bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Lagrangian-Based Approach for Determining Trajectories Taxonomy and Turbulence Regimes
Authors: Rupolo Volfango
Published: June 2007

The use of the ratio between the acceleration and velocity time scales y = Ta/Tυ to separate Lagrangian trajectories in homogeneous classes is proposed. In fact, when analyzing subsurface floats data in the Atlantic Ocean and surface drifters data in the world’s ocean basins, it is observed that trajectories having different values of y are characterized by different shapes, correlation, and dispersal properties. In particular, trajectories having similar values of the acceleration and velocity time scales clearly show the influence of eddies and are characterized by an oscillating velocity correlation function. It is shown here that this trajectory screening is a useful procedure to rationalize the analysis of real Lagrangian trajectories and to avoid a mixture of different regimes, when averaging quantities. The mean statistical quantities computed averaging on quasi-homogeneous datasets put in evidence the role of the coherent structures in the dispersion properties, both in time and in the main oceanic current systems. These results are discussed in the context of the parameterization of eddy diffusivity in general circulation models.
Vertical Vorticity Balance in Meanders Downstream the Agulhas Retroflection
Authors: Ochoa José , Niiler Peter P.
Published: June 2007

The Agulhas Current flows poleward along the western boundary of the southeastern Indian Ocean where, at the southernmost latitude of the African continent, it executes a dramatic anticyclonic turn, or retroflection, to the east. Since 1978, a large number of drifting buoys have passed through this eastward-flowing Agulhas Return Current (ARC), or the zonal frontal boundary between subtropical and subpolar waters of the south Indian Ocean. The spatial distribution of the ensemble-averaged near-surface velocity along the ARC axis reveals a series of steady-state meanders of 700-km wavelength and amplitudes that decrease from 170 km in the first meander to 50 km in the following four meanders. Here an analysis of vorticity balance of the meandering ARC speed axis is presented that demonstrates a balance between the β term and advection of curvature vorticity. This balance implies that the ARC axis, or frontal region, is horizontally nondivergent in agreement with the other observations of flow in the surface layers of near-zonal oceanic fronts.
Instability and Diapycnal Momentum Transport in a Double-Diffusive, Stratified Shear Layer
Authors: Smyth William D. , Kimura Satoshi
Published: June 2007

The linear stability of a double-diffusively stratified, inflectional shear flow is investigated. Double-diffusive stratification has little effect on shear instability except when the density ratio Rρ is close to unity. Double-diffusive instabilities have significant growth rates and can represent the fastest-growing mode even in the presence of inflectionally unstable shear with a low Richardson number. In the linear regime, background shear has no effect on double-diffusive modes except to select the orientation of the wave vector. The converse is not true: double-diffusive modes modify the mean shear via momentum fluxes. The momentum flux driven by salt sheets is parameterized in terms of a Schmidt number (ratio of eddy viscosity to saline diffusivity) Scs. In the oceanic parameter regime, Scs is less than unity and can be approximated as Scs = 0.08 ln[Rρ/(Rρ − 1)]. Enhanced molecular dissipation by unstable motions is quantified in terms of the dissipation ratio Γ, and the results are compared with observations. Corresponding results are given for diffusive convection in an inflectional shear flow, though linear theory is expected to give a less accurate description of this mechanism.
Dispersive Fluxes between the Coastal Ocean and a Semienclosed Estuarine Basin
Authors: Fram Jonathan P. , Martin Maureen A. , Stacey Mark T.
Published: June 2007

Scalar exchange between San Francisco Bay and the coastal ocean is examined using shipboard observations made across the Golden Gate Channel. The study consists of experiments during each of the following three “seasons”: winter/spring runoff (March 2002), summer upwelling (July 2003), and autumn relaxation (October 2002). Within each experiment, transects across the channel were repeated approximately every 12 min for 25 h during both spring and neap tides. Velocity was measured from a boat-mounted ADCP. Scalar concentrations were measured at the surface and from a tow-yoed SeaSciences Acrobat. Net salinity exchange rates for each season are quantified with harmonic analysis. Accuracy of the net fluxes is confirmed by comparison with independently measured values. Harmonic results are then decomposed into flux mechanisms using temporal and spatial correlations. In this study, the temporal correlation of cross-sectionally averaged salinity and velocity (tidal pumping flux) is the largest part of the dispersive flux of salinity into the bay. From the tidal pumping flux portion of the dispersive flux, it is shown that there is less exchange than was found in earlier studies. Furthermore, tidal pumping flux scales strongly with freshwater flow resulting from the density-driven movement of a tidally trapped eddy and stratification-induced increases in ebb–flood frictional phasing. Complex bathymetry makes salinity exchange scale differently with flow than would be expected from simple tidal asymmetry and gravitational circulation models.
The Thinness of the Ocean in S–Θ–p Space and the Implications for Mean Diapycnal Advection
Authors: McDougall Trevor J. , Jackett David R.
Published: June 2007

