bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ambiguity and Conversion in the Correspondence of Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc and Thomas D'Arcos, 1630-1637
Authors: Tolbert Jane
Published: August 2009

In the summer of 1630, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580-1637), a magistrate, cleric, and tireless correspondent in the South of France, offered to negotiate the release of Thomas D'Arcos (1573-1637?) from his Moorish captors in Tunis. Peiresc had a pragmatic reason for writing. As an intermediary in the Republic of Letters and collector of curiosities, he needed information from North Africa that D'Arcos could provide. But to Peiresc's dismay, D'Arcos converted following his release from captivity, perhaps the only Frenchman to do so. Many converts published captivity accounts after their return to their country of origin. D'Arcos's letters provide a unique insight into his dual existence both in Tunis, where he gained local prestige as a convert, and in France because of his ability to procure information from North Africa. An examination of 80 published letters exchanged between Peiresc (Aix-en-Provence and Belgentier), D'Arcos (Tunis), and a mutual friend Honoré Aycard (Toulon) in the period 1630-1637 reveals the way in which these correspondents framed the conversion at a time when such an action was considered an “apostasy.” D'Arcos presented a paradox by living in two worlds. He never justified his conversion but instead insisted that his inner convictions (faith) remained unchanged even though his dress, or “habit,” had changed. Peiresc avoided confronting the issue of the conversion and addressed D'Arcos as if nothing had changed, using strategies to lure him back to the Catholic faith. He dissimulated news of the conversion in the Republic of Letters but at the same time shared observations obtained by a source he identified as a “former captive.” The exchanges with the intermediary Aycard were more explicit, and correspondents disclosed their feelings concerning the impact of the conversion on their relations as well as on the broader community. Although D'Arcos expressed a fear that he had lost Peiresc's respect, he did little to comply with the Frenchman's need for specific information, blaming any shortcomings on Barbary and providing only the exotic rather than the noteworthy.
Do Discrimination and Inequality Exist in the Russian Legal System? International Law, National Legislation and Judicial Practice
Authors: Marochkin Sergei Iu.
Published: August 2009

In this article, the author discusses the problem of ensuring equality and non-discrimination in a legal system. Equality and non-discrimination constitute universally recognized standards in the protection of human rights. At the same time, one can hardly assert that the universal community has put an end to discrimination. The author considers the problem as applied to the Russian legal system. The standard is incorporated in the Russian Constitution still remains topical in Russia. Based on his analysis of legislation and judicial practice, the author concludes that the problem reveals itself on the levels of both law-making and law application, the latter including administration of justice. As one of the conclusion, the author raises a question: is legal discrimination inherent in a legal system like other negative phenomena, such as delinquency, incoherencies, lacunas, defects, conflicts of legal norms and breaches of law-making procedural rules?
New Developments of the Intensity-Scale Technique within the Spatial Verification Methods Intercomparison Project
Authors: Casati B.
Published: August 2009

The intensity-scale verification technique introduced in 2004 by Casati, Ross, and Stephenson is revisited and improved. Recalibration is no longer performed, and the intensity-scale skill score for biased forecasts is evaluated. Energy and its percentages are introduced in order to assess the bias on different scales and to characterize the overall scale structure of the precipitation fields. Aggregation of the intensity-scale statistics for multiple cases is performed, and confidence intervals are provided by bootstrapping. Four different approaches for addressing the dyadic domain constraints are illustrated and critically compared.

The intensity-scale verification is applied to the case studies of the Intercomparison of Spatial Forecast Verification Methods Project. The geometric and synthetically perturbed cases show that the intensity-scale verification statistics are sensitive to displacement and bias errors. The intensity-scale skill score assesses the skill for different precipitation intensities and on different spatial scales, separately. The spatial scales of the error are attributed to both the size of the features and their displacement. The energy percentages allow one to objectively analyze the scale structure of the fields and to understand the intensity-scale relationship. Aggregated statistics for the Storm Prediction Center/National Severe Storms Laboratory (SPC/NSSL) 2005 Spring Program case studies show no significant differences among the models’ skill; however, the 4-km simulations of the NCEP version of the Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF4 NCEP) overforecast to a greater extent than the 2- and 4-km simulations of the NCAR version of the WRF (WRF2 and WRF4 NCAR). For the aggregated multiple cases, the different approaches addressing the dyadic domain constraints lead to similar results. On the other hand, for a single case, tiling provides the most robust and reliable approach, since it smoothes the effects of the discrete wavelet support and does not alter the original precipitation fields.
Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus
Authors: Slusser Michael
Published: August 2009

