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Irrelevant
Terms modified by Irrelevant Selected AbstractsIs the Study of Lived Religion Irrelevant to the World We Live in?JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 2 2003November , Salt Lake City, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Special Presidential Plenary Address First page of article [source] Still Irrelevant to UsJOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, Issue 4 2004Jim Mackenzie [source] Why Left-Libertarianism Is Not Incoherent, Indeterminate, or Irrelevant: A Reply to FriedPHILOSOPHY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2005PETER VALLENTYNE First page of article [source] SEARCHING FOR EXPLANATORY WEB PAGES USING AUTOMATIC QUERY EXPANSIONCOMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 1 2007Manabu Tauchi When one tries to use the Web as a dictionary or encyclopedia, entering some single term into a search engine, the highly ranked pages in the result can include irrelevant or useless sites. The problem is that single-term queries, if taken literally, underspecify the type of page the user wants. For such problems automatic query expansion, also known as pseudo-feedback, is often effective. In this method the top n documents returned by an initial retrieval are used to provide terms for a second retrieval. This paper contributes, first, new normalization techniques for query expansion, and second, a new way of computing the similarity between an expanded query and a document, the "local relevance density" metric, which complements the standard vector product metric. Both of these techniques are shown to be useful for single-term queries, in Japanese, in experiments done over the World Wide Web in early 2001. [source] Phylogenetic Reanalysis of the Saudi Gazelle and Its Implications for ConservationCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2001Robert L. Hammond The Saudi gazelle ( Gazella saudiya) was endemic to the Arabian peninsula but is now considered extinct in the wild and is potentially a candidate for captive breeding and reintroduction. Using 375 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b gene derived from museum samples collected from the wild prior to the presumed extinction of this species, we show that G. saudiya is the sister taxon of the African dorcas gazelle ( G. dorcas). Reciprocal monophyly of G. saudiya mtDNA haplotypes with G. dorcas, coupled with morphological distinctiveness, suggests that it is an evolutionarily significant unit. These data indicate that captive populations identified previously as potential sources of G. saudiya for captive breeding appear incorrectly designated and are irrelevant to the conservation of G. saudiya. The polymerase chain reaction,restriction fragment length polymorphism ( PCR-RFLP) analysis of several private collections of living gazelles in Saudi Arabia provides no evidence for the survival of G. saudiya. We recommend that field surveys be undertaken to establish whether G. saudiya is indeed extinct in the wild and that other private collections within the Arabian peninsula be screened genetically. We urge caution when captive animals of unknown provenance are used to investigate the phylogenetics of cryptic species groups. Resumen: La identificación de poblaciones taxonómicamente apropiadas de especies en peligro para programas de reproducción en cautiverio y de reintroducción es fundamental para su éxito. La Gacela Saudi (Gazella saudiya) fue endémica a la península de Arabia pero ahora está considerada como extinta en su medio y es un candidato potencial para reproducción en cautiverio y reintroducción. Utilizando 375 pares de bases de ADN mitocondrial (ADNmt) del gene citocromo b derivados de muestras de museos colectadas en el medio silvestre antes de la extinción de la especie, mostramos que G. saudiya es el taxón hermano de la gacela dorcas africana (G. dorcas). La monofilia recíproca de haplotipos de ADNmt de G. saudiya con G. dorcas, aunado a diferencias morfológicas, sugiere que es una unidad evolutiva significativa. Estos datos indican que las poblaciones cautivas identificadas previamente como fuente potencial de G. saudiya para reproducción en cautiverio están incorrectamente identificadas y son irrelevantes para la conservación de G. saudiya. El análisis PCR-RFLP de varias colecciones privadas de gacelas vivas en Arabia Saudita no proporcionan evidencia para la supervivencia de G. saudiya. Recomendamos que se realicen muestreos en el campo para establecer si en efecto G. saudiya está extinta en su hábitat y que se examinen genéticamente las otras colecciones privadas en la península Arábiga. Recomendamos precaución cuando animales cautivos de origen desconocido son utilizados para investigar la filogenia de grupos de especies crípticas. [source] Board Monitoring, Regulation, and Performance in the Banking Industry: Evidence from the Market for Corporate ControlCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2010Jens Hagendorff ABSTRACT Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: The specific monitoring effect of boards of directors versus industry regulation is unclear. In this paper, we examine how the interaction between bank-level monitoring and regulatory regimes influences the announcement period returns of acquiring banks in the US and twelve European economies. Research Findings/Insights: We study three board monitoring mechanisms , independence, CEO-chair duality, and diversity , and analyze their effectiveness in preventing underperforming merger strategies under bank regulators of varying strictness. Only under strict banking regulation regimes, do board independence and diversity improve acquisition performance. In less strict regulatory environments, corporate governance is virtually irrelevant in improving the performance outcomes of merger activities. