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Selected AbstractsPolicy Development for Novel Foods: Issues and Challenges for Functional FoodCANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2002Michele Veeman Challenges in policy development for novel foods arise from information asymmetry associated with these credence goods. Policy development reflects pressures by firms and investors to apply health claims in marketing functional food, nutraceuticals and natural health products, which are growing market segments, relative to mature food markets. However, the wordings on health claims are often misinterpreted by consumers. Despite tendencies for some convergence in approaches to health claim policies, policy differs internationally. Related issues considered include factors influencing consumer preferences for these products and uncertainties in the markets for them. [source] High-speed network and Grid computing for high-end computation: application in geodynamics ensemble simulationsCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 5 2007S. Zhou Abstract High-speed network and Grid computing have been actively investigated, and their capabilities are being demonstrated. However, their application to high-end scientific computing and modeling is still to be explored. In this paper we discuss the related issues and present our prototype work on applying XCAT3 framework technology to geomagnetic data assimilation development with distributed computers, connected through an up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet network. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Middleware benchmarking: approaches, results, experiences,CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 15 2005Paul Brebner Abstract The report summarizes the results of the Workshop on Middleware Benchmarking held during OOPSLA 2003. The goal of the workshop was to help advance the current practice of gathering performance characteristics of middleware implementations through benchmarking. The participants of the workshop have focused on identifying requirements of and obstacles to middleware benchmarking and forming a position on the related issues. Selected requirements and obstacles are presented, together with guidelines to adhere to when benchmarking, open issues of current practice, and perspectives on further research. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Does personality change and, if so, what changes?,CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2004Conor Duggan Background Although the question of whether or not personality changes is fundamental to much of what clinicians do, we do not appear to be very curious about the question itself. Method This paper considers three separate but related issues: (a) Does personality change? (b) If it does, then what changes? (c) How can we show that change has taken place? Costa and McCrea have produced a model of personality that helps to answer (a) and (b), as it distinguishes ,Basic Tendencies' from ,Characteristic Adaptations'. The former are largely innate, fixed dispositions that produce the latter (which are highly variable) depending on its interaction with differing environments. Thus, personality is both static and dynamic depending on its definition. It will also be argued that detecting change is complex as there are many alternative definitions of the relevant outcome variable. Moreover, measuring several different outcomes does not help as change in one measure is often not matched by a concordant change in another. Some practical examples are provided to support this position. Conclusions In the absence of a firm theoretical base, the author believes that only limited conclusions can be drawn about the efficacy of treatment in personality disorder. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] FOREIGN BANKS: WHAT DO WE KNOW?ECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue S1 2006BARRY WILLIAMS In their twenty years since their entry into Australia, foreign bank performance has been considered a failure. This paper will canvass this and related issues and argue that some of these perceptions may have been based upon inappropriate expectations. It will be argued that the foreign banks have been an important component in the ongoing process of Australian financial system efficiency improvement and globalisation. [source] Effects of masticatory muscle function on craniofacial morphology in growing ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 6 2003Tailun He Studying the effects of masticatory muscle function on craniofacial morphology in animal models with different masticatory systems is important for further understanding of related issues in humans. Forty 5-wk-old male ferrets were equally divided into two groups. One group was fed a diet of hard pellets (HDG) and the other group was fed the same diet but softened with water (SDG). Lateral and dorsoventral cephalograms were taken on each group after 6 months. Cephalometric measurements were performed by digital procedures. For SDG ferrets, the hard palate plane was more distant from the cranial base plane, and canines were more proclined compared with HDG ferrets. The SDG ferrets were also found to have smaller interfrontal and interparietal widths, and a slenderer zygomatic arch than the HDG ferrets. In the mandible, the coronoid process was generally shorter and narrower for the SDG ferrets. The effects of the altered masticatory muscle function on craniofacial morphology in growing ferrets seemed to differ from those previously reported in other animal models studied under similar experimental conditions. Such differences in