Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Own Interests (own + interest)
Selected AbstractsResource allocation in the red ant Myrmica ruginodis, an interplay of genetics and ecologyJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2001L. Walin Worker-queen conflicts over reproductive allocation (colony maintenance vs. reproduction) and sex allocation (females vs. males) were examined in two populations of the facultatively polygynous ant Myrmica ruginodis. Plasticity of social organization in the form of two co-existing social types (microgyna and macrogyna) has a profound effect on reproductive allocation. Workers control sex allocation by biasing sex ratios towards their own interest, but local resource competition (LRC) because of restricted dispersal of microgyna females resulted in male bias in one study population. Colony sex ratios were split and followed the predictions of the split sex ratio theory: single queen colonies with higher relatedness asymmetry (RA) produced more females than multiple queen colonies with lower RA. Single and multiple queen colonies showed similar patterns in most aspects of their reproduction, and reproductive allocation could not be explained by the hypothesis tested. This suggests that reproductive allocation conflict is of minor importance in M. ruginodis. [source] Basmati Rice: Geographical Indication or Mis-IndicationTHE JOURNAL OF WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Issue 2 2006Harsh V. Chandola Indian farmers may not understand the Lockean or the Hegelian justification for intellectual property. Neither do they understand the politics (realpolitik) of the negotiations of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Many of them had no idea that in September 2003 their fate might have been decided in the Cancun Ministerial meeting of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. But they do understand simple economics, i.e. if the American company which has registered a patent for basmati rice continues to sell rice as American-style basmati rice, it may hurt their exports. If the Indian Government had a key to the past, they would have definitely renegotiated-TRIPS to protect $350 million export market of basmati rice. Even if we opprobrium TRIPS and characterize it as an instrument of exploitation used by developed countries to protect their own interest, the fact of the matter is, there is no escape from it. Withdrawing from TRIPS entails too many implications for the Indian economy, and it would be cynical to suggest such an idea. Developing and least developed countries have fallen to the economic and political pressure of the Developed countries, and the former group of countries will never be able to convince the latter to renegotiate TRIPS to bring a balance to it, even if their call is eloquent, justified and reflects reality. It would be like knocking on the lid of a coffin: knock, as much as you like, you will not wake him. Post-Cancun (WTO Ministerial Meeting), it is vital for the Indian Government to formulate strategies to protect its interest in TRIPS. The strategy should focus on the options available within the TRIPS framework. We might have lost advantage in the field of patents to western pharmaceutical companies, but if a proper strategy is formulated we will be able to protect our basmati exports. [source] Redefining ,Aid' in the China,Africa ContextDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2010May Tan-Mullins ABSTRACT Discussions on the politics of Chinese engagement with African development have been marked by increasing concern over Chinese use of aid in exchange for preferential energy deals. Normative liberal discourse criticizes the Chinese for disbursing ,rogue aid' and undermining good governance in the African continent. These criticisms not only ignore the longer-term motivations and modalities of Chinese aid and the historical diversity of Chinese relations with Africa, but also uncritically assume ,Western' aid to be morally ,superior' and ,more effective' in terms of development outcomes. This paper consists of three parts. First, it will discuss the debates surrounding Chinese engagement in Africa, especially around aid and development issues. Second, the paper maps the historical development of China,Africa engagement and investigates the impacts of the changing modalities of Chinese aid with reference to case studies of two countries: Angola and Ghana. It then offers a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between these two cases. The principal argument is that Chinese and Western donors employ different ideologies and practices of governance to conceal their own interests and political discourses in the African continent. [source] Democratization and State Feminism: Gender Politics in Africa and Latin AmericaDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2002Ihejirika, Philomina E. Okeke This article addresses the link between state feminism and democratization in the global South. The authors use the contrasting cases of Chile and Nigeria to show some of the factors that encourage women to exploit the opportunities presented by transitions to democracy, and link the outcome of state feminism to the strategies and discourses available to women during democratization. Based on evidence from the cases analysed, the authors propose that the strategic options available to women are shaped by at least three factors: (1) the existence of a unified women's movement capable of making political