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Curiosity
Selected AbstractsARCHAEOMETRY AND MUSEUMS: FIFTY YEARS OF CURIOSITY AND WONDER,ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 6 2008M. F. GUERRA Artefacts and works of art kept in museum collections originated in many cases from ancient private collections. In such cases, a partial or total absence of historical information may create additional problems concerning their authenticity. The study of museum collections and their preservation requires the use of analytical techniques but also combined examination techniques not commonly necessary for the study of archaeological objects. This paper gives an overview of the importance of museum items for the understanding of the past, the difficulties relating to their authentication and the significant advances brought about by science-based techniques, in particular those cases discussed in Archaeometry during the past 50 years. [source] Curiosity and cure: Translational research strategies for neural repair-mediated rehabilitationDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 9 2007Bruce H. Dobkin Abstract Clinicians who seek interventions for neural repair in patients with paralysis and other impairments may extrapolate the results of cell culture and rodent experiments into the framework of a preclinical study. These experiments, however, must be interpreted within the context of the model and the highly constrained hypothesis and manipulation being tested. Rodent models of repair for stroke and spinal cord injury offer examples of potential pitfalls in the interpretation of results from developmental gene activation, transgenic mice, endogeneous neurogenesis, cellular transplantation, axon regeneration and remyelination, dendritic proliferation, activity-dependent adaptations, skills learning, and behavioral testing. Preclinical experiments that inform the design of human trials ideally include a lesion of etiology, volume and location that reflects the human disease; examine changes induced by injury and by repair procedures both near and remote from the lesion; distinguish between reactive molecular and histologic changes versus changes critical to repair cascades; employ explicit training paradigms for the reacquisition of testable skills; correlate morphologic and physiologic measures of repair with behavioral measures of task reacquisition; reproduce key results in more than one laboratory, in different strains or species of rodent, and in a larger mammal; and generalize the results across several disease models, such as axonal regeneration in a stroke and spinal cord injury platform. Collaborations between basic and clinical scientists in the development of translational animal models of injury and repair can propel experiments for ethical bench-to-bedside therapies to augment the rehabilitation of disabled patients. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2007 [source] Breaking through the Mode: Celia Fiennes and the Exercise of CuriosityLITERATURE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2009Joanna Picciotto This essay explores the contribution of Baconian ideology to an emergent discourse of the nerves, using Celia Fiennes's Journeys as a case study. Viewed in the context of the Baconian propaganda associated with the Royal Society and the early eighteenth-century literature on nervous disease, Fiennes's project offers evidence that the national myth constructed around the English as a nervous people had its origin in a campaign to reform them into a curious people. [source] Cupboards of Curiosity: Women, Recollection, and Film HistoryTHE JOURNAL OF POPULAR CULTURE, Issue 1 2008Julie Anne Taddeo No abstract is available for this article. [source] Assessment of Emotions: Anxiety, Anger, Depression, and CuriosityAPPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, Issue 3 2009Charles D. Spielberger Anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity are major indicators of psychological distress and well-being that require careful assessment. Measuring these psychological vital signs is of critical importance in diagnosis, and can facilitate treatment by directly linking intense emotions to the events that give rise to them. The historical background regarding theory and research on anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity is briefly reviewed, and the nature and assessment of these emotional states and personality traits are examined. The construction and development of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the State-Trait Anger EXpression Inventory (STAXI-2), and the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI) to assess anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity, and the major components of these emotional states and personality traits, are described in detail. Findings demonstrating the diverse utility and efficacy of these measures are also reported, along with guidelines for their interpretation and utilisation in research and clinical practice. Research with the STAI, STAXI and STPI over the last 40 years has contributed to understanding vitally important measurement concepts that are especially