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New Ideas (new + idea)
Selected AbstractsThe Poster Exhibition at the 2001 IHC Meeting: A Time for New Ideas, Obsessions, and AgendasHEADACHE, Issue 2 2002R. Steven Singer MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] A sympathetic view of the sympathetic nervous system and human blood pressure regulationEXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Michael J. Joyner New ideas about the relative importance of the autonomic nervous system (and especially its sympathetic arm) in long-term blood pressure regulation are emerging. It is well known that mean arterial blood pressure is normally regulated in a fairly narrow range at rest and that blood pressure is also able to rise and fall ,appropriately' to meet the demands of various forms of mental, emotional and physical stress. By contrast, blood pressure varies widely when the autonomic nervous system is absent or when key mechanisms that govern it are destroyed. However, 24 h mean arterial pressure is still surprisingly normal under these conditions. Thus, the dominant idea has been that the kidney is the main long-term regulator of blood pressure and the autonomic nervous system is important in short-term regulation. However, this ,renocentric' scheme can be challenged by observations in humans showing that there is a high degree of individual variability in elements of the autonomic nervous system. Along these lines, the level of sympathetic outflow, the adrenergic responsiveness of blood vessels and individual haemodynamic patterns appear to exist in a complex, but appropriate, balance in normotension. Furthermore, evidence from animals and humans has now clearly shown that the sympathetic nervous system can play an important role in longer term blood pressure regulation in both normotension and hypertension. Finally, humans with high baseline sympathetic traffic might be at increased risk for hypertension if the ,balance' among factors deteriorates or is lost. In this context, the goal of this review is to encourage a comprehensive rethinking of the complexities related to long-term blood pressure regulation in humans and promote finer appreciation of physiological relationships among the autonomic nervous system, vascular function, ageing, metabolism and blood pressure. [source] New ideas and fertility limitation: The role of mass mediaJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2004Jennifer S. Barber This article investigates the mass media as a social change that shapes individual behavior primarily via ideational mechanisms. We construct a theoretical framework drawing on social demography and social psychology to explain how mass media may affect behavior via attitudinal change. Empirical analyses of 1,091 couples in the Chitwan Valley Family Study, using detailed measures of social change from rural Nepal, show that exposure to the mass media is related to childbearing behavior, and to preferences for smaller families, weaker son preferences, and tolerance of contraceptive use. This result should motivate greater research attention to the influence of changing ideas on behavioral changes, particularly in the study of families. [source] New ideas in medical educationMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 5 2004A peer-reviewed collection of reports on innovative approaches to medical education No abstract is available for this article. [source] Independent comparative study of PCA, ICA, and LDA on the FERET data setINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMAGING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Kresimir Delac Abstract Face recognition is one of the most successful applications of image analysis and understanding and has gained much attention in recent years. Various algorithms were proposed and research groups across the world reported different and often contradictory results when comparing them. The aim of this paper is to present an independent, comparative study of three most popular appearance-based face recognition projection methods (PCA, ICA, and LDA) in completely equal working conditions regarding preprocessing and algorithm implementation. We are motivated by the lack of direct and detailed independent comparisons of all possible algorithm implementations (e.g., all projection,metric combinations) in available literature. For consistency with other studies, FERET data set is used with its standard tests (gallery and probe sets). Our results show that no particular projection,metric combination is the best across all standard FERET tests and the choice of appropriate projection,metric combination can only be made for a specific task. Our results are compared to other available studies and some discrepancies are pointed out. As an additional contribution, we also introduce our new idea of hypothesis testing across all ranks when comparing performance results. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 15, 252,260, 2005 [source] Local identification of prototypes for genetic learning of accurate TSK fuzzy rule-based systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 9 2007R. Alcalá This work presents the use of local fuzzy prototypes as a new idea to obtain accurate local semantics-based Takagi,Sugeno,Kang (TSK) rules. This allow us to start from prototypes considering the interaction between input and output variables and taking into account the fuzzy nature of the TSK rules. To do so, a two-stage evolutionary algorithm based on MOGUL (a methodology to obtain Genetic Fuzzy Rule-Based Systems under the Iterative Rule Learning approach) has been developed to consider the interaction between input and output variables. The first stage performs a local identification of prototypes to obtain a set of initial local semantics-based TSK rules, following the Iterative Rule Learning approach and based on an evolutionary generation process within MOGUL (taking as a base some initial linguistic fuzzy partitions). Because this generation method induces competition among the fuzzy rules, a postprocessing stage to improve the global system performance is needed. Two different processes are considered at this stage, a genetic niching-based selection process to remove redundant rules and a genetic tuning process to refine the fuzzy model parameters. The proposal has been tested with two real-world problems, achieving good results. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 22: 909,941, 2007. [source] Simulation and extremal analysis of hurricane eventsJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 3 2000E. Casson In regions affected by tropical storms the damage caused by hurricane winds can be catastrophic. Consequently, accurate estimates of hurricane activity in such regions are vital. Unfortunately, the severity of events means that wind speed data are scarce and unreliable, even by standards which are usual for extreme value analysis. In contrast, records of atmospheric pressures are more complete. This suggests a two-stage approach: the development of a model describing spatiotemporal patterns of wind field behaviour for hurricane events; then the simulation of such events, using meteorological climate models, to obtain a realization of associated wind speeds whose extremal characteristics are summarized. This is not a new idea, but we apply careful statistical modelling for each aspect of the model development and simulation, taking the Gulf and Atlantic coastlines of the USA as our study area. Moreover, we address for the first time the issue of spatial dependence in extremes of hurricane events, which we find to have substantial implications for regional risk assessments. [source] How stupid not to have thought of that: post-copulatory sexual selectionJOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 2 2010T. R. Birkhead Abstract Science progresses through ideas or hypotheses; novel ways of viewing the world. If those ideas survive testing, then they are considered ,the truth', or more crucially, truth-for-now, for the essence of science is that if a new idea provides a better explanation of the way the world is, the truth changes. Darwin's idea of evolution by natural selection, published as the Origin in 1859, replaced the earlier truth of physico- or natural-theology introduced by John Ray in 1691. Despite resistance by the church, Darwin's truth gained widespread acceptance, in part due to the efforts of T. H. Huxley, who on reading the Origin said ,How extremely stupid not to have thought of that!' Despite natural selection's enormous explanatory power, there were certain phenomena it apparently could not explain, including female promiscuity. It was only in the 1960s when natural selection was viewed as operating explicitly on individuals (rather than populations or groups), that this changed. Rather than being a cooperative venture between the sexes, sexual reproduction was now viewed in terms of conflicts of interests, and in so doing provided an explanation for female promiscuity (albeit in a male-biased sort of way). Until this point, sexual selection had been concerned exclusively with mate acquisition. With an evolutionary perspective focussing on individuals, it was recognized that sexual selection might continue after insemination, and that rather than competing for partners, males compete for fertilizations. Later it was acknowledged that females, through cryptic processes can also influence the outcome of sperm competition. Today, post-copulatory sexual selection provides explanations for many previously bewildering reproductive traits, including the extraordinary diversity in male and female genitalia, the design of spermatozoa and ova, of seminal fluid and of copulation behaviour itself [source] Offline, multidetector intensity interferometers , II.MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2006Implications, applications ABSTRACT Intensity interferometry removes the stringent requirements on mechanical precision and atmospheric corrections that plague all amplitude interferometry techniques at the cost of severely limited sensitivity. A new idea we recently introduced, very high redundancy, alleviates this problem. It enables the relatively simple construction (,1 cm mechanical precision) of a ground-based astronomical facility able to transform a two-dimensional field of point-like sources to a three-dimensional distribution of microarcsec resolved systems, each imaged in several optical bands. Each system will also have its high-resolution residual timing, high-quality (inside each band) spectra and light curve, emergent flux, effective temperature, polarization effects and perhaps some thermodynamic properties, all directly measured. All the above attributes can be measured in a single observation run of such a dedicated facility. We conclude that after three decades of abandonment, optical intensity interferometry deserves another review, also as a ground-based alternative to the science goals of space interferometers. [source] Dynamic pricing in internet retail: Effects on consumer trustPSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 6 2003Ellen Garbarino Individual-level price discrimination, while not a new idea, is more than a theoretical possibility in the Internet age. Economic theory argues that dynamic pricing (i.e., individual-level price discrimination) is inherently good for the profitability of the firm, because it allows the firm to capture a larger share of the consumer surplus, but anecdotal evidence from recent retail experiments with Internet-based dynamic pricing suggests that consumers react strongly against this practice. Using a two-dimensional conceptualization of trust, based on benevolence and competence trust, the current experiment examines how the experience of a dynamic pricing event and the direction of the pricing discrimination (i.e., whether one is offered the higher or the lower price) affects both the mean levels of trust and the weight given to the separate trust dimensions in the formation of overall trust. Because demand-based pricing, such as dynamic pricing, is generally considered unfair, it is expected that trust levels will be lower and that more weight will be given to benevolence trust. Results show that mean benevolence trust is significantly lower (which leads to a marginal decrease in overall trust) and the weight given to benevolence trust in the formation of overall trust substantially increases. The direction-of-price-discrimination effects are generally unsupported. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] There is no ,truth' outside a context: implications for the teaching of analytical psychology in the 21st centuryTHE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Michael Horne Abstract:, Humans are from birth embedded in a historical and contemporary context of meanings. This always constrains their theoretical and practical activities. In this paper, I will be suggesting that there are no guiding ,truths' outside such contexts. In order to understand the foundations of any concept or new idea, it is important to comprehend the context in which it is embedded. Candidates and some of their teachers have very little knowledge of the intellectual context in which Jung or any other analytic theorist wrote. As a result, the analytic ,founders' are often believed to have discovered ,truths' transcending the context of history and of everyday life. They were, however, as much creative synthesizers as pure originators. I propose that the components of all analytic theories emerge from their embeddedness. I contend, therefore, that the understandings of these components such as psychic causality, epistemology and identity formation were quite differently conceived at the time the analytic founders were working than they are today. I will give examples to show how the acceptance of this attitude is useful in inculcating a discerning approach in candidates towards traditionally accepted analytic theories and practices. This can provide them with a method to promote their individual creative development. Translations of Abstract L'être humain est pris dès sa naissance dans un contexte de sens, historique et contemporain. Ceci délimite toujours ses activités théoriques et pratiques. Dans cet article, je suggère qu'il n'existe pas de , vérités premières » en dehors d'un tel contexte. Pour comprendre pleinement les fondements de tout nouveau concept ou idée, il est important d'englober la situation de discours dans lequel l'idée est enchâssée. Les candidats en formation et certains de leurs enseignants possèdent une connaissance très restreinte du contexte intellectuel dans lequel Jung,ou tout autre théoricien analytique,produisit son ,uvre. Avec pour résultat, la croyance commune que les , fondateurs » analytiques auraient découvert des vérités transcendant le contexte de l'histoire et de la vie quotidienne, alors qu'ils furent en réalité des synthétiseurs créatifs autant que de purs découvreurs. J'avance l'idée que les composantes de toute théorie analytique émergent de leur contexte sémantique et j'affirme par conséquent, que des composantes telles que la causalité psychique, l'épistémologie et la constitution de l'identité furent conçues différemment à l'époque des fondateurs qu'elles ne le sont aujourd'hui. Je montre à travers des exemples, qu'une telle attitude contribue à inculquer aux candidats en formation une approche critique des théories et des pratiques analytiques communément admises. Elle peut leur fournir une méthode propice au développement de leur créativité personnelle. Alle Menschen sind von Geburt an in einem historischen und zeitgenössischen Zusammenhang eingebettet. Hierdurch werden ihre theoretischen und praktischen Aktivitäten eingeschränkt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit vertrete ich die Ansicht, dass es keine leitenden Wahrheiten außerhalb eines solchen Kontextes gibt. Um die Grundlagen eines Konzeptes oder einer neuen Idee zu verstehen, ist es wichtig, den Kontext zu begreifen, in den die Idee eingebettet ist. Auszubildende und einige ihrer Dozenten und Dozentinnen haben wenig Wissen über den intellektuellen Kontext, in dem Jung oder andere analytisch theoretische Autoren und Autorinnen schrieben. Dies führt dazu, dass oft geglaubt wird, analytische ,Gründer' hätten die Wahrheit entdeckt, die weit über den historischen Kontext und das alltägliche Leben hinausgehen. Tatsächlich waren diese jedoch in der Lage, sowohl neue Ideen hervorzubringen, als auch auf kreative Weise vorhandenes Wissen zusammenzustellen. Ich vertrete die Ansicht, dass die Komponenten aller analytischen Theorien aus ihrem Eingebettetsein hervorgehen. Dementsprechend vertrete ich die These, dass alles Verständnis ihrer Komponenten, wie z.B. psychische Kausalität, die Erkenntnistheorie und IdentitätsbiIdung zu Zeiten der analytischen Gründer etwas anders aufgefasst wurden als heutzutage. Ich werde Beispiele geben, um zu zeigen, wie die Anerkennung dieser Einstellung nützlich ist, um Auszubildenden eine differenzierte Wahrnehmung gegenüber der traditionell akzeptierten analytischen Theorie und Praxis zu vermitteln. Dies gibt ihnen eine Methode an die Hand, mit der sie ihre individuelle kreative Entwicklung fördern können. Fin dalla nascita gli esseri umani sono immersi in un contesto storico e contemporaneo di significati. Questo condiziona sempre le loro attività teoriche e pratiche. In questo scritto io sosterrò che non esistono ,verità guida' al di fuori di tali contesti. Per poter comprendere pienamente le fondamenta di qualunque concetto o nuova idea, è importante comprendere il contesto in cui tale idea è radicata. I candidati e alcuni dei loro docenti hanno una scarsa conoscenza del contesto intellettuale nel quale Jung o qualsiasi altro teorico di analisi scrisse. Ne risulta che si crede spesso che i ,fondatori' dell'analisi hanno scoperto ,verità' che trascendono il contesto della storia e della vita di tutti i giorni.Essi erano, comunque, tanto capaci di sintesi creative, quanto creatori. La mia ipotesi è che le componenti di qualunque teoria analitica emergono da dove sono già le loro radici. Il risultato è che io metto in discussione che la comprensione delle loro componenti quali la causalità psichica, l'epistemologia e la costruzione dell'identità fossero concepite differentemente ai tempi in cui lavoravano i fondatori di quanto non lo siano oggi. Porterò degli esempi per dimostrare come l'accettazione di questo atteggiamento sia utile nell'inculcare nei candidati un approccio più attento nei confronti di prassi e teorie