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Transition Period (transition + period)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	19%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	19%
Medical Sciences	16%
Earth and Environmental Science	16%
Humanities and Social Sciences	14%
Engineering	9%
2 Other Domains	7%

Selected Abstracts

Trophy-taking and dismemberment as warfare strategies in prehistoric central California

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Valerie A. Andrushko
Abstract We document evidence for trophy-taking and dismemberment with a new bioarchaeological database featuring 13,453 individuals from prehistoric central California sites. Our study reveals 76 individuals with perimortem removal of body parts consistent with trophy-taking or dismemberment; nine of these individuals display multiple types of trophy-taking and dismemberment for a total of 87 cases. Cases span almost 5,000 years, from the Early Period (3000,500 BC) to the Late Period (AD 900,1700). Collectively, these individuals share traits that distinguish them from the rest of the population: a high frequency of young adult males, an increased frequency of associated trauma, and a tendency towards multiple burials and haphazard burial positions. Eight examples of human bone artifacts were also found that appear related to trophy-taking. These characteristics suggest that trophy-taking and dismemberment were an important part of the warfare practices of central Californian tribes. Temporally, the two practices soared in the Early/Middle Transition Period (500,200 BC), which may have reflected a more complex sociopolitical system that encouraged the use of trophies for status acquisition, as well as the migration of outside groups that resulted in intensified conflict. Overall, trophy-taking and dismemberment appear to have been the product of the social geography of prehistoric central California, where culturally differentiated tribes lived in close proximity to their enemies. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Central and Eastern Europe: Implications for the Agrifood Sector and Rural Development

DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2004
Liesbeth Dries
During the 1990s transition period in Central and Eastern Europe, the retail sector was privatised and some domestic-capital supermarket chains gradually emerged. Massive inflows of foreign direct investment followed and competitive domestic investments drove a rapid take-off of large-format modern retail sector development from a tiny ,luxury' niche of around 5% of food retail in the mid-1990s to 40,50% by 2003 in ,firstwave' and 20,40% in ,second-wave' countries. In ,third-wave' countries like Russia, it is still only 10% but growing very fast. In most countries there is rapid multi-nationalisation and consolidation of the supermarket sector, with profound changes in procurement systems affecting the conditions facing farmers, and creating important opportunities and challenges. [source]

Oscillating trophic control induces community reorganization in a marine ecosystem

ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 12 2007
Michael A. Litzow
Abstract Understanding how climate regulates trophic control may help to elucidate the causes of transitions between alternate ecosystem states following climate regime shifts. We used a 34-year time series of the abundance of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) and five prey species to show that the nature of trophic control in a North Pacific ecosystem depends on climate state. Rapid warming in the 1970s caused an oscillation between bottom,up and top,down control. This shift to top,down control apparently contributed to the transition from an initial, prey-rich ecosystem state to the final, prey-poor state. However, top,down control could not be detected in the final state without reference to the initial state and transition period. Complete understanding of trophic control in ecosystems capable of transitions between alternate states may therefore require observations spanning more than one state. [source]

Agricultural and Rural Development in China: Achievements and Challenges Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft und des ländlichen Raums in China: Erfolge und Herausforderungen Le développement agricole et rural en Chine : résultats et défis

