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Ongoing Discussion (ongoing + discussion)
Selected AbstractsSafe Harbors or Free Frontiers?JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 2 2003Privacy, Transborder Data Flows This article explores the issues surrounding the harmonization of privacy or data protection during the last 30 years. It begins with a history of the conflict over transborder data flows and then proceeds to analyze current national and regional policy debates about the feasibility of policy solutions to address problems that are integral to global communications and economic networks. Ongoing discussions between the European Union and the United States over Safe Harbor Principles provide data for exploring these issues. The article concludes with an analysis of whether harmonization of privacy and data protection policies is likely to evolve through existing processes and institutions. [source] Land Tenure Insecurity and Inequality in NicaraguaDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2005Rikke J. Broegaard This article uses empirical data from a case study in rural Nicaragua to demonstrate the need for a conceptualization of tenure security as seen from the perspective of the landholder. A large group of farmers in the case study area perceive their tenure situation as being insecure despite the fact that they possess a legal title to their land. The article argues that more attention must be paid to aspects such as inequalities of wealth and power, lack of enforcement and lack of impartiality on the part of the formal institutions when addressing tenure security in an institutionally unstable setting, such as that found in Nicaragua. The article contributes to the ongoing discussion by arguing that future research on how to increase rural land tenure security should explore the concept of tenure security as experienced by farmers. [source] Congestion control for multimedia applications in the wireless internetINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, Issue 7 2004Veselin Rakocevic Abstract This paper provides a parallel review of two important issues for the next-generation multimedia networking. Firstly, the emerging multimedia applications require a fresh approach to congestion control in the Internet. Currently, congestion control is performed by TCP; it is optimised for data traffic flows, which are inherently elastic. Audio and video traffic do not find the sudden rate fluctuations imposed by the TCP multiplicative-decrease control algorithm optimal. The second important issue is the mobility support for multimedia applications. Wireless networks are characterized by a substantial packet loss due to the imperfection of the radio medium. This increased packet loss disturbs the foundation of TCP's loss-based congestion control. This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about the Internet congestion control by providing a parallel analysis of these two issues. The paper describes the main challenges, design guidelines, and existing proposals for the Internet congestion control, optimised for the multimedia traffic in the wireless network environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Spatially structured genetic variation in a broadcast spawning bivalve: quantitative vs. molecular traitsJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2003P. C. Luttikhuizen Abstract Understanding the origin, maintenance and significance of phenotypic variation is one of the central issues in evolutionary biology. An ongoing discussion focuses on the relative roles of isolation and selection as being at the heart of genetically based spatial variation. We address this issue in a representative of a taxon group in which isolation is unlikely: a marine broadcast spawning invertebrate. During the free-swimming larval phase, dispersal is potentially very large. For such taxa, small-scale population genetic structuring in neutral molecular markers tends to be limited, conform expectations. Small-scale differentiation of selective traits is expected to be hindered by the putatively high gene flow. We determined the geographical distribution of molecular markers and of variation in a shell shape measure, globosity, for the bivalve Macoma balthica (L.) in the western Dutch Wadden Sea and adjacent North Sea in three subsequent years, and found that shells of this clam are more globose in the Wadden Sea. By rearing clams in a common garden in the laboratory starting from the gamete phase, we show that the ecotypes are genetically different; heritability is estimated at 23%. The proportion of total genetic variation that is between sites is much larger for the morphological additive genetic variation (QST = 0.416) than for allozyme (FST = 0.000,0.022) and mitochondrial DNA cytochrome- c -oxidase-1 sequence variation (,ST = 0.017). Divergent selection must be involved and intraspecific spatial genetic differentiation in marine broadcast spawners is apparently not constrained by low levels of isolation. [source] Working memory functioning in children with learning disabilities: does intelligence make a difference?JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009C. Maehler Abstract Background Children with