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Illusion
Selected AbstractsIS IT REALITY OR AN ILLUSION THAT LIQUID-BASED CYTOLOGY IS BETTER THAN CONVENTIONAL CERVICAL SMEARS?CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2002Robin Moseley No abstract is available for this article. [source] IS IT REALITY OR AN ILLUSION THAT LIQUID-BASED CYTOLOGY IS BETTER THAN CONVENTIONAL CERVICAL SMEARS?CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2002J. Linder No abstract is available for this article. [source] ILLUSIONS OF POWER AND EMPIRE,HISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 4 2005JAMES N. ROSENAU ABSTRACT Subsequent to the end of the Cold War, analysts groped for an understanding of the overall structures of world politics that marked the emergence of a new epoch. As a result, the concept of empire became a major preoccupation, with the economic and military power of the United States considered sufficient for regarding it as an empire. Due to the proliferation of new microelectronic technologies and for a variety of other specified reasons, however, the constraints inherent in the new epoch make it seem highly unlikely that the U.S. or any other country can ever achieve the status of an empire. In effect, the substantial shrinkage of time and distance in the current period has led to the replacement of the age of the nation-state that originated with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 with the age of the networked individual. It is an age that has developed on a global scale and that has brought an end to the history of empires. [source] The PRSP Approach and the Illusion of Improved Aid Effectiveness: Lessons from Bolivia, Honduras and NicaraguaDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2005Geske Dijkstra Since 1999, poor countries that want to qualify for concessionary IMF loans and debt relief must elaborate and implement Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Donors claim that the PRSP approach will increase aid effectiveness since PRSPs will enhance broad country ownership and lead to better ,partnership' with donors, implying more donor co-ordination under government leadership. By examining the experiences of Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua, this article finds that the results are disappointing. The article also shows that, by emphasising rational planning and ignoring politics, the PRSP approach has unintended and sometimes harmful consequences. This leads to recommendations for changes of the approach. [source] Nietzsche on Truth, Illusion, and RedemptionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY, Issue 2 2005R. Lanier Anderson First page of article [source] Allegiance and Illusion: Queen Victoria's Irish Visit of 1849HISTORY, Issue 288 2002James Loughlin This article examines Queen Victoria's first visit to Ireland in 1849. Taking place in the wake of the Great Famine, the occasion was, nevertheless, a great popular success and raised enduring expectations about inculcating loyalty to the Union among Irish Catholics. Through empirical analysis informed by insights drawn from studies of the social function of public ritual, this article will attempt to assess the visit's significance, especially the extent to which it evidenced authentic loyalty, and whether it deserved to be regarded as the potential harbinger of a loyal and Unionist Ireland. [source] Evil Deceivers and Make-Believers: On Transphobic Violence and the Politics of IllusionHYPATIA, Issue 3 2007TALIA MAE BETTCHER This essay examines the stereotype that transgender people are "deceivers" and the stereotype's role in promoting and excusing transphobic violence. The stereotype derives from a contrast between gender presentation (appearance) and sexed body (concealed reality). Because gender presentation represents genital status, Bettcher argues, people who "misalign" the two are viewed as deceivers. The author shows how this system of gender presentation as genital representation is part of larger sexist and racist systems of violence and oppression. [source] Between Objectivity and Illusion: Architectural Photography in the Colonial FrameJOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2001Vikramaditya Prakash In this paper, I compare the use of photography by Sawai Ram Singh, the maharaja of the Princely State of Jaipur in colonial India, and by James Fergusson, the earliest historiographer of Indian architecture. Contrasting the "objective" use of photography by the colonist, with the maharaja's hybridized and illusionistic images, I argue that photography, on the one hand, helped fix "India" into stereotypical brackets, but on the other enabled the colonized to re-invent himself in more contemporary and potentially threatening ways. Foreshadowing the contadictory nature of postcolonial modernity, photography, in other words, enabled the maharaja to simultaneously resist the hegemonic interests of the colonizer while coveting and appropriating the instruments and signs of the West to his own ends. [source] Illusion of confirmation from exposure to another's hypothesisJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 1 2006Derek J. Koehler Abstract We examine the influence of exposure to an advisor's hypothesis, in the form of a point estimate of an uncertain quantity, on subsequent point estimates and confidence judgments made by advisees. In three experiments, a group of unexposed advisees produced their own estimates before being presented with that of the advisor, while a group of exposed advisees were presented with the advisor's estimate before making their own. Not surprisingly, exposed advisees deliberately incorporated the information conveyed by the advisor's estimate in producing their own estimates. But the exposure manipulation also had a contaminating influence that shifted what the advisees viewed as their own, independent estimates toward those of the advisor. Seemingly unaware of this influence, exposed advisees were subject to an illusion of confirmation in which they expressed greater confidence in the accuracy of the advisor's estimate than did unexposed advisees. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Argument from IllusionNOUS, Issue 4 2000Steven L. Reynolds First page of article [source] Pleasure and Illusion in PlatoPHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006Jessica MOSS Plato links pleasure with illusion, and this link explains his rejection of the view that all desires are rational desires for the good. The Protagoras and Gorgias show connections between pleasure and illusion; the Republic develops these into a psychological theory. One part of the soul is not only prone to illusions, but also incapable of the kind of reasoning that can dispel them. Pleasure appears good; therefore this part of the soul (the appetitive part) desires pleasures qua good but ignores reasoning about what is really good. Hence the new moral psychology of the Republic, not all desires are rational, and thus virtue depends on bringing one's non-rational desires under the control of reason. [source] Free Will: From Nature to IllusionPROCEEDINGS OF THE ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY (HARDBACK), Issue 1 2001Saul Smilansky Sir Peter Strawson's ,Freedom and Resentment' was a landmark in the philosophical understanding of the free will problem. Building upon it, I attempt to defend a novel position, which purports to provide, in outline, the next step forward. The position presented is based on the descriptively central and normatively crucial role of illusion in the issue of free will. Illusion, I claim, is the vital but neglected key to the free will problem. The proposed position, which may be called ,Illusionism', is shown to follow both from the strengths and from the weaknesses of Strawson's position. [source] Diversifying Municipal Government Revenue Structures: Fiscal Illusion or Instability?PUBLIC BUDGETING AND FINANCE, Issue 1 2009DEBORAH A. CARROLL This paper examines (1) whether revenue diversification leads to greater instability as represented by revenue volatility, and (2) whether revenue complexity produces fiscal illusion as represented by increased public expenditures. These questions are answered by analyzing panel data on municipal governments between 1970 and 2002. The findings suggest that fiscal illusion does not occur among municipal governments, but revenue diversification does influence levels of volatility. However, the way in which municipalities diversify is important for achieving revenue stability. When diversification is considered in isolation, both tax and nontax diversification reduce revenue volatility. When diversification and complexity are considered simultaneously, the statistical effect of nontax diversification disappears. But, when a tax revenue structure is both diversified and complex, the likely outcome is greater revenue volatility rather than stability. [source] Revenue Diversification: Fiscal Illusion or Flexible Financial ManagementPUBLIC BUDGETING AND FINANCE, Issue 4 2002Rebecca Hendrick This study examines the trends in revenue diversification in approximately 240 suburban municipalities in the Chicago metropolitan region between 1988 and 1997. It then tests a model of revenue diversification's impact on tax effort using data from 1993 to 1997, and separated by home rule and non,home rule municipalities. Trends show that suburbs with higher increases in diversification tend to be home rule, younger, less residential, experiencing more growth, less reliant on property taxes, and more reliant on sales taxes. Model estimates show that communities with more revenue diversification have lower tax effort when controlling for other determinants of tax effort, and this effect is stronger in non,home rule municipalities. [source] Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 , By Wayne Barrett and Dan CollinsTHE HISTORIAN, Issue 4 2008Jerald Podair No abstract is available for this article. [source] Cars before Kids: Automobility and the Illusion of School Traffic SafetyCANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY/REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE, Issue 2 2010SYLVIA PARUSEL La sécurité routière constitue une question d'intérêt public très discutée, et ses pratiques fortement débattues exigent une analyse sociologique et l'attention systématique des politiques publiques. Dans cette étude, les auteurs analysent les programmes de sécurité routière dans les écoles primaires de Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique. Ils illustrent comment de tels programmes supposent une politique de la responsabilité visant grandement les enfants et les parents pour en faire des personnes sécuritaires sur la route dans un environnement institutionnel qui ne fournit pourtant aux programmes qu'un soutien et des fonds sporadiques pour administrer les risques de la circulation. Alors que ce contexte de programmes de sécurité routière à l'école aide à maintenir une certaine « illusion de sécurité», elle ne remet pas fondamentalement en question la structure dominante actuelle de la mobilité et les problèmes qui y sont inhérents. Traffic safety is a contested public issue and highly negotiated practice that requires sociological analysis and systematic public