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Doubt
Kinds of Doubt Selected AbstractsDESCARTES' DOUBTS: PHYSIOLOGY AND THE FIRST MEDITATIONPHILOSOPHICAL FORUM, Issue 1 2009KIRSTEN BESHEER First page of article [source] Aporias, Webs, and Passages: Doubt as an Opportunity to LearnCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 2 2000Nicholas C. Burbules This article offers an exploration of the idea, and the experience, of aporia (usually translated as ,doubt') in Plato's dialogue, the Meno, and in other teaching/learning contexts. A metaphor that moves throughout the article is the experience of being lost when exploring the World Wide Web and other weblike or hypertextual environments. The article represents the experience of movement, following uncertain connections, and cycling back through certain points by way of the form in which it is written. Through a series of interlinked passages, the article explores the ideas of webs, passages, and paths of connection as models of discovery, getting lost, making unexpected connections, and learning. It explores different types of aporia and shows how aporia can be seen, not as a barrier to knowledge, or as simply ,clearing the ground' for new learning, but as an integral dimension of learning (and of teaching) itself. By design, it offers not an argument but a way of exploring complex ideas; in a different medium, it could have been produced as a hypertextual article itself (and in this way might also spark reflection on the possibilities and limits of hypertextual writing within a print medium). [source] Grace, Doubt, and Evil: The Constructive Task Of Reformation TheologyDIALOG, Issue 4 2002Ted Peters The Lutheran vocation is to be a friend of grace; and since the 16th century Lutheran systematic theology has built upon a foundation of grace. Two apparent barriers to grace need addressing. First, doubt in the form of agnosticism and atheism provides a metaphysical argument against God's existence. Second, evil and suffering provide a moral argument against God's existence. From a Lutheran point of view the question of God's graciousness takes precedence over God's existence. [source] Ginkgo biloba for mild to moderate dementia in a community setting: a pragmatic, randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trialINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 12 2008Rob McCarney Abstract Objectives Doubt over the cost-effectiveness of the cholinesterase inhibitors in dementia has renewed interest in alternative treatments such as Ginkgo biloba. We aimed to determine the effectiveness and the safety profile of Ginkgo biloba for treating early stage dementia in a community setting. Methods We conducted a community-based, pragmatic, randomised, double-blind, parallel-group trial where participants were given a standardised extract of Ginkgo biloba (120,mg daily) or a placebo control for 6 months. Our primary outcomes were cognitive functioning (ADAS-Cog) and participant and carer-rated quality of life (QOL-AD). Results We recruited 176 participants, mainly through general practices. In the ANCOVA model with baseline score as a co-variate (n,=,176), Ginkgo did not have a significant effect on outcome at six months on either the ADAS-Cog score (p,=,0.392), the participant-rated QOL-AD score (p,=,0.787) nor the carer-rated QOL-AD score (p,=,0.222). Conclusion We found no evidence that a standard dose of high purity Ginkgo biloba confers benefit in mild-moderate dementia over 6 months. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] SACU: Future of Union in Doubt?AFRICA RESEARCH BULLETIN: ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SERIES, Issue 5 2009Article first published online: 3 JUL 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Not Giving the Skeptic a Hearing: Pragmatism and Radical DoubtPHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005ERIK J. OLSSON Pragmatist responses to radical skepticism do not receive much attention in contemporary analytic epistemology. This observation is my motivation for undertaking a search for a coherent pragmatist reply to radical doubt, one that can compete, in terms of clarity and sophistication, with the currently most popular approaches, such as contextualism and relevant alternatives theory. As my point of departure I take the texts of C. S. Peirce and William James. The Jamesian response is seen to consist in the application of a wager argument to the skeptical issue in analogy with Pascal's wager. The Peircean strategy, on the other hand, is to attempt a direct rejection of one of the skeptic's main premises: that we do not know we are not deceived. I argue that while the Jamesian attempt is ultimately incoherent, Peirce's argument contains the core of a detailed and characteristically "pragmatic" rebuttal of skepticism, one that deserves to be taken seriously in the contemporary debate. [source] Book review: Bodies in Doubt: An American History of IntersexAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Jonathan ReeserArticle first published online: 11 JAN 2010 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Beyond a Shadow of Doubt: Assessing the Psycho-logical Impact of Predictive Genetic Testing for Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2.PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 6 2002Edited by