bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Methotrexate Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) for Effective Treatment of Carcinoma
Authors: Ruckmani K. , Sivakumar M. , Ganeshkumar P. A.
Published: September 2006

Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) containing Methotrexate (MTX), an anticancer drug for intravenous administration was formulated and characterized. The SLN dispersions with MTX, stearic acid, and soya lecithin in the ratio of 1:4:1, 1:4:1.5, and 1:4:2, sodium taurodeoxycholate and distilled
water were prepared by micro emulsification solidification method. The results show that the prepared MTX-SLN particles (with MTX–Stearic acid–Soya lecithin—1:4:2) have an average size of 270 nm with 51.3% drug entrapment. The in vitro-release was attained up to 15th
h. The pharmacokinetic studyreveals that the half-life and MRT of SLNs were higher than MTX solution. The life span of EAC (Ehrlich Ascite Carcinoma) bearing mice was increased when treated with MTX-SLNs (Methotrexate nanoparticles). These results clearly indicate that SLNs are a promising
sustained release drug targeting system for lipophilic antitumour drugs.
Effect of PEGylation on the Stability of Liposomes During Nebulisation and in Lung Surfactant
Authors: Anabousi Samah , Kleemann Elke , Bakowsky Udo , Kissel Thomas , Schmehl Thomas , Gessler Tobias , Seeger Werner , Lehr Claus-Michael , Ehrhardt Carsten
Published: September 2006

Oral inhalation of anticancer drugs or drug delivery system is a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of lung cancer and requires formulations which are sufficiently stabile during nebulisation and subsequent interaction with the surfactant lining of the lungs. In this study,
we assessed the stability of plain and PEGylated transferrin-conjugated liposomes after nebulisation using two different nebulisers (i.e., air-jet and ultrasonic type). Furthermore, the integrity of the liposomal membranes was assessed after incubation in commercial lung surfactant solutions
(Alveofact®). All liposomal formulations showed no significant changes in their size after nebulisation, independent of the type of nebuliser or the liposomal formulation, respectively. However, PEGylation was of advantage when it came to interactions between liposomes
and the surfactant lining of the lungs. PEGylated liposomes were significantly more stable and retained >80% of their drug load over 48 h, which is more than sufficient time for the drug carriers to be taken up by transferrin receptor over-expressing cancer cells in the lung. In conclusion,
PEGylated and plain Tf-conjugated liposomes are stable enough to undergo nebulisation in the course of an inhalational therapy, but PEG-stabilisation results in a higher degree of membrane integrity in lung surfactant.
Medical Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles
Authors: Alexiou C. , Jurgons R. , Seliger C. , Iro H.
Published: September 2006

In recent years biomedical research indicated, that magnetic nanoparticles can be a promising tool for several applications in vitro and in vivo. In medicine many approaches were investigated for diagnosis and therapy and offered a great variety of applications. Magnetic
cell separation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic targeted delivery of therapeutics or magnetically induced hyperthermia are approaches of particular clinical relevance. For medical use, especially for in vivo application it is of great importance that these particles do not
have any toxic effects or incompatibility with biological organism. Investigations on applicable particles induced a variability of micro- and nanostructures with different materials, sizes, and specific surface chemistry.
Folate Receptor-Mediated Cancer Cell Specific Gene Delivery Using Folic Acid-Conjugated Oligochitosans
Authors: Lee Dongwon , Lockey Richard , Mohapatra Shyam
Published: September 2006

Chitosan-mediated gene delivery has gained an increasing interest due to its ability to treat cancers and genetic diseases. However, low transfection efficiency and lack of target specificity limit its application for gene and drug delivery. In the present work, folic acid was covalently
conjugated to chitosan as a targeting ligand in an attempt to specifically deliver DNA to folate receptor-overexpressing cancer cells. Folic acid-conjugated chitosan (FACN) was successfully synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR and is biocompatible. In vitro gene transfer
potential of FACN was evaluated in human epithelial ovarian cancer OV2008 cells and human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. FACN at a weight ratio of 10 : 1 exhibited significantly (< 0.01) enhanced gene transfer potential in folate receptor-overexpressing cancer cells as compared to unmodified
chitosan. Transfection of FACN/pDNA nanocomplexes is competitively inhibited by free folic acid, suggesting the specific gene delivery of FACN/pDNA nanocomplexes is achieved through folate receptor-mediated endocytosis. Taken together, these results demonstrate that FACN provides a promising
carrier for cancer gene therapy.
Liver Targeting of Plasmid DNA with a Cationized Pullulan for Tumor Suppression
Authors: Jo Jun-ichiro , Yamamoto Masaya , Matsumoto Kunio , Nakamura Toshikazu , Tabata Yasuhiko
Published: September 2006

