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Selected AbstractsLearning to Work in TeamsDESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2007Christopher Vice Chairman The concept of design as interdisciplinary collaboration is an easy sell. Putting it into practice is another matter. A diverse group of people can simultaneously work on the same problem, but that can be quite different from working together. In a university setting, Christopher Vice shares the tactics and strategies he finds stimulate creative options and nurture the cooperative development and implementation of outcomes. [source] Molecular dynamics simulation of crack tip blunting in opposing directions along a symmetrical tilt grain boundary of copper bicrystalFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 11 2007A. LUQUE ABSTRACT Mode I crack growth along some grain boundaries of copper embrittled by solute segregation shows strong anisotropy. For instance, growth along the direction on the symmetrical tilt boundary has been reported to occur by intergranular brittle fracture, whereas growth along the opposite sense occurs in a ductile manner. In this paper, we simulate such crack configurations using molecular dynamics (embedded atom method [EAM]) in 3-dimensional perfect bicrystalline samples of pure copper of the aforementioned orientation at room temperature. In both cases the response is ductile, crack opening taking place by dislocation emission from the crack tip. The critical stress intensity factors (SIFs) for dislocation emission have been calculated by matching the displacement fields of the atoms in the tip neighbourhood with the continuum elastic fields. They are of the same order of magnitude for both growth senses despite the different morphology of their respective blunted crack tips and of the patterns of dislocations constituting their plastic zones. Thus, it seems that, in agreement with published results of continuum crystalline plasticity for the same problem, the plastic anisotropy associated with the different orientation of the slip systems with respect to the crack cannot in this case explain the experimental behaviour observed with solute embrittled bicrystals. [source] Analytical Methods for Transient Flow to a Well in a Confined-Unconfined AquiferGROUND WATER, Issue 4 2008Li-Tang Hu Concurrent existence of confined and unconfined zones of an aquifer can arise owing to ground water withdrawal by pumping. Using Girinskii's potential function, Chen (1974, 1983) developed an approximate analytical solution to analyze transient ground water flow to a pumping well in an aquifer that changes from an initially confined system to a system with both unconfined and confined regimes. This article presents the details of the Chen model and then compares it with the analytical model developed by Moench and Prickett (1972) for the same problem. Hypothetical pumping test examples in which the aquifer undergoes conversion from confined to water table conditions are solved by the two analytical models and also a numerical model based on MODFLOW. Comparison of the results suggests that the solutions of the Chen model give better results than the Moench and Prickett model except when the radial distance is very large or aquifer thickness is large compared with drawdown. [source] Using High Hydraulic Conductivity Nodes to Simulate Seepage LakesGROUND WATER, Issue 2 2002Mary P. Anderson In a typical ground water flow model, lakes are represented by specified head nodes requiring that lake levels be known a priori. To remove this limitation, previous researchers assigned high hydraulic conductivity (K) values to nodes that represent a lake, under the assumption that the simulated head at the nodes in the high-K zone accurately reflects lake level. The solution should also produce a constant water level across the lake. We developed a model of a simple hypothetical ground water/lake system to test whether solutions using high-K lake nodes are sensitive to the value of K selected to represent the lake. Results show that the larger the contrast between the K of the aquifer and the K of the lake nodes, the smaller the error tolerance required for the solution to converge. For our test problem, a contrast of three orders of magnitude produced a head difference across the lake of 0.005 m under a regional gradient of the order of 10,3 m/m, while a contrast of four orders of magnitude produced a head difference of 0.001 m. The high-K method was then used to simulate lake levels in Pretty Lake, Wisconsin. Results for both the hypothetical system and the application to Pretty Lake compared favorably with results using a lake package developed for MODFLOW (Merritt and Konikow 2000). While our results demonstrate that the high-K method accurately simulates lake levels, this method has more cumbersome postprocessing and longer run times than the same problem simulated using the lake package. [source] Extension of the Griffith's fracture criteria to saturated claysINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 4 2003K.M. Dégué Abstract Inglis [1] has solved the problem of distribution of stress in an elastic plate around an elliptical hole. His works clarify the role of cracks in the failure of an elastic material. However, his solution cannot be applied to saturated clay because he considers only total stresses, while, in saturated clay, the criterion of rupture should be expressed in terms of effective and not total stresses. The solution of Atkinson and Craster [2] using Biot's poroelasticity theory, shows that there is no high pore pressure in the vicinity of the crack tips for saturated clay. The major difference between this approach and the Biot's theory of is that, in saturated clay, strain is a function of the variation of the effective stress [3], while, in poroelastic media, strain is only a function of the variation of the total stress [4, Equation 2.2]. Also in their solution there is continuity between the pore fluid and the inner fluid in the crack. Their solution is valid for poroelastic media involving a movement of the pore fluid. In our solution there is no movement of the pore fluid (Undrained condition). In this paper we have solved the same problem as Inglis [1], but for the particular case of saturated clay obeying elastic law. By solving this problem we obtained the expressions for pore pressure, effective stress, total stress and displacements. The results show that not only the total stress but also the pore pressure and the effective stress are also high in the vicinity of the crack tips. A new failure criterion, based on Griffith's strain energy principle [5] and maximum tensile stress [6], valid for saturated clay is developed in this paper. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Approximation to the interface velocity in phase change front trackingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2002P. H. Zhao Abstract Numerical models for front tracking in the sharp interface limit must calculate the interface velocity by means of a differentiation of the temperature field on both sides of the interface, the resulting velocity shows an oscillatory error that introduces noise in the solution. In unstable solidification problems, the noise can actually change the resulting solution. In this work, we look at the effect of the noise in the solution of dendritic solidification in an undercooled melt and analyse ways to control it. We conclude that at this point, we cannot suppress the noise and that methods to reduce it can actually lead to different solutions to the same problem. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] On sliding mode observers for systems with unknown inputsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 8-9 2007T. Floquet Abstract This paper considers the problem of designing an observer for a linear system subject to unknown inputs. This problem has been extensively studied in the literature with respect to both linear and nonlinear (sliding mode) observers. Necessary and sufficient conditions to enable a linear unknown input observer to be designed have been established for many years. One way to express these conditions is that the transfer function matrix between the unknown input and the measured output must be minimum phase and relative degree one. Identical conditions must be met in order to design a ,classical' sliding mode observer for the same problem. This paper shows how the relative degree condition can be weakened if a classical sliding mode observer is combined with sliding mode exact differentiators to essentially generate additional independent output signals from the available measurements. A practical example dedicated to actuator fault detection and identification of a winding machine demonstrates the efficacy of the approach. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Hybrid crossover operators with multiple descendents for real-coded genetic algorithms: Combining neighborhood-based crossover operatorsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 5 2009Ana M. Sánchez Most real-coded genetic algorithm research has focused on developing effective crossover operators, and as a result, many different types of crossover operators have been proposed. Some forms of crossover operators are more suitable to tackle certain problems than others, even at the different stages of the genetic process in the same problem. For this reason, techniques that combine multiple crossovers, called hybrid crossover operators, have been suggested as alternative schemes to the common practice of applying only one crossover model to all the elements in the population. On the other hand, there are operators with multiple offsprings, more than two descendants from two parents, which present a better behavior than the operators with only two descendants, and achieve a good balance between exploration and exploitation. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Growing Disability Rates , the Gender Issue: The Dutch Case in an International PerspectiveINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 1 2005Marcel Einerhand In the Netherlands, with its remarkably high disability rates, a new phenomenon seems to be emerging. Growing disability rates in the past few years have been exclusively caused by the growing inflow of women into the disability schemes. Comparing the Dutch situation internationally shows that roughly the same problem seems to exist in those countries in which there is a more general problem of large inflow into disability. Women are overrepresented in these arrangements. The Dutch literature shows that there are many factors (both work- and non-work-related) that contribute to a larger push of women towards disability. We conclude that the benefit system can be seen as a sort of "filter". If the filter is weak, many persons will enter disability. If the pressure on women to enter is larger (or the forces to stop women from entering disability smaller), then inflow risks for women will be higher. [source] Efficient MILP formulations for the simultaneous optimal peptide tag design and downstream processing synthesisAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 9 2009João M. Natali Abstract Novel and efficient linear formulations are developed for the problem of simultaneously performing an optimal synthesis of chromatographic protein purification processes, and the concomitant selection of peptide purification tags, that result in a maximal process improvement. To this end, two formulations are developed for the solution of this problem: (1) a model that minimizes