Gregory Thaumaturgus was a third-century bishop in Pontus in northern Asia Minor. Regarded by the later Cappadocian Fathers as one of the greatest of their forebears in the Christian faith, he has left behind a few writings, a legend full of miracles, and now also a ‘Bermuda triangle’ of critical questions.
Socializing the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System: Incorporating Social Psychological Phenomena Into a Human Factors Error Classification System
Authors: Paletz Susannah B. F. , Bearman Christopher , Orasanu Judith , Holbrook Jon
Published: August 2009

Objective: The presence of social psychological pressures on pilot decision making was assessed using qualitative analyses of critical incident interviews. Background: Social psychological phenomena have long been known to influence attitudes and behavior but have not been highlighted in accident investigation models. Method: Using a critical incident method, 28 pilots who flew in Alaska were interviewed. The participants were asked to describe a situation involving weather when they were pilot in command and found their skills challenged. They were asked to describe the incident in detail but were not explicitly asked to identify social pressures. Pressures were extracted from transcripts in a bottom-up manner and then clustered into themes. Results: Of the 28 pilots, 16 described social psychological pressures on their decision making, specifically, informational social influence, the foot-in-the-door persuasion technique, normalization of deviance, and impression management and self-consistency motives. Conclusion: We believe accident and incident investigations can benefit from explicit inclusion of common social psychological pressures. Application: We recommend specific ways of incorporating these pressures into the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System.
An Educational Administration Internship Model at One Historically Black University: A Problem-Based Approach
Authors: Jones Enid Beverley
Published: August 2009

The doctorate in educational administration is a relatively new degree at many small colleges, including some historically Black universities and colleges. The advent of such a program has allowed for innovations in higher education for the predominantly minority populations who attend these universities; furthermore, using problem-based learning as a pedagogical approach for the yearlong administrative internship has proven to be a sound method for this clientele. The elements and characteristics of problem-based learning provide the context that suited candidates in the program of focus here. These candidates had established the practice of working together in the classroom such that it was a natural progression to the field internship as a problem-solving activity that gave them autonomy and control, as well as the chance to practice the collaborative skills garnered during the classroom activities with fellow students. This article presents examples of three case studies drawn from projects identified by practicing administrators who served as mentors for students.
Thermal Properties of Composites Made of Heat-treated Wood and Polypropylene
Authors: Kaboorani Alireza
Published: August 2009

Exposure of wood to high temperatures improves thermal stability of wood and it has been used as a means to boost dimensional stability of wood for centuries. Inclusion of wood in thermoplastic matrix composites reduces the thermal stability of the composites considerably because of poor adhesion between wood and the matrix, and lower thermal stability of wood in comparison to the matrix. In order to invest natural fiber/thermoplastic composites with thermal stability, wood flour was heat treated under different temperatures and time. Thermal stability measurements conducted by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that heat-treatment of wood increased thermal stability, ash content, and DTGmax degradation temperature of wood. As the heat-treated wood flour used as filler for PP composites, thermal stability, ash content, and DTGmax degradation temperatures of the composites were affected markedly as well. The higher the temperature and longer the time employed in heat-treatment, the more was the improvement gained. The melting point (Tm) of composites measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that wood content and preheat treatment had no effect on melting points (Tm).
Design Analysis of the Outwater-Murphy Single-Fiber Specimen
Authors: Farooq M.U. , Carlsson L.A. , Acha B.A.
Published: August 2009

A design analysis of the Outwater-Murphy (OM) compression test specimen is presented. The objective is to size the dimensions of the OM specimen for interface fracture toughness testing of glass and carbon fibers in a polymer matrix. A simple fracture mechanics analysis is developed based on mechanics of materials principles assuming linear-elastic behavior of the fiber and matrix. A successful test demands fiber/matrix debonding prior to any other failure mechanisms such as net section yielding, fiber microbuckling and global buckling of the specimen. The analysis of the results indicates that the test should be viable for OM specimens with a small cross section and a small central hole. Tests on E-glass/vinylester specimens were successfully conducted providing a fiber/matrix interface toughness of 38 J/m2, in reasonable agreement with interface toughness data for similar systems determined by other test methods.
Permeability of Various Hybrid Composites Subjected to Extreme Thermal Cycling and Low-velocity Impacts
Authors: Mcvay Amelia C. , Johnson W.S.
Published: August 2009

This experimental exploratory study investigates the effects of embedding a ‘barrier’ layer within a graphite/epoxy composite during manufacture on reducing the permeability after thermal cycling and low-velocity impact events. The baseline composite material was an eight-ply graphite/epoxy system. Barrier layer candidates include aluminized Mylar®, aluminum foil, and two β-Ti 15-3 films. Cryogenic thermal cycling was performed on the hybrid composites and control composites to determine if the interleaved composites exhibited reduced permeability after thermal cycling as compared to the controls. Drop-weight impact tests were performed on the hybrids and controls to determine the effect of interleaving on the critical impact energy of the graphite/epoxy composites. The results of this research suggest that the addition of an embedded barrier layer can increase a graphite/epoxy composite’s resistance to low-velocity impacts that cause permeation. This research indicates that hybrid composites are promising materials for applications where extreme temperatures and moderate impact loads are experienced.
Negotiating the Right of Return
Authors: Loizides Neophytos G. , Antoniades Marcos A.
Published: August 2009

