bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La forme est le fond la structuration des appareils statistiques nationaux (1800-1945)
Authors: Beaud Jean-Pierre , Prévost Jean-Guy
Published: February 2010

Le présent article porte sur les débats relatifs à la Forme que doit prendre l'appareil de collecte de données statistiques pour faire face aux transformations que connaissent les sociétés occidentales depuis le début du XIXe siècle. C'est au moment de la mise sur pied, en 1832, du Bureau statistique du Board of Trade britannique que sont avancés pour la première fois les arguments en faveur de la coordination, de la centralisation ou de la décentralisation en matière statistique. Jusqu'en 1945, ce débat sera un des mieux alimentés, le décollage des économies, les guerres mondiales, la crise des années trente offrant aux protagonistes l'occasion de s'interroger sur la forme que doit prendre le système de collecte et d'analyse des données statistiques. La perspective que nous adopterons ici se distingue par sa double amplitude: ainsi, ne nous limitant pas aux grands systèmes statistiques, ceux de GrandeBretagne, de France et des États-Unis, nous croiserons les fils des histoires nationales de la plupart des pays occidentaux; de plus, ne nous en tenant pas à la période où naissent la plupart des bureaux statistiques, soit le XIXe siècle, nous embrasserons l'ensemble de la période s'étendant de 1800 à 1945.
La mesure en psychologie de Binet à Thurstone, 1900-1930
Authors: Martin Olivier
Published: February 2010

Le psychologue français Alfred Binet est à l'origine du développement de tests mentaux destinés à diagnostiquer le « niveau intellectuel » des enfants. Initialement conçus comme des tests cliniques, leur importation aux États-Unis dans les années 1910 a considérablement modifié leur usage, leur portée pratique et leur interprétation. Devenus les instruments de politiques eugéniques ou héréditaristes, utilisés dans des processus de sélection de grande échelle, les tests ont transformé la conception que les psychologues se faisaient de l'intelligence: initialement conçue comme multiforme et qualitative, elle est devenue une grandeur unique quantifiable. C'est dans ce contexte que le psychologue américain Louis Léon Thurstone, critiquant le manque de rigueur des méthodes statistiques utilisées dans les tests, a développé une nouvelle méthode permettant de disposer d'une unité et d'un zéro absolu pour la mesure (échelonnement) de l'intelligence. Une fois objectivée, sa méthode est devenue une « loi » générale permettant de rendre compte de tous les processus mentaux, de disposer d'un outil d'analyse des opinions et des attitudes.
Narrativisme et philosophie spéculative de l'histoire
Authors: Lagueux Maurice
Published: February 2010

Au cours des dernières décennies, d'importants philosophes tels Walter B. Gallie, Arthur Danto, Louis Mink, Hayden White et Paul Ricoeur ont mis l'accent sur le rôle de la narration en histoire. Le présent texte rappelle les thèses de ces auteurs et porte ensuite une attention particulière aux travaux de David Carr voulant que l'action historique elle-même ait une structure narrative. L'article discute des conséquences de ce « narrativisme » en prenant parti dans un débat alimenté par des interventions comme celles de William Dray et de Noël Carroll. Il soutient qu'une thèse «réaliste» en la matière risque de déboucher sur la réactualisation d'une forme de philosophie spéculative de l'histoire, ce qui ne va pas sans soulever quelques questions à propos de l'analyse politique et de la pratique de l'histoire.
Le scepticisme et les hypothèses de la physique
Authors: Roux Sophie
Published: February 2010

L 'Histoire du scepticisme d'Érasme à Spinoza est souvent invoqué pour appuyer trois thèses: premièrement, Descartes aurait eu une conception dogmatique de la science, et conséquemment de la physique; deuxièmement, l'épistémologie hypothétique de la physique qui se répand au XVIIe siècle serait la conséquence d'une crise sceptique générale; troisièmement, cette épistémologie aurait trouvé un terrain plus favorable en Angleterre qu'en France. Ces trois thèses méritent d'être réévaluées: il existe dans l'œuvre cartésienne une tension entre l'idéal d'une science totalement certaine et une physique pleine d'hypothèses; la manière dont les philosophes mécaniques recourent à des hypothèses est indissociable de leur conception de la physique; les physiciens parlent par hypothèses aussi bien en France qu'en Angleterre à la fin du XVIIe siècle. Le problème général abordé ici par le biais du livre de Richard H. Popkin est donc le suivant: dans quelle mesure et pour quelles raisons certaines propositions physiques ont-elles été présentées comme des hypothèses au XVIIe siècle?
Religion naturelle et scepticisme religieux
Authors: Lagrée Jacqueline
Published: February 2010

