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Past Practices (past + practice)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

'Religiöse Nachwehen' in Schnitzler's Anatol

GERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 2 2001
Graham Jackman
Taking as its starting-point the middle scene of Schnitzler's Anatol, entitled ,Denksteine', this short essay sees in specific expressions used in the same scene evidence for a residual?,if subliminal?,authority exerted by moral imperatives derived from the Judaeo-Christian tradition. In a diluted, secularised form these shape Anatol's notion of ,love' and account for the impulse repeatedly to vow ,ewige Liebe', not-withstanding his own inclinations and past practice. The resultant inner division in Anatol between ,Intellekt' and ,Bedu¨rfnis' is seen in relation to Nietzsche's reference to ,religiöse Nachwehen' (in Menschliches, Allzumenschliches) as one form of the ,nihilism' of the period, as diagnosed by Nietzsche. [source]

Throwing Some Light on the Vast Darkness that is Analysis: Niels Henrik Abel's Critical Revision and the Concept of Absolute Convergence

CENTAURUS, Issue 1 2010
Henrik Kragh Sørensen
During the first half of the nineteenth century, mathematical analysis underwent a transition from a predominantly formula-centred practice to a more concept-centred one. Central to this development was the reorientation of analysis originating in Augustin- Louis Cauchy's (1789,1857) treatment of infinite series in his Cours d'analyse. In this work, Cauchy set out to rigorize analysis, thereby critically examining and reproving central analytical results. One of Cauchy's first and most ardent followers was the Norwegian Niels Henrik Abel (1802,1829) who vowed to shed some light on the vast darkness in analysis. This paper investigates some important aspects of Abel's contribution to the reorientation in analysis. In particular, it stresses the role for critical revision in the process of rigorization. By critically examining past practice, the new practice sought to explain the relative success of the previous,now outdated,approach. This is illustrated by discussing a number of issues related to Abel's new proof of the binomial theorem (1826) including his reactions to the exception that he encountered to one of the central theorems of Cauchy's theory. Following this discussion, the formation of new concepts as the result of critical revisions is illustrated by analysing the early history of the concept of absolute convergence. Thereby, it is shown how a new concept was distilled, investigated, put to use and eventually superseded. [source]

TRANSFORMATIONS OF CHINA'S POST-1949 POLITICAL ECONOMY IN AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

PACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2008
R. Bin Wong
This article lays out three different historical perspectives on China's post-1978 economic reform era. It argues that historical perspectives allow us to apprehend features of the Chinese economy as they are formed in particular moments and contexts at the same time as we can appreciate the ways in which the possibilities conceived and achieved both affirm certain past practices and reject others. Without such vantage points it is more difficult to explain the manner in which China's economy has changed in the past 30 years. [source]

The early assessment conundrum: Lessons from the past, implications for the future

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 7 2004
Catherine M. Bordignon
The early childhood educational field has garnered attention with initiatives to foster skill acquisition in young children prior to kindergarten entry. These initiatives, in conjunction with the rigorous demands of curricular reform and a burgeoning accountability movement, invoke questions regarding the adequacy of the instruments used to assess young children and the inherent difficulties in conducting such assessments. Because the effectiveness of education relies critically on the sound diagnoses of children's readiness for learning and the measurement of their subsequent progression throughout the schooling process, critical issues in early assessment must be addressed. An examination of past practices was synthesized with recent research to focus awareness on the insufficient content domain, restrictive context, adverse timing and questionable psychometric properties, specifically the inappropriate norms and low predictive validity, of many instruments. Both the implications of and compensatory strategies for each issue are considered. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 737,749, 2004. [source]

Supervision of trainee anaesthetists: a survey of opinions and practices

ANAESTHESIA, Issue 1 2002
J. Kerr
This questionnaire survey investigated the different degrees of supervision of trainee anaesthetic senior house officers (SHOs) in hospitals across the United Kingdom, and compared it with past practices as well as with The Royal College of Anaesthetists' recommendations at that time. It is apparent that the duration of intensive supervision of new anaesthetic trainees has increased over the last 25 years. This study assesses these changes in order to evaluate whether or not these reforms have achieved their intended outcomes. [source]

Response of the soil seed-bank of Cumberland Plain Woodland to heating

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
SARAH J. HILL
Abstract Soil was investigated in a Cumberland Plain Woodland community to determine the presence of a soil seed-bank and whether species richness and abundance of plants germinating from it were affected by heating such as that experienced in a fire. Soil samples were taken from the Holsworthy Military Area, in the south-eastern region of the Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia, and one of four treatments was applied; soil was heated to 80°C, 40°C, unheated or unheated with litter not removed. Sixty-eight species, representing 26 families including 11 exotic and 57 native species germinated from the soil. Herbs and grasses dominated and were in similar proportions to those surveyed in the above-ground vegetation, suggesting that the soil seed-bank reflected the current structure of the vegetation, although species composition differed. Species responded differently to heating. The seeds of some species germinated when heated at a higher temperature (80°C), particularly those from the family Fabaceae, whereas other species were more common in unheated or lightly heated samples (40°C). This suggests that fire is likely to change the species composition of the above-ground vegetation and indicates that management must ensure that species that do not germinate when heated are maintained, as well as those species that germinate following heating. A large proportion of soil seed-bank species showed low germination rates in the trials, and 112 above-ground species did not germinate in the soil samples. We do not understand whether species of these two sets do not produce a soil-stored seed-bank or whether the seed-bank has been depleted by past practices at Holsworthy. Further research is needed. [source]