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Different Purposes (different + purpose)
Selected AbstractsThe early Irish Stowe Missal's destination and functionEARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 2 2005Sven Meeder In 1929 the great James Kenney argued that the early Irish Stowe Missal must have been produced as a private service-book which a priest could easily carry around with him, but in recent decades scholars have claimed, either explicitly or implicitly, a different purpose for it. The codicological arguments proposed by Kenney are nevertheless still valid and this paper will argue that close linguistic examination of the manuscript's liturgical contents supports the theory that the Stowe Missal was an itinerarium, a book for a travelling cleric. [source] Risk modelling in blood safety , review of methods, strengths and limitationsISBT SCIENCE SERIES: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTRACELLULAR TRANSPORT, Issue n1 2010B. Custer Risk modelling studies in blood safety play an important but occasionally misunderstood role. These studies are intended to quantify and contrast risks and benefits. This information is critical for policy development and intervention decision-making. The limitations of risk modelling should be considered alongside the results obtained. The goal of this manuscript and presentation is to review current risk modelling techniques used in blood safety and to discuss the pros and cons of using this information in the decision-making process. The types of questions that can be answered include the extent of a risk or threat; implications of action or inaction; identification of effective strategies for risk management; or whether to adopt specific interventions. These analyses can be focused on a risk alone but are often combined with economic information to gain an understanding of feasible risk interventions given budgetary or other monetary considerations. Thus, analyses that include risk modelling provide insights along multiple lines. As important, the analyses also provide information on what is not known or uncertain about a potential hazard and how much that uncertainty may influence the decision-making process. Specific examples of the range of risk analyses in which the author has participated will be reviewed and will include ongoing process improvement in testing laboratories such as error identification/eradication, estimation of the risk of malaria exposure based on the specific locations of travel, evaluation of blood supply and demand during an influenza pandemic, cost-utility analyses of screening interventions for infectious diseases in countries with different human development indices, and insurance against emerging pathogen risk. Each of these analyses has a different purpose and seeks to answer different questions, but all rely on similar methods. The tool kit for risk analysis is broad and varied but does have limitations. The chief limitation of risk modelling is that risk analyses are not scientific experiments or otherwise controlled studies. Consequently, the analyses are more apt to be influenced by assumptions. These assumptions may be necessary to structure a problem in a way that will allow the question of interest to be answered or may result from incomplete or missing information. Another potential limitation is that commissioners of such studies, those who undertake them, and the intended audience, such as regulatory agencies, may have distinct and differing interpretations of the results. Risk modelling is a set of techniques that can be used to inform and support decision-making at all levels in transfusion medicine. Advances in risk modelling techniques allow for continued expansion in the scope of possible questions that can be analysed. Expanded use also improves the acceptance of the utility of these studies in blood safety and transfusion medicine. [source] The Miscegenation/Same-Sex Marriage Analogy: What Can We Learn from Legal History?LAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 2 2008Julie Novkov It has become commonplace among historically inclined legal scholars to look to the history of the United States' elimination of bans on mixed-race sexual relationships for guidance about the recent controversy over same-sex marriage. This article argues that, while the analogy is helpful, it is not perfect because of the particular historical circumstances of the battle over antimiscegenation laws. Because regulations against interracial marriage were at the heart of defining and perpetuating the political and institutional system of white supremacy, they served a different purpose than the bans on same-sex marriage. The analogy can be pursued, however, to promote a critical consideration of the history of marriage as a heteronormative institution, generating a broader agenda for empowering change. Such a use of history takes the experience of the struggle against the antimiscegenation regime as a cautionary tale rather than a guidepost. [source] Potential bias caused by control selection in secondary data analysis: Nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and hemorrhagic stroke,PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 6 2010Nam-Kyong Choi PhD Abstract Background This study investigated the potential for bias introduction when selecting controls for secondary analysis of case-control study data. Methods We used a data set previously collected for an acute brain bleeding analysis (ABBA) study, which was designed to investigate the risk of hemorrhagic