Dans son livre sur I' Histoire du scepticisme d'Érasme à Spinoza, Richard H. Popkin présente la théorie de la vérité proposée par Edward Herbert de Cherbury dans le De veritate comme une machine de guerre lourde et impuissante dirigée contre le scepticisme religieux de l'âge classique. L'article entend montrer que le lourd dispositif conceptuel du De veritate ne constitue pas le coeur de la réponse cherburienne au scepticisme mais seulement le fondement théorique d'un perspectivisme religieux immédiatement corrigé par la défense d'un credo minimum stable et universel. Par là, Cherbury accomplit le programme du pragmatisme religieux de Sextus Empiricus, en recherchant non pas la religion la plus vraie mais la meilleure pour permettre aux hommes de vivre en paix dans le respect mutuel de leurs croyances.
L'articulation du scepticisme religieux et du scepticisme profane dans l'Histoire du scepticisme d'Érasme à Spinoza, de Richard H. Popkin
Authors: Brahami Frédéric
Published: February 2010

l'Histoire du scepticisme d'Érasme à Spinoza de Richard H. Popkin n'est pas seulement le récit des diverses doctrines sceptiques qui traversent le XVIe et le XVIIe siècle: un fil conducteur confère à l'ensemble sa cohérence. Mieux, une conception générale de la philosophie moderne sous-tend ses analyses. Selon Popkin en effet, toute la philosophie, depuis la Renaissance jusqu'aux lumières, s'est trouvée confrontée à la tâche de surmonter la «crise pyrrhonienne», née en contexte de querelle religieuse, et qui très vite s'étend à tout le savoir. Popkin a ainsi proposé une interprétation originale mais peut-être aussi parfois contestable de la modernité, en particulier dans la mesure où il ne distingue pas assez nettement le scepticisme ancien du moderne, et où il ne prend pas en compte la spécificité du fidéisme.
Histoire des idées, sociologie des croyances et processus argumentatifs scepticisme et modernité d'après Richard H. Popkin
Authors: Bouvier Alban
Published: February 2010

On se propose, dans cet article, de montrer l'intérêt de l'ouvrage classique de Richard H. Popkin du point de vue d'une analyse sociologique et anthropologique des processus collectifs de doute et d'adhésion. Un tel examen implique toutefois, au niveau de la méthode, d'analyser les différences fines existant entre histoire des idées, sociologie de la connaissance, ethnologie des croyances et épistémologie. L'examen mérite d'être mené aussi bien pour la compréhension du développement du scepticisme au XVIIe siècle que du déferlement de la vague relativiste contemporaine, qu'il faut assurément distinguer, en suivant l'inspiration de Popkin, d'une forme de scepticisme modéré proche du rationalisme critique
Opportunities and Improvisations: A Pediatric Surgeon’s Suggestions for Successful Short‐Term Surgical Volunteer Work in Resource‐Poor Areas
Authors: Meier Donald
Published: February 2010

There is a paucity of trained pediatric surgeons in resource‐poor areas, and many children never receive care for debilitating problems that could readily be managed by surgeons with proper training, supplies, and instrumentation. This article, written from the perspective of a surgeon who has been both the recipient of and the provider of volunteer surgical services, is intended to encourage surgeons in technologically advanced locations to volunteer in underserved areas and to assist them in the implementation of such endeavors. Concepts are presented with an emphasis on pediatric surgery, but most are relevant for volunteers in all surgical specialties. Volunteer paradigms include, but are not limited to, the “surgical brigade” model, where a large group of health care professionals take all needed equipment and supplies for the duration of their stint, and the “minimalist” model, where a single volunteer works with local personnel using locally available equipment. For a successful volunteer endeavor the host needs to have a perceived need for the volunteer’s services, and the volunteer must be flexible in adapting to meet overwhelming needs with limited resources. It is suggested that appropriate technology, such as the inexpensive anal stimulator presented herein, should be employed whenever possible. With proper planning, realistic expectations, and a cooperative and helpful attitude, volunteer trips can be rewarding experiences for both volunteers and host physicians and lead to lasting relationships that improve children’s lives globally.
Predictors of Mortality in Skin and Soft‐tissue Infections Caused byVibrio vulnificus
Authors: Kuo Chou Tsai‐Nung , Chao Wai‐Nang , Yang Cheng , Wong Ruey‐Hong , Ueng Kwo‐Chang , Chen Shiuan‐Chih
Published: February 2010

Background

Vibrio vulnificusinfection can progress rapidly in skin or soft tissue, and it is potentially life‐threatening. The purpose of the present study was to explore the predictors of mortality in patients withV. vulnificusinfections of skin or soft tissue.

