Notion

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Humanities and Social Sciences

Kinds of Notion

  • broader notion
  • classical notion
  • common notion
  • conventional notion
  • different notion
  • foucault notion
  • general notion
  • modern notion
  • moral notion
  • new notion
  • popular notion
  • prevailing notion
  • simplistic notion
  • specific notion
  • theoretical notion
  • traditional notion
  • very notion
  • western notion


  • Selected Abstracts


    JESUS' LANGUAGE-GAMES: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NOTION OF LANGUAGE-GAME FOR A REFORMULATION OF ,NEW TESTAMENT BIBLICAL THEOLOGY'1

    THE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009
    MARKUS LOCKER
    Despite the exciting consequences of the later Wittgenstein's notion of language-game for theology in general, one discipline centered on language , exegesis and biblical theology , has remained largely unaffected by this advance. I here show that describing biblical language as a language-game not only enhances our understanding of biblical texts; it also explodes a long-term impasse separating the interpretation from the ,actualization' of sacred texts. Insights taken from the notion of a language-game may, as with form of life and grammar, emerge as central building blocks for reformulating the postulates of biblical theology. 2 [source]


    ALGONQUIN NOTIONS OF JURISDICTION: INSERTING INDIGENOUS VOICES INTO LEGAL SPACES

    GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2006
    Bettina Koschade
    ABSTRACT. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal notions of geography, nature and space sometimes compete, and these differences can create barriers to joint environmental problem-solving. This paper examines the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and Allies (AAFNA) and the strategies they used in juridical and legislative settings to make their voices heard. In the Tay River Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal (2000,2002), AAFNA attempted to introduced their knowledge of the environmental deterioration which would be caused by a Permit To Take Water issued to a multinational corporation by the Ontario Ministry of Environment. The paper is divided into two parts: first, it describes the concepts of Algonquin knowledge, jurisdiction and responsibility; second, it explores the strategies used to integrate their perspective into legal proceedings constructed by the Canadian government. This case reveals how some Algonquin people conceive of space and responsibility in deeply ecological, rather than narrowly juridical, terms. It establishes that their broad concepts of knowledge, land and jurisdiction are incompatible with existing Euro-Canadian divisions of legal responsibility and ecological knowledge, but at the same time can serve as the means by which they challenge the current structure of Aboriginal and Canadian relations. [source]


    TWO NOTIONS OF TRANSCENDENCE: CONFUCIAN MAN AND MODERN SUBJECT

    JOURNAL OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2009
    GUOPING ZHAO
    First page of article [source]


    BEYOND NOTIONS OF DIPLOMACY AND LEGALISM: BUILDING A JUST MECHANISM FOR WTO DISPUTE RESOLUTION

    AMERICAN BUSINESS LAW JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003
    Lawrence D. Roberts
    First page of article [source]


    Questioning the Notion of Feminine Leadership: A Critical Perspective on the Gender Labelling of Leadership

    GENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 3 2000
    Yvonne 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]


    Abstracts: ALA 2010,San Francisco: Melville's Miltonic Notion of Providence: A Case Study of,Moby-Dick, Chapters 82-83

    LEVIATHAN, Issue 3 2010
    William E. Engel
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Commentary: Business,Black Swans,and the,Use and Abuse,of a Notion

    AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 2 2010
    Graeme Dean
    Historical enquiry reveals how ideas mutate. This paper traces how ideas and practices underpinning initial understandings of fair value accounting (FVA) have changed as the concept drifted from the utility rate-setting context to that of corporate financial reporting. The recall of history for the purpose of ,learning lessons from the past' has frequently resulted in misunderstandings of the historical record and misapplication of so-called lessons. A more fruitful approach to recalling history is to gain insights into the development of the ideas (good and bad) that have contributed to current predicaments. Initially fair value was the basis for specific pricing calculations related to companies with a highly restricted scope of operations. Later, more by accident than design, the concept became a general purpose application used in the financial statements of highly and freely adaptive companies. The mark-to-market (MtM) dispute emerging in the global financial crisis (GFC) has given rise to a further mutation of the use of FVA. Discarding MtM contradicts what history tells us was the purpose of adopting fair value into accounting for adaptive companies. This analysis also highlights how conducive accounting theory and practice are subject to politicisation. Accounting is an apparently unresisting victim of interested parties' special pleading, resulting in the corruption of its technical function , in this case primarily because it is inconvenient to have accounting data,tell it how it is. [source]


