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Present Situation (present + situation)
Selected AbstractsA Nolan Committee for the German ethics infrastructure?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 5 2002Nathalie Behnke An international trend towards establishing and conforming standards of ethical behaviour in the public sector has repeatedly been stated. Germany, however, remains surprisingly reluctant to adopt such recommendations. This article argues that the likelihood of German decision makers implementing new, and especially soft, ethics measures depends on the demand for such measures, on the one hand, and their supply, on the other. The analysis shows that contradictory forces have an impact on Germany. The demand for new ethics measures is relatively low as a high level of hard ethics measures incorporated in the longstanding formal legal system of rules and regulations make the implementation of new measures seem unnecessary. Also, the demand for soft ethics measures is less marked in Germany than in the United Kingdom. This comparatively weak pressure meets the natural inertia caused by cognitive and institutional path,dependency in institutional choices of political decision makers. On the other hand, external bodies (such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development , OECD) provide blueprints for soft ethics measures and encourage the implementation of uniform standards across countries. Which of these forces will prevail in the long run, however, cannot be deduced from the present situation. [source] Dissociating the past from the present in the activity of place cellsHIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 9 2006Livia de Hoz Abstract It has been proposed that declarative memories can be dependent on both an episodic and a semantic memory system. While the semantic system deals with factual information devoid of reference to its acquisition, the episodic system, characterized by mental time travel, deals with the unique past experience in which an event took place. Episodic memory is characteristically hippocampus-dependent. Place cells are recorded from the hippocampus of rodents and their firing reflects many of the key characteristics of episodic memory. For example, they encode information about "what" happens "where," as well as temporal information. However, when these features are expressed during an animal's behavior, the neuronal activity could merely be categorizing the present situation and could therefore reflect semantic memory rather than episodic memory. We propose that mental time travel is the key feature of episodic memory and that it should take a form, in the awake animal, similar to the replay of behavioral patterns of activity that has been observed in hippocampus during sleep. Using tasks designed to evoke episodic memory, one should be able to see memory reactivation of behaviorally relevant sequences of activity in the awake animal while recording from hippocampus and other cortical structures. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] MEMORY, MEMORIALS, AND COMMEMORATION,HISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 3 2008ANITA KASABOVA ABSTRACT According to a popular view, the past is present here and now. This is presentism combined with endurantism: the past continuously persists through time to the present. By contrast, I argue that memories, memorials, and histories are of entities discontinuous with present experiences, and that the continuity between past and present in them is a construct. Memories, memorials, and histories are semantic means for dealing with the past. My presupposition that past and present are different is supported by grammar: as verbal tenses show, the past is not present here and now, for otherwise it would not be past. A failure to note this difference is a lack of chronesthesia, a sense of time specific to human beings. I argue that presentism fails to account for the temporal structures of memory and the changes in perspective as we switch from the present to a past situation. My account is perdurantist in the sense that it allows for temporal parts of things such as memorials or tombstones, as well as events such as wars or commemorations. But my main goal is to outline a semantic approach to the past: the tie between past and present actions and events is the semantic ground,consequence relation: a past event is the antecedent grounding a present situation, explaining why it is the case. In addition, I show how we refer to the past by means of two rhetorical figures of speech: synecdoche, using the (emblematic-) part-whole relation for relating the past to the present by transposing its sense; and anaphor, which has a deictic function,it points back toward the past. In references to the past, the deictic field is a scene visualized by the speaker and addressees: the deictic field is transposed from a perceptual to an imaginary space. [source] Global potential soil erosion with reference to land use and climate changesHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 14 2003Dawen Yang Abstract A GIS-based RUSLE model is employed to study the global soil erosion potential for viewing the present situation, analysing changes over the past century, and projecting future trends with reference to global changes in land use and climate. Scenarios considered in the study include historical, present and future conditions of cropland and climate. This research gives the first overview of the global situation of soil erosion potential considering the previous century as well as the present and future. Present soil erosion potential is estimated to be about 0·38 mm year,1 for the globe, with Southeast Asia found to be the most seriously affected region in the world. It is estimated that nearly 60% of present soil erosions are induced by human activity. With development of cropland in the last century, soil erosion potential is estimated to have increased by about 17%. Global warming might significantly increase the potential for soil erosion, and the regions with the same increasing trend of precipitation and population might face much more serious problems related to soil erosion in the future. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The regulation of brood reduction in Booted Eagles Hieraaetus pennatus through habitat heterogeneityIBIS, Issue 4 2008EVA CASADO Brood reduction, the death of one or more chicks through siblicide or starvation, can occur through density-dependence in fecundity. Brood reduction may arise in territorial breeding systems either as a response to a high level of territorial interference in a situation of high density or as a result of habitat heterogeneity. To test the predictions of the two main hypotheses that attempt to explain how density-dependent fecundity is generated, the Habitat Heterogeneity Hypothesis (HHH) and the Individual Adjustment Hypothesis (IAH), we analysed the relationship between density and fecundity in an expanding population of Booted Eagles in Doñana National Park, Spain, using an 18-year data series. We also studied the occurrence and frequency of brood reduction in the same Booted Eagle population to appreciate further its effects and the factors that influence its occurrence and frequency. Our results support the HHH in the present situation of high density, as fecundity in the better territories (older and more frequently occupied) was higher than in low quality territories and was not affected by population density in high density periods. Nevertheless, the fecundity of high quality territories was affected (although not significantly) by population density in periods of low density, suggesting that the IAH was supported when only high quality territories were occupied. Older territories were used more frequently and chicks in these areas hatched earlier and suffered lower mortality than in new territories. We found a significant negative relationship between mean fecundity and its skewness, a finding that also supports HHH. During years of food shortage, less frequently occupied territories suffered higher rates of brood reduction. Brood reduction in this Booted Eagle population was a consequence of the heterogeneous structure of the habitat, with some territories having a higher probability of brood reduction than others. Parental nutritional condition did not affect brood reduction. The effect of brood reduction on nestling quality and population dynamics is also discussed. [source] Adaptive control of Burgers' equation with unknown viscosityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 7 2001Wei-Jiu Liu Abstract In this paper, we propose a fortified boundary control law and an adaptation law for Burgers' equation with unknown viscosity, where no a priori knowledge of a lower bound on viscosity is needed. This control law is decentralized, i.e., implementable without the need for central computer and wiring. Using the Lyapunov method, we prove that the closed-loop system, including the parameter estimator as a dynamic component, is globally H1 stable and well posed. Furthermore, we show that the state of the system is regulated to zero by developing an alternative to Barbalat's Lemma which cannot be used in the present situation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Nutritional and therapeutic value of fermented caprine milkINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DAIRY TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2010ANAC, VEDRAN SLA Caprine milk is a nutritional and therapeutic food. The unique and beneficial characteristics of caprine milk that are superior to bovine milk include: better digestibility; greater buffering capacity; fat globules that are smaller in diameter and better distributed in the milk emulsion; higher content of short-chain fatty acids in the milk fat; higher content of zinc, iron and magnesium; stronger lactoperoxidase (antimicrobial) system as well as better immunological and antibacterial characteristics. The larger amounts of some minerals, such as calcium, zinc and magnesium, in caprine milk may influence the growth of lactic acid bacteria since they are a normal part of some enzymatic complexes involved in lactose fermentation. The higher whey protein content could also be significant because Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacteria grow better in the presence of higher levels of some amino acids (valine, glycine, hystidine). The use of caprine and ovine milk in cheesemaking is well known, but the production of fermented caprine milk via probiotics has not yet been developed, although many studies have highlighted the requirements for production of that kind of healthy food. During fermentation caprine milk loses its characteristic ,goaty' taste, which is unacceptable to many consumers. Moreover, the nutritive value of caprine milk increases during fermentation. The rise in the number of goat farms in Croatia has created the need to find other products that can be produced using caprine milk. According to the present situation in Croatia, there is no real possibility of producing fermented caprine milk for the global market, but many studies of fermented caprine milk have been performed. [source] Performance measurement in mental health care: present situation and future possibilitiesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010Irma J. Baars Abstract This paper describes performance measurement and its indicators for mental health care services. Performance measurement can serve several goals such as accountability, quality improvement and performance management. For all three purposes structure, process and outcome indicators should be measured. Literature was retrieved from Medline and PsychInfo in order to see which performance indicators were used for the three purposes of