stroke (HS) resulting from the use of phenylpropanolamine in Korea. Cases in that study had experienced an HS. Each HS case was matched with age- and gender-based hospital and community controls. Information was obtained on drug exposures including nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NANSAIDs). Odds ratios (OR) for, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of, experiencing an HS were calculated using conditional logistic regressions for each control group. Results A total of 940 patients were matched with 1880 controls. The OR of HS occurring in NANSAID users was 1.18 (95%CI, 0.80,1.73) in community controls and 0.67 (95%CI, 0.45,0.98) in hospital controls. The majority of the hospital controls were selected from patients who had visited neurology, neurosurgery, or orthopedic departments. Conclusion The difference between OR values estimated from hospital and community controls could be the result of selection bias. The study data were originally obtained for a different purpose than this study, and NANSAID use was not considered when the hospital controls were selected. When performing secondary analyses, extra care is needed to note whether the results are consistent across control groups and whether there are indications of bias related to the selection of those controls. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Using particles for 3D texture sculptingCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 4 2001ich Bene Abstract Particle systems have been used in computer graphics for many different purposes, including visual simulation of fur, grass, hair, and similar fuzzy textures and shapes. The underlying theories used in these algorithms are usually quite complex and are mostly based on simulation of diffuse-limited aggregation, cellular development, reaction-diffusion models, etc. This leads to high time complexity of these algorithms. The purpose of this paper is to show that collision detection and distance keeping among moving particles can generate similar realistic textures efficiently. This approach is easy to implement, sufficiently fast allowing for interactive modeling, and inherits the major features from the previously published techniques. We first construct a scene consisting of generators of particles, attractors, and cutters. The generators generate oriented particles, and the attractors attract or repulse them. When collision with the cutter is detected, the particle performs an action according to its state and position in the 3D space. Every particle has assigned a table of possible actions that is used for solving these critical states. Trajectories of the particles are then used as a resulting shape of the texture. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Application of the mouse exo utero development system in the study of developmental biology and teratologyCONGENITAL ANOMALIES, Issue 1 2004Toshihisa Hatta ABSTRACT The mouse exo utero development system is useful for analyzing the roles of molecules or interactions between tissues in the histogenesis of organs after the mid-gestational period. In the article presented here, we review the mouse exo utero development system and its specific modifications depending on different purposes as well as its advantages over and limitations compared to other systems in the study of developmental biology and teratology. [source] Functional morphology of the postpharyngeal gland of queens and workers of the ant Monomorium pharaonis (L.)ACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 2 2006Dieter Eelen Abstract Eelen D., Børgesen L.W. and Billen J. 2006. Functional morphology of the postpharyngeal gland of queens and workers of the ant Monomorium pharaonis (L.). ,Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 87: 101,111 The postpharyngeal gland (PPG) is unique to ants and is the largest exocrine gland in their head. In queens of the pharaoh's ant, Monomorium pharaonis, the gland contains approximately 15 finger-like epithelial extensions on each side and opens dorsolaterally in the posterior pharynx. In these ants the PPG morphology varies considerably according to age and mating status. The epithelial thickness increases with age and reaches a maximum at 3 weeks in both virgin and mated queens. A considerable expansion of the lumen diameter occurs in both groups between 4 and 7 days. Virgin queens release their secretion into the gland lumen from an age of 7 days, whereas mated queens accumulate large amounts of secretion in their epithelium. The increasing epithelial thickness, together with the increasing lumen diameter, the presence of numerous inclusions in the epithelium and the release of secretion, are indicative for increasing gland activity. The gland ultrastructure indicates involvement in lipid metabolism and de novo synthesis of lipids. The PPG of workers consists of 12 finger-like tubes at each side. There is a significant difference in epithelial thickness between nurses and repletes and between nurses and foragers. We suggest the PPG serves different purposes in pharaoh's ants: it is likely that the PPG of workers and virgin queens is used to feed larvae. In mated queens the gland probably plays a role in providing the queen with nutritious oils for egg production. The PPG may also function in signalling species nestmate and caste identity, as well as in the reproductive capacity of the queens. [source] Linking Assessments Effectively: Purpose and DesignEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2001Michael J. Kolen What problems