demands; (2) existing patterns of gender relations, which influence women's access to arenas of political influence and power; and (3) the content of existing gender ideologies, and whether women can creatively deploy them to further their own interests. State feminism emerged in Chile out of the demands of a broad,based women's movement in a context of democratic transition that provided feminists with access to political institutions. In Nigeria, attempts at creating state feminism have consistently failed due to a political transition from military to civilian rule that has not provided feminists with access to political arenas of influence, and the absence of a powerful women's movement. [source] Brecht's Pastiche History Play: Renaissance Drama and Modernist Theatre in Leben Eduards Des Zweiten Von EnglandGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 4 2003Bruce Gaston This article examines Brecht's Leben Eduards des Zweiten von England from the historical perspective of its first performances in 1924, paying particular attention to the status of Renaissance drama in Germany and the emerging Modernist movement. This approach runs counter to previous critical discussions which have been implicitly or explicitly comparative. The emphasis on Marlowe has led to a neglect of the many parallels in Eduard II. with works by Shakespeare, works that Brecht, like most educated Germans, would have known. An examination of attitudes to English Renaissance drama during the period leads to the conclusion that Eduard II. is not a criticism of its model, since minimal knowledge of Edward II meant that most of the audience were not in a position to compare the two plays. Rather, the play is a pastiche, a spurious Renaissance history play that emphasised the aspects of Renaissance drama that corresponded to the Modernist aesthetic paradigm, and that also reflected Brecht's own interests and preoccupations. In Eduard II. a Modernist reinterpretation of Renaissance theatre was put up in opposition to the orthodox view of Shakespeare, and thus embodied a challenge to the dominant theatrical tradition which had claimed Shakespeare as its own. [source] Experiences and support needs of siblings of children with cancerHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 5 2000BA MA PhD CPsychol Patricia Sloper Abstract The diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer places considerable demands on family life. Siblings have been shown to be at risk for development of emotional and behavioural problems. However, most studies have relied on parents' reports, and less is known about siblings' own views of their experiences. This paper presents findings from interviews with 94 siblings of children with cancer, at 6 and 18 months after diagnosis of the illness. Results show that, six months after diagnosis, siblings reported a number of problems: loss of attention and status; loss of their own and their families' usual activities and routines; loss of certainty and security; and loss of companionship of the ill child. For many, problems had resolved 18 months after diagnosis, but problems remained or had arisen for some. These were not confined to those whose brothers or sisters had relapsed or continued to have treatment. Supportive relationships were reported to be important resources, providing an opportunity for siblings to express their own feelings and needs, and information about the illness and treatment helped them to understand why family life was disrupted. Positive effects were also apparent: gains in maturity, understanding and compassion, and closer family relationships. The findings point to the need for support for siblings to provide information to help them make sense of the situation; opportunities to express their own feelings and reassurance to avoid fear and guilt; attention to feel valued and maintain self-esteem; and help to keep up their own interests and activities. Attention of parents and professionals in contact with the families was generally paid to the ill child. There is a need for health professionals, particularly those in the family's home community, to take a holistic approach to family support, to ensure that information and support is available to siblings. [source] Maternal limit-setting in toddlerhood: Socialization strategies for the development of self-regulationINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2006Elizabeth LeCuyer Early findings from the Prohibition Coding Scheme (PCS; Houck & LeCuyer, 1995; LeCuyer-Maus & Houck, 2002; Medvin & Spieker, 1985) revealed that maternal limit-setting styles with toddlers were differentially related to later child social competence, self-concept, and delay of gratification. For this study, the PCS was revised to provide more information about the specific strategies mothers used during limit-setting in relation to those outcomes. Results from the PCS-Revised (PCS-R; LeCuyer & Houck, 2004) included that the more time mothers spent actively distracting their toddlers away from a prohibited object during limit-setting, as early as 12 months, the longer their children could delay gratification at age 5 years. Mothers who spent more time sensitively following and being engaged in their toddler's own interests (other than the prohibited object), again as early as 12 months, had more socially competent children with more developed self-concepts at age 3 years. Maternal use of reasoning statements later in toddlerhood also related to higher levels of social competence. Maternal