The objective of this study is to prepare a novel gene carrier from pullulan, a polysaccharide with an inherent affinity for the liver and evaluate the feasibility in gene transfection in the mice liver. Pullulan with a weight-average molecular weight of 22,800 was cationized by the
chemical introduction of spermine (spermine-pullulan). The cationized pullulan derivative was complexed with a plasmid DNA and intravenously injected for in vivo gene transfection. The level of gene expression by the spermine-pullulan in the liver depended on the extent of spermine
introduced and the highest level was observed for the spermine-pullulan with an introduction extent of 5.60. When a plasmid DNA coding NK4 of a hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/scatter factor antagonist complexed with the spermine-pullulan was intravenously injected to mice 1 day before the
inoculation of RLmale1 tumor cells, the tumor-bearing mice survived for a longer time period, while the GPT level and the number of tumor cells grown in the liver were low compared with those of free plasmid DNA injection. These findings indicate that the liver targeting of NK4 plasmid DNA
by complexation with the spermine- pullulan specifically enhanced the liver expression level, resulting in augmented suppression effect on tumor growth therein.
Controlled Drug Delivery System Based on Magnetic Hollow Spheres/Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Core–Shell Structure
Authors: Zhang YanQi , Li LinLin , Tang Fangqiong , Ren Jun
Published: September 2006

A novel controlled drug delivery system was fabricated by coating chitosan/PAA multilayer onto magnetic hollow spheres via a "Layer-by-Layer" (LBL) assembly approach. Cefradine was used as a model drug to evaluate the drug release characteristics of this core–shell hollow structure
and the results show that it exhibits a sustained release of the drug and the release rate can be regulated by the pH environment of release medium. It is believed that this core–shell hollow structure, which combines the advantage of controlled delivery as well as magnetic targeting,
has commendable potential in drug delivery therapeutics.
Nanoparticles from Polylactide and Polyether Block Copolymers: Formation, Properties, Encapsulation, and Release of Pyrene—Fluorescent Model of Hydrophobic Drug
Authors: Slomkowski Stanislaw , Gadzinowski Mariusz , Sosnowski Stanislaw , Radomska-Galant Izabela , Pucci Andrea , De Vita Cinzia , Ciardelli Francesco
Published: September 2006

Polylactide-b-polyglycidol-b-poly(ethylene oxide) terpolymers and their derivatives with carboxyl and 4-(phenylazo)phenyl labels in polyglycidol blocks were used for formation of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were produced by self assembly of terpolymer macromolecules in
water above the critical aggregation concentration and by dialysis of terpolymer solutions in 1,4-dioxane against water. For terpolymers with 4-(phenylazo)phenyl labels critical aggregation concentrations increased after irradiation with UV light (300 < λ < 400 nm) inducing
conformational change of the label from trans- to cis-conformation. Diameters of nanoparticles obtained by self-assembly of macromolecules ranged from 20 to 44 nm. Dialysis yielded nanoparticles with bimodal diameter distribution. One fraction had diameters below 35 nm and diameters
of the second fraction were in a range from 350 to 2300 nm, depending on terpolymer structure. Mixtures of terpolymers with poly(L,L-lactide) and poly(D,D-lactide) blocks yielded nanoparticles with diameters from 350 to 440 nm. Pyrene was incorporated into nanoparticles by partition between
solution and nanoparticles or directly during particle formation by dialysis. Monitoring of pyrene release from nanoparticles suggests that a fraction of this compound was entrapped into the polylactide core whereas the remaining one was located in the polyether rich shell. The release from
shells is faster for nanoparticles made from copolymers with carboxyl labels in polyglycidol blocks.
Evaluation of the Enhanced Oral Effect of Omapatrilat-Monolein Nanoparticles Prepared by the Emulsification-Diffusion Method
Authors: Tamayo-Esquivel D. , Ganem-Quintanar A. , Martínez A. L. , Navarrete-Rodríguez M. , Rodríguez-Romo S. , Quintanar-Guerrero D.
Published: September 2006

In the present study, the emulsification-diffusion method was optimized in order to obtain omapatrilat/monolein-nanoparticles (omapatrilat/MO-nanoparticles). The antihypertensive effect of omapatrilat/MO-nanoparticles in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) after oral administration
was evaluated. The results indicated that the variables involved in the process did not have an influence on particle size, and that the former is directly determined by the amphiphilic properties of MO. When SHR were orally treated with omapatrilat/MO-nanoparticles, blood pressure was significantly
reduced and completely normalized after three days. This effect was markedly higher than that observed with omapatrilat suspensions. The effect of omapatrilat/MO-nanoparticles can be attributed to: (i) The molecular dispersion of the drug into the lipophilic domain of monolein's bicontinuous
phase; (ii) the adhesive properties of the nanodispersion on the gastrointestinal mucosa; (iii) the high surface area of the dispersion; (iv) the intraluminal interaction between MO, the mixed micelles arising from the digestive process, and omapatrilat; and (v) the well-known absorption-promoting
properties of lipids, and in particular, of MO. MO-nanoparticles can be an interesting system to increase the oral bioavailability of drugs.
Nanocarriers with Gentamicin to Treat Intracellular Pathogens
Authors: Lecaroz C. , Gamazo C. , Blanco-Prieto M. J.
Published: September 2006

Brucellosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by different species of the genus Brucella. The intracellular localisation of this pathogen, particularly in macrophages, renders treatment difficult since most antibiotics known to be efficient in vitro do not actively pass through
cellular membranes. As alternative to current treatment, polymeric drug delivery systems containing gentamicin have been developed. These particulate carriers target the drug into the mononuclear-phagocytic system, where the pathogen resides that will allow intracellular accumulation of the
antibiotic after particle degradation. Besides, particle uptake may induce macrophage activation, increasing the production of reactive oxygen intermediates, involved in host defense against the intracellular pathogen. The aim of the present work was to study the suitability of polymeric nanoparticles
for gentamicin entrapment in view to treat brucellosis. Different poly(lactide-co-glycolide) PLGA polymers were used to formulate the nanoparticles containing gentamicin by a water-oil-water solvent evaporation method. Furthermore, in vitro macrophage activation upon nanoparticles phagocytosis
and in vivo distribution of the nanocarriers in the target organs for Brucella (liver and spleen) were also studied. The nanoparticle sizes were below 350 nm, the gentamicin encapsulation efficiency depended on the polymer type used for their preparation and the in vitro
release of the antibiotic exhibited a continuos pattern (PLGA 502H). PLGA 502H nanoparticles were the most suitable due to the highest entrapment and the most sustained release. The nanoparticles were successfully phagocyted by a J774 murine monocytes cell line and biodistribution studies
in mice after intravenous administration of the delivery systems revealed that the particles reached the target organs of Brucella (liver and spleen). All together, these results indicate that the nanocarriers described in this work may be suitable as gentamicin delivery system to control
brucellosis.
Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery: Review of the Formulation and Process Difficulties Illustrated by the Emulsion-Diffusion Process
Authors: Moinard-Checot D. , Chevalier Y. , Briançon S. , Fessi H. , Guinebretière S.
Published: September 2006

The elaboration of nanoparticles aqueous suspensions aimed at the drug delivery and related process development appear as difficult tasks, due to specificities related to the nanometric size. Such small sizes are required for specific applications in pharmacy. The switch of micrometric
to nanometric field represents an actual challenge and cannot be considered as a simple scaling-down of chemical engineers. Ideas and concepts developed first in nanosciences have been adapted to the pharmaceutical application in drug delivery. In spite of drastic constraints due to pharmaceutical
application, some parameters allow the control. A brief and not exhaustive review of the state-of-the-art on polymer particles used in the drug delivery field is presented. Attention was more particularly paid on preparation processes and their constraints by describing advantages and drawbacks
of each process. The adaptation to the pharmaceutical field, the difficulties and pitfalls which are shared, with most research works in nanoscience, are illustrated thanks to our own results on nanocapsules obtained by "emulsion-diffusion" process presented as a case-study. Thanks to these
results, we illustrate the peculiar features and difficulties encountered regarding nanocapsules preparation and characterization. Indeed, such a process allows to prepare nanocapsules of few hundreds nanometers diameter having an oil core surrounded by a polymeric membrane. The characterization
of such soft particles colloidal suspensions is often difficult and involves heavy investigation techniques in order to highlight physical mechanisms leading to the nanocapsule properties. This is a key step regarding the final properties as a drug delivery system.
New Method for the Effective Production of Ultrafine Drug Nanocrystals
Authors: Möschwitzer Jan , Müller Rainer H.
Published: September 2006

Particle size reduction, particularly nanonization, is a non-specific, universal approach to improve the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. The decreased particle size of drug nanocrystals leads to a distinct increase in surface area. Due to the increased surface area the rate
of dissolution will be proportionally raised, leading to a better absorption of the poorly soluble drug. Various technologies for the production of drug nanocrystals are known, e.g., pearl milling (Nanocrystal™ technology, élan/Nanosystems), high pressure homogenization
in water (DissoCubes®, SkyePharma) or alternatively in non-aqueous media or water-reduced media (Nanopure®, PharmaSol Berlin). A first combinative technology (precipitation followed by high pressure homogenization) is known as NANOEDGE™ technology
(Baxter). Relatively long milling times, high numbers of homogenization cycles or solvent residues are typical drawbacks of the existing technologies. In order to overcome the limitations of the existing technologies a new combination method was developed for the production of ultra-fine submicron
suspensions. The method involves an evaporation step to provide a solvent-free modified starting material followed by high pressure homogenization to produce ultra-fine drug nanocrystals. In this study it could be shown that modified hydrocortisone acetate was particularly suitable to be further
processed by high pressure homogenization. In comparison to jet-milled hydrocortisone acetate powder the high pressure homogenization of spray-dried hydrocortisone acetate powder resulted in much more homogeneously dispersed nanosuspensions. By using co-processed, spray-dried material (9 :
1 drug/poloxamer 188 ratio) the required number of homogenization cycles to obtain nanosuspensions was distinctly reduced. In case of the modified material only 1 homogenization cycle at 1500 bar was sufficient to obtain a particle size smaller than that after 20 homogenization cycles using
the jet-milled drug powder. The obtained nanosuspensions have shown excellent long-term storage stability.
Development of Diclofenac Sodium Releasing Bio-Erodible Polymeric Nanomats
Authors: Piras A. M. , Nikkola L. , Chiellini F. , Ashammakhi N. , Chiellini E.
Published: September 2006