can occur in linking old and newer forms of a test? Does the length of the tests being equated affect the results of a linking study? When tests are designed for different purposes, can the scores be meaningfully interpreted after equating? [source] Nietzsche's Peace with Islam: My Enemy's Enemy is my FriendGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 1 2003Ian Almond This article examines the many references in Nietzsche's work to Islam and Islamic cultures, and situates them in the general context of his thought. Nietzsche's praise of Islam as a ,ja,sagende semitische Religion', his admiration for Hafiz, his appreciation of Muslim Spain, his belief in the essentially life,affirming character of Islam, not only spring from a desire to find a palatable Other to Judaeo,Christian,European modernity, but also comment on how little Nietzsche actually knew about the cultures he so readily appropriated in his assault on European modernity. Nietzsche's negative comments on Islam , his generic dismissal of Islam with other religions as manipulative thought systems, his depiction of Mohammed as a cunning impostor, reveal in Nietzsche not only the same ambiguities towards Islam as we find towards Christ or Judaism, but also a willingness to use the multiple identities of Islam for different purposes at different moments in his work. Noch eine letzte Frage: Wenn wir von Jugend an geglaubt hätten, daß alles Seelenheil von einem Anderen als Jesus ist, ausfließe, etwa von Muhamed, ist es nicht sicher, daß wir derselben Segnungen theilhaftig geworden wären? Letter to Elisabeth Nietzsche, 11 June 1865 [source] Simulations to Verify Horizontal Flow Measurements from a Borehole FlowmeterGROUND WATER, Issue 3 2006Scott C James This paper reports on experiments and simulations of subsurface flow from a slotted acrylic tube deployed in a sand-tank flow chamber for two different purposes. In the first instance, the slotted tube is used to represent a single fracture intersected by an uncased well. In the second instance, the slotted tube is used to represent a multislot well screen within a porous medium. In both cases, the scanning colloidal borescope flowmeter (SCBFM) measures ground water velocity within the well by imaging colloids traveling through a well to measure their speed and direction. Measurements are compared against model simulations. For the case of a slotted tube representing a single fracture, SCBFM and model results agree with respect to the flow direction and to within a factor of 1.5 for the speed near the well's center. Model and experimental agreement lend confidence that for an uncased well drilled in a fractured-rock medium, a calibrated SCBFM could be used to identify and quantify flowing features. Next, the SCBFM was deployed in a four-column multislotted casing with slots aligned with the flow direction. Another numerical model was developed to estimate the flow field within this well screen to evaluate the potential usefulness of employing the SCBFM in a screened well to estimate flow speed and direction in the surrounding porous medium. Results indicate that if the slots are not aligned with the flow, the SCBFM may only provide order-of-magnitude speed measurements and direction measurements with an uncertainty of approximately ±25°. [source] Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori InfectionHELICOBACTER, Issue 2006Katarzyna Dzier, anowska-Fangrat Abstract A growing interest in non-invasive tests for the detection of Helicobacter pylori has been observed recently, reflecting a large number of studies published this year. New tests have been validated, and the old ones have been used in different clinical situations or for different purposes. Stool antigen tests have been extensively evaluated in pre- and post-treatment settings both in adults and children, and the urea breath test has been studied as a predictor of bacterial load, severity of gastric inflammation, and response to eradication treatment. Several studies have also explored the usefulness of some serologic markers as indicators of the gastric mucosa status. With regard to invasive tests, molecular methods are being used more and more, but the breakthrough this year was the direct in vivo observation of H. pylori during endoscopy. [source] New centralized automatic vehicle location communications software system under GIS environmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, Issue 9 2005Omar Al-Bayari Abstract Recent advances in wireless communications and networks have integrated relatively new technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS), to the popular Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), second generation cellular systems and the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies. Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) is based on a combination of GPS, GIS and telecommunication technologies. Automatic Vehicle Tracking systems are more and more used for different purposes, especially those related to tracking one vehicle or a fleet of vehicles. In this work, we introduce a new AVL system, which is based and developed under GIS software environment. The centralized software at the control station offers a new technology of transferring the intelligence of tracking system from the car unit, into the control office PC software. Centralized software will reduce the programming efforts in the car unit and will offer better fleet management. Moreover, the core of our system is based on the objects or the controllers of the GIS software, which reduces dramatically the overall system cost. Our system provides an easy access to change the functions of the system, with great possibility to satisfy the local needs. The design of our software will be presented with an explanation of the new supporting technologies that were to create the system. Finally, our software system has been validated using data from local road networks. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Christian democracy, social democracy and the paradoxes of earnings-related social securityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 1 2002Johan Jeroen De Deken This article compares the retirement policies of Belgium and Sweden in order to reveal the different incentive structures built into the pensions systems prevailing in countries that are taken to represent different approaches to welfare capitalism. It addresses the question of why in a Christian Democratic welfare state that is said to grant pensions rights on the basis of merit and past work performance one can find extremely low labour-force participation rates among elderly workers, while in a Social Democratic welfare state that is supposed to grant pension rights relatively independent of past labour-market performance, one can find quite high participation rates amongst that section of the labour force. This apparent paradox is explained in terms of the different purposes of the early-retirement schemes in the two countries: in Belgium they were primarily part of a strategy to combat (youth) unemployment, in Sweden they had more to do with reforms that sought to accomplish a ,humanisation of work' by softening the abrupt transition from work into retirement. [source] The sizes of species' geographic rangesJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Kevin J. Gaston Summary 1Geographic range size and how it changes through time is one of the fundamental ecological and evolutionary characteristics of a species, and a strong predictor of extinction risk. However, the measurement of range size remains a substantial challenge. Indeed, there is significant confusion in the literature as to how this should be done, particularly in the context of the distinction between the fundamentally different concepts of extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO), and the use of these quantities, including in assessments of the threat status of species. 2Here we review the different approaches to determining the geographic distributions of species, the measurement of their range sizes, the relationships between the two, and other difficulties posed by range size measurement (especially those of range discontinuities when measuring EOO, and spatial scale when measuring AOO). 3We argue that it is important to (i) distinguish the estimation of the distribution of a species from the measurement of its geographic range size; (ii) treat measures of EOO and AOO as serving different purposes, rather than regarding them as more or less accurate ways of measuring range size; and (iii) measure EOO including discontinuities in habitat or occupancy. 4Synthesis and applications. With the availability and collation of extensive data sets on species occurrences, a rapidly increasing number of studies are investigating geographic range size, and particularly how various measures of range size predict macroecological patterns and inform assessments of the conservation status of species and areas. The distinction between EOO and AOO is becoming blurred in many contexts, but most particularly in that of threatened species assessments for Red Listing. Continued progress in these fields demands greater clarity in the meaning and derivation of measures of geographic range size. The two principal measures serve different purposes, and should not be regarded as alternatives that simply differ in accuracy. [source] The terminology and use of species,area relationships: a response to Dengler (2009)JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10 2009Samuel M. Scheiner Abstract Dengler (Journal of Biogeography, 2009, 36, 728,744) addresses issues regarding species,area relationships (SARs), but fails to settles those issues. He states that only certain types of sampling schemes should be used to construct SARs, but is not consistent in the criteria that he uses to include some sampling schemes but not others. He argues that a sampling scheme of contiguous plots will be more accurate in extrapolating beyond the sampled area, but logic tells us that a dispersed sampling scheme is likely to be more accurate. Finally, he concludes that the ,true' SAR is a power function, but this conclusion is inconsistent with his results and with the results of others. Rather than defining a narrow framework for SARs, we need to recognize that the relationship between area and species richness is scale- and system-dependent. Different sampling schemes serve different purposes, and a variety of functional relationships are likely to hold. Further theoretical and empirical work is needed to resolve these issues fully. [source] Mapping space for water: screening for urban flash floodingJOURNAL OF FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008B. Hankin Abstract This paper builds on the ,Flooding from Other Sources' project (HA4a), funded as part of Defra's Making Space for Water strategy. The HA4a study concluded that flood risk mapping is feasible for many of the sources of flooding that were investigated, which are not currently covered by the Environment Agency Flood Map, using existing flow modelling and