    Female Adolescents and Their Sexuality: Notions of Honour, Shame, Purity and Pollution during the Floods

    DISASTERS, Issue 1 2000
    Sabina Faiz Rashid
    This paper explores the experiences of female adolescents during the 1998 floods in Bangladesh, focusing on the implications of socio-cultural norms related to notions of honour, shame, purity and pollution. These cultural notions are reinforced with greater emphasis as girls enter their adolescence, regulating their sexuality and gender relationships. In Bangladeshi society, adolescent girls are expected to maintain their virginity until marriage. Contact is limited to one's families and extended relations. Particularly among poorer families, adolescent girls tend to have limited mobility to safeguard their ,purity'. This is to ensure that the girl's reputation does not suffer, thus making it difficult for the girl to get married. For female adolescents in Bangladesh, a disaster situation is a uniquely vulnerable time. Exposure to the unfamiliar environment of flood shelters and relief camps, and unable to maintain their ,space' and privacy from male strangers, a number of the girls were vulnerable to sexual and mental harassment. With the floods, it became difficult for most of the girls to be appropriately `secluded'. Many were unable to sleep, bathe or get access to latrines in privacy because so many houses and latrines were underwater. Some of the girls who had begun menstruation were distressed at not being able to keep themselves clean. Strong social taboos associated with menstruation and the dirty water that surrounded them made it difficult for the girls to wash their menstrual cloths or change them frequently enough. Many of them became separated from their social network of relations, which caused them a great deal of anxiety and stress. Their difficulty in trying to follow social norms have had far-reaching implications on their health, identity, family and community relations. [source]


    Eyes Wide Shut: Recent Educational Policy in the Light of Changing Notions of English Identity,

    ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 3 2000
    Chris Kearney
    Abstract Although Curriculum 2000 includes some welcome changes, such as the inclusion of drama, it is essentially a missed opportunity. I argue that it fails to address the complexity of modern life. In many academic areas, including literature, issues of identity are central to fundamental debates. Such debates have been precipitated by increasing economic globalisation and the consequent increase in interdependence between people from diverse cultural heritages. Although this situation is not new, the social and technological changes of recent decades have altered the pace of such developments. In most cities school populations reflect such changes. In this paper I argue that there are substantial gaps in the curriculum which derive mainly from government policy being premised on crude and obsolete notions of English identity. Such notions lead to a confusion of the concepts of culture and citizenship as modes of belonging. In my view both of these factors severely constrain our ability to construct a critical curriculum which adequately addresses contemporary interests and dilemmas. [source]


    Multiple Realities: A Relational Narrative Approach in Therapy With Black,White Mixed-Race Clients

    FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 2 2003
    Kerry Ann Rockquemore
    Notions of a racial identity for persons with one Black and one White parent have assumed the existence of only a singular identity (first Black and later biracial). Emerging empirical research on racial identity formation among members of this group reveals that multiple identity options are possible. In terms of overall health, the level of social invalidation one encounters with respect to racial self-identification is more important than the specific racial identity selected. Here a relational narrative approach to therapy with Black,White mixed-race clients who experience systematic invalidation of their chosen racial identity is presented through a detailed case illustration. [source]


    Oceans of World History: Delineating Aquacentric Notions in the Global Past1

    HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2004
    Rainer F. Buschmann
    This article presents various ocean- and sea-centered approaches to world history. Utilizing European transoceanic empires as a point of departure, the paper scrutinizes the emergence of "aquacentric" notions among selected global societies. The diasporas of African, Greek, and Polynesian peoples offer important pointers to unravel the global past. These pointers provide novel perspectives on the histories of the Atlantic, Indian, and the Pacific oceans. The article concludes with teaching and theoretical suggestions that derive from such aquacentric systems. [source]


    Gender, class, work-related stress and health: toward a power-centred approach

    JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2001
    Ann-Sylvia Brooker
    Abstract The purpose of this paper is to consider how gender, class and power have been addressed in the work stress literature and to propose an alternative approach that highlights the role of power in the development of work-related stress. We begin with a discussion and critique of prominent work-related stress models. The models' conceptualizations of work-related stress and their relationships to issues of class and gender are used as focal points for discussion. We show that explanations for gender or class differences in stress vary markedly by disciplinary perspective. Some models emphasize individual coping mechanisms, while other models focus on individual-level exposures or the work environment, in the production of work-related stress. Notions of power or control are often invoked in these models, but they tend to be narrowly conceptualized. Often the research presents a series of empirical findings rather than an integrated conceptual model which clearly specifies the pathways by which individual work experiences are linked to health and to the broader social context. Drawing on empirical findings and theoretical insights from a broad range of disciplinary perspectives, we build a conceptual framework relating power to work-related stress. This model can provide us with a deeper understanding of the determinants of stress, the relationships between stress and the broader social context, and the relationships between stress and social factors such as class and gender. Specifically, we suggest that power can influence work-related stress through the distribution of stressors in the workplace and via meaning. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Techne versus Technoscience: Divergent (and Ambiguous) Notions of Food "Quality" in the French Debate over GM Crops

    AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 4 2007
    CHAIA HELLER
    In the French debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs), actors present divergent definitions of food quality located between poles of technoscience and techne. Although scientists often define food quality in terms of technoscience, assessing food safety, small farmers often appeal to technes of production, positing GMOs as a rupture with artisanal culture. Whereas small farmers (from the union the Confédération Paysanne [CP]) deploy notions of "techne" to promote their anti-GMO campaign, they often define quality in an ambiguous way, vacillating between ideas of agricultural method (technique) or production scale. Despite this ambiguity, the CP successfully designates GMOs as la malbouffe, or "bad" food, establishing themselves as protectors of artisanal technés such as Roquefort. Finally, unlike many cultures that cast GMOs as "unnatural," the CP tends to frame GMOs as "uncultural." In the French debate, the CP posits culture against a "culturelessness" associated with technoscience and industry-driven foods such as GMOs and McDonald's. [source]


    Dallapiccola's Early Synthesis: No. 1, ,Vespro, Tutto Riporti', from Cinque Frammenti di Saffo

    MUSIC ANALYSIS, Issue 1-2 2006
    Ben Earle
    ABSTRACT Recent Italian commentary on the twelve-note music of Luigi Dallapiccola (1904,75) has tended to reject the characteristic image of this composer's work that was established during his lifetime. Notions of a ,typically Italian lyricism' or a ,Mediterranean serialism' have been jettisoned in favour of an emphasis on the neo-Webernian ,rigour' of his technique. Such revisionism is misguided. Not only does this new approach exhibit a narrow formalism, but it also downplays the very elements that have granted Dallapiccola's twelve-note music its special position on the periphery of the twentieth-century repertory. By means of detailed analysis of Dallapiccola's first fully dodecaphonic work, the first of the Cinque frammenti di Saffo (1942), this article mounts a defence of the old critical line. Rather than merely highlighting instances of serial ,rigour', the aim is to provide an appreciation of the richness and complexity of the synthesis of stylistic, technical and expressive elements in Dallapiccola's music of this period. [source]


    Environmental Obligations and the Limits of Transnational Citizenship

    POLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 2 2009
    Andrew Mason
    Notions of cosmopolitan and environmental citizenship have emerged in response to concerns about environmental sustainability and global inequality. But even if there are obligations of egalitarian justice that extend across state boundaries, or obligations of environmental justice to use resources in a sustainable way that are owed to those beyond our borders, it is far from clear that these are best conceptualised as obligations of global or environmental citizenship. Through identifying a core concept of citizenship, I suggest that citizenship obligations are, by their nature, owed (at least in part) in virtue of other aspects of one's common citizenship, and that obligations of justice, even when they arise as a result of interconnectedness or past interactions, are not best conceived as obligations of citizenship in the absence of some other bond that unites the parties. Without ruling out the possibility of beneficial conceptual change, I argue that Andrew Dobson's model of ecological citizenship is flawed because there is no good reason to regard the obligations of environmental justice which it identifies as obligations of ecological citizenship, and that other models of cosmopolitan or global citizenship face a similar objection. [source]


    Mind, World and Language: McDowell and Kovesi

    RATIO, Issue 3 2002
    Brian Morrison
    The ideas of John McDowell concerning the relations between mind, world and language are brought into contact with those of Julius Kovesi, with a view to seeing whether the latter can illuminate and flesh out the former. McDowell's dialectic in Mind and World is expounded and reviewed, hinging on the notion of ,conceptual second nature' as his suggested way of showing that there is nothing mysteriously non,natural in human animals learning to find their way about both in a world characterised by lawlike connections and in one characterised by rational connections. Kovesi's redrawing, in Moral Notions, of the Aristotelian material/formal metaphysical distinction as one between the logical elements of concepts, is adduced to show how the world is ,shot through' with concepts and reasons: the formal elements of concepts are nothing other than the reasons we have for collecting varied features of the material world under a concept, to meet our bodily and social needs. The mind can then be treated as a set of acquired capacities and dispositions to become conversant with these features and with the corresponding needs. Some possible objections to this bringing together of the two sets of ideas are briefly examined, and overall conclusions drawn. [source]