policy attention. In our case study, we examine elementary school traffic safety programs in Vancouver, British Columbia. We illustrate how such programs assume a politics of responsibility that largely targets children and parents for traffic safekeeping within an institutional environment that gives programs only sporadic support and funding to manage traffic risks. While this context of school traffic safety programs helps to maintain an "illusion of safety," it does not challenge the current auto-dominant mobility structure and its inherent problems. [source] Are Young Children Susceptible to the False,Memory Illusion?CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2002C.J. Brainerd False memories have typically been found to be more common during early childhood than during later childhood or adulthood. However, fuzzy,trace theory makes the counterintuitive prediction that some powerful forms of adult false memory will be greatly attenuated in early childhood, an important example being the Deese/Roediger/McDermott (DRM) illusion. Three developmental studies of this illusion (N=282) found that (1) it was at near,floor levels in young children, (2) it was still below adult levels by early adolescence, and (3) the low levels of the illusion in young children may be due to failure to "get the gist" of DRM materials. [source] Illusions of Coherence: George F. Kennan, U.S. Strategy and Political Warfare in the Early Cold War, 1946,1950*DIPLOMATIC HISTORY, Issue 1 2009Scott Lucas First page of article [source] Regional Devolution and Regional Economic Success: Myths and Illusions about PowerGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2006Ray Hudson Abstract The proposition that regional devolution in and of itself will lead to economic success has become deeply embedded in beliefs and policy discourses about the determinants of regional prosperity, and in turn has led to political demands for such devolution. In this paper I seek critically to examine such claims, using the case of the north-east of England as the setting for this examination. The paper begins with some introductory comments on concepts of power, regions, the reorganization of the state and of multi-level governance, and governmentality, which help in understanding the issues surrounding regional devolution. I then examine the ways in which north-east England was politically and socially constructed as a particular type of region, with specific problems, in the 1930s , a move that has had lasting significance up until the present day. Moving on some six decades, I then examine contemporary claims about the relationship between regional devolution and regional economic success, which find fertile ground in the north-east precisely due to its long history of representation as a region with a unified regional interest. I then reflect on the processes of regional planning, regional strategies and regional devolution, and their relationship to regional economic regeneration. A brief conclusion follows, emphasizing that questions remain about the efficacy of the new governmentality and about who would be its main beneficiaries in the region. The extent to which devolution would actually involve transferring power to the region and the capacity of networked forms of power within the region to counter the structural power of capital and shape central state policies remains unclear. [source] Positive Illusions in Parenting: Every Child Is Above AverageJOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Andrew Wenger This study examined the paradox between the difficulties of parenting and the high levels of parenting satisfaction in terms of positive illusions. Results were consistent with a positive illusions model, as biological parents with a child between the ages of 2 and 5 reported unrealistically positive views of their children. They rated their own children as possessing more positive and less negative attributes than the average child. The more positively parents rated themselves, the more positively they rated their children. Parents' self-esteem scores, unrealistically positive ratings of the child, and positive illusions of parenting were related to 3 aspects of the parenting experience. This study extends the literature on positive illusions to encompass parents' positive illusions about their young children. [source] Prolonged Visual Illusions Induced by Mefloquine (Lariam®): A Case ReportJOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 3 2001François-Xavier Borruat No abstract is available for this article. [source] Illusions in advanced cancer: The effect of belief systems and attitudes on quality of lifePSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 1 2004G.F. Beadle Patients with advanced cancer frequently express positive attitudes and can be unduly optimistic about the potential benefits of treatment. In order to evaluate an illusory domain in the context of advanced cancer, we developed a scale of will to live and characterized the beliefs that patients held about the curability of their cancer, and how committed they were to using alternative treatments. A measure of quality of life was used as the dependent variable in order to assess the association between these attributes. After a preliminary exploration confirmed the presence of an illusory domain, these concepts were prospectively tested in 149 ambulant patients with advanced cancer who attended for palliative systemic treatment, radiation treatment or supportive care. The scale of global quality of life was reliable (Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.72). The distribution of the scores of will to