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Vantage Point (vantage + point)
Kinds of Vantage Point Selected AbstractsGlobal Standards, Local Realities: Private Agrifood Governance and the Restructuring of the Kenyan Horticulture IndustryECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2010Stefan Ouma abstract Over the past decade, private food safety and quality standards have become focal points in the supply chain management of large retailers, reshaping governance patterns in global agrifood chains. In this article, I analyze the relationship between private collective standards and the governance of agrifood markets, using the EUREPGAP/GLOBALGAP standard as a vantage point. I discuss the impact of this standard on the organization of supply chains of fresh vegetables in the Kenyan horticulture industry, focusing on the supply chain relationships and practices among exporters and smallholder farmers. In so doing, I seek to highlight the often-contested nature of the implementation of standards in social fields that are marked by different and distributed principles of evaluating quality, production processes, and legitimate actions in the marketplace. I also reconstruct the challenges and opportunities that exporters and farmers are facing with regard to the implementation of and compliance with standards. Finally, I elaborate on the scope for action that producers and policymakers have under these structures to retain sectoral competitiveness in a global economy of qualities. [source] A Brief Commentary on the Hegelian-Marxist Origins of Gramsci's ,Philosophy of Praxis'EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 6 2009Debbie J Hill Abstract The specific nuances of what Gramsci names ,the new dialectic' are explored in this paper. The dialectic was Marx's specific ,mode of thought' or ,method of logic' as it has been variously called, by which he analyzed the world and man's relationship to that world. As well as constituting a theory of knowledge (epistemology), what arises out of the dialectic is also an ontology or portrait of humankind that is based on the complete historicization of humanity; its ,absolute "historicism"' or ,the absolute secularisation and earthliness of thought', as Gramsci worded it (Gramsci, 1971, p. 465). Embracing a fully secular and historical view of humanity, it provides a vantage point that allows the multiple and complex effects of our own conceptual heritage to be interrogated in relation to our developing ,nature' or ,being'. The argument presented in this paper is that the legacy of both Hegel and Marx is manifest in the depth of Gramsci's comprehension of what he termed the ,educative-formative' problem of hegemony. It is precisely the legacy of this Hegelian-Marxist radical philosophical critique that is signified in his continuing commitment to the ,philosophy of praxis' and the historical-dialectical principles that underpin this worldview. [source] THE SCHOOL AS AN EXCEPTIONAL SPACE: RETHINKING EDUCATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE BIOPEDAGOGICALEDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 2 2006Tyson E. LewisArticle first published online: 3 MAY 200 Agamben's theory of the camp provides a challenging, critical vantage point for looking at the ambiguities that emerge from the complex field of disciplinary procedures now prevalent in inner-city, low-income, minority schools, and helps to clarify what exactly is at stake in the symbolic and sometimes physical violence of schooling. Key to understanding the primary relation between camp and classroom is Agamben's framework of the biopolitical, which paradoxically includes life as a political concern through its exclusion from the political sphere. Here Lewis appropriates Agamben's terminology in order to theorize the biopedagogical, wherein educational life is included in schooling through its abandonment. For Lewis, the theory of the camp is necessary to recognizing how schools function and, in turn, how they could function differently. [source] Where Mourning Takes Them: Migrants, Borders, and an Alternative RealityETHOS, Issue 2 2010David P. Sandell Mourning, family members and acquaintances indicate, is an indefinite process revealed through figurative representations: metaphor and metonym. Mourning as metaphor associates an actual death with instances of loss that occur in other semantic domains,the household, motherhood, and gender constructions. As a metonym, mourning stands for these instances, which, collectively, account for a substratum of social life that is not amenable to logical criticism but persists in the formation of perception and judgment. This dialectic highlights epistemological and ontological borders that provide insight into people's dispositions within the conditions of poverty and wage labor. The borders also provide a vantage point for novel identification, ethical orientation, and behavior that come to shape an alternative reality. [mourning, migration, identity, poetics, Mexico] [source] Rat anterodorsal thalamic head direction neurons depend upon dynamic visual signals to select anchoring landmark cuesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 2 2004Michaël B. Zugaro Abstract Head direction cells, which are functionally coupled to ,place' cells of the