Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Various Authors (various + author)
Selected AbstractsNeoliberalism, Contingency and Urban Policy: The Case of Social Housing in OntarioINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006JASON HACKWORTH Various authors have argued that common understandings of neoliberalism are flawed because they do not adequately account for its geographical contingency or internal contradictions. Many have suggested that neoliberalism is either too internally riven with contradiction to be considered a singular consistent project, or that its implementation is so locally contingent that we cannot plausibly speak of one ideal-type placeless ideology. Primarily based on interviews with over half of the municipal housing providers in Ontario, this article explores the extent to which the meta-ideas of neoliberalism are filtered and manifest (or not) locally. Social policy has been neoliberalized in Ontario at least since the advent of the ,common sense revolution' in 1995, when a Tory government was elected on a platform of neoliberal reform. The experience of social housing in the province, before, after and during the transition offers a useful window into the debate about the dissonance (or lack thereof) between ideal-type and contingent neoliberalism. Based on this case, we argue that, despite its obvious conceptual flaws, it is politically and analytically important to understand ideal-type neoliberalism better. [source] Lithocarpuslongzhouicus comb. nov. (Fagaceae) from China: based on morphological and molecular dataNORDIC JOURNAL OF BOTANY, Issue 2 2009Li Chen The taxonomic position of Castanopsis longzhouica C. C. Huang & Y. T. Chang has been controversial. Various authors included it in Castanopsis (D. Don) Spach, or Lithocarpus Bl. based on morphology, palynology and wood anatomy. In order to investigate this issue, sequences of nuclear ITS and the chloroplast genes matK and trnL-F of C. longzhouica were analyzed together with 72 representatives of 7 genera within Fagaceae. As for species of Lithocarpus, there were a 1-bp insertion and two unique 3-bp deletions from ITS2 of C. longzhouica distinguishing it from Castanopsis. The phylogenetic analyses on the separate ITS data and the joint data (ITS+matK+ trnL-F) strongly supported a derived position of C. longzhouica within a clade consisting of members of Lithocarpus. The result is consistent with previous suggestions based on wood anatomy, suggesting that C. longzhouica should be transferred to Lithocarpus. In addition, the shallow cup-shaped, loose incoherent-scale and indehiscent cupule and the concave scar of C. longzhouica suggests a close relationship to species of Lithocarpus. Based on these data, the new combination Lithocarpus longzhouicus (C. C. Huang & Y. T. Chang) J. Q. Li & L. Chen is proposed. [source] The Palaeoptera Problem: Basal Pterygote Phylogeny Inferred from 18S and 28S rDNA SequencesCLADISTICS, Issue 3 2002Rasmus Hovmöller Monophyly of the pterygote insects is generally accepted, but the relationships among the three basal branches (Odonata, Ephemeroptera and Neoptera) remain controversial. The traditional view, to separate the pterygote insects in Palaeoptera (Odonata + Ephemeroptera) and Neoptera, based on the ability or inability to fold the wings over the abdomen, has been questioned. Various authors have used different sets of morphological characters in support of all three possible arrangements of the basal pterygote branches. We sequenced 18S and 28S rDNA from 18 species of Odonata, 8 species of Ephemeroptera, 2 species of Neoptera, and 1 species of Archaeognatha in our study. The new sequences, in combination with sequences from GenBank, have been used in a parsimony jackknife analysis resulting in strong support for a monophyletic Palaeoptera. Morphological evidence and the phylogenetic implications for understanding the origin of insect flight are discussed. [source] Service Management,Academic Issues and Scholarly Reflections from Operations Management Researchers,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2007Richard Metters ABSTRACT Services are now a larger portion of the economy than manufacturing for every nation on Earth, and services are an overwhelming portion of Western economies. While decision-making research has begun responding to this change, much of the scholarly work still addresses manufacturing issues. Particularly revealing is the field of operations management (OM), in which the proportion of manuscripts dedicated to services has been estimated at 3%, 6%, and 7.5% by various authors. We investigate several possible reasons for the neglect of services in research, including the difficulty in defining services, viewing services as derivative activities, a lack of defined processes, a lack of scale in services, and the effect of variability on service performance. We argue that times have changed, and none of these reasons is valid anymore. We sound the warning that failure to emphasize services in our research and teaching may signal the decline of the discipline. We note the proportion of OM faculty in business schools has shrunk in the past 10 years. Finally, we examine a selection of service research agendas and note several directions for high-impact, innovative research to revitalize the decision sciences. With practitioners joining the call for more research in services, the academic community has an exciting opportunity to embrace services and reshape its future. [source] Management issues relating to the European eel, Anguilla anguillaFISHERIES MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2003A. Starkie Abstract In many European countries there is growing concern over reduced recruitment and catches of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.). Evidence of the decline, together with possible reasons for the changes as detailed by various authors, are reviewed. It is suggested that the problems need to be addressed now and on various levels. Proposals for management actions, as outlined by the Environment Agency for England and Wales, are summarized by way of example. [source] Adjusting Bone Mass for Differences in Projected Bone Area and Other Confounding Variables: An Allometric Perspective,JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2002Alan M. Nevill B.Sc., Ph.D. Abstract The traditional