EUROCHOICES, Issue 2 2009
Chen Xiaohua
Summary Agricultural and Rural Development in China: Achievements and Challenges China has made great advances in its agricultural and rural development since the reforms and opening-up that began in 1978. It has not only fed its population of 1.3 billion, but has also contributed to international agricultural development and food security. Agricultural production registered great development, providing sufficient food and clothes for 21 per cent of the world's population with 9 per cent of the arable land. In the process farmers' living standards improved remarkably and rural public utilities and services were greatly enhanced. China is now in a key transition period of accelerating the transformation and modernisation of traditional agriculture and rural society. It is facing significant challenges. Agriculture is still one of the weakest industries in China and it is proving difficult to sustain increases in grain output and farmers' incomes. The problems of uneven development in rural areas have become increasingly prominent and the gap between urban and rural development is tending to widen. The Chinese government will respond strategically to these challenges and will firmly pursue the construction of a new efficient and sustainable socialist countryside, along the path of modernisation with Chinese characteristics. It will also make greater contributions to world agriculture and rural development. Les progrès de la Chine en termes de développement agricole et rural depuis le début des réformes et l'ouverture en 1978 ont été considérables. Non seulement le pays a nourrit une population de 1.3 millions d'habitants mais il a contribué au développement et à la sécurité alimentaire au niveau international. La production agricole a fortement augmenté et a fournit suffisamment de nourriture et de vêtements à 21 pour cent de la population du monde avec 9 pour cent des terres cultivables. Ce processus s'est accompagné d'une hausse considérable du niveau de vie des agriculteurs et d'une grande amélioration des services publics dans les zones rurales. La Chine est maintenant à un moment clé de sa période de transition, caractérisé par une accélération de la transformation et de la modernisation de l'agriculture et de la société rurale traditionnelles. Des défis importants se présentent à elle. L'agriculture reste une des industries chinoises les plus fragiles et il se révèle difficile de continuer à augmenter la production céréalière et les revenus des agriculteurs. Les problèmes d'inégalité de développement dans les zones rurales deviennent de plus en plus visibles et l'écart de développement entre les zones urbaines et les zones rurale tend à s'accroître. Les pouvoirs publics chinois vont apporter une réponse stratégique à ces défis et vont poursuivre fermement la construction d'une nouvelle campagne socialiste efficace et durable, en suivant une voie de modernisation typiquement chinoise. Ils vont aussi accroître les contributions de la Chine au développement agricole et rural mondial. Seit Beginn der Reformen und der Öffnungspolitik 1978 hat sich Chinas Landwirtschaft und ländlicher Raum enorm weiterentwickelt. China hat seitdem nicht nur seine 1.3 Milliarden Einwohner ernährt, sondern auch zur internationalen Agrarentwicklung und Ernährungssicherung beigetragen. Die Agrarproduktion wurde erheblich ausgeweitet und deckt nun 21 Prozent des weltweiten Bedarfs an Lebensmitteln und Kleidung bei gerade einmal 9 Prozent der Weltackerfläche. Dabei haben sich die Lebensbedingungen für die Landwirte sowie das Angebot an öffentlichen Einrichtungen und Dienstleistungen im ländlichen Raum deutlich verbessert. China durchläuft gerade eine wichtige Übergangsphase, in der sich der Wandel und die Modernisierung der traditionellen Landwirtschaft und der Landbevölkerung noch schneller vollziehen, und steht großen Herausforderungen gegenüber. Die Landwirtschaft ist nach wie vor einer der schwächsten Sektoren in China, und es erweist sich als schwierig, die Steigerungsraten bei der Getreideerzeugung und den Einkommen in der Landwirtschaft aufrecht zu erhalten. Die Probleme der ungleichmäßigen Entwicklung in ländlichen Gebieten werden immer offensichtlicher, und die Kluft zwischen städtischer und ländlicher Entwicklung droht sich auszuweiten. Die chinesische Regierung wird diesen Herausforderungen strategisch begegnen und , ganz im Sinne einer Modernisierung mit chinesischen Merkmalen , daran festhalten, einen neuen sozialistischen ländlichen Raum effizient und nachhaltig zu gestalten. Sie wird ebenfalls einen noch größeren Beitrag zur Weltlandwirtschaft und zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums leisten. [source]

Interpreting the Viking Age to Medieval period transition in Norse Orkney through cultural soil and sediment analyses

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005
Ian A. Simpson
The transition from the Viking Age (ca. A.D. 800,1050) to the Medieval period (ca. A.D. 1050,1500) saw the development of widening trade activities that incorporated peripheral North Atlantic polities into mainstream Europe and contributed to the intensification of marineresource exploitation and agricultural production in these localities. As yet, there is only limited understanding of these intensification processes and their interrelationships, particularly at a local, site-based level. Through the micromorphological analysis of cultural soils and sediments at Quoygrew, Westray, Orkney, we explore the characteristics of farming and fishing activity during the Viking Age,Medieval transition period and establish their chronological relationships. The study demonstrates: (1) that intensification took place from ca. A.D. 966,1162 on an already existing Viking Age settlement, (2) that intensification of fishing activity occurred prior to the intensification of arable agriculture, and (3) that the Quoygrew site continued throughout this period as an economically diverse permanent settlement. When viewed in a wider North Atlantic context, these findings indicate that intensification of different economic activities proceeded at different rates and that intensification of specialized economic activities during the transition from the Viking Age to the Medieval period was dependent on existing knowledge of local environments. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

A SANCTUARY IN POST-CONFLICT SPACE: THE BAPTIST CHURCH AS A ,MIDDLE OPTION' IN BANOVINA, CROATIA

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2009
Reinhard Henkel
ABSTRACT. One of the observable aspects of social change during the transition period in most post-socialist countries is the revival of religion. The resurgence of churches has accompanied national revival and in some countries it is also connected to a growing post-socialist nationalism. This article focuses on the development of different ,,transnational', religious options in an area of ethnic conflict by presenting a case study of the post-war growth of the Baptist Church in the Banovina region in Croatia, close to the Bosnian border. Research results are based on halfstructured interviews with church representatives and members. The research shows that there has been a considerable post-war expansion of the Baptist Church in the Banovina region, and that it is mainly ethnic Serbs and people from mixed marriages who have joined the Church. Many of them have a background as communists. For them, neither the Catholic Church, which is regarded as a Croatian church, nor the Serbian Orthodox Church are viable religious options. Instead, there are three factors that make the ,Baptist option' attractive. First, it is grounded in the historical tradition of the Baptist Church in this region and on memories and myths activated in the war and post-war periods. Second, the Baptist Church has made a middle transnational option available in an ethnically mixed area. As such it attracts those who are searching for a niche of neutrality in an ethnically strongly divided region characterized by conflict. Third, the considerable humanitarian work and help of organizations related to the Baptist Church during and after the war not only added in the eyes of many people in need to its image elements of existential shelter, but also brought the Church out of the shadows and made it more ,visible', thereby improving its former reputation as an obscure sect. [source]