live was skewed, with no respondent scoring poorly, and the scale was reliable (Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.82). The scale of belief in curability showed diverse beliefs. In some cases, there was a discrepancy between respondents' beliefs in curability and what they believed to be the report by their doctors. There was also an association between a committed use of alternative treatments and a belief in the curability of the cancer (p<0.001). In a multiple regression analysis, both will to live and performance status remained associated with better quality of life scores after adjustment for other relevant variables (p<0.05 and <0.001, respectively). These results suggest that positive illusory beliefs can be measured and are an important component of adaption for some patients with advanced cancer. Furthermore, this illusory domain may influence the perception and measurement of quality of life. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Aristotle's Account of Anger: Narcissism and Illusions of Self-SufficiencyRATIO, Issue 1 2002Stephen Leighton This paper considers an allegation by M. Stocker and E. Hegeman that Aristotle's account of anger yields a narcissistic passion bedevilled by illusions of self-sufficiency. The paper argues on behalf of Aristotle's valuing of anger within a virtuous and flourishing life, showing that and why Aristotle's account is neither narcissistic nor involves illusions of self-sufficiency. In so arguing a deeper appreciation of Aristotle's understanding of a self-sufficient life is reached, as are some interesting contrasts between Aristotle's understanding of anger, its connections to value and our own understanding of these matters. [source] So Real Illusions of Black Intellectualism: Exploring Race, Roles, and Gender in the AcademyCOMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 1 2000Ronald L. Jackson II The absence of any written mainstream valuation of African American theories and historical relevancies presents a significant commentary and dilemma within the field of human communication studies and other disciplines as well. It forces committed African American intellectuals to ask ourselves if we have created a large enough arsenal of quality theories or if we have simply recycled theories produced by "observers" to describe our communicative behavior. If African American theories have been created, tested, and verified, then where are they, and why are they not being recognized by the academy? African American scholars must define what it means to be central to critical scholarship, determine whether this position has been achieved, and finally decide to continue to push the margins. This essay is to be read as an initial exploration that examines the sociopolitical factors of race and gender as contributing variables to the success of African American intellectualism. [source] Diorama Construction From a Single ImageCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2007J. Assa Abstract Diorama artists produce a spectacular 3D effect in a confined space by generating depth illusions that are faithful to the ordering of the objects in a large real or imaginary scene. Indeed, cognitive scientists have discovered that depth perception is mostly affected by depth order and precedence among objects. Motivated by these findings, we employ ordinal cues to construct a model from a single image that similarly to Dioramas, intensifies the depth perception. We demonstrate that such models are sufficient for the creation of realistic 3D visual experiences. The initial step of our technique extracts several relative depth cues that are well known to exist in the human visual system. Next, we integrate the resulting cues to create a coherent surface. We introduce wide slits in the surface, thus generalizing the concept of cardboard cutout layers. Lastly, the surface geometry and texture are extended alongside the slits, to allow small changes in the viewpoint which enriches the depth illusion. [source] Scalable Algorithm for Resolving Incorrect Occlusion in Dynamic Augmented Reality Engineering EnvironmentsCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2010Amir H. Behzadan As a result of introducing real-world objects into the visualization, less virtual models have to be deployed to create a realistic visual output that directly translates into less time and effort required to create, render, manipulate, manage, and update three-dimensional (3D) virtual contents (CAD model engineering) of the animated scene. At the same time, using the existing layout of land or plant as the background of visualization significantly alleviates the need to collect data about the surrounding environment prior to creating the final visualization while providing visually convincing representations of the processes being studied. In an AR animation, virtual and real objects must be simultaneously managed and accurately displayed to a user to create a visually convincing illusion of their coexistence and interaction. A critical challenge impeding this objective is the problem of incorrect occlusion that manifests itself when real objects in an AR scene partially or wholly block the view of virtual objects. In the presented research, a new AR occlusion handling system based on depth-sensing algorithms and frame buffer manipulation techniques was designed and implemented. This algorithm is capable of resolving incorrect occlusion occurring in dynamic AR environments in real time using depth-sensing equipment such as laser detection and ranging (LADAR) devices, and can be integrated into any mobile AR platform that allows a user to