performance measurement in mental health care. The indicators were classified in structure, process and outcome indicators. The results show no big differences in the indicators used among studies. Performance management is the performance measurement purpose most referred to, followed by accountability, and quality improvement. Outcome and process indicators are used most, structure indicators are in the minority. Several levels of measurement, that is national or service level, came forward in the literature review. To overcome misinterpretation of data and to be able to improve quality and manage performances, performance indicator sets should refer to structure, process and outcome. Indicators should be chosen carefully with the aim of the measurement taken into mind. Based on this review, a conceptual framework is presented to support managers in their decisions about which indictors can best be used for performance measurement. Additionally, a model that provides an understanding of the use of information gained by performance measurement is given. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Reflections on International Organisations and International Legitimacy: Constraints, Pathologies, and PossibilitiesINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 170 2001Jean-Marc Coicaud It may appear questionable at first sight to connect international legitimacy and international organisations. However a strong link exists between them. International organisations are the expression, defence, promotion, and projection of a socialised vision of international relations that is key to the claims and gradual implementation of a sense of international legitimacy. As a result, one way to reflect upon global governance , its present situation and what its future is likely to be , is to analyse how international organisations express and contribute to the making of international legitimacy. The paper touches upon three main points. First, it assesses the current legitimacy of international organisations. Second, the paper will examine the contribution of international organisations to international socialisation, which is another word for international or global governance. Thirdly, it attempts to foresee and map some of the key issues around which the future of the international system, international organisations and global governance and the future of their legitimacy will probably revolve. [source] Flood control and land use management in Mengwa retention area, Huai River Basin,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 4 2004Han Ruiguang Contrôle des crues; gestion de l'occupation du sol; aire d'épandage Abstract Retention areas have a very important role in flood alleviation in the Huai River Basin. With economic and societal development the former retention areas have been developed and some of them even became very important urban areas. When floods come, there is a lot of damage. The government has realized that the flood control standards in the whole river basin are low and has made a plan to increase flood control standards for the Mengwa retention area. The design water level will be 28.00,m+MSL at Runheji. In light of this the use of the Mengwa retention area needs to be considered. To arrive at decisions that reduce flood damage, one should take into account the following uncertainties: the river discharge, the flood damage given the discharge, the downstream water level given the discharge, and the costs of constructing embankments and dredging the river. By using the DUFLOW model and a GIS model, the present situation and the alternative development options have been analysed. How to use the Mengwa retention area is also discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Les zones d'expansion jouent un rôle important dans la réduction des crues du fleuve Huia. Ces zones ont connu le même développement économique et social que le reste de la région, et certaines sont maintenant fortement urbanisées. Les crues y provoquent beaucoup de dégâts. Le gouvernement a pris conscience que les critères pour contrôler les crues dans le bassin versant sont insuffisants, et a élaboré un plan pour améliorer ce contrôle dans l'aire d'épandage de Mengwa. Le niveau d'eau de référence retenu est à la cote 28,m, prise à Runheji. Ceci implique de reconsidérer l'utilisation de la zone d'expansion. Les décisions permettant de réduire les dégâts dus aux crues ont été élaborées à partir des paramètres suivants: débit du fleuve, relation entre le débit et les dégâts dus aux crues, niveau d'eau en aval, coûts de renforcement des digues, coût du dragage. La situation actuelle et les possibilités d'amélioration ont été analysées avec le modèle DUFLOW et un SIG. L'utilisation de la zone d'expansion de Mwenga est examinée également. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Innovation and transportation's technologiesJOURNAL OF ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION, Issue 1 2000Article first published online: 19 JAN 2010, William L. Garrison I critique the innovation processes that yield transportation's technologies, and to aid my analysis I look back to take advantage of the accumulation of experiences and insights marked by the millennium. I identify supply, transport, and user systems. Transport systems move things; supply systems provide fuel, pavements, and other inputs to transport activities; and user systems combine transport with other activities for socially useful purposes. The discussion then shifts from structure to behavior, and a short review of the emergence of today's systems reminds us that technological advances may improve the provision of old services, offer new ways of doing old things, or induce qualitative changes that enable doing new things. With these structural and behavioral matters in mind, I challenge the reader to judge the present situation and the future. [source] Day surgery in