Negotiating the right of return is a central issue in post-conflict societies aiming to resolve tensions between human rights issues and security concerns. Peace proposals often fail to carefully balance these tensions or to identify incentives and linkages that enable refugee return. To address this gap, the article puts forward an alternative arrangement in negotiating refugee rights currently being considered in the bilateral negotiations in Cyprus. Previous peace plans for the reunification of the island emphasized primarily Turkish Cypriot security and stipulated a maximum number of Greek Cypriot refugees eligible to return under future Turkish Cypriot administration. The authors’ alternative suggests a minimum threshold of Greek Cypriots refugees plus self-adjustable incentives for the Turkish Cypriot community to accept the rest. The article reviews different options including linking actual numbers of returnees with naturalizations for Turkish settlers or immigrants, Turkey’s EU-accession, and territorial re-adjustments across the federal border. In this proposed formula, the Greek Cypriot side would reserve concessions until refugee return takes place, while the Turkish Cypriot community would be ‘demographically secure’ under all scenarios by means of re-adjustable naturalization and immigration quotas. Drawing parallels with comparable cases, the article emphasizes the importance of making reciprocity and linkages explicit in post-conflict societies.
Military Spending and Inequality: Panel Granger Causality Test
Authors: Lin Eric S. , Ali Hamid E.
Published: August 2009

The relationship between military spending and economic inequality is not well documented within the empirical literature, while numerous studies have uncovered the linkages between military spending and other macroeconomic variables, such as economic growth, unemployment, purchasing power parity, black market premium, poverty and investment. The purpose of this article is to examine the causal relationship between military spending and inequality using BVC and SIPRI data across 58 countries from 1987 to 1999. Panel unit root tests indicate that two inequality measures (Theil and EHII) under consideration are likely to be non-stationary. The authors’ work addresses the adverse implications of modeling with non-stationary variables, since this omission casts serious doubt on the reliability of the relationship between military spending and inequality. The recently developed panel Granger non-causality tests provide no evidence to support the causal relationship in either direction between the military spending and the change in economic inequality. The results are consistently robust to alternative data sources for military spending, to alternative definitions of the inequality measures, to the log transformation of the military spending, to the deletion of some data points, and to the division of OECD and non-OECD countries. Finally, the impulse responses and variance decompositions based on the panel vector autoregressive regression model are consistent with the findings from Granger non-causality tests.
Is Mexico City Polycentric? A Trip Attraction Capacity Approach
Authors: Suárez Manuel , Delgado Javier
Published: August 2009

The article explores whether Mexico City is a polycentric metropolis. Building upon previous methodologies, an alternative criterion is proposed for identifying employment centres, using a jobs to working residents ratio, while taking into account economic informality. Although a small set of minor sub-centres is traced, it is found that most jobs are concentrated in a large central agglomeration, with a moderate percentage of jobs concentrated in corridor-like shapes. Within this central agglomeration, are found inner nodes and corridor-like structures that had been identified in previous research as sub-centres. Additionally, economic specialisation is identified with the use of location quotients and the results are compared with those of previous methodologies. It is concluded that Mexico City has a hybrid, although still predominantly monocentric, urban form.
Carcinogenic Effects of MGP-7 and B[a]P on the Hamster Cheek Pouch
Authors: Brandon Jimi Lynn , Conti Claudio J. , Goldstein Lawrence S. , DiGiovanni John , Gimenez-Conti Irma B.
Published: August 2009

This study was performed to examine the carcinogenic effects of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and manufactured gas plant (MGP) residues on the hamster cheek pouch (HCP). Syrian hamsters were treated topically with a suspension of 2%, 10%, or 20% B[a]P or 50% or 100% MGP-7 (a mixture of residues from 7 MGP sites) in mineral oil for eight (short-term study) and sixteen, twenty, twenty-eight, and thirty-two weeks (long-term study). The short-term study showed that B[a]P induced p53 protein accumulation, indicative of genotoxic damage, as well as increased cell proliferation, hyperplasia, and inflammation, which is usually associated with promotional activity. In contrast, the MGP-7 presented only marginal p53 accumulation and induction of BrdU incorporation. In the long-term experiments, animals treated with 2% and 10% of B[a]P continued to show p53 protein accumulation as well as hyperplasia and increased cell proliferation and inflammation. By thirty weeks, all the animals treated with B[a]P had a 100% incidence of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Animals treated with 50% and 100% MGP-7 showed only weak hyperplasia and a low proliferation rate and accumulation of p53 protein through thirty-two weeks. Benzo[a]pyrene was highly carcinogenic when used at adequate doses. Manufactured gas plant residue, however, was not carcinogenic in this model.
Social Capital and Employment
Authors: George Usha , Chaze Ferzana
Published: August 2009