hippocampus, a structure critically involved in spatial cognition, are likely neural substrates for the sense of direction. Here we studied the mechanism by which head direction cells are principally anchored to background visual cues [M.B. Zugaro et al. (2001) J. Neurosci., 21, RC154,1,5]. Anterodorsal thalamic head direction cells were recorded while the rat foraged on a small elevated platform in a 3-m diameter cylindrical enclosure. A large card was placed in the background, near the curtain, and a smaller card was placed in the foreground, near the platform. The cards were identically marked, proportionally dimensioned, subtended the same visual angles from the central vantage point and separated by 90°. The rat was then disoriented in darkness, the cards were rotated by 90° in opposite directions about the center and the rat was returned. Preferred directions followed either the background card, foreground card or midpoint between the two cards. In continuous lighting, preferred directions shifted to follow the background cue in most cases (30 of the 53 experiments, Batschelet V -test, P < 0.01). Stroboscopic illumination, which perturbs dynamic visual signals (e.g. motion parallax), blocked this selectivity. Head direction cells remained equally anchored to the background card, foreground card or configuration of the two cards (Watson test, P > 0.1). This shows that dynamic visual signals are critical in distinguishing typically more stable background cues which govern spatial neuronal responses and orientation behaviors. [source] The capture and gratuitous disposal of resources by plantsFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2001Thomas H. Summary 1,Every plant will die if light, water or nutrients are withheld for long enough. It is natural to think of plants in general as having evolved a strong drive for resource acquisition as a survival mechanism. All else being equal, an individual that sequesters more material from the environment than its neighbour must be at a competitive advantage. 2,But the resource capture imperative seems at odds with the profligacy of some characteristic developmental and metabolic processes in many plants. Here, using leaf senescence as a vantage point, we consider whether a kind of wilful inefficiency of resource use may not be essential for success as a terrestrial autotroph. [source] ISOLATING CONNECTIONS , CONNECTING ISOLATIONSGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2009Eric Clark ABSTRACT. The varied and distinct ways we connect can facilitate or impose isolation, our own or someone else's. Different forms of isolation are themselves interconnected and sometimes enrich our connecting. The relation between isolation and connection, we argue, is one of complementarity, like Calvino's ,two inseparable and complementary functions of life ,syntony, or participation in the world around us , [and] focalization or constructive concentration.' Solitude sought can enhance connections. Imposed isolation weakens connections in ways both obvious and subtle. This contrast between sought and imposed underscores the influence of hierarchy and socially produced inequities, excesses of which fragment the social ties that could constrain or diminish these same inequities. Deep inequity degrades the quality of both connections and isolation, at significant costs to our health, ecology, economy, cultural diversity, and political vitality. From this vantage point, we cull ways to improve our syntony and our focalization, fulfilling by expressing those shared egalitarian moral sentiments that motivate connections of solidarity partly in the interest of being "left alone". [source] Decolonising, Multiplicities and Mining in the Eastern Goldfields, Western AustraliaGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003Leah M. Gibbs In this ,postcolonial' era, peoples and places around the globe continue to face ongoing colonisation. Indigenous peoples in particular experience colonisation in numerous forms. Despite recent attempts to ,decolonise' indigenous spaces, hegemonic systems of production, governance and thinking often perpetuate colonial structures and relationships, resulting in further entrenched colonisation or ,deep colonising' (Rose, 1999). The interface between indigenous communities and the mining industry provides fertile ground for the tensions emerging between decolonising and deep colonising. Gold mining operations at Placer Dome's Granny Smith mine in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia present a valuable case study for examining this tension. Changes taking place at the mine site are decolonising in intent, though outcomes may be deep colonising in effect. Recent discussions among cultural geographers over meanings of place, Ollman's (1993) notion of vantage point and a broadly postcolonial literature inform consideration of this tension. Acknowledgment and incorporation of multiple vantage points into new resource management systems allows current hegemonic approaches to be rethought, and provides insights for the shift towards genuinely decolonising processes. [source] Satellite Precipitation Measurements for Water Resource Monitoring,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2009Chris Kidd Abstract:, Satellites offer an unrivaled vantage