    "It's Just You and Satan, Hanging Out at a Pre-School:" Notions of Evil and the Rehabilitation of Sexual Offenders

    ANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 2 2009
    James B. WaldramArticle first published online: 6 NOV 200
    SUMMARY Notions of "evil" are a feature of everyday discourse in civil society. Sexual offenders, individuals often labeled as "evil," are well aware of public images of themselves and their crimes. This article examines public discourses of "evil" as they pertain to sexual offenders, and the views of sexual offenders themselves on what this means to them. The ethnographic research was undertaken in a prison unit designed for the treatment of sexual offenders. As a result, the issue of rehabilitation figured centrally in their conceptualizations of evil. While admitting to being bad, and perhaps even having committed evil acts, they generally reject the label of "evil" as understood in essentialist terms. The fundamental issue of concern for my analysis here is how secular views on the nature of evil speak to the issue of rehabilitation, an inherently human, "natural" capability. To be essentially "evil," in their view, is to be almost nonhuman,a view shared by much of the public as well,and, therefore, beyond rehabilitation. [source]


    Conflicting Notions of Personhood in Genetic Research

    ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY, Issue 5 2002
    Klaus Høyer
    First page of article [source]


    Bounding the Commons: Land Demarcation in Northeastern Nicaragua

    BULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 3 2009
    MARY FINLEY-BROOK
    In north-eastern Nicaragua, territorial titling of communal lands conflates particular notions of ethnicity with proprietary conceptions of space to generate new forms of conflict within and between indigenous and black communities, and with mestizo migrants. Notions of rights between competing groups, or within conflicting normative frameworks, become increasingly polemic during demarcation. While analysis of three land titling case studies demonstrates that results are socially contingent and place based, trends include: (a) power disparities; (b) tension between ,traditional' and ,modern' patterns of land tenure and resource rights; and (c) contradictions fed by international conservation agendas and neoliberal economic reforms. Combining critical actor-based analysis with practical policy critique our work illuminates how contestations over the bounding of communal territories contribute to social injustice. [source]


    Semantic Forcing in Disjunctive Logic Programs

    COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 4 2001
    Marina De Vos
    We propose a semantics for disjunctive logic programs, based on the single notion of forcing. We show that the semantics properly extends, in a natural way, previous approaches. A fixpoint characterization is also provided. We also take a closer look at the relationship between disjunctive logic programs and disjunctive-free logic programs. We present certain criteria under which a disjunctive program is semantically equivalent with its disjunctive-free (shifted) version. [source]


    Improving realism of a surgery simulator: linear anisotropic elasticity, complex interactions and force extrapolation

    COMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3 2002
    Guillaume Picinbono
    Abstract In this article, we describe the latest developments of the minimally invasive hepatic surgery simulator prototype developed at INRIA. The goal of this simulator is to provide a realistic training test bed to perform laparoscopic procedures. Therefore, its main functionality is to simulate the action of virtual laparoscopic surgical instruments for deforming and cutting tridimensional anatomical models. Throughout this paper, we present the general features of this simulator including the implementation of several biomechanical models and the integration of two force-feedback devices in the simulation platform. More precisely, we describe three new important developments that improve the overall realism of our simulator. First, we have developed biomechanical models, based on linear elasticity and finite element theory, that include the notion of anisotropic deformation. Indeed, we have generalized the linear elastic behaviour of anatomical models to ,transversally isotropic' materials, i.e. materials having a different behaviour in a given direction. We have also added to the volumetric model an external elastic membrane representing the ,liver capsule', a rather stiff skin surrounding the liver, which creates a kind of ,surface anisotropy'. Second, we have developed new contact models between surgical instruments and soft tissue models. For instance, after detecting a contact with an instrument, we define specific boundary constraints on deformable models to represent various forms of interactions with a surgical tool, such as sliding, gripping, cutting or burning. In addition, we compute the reaction forces that should be felt by the user manipulating the force-feedback devices. The last improvement is related to the problem of haptic rendering. Currently, we are able to achieve a simulation frequency of 25,Hz (visual real time) with anatomical models of complex geometry and behaviour. But to achieve a good haptic feedback requires a frequency update of applied forces typically above 300,Hz (haptic real time). Thus, we propose a force extrapolation algorithm in order to reach haptic real time. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Range Scan Registration Using Reduced Deformable Models

    COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 2 2009
    W. Chang
    Abstract We present an unsupervised method for registering range scans of deforming, articulated shapes. The key idea is to model the motion of the underlying object using a reduced deformable model. We use a linear skinning model for its simplicity and represent the weight functions on a regular grid localized to the surface geometry. This decouples the deformation model from the surface representation and allows us to deal with the severe occlusion and missing data that is inherent in range scan data. We formulate the registration problem using an objective function that enforces close alignment of the 3D data and includes an intuitive notion of joints. This leads to an optimization problem that we solve using an efficient EM-type algorithm. With our algorithm we obtain smooth deformations that accurately register pairs of range scans with significant motion and occlusion. The main advantages of our approach are that it does not require user specified markers, a template, nor manual segmentation of the surface geometry into rigid parts. [source]


    Hierarchical Convex Approximation of 3D Shapes for Fast Region Selection

    COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 5 2008
    Marco Attene
    Abstract Given a 3D solid model S represented by a tetrahedral mesh, we describe a novel algorithm to compute a hierarchy of convex polyhedra that tightly enclose S. The hierarchy can be browsed at interactive speed on a modern PC and it is useful for implementing an intuitive feature selection paradigm for 3D editing environments. Convex parts often coincide with perceptually relevant shape components and, for their identification, existing methods rely on the boundary surface only. In contrast, we show that the notion of part concavity can be expressed and implemented more intuitively and efficiently by exploiting a tetrahedrization of the shape volume. The method proposed is completely automatic, and generates a tree of convex polyhedra in which the root is the convex hull of the whole shape, and the leaves are the tetrahedra of the input mesh. The algorithm proceeds bottom-up by hierarchically clustering tetrahedra into nearly convex aggregations, and the whole process is significantly fast. We prove that, in the average case, for a mesh of n tetrahedra O(n log2 n) operations are sufficient to compute the whole tree. [source]


    Discrete Distortion in Triangulated 3-Manifolds

    COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 5 2008
    Mohammed Mostefa Mesmoudi
    Abstract We introduce a novel notion, that we call discrete distortion, for a triangulated 3-manifold. Discrete distortion naturally generalizes the notion of concentrated curvature defined for triangulated surfaces and provides a powerful tool to understand the local geometry and topology of 3-manifolds. Discrete distortion can be viewed as a discrete approach to Ricci curvature for singular flat manifolds. We distinguish between two kinds of distortion, namely, vertex distortion, which is associated with the vertices of the tetrahedral mesh decomposing the 3-manifold, and bond distortion, which is associated with the edges of the tetrahedral mesh. We investigate properties of vertex and bond distortions. As an example, we visualize vertex distortion on manifold hypersurfaces in R4 defined by a scalar field on a 3D mesh. distance fields. [source]


    Automatic Light Source Placement for Maximum Visual Information Recovery

    COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 2 2007
    P.-P. Vázquez
    Abstract The automatic selection of good viewing parameters is a very complex problem. In most cases, the notion of good strongly depends on the concrete application. Moreover, when an intuitive definition of good view is available, it is often difficult to establish a measure that brings it to the practice. Commonly, two kinds of viewing parameters must be set: camera parameters (position and orientation) and lighting parameters (number of light sources, its position and eventually the orientation of the spot). The first parameters will determine how much of the geometry can be captured and the latter will influence on how much of it is revealed (i.e., illuminated) to the user. Unfortunately, ensuring that certain parts of a scene are lit does not make sure that the details will be communicated to the user, as the amount of illumination might be too small or too high. In this paper we define a metric to calculate the amount of information relative to an object that is effectively communicated to the user given a fixed camera position. This measure is based on an information-based concept, the Shannon entropy, and will be applied to the problem of automatic selection of light positions in order to adequately illuminate an object. In order to validate the results, we have carried out an experiment on users, this experiment helped us to explore other related measures. [source]


    An Adaptive Method for Indirect Illumination Using Light Vectors

    COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2001
    Xavier Serpaggi
    In computer graphics, several phenomema need to be taken into account when it comes to the field of photo-realism. One of the most relevant is obviously the notion of global, and more precisely indirect, illumination. In "classical" ray-tracing if you are not under the light, then you are in a shadow. A great amount of work has been carried out which proposes ray-tracing based solutions to take into account the fact that "there is a certain amount of light in shadows". All of these methods carry the same weaknesses: high computation time and a lot of parameters you need to manage to get something out of the method. This paper proposes a generic computation method of indirect illumination based on Monte Carlo sampling and on the sequential analysis theory, which is faster and more automatic than classical methods. [source]