This article reports the findings of in-depth interviews with 50 South Asian newcomer women in Toronto regarding the role of social capital in obtaining employment. Two kinds of social capital emerged from the data: preexisting social capital and self-created social capital. Preexisting informal and formal social capital facilitated the newcomers’ settlement by providing information, orientation, resources, or actual employment. Self-created social capital offered opportunities for the newcomers to find more appropriate jobs that were in line with their areas of expertise.
Materialism, Strong Psychological Continuity, and American Scientific Psychology
Authors: Greenwood John D.
Published: August 2009

Historians of psychology commonly maintain that early American functional and behaviorist psychology was based upon two materialist achievements of the 19th century: the neurophysiological location of psychological faculties and the theory of evolution by natural selection. Yet early American functional and behaviorist psychology was based less upon these achievements than upon the principle of strong psychological continuity associated with them, according to which the psychology and behavior of humans and animals differ only in degree but not kind. This paper charts the historical development of the association between materialism and principles of strong continuity, noting that the neurophysiological location of psychological faculties and the theory of evolution by natural selection did not provide especially good reasons for preferring theories committed to strong psychological continuity.
Beyond Neurobiological Reductionism
Authors: Garza Gilbert , Fisher Smith Amy
Published: August 2009

This paper examines the neurobiological explanatory trend in psychology, including the related and tacit roles of ontological materialism and reductionism. In addition, the role of Cartesian dualism in both psychology and cognitive neuroscience is explored. In both, the complex relationships between mind/brain and mind/body tend to be conceptualized through the framework of either ontic dualism or attribute dualism, both of which ultimately constrain notions of embodiment. Alternatively, this paper understands the body as the inseparable unity of being-in-the-world from which the Cartesian dichotomy of “mind” and “body” is abstracted. This alternative surpasses the constraints of dualism and reframes embodiment as intentionality incarnate and ultimately as “flesh.” The body, understood phenomenologically, emerges not as a “what” but as a “ what—how”—the manifestation in extension of our intentionality, the flesh of our projects in and of the world. We argue that this understanding is indispensable to a properly psychological perspective on embodiment.
The Theory of Reasoned Action
Authors: Trafimow David
Published: August 2009

Although Fishbein and Ajzen’s theory of reasoned action has been a leading theory in social psychology for the last few decades, it also has been an object of criticism for much of that period and subject to definitional issues about what an attitude is. One of the main recent criticisms is that the theory is not falsifiable. In contrast, I argue not only that the theory makes risky predictions, and hence is falsifiable under reasonable standards of falsification, but also that at least one of its assumptions has actually been falsified. This specific argument is used to set up a more general argument that psychologists tend to subscribe to a naïve falsificationist viewpoint, invalidly use this viewpoint to evaluate theories, and thereby prevent important empirical research from being performed.
A Qualitative Approach to the Study of Causal Reasoning in Natural Language
Authors: O'Doherty Kieran C. , Navarro Daniel J. , Crabb Shona H.
Published: August 2009

Causal reasoning has been studied extensively in experimental cognitive psychology. Generally, the focus is on how individuals learn causal relationships in their environment through observation or interventions. Although it seems self-evident that causal beliefs about some phenomena are learnt largely through linguistic channels, to our knowledge no empirical studies have addressed this issue. In this paper we investigate causal reasoning that is embedded in naturally occurring language. We focus on genetic counselling for cancer, in which complex relationships between genes, medical interventions, and cancer are communicated by health professionals to clients. We borrow the idea of graphical causal maps from previous experimental studies and show that they can be applied to the study of causal reasoning in naturally occurring talk. We see this study as complementing existing experimental research, while maintaining that the study of causal structures embedded in naturalistic language adds an important dimension to our understanding of causal reasoning.
Land subsidence in the Nile Delta: inferences from radar interferometry
Authors: Becker Richard H. , Sultan Mohamed
Published: August 2009