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Our results indicate a complementary role between monitoring by boards and bank regulation. This study is the first to report evidence consistent with complementarity by investigating the effectiveness (rather than the prevalence) of governance arrangements across regulatory regimes. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our work offers insights to policymakers charged with improving the quality of decision-making at financial institutions. Attempts to improve the ability of bank boards to critically assess managerial initiatives are most likely to be successful if internal governance is accompanied by strict industry regulation. [source] Economic Policy and Women's Informal Work in South AfricaDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2001Imraan Valodia This article examines the gender dimensions of the growth in informal and flexible work in South Africa and the government's policy response to this. It outlines the growth in informal and flexible work practices and, as illustrative examples, analyses how trade and industrial policies and labour market policies are impacting on the growth of informal and flexible work. It is argued that the South African government's trade and industrial policies are shifting the economy onto a path of capital intensification. Allied to this, firms are undergoing a process of extensive restructuring. These developments are further promoting the growth of flexibilization and informalization, and thereby disadvantaging women. The article demonstrates that whilst the government offers a vast package of support measures to big business, its policy is largely irrelevant to the survivalist segment of small business, where most women in the informal economy are to be found. The picture for labour policy is more diverse. Aspects of the labour legislation are promoting the growth of a dual labour market, whilst there seems to be some tightening up of practices aimed at bypassing aspects of the protection provided to workers. [source] Respective contributions of inhibition and knowledge levels in class inclusion development: a negative priming studyDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2003Patrick Perret Dempster (Dempster, 1995; Dempster & Corkill, 1999) proposed that developmental changes in performance on Piagetian tasks could be related to changes in inhibitory efficiency more than to logical development. In this study, the negative priming paradigm was adapted to the class inclusion task in order to investigate the role of inhibition and knowledge levels in the development of class inclusion. Participants were pre-tested on two inclusion tasks, the standard Piagetian task and Markman's modification task, and assigned to different knowledge levels: empirical, and logical necessity. Children were then tested on a priming version of the class inclusion task. Results showed a negative priming effect, indicating that the irrelevant ,subclass comparison strategy' was actively inhibited during the processing of the class inclusion task. This effect was found to vary as a function of knowledge levels, indicating that the need for inhibition was reduced when children had attained logical necessity. [source] What Does the Conservation of Energy Have to Do with Physicalism?DIALECTICA, Issue 4 2006Barbara Montero The conservation of energy law, a law of physics that states that the total energy of any closed system is always conserved, is a bedrock principle that has achieved both broad theoretical and experimental support. Yet if interactive dualism is correct, it is thought that the mind can affect physical objects in violation of the conservation of energy. Thus, some claim, the conservation of energy grounds an argument for physicalism. Although critics of the argument focus on the implausibility of causation requiring the transference of energy, I argue that even if causation requires the transference of energy, once we accept the other required premises of the argument that lie behind any supposed argument from the conservation of energy the law of the conservation of energy is revealed as irrelevant to the question of whether the mental is physical. [source] Interobserver agreement in endoscopic evaluation of reflux esophagitis using a modified Los Angeles classification incorporating grades N and M: A validation study in a cohort of Japanese endoscopistsDISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS, Issue 4 2008H. Miwa SUMMARY., The Los Angeles classification system is the most widely employed criteria associated with the greatest interobserver agreement among endoscopists. In Japan, the Los Angeles classification system has been modified (modified LA system) to include minimal changes as a distinct grade of reflux esophagitis, rather than as auxiliary findings. This