the effects are presumably related to the differences in the mode of mastication, craniofacial anatomy and growth pattern in different animal models. [source] Automatic and controlled processes in behavioural control: Implications for personality psychologyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2010Philip J. Corr Abstract This paper highlights a number of unresolved theoretical issues that, it is argued, continue to impede the construction of a viable model of behavioural control in personality psychology. It is contended that, in order to integrate motivation, emotion, cognition and conscious experience within a coherent framework, two major issues need to be recognised: (a) the relationship between automatic (reflexive) and controlled (reflective) processing and (b) the lateness of controlled processing (including the generation of conscious awareness),phenomenally, such processing seems to ,control' behaviour, but experimentally it can be shown to postdate the behaviour it represents. The implications of these two major issues are outlined, centred on the need to integrate theoretical perspectives within personality psychology, as well as the greater unification of personality psychology with general psychology. A model of behavioural control is sketched, formulated around the concept of the behavioural inhibition system (BIS), which accounts for: (a) why certain stimuli are extracted for controlled processing (i.e. those that are not ,going to plan', as detected by an error mechanism) and (b) the function of controlled processing (including conscious awareness) in terms of adjusting the cybernetic weights of automatic processes (which are always in control of immediate behaviour) which, then, influence future automatically controlled behaviour. The relevance of this model is illustrated in relation to a number of topics in personality psychology, as well related issues of free-will and difficult-to-control behaviours. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Analysing Change in Women's Careers: Culture, Structure and Action DimensionsGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 1 2000Julia Evetts This article addresses a number of related issues. It outlines and illustrates three dimensions of explanations about women's careers: cultural, structural and action dimensions. The three dimensions are considered as aspects of determinism and choice in women's careers and are illustrated with regard to different professional sectors. The article argues that change needs to be a prominent feature in the analysis of women's careers but that change is differently perceived and interpreted in analyses in the three different dimensions. [source] Who should fund and control the direction of human behavior genetics?GENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 6 2003Genetics, Human Behaviour: the Ethical Context, Review of Nuffield Council on Bioethics 2002 Report In this (Nuffield Council on Bioethics 2002), the third in its series on ethics and related issues in genetics (see also Nuffield Council on Bioethics 1993 and Nuffield Council on Bioethics 1998), the Nuffield Council has focused on four ,normal' behaviors; intelligence, personality, antisocial behavior and sexual orientation. This is a narrow range of behaviors and one where their discussion of the potential impact of predictive genetic testing is probably inappropriate. They also take an unduly narrow view of the purposes of behavior genetics in the 21st century. It is not simply to estimate heritability but to understand more about the structure of behavior and the processes which underlie it. Their narrow focus and their negative approach to the history and achievements of genetics is reflected in their less than positive support for future behavior genetic research. Behavior geneticists need to do more to publicize what their field has achieved in order to counter the very extensive antibehavior genetics initiatives which are almost unique in science. At the same time, organizations such as the Nuffield Council need to consider carefully the impact their deliberations may have on research funding. [source] Incorporating covariates in mapping heterogeneous traits: a hierarchical model using empirical Bayes estimationGENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 7 2007Swati Biswas Abstract Complex genetic traits are inherently heterogeneous, i.e., they may be caused by different genes, or non-genetic factors, in different individuals. So, for mapping genes responsible for these diseases using linkage analysis, heterogeneity must be accounted for in the model. Heterogeneity across different families can be modeled using a mixture distribution by letting each family have its own heterogeneity parameter denoting the probability that its disease-causing gene is linked to the marker map under consideration. A substantial gain in power is expected if covariates that can discriminate between the families of linked and unlinked types are incorporated in this modeling framework. To this end, we propose a hierarchical Bayesian model, in which the families are grouped according to various (categorized) levels of covariate(s). The heterogeneity parameters of families within each group are assigned a common prior, whose parameters are further assigned hyper-priors. The hyper-parameters are obtained by utilizing the empirical Bayes estimates. We also address related issues such as evaluating whether the covariate(s) under consideration are informative and grouping of families. We compare the proposed approach with one that does not utilize covariates and show that our approach leads to considerable gains in power to detect linkage and in precision of interval estimates through various simulation scenarios. An application to the asthma datasets of Genetic Analysis Workshop 12 also illustrates this gain in a real data analysis. Additionally, we compare the performances of microsatellite markers and single nucleotide polymorphisms for our approach and find that the latter clearly outperforms the former. Genet. Epidemiol. 