applicable to the assessment of emotions. These concepts included the state,trait distinction, item intensity specificity, and the importance of items that describe the presence or absence of emotions. [source] Prokaryotic Protein Glycosylation Is Rapidly Expanding from "Curiosity" to "Ubiquity"CHEMBIOCHEM, Issue 13 2009Paul Messner Prof. Dr. A generalO -glycosylation system: The highlighted publication, which was recently published by Laurie E. Comstock's group, describes a general protein O-glycosylation system of the human intestinal symbiont Bacteroides fragilis. This broadening of knowledge about protein glycosylation systems is discussed in the context of prokaryotic protein glycosylation in general. [source] Merging Organocatalysis with an Indium(III)-Mediated Process: A Stereoselective ,-Alkylation of Aldehydes with Allylic AlcoholsCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 37 2010Montse Guiteras Capdevila Curiosity killed the CAT,ions! The use of stabilized cationic intermediates can be considered as a new frontier in the development of stereoselective reactions. An organocatalytic procedure mediated by the MacMillan imidazolidinone catalyst was coupled with an InBr3 -mediated process for the development of a novel stereoselective allylation reaction of aldehydes. Up to 98,% ee and up to 5:1 d.r. were obtained in the process. [source] ,On the rocks': New Zealand's coastal bach landscape and the case of Rangitoto IslandNEW ZEALAND GEOGRAPHER, Issue 3 2006Robin Kearns Abstract:, A distinctive feature of many of New Zealand's coastal landscapes has been the rudimentarily constructed holiday home known as a ,bach'. In recent years, however, rapidly escalating beachfront property prices, and the associated development of elite residential landscapes, have threatened the status of the bach. This commentary examines the diminishing number of ,classic' kiwi baches, and specifically considers the case of Rangitoto, a volcanic island close to central Auckland. Here, the location of baches on publicly owned land has been controversial and the small number that remains symbolize curiosities from another time and place. [source] Designing digital information technologies for children.PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2003Sponsored by SIG USE Developing digital information technologies appropriate for children can be challenging, particularly since young people have their own interests, abilities, curiosities, and information needs that can be continually changing. Young people are not "just short adults" but an entirely different user population with their own culture, norms and complexities. With the emergence of children as important consumers of digital information, their role in the design of new technologies has been maximized. The speakers will explore national and international digital libraries that have been designed for children using innovative applications of technologies. In addition, they will discuss challenges and issues in designing digital information for young people. [source] On Behalf of the Devil: A Parody of Anselm RevisitedPROCEEDINGS OF THE ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY (HARDBACK), Issue 1 2000Timothy Chambers This paper treats a question which first arose in these Proceedings: Can Anselm's ontological argument be inverted so as to yield parallel proofs for the existence (or non-existence) of a least (or worst) conceivable being? Such ,devil parodies' strike some commentators as innocuous curiosities, or redundant challenges which are no more troubling than other parodies found in the literature (e.g., Gaunilo's Island). I take issue with both of these allegations; devil parodies, I argue, have the potential to pose substantive, and novel, challenges to Anselm's ontological argument. [source] Risk Management with Duration: Potential and LimitationsCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 2 2000Gerald O. Bierwag This paper demonstrates the applicability of duration as a risk management tool for government organizations. Drawing on a real case, we present methodologies for quantifying (a) the durations of real assets on a government's balance sheet, and (b) the durations of the financial assets represented by shares in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In the area of real physical assets on the balance sheet we focus on the highway system and on real estate owned by the government. The methodology for measuring durations of SOEs focuses primarily on an electrical utility. Our main conclusion is that it is feasible to derive excellent practical measures of the real durations of physical assets on a government's balance sheet. Far from being academic curiosities,such durations can be estimated with a fair degree of accuracy in practice. The paper also indicates some of the potential limitations of duration analysis as a risk management tool for such organizations. Résumé En tant que grand succès de la finance académique, l'analyse de durée profite d'une application étendue de la part des praticiens de différents millieux du secteur privé. Cet article démontre la possibilité d'utiliser les durées comme outil de gestion