learning disabilities are identified by their severe learning problems and their deficient school achievement. On the other hand, children with sub-average school achievement and sub-average intellectual development are thought to suffer from a general intellectual delay rather than from specific learning disabilities. The open question is whether these two groups are characterised by differences in their cognitive functioning. The present study explored several functions of working memory. Method A working memory battery with tasks for the phonological loop, the visual,spatial sketchpad and central executive skills was presented in individual sessions to 27 children with learning disabilities and normal IQ (ICD-10: mixed disorders of scholastic skills), 27 children with learning disabilities and low IQ (intellectual disabilities), and a control group of 27 typically developing children with regular school achievement levels and normal IQ. Results The results reveal an overall deficit in working memory of the two groups with learning disabilities compared with the control group. However, unexpectedly, there were no differences between the two groups of children with disabilities (normal vs. low IQ). Conclusions These findings do not support the notion of different cognitive functioning because of differences in intelligence of these two groups. In the ongoing discussion about the role of intelligence (especially as to the postulated discrepancy between intelligence and school achievement in diagnosis and special education), our findings might lead to rethinking the current practice of treating these two groups as fundamentally different. [source] GEOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES IN HOUSING PRICES AND THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN AND PARENTSJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2009JOSEPH HARKNESS ABSTRACT:,This article contributes to the ongoing discussion about whether the official poverty measure should be adjusted for geographic differences in the cost of living (COL). Part of the support for spatial COL adjustments is the concern that the reduced purchasing power of the poor in higher-priced areas could jeopardize the health and well-being of children and parents. The results of this analysis of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its Child Development Supplement do not support this view. We find that children growing up in higher-priced housing markets appear to fare no worse than those in lower-priced markets. [source] The drought tolerance limit of Fagus sylvatica forest on limestone in southwestern GermanyJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 6 2008Stefanie Gärtner Abstract Question: What components of drought influence the drought limit of Fagus sylvatica forests? This study contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the future of Fagus as a major component of central European forests. Location: The drought limit of F. sylvatica at its ecotone with forest dominated by Quercus pubescens, Q. petraea and their hybrids in two limestone regions (Klettgau, Schwäbische Alb) in southwestern Germany was compared. Methods: Vegetation relevés were classified and a gradient analysis was performed. The vegetation pattern was analysed with several drought relevant variables. Classification trees were used to determine the drought limits of the Fagus forest. Results: The Fagus, Quercus and the ecotone forests were floristically characterized. The lower humidity in the submontane Klettgau, compared to the montane Schwäbische Alb, was compensated for by greater soil moisture (ASWSC). Therefore, Fagus forest in the Schwäbische Alb grew on sites with ASWSC values similar to those of ecotone forest in Klettgau. Conclusions: The interaction between climatic and edaphic drought related factors demonstrates that drought is a complex edaphic-climatic factor. Both components contribute to limiting the distribution of Fagus. For the two regions in southwestern Germany, and under the existing climatic conditions, it could be shown that Fagus is able to dominate forests on soils with very low ASWSC (, 68 l.m -2). [source] Testing an empirically derived mental health training model featuring small groups, distributed practice and patient discussionMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2009Rachael C Murrihy Objectives, Internationally, family doctors seeking to enhance their skills in evidence-based mental health treatment are attending brief training workshops, despite clear evidence in the literature that short-term, massed formats are not likely to improve skills in this complex area. Reviews of the educational literature suggest that an optimal model of training would incorporate distributed practice techniques; repeated practice over a lengthy time period, small-group interactive learning, mentoring relationships, skills-based training and an ongoing discussion of actual patients. This study investigates the potential role of group-based training incorporating multiple aspects of good pedagogy for training doctors in basic competencies in brief cognitive behaviour therapy (BCBT). Methods, Six groups of family doctors (n = 32) completed eight 2-hour sessions of BCBT group