Application of nanofiber-based nanomats in medicine is attractive and thanks to the 3D nano-structure and the high surface to volume ratio they are excellent for local controlled drug delivery. The use of bioactive bioerodible polymers for developing drug delivery nanomats may allow
for drug release and targeting control. Objective of the current study was to evaluate the suitability of bioerodible polymeric material based on n-butyl hemiester of [poly(maleic anhydride-alt-2-methoxyethyl vinyl ether)] (PAM14) for the preparation of nanomats for controlled
administration of anti-inflammatory, diclofenac sodium (DS) drug. Samples were prepared using different polymer concentrations (5–10%) in either ethanol or acetic acid as solvent. Morphology was investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermal analysis such as differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed to detect effect on polymer arrangement. DS localization in electrospun nanomats was evaluated by using electron back scattering microanalysis, based on the detection of chlorine, and drug release kinetics was assessed using UV-Vis. Average fiber diameter
resulted in the range of 100 nm to 1.0 μm and a homogeneous distribution of the loaded drug into the fibers was observed. The DS release was immediate and despite the preliminary nature of the performed electrospinning experiments, the achieved results appear promising for the future
development of a novel system for the controlled and targeted administration of drug and active agent.
The Grammar of Social Science
Authors: Zetterberg Hans L.
Published: September 2006

Claude Lévi-Strauss hinted that society was like a language. Kenneth Pike’s distinction between emic and etic vernaculars probes the relation between the language in a society and the language of social science. Our thesis is that etic scholarly language that classifies social reality is synonymous with some deep linguistic structure (in Noam Chomsky’s sense) of everyday emic language, in some measure unconscious for the user, but discoverable by science. Adding insights of Charles Morris and Charles Stevenson, we maintain that language becomes differentiated into descriptive, evaluative and prescriptive usages, each of which contains executive and emotive components. Such a language can codify societal orders, represent riches, summarize knowledge, embody beauty, define sacredness and express virtues. It can be subject to the operations of the common language of sciences, i.e. logics, mathematics and statistics. It opens an easy door to social structuration and can rephrase dramas of human life.
Physicians as ‘Organic Intellectuals’
Authors: Filc Dani
Published: September 2006

Since the early 1980s, healthcare systems in welfare states have undergone a process of transformation, with the convergence towards different forms of managed care as one of its central characteristics. The process has also brought about changes within the medical profession. Most physicians, and some sociologists, understand the transformation as a process of deprofessionalization. This article presents an alternative explanation, understanding changes as a process of redistribution of power and resources within the profession, and as a change in the relationship between the medical profession and the hegemonic bloc.
Combination Pressure
Authors: van der Lippe Tanja , Jager Annet , Kops Yvonne
Published: September 2006

People today lead busy, hurried lives with competing time claims between the spheres of paid work and the household. The aim of this article is to provide more insight into the way men and women experience the multiple claims on their time and to attempt to understand the differences between European countries in this respect. Are we able to draw a sharp line in the work-family balance experienced in eastern and western Europe? Expectations are formulated at the individual level (work and home-related factors) and at the contextual level (gender culture and family policy). Data were gathered in 2001 within the international research programme ‘Households, Work and Flexibility’, financed by the European Union. The eight countries included in the analyses are Sweden, the Netherlands, UK, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, and hypotheses are tested using multivariate regression analyses. At the contextual level, results reflect more support for the gender culture hypothesis than for the family friendly policy hypothesis. The multiplicity of options in western European countries due to the emancipation process causes time pressure. Individual factors are especially important in explaining combination pressure in the three western European countries: long working hours, overtime work, demanding job and having young children all add to the pressure men and women experience.
How I Ended Up in a Happy Relationship: Women’s Process of Successful Partnering
Authors: Levitt, et al. Heidi M.
Published: September 2006