It is shown that the ocean’s hydrography occupies little volume in the three-dimensional space defined by salinity–temperature–pressure (S–Θ–p), and the implications of this observation for the mean vertical transport across density surfaces are discussed. Although ocean data have frequently been analyzed in the two-dimensional temperature–salinity (S–Θ) diagram where casts of hydrographic data are often locally tight in S–Θ space, the relatively empty nature of the World Ocean in the three-dimensional S–Θ–p space seems not to have received attention. The World Ocean’s data lie close to a single surface in this three-dimensional space, and it is shown that this explains the known smallness of the ambiguity in defining neutral surfaces. The ill-defined nature of neutral surfaces means that lateral motion along neutral trajectories leads to mean vertical advection through density surfaces, even in the absence of small-scale mixing processes. The situation in which the ocean’s hydrography occupies a large volume in S–Θ–p space is also considered, and it is suggested that the consequent vertical diapycnal advection would be sufficiently large that the ocean would not be steady.
Use of Information by National Weather Service Forecasters and Emergency Managers during CALJET and PACJET-2001
Authors: Morss Rebecca E. , Ralph F. Martin
Published: June 2007

Winter storms making landfall in western North America can generate heavy precipitation and other significant weather, leading to floods, landslides, and other hazards that cause significant damage and loss of life. To help alleviate these negative impacts, the California Land-falling Jets (CALJET) and Pacific Land-falling Jets (PACJET) experiments took extra meteorological observations in the coastal region to investigate key research questions and aid operational West Coast 0–48-h weather forecasting. This article presents results from a study of how information provided by CALJET and PACJET was used by National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters and forecast users. The primary study methodology was analysis of qualitative data collected from observations of forecasters and from interviews with NWS personnel, CALJET–PACJET researchers, and forecast users. The article begins by documenting and discussing the many types of information that NWS forecasters combine to generate forecasts. Within this context, the article describes how forecasters used CALJET–PACJET observations to fill in key observational gaps. It then discusses researcher–forecaster interactions and examines how weather forecast information is used in emergency management decision making. The results elucidate the important role that forecasters play in integrating meteorological information and translating forecasts for users. More generally, the article illustrates how CALJET and PACJET benefited forecasts and society in real time, and it can inform future efforts to improve human-generated weather forecasts and future studies of the use and value of meteorological information.
Precipitation Forecast Verification of the Indian Summer Monsoon with Intercomparison of Three Diverse Regions
Authors: Mandal Vikramaditya , De Utpal K. , Basu Biplab K.
Published: June 2007

The Indian summer monsoon precipitation forecast, as well as its verification, are always of great interest because of their socioeconomic impact on the Indian subcontinent. The present work highlights the verification of quantitative precipitation forecasts of the Global Spectral Model, running at the National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida, India. Studies like pattern correlation and anomaly correlation over all of India confirm that the model is applicable over the subcontinent. Some comparative studies are done for three diverse regions like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Verification studies include both measure-oriented methods like root-mean-square error (RMSE) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient and distribution-oriented methods like bias score, false alarm ratio, probability of detection, and true skill score. The distribution-oriented verification (yes–no) is done for the daily threshold precipitation of 0.254, 2.54, 6.4, 12.8, 19.2, 32.0, 44.8, and 64.0 mm. Two years of data from 1997 and 1999 for Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and 5 yr of data from 1997 to 2001 are used for West Bengal. The distribution of model output during a severe rainfall situation over West Bengal is also examined to understand the usefulness of the model forecasts during those events. It can be concluded that the model is most efficient in predicting precipitation in the 2.54–12.8-mm range but the efficiency decreases rapidly for higher thresholds. Performance of the model during active and break phases of the monsoon is examined and it is found to be reasonably good. On the whole, it can be concluded that the performance of the NCMRWF model is reasonably good for day-1 forecasts and the weekly rainfall forecast is quite good for all forecast lead times.
Uncertainty and Inference for Verification Measures
Authors: Jolliffe Ian T.
Published: June 2007

When a forecast is assessed, a single value for a verification measure is often quoted. This is of limited use, as it needs to be complemented by some idea of the uncertainty associated with the value. If this uncertainty can be quantified, it is then possible to make statistical inferences based on the value observed. There are two main types of inference: confidence intervals can be constructed for an underlying “population” value of the measure, or hypotheses can be tested regarding the underlying value. This paper will review the main ideas of confidence intervals and hypothesis tests, together with the less well known “prediction intervals,” concentrating on aspects that are often poorly understood. Comparisons will be made between different methods of constructing confidence intervals—exact, asymptotic, bootstrap, and Bayesian—and the difference between prediction intervals and confidence intervals will be explained. For hypothesis testing, multiple testing will be briefly discussed, together with connections between hypothesis testing, prediction intervals, and confidence intervals.
Ceiling and Visibility Forecasts via Neural Networks
Authors: Marzban Caren , Leyton Stephen , Colman Brad
Published: June 2007