Saturation and time dependence of geodynamo models

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2010
M. Schrinner
SUMMARY In this study we address the question under which conditions a saturated velocity field stemming from geodynamo simulations leads to an exponential growth of the magnetic field in a corresponding kinematic calculation. We perform global self-consistent geodynamo simulations and calculate the evolution of a kinematically advanced tracer field. The self-consistent velocity field enters the induction equation in each time step, but the tracer field does not contribute to the Lorentz force. This experiment has been performed by Cattaneo and Tobias and is closely related to the test field method by Schrinner et al. We find two dynamo regimes in which the tracer field either grows exponentially or approaches a state aligned with the actual self-consistent magnetic field after an initial transition period. Both regimes can be distinguished by the Rossby number and coincide with the dipolar and multipolar dynamo regimes identified by Christensen and Aubert. Dipolar dynamos with low Rossby number are kinematically stable whereas the tracer field grows exponentially in the multipolar dynamo regime. This difference in the saturation process for dynamos in both regimes comes along with differences in their time variability. Within our sample of 20 models, solely kinematically unstable dynamos show dipole reversals and large excursions. The complicated time behaviour of these dynamos presumably relates to the alternating growth of several competing dynamo modes. On the other hand, dynamos in the low Rossby number regime exhibit a rather simple time dependence and their saturation merely results in a fluctuation of the fundamental dynamo mode about its critical state. [source]

Reorganization of a large marine ecosystem due to atmospheric and anthropogenic pressure: a discontinuous regime shift in the Central Baltic Sea

GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
CHRISTIAN MÖLLMANN
Abstract Marine ecosystems such as the Baltic Sea are currently under strong atmospheric and anthropogenic pressure. Besides natural and human-induced changes in climate, major anthropogenic drivers such as overfishing and anthropogenic eutrophication are significantly affecting ecosystem structure and function. Recently, studies demonstrated the existence of alternative stable states in various terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These so-called ecosystem regime shifts have been explained mainly as a result of multiple causes, e.g. climatic regime shifts, overexploitation or a combination of both. The occurrence of ecosystem regime shifts has important management implications, as they can cause significant losses of ecological and economic resources. Because of hysteresis in ecosystem responses, restoring regimes considered as favourable may require drastic and expensive management actions. Also the Baltic Sea, the largest brackish water body in the world ocean, and its ecosystems are strongly affected by atmospheric and anthropogenic drivers. Here, we present results of an analysis of the state and development of the Central Baltic Sea ecosystem integrating hydroclimatic, nutrient, phyto- and zooplankton as well as fisheries data. Our analyses of 52 biotic and abiotic variables using multivariate statistics demonstrated a major reorganization of the ecosystem and identified two stable states between 1974 and 2005, separated by a transition period in 1988,1993. We show the change in Baltic ecosystem structure to have the characteristics of a discontinuous regime shift, initiated by climate-induced changes in the abiotic environment and stabilized by fisheries-induced feedback loops in the food web. Our results indicate the importance of maintaining the resilience of an ecosystem to atmospherically induced environmental change by reducing the anthropogenic impact. [source]

Overcoming the Effects of Variation in Infant Speech Segmentation: Influences of Word Familiarity

INFANCY, Issue 1 2008
Leher Singh
Previous studies have shown that 7.5-month-olds can track and encode words in fluent speech, but they fail to equate instances of a word that contrast in talker gender, vocal affect, and fundamental frequency. By 10.5 months, they succeed at generalizing across such variability, marking a clear transition period during which infants' word recognition skills become qualitatively more mature. Here we explore the role of word familiarity in this critical transition and, in particular, whether words that occur frequently in a child's listening environment (i.e., "Mommy" and "Daddy") are more easily recognized when they differ in surface characteristics than those that infants have not previously encountered (termed nonwords). Results demonstrate that words are segmented from continuous speech in a more linguistically mature fashion than nonwords at 7.5 months, but at 10.5 months, both words and nonwords are segmented in a relatively mature fashion. These findings suggest that early word recognition is facilitated in cases where infants have had significant exposure to items, but at later stages, infants are able to segment items regardless of their presumed familiarity. [source]

Prospering in a transition economy through information technology-supported organizational learning

INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007
Marius Janson
Abstract., This paper presents the findings of a longitudinal study of the Slovenian company Sava during its 1995,2004 transition period when it adapted to and prospered in a free market economy. The company is particularly interesting because of its successful transition from a socialist company operating in a protected market to a privatized company operating in a capitalist global market, as well as the pivotal role of information technology (IT)-supported organizational learning that brought about radical change and successful transition. Our investigation of Sava's experiences demonstrates how the company's increasing attention to organizational learning, integration of working and learning, and its constant innovation of products and processes created new needs for IT support that motivated the adoption of new IT systems (such as Lotus Notes, document management systems, SAP), which in turn increased Sava's capacity to learn. Furthermore, our study reveals how the role of IT systems in organizational learning depends on the nature of learning (single-loop, double-loop or triple-loop learning) and the organizational level at which learning takes place (individual, group/department or organization). By providing insight into the emergence of distinct types of IT-supported learning and their vital role in Sava's successful transition, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between IT and organizational learning that is relevant and inspiring to other companies, especially those operating in transition economies. [source]

Increased Diversity and Deepened Uncertainty: Policy Challenges in a Zero-Inflation Economy,

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 3 2007
Kiyohiko G. Nishimura
The world economy today shows ,great diversity'. There are multiple engines of growth in various regions around the globe. Risks are diversified, as many novel financial products are being introduced and sold to a continuing flow of newcomers to the financial world. This increased diversity seems to deepen uncertainty surrounding monetary policy in two respects. First, coupled with increased competition, it may make prices less responsive to short-run demand changes than before, thus making monetary transmission mechanism less certain. In fact, Japanese IS and Phillips curves seem increasingly uncertain in the past 15 years. Second, we are in transition between one financial structure of little diversification and another of great diversification. In a transition period, information is scarce and rapidly becomes obsolete, posing real challenges to financial stability. I argue that the flexible gradualism, which the Bank has now adopted, is a prudent way to cope with such deepened uncertainty. [source]

Globalization, global health, and access to healthcare,

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2003
Téa Collins
Abstract It is now commonly realized that the globalization of the world economy is shaping the patterns of global health, and that associated morbidity and mortality is affecting countries' ability to achieve economic growth. The globalization of public health has important implications for access to essential healthcare. The rise of inequalities among and within countries negatively affects access to healthcare. Poor people use healthcare services less frequently when sick than do the rich. The negative impact of globalization on access to healthcare is particularly well demonstrated in countries of transitional economies. No longer protected by a centralized health sector that provided free universal access to services for everyone, large segments of the populations in the transition period found themselves denied even the most basic medical services. Only countries where regulatory institutions are strong, domestic markets are competitive and social safety nets are in place, have a good chance to enjoy the health benefits of globalization. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Osteobiography of a high-status burial from the lower Río Verde Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
A. T. Mayes
Abstract This paper presents the osteobiography of an individual from an early complex society who was clearly of "special" social status but was not classified a ruling elite. Our case derives from a unique burial found at the small site of Yugüe, located in the lower Río Verde valley on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. Burial 14-Individual 16 (B14-I16) dates to the late Terminal Formative Period (CE 100,250), an era of regional political centralization and concomitant social inequality. B14-I16 was interred with several valuable grave offerings. A plaster-backed pyrite mirror was found below his mandible, and his left hand held an elaborately incised flute made from a deer femur. The flute is the only object of its kind known for all of Terminal Formative Mesoamerica. Drawing on the physicality of inequality, we employ osteobiography to assess the social hierarchy. Although B14-I16 was clearly an individual of unusual status in the context of Yugüe, he was not immune from the biological assaults that affected people of less distinguished social position at this time. Like his contemporaries of all social statuses, he suffered ill health in the years during which he was weaned. However, a longer weaning period and access to additional resources may have positioned him to endure later illness better than others in this population. Passing the critical transition period at age 6 ½, a time when many children died in this burial site, his adolescent health was better than that of others in this population. Although B14-I16 did have adult responsibilities, he didn't engage in the kinds of physical labour that marked the skeletons of others. The placement of Burial B14-I16 in the middle tiers of the lower Río Verde valley's ancient social hierarchy provides insight into issues of inequality and status on an individual scale. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

International tourism as bricolage: an analysis of central Europe on the brink of European Union membership

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005
Vladimír Balá
Abstract This paper examines the trajectory of international tourism and its economic role in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia during the post-1989 transition, leading to their European Union (EU) accession in 2004. Although there are relatively simple, and broadly comparable, trends in all four countries in visitor and tourism flows, this is based on chaotic conceptualisation of international mobility. This apparent bricolage is explored further by considering the role of international tourism in the formal and informal economies. In general, there has been as much change as continuity in the transition period, and this provides the dominant frame of reference for understanding the likely impacts of EU membership. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Food Import Demand in the Czech Republic