Grosfield, University Medical Center, Utrecht No abstract is available for this article. [source] Doubt, faith, and knowledge: the reconfiguration of the intellectual field in post-Nasserist CairoTHE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 2009Hatsuki Aishima The study of the Islamic Resurgence has underestimated the intellectual trials that some key personalities underwent at a crucial stage of the crisis of post-colonial societies. The intellectual leaders of the Resurgence faced the task to redefine the social value of faith and of its converse, doubt, as the insidious flip-side of processes of modernization. Their response to the challenge contributed to a reconfiguration of the intellectual field: in order to reach larger audiences they reinterpreted their cultural credentials and even life narratives in terms of the communicative standards suitable to new media. This paper analyses how the motives of doubt and faith in the trajectories of two personalities aspiring to the status of ,Islamic intellectual' (the Sufi scholar and Shaykh al-Azhar ,Abd al-Halim Mahmud and the media-savvy lay thinker Mustafa Mahmud) contributed to a reconfiguration of the intellectual field. We investigate how their legacy is presently discussed among educated audiences. Finally, we show how the ambivalence of the reception of their public teaching reflects the troubled search for a new ideological balance by the Egyptian middle classes. Résumé L'étude de la Résurgence islamique a sous-estimé les épreuves intellectuelles par laquelle sont passés certains de ses grands noms à un stade crucial de la crise des sociétés postcoloniales. Les meneurs intellectuels de la Résurgence se sont trouvés confrontés à la tâche de redéfinir la valeur sociale de la foi et de son opposé, le doute, comme le revers insidieux des processus de modernisation. En relevant ce défi, ils ont contribuéà reconfigurer le champ intellectuel : pour atteindre un public plus large, ils ont réinterprété leurs références culturelles et même leurs récits de vies selon les standards de communication adaptés aux nouveaux médias. Les auteurs analysent ici la façon dont les motifs du doute et de la foi dans la trajectoire de deux personnalités aspirant au statut « d'intellectuel islamique », l'érudit soufi Shaykh al-Azhar ,Abd al-Halim Mahmud et le penseur laïque Mustafa Mahmud, fin connaisseur des média, ont contribuéà la reconfiguration du champ intellectuel. Les auteurs étudient le débat dont leur héritage fait aujourd'hui l'objet dans les cercles éduqués. Pour finir, ils montrent comment l'ambivalence de l'accueil fait à leur enseignement public reflète la difficile recherche d'un équilibre idéologique dans les classes moyennes égyptiennes. [source] Beyond Reason and DoubtART HISTORY, Issue 4 2010Pamela Bracewell-Homer First page of article [source] Ascertaining the prevalence of childhood disabilityCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2005T. Hutchison Abstract Objectives, To reapply 1985 Office of Population Census and Surveys (OPCS) disability survey methods, modified as necessary, to a sample of children to ascertain presence of disability. To compare OPCS-based prevalence with prevalence based on carer's views and medical records. Design, Analytical study. Setting, Community Child Health Department in UK. Participants, Principal carers of 100 children aged 5,15, selected from a district special needs register. Main outcome measures, Comparable information about disability from three sources and diagnosis from carers and medical records. Results, Medical records of 46% contained a diagnosis. Carers were always aware of this, although a single question did not always elicit their knowledge. OPCS-derived threshold disability criteria in categories of Hand function, Personal care, Consciousness and Continence gave prevalence results similar to medical records and carers. OPCS criteria yielded higher prevalence of disability in the areas of Locomotion (8%), Communication (14%) and Hearing (18%). Carers, OPCS and medical records disagreed markedly about prevalence of disabilities of Vision, probably because of the use of differing definitions. OPCS learning criteria were judged unsuitable and standard attainment targets (SATs) were substituted. These provided similar prevalence figures to carers and medical records. OPCS behaviour criteria were also unsuitable and were replaced by the General Health and Behaviour Questionnaire (GHBQ). This found an increased prevalence of problems compared with carers and doctors. Conclusions, Diagnostic labels have limited use when collecting data about disabled children. Doubt is cast on the validity of some of the 1985 OPCS threshold criteria, and reassessment is suggested before their future use. Further work is needed on the use of SATs and GHBQ in the benchmarking of disability. To collect population data it would be easier and at least equally effective (with caution in the case of Vision) to ask carers directly rather than applying descriptive thresholds and external judgements. Similar information could be obtained from medical records, however, they are likely to be out of date. [source] Adaptive Zooming in Web CartographyCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 4 2002Alesandro Cecconi Abstract Beyond any doubt much of the current web mapping and web GIS applications lack