Statistical postprocessing of numerical model output can improve forecast quality, especially when model output is combined with surface observations. In this article, the development of nonlinear postprocessors for the prediction of ceiling and visibility is discussed. The forecast period is approximately 2001–05, involving data from hourly surface observations, and from the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model. The statistical model for mapping these data to ceiling and visibility is a neural network. A total of 39 such neural networks are developed for each of 39 terminal aerodrome forecast stations in the northwest United States. These postprocessors are compared with a number of alternatives, including logistic regression, and model output statistics (MOS) derived from the Aviation Model/Global Forecast System. It is found that the performance of the neural networks is generally superior to logistic regression and MOS. Depending on the comparison, different measures of performance are examined, including the Heidke skill statistic, cross-entropy, relative operating characteristic curves, discrimination plots, and attributes diagrams. The extent of the improvement brought about by the neural network depends on the measure of performance, and the specific station.
An Assessment of Marine Surface Winds from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Numerical Weather Prediction Systems
Authors: Schulz Eric W. , Kepert Jeffrey D. , Greenslade Diana J. M.
Published: June 2007

A method for routinely verifying numerical weather prediction surface marine winds with satellite scatterometer winds is introduced. The marine surface winds from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s operational global and regional numerical weather prediction systems are evaluated. The model marine surface layer is described. Marine surface winds from the global and limited-area models are compared with observations, both in situ (anemometer) and remote (scatterometer). A 2-yr verification shows that wind speeds from the regional model are typically underestimated by approximately 5%, with a greater bias in the meridional direction than the zonal direction. The global model also underestimates the surface winds by around 5%–10%. A case study of a significant marine storm shows that where larger errors occur, they are due to an underestimation of the storm intensity, rather than to biases in the boundary layer parameterizations.
Influence of Initial Conditions on the WRF–ARW Model QPF Response to Physical Parameterization Changes
Authors: Jankov Isidora , Gallus William A. , Segal Moti , Koch Steven E.
Published: June 2007

To assist in optimizing a mixed-physics ensemble for warm season mesoscale convective system rainfall forecasting, the impact of various physical schemes as well as their interactions on rainfall when different initializations were used has been investigated. For this purpose, high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations of eight International H2O Project events were performed. For each case, three different treatments of convection, three different microphysical schemes, and two different planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes were used. All cases were initialized with both Local Analyses and Prediction System (LAPS) “hot” start analyses and 40-km Eta Model analyses. To evaluate the impacts of the variation of two different physical schemes and their interaction on the simulated rainfall under the two different initial conditions, the factor separation method was used. The sensitivity to the use of various physical schemes and their interactions was found to be dependent on the initialization dataset. Runs initialized with Eta analyses appeared to be influenced by the use of the Betts–Miller–Janjić scheme in that model’s assimilation system, which tended to reduce the WRF’s sensitivity to changes in the microphysical scheme compared with that present when LAPS analyses were used for initialization. In addition, differences in initialized thermodynamics resulted in changes in sensitivity to PBL and convective schemes. With both initialization datasets, the greatest sensitivity to the simulated rain rate was due to changes in the convective scheme. However, for rain volume, substantial sensitivity was present due to changes in both the physical parameterizations and the initial datasets.
Politics of Human Rights in North Korea
Authors: Woong Lee Won
Published: June 2007

The international community is now paying more attention to `the systemic, widespread and grave violations of international human rights norms' (United Nations ECOSOC Resolution 1503, (1970) See Burgental (1995)) in North Korea due to its chronic famine and nuclear ambition. The issues and engagement politics regarding human rights in North Korea constitute hot political debates. There are three key factors to improve human rights status in North Korea: the consistent international censure; enlarging engagement and people contact through inter-Korean relations; and economic reform in North Korea. These factors are interrelated and affect each other. The crucial point is to press and induce the North Korean regime to a compromise path.
Japanese Policy toward the North Korean Problem
Authors: Akaha Tsuneo
Published: June 2007