The Nile Delta formed by progression of a complex system of deltaic fans throughout the Pleistocene, with the Modern delta being formed from sediments supplied by at least ten distinct distributaries throughout the Holocene. With an average elevation of approximately 1 m above sea level within 30 km of the coast and a predicted rise in sea level of 1.8—5.9 mm/yr the subsidence of the northern delta has become a topic of major concern to the Egyptian population and government. The Nile Delta is home to more than 50 million people and the major agricultural production area for Egypt. We evaluated the modern rates of subsidence of sections of the northeastern Nile Delta (a total length of 110 km, up to 50 km from the coastline) using persistent scatterer radar interferometry techniques applied to 14 ERS-1 and ERS-2 scenes. The area covered includes the present active depocenter of the Damietta promontory, and the nearby Mendesian depocenter that was active up to recent times (to 2500 years ago). The highest subsidence rates (~8 mm/yr; twice average Holocene rates) do not correlate with the distribution of the thickest Holocene sediments, but rather with the distribution of the youngest depositional centers (major deposition occurred between ~3500 yr BP and present) at the terminus of the Damietta branch. The adjacent, slightly older (8000—2500 yr BP) Mendesian branch depositional center is subsiding at slower rates of 2—6 mm/yr. Results are interpreted to indicate that: (1) modern subsidence in the Delta is heavily influenced by compaction of the most recent sediments, and (2) highly threatened areas are at the terminus of the Damietta and possibly the Rosetta branches, where active deposition is occurring.
The origin and development of a minerotrophic soak on an Irish raised bog: an interpretation of depth profiles of hydrochemistry and peat chemistry
Authors: Crushell P.H. , Smolders A.J.P. , Schouten M.G.C. , Roelofs J.G.M. , van Wirdum G.
Published: August 2009

The peat and pore-water biogeochemistry of an Irish oceanic raised bog are reported with a view to understanding the origin and development of a minerotrophic soak contained within an ombrotrophic bog. Depth profiles of electrical conductivity, pore-water chemistry and peat chemistry were recorded from the mire surface down to a maximum depth of 10 m (approximately 1 m into the underlying mineral soil) from the centre of Lough Roe, a minerotrophic soak on Clara Bog in the Irish midlands, and from a location in the surrounding bog. Distinct differences in the hydrochemistry and peat chemistry between both sites are evident in the upper 5 m of the profile, indicating that conditions differed during the latter development of the mire, despite both sites being located on the apex of the raised bog dome. As expected, the profiles recorded from the ombrotrophic bog are characterised by low ionic concentrations in the upper bog peat with an increase in the concentration of calcium and other ions in the lower fen peat (from 5.5 m depth). At the Lough Roe site, the profile shows relatively high concentrations of calcium and other ions in the upper part of the profile. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such detailed minerotrophic chemical profiles from the central area of a raised bog dome. We hypothesize that the relevant minerals originate from the underlying clay layer and fen peat within the basin of the bog and the minerals prevailed within the soak because of (1) the generation of a flow of water from the developing bog through the minerotrophic fen peat towards the soak during its early development, and (2) increased rates of decomposition within the soak throughout its existence. The implications for the future conservation management of the site are discussed.
A 9111 year long conifer tree-ring chronology for the European Alps: a base for environmental and climatic investigations
Authors: Nicolussi, K. , Kaufmann M. , Melvin Thomas M. , van der Plicht J. , Schießling P. , Thurner A.
Published: August 2009

An ultra-long tree-ring width chronology (9111 years long, 7109 BC to AD 2002) has been established based on the analysis and dating of 1432 subfossil/dry dead wood samples and cores from 335 living trees. The material was collected from treeline or near-treeline sites ( c. 2000 to 2400 m a.s.l.) mainly in the Eastern Alps. The availability of preserved samples through time at high altitudinal sites is influenced by Alpine forest history and is partly climatically controlled, as shown by comparisons of the sample depth record of the Eastern Alpine Conifer Chronology (EACC) with the Holocene glacier record. The similarity of variations over time between the sample depth of the chronology and the mid-Holocene GISP2 10Be record suggest a relationship between sample depth and solar activity. The Eastern Alpine Conifer Chronology has already been used as a dating base in environmental studies, eg, on glacier fluctuations, as well as in archaeological studies.
A quantitative high-resolution summer temperature reconstruction based on sedimentary pigments from Laguna Aculeo, central Chile, back to AD 850
Authors: von Gunten Lucien , Grosjean Martin , Rein Bert , Urrutia Roberto , Appleby Peter
Published: August 2009

