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Visibility
Kinds of Visibility Selected AbstractsTHE VISIBILITY AND INVISIBILITY OF PRODUCTION AMONG SENEGALESE CRAFTSMENTHE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 4 2004Roy Dilley This article examines three social contexts of the production and exchange of craft objects in Senegal. In each context, the extent to which the production of craft items is visible or invisible varies, and these variations in turn affect the ways in which value is construed. These examples are understood as different ,regimes of value' (Appadurai), in whose constitution the production of craft objects, whether this is visible or invisible, plays a crucial role. The argument is that the concept of ,regime of value' needs to address more than simply the ,flow' of commodities, and must have regard for the organization of the relations between production, distribution, and consumption of craft objects. The article also frames these West African examples within a broader argument about the importance of the concept of production in order to redress the over-reliance of contemporary social theories on notions of consumption. [source] Hardware-Accelerated Rendering of Photo HullsCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2004Ming Li This paper presents an efficient hardware-accelerated method for novel view synthesis from a set of images or videos. Our method is based on the photo hull representation, which is the maximal photo-consistent shape. We avoid the explicit reconstruction of photo hulls by adopting a view-dependent plane-sweeping strategy. From the target viewpoint slicing planes are rendered with reference views projected onto them. Graphics hardware is exploited to verify the photo-consistency of each rasterized fragment. Visibilities with respect to reference views are properly modeled, and only photo-consistent fragments are kept and colored in the target view. We present experiments with real images and animation sequences. Thanks to the more accurate shape of the photo hull representation, our method generates more realistic rendering results than methods based on visual hulls. Currently, we achieve rendering frame rates of 2,3 fps. Compared to a pure software implementation, the performance of our hardware-accelerated method is approximately 7 times faster. Categories and Subject Descriptors (according to ACM CCS): CR Categories: I.3.3 [Computer Graphics]: Picture/Image Generation; I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism. [source] Impact of Visibility and Investment Advisor Credibility on the Valuation Effects of High-Tech Cross-Border AcquisitionsFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2007Georgina Benou Since foreign high-tech firms exhibit a high level of asymmetric information, there is much investor skepticism surrounding the potential benefits to US firms that acquire them. However, the investor perception may be more favorable when the acquisitions involve more visible targets and advice from investment banks with a strong reputation. Based on a sample of 503 high-tech cross-border acquisitions, bidding-firm shareholders experience positive but statistically insignificant valuation effects overall. However, bidder firms experience positive and significant valuation effects when the foreign high-tech target receives a high level of media attention and when the acquisition is endorsed by a top-tier investment bank. Visibility and credibility enhance the perceived benefits of acquiring foreign targets that have substantial intangible assets and a high level of asymmetric information. [source] Extraordinary Satisfactions: Lesbian Visibility in Seventeenth,Century Pornography in EnglandGENDER & HISTORY, Issue 1 2003Sarah Toulalan This article analyses seventeenth,century pornographic literature and popular ballads to explore alternative representations, and hence interpretations, of female same,sex desire than those presented by either early modern legal, medical and religious discourse in which the image of the tribade predominates, or the homoerotic prose and poetry of female writers. It argues that early modern culture was not limited to interpreting sexual acts between women as the result of either a physical abnormality (clitoral hypertrophy) or the desire to live as a man, and thence to take on his sexual as well as social role. [source] Doing Gender in Academic Education: The Paradox of VisibilityGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 4 2009Marieke Van Den Brink Recent contributions in the field of gender and organization point to the notion of paradox to unveil the persistence of gender inequality in organizations. This article seeks to contribute to this growing body of knowledge. We used the notion of paradox to reveal the processes of doing gender at an earth science department of a Dutch university in order to find out whether gender segregation in academic and professional careers has already started during academic education. We focused on the study choices of female students in earth sciences and discovered the paradox of visibility, which enabled us to show the contradictory and ambiguous nature of how gender is done at this department. In this article we discuss the relationship between doing gender and paradox on a theoretical as well as an empirical level. We argue that paradoxes could be very useful when analysing doing gender in organizations, because paradoxes focus on the social process in which individual agency and social structures come together. We even suggest that paradoxes might help us to disrupt the hierarchical nature of the gender binary, because they allow for a constant reflection on ambiguity and contradictions in theorizing as well as in practice. [source] Visibility and the Stigmatization of Cancer: Context Matters,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 12 2009Sarah Knapp-Oliver Few experimental studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of disease characteristics, such as visibility, on the stigmatization of cancer. The current study tested the reactions of undergraduates to vignettes that manipulated the visibility