issue 4 2003
Jennifer L. Holm DVM
Abstract Objective: To summarize current information regarding severity assessment, diagnostic imaging, and treatment of human and canine acute pancreatitis (AP). Human-based studies: In humans, scoring systems, advanced imaging methods, and serum markers are used to assess the severity of disease, which allows for optimization of patient management. The extent of pancreatic necrosis and the presence of infected pancreatic necrosis are the most important factors determining the development of multiple organ failure (MOF) and subsequent mortality. Considerable research efforts have focused on the development of inexpensive, easy, and reliable laboratory markers to assess disease severity as early as possible in the course of the disease. The use of prophylactic antibiotics, enteral nutrition, and surgery have been shown to be beneficial in certain patient populations. Veterinary-based studies: The majority of what is currently known about naturally occurring canine AP has been derived from retrospective evaluations. The identification and development of inexpensive and reliable detection kits of key laboratory markers in dogs with AP could dramatically improve our ability to prognosticate and identify patient populations likely to benefit from treatment interventions. Treatment remains largely supportive and future studies evaluating the efficacy of surgery, nutritional support and other treatment modalities are warranted. Data sources: Current human and veterinary literature. Conclusions: Pancreatitis can lead to a life-threatening severe systemic inflammatory condition, resulting in MOF and death in both humans and dogs. Given the similarities in the pathophysiology of AP in both humans and dogs, novel concepts used to assess severity and treat people with AP may be applicable to dogs. [source]

Complexities of indigeneity and autochthony: An African example

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 1 2009
Michaela Pelican
ABSTRACT In this article, I deal with the complexities of "indigeneity" and "autochthony," two distinct yet closely interrelated concepts used by various actors in local, national, and international arenas in Africa and elsewhere. With the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007, hopes were high among activists and organizations that the precarious situation of many minority groups might be gradually improved. However, sharing the concerns of other scholars, I argue that discourses of indigeneity and autochthony are highly politicized, are subject to local and national particularities, and produce ambivalent, sometimes paradoxical, outcomes. My elaborations are based on in-depth knowledge of the case of the Mbororo in Cameroon, a pastoralist group and national minority recognized by the United Nations as an "indigenous people" although locally perceived as "strangers" and "migrants." For comparative purposes, and drawing on related studies, I integrate the Bagyeli and Baka (also known as Pygmies) of southern and southeastern Cameroon into my analysis, as they share the designation of indigenous people with the Mbororo and face similar predicaments. [indigeneity, autochthony, identity, United Nations, Cameroon] [source]

The method of synthesis in ecology

OIKOS, Issue 1 2001
E. David Ford
Synthesis of results from different investigations is an important activity for ecologists but when compared with analysis the method of synthesis has received little attention. Ecologists usually proceed intuitively and this can lead to a problem in defining differences between the syntheses made by different scientists. It also leads to criticism from scientists favoring analytical approaches that the construction of general theory is an activity that does not follow the scientific method. We outline a methodology for scientific inference about integrative concepts and the syntheses made in constructing them and illustrate how this can be applied in the development of general theory from investigations into particular ecological systems. The objective is to construct a causal scientific explanation. This has four characteristics. (1) It defines causal and/or organizational processes that describe how systems function. (2) These processes are consistent , under the same conditions they will produce the same effect. (3) A causal scientific explanation provides general information about events of a similar kind. (4) When experiments are possible then a designed manipulation will produce a predictable response. The essential characteristic of making synthesis to construct a causal scientific explanation is that it is progressive and we judge progress made by assessing the coherence of the explanation using six criteria: acceptability of individual propositions including that they have been tested with data, consistency of concept definitions, consistency in the type of concepts used in making the explanation, that ad hoc propositions are not used, that there is economy in the number of propositions used, that the explanation applies to broad questions. We illustrate development of a causal scientific explanation for the concept of long-lived pioneer tree species, show how the coherence of this explanation can be assessed, and how it could be improved. [source]

How results are presented (2): risks, ratios, NNT and NNH

PRESCRIBER, Issue 8 2007
Article first published online: 23 JUL 200
Our series on Information mastery is based on the MeReC Briefing Using Evidence to Guide Practice. The articles will address how to source the most useful evidence on the efficacy of interventions and explain some of the concepts used in its interpretation. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Interface Ltd [source]