adds a further grading M defined as minimal changes to the mucosa, such as erythema and/or whitish turbidity. The modified LA system has come to be used widely in Japan. However, there have been few reports to date that have evaluated the interobserver agreement in diagnosis when using the modified LA classification system incorporating these minimal changes as an additional grade. A total of 100 endoscopists from university hospitals and community hospitals, as well as private practices in the Osaka-Kobe area participated in the study. A total of 30 video clips of 30,40 seconds duration, mostly showing the esophagocardiac junction, were created and shown to 100 endoscopists using a video projector. The participating endoscopists completed a questionnaire regarding their clinical experience and rated the reflux esophagitis as shown in the video clips using the modified LA classification system. Agreement was assessed employing kappa (,) statistics for multiple raters. The , -value for all 91 endoscopists was 0.094, with a standard error of 0.002, indicating poor interobserver agreement. The endoscopists showed the best agreement on diagnosing grade A esophagitis (0.167), and the poorest agreement when diagnosing grade M esophagitis (0.033). The , -values for the diagnoses of grades N, M, and A esophagitis on identical video pairs were 0.275,0.315, with a standard error of 0.083,0.091, indicating fair intraobserver reproducibility among the endoscopists. The study results consistently indicate poor agreement regarding diagnoses as well as fair reproducibility of these diagnoses by endoscopists using the modified LA classification system, regardless of age, type of practice, past endoscopic experience, or current workload. However, grade M reflux esophagitis may not necessarily be irrelevant, as it may suggest an early form of reflux disease or an entirely new form of reflux esophagitis. Further research is required to elucidate the pathophysiological basis of minimal change esophagitis. [source] Geographic Scale and Grass-Roots Internationalism: The Liverpool Dock Dispute, 1995,1998,ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2000Noel Castree Abstract: In the context of ongoing debates over the effects of "globalization" on organized labor and, specifically, recent experiments in labor internationalism, this paper examines the geography of the Liverpool dock dispute, 1995,98. The dispute has rarely been subject to a serious analysis of its causes and trajectory. This is surprising since it was not only the most protracted industrial dispute in recent British history but also the hub of a relatively novel form of transnational labor organizing: namely, a form of grass-roots internationalism organized largely outside the formal apparatuses of national and international unionism. In the paper I focus on the nature and dynamics of this "grass-roots internationalism" with a view to making two claims that have a wider thematic and theoretical relevance to the study of labor geographies. First, contrary to an emerging new orthodoxy in labor geography (and labor studies more generally), the Liverpool case in fact suggests that the necessity for labor to "up-scale" solidarity and struggle in the 1990s is much overstated. Second, the Liverpool case suggests that international labor organizing is only efficacious when considered in relation to two scales of struggle often thought increasingly irrelevant or ineffectual in a globalizing world: the local and the national. Thus, while those few analysts who have cited the Liverpool dispute, basing their assessments on secondhand knowledge, have held the dockers up as exemplars of a new form of labor internationalism, in this paper I suggest the need for a more complex and contingent appreciation of the multiscalar dynamics of labor struggles. In short, we have not yet reached the stage, even in a globalizing world, where labor's "spatial fixes" must be preeminently supranational. [source] High prevalence of unrecognized cerebral infarcts in first-ever stroke patients with cardioembolic sourcesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 7 2009A.-H. Cho Background:, With magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis, we investigated the prevalence, clinical significance, and factors related to the presence of unrecognized cerebral infarcts in patients with first-ever ischaemic stroke. Methods:, We consecutively included patients who were admitted with first-ever stroke. Unrecognized cerebral infarct was defined as an ischaemic infarction or primary intracerebral hemorrhage on MRI irrelevant to the index stroke, without acute lesions on diffusion-weighted image. Results:, Of the total 203 patients, 78 (39.4%) patients were observed as having unrecognized cerebral infarct. Patients with high-risk cardioembolic sources (e.g., atrial fibrillation) more frequently had unrecognized stroke than those without (P = 0.008, 21/36 [58.3%] vs. 57/167 [34.1%]). On univariate analysis, male sex (P = 0.027) and cardioembolic source (P = 0.008) were associated with the presence of unrecognized cerebral infarcts. After adjustment for gender, age and risk factors, the presence of cardioembolic sources independently increased the risk of unrecognized cerebral infarct (P = 0.002, odds ratio 3.56, 95% confidence interval 1.58,8.02). Regarding clinical