North Korea became an urgent problem for Japan as a result of the 1994 nuclear crisis in North Korea, the 1998 missile launch over Japan and the 2003—4 nuclear crisis. At the historic Tokyo—Pyongyang summit in September 2002, both sides acknowledged the need to solve the security issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula through peaceful, multilateral efforts. However, the issue of North Korean abduction of Japanese citizens in earlier decades intensified Japanese sentiment against the North and this issue halted bilateral normalization talks. Japan has participated in six-party talks on the nuclear issue since 2004, but its distinct bilateral interests vis-à-vis North Korea, South Korea and the United States limit its influence in the multiparty engagement.
Towards an Embedded Visuo-Inertial Smart Sensor
Authors: Chalimbaud P. , Marmoiton F. , Berry F.
Published: June 2007

In the neurological system of primates, changes in posture are detected by the central nervous system through a vestibular process. This process, located in the inner ear, coordinates several system outputs to maintain stable balance, visual gaze, and autonomic control in response to changes in posture. Consequently the vestibular data is merged to other sensing data like touch, vision, .... The visuo-inertial merging is crucial for several tasks like navigation, depth estimation, stabilization. This paper proposes a “primate-inspired” sensing hardware, based on a CMOS imaging and an artificial vestibular system. The whole sensor can be considered like a smart embedded sensor where one of the most original aspects of this approach is the use of a System On Chip implemented in a FPGA to manage the whole system. The sensing device is designed around a 4 million pixels CMOS imager and the artificial vestibular set is composed of three linear accelerometers and three gyroscopes. With its structure, the system provides a high degree of versatility and allows the implementation of parallel image and inertial processing algorithms. In order to illustrate the proposed approach, depth estimation with Kalman filtering implementation is carried out.
Relative Pose Calibration Between Visual and Inertial Sensors
Authors: Lobo Jorge , Dias Jorge
Published: June 2007

This paper proposes an approach to calibrate off-the-shelf cameras and inertial sensors to have a useful integrated system to be used in static and dynamic situations. When both sensors are integrated in a system their relative pose needs to be determined. The rotation between the camera and the inertial sensor can be estimated, concurrently with camera calibration, by having both sensors observe the vertical direction in several poses. The camera relies on a vertical chequered planar target and the inertial sensor on gravity to obtain a vertical reference. Depending on the setup and system motion, the translation between the two sensors can also be important. Using a simple passive turntable and static images, the translation can be estimated. The system needs to be placed in several poses and adjusted to turn about the inertial sensor centre, so that the lever arm to the camera can be determined. Simulation and real data results are presented to show the validity and simple requirements of the proposed methods.
3D Reconstruction Using Multibaseline Omnidirectional Motion Stereo Based on GPS/Dead-reckoning Compound Navigation System
Authors: Meguro Jun-ichi , Takiguchi Jun-ichi , Amano Yoshiharu , Hashizume Takumi
Published: June 2007

This paper presents a motion-stereo device using the GPS/DR (dead reckoning) combination along with omnidirectional cameras to reconstruct 3-D environments by means of sensors small enough to be installed on a mobile robot. The proposed technique is based on the fact that it is possible to determine epipolar lines by using the precise positions and heading angles measured by a combination of GPS and various sensors; high-precision stereo matching may then be performed by means of geometrical restrictions. Furthermore, in comparison to the other stereo techniques, it is also possible to establish longer baselines for peripheral objects and simultaneously provide a higher precision in calculating the distances to far objects by applying voting processing to a series of distant motion-stereo images, which can be attained by using more than one baseline length, in 3-D spaces based on the precise positions and heading angles. In short, the proposed technique provides a substantial increase in measurement precision as compared to that with the well-known SFM (structure from motion) technique for reconstructing 3-D environments with monocular cameras; this is because the proposed technique utilizes a greater number of mobile parameters, which are determined using precise cameras. In this experiment, the measurement precision of the proposed technique has been evaluated in reconstructing the shapes of vehicles parked alongside a road; the measurements were found to have a standard deviation of 140 mm within a range of 10 m. It can be stated that the proposed omnidirectional motion-stereo technique is robust to environmental perturbations and can accurately estimate distances in the case of highly textured objects.
Library and Information Services in South Africa: an overview
Authors: Stilwell Christine
Published: June 2007

Opening with a review of information policy, the article describes information sources, systems and services in South Africa, embedding them in the wider national information system. A description of the library and information education and training sector and the organized profession follow. This overview is based on literature retrieved from the available, mostly electronic, databases.
The Impact of Electronic Communications on the Science Communication Process — investigating crystallographers in South Africa
Authors: Smith J. Gretchen
Published: June 2007

