bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
'Our Tyne': Iconic Regeneration and the Revitalisation of Identity in NewcastleGateshead
Authors: Miles Steven
Published: July 2007

The landscape of the north-east of England, both urban and rural, is perhaps most notable as a deindustrialised landscape. Indeed, the world in which we live is determined as much by what it was as by what it is. Perhaps this is no more evident than in the case of NewcastleGateshead which is often portrayed as an exemplar of the revitalising benefits of culture-led regeneration. The, as yet unproven, success of NewcastleGateshead Quayside is founded upon a massive financial investment in iconic projects. But under what conditions is, if at all, such iconography succeeding? This article addresses the impact of flagship regeneration projects and their role in radically rearticulating the meaning of place and space in a so-called post-industrial world. It is suggested that the success of investment in iconic cultural projects depends above all upon people's sense of belonging in a place and the degree to which culture-led regeneration can engage with that sense of belonging, whilst balancing achievements of the past with ambitions for the future.
Inequality, Polarisation and Regional Mobility in the European Union
Authors: Ezcurra Roberto , Gil Carlos , Pascual Pedro , Rapun Manuel
Published: July 2007

This paper examines the distribution dynamics of regional per capita income in the European Union between 1977 and 1999. To achieve this aim, a non-parametric approach is combined with the information provided by various measures used in the literature on personal income distribution. The results obtained suggest that regional inequality and polarisation have decreased in the European context over the period considered. Likewise, the observed level of intradistributional mobility is relatively low. Furthermore, the findings reveal the important role played by the national component and the spatial dimension in the distribution dynamics.
Sectoral Manufacturing Productivity Growth in Korean Regions
Authors: Lee Bun Song , Sosin Kim , Hong Sung Hyo
Published: July 2007

The growth of an industry in a city has been explained by dynamic externality theories such as those by Marshall, Arrow and Romer, Porter, Jacobs and Storper. Each of these views describes a different mechanism by which the initial conditions for a particular industry in a city facilitate knowledge spillover extensive enough to promote productivity growth. This paper develops a model that distinguishes among these and applies it to Korean manufacturing industries. The empirical analysis concludes that productivity growth in Korea is more rapid when small firms from different industries compete, supporting theories by Jacobs and Storper. However, the impacts of specialisation and diversification vary substantially across major manufacturing industry sub-categories. Land use regulations such as greenbelt rates and excessive concentration control districts generally show significant negative effects on productivity growth.
Color-flow Doppler sonography in the differential diagnosis and management of amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis
Authors: Loy M. , Perra E. , Melis A. , Cianchetti M. E. , Piga M. , Serra A. , Pinna G. , Mariotti S.
Published: July 2007

Background: Amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) may be caused by excessive thyroidal hormone synthesis and release (type 1) or by a destructive process (type 2). This differentiation is considered essential for therapeutic choice.

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of color-flow Doppler sonography (CFDS) in the differential diagnosis and management of AIT.

Material and Methods: The clinical and laboratory data, thyroid sonography (grayscale sonography [GSS], CFDS), thyroid radioiodine uptake (RAIU) and thyroid scintigraphy, treatment, and clinical outcome were retrospectively reviewed in 21 AIT patients. The CFDS pattern of thyroid nodules was separately described from that of the perinodular parenchyma, and AIT was classified as type 1 (increased blood flow) or type 2 (low/no blood flow). Type 1 AIT patients were treated with methimazole (alone or associated with potassium perchlorate), while type 2 patients were treated with prednisone or amiodarone withdrawal alone.

Results: Eleven patients with increased blood flow were considered as type 1, and 10 with low/no blood flow as type 2. Ten of the 11 patients in the first group showed a hypervascular nodular pattern, while one showed a hypervascular parenchymal pattern. Clinical diagnoses were toxic nodular goiter and Graves' disease, respectively. Of the 10 patients with low/no blood flow, six had normal thyroid volume, three small diffuse goiter, and one small multinodular goiter. The clinical outcome showed that 20 of the 21 patients were treatment responsive.