both the number of chromatographic steps in the final purification process flow sheet and the composition of the tag, by use of weighted objectives, while satisfying minimal purity requirements for the final product; and (2) a model that attempts to find the maximal attainable purity under constraints on the maximum number of separation techniques and tag size. Both models are linearized using a previously developed strategy for obtaining optimal piecewise linear approximations of nonlinear functions. Proposed are models to two case studies based on protein mixtures with different numbers of proteins. Results show that the models are capable of solving to optimality all the implemented cases with computational time requirements of under 1 s, on average. The results obtained are further compared with previous nonlinear and linear models attempting to solve the same problem, and, thus, show that the approach represents significant gains in robustness and efficiency. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009 [source] Childhood Sleep Problems, Response Inhibition, and Alcohol and Drug Outcomes in Adolescence and Young AdulthoodALCOHOLISM, Issue 6 2010Maria M. Wong Background:, To our knowledge, no prospective studies examine the relationships among childhood sleep problems, adolescent executive functioning, and substance outcomes (i.e., substance use and substance-related problems). In this study, we examined whether childhood sleep problems predicted adolescent sleep problems and response inhibition. We also tested whether adolescent sleep problems and poor response inhibition mediated the relationship between childhood sleep problems and substance (alcohol and drug) outcomes in young adulthood. Methods:, Study participants were 292 boys and 94 girls (M = 4.85, SD = 1.47) from a community sample of high-risk families and controls. Results:, When compared to their counterparts, those with trouble sleeping in childhood were twice as likely to have the same problem in adolescence. Childhood overtiredness predicted poor response inhibition in adolescence. Persistent trouble sleeping from childhood to adolescence and response inhibition in adolescence mediated the relationship between childhood sleep problems and drug outcomes in young adulthood, whereas overtiredness in childhood directly predicted alcohol use outcomes and alcohol-related problems in young adulthood. Conclusions:, This is the first study showing a long-term relationship between childhood sleep measures and subsequent alcohol and drug outcomes. The developmental and clinical implications of these findings were discussed. Prevention and intervention programs may want to consider the role of sleep problems and response inhibition on substance use and abuse. [source] On the Boolean algebras of definable sets in weakly o-minimal theoriesMLQ- MATHEMATICAL LOGIC QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2004Stefano Leonesi Abstract We consider the sets definable in the countable models of a weakly o-minimal theory T of totally ordered structures. We investigate under which conditions their Boolean algebras are isomorphic (hence T is p- , -categorical), in other words when each of these definable sets admits, if infinite, an infinite coinfinite definable subset. We show that this is true if and only if T has no infinite definable discrete (convex) subset. We examine the same problem among arbitrary theories of mere linear orders. Finally we prove that, within expansions of Boolean lattices, every weakly o-minimal theory is p- , -categorical. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Ecogeographic variation in human nasal passagesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Todd R. Yokley Abstract Theoretically, individuals whose ancestors evolved in cold and/or dry climates should have greater nasal mucosal surface area relative to air volume of the nasal passages than individuals whose ancestors evolved in warm, humid climates. A high surface-area-to-volume (SA/V) ratio allows relatively more air to come in contact with the mucosa and facilitates more efficient heat and moisture exchange during inspiration and expiration, which would be adaptive in a cold, dry environment. Conversely, a low SA/V ratio is not as efficient at recapturing heat and moisture during expiration and allows for better heat dissipation, which would be adaptive in a warm, humid environment. To test this hypothesis, cross-sectional measurements of the nasal passages that reflect surface area and volume were collected from a sample of CT scans of patients of European and African ancestry. Results indicate that individuals of European descent do have higher SA/V ratios than individuals of African descent, but only when decongested. Otherwise, the two groups show little difference. This pattern of variation may be due to selection for different SA/V configurations during times of physical exertion, which has been shown to elicit decongestion. Relationships between linear measurements of the skeletal nasal aperture and cavity and cross-sectional dimensions were also examined. Contrary to predictions, the nasal index, the ratio of nasal breadth to nasal height, is not strongly correlated with internal dimensions. However, differences between the nasal indices of the two groups are highly significant. These results may be indicative of different adaptive solutions to the same problem. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Design, Meanings, and Radical Innovation: A Metamodel and a Research Agenda,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2008Roberto Verganti Recent studies on design management have helped us to better comprehend how companies can apply design to get closer to users and to better understand their needs; this is an approach usually referred to as user-centered design. Yet analysis of design-intensive manufacturers such as Alessi, Artemide, and other leading Italian firms shows that their innovation process hardly starts from a close observation of user needs and requirements. Rather, they follow a different strategy called design-driven innovation in this paper. This strategy aims at radically change the emotional and symbolic content of products (i.e., their meanings and languages) through a deep understanding of broader changes in society, culture, and technology. Rather than being pulled by user requirements, design-driven innovation is pushed by a firm's vision about possible new product meanings and languages that could diffuse in society. Design-driven innovation, which plays such a crucial role in the innovation strategy of design intensive firms, has still remained largely unexplored. This paper aims at providing a possible direction to fill this empty spot in innovation management literature. In particular, first it proposes a metamodel for investigating design-driven innovation in which a manufacturer's ability to understand, anticipate, and influence emergence of new product meanings is built by relying on external interpreters (e.g., designers, firms in other industries, suppliers, schools, artists, the media) that share its same problem: to understand the evolution of sociocultural models and to propose new visions and meanings. Managing design-driven innovation therefore implies managing the interaction with these interpreters to access, share, and internalize knowledge on product languages and to influence shifts in sociocultural models. Second, the paper proposes a possible direction to scientifically investigate the management of this networked and collective research process. In particular, it shows that the process of creating breakthrough innovations of meanings partially mirrors the process of creating breakthrough technological innovations. Studies of design-driven innovation may therefore benefit significantly from the existing body of theories in the field of technology management. The analysis of the analogies between these two types of radical innovations (i.e., meanings and technologies) allows a research agenda to be set for exploration of design-driven innovation, a relevant as well as underinvestigated phenomenon. [source] IDENTITY OVER TIME: OBJECTIVELY, SUBJECTIVELYTHE PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 230 2008Bas C. VanFraassen In the philosophy of science, identity over time emerges as a central concern both as an ontological category in the interpretation of physical theories, and as an epistemological problem concerning the conditions of possibility of knowledge. In Reichenbach and subsequent writers on the problem of indistinguishable quantum particles we see the return of a contrast between Leibniz and Aquinas on the subject of individuation. The possibility of rejecting the principle of the identity of indiscernibles has certain logical difficulties, leading us inexorably from ontology into epistemology. For the epistemological problem we attend to the differences that emerged between the (neo-)Kantian and logical empiricist traditions, also saliently displayed in Reichenbach's writings. After examining the contrast between Kant's and Leibniz's conceptions of empirical knowledge, specifically with respect to the irreducibility of spatiotemporal determinations, we explore an application of a neo-Kantian view to the same problem of indistinguishable quantum particles. [source] Best domain for an elliptic problem in cartesian coordinates by means of shape-measureASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 5 2009Alireza Fakharzadeh Jahromi Abstract In (ZAA J. Anal. Appl., Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 143,155) we introduced a method to determine the optimal domains for elliptic optimal-shape design problems in polar coordinates. However, the same problem in cartesian coordinates, which are more applicable, is found to be much harder, therefore we had to develop a new approach for these designs. Herein, the unknown domain is divided into a fixed and a variable part and the optimal pair of the domain and its optimal control, is characterized in two stages. Firstly, the optimal control for the each given domain is determined by changing the problem into a measure-theoretical one, replacing this with an infinite dimensional linear programming problem and approximating schemes; then the nearly optimal control function is characterized. Therefore a function that offers the optimal value of the objective function for a given domain, is defined. In the second stage, by applying a standard optimization method, the global minimizer pair will be obtained. Some numerical examples are also given. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society [source] Modellierung von kurzwelliger solarer Strahlung bei der hygrothermischen Bauteilsimulation , numerische Lösung und analytischer AnsatzBAUPHYSIK, Issue 1 2006Doktorandin Claudia Finkenstein Dipl.