Women (under the age of 40 years) in fulfilling heterosexual relationships are interviewed about their commitment process. A grounded theory analysis is conducted to develop a model of these successful commitment processes. Findings describe the qualities women attribute to their partners, external factors in their relationship formation, and processes of developing desire, making commitment decisions, resolving hesitations about commitment, and maintaining relational ease. The core category in this model, Not just a process of choice but of acceptance and appreciation, suggests that partnering decisions include an initial decision-making phase. Ongoing commitment decisions, however, may follow a distinctly different process in which partnering is based on faith and trust. This two-stage model of partnering integrates existing models of romantic love.
Early Psychedelic Investigators Reflect on the Psychological and Social Implications of their Research
Authors: Walsh Roger , Grob Charles S.
Published: September 2006

In the brief period before it was legally terminated, considerable human subjects research was conducted on psychedelics. More than 1,000 clinical reports documented a wide array of psychological effects and therapeutic possibilities. The findings held major implications for disciplines as diverse as psychology, psychiatry, neuro-science, anthropology, sociology, and religious studies. Psychological and psychiatric findings included insights into states of consciousness, the unconscious, and the relationship of different schools of psychology, motivation, self-actualization, spirituality, psychotherapy, and adjunctive therapies. With further human subjects studies virtually impossible, the original investigators clearly constitute an irreplaceable resource of information. An interdisciplinary group of surviving investigators was therefore convened and interviewed to obtain an oral history of the findings and implications of their research. This article provides a summary of their conclusions, of the psychological and social implications of their research, and of the impact their research had on diverse academic disciplines.
Humanistic Testing and Assessment
Authors: Friedman Harris L. , MacDonald Douglas A.
Published: September 2006

Humanistic psychology’s tradition of controversy regarding the worth of psychological testing and assessment is reviewed. Assessment is defined as a process involving qualitative professional judgments integrating information from various sources and necessarily guiding all professional activities, whether performed explicitly or implicitly. Testing, as delineated from assessment, is just one potential source of assessment input that may provide formally gathered qualitative and/or quantitative information. Arguments against testing and assessment as legitimate activities within humanistic psychological practice are countered, concluding that testing and assessment can be congruent with humanistic ideals when focused on growth, subjectivity, agency, the centrality of the role of both the assessor and client as coparticipants, and a view of the person as a whole with inherent value.
Teaching Self-Care Through Mindfulness Practices: The Application of Yoga, Meditation, and Qigong to Counselor Training
Authors: Christopher John Chambers , Christopher Suzanne E. , Dunnagan Tim , Schure Marc
Published: September 2006

Faculty in counseling training programs often give voice to the importance of self-care for students during the training period and into practice after training is completed. However, few programs specifically address this issue in their curricula. To address this perceived need, a course was developed to provide students with (a) personal growth opportunities through self-care practices and (b) professional growth through mindfulness practices in counseling that can help prevent burnout. A focus group assessed course impact on students who reported significant changes in their personal lives, stress levels, and clinical training.
Religion and Politics in the United States: Persistence, Limitations and the Prophetic Voice
Authors: Jelen Ted G.
Published: September 2006

English

The author provides an overview of religious politics in the contemporary United States. Possible answers are proposed to three questions: Why are Americans more religious than citizens of other Western democracies?; Why does religiously-motivated political activity seem such a frequent feature of politics in the United States?; Why is the effect of religiously-based political activity on public policy in the United States so limited? The answers given to these three questions suggest that American political religion plays a “prophetic” role of social critic in the United States.

French

L'auteur donne un aperçu des interactions entre la religion et la politique dans la société américaine contemporaine. Il propose des réponses possibles à trois questions: pourquoi les Américains sont-ils plus pratiquants que les citoyens des autres démocraties occidentales? Pourquoi les activités politiques fondées sur des motivations religieuses sont-elles une caractéristique si fréquente de la politique américaine? Pourquoi l'effet de ces activités sur la politique publique est-il si limité? Les éléments de réponse à ces trois questions semblent indiquer qu'aux Etats-Unis, la 'religion politique' joue un rôle 'prophétique' de critique sociale.
Religion, morale individuelle et politique américaine
Authors: Blasi Anthony J.
Published: September 2006

English

Religion no longer serves so much as a surrogate for class and ethnicity in American politics. Thus, it is religiosity, in addition to denomination, that has become a key factor that works through issues related to a narrowly defined sexual morality, especially abortion and homosexuality. The majority of the most religiously observant of voters find themselves allied with right-wing political factions in the US, though the minority of the most religious voters find themselves allied to more “progressive” political stances. The author demonstrates that left-wing to right-wing political stances have their own effects on attitudes towards abortion and homosexuality, beyond any effects of religiosity.