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Linkage mapping methods applied to the COGA data set: Presentation Group 4 of Genetic Analysis Workshop 14GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue S1 2005E. Warwick Daw Abstract Presentation Group 4 participants analyzed the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism data provided for Genetic Analysis Workshop 14. This group examined various aspects of linkage analysis and related issues. Seven papers included linkage analyses, while the eighth calculated identity-by-descent (IBD) probabilities. Six papers analyzed linkage to an alcoholism phenotype: ALDX1 (four papers), ALDX2 (one paper), or a combination both (one paper). Methods used included Bayesian variable selection coupled with Haseman-Elston regression, recursive partitioning to identify phenotype and covariate groupings that interact with evidence for linkage, nonparametric linkage regression modeling, affected sib-pair linkage analysis with discordant sib-pair controls, simulation-based homozygosity mapping in a single pedigree, and application of a propensity score to collapse covariates in a general conditional logistic model. Alcoholism linkage was found with ,2 of these approaches on chromosomes 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14, and 21. The remaining linkage paper compared the utility of several single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and microsatellite marker maps for Monte Carlo Markov chain combined oligogenic segregation and linkage analysis, and analyzed one of the electrophysiological endophenotypes, ttth1, on chromosome 7. Linkage was found with all marker sets. The last paper compared the multipoint IBD information content of several SNP sets and the microsatellite set, and found that while all SNP sets examined contained more information than the microsatellite set, most of the information contained in the SNP sets was captured by a subset of the SNP markers with ,1-cM marker spacing. From these papers, we highlight three points: a 1-cM SNP map seems to capture most of the linkage information, so denser maps do not appear necessary; careful and appropriate use of covariates can aid linkage analysis; and sources of increased gene-sharing between relatives should be accounted for in analyses. Genet. Epidemiol. 29(Suppl. 1):S29,S34, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The impact of the national minimum wage on the apparel industryINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2002Roger Undy This analysis of the NMW's initial impact in the apparel industry focuses on organisational and institutional factors in explaining the effects on pay and related issues. The NMW had a marked effect on national terms and conditions, in particular raising the minimum earnings level. At the local level, it impacted directly on the pay of a small number of employees in almost half the 42 organisations surveyed in the East Midlands and Northern Ireland. These tended to be the larger employing units facing foreign competition and selling into the domestic market. Also, in some workplaces, the NMW adversely affected the piecework system. The reaction of local management to these changes is discussed. [source] Missile defence and the transatlantic security relationshipINTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2001Wyn Q. Bowen This article examines the re-emergence of ballistic missile defence (BMD) as a contentious issue in US-European security relations since 1999. It begins by outlining three phases in the recent evolution of US missile defence policy from 1995 to mid-2001. The article then examines five key factors that have dominated European views and concerns in relation to BMD: a divergence between European and American assessments of the emerging ballistic missile threat; concern over the implications for nuclear arms control stemming from Russian and Chinese opposition to BMD; the impact of missile defence on deterrence and the Atlantic alliance; scepticism about the technological feasibility of BMD; and the potential opportunity costs associated with resource allocation to missile defence. It is shown that European anxieties have been exacerbated by a perception of a growing unilateralism in American security policy in recent years. The article proceeds by arguing that the US-European debate over BMD looks set to evolve in one of two directions. The more likely and most desirable scenario would involve the US reaching an understanding with its European allies on the way forward. The less desirable scenario would involve key European countries, such as France and Germany, deciding ultimately to withhold their political support for BMD, which would have the potential of causing significant rifts in both transatlantic and intra-European security relations. In both cases, it is argued that the BMD debate will be defined by the interaction of several key variables. These include the extent to which the Bush administration engages in meaningful consultations with the Europeans; the administration's ability or otherwise to reach an agreement with Russia on the way ahead; the architecture options of a future allied or global BMD system; the related issues of technological feasibility