The author adopts the premise that effective communication of scientific and technological information is pivotal to the success of technological innovation and sustained economic growth and that this applies particularly to South Africa. Many factors are, however, currently impacting on the information communication process, not least of which are the burgeoning information industry, globalization, and rapid technological advances. This factor motivated the author to investigate the impact of electronic modes of communication and this article is based on the research project. The community of scientists engaged in crystallographic research in South Africa was selected as the study population. It clearly emerged from the study that the significant increase in the use of electronic modes and systems, while not affecting the inherent structure of the communication process, did create a far wider range of modes of communication and did have a positive influence on the ease of communication and collaboration. This was particularly manifested as far as cooperation with the international research community was concerned. It was also clear that this impact varied according to the scientists' work environment.
Special Section: Matrix and Reverie in Supervision Groups
Authors: Berman Avi , Berger Miriam
Published: June 2007

Supervision entails being an apprentice and having a tutor at the beginning of one's training. As such, the asymmetrical relations between the supervisee and the supervisor tend to accrue unconscious meanings of power, hierarchies, control and dependency and these increase the supervisee's vulnerabilities. Without underrating the value of individual supervision, we believe, along with others who have related to these issues, that group supervision can promote the therapist's sense of belonging and enhance the consolidation of his/her professional identity. Nevertheless, some may have difficulties as supervisees in groups. We are seeking a conceptual frame that, when applied to group supervision, would maximize its productivity, reduce its disadvantages and allow for the development of a learning potential space for all its participants. We suggest that Bion's notion of reverie, and Foulkes's concept of the matrix, when bound together, provide such an integrative base that they can enhance the productivity of group supervision. Technical considerations and clinical material are presented to illustrate the structure and process mentioned above.
Special Section: Supervision Between Rituals: Creativity and the Development of the Reflective Function
Authors: Brunori Luisa , Magnani Giorgio , Raggi Cristian
Published: June 2007

This article describes the supervision experience of a group-analytic therapy for psychotic patients carried out from 2000 to 2003 at the Mental Health Center of Carpi (Modena, Italy). The experience of supervision is here presented in its main aspects and as a tool to promote the so-called `reflective function' of the `couple supervisor and supervisee'. The `reflective function' is described in its meaning of com-prehension (from the Latin word `com-prehendere': to acquire knowledge and also to `hold into affection'), referring to an ongoing process of mutual exchange and understanding between supervisor and supervisee. Supervision is here considered as a transgenerational transmission, where both supervisor and supervisee participate in an exchange that takes place between transmission of culture and innovations. According to our hypothesis, the reflective function that develops within the supervision process mirrors the reflective function of the therapeutic work and in this context research can play a stimulating role. In this article we consider the supervision process and describe an attempt to combine classical supervision with evaluation work.
Special Section: The Role of Supervision in Training Psychotherapists
Authors: Moro Ljiljana
Published: June 2007

The author describes the characteristics of education for group analysts pertaining to supervision in the Institute of Group Analysis, Zagreb. The supervisory process extends education for group analysts. Reference is made to specific problems involving supervisory training through three phases and in which phase trainees encounter the most problems of accepting themselves in the role of group leaders rather than simply as members.
The Phenomenon of Taking Life Day-by-Day: Using Parse's Research Method
Authors: Welch Anthony J.
Published: June 2007

Parse's research method informed the exploration of the phenomenon of taking life day-by-day as viewed through the conceptual lens of the human becoming theory. From the perspective of human becoming, taking life day-by-day is a universal lived experience of health and quality of life. The participants in this study were 10 men between 35 and 60 years who had experienced depression and were willing to share their lived world of taking life day-by-day. Three core concepts were explicated from the participants' dialogues, enduring with the burdensome, envisioning the possibles, and sure-unsure. The findings of this study represent a tapestry of the participants' experiences woven with the human becoming theory, this researcher's engagement with an exacting process of inquiry, and his personal journey into the landscape of the human becoming school of thought.
Nursing in a Context Opposed to the Aims of Nursing
Authors: Baumann Steven L.
Published: June 2007

Nurses at various times and in various places find their aims as nurses in conflict with their situation, such as having too many patients to do any justice to any of them. Nursing in the military requires prioritizing the mission of the department of defense, that is to say maintain the readiness of the fighting force and to function within a strict hierarchical organization with respect to authority. Within this context, nurses in the United States military today are asked to assist members of the armed forces who are struggling with sacrifices during very confusing and uncertain times.
The Subject as Drop-Out
Authors: Malone Kareen Ror
Published: June 2007