outcome at 3 months, the presence of unrecognized cerebral infarct was not associated with the poor clinical outcome. Conclusion:, In our study, the presence of cardioembolic sources was an independent risk factor for the unrecognized cerebral infarct in patients with first-ever stroke. [source] Effects of attention and arousal on early responses in striate cortexEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 1 2005Vahe Poghosyan Abstract Humans employ attention to facilitate perception of relevant stimuli. Visual attention can bias the selection of a location in the visual field, a whole visual object or any visual feature of an object. Attention draws on both current behavioral goals and/or the saliency of physical attributes of a stimulus, and it influences activity of different brain regions at different latencies. Attentional effect in the striate and extrastriate cortices has been the subject of intense research interest in many recent studies. The consensus emerging from them places the first attentional effects in extrastriate areas, which in turn modulate activity of V1 at later latencies. In this view attention influences activity in striate cortex some 150 ms after stimulus onset. Here we use magnetoencephalography to compare brain responses to foveally presented identical stimuli under the conditions of passive viewing, when the stimuli are irrelevant to the subject and under an active GO/NOGO task, when the stimuli are cues instructing the subject to make or inhibit movement of his/her left or right index finger. The earliest striate activity was identified 40,45 ms after stimulus onset, and it was identical in passive and active conditions. Later striate response starting at about 70 ms and reaching a peak at about 100 ms showed a strong attentional modulation. Even before the striate cortex, activity of the right inferior parietal lobule was modulated by attention, suggesting this region as a candidate for mediating attentional signals to the striate cortex. [source] The evolutionary genetics of personality,EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2007Lars Penke Abstract Genetic influences on personality differences are ubiquitous, but their nature is not well understood. A theoretical framework might help, and can be provided by evolutionary genetics. We assess three evolutionary genetic mechanisms that could explain genetic variance in personality differences: selective neutrality, mutation-selection balance, and balancing selection. Based on evolutionary genetic theory and empirical results from behaviour genetics and personality psychology, we conclude that selective neutrality is largely irrelevant, that mutation-selection balance seems best at explaining genetic variance in intelligence, and that balancing selection by environmental heterogeneity seems best at explaining genetic variance in personality traits. We propose a general model of heritable personality differences that conceptualises intelligence as fitness components and personality traits as individual reaction norms of genotypes across environments, with different fitness consequences in different environmental niches. We also discuss the place of mental health in the model. This evolutionary genetic framework highlights the role of gene-environment interactions in the study of personality, yields new insight into the person-situation-debate and the structure of personality, and has practical implications for both quantitative and molecular genetic studies of personality. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Individual differences and social norms: the distinction between reciprocators and prosocialsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue S1 2001Marco Perugini Reciprocity is in this contribution compared with cooperation, hostility, and prosociality, in order to distinguish its peculiar theoretical and empirical characteristics. Two studies are presented. Study 1 (n,=,166) is based on the distinction between the mechanism of reciprocity and the consequent behaviour that this mechanism produces. It is shown that participants have a clear implicit theory of the personality traits underlying reciprocal behaviour, and these traits are well differentiated with respect to traits underlying cooperation and hostility. Study 2 (n,=,134) is based on the distinction between reciprocity as a goal and reciprocity as a strategy to achieve equality. Results show that individuals with high internalization of the norm of reciprocity allocate payoffs as a function of the valence of other's past behaviour, whereas this feature is irrelevant for individuals with high prosocial orientation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Sub-Constitutional Engineering: Negotiation, Content, and Legal Value of Interinstitutional Agreements in the EUEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006Isabella Eiselt Concretely speaking, these roles range from (a) explicitly authorised specifications of Treaty provisions via (b) not explicitly authorised specifications of vague Treaty law to (c) pure political undertaking. Based on the distinction between the constitutional and the operational level of the political game, we challenge the assumption that IIAs usually strengthen the European Parliament. As our case study, the 1993 interrelated package of IIAs on democracy, transparency