and financial cost; and the evolving missile threat. [source] A 3D mortar method for solid mechanics,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2004Michael A. Puso Abstract A version of the mortar method is developed for tying arbitrary dissimilar 3D meshes with a focus on issues related to large deformation solid mechanics. Issues regarding momentum conservation, large deformations, computational efficiency and bending are considered. In particular, a mortar method formulation that is invariant to rigid body rotations is introduced. A scheme is presented for the numerical integration of the mortar surface projection integrals applicable to arbitrary 3D curved dissimilar interfaces. Here, integration need only be performed at problem initialization such that coefficients can be stored and used throughout a quasi-static time stepping process even for large deformation problems. A degree of freedom reduction scheme exploiting the dual space interpolation method such that direct linear solution techniques can be applied without Lagrange multipliers is proposed. This provided a significant reduction in factorization times. Example problems which touch on the aforementioned solid mechanics related issues are presented. Published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Three-dimensional incompressible flow calculations using the characteristic based split (CBS) schemeINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 11 2004P. Nithiarasu Abstract In this paper, the characteristic based split scheme is employed for the solution of three-dimensional incompressible viscous flow problems on unstructured meshes. Many algorithm related issues are discussed. Fully explicit and semiimplicit forms of the scheme are explained and employed in the calculation of both isothermal and nonisothermal incompressible flows simulation. The extension of the scheme to porous medium flows is also demonstrated with relevant examples. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Decision making beyond arrow's "impossibility theorem," with the analysis of effects of collusion and mutual attractionINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 1 2009Hung T. Nguyen In 1951, K.J. Arrow proved that, under certain assumptions, it is impossible to have group decision-making rules that satisfy reasonable conditions like symmetry. This Impossibility Theorem is often cited as a proof that reasonable group decision-making is impossible. We start our article by remarking that Arrow's result covers only those situations when the only information we have about individual preferences is their binary preferences between the alternatives. If we follow the main ideas of modern decision making and game theory and also collect information about the preferences between lotteries (i.e., collect the utility values of different alternatives), then reasonable decision-making rules are possible, e.g., Nash's rule in which we select an alternative for which the product of utilities is the largest possible. We also deal with two related issues: how we can detect individual preferences if all we have is preferences of a subgroup and how we take into account the mutual attraction between participants. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] An Empirical Comparison of Price-Limit Models,INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF FINANCE, Issue 3-4 2006TAMIR LEVY ABSTRACT Using futures traded on the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Board of Trade, we test six alternative models of the return-generating process (RGP) in futures exchanges that adopt a price-limit regime. We rank the six models according to their return-prediction ability, based on the mean square error criterion, and we find that the near-limit model performed best for both the estimation period and the prediction period. A reliable prediction of the expected return can have important implications for both traders and policy makers, concerning related issues such as the employment of long or short strategy, margin requirements and the effectiveness of the price limit mechanism. [source] The right of all nations to access science, new technologies and sustainable developmentINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 197-198 2009Mohammad Reza Majidi This article explores the need for reflection on the right of developing countries to science and technology in addition to explaining the place of the scientific rights of nations in human rights as a whole. The discussion was conducted in relation to sustainable development. Through the examination of the current situation and the challenges to sustainable development, and taking into account the imbalance in the distribution of the benefits of science and new technologies, the authors advocate a comprehensive approach to promote cooperation and capacity-building in this area. They argue that linkages should be adopted between micro-levels and macro-levels of analysis by elevating rights and related issues from individuals to the national level in the field of the right to science and technology, and from the national to the international level in the field of sustainable development in order to institutionalise and ensure individual and national rights to science, technology and sustainable development. The authors also believe in a multidimensional perspective based on the balanced flourishing of the material and immaterial aspects of humankind in order to realise these rights in the context of dialogue and cultural diversity and to promote the culture of sustainable and dynamic peace based on justice in knowledge societies. [source] The ratification