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New Conditions (new + condition)
Selected AbstractsPalladium-Catalyzed Desulfitative Mizoroki,Heck Couplings of Sulfonyl Chlorides with Mono- and Disubstituted Olefins: Rhodium-Catalyzed Desulfitative Heck-Type Reactions under Phosphine- and Base-Free ConditionsCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 9 2005Srinivas Reddy Dubbaka Abstract New conditions have been found for the desulfitative Mizoroki,Heck arylation and trifluoromethylation of mono- and disubustituted olefins with arenesulfonyl and trifluoromethanesulfonyl chlorides. Thus (E)-1,2-disubstituted alkenes with high stereoselectivity and 1,1,2-disubstituted alkenes with 12:1 to 21:1 E/Z steroselectivity can be obtained. Herrmann's palladacycle at 0.1 mol,% is sufficient to catalyze these reactions, for which electron-rich or electron-poor sulfonyl chlorides and alkenes are suitable. If phosphine- and base-free conditions are required, 1 mol,% [RhCl(C2H4)2] catalyzes the desulfitative cross-coupling reactions. Contrary to results reported for [RuCl2(PPh3)2]-catalyzed coupling reactions with sulfonyl chlorides, the palladium and rhodium desulfitative Mizoroki,Heck coupling reactions are not inhibited by radical scavenging agents. Possible sulfones arising from the sulfonylation of alkenes at 60,°C are not desulfitated at higher temperatures in the presence of the Pd or Rh catalysts. De nouvelles conditions sont rapporteés pour les couplages désulfitants du type Mizoroki,Heck des chlorures d'arènesulfonyles et trifluorométhanesulfonyle avec des oléfines mono- et disubstitueés. La méthode permet la synthèse de (E)-alcènes 1,2-disubstitués avec haute stéréosélectivité et d'alkènes 1,1,2-trisubstitués avec des stéréosélectivités E/Z variant de 12:1 à 21:1. La palladacycle de Herrmann à 0.1 mol% est suffisant pour catalyser ces reactions qui peuvent engager des chlorures de sulfonyles et des alcènes soit riches ou pauvres en électron. Si des conditions sans phosphine et sans base sont requises, 1 mol,% de [RhCl(C2H4)2] est un excellent catalyseur pour ces couplages désulfitants. Contrairement à ce qui est rapporté pour des réactions analogues catalysées par [RuCl2(PPh3)2] et qui impliquent des intermédiaires radicalaires, les couplages du type Mizoroki,Heck désulfitants catalysés par des complexes de palladium ou de rhodium ne sont pas inhibés par des pièges à radicaux. De plus, les sulfones qui peuvent se former par sulfonylation des alcènes (60,oC) ne sont pas désulfitées à plus haute température en présence des catalyseurs au Pd ou au Rh. [source] Cerebellar ataxia, anterior horn cell disease, learning difficulties, and dystonia: a new syndrome.DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 11 2000Jo M Wilmshurst MRCP SpR Paediatric Neurology The following case reports describe a new condition of cerebellar ataxia, anterior horn cell disease, dystonia, and learning difficulties. Four cases are described. The condition appears to be of autosomal recessive inheritance as the group is made up of two pairs of sisters. All cases were evident by 3 years of age. Anterior horn cell disease was of a type not previously described at this age in association with cerebellar ataxia. Further genetic studies suggest the condition is not allelic with spinal muscular atrophy having no evidence of deletion of the survival motor neurone gene. [source] Impact of Alternative Interventions on Changes in Generic Dispensing RatesHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 5 2006A. James O'Malley Objectives. To evaluate the effectiveness of four alternative interventions (member mailings, advertising campaigns, free generic drug samples to physicians, and physician financial incentives) used by a major health insurer to encourage its members to switch to generic drugs. Methods. Using claim-level data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, we evaluated the success of four interventions implemented during 2000,2003 designed to increase the use of generic drugs among its members. Around 13 million claims involving seven important classes of drugs were used to assess the effectiveness of the interventions. For each intervention a control group was developed that most closely resembled the corresponding intervention group. Logistic regression models with interaction effects between the treatment group (intervention versus control) and the status of the intervention (active versus not active) were used to evaluate if the interventions had an effect on the generic dispensing rate (GDR). Because the mail order pharmacy was considered more aggressive at converting prescriptions to generics, separate generic purchasing models were fitted to retail and mail order claims. In secondary analyses separate models were also fitted to claims involving a new condition and claims refilled for preexisting conditions. Results. The interventions did not appear to increase the market penetration of generic drugs for either retail or mail order claims, or for claims involving new or preexisting conditions. In addition, we found that the ratio of copayments for brand name to generic drugs had a large positive effect on the GDR. Conclusions. The interventions did not appear to directly influence the GDR. Financial incentives expressed to consumers through benefit designs have a large influence on their switching to generic drugs and on the less-costly mail-order mode of purchase. [source] Experimental and numerical analysis of solitary waves generated by bed and boundary movementsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 8 2004L. Cea Abstract This paper is an experimental and numerical study about propagation and reflection of waves originated by natural hazards such as sea bottom movements, hill slope sliding and avalanches. One-dimensional flume experiments were conducted to study the characteristics of such waves. The results of the experimental study can be used by other researchers to verify their numerical models. A finite volume numerical model, which solves the shallow water equations, was also verified using our own experimental results. In order to deal with reflection on sloping surfaces and overtopping walls, a new condition for the treatment of the coastline is suggested. The numerical simulation of wave generation is also studied considering the bed movement. A boundary condition is proposed for this case. Those situations when the shallow water equations are valid to simulate this type of phenomena have been studied, as well as their limitations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Interest rate rules and global determinacy: An alternative to the Taylor principleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 4 2009Jean-Pascal Bénassy E43; E52; E58; E62; E63 A well-known determinacy condition on interest rate rules is the "Taylor principle," which states that nominal interest rates should respond more than 100 percent to inflation. Unfortunately, notably because interest rates must be positive, the Taylor principle cannot be satisfied for all interest rates, and as a consequence global determinacy may not prevail even though there exists a locally determinate equilibrium. We propose here a simple alternative to the Taylor principle, which takes the form of a new condition on interest rate rules that ensures global determinacy. An important feature of the policy package is that it does not rely at all on any of the fiscal policies associated with the "fiscal theory of the price level," which has so far been the main alternative for determinacy. [source] Concurrent de novo autoimmune hepatitis and recurrence of primary biliary cirrhosis post,liver transplantationLIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 5 2001Chee Kiat Tan FRCP (Edin) Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is well known to recur after liver transplantation (LT). The recurrence is usually subclinical and evident only on histological examination. Recently, a new entity of de novo autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has emerged that occurs after LT in patients who underwent transplantation for diseases other than AIH. This new condition occurs more often in children; however, there was a recent report of the first 2 cases in adults who originally underwent LT for PBC. We report the first case of concurrent de novo AIH and recurrence of PBC documented on the liver biopsy of an adult patient who underwent LT for end-stage PBC. Unlike the earlier report of 2 adults, our patient manifested an antinuclear antibody titer of more than 1/800 from a previously negative titer pre-LT, as well as fulfilled the International AIH Group criteria for a definite diagnosis of AIH. PBC recurrence was evidenced by typical florid duct lesion, antimitochondrial antibody titer increasing from 1/40 to greater than 1/800, and an elevated serum immunoglobulin M level. After the addition of azathioprine to baseline immunosuppression of tacrolimus and prednisolone, the patient responded rapidly, with complete normalization of liver test results. [source] Sexual devolution in plants: apomixis uncloaked?BIOESSAYS, Issue 9 2008Richard D. Noyes There are a growing number of examples where naturally occurring mutations disrupt an established physiological or developmental pathway to yield a new condition that is evolutionary favored. Asexual reproduction by seed in plants, or apomixis, occurs in a diversity of taxa and has evolved from sexual ancestors. One form of apomixis, diplospory, is a multi-step development process that is initiated when meiosis is altered to produce an unreduced rather than a reduced egg cell. Subsequent parthenogenetic development of the unreduced egg yields genetically maternal progeny. While it has long been apparent from cytological data that meiosis in apomicts was malfunctional or completely bypassed, the genetic basis of the phenomenon has been a long-standing mystery. New data from genetic analysis of Arabidopsis mutants1 in combination with more sophisticated molecular understanding of meiosis in plants indicate that a weak mutation of the gene SWI, called DYAD, interferes with sister chromatid cohesion in meiosis I, causes synapsis to fail in female meiosis and yields two unreduced cells. The new work shows that a low percentage of DYAD ovules produce functional unreduced egg cells (2n) that can be fertilized by haploid pollen (1n) to give rise to triploid (3n) progeny. While the DYAD mutants differ in some aspects from naturally occurring apomicts, the work establishes that mutation to a single gene can effectively initiate apomictic development and, furthermore, focuses efforts to isolate apomixis genes on a narrowed set of developmental events. Profitable manipulation of meiosis and recombination in agronomically important crops may be on the horizon. BioEssays 30:798,801, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Efficient Addition of Acid Enediolates to EpoxidesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 10 2004Salvador Gil Abstract We report new conditions to facilitate the addition of dianions of carboxylic acids to epoxides as an alternative method to the use of aluminum enolates. These conditions require the use of a sub-stoichiometric (10%) amount of amine for dianion generation and the previous activation of the epoxide with LiCl. Other Lewis acids have been shown to be less effective. Yields are good but only low diastereoselectivity is attained, which has not been controlled despite attempts at optimization. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004) [source] DEFINED ORDER OF EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATIONS: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCEEVOLUTION, Issue 7 2008Erez Oxman Organisms often adapt to new conditions by means of beneficial mutations that become fixed in the population. Often, full adaptation requires several different mutations in the same cell, each of which may affect a different aspect of the behavior. Can one predict order in which these mutations become fixed? To address this, we experimentally studied evolution of Escherichia coli in a growth medium in which the effects of different adaptations can be easily classified as affecting growth rate or the lag-phase duration. We find that adaptations are fixed in a defined and reproducible order: first reduction of lag phase, and then an increase of the exponential growth rate. A population genetics theory explains this order, and suggests growth conditions in which the order of adaptations is reversed. We experimentally find this order reversal under the predicted conditions. This study supports a view in which the evolutionary path to adaptation in a new environment can be captured by theory and experiment. [source] Climate warming, dispersal inhibition and extinction riskGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2008MANUEL MASSOT Abstract Global warming impels species to track their shifting habitats or adapt to new conditions. Both processes are critically influenced by individual dispersal. In many animals, dispersal behaviour is plastic, but how organisms with plastic dispersal respond to climate change is basically unknown. Here, we report the analysis of interannual dispersal change from 16 years of monitoring a wild population of the common lizard, and a 12-year manipulation of lizards' diet intended to disentangle the direct effect of temperature rise on dispersal from its effects on resource availability. We show that juvenile dispersal has declined dramatically over the last 16 years, paralleling the rise of spring temperatures during embryogenesis. A mesoscale model of metapopulation dynamics predicts that in general dispersal inhibition will elevate the extinction risk of metapopulations exposed to contrasting effects of climate warming. [source] Automatic characterization of ignition processes with machine learning clustering techniquesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 10 2006Edward S. Blurock Machine learning clustering techniques are used to characterize and, after the training phase, to identify phases within an ignition process. For the ethanol mechanism used in this paper, four physically identifiable phases were found and characterized: the initiation phase, preignition phase, ignition phase, and the postignition phase. The clustering is done with respect to fuzzy logic predicates identifying the maxima, minima, and inflection points of the species profiles. The cluster descriptions characterize the phases found and are in human interpretable form. In addition, these descriptions are powerful enough to be used to predict the phase structure under new conditions. Cluster phases were calculated for the ethanol mechanism at an equivalence ratio of 0.5, a pressure of 3.3 bar, and the temperatures 1200, 1300, 1400, and 1500 K. The resulting cluster phase descriptions were then successfully used to predict the phase structure and ignition delay times for other temperatures in the range from 1200 to 1500 K. The effect of different fuzzy logic predicate profile descriptions is studied to emphasize that the boundaries of some phases, specifically that between the preignition and the ignition phase, are a matter of what the modeler considers important. The end of the ignition phase corresponds to the ignition delay time and was relatively independent of the predicate descriptions used to determine the phases. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 621,633, 2006 [source] Global stability analysis of bidirectional associative memory neural networks with time delayINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIRCUIT THEORY AND APPLICATIONS, Issue 2 2001Jiye Zhang Abstract In this paper, without assuming the boundedness, monotonicity and differentiability of the activation functions, we present new conditions ensuring existence, uniqueness, and global asymptotical stability of the equilibrium point of bidirectional associative memory neural networks with fixed time delays or distributed time delays. The results are applicable to both symmetric and non-symmetric interconnection matrices, and all continuous non-monotonic neuron activation functions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] New valley ridge inflection point associated to the bifurcation of a valley on potential energy surfacesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 14 2007R. Palmeiro Abstract There are currently two definitions of valley ridge inflection point on an adiabatic potential energy surface (PES), one introduced by Basilevsky and the other by Valtazanos and Ruedenberg. Here, we investigate