and subsidiarity, illustrates, the European Parliament is not the only institution that benefits from IIAs, especially if they lack a sufficiently precise Treaty basis. Furthermore, if Treaty provisions underlying IIAs are precise, they also tend to produce precise and thus legally relevant content. Conversely, if IIAs deal primarily with elusive concepts they are likely to be legally ambiguous or even irrelevant at all. [source] An Anisotropic Model for Spatial ProcessesGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 1 2008Minfeng Deng One of the key assumptions in spatial econometric modeling is that the spatial process is isotropic, which means that direction is irrelevant in the specification of the spatial structure. On the one hand, this assumption largely reduces the complexity of the spatial models and facilitates estimation and interpretation; on the other hand, it appears rather restrictive and hard to justify in many empirical applications. In this article a very general anisotropic spatial model, which allows for a high level of flexibility in the spatial structure, is proposed. This new model can be estimated using maximum likelihood and its asymptotic properties are derived at length. When the model is applied to the well-known 1970 Boston housing prices data, it significantly outperforms the isotropic spatial lag model. It also provides interesting additional insights into the price determination process in the properties market. Finally, a Monte Carlo simulation study is used to confirm the optimal properties of the model. [source] Voluntary exercise induces anxiety-like behavior in adult C57BL/6J mice correlating with hippocampal neurogenesisHIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 3 2010Johannes Fuss Abstract Several studies investigated the effect of physical exercise on emotional behaviors in rodents; resulting findings however remain controversial. Despite the accepted notion that voluntary exercise alters behavior in the same manners as antidepressant drugs, several studies reported opposite or no effects at all. In an attempt to evaluate the effect of physical exercise on emotional behaviors and brain plasticity, we individually housed C57BL/6J male mice in cages equipped with a running wheel. Three weeks after continuous voluntary running we assessed their anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Tests included openfield, dark-light-box, elevated O-maze, learned helplessness, and forced swim test. We measured corticosterone metabolite levels in feces collected over a 24-h period and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in several brain regions. Furthermore, cell proliferation and adult hippocampal neurogenesis were assessed using Ki67 and Doublecortin. Voluntary wheel running induced increased anxiety in the openfield, elevated O-maze, and dark-light-box and higher levels of excreted corticosterone metabolites. We did not observe any antidepressant effect of running despite a significant increase of hippocampal neurogenesis and BDNF. These data are thus far the first to indicate that the effect of physical exercise in mice may be ambiguous. On one hand, the running-induced increase of neurogenesis and BDNF seems to be irrelevant in tests for depression-like behavior, at least in the present model where running activity exceeded previous reports. On the other hand, exercising mice display a more anxious phenotype and are exposed to higher levels of stress hormones such as corticosterone. Intriguingly, numbers of differentiating neurons correlate significantly with anxiety parameters in the openfield and dark-light-box. We therefore conclude that adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a crucial player in the genesis of anxiety. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The effects of spatial configuration on preschoolers' attention strategies, selective attention, and incidental learningINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2005Fran C. Blumberg Abstract This study investigated the effects of spatial arrangement on preschool children's selective attention and incidental learning. Three- and four-year old children were shown a multi-coloured box designated as a ,special place' containing miniature chairs and models of animals. One category of objects were designated as relevant and one as irrelevant. Relevant items were placed in each of the apparatus' corners, in the middle of its walls, or in two corners and in the middle of two walls. Findings revealed that children shown relevant items in corners demonstrated the greatest number of correct relocations for relevant items while those shown relevant items in the middle of the walls showed the greatest number of correct relocations for irrelevant items. Findings also suggest that for both age groups, the ability to recall relevant items may have been independent of their ability to demonstrate a selective attention strategy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Principal-Agent Problems in Humanitarian Intervention: Moral Hazards, Adverse Selection, and the Commitment DilemmaINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2009Robert W. Rauchhaus A number of recent studies have concluded that humanitarian intervention can produce unintended consequences that reduce or completely undermine conflict management efforts. Some