GIS tools. However, there are some major constraints in terms of the need to undertake extensive data collection to allow the generation of useful flood maps that are not dominated by modelling uncertainties. The project anticipated that different levels of data collection and modelling might be needed for different purposes, given the hierarchical nature of UK flood risk assessment and management in the United Kingdom under PPS25 and the EC Floods Directive. This paper compares and contrasts three different approaches to urban flood modelling using topographic analysis, blanket extreme rainfall and semi-coupled sewer/overland routing. The UK summer floods 2007 have highlighted the pressing need for mapping the risk from urban flash flooding, and the Pitt Review has recommended that areas at high risk from surface waters should be urgently identified. This can be done now at some level of detail, and we can be guided as to what level, from our increasing knowledge of vulnerable populations, from records of historical flooding and by using some of the screening methods described herein. [source] Assessing experiences and responses of crime victims,JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 2 2003Eve B. Carlson Abstract This paper reviews strategies and methods for assessing crime victims with an emphasis on assessments for clinical purposes. In terms of outcomes, this paper primarily focuses on assessing posttraumatic symptoms of PTSD, dissociation, and traumatic grief as these are all quite disabling and may be mediators of other responses. Additional topics reviewed include reasons to assess experiences and responses of crime victims, issues to bear in mind when conducting assessments for different purposes, considerations for use of various sources of information about a client, characteristics of measures and of clinents to take into account when selecting measures, recommended domains of experiences and symptoms to assess, and suggestions about the process of administering measures and conducting therapeutic assessments. [source] Clientelism and Social Funds: Evidence from Chávez's MisionesLATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007Michael Penfold-Becerra ABSTRACT The latest president in Latin America to adopt social funds on a large scale as an integral part of his government program has been Hugo Chávez Frías of Venezuela. Based on the literature on clientelism and social funds in Latin America, this article finds that Venezuela's latest experiments with social funds were influenced by political variables. It uses empirical data from the distribution of resources for some of the subnational misiones programs to show how, given increased levels of electoral competition and weak institutional constraints, the government used these funds clientelistically, even while distributing oil income to the very poor. Chávez's misiones served two very different purposes: to manipulate the political context and to distribute funds directly to the low-income population. [source] Tribological characterisation of hard coatings with and without DLC top layer in fretting testsLUBRICATION SCIENCE, Issue 1 2006D. KlaffkeArticle first published online: 14 DEC 200 Abstract The potential of coatings to protect components against wear and to reduce friction has led to a large variety of protective coatings. In order to check the success of coating modifications and to find solutions for different purposes, initial tests with laboratory tribometers are usually done to give information about the performance of a coating. Different Ti-based coatings (TiN, Ti(C,N), and TiAlN) and NiP were tested in comparison to coatings with an additional diamond-like carbon (DLC) top coating. Tests were done in laboratory air at room temperature with oscillating sliding (gross slip fretting) with a ball-on-disc arrangement against a ceramic ball (Al2O3). Special attention was paid to possible effects of moisture (relative humidity). The coefficient of friction was measured on line, and the volumetric wear at the disc was determined after the test from microscopic measurements of the wear scar and additional profiles. The friction and wear behaviour is quite different for the different coatings and depends more or less on the relative humidity. The DLC coating on top of the other coatings reduces friction and wear considerably. In normal and in moist air the coefficient of wear of the DLC top-layer coating is significantly less than 10,6,mm3/Nm and the coefficient of friction is below 0.1. In dry air, however, there is a certain tendency to high wear and high friction. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The thoracodorsal vascular tree-based combined fascial flapsMICROSURGERY, Issue 2 2009Meisei Takeishi M.D. In this study, combined fascial flaps pedicled on the thoracodorsal artery and vein were raised and used for thin coverage of dorsal surfaces of the fingers and the dorsum of hand and foot with favorable results. The combined fascial flaps consist of the serratus anterior fascia and the axillary fascia at the entrance of the latissimus dorsi. These flaps were used for reconstruction of the hand, fingers, or foot in nine patients. Reconstruction was performed for burn or burn scar contracture, after resection of malignant tumors, posttraumatic skin defects, and chronic regional pain syndrome. The sites of reconstruction were dorsal surfaces of fingers, dorsum of hand, wrist and palm, forearm, lower leg, and foot. The flaps were used in various configurations including two independent fascial flaps, two-lobed fascial flap with separate feeding vessels, and composite fascial and thoracodorsal artery perforator flap. The fascial and skin flaps survived in all nine patients, with favorable results both functionally and esthetically. Good coverage of soft tissue defects and good recovery of range of motion in resurfaced joints were achieved. There were no complications. The scars at the sites of harvest were not noticeable. The advantage of this method is that not only a single flap but flaps of a variety of configurations can be harvested for different purposes. The thoracodorsal vascular tree-based combined fascial flaps are useful for the reconstruction of soft tissue defects in the extremities. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2009. [source] Students' and Teachers' Assessments of the Need for Accuracy in the Oral Production of German as a Foreign LanguageMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007MONIKA CHAVEZ Previous research indicates that foreign language learners are much more focused on accuracy, particularly grammatical accuracy, than their teachers are. The purpose of the current study was to gain a more detailed understanding of American learners' views of the need for accuracy in the oral production of a foreign language (German) by (a) distinguishing among 4 different purposes of language use (deriving a personal sense of accomplishment; being comprehensible to a native speaker [NS]; being pleasant to an NS; receiving an A in the course); (b) specifying 19 different language forms (grammatical, phonological, lexical, and pragmatic) of German; (c) asking the learners to assess the likelihood of ever attaining 90% or higher accuracy in each of these features; (d) examining learners in 4 different years of instruction; and (e) comparing the learners' beliefs to those of their teachers. The results revealed that (a) the learners in this study were not universally motivated toward accuracy in oral production generally or toward grammatical accuracy specifically; (b) they assumed that the grade requirements demanded much higher levels of accuracy than were necessary (as reported by the teachers) and were needed for communication with NSs or for their personal sense of accomplishment; (c) the year of instruction distinguished ratings of needed accuracy in specific forms, but not ratings of the overall degree of needed accuracy; and (d) the views of beginning learners especially and their teachers differed on the degree of accuracy needed to obtain a grade of A in the course, to derive a sense of accomplishment, and in the usage of specific language forms. Here, the learners appeared to construct unwarranted equivalencies between form-meaning relationships in the first language (L1) and the second language (L2) when they perceived that a low degree of accuracy was needed in certain German forms, particularly case endings and suprasegmental features. These findings suggest that judgments of required accuracy: (a) interact with the specific language-use purpose and specific language forms; (b) may vary by specific L1,L2 pairings; and (c) may have reflected in previous research the learners' perceptions of grade requirements rather than their true personal motivations. [source] Urtication for Musculoskeletal Pain?PAIN MEDICINE, Issue 7 2008BAppSc(physio), Les Alford MSc ABSTRACT Urtication refers to the deliberate stinging of the skin with nettles. Throughout history urtication has been used for a range of different purposes. This case describes an interesting clinical encounter in which a patient with recurring low back pain reports using urtication to help with pain control. Some recent research into this previously more widespread pain-relieving strategy is also discussed. [source] Interpersonal trust and voluntary associations: examining three approachesTHE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Helmut Anheier ABSTRACT The relationship between interpersonal trust and membership in voluntary associations is a persistent research finding in sociology. What is more, the notion of trust has become a central issue in current social science theorizing covering such diverse approaches as transaction costs economics or cognitive sociology. In different ways and for different purposes, these approaches address the role of voluntary organizations, although, as this paper argues, much of this thinking remains sketchy and underdeveloped. Against an empirical portrait of this relationship, the purpose of this paper is to assess such theorizing. We first set out to explicate major approaches to trust in economics, sociology and political science, using the non-profit or voluntary organization as a focal point. We then examine the various approaches in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, and, finally, identify key areas for theoretical development. In particular, we point to the social movement literature, the social psychology of trust, and recent thinking about civil society. [source] FRAMING THE HUMAN CONDITION: THE EXISTENTIAL DILEMMA IN IRIS MURDOCH'S THE BELL AND MURIEL SPARK'S ROBINSONTHE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 5 2007MICHAEL GIFFIN One of the features of modernist and postmodernist novels is the way they interrogate classical metaphysics, in the spirit of what Habermas calls post-metaphysical thinking, otherwise known as the post-Enlightenment critique of the Enlightenment. As a literary prism, post-metaphysical thinking is not anti-metaphysical: it conducts its interrogation and still