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2000
Karel Janda
This paper provides an overview of Czech food import demand in the transition period of the 1990s. It provides econometric estimates of own- and cross-price elasticities as well as group expenditure elasticities of Czech import demand for sixteen lower level and four upper level food groups. Based on the Hausman test for endogeneity, which supported the hypothesis that Czech import prices were exogenously determined outside of the Czech economy, we estimated five demand models as direct-demand systems of the AIDS type. The econometric estimation of elasticities used bimonthly data from March 1993 to August 1997. [source]

The Effect of Transitioning to Medicare Part D Drug Coverage in Seniors Dually Eligible for Medicare and Medicaid

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 12 2008
William H. Shrank MD
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate medication use, out-of-pocket spending, and medication switching during the transition period for patients dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare (dual eligibles). DESIGN: Time-trend analysis, using segmented linear regression. SETTING: Patient-level pharmacy dispensing data from January 2005 to December 2006 from a large pharmacy chain with stores in 34 states. PARTICIPANTS: Dual eligibles aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Changes in utilization, patient copayments, and medication switching were analyzed using interrupted time trend analyses. Utilization and spending were evaluated for five study drugs: clopidogrel, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), warfarin, and statins (essential drugs covered by Part D plans) and benzodiazepines (not covered through Part D but potentially covered through Medicaid). RESULTS: Drug use for 13,032 dual eligibles was evaluated. There was no significant effect of the transition to Medicare Part D on use of all study drugs, including the uncovered benzodiazepines. Cumulative reductions were seen in copayments for all covered drugs after implementation of Part D, ranging from 25% annually for PPIs to 53% for warfarin, but there was a larger increase in copayments, 91% annually, for benzodiazepines after the transition. The rate of switching medications was 3.0 times as great for the PPIs after implementation of Part D than before implementation, but there was no significant change in the other study drug classes. CONCLUSION: These findings in a single, large pharmacy chain indicate that the transition plan for dual eligibles led to less medication discontinuation and switching than many had expected. The substantially greater cost sharing for benzodiazepines highlights the importance of implementing a thoughtful transition plan when executing such a national policy. [source]

COMPETITION AND REGULATION IN THE U.K. ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY (WITH A BRIEF LOOK AT CALIFORNIA)

JOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 4 2001
Stephen C. Littlechild
In this article, the U.K.'s Director General of Electricity Supply from 1989 to 1998 assesses the effects of deregulation and competition on the U.K. electricity industry after about a decade. Expansion of existing competitors, new entry, and further restructuring have reduced the aggregate share of the largest two generation companies from nearly 80% to 26%. Efficiency has improved and wholesale prices have fallen after an initial increase. Voluntary bilateral contracts markets are about to replace the mandatory "Pool," with centralised control limited to physically balancing the system and settling contract imbalances. Retail supply competition has been active for large industrial customers since the beginning, and 80% of them now buy from another supplier. The market for residential customers opened in early 1999, and already nearly a quarter of them have chosen another supplier. Incentive price controls on transmission and distribution have stimulated increased efficiency and significantly reduced use-of-system charges. Overall, prices for all classes of customers have fallen by 25,35% in real terms since privatisation, and quality of service has improved. California has adopted a policy that is similar in many respects, but with very different results. The problems there have stemmed partly from less favourable demand and supply conditions, but also from significant policy differences, including barriers to building new capacity, obstacles to the use of long-term supply (or hedging) contracts, retail price controls at untenable levels, and the requirement that (after a transition period) utilities pass through wholesale spot prices directly to their customers. Changes in such policies will eventually enable both producers and consumers in California to benefit from competition. [source]

Parental negotiations of the moral terrain of risk in relation to young people with intellectual disabilities

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Kathryn Almack
Abstract This paper draws upon parental accounts from a study of the process of transition for a cohort of 28 young people with relatively severe intellectual disabilities who left special schools in 2004 and 2005 in two adjacent English localities. This paper examines how parents negotiate these boundaries and position themselves in relation to risk. A primary concern identified by parents during this transition period focuses on the risk of harm facing these vulnerable young people (whether through accidents or through sexual, emotional, physical or financial abuse) as they move into the adult world. These concerns are juxtaposed with discourses that increasingly promote the possibilities for people with intellectual disabilities to express and follow their own wishes and aspirations. For example, the policy agenda in England and Wales actively endorses the start of adult life as a time of opportunity for young people and promotes the values of independence and choice. In accounting for the management of risk in the young people's lives, we conclude that parents navigate complex boundaries between being seen to be over-protective and ,letting go'; between trusting others to act in the young adults' best interests and allowing these young people the autonomy to negotiate risk. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Description and ontogeny of young Stolephorus baganensis and Thryssa kammalensis, two Engraulididae from Peninsular Malaysia