French

Dans la sphère politique américaine, la religion ne se substitue plus vraiment à la classe sociale ou à l'ethnicité. C'est désormais la religiosité, outre l'appartenance à une confession, qui est devenue un facteur décisif dans les débats sur la définition de la morale sexuelle, surtout en matière d'avortement et d'homosexualité. Une majorité des électeurs les plus pratiquants se trouve alliée à des factions politiques de droite, même si une minorité d'entre eux se dit en accord avec des options politiques plus progressistes. L'auteur montre que les prises de position politiques, de gauche comme de droite, ont leurs incidences propres sur les attitudes àl'égard de l'avortement ou de l'homosexualité et ce, indépendamment de tout effet de la religiosité.
The Idea of Freedom in Modern China Revisited
Authors: Fung Edmund S. K.
Published: September 2006

Western historiography on the idea of freedom in modern China has tended to focus on its conception as service to the state and social ends, as illustrated by studies of Liang Qichao’s democratic thought; as a result, many other interpretations have been overlooked. This article locates Chinese notions of liberty in a broader context as a fusion of personal, national, social, civic, and moral freedoms. After revisiting Liang Qichao’s conception of freedom, it posits six others that are mutually interactive—freedom as liberation; as self-development, independent personality, and responsibility; as democracy and human rights; as a spiritual cultural necessity; as a private realm; and as autonomy and self-mastery. The article offers a more nuanced understanding of the issue of the primacy of collective interests over individual interests by developing the notion of dual responsibilities, or the dualism between the sanctity of personal liberty and the public morality of service to society and state.
Awareness and incidence of health problems among conservatoire students
Authors: Williamon Aaron , Thompson Sam
Published: September 2006

A survey of conservatoire students is reported in which information was gathered regarding their awareness and incidence of physical and mental health problems resulting from performing music, as well as places and/or people they would turn to for advice in the event of a future problem. Pain and discomfort relating to posture and excessive practising were reported to be frequent, as was performance anxiety. Students showed a significant inclination to go first to their instrumental teacher for advice about health and psychological problems, before appropriate medical practitioners. These results are discussed in the light of previous research. In addition, a curriculum initiative is described in which a series of seminars have been presented to first-year students at the Royal College of Music with the intention of broadening their awareness of the health issues associated with performing professionally and of the places where they could seek professional help.
Exploring music practice among sixth-grade band and orchestra students
Authors: Austin James R. , Berg Margaret Haefner
Published: September 2006

The purpose of this study was to describe the practice motivation and regulation of sixth-grade instrumentalists (11–12 years of age). A sample of 224 US band and orchestra students, representing 85 elementary schools, completed a 36-item practice inventory and produced two narratives depicting a typical practice session and a practice episode involving a difficult piece of music. Factor analysis of practice inventory responses demonstrated that motivation and self-regulation are distinct dimensions of music practice. While orchestra students reported significantly higher levels of practice motivation, there were no significant differences between band and orchestra students' self-reports for frequency of practice, amount of practice, or practice regulation. Practice motivation and regulation were associated with the quality of home environment in which students typically practice. Written narratives revealed that some students employ a range of practice and regulatory strategies, while others follow practice routines that cannot be considered strategic. Practice motivation was reflected in student comments about personal interest, effort, and emotional responses experienced while practicing.
The dimensions of baroque music performance: a semantic differential study
Authors: Schubert Emery , Fabian Dorottya
Published: September 2006

A semantic differential inventory consisting of 40 baroque-performance descriptors was used by 44 participants in response to 5 interpretations of two pieces by J.S. Bach. The aim of the study was to gain insight into the aesthetic dimensions which underlie baroque performances. Factor analysis identified two dimensions, one pertaining to the stylishness of the performance. Stylishness described those performance devices that contribute to the success of the performance. The second dimension indicated either an amount of expression (regardless of appropriateness or success), or a mainstream perception of expressiveness, not necessarily appropriate to baroque music. A third, weaker, dimension also emerged which grouped together tempo-related variables. The three factors were compared with Osgood's dimensions of connotative meaning, and aligned reasonably well with the evaluative, potency and activity dimensions respectively.
Digital Culture: Pragmatic and Philosophical Challenges
Authors: Dascal Marcelo
Published: September 2006

Over the coming decades, the so-called telematic technologies are destined to grow more and more encompassing in scale and the repercussions they will have on our professional and personal lives will become ever more accentuated. The transformations resulting from the digitization of data have already profoundly modified a great many of the activities of human life and exercise significant influence on the way we design, draw up, store and send documents, as well as on the means used for locating information in libraries, databases and on the net. These changes are transforming the nature of international communication and are modifying the way in which we carry out research, engage in study, keep our accounts, plan our travel, do our shopping, look after our health, organize our leisure time, undertake wars and so on. The time is not far off when miniaturized digital systems will be installed everywhere - in our homes and offices, in the car, in our pockets or even embedded within the bodies of each one of us. They will help us to keep control over every aspect of our lives and will efficiently and effectively carry out multiple tasks which today we have to devote precious time to. As a consequence, our ways of acting and thinking will be transformed. These new winds of change, which are blowing strongly, are giving birth to a new culture to which the name ‘digital culture’ has been given. It is timely that a study should be made of the different aspects and consequences of this culture, but that this study should not be just undertaken from the point of view of the simple user who quickly embraces the latest successful innovation, in reaction essentially to market forces. The major challenge for this culture resides not so much in the development of even more tiny microchips, faster processors or more refined software, but in the honing of conceptual instruments which will give us the ability to analyse and evaluate the radical changes that this revolution is bringing about and which it will continue to provoke in all of our lives.
Finnish Philosophy at Home and Abroad
Authors: Hintikka Jaakko
Published: September 2006