Methods

The medical records of 119 consecutive patients aged ≥18 years, hospitalized forV. vulnificusinfections of skin or soft tissue between January 2000 and December 2007 were reviewed. Co‐morbidities, clinical manifestations, laboratory studies, treatments, and outcomes were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression with the exact method was performed.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 63.7 ± 12.0 years. Twenty‐four patients died, yielding an overall case fatality rate of 20%. Of the 24 deaths, 20 (83%) occurred within 72 h after hospital admission. Of 119 patients, 45 patients had primary septicemia, and 74 patients had wound infection. Multivariate analysis revealed that the following factors were associated with mortality: hemorrhagic bullous skin lesions/necrotizing fasciitis (p= 0.003), primary septicemia (p= 0.042), a greater organ dysfunction and/or infection score (p= 0.005), absence of leukocytosis (p= 0.0001), and hypoalbuminemia (p= 0.003). Treatment with surgical intervention plus antibiotics (p= 0.038) and surgical intervention within 24 h after admission (p= 0.017) were protective factors.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that the presence of hemorrhagic bullous skin lesions/necrotizing fasciitis, primary septicemia, a greater severity‐of‐illness, absence of leukocytosis, and hypoalbuminemia were the significant risk factors for mortality in these patients. Moreover, patients treated with surgery plus antibiotics, especially those receiving a prompt surgical evaluation within 24 h after hospital admission, may have a better prognosis.
Risk Factors for Early Postoperative Small Bowel Obstruction After Colectomy for Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Nakajima Jun , Sasaki Akira , Otsuka Koki , Obuchi Toru , Nishizuka Satoshi , Wakabayashi Go
Published: February 2010

Background

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) after colectomy leads to markedly lower patient quality of life, longer hospital stays, and increased hospitalization costs. From a systemic treatment point of view, early postoperative SBO is one of the major concerns of the surgery because it often delays chemotherapy in advanced cases. The goal of this single‐center study was to evaluate the risk factors for early postoperative SBO.

Methods

Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed for 1,004 patients who underwent open colectomy (OC, 421 patients) or laparoscopic‐assisted colectomy (LAC, 583 patients) for colorectal cancer between January 1997 and December 2008.

Results

The overall early postoperative SBO were 45 cases (4.5%). Univariate analysis of the risk factors for early postoperative SBO showed no statistical significance between respective risk factors and occurrence of SBO for age >70 years, body mass index >25 kg/m2, ASA score ≥3, pT stage T4, pN stage ≥N1, pM stage M1, or increased blood loss. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that OC (odds ratio (OR), 2.62; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.34–5.13; P = 0.005), and rectal cancer (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.1–4.1; P = 0.025) were independent risk factors for postoperative SBO after colectomy for colorectal cancer. Regarding the causes of SBO, paralytic obstruction was more frequent in the LAC group, and adhesive obstruction was more frequent in the OC group.

Conclusions

Early postoperative SBO cases are more likely to occur with OC and rectal cancer. LAC is an effective surgical procedure from the perspective of reducing the incidence of early postoperative SBO after colectomy for colorectal cancer.
Long‐term correction of murine phenylketonuria by viral gene transfer: liver versus muscle
Authors: Thöny Beat
Published: February 2010

Current therapy for phenylketonuria (PKU) consists of life‐long dietary restriction of phenylalanine (Phe), which presents problems of adherence for patients. Alternative therapies under investigation include, among others, the use of gene therapy to provide copies of wild‐type, non‐mutant, phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) enzyme. Expression of PAH in both liver (the usual metabolic source of this enzyme) and skeletal muscle is under investigation. Liver gene therapy, using a viral vector based on the adeno‐associated viruses (AAVs), provided effective clearance of serum Phe that was sustained for 1 year in some mice. In order for PAH expression to be effective in skeletal muscle, the essential metabolic cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), must also be provided, either by supplementation or gene therapy. Both these approaches were effective. When transgenic PKU mice that constitutively expressed PAH in muscle were given intraperitoneal supplementation with BH4, this produced (transient) effective clearance of Phe to normal levels. In addition, use of an AAV vector containing the genes for PAH, and for two key synthetic enzymes for BH4, provided substantial and long‐lasting correction (more than 1 year) of blood Phe levels when injected into skeletal muscle of PKU mice. These two strategies provide promising treatment alternatives for the management of PKU in patients.
Biochemical abnormalities in a patient with thymidine phosphorylase deficiency with fatal outcome
Authors: Bakker Jaap A. , Schlesser Patrick , Smeets Hubert J. M. , Francois Baudouin , Bierau Jörgen
Published: February 2010

Deficiency of the cytosolic enzyme thymidine phosphorylase (TP) causes a multisystem disorder called mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) syndrome. Clinical symptoms are gastrointestinal dysfunction, muscle involvement and neurological deterioration. TP deficiency is biochemically characterised by accumulation of thymidine and deoxyuridine in body fluids and compromised mitochondrial deoxyribose nucleic acid (mtDNA) integrity (depletion and multiple deletions). In this report we describe a patient with the clinical and biochemical features related to the end stage of the disease. Home parenteral nutrition had started to improve the clinical condition and preparations were initiated for stem cell transplantation (SCT) as a last resort treatment. Unfortunately, the patient died during the induction phase of SCT. This report shows that TP deficiency is a severe clinical condition with a broad spectrum of affected tissues. TP deficiency can be easily determined by the measurement of pyrimidine metabolites in body fluids and TP activity in peripheral blood leucocytes. Early detection and treatment may prevent the progress of the clinical symptoms and, therefore, should be considered for inclusion in newborn screening programmes.
Interest and Beliefs About BRCA Genetic Counseling Among At‐Risk Latinas in New York City
Authors: Sussner Katarina M. , Jandorf Lina , Thompson Hayley S. , Valdimarsdottir Heiddis B.
Published: February 2010