training over a 6-month period. A baseline control design was utilised with pre- and post-training measures of doctors' BCBT skills, knowledge and engagement in BCBT treatment. Results, Family doctors' knowledge, skills in and actual use of BCBT with patients improved significantly over the course of training compared with the control period. Conclusions, This research demonstrates preliminary support for the efficacy of an empirically derived group training model for family doctors. Brief CBT group-based training could prove to be an effective and viable model for future doctor training. [source] Understanding the Rise of Consumer Ethnography: Branding Technomethodologies in the New EconomyAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2009Timothy de Waal Malefyt ABSTRACT In this article, I aim to contribute to the ongoing discussion on the changing public role of anthropology by exploring the rise of branded ethnographic practices in consumer research. I argue that a juncture in the "New Economy",the conjoining of corporate interest in branding, technology, and consumers, with vast social changes,may explain the rapid growth of ethnography for consumer research and predict its future direction. An analysis of branded propaganda from ethnographic vendors that claim their technology-enhanced methods innovate "classic" anthropological practices discloses the way corporations employ technologically mediated means to focus on the reflexive self in consumer research. In this analysis, I reveal that technological methodologies are central to the production of branded ethnographic practices, as forms of branding and technology legitimate consumer,corporate flows of interaction. The conclusion raises awareness to the ways in which modern branding practices reconstruct anthropology in public discourse. [Keywords: branding, consumer research, ethnography, reflexivity, technology] [source] A House Divided: How Nonprofits Experience Union DrivesNONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 3 2000Jeanne B. Peters Drawing from forty in-depth interviews as well as personal experiences, the researchers identify the areas for argument in unionization drives among nonprofit organizations. The topic is placed in the context of the nonprofit sector's ongoing discussion of its relationship with, and distinction from, the government and business sectors. [source] Charge carrier dissociation and recombination in polymer solar cellsPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 12 2009Carsten Deibel Abstract In polymer:fullerene solar cells, the origin of the losses in the field-dependent photocurrent is still controversially debated. We contribute to the ongoing discussion by performing photo-induced charge extraction measurements on poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):[6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester solar cells in order to investigate the processes ruling charge carrier decay. Calculating the drift length of photogenerated charges, we find that polaron recombination is not limiting the photocurrent for annealed devices. Additionally, we applied Monte Carlo simulations on blends of conjugated polymer chain donors with acceptor molecules in order to gain insight into the polaron pair dissociation. The dissociation yield turns out to be rather high, with only a weak field dependence. With this complementary view on dissociation and recombination, we stress the importance of accounting for polaron pair dissociation, polaron recombination as well as charge extraction when considering the loss mechanisms in organic solar cells. [source] Epidermal growth factor-dependent enhancement of axonal regeneration in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis: Role of phagocyte survivalTHE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, Issue 4 2005Petra M. Hermann Abstract Peripheral nerve injury triggers complex responses from neuronal as well as from multiple nonneuronal cell types. These responses are coordinated by a wide spectrum of secreted and nonsecreted factors, including growth factors, cytokines, and cell adhesion molecules. These molecules originate from different sources and act both locally at the site of injury as well as centrally at the location of the neuronal cell bodies. One of the signal systems frequently implicated in this process is the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family and its receptors. Expression of members of this family as well as that of EGF-receptors is upregulated in different cell types after peripheral nerve injury. However, the functional significance of this response is unclear. Using a simple invertebrate model system (Lymnaea stagnalis), the present study implicates the EGF/EGF-receptor system in the survival of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1)-positive phagocytes that reside in the nervous system. We show that inhibiting the EGF-signaling pathway enhances cell death in this type of cell, an effect paralleled by a substantial reduction in axonal regeneration. Therefore, complementing our previous observation that Lymnaea EGF provides trophic support to axotomized neurons, the present results emphasize the significance of nonneuronal actions of EGF receptor ligands in axonal regeneration. Thus, we add a novel perspective to the ongoing discussion on the functional significance of the EGF signaling system in the injury responses of the nervous system. J. Comp. Neurol. 