cartographic quality. Thereasons aren't only the technical limitations related to Internet delivery, but also the neglect of one of the maincartographic principles of digital mapping, namely adaptive zooming. Adaptive zooming describes the adjustmentof a map, its contents and the symbolization to target scale in consequence of a zooming operation. The approachdescribed in this paper proposes the combination of two commonly known concepts: on the one hand levelsof detail (LoD) for those object classes, that require high computational cost for the automated generalizationprocess (e.g. buildings, road network); on the other hand an on-the-fly generalization for those object classeswhich can be generalized by less complex methods and algorithms (e.g. rivers, lakes). Realizing such interactiveand dynamic concept for web mapping requires the use of vector based visualization tools. The data format bestmeeting the criteria is the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). Thus, it has been used to implementthe presented ideas in a prototype application for topographic web mapping based on the landscape modelVECTOR25 of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography. [source] Effects of Economic Prosperity on Numbers of Threatened SpeciesCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2001Robin Naidoo We corrected for factors that might otherwise confound such a relationship. Our study was motivated by the continuing debate over the relationship between environmental degradation and per-capita income. Proponents of the environmental Kuznets-curve hypothesis argue that although environmental degradation may increase initially, increases in per-capita income will eventually result in greater environmental quality. Theoretical objections and the lack of widespread empirical evidence recently have thrown doubt on the existence of such a pattern. Treating threat to biodiversity as one potential indicator of environmental degradation, we divided threatened species into seven taxonomic groups ( plants, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, and invertebrates) and analyzed each group separately. Count-data regression analysis indicated that the number of threatened species was related to per-capita gross national product in five of seven taxonomic groups. Birds were the only taxonomic group in which numbers of threatened species decreased throughout the range of developed countries' per-capita gross national product. Plants, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates showed increasing numbers of threatened species throughout this same range. If these relationships hold, increasing numbers of species from several taxonomic groups are likely to be threatened with extinction as countries increase in prosperity. A key challenge is to understand the interactions among consumer preferences, biology, and institutions that lead to the relationship observed for birds and to see whether this knowledge can be applied to conservation of other taxa. Resumen: Utilizamos datos de más de 100 países para investigar la relación entre números de especies amenazadas y el producto interno bruto per cápita. Hicimos ajustes para factores que pudieran confundir tal relación. Nuestro estudio fue motivado por el continuo debate sobre la relación entre la degradación ambiental y el ingreso per cápita. Proponentes de la hipótesis de la curva ambiental de Kuznets argumentan que, aunque la degradación ambiental puede aumentar inicialmente, el incremento en el ingreso per cápita eventualmente resultará en una mejor calidad ambiental. Recientemente, objeciones teóricas y la carencia de evidencia empírica generalizada hacen dudar de la existencia de ese patrón. Tratando la amenaza a la biodiversidad como un potencial indicador de la degradación ambiental, dividimos a las especies amenazadas en siete grupos taxonómicos (plantas, mamíferos, aves, anfibios, reptiles, peces e invertebrados) y analizamos cada uno por separado. El análisis de regresión de los datos de conteo indicó que el número de especies amenazadas se relacionó con el producto interno bruto per cápita en 5 de los 7 grupos taxonómicos. Las aves fueron el único grupo en el que el número de especies amenazadas decreció a lo largo del rango del producto interno bruto per cápita de los países desarrollados. Las plantas, anfibios, reptiles e invertebrados mostraron un incremento en el número de especies amenazadas en este mismo rango. Si estas relaciones persisten, es posible que aumente el número de especies, de varios grupos taxonómicos, amenazadas de extinción a medida que los países incrementen su prosperidad. Constituye un reto clave entender las interacciones entre la preferencia de los consumidores y los factores biológicos e institucionales que conducen a la relación observada en las aves, y ver si este conocimiento puede aplicarse en la conservación de otros taxones. [source] Formaldehyde-releasers: relationship to formaldehyde contact allergy.CONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 2 2009Contact allergy to formaldehyde, inventory of formaldehyde-releasers This is one of series of review articles on formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasers (others: formaldehyde in cosmetics, in clothes and in metalworking fluids and miscellaneous). Thirty-five chemicals were identified as being formaldehyde-releasers. Although a further seven are listed in the literature as formaldehyde-releasers, data are inadequate to consider them as such beyond doubt. Several (nomenclature) mistakes and outdated information are discussed. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde allergy are reviewed: applications, exposure scenarios, legislation, patch testing problems, frequency of sensitization, relevance of positive patch test reactions, clinical pattern of allergic contact dermatitis from formaldehyde, prognosis, threshold for elicitation of allergic contact dermatitis, analytical tests to determine formaldehyde in products and frequency of exposure to formaldehyde and releasers. The frequency of contact allergy to formaldehyde is consistently higher in the USA (8,9%) than in Europe (2,3%). Patch testing with formaldehyde is problematic; the currently used 1% solution may result in both false-positive and false-negative (up to 40%) reactions. Determining the relevance of patch test reactions is often challenging. What concentration of formaldehyde is safe for sensitive patients remains unknown. Levels of 200,300 p.p.m. free formaldehyde in cosmetic products have been shown to induce dermatitis from short-term use on normal skin. [source] A case study of shell at Sakhalin: having a whale of a time?CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008Subhasis Ray Abstract This is a case study on the world's largest oil and gas project, at the Sakhalin Islands, Russia. Shell is the key promoter of this project. The case highlights the sustainability challenges that Shell faced when working on the mega-project. By their very nature, all such projects involve disruptions in the environmental and social fabric of the project site. NGOs often take up these issues and create international headlines, bringing pressure on the management team. The Russian government also changed its stand over a period of time. While many of these issues are valid in their own way, they often create managerial dilemmas. Traditional management approaches to community development and environmental conservation fell short of stakeholder expectations at Sakhalin. The issue of saving around 100 endangered whales put a cloud of doubt over this $20 billion project. The case highlights strategic issues involved in crafting sustainability strategies at mega-projects, possible pitfalls and the challenge of balancing project execution and stakeholder commitments against an unstable political backdrop. As Shell plans to start many exploration projects in bio-diversity rich parts of the world, the Sakhalin project acts as a pilot to and reminder of social responsibility challenges to big multi-nationals. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The UK climate change levy: good intentions but potentially damaging to businessCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2004Ann Hansford The climate change levy (CCL) is an important part of the UK Government's response to being a signatory to the Kyoto agreement. Prior to the introduction of the levy there were sharply contrasting views, which ranged from Sir Robert May's view that it was ,an opportunity, not a threat' to the CBI's view that it should be an option of last resort. In order to consider the impact of the CCL on UK businesses, interviews were undertaken within one ,not for profit' and two commercial organizations to explore reactions to its introduction. The findings from the study suggest the primary foci of concerns are based upon increases to the cost base and threats to international competitiveness. Further, there is doubt that the ambitious targets signed up to by the UK Government are likely to be achieved, unless there are fundamental changes in support for businesses, or the targets are revised. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Moral Education Between Hope and Hopelessness: The Legacy of Janusz KorczakCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 1 2008SARA EFRAT EFRON ABSTRACT The responsibility for addressing morality and moral education in the current moral climate is a daunting task for conscientious educators. What educational response can extricate us from the debilitating feelings of hopelessness and helplessness as we are confronted by horrific terrorist actions, controversial use of military might, displays of corruption and greed and a growing general tension and anxiety? At this demoralizing juncture of uncertainty and doubt, the figure of Janusz Korczak (1878,1942), a Jewish-Polish educator, looms large. For more than 30 years, Korczak devoted his life to educating orphaned Jewish and non-Jewish children. He stayed with the Jewish children to the end as they all perished in a concentration camp. At a time when the surrounding society surrendered to fascism, anti-Semitism, and self-destruction, Korczak encouraged individual autonomy and caring relationships within the context of a community where a vision of justice and trust was an integral part of life. The orphanages he directed were democratic, self-ruled communities, where the children had their own parliament, court, and newspaper. This article describes the principles and the actualization of Korczak's moral education and explores how Korczak reconciled the differences between the ethical world he created in his institutions and the