accommodates both secular and religious frames. Iris Murdoch and Muriel Spark are often compared but they interrogate classical metaphysics from different perspectives and for different purposes. In the nineteen-fifties, Murdoch was an aspiring philosophical author who treated classical metaphysics as a canon of influential myth, while Spark was an aspiring theological author who had recently converted to Catholicism. Through a reading of The Bell and Robinson, both published in the same year, this article describes how the young Murdoch and Spark do what emerging literary authors of the nineteen-fifties were expected to do: frame the human condition and reflect on its existential dilemma. With their different perspectives they both write within the same paradigm, or theory of mind; against symbolic backgrounds, and among significant dialogues, they make use of similar tropes. But Murdoch and Spark arrive at opposite positions on the relationship between imagination and reality, between logos and mythos, and ultimately on the nature of freedom and contingency. [source] Countervailing Duties, Foreign Export Subsidies and Import TariffsTHE JAPANESE ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2004Yu-Ter Wang Given that countervailing duties and import tariffs are set in different ways and for different purposes, I re-examine the relationship between countervailing duties, foreign export subsidies and import tariffs under imperfect competition. I find that (i) the optimal countervailing duty depends on the existing import tariff level; (ii) the optimal import tariff is so high that the optimal countervailing duty is zero and hence foreign export subsidization occurs; and (iii) it is more likely for countervailing duties to be imposed on a foreign firm whose government takes no action when other foreign countries reduce or eliminate their subsidies on exports. [source] The enhanced tool-kit of two groups of wild bearded capuchin monkeys in the Caatinga: tool making, associative use, and secondary toolsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Massimo Mannu Abstract The use of stones to crack open encapsulated fruit is widespread among wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Cebus libidinosus) inhabiting savanna-like environments. Some populations in Serra da Capivara National Park (Piauí, Brazil), though, exhibit a seemingly broader toolkit, using wooden sticks as probes, and employing stone tools for a variety of purposes. Over the course of 701.5,hr of visual contact of two wild capuchin groups we recorded 677 tool use episodes. Five hundred and seventeen of these involved the use of stones, and 160 involved the use of sticks (or other plant parts) as probes to access water, arthropods, or the contents of insects' nests. Stones were mostly used as "hammers",not only to open fruit or seeds, or smash other food items, but also to break dead wood, conglomerate rock, or cement in search of arthropods, to dislodge bigger stones, and to pulverize embedded quartz pebbles (licking, sniffing, or rubbing the body with the powder produced). Stones also were used in a "hammer-like" fashion to loosen the soil for digging out roots and arthropods, and sometimes as "hoes" to pull the loosened soil. In a few cases, we observed the re-utilization of stone tools for different purposes (N=3), or the combined use of two tools,stones and sticks (N=4) or two stones (N=5), as sequential or associative tools. On three occasions, the monkeys used smaller stones to loosen bigger quartz pebbles embedded in conglomerate rock, which were subsequently used as tools. These could be considered the first reports of secondary tool use by wild capuchin monkeys. Am. J. Primatol. 71:242,251, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Linking ecological and hydromorphological data: approaches, challenges and future prospects for riverine scienceAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue S1 2010I. P. Vaughan Abstract 1.Research linking river ecology and hydromorphology is driven by concerns about hydromorphological pressures (e.g. abstraction, land-use change) and legislative (e.g. EU Water Framework Directive) or management needs (e.g. climate-change adaptation). Unfortunately, much of the science is still weak or qualitative (cf. links between ecology and water quality). 2.Rapid progress is required, but financial resources are limited. In response, research opportunities using existing ecological and hydromorphological data and survey methods need to be explored further. 3.There are challenges inherent in using existing data, which are often collected for different purposes, and this paper highlights aspects of spatial scale, temporal coverage, sampling biases, data quality and mining, and the problems faced when using pre-defined sets of variables. 4.While the prospects for exploiting existing data are mixed, distinct strengths arise from extensive geographic coverage, the ability to improve the evidence base rapidly and at low cost, and the generation of testable hypotheses. 5.Current survey methods usually record biological or hydromorphic patterns, or inventories of features (cf. physical processes, or ecosystem functions or services). Their greatest use is likely to be in extending current spatially extensive biological or water chemistry monitoring to more integrated ,eco-hydromorphic' monitoring. 