Finland: a prospective cohort study of 14 day-surgery unitsACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2009K. MATTILA Background: Day surgery is an established practice for elective operative care, and is considered safe and cost-effective in several procedures and for several patients. At present, day-surgery accounts for approximately 50% of elective surgery in Finland. The aim of this study was to prospectively describe the present situation at Finnish day-surgery units, focusing on the quality of care. Methods: Fourteen large- to medium-sized day surgery and short-stay units were recruited, and all patient cases performed during a 2-month study period were registered and analyzed. Quality of care was assessed by analyzing the rates and reasons for overnight admission, readmission, reoperation, and cancellations. Satisfaction of care was inquired from day- surgery patients during a 2-week period. Head anesthesiologists were interviewed about functional policies. Results: Of 7915 reported cases, 84% were day surgery. Typically, several specialties were represented at the units, with orthopedics accounting for nearly 30% of all day-surgery procedures. Patient selection criteria were in line with the present-day recommendations, although the proportion of older patients and the ASA physical status 3 patients were still relatively low. The rate of unplanned overnight admissions was 5.9%. Return hospital visits were reported in 3.7% and readmissions in 0.7% of patients 1,28 days post-operatively. Patient satisfaction was high. Conclusion: Along with the growing demand for day surgery, Finnish public hospitals have succeeded in providing good-quality care, and there still seems to be potential to increase the share of day surgery. Easily accessible benchmarking tools are needed for quality control and learning from peers. [source] Views of People with Intellectual Disabilities of Their Present and Future Living ArrangementsJOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 3-4 2004Roy McConkey Abstract, To determine personal perceptions and preferences of present and potential living arrangements, 180 adults with intellectual disabilities were recruited to participate in 20 focus groups held across Northern Ireland. About half were living with family carers and the balance in a range of other types of accommodations. Verbal probing and video clips were used to elicit views on four different living options (residential homes, small group homes, supported living, and living with a nonrelated family). Four personal preference themes emerged that were common to all participants irrespective of where they lived: having their own bedroom, participating in household activities; having access to community activities, and maintaining contact with family and friends. Adults living on their own or in supported housing valued their independence and having access to support staff, whereas adults living in residential homes spoke of the importance of relationships with co-residents and staff. Overall, most of the adults were content with their present situation, although small group homes and supported living arrangements were the most popular alternatives to living with their families. The discussion group process was useful in eliciting comments and offering participants a chance to reflect on their personal perceptions of housing options. Overall, the findings point to the need for greater consideration of personal preferences in home option choice-making by housing and services providers. [source] Casaubon's ghosts: the haunting of legal scholarshipLEGAL STUDIES, Issue 1 2001Allan C Hutchinson Much academic work continues to operate within the cramping and pervasive spirit of a black-letter mentality that encourages scholars and jurists to maintain legal study as an inward-looking and self-contained discipline. There is still a marked tendency to treat law as somehow a world of its own that is separate from the society within which it operates and purports to serve. This is a disheartening and disabling state of affairs. Accordingly, this article will offer both a critique of the present situation and suggest an alternative way of proceeding. The writer recommends a shift from philosophy to democracy so that legal academics will be less obsessed with abstraction and formalism and more concerned with relevance and practicality. In contrast to the hubristic and occasionally mystical aspirations of mainstream scholars, it presents a more humble depiction of the worth and efficacy of the jurisprudential and scholarly project in which ,usefulness' is given pride of place. Of course, these fundamental charges are not applicable to all legal scholars. Many scholars are engaged in work that not only challenges the prevailing paradigm of legal scholarship, but also explores exciting new directions for legal study. It will be part of the essay to acknowledge those contributions. [source] THINGS BECAME SCARCE: FOOD AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY IN SANTIAGO de CUBA THEN AND NOWANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2009Hanna Garth Cuba has had a nationalized food rationing system since 1962, and has been lauded for exemplary food security innovations in the face of national financial hardship. Decreases in food and agricultural related importations after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 limited the amount of food provided in the monthly rations, forcing individuals to acquire increasing amounts of their food through other means. This article reveals the complexities Cubans face when attempting to access foods in Santiago de Cuba. This project examines how Cubans experience their food system, their struggles to maintain food traditions despite the low availability of ingredients, and how people use and relate to Cuba's food provisioning system. In this article two memories of past periods of abundance