analitiche tradizionalmente accettate. Ciò può fornirli di un metodo che incoraggi il loro sviluppo creativo individuale. Los humanos son criados en un contexto contemporáneo de significados históricos. Esto siempre restringe sus actividades prácticas y teóricas. En este trabajo, estaré sugiriendo que no hay ,verdades' que puedan dar guía fuera de estos contextos. Para poder entender en su totalidad los fundamentos de cualquier concepto o idea nueva, es importante comprender el contexto en el cual ella está incluida. Los candidatos y algunos de sus profesores tienen muy poco conocimiento del contexto intelectual en el cual escribieron Jung o cualquier otro teórico del análisis. Como resultado, se cree con frecuencia que los ,pioneros' del análisis han descubierto ,verdades' que trascienden el contexto de la historia y la vida cotidiana. Ellos fueron, sin embargo, tan sintetizadores creativos como originadotes puros. Propongo que los componentes de todas las teorías analíticas emergen de su hábitat. Como consecuencia, Estoy estableciendo que la comprensión de los componentes tales como causalidad psíquica, epistemología, y formación de la identidad fueron concebidas en alguna manera diferente en la época en la cual los fundadores del análisis estaban trabajando que en nuestros días. Daré ejemplos para mostrar como la aceptación de esta actitud es útil para inculcar la capacidad de discernir entre los candidatos en relación a las teorías y prácticas analíticas tradicionalmente aceptadas. Estos les puede proveer un método que promueva su desarrollo creativo individual. [source] Learning from Difference: Considerations for Schools as CommunitiesCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 3 2000Carolyn M. Shields In today's highly complex and heterogeneous public schools, the current notion of schools as homogeneous communities with shared beliefs, norms, and alues is inadequate. Drawing on Barth's (1990) question of how to use ifference as a resource, I take up ideas from feminism, multiculturalism, and inclusive education to consider the development of community in schools. I argue that despite the valuable contributions of these theoretical perspectives, each lso includes the potential for increased fragmentation and polarization. As we consider how to use differences as a foundation for community, it is important ot to reify any particular perspective, thus marginalizing others and erecting new barriers. Explicitly embracing the need to identify and respect difference, being open to new ideas without taking an exclusionary position, and committing to ongoing participation in dialogical processes may help schools to develop as more authentic communities of difference. Among the dominant issues identified in today's climate of turbulent educational reform are concerns about how to restructure schools to ensure equality of student opportunity and excellence of instruction (Elmore, 1990; Lieberman, 1992; Murphy, 1991). Many proposals include modifying present leadership and governance structures, overcoming the hegemony of existing power bases, developing mechanisms for accountability, enhancing professionalism, and co-ordinating community resources. One of the suggestions frequently made to address these issues is to change from a focus on schools as organizations to a recognition of schools as communities (Barth, 1990; Fullan, 1993; Lupart & Webber, 1996; Senge, 1990). However, despite the widespread use of the metaphor of community as an alternative to the generally accepted concept of schools as rational or functional organizations, there seems to be little clarity about the concept of community, what it might look like, how it might be implemented, or what policies might sustain it. Indeed, theories about schools as communities have often drawn from Tönnies (1887/1971) concept of gemeinschaft,a concept which perhaps evokes a more homogeneous and romanticized view of the past than one which could be helpful for improving education in today's dynamic, complex, and heterogeneous context (Beck & Kratzer, 1994; Sergiovanni, 1994a). More recently, several writers (Fine et al., 1997; Furman, 1998; Shields & Seltzer, 1997) have advanced the notion of communities of otherness or difference. These authors have suggested that rather than thinking of schools as communities that exist because of a common affiliation to an established school ethos or tradition, it might be more helpful to explore an alternative concept. A school community founded on difference would be one in which the common centre would not be taken as a given but would be co-constructed from the negotiation of disparate beliefs and values as participants learn to respect, and to listen to, each other. In this concept, bonds among members are not assumed, but forged, and boundaries are not imposed but negotiated. Over the past eight years, as I have visited and worked with a large number of schools trying earnestly to address the needs of their diverse student bodies, I have become increasingly aware of the limitations of the concept of community used in the gemeinschaft sense with its emphasis on shared values, norms, and beliefs, and have begun to reflect on the question framed by Barth (1990): ,How can we make conscious, deliberate use of differences in social class, gender, age, ability, race, and interest as resources for learning?' (p. 514). In this article, I consider how learning from three of these areas of difference: gender, race, and ability, may help us to a better understanding of educational community. This article begins with some illustrations and examples from practice, moves to consider how some theoretical perspectives may illuminate them, and concludes with reflections on how the implications of the combined reflections on practice and theory might actually help to reconceptualize and to improve practice. While it draws heavily on questions and impressions which have arisen out of much of my fieldwork, it is not intended to be an empirical paper, but a conceptual one,one which promotes reflection and discussion on the concept of schools as communities of difference. The examples of life in schools taken from longitudinal research studies in