of cancer and the context in which help was needed by an individual with cancer. Results showed that participants were less willing to help the target individual when the cancer was visible and the context allowed stigmatization to be subtle. Further research should consider the relationships among disease attributes, the specific context where help is needed, and the stigmatization of individuals with cancer. [source] Book Reviews: Out in the Country: Youth, Media, and Queer Visibility in Rural America by Mary GrayAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 3 2010C. Todd White No abstract is available for this article. [source] Technologies of Visibility: The Utopian Politics of Cameras, Televisions, Videos and Dreams in New BritainTHE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2006Andrew Lattas This paper explores how Melanesian villagers have harnessed modern, technological ways of seeing. It begins by analysing the politics and narrative structures of dreams and popular stories about secret photos concerning the dead. These are stories about losing control and regaining hidden, alternative representations of Melanesians. I then analyse how millenarian followers have experimented with ,constructing' their own versions of cameras, televisions and videos so as to gain access to the omniscient powers of modern technology and merge them with those of a Christian god and with the gaze of the dead. In the Pomio Kivung movement, ,televisions' and ,videos' have even been used to create new forms of moral surveillance for policing and governing communities. Here the customary shamanic worlds of dreams and possession have been modernised and redeployed to re-mediate the governmental practices and disciplinary schemes of civilisating projects originally belonging to Western churches and government. [source] After the fire: benefits of reduced ground cover for vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops)AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Karin Enstam Jaffe Abstract Here we describe changes in ranging behavior and other activities of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) after a wildfire eliminated grass cover in a large area near the study group's home range. Soon after the fire, the vervets ranged farther away from tall trees that provide refuge from mammalian predators, and moved into the burned area where they had never been observed to go before the fire occurred. Visibility at vervet eye-level was 10 times farther in the burned area than in unburned areas. They traveled faster, and adult females spent more time feeding and less time scanning bipedally in the burned area than in the unburned area. The burned area's greater visibility may have lowered the animals' perceived risk of predation there, and may have provided them with an unusual opportunity to eat acacia ants. Am. J. Primatol. 71:252,260, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Scar of Visibility: Medical Performances and Contemporary ArtTHE JOURNAL OF POPULAR CULTURE, Issue 2 2008Julie Goolsby No abstract is available for this article. [source] Development and testing of a pedigree-marking system using visible implant elastomer tags for selective improvement in Morone breeding programmesAQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 8 2010Sidney Adam Fuller Abstract The development and testing of a visible implant elastomer pedigree-marking system was evaluated in sunshine bass, Morone chrysops×Morone saxatilis, and white bass, M. chrysops (Rafinesque). These tags were tested in sunshine bass fingerlings at one of four subdermal body locations (posterior to the eye, dorsal fin musculature, caudal fin musculature or anal fin musculature). Tag visibility decreased with increased sunshine bass growth (63% after 56 days). Visibility differed among body locations, with the caudal and anal tagging locations having lower visibility. White bass fingerlings representing eight genetic groups were then tagged at one of two body locations (left or right subdermal along the dorsal musculature) using one of four fluorescent colours and reared for 42 days in a common garden growth trial. Tag visibility in white bass was 99.5% at 14 days, 98.2% at 28 days and 94.9% at 42 days after tagging. There was a significant change in weight among the eight genetic groups of white bass fingerlings after 42 days (P=0.03). Testing of this pedigree tagging system successfully identified phenotypically different groups of white bass fingerlings. [source] Visibility, Immobility and Stigma: Young People's Use of Sexual Health Services in Rural Areas,CHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 3 2006Gary Craig Teenage pregnancy has become a major policy issue, for which young people are often publicly held solely responsible. However, a combination of factors substantially increases the risks of conception faced by young people engaging in early sexual activity. This article reports the main findings of a study of teenage pregnancy in linked seaside and rural areas, focusing on the experiences and perceptions of young people living in rural localities. They identify the issues of immobility, visibility and attitudes of stigma as affecting their ability to access sexual health services. The young people highlighted issues for service and policy development and the behaviour of professionals, both within schools and from sexual health services. Education, social and health services and the voluntary sector have important roles to play in responding to their needs. [source] Legibility evaluation using point-of-regard measurementELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IN JAPAN, Issue 4 2008Daisuke Saito Abstract Web site visibility has become important because of the rapid dissemination of the World Wide Web, and combinations of foreground and background colors are crucial in providing high visibility. In our previous studies, the visibilities of several web-safe color combinations were examined using a psychological method. In those studies, simple stimuli were used because of experimental restriction. In this paper, legibility of sentences on web sites was examined using a psychophysiological method, point-of-regard measurement, to obtain other practical data. Ten people with normal color sensations ranging from ages 21 to 29 were recruited. The number of characters per line in each page was arranged in the same number, and the four representative achromatic web-safe colors, that is, #000000, #666666, #999999, and #CCCCCC, were examined. The reading time per character and the gaze time per line were obtained from point-of-regard measurement, and the normalized with the reading time and the gaze time of the three colors were calculated and compared. It was found that the time of reading and gaze become long at the same ratio when the contrast decreases by point-of-regard measurement. Therefore, it was indicated that the legibility of color combinations could be estimated by point-of-regard measurement. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 162(4): 35,42, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20612 [source] Legibility evaluation with oculomotor analysis.ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS IN JAPAN, Issue 9 2010The relationship between contrast, legibility Abstract Web page legibility is important because of the widespread use of the World Wide Web, and color combinations between the foreground and background are crucial to assuring sufficient legibility. In our previous studies, the visibilities of several web-safe color combinations were examined using a psychological method. In those studies, simple stimuli were used because of experimental restrictions. In this study, the legibility of sentences on Web sites was examined using an oculomotor-based psychophysiological method, and the effect of achromatic color combinations, that is, the contrast, was examined in terms of the calculated reading time. The presentation stimuli were positive colorations, whose font color luminance was lower than the background color, and negative colorations, whose font color luminance was higher than the background color. The number of characters per line was arranged to be the same on each page, and four levels of achromatic contrast (the contrast between the background color and the font color), namely, 92.5%, 75.0%, 50.0%, and 25.0%, were examined. It was shown that the reading time increased when the contrast decreased. However, with negative coloration, there were great differences between individuals. Therefore, considering web accessibility, legibility is found to be improved when using a positive coloration. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 93(9): 27,33, 2010; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10243 [source] A NEW TRUE ORTHO-PHOTO METHODOLOGY FOR COMPLEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 3 2010YAHYA ALSHAWABKEH Ortho-photo is one of the most important photogrammetric products for archaeological documentation. It consists of a powerful textured representation combining geometric accuracy with rich detail, such as areas of damage and decay. Archaeological applications are usually faced with complex object shapes. Compared with conventional algorithms, ortho-projection of such rough curved objects is still a problem, due to the complex description of the analytical shape of the object. Even using a detailed digital surface model, typical ortho-rectification software does not produce the desired outcome, being incapable of handling image visibility and model occlusions, since it is limited to 2.5-dimensional surface descriptions. This paper presents an approach for the automated production of true ortho-mosaics for the documentation of cultural objects. The algorithm uses precise three-dimensional surface representations derived from laser scanning and several digital images that entirely cover the object of interest. After identifying all model surface triangles in the viewing direction, the triangles are projected back on to all initial images to establish visibilities for every available image. Missing image information can be filled in from adjacent images that must have been subjected to the same true ortho-photo procedure. [source] Stable stylized wireframe renderingCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2010Chen Tang Abstract Stylized wireframe rendering of 3D model is widely used in animation software in order to depict the configuration of deformable model in comprehensible ways. However, since some inherent flaws in traditional depth test based rendering technology, shape of lines can not been preserved as continuous movement or deformation of models. There often exists severe aliasing like flickering artifact when objects rendered in line form animate, especially rendered with thick or dashed line. To cover this artifact, unlike traditional approach, we propose a novel fast line drawing method with high visual fidelity for wireframe depiction which only depends on intrinsic topology of primitives without any preprocessing step or extra adjacent information pre-stored. In contrast to previous widely-used solutions, our method is advantageous in highly accurate visibility, clear and stable line appearance without flickering even for thick and dashed lines with uniform width and steady configuration as model moves or animates, so that it is strongly suitable for animation system. In addition, our approach can be easily implemented and controlled without any additional preestimate parameters supplied by users. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Fast Global Illumination on Dynamic Height FieldsCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 4 2009Derek Nowrouzezahrai Abstract We present a real-time method for rendering global illumination effects from large area and environmental lights on dynamic height fields. In contrast to previous work, our method handles inter-reflections (indirect lighting) and non-diffuse surfaces. To reduce sampling, we construct one multi-resolution pyramid for height variation to compute direct shadows, and another pyramid for each indirect bounce of incident radiance to compute inter-reflections. The basic principle is to sample the points blocking direct light, or shedding indirect light, from coarser levels of the pyramid the farther away they are from a given receiver point. We unify the representation of visibility and indirect radiance at discrete azimuthal directions (i.e., as a function of a single elevation angle) using the concept of a "casting set" of visible points along this direction whose contributions are collected in the basis of normalized Legendre polynomials. This analytic representation is compact, requires no precomputation, and allows efficient integration to produce the spherical visibility and indirect radiance signals. Sub-sampling visibility and indirect radiance, while shading with full-resolution surface normals, further increases performance without introducing noticeable artifacts. Our method renders 512×512 height fields (> 500K triangles) at 36Hz. [source] CHC++: Coherent Hierarchical Culling RevisitedCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 2 2008Oliver Mattausch Abstract We present a new algorithm for efficient occlusion culling using hardware occlusion queries. The algorithm significantly improves on previous techniques by making better use of temporal and spatial coherence of visibility. This is achieved by using adaptive visibility prediction and query batching. As a result of the new optimizations the number of issued occlusion queries and the number of rendering state changes are significantly reduced. We also propose a simple method for determining tighter bounding volumes for occlusion queries and a method which further reduces the pipeline stalls. The proposed method provides up to an order of magnitude speedup over the previous state of the art. The new technique is simple to implement, does not rely on hardware calibration and integrates well with modern game engines. [source] Hierarchical Higher Order Face Cluster Radiosity for Global Illumination Walkthroughs of Complex Non-Diffuse EnvironmentsCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2003Enrico Gobbetti We present an algorithm for simulating global illumination in scenes composed of highly tessellated objects withdiffuse or moderately glossy reflectance. The solution method is a higher order extension of the face cluster radiositytechnique. It combines face clustering, multiresolution visibility, vector radiosity, and higher order baseswith a modified progressive shooting iteration to rapidly produce visually continuous solutions with limited memoryrequirements. The output of the method is a vector irradiance map that partitions input models into areaswhere global illumination is well approximated using the selected basis. The programming capabilities of moderncommodity graphics architectures are exploited to render illuminated models directly from the vector irradiancemap, exploiting hardware acceleration for approximating view dependent illumination during interactive walkthroughs.Using this algorithm, visually compelling global illumination solutions for scenes of over one millioninput polygons can be computed in minutes and examined interactively on common graphics personal computers. Categories and Subject Descriptors (according to ACM CCS): I.3.3 [Computer Graphics]: Picture and Image Generation; I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism. [source] Reflections on past successes and future challenges: Three perspectivesCONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2000Liz O'Brien The executive directors of three community mediation centers were asked to reflect on past successes and future challenges and to consider four questions: How has your center achieved diversification in funding, programs, and referrals, and what have been the benefits and challenges of diversification? What do you consider the greatest challenge in community mediation? How has your center gained credibility and visibility in your community, and what community partnerships helped in that regard? In what directions is your center moving, and what is your center's vision for the next ten years? [source] Corporate social reporting for different audiences: the case of multinational corporations in SpainCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010Ladislao Luna Sotorrío Abstract The objective of this research is twofold: first, to analyze descriptively the type of social information disclosed and the degree to which multinational corporations (MNCs) disclose it, and second, to empirically test whether there are differences in the reporting policy of this type of company according to the audience (global or local), and to discover the factors that explain these differences. A sample of 26 non-Spanish MNCs operating in Spain was selected from the Spanish Merco reputation index in the period 2004,2007. The results show that there are very significant differences in the degree of disclosure and the type of social information reported by MNCs for each audience, and that a company's visibility and resources, in this order, are relevant factors in explaining these differences. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The integration of corporate governance in corporate social responsibility disclosuresCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2010Ans Kolk Abstract In recent years, not only has attention to corporate governance increased but also the notion has broadened considerably, and started to cover some aspects traditionally seen as being part of corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR, corporate governance and their interlink seem particularly relevant for multinational enterprises (MNEs), which, due to their activities in multiple contexts around the world and concomitant visibility, generally face higher demands to be transparent and disclose information about such issues. Insights into whether and in which cases disclosures on the two topics actually merge has been very limited, however. This paper analyses to what extent corporate governance has become integrated in MNEs' disclosure practices on CSR. Based on an analysis of CSR reporting of Fortune Global 250 companies, findings show that more than half of them have a separate corporate governance section in their CSR report and/or explicitly link corporate governance and CSR issues. We also found that MNEs that disclose information on a wider variety of social and environmental issues and frame CSR with a focus on internal issues are more inclined to integrate corporate governance into their CSR reporting. This integration seems to be a global phenomenon that cuts across countries and sectors. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The atrium effect of website openness on the communication of corporate social responsibilityCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008Nuno Guimarães-Costa Abstract This paper applies the image of a Roman atrium to disclosure of CSR activities on company websites, through an examination of the website content of 19 large companies operating in Portugal. The analysis reveals a CSR discourse targeting stakeholders. What is stated is carefully chosen in order to mitigate potential reactions from offended stakeholders, these coming mostly from those areas where their negative impact could be more visible. We conclude that comparison with Roman atria can be made to the extent that (a) websites allow companies to suggest positive images about themselves, (b) their openness forces companies to adopt bi-focal messages where the target does not always coincide with the message's subject and (c) their visibility and accessibility induce companies to take a position on external events and to seek greater alignment between disclosure and action. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] How should corporations deal with environmental scepticism?CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2006Peter Jacques Abstract Environmental scepticism, or the effort to ,debunk' environmental claims, is gaining visibility in world affairs. This complicates the position of corporations that are genuine in their efforts for conscientious productive work. This article explains some of the primary movements found in scepticism and argues that the truth of the sceptical claims is sufficiently contested that corporations should err on the side of caution and treat environmental scepticism as a political movement with a narrow support base, not as a scientific basis for policy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The Global Reporting Initiative and corporate sustainability reporting in Swedish companiesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003Carl-Johan Hedberg With empirical evidence from Swedish companies, this paper analyses the phenomenon of corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) in general and the use of CSR guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in particular. The main questions at issue are why companies have chosen to use the GRI guidelines and how this has affected corporate social responsibility and environmental management. From interviews with all Swedish companies that use the guidelines, we have found that companies produce CSRs mainly to seek organizational legitimacy, and that the main reason for use of the GRI guidelines is an expectation of increasing credibility of the CSR, but also that it provides a template for how to design a report. Moreover, we have found that the CSR report and the GRI guidelines are of more help for internal than external communication at this stage of development. It could help corporations to learn about themselves and to see what has actually been done in the organization. In all, the GRI guidelines would have the potential for gaining visibility and control of the triple bottom line on a corporate level, but they are in need of further development, not least in relation to the issue of verification. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Full Scope of Effect of Facial Lipoatrophy: A Framework of Disease UnderstandingDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 8 2006BENJAMIN ASCHER MD BACKGROUND Facial lipoatrophy has been observed to occur in a variety of patient populations, with inherited or acquired disease, or even in aging patients as a natural progression of tissue change over time. There is currently no framework from which physicians of all medical specialties can communally discuss the manifestations, diagnoses, and management of facial lipoatrophy. OBJECTIVE The aim of this assembly was to derive a definition of facial lipoatrophy capable of being applied to all patient populations and develop an accompanying grading system. RESULTS The final consensus of the Facial Lipoatrophy Panel encompasses both aging and disease states: "Loss of facial fat due to aging, trauma or disease, manifested by flattening or indentation of normally convex contours." The proposed grading scale includes five gradations (Grades 1,5; 5 being the most severe), and the face is assessed according to three criteria: contour, bony prominence, and visibility of musculature. CONCLUSION Categorizing the presentation of facial lipoatrophy is subjective and qualitative, and will need to be validated with objective measures. Furthermore, during the assembly, several topics were exposed that warrant further research, including the physiology of volume loss, age and lipoatrophy, and human immunodeficiency virus and lipoatrophy. [source] Athletes' Heart and Echocardiography: Athletes' HeartECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Issue 7 2008B.Sc., Martin Stout M.Sc. Sudden death of competitive athletes is rare. However, they continue to have an impact on both the lay and medical communities. These deaths challenge the perception that trained athletes represent the healthiest segment of modern society. There is an increasing frequency of such reported deaths worldwide and the visibility of this issue is underlined by the high-profile nature of each case. Differential diagnosis between pathological and the physiologic (nonpathological) responses to high levels of physical training has become clinically more important. The purpose of this review is to highlight the main echocardiograph characteristics related to different types of training/sports participation and to highlight already recognized and newer concepts in their clinical assessment. [source] Reproduction biology