We present a pigment-based quantitative high-resolution (five years) austral summer DJF (December to February) temperature reconstruction for Central Chile back to AD 850. We used non-destructive in situ multichannel reflection spectrometry data from a short sediment core of Laguna Aculeo (33°50′S/70°54′W, 355 m a.s.l., central Chile). Calibration-in-time (period AD 1901—2000, cross-validated with split periods) revealed robust correlations between local DJF temperatures and total sedimentary chlorin (relative absorption band depth (RABD) centred in 660—670 nm RABD660;670: r=0.79, P<0.01; five-years triangular filtered) and the degree of pigment diagenesis ( R660nm/670 nm: r=0.82, P<0.01; five-years triangular filter). Root Mean Squared Error values are small (between 0.24 and 0.34°C) suggesting that most of the reconstructed decadal-scale climate variability is significant. Our data provide quantitative evidence for the presence of a Medieval Climate Anomaly (in this case, warm summers between AD 1150 and 1350; Δ T = +0.27 to +0.37°C with respect to (wrt) twentieth century) and a very cool period synchronous to the ‘Little Ice Age’ starting with a sharp drop between AD 1350 and AD 1400 (−0.3°C/10 yr, decadal trend) followed by constantly cool (Δ T = −0.70 to −0.90°C wrt twentieth century) summers until AD 1750. The structure of variability is consistent in great detail with annually resolved tree-ring based warm-season temperature and river discharge reconstructions from northern Patagonia (42°S) for the past 400 years, with qualitative climate reconstructions from Andean glacier fluctuations, and with hydrological changes in Patagonian lake sediment records.
Extreme fires under warmer and drier conditions inferred from sedimentary charcoal morphotypes from Opatcho Lake, central British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Enache Mihaela D. , Cumming Brian F.
Published: August 2009

Predictions of the extent of forest fires under warmer and drier conditions in boreal regions require knowledge of long-term relationships between fire and climate. However, many long-term studies that utilize the remains of total charcoal in lacustrine sediments fail to demonstrate a relationship between climate change and fire activity. A new approach to reconstruct the relative-area burned based on specific types of charcoal particles (the charcoal-morphotype (CM) fire index) has shown significant correlations to recorded forest fires. Here we assess the utility of the CM derived from an analysis of charcoal morphotypes in sediment cores from Opatcho Lake (British Columbia, Canada) using two independent paleoclimate proxies over the last 400 years, and since the mid Holocene. Over the past 400 years, significant correlations between the CM fire index and independent climate reconstructions (diatom-inferred salinity, dendroclimatic reconstructions of temperature and precipitation, and reconstructions of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) range from 0.35 to 0.42. Similarly, since the mid Holocene the correlation between the CM fire index and independent proxies of past climate (diatom-inferred salinity and temperature inferences from chironomids from the southern interior of British Columbia) range from 0.70 to 0.76. These significant correlations strongly contrast with the very low and insignificant correlations between the CM fire index and total charcoal, suggesting that this approach provides paleofire information not available from traditional techniques. The CM fire index suggests that fires were at least two- and five-fold larger than those observed during the instrumental period, over the last 400 and 6000 years, respectively.
Editorial: Lines of Communication
Authors: Dudley Edward
Published: August 2009

Changes in library and information professional communications and journal publication in the last two decades are considered. Journals of professional bodies such as the Library Association and Aslib have now been sold to commercial publishers. The emergence of electronic journals is exemplified. Electronic discussion lists and newer forms of interactive communication, e.g. blogs and social networking sites, are discussed. The time spent in accessing and using e-sources of professional information should lead to improved services to users. Professional lines of communication are at an early stage of transformation, the progress of which needs analysis and description.
Public library provision for Black and minority ethnic communities — where are we in 2009?
Authors: Vincent John
Published: August 2009

This article assesses developments in public library provision for Black and minority ethnic [BME] communities in the UK since the publication in 1969 of the results of research into the needs of ‘Indian and Pakistani communities’. It includes a brief discussion of some major societal issues, and then sets public library services in this context. It ends with some highlights of current provision, but also with suggestions of next steps.
LIS research in the United Kingdom
Authors: Feather John
Published: August 2009

This article discusses the development of academic research in the LIS domain and the purpose of LIS research. It is argued that there are several constituent parts of the research tradition, both theoretical and empirical, and that this has created tensions and misunderstandings between researchers and practitioners. Against this background, the impact of the Research Assessment Exercises since 1988, and especially the implications of the outcome of RAE 2008, are analysed and discussed. Sources of funding, and the roles of various stakeholder bodies in the research process, are also discussed. It is concluded that in the UK, LIS research has been absorbed into the mainstream of academic research, but that it is still producing outputs which are transferable into the sphere of professional practice.
Education for Global Competencies
Authors: Brodin Jane
Published: August 2009

Globalization has emerged as a trend concept during the past decades. As a result of the globalization, the need for educating all citizens and providing them with information about other cultures and countries has increased. In this article, international student exchange in higher education will be discussed. Global Competencies in Early Childhood Education was a student mobility project aimed at preparing undergraduate early childhood education students to work with children and their families within a multicultural context all over the world. The project was part of a transnational EC/ Canada Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Training. By participating in academic studies and fieldwork in early childhood settings, the students were expected to gain experience that would enable them to work with young children in multicultural settings as well as in different countries, to have a significant impact on the children they work with and their families.
Does the Gubernatorial Term Limit Type Affect State Government Expenditures?
Authors: Escaleras Monica P. , Calcagno Peter T.
Published: August 2009