In this paper, psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology are treated as exemplars that demonstrate the salience of social factors in the constitution of the discipline of psychology. There have been a number of efforts that have addressed this impertinent social factor that compromises psychology's claim to being a sort of natural science. Within the current climate of alternative positions in the discipline, it is often assumed that psychology can be absorbed into historical formations, as in social constructionist critique, science studies and the endorsement of indigenous psychologies. Within contemporary mainstream psychology, other disciplines (such as biology) seem to give warrant to psychology's cherished claim to objectivity. Drawing on theories in which psychologists addressed subjectivity, the paper examines psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology to see how each attempts to articulate its disciplinary basis. In this paper, I attempt to understand how the respective theories attempt to account for and finesse the inherent sociality of the psychological dimension. In the case of psychoanalysis, the basic reference point is Lacanian psychoanalysis. In the case of humanistic psychology, the concepts of potential and experience are interrogated to better understand their ethical and ontological function within a humanistic understanding of subjectivity. It is asserted that humanistic psychology may need to extend its basic precepts beyond its current appropriation of phenomenology in order to more fully understand the question of the subjective dimension in its relationship to its social foundations.
Recounting a difficult past: a South African accounting firm's “experiences in transformation”
Authors: Hammond Theresa , Arnold Patricia J. , Clayton Bruce M.
Published: June 2007

This article examines the role of oral history in the social construction of collective memory and forgetting. The article presents a case study of a South African public accounting firm's attempt to document the history of race relations within the firm through the publication of a collection of oral histories. The research draws from the sociology of memory and recent scholarship on individual and collective memory in South Africa to analyze the firm's account of its experiences in making the transition from Apartheid to a multiracial democracy. The analysis finds that the firm's portrayal of its history reflects a narrative of reconciliation and redemption that minimizes the deep social and economic divisions that characterize South Africa's past, their relevance to accounting history, and the continuing salience of race to employment in public accounting.
“The nesting instinct”: women and investment risk in a historical context
Authors: Rutterford Janette , Maltby Josephine
Published: June 2007

The objective of this article is to place the debate about women's investment behaviour — in particular their attitude to risk — in a historical context. We examine a number of case studies of investments made by English women between the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries and compare the results with the findings of recent surveys of women's attitudes to investment. Modern research consistently finds evidence of a gender effect, with women taking less investment risk than men. However, this research is primarily US-focused, restricted to pensions planning and based on questionnaire surveys. Using surveys of women's wills, share registers, and correspondence archives, we also find a gender effect, but one which is significantly reduced once education, knowledge and access, marital status and wealth are taken into account. We argue that such case studies are a valuable way forward for assessing the extent to which women were risk seekers or risk avoiders.
The “hidden” history of accounting in Japan: a historical examination of the relationship between Japanese women and accounting
Authors: Komori Naoko
Published: June 2007

Although historical studies of accounting in Japan have broadened in scope, little is known about how accounting is implicated in the social role and position of Japanese women and how it has historically influenced gender relationships in Japan. This article explores the changing relationship between women and accounting in Japan across five historical periods, drawing on a range of literature relating to the historical role and position of women in Japan, socio-historical studies of Japanese business enterprises and the family, and studies of household accounting. The study reveals that accounting has been an instrument of the state in the social construction of gendered roles and women's position in society. It also shows that women in Japan have proactively responded to their accounting role, using it to help enhance their political power as consumers. Accounting has played a significant role in shaping the lives of Japanese women and has been a way for them to build on their feminine identity.
Through a Hole in a Wall: Setting and Interaction in Sex-on-Premises Venues
Authors: Richters Juliet
Published: June 2007

Casual and anonymous sex is available at low cost to homosexually active men in venues such as saunas, sex clubs and backrooms. In order to investigate the relationship between setting and sexual practice, transcripts from interviews with 30 gay men in Sydney were analyzed thematically, taking a situational interactionist approach which focused on practice. Men's reasons for going to sex venues, and for their choice of venue (gay/non-gay, saunas/backrooms), are explored. Physical features (such as steps, platforms, dark spaces, steam rooms, cubicles and glory holes) encourage or enable particular practices, such as fellatio or group sex. Interactional patterns include unspoken rules of venue deportment (e.g. silence) and vary with stages of cruising and how crowded the space is. Patrons consider venues in terms of the other men, and are generally unaware of the conscious intentions of the designers. Yet the venues are commercial spaces and share features with airports, supermarkets, railway stations, hotels and fast food restaurants. Venue layout deliberately disrupts patterns of social interaction which prevent sex from happening in other public places. The layout also shapes the sex that occurs.
Heterosexuality and 'the Labour of Love': A Contribution to Recent Debates on Female Sexual Dysfunction
Authors: Cacchioni Thea
Published: June 2007

It is increasingly taken for granted that `successful heterosexuality' is contingent upon having a `normal' and `healthy' sex life. The recent popularity of the diagnostic label `Female Sexual Dysfunction' (FSD) is evidence that this social climate has fostered the (re)medicalization of women's sexual problems. In response to feminist concern over the growing use of the FSD label, this article considers data gathered as part of a qualitative, empirical study, examining women's perceptions of sexual difficulties and their treatment. It is argued that women with perceived sexual problems, regardless of whether or not they have been diagnosed with FSD, tend to engage in relationship based `sex work': the rationalization, improvement, and mastery of sex in their personal lives. Their decisions to take part in or resist sex work are closely connected to the discursive and material production of heterosexuality, gender inequalities and power differences amongst women.
Feminine Sexual Subjectivities: Bodies, Agency and Life History
Authors: Bryant Joanne , Schofield Toni
Published: June 2007