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2000
V. Sarpéadonti
The morphology of the digestive system was useful to distinguish the larvae of Stolephorus baganensis and Thryssa kammalensis before the full development of their dorsal and anal fins. The relative positions of these fins, the length of the anal fin, and body depth, were good criteria for identifying individuals >10·0 mm LS. For both species, the relative growth of the ten morphometric characters studied was best explained by linear piecewise regressions indicating inflection in allometry at specific standard lengths. Most of these sudden changes in growth rate occurred between 6·9 and 10·0 mm LS for S. baganensis and between 5·8 and 8·9 mm LS for T. kammalensis. Double-centred principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed important changes in the external morphology of both species during this transition period. Prior to this period, the main parameters characterizing the global morphological changes of both species were the length and position of dorsal and anal fins whereas they were body depth and eye diameter (only in S. baganensis) for larger specimens. Complete development of scales did not appear as a suitable criterion to define the end of the larval period, which, instead, was set at the size at which larvae presented an adult-like pigmentation (respectively 35·0 mm LS and 55·0 mm LS in S. baganensis and T. kammalensis). [source]

Intertemporal analysis of employment decisions on agricultural holdings in Slovenia

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2005
Luka Juvan
Employment decisions; Mobility of labor supply; Off-farm employment; Probit model Abstract The article attempts to quantify determinants influencing the dynamics of employment decisions on agricultural holdings in Slovenia and to test specific aspects of labor reallocation during the transition period by the application of an agricultural household model. Through the use of a 1991,2000 longitudinal data set for 22,055 farm households, quantitative analysis of intertemporal employment decisions by farm holders is carried out using probit techniques. The determinants tested relate to the personal characteristics of farm holders (gender, age, education level, and potential off-farm income), household characteristics (size, structure), characteristics of the agricultural holding (economic size, labor intensity), and local labor market conditions. The model results generally confirm existing empirical evidence on asymmetrical and irreversible participation of holders on the labor market. Despite intensive restructuring of agriculture and profound changes in the nonfarm labor market in the analyzed period, labor supply of farm holders remains rigid. The mobility of labor supply is lower than expected, which can be attributed to the importance of structural problems constraining intersectoral mobility. Low labor mobility reduces the efficiency of labor allocation on agricultural holdings in Slovenia. Elements of this problem emerge on both supply (e.g., low level of educational and professional attainment of reference persons) and demand sides of the labor market (e.g., unfavorable local labor market conditions). A marked tendency toward maintaining the same employment status is more distinct in the case of holders employed on-farm only. [source]

Patterns of Ethanol Intake in Preadolescent, Adolescent, and Adult Wistar Rats Under Acquisition, Maintenance, and Relapse-Like Conditions

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2009
David García-Burgos
Background:, Animal behavioral models of voluntary ethanol consumption represent a valuable tool to investigate the relationship between age and propensity to consume alcohol using an experimental methodology. Although adolescence has been considered as a critical age, few are the studies that consider the preadolescence age. This study examines the ethanol consumption/preference and the propensity to show an alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) after a short voluntary ethanol exposure from a developmental perspective. Methods:, Three groups of heterogeneous Wistar rats of both sexes with ad libitum food and water were exposed for 10 days to 3 ethanol solutions at 3 different ontogenetic periods: preadolescence (PN19), adolescence (PN28), and adulthood (PN90). Ethanol intake (including circadian rhythm), ethanol preference, water and food consumption, and ADE were measured. Results:, During the exposure, the 3 groups differed in their ethanol intake; the greatest amount of alcohol (g/kg) was consumed by the preadolescent rats while the adolescents showed a progressive decrease in alcohol consumption as they approached the lowest adult levels by the end of the assessed period. The pattern of ethanol consumption was not fully explained in terms of hyperphagia and/or hyperdipsia at early ages, and showed a wholly circadian rhythm in adolescent rats. After an abstinence period of 7 days, adult rats showed an ADE measured both as an increment in ethanol consumption and preference, whereas adolescent rats only showed an increment in ethanol preference. Preadolescent rats decreased their consumption and their preference remained unchanged. Conclusions:, In summary, using a short period of ethanol exposure and a brief deprivation period the results revealed a direct relationship between chronological age and propensity to consume alcohol, being the adolescence a transition period from the infant to the adult pattern of alcohol consumption. Preadolescent animals showed the highest ethanol consumption level. The ADE was only found in adult animals for both alcohol consumption and preference, whereas adolescents showed an ADE only for preference. No effect of sex was detected in any phase of the experiment. [source]

Hunter-gatherer response to late Holocene climatic variability in northern and central Australia