-Ing. Der vorliegende Beitrag präsentiert ein Modell zur Bestimmung der kurzwelligen solaren Strahlung an Bauteilen, das , basierend auf gemessenen Wetterdaten der direkten und diffusen solaren Strahlung auf die Horizontalfläche , für die Einbindung in numerische Simulationsprogramme geeignet ist. Damit wurde ein geschlossenes Konzept erarbeitet, das es erlaubt, die Strahlungswärmestromdichte infolge kurzwelliger direkter und diffuser Sonnenstrahlung auf beliebig orientierte und geneigte Wand- und Dachflächen unter Beachtung der Eigenverschattung an einem beliebigen Ort zu berechnen. Weiterhin stellt der Beitrag einen analytischen Ansatz für das gleiche Problem vor, mit dessen Hilfe auf einfache Weise z. B. Wirkungsanalysen durchgeführt werden können. Den Abschluß des Beitrags bildet die beispielhafte Berechnung einer nach verschiedenen Himmelsrichtungen orientierten Wandkonstruktion. Modelling of shortwave solar radiation within the hygrothermal simulation of building envelope parts , numerical solution and analytical approach. This article presents a model for the determination of shortwave solar radiation on building envelope parts, which is , based on measured weather data of direct and diffuse solar radiation on a horizontal surface , suitable to be integrated in computercodes for hygrothermal building part simulation. Therewith, firstly a well-rounded concept has been worked out, which allows to calculate the radiation flux on any orientated and sloped wall or roof construction at any location taking into account the self-shading. Furthermore, there is presented an analytical approach for the same problem that is suitable to perform sensitivity analyses with in an easy way. At the end of the article, an example calculation of a wall construction orientated into different directions is presented. [source] Solving singularly perturbed Riccati equation with MathematicaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2003M. D. Mikhailov Abstract An exponentially fitted finite-difference scheme of order one for singularly perturbed Riccati equation has been presented and tested on three problems in this journal (Selvakumar K. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng 1997; 13: 1,12). This note demonstrates the superiority of Mathematica in solving the same problems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] The reform of palaeontology and the rise of biogeography , 25 years after ,ontogeny, phylogeny, paleontology and the biogenetic law' (Nelson, 1978)JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2004David M. Williams Abstract Aim, To document the historical development of cladistics and the roles palaeontology and biogeography played in establishing coherent concepts of phylogenetic relationships focusing on some aspects of the contributions of Gareth Nelson. Conclusions, Nelson's reformulation of the threefold parallelism provides a rationale for investigating phylogeny, replacing the central role palaeontology once played with biogeography, adding a spatial dimension to the concept of phylogeny. This approach to phylogeny replaces the old ,transformationist' view with the cladistic view, the latter dependent on discovering relationships among taxa. Numerical phylogenetic methods are inherently ,transformationist' and have replaced stratigraphy as the key to phylogenetic relationships. Numerical methods in systematics and biogeography are inherently transformational and suffer the same problems as the old palaeontology. [source] Global optimization of mixed-integer nonlinear problemsAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 9 2000C. S. Adjiman Two novel deterministic global optimization algorithms for nonconvex mixed-integer problems (MINLPs) are proposed, using the advances of the ,BB algorithm for nonconvex NLPs of Adjiman et al. The special structure mixed-integer ,BB algorithm (SMIN-,BB) addresses problems with nonconvexities in the continuous variables and linear and mixed-bilinear participation of the binary variables. The general structure mixed-integer ,BB algorithm (GMIN-,BB) is applicable to a very general class of problems for which the continuous relaxation is twice continuously differentiable. Both algorithms are developed using the concepts of branch-and-bound, but they differ in their approach to each of the required steps. The SMIN-,BB algorithm is based on the convex underestimation of the continuous functions, while the GMIN-,BB algorithm is centered around the convex relaxation of the entire problem. Both algorithms rely on optimization or interval-based variable-bound updates to enhance efficiency. A series of medium-size engineering applications demonstrates the performance of the algorithms. Finally, a comparison of the two algorithms on the same problems highlights the value of algorithms that can handle binary or integer variables without reformulation. [source] De Facto Disentitlement in an Information Economy: Enrollment Issues in Medicaid Managed CareMEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2005LESLIE LÓPEZ This article discusses enrollment issues in New Mexico's Medicaid managed care (MMC) system and seeks to illuminate reasons for persistent problems reported by workers and clients. It argues that between 1997 and 2000, the MMC and welfare reforms raised enrollment barriers by complicating and dehumanizing the system, thus "technically disenfranchising" workers and clients. Specifically, the new system increased the need for professional, in-person enrollment assistance precisely when the state decreased its provision of it. Some aspects of the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reforms indirectly aggravated those same problems, and though they also significantly lowered barriers in some areas, overall the new system was plagued with preexisting barriers as well as new, unmet needs that produced "de facto disentitlement" to health services. [source] Observational biases in Lagrangian reconstructions of cosmic velocity fieldsMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2008G. Lavaux ABSTRACT Lagrangian reconstruction of large-scale peculiar velocity fields can be strongly affected by observational biases. We develop a thorough analysis of these systematic effects by relying on specially selected mock catalogues. For the purpose of this paper, we use the Monge,Ampère,Kantorovitch (MAK) reconstruction method, although any other Lagrangian reconstruction method should be sensitive to the same problems. We extensively study the uncertainty in the mass-to-light assignment due to