which I have been involved demonstrate several common ways in which difference is dealt with in today's schools and some of the problems inherent in these approaches. Some ideas drawn from alternative perspectives then begin to address Barth's question of how to make deliberate use of diversity as a way of thinking about community. Taken together, I hope that these ideas will be helpful in creating what I have elsewhere called ,schools as communities of difference' (Shields & Seltzer, 1997). [source] The international influence of the Stockholm SchoolACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 2009Hans-Peter Schultze Abstract Erik Stensiö revolutionized vertebrate palaeontology by introducing new methods to study the anatomy of fossil agnathans and fish. As head of the department of palaeozoology at the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet in Stockholm, he formed the so-called ,Stockholm School' with his students and foreign researchers. Twice many foreign researchers worked together in the department; in the 1930s the group was composed of European nationals, whereas the group in the 1960s comprised researchers from China, Europe and North America. These people have carried on the ,message' in their countries. In contrast, palaeoichthyology faded out at the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, because Stensiö and his followers persisted with the definitions attained without accepting new ideas from outside. The ,Stockholm School' therefore had its continuation outside Sweden, and it has only recently returned to Sweden, from England. [source] MIGRATION, GLOBALISATION AND THE SPIRIT OF PETER BAUERECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2003Daniel T. Griswold Lord Bauer understood that the human freedom of movement plays a vital role in development. Today, internal and cross-border migration generates hard-currency remittances that raise living standards and capital investment in the country of origin, promotes greater trade and investment ties between destination and origin countries, and raises a country's stock of human and physical capital when migrants return with new skills and investment funds. Immigration can also stimulate political and social reform when migrants return or foreign-born immigrants arrive with new ideas and experiences. Relaxing the pervasive controls on the international movement of people remains a huge piece of unfinished business on the market-driven development agenda. [source] Strategic environmental awakening: European progress in regional environmental integrationENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2001Keith Clement In the EU Structural Funds, integrating environment and regional economic development is a challenge that is progressively being met. From a beginning characterized by conflict between these two themes, considerable progress has been made in successive rounds of programmes, accompanied by a gradual raising of awareness and the development of new mechanisms for integration. This progress has been supported by environmental guidance from the European Commission, with handbooks designed to raise new ideas and suggest innovative ways of approaching the task. Current programmes incorporate extensive environmental profiles to support programme development, and new methods of combining both horizontal and vertical integration show considerable promise for the realization of environmental objectives in programme implementation. To facilitate further integration, priorities for research include the role for environmental strategies, the production of an index of environmental integration, the identification of measurable environmental indicators and confirmation that sustainable development is acting as a catalyst for environmental gain. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [source] Revisiting the role of IL-2 in autoimmunityEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2010Hans Dooms Abstract IL-2 was discovered as a T-cell growth factor that promoted T-cell-dependent immune responses; however, more recent studies suggest that the essential role of IL-2 is to maintain functional Treg and thus control immune responses. These results are leading to new ideas about the potential of IL-2 as a therapeutic strategy in autoimmune diseases. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, a study further examines the role of IL-2 in immune regulation and shows for the first time that IL-2 complexes can ameliorate autoantibody-mediated autoimmunity. This commentary examines the current findings in relation to what we already know about IL-2 complexes. [source] Transmission network expansion planning with security constraints based on bi-level linear programmingEUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 3 2009Hong Fan Abstract In deregulated power market, multiple conflicting objectives with many constraints should be balanced in transmission planning. The primary objective is to ensure the reliable supply to the demand as economically as possible. In this paper, a new bi-level linear programming model for transmission network expansion planning (TNEP) with security constraints has been proposed. The modeling improves traditional building style by adding reliability planning into economy planning as constraints, letting optimal planning strategy be more economic and highly reliable. A hybrid algorithm which integrates improved niching genetic algorithm and prime-dual interior point method is newly proposed to solve the TNEP based on bi-level programming. The advantages of the new methodology include (1) the highest reliability planning scheme can be acquired as economically as possible; (2) new model avoids the contradictions of conflicting objectives in TNEP, and explores new ideas for TNEP modeling; (3) the proposed hybrid algorithm is able to solve bi-level programming and fully manifests the merits of two algorithms as well. Simulation results obtained from two well-known systems and comparison analysis reveal that the proposed methodology is valid. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] ADAPTIONISM,30 YEARS AFTER GOULD AND LEWONTINEVOLUTION, Issue 10 2009Rasmus Nielsen Gould and Lewontin's 30-year-old critique of adaptionism fundamentally changed the discourse of evolutionary biology. However, with the influx of new ideas and scientific traditions from genomics into evolutionary biology, the old adaptionist controversies are being recycled in a new context. The insight gained by evolutionary biologists, that functional differences cannot be equated to adaptive changes, has at times not been appreciated by the genomics community. In this comment, I argue that even in the presence of both functional data and evidence for selection from DNA sequence data, it is still difficult to construct strong arguments in favor of adaptation. However, despite the difficulties in establishing scientific arguments in favor of specific historic evolutionary events, there is still much to learn about evolution from genomic data. [source] WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST AWARD ADDRESSFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 4 2005Hon. Leonard Edwards The William H. Rehnquist Award is one of the most celebrated judicial honors in the country.1 It is given each year to a state court judge who demonstrates the "highest level of judicial excellence, integrity, fairness, and professional ethics."2 The 2004 recipient, Judge Leonard Edwards, is the Supervising Judge of the Santa Clara County, California juvenile dependency court.3 He is the first juvenile court judge to receive this prestigious award. During the 24 years he has held his position, Judge Edwards has worked extremely hard to improve how the juvenile court system serves troubled families. He has founded two organizations to achieve this end, the Juvenile Court Judges of California and the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council.4 Judge Edwards serves as a lead judge in San Jose's Model Court, which is one of twenty-five jurisdictions in the country which utilizes new ideas and techniques to improve adoption rates for children in foster care.5 Moreover, he has worked as president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.6 Below is the speech he gave after accepting the award from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. The speech notes the importance of the award to everyone working in America's juvenile courts. [source] Bridging the Realist/Constructivist Divide: The Case of the Counterrevolution in Soviet Foreign Policy at the End of the Cold WarFOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 1 2005Robert S. Snyder The surprising end of the Cold War has led to a debate within international relations (IR) theory. Constructivists have argued that the end of the Cold War is best explained in terms of ideas and agency,specifically Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's new thinking. A few realists have countered that Soviet material decline was "endogenous" to the new ideas. Can these two theoretical perspectives be reconciled with respect to this case? They can be partially integrated with a path-dependent strategy that places an emphasis on "institutions." Nevertheless, explaining the end of the Cold War largely requires a theory of Soviet foreign policy and its relation to the state. As a former or ossified revolutionary state, Soviet foreign policy for at least several years was largely based on the principle of externalization: outside threats were used to rationalize radical centralization, repression, and the dominance of the Party. In using the USSR's institutionalized legacy as a revolutionary state, Gorbachev acted as a counterrevolutionary and reversed this process with his revolution in foreign policy. In creating a new peaceful international order, he sought,through the "second image reversed",to promote radical decentralization, liberalization, and the emergence of a new coalition. The case examines how Gorbachev's domestic goals drove his foreign policy from 1985 to 1991. [source] Advancements in the Search for Superhard Ultra-Incompressible Metal Borides,ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 22 2009Jonathan B. Levine Abstract Dense transition metal borides have recently been identified as superhard materials that offer the possibility of ambient pressure synthesis compared to the conventional high pressure, high temperature approach. This feature article begins with a discussion of the relevant physical properties for this class of compounds, followed by a summary of the synthesis and properties of several transition metal borides. A strong emphasis is placed on correlating mechanical properties with electronic and atomic structure of these materials in an effort to better predict new superhard compounds. It concludes with a perspective of future research directions, highlighting some recent results and presenting several new ideas that remain to be tested. [source] Questioning the Notion of Feminine Leadership: A Critical Perspective on the Gender Labelling of LeadershipGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 3 2000Yvonne Due Billing Traditionally, leadership has been equated with masculinity. Managerial jobs, at least in business and on senior levels, have been defined as a matter of instrumentality, autonomy, result-orientation, etc. something which is not particularly much in line with what is broadly assumed to be typical for females. Today, however, there seems to be a broad interest in leadership being more participatory, non-hierarchical, flexible and group-oriented. These new ideas on leadership are often seen by students of gender as indicating a feminine orientation. This article argues that it is necessary to critically discuss the whole idea of gender labelling leadership as masculine or feminine and suggests that we should be very careful and potentially aware of the unfortunate consequences when we use gender labels. Constructing leadership as feminine may be of some value as a contrast to conventional ideas on leadership and management but may also create a misleading impression of women's orientation to leadership as well as reproducing stereotypes and the traditional gender division of labour. [source] A Paradigm Shift in Hydrology: Storage Thresholds Across Scales Influence Catchment