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 6 2010
Alan N. Williams
Abstract Sum probability analysis of 1275 radiometric ages from 608 archaeological sites across northern and central Australia demonstrates a changing archaeological signature that can be closely correlated with climate variability over the last 2 ka. Results reveal a marked increase in archaeological records across northern and central Australia over the last 2 ka, with notable declines in western and northern Australia between ca. AD 700 and 1000 and post-AD 1500 , two periods broadly coeval with the Medieval Climatic Anomaly and the Little Ice Age as they have been documented in the Asia,Pacific region. Latitudinal and longitudinal analysis of the dataset suggests the increase in archaeological footprint was continent wide, while the declines were greatest from 9 to 20° S, 110 to 135° E and 143 to 150° E. The change in the archaeological data suggests that, combined with an increase in population over the late Holocene, a disruption or reorganisation of pre-European resource systems occurred across Australia between ca. AD 700 and 1000 and post-AD 1500. These archaeological responses can be broadly correlated with transitions of the El Niño,Southern Oscillation (ENSO) mean state on a multi-decadal to centennial timescale. The latter involve a shift towards the La Niña-like mean state with wetter conditions in the Australian region between AD 700 and 1150. A transition period in ENSO mean state occurred across Australia during AD 1150,1300, with persistent El Niño-like and drier conditions to ca. AD 1500, and increasing ENSO variability post-AD 1500 to the present. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

THE EFFECTS OF ITQ IMPLEMENTATION: A DYNAMIC APPROACH

NATURAL RESOURCE MODELING, Issue 4 2000
LEE G. ANDERSON
ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the intertemporal effects of introducing Individual Transferable Quota, ITQ, fishery management programs on stock size, fleet size and composition, and returns to quota holders and to vessel operators. Theoretical analysis is conducted using a specific version of a general dynamic model of a regulated fishery. It is demonstrated that the effects will differ depending upon the prevailing regulation program, current stock size, and existing fleet size, composition and mobility and upon how the stock and fleet change over time after the switch to ITQs. The paper expands upon previous works by modeling the dynamics of change in fleet and stock size and by allowing for changes in the TAC as stock size changes, by comparing ITQs to different regulations, and by allowing the status quo before ITQ implementation to be something other than a bioeconomic equilibrium. Specific cases are analyzed using a simulation model. The analysis shows that the annual return per unit harvest to quota owners can increase or decrease over the transition period due to counteracting effects of changes in stock and fleet size. With ITQs denominated as a percentage of the TAC, the current annual value of a quota share depends upon the annual return per unit of harvest and the annual amount of harvest rights. Because the per unit value can increase or decrease over time, it is also possible that the total value can do the same. Distribution effects are also studied and it is shown that while the gains from quota share received are the present value of a potentially infinite stream of returns, potential losses are the present value of a finite stream, the length of which depends upon the remaining life of the vessel and the expected time it will continue to operate. [source]

USS Annapolis:The Wardroom and The Crews Mess

NAVAL ENGINEERS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2003
Cdr. E.D. Maissian USNR (Ret.)
BACKGROUND USS Annapolis (PG-10) was the first of four gunboats (Vicksburg, Newport, Princeton) built during the transition period of the maritime world, that is -sail to steam, wood to steel. The Annapolis' original barkentine rig was of the composite type, typical for the day , steel keel and frames, steel shell plating from main deck to waterline, and wood planking with copper sheathing to the keel. Copper being resistant to barnacles, this method was used, in as much as dry docks were a scarcity in those days. Rear Admiral Phillip Hichborn, chief constructor of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, designed the hull. Rear Admiral George Wallace Melville, chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, designed her power plant. He was one of few survivors of the Jeannette expedition through the Bering Straits to the North Pole. Her power plant was a triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, better known as an "Up-n-Downer". Steam was supplied by two watertube boilers at 180 psi. These gunboats were pioneers in the use of watertube boilers. [source]

Application of LQ modelling and optimization in urban traffic control

OPTIMAL CONTROL APPLICATIONS AND METHODS, Issue 6 2003
Majura F. Selekwa
Abstract The increasing congestion on urban streets demands traffic control signal timing to be well co-ordinated and optimized even during the transition between timing patterns used in different periods of time-of-day (TOD). The TOD timing plans, defined by fixed-time co-ordination parameters, need to change from one TOD period to another. The current methods used in transitioning are aimed at achieving quick transition rather than optimizing traffic flow during the transition period. As a result, they generally cause increased vehicle delays during the transition period particularly for vehicles on the minor street, which face lengthened red times. This paper proposes a quadratic optimization method that can be used to reduce disutility measures to motorists during the transition period. The transition is modeled as a linear dynamic process, and the disutility measures are modeled as the sum of squares of the deviations of the co-ordination parameters,that is, cycle length, phase split, and offset,from the optimal values during the transition. A linear quadratic (LQ) optimization technique of optimal control is used to determine the step size and the number of steps necessary to complete the transition with minimum disutility. The proposed transition period optimization method has the advantage that the user need not specify minimum and maximum cycle length to achieve optimization, as is the case with current methods. Simulation results for three co-ordinated intersections showed that the proposed method reduces total vehicle delay when compared to the ,immediate' transition method embedded in CORSIM traffic simulation software. This is due to the fact that vehicles on the minor street approaches get proportional green time without significantly affecting green times on the major street approach green phase. However, the method showed a slight increase in total delay for vehicles on the major street. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