of ILO Conventions and the provision of unemployment benefits: An empirical analysisINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Wonik Kim Abstract This article tests the relationship between the ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions and the provision of unemployment benefits. Statistical tests focus on two related issues: why countries ratify ILO Conventions on unemployment benefits, and whether ratification influences government spending on unemployment benefits. The main findings are that democracy, region, income, and globalization are the main factors influencing why countries ratify ILO Conventions on unemployment benefits. In turn, the ratification of ILO Conventions is systematically associated with higher spending if countries have ratified more than two Conventions. [source] Scientific Realism as a Meta-Theory of International PoliticsINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2002Fred Chernoff The recent increase in interest in scientific realist foundations for international relations theory, spearheaded by Wendt in various works, most fully articulated in his Social Theory of International Politics, and supported by a number of other authors, has brought to the fore a set of related issues in the philosophy of the social sciences. The advocacy of scientific realism in the international relations literature has largely taken the form of attacks on various nonscientific realist foundational theories. Consequently, the success of the arguments for scientific realism depends in large measure on the accuracy of the characterizations of the competing views. This paper argues that Wendt and others have misrepresented the challengers and have thus overstated the superiority of scientific realism. The paper further considers the aims and purposes of providing meta-theoretical foundations for IR theories, and argues that when the alternative accounts are properly described, the purposes are better satisfied by the latter and, in particular, by a version of Duhemian conventionalism. [source] The role and duties of scientific medical societies: The German Society of Dermatology from the member's perspectiveJOURNAL DER DEUTSCHEN DERMATOLOGISCHEN GESELLSCHAFT, Issue 1 2010Peter Hensen Summary Background: The German Society of Dermatology is a scientific medical society that represents the interests of German-speaking dermatology. One recommendation of a strategic planning mission was to increase the involvement of society members. Methods: Based on an empirical approach (questionnaire survey) a systematic member inquiry was performed which focused on the motives for membership, the image of the society,the use of provided services,and expectations and needs. Items regarding profession and health politics, continuous education and specialist training, and scientific representation and research promotion were considered in equal measure. Results: In total, 931 usable questionnaires were available with a response rate of 28.4%. Various single results could be integrated in a subsequent strategic dialogue. The German Society of Dermatology is regarded as active and powerful in scientific issues and promotion of research. However, numerous expectations have been expressed to strengthen future activities in professional and health care related issues. Needs and demands differ if members are scientifically active or rather not. Conclusions: A scientific society in general acts in a permanent area of conflict and has to deal with multiple positions and interests. Thereby members' needs and demands may vary dependent on individual and professional backgrounds. Members who are not scientifically active should be more integrated in the society while at the same time the society's aims should be coordinated with that of the Berufsverband (organization of practicing dermatologists). Better networking is required both within the society and with outside groups. In addition, the primary aims and objectives of the society should be made even clearer to all interested parties. [source] The anatomy of language: contributions from functional neuroimagingJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 3 2000CATHY J. PRICE This article illustrates how functional neuroimaging can be used to test the validity of neurological and cognitive models of language. Three models of language are described: the 19th Century neurological model which describes both the anatomy and cognitive components of auditory and visual word processing, and 2 20th Century cognitive models that are not constrained by anatomy but emphasise 2 different routes to reading that are not present in the neurological model. A series of functional imaging studies are then presented which show that, as predicted by the 19th Century neurologists, auditory and visual word repetition engage the left posterior superior temporal and posterior inferior frontal cortices. More specifically, the roles Wernicke and Broca assigned to these regions lie respectively in the posterior superior temporal sulcus and the anterior insula. In addition, a region in the left posterior inferior temporal cortex is activated for word retrieval, thereby providing a second route to reading, as predicted by the 20th Century cognitive models. This region and its function may have been missed by the 19th Century neurologists because selective damage is rare. The angular gyrus, previously linked to the visual word form system, is shown to be part of a distributed semantic system that can be accessed by objects and faces as well as speech. Other components of the semantic system include several regions in the inferior and middle temporal