Major Achievements (major + achievement)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Selim's Sisters: Muslim Women in Novels by Uwe Timm and Hermann Schulz

GERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 1 2010
Monika Albrecht
ABSTRACT Against the backdrop of the fact that German writers with a German background do not seem to be very interested in casting Germans with a migrant background as their literary characters, this paper focuses on two of the rare exceptions that deal with Muslim women of Turkish origin, Uwe Timm's,Rot,(2001) and Hermann Schulz's,Iskender,(1999). In discussing these novels, I am mostly interested in the way these writers take part in current debates on Muslims in Western societies and in how they engage in their specific vision of a multicultural Germany. The results are at least twofold; on the one hand one has to conclude that both Hermann Schulz and Uwe Timm are dividing Muslims into good and bad, desired and not desired; on the other hand their novels also provide facets of a counter image and introduce largely unfamiliar aspects , which can count as a major achievement in the light of the prevailing idea of the Islamic world in the imagination of the German public. Ethnische Minderheiten sind selten in Werken von einheimischen Schriftstellern zu finden. Vor diesem Hintergrund konzentriert sich der vorliegende Essay auf zwei der wenigen Ausnahmen, Uwe Timms Roman,Rot,(2001) and Hermann Schulz',Iskender,(1999), in denen türkisch-muslimische Frauen Teil des literarischen Ensembles sind. Das Interesse gilt insbesondere der Art und Weise, wie ihre Autoren an gegenwärtigen Debatten über Muslime in westlichen Gesellschaften Teil haben, und es wird nach ihrer Vision eines multikulturellen Deutschland gefragt, wie es in den Texten zum Ausdruck kommt. Dabei fällt auf, dass Muslime sowohl bei Hermann Schulz als auch bei Uwe Timm in gute und schlechte, erwünschte und weniger erwünschte aufgeteilt werden. Andererseits entwerfen die Romane jedoch auch Gegenbilder und beziehen Aspekte ein, die der Mehrheit der Deutschen nicht vertraut sind , was angesichts gängiger Vorstellungen über die islamische Lebenswelt als bemerkenswerter Beitrag zur Multikulturalismusdebatte gelten kann. [source]


A Parliamentary Victory: The British Labour Party and Irish Republican Deportees, 1923

PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY, Issue 2 2010
IVAN GIBBONS
After the 1918 general election the Labour Party became the official opposition party at Westminster. In response to the growing Irish republican campaign to establish an independent Irish state the Labour Party had to re-assess its relationship with Irish nationalism. The Labour Party was now acutely conscious that it was on the verge of forming a government and was concerned to be seen by the British electorate as a responsible, moderate and patriotic government-in-waiting. Although it had traditionally supported Irish demands for home rule and was vehemently opposed to the partition of Ireland, the Labour Party became increasingly wary of any closer relationship with extreme Irish nationalism which it believed would only damage its rapidly improving electoral prospects. Therefore the Labour Party supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 even though it underpinned the partition of Ireland and sought to distance itself from any association with Irish republicanism as the new Irish Free State drifted into civil war. In early 1923 the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) alighted upon the new issue of the arrest and deportation without trial, to the Irish Free State, of Irish republicans living in Britain who were obviously British citizens. The attraction of this campaign for the Labour Party was that it enabled the party to portray itself as the defender of Irish people living in Britain without having to take sides in the Irish civil war. In addition the Labour Party was able to present itself as the protector of civil liberties in Britain against the excesses of an overweening and authoritarian Conservative government. One of the main reasons the issue was progressed so energetically on the floor of the House by the new PLP was because it now contained many Independent Labour Party (ILP) ,Red Clydesiders' who themselves had been interned without trial during the First World War. Through brilliant and astute use of parliamentary tactics Bonar Law's Conservative government was forced into an embarrassing climb-down which required the cobbling together of an Indemnity Bill which gave tory ministers retrospective legal protection for having exceeded their authority. By any standard, it was a major achievement by a novice opposition party. It enhanced the party's reputation and its growing sophistication in the use of parliamentary tactics benefited it electorally at the next election which led to the first Labour government. [source]


Recombinant therapeutic proteins: Production platforms and challenges

BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, Issue 1 2008
Theo Dingermann ProfessorArticle first published online: 27 NOV 200
Abstract Since the approval of insulin in 1982, more than 120 recombinant drug substances have been approved and become available as extremely valuable therapeutic options. Exact copying of the most common human form is no longer a value per se, as challenges, primarily related to the pharmacokinetics of artificial recombinant drugs, can be overcome by diverging from the original. However, relatively minor changes in manufacturing or packaging may impact safety of therapeutic proteins. A major achievement is the development of recombinant proteins capable of entering a cell. Such drugs open up completely new opportunities by targeting intracellular mechanisms or by substituting intracellularly operating enzymes. Concerns that protein variants would cause an intolerable immune response turned out to be exaggerated. Although most recombinant drugs provoke some immune response, they are still well tolerated. This knowledge might result in a change in attitude towards antibody formation, i.e., neutralizing antibody activity (in vitro) may be overcome by dosing consistently on the basis of antibody titers and not only on body weight. As with other drugs, efficacy and safety of therapeutic proteins have to be demonstrated in clinical studies, and superiority over available products has to be proven instead of just claimed. [source]


The Challenge to Social Work

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2001
Anne Hollows
The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families signifies a major achievement in the development of a coherent approach to promoting the welfare of children while safeguarding them from harm. In this article, the aspirations of the Framework are considered, with particular focus on the challenges posed by the Framework, not only to the practice of social workers but also to the status of the social work profession. The area of professional judgement making is discussed, along with the threats to the effective implementation of the Framework. The author concludes that the Framework could bring about not only a better deal for children and families service users, but a new era of professional respect for social workers. [source]