Runoff GenerationGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 7 2010Christopher Spence A paradigm shift is occurring in the science surrounding runoff generation processes. Results of recent field investigations in landscapes and during periods previously unobservable are shaping new ideas on how runoff is generated and transferred from the hillslope to the catchment outlet. The previous paradigm saw runoff generation and contributing area variability as a continuum. The new paradigm is based not on continual storage satisfaction and runoff generation but threshold-mediated, connectivity-controlled processes dictated by heterogeneity in the catchment. This review focuses on the body of literature summarizing research on storage, storage thresholds and runoff generation, particularly over the last several years during which this paradigm shift has occurred. Storage thresholds that control the release of water exist at scales as small as the soil matrix and as large as the catchment. Hysteresis in storage,runoff relationships at all scales manifest because of these thresholds. Because storage thresholds at a range of scales have now been recognized as important, connectivity has become an important concept crucial to understanding how water is transferred through a catchment. This new paradigm requires basins to be instrumented within the context of a water budget investigation, with measurements taken within key catchment units, in order to be successful. New model approaches that incorporate connectivity are required to address the findings of field hydrologists. These steps are crucial if our community wishes to adopt the holisitic view of the catchment necessary to answer the questions posed to us by the society. [source] International Organizations in Transfer of Infectious Diseases: Iterative Loops of Adoption, Adaptation, and MarketingGOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2004Gill Walt Over the past few years increasing attention has been given to the role of international organizations in the diffusion of policy ideas and promotion of particular macro-level policies. Much of the attention has been on the ideological driving forces behind such policies, and on the extent to which the policies are externally imposed. There has been limited discussion on the bread-and-butter, technical policies of international organizations, and how they devise, adopt, adapt, and then promote what come to be seen as policies of global "best practice." This paper seeks to redress this gap by looking at the process of transfer of two infectious disease policies between international and national levels. It demonstrates that international organizations play different roles in policy transfer at particular stages in the process. The paper suggests that health policy transfer is a long adaptive process, made up of several iterative loops, as research and clinical practices developed in one or more countries are adopted, adapted, and taken up by international organizations which then mobilize support for particular policies, market, and promote them. Assumptions that new ideas about policies flow "rationally" into existing decision making are challenged by the processes analyzed here. Policy transfer, given the experience of these infectious diseases policies, goes through separate, "bottom-up," research-oriented, and "top-down" marketing-oriented loops. Individuals and different configurations of networks play key roles linking these loops. In the process, complex, context-specific policies are repackaged into simplified guidelines for global best practice, leading to considerable contestation within the policy networks. [source] Telling stories from everyday practice, an opportunity to see a bigger picture: a participatory action research project about developing discharge planningHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 6 2009Pia Petersson RN Abstract In spite of laws, rules and routines, findings from Swedish as well as international research show that discharge planning is not a simple matter. There is considerable knowledge about discharge planning, but the quality of the actual process in practice remains poor. With this in mind, a research and developmental health and social care network decided to use participation action research to explore the discharge planning situation in order to generate new ideas for development. This paper reports on the research process and the findings about our enhanced understanding about the discharge planning situation. Story dialogue method was used. The method is based on stories from everyday practice. The stories are used as ,triggers' to ask probing questions in a dialogical and structured form. Local theory is developed to help the participants to find solutions for action in the practice. Our findings were that the discharge planning situation could be seen as a system including three interconnected areas: patient participation, practitioners' competence and organizational support. To reach good quality in discharge planning, all these three issues need to be developed, but not only as routines and forms. Rather, when developing a discharge planning situation, a system where relational aspects such as confidence and continuity are essential and thus needs to be considered. To achieve a change, the core problem needs to be clarified. When the issue is complex, the solution needs to consider the bigger picture and not just the parts. Telling stories from everyday practice, and to systematically reflect and analyse those in interprofessional groups can create opportunities for enhanced understanding, as well as be a vehicle for future change of practice. [source] Debates on Domesticity and the Position of Women in Late Colonial IndiaHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2010Swapna M. Banerjee Tracing the genealogy of domesticity from India's precolonial past, this essay problematizes the recent emphasis on the link between women and domesticity in late colonial India. Based on a review of the growing literature in the field, it considers the newly evolved notions of colonial domesticity as a moment of [re]consideration rather than a break with the