the validity of both definitions on bidimensional surfaces without symmetry constraints, with neither producing completely satisfactory results. Hence, we propose new conditions which must obey a valley bifurcation point (VBP) locally and demonstrate that such conditions are necessary when a valley splits into two, finishing at two energy minima. Finally, we localize such VBPs on the bidimensional surfaces and check the certainty of our previous deductions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007 [source] Illegal Migration: What Can We Know And What Can We Explain?INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 3 2004The Case of Germany Methodological problems in the study of illegal migration as defined in this article relate to questions of indicators for illegal migration, with special reference to Germany. It is argued and demonstrated that illegal immigrants are traceable, to some degree, in official statistics and that these can be analyzed for trends. In present-day migration processes, illegal immigration frequently is undertaken with the support of human smugglers. The analysis of the social organization of different forms of smuggling is the other main focus of the article. From a methodological point of view, the literature and public discourse lack adequate concepts for describing and explaining the social organization of human smuggling. The theory of organized crime as a main actor in human smuggling is criticized. The study borrows concepts from market and networks theory and applies these to different forms of human smuggling and illegal migration. The social and technological organization of smuggling is under constant pressure to adapt to new conditions. The dynamism for this change results mainly from an "arms race" between smugglers and law enforcement. Since control over territory and population are central elements of state sovereignty, the state cannot simply withdraw from this race. [source] Panel on Salvation: the Catholic PerspectiveINTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF MISSION, Issue 382-383 2007Teresa Francesca Rossi In the reflection about salvation, mission and healing, the aspect of revelation has not been so much emphasized in the last years. However, it seems to me that revelation, rather than just eschatology, might be the key concept in understanding healing and reconciliation. The signs and wonders that confirm the preaching of the gospel of salvation are necessary in order to give the preacher and the faithful a shape, a frame to human knowledge of God and salvation, though in the "fleshy" knowledge of the human being. Without the shape or frame of a divine sign there can be neither prophecy nor preaching, because prophecy and preaching concern the Word of God. Signs and wonders confirm preaching but only by deepening a cognitive dimension. When we day, "God will heal you," we are announcing the good news of healing, while at the same time we are budding some new conditions to know God. We are at the heart of revelation. At the same time, when we deal with healing, we are not only dealing with the dimension of knowing God and operating signs and wonder, we are also dealing with a dimension of prophecy inasmuch as no prophecy is allowed unless there is a capability of speaking "in the name of", and "on behalf of", which implies a real, though imperfect, knowledge of God, such as we receive not only in revelation but also in signs and wonders. So, healing, this starting point, this unexplored way, this unprecedented path to the understanding of the economy of sulfation, continues revelation because it leads to new knowledge. Inasmuch ad heading does not belong to the economy of final salvation but to the economy of a "restored flesh", it is closer to revelation than to resurrection. It is the seal of redemption. [source] Fear of the Dead as a Factor in Social Self-OrganizationJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2 2005AKOP P. NAZARETYAN The image of dead person returning to life was the most ancient source of irrational fear (i.e. fear not caused by objective menace) appeared in culture. This conclusion is argued with empirical data from archeology and ethnography. Fear has been expressed in funeral rites, the tying of extremities, burning and dismemberment of dead bodies, and ritual cannibalism (compensatory necrophilia) etc. At the same time, it was attended by effective care for helpless cripples, which seems to descend to the Lower Paleolithic as well. Dread of posthumous revenge played a decisive regulative role at the earliest stage of anthropogenesis, as the disparity between artificial weapons (the tools) and natural aggression-retention mechanisms (the instincts) became self-destructive. In the new conditions, individuals with normal animal mind were doomed to catastrophe. Those hominid groups proved viable, in which mystical fear, a product of unnaturally developed imagination, bounded lethal conflicts among kinsmen. The phobias corresponded to the psycho-nervous system's "strategic pathology"; that was a condition for early hominids' self-preservation. As a result, a causal connection between instrumental potential, cultural regulation quality and social sustainability (the techno-humanitarian balance law) was formed, which has been a mechanism of social selection for all of human history and prehistory. [source] East meets west: adaptive evolution of an insect introduced for biological controlJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2008C. B Phillips Summary 1A possible explanation for low success rates when introducing natural enemies to new regions for biological control of insect pests is that they fail to adapt to their new conditions. Therefore it has been widely recommended that biological control practitioners increase the probability of local adaptation by maximizing the genetic variation released. An alternative recommendation is to use climate matching to identify native populations that may already possess traits suited to the new region. However, support for these recommendations is weak through lack of empirical evidence that local adaptation is important to biological control. 