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Basic Problems (basic + problem)
Selected AbstractsState Project Europe: The Transformation of the European Border Regime and the Production of Bare LifeINTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Sonja Buckel Giorgio Agamben refers to a basic problem in the constitution of the modern nation state: the state as a nation implies that "bare life" becomes the foundation of sovereignty. With the loss of their citizenship, refugees lose not only all their rights, but more fundamentally the "right to have rights" (Arendt). This dilemma of modern statehood does not vanish under conditions of European integration; it is rather re-scaled. Applying a state-theoretical approach to the European border regime, we will concentrate on the two main techniques by which the EU produces "bare life": the "camp" and the invisible "police state." It will become apparent that the institutionalization of "the right of every human being to belong to mankind" is still lacking. Yet, in contrast to Agamben, we do not trace this constellation back to the collapse of the concept of human rights, but to hegemonies and power relations. [source] Mathematical models to reconstruct phylogenetic trees under the minimum evolution criterionNETWORKS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009Daniele Catanzaro Abstract A basic problem in molecular biology is to rebuild phylogenetic trees (PT) from a set of DNA or protein sequences. Among different criteria used for this purpose, the minimum evolution criterion is an optimality based criterion aiming to rebuild PT characterized by a minimal length. This problem is known to be ,,,,-hard. We introduce in this article some mixed integer programming models, and we also study possible cuts and lower bounds for the optimal value. So far, the number of sequences that can be involved in optimal phylogenetic reconstruction is still limited to 10. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, 2009 [source] Venus 1882 and Jean-Charles HouzeauASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 6 2009C. Sterken Abstract This paper focuses on one particular type of telescope , the heliometer , designed for solving one specific basic problem in astronomy: the scale factor of the solar system. One very special instrument of this type was the "heliometer with unequal focal lengths" designed by the Belgian astronomer Jean-Charles Houzeau for the 1882 transit of Venus. We also draw attention to the most interesting personality of Houzeau, and to his social engagement that went much beyond his work as a scientist (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Translating Sleeping Beauty transposition into cellular therapies: Victories and challengesBIOESSAYS, Issue 9 2010Zsuzsanna Izsvák Abstract Recent results confirm that long-term expression of therapeutic transgenes can be achieved by using a transposon-based system in primary stem cells and in vivo. Transposable elements are natural DNA transfer vehicles that are capable of efficient genomic insertion. The latest generation, Sleeping Beauty transposon-based hyperactive vector (SB100X), is able to address the basic problem of non-viral approaches , that is, low efficiency of stable gene transfer. The combination of transposon-based non-viral gene transfer with the latest improvements of non-viral delivery techniques could provide a long-term therapeutic effect without compromising biosafety. The new challenges of pre-clinical research will focus on further refinement of the technology in large animal models and improving the safety profile of SB vectors by target-selected transgene integration into genomic "safe harbors." The first clinical application of the SB system will help to validate the safety of this approach. [source] The Future of the Philosophy of HistoriographyHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2001Aviezer Tucker This article argues that the perception of decline among philosophers of history reflects the diffused weak academic status of the discipline, as distinct from the booming research activity and demand for philosophy of history that keeps pace with the growth rate of publications in the philosophies of science and law. This growth is justified and rational because the basic problems of the philosophy of history, concerning the nature of historiographical knowledge and the metaphysical assumptions of historiography, have maintained their relevance. Substantive philosophy of history has an assured popularity but is not likely to win intellectual respectability because of its epistemic weaknesses. I suggest focusing on problems that a study of historiography can help to understand and even solve, as distinct from problems that cannot be decided by an examination of historiography, such as the logical structure of explanation (logical positivism)and the relation between language and reality (post-structuralism). In particular, following Quine's naturalized epistemology, I suggest placing the relation between evidence and historiography at the center of the philosophy of historiography. Inspired by the philosophy of law, I suggest there are three possible relations between input (evidence)and output in historiography: determinism, indeterminism, and underdeterminism. An empirical examination of historiographical agreement, disagreement, and failure to communicate may indicate which relation holds at which parts of historiography. The historiographical community seeks consensus, but some areas are subject to disagreements and absence of communication; these are associated with historiographical schools that