are juxtaposed to show the different ways in which individuals interpret food security. The analysis of semistructured interviews, community mapping, and participant-observation reveal the ways in which residents of Santiago de Cuba orient to their present situation through memories of past periods when foods were more available and more easily accessible. [source] THE NEW MODEL OF THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY IN SPAIN WITHIN THE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORKANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2007J. BAREA ABSTRACT,:,This study identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the the new regulatory framework for railways in Spain. We offer a description of the present situation of the railway industry in Spain, following the coming into force of the new Railway Industry Law in January 2005. We also analyse the international experience in light of the principles underlying the liberalization of the railway industry in Europe and, in particular, the cases of the United Kingdom and France. These two models are suitable for our purposes based on these main items: the degree of effective competition, the similarity to the Spanish case, the rail market growth and the geographical location. Our conclusions are that Spain has overcome some mistakes made by the countries mentioned above, like leaving infrastructure investment or security aspects in the hands of the private sector, however others have been committed, such as the excessive influence of the government on the basic actors of the industry or defining a complex system without well defined responsibilities. [source] Structural Validity and Generalisability of a Referent Cognitions Model of Turnover IntentionsAPPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2009David G. Allen A model proposed and empirically tested by Aquino, Griffeth, Allen, and Hom (1997) using employees of a hospital in the northeastern United States was replicated in samples of Korean factory workers from two divisions of a large organisation. Results in both samples suggested that the relationships among model variables and relationships with withdrawal cognitions replicated quite closely. Results also suggested that the way people are treated in an organisation by their supervisors exerts a powerful effect on their turnover-related responses. Most importantly, the results of this study in combination with the earlier results from Aquino et al. (1997) highlight the impact of employee expectations of future job advancement on turnover-related responses. Employees who perceive that their present situation will improve are more satisfied with their present outcomes and their supervisors. They are also less likely to consider quitting even when being unsatisfied with their present situation. Un modèle proposé et testé empiriquement par Aquino, Griffeth, Allen, and Hom (1997) sur des employés d'un hôpital du nord des Etats-Unis a été réutilisé auprès de plusieurs échantillons de travailleurs d'une usine coréenne appartenant à deux divisions d'une grande organisation. Les résultats sur les deux échantillons montrent que les relations entre les variables du modèle et les relations avec les cognitions défaillantes reproduisent de très près ceux du modèle original. Les résultats montrent aussi que la façon dont les salariés sont traités dans une organisation par leurs supérieurs a de fortes retombées sur leurs réponses concernant les démissions. Plus important encore, les résultats de cette étude en concordance avec ceux initiaux obtenus par Aquino et al. (1997), soulignent l'impact des attentes des employés à propos de leur avancement dans leur futur emploi sur leurs réponses concernant les démissions. Les employés qui perçoivent que leur situation présente va s'améliorer sont plus satisfaits de leur rémunération présente et de leurs supérieurs. Ils sont aussi moins enclins à envisager de démissionner même s'ils sont insatisfaits de leur situation présente. [source] A family business: Women, children and smallholder sugar cane farming in FijiASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 2 2003Sue Carswell Abstract: This paper highlights the contribution of women and children to the sugar industry in Fiji by examining the importance of family labour in the historical development of the smallholder system and describing the present situation for the study participants. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted during 1996,97, on the island of Vanua Levu in the northern region of Fiji. The twenty smallholder households in the study comprised both Fijian and Fiji Indian respondents who relied primarily on selling sugar cane for their cash income. How inequalities within the household in terms of allocation of labour and resources are legitimated is outlined. Resource distribution within the household in regards to two important issues for the sugar industry, land and trade liberalisation, are examined. In light of global trends in trade liberalisation and probable falls in sugar prices, future strategies for survival identified by Fijian and Fiji Indian smallholders are also discussed. The case study demonstrates that the sugar industry is still largely reliant on family labour and, particularly for low socio-economic smallholders, the unremunerated labour of family members makes an essential contribution to the production of sugar cane. [source] Application Results of 3-D Seismic Exploration Technology in Coal MinesACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 3 2004SUN Shenglin Abstract, This paper briefly introduces the development and present situation of China's coal seismic exploration. It focuses on analyzing the important functions of 3-D seismic exploration technology in the designing and production of coal mines, and also the results of its application. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||