lobes. From these functional imaging results, a new anatomically constrained model of word processing is proposed which reconciles the anatomical ambitions of the 19th Century neurologists and the cognitive finesse of the 20th Century cognitive models. The review focuses on single word processing and does not attempt to discuss how words are combined to generate sentences or how several languages are learned and interchanged. Progress in unravelling these and other related issues will depend on the integration of behavioural, computational and neurophysiological approaches, including neuroimaging. [source] ,Reliability' Reconsidered: A Critique of the HRO-NAT DebateJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001Alan Jarman The concept of reliability is beginning to take on new meaning as Information Technology becomes pervasive in both the private and public sectors. This topic deserves further attention as new mobile Internet systems proliferate. This research note is concerned with developing a more operational understanding of the concept of ,reliability'. The HRO-NAT Debate is raising many related issues in this regard. However, the article goes further and seeks to provide a multi-level contingent schema for this purpose. [source] Characterization of the respiration of 3T3 cells by laser-induced fluorescence during a cyclic heating processLASER PHYSICS LETTERS, Issue 4 2010J. Beuthan Abstract The use of lasers in the near infrared spectral range for laser-induced tumor therapy (LITT) demands a new understanding of the thermal responses to repetitive heat stress. The analysis of laser-induced fluorescence during vital monitoring offers an excellent opportunity to solve many of the related issues in this field. The laser-induced fluorescence of the cellular coenzyme NADH was investigated for its time and intensity behavior under heat stress conditions. Heat was applied to vital 3T3 cells (from 22 °C to 50 °C) according to a typical therapeutical time regime. A sharp increase in temperature resulted in non-linear time behavior when the concentration of this vital coenzyme changed. There are indications that biological systems have a delayed reaction on a cellular level. These results are therefore important for further dosimetric investigations. (© 2010 by Astro Ltd., Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA) [source] Shipboard Maintenance: What Do Surface Warfare Officers Need to Know,and When Do They Need to Know It?NAVAL ENGINEERS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008KENNETH R. SYDOW As the Navy has moved into the 21st century and the War on Terror has unfolded, the challenges to ship maintenance management have never been greater. These challenges include: a continuing high operating tempo compounded by less predictable schedules and coupled with fewer, shorter scheduled opportunities to conduct maintenance; a fleet of fewer albeit more capable,and therefore more complex,ships; a trend toward smaller, perhaps less stable crews to operate and maintain the ships; and continuing competition for the available budget dollars between operations and maintenance, as well as between current and future readiness concerns. In an era of "operations focused maintenance," what is the role of the Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) in managing their shipboard maintenance? What do they need to know, and when do they need to know it? This paper addresses these questions and related issues and offers, where applicable, some near-term and long-term recommendations for improvement. [source] Ngongas and ecology: on having a worldviewOIKOS, Issue 1 2001Joel S. Brown Ngongas provide a metaphor for some of the opportunities and challenges facing the science of ecology and evolution. Ngongas, the traditional healers of the Shona culture, Zimbabwe, fail in the delivery of quality health by today's standards. Their outdated worldview makes most health related issues seem more complicated and more multi-factorial than when viewed through the worldviews of modern medicine. With the wrong worldview, one can work very hard, be very bright and dedicated, and still be ineffective. With the right worldview, one can work much less hard and still be extremely effective. As ecologists, we should be opinionated and possess clearly articulated worldviews for filtering and interpreting information. As ecologists we are also a bit like ngongas , we often fail to provide answers for society's ecological questions and problems, and we excuse ourselves with a belief that ecological systems are too complex and have too many factors. Unlike ngongas, this invites us to pay a lot of attention to promoting and assessing competing worldviews. We should be open-minded to the anomalies in our worldview and the successes of alternative viewpoints. As an admitted ecological ngonga, I discuss the worldview I use in my own research: the Optimization Research Program, a Darwinian research program that uses game theory to conceptualize and understand ecological systems. I use it illustrate how worldviews can synthesize disparate ideas. (I use kin selection and reciprocal altruism as examples.) I use it to show how new ideas and predictions can be generated. (I use root competition in plants and the possibility that increased crop yield may be forthcoming from knowledge of this game.) [source] Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Shallow-Level Centers in Semiconductors (SLCS-10)PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 2 2003Marek Godlewski The 10th SLCS conference covered a broad range of the topics concerned with the fundamental properties of shallow levels in semiconductors