surrounding immoral society. The example set by Korczak's educational praxis serves as an inspiring model of school life across the boundaries of time and place and touches our need to believe in education's responsibility to strive and struggle for a better world, even when it seems an unattainable goal. And the hour shall come when a man will know himself, respect, and love. And the hour shall come in history's clock when man shall know the place of good, the place of evil, the place of pleasure, and the place of pain. (Korczak, 1978, p. 237) [source] Telepathology as an Aid in Mohs Micrographic SurgeryDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 6 2004Suresh Chandra MB Background. Mohs surgeons are occasionally confronted by challenging pathology ideally requiring the advice of a dermatopathologist. The Internet transmission of digital images of the pathology (telepathology) allows for such opinions to be easily and rapidly obtained. Objective. The objective was to obtain images utilizing a digital camera focused directly through one microscope eyepiece with subsequent e-mail to a pathologist for an immediate opinion. Methods. The particular area of interest on the slide is selected. The lens of the digital camera is placed directly on one eyepiece of the microscope and using the zoom and autofocus options of the camera a sharp image is obtained. The camera flash must be disabled. The images are immediately downloaded to computer and e-mailed to the pathologist for an opinion. Results. Three case reports illustrate that the pathologist is able to offer suggestions on a diagnosis with a high degree of confidence using the e-mailed images. Conclusion. Digital camera technology now allows for images to be taken directly through an eyepiece of the microscope. These images can be almost instantaneously e-mailed to a pathologist anywhere in the world for an immediate opinion. The technique provides for greater surety where doubt exists about the pathology during Mohs surgery. [source] Avascular necrosis not Charcot'sDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 10 2001Y. P. Samarasinghe Abstract Background, A case of avascular necrosis (AN) of the navicular bone, in a 24-year-old woman with Type 1 diabetes with peripheral neuropathy, in the absence of any history of direct trauma is presented. The clinical and radiological features at presentation suggested an evolving Charcot arthropathy (CA), but subsequent serial X-rays clearly confirmed AN. Conclusions Swelling and foot deformity in association with long-standing diabetic peripheral neuropathy is suggestive of CA, although AN, a less common condition, may show the same clinical features. It is therefore important to undertake further confirmatory radiological investigations if there is any doubt about the diagnosis. Diabet. Med. 18, 846,848 (2001) [source] The Explainability of IntuitionsDIALECTICA, Issue 1 2004Nenad Mi Explaining intuitions in terms of "facts of our natural history" is compatible with rationally trusting them. This compatibilist view is defended in the present paper, focusing upon nomic and essentialist modal intuitions. The opposite, incompatibilist view alleges the following: If basic modal intuitions are due to our cognitive make-up or "imaginative habits" then the epistemologists are left with a mere non-rational feeling of compulsion on the side of the thinker. Intuitions then cannot inform us about modal reality. In contrast, the paper argues that there are several independent sources of justification which make the feeling of compulsion rational: the prima-facie and a priori ones come from the obviousness of our basic modal intuitions and our not being able to imagine things otherwise, others, a posteriori, from the epistemic success of these intuitions. Further, the general scheme of evolutionary learning is reliable, reliability is preserved in the resulting individual's cognitive make-up, and we can come to know this a posteriori. The a posteriori appeal to evolution thus plays a subsidiary role in justification, filling the remaining gap and removing the residual doubt. Explaining modal intuitions is compatible with moderate realism about modality itself. [source] The Tension in Wittgenstein's Diagnosis of ScepticismDIALECTICA, Issue 3 2000Reid Buchanan I argue that Wittgenstein's rejection of scepticism in On Certainty rests on the view that epistemic concepts such as,doubt,,knowledge',,justification'and so on, cannot be intelligibly applied to the common sense propositions that traditional sceptical arguments appear to undermine. I detect two strands in On Certainty in support of this view. I attempt to show that neither of these strands adequately establishes the thesis, and that they point to a tension in Wittgenstein's treatment of scepticism. I argue that the first strand is dogmatic, but accords with the constraints of Wittgenstein's method, while the second strand avoids the dogmatism of the first at the cost of violating these constraints. [source] Grace, Doubt, and Evil: The Constructive Task Of Reformation TheologyDIALOG, Issue 4 2002Ted Peters The Lutheran vocation is to be a friend of grace; and since the 16th century Lutheran systematic theology has built upon a foundation of grace. Two apparent barriers to grace need addressing. First, doubt in the form of agnosticism and atheism provides