Conclusion: CFDS is a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of AIT. This differentiation appeared to be of clinical relevance as regards therapeutic choice. Separate evaluation of parenchymal blood flow from that of nodules may prove beneficial in the diagnosis of underlying thyroid diseases in patients with type 1 AIT.
Levelling the playing fields & embedding illusions: ‘post‐conflict’ discourse & neo‐liberal ‘development’ in war‐torn Africa
Authors: Moore David
Published: July 2007

The World Bank's booklet Post‐Conflict Reconstruction: The Role of the World Bank suggests that in its eyes the ravages of war‐torn Africa present international financial institutions with an opportunity to create ‘market friendly’ opportunities on the levelled playing fields assumed by ‘post‐conflict’ discourse. As well as downplaying the conflict‐laden and complex aspects of post‐war situations, the illusion of peace and ordered government encouraged by ‘post‐conflict’ language allows the traditional humanitarian side of the ‘relief and (neo‐liberal) ‘development’ continuum in post‐war situations to be obliterated. Thus, the World Bank and similar agencies are able to enter the killing fields even during conflict to lay the seeds — or ‘embed’, to use a reversal of Polanyian perspectives — of individual property rights and other aspects of neo‐liberal economic, social and political good governance. Perspectives from ‘social capital’ discourse also buttress this view. Such ideologies coincide with and justify the diminishing material resources allocated to a more traditional humanitarian agenda for post‐war reconstruction, as well as sidelining alternatives.
State‐NGO relations in an era of globalisation: the implications for agricultural development in Africa
Authors: Puplampu Korbla P , Tettey Wisdom J
Published: July 2007

The crisis of the African state has been a dominant feature of the continent's socio‐political and development discourse in the last two decades. In a region where agriculture is the engine of development and the state plays an active role in agriculture, the crisis of the state has created a vacuum in the institutional framework required for agricultural development. Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), consistent with globalisation, have emerged and filled the vacuum as viable institutions for agricultural development. This study examines State‐NGO relations during globalisation and the implications of that relationship for agricultural development in Africa. Exploring the socio‐political context of such relations, especially the nature of investment in the agricultural sector, the study shows how the uncertain outcomes of State‐NGO relations, exacerbated by global forces, affect the long‐term prospects of agricultural development in Africa.
Coping or struggling? a journey into the impact of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa
Authors: Rugalema Gabriel
Published: July 2007

Analysis of the effects of AIDS‐induced morbidity and mortality on rural livelihoods, particularly in east and southern Africa, has gathered pace in the last two decades. An understanding of the interaction between ill health and rural livelihoods is essential both at policy and theoretical levels. However, the tendency to analyse many of the effects of the AIDS epidemic under the rubric of coping strategies needs critical appraisal. In this article the question is posed as a basis for exploring whether the concept of ‘coping strategies’ is capable of explaining reality on the ground or has merely become a convenient escape route for academics and policy‐makers. It is argued that in areas hard hit by AIDS, the concept of coping strategies is of limited value in explaining household experience and may divert policymakers from the enormity of the emergency.
No democracy, no development: reflections on democracy & development in Africa
Authors: Zack‐Williams A B
Published: July 2007

This article is a contribution to the debate on the state, democracy and economic development in Africa. It examines the process of the decline of political pluralism in Africa not long after independence, to be replaced by the omnipotent one‐party state, and the rationale for this transition. It examines recent moves towards democratisation in Africa pointing to the implications for development and argues that democracy, defined as the ability of a people to control decision‐making, is a sine qua non for development. Given the divide between owners of the major means of production (the ruling class who shape the destiny of the social formation) and the governing class (who are only in formal control of the state apparatus), it is argued that contrary to the neo‐liberal dictate of destatization, the role of the state in economic transformation is crucial. Far from rolling back the state, state capacity needs to be strengthened and this would have to be at the expense of the proliferation of unaccountable non‐governmental organisations.
Role of Interaction between Technological Communities and Industrial Clustering in Innovative Activity: The Case of Hsinchu District, Taiwan
Authors: Hu Tai-shan , Lin Chien-yuan , Chang Su-Li
Published: July 2007

Economic development requires knowledge in today's knowledge-based economy. The achievement of economic development in one area depends directly on the efficiency of the attainment, accumulation and application of knowledge and information. These processes rely heavily on the involvement of human resources with technological knowledge and technical skills. Correspondingly, knowledge creation ability and the efficiency of knowledge creation and application determine industrial clustering and economic sustainability. Current surveys of industrial clusters in Taiwan have ascertained that clusters of traditional industries do not necessarily lead to innovation although, empirically, an industrial cluster is a prerequisite for innovative activity. Recent studies have addressed the effects of the spatial proximity among firms and advanced research institutes in the Hsinchu area. According to their results, industrial clustering positively influences innovation by technological companies. Based on available results, this study considers how interaction between technological communities and industrial clustering influence the innovative activities in a sample area. Additionally, this study analyses social networking within the technological community and the relationship to industrial clustering in the Hsinchu area. Results of this study provide a valuable reference for industrial district planning and management.
Peasants and class alliances
Authors: Shivji Issa
Published: July 2007