analysts have argued that the incentive structure produced by third parties is a form of moral hazard. This paper evaluates the utility of moral hazard theory and a second type of principal-agent problem known as adverse selection. Whereas moral hazards occur when an insured party has an opportunity to take hidden action once a contract is in effect, adverse selection is the result of asymmetric information prior to entering into a contract. Failing to distinguish between these two types of principal-agent problems may lead to policy advice that is irrelevant or potentially harmful. Along with introducing the concept of adverse selection to the debate on humanitarian intervention, this study identifies a commitment dilemma that explains why third parties operating in weakly institutionalized environments may be unable to punish groups that take advantage of intervention. [source] Truth-Seeking, Truth-Telling, and Postconflict Peacebuilding: Curb the Enthusiasm?,INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 3 2004David Mendeloff This essay evaluates popular and scholarly claims about the peace-promoting benefits of formal truth-telling and truth-seeking mechanisms in the aftermath of civil wars. Its purpose is twofold. First, it synthesizes and clearly articulates in one place the full range of claims about the relationship between truth-telling and peacebuilding. Second, it evaluates these claims by systematically examining the core factual and theoretical assumptions on which they are based. An argument is made that many such claims,and their core assumptions,are flawed or highly contentious as well as that truth-telling advocates claim far more about the power of truth-telling than logic or evidence dictates. This is not to say that truth-telling has no role to play in preventing the resumption of violent conflict in postwar societies, only that proponents likely overstate its importance. Before proclaiming the necessity of truth commissions or trials in the aftermath of violent conflict, we need to better understand how truth-telling prevents the recurrence of civil war, how important it is relative to other factors and other peacebuilding strategies, and when it is likely to prove helpful, harmful, or irrelevant. [source] An AHP/DEA methodology for ranking decision making unitsINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2000Z. Sinuany-Stern Abstract This paper presents a two-stage model for fully ranking organizational units where each unit has multiple inputs and outputs. In the first stage, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is run for each pair of units separately. In the second stage, the pairwise evaluation matrix generated in the first stage is utilized to rank scale the units via the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). The consistency of this AHP/DEA evaluation can be tested statistically. Its goodness of fit with the DEA classification (to efficient/inefficient) can also be tested using non-parametric tests. Both DEA and AHP are commonly used in practice. Both have limitations. The hybrid model AHP/DEA takes the best of both models, by avoiding the pitfalls of each. The nonaxiomatic utility theory limitations of AHP are irrelevant here: since we are working with given inputs and outputs of units, no subjective assessment of a decision maker evaluation is involved. AHP/DEA ranking does not replace the DEA classification model, rather it furthers the analysis by providing full ranking in the DEA context for all units, efficient and inefficient. [source] Globalizing Ethics: Social Technologies of Private Regulation and the South African Wine IndustryJOURNAL OF AGRARIAN CHANGE, Issue 3 2002Andries Du Toit This paper discusses of some key issues arising from South African experience of the UK-based Ethical Trading Initiative's (ETI) pilot project in the monitoring of compliance codes of conduct for product sourcing. The paper argues that the experience of ,local stakeholder participation' in the ETI's pilot project in the South African wine industry raises serious questions about the appropriateness and efficacy of ,ethical sourcing' as a vehicle for creative global,local engagement. It explores key elements of the globalizing ,technologies of ethics' deployed by projects like the ETI, and argues that these may simply normalize and regularize power relations in trade between North and South. These limitations are particularly serious in light of the course of labour market restructuring in South Africa, which has reshaped agricultural employment in ways that limit the ability of employment standards to address real difficulties faced by agricultural workers. This does not render ,ethical sourcing' irrelevant, nor does it mean that it can be read as simply securing retailer interests. It does mean, however, that a key question facing ,Southern' organizations and their allies is how to increase the scope for engagement and contestation around the implementation of such initiatives. [source] Allen Denver Russell Memorial Lecture, 2006JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006The use of microbiocides in infection control: a critical look at safety, applications, testing Abstract Microbial pathogens continue as major threats to health. Indeed, many ongoing societal changes are enhancing our vulnerability and exposure to several