of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca (L.)) , a reviewECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, Issue 2 2003J. Lappalainen Abstract,,, The present review focuses on the reproduction biology of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca (L.)). Aspects like maturity, fecundity, spawning migrations, spawning habitats, onset of spawning, and development time of eggs were reviewed. The onset of maturity is reached at younger age in southern than northern populations due to higher growth rate in the south. Males mature at smaller size and are on average younger than females. Absolute fecundity is closely related to the length and weight, but no clear relationship could be found between relative fecundity and length. Statistically significant relationships were found between the onset of spawning and latitude, and between the duration of the development time of eggs and stable water temperature. Near the southern limits of distribution, the onset of spawning is in February while near the northern limits it is in June. The interannual variability in fecundity and in the onset of maturity and further the factors affecting them have not been studied much. Furthermore, it is not known whether these variations could affect the population dynamics of pikeperch. Little is also known about the actual spawning behaviour of pikeperch in natural habitats. This is probably due to the typical spawning habitats located at 1,3 m depth in waters with high turbidity and low visibility. Even though the homing behaviour to the same spawning areas is well developed in adults, it is not known whether the adults were actually born in the same area. [source] Heroin-assisted treatment in Switzerland: a case study in policy changeADDICTION, Issue 1 2010Ambros Uchtenhagen ABSTRACT Background Switzerland introduced a pragmatic national drug policy when the former conservative abstinence-orientated politics proved unable to cope with an escalating number of users and related negative consequences for public health and public order. The high visibility of ,needle parks' and the size of the acquired immune deficiency disorder (AIDS) epidemic called for a new approach and for national leadership. Aims To describe the intentions, the process and the results of setting up the new treatment approach of prescribing heroin to treatment resistant heroin addicts, as an example of drug policy change. Materials and Methods A systematic collection of relevant documents is analysed and used as evidence for describing the process of policy change. Results Measures to reduce the negative consequences of continued use and to prevent the spread of AIDS were started mainly by private initiatives and soon taken up officially in the ,four-pillar' drug policy (including harm reduction, prevention, treatment and law enforcement). Medical prescription of heroin to chronic, treatment-resistant heroin addicts was one of the innovations, based on extensive scientific and political preparation. Detailed documentation and evaluation, ample communication of results, adaptations made on the basis of results and extensive public debate helped to consolidate the new policy and heroin-assisted treatment, in spite of its limitations as an observational cohort study. All necessary steps were taken to proceed from a scientific experiment to a routine procedure. Discussion Comparable policy changes have been observed in a few other countries, such as The Netherlands and Germany, based on the Swiss experience, with equally positive results of heroin-assisted treatment. These experiments were designed as randomised controlled trials, comparing intravenous heroin against oral methadone, thereby demonstrating the specific value of pharmaceutical diamorphine for maintenance treatment in opiate dependence. The positive impact of policy change and the positive outcomes of heroin-assisted treatment were acknowledged increasingly nationally and internationally, but made it difficult to continue the process of adapting policy to new challenges, due to the low visibility of present drug problems and to changing political priorities. Conclusion A major change in drug policy was effectively realised under typical conditions of a federalist country with a longstanding tradition of democratic consensus building. Facilitating factors were the size and visibility of the heroin problem, the rise of the Aids epidemic, and a pragmatic attitude of tolerating private initiatives opening the way to official policy change. [source] Legibility evaluation using point-of-regard measurementELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IN JAPAN, Issue 4 2008Daisuke Saito Abstract Web site visibility has become important because of the rapid dissemination of the World Wide Web, and combinations of foreground and background colors are crucial in providing high visibility. In our previous studies, the visibilities of several web-safe color combinations were examined using a psychological method. In those studies, simple stimuli were used because of experimental restriction. In this paper, legibility of sentences on web sites was examined using a psychophysiological method, point-of-regard measurement, to obtain other practical data. Ten people with normal color sensations ranging from ages 21 to 29 were recruited. The number of characters per line in each page was arranged in the same number, and the four representative achromatic web-safe colors, that is, #000000, #666666, #999999, and #CCCCCC, were examined. The reading time per character and the gaze time per line were obtained from point-of-regard measurement, and the normalized with the reading time and the gaze time of the three colors were calculated and compared. It was found that the time of reading and gaze become long at the same ratio when the contrast decreases by point-of-regard measurement. Therefore, it was indicated that the legibility of color combinations could be estimated by point-of-regard measurement. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 162(4): 35,42, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20612 [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||