Background: Latinas are less likely to use genetic services (counseling and testing) for hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer risk compared to other ethnic groups. Meanwhile, little is known about barriers to genetic counseling among Latinas at increased risk of inherited breast cancer.Methods: A two‐phase pilot study was conducted to examine interest, barriers and beliefs about BRCA genetic counseling among at‐risk Latinas in New York City and explore the potential for developing a culturally‐tailored narrative educational tool for use in future studies. Phase 1 included quantitative telephone interviews (N = 15) with bilingual participants with a personal diagnosis at a young age and/or family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Quantitative results informed development of a narrative prototype educational presentation viewed by a subset of participants (N = 10) in Phase 2 focus groups.Results: Despite barriers, including lack of awareness/knowledge, concerns related to learning cancer risks of family members, and concerns about cost/health insurance, participants reported positive attitudes, beliefs and interest in learning about BRCA genetic counseling. Further, significant increases in knowledge were demonstrated from pre‐post presentation (p = 0.04).Conclusion: There is an unmet need to educate at‐risk Latinas about BRCA genetic counseling. Culturally‐tailored educational materials including narratives may increase knowledge about BRCA genetic counseling among this underserved group. The effectiveness of these approaches should be tested in future research with larger samples.
Soldiers and the City: Urban Experience of Guard Households in Late Ming Nanjing
Authors: Luo Xiaoxiang
Published: February 2010

In late Ming China, a large concentration of Guards and Battalions were stationed in the city of Nanjing. The registered guard population constituted a significant percent of the urban population. This paper discusses the living status of Nanjing guards within the framework of urban studies, and reveals the special model of urbanization of this political center. The guard population was driven by “policy migration,” and showed a high tendency of localization. Soldiers worked in various lines of business, and their living places were no longer confined to military camps. The Nanjing Constabulary broke the administrative boundaries of military and civilian households, and further pushed the localization and urbanization of the guard population. Soldiers were frequently involved in acts of violence and put pressure on local security. However, guard storehouses also provided extra supplies for the local grain market, and stabilized local society at times of crises. This study of the Nanjing guard population not only illustrates the unique urban environment of this political center, but also reminds us about the complexity of urbanization in the Ming-Qing period.
Some Remarks on the Re-buliding of the Category of Essence and the Reflective Modernity
Authors: Zhen HAN
Published: February 2010

If modernity is manifested as essentialism, postmodernity is manifested as anti-essentialism. Modernity is, in essence, human beings’ discovery of their own power, and is based on rational knowledge that has grasped the essence of things. In fact, in the discourse system of modernity, the various concepts of “essence” connote nothing but people’s imaginative constructions and rational conjectures about objects. In the past, our order, be it internal or external, was in essence guaranteed by God. Afterwards, all “essences”, as essences, must rationally prove the reason for their existence. In the postmodern context and discourse system, God, and also the “human being” who has created essence, has “died”. We should not simply resume the belief in traditional essence, but should reconstruct, on the basis of a full understanding of the intellectual meaning of postmodernity’s challenges, some historicity, practicality, and the concept of essence that accords with the historical as well as communicative rationality. We must realize that the essence of things is the essence of particular things in a particular stage of development, internally containing infinite differences and variety. Only things with postmodern traits contain modernity, and only the concept of essence that conceives difference accords with time.
Biotopverbund und räumliche Koordination
Authors: Leibenath Markus
Published: February 2010

The term “ecological network” doesn’t refer to a clear-cut object of coordination but represents rather a metaphorical toolbox which one may use in spatial communication and coordination processes, but does not necessarily have to. “Ecological networks” and “fragmentation” constitute a pair of metaphors, which links description and prescription very convincingly. The metaphor “ecological networks” can facilitate cooperation of heterogeneous actors due to its vagueness. However, it also brings about the risk of detracting attention from major conflicts related to the conservation of biodiversity.
Introduction: Contemporary Romanian politics
Authors: Crowther William
Published: February 2010

Romania is an archetypical case of protracted post-communism. Its regime transition was problematic and its founding election flawed, allowing successor communists to secure their hold on power. A period of quasi-authoritarianism and failed reform followed until critical elections in 1996 brought the liberal opposition to power for the first time. Since that time its political system has stabilized into a pattern in which electoral competition occurs but political accountability is limited and corruption is widespread. The current regime should therefore be considered as consolidated, bearing the marks of the transition period, but unlikely to undergo any further near term dramatic change.
The Cultural Relations of Classification
Authors: Ellen Roy
Published: February 2010