a metaphysical argument against God's existence. Second, evil and suffering provide a moral argument against God's existence. From a Lutheran point of view the question of God's graciousness takes precedence over God's existence. [source] SECOND LOOK COLONOSCOPY: INDICATION AND REQUIREMENTSDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 2009Jean-Francois Rey Background:, There are circumstances when a colonoscopy should be repeated after a short interval following the first endoscopic procedure which has not completely fulfilled its objective. Review of the literature:, A second look colonoscopy is proposed when there remains a doubt about missed neoplastic lesions, either because the intestinal preparation was poor or because the video-endoscope did not achieved a complete course in the colon. The second look colonoscopy is also proposed at a short interval when it is suspected that the endoscopic removal of a single or of multiple neoplastic lesions was incomplete and that a complement of treatment is required. When the initial endoscopic procedure has completely fulfilled its objective, a second look colonoscopy can be proposed at longer intervals in surveillance programs. The intervals in surveillance after polypectomy are now adapted to the initial findings according to established guidelines. This also applies to the surveillance of incident focal cancer in patients suffering from a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Conclusion:, Finally, in most developed countries, a priority is attributed to screening of colorectal cancer and focus is given on quality assurance of colonoscopy which is considered as the gold standard procedure in the secondary prevention of colorectal cancer. [source] Measurement mischief: A critique of Reynolds, Nicolson and Hambly (2003)DYSLEXIA, Issue 3 2003Chris Singleton Abstract Reynolds, Nicolson and Hambly (2003) report an intervention study of the effects of exercise-based training on literacy development, using literacy measures from the Dyslexia Screening Test (DST), the NFER-Nelson Group Reading Test, and the Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs). Investigation of the nature and psychometric characteristics of these measures casts serious doubt on their appropriateness in a study of this nature. Consideration of the findings obtained using these measures does not support the authors' conclusion that reading was improved by the intervention. The study by Reynolds et al. does not demonstrate that exercise-based treatment improves literacy skills and the use of its purported findings as evidence that exercise-based treatment would be beneficial for children with literacy difficulties is scientifically untenable. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The termination of the last major phase of aeolian sand movement, coastal dunefields, DenmarkEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 7 2006Lars B. Clemmensen Abstract Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sand samples from stabilized (or inactive) coastal dunes in Denmark provides information on the age of the termination phase of the last major aeolian activity period. A total of 26 sand samples were taken from four different coastal dunefields around the North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat coasts of Denmark. The OSL dates indicate that the last major phase of aeolian activity terminated between ad 1860 and 1905. Most of the dunes examined in this study were active around 1820, during a period documented to have been very stormy. A dune management scheme started around 1792, and this no doubt was a major cause of dunefield stabilization, but an overall decline of storminess, particularly spring and summer storminess, around the end of the 19th century must also have contributed to the increasing inactivity of coastal dunes. The new OSL dates on aeolian sand movement agree well with historical data and data from topographic maps on dune movement. This agreement supports the observation from earlier work that OSL dating of recent aeolian sand movement is accurate over the last few decades to centuries. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Error estimation of closed-form solution for annual rate of structural collapseEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 15 2008Brendon A. Bradley Abstract With the increasing emphasis of performance-based earthquake engineering in the engineering community, several investigations have been presented outlining simplified approaches suitable for performance-based seismic design (PBSD). Central to most of these PBSD approaches is the use of closed-form analytical solutions to the probabilistic integral equations representing the rate of exceedance of key performance measures. Situations where such closed-form solutions are not appropriate primarily relate to the problem of extrapolation outside of the region in which parameters of the closed-form solution are fit. This study presents a critical review of the closed-form solution for the annual rate of structural collapse. The closed-form solution requires the assumptions of lognormality of the collapse fragility and power model form of the ground motion hazard, of which the latter is more significant regarding the error of the closed-form solution. Via a parametric study, the key variables contributing to the error between the closed-form solution and solution via numerical integration are illustrated. As these key variables cannot be easily measured, it casts doubt on the use of such closed-form solutions in future PBSD, especially considering the simple and efficient nature of using direct numerical integration to obtain the solution. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Monastic mortality: Durham Priory, 1395,15291ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 4 2006JOHN HATCHER This article presents reliable data on the life expectancy of the monks of Durham Priory between 1395 and 1529. The number of years that monks survived in this northern monastery plunged precipitously in the second half of the fifteenth century before staging a partial recovery in the early sixteenth. The experience of Durham monks mirrors the scale, direction, and timing of the data already produced for the monks of Canterbury and Westminster. While the precise relationship between monastic mortality and that of the population at large remains difficult to determine, there can be no doubt that the symmetry that has been established between mortality in three monasteries located in different parts of the country has important implications for our understanding of the demographic history of late medieval England. [source] Guilds, efficiency, and social capital: evidence from German proto-industryECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 2 2004SHEILAGH OGILVIE This article considers recent economic theories about guilds in the light of evidence from a German proto-industrial region. The empirical findings cast doubt on views that guilds existed because they were efficient institutional solutions to market failures relating to product quality, training, and innovation. However, guilds did generate a ,social capital' of shared norms, common information, mutual sanctions, and collective political action. This social capital benefitted guild members, but harmed outsiders and the wider economy. The article concludes that economic theories of collective action and interlinked markets can explain why guilds were widespread while not necessarily being efficient. [source] European Monetary Union: the dark sides of a major successECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 46 2006Charles Wyplosz SUMMARY European monetary union THE DARK SIDES OF A MAJOR SUCCESS This paper revisits the debates that have surrounded the launch of a unique experience: the adoption of a common currency among developed countries. A striking aspect of this history is that, pressed by what they correctly identified as a window of opportunity, policy-makers crafted this complex project in a short period of time, largely eschewing inputs from the academic profession. Academic research, in turn, developed its own views, which turned out to be critical of some ley orientations, yet it generally recognizes that, in the end, the launch of the euro has been a major success. Over time, many of the academic criticisms have been taken on board, but not yet fully. The monetary strategy has been slightly amended, but it remains the subject of disagreements between the European Central Bank and monetary economists. Events have confirmed that the Stability and Growth Pact was ill-designed; its reformulation goes some way to address some of the concerns but not all of them. Its ability to deliver fiscal discipline is in doubt. Another look at the experiment highlights the gap between the principles laid out by those who designed the monetary union and the pragmatism that has prevailed thereafter. The resulting tension between principles and actions sometimes obscures the fact that the Eurosystem has acted wisely so far. The widespread perception that monetary policy is not as transparent as it should be and suffers from a lack of adequate democratic accountability is not just annoying. The general public, including politicians, sometimes blames the Eurosystem for Europe's poor growth performance since the adoption of the euro. This is unfair and could dangerously undermine the monetary union if the Eurosystem were to become the scapegoat for the slow and incomplete reforms that are needed to revigorate the euro area's economies. , Charles Wyplosz [source] "EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE" IN THE CLASSROOM?EDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 1 2006AN ARISTOTELIAN CRITIQUE In making his famous claim that the good life would have to include appropriate emotions, Aristotle obviously considered the schooling of emotions to be an indispensable part of moral education. However, in this essay Kristján Kristjánsson casts doubt on the assumption that Aristotelians should approve of the clarion call for EI, as understood by Daniel Goleman and the proponents of social and emotional learning, in the classroom. Various marked differences between EI and Aristotelian emotional virtue are highlighted and explored. Kristjánsson argues that the claims of EI lack moral ballast and that when this fact is added to an existing heap of educational problems attached to the implementation of EI programs, educators had better rethink their reliance on EI as a model of emotion cultivation, and perhaps revert to the teachings of Aristotle himself. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||