du risque dans les organisations gouvernementales. En se basant sur un cas réel, nous présentons les méthodes pour quantifier (1) les durées des valeurs réelles d'un bilan gouvernemental et (2) les durées des valeurs financières représentées par des parts dans des sociétés d'état. Pour ce qui est des valeurs physiques réelles du bilan, nous nous arr,tons sur le système autoroutier et sur les biens immobiliers possédés par le gouvernement. La méthode de mesure des durées des sociétés d'état focalise sur une compagnie de service électrique. Notre conclusion principale est qu'il est possible de tirer d'excellentes mesures pratiques des durées réelles des valeurs physiques du bilan financier d'un gouvernement. Loin d',tre de pures curiosités académiques, de telles durées peuvent ,tre, en pratique, estimées avec un degré raisonnable de précision. L'article mentionne de plus certaines limites potentielles de l'analyse de durée comme outil de gestion de risque pour de telles organisations. [source] Tamed Tigers: Stabilization of Reactive CarbenesCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 13 2008Martin Albrecht Prof. Taming wild carbenes: Following previous achievements in characterizing free carbenes,long considerered as curiosities and intermediates too reactive to be isolated,Schreiner and coworkers succeeded in stabilizing hydroxymethylene (see picture), the simplest of all oxycarbenes, by matrix isolation. This carbene gradually rearranges into its formaldehyde tautomer by a barrierless tunnelling process. [source] The Puzzle of Museum Educational Practice: A Comment on Rounds and FalkCURATOR THE MUSEUM JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006Daniel Spock The mandate that museums place education at the center of their public service role has had the effect of framing a new set of questions and,inevitably,problems. If museums have primary value to society as educational institutions, what kind of learning actually happens in them? Jay Rounds and John Falk, writing at the leading edge of this inquiry, explore curiosity, motivation and self-identity as paramount considerations for the special type of learning museums promote. Their analyses present interesting challenges for the museum practitioner, who may observe that people find the pursuit of curiosity pleasurable and value it more highly than knowledge acquisition. The practitioner may conclude that museums have a calling: They stand for the value of curiosity for its own sake, and for that reason will never wear out their welcome. [source] Strategies for the Curiosity-Driven Museum VisitorCURATOR THE MUSEUM JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004Jay Rounds ABSTRACT Tracking studies show that museum visitors typically view only 20 to 40 percent of an exhibition. Current literature states that this partial use sub-optimizes the educational benefit gained by the visitor, and that skilled visitors view an exhibition comprehensively and systematically. Contrary to that viewpoint, this paper argues that partial use of exhibitions is an intelligent and effective strategy for the visitor whose goal is to have curiosity piqued and satisfied. By using analytical approaches derived from "optimal foraging theory" in ecology, this paper demonstrates that the curiosity-driven visitor seeks to maximize the Total Interest Value of his or her museum visit. Such visitors use a set of simple heuristics to find and focus attention only on exhibit elements with high interest value and low search costs. Their selective use of exhibit elements results in greater achievement of their own goals than would be gained by using the exhibition comprehensively. [source] Creating Research Questions from Strategies and Perspectives of Contemporary ArtCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 1 2001G. Thomas Fox This essay considers how strategies and perspectives from contemporary art can suggest new questions for educational research. Although arts-based research has become more prominent lately, the concern of this paper is that the arts have become used primarily as decorative features to educational research (to further illuminate, depict, and explain the ambiguities and complexities of educational practices, see Donmoyer 1997), rather than deeply moving or disorientating perspectives on education. Another stimulant for looking into contemporary art is the concern that education must focus more on the edges of what is understood, rather than on the centers (see, for example, Fox 1995). The essay uses examples to demonstrate how a number of themes from contemporary art can be interpreted to redirect our curiosity about educational practices, policies, and theories. The paper concludes that further consideration of contemporary art can move researchers to ask more varied questions, especially about the wisdom of our progressive, critical, or humanistic views of students and learning that we have built over this century. [source] Caloric restriction for longevity: II,The systematic neglect of behavioural and psychological outcomes in animal researchEUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 6 2004Kelly M. Vitousek Abstract Research