EARLY INTELLECTUAL INFLUENCES ON D. W. MEINIG: A FORMER STUDENT'S FOND MEMORIES,

GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 3 2009
BRUCE BIGELOW
ABSTRACT. As an undergraduate and graduate student in the 1940s and a young professor at the University of Utah in the 1950s, D. W. Meinig was influenced by a number of scholars. They included six historians, three geographers, two anthropologists, and two philosophers. I identify the influence of the thirteen scholars on Meinig's major achievements: the culture area model, geography as an art, the historical imperative for geography, cultures and civilizations, and geopolitics and imperialism. [source]


Quantum computing measurement and intelligence

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2010
Zoheir Ezziane
Abstract One of the grand challenges in the nanoscopic computing era is guarantees of robustness. Robust computing system design is confronted with quantum physical, probabilistic, and even biological phenomena, and guaranteeing high-reliability is much more difficult than ever before. Scaling devices down to the level of single electron operation will bring forth new challenges due to probabilistic effects and uncertainty in guaranteeing "zero-one" based computing. Minuscule devices imply billions of devices on a single chip, which may help mitigate the challenge of uncertainty by replication and redundancy. However, such device densities will create a design and validation nightmare with the sheer scale. The questions that confront computer engineers regarding the current status of nanocomputing material and the reliability of systems built from such minuscule devices are difficult to articulate and answer. This article illustrates and discusses two types of quantum algorithms as follows: (1) a simple quantum algorithm and (2) a quantum search algorithm. This article also presents a review of recent advances in quantum computing and intelligence and presents major achievements and obstacles for researchers in the near future. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010 [source]


X-Ray laser: past, present, and future

LASER PHYSICS LETTERS, Issue 6 2009
S. Suckewer
Abstract In this review we concentrate our attention on X-ray laser research and development covering the so called soft X-ray region (down to , 10 nm) and the "water window" region (down to 2.3 , 4.4 nm). We present the development of soft X-ray lasers (SXLs) and their applications using primarily collisional and recombination schemes. We present the paths towards compact systems and major achievements to date. We discuss conditions for using both schemes to reach the "water window" region. In this discussion we also present another possible schemes based on photo-pumping, inner shell transitions in atoms and ions and "Doppler Compression" of IR laser radiation down to the X-ray region with its intrinsic tunability possibility. A significant part of the review is dedicated to the wide range of applications of SXLs with wavelengths at and above 10 nm. Also discussed is the potential of extending the range of biological applications for the "water window" region. (© 2009 by Astro Ltd., Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA) [source]


Chinese Nationalism and Sino,Japanese Relations

PACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 2 2008
Jing-Dong Yuan
Contemporary Chinese nationalism has its roots in the country's nation-building and identity-forming movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that sought to establish China's place in the community of nations. Today, nationalism in China can be characterized as falling into two major categories. On the one hand, there is nationalism embedded in patriotism with great pride in China's civilization, major achievements, and confidence in the country's future in embracing and meeting the challenges of globalization. On the other hand, there is the sentimental nationalism that reacts to what is perceived as injustice and insult done to China and has a strong victim mentality. The domestic discourse of nationalism can be influenced by government propaganda, intellectual debates, populous display of emotion and repulsion, or a mixture of all three. As China continues to grow in economic power and political influence, how nationalism is handled can have a significant impact on relations with its neighbors and beyond. [source]


Harry Moss Traquair (1875,1954), Scottish ophthalmologist and perimetrist

ACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 4 2009
Andrzej Grzybowski
Abstract. Harry Moss Traquair (1875,1954) was an Edinburgh Ophthalmologist, who was especially involved in the studies of perimetry and neuro-ophthalmology. In his monumental work, An Introduction to Clinical Perimetry, which for years was the standard textbook of perimetry, he included the description of the visual field as "an island of vision or hill of vision surrounded by a sea of blindness". His name continues to be recalled in the use of the term "Traquair Junctional Scotoma". In this history of Ophthalmology research, Traquair's life and work, including his major achievements, are discussed. [source]


Coming of Age: Sustainable Iron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions

CHEMSUSCHEM CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY & MATERIALS, Issue 5 2009
Waldemar Maximilian Czaplik
Abstract Iron-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions have, over the past years, developed to maturity and today are an integral part of the organic chemist's toolkit. They benefit from low costs, operational simplicity, and high reactivity and thus constitute the "green" sister of the palladium and nickel establishment. This timely Review traces back major achievements, discusses their mechanistic background, and highlights numerous applications to molecular synthesis. Iron-catalyzed carbon,carbon bond-forming reactions have matured to an indispensable class of reactions in organic synthesis. The advent of economically and ecologically attractive iron catalysts in the past years has stepped up the competition with the established palladium and nickel catalyst systems that have dominated the field for more than 30 years, but suffer from high costs, toxicity, and sometimes low reactivity. Iron-catalyzed protocols do not merely benefit from economic advantages but entertain a rich manifold of reactivity patterns and tolerate various functional groups. The past years have witnessed a rapid development with ever-more-efficient protocols for the cross-coupling between alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, and acyl moieties becoming available to organic chemists. This Review intends to shed light onto the versatility that iron-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions offer, summarize major achievements, and clear the way for further use of such superior methodologies in the synthesis of fine chemicals, bioactive molecules, and materials. [source]