point to observe and measure Earth system processes and parameters. Observations of meteorological phenomena permit a more holistic view of the weather and climate that is not possible through conventional surface observations. Precipitation (rain and snow) in particular, benefit from such observations since precipitation is spatially and temporally highly variable: conventional gauge and radar measurements tend to be land-based with variable coverage. This paper provides an overview of the satellite systems that provide the observations, the techniques used to derive precipitation from the observations, and examples of the precipitation products available for users to access. [source] Eliminating unconscionability in assessing mandatory clauses by deploying the ,vantage point of public policy'ALTERNATIVES TO THE HIGH COST OF LITIGATION, Issue 3 2006Paul Bennett Marrow Paul Bennett Marrow, of Chappaqua, N.Y., describes why analyzing arbitration clauses with an unconscionability standard doesn't provide useful precedent, and why courts should look to public policy in reviewing contract terms. [source] Employee experiences with volunteersNONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 4 2010Assessment, antecedents, description, outcomes Volunteers frequently serve public and nonprofit organizations, among them libraries, parks and recreation departments, social service groups, and religious organizations. Research on volunteers and volunteerism traditionally focuses on antecedents to volunteering and outcomes for volunteers. In this study, we attempt to build on the existing literature by examining the volunteer experience from the paid employee's vantage point. Using a sample of employees who work alongside volunteers in animal care organizations (N = 270), we examine how employees described the volunteers with whom they interact. Although these assessments were generally positive, there was considerable variability. This appears to be explained, in part, by each organization's volunteer resources management practices. Results also indicate that employees who reported less satisfactory experiences with volunteers also reported being more stressed, overworked, and less committed to the organization, and having a greater intention to quit. Importantly, these results held up even after controlling for general job satisfaction. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed. [source] Pale, poor, and ,pretubercular' children: a history of pediatric antituberculosis efforts in France, Germany, and the United States, 1899,1929NURSING INQUIRY, Issue 3 2004Cynthia Connolly An international consensus emerged in the years between 1900 and 1910 regarding the need to refocus antituberculosis efforts away from treating tuberculosis in adults and toward preventing active disease in children. This paper uses social history as a framework to explore pediatric health experiments in France (foster placement of city children with rural farm families), Germany (open-air schools), and the United States (preventorium) for children considered ,pretubercular'. The scientific, social, and political variables that reshaped prevailing ideas and practice with regard to TB prevention during those years are described. The creation of the first preventorium in the United States is explained and the way in which French and German pediatric prevention strategies were adapted to address a specific population considered at high risk in the United States, indigent immigrants, is detailed. For each of these three nations, nurses were central actors. Their efforts provide a unique vantage point to study the cultural dimensions of risk and prevention embedded in nursing care and the interplay between science, culture, nurses, and the state. [source] Host density predicts presence of cuckoo parasitism in reed warblersOIKOS, Issue 6 2007Bård G. Stokke In some hosts of avian brood parasites, several populations apparently escape parasitism, while others are parasitized. Many migratory specialist brood parasites like common cuckoos, Cuculus canorus, experience a short breeding season, and in order to maintain local parasite populations host densities should be sufficiently high to allow efficient nest search. However, no studies have investigated the possible effect of host density on presence of cuckoo parasitism among populations of a single host species. Here, we investigated possible predictors of common cuckoo parasitism in 16 populations of reed warblers, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, across Europe. In more detail, we quantified the effect of host density, number of host breeding pairs, habitat type, mean distance to nearest cuckoo vantage point, predation rate and latitude on the presence of cuckoo parasitism while controlling for geographical distance among study populations. Host density was a powerful predictor of parasitism. We also found a less pronounced effect of habitat type on occurrence of parasitism, while the other variables did not explain why cuckoos utilize some reed warbler populations and not others. This is the first study focusing on patterns of common cuckoo-host interactions within a specific host species on a large geographic scale. The results indicate that if host density is below a specific threshold, cuckoo