on caloric restriction for longevity (CRL) has generated hundreds of articles on the physiology of food deprivation, yet almost no data on consequences in other domains. The first paper in this series outlined the generally positive physical effects of CRL; the second analyses the meagre and sometimes disturbing record of research on behaviour, cognition and affect. The available evidence suggests that nutrient-dense CRL in animals,just like nutrient-poor semi-starvation in people,is associated with a number of adverse effects. Changes include abnormal food-related behaviour, heightened aggression and diminished sexual activity. Studies of learning and memory in underfed rodents yield inconsistent findings; no information is available on cognitive effects in primates. To date, the CRL field has ignored other variables that are crucial to the human case and known to be disrupted by chronic hunger, including sociability, curiosity and emotionality. Promotion of CRL for people is irresponsible in the absence of more reassuring data on the full range of expected outcomes. Eating disorder specialists should be contributing to scientific and public discussions of this increasingly prominent paradigm. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source] Photonic Crystals: Three-Dimensional Nanostructures for Photonics (Adv. Funct.ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 7 2010Mater. Over the last decade, direct laser writing via two-photon absorption turned from a laboratory curiosity into a versatile technique for the fabrication of 3D nano-and microstructures. Especially, in the field of nanophotonics novel structures could be fabricated and tested for agreement with theory. G. von Freymann and co-workers review recent progress in the field on page 1038. The cover image displays a potpourri of complex 3D nanostructures for photonics. Cover artwork by M. S. Rill. [source] Electrospinning of Manmade and Biopolymer Nanofibers,Progress in Techniques, Materials, and ApplicationsADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 18 2009Seema Agarwal Abstract Electrospinning of nanofibers has developed quickly from a laboratory curiosity to a highly versatile method for the preparation of a wide variety of nanofibers, which are of interest from a fundamental as well as a technical point of view. A wide variety of materials has been processed into individual nanofibers or nanofiber mats with very different morphologies. The diverse properties of these nanofibers, based on different physical, chemical, or biological behavior, mean they are of interest for different applications ranging from filtration, antibacterial coatings, drug release formulations, tissue engineering, living membranes, sensors, and so on. A particular advantage of electrospinning is that numerous non-fiber forming materials can be immobilized by electrospinning in nanofiber nonwovens, even very sensitive biological objects such as virus, bacteria, and cells. The progress made during the last few years in the field of electrospinning is fascinating and is highlighted in this Feature Article, with particular emphasis on results obtained in the authors' research units. Specific areas of importance for the future of electrospinning, and which may open up novel applications, are also highlighted. [source] BRAZILIAN IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL IMAGINATION,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 4 2009ALAN P. MARCUS ABSTRACT. In the late 1980s more than 1 million Brazilians left Brazil without returning. Today an estimated 2 million Brazilians live abroad, 1.2 million of them in the United States. In this article I show that Brazilians migrate for a variety of reasons, including the geographical imagination. Why are so many Brazilians leaving for the United States? What are their geographical imaginations, and how are they described in their migration process? Using primary and secondary data and multiple methods, I address these questions by providing insights into Brazilian migrants' place perceptions, experiences, and reasons for migrating, focusing on the geographical imagination. Those migrants who end up returning to Brazil are more likely to cite financial and curiosity reasons for having migrated. A web of transnational religious and social networks sustains those immigrants who remain in the United States. Reasons for migrating are not economic alone; rather, they are based on interrelated and complex factors that range from adventure to curiosity, the cultural influence of the United States, family members, education, and escape. [source] HUMBOLDT'S NODES AND MODES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE IN THE ANDEAN WORLD,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Karl S. Zimmerer ABSTRACT. Alexander von Humboldt engaged in a staggering array of diverse experiences in the Andes and adjoining lowlands of northwestern South America between 1801 and 1803. Yet examination of Humboldt's diaries, letters, and published works shows how his principal activities in the Andes centered on three interests: mining and geological landscapes; communications and cartography; and use and