Political institutions within a society often serve to create the rules governing economic actions, to establish norms of economic behavior, and ultimately to help explain the relative economic performance of society. Institutions like budgetary constraints, party ideology, term limits, and voting methods have been analyzed with emphasis on the interplay of politics and economics. Within this field, we believe that the study of term limits is of particular importance. Hence, this article empirically investigates the link between the different types of gubernatorial term limits and state expenditures, after controlling for political institutions. Using panel data from thirty-seven U.S. states between 1971 and 2005, we find that all three types of term limits (weak, moderate, and strong) have a positive impact on gubernatorial spending. However, only weak and moderate term limits are statistically significant, suggesting that the more lenient is the constraint on the governor the greater is the impetus to spend.
Behind the Blue Wall of Silence
Authors: Nolan Thomas
Published: August 2009

Much has been reported in the media and depicted in the popular culture that purports to describe the so-called ‘‘Blue Wall of Silence,’’ a phenomenon that suggests that the police engage in a pervasive pattern of deception and withholding of the truth in ritual cover-up for their brethren. This writing suggests that there exists within the subculture of policing an idiosyncratic construct of masculinity that privileges tacit conspiracies of silence. This cult of masculinity validates normative heterosexuality, hierarchical regimentation, homosocial bonding, homophobia, and paternalistic misogyny. Silences are maintained, supported, and endorsed in a reflexive and unspoken means of obstructing evaluation of officer conduct by interlopers who (the subculture suggests) have little appreciation for or understanding of the danger, adversity, and peril that consume the working lives of the police. The essay attempts to articulate the underlying aspects of this idiosyncratic subculture that countenance bonding and subsequent silences.
Confronting the reality of anti-social behaviour
Authors: Parr Sadie
Published: August 2009

A significant body of thinking around the UK Government’s anti-social behaviour (ASB) policy agenda draws its inspiration from post-Foucauldian governmentality theory. This is an indispensable body of work that has been particularly productive when grounded in empirical research studies which have critically analysed the way governmental rationalities are translated into policy ‘on the ground’. This article argues, however, that there is a need to move beyond ‘the social construction of reality’ thesis prevalent in this approach and direct our attention to ontologically focused questions. It contends that critical realism could effectively complement governmentality perspectives and deepen our understanding of ASB policy by enabling researchers to move beyond a focus on the ‘construction’ of ASB to the ‘reality’ of ASB.
Risk, responsibility and reconfiguration
Authors: McNeill Fergus , Burns Nicola , Halliday Simon , Hutton Neil , Tata Cyrus
Published: August 2009

This article draws on the findings of an ethnographic study of social enquiry and sentencing in the Scottish courts. It explores the nature of the practice of social enquiry (that is, of social workers preparing reports to assist sentencers) and explores the extent to which this practice is being reconfigured in line with the recent accounts of penal transformation. In so doing, we problematize and explore what we term the ‘governmentality gap’; meaning, a lacuna in the existing penological scholarship which concerns the contingent relationships between changing governmental rationalities and technologies on the one hand and the construction of penality-in-practice on the other. The findings suggest that although policy discourses have, in many respects, changed in the way that these accounts elucidate and anticipate, evidence of changes in penal discourses and practices is much more partial. Drawing on Bourdieu, we suggest that this may be best understood not as a counter-example to accounts of penal transformation but as evidence of an incompleteness in their analyses which reflects the ‘governmentality gap’ and requires the development of more fully cultural penology drawing on ethnographies of penality.
The Social Utility of Informal Institutions
Authors: Victor Jennifer Nicoll , Ringe Nils
Published: August 2009

This article challenges the existing state-of-knowledge about legislative caucuses by arguing that the caucus system reflects and reinforces formal organizing institutions, such as parties and committees, rather than counterbalancing them. We argue that legislators engage in the caucus system to maximize the social utility of their relationships. Using a social network framework, we develop and test hypotheses that seek to ascertain the types of legislators that assume elevated positions in the caucus network. We collect data on the complete population of caucuses and their members from the first session of the 110th U.S. House of Representatives and conduct social network analyses to find evidence that the caucus system supports the hierarchical structure of existing formal institutions.
Connected Coordination
Authors: McCubbins Mathew D. , Paturi Ramamohan , Weller Nicholas
Published: August 2009

Networks can affect a group’s ability to solve a coordination problem. We use laboratory experiments to study the conditions under which groups of participants can solve coordination games. We investigate a variety of different network structures, and we also investigate coordination games with symmetric and asymmetric payoffs. Our results show that network connections facilitate coordination in both symmetric and asymmetric games. Most significantly, we find that an increase in the number of connections improves coordination even when payoffs are highly asymmetric. These results shed light on the conditions that may facilitate coordination in real-world networks.
Frustration-Instigated Career Decisions: A Theoretical Exploration of the Role of Frustration in Career Decisions
Authors: Young Angela M.
Published: August 2009