limits and prohibitions were not related to these outcomes, and appeared to contribute to the development of self-regulation mainly by creating the opportunity for the use of other, less directive strategies. The findings indicate that these strategies may be important to include in intervention programs for the promotion of toddler and child development of self-regulation. [source] A Comparison Between One-Tier and Two-Tier Board Structures in FranceJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 3 2010Benedicte Millet-Reyes French companies operate in a unique environment characterized by the strong involvement of block shareholders such as families and banks. Furthermore, the French legal system allows firms to choose between a one-tier or a two-tier board structure. This study investigates whether this choice can affect the firm's operating and stock performance. Our regression results provide strong evidence that ownership and board structures are used together as corporate governance tools. In particular, the agency cost of debt is strongly affected by their interaction when institutional investors are also bank lenders. Our test results show that while family control has a negative impact on corporate governance, French institutional blockholders play a positive role as monitors of one-tier structures. In contrast, they are more likely to misuse the two-tier board system by promoting interlocked directorship, board opacity and their own interests as creditors. Our regression analysis reveals that foreign institutional investors do not have any impact on firm performance, regardless of board structure. Finally, we do not find any inverse relationship between board size and efficiency in France. [source] In the Interests of Clients or Commerce?JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007Demand, Ethical Indeterminacy' in Criminal Defence Work, Legal Aid, Supply As a professional, a lawyer's first duty is to serve the client's best interests, before simple monetary gain. In criminal defence work, this duty has been questioned in the debate about the causes of growth in legal aid spending: is it driven by lawyers (suppliers) inducing unnecessary demand for their services or are they merely responding to increased demand? Research reported here found clear evidence of a change in the handling of cases in response to new payment structures, though in ways unexpected by the policy's proponents. The paper develops the concept of ,ethical indeterminacy' as a way of understanding how defence lawyers seek to reconcile the interests of commerce and clients. Ethical indeterminacy suggests that where different courses of action could each be said to benefit the client, the lawyer will tend to advise the client to decide in the lawyer's own interests. Ethical indeterminacy is mediated by a range of competing conceptions of ,quality' and ,need'. The paper goes on to question the very distinction between ,supply' and ,demand' in the provision of legal services. [source] Causes and Consequences of Unexpected Educational Transitions in SwitzerlandJOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 1 2008Markus P. Neuenschwander The present study examines transition patterns of Swiss secondary and tertiary school students. Switzerland's highly canalized education system allows us to test how tracking affects person,environment fit of students for students who choose a normative versus unexpected downward transition pattern. In addition, we investigate how self-efficacy expectations and personal values affect an unexpected transition choice. Results indicate that students with strong expectancies and personal values can oppose institutional norms and chart their own academic course; however, these students are less likely to perceive a good fit between their own interests and competencies and institutional demands after the transition. Our findings underscore the importance of developmentally appropriate educational environments and systems permeable enough to adapt to developing students' changing interests. [source] Lawyers for Conservative Causes: Clients, Ideology, and Social DistanceLAW & SOCIETY REVIEW, Issue 1 2003John P. Heinz Scholars have devoted attention to "cause lawyers" on the political left, but lawyers who work on the conservative side of the American political spectrum have received relatively little academic consideration. This article presents systematic data on the characteristics of and relationships among lawyers affiliated with organizations active on a selected set of 17 conservative issues. We find that the lawyers serve several separate and distinct constituencies,business conservatives, Christian conservatives, libertarians, abortion opponents,and that the credentials of the lawyers serving these varying constituencies differ significantly. The greatest degree of social separation occurs between the business constituency and the abortion opponents, with another clear separation between libertarians and the interest groups devoted to traditional family values and order maintenance. The divisions among these constituencies appear to reflect the difference between "insider politics" and "populism," which is manifested in part in actual geographic separation between lawyers located in the District of Columbia and those in the South, West, and Midwest. In the center of the network, however, we find some potential "mediators",prominent lawyers who may facilitate communication and coordination among the several constituencies. These lawyers and the organizations they serve attempt to merge morality, market freedom, and individual liberty concerns, and they convene meetings of diverse sets of lawyers and organizational leaders to seek consensus on policy goals. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that most organizations are seldom active on issues that lie beyond the relatively narrow boundaries of their own interests. [source] Designing digital information technologies for children.PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2003Sponsored by SIG USE Developing digital information technologies appropriate for children can be challenging, particularly since young people have their own interests, abilities, curiosities, and information needs that can be continually changing. Young people are not "just short adults" but an entirely different user population with their own culture, norms and complexities. With the emergence of children as important consumers of digital information, their role in the design of new technologies has been maximized. The speakers will explore national and international digital libraries that have been designed for children using innovative applications of technologies. In addition, they will discuss challenges and issues in designing digital information for young people. [source] Collective Bargaining and The Performance of the Public SchoolsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009Terry M. Moe Students of American politics rarely study public sector unions and their impacts on government. The literature sees bureaucratic power as rooted in expertise, but largely ignores the fact that bureaucrats often join unions to promote their own interests, and that the power of their unions may affect government and its performance. This article focuses on the public schools, which are among the most numerous government agencies in the country, and investigates whether collective bargaining by teachers,the key bureaucrats,affects the schools' capacity to educate children. Using California data, analysis shows that, in large school districts, restrictive labor contracts have a very negative impact on academic achievement, particularly for minority students. The evidence suggests, then, that public sector unions do indeed have important consequences for American public education. Whether they are consequential in other areas of government remains to be seen, but it is an avenue well worth pursuing. [source] The Limits of Financial GlobalizationTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 4 2005RENÉ M. STULZ ABSTRACT Despite the dramatic reduction in explicit barriers to international investment activity over the last 60 years, the impact of financial globalization has been surprisingly limited. I argue that country attributes are still critical to financial decision-making because of "twin agency problems" that arise because rulers of sovereign states and corporate insiders pursue their own interests at the expense of outside investors. When these twin agency problems are significant, diffuse ownership is inefficient and corporate insiders must co-invest with other investors, retaining substantial equity. The resulting ownership concentration limits economic growth, financial development, and the ability of a country to take advantage of financial globalization. [source] Reconstructing Rituals: Expressions of Autonomy and Resistance in a Sino-Indonesian SchoolANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2002Assistant Professor Christopher BjorkArticle first published online: 8 JAN 200 This article examines the role that rituals enacted in an Indonesian school for Chinese play in shaping behavior, inculcating values, and sustaining a learning community. The analysis draws from research suggesting that school rituals may promote the interests of the dominant culture, but can also function counterhegemonically, creating opportunities for subordinate groups to promote their own interests. In the hands of teachers at St. Timothy's Junior High, activities designed to venerate national cohesion were revised to highlight the school's independence from the central government and the dominant culture. This evidence adds to recent literature suggesting that hegemony is not always unidirectionally imposed on students, and reveals formations of resistance that diverge from the common student versus school model. [source] Gender, Values, and Occupational Interests Among Children, Adolescents, and AdultsCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2010Erica S. Weisgram Work fulfills personal values, perhaps differently for males and females. Explored here was the role values play in shaping occupational interests. Study 1 examined children's, adolescents', and adults' (N = 313) occupational values (regarding money, power, family, altruism), occupational interests, and perceptions of values afforded by traditionally masculine and feminine occupations. Results revealed sex differences in occupational values and interests. Furthermore, participants' values predicted their own interests in culturally masculine and feminine occupations. Study 2 used novel jobs and experimentally manipulated prototypical sex of worker and value affordances to disentangle their effects on occupational interests. At all ages, participants' (N = 240) occupational interests were affected by the depicted sex of the workers and by the stated value affordances of the jobs. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||