navigate freely and observe a dynamic AR scene from any vantage position. [source] Corporate Governance in ASEAN Financial Corporations: reality or illusion?CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2007Wiparat Chuanrommanee According to Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia, Singapore has the best corporate governance practices in Asia. Malaysia has had the biggest improvements in governance overtime. Thailand lags behind both in achieving appropriate governance. This paper considers recent developments in corporate governance through the analysis of the corporate websites of financial corporations in these countries. The study finds that the corporate governance practices of Thai, Malaysian and Singaporean financial corporations are consistent with international best practices. Corporate governance as presented in company documents probably does not actually reflect real corporate governance practices. These practices do not have an impact on company performance. The level of corporate governance reported is also not consistent with the ratings from international financial institutions such as Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia and Standard & Poor's. These findings suggest that corporate governance in ASEAN is more illusion than fact. [source] Escalation: The Role of Problem Recognition and Cognitive BiasDECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2007Mark Keil ABSTRACT Escalation of commitment to a failing course of action is an enduring problem that remains central to the study of managerial behavior. Prior research suggests that escalation behavior results when decision makers choose to ignore negative feedback concerning the viability of a previously chosen course of action. Previous work has also suggested that certain cognitive biases might promote escalation behavior, but there has been little attempt to explore how biases other than framing affect escalation. In this article, we explore the extent to which decision makers actually perceive negative feedback as indicative of a problem and how this influences their decision to escalate. Although problem recognition and cognitive biases have been intensively studied individually, little is known about their effect on escalation behavior. In this research, we construct and test an escalation decision model that incorporates both problem recognition and two cognitive biases: selective perception and illusion of control. Our results revealed a significant inverse relationship between problem recognition and escalation. Furthermore, selective perception and illusion of control were found to significantly affect both problem recognition and escalation. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed. To improve problem recognition and reduce the incidence of escalation, practicing managers should implement modern project management practices that can help to identify and highlight potential problems while guarding against these two key cognitive biases that promote the behavior. [source] Sound induces perceptual reorganization of an ambiguous motion display in human infantsDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2003Christian Scheier Adults who watch an ambiguous visual event consisting of two identical objects moving toward, through, and away from each other and hear a brief sound when the objects overlap report seeing visual bouncing. We conducted three experiments in which we used the habituation/test method to determine whether these illusory effects might emerge early in development. In Experiments 1 and 3 we tested 4-, 6- and 8-month-old infants' discrimination between an ambiguous visual display presented together with a sound synchronized with the objects' spatial coincidence and the identical visual display presented together with a sound no longer synchronized with coincidence. Consistent with illusory perception, the 6- and 8-month-old, but not the 4-month-old, infants responded to these events as different. In Experiment 2 infants were habituated to the ambiguous visual display together with a sound synchronized with the objects' coincidence and tested with a physically bouncing object accompanied by the sound at the bounce. Consistent with illusory perception again, infants treated these two events as equivalent by not exhibiting response recovery. The developmental emergence of this intersensory illusion at 6 months of age is hypothesized to reflect developmental changes in object knowledge and attentional mechanisms. [source] Mad scenes in early 19th-century operaACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2000A. Erfurth Objective: It is our objective to examine the phenomenon of mad scenes in bel canto opera from a modern perspective. Method: The development of psychiatry and music at the beginning of the 19th century is described. Common elements of romantic music and mental disorders are discussed. It is shown how bel canto composers represent psychiatric illness by musical means. The psychopathology depicted in a prototypical mad scene is evaluated. Results: Early romantic music is characterized by imagination, illusion and loss of structure; characteristics which can be well expressed in mad scenes. While madness (withdrawal into a utopian world) gained a certain attraction in society, clinical psychiatry increasingly focused on emotional causes of illness and on drug-induction of mental disorders. Conclusion: Mad scenes in bel canto opera can be understood as expression of an increasing interest in emotional aspects in music and society as well as in clinical psychiatry. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||