Ethnobiology is concerned with the social and cultural transformation of biological knowledge. Roy Ellen, who has worked among the Nuaulu people of eastern Indonesia for more than twenty years, argues here that ethnobiology is a key theoretical area of anthropological enquiry, because it relies on accessible ethnography to explain the interrelationship between collective representations and cognitive processes. He demonstrates this through a detailed analysis of Nuaulu classification of animal knowledge: the relationship between animal words and animal categories; the construction of different categories and their relationship to one another, and the actual language of classification. The classifications are shown to be context-bound and socially embedded, of practical importance to their users, and to reflect an interaction between culture, cognitive processes and the material world. This is an innovative study, which takes our understanding beyond the taxonomic abstraction characteristic of earlier work in the field.
The Bhagavadgītā
Authors: Malinar Angelika
Published: February 2010

The Bhagavadgita is one of the most renowned texts of Hinduism because it contains discussions of important issues such as liberation and the nature of action as well as the revelation of the Krishna as the highest god and creator of the universe. It is included in the ancient Indian Mahabharata epic at one of its most dramatic moments, that is, when the final battle is about to begin. In contrast to many other studies, this book deals with the relationship between the Bhagavadgita and its epic contexts. On the basis of a thorough analysis of the text Angelika Malinar argues that its theology delineates not only new philosophical concepts and religious practices but also addresses the problem of righteous kingship and appropriate use of power. Malinar concludes by considering the Bhagavadgita's historical and cultural contexts and those features of the text that became paradigmatic in later Hindu religious traditions.
Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship
Authors: Hilbink Lisa
Published: February 2010

Why did formerly independent Chilean judges, trained under and appointed by democratic governments, facilitate and condone the illiberal, antidemocratic, and anti-legal policies of the Pinochet regime? Challenging the assumption that adjudication in non-democratic settings is fundamentally different and less puzzling than it is in democratic regimes, this 2007 book offers a longitudinal analysis of judicial behavior, demonstrating striking continuity in judicial performance across regimes in Chile. The work explores the relevance of judges' personal policy preferences, social class, and legal philosophy, but argues that institutional factors best explain the persistent failure of judges to take stands in defense of rights and rule of law principles. Specifically, the institutional structure and ideology of the Chilean judiciary, grounded in the ideal of judicial apoliticism, furnished judges with professional understandings and incentives that left them unequipped and disinclined to take stands in defense of liberal democratic principles, before, during, and after the authoritarian interlude.
Martyrdom and Rome
Authors: Bowersock G. W.
Published: February 2010

This book examines the historical context of the earliest Christian martyrs, and anchors their grisly and often wilful self-sacrifice to the everyday life and outlook of the cities of the Roman empire. Professor Bowersock begins by investigating both the time and the region in which martyrdom, as we know it, came into being. He also offers comparisons of the Graeco-Roman background with the martyrology of Jews and Muslims. A study of official protocols illuminates the bureaucratic institutions of the Roman state as they applied to the first martyrs; and the martyrdoms themselves are seen within the context of urban life (and public spectacle) in the great imperial cities. By considering martyrdom in relation to suicide, the author is also able to demonstrate the peculiarly Roman character of Christian self-sacrifice in relation to other forms of deadly resistance to authority.
Texts and the Self in the Twelfth Century
Authors: Spence Sarah
Published: February 2010

Texts and the Self in the Twelfth Century analyses key twelfth-century Latin and vernacular texts which articulate a subjective, often autobiographical, stance. The contention is that the self forged in medieval literature could not have come into existence without both the gap between Latinity and the vernacular and a shift in perspective towards a visual and spatial orientation. This results in a self which is not an agent that will act on the outside world like the Renaissance self, but, rather, one which inhabits a potential, middle ground, or 'space of agency', explained here partly in terms of object-relations theory.
Ancient and Medieval Memories
Authors: Coleman Janet
Published: February 2010

This book is an analysis of thinking, remembering and reminiscing according to ancient authors, and their medieval readers. The author argues that behind the various medieval methods in interpreting texts of the past lie two apparently incompatible theories of human knowledge and remembering, as well as two differing attitudes to matter and intellect. The book comprises a series of studies which take ancient texts as evidence of the past, and show how medieval readers and writers understood them. The studies confirm that medieval and renaissance interpretations and uses of the past differ greatly from modern interpretation and yet betray many startling continuities between modern and ancient and medieval theories.
Drugs and Addictive Behaviour
Authors: Ghodse Hamid
Published: February 2010

In this completely revised and updated third edition of his highly successful book, Hamid Ghodse presents a comprehensive overview of substance misuse and dependence. There is a particular emphasis on practical, evidence-based approaches to the assessment and management of a wide range of drug-related problems in a variety of clinical settings, and he has written an entirely new chapter on alcohol abuse. He defines all the terms, and describes the effects of substance misuse on a patient's life. Epidemiology, and international prevention and drug control policies are covered to address the global nature of the problem, and the appendix provides a series of clinical intervention tools, among them a Substance Misuse Assessment Questionnaire. This will be essential reading for all clinicians and other professionals dealing with addiction, from counsellors and social workers to policy makers.
Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890–1933
Authors: Otte Marline
Published: February 2010