frank and opportunistic pathogens. This, together with rampant antimicrobial resistance and reduced prospects for newer drugs and vaccines, is forcing a higher reliance on microbiocides in infection prevention and control. That this reliance may not be well-founded becomes apparent from a closer look at current ways of testing and registering microbiocides, their label claims as well as human and environmental safety of certain widely used microbicidal chemicals. Many methods to test microbiocides for registration are flawed and/or entail test conditions irrelevant to field use. Pathogens listed on product labels may not be among those amenable to interruption through microbiocide use. The wide variations and discrepancies in existing national/regional regulations for registering microbiocides for sale stifle innovation. This is a critical look at the above-mentioned issues with emphasis on chemicals meant for use on environmental surfaces and medical devices. It highlights better ways to test microbiocides and to attain global harmonization of testing and product registration. It also details the known and potential dangers of microbiocide use and what to consider in choosing such formulations for optimal safety and effectiveness. End users are advised to be more critical and prudent in the selection and application of microbicidal chemicals, manufacturers are encouraged to explore infection control products and technologies that are safer in the workplace and for the environment, and regulators are urged to review and update the requirements and procedures for premarket review of microbiocide efficacy data and label claims. Independent investigations are also urgently needed to document the proportion of nosocomial infections that would be amenable to prevention through chemical disinfection of environmental surfaces. [source] Persons with Disabilities as Parents: What is the Problem?JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 4 2008Hans S. Reinders Background, This paper discusses the recent debate on parenting by people with intellectual disabilities in the Netherlands. By and large this debate has been dominated by disastrous examples of child abuse and neglect in families where one or both parents have a disability. Feeding on horror stories the media have construed the issue as one of moral and legal constraint: should people with disabilities be allowed to have children? In view of this construal, many professionals in the field have rejected the debate as irrelevant. In their view the issue is about support, not about constraint. Aim, The national organization for self-advocacy in The Netherlands has claimed the right to parenting based on the principle of equal citizenship. This paper aims at (1) reconstructing and (2) evaluating the positions taken in the Dutch debate since its incipience in 2002, particularly with regard to this principle. Method, A philosophical reconstruction of how the moral principle of equal citizenship structured the Dutch debate on parenting by people with intellectual disabilities, in particular with regard to the nation of ,good enough parenting'. Conclusion, The analysis shows how the principle of equal citizenship guided research in The Netherlands and how it is crucial in criticizing negative responses that depend on stereotyping of people with intellectual disabilities as parents. It indicates how in at least two instances, these responses can be shown to constitute a case of discrimination against these people. [source] Implications of Components of Income Excluded from Pro Forma Earnings for Future Profitability and Equity ValuationJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 3-4 2007Wayne R. Landsman Abstract:, This study addresses three research questions relating to total exclusions, special items, and other exclusions. Are each of these pro forma exclusion components forecasting irrelevant? Are each of the exclusion components value irrelevant? Are the valuation multiples on the exclusion components justified by their ability to forecast future profitability as predicted by the Ohlson (1999) model? Findings are generally consistent with the market-inefficiency results presented in Doyle et al. (2003). Total exclusions are valued negatively by the market despite the prediction that total exclusions will be valued positively. Valuation results also suggest that stocks with positive other exclusions are overpriced. [source] Callahan fails to meet the burden of proof for Thought Field Therapy claimsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2005Monica PignottiArticle first published online: 4 NOV 200 Callahan's response evades the key issues raised by merely restating and elaborating upon what has already been said, providing citations that are out of context and irrelevant to the issues at hand, and misrepresenting what was actually said by his critics and me and the authors of articles he cites. He spends paragraphs refuting "straw men." He provides additional anecdotes, which offer no convincing evidence for his claims. His critics have expressed concern that Callahan and Thought Field Therapy (TFT) proponents will cite his response article, as published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, to promote TFT, as TFT proponents have repeatedly done for the non-peer-reviewed earlier issue devoted to TFT. Callahan