interpret conflicting models of history differently to fit their evidence. The reasons for this underdetermination of historiography by evidence needs to be investigated further. [source] Water problems and hydrological research in the Yellow River and the Huai and Hai River basins of ChinaHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 12 2004Changming Liu Abstract This paper deals with hydrological research in regard to the water resources crisis in the vulnerable areas found in the northern part of China. This area includes three main river basins, namely the basins of the Yellow (Huang) River, the Hai River and the Huai River. Several water problems are becoming very severe. Among them, two are the most critical: the Yellow River has been drained dry in the main course of its lower reaches and along its major tributaries, and the groundwater table has rapidly declined in the floodplains of the three rivers' downstream areas. To counter the problems, particularly the critical issues mentioned above, hydrological research, which serves as the basis of water development and management, has been carried out in the last two decades. This paper addresses three basic scientific problems in North China, namely: (a) water consumption and the capacity for saving water; (b) the changes in hydrological processes and water resources caused by natural change and human activities; and (c) the ability to supply water resources and water safety in terms of both quantity and quality within a changing environment. However, opportunities and challenges for ameliorating the problems exist, and new ideas and methodology to solve the problems have been proposed, such as the interface process study on the interactions in the soil,root interface, the plant,atmosphere interface, the soil,atmosphere interface, and the interface of soil water and groundwater. In order to manage water resources in a sustainable manner, the study of water resources' renewal ability as affected by natural change and human activity is addressed from the viewpoint of both water quantity and quality, and their integration. To reduce the vulnerability of water resources in regional water management, a paradigm of sustainable water resources utilization is also proposed, using water,heat balance, water,salt balance, water,sediment balance, and water supply,demand balance. This approach may help reveal the basic problems and point to possible approaches to solving the water problems in North China in the 21st century. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Issues in pension system designINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 1 2002Maria Augusztinovics External conditions for pension system design and demographic and labour market trends are briefly considered and the latter found decisive. Basic concepts, e.g. social assistance and insurance, redistribution and actuarial fairness, are then introduced. Then it is argued that the "public PAYG versus private funded" dichotomy has attracted an unduly large share of attention in recent pension reform debates, as such institutional changes do not really address the basic problems, while quantitative aspects, the relationship between contribution and replacement rates, have been improperly neglected or shielded by the paradigmatic controversy. The next, crucial point is that traditional, employment-based, earnings-related forms of pension insurance are endangered by new trends on the labour market; hence, new solutions will have to be sought to ensure pension coverage for the entire population. A brief plea for more, relevant and comparative information on pension issues follows. The paper concludes with a concise summary and by contemplating what could and should be expected from the Second World Assembly on Ageing. [source] Recent modelling of sedimentation of suspended particles: a survey,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 2 2001P. Boogerd modélisation de la sédimentation; dépostition granulaire; transport sédimentaire Abstract Recent literature on modelling of sedimentation was studied. Attention was paid to hydrodynamics, numerical simulation, settling velocity models, sediment and velocity distribution functions, and sediment transport equations. Many popular theories, e.g. those regarding stratification and preferential sweeping, are under discussion. The traditional view that large-scale, energy-containing fluid motions dominate the transport of particles is found to be under attack, as is the modification of the von Karman coefficient to account for the presence of sediment. It is unclear which model for hindered settling should be used under what circumstances, and the effect of particle distribution cannot yet be calculated. Even the most basic problems, such as settling of multiple and/or non-spherical particles in a quiescent liquid, still require research. In the field of sediment distribution functions new solutions are still not entirely satisfactory. Furthermore, the predictive value of transport rate models is still rather low, and several popular sediment transport functions consistently allow more degradation than aggradation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Ce document est une étude de la littérature récente de la modélisation de la sédimentation, en prêtant attention à la hydrodynamique, les simulations numériques, les modèles de la vitesse de déposer, les fonctions de la répartition du sédiment et de la vitesse, et les équations du transport sédimentaire. Beaucoup de théories modernes, celles concernant la stratification et l'entraînage préférentiel par exemple, sont en cours de