6.With further methodological development, there is real scope for illuminating several aspects of riverine ecology, including the direct ecological and physical consequences of modifying river systems; revealing indirect sensitivity to other pressures, such as climate change; offering a more holistic picture of the distribution of pressures on river ecosystems; and developing hydromorphology as a unifying theme in river studies. However, such developments require funding commitments from research sponsors. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Brain Neurons Express Ornithine Decarboxylase-Activating Antizyme Inhibitor 2 with Accumulation in Alzheimer's DiseaseBRAIN PATHOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Laura T. Mäkitie Abstract Polyamines are small cationic molecules that in adult brain are connected to neuronal signaling by regulating inward-rectifier K+ -channels and different glutamate receptors. Antizyme inhibitors (AZINs) regulate the cellular uptake of polyamines and activate ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the rate-limiting enzyme of polyamine synthesis. Elevated levels of ODC activity and polyamines are detected in various brain disorders including stroke and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We originally reported a novel brain- and testis-specific AZIN, called AZIN2, the distribution of which we have now studied in normal and diseased human brain by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. We found the highest accumulation of AZIN2 in a pearl-on-the-string-like distribution along the axons in both the white and gray matter. AZIN2 was also detected in a vesicle-like distribution in the somas of selected cortical pyramidal neurons. Double-immunofluorescence staining revealed co-localization of AZIN2 and N-methyl D-aspartate-type glutamate receptors (NMDARs) in pyramidal neurons of the cortex. Moreover, we found accumulation of AZIN2 in brains affected by AD, but not by other neurodegenerative disorders (CADASIL or Lewy body disease). ODC activity is mostly linked to cell proliferation, whereas its regulation by AZIN2 in post-mitotically differentiated neurons of the brain apparently serves different purposes. The subcellular distribution of AZIN2 suggests a role in vesicular trafficking. [source] A study of natural rubber latex allergens in gloves used by healthcare workers in SingaporeBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2005D. Koh Summary Background, Allergy to natural rubber latex (NRL) proteins is a well-recognized health problem among subjects using protective gloves and products made of NRL. There is currently no information on NRL allergen levels in gloves used in Singapore. Objectives, This study aims to quantify the amount of specific allergens (Hev b 1, Hev b 3, Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02) found in rubber gloves used in Singapore. It also aims to determine if these levels are above thresholds that may cause NRL allergy. It also compares the levels of these specific allergens in gloves used for different purposes, namely gloves used for examination purposes or for surgical procedures. Methods, Forty-nine rubber gloves were obtained from major hospitals and healthcare departments in Singapore and were analysed for their NRL allergen levels. FITkitTM, based on the enzyme immunometric assay technique, was used to determine the specific allergen levels of Hev b 1, Hev b 3, Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 in the gloves. Results, Examination gloves had higher NRL allergen content compared with surgical gloves, and powdered gloves had higher allergen content compared with nonpowdered gloves. Among the various allergens, Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 were present in larger quantities than Hev b 1 and Hev b 3. Only two of 19 (11%) surgical gloves had the sum of the four allergens (Hev b 1, Hev b 3, Hev b 5, Hev b 6.02) in excess of 1 µg g,1, which is believed to be a clinically relevant threshold. Among the examination gloves, 25 of 30 (83%) exceeded this level. Conclusions, This study shows that NRL allergen levels are present in the majority of examination gloves used by healthcare workers in Singapore at levels high enough to cause NRL allergy among sensitized persons. The information can serve as evidence for a possible requirement for manufacturers to produce gloves with low NRL allergen levels and to state the allergen level in gloves in the product information. [source] Parent Academic Involvement as Related to School Behavior, Achievement, and Aspirations: Demographic Variations Across AdolescenceCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2004Nancy E. Hill A longitudinal model of parent academic involvement, behavioral problems, achievement, and aspirations was examined for 463 adolescents, followed from 7th (approximately 12 years old) through 11th (approximately 16 years old) grades. Parent academic involvement in 7th grade was negatively related to 8th-grade behavioral problems and positively related to 11th-grade aspirations. There were variations across parental education levels and ethnicity: Among the higher parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to fewer behavioral problems, which were related to achievement and then aspirations. For the lower parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to aspirations but not to behavior or achievement. Parent academic involvement was positively related to achievement for African Americans but not for European Americans. Parent academic involvement may be interpreted differently and serve different purposes across sociodemographic backgrounds. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||