492:383,400, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Monitoring neuromuscular block: an updateANAESTHESIA, Issue 2009T. Fuchs-Buder Summary The first part of this article presents an update of the basic considerations of neuromuscular monitoring. It emphasises the need to assure supramaximal stimulation, to place the stimulating electrodes correctly and to use appropriate sites for nerve stimulation as well as appropriate stimulation patterns. The second part focuses on current developments and ongoing discussion. The authors describe the performance of acceleromyography and the need for initial calibration when using these quantitative devices. [source] Bcl-2, Bcl-6 and CD10 expression in cutaneous B-cell lymphoma: further support for a follicle centre cell origin and differential diagnostic significanceBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2003J.J. Hoefnagel Summary Background Primary cutaneous follicle centre cell lymphomas (PCFCCLs) are the most common type of cutaneous B-cell lymphoma. There is ongoing discussion on the origin of the neoplastic B cells in these PCFCCLs, and consequently on their relation to the groups of primary cutaneous marginal zone B-cell lymphomas (PCMZLs) and nodal follicular lymphomas. Objectives To define better the neoplastic B cells in PCFCCLs, and to find out if differences in the expression of the antiapoptopic protein Bcl-2, and Bcl-6 and CD10, molecules which are normally expressed by the neoplastic B cells in nodal follicular lymphomas, might have diagnostic or prognostic significance in cutaneous B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. Methods Pretreatment biopsies of well-defined groups of PCFCCL (n = 24), PCMZL (n = 14), primary cutaneous large B-cell lymphoma of the leg (PCLBCL-leg; n = 19), secondary cutaneous follicular lymphoma (n = 3) and cutaneous pseudo-B-cell lymphoma (n = 6) were investigated by immunohistochemistry for expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-6 and CD10. Results The PCFCCLs consistently expressed Bcl-6, whereas CD10 and Bcl-2 were expressed in only one and two of 24 cases, respectively. In contrast, PCMZLs were always negative for Bcl-6 and CD10, but were Bcl-2 positive, whereas skin and lymph node localizations of secondary cutaneous follicular lymphomas consistently expressed all of Bcl-2, Bcl-6 and CD10. Reactive follicle centre cells in pseudo-B-cell lymphomas expressed Bcl-6 (six of six cases) and CD10 (five of six cases), but not Bcl-2. PCLBCL-leg was Bcl-6 positive and CD10 negative in all cases, irrespective of clinical outcome, and strongly expressed Bcl-2 protein in all but two cases. Conclusions The results of the present study provide further support for the follicle centre cell origin of both PCFCCL and PCLBCL-leg, and indicate that staining for Bcl-2, Bcl-6 and CD10 can serve as an important adjunct in the differential diagnosis of cutaneous B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. [source] No evidence for a clear link between active intestinal inflammation and autism based on analyses of faecal calprotectin and rectal nitric oxideACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 7 2007Elisabeth Fernell Abstract Aim: Due to parental concern regarding the child's bowel habits and the ongoing discussion whether there might be an association between autism and intestinal inflammation, two inflammatory markers were analysed in a group of children with autism. Methods: Twenty-four consecutive children with autism (3,13 years) of unknown aetiology were investigated with respect to faecal calprotectin and rectal nitric oxide (NO). Results: One child who previously had a severe Clostridium difficile infection displayed raised levels of both these inflammatory markers and one child with extreme constipation for whom only calprotectin was possible to measure had raised levels. The remaining children displayed results that did not indicate an active inflammatory status in the intestine when the two inflammatory markers were combined. Conclusion: By the use of two independent markers of inflammatory reactions in the gut, i.e. rectal NO and faecal calprotectin we were not able to disclose evidence of a link between the autistic disorder and active intestinal inflammation. [source] World Bank-directed Development?DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2009Negotiating Participation in the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Laos ABSTRACT The omnipotence of the World Bank on a global scale means that it is often regarded as the most influential partner in bringing about transformations in developing countries. This article contributes to ongoing discussions of this issue by examining some effects of the Bank's participatory agenda in one of its flagship projects, the Nam Theun 2 (NT2) hydropower scheme in Laos. Critical accounts suggest that the Bank's promotion of participation in donor-dependent countries like Laos is either a guise or an imposition. These propositions are