method of assessing bone mineral density (BMD; given by bone mineral content [BMC] divided by projected bone area [Ap], BMD = BMC/Ap) has come under strong criticism by various authors. Their criticism being that the projected bone "area" (Ap) will systematically underestimate the skeletal bone "volume" of taller subjects. To reduce the confounding effects of bone size, an alternative ratio has been proposed called bone mineral apparent density [BMAD = BMC/(Ap)3/2]. However, bone size is not the only confounding variable associated with BMC. Others include age, sex, body size, and maturation. To assess the dimensional relationship between BMC and projected bone area, independent of other confounding variables, we proposed and fitted a proportional allometric model to the BMC data of the L2-L4 vertebrae from a previously published study. The projected bone area exponents were greater than unity for both boys (1.43) and girls (1.02), but only the boy's fitted exponent was not different from that predicted by geometric similarity (1.5). Based on these exponents, it is not clear whether bone mass acquisition increases in proportion to the projected bone area (Ap) or an estimate of projected bone volume (Ap)3/2. However, by adopting the proposed methods, the analysis will automatically adjust BMC for differences in projected bone size and other confounding variables for the particular population being studied. Hence, the necessity to speculate as to the theoretical value of the exponent of Ap, although interesting, becomes redundant. [source] Resonant frequencies of a combination of split rings: Experimental, analytical and numerical studyMICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 5 2005A. Radkovskaya Abstract The resonant frequencies of five different ring resonators are measured with the aid of a network analyser within the frequency range of about 1.5 to 2.8 GHz. The resonant frequencies for those configurations are also determined from numerical calculations using the commercially available MICRO-STRIPES package. The experimental and numerical results are shown to be very close to each other. Analytical results from various authors, available for three of the configurations, are also compared with the experimental results; one of them leads to a large discrepancy, but the other analytical approximations are shown to be not too far off. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 46: 473,476, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21021 [source] Cosmic evolution of metal densities: the enrichment of the intergalactic mediumMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2006F. Calura ABSTRACT By means of chemo-photometric models for galaxies of different morphological types, we have carried out a detailed study of the history of element production by spheroidal and dwarf irregular galaxies. Spheroidal galaxies suffer a strong and intense star formation episode at early times. In dwarf irregulars, the star formation rate (SFR) proceeds at a low regime but continuously. Both galactic types enrich the intergalactic medium (IGM) with metals by means of galactic winds. We have assumed that the galaxy number density is fixed and normalized to the value of the optical luminosity function observed in the local Universe. Our models allow us to investigate in detail how the metal fractions locked up in stars in spheroids and dwarf irregulars, those present in the interstellar medium (ISM) and those ejected into the IGM have changed with cosmic time. By relaxing the instantaneous recycling approximation and taking into account stellar lifetimes, for the first time we have studied the evolution of the chemical abundance ratios in the IGM and compared our predictions with a set of observations by various authors. Our results indicate that the bulk of the IGM enrichment is due to spheroids, with dwarf irregular galaxies playing a negligible role. Our predictions grossly account for the [O/H] observed in the IGM at high redshift, but overestimate the [C/H]. Furthermore, it appears hard to reproduce the abundance ratios observed in the high-redshift IGM. Some possible explanations are discussed in the text. This is the first attempt to study the abundance ratios in the IGM by means of detailed chemical evolution models which take into account the stellar lifetimes. Numerical simulations adopting our chemical evolution prescriptions could be useful to improve our understanding of the IGM chemical enrichment. [source] Restoration of PSD from Chord Length Distribution Data using the Method of Projections onto Convex SetsPARTICLE & PARTICLE SYSTEMS CHARACTERIZATION, Issue 2 2005Jörg Worlitschek Abstract The interpretation of chord length distributions (CLDs) is essential in many fields and has been discussed by various authors. Here, the technique of the Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM) is considered as on-line and in-situ measurement device of the CLD of particle dispersions and emulsions. Though useful in general, this measurement cannot be converted directly into a particle size distribution (PSD), unless the physics of the measurement method is described and accounted for. In this work we present a new tool to carry out such a conversion once the particle shape is known a priori and can be fixed, which is based on a two step procedure: (1) the computation of a matrix that converts the PSD of a population of particles with given shape into the corresponding CLD using a 3-dimensional geometric model; (2) the calculation of the PSD from the resulting linear matrix equation for the measured CLD. Here, the method of Projections onto Convex Sets (POCS) is applied to solve the PSD restoration problem, which is a mathematically ill-posed inverse problem. We study the effect of particle shape and matrix dimension on the ill-posed character of the inverse problem. A detailed error analysis of the CLD allows for a predictive description of a posteriori constraints in the POCS framework. We discuss the application of this method to the characterization of simulated test cases and experimentally obtained data. [source] On the choice of initial conditions of difference schemes for parabolic equationsPROCEEDINGS IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS & MECHANICS, Issue 1 2007Givi Berikelashvili We study finite difference schemes to approximate the first initial-boundary value problem for linear second order parabolic equations and obtain some convergence rate estimates. When difference schemes are constructed for such problems, in the process of obtaining convergence rate estimates compatible with smoothness of the solution, various authors assume that the solution of the problem can be extended to the exterior of the domain of integration, preserving the Sobolev class. Our investigations show that this restriction can be removed if, instead of using the exact initial condition, we use certain approximations of the initial conditions. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] A NEW EPOCH OF INDIVIDUALIZATION?PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2007PERSONALIZATION' OF PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES, PROBLEMS WITH THE The paper discusses the role of the concept of ,personalization' in New Labour policy on the reform of public sector services. The analysis points to the contradictory ways in which the concept has been used in both policy statements, in the work of various authors, and in the think tank Demos, which has been closely associated with the diffusion of the concept. The correlative uncertainties with respect to implementation are discussed and related to the use of ,epochal' forms of argument in the justification of this latest instalment of public sector reform in the United Kingdom. [source] Editing as a psychological practiceTHE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2006John Beebe Abstract:, The experience of the Jungian analyst in the role of editor of manuscripts by creative colleagues is examined. Historical precedents include Michael Fordham's editorial correspondence with Jung around the latter's synchronicity essay; Jung's handling of manuscripts submitted by Sabina Spielrein to the Jahrbuch für psychoanalytische und psychopathologische Forschungen and various authors to the Zentralblatt für Psychotherapie und ihre Grenzgebiete, and the author's close editing of a paper submitted by Andrew Samuels to the Journal of Analytical Psychology. In addition to mustering an adequate amount of generosity, erudition, and availability, the analytic editor must know how to clarify a psychological argument and to gauge the psychological impact of the written text. Notwithstanding transference/countertransference phenomena that can emerge around issues of competition, envy, and territoriality when author and editor are also fellow-authors working in the same field, the editor needs to be comfortable about serving as the author's selfobject and midwife. From an analytic perspective, although communicating decisions about the best way to put ideas into words can sometimes attract transference to the editor, the more profound transference that analysts experience in the editing situation is toward the text being edited, which helps to motivate donated time spent caring for journal manuscripts. [source] A novel approach for root distribution analysis of linear time-invariant systems using Routh and Fuller tablesASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 3 2009S. N. Sivanandam Abstract The root distribution of a given characteristic equation of a linear time-invariant system can be analyzed with the help of a Routh table using the elements of the first column in the table. In the case of unstable systems, sometimes, a zero element may appear in the third row of the first column of the Routh array. This prematurity can be suitably handled as indicated by various authors. In this paper, the given characteristic polynomial having roots in the right hand plane is multiplied by a suitable polynomial, and Routh and Fuller tables are applied for the resultant polynomial to infer the complete root distribution. Further, the column polynomials from each table are adopted to know more about root distribution, which forms the core of the proposed work. The Routh table helps in counting and locating roots in the s -plane, and the Fuller table helps in depicting whether the roots are distinct or complex in nature. In this regard, it is shown in this paper that the simultaneous integration of Routh and Fuller tables yields a good amount of information regarding the root distribution in the s -plane. The newly presented procedure is illustrated with examples. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society [source] Stepwise Confidence Intervals for Monotone Dose,Response StudiesBIOMETRICS, Issue 3 2008Jianan Peng Summary In dose,response studies, one of the most important issues is the identification of the minimum effective dose (MED), where the MED is defined as the lowest dose such that the mean response is better than the mean response of a zero-dose control by a clinically significant difference. Dose,response curves are sometimes monotonic in nature. To find the MED, various authors have proposed step-down test procedures based on contrasts among the sample means. In this article, we improve upon the method of Marcus and Peritz (1976, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B38, 157,165) and implement the dose,response method of Hsu and Berger (1999, Journal of the American Statistical Association94, 468,482) to construct the lower confidence bound for the difference between the mean response of any nonzero-dose level and that of the control under the monotonicity assumption to identify the MED. The proposed method is illustrated by numerical examples, and simulation studies on power comparisons are presented. [source] Evolution Is Not a Necessary Assumption of CladisticsCLADISTICS, Issue 1 2000Andrew V.Z. Brower Although the point has already been emphasized by various authors that the assumption of descent with modification is not required to justify cladistics, recent debate suggests that there is still confusion surrounding the necessary and sufficient background knowledge underlying the method. Three general axioms necessary to justify cladistics,the discoverability of characters, hierarchy, and parsimony,are reviewed. Although the assumption of evolution is sufficient to justify cladistics, it is also sufficient to justify competing approaches like maximum likelihood, which suggests that the philosophical support for the cladistic approach is strengthened by purging reference to descent with modification altogether. [source] | ||||||||||||||||