    Toward a Trust-Based Construction Management

    COMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2010
    Annie Guerriero
    Moreover, the uncertainty linked to the environment of the construction activity makes way for the notion of trust. The coordinator can make use of multiple tools/views for accomplishing his mission. This research work suggests analyzing data coming from these different views to consolidate trust indicators informing the coordinator about "trust in the correct progression of the construction activity." The approach suggested in this article distinguishes between four aspects of the activity determining the global trust level: task progress, actor's performance, documents required to perform the task, and building elements resulting from the task. The proposal suggests introducing these trust indicators in a dashboard, included in a multiview interface, thus allowing the coordinator to identify the tasks with a low trust level and to understand the nature of dysfunctions. A prototype has been developed and integrated in a service-based IT infrastructure. Results of an experiment stage are finally discussed to validate the approach. [source]


    NMR and the uncertainty principle: How to and how not to interpret homogeneous line broadening and pulse nonselectivity.

    CONCEPTS IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE, Issue 5 2008
    IV. (Un?)certainty
    Abstract Following the treatments presented in Parts I, II, and III, I herein address the popular notion that the frequency of a monochromatic RF pulse as well as that of a monochromatic FID is "in effect" uncertain due to the (Heisenberg) Uncertainty Principle, which also manifests itself in the fact that the FT-spectrum of these temporal entities is spread over a nonzero frequency band. I will show that the frequency spread should not be interpreted as "in effect" meaning a range of physical driving RF fields in the former, and "spin frequencies" in the latter case. The fact that a shorter pulse or a more quickly decaying FID has a wider FT-spectrum is in fact solely due to the Fourier Uncertainty Principle, which is a less well known and easily misunderstood concept. A proper understanding of the Fourier Uncertainty Principle tells us that the FT-spectrum of a monochromatic pulse is not "broad" because of any "uncertainty" in the RF frequency, but because the spectrum profile carries all of the pulse's features (frequency, phase, amplitude, length, temporal location) coded into the complex amplitudes of the FT-spectrum's constituent eternal basis harmonic waves. A monochromatic RF pulse's capability to excite nonresonant magnetizations is in fact a purely classical off-resonance effect that has nothing to do with "uncertainty". Analogously, "Lorentzian lineshape" means exactly the same thing physically as "exponential decay," and all inferences as to the physical reasons for that decay must be based on independent assumptions or observations. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A 32A: 373,404, 2008. [source]


    NMR and the uncertainty principle: How to and how not to interpret homogeneous line broadening and pulse nonselectivity.

    CONCEPTS IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE, Issue 4 2008

    Abstract Following the treatments presented in Parts I and II, I herein discuss in more detail the popular notion that the frequency of a monochromatic RF pulse as well as that of a monochromatic FID is "in effect" uncertain due to the (Heisenberg) Uncertainty Principle, which also manifests itself in the fact that the FT-spectrum of these temporal entities is spread over a nonzero frequency band. In Part III, I continue my preliminary review of some further fundamental concepts, such as the Heisenberg and Fourier Uncertainty Principles, that are needed to understand whether or not the NMR linewidth and the RF excitation bandwidth have anything to do with "uncertainty". The article then culminates in re-addressing our Two NMR Problems in a more conscientious frame of mind by using a more refined formalism. The correct interpretation of these problems will be discussed in Part IV. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A 32A: 302,325, 2008. [source]


    Mediation by any other name would smell as sweet,or would it?

    CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2009
    The struggle to define mediation, its various approaches
    This article reports on two studies. The analysis of the first study, a survey of 250 mediators, finds four distinct groups of mediator "clusters," based on self-reported strategies. These four clusters are described in detail and mediators' self-defined labels are then correlated with the four clusters. There is little consistency between the labels mediators give their approach and the cluster into which they actually fall in this survey. The analysis of the second study, which involved observation and coding of actual mediations, finds that those mediators who were observed to use any directive strategies tended to use mostly directive strategies and those mediators who were observed to use any elicitive strategies tended to use mostly elicitive strategies throughout the observed mediation case. This challenges the notion that mediators may use both directive and elicitive strategies together in the same mediation. [source]