Recent years have seen a tremendous growth in international scholarly communication, especially perhaps in Europe. On the one hand, the technical means of communication have undergone a major revolution. Scholars and scientists can communicate almost instantly via phone, fax and especially by e-mail, and post their results on their websites instead of having to wait for months and sometimes years to have them published. On the other hand, various institutional frameworks have been created for the purpose of fostering international scientific communication and cooperation. These institutional arrangements have typically been supported by responsible governments. One unspoken or spoken motive (among others) in encouraging international exchanges - especially in the humanities and social sciences - is the expectation that the new technical and institutional improvements in communication not only facilitate research and scholarship but directly or indirectly contribute to the discussion of important cultural, educational and social issues in the different participating countries, and perhaps even help people and peoples to cope with them.
Religion and the Internet
Authors: Hackett Rosalind I. J.
Published: September 2006

Emergent scholarship on the most radical technological invention of our time confirms what most of us know from first-hand experience - that the internet has fundamentally altered our perceptions and our knowledge, as well as our sense of subjectivity, community and agency (see for example Vries, 2002: 19). The American scholar of religion and communications, Stephen O'Leary, one of the first scholars to analyze the role of the new media for religious communities, claims that the advent of the internet has been as revolutionary for religious growth and dissemination as was the invention of the printing press (O'Leary, 1996).
Hypertext and Ethnographic Writing
Authors: Estévez Manuel Gutiérrez
Published: September 2006

If all language is, in essence and in practice, the systematic repository of the collective awareness of the society that uses it, how can the ethnographer use his own language to write about a collective awareness that is not his own? How can he write so that he may properly represent this foreign collective awareness (which he can only partially share with the society that possesses it) without it sounding like a lot of gibberish? One way or another, through the use of native terms, some degree of progress is made, and the moment finally arrives when the book or article about a particular aspect of the society being studied leaves the ethnographer's hands, though he is certainly aware that what he has said is, inevitably, only an approximation that will require a considerable amount of correcting and polishing. As an ethnographer, in the end, you grow accustomed to this feeling of being overwhelmed by a social reality that is foreign to your own. It is actually far more difficult to regain fluidity in your own language - after days and days of forcing it and stretching it to its absolute limits in the attempt to wrap it around foreign physics and metaphysics, one's own language often feels as though it has lost its own elasticity, as if it has been stretched so very far that it can no longer return to its normal state of use.
The Internet and the African Academic World
Authors: Bidima Jean-Godefroy
Published: September 2006

A practice, a technique, an expertise cannot be left unexplored by an account that can explain their basis and organization as well as their objectives. Whether the internet is understood as a practice, or seen as a journey through a space that knows no borders, or cursed as humanity overreaching itself yet again (hybris), nevertheless its reality raises questions about our experience of the world (experimentum mundi) and explores its nature, giving an exact measure, beyond assumptions, of the relationship between humans and machines. With this in mind a multicultural, multidisciplinary study was set up in the USA through the publication of Academy and the Internet, jointly edited by Helen Nissenbaum and Monroe Price (2004). The book sets out to examine the relations between the internet and economic issues, the internet and social problems of equality, politics (the question of public space), the communicative relationship in a virtual world. Interculturally speaking, only the Chinese contribution gives the debate - which is almost tribal since it is American to the core - an off-centre tone. A debate makes statements and analyses, but it also omits and may skate over other perspectives. Africa, which is absent from this debate, almost forces its way in via this paper. What is the position with the relationship between the internet and present-day African experience? Hardly coping as it is with the consequences of the recent introduction of writing, how is Africa experiencing this internet adventure, in which the status of images, words and time seems to be called into question? This brief presentation will look first at the status of technoscience - under which heading the internet is subsumed in Africa - and then at the challenges the internet throws up in the region. Our method will be to examine internet capacities from the viewpoint of oral cultures that are dominated economically.
Evaluation of CFD Modeling Methods for Fire-induced Airflow in a Room
Authors: Wang Jian , Hua Jinsong , Kumar Kurichi , Kumar Suresh
Published: September 2006