distribution of the quinine-yielding cinchona trees. Each node represented a pragmatic concern dealing with environmental resources in the context of the Andes. To pursue these interests in his Andean field studies, Humboldt relied on varied cultural interactions and vast social networks for knowledge exchange, in addition to extensive textual comparisons. These modes of inquiry dovetailed with his pragmatic interests and his open-ended intellectual curiosity. Fertile combinations in his Andean studies provided the foundation and main testing ground for Humboldt's fused nature-culture approach as well as his contributions to early geography and interdisciplinary environmental science. [source] Developing global leaders: Executive coaching targets cross-cultural competenciesGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 1 2006Katherine Handin Leaders working with colleagues from other cultures or heading multicultural teams may find themselves stymied by their own apparent ineffectiveness and bewildered by the reactions of others. A new model of executive coaching can help individuals transform lifelong conditioning and personal assumptions into new beliefs and behaviors needed for cross-cultural collaboration and leadership. The coachee draws on three core ethnorelative values and behaviors,curiosity, cultivation, and collaboration,and uses communication skills and reflection techniques to delve beneath the surface of each situation. Through self-awareness and appreciation for others, the coachee becomes a leader who can deftly navigate cultural differences to build rewarding and productive relationships. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Clinical curiosity: Cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma,HEAD & NECK: JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES & SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Issue 5 2006Kimberly M. Dalal MD Abstract Background. There is an increasing awareness of the association of papillary thyroid carcinoma and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Although the incidence is rare, most tend to occur in women. Several authors have described a distinctive histologic variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma, the cribriform-morular variant, which is associated with FAP but also may be encountered in patients with non-FAP. This diagnosis may precede the symptoms of colorectal polyposis. Methods. A healthy 36-year-old woman was seen with a left thyroid nodule, and a 34-year-old woman with FAP was seen with a right thyroid nodule; both masses were suspicious for papillary thyroid carcinoma. Both patients underwent total thyroidectomy. Results. Pathologic examination of both specimens revealed papillary thyroid carcinoma, cribriform-morular variant. The first patient subsequently underwent colonoscopy, which was negative for polyposis. Conclusions. Patients diagnosed with the cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid cancer should be screened for the presence of FAP. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck28: 471,476, 2006 [source] Comorbidity and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder: clinical curiosity or pathophysiological need?HUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue S1 2001Hans-Ulrich Wittchen Abstract The paper reviews available epidemiological evidence for the existence of and the implications of comorbidity of anxiety and depressive disorders and mixed anxiety,depressive (MAD) disorders. Using epidemiolological evidence of prevalence and incidence and data relating to time-course of illness, risk factor and outcome, it is concluded: (1) that anxiety,depression comorbidity is quite frequent in epidemiological and clinical settings throughout the world; (2) this comorbidity is diagnosis-specific and is associated with increased vulnerabilities and risks as well as poorer outcome and marked disabilities; and (3) no such evidence was found for MAD disorders. Contrary to what was predicted, the prevalence of MAD disorders was quite low even when using the more recent criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition. (4) Furthermore, there was quite a heterogeneous pattern in terms of risk, severity and outcome making it questionable whether this disorder, as currently defined, is a clinical entity. These findings are discussed in terms of two perspectives, the ,lumpers' with their dimensional view and the ,splitters' with their categorical view. It is concluded that although comorbidity of threshold anxiety and depressive disorders seems to be an important phenomenon, no such evidence is provided for MAD disorders. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Detection of a novel HLA-B27 allele, B*2740, in Taiwanese volunteer bone marrow donors by sequence-based typing: curiosity rewardedINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMMUNOGENETICS, Issue 4 2009M. J. Chen Summary We report here a novel HLA-B allele, B*2740, discovered in Taiwanese volunteer marrow donors. The new sequence has nucleotide variation at position 527 (T,A) as compared to B*2708. The nucleotide change caused an amino acid substitution from valine (V) to glutamic acid (E) at codon 152. Since B*2740 carries sequence confers to HLA-Bw6 public epitope we believe that this novel B*27 allele might have been generated from a gene conversion involving a Bw4-specific allele (probably B*2704) and a Bw6-specific allele. [source] Using Role-Play Scenarios in the IR Classroom: An Examination of Exercises on Peacekeeping Operations and Foreign Policy Decision MakingINTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2004Carolyn M. Shaw Use of role-play scenarios in the classroom is just one of a number of active learning techniques that are being used more and more frequently to convey the more abstract concepts of international relations (IR) to students in a meaningful way. This paper examines the value of two specific role-play exercises used in an introduction to international relations course on the topics of peacekeeping and foreign policy decision making. The value of such interactive exercises is laid out in a section examining what learning objectives can be achieved by using role-play scenarios. These include promoting student interaction and input, and promoting student curiosity and creativity. The preparations necessary for conducting such an exercise are laid out, followed by a description of the exercises as they were conducted in the classroom. Finally, an assessment of the exercises provides useful feedback on the degree to which specific learning objectives were achieved, and how such exercises can be modified to be even more effective. [source] Explicating Benner's concept of expert practice: intuition in emergency nursingJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 4 2008Joy Lyneham Abstract Title.,Explicating Benner's concept of expert practice: intuition in emergency nursing. Aim., This paper is a report of a study exploring the experience of intuition in emergency nursing in relation to Benner's fifth stage of practice development, ,the expert practitioner.' Background., Expert nurses anecdotally report actions and thoughts that present in their consciousness and have an impact on the care given. Benner used the term ,intuition' for the fifth stage of practice development. However, Paley has criticized Benner's model for its lack of clarity about the nature of an expert practitioner. This criticism is further justified by Benner's inadequate explanation of expert. Method., A hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted using van Manen's approach and a Gadamerian analysis. Fourteen expert emergency nurses in Australia were interviewed between January 2000 and December 2003. Findings., The analysis resulted in the reconstruction of Benner's expert stage into three distinct phases: cognitive intuition, where assessment is processed subconsciously and can be rationalized in hindsight; transitional intuition, where a physical sensation and other behaviours enter the nurse's awareness; and embodied intuition, when the nurse trusts the intuitive thoughts. Conclusion., The findings validate the use of intuitive decision-making as a construct in explaining expert clinical decision-making practices. The validity of intuitive practice should be recognized. It is essential to recognize the conditions that support practice development, and in the prenovice stage (during their university course) factors such as reflection, research (in its broadest sense) and clinical curiosity should be fostered. [source] Development of sustainable resource-based nanostructured polyaniline/castor oil polyurethane compositesADVANCES IN POLYMER TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Sharif Ahmad Abstract Processibility is one of the important requirements for the commercial utilization of conducting polymers. Studies on composites and blends based on nano polyaniline (PANI) dispersions have become the subject of scientific curiosity with regard to their morphology, stability, and electron transport properties. In general, polymer nanocomposites are made by dispersing inorganic or organic nanoparticles into either a conventional thermoplastic or thermoset polymer. The present study reports the synthesis of nanostructured MO-PANI and castor oil polyurethane (COPU),based composites. The effect of loading of nanostructured MO-PANI in COPU on the spectral, physicochemical and morphological properties has been analyzed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 28:26,31, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20143 [source] The uptake of applied ecologyJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2002S. J. Ormerod Summary 1We asked 229 authors who have published recently in the Journal of Applied Ecology (1999,2001) whether their papers made management or policy recommendations and whether they had evidence of consequent uptake. 2A total of 108 respondents working in the UK (34%), Europe (30%), the Americas (12%), Australasia (11%), Asia (7%) and Africa (6%) reported on 110 papers. They represented agro-ecosystems (35%), temperate forests or woodlands (16%), savanna, grass or arid lands (11%), rivers or wetlands (10%), estuaries or marine systems (7%) and tropical forests (5%). The major organisms were invertebrates (27%), birds (24%), mammals (21%) and higher plants (21%). Topics apparently under-represented in recent coverage include ecosystem science, urban areas, soils, mountain systems, fish, amphibians and lower organisms such as algae. 