past. The discursive formation of the new ideas of domesticity under colonial regime transcended the private-public and often national boundaries, indicating an overlap where the most intimate details of the ,private', personal life were not only discussed and debated for public consumption but were also articulated in response to imperial and international concerns. This paper argues that domesticity as a new cultural logic became the motor of change for both the British and the colonized subjects and it particularly empowered women by giving them agency in the late colonial period. In conclusion, this paper signals the importance of children, childhood, fatherhood, and masculinity as critical components of domesticity, which are yet to be broached by South Asian historians. [source] Is major depressive disorder a metabolic encephalopathy?HUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue 5 2008Brian H Harvey Abstract Metabolic encephalopathy is an acute disturbance in cellular metabolism in the brain evoked by conditions of hypoxia, hypoglycaemia, oxidative stress and/or inflammation. It usually develops acutely or subacutely and is reversible if the systemic disorder is treated. If left untreated, however, metabolic encephalopathy may result in secondary structural damage to the brain. Most encephalopathies are present with neuropsychiatric symptoms, one in particular being depression. However, mood disorders are often co-morbid with cardiovascular, liver, kidney and endocrine disorders, while increasing evidence concurs that depression involves inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes. This would suggest that metabolic disturbances resembling encephalopathy may underscore the basic neuropathology of depression at a far deeper level than currently realized. Viewing depression as a form of encephalopathy, and exploiting knowledge gleaned from our understanding of the neurochemistry and treatment of metabolic encephalopathy, may assist in our understanding of the neurobiology of depression, but also in realizing new ideas in the pharmacotherapy of mood disorders. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Understanding and optimizing multisource feedbackHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2002Leanne E. Atwater This article integrates the most recent research results on the topic of multisource feedback with what researchers have learned over the years about performance feedback in general. We believe that this review and set of recommendations represent the state of the art at this time. We provide practitioners with new ideas about how to continue to improve the multisource feedback process in their organizations. We also suggest ideas for feedback providers and facilitators about how to maximize the success of the feedback process. Additionally, we provide "food for thought" for researchers concerning ideas for future research. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Hold the Line: An Examination of Line vs.HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2001Staff Differences Despite common perceptions about the differences between line and staff personnel, few studies have provided answers as to which group is more effective. This study explores in detail key differences in managerial strengths between 46 line managers and 52 staff professionals in one of the fastest growing, highly service-oriented retail organizations in the United States. Using behavioral data from a developmental multirater feedback effort, results suggest that staff personnel were more modest and accurate in their self-assessments, while line managers were more service-oriented but significantly weaker at relationships, openness to new ideas, demonstrating respect, and adaptability to change. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Water problems and hydrological research in the Yellow River and the Huai and Hai River basins of ChinaHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 12 2004Changming Liu Abstract This paper deals with hydrological research in regard to the water resources crisis in the vulnerable areas found in the northern part of China. This area includes three main river basins, namely the basins of the Yellow (Huang) River, the Hai River and the Huai River. Several water problems are becoming very severe. Among them, two are the most critical: the Yellow River has been drained dry in the main course of its lower reaches and along its major tributaries, and the groundwater table has rapidly declined in the floodplains of the three rivers' downstream areas. To counter the problems, particularly the critical issues mentioned above, hydrological research, which serves as the basis of water development and management, has been carried out in the last two decades. This paper addresses three basic scientific problems in North China, namely: (a) water consumption and the capacity for saving water; (b) the changes in hydrological processes and water resources caused by natural change and human activities; and (c) the ability to supply water resources and water safety in terms of both quantity and quality within a changing environment. However, opportunities and challenges for ameliorating the problems exist, and new ideas and methodology to solve the problems have been proposed, such as the interface process study on the interactions in the soil,root interface, the plant,atmosphere interface, the soil,atmosphere interface, and the interface of soil water and groundwater. In order to manage water resources in a sustainable manner, the study of water resources' renewal ability as affected by natural change and human activity is addressed from the viewpoint of both water quantity and quality, and their integration. To reduce the vulnerability of water resources in regional water management, a paradigm of sustainable water resources utilization is also proposed, using water,heat balance, water,salt balance, water,sediment balance, and water supply,demand balance. This approach may help reveal the basic problems and point to possible approaches to solving the water problems in North China in the 21st century. 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