Methods for exploiting the technique of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model fires and the associated fundamental processes of combustion and radiation are appraised by applying the CFD model JASMINE to simulate the fire-induced airflow in a room-sized compartment. For a systematic evaluation of these methods describing the fundamental processes and the associated mathematical formulation, a two-stage-verification and validation procedure is adopted here. In the verification stage, a number of important model parameters, e.g., the choice of fire source model (e.g., combustion model vs. volumetric heat source (VHS) model), radiation transport model (e.g., six-flux vs. discrete transfer radiation model), gas property model (e.g., constant absorption coefficient vs. grey gas model), design and resolution of the numerical grid, etc. are assessed by comparing the predicted results against a specific fire scenario selected from the data of Steckler, K.D., Quintiere, J.G. and Rinkinen, W.J. (1982). Flow Induced by Fire in a Compartment, NBSIR B2-2520, National Bureau of Standards, Pittsburgh [2]. The validation stage has then focused on the detailed comparison of the CFD fire model against the comprehensive data set of Steckler et al. [2] for a wide range of fire scenarios covering a range of fire strengths (i.e., heat release rates), fire source locations, the sizes and shapes of the ventilation opening (i.e., door or window). Such a systematic study has demonstrated the predictive capability of the CFD methodology in reproducing detailed thermal and flow field behavior of the enclosure fires, and has also shown that the predictive accuracy of the CFD methodology can be significantly improved by careful selection of the fire models and model parameters. Some guidance on the use of CFD methodology has been provided for performing the fire modeling properly and effectively for performance-based fire safety design.
“Shaking It Off” and “Toughing It Out”
Authors: Malcom Nancy L.
Published: September 2006

Ignoring injuries and playing through pain are expected in organized sports. But how do novice athletes learn these social norms? Using participant-observation research focusing on adolescent girls who participated in recreational softball, this study reveals how the clash of norms between traditional femininity and the sport ethic sheds light on the socialization process. In addition to shaking off their own injuries, coaches ignored the girls’ complaints, made jokes when the girls experienced some pain, and told them directly to shake off their minor injuries. Even though many of the girls entered the activity with traditionally feminine attitudes toward pain, most conformed to the norms of the sport ethic and learned to deal with pain and injuries by “shaking them off” and “toughing them out.” Those girls who were more enthusiastic about playing softball and who displayed stronger commitments to the softball-player identity were more likely to display these norms.
Proletarian or Promethean?
Authors: Dennis Michael Robert
Published: September 2006

This article addresses a controversy regarding the extent to which an information technology system may marginalize social service workers and their clients. The Indiana Client Eligibility System (ICES) software was designed to maintain, distribute, and streamline that state’s Aid for Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamp, and Medicaid programs while also setting the stage for a welfare-to-workfare policy transition. One Indiana county’s welfare staff and clients are analyzed after adoption of ICES. Observation, interviews, and a perspective informed by Giddens’s 1979 notions of structuration and DeSanctis and Poole’s 1994 Adaptive Structuration Theory reveal ICES’s structural features and “spirit,” its dependence and impact on organizational structure, and its effects on the perceived roles and relationships of caseworkers (i.e., “disenchanted” and “distanced”), supervisors (i.e., “disempowered”), clients (i.e., “disenfranchised”), and clerks (i.e., “disbursing” and “distinctive”).
The Balikbayan Researcher
Authors: Guevarra Anna Romina
Published: September 2006

This article examines the power dynamics of doing fieldwork in a politicized and contentious setting of the Philippines’ labor recruitment industry as a Balikbayan, a returning migrant whose privileged position creates a source of vulnerability in the field. I describe and problematize the acceptable positions I negotiated with labor brokers as a sympathetic “outsider-within” and a culturally competent Filipina American. I argue that doing research in communities of individuals with whom researchers share a common racial or ethnic identity intensifies the nature of such vulnerability because field membership is tied to notions of cultural loyalty and allegiance.
Making of Our Lives a Study: Feminist Theology and Women’s Creative Writing
Authors: Harde Roxanne
Published: September 2006

This article examines the relationship between feminist theologies and women’s poetry and fiction. Using Sheila Hassell Hughes’ work on this same relationship as a point of departure, I contend that feminist theologians rely on literature by women for a variety of reasons, and I focus on how literature by women offers feminist theologies a multitude of examples of women’s experience, embodied experience in particular. If women’s experience is the starting point for a truly feminist theology, women’s writing seems an obvious source of the theologian’s materialist and semiotic quest.
Rethinking Female Sainthood: Michèle Roberts’ Spiritual Quest in Impossible Saints
Authors: Rodríguez Patricia Bastida
Published: September 2006

Women’s marginalized position in Christianity has been a central concern in much of Michèle Roberts’ fiction, springing from her Catholic education and her awareness of the sexist ideology underlying Christian doctrine. Her growing fascination with the figure of the female saint is reflected in Impossible Saints,1 her most recent novel dealing with Christianity, where she offers an utterly transgressive exploration of female sainthood through the subverted, fictionalised lives of a number of women who have been canonized as saints by the Church. This paper examines the global message of Impossible Saints as a radical questioning of the traditional Christian perception of the female saint, as well as its role in Roberts’ spiritual development and in her search for an empowering image of woman in the religious sphere.