has been given an unprecedented opportunity to present his work in a reputable journal without prior peer review and has failed to meet the burden of proof for his claims, thus undermining his own claim, that his work has been rejected solely as a result of bias against innovation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [source] Public health in the undergraduate medical curriculum , can we achieve integration?JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2000David H. Stone MD, FFPHM, FRCP (Glasg) Abstract Public health is widely regarded by medical students as peripheral or even irrelevant to the acquisition of clinical knowledge and skills. This paper attempts to set out some of the reasons for this, to encourage innovative approaches to integrating public health with clinical teaching and to offer a theoretical framework of integrated public health education for curriculum development and evaluation. The points of convergence between public health and clinical practice should not be regarded as self-evident. A practical demonstration of the application of public health principles to clinical problem solving may be the most effective means of overcoming resistance. Almost anywhere that clinical services are provided is suitable for this purpose. Community clinics, health centres or general practices have obvious appeal but acute hospitals have important advantages arising from students' preoccupation with clinical medicine. The main aim of integrated public health teaching is to facilitate the students' acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that promote the effective application of public health approaches to clinical practice. The interrelationships between clinical practice and public health may be represented in the form of a grid. The vertical headings are the clinical skills that relate to the different stages of the natural history of disease , from the pre-disease state through diagnosis, treatment and follow up. The horizontal headings describe four key public health dimensions: epidemiology, behaviour/lifestyle, environment and health policy. The text in the boxes suggests appropriate topics for discussion. The grid is also potentially useful for course documentation and content evaluation. [source] Rapid bioconcentration of steroids in the plasma of three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus exposed to waterborne testosterone and 17,-oestradiolJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007R. J. Maunder The relationship over time between the concentrations of two steroids, singly and in combination, in a static exposure system and in the blood of three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, held within the exposure system was investigated. Groups of three-spined stickleback were exposed (nominally) to either 1000 ng l,1 17,-oestradiol (E2), testosterone (T) or E2 and T in combination at the same concentrations for 6 days. Both water and fish were sampled at intervals and steroid concentrations in both compartments were determined. The plasma steroid time profile revealed a rapid bioconcentration within the first 6 h of exposure. The plasma steroid levels attained at this time point (20,90 ng ml,1) were up to 50-fold (E2) and 200-fold (T) greater than the actual levels of steroid measured in the exposure water, while levels in the blood of control fish did not exceed 4 ng ml,1. The substantial elevation of plasma steroid levels relative to the concentrations of steroid to which the fish were exposed in the ambient water gives scope for delivery of the steroids to target endocrine tissues at levels far in excess of what might be predicted on the basis of passive branchial uptake alone. These results are discussed in relation to endocrine disruption, and in particular the occurrence of effects in fish exposed to levels of endocrine active substances that are seemingly physiologically irrelevant. [source] The ,partnership' between international NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and local NGOs in BangladeshJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2006Mokbul Morshed Ahmad Abstract ,Partnership' has become a standard buzzword in the NGO and ,development' world. Until 1980s it was common for many Northern NGOs (NNGOs) to implement their own ,development' programmes and projects. This implementation approach has shifted to one in which local ,partner' organisations are identified and do most of the work, with the NNGOs in a funding and organisational support role. Also many Northern donors started funding the Southern NGOs directly making many NNGOs irrelevant. This paper reviews the current literature on ,partnership' between Northern and Southern NGOs and concludes that the new role of the NNGOs in the North should be to work with governments and business to change policies which create poverty in both the North and the South. It also examines the ,partnership' between a NNGO (Save the Children (UK)) and local NGOs in Bangladesh. There are probably more and bigger NGOs in Bangladesh than in any other country of its size. This paper concludes that in Bangladesh the relationship is led by the financial constraints of the NNGOs not by any intention to build partnership. In other words it is ,donorship' rather than ,partnership'. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||