HOUSES FOR THE DEAD AND CAIRNS FOR THE LIVING; A RECONSIDERATION OF THE EARLY TO MIDDLE BRONZE AGE TRANSITION IN SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
ANDY M. JONES
Summary. The Early to Middle Bronze Age transition period has often been interpreted as involving a move to ,rational' food-producing societies. More recently, models have been advanced which have highlighted the presence of ritualized practices within Middle Bronze Age society. However, many of these interpretations have largely been based upon evidence from excavated settlements in central southern England. This paper examines the need to consider the transition period at a more localized level and presents the evidence from south-west England. [source]

Developmental Changes in Effect of Cytokinin and Gibberellin on Shoot K+ and Na+ Accumulation in Salt-Treated Sorghum Plants

PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2001
G. N. Amzallag
Abstract: The effect of cytokinin (CK) and/or gibberellin (GA) treatments on shoot accumulation of Na+ and K+ was investigated in Sorghum bicolor exposed to 150 mM NaCl. These hormonal treatments modified the shoot content of Na+ and K+, but the effect varied throughout development. Comparison of ion concentration versus ion content in shoots indicates that regulation of shoot concentration of K+ is modified during a transition period of development. This change is concomitant with reorganization of the regulation network for meristem activity, an event also involving changes in sensitivity to CK and GA. This evidence suggests a strong interdependency between dynamic changes in a between-organ network of relations and control of accumulation of monovalent ions in the shoot. Moreover, a new pattern of regulation of shoot Na+ concentration emerges during the transition period. During this process GA appears progressively involved in regulation of Na retranslocation, while CK is rather controlling the root uptake of Na+. Accordingly, the spontaneous emergence of Na-includer and Na-excluder individuals observed from an initially homogeneous population is interpreted as related to variations in sensitivity to GA and CK during differentiation of this newly emerging pathway of regulation. [source]

The sequencing of reform policies in China's agricultural transition,

THE ECONOMICS OF TRANSITION, Issue 3 2004
Alan De Brauw
Abstract This paper provides evidence regarding gains due to agricultural market liberalization in China. We empirically identify the different effects that incentive and farm restructuring reforms and gradual market liberalization have on China's agricultural economy during its transition period. We find that average gains within the agricultural sector due to reforms that improved incentives and increased decision-making authority of producers exceed gains due to market liberalization by a large margin. Our method of analyzing the effects of transition policies on economic performance can be generalized to other reform paths in other transition economies. [source]

Influence of a Rural Primary Care Clerkship on Medical Students' Intentions to Practice in a Rural Community

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2000
Alma R. Jones M.D., M.P.H.
The Association of American Medical Colleges Medical School Graduation Questionnaire (GQ) for years 1988 through 1997 was examined to compare the career plans of students graduating from Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) with those of all students graduating from United States medical schools before the period 1988 through 1992 and after the period 1993 through 1997, after the inception of the rural clerkship at MSM. Select GQ data items examined include student demographics, medical school experiences, and career plans. Statistical analyses were used to compare pre- and post-clerkship responses for MSM students and to compare their responses with the national trends. Results indicate that, following a transition period, MSM students showed an increased preference for a future career in a rural community. A smaller upward trend in the national data was observed. There appears to be an association between the rural clerkship experience at MSM and the stated preferred career choices of the students. [source]

Effect of fat supplementation during transition period on plasma leptin and non-esterified fatty acid concentrations in Holstein cows

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2010
Ahmad AFZALZADEH
ABSTRACT The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of fat supplementation during the transition period on pre and postpartum body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), glucose and leptin concentrations in Holstein cows. Holstein cows (n = 15) received a low fat diet (LF; 1.61 Mcal net energy for lactation (NEL)/kg of dry matter [DM]), moderate fat diet (MF; 1.68 Mcal NEL/kg DM) or a high fat diet (HF; 1.74 Mcal NEL/kg DM) for 4 weeks prior to calving. All cows were fed similar lactation diets ad libitum (1.74 Mcal NEL/kg DM) for 30 days after calving. Increasing diet energy density during transition period had no effect on prepartum DMI, BCS, BW, glucose and NEFA concentrations (P > 0.05); but leptin concentrations and energy balance (EB) were affected by treatments (P < 0.05). Animals fed HF had less plasma leptin prepartum. After parturition, BW, milk production, milk fat, protein, urea nitrogen and plasma glucose concentrations were affected by prepartum diets (P < 0.05). Fat supplementation prepartum did not affect postpartum NEFA. In conclusion, prepartum fat supplementation decreased leptin concentration prepartum. [source]