2This study examined how genetic drift and selection influenced the population frequencies of two asexually reproducing, genetically differentiated parasitoid biotypes that were introduced to New Zealand from South America for biological control. Other than by mutation, the biotypes were genetically fixed due to the absence of recombination both within and between biotypes. This meant that adaptive evolution could occur only if selection acted on any traits that varied between the biotypes introduced from South America. 3The two parasitoid biotypes were released simultaneously at 14 sites and their frequencies were monitored for up to 10 years. Changes in biotype frequency were consistent with strong directional selection favouring one of the South American biotypes, thus generating established parasitoid populations that were better adapted to New Zealand conditions than those that had originally been released. This local adaptation of the control agent contributed to greater mortality of the pest. 4Synthesis and applications. This study provides the first clear demonstration of the importance of releasing natural enemy genetic variation in new regions to foster adaptive evolution and improve success rates in classical biological control. However, the benefit to biological control of maximizing the genetic variation released needs to be balanced against possible risks to non-target species. The results do not support the concept of choosing sampling sites for putative biological control agents based solely on climatic similarities between the source location and the intended region of introduction. [source] Understanding the roles of online meetings in a net-based courseJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 1 2006O. Berge Abstract It is argued elsewhere that online learning environments constitute new conditions for carrying out collaborative learning activities. This article explores the roles of a series of online meetings in such an environment. The online meetings are arranged as part of a net-based course on object-oriented programming, and constitute a recurring shared experience for the participants throughout the semester. Through an activity theoretical analysis, we find that the meetings mediate the learners' actions towards the construction and maintenance of a community of practice. Our finding has implications for the standardization of digital learning resources. This is an issue that will challenge designers of research-oriented learning environments, should they attempt to move their systems into wider adoption. We suggest that an awareness of the internal systemic connections among the components of the course design we studied is of importance when considering redesign, with respect to the reuse and standardization of learning resources. [source] Amplitude,shape approximation as an extension of separation of variablesMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 3 2008N. Parumasur Abstract Separation of variables is a well-known technique for solving differential equations. However, it is seldom used in practical applications since it is impossible to carry out a separation of variables in most cases. In this paper, we propose the amplitude,shape approximation (ASA) which may be considered as an extension of the separation of variables method for ordinary differential equations. The main idea of the ASA is to write the solution as a product of an amplitude function and a shape function, both depending on time, and may be viewed as an incomplete separation of variables. In fact, it will be seen that such a separation exists naturally when the method of lines is used to solve certain classes of coupled partial differential equations. We derive new conditions which may be used to solve the shape equations directly and present a numerical algorithm for solving the resulting system of ordinary differential equations for the amplitude functions. Alternatively, we propose a numerical method, similar to the well-established exponential time differencing method, for solving the shape equations. We consider stability conditions for the specific case corresponding to the explicit Euler method. We also consider a generalization of the method for solving systems of coupled partial differential equations. Finally, we consider the simple reaction diffusion equation and a numerical example from chemical kinetics to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The ASA results in far superior numerical results when the relative errors are compared to the separation of variables method. Furthermore, the method leads to a reduction in CPU time as compared to using the Rosenbrock semi-implicit method for solving a stiff system of ordinary differential equations resulting from a method of lines solution of a coupled pair of partial differential equations. The present amplitude,shape method is a simplified version of previous ones due to the use of a linear approximation to the time dependence of the shape function. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium dust nucleation in subsaturated vapoursMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008Davide Lazzati ABSTRACT We use the kinetic theory of nucleation to explore the properties of dust nucleation in subsaturated vapours. Due to radiation losses, the subcritical clusters have a smaller temperature compared to their vapour. This alters the dynamical balance between the attachment and detachment of monomers, allowing for stable nucleation of grains in vapours that are subsaturated for their temperature. We find this effect particularly important at low densities and in the absence of a strong background radiation field. We find new conditions for stable nucleation in the n,T phase diagram. The nucleation in the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) regions is likely to be at much slower rate than in the supersaturated vapours. We evaluate the nucleation rate, warning the reader that it does depend on poorly substantiated properties of the macro-molecules assumed in the computation. On the other hand, the conditions for nucleation depend only on the properties of the large stable grains and are more robust. We finally point out that this mechanism may be relevant in the early Universe as an initial dust pollution mechanism, since once the interstellar medium is polluted with dust, mantle growth is likely to be dominant over non-LTE nucleation in the diffuse medium. [source] The Six-Party Talks and North Korea's Denuclearization: Evaluation and ProspectsPACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 2 2010Tae-Hwan Kwak The six-party process for North Korea's denuclearization has long been stalled since the Six-Party Talks (SPT) failed to agree on a verification protocol in early December 2008. The DPRK officially stated on 10 February 2005 that it already possessed nuclear weapons. It now wants to be recognized as a nuclear power. The North Korean nuclear issue, a key obstacle to the Korean peace process, needs to be resolved peacefully through the six-party process. The author has argued over the years that while the six-party process is the best means to resolve the North's nuclear issue, bilateral US,DPRK talks are equally important to a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the DPRK's issue. The peaceful resolution of the North's nuclear issue is prerequisite to building a peace regime on the Korean peninsula and regional peace in Northeast Asia. The author has two specific goals: (i) to evaluate the stalled SPT for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula since December 2008; and (ii) to make policy recommendations for continued denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in the framework of the SPT. The first part of this article examines DPRK's denuclearization process up to the point when the SPT failed to adopt a written verification protocol in December 2008. Since then, the six-party process has been stalled. The second part discusses the impact of the DPRK's rocket launch in April 2009 and its second nuclear test in May on the SPT. The third part evaluates the DPRK's new proposal for peace treaty talks and its new conditions for returning to the SPT. Finally, this article proposes key issues on agenda to be negotiated at the next SPT and some policy recommendations for achieving denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. [source] "A Discovered Dissembler Can Achieve Nothing Great"; Or, Four Theses on the Death of Presidential Rhetoric in an Age of EmpirePRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2007STEPHEN JOHN HARTNETT Because of the explosion of mass media, we have entered a new age of white noise; because of the disastrous extension of U.S. imperial ambitions, we have entered a new age of political deception; when these two historical factors are combined with the peculiar communicative habits of President George W. Bush, Americans are left with what we call a post-rhetorical presidency. This is an anti-democratic condition wherein presidential discourse is not meant to mobilize, educate, and uplift the masses; rather, by marshaling ubiquitous public chatter, waves of disinformation, and cascades of confusion-causing misdirection, post-rhetorical presidential discourse attempts to confuse public opinion, prevent citizen action, and frustrate citizen deliberation. Under these new conditions, the president defines fantasy, not reality; he numbs citizens rather than energizing them; instead of informing and teaching, he chooses to dumb down and stupefy. We pursue this thesis by offering four philosophical theses and three rhetorical case studies of the president's public speaking, thus combining critical theory and rhetorical criticism to help map what may represent the death of democracy. [source] The Eye of the Expert: Walter Benjamin and the avant gardeART HISTORY, Issue 3 2001Frederic J. Schwartz In ,The Work of Art in the Age of its Technical Reproducibility' of 1935/36, Walter Benjamin considers the effects of new conditions of production and commerce on the response to visual stimuli and on the structure of works of art, contrasting reception characterized by ,aura' with that characterized by ,distraction', the gaze of the (bourgeois) art lover with that of the working ,expert'. This essay represents Benjamin's theory of a new and positive form of mass spectatorship; in it he seeks to rise to the challenge of conservative critiques of culture, finding