At the turn of the century, German popular entertainment was a realm of unprecedented opportunity for Jewish performers. This study explores the terms of their engagement and pays homage to the many ways in which German Jews were instrumental in the birth of an incomparably rich world of popular culture. It traces the kaleidoscope of challenges, opportunities and paradoxes Jewish men and women faced in their interactions with predominantly gentile audiences. Modern Germany was a society riddled by conflicts and contradictory impulses, continuously torn between desires to reject, control and celebrate individual and collective difference. This book demonstrates that an analysis of popular entertainment can be one of the most innovative ways to trace this complicated negotiation throughout a period of great social and political turmoil.
Ionospheres
Authors: Schunk Robert W. , Nagy Andrew F.
Published: February 2010

Ionospheres provides a comprehensive description of the physical, plasma and chemical processes controlling the behavior of ionospheres. The relevant transport equations and related coefficients are derived in detail and their applicability and limitations are described. Relevant wave processes are outlined and important ion chemical processes and reaction rates are presented. The various energy deposition and transfer mechanisms are described in some detail, and a chapter is devoted to the various processes controlling the upper atmosphere and exosphere. The second half of the book presents our current understanding of the structure, chemistry, dynamics and energetics of the terrestrial ionosphere, and other solar system bodies. The final chapter describes ionospheric measurement techniques. The book will form a comprehensive and lasting reference for scientists interested in ionospheres, and it will also prove an ideal textbook for graduate students. It contains extensive student problem sets, and an answer book is available for instructors.
The Visionary D. H. Lawrence
Authors: Montgomery Robert E.
Published: February 2010

D. H. Lawrence is often seen either as an artist whose novels are spoiled by the intrusion of ideas or as a philosopher whose ideas happen to be expressed in fiction; neither of these perspectives does justice to the unity and complexity of Lawrence's vision. In The Visionary D. H. Lawrence Robert E. Montgomery places Lawrence in the tradition both of great Romantic poet-philosophers, including Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Carlyle and Emerson, and of visionary thinkers Nietzsche, Heraclitus and Jacob Boehme. Dr Montgomery reveals a context which illuminates Lawrence's fiction and non-fiction, discusses his work in depth, and shows how his place in the prophetic-poetic tradition differs from that of his contemporaries Eliot and Yeats. The result is an exploration of the vision that informs and unifies Lawrence's work.
The American Historical Romance
Authors: Dekker George
Published: February 2010

This book traces the tradition of American historical fiction from its origins in the early nineteenth century to the eve of World War II. It examines the historical novel's connections with Enlightenment and Romantic theories of history; with the rise of literary regionalism; with the ambitions of Romantic writers to revive the epic and romance; with changing conceptions of gender roles; and with the authors' troubled responses to the great revolutionary and imperialistic conflicts of the modern era. However, though inevitably much concerned with the theory of genre and with the specific contents of the genre of historical romance, Professor Dekker devotes most of his book to new readings of major texts by James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Allen Tate, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and William Faulkner, as well as to the Briton whose name was synonymous with the genre for most of the nineteenth century - Sir Walter Scott. 'The American Historical Romance is the richest, most fully meditated and most rewarding yet written by this author ... It is the most important book on the relations of British and American fiction to come out for many years. No devotee of the American novel will ignore it.' -- The Times Literary Supplement
Covenant and Sacrifice in the Letter to the Hebrews
Authors: Dunnill John
Published: February 2010

Among the problems which Hebrews poses for interpretation, its use of sacrificial terminology must cause it to seem remote and obscure. Although the recent work of social anthropologists on the nature of religious systems has been applied by Old Testament scholars to the laws and symbols of the Pentateuch this is the first sustained study of Hebrews to take account of these theories. Building on the work of such writers as Mary Douglas, Victor Turner, and Claude Lévi-Strauss, Hebrews is approached here as a 'structure of symbols', in which the symbol-system of the Old Testament covenant is re-presented and transposed. Motifs explored by the author include sacred time and space; liminality; the sacrificial function of blood, death, oaths, and blessings; and the narrative traditions of election and exclusion. Dr Dunnill assesses Hebrews, not as an argument, but as an act of symbolic communication expressing the possibility of direct communion with God.
The Religious Orders in England
Authors: Knowles Dom David
Published: February 2010

This volume opens with a survey of monastic life and activities in the early Tudor period, which throws new light on the fortunes of the Cistercian abbeys and on the influence upon the monks of the new humanist education. Chapters are devoted to Bishop Redman's visitations of the white canons, to the rural pursuits of Prior More of Worcester, to the friars ranged for and against the New Learning, and to the Carthusians; there are also a number of character sketches of notable abbots and others. There follows a review of the changing religious climate: of Wolsey's attempts at reform, of the all-perspective influence of Erasmus and of the career of Elizabeth Barton. The economic state of the monasteries is discussed as a prelude to the sombre story of the Suppression, illuminated by rare gleams of heroism. The fate and after-careers of the religious are treated in full from the record sources; there are chapters on the aftermath in Mary's reign and the linking with modern Benedictines, and an epilogue looks back over six centuries of English monasticism.
The Puzzle of Strikes
Authors: Franzosi Roberto
Published: February 2010