3Almost all papers (99%) carried recommendations and for 57% there was evidence of uptake in the broad categories of ,environmental management or models', ,information, training and education' and ,monitoring and assessment'. Most uptake involved large geographical scales through habitat or species management plans (32% of cases), effects on reserve design or designation (6%), and effects on agri-environmental policy (5%). The development of further research (11%), the communication of methods to other ecologists (9%), the dissemination of recommendations to practitioners or agencies (7%), and uptake in training or education (5%) were important uses of information. 4Prestige from publication in the Journal of Applied Ecology aided several authors in convincing end-users of research value. User involvement in research as participants or funders was widespread (> 42% of papers), a fact which almost certainly promotes uptake along with the parallel dissemination of management messages. We view applied issues as an important interface between end-users and ecologists of value to ,both' communities but suggest that improved communication will further benefit the sponsorship and application of ecological science. 5The major reason offered for lack of uptake was that it was still too soon after publication (21% of respondents). Costs, difficulty of implementation, the scale of the problem, and ,challenges to existing thinking' each figured in more than one response. 6For some respondents, papers were led by curiosity rather than the need for direct application. Several authors published in the Journal to share ideas internationally, or said that recommendations were general, conceptual or long-term rather than specific. The editors of the Journal of Applied Ecology recognize the seminal importance of contributions that affect policy incrementally and conceptually as much as those with specific application. 7These data provide evidence that ecological science is aiding environmental management and policy across a wide range of regions, ecosystems and types of organisms; rather than merely detecting problems, applied ecology is offering solutions both directly and more diffusely through conceptual advance. We invite the user community to offer their own perspectives about the value of research-led publications such as this Journal, about how links between researchers and users might be strengthened, and about how the uptake of applied ecology might be further advanced. [source] User Behavior and the "Globalness" of Internet: From a Taiwan Users' PerspectiveJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2002Chun Chou Liu It is believed that the cyberworld knows no borders and boundaries. Users from all corners of the world are connected. However, the literature stops short of telling us how meaningful and valuable its "borderless" nature actually is to the Internet users themselves. Have they taken full advantage of whatever freedom is available to them in roaming the cyberworld? Do they venture beyond their language and/or cultural group to interact with those whoM they normally would have little opportunity to meet otherwise? To what extent do they take advantage of the opportunity to venture beyond the limits of their "real" worlds? Taiwan houses one of the most vigorous information industries in the world. This paper looks at the general patterns of Internet use in Taiwan, including online activities for communication, information access, and e-commerce. Secondly, a special effort is made to examine the "globalness" of Taiwan users' Internet behavior, and the factors contributing to these patterns of use. In Taiwan, the Internet as a medium may indeed be "global," yet the user continues to live within the "local," the "place" one relates to, where his/her needs and desires are generated, and where one feels a sense of belonging. One may briefly venture out of this locality to accomplish a task, fulfill a goal, or simply satisfy his/her curiosity; however, as pointed out by Wang and Servaes (2000), the importance, significance, and relevance of the global are not as great as that of the local. [source] ,The Ancient Cult of Madame': when therapists trade curiosity for certaintyJOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 2 2008Carlos E. Sluzki An experience in which the author followed his own objectives rather than the patient's, leading to a tragic end, is evoked as a frame for the presentation and discussion of a family treatment where the therapeutic process led by the therapist may have exceeded the needs and expectation of the family members. This is followed by a discussion about potential problems caused by a therapist's fascination for family stories, since its effects may be epistemologically discontinuous from, if not contradictory to, Cecchin's recommendation for ,curiosity' as a central dictum of the therapist's stance. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||