From a career decision-making perspective, frustration may be an important catalyst for career change. Literature is discussed and used to develop propositions that present perceived frustration, not just as a state of discomfort but as an impetus for career change. Self-perception and achievement need are presented in relation to frustration to speculate about specific career decisions that might be enacted in a state of frustration. A framework is developed to represent career decisions based on proposed relationships. Implications are discussed for human resource development specialists, managers, and employees and suggestions are presented for conducting future research.
Beyond Engagement:Toward a Framework and Operational Definition for Employee Work Passion
Authors: Zigarmi Drea , Nimon Kim , Houson Dobie , Witt David , Diehl Jim
Published: August 2009

The purpose of this article is to respond to the lack of consistency in the academic and practitioner literature regarding the construct of employee engagement and to offer a platform for the research and use of a refined construct called employee work passion. This article analyzes the differences between the concepts of engagement of the two groups of writers and proposes a new definition and framework based on social cognitive theory. Three recommendations are made for human resource development researchers and practitioners who seek to improve both the data and the strategies used in constructing engagement or work passion surveys. Engagement or passion surveys should (a) specifically and convincingly assess the affective components of the appraisal process, (b) differentiate descriptive cognitions and intentions, and (c) separate and corroborate intentions from behaviors.
Female Juvenile Risk
Authors: Emeka Traqina Q. , Sorensen Jon R.
Published: August 2009

There are few risk assessment instruments that address the unique risk factors for female juvenile offenders. Typically, female risk factors are embedded within male risk factors. Thus, the true differences between male and female juveniles may not be explored. In this study, a generic risk assessment instrument was constructed from a pooled sample and used to identify the level of risk posed by females in comparison with males. Though the constructed instrument worked quite efficiently for males, the instrument provided only a marginal improvement over chance prediction of recidivism for youthful female probationers. Lower rates of predictive validity among the female subpopulation supports call for the development of gendered risk assessment instruments.
Airway proteins involved in bacterial clearance susceptible to cathepsin G proteolysis
Authors: Farberman M. M. , Akers K. T. , Malone J. P. , Erdman-Gilmore P. , Townsend R. R. , Ferkol T.
Published: August 2009

Serine proteases released from neutrophils are central to the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis lung disease and are considered to be obvious therapeutic targets. Neutrophil elastase digests key opsonins present in the lung and disrupts phagocytosis, allowing bacteria to persist despite established pulmonary inflammation. We have found that cathepsin G, an abundant serine protease found in human and murine neutrophils, has other roles in the development of suppurative lung diseases. Murine models of endobronchial inflammation indicate that cathepsin G inhibits airway defences and interferes with the host’s ability to clearPseudomonas aeruginosafrom the lung with effects distinct from neutrophil elastase. We hypothesise that differences in bacterial killing are due to defects in innate defences created by proteolysis.

Protein profiles of bronchoalveolar lavage of infected wild-type and cathepsin G-deficient mice were compared using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry.

Four proteins in bronchoalveolar lavage were cleaved by cathepsin G. Serum amyloid P component leaked into the lung during acute infection and was digested by cathepsin G. Its cleavage products had greater binding to lipopolysaccharide and interfered with phagocytosis.

These results indicate that cleaved serum amyloid P component acts as an anti-opsonin and interferes with bacterial clearance from the lung.
Effects of cannabis on lung function: a population-based cohort study
Authors: Hancox R. J. , Poulton R. , Ely M. , Welch D. , Taylor D. R. , McLachlan C. R. , Greene J. M. , Moffitt T. E. , Caspi A. , Sears M. R.
Published: August 2009

The effects of cannabis on lung function remain unclear and may be different from those of tobacco. We compared the associations between use of these substances and lung function in a population-based cohort (n = 1,037).

Cannabis and tobacco use were reported at ages 18, 21, 26 and 32 yrs. Spirometry, plethysmography and carbon monoxide transfer factor were measured at 32 yrs. Associations between lung function and exposure to each substance were adjusted for exposure to the other substance.

Cumulative cannabis use was associated with higher forced vital capacity, total lung capacity, functional residual capacity and residual volume. Cannabis was also associated with higher airway resistance but not with forced expiratory volume in 1 s, forced expiratory ratio or transfer factor. These findings were similar among those who did not smoke tobacco. In contrast, tobacco use was associated with lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s, lower forced expiratory ratio, lower transfer factor and higher static lung volumes, but not with airway resistance.

Cannabis appears to have different effects on lung function from those of tobacco. Cannabis use was associated with higher lung volumes, suggesting hyperinflation and increased large-airways resistance, but there was little evidence for airflow obstruction or impairment of gas transfer.