The relationship between discourse, sex and the body has attracted sustained interest from scholars in sociology and cultural studies over the last 20 years. It is only recently, however, that sociological analyses of sexuality have begun to explore the specificity of the body and its relationship to human agency. This work suggests that, far from serving as a passive surface upon which sexual scripts are inscribed, the body in sexual action is itself a dynamic force in generating sexual subjectivities. This is related to the way in which the praxeological aspects of sex are always corporeal and that corporeality is indivisibly related to individual agency. The specific configuration of sexual practices is central to the making of sexual identities. Indeed, it is through such a configuration that the sexual subject is brought into being. Yet human agency is a central feature of the process, rendering it a project that develops over time. Such an idea is particularly relevant to feminists who are concerned with the way that feminine sexual subjectivity can be theorized as active and desiring. This paper explores the way in which the body is implicated in sex practice and the making of active feminine sexual subjectivities. In doing so, it draws on qualitative data collected from life history interviews with 18 women.
Moving towards evidence-based healthcare for musculoskeletal injuries: featuring the work of the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group
Authors: Handoll Helen Hanora Georgina , Gillespie William John , Gillespie Lesley Diane , Madhok Rajan
Published: June 2007

Due to their high incidence and associated morbidity and mortality, musculoskeletal injuries place an enormous burden on society. For example, in the 2004 to 2005 period 62,000 people with hip fracture accounted for 2.9% of the total number of hospital bed days in England. Between 12% and 37% of people with hip fracture die in the first year. Of the survivors, most are less mobile and many lose their independence. Soft-tissue joint injuries during sports and exercise-related activities in young adults constitute another important group. Of these, ankle sprain is the most common single injury and it predisposes people to further recurrence.

Members of the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group prepare systematic reviews (Cochrane Reviews) of the evidence for interventions used in the prevention and management of musculoskeletal injuries. These reviews serve to facilitate evidence-based decision making by policy makers, healthcare professionals and consumers, and to guide future research.

This article focuses on two major groups of injuries: osteoporotic fractures and soft-tissue joint injuries, and discusses some of the fundamental issues and questions associated with the prevention and management of these. Drawing insights from relevant Cochrane Reviews, this article examines the different approaches used for preventing, and the role of surgery and immobilisation for treating, these injuries. Brief illustrations of the inherent complexity of rehabilitation are also provided.

This article also gives examples of how these reviews are helping to inform healthcare choices and practice, and guide research in this area.
The control of Discretion: Planning and the Common-Law tradition
Authors: Booth Philip
Published: June 2007

The very marked differences that exist between the planning systems of continental Europe and Britain are generally understood to be the result of contrasting legal systems. This article explores the origins of the common-law tradition of England and the way it came to influence public local administration. It seeks to demonstrate the impact that common law has had on the way in which town planning is conceptualized and some of the strengths and weaknesses that result.
Planning, liberty and the rule of law
Authors: Moroni Stefano
Published: June 2007

The article aims to demonstrate that neither the British planning system nor Continental planning systems adhere perfectly to the classical (liberal) ideal of the rule of law. It suggests a different approach to the regulation of land use more in line with this ideal, based on the assumption that it is not only relevant but also one that cannot be renounced. The objective is to show that the more complex an (urban) system becomes, the greater is the need for abstract, general and end-independent rules to favour a sort of beneficial, spontaneous order — self-coordinating and polycentric — of individual actions.
Pain(ful) Subjects
Authors: Phillips Catherine
Published: June 2007

This article is about subjectivity in experiences of pain. I argue that the body is a site of political intervention and interpretation that shapes `reality' as tangible, substantial categories of cultural experience, including experiences of pain. To the degree that subjectivity works within disciplines of the body (medicine and social work), experiences of pain are significant processes from which an understanding of forms of resistance can begin. I conclude that ultimately what is at stake in understanding the subject through a cultural analysis of pain practices is the very experience of illness, the experience of our bodies. I work with a narrative sketched from my everyday practice as a social worker in an Emergency and Trauma department in an acute care hospital in Toronto, Canada. In doing so, I forefront arts-based methods as a form of qualitative research.
Confidentiality in Mental Health Services
Authors: Evans Tony
Published: June 2007