and with impurity related issues of importance to semiconductor technology. [source] Designs of Deception: Concepts of Consciousness, Spirituality and Survival in Capoeira Angola in Salvador, BrazilANTHROPOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Issue 1 2001Margaret WillsonArticle first published online: 8 JAN 200 This paper addresses various questions concerning "consciousness" and related folk concepts through an examination of fundamental principles of capoeira angola. These include, for instance, ideas such as ginga, the sensing of the mind/body through specific movements; or energia, a type of psychic force believed to be engendered through engagement within a group or with an opponent; or mentalidade, the kind of "head" one develops in capoeira angola, referring in part to what we conceptualize as a "state of consciousness," and in this case a highly alert and perceptive state with other elements of psychic ties and influences. This mentalidade includes "street smarts" and a highly developed knowledge about the various ways deception can be used to "get what one needs" in life, in other words, these are tools for survival in a specific kind of environment. Such a discussion must include "race," and class in Brazil. Racial and class discrimination in Brazilian society is seldom expressed explicitly; indeed a rhetoric of "racial democracy" has been popularized in direct contradiction to the reality of a racial oppression that includes class. In this paper, I integrate related issues of "states of consciousness" that have developed in capoeira angola to the conditions of racial and class inequality, power and history that have been its nurturance. In the conclusions, I speculate that notions of consciousness are in the process of change as capoeira angola is being regimented, taken out of context and taught increasingly among middle-class Brazilians and in such places as the United States. [source] What We Leave Behind In Root Canals After Endodontic Treatment: Some Issues and ConcernsAUSTRALIAN ENDODONTIC JOURNAL, Issue 3 2005Dr. Chee Peng Sum The benefits of using sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as endodontic irrigants, and calcium hydroxide as an inter-appointment medicament, are well known to dentists. Many steps undertaken during endodontic treatment and retreatment are rather mechanical in nature, and less attention is committed to understanding the biological issues underlying endodontic treatment and retreatment. It should be noted that dentine is the fundamental substrate in endodontic treatment, and its properties and characteristics are the key determinant of nearly all disease and post-disease processes in the teeth. In this article the effects and counter-effects of NaOCl and EDTA on root canal dentine, and some other related issues are reviewed. This information will enable clinicians to use the beneficial effects of these chemicals, while necessary steps are considered to reduce their harmful effects on dentine substrate. [source] Bauphysikalische, ökologische und ökonomische Bewertung von geförderten Sanierungskonzepten in WienBAUPHYSIK, Issue 3 2009Azra Korjenic Univ.-Ass. Energieeinsparung; Gebäudebestand Abstract In diesem Beitrag wird die Nachhaltigkeit von Gebäudesanierungen untersucht, wobei die Reduzierung des Energieverbrauchs das oberste Ziel ist, was mit bis zu 80 % erreicht werden kann. Während in anderen Großstädten Europas das Konzept der Flächensanierung praktiziert wurde und wird, wird in Wien die "sanfte Sanierung" propagiert und auch gefördert. Die Stadt Wien hat dafür verschiedene Sanierungskonzepte bei der Hand. In dieser Untersuchung werden die verschiedenen geförderten Sanierungskonzepte anhand eines realen Beispiels gezeigt und rechnerisch überprüft. Ein Vergleich der verschiedenen Konzepte beleuchtet die einzelnen Punkte der Sanierung: Energieeffizienz, Sanierungskosten, Belastung für den Eigentümer bzw. Mieter der Wohnungen und Belastung für den Fördergeber (Land Wien). Die Ergebnisse ausgeführter Sanierungskonzepte brachten folgende Erkenntnisse bzw. Problemstellungen: , die Sanierungsmaßnahmen kommen hauptsächlich den Mietern zugute, während der Kostenträger (Eigentümer) nur die Wertsteigerung als Nutzen hat; , mangelnde Bereitschaft der Bewohner zur Sanierung; , erhebliche Mehrkosten für Passivhaustechnik; , zu geringe höchstzulässige Gesamtsanierungskosten. Evaluation of retrofitting concepts and municipal sponsoring in Vienna. Major energy efficiency improvements can be achieved via building stock retrofit. While in some major cities in Europe, mostly large-area building retrofit measures have been targeted; in Vienna a gradual thermal improvement of the building stock has been practiced. Thereby, a number of different instruments and programs have been promoted by the regional government. In the present contribution, a number of such programs are compared and evaluated based on the demonstrative case of a concrete example. Thereby, multiple related issues were addressed: energy efficiency, retrofit expenses, burden for the building owners and tenants, and burden for the funding agency (Municipal of Vienna). The results suggest: , the main beneficiary of retrofit programs are typically the tenants. The landlords benefit indirectly due to the appreciation of property value; , there is a certain lack of willingness on the side of the occupants toward thermal building retrofit measures; , achieving passive house standard in the course of retrofit measures cause significant additional costs; , permissible (fundable) maximum total retrofit expenses has been set too low. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||