This book is an attempt to explain the temporal movement of postwar Italian strikes: why and when strikes go up or down and what the strategies of the main actors involved are. In many ways, the book is unique in the social sciences. First, it takes an inductive approach. Rather than start with theories and then use available empirical evidence to test the explanatory power of the theories, the book starts with date. Second, the book is based on a variety of empirical evidence: statistical, historical, ethnographic and survey material. Third, the book considers the strategies of all the actors involved: workers, employers, the state and the radical left. Finally, the book does not simply explain the movement of strikes; more broadly, it attempts to show how strikes, in their turn, deeply affect the economic, institutional and political spheres of society.
Lordship and the Urban Community
Authors: Bonney Margaret
Published: February 2010

The city of Durham, although geographically far removed from the centre of political power in England in the later medieval period, was of great strategic and ecclesiastical importance during its early history. It was the seat of the prince bishops, a military headquarters for the defence of the northern borders of England, a centre for pilgrimages to the shrine of St Cuthbert and the principal market town for the region. After tracing Durham's late tenth-century origins, the book examines the subsequent developments in religious and military building work on the peninsula which accompanied the growth of a successful urban community in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This section of the book is complemented by the reproduction of all the extant medieval plans for Durham in an appendix, which also includes later maps of the town and several illustrations which help to explain the complex topography. Furthermore, although at first sight Durham's overlords might seem oppressive, there is little evidence of the townsmen's dissatisfaction with their rule, and none of urban revolt in late medieval Durham.
H. D. and the Victorian Fin de Siècle
Authors: Laity Cassandra
Published: February 2010

H. D and the Victorian Fin de Siecle argues foremost that H. D. eluded the male modernist flight from Romantic 'effeminacy' and 'personality' by embracing the very cults of personality in the Decadent Romanticism of Oscar Wilde, A. C. Swinburne, Walter Pater and D. G. Rossetti that her male contemporaries most deplored: the cult of the demonic femme fatale and of the 'effeminate' Aesthete androgyne. H. D., Laity maintains, used these sexually aggressive masks to shape a female modernism that freely engaged female and male androgyny, homoeroticism, narcissism and maternal eroticism. Focusing on the early Sea Garden, the plays and poetry of the 1920s and her late epic Trilogy, H. D. and the Victorian Fin de Siecle demonstrates H. D.'s shift from the homoerotic 'white', vanishing tropology of the male androgyne fashioned by Pater and Wilde to the 'abject' monstrously sexual body of the Pre-Raphaelite and Decadent femme fatale.
Auguste Comte
Authors: Pickering Mary
Published: February 2010

This volume continues to explore the life and works of Auguste Comte during his so-called second career. It covers the period from the coup d'état of Louis Napoleon in late 1851 to Comte's death in 1857. During these early years of the Second Empire, Comte became increasingly conservative and anxious to control his disciples. This study offers the first study of the tensions within his movement. Focusing on his second masterpiece, the Système de politique positive, and other important books, such as the Synthèse subjective, Mary Pickering not only sheds light on Comte's intellectual development but also traces the dissemination of positivism and the Religion of Humanity throughout many parts of the world.
Demystifying Mentalities
Authors: Lloyd Geoffrey Ernest Richard
Published: February 2010

If faraway peoples have different ideas from our own, is this because they have different mentalities? Did our remote ancestors lack logic? The notion of distinct mentalities has been used extensively by historians to describe and explain cultural diversity. Professor Lloyd rejects this psychologising talk of mentalities and proposes an alternative approach, which takes as its starting point the social contexts of communication. Discussing apparently irrational beliefs and behaviour (such as magic), he shows how different forms of thought coexist in a single culture but within conventionally defined contexts.
An Introduction to West Indian Poetry
Authors: Breiner Laurence A.
Published: February 2010

This introduction to West Indian poetry is written for readers making their first approach to poetry in English written in the Caribbean. It offers a comprehensive literary history from the 1920s to the 1980s, with particular attention to the relationship of West Indian poetry to European, African and American literature. Close readings of individual poems give detailed analysis of social and cultural issues at work in the writing. Laurence Breiner's exposition speaks powerfully about the defining forces in Caribbean culture from colonialism to resistance and decolonization.
Japan's Economic Dilemma
Authors: Gao Bai
Published: February 2010