The Mythology of Human Rights

RATIO JURIS, Issue 3 2008
GUNNAR BECK
The underlying assumption,the idea that there are some human values that deserve special protection,implies the need for both a normative and a conceptual justification. This paper claims that neither can be provided. The normative justification is needed to support the priority of human rights over other human goods and to rank and balance conflicting human rights, but it can't be provided because of the fact of pervasive value pluralism, the fact that human values are many, incompatible and incommensurable. The conceptual justification is needed to avoid arbitrariness in the interpretation of human rights at the adjudication stage. Such a justification is impossible, however, as the concept of human rights, and the concepts used to justify them and to solve their conflicts are "essentially contested concepts." The paper concludes that, provided that the interpretation of human rights presupposes value judgements and political choices, the special legal status accorded to human rights is not justified. [source]

Community, society, culture: three keys to understanding today's conflicted identities

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 1 2010
Maurice Godelier
The author redefines three major concepts used in the social sciences: tribe, society, and community. He begins with his discovery that the Baruya, a tribe in New Guinea with whom he lived and worked, were not a society a few centuries ago. This made him wonder: How is a new society made? The author shows that neither kinship relations nor economic relations are sufficient to forge a new society. What welded a certain number of Baruya kin groups into a society were their political-religious relations, which enabled them to establish a form of sovereignty over a territory, its inhabitants, and its resources. He goes on to compare other examples of more or less recently formed societies, among which is Saudi Arabia, whose beginnings date from the end of the eighteenth century; and he then clarifies the difference between tribe, society, ethnic group, and community, showing that a tribe is a society, but an ethnic group is a community. His analysis elucidates some contemporary situations, since tribes still play an important role in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, and so on. Résumé L'auteur redéfinit trois grands concepts utilisés dans les sciences sociales : tribu, société et communauté. Son point de départ est le fait que les Baruya, une tribu de Nouvelle-Guinée avec laquelle il a vécu et travaillé, ne formaient pas une société il y a quelques siècles. Cette découverte l'a conduit à se demander comment une société voyait le jour. L'auteur montre que ni les liens de parenté ni les relations économiques ne sont suffisants pour donner naissance à une nouvelle société. Ce qui a soudé un certain nombre de groupes de parenté baruya en une société, ce sont leurs relations politiques et religieuses, qui leur ont permis d'établir une forme de souveraineté sur un territoire, ses habitants et ses ressources. L'auteur poursuit en comparant d'autres exemples de sociétés d'apparition plus ou moins récentes, par exemple l'Arabie Saoudite dont les débuts remontent à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Il éclaircit ensuite la différence entre tribu, société, groupe ethnique et communauté, en montrant qu'une tribu est une société mais un groupe ethnique est une communauté. Son analyse fait la lumière sur certaines situations contemporaines, dans la mesure où les tribus jouent encore un rôle important en Irak, en Afghanistan, en Jordanie et ailleurs. [source]

"Specialized" Production in Archaeological Contexts: Rethinking Specialization, the Social Value of Products, and the Practice of Production

ARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2007
Rowan K. Flad
The contributions to this volume are introduced via a critical review of terms and concepts used in craft production studies today. Recent detailed contextual and technological analyses of artifacts from all aspects of complex societies have revealed interesting patterns that are difficult to conceptualize using a purely economic framework. Furthermore, interest in practice theory, and sociocultural theory in general, has shifted some foci of archaeological investigation toward the social aspects of production and specialization. New data, methods, and theories require a rethinking of what is meant by specialized production, and this chapter represents an introduction to this endeavor. [source]

Signposts of Docking and Scoring in Drug Design

CHEMICAL BIOLOGY & DRUG DESIGN, Issue 4 2007
Osman A .B. S. M. Gani
Docking and scoring tools are often used in the early stages of drug discovery projects today. Because the language of this field of drug design often includes intermingled terms of physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine, the significant developments of docking and scoring are challenging to follow for non-experts. In this Science Philosophy article, I attempt to clarify the concepts used in docking and scoring to help articulate the successes and limitations of this multidisciplinary field in more comprehensible manner. [source]

Aqueous Foams: A Field of Investigation at the Frontier Between Chemistry and Physics

CHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 4 2008
Dominique Langevin Dr.
Abstract This paper reviews the properties of aqueous foams. The current state of knowledge is summarized briefly and the interdisciplinary aspects of this field of investigation are emphasized. Many phenomena are controlled by physical laws, but they are highly dependent upon the chemicals used as foam stabilizers: surfactants, polymers, particles. Most of the existing work is related to surfactants and polymer foams, and little is known yet for particle foams although research in this field is becoming popular. This article presents the general concepts used to describe the monolayers and the films and also some of the recent advances being made in this area. [source]