parasitism is absent regardless of the state of other potentially confounding variables. [source] Evolutionary adaptation to high altitude: A view from in utero,AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Colleen Glyde Julian A primary focus within biological anthropology has been to elucidate the processes of evolutionary adaptation. Frisancho helped to move anthropology towards more mechanistic explanations of human adaptation by drawing attention to the importance of the functional relevance of human variation. Using the natural laboratory of high altitude, he and others asked whether the unique physiology of indigenous high-altitude residents was the result of acclimatization, developmental plasticity, and/or genetic adaptation in response to the high-altitude environment. We approach the question of human adaptation to high altitude from a somewhat unique vantage point; namely, by examining physiological characteristics,pregnancy and pregnancy outcome,which are closely associated with reproductive fitness. Here we review the potent example of high-altitude native population's resistance to hypoxia-associated reductions in birth weight, which is often associated with higher infant morbidity and mortality at high altitude. With the exception of two recent publications, these comparative birth weight studies have utilized surnames, self-identification, and/or linguistic characteristics to assess ancestry, and none have linked ,advantageous' phenotypes to specific genetic variations. Recent advancements in genetic and statistical tools have enabled us to assess individual ancestry with higher resolution, identify the genetic basis of complex phenotypes and to infer the effect of natural selection on specific gene regions. Using these technologies our studies are now directed to determine the genetic variations that underlie the mechanisms by which high-altitude ancestry protects fetal growth and, in turn, to further our understanding of evolutionary processes involved in human adaptation to high altitude. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Legal Formality and Freedom of Choice.RATIO JURIS, Issue 1 2002A Moral Perspective on Jhering's Constructivism In this article it is argued that Jhering's conception of legal formality, which became notorious for being the most extreme expression of conceptualism, makes sense if it is recast as a theory of rights. It is from this vantage point that Jhering's later methodological self-critique becomes intelligible in which he mitigated the strains of conceptual constructivism by reflecting on the value of choice granted by a system of rights. [source] Launch Decisions and New Product Success: An Empirical Comparison of Consumer and Industrial ProductsTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2000Erik Jan Hultink Many articles have investigated new product development success and failure. However, most of them have used the vantage point of characteristics of the product and development process in this research. In this article we extend this extensive stream of research, looking at factors affecting success; however, we look at the product in the context of the launch support program. We empirically answer the question of whether successful launch decisions differ for consumer and industrial products and identify how they differ. From data collected on over 1,000 product introductions, we first contrast consumer product launches with industrial product launches to identify key differences and similarities in launch decisions between market types. For consumer products, strategic launch decisions appear more defensive in nature, as they focus on defending current market positions. Industrial product strategic launch decisions seem more offensive, using technology and innovation to push the firm to operate outside their current realm of operations and move into new markets. The tactical marketing mix launch decisions (product, place, promotion and price) also differ markedly across the products launched for the two market types. Successful products were contrasted with failed products to identify those launch decisions that discriminate between both outcomes. Here the differences are more of degree rather than principle. Some launch decisions were associated with success for consumer and industrial products alike. Launch successes are more likely to be broader assortments of more innovative product improvements that are advertised with print advertising, independent of market. Other launch decisions uniquely related to success per product type, especially at the marketing mix level (pricing, distribution, and promotion in particular). The launch decisions most frequently made by firms are not well aligned with factors associated with higher success. Additionally, comparing the decisions associated with success to the recommendations for launches from the normative literature suggests that a number of conventional heuristics about how to launch products of each type will actually lead to failure rather than success. [source] 2003 as a vantage point for genetics past and genetics futureBIOESSAYS, Issue 11 2003Article first published online: 17 OCT 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Histones and histone modifications in protozoan parasitesCELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 12 2006William J. Sullivan Jr Summary Protozoan parasites are early branching eukaryotes causing significant morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock. Single-celled parasites have evolved complex life cycles, which may involve multiple host organisms, and strategies to evade host immune responses. Consequently, two key aspects of virulence that underlie pathogenesis are parasite differentiation and antigenic variation, both of which require changes in the expressed genome. Complicating these requisite alterations in the parasite transcriptome is chromatin, which serves as a formidable barrier to DNA processes including transcription, repair, replication and recombination. Considerable progress has been made in the study of chromatin dynamics in other eukaryotes, and there is much to be gained in extending these analyses to protozoan parasites. Much of the work completed to date has focused on histone acetylation and methylation in the apicomplexans and trypanosomatids. As we describe in this review, such studies provide a unique vantage point of the evolutionary picture of eukaryotic cell development, and reveal unique phenomena that could be exploited pharmacologically to treat protozoal diseases. [source] Talking About Science in MuseumsCHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2010Catherine A. Haden Abstract, New research in museums offers a unique vantage point for observing how parent,child conversational interactions may help children learn science in everyday settings. Recent studies in this area pinpoint the role of elaborative conversation,including open-ended Wh- questions and explanatory comments,in children's understanding of scientific concepts, and more generalized effects on children's attitudes and ways of making meaning may exist as well. This review places this work in its theoretical context and discusses its potential to illuminate social mediators underlying children's learning processes and outcomes. [source] Teaching and Learning with Therapists Who Work with Street Children and Their FamiliesFAMILY PROCESS, Issue 3 2010JANINE ROBERTS ED.D. Providing training for people working with some of the most marginalized families in Guatemala and Peru meant establishing credibility as a facilitator; entering organizations as a learner; cocreating training agendas; and working in a format that paralleled a strength-based, resilience focus in therapy. Strategies used for different phases of the work are detailed: multiple ways to gather information, shadowing staff, delivering topics on demand, and creating learning environments with a focus on families as teachers. Key processes included moving in and out of the role of facilitator and participant, entering into the trainings from different vantage points within the organizations, and designing activities with an eye to how they would impact work relationships of staff and clients. RESUMEN Brindar capacitación a personas que trabajan con algunas de las familias más marginadas de Guatemala y Perú implicó establecer credibilidad como facilitador; ingresar en organizaciones como alumno; co-crear agendas de capacitación y trabajar en un formato análogo a un enfoque basado en las virtudes y la resiliencia en terapia. Se detallan las estrategias utilizadas en las diferentes fases del trabajo: distintas maneras de reunir información, observación del personal, charlas a pedido, y creación de ambientes de aprendizaje haciendo hincapié en las familias como maestras. Los procesos clave consistieron en asumir y abandonar el rol de facilitador y participante, iniciar las capacitaciones desde diferentes posiciones de ventaja dentro de las organizaciones y diseñar actividades con miras a cómo repercutirían sobre las relaciones laborales del personal y los clientes. Palabras clave: capacitación colaborativa, niños que trabajan en la calle, terapia familiar en Latinoamérica [source] Decolonising, Multiplicities and Mining in the Eastern Goldfields, Western AustraliaGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003Leah M. Gibbs In this ,postcolonial' era, peoples and places around the globe continue to face ongoing colonisation. Indigenous peoples in particular experience colonisation in numerous forms. Despite recent attempts to ,decolonise' indigenous spaces, hegemonic systems of production, governance and thinking often perpetuate colonial structures and relationships, resulting in further entrenched colonisation or ,deep colonising' (Rose, 1999). The interface between indigenous communities and the mining industry provides fertile ground for the tensions emerging between decolonising and deep colonising. Gold mining operations at Placer Dome's Granny Smith mine in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia present a valuable case study for examining this tension. Changes taking place at the mine site are decolonising in intent, though outcomes may be deep colonising in effect. Recent discussions among cultural geographers over meanings of place, Ollman's (1993) notion of vantage point and a broadly postcolonial literature inform consideration of this tension. Acknowledgment and incorporation of multiple vantage points into new resource management systems allows current hegemonic approaches to be