discussion. L'idée traditionnelle que les mouvements fluides au champ extensif et contenant de l'energie dominent le transport granulaire est attaquée, ainsi que la modification du coefficient von Karman pour tenir compte de la présence du sédiment. Quel modèle à user pour la déposition gênée, et en quelle situation, n'est pas évident, et l'effet de la répartition granulométrique est incalculable. Même les problèmes les plus fondamentaux, comme la déposition d'e multiples granules ou des granules non-sphériques dans un liquide quiescent, ont besoin de recherche. Dans le domaine des fonctions de la répartition du sédiment, les nouvelles solutions ne sont pas encore entièrement satisfaisantes. En outre la valeur prédictionnaire des modèles de la vitesse de transport est encore assez basse, et plusieurs fonctions de transport populaires permettent constamment plus de dégradation que d'accroissement. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Esthetic Treatment Planning: The Grid Analysis SystemJOURNAL OF ESTHETIC AND RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2002CRAIG KIRKHAM NAYLOR DDS ABSTRACT It is sometimes difficult to identify esthetic problems let alone pre-visualize an esthetic end-result. The Esthetic Grid Analysis is a system for analyzing the basic problems that detract from the concept of an attractive smile. A photograph is taken of the anterior teeth with the lips retracted. The upper and lower frame of the photograph is aligned parallel with the interpupillary line, assuming that the interpupillary line is parallel with the horizon. Where this is not the case, the vertical margins of the photograph are aligned parallel with the facial midline. Through orienting the photograph to the facial guidelines and incorporating the idealized positions of the incisal plane, highest Upline, midline axis, and proportionate contact areas, a grid is formed. The grid built from these components provides a method of demonstrating deviations from an esthetic arrangement of anterior teeth. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Integrating facial guidelines with the dental composition using a grid highlights deviations from the ideal. It thereby assists in the treatment planning process by communicating esthetic problems to the patient, laboratory personnel, and other specialists. [source] How far are the left-behind left behind?POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 3 2007A preliminary study in rural China Abstract While the linkage between migration and development has attracted much academic and policy attention, a key aspect of the linkage, namely those left behind in the community of origin, remains under-researched. As one of the first academic attempts to provide a systematic overview of this group in China, this paper describes the basic problems faced by it, discusses the institutional causes of the problems, and explores long-term and short-term solutions. The paper first establishes the fact that, while it seems that individuals decide who migrates and who stays back, there are fundamental institutional constraints on such decisions. The paper then shows that the three main left-behind groups, namely wives, the elderly and children, encounter various problems, but in general their situation is not much worse than that of those living with all family members. Their problems cannot just be attributed to being left-behind individuals; instead, the fundamental cause is that many rural communities as a whole have been left behind economically and socially. Although migration exacerbates the hardship, preventing migration is certainly not a solution. The paper instead calls for measures to redress the urban,rural divide and to improve the provision of public goods in rural communities. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Eight Trigrams of the Chinese I Ching and the Eight Primary EmotionsASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2001Warren D. TenHouten Durkheim and Mauss, in Primitive Classification, concluded that the emotions play a causal role in the history of dual symbolic classification systems, but could not test this intuitive speculation because they saw a classification of the emotions as impossible. In this paper a portion of Plutchik's psychoevolutionary model of the primary emotions are assumed to be valid and are then investigated through analysis of one of their three case studies of primitive classification, that of classification in ancient China, where their emphasis was on the eight "trigrams" or "powers" that they saw arranged in a "divinatory compass." The trigrams are three-line components of the "hexagrams," the six-line figures that are interpreted as master signs in I Ching divination rituals. Using Plutchik's psychoevolutionary classification of the emotions as a basis of comparison, especially his model of the primary emotions as adaptive reactions to the positive and negative experiences of four existential problems , identity, temporality/reproduction, hierarchy, and territoriality , it is found that both trigrams and primary emotions exist as four pairs of opposites. The eight trigrams and eight primary emotions similarly can be seen as adaptive reactions to the four basic problems of life. Through structural analysis, correspondences between the trigrams and the primary emotions are developed, the result being that the primary emotions are structurally isomorphic and very close in first meanings to the primary attributes of the trigrams. Implications of this isomorphism of structure for the development of a social psychology of the emotions are discussed. [source] | |||||||||||||