revolutionary potential and cognitive value in seemingly debased modes of apperception. By focusing on the notion of the ,expert', this article seeks to plot new coordinates by which to map the complex conceptual work involved in Benjamin's influential theses. The ,expert' was a key figure in the radical retheorization of cultural values in Weimar Germany, one implicated in the crisis of the traditional intelligentsia as well as in the processes of professionalization that affected fields from the arts to the sciences. Benjamin and those close to him in the Constructivist avant garde felt the pressures of new conditions of intellectual work, and traces of this can be found in the essay. There is also evidence of another process affecting the nature of thought in modernity: as objects of knowledge came to be approached within the parameters of narrowly defined professional concerns, both the origins and uses of the knowledge produced inevitably tended to fall into the blind spots of professional vision. By studying his contact with and borrowings from bodies of professional expertise, this article will question the extent of Benjamin's awareness of changing conditions of knowledge in the twentieth century. [source] Visuality and Unmediation in Burne-Jones's Laus VenerisART HISTORY, Issue 1 2001David Peters Corbett This article argues that a contest between the image and verbal knowledge is central to the work of Burne-Jones and that this contest thematizes cultural tensions around the capacity of the visual arts to deal adequately with the new conditions of contemporary experience. Contrary to most established readings, I argue that Burne-Jones's painting possessed for contemporaries the possibility of critical potential in its resistance to the instrumental values of late nineteenth-century modernity and that this potential was expressed most powerfully through their visual character. But if Burne-Jones's dream was critical in this way, it was also insecure. Opposing the visual to the word as forms of effective knowledge about reality, Burne-Jones's paintings of the 1870s nonetheless turn out to be dependent on the word and to enact a dialectic between word and image as a central part of their constitution [source] State,society relations in contemporary Vietnam: An examination of the arena of youthASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 3 2006Phuong An Nguyen Abstract: This paper offers an analysis of the relations between youth and the socialist state in contemporary Vietnam, which sheds light on the wider state,society relations. Amid rapid social changes brought about by economic liberalisation, the Vietnamese Communist Party and socialist state may no longer be the sole driving force that motivates young people. As they seek to be both in control of and in touch with youth, the leaders of the Party and state find themselves negotiating between maintaining their ideological integrity and accommodating the changing needs and desires of youth. An analysis of recent events demonstrates that youth are no longer merely a subject of political propaganda and mass mobilisation, but instead they have evolved to become an important social actor urging the leadership to further reform itself. As young people express a desire to embrace socioeconomic and cultural changes wrought by processes of marketisation and globalisation, the Party and state are actively reforming themselves not only to respond to young people's desires and aspirations, but also to strengthen their political authority and leadership, and to consolidate their control and management of youth amid the new conditions of a market-oriented society. Overall, this paper sheds light on the changes in what is considered to be the ,strategic' relationship between the state and youth, and the wider process of sociopolitical transformation in present-day Vietnam. [source] Evolvability of between-year seed dormancy in populations along an aridity gradientBIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 4 2010CHRISTIAN LAMPEI Under global climate change, adaptation to new conditions is crucial for plant species persistence. This requires the ability to evolve in traits that are correlated with changing climatic variables. We studied between-year seed dormancy, which correlates with environmental variability, and tested for clinal trends in its evolvability along an aridity gradient in Israel. We conducted a germination experiment under five irrigation levels with two dryland winter annuals (Biscutella didyma, Bromus fasciculatus) from four sites along the gradient. Species differed in means and evolvability of dormancy. Biscutella had high dormancy, which significantly increased with aridity but decreased with higher irrigation. In Bromus, dormancy was low, similar among populations, and only marginally affected by irrigation. Evolvability in Biscutella was high and varied among populations, without a clinal trend along the gradient. Conversely, in Bromus, trait evolvability was low and declined with increasing aridity. We argue that changes in evolvability along climatic gradients depend on the relative intensity of stabilizing selection. This may be high in Bromus and not only depends on environmental stress, but also on variability. Our findings point to the importance of measuring evolvability of climate-related traits across different natural and artificial environments and for many coexisting species. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100, 924,934. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||