considered in two settings where participation was debated around the time of the Bank's loan appraisal for NT2: first, an international stakeholders' workshop held in Vientiane; and second, some international attempts to identify the concerns of villagers living near the NT2 dam site. In workshops and villages, participation is a negotiated performance whereby competing representations emerge through the interaction between village, state and international actors. More generally, this article shows that a grounded view of development can attend to the practices that constrain the hegemonic tendencies of the World Bank, even while maintaining awareness of the potency of its policies and interventions. [source] How is Education Possible?EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2001Preliminary investigations for a theory of education The following text is the result of our ongoing discussions about the notion of intersubjectivity and its significance for an understanding of the process of education. Rather than merging our sometimes diverging ideas into one single line of argument, we decided to try if we could make the movement of divergence and convergence of our thoughts visible in the text itself. Although we definitely explore different pathways, these pathways lead to a similar insight. This is, that it is not the educator who educates, but that it is the educational ,situation',a situation constituted though not determined by the interaction between the educator and the student,which educates. This educational situation, which one of us describes as an ,in between space', emerges from the interaction between the educator and the student. In this respect we can say that it results from the difference between the partners in education. The in-between space of education is an emerging reality, which not only comes into existence as a result of the difference between the partners in education but in fact only exists in this difference. It is precisely in this respect that the form of the following article provides an example of what we want to say about the process of education. The point is, to put it briefly, that this article contains or expresses a meaning that results from the difference between the two texts, but this meaning is neither something that can be attributed to the two texts as such (in this sense this emerging meaning is constituted though not determined by the two texts), nor,and this is crucial,is it something that can be articulated in any positive way in a third text. The interaction between our two texts therefore creates a reality that results from the difference between the texts and only exists in this difference. The order of authorship expresses the fact that the first author wrote the left column and the second author the right column. [source] An exploration of mothers' and fathers' views of their identities in chronic-kidney-disease management: parents as students?JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 23 2008Veronica Swallow Aim., To explore parents' views of their identities as they learn to manage their child's chronic kidney disease. Background., Parents are expected to participate in management and usually learn necessary skills from the multidisciplinary team. Research highlights the importance of professionals defining parents' management roles in chronic disease; but little is known about parents' views on their own identities as the complex and dynamic process of teaching and learning unfolds around their child's condition. According to positioning theory, identity development is a dynamic and fluid process that occurs during interaction, with each person positioning themselves while simultaneously positioning the other person, yet this concept has not been considered in relation to parents' contributions to disease management. Design., A longitudinal, grounded theory study conducted in a UK Children's Kidney Unit. Method., This paper focuses on one aspect of a larger study exploring family learning in disease management. Six mothers and two fathers of six children with a recently diagnosed chronic kidney disease participated in a total of 21 semi-structured interviews during the 18 months after referral to the unit. Interviews included discussion about the parts they played in relation to professionals during the management process. Findings were interpreted within a framework of positioning theory. Results., Parents participated in teaching/learning/assessment that was both planned (involving allocated clinical lessons and tasks) and spontaneous (in response to current situations), to facilitate their participation. They positioned multidisciplinary team members as teachers as well as professionals, simultaneously positioning themselves as students as well as parents. Conclusion., Parents' clinical duties and obligations are not an automatic part of parenting but become part of the broader process of sharing disease management, this can lead to them assuming the additional identity of a ,student'. Relevance to clinical practice., Involving parents in ongoing discussions about their positions in management may help promote their active and informed participation. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||