The negotiated order perspective developed from the study of informal practices in mental health hospitals. It has subsequently become an influential perspective in the study of organizations. This article looks at its continuing relevance to understanding the way in which mental health services operate. Since the original study was published, mental health care has been transformed, with a move in the Western world to deinstitutionalized care and an increasingly managerial approach within human services organizations. The research reported here looks at confidentiality within mental health services in Britain in order to explore the continuing relevance and limitations of the negotiated order perspective. The study examines the confidentiality practices of mental health professionals from the point of view of service users. Seventeen service users were interviewed to ascertain their experience of confidentiality practices in their encounters with health and social services, and to identify their evaluation and response to these encounters. The study suggests the continuing relevance of the negotiated order perspective in terms of understanding professional practices, but also underlines the need to understand negotiation as an active set of practices involving service users as well as professionals.
Is there a need to Differentiate between Qualitative and Quantitative Searching Strategies for Literature Reviewing?
Authors: Mackay Geraldene
Published: June 2007

This article describes two distinct searching strategies for use when conducting literature searches. The use of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to searching contends with the advantages and disadvantages of using electronic reference databases, and provides the searcher with conceptual tools to facilitate the decision-making processes during the search. Qualitative and quantitative searching strategies have different advantages and disadvantages. Qualitative searching strategies are slow, labour intensive and useful when the topic being searched is not well conceptualized. The approach immerses the searcher in the complexity of what has been previously written. Quantitative searching strategies are relatively quick, cover a vast range of literature often producing a large amount of data. However, complexity is lost. It is the ideal method when a topic is already well conceptualized. Both approaches are systematic. The two approaches are illustrated by my experience of writing a literature review about a topic in social work that is not well conceptualized in the literature.
Natural History of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Occlusion Contralateral to Carotid Endarterectomy: A Prospective Study
Authors: Ballotta Enzo , Da Giau Giuseppe , Santarello Giorgia , Meneghetti Giorgio , Gruppo Mario , Militello Carmelo , Baracchini Claudio
Published: June 2007

The natural history of carotid occlusion (CO) has generally been analyzed in the presence of a contralateral patent but diseased internal carotid artery (ICA). Few previous studies have focused on the fate of CO contralateral to the side of a prior carotid endarterectomy (CEA). The aim of this study was to analyze the mortality rate and the incidence of cerebrovascular events in the hemisphere ipsilateral to CO (HICO) in patients who had undergone contralateral CEA. The 30-day and long-term outcomes of 153 consecutive patients who had CEA for severe symptomatic and asymptomatic ICA lesions contralateral to a symptomatic or asymptomatic CO over a 15-year period were considered. The endpoints of the study were mortality and neurological events in the HICO. Overall, the 30-day mortality and stroke rates were 0.6% (1/153) and 1.9% (3/153), respectively; the only death was stroke-related and the stroke was ipsilateral to the operated side. The other 2 strokes were ipsilateral to a symptomatic CO. The follow-up was completed for all patients (mean, 7.7 years; range, 1-172 months). Overall, there were 4 late strokes (2.6%), one of them lacunar in a patient with a symptomatic CO, whereas the other 3 were atheroembolic and ipsilateral to the operated ICA. The risk of late stroke in the HICO at 5 and 12 years was 2%. Overall, there were 19 late deaths, none of them stroke-related. CO, with or without symptoms, contralateral to CEA could be considered a locally benign condition in the long term.
N-Acetylcysteine Does Not Improve the Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Function in the Human Saphenous Vein
Authors: Muhammad Anees Sharif  , Bayraktutan Ulvi , Young Ian Stuart , Chee Voon Soong
Published: June 2007

Oxidative stress can lead to vein graft dysfunction in the saphenous vein. This ex vivo study is aimed to compare the effects of increasing concentrations of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) with heparinized saline (HS) on endothelial and smooth muscle function in the human saphenous vein. Long saphenous vein segment obtained during infrainguinal bypass surgery was divided into 7 rings; 1 immersed in HS and the remaining 6 in increasing NAC concentrations (0.0025%, 0.005%, 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.03%, and 0.04%). Rings were mounted in an organ bath, and relaxant responses to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were assessed through isometric tension studies. Endothelium-dependent relaxations were observed in 77 vein segments from 11 patients. No significant difference was seen in veins treated with either lower NAC concentrations (0.0025%, 0.005%, 0.01%, 0.02%, and 0.03%) or HS. However, HS-treated veins showed significantly better relaxation compared to those treated with maximum (0.04%) NAC ( P < .05). Endothelium-independent relaxations were observed in 91 segments from 13 patients. No difference in relaxation was observed between veins treated with HS or any of the NAC concentrations. In conclusion, lower NAC concentrations do not offer better endothelial protection than HS, whereas the highest NAC concentration has a detrimental effect on endothelium-dependent relaxation. Moreover, NAC did not show beneficial effect on direct smooth muscle relaxation.