incompleteness (missing luminous mass tracers), and the poorly determined relation between mass and luminosity. The impact of redshift distortion corrections is analysed in the context of MAK and we check the importance of edge and finite-volume effects on the reconstructed velocities. Using three mock catalogues with different average densities, we also study the effect of cosmic variance. In particular, one of them presents the same global features as found in observational catalogues that extend to 80 h,1 Mpc scales. We give recipes, checked using the aforementioned mock catalogues, to handle these particular observational effects, after having introduced them into the mock catalogues so as to quantitatively mimic the most densely sampled currently available galaxy catalogue of the nearby Universe. Once biases have been taken care of, the typical resulting error in reconstructed velocities is typically about a quarter of the overall velocity dispersion, and without significant bias. We finally model our reconstruction errors to propose an improved Bayesian approach to measure ,m in an unbiased way by comparing the reconstructed velocities to the measured ones in distance space, even though they may be plagued by large errors. We show that, in the context of observational data, it is possible to build a nearly unbiased estimator of ,m using MAK reconstruction. [source] Local government decision-making,citizen participation and local accountability: some evidence from Kenya and UgandaPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2003Nick Devas The current fashion for decentralisation is built on the assumption that it will result in decisions that reflect local needs and priorities. Yet representative democracy, through periodic elections, is a crude mechanism for establishing these needs and priorities. Most local government systems offer few other opportunities for citizens to participate, particularly for the poor, and few mechanisms of accountability. This article reviews the literature relating local level decision-making, citizen participation and accountability. It then presents the findings of a study of decision-making about the use of resources in a sample of municipal governments in Kenya and Uganda. Local governments in Kenya have traditionally offered minimal scope for citizen participation or accountability, but this is beginning to change, mainly as a result of performance conditions applied through the recently introduced Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF), together with an increasingly active civil society. In Uganda, which has undergone a radical decentralisation, there is much greater scope for citizen participation at the local level but there are still many of the same problems of local accountability as in Kenya. The article reviews some of the examples of, and reasons for, good (and bad) practice. It concludes that factors like committed local leadership, central monitoring of performance, articulate civil society organisations and the availability of information are critical. But even with these, there is no guarantee that decentralised decision-making will be inclusive of the poor. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Scientific Structuralism: Structuralism(s) About Science: Some Common ProblemsARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME, Issue 1 2007Bas C. Van Fraassen Structuralist views of science can be realist or empiricist but face some of the same problems. The identity of indiscernibles: if not honoured in mathematics, nevertheless required to relate mathematics to the phenomena?Metaphysics: does Ladyman's ,radically naturalized metaphysics' still violate empiricist scruples?'Structure is all there is': can we accept the ,disappearance' of objects (things that bear structure but aren't themselves structure)? What could it mean to do without those sorts of entities in thinking about the world(-picture) of the physical sciences? [source] A snapshot of MDT working and patient mapping in the UK colorectal cancer centres in 2002COLORECTAL DISEASE, Issue 6 2003M. J. Kelly Abstract Objectives To ascertain the position nationally of Colorectal Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) implementation as part of the NHS cancer plan. Also to define nationally patterns of ,bottlenecks' in the patient journey from referral to treatment. Methods A simple questionnaire was sent to the lead clinician at all 183 cancer networks asking about their current MDT organization, and whether they had undertaken a mapping exercise of the patient journey. Results Ninety-one percent (n = 166) of the questionnaires were returned, and of these 90% (n = 150) stated that their MDT meeting was up and running. Sixty-two percent (n = 102) stated they were having problems running their MDT meeting and of these 32% (n = 33) did not have a dedicated MDT clerk. Several of the Calman-Hine identified ,core personnel' are attending infrequently. Sixty-four percent (n = 107) of respondents have carried out a patient mapping process with 65% (n = 70) claiming it was a success, leaving 27% (n = 32) with no immediate plans to undertake the process. Conclusions Although MDT activity is near-universal, the survey has highlighted a wide variation in MDT meeting implementation across England, with the same problems being experienced by most centres. Organizational problems are common, and we feel that a dedicated MDT clerk is essential for smooth running. Further areas that require development have been identified by most respondents as radiological, oncological and endoscopic services. It is anticipated that true collaboration nationally will develop, and contact with the nine pilot sites is encouraged to explore solutions to difficulties. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||