rethought, and provides insights for the shift towards genuinely decolonising processes. [source] Mirrored pyramidal wells for simultaneous multiple vantage point microscopyJOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY, Issue 1 2008K.T. SEALE Summary We report a novel method for obtaining simultaneous images from multiple vantage points of a microscopic specimen using size-matched microscopic mirrors created from anisotropically etched silicon. The resulting pyramidal wells enable bright-field and fluorescent side-view images, and when combined with z -sectioning, provide additional information for 3D reconstructions of the specimen. We have demonstrated the 3D localization and tracking over time of the centrosome of a live Dictyostelium discoideum. The simultaneous acquisition of images from multiple perspectives also provides a five-fold increase in the theoretical collection efficiency of emitted photons, a property which may be useful for low-light imaging modalities such as bioluminescence, or low abundance surface-marker labelling. [source] Filmmaker to Filmmaker: Robert Gardner and the Cinematic ProcessAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 3 2007RODERICK COOVER Choices made in the reissue of many of Robert Gardner's groundbreaking films,including Dead Birds (1964), Rivers of Sand (1973), and Forest of Bliss (1986),on DVD demonstrate how new media tools can reinvigorate questions generated by the original works and how they can provide new insight into a filmmaker's praxis. The juxtaposition of differing media and the integration of commentary track conversations in many of these works with media makers and scholars such as Stan Brakhage, Robert Fenz, Ross McElwee, Akos Ostor, and Lucien Taylor provide unique vantage points from which to view the original documentaries and reconsider the lessons they yield. Gardner's concurrent publication of his diary and production notes in the book Impulse to Preserve (2006) contextualizes and personalizes these works, showing how they fit together in a career of innovative ethnographic production that has spanned over 50 years. [source] TRANSFORMATIONS OF CHINA'S POST-1949 POLITICAL ECONOMY IN AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVEPACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2008R. Bin Wong This article lays out three different historical perspectives on China's post-1978 economic reform era. It argues that historical perspectives allow us to apprehend features of the Chinese economy as they are formed in particular moments and contexts at the same time as we can appreciate the ways in which the possibilities conceived and achieved both affirm certain past practices and reject others. Without such vantage points it is more difficult to explain the manner in which China's economy has changed in the past 30 years. [source] Social capital and information science researchPROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2007Catherine A. Johnson (moderator, presenter) The concept of social capital has become a popular area of research in many social science fields, including public policy, political science, economics, community development, sociology, anthropology, and education. Increasingly, it has been used as the conceptual framework for research in the area of information studies including such topics as knowledge integration (Bhandar, Pan & Tan, 2007), knowledge sharing (Huysman & Wulf, 2006), access to information by the homeless (Hersberger, 2003), community informatics (Williams and Durrance, in press), and information seeking behavior (Johnson, in press). The concept has an ideological foundation in the theories of Pierre Bourdieu (1980), with two divergent approaches to its study emerging during the last two decades: one focusing on social capital as a collective asset and the other regarding it as an individual asset. The main proponent of the first approach is political scientist Robert Putnam who defines social capital as inhering in the "dense networks of social interaction" which foster "sturdy norms of generalized reciprocity and encourage the emergence of social trust" (Putnam, 1995, p. 66). Social network analysts, on the other hand, view social capital as resources to which individuals have access through their social relationships. Nan Lin, who is the main proponent of this approach, defines social capital as "resources embedded in a social structure which are accessed and/or mobilized in purposive actions" (Lin, 2001a, p. 12). While the concept of social capital may be operationalized differently depending on the point of view of the researcher, its value to information science research is in providing a framework within which to understand the relationship between social structure and information access. Participants in this panel will discuss social capital from various vantage points, including the role of social capital in solidifying power relationships, the effect of recent government policies on reducing social capital, and the relationship between social capital and the use of libraries and information technology. The intent of the panel is to clarify the meaning(s) of social capital and to demonstrate how the concept may be used in information science research. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||