The Japanese economy, after decades of seemingly unsurpassable competitiveness, experienced a major crisis in the 1990s. Observers of Japan are faced with a challenging question: How can one explain Japan's reversal from stunning prosperity to dismal stagnation? Bai Gao, in this illuminating, comprehensive analysis of Japan's economic story goes beyond other analyses to demonstrate how the same economic institutions could produce both stunning economic success and the slump of the 1990s. By comparing the factors that sustained miracle growth in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s with the factors that led to the bubble economy of the late 1980s, Gao sheds new light on internal tensions in the Japanese economic system and how, finally, they 'burst the bubble' in the 1990s. Those who have been following the lively debate over 'What Became of the Japanese Miracle?' will be rewarded by Gao's richly detailed, historically informed, and multilayered contribution.
JavaTech, an Introduction to Scientific and Technical Computing with Java
Authors: Lindsey Clark S. , Tolliver Johnny S. , Lindblad Thomas
Published: February 2010

JavaTech is a practical introduction to the Java programming language with an emphasis on the features that benefit technical computing. After presenting the basics of object-oriented programming in Java, it examines introductory topics such as graphical interfaces and thread processes. It goes on to review network programming and develops Web client-server examples for tasks such as monitoring remote devices. The focus then shifts to distributed computing with RMI. Finally, it examines how Java programs can access the local platform and interact with hardware. Topics include combining native code with Java, communication via serial lines, and programming embedded processors. An extensive web site supports the book with additional instructional materials. JavaTech demonstrates the ease with which Java can be used to create powerful network applications and distributed computing applications. It will be used as a textbook for programming courses, and by researchers who need to learn Java for a particular task.
Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens
Authors: Saxonhouse Arlene W.
Published: February 2010

This book illuminates the distinctive character of our modern understanding of the basis and value of free speech by contrasting it with the very different form of free speech that was practised by the ancient Athenians in their democratic regime. Free speech in the ancient democracy was not a protected right but an expression of the freedom from hierarchy, awe, reverence and shame. It was thus an essential ingredient of the egalitarianism of that regime. That freedom was challenged by the consequences of the rejection of shame (aidos) which had served as a cohesive force within the polity. Through readings of Socrates's trial, Greek tragedy and comedy, Thucydides's History, and Plato's Protagoras this volume explores the paradoxical connections between free speech, democracy, shame, and Socratic philosophy and Thucydidean history as practices of uncovering.
The United Nations Development Programme
Authors: Murphy Craig N.
Published: February 2010

The United Nations Development Programme is the central network co-ordinating the work of the United Nations in over 160 developing countries. This 2006 book provides the first authoritative and accessible history of the Programme and its predecessors. Based on the findings of hundreds of interviews and archives in more than two dozen countries, Craig Murphy traces the history of the UNDP's organizational structure and mission, its relationship to the multilateral financial institutions, and the development of its doctrines. He argues that the principles on which the UNDP was founded remain as relevant in a world divided by terrorism as they were in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, as are the fundamental problems that have plagued the Programme from its origin, including the opposition of traditionally isolationist forces in the industrialized world.
Testlet Response Theory and Its Applications
Authors: Wainer Howard , Bradlow Eric T. , Wang Xiaohui
Published: February 2010

The measurement models employed to score tests have been evolving over the past century from those that focus on the entire test (true score theory) to models that focus on individual test items (item response theory) to models that use small groups of items (testlets) as the fungible unit from which tests are constructed and scored (testlet response theory, or TRT). In this book, the inventors of TRT trace the history of this evolution and explain the character of modern TRT. Written for researchers and professionals in statistics, psychometrics, and educational psychology, the first part offers an accessible introduction to TRT and its applications. The second part presents a comprehensive, self-contained discussion of the model couched within a fully Bayesian framework. Its parameters are estimated using Markov chain Monte Carlo procedures, and the resulting posterior distributions of the parameter estimates yield insights into score stability that were previously unsuspected.
The Transformation of European Social Democracy
Authors: Kitschelt Herbert
Published: February 2010

This book explains the contrasting strategies and their electoral fortunes of social democratic parties in the major European democracies in the 1970s and 1980s. Going beyond approaches that focus on the influence of class structure and political economic institutions, The Transformation of European Social Democracy analyses the party's competitive situation in the electoral arena, the constraints and opportunities of party organisation, and the role of ideological legacies to explain the strategic choices social democratic parties have made and the electoral results they have achieved. Far from being doomed to decline, social democracy's success depends on its ability to transform its political message and to construct new electoral coalitions.
Designs, Graphs, Codes and their Links
Authors: Cameron P. J. , Lint J. H. van
Published: February 2010

Although graph theory, design theory, and coding theory had their origins in various areas of applied mathematics, today they are to be found under the umbrella of discrete mathematics. Here the authors have considerably reworked and expanded their earlier successful books on graphs, codes and designs, into an invaluable textbook. They do not seek to consider each of these three topics individually, but rather to stress the many and varied connections between them. The discrete mathematics needed is developed in the text, making this book accessible to any student with a background of undergraduate algebra. Many exercises and useful hints are included througout, and a large number of references are given.