The conditions under which capitalism has penetrated African countries have not produced the kind of capitalist development that occurred in Europe. It is out of this recognition that an analysis must be undertaken of the process of differentiation of the peasantry. While some ranks of the peasantry protect their interests by fraternising with the bureaucracy, the poor peasantry is exploited by both internal and external dominating classes. The concept of the worker‐peasant alliance thus grows from an analysis of both the working class and poor peasantry in relation to other classes, from their role in social production, and their objective interests in conflict with imperialism and its local class allies. At the same time class struggle and class alliance require indispensably a political ideology and political organisation based on proletarian class consciousness.
Capital accumulation and South Africa
Authors: Bienefeld Manfred , Innes Duncan
Published: July 2007

This article rejects the distinction between nationaland foreigncapital based on the passport, residence, birthplace or other attributes of the owners. It rather suggests that by distinguishing between national and international capital according to the nature of the investment opportunities required to induce investment, it is possible to make a vital connection between externally and internally oriented economic activity. This places into proper perspective the widespread notion of development occurring through merely expanding internal markets and suggests that in an open economy attention must be directed to the problems surrounding the expansion of exports. This expansion is in turn limited in a variety of ways and an analysis of these limits is shown to be critical for evaluating the possibility that South Africa's past growth rates might be glibly extrapolated into the future. The struggle over the earnings from such exports and the common interest in expanding them, further provides a useful way of looking at political struggle within South Africa.
Hausa women on strike
Authors: Jackson Sam
Published: July 2007

A strike by Hausa women of Northern Nigeria in 1977 raised a number of interesting questions. How is it that these subordinate Muslim women could undertake and carry off a strike for better wages? How useful are the categories of ‘peasant’ and ‘landless labourer’, which are the cornerstones of generalizations about rural rebellions, in explaining the particular situation of Hausa women? Why is it that women went on strike as a response to exploitation by a foreign capitalist enterprise but are incapable of such action in their relations with Hausa peasants? Finally, in a comparison with a strike by women packers on an estate farm in Senegal, I raise the problem of how women's labour is valued.
Imperialism and capitalist transformation: critique of a Kenyan debate
Authors: Beckman Björn
Published: July 2007

The question of whether or not a dependency model is applicable to Kenya has been subject to considerable recent debate. Beckman offers a critique of the overall terms in which the debate has been cast. He argues that the critics of underdevelopment theory have failed to transcend its problematic and its misdirected identification of contradictions. They have in consequence placed unjustified emphasis on the state as a instrument of ‘factional’ interests. Defenders of the dependency position have for their part been unable to place their analysis within the framework of the logic of capital accumulation, imperialism and class formation. But for Beckman, it is only in terms of the general requirements of capital accumulation that the relation of the state to underlying class forces can be adequately understood.
The Ethiopian military state and Soviet‐US involvement in the horn of Africa
Authors: Petras James F. , Morley Morris H.
Published: July 2007

This article focuses on the great power involvement in the region, especially insofar as it affects Ethiopia and its conflicts with Eritrea. It first characterises the military regime in Ethiopia as a form of ‘state capitalism’, conceived as a transitional and unstable formation becoming increasingly common in Third World countries struggling with the contradictions affecting their development in a period of capitalist crisis and declining US hegemony. On both sides, therefore, the relationship between Ethiopia and the USSR is opportunistically based on nothing more permanent than state‐to‐state relations. A survey of US calculations globally and in the region shows that despite the more aggressive stance of the Reagan administration the way is left open for a rapprochement with Ethiopia, an outcome made more likely given the Ethiopian regime's inability to seek anything other than a military solution in Eritrea and its incapability of achieving that.
Peasants and democratic struggles in Nigeria
Authors: Beckman Bjorn
Published: July 2007

This article discusses the role of the peasantry in the political strategies of the Nigerian left. It begins by looking at the way in which some socialist‐oriented organisations and writers have approached the peasant and agrarian questions. The paper discusses the political and economic implications of some of the positions taken, including ‘fighting the kulaks’ and ‘eliminating middlemen and money‐lenders’. It stresses the limited scope for left Intervention on the side of the poor peasants In confrontation with the rich in the foreseeable future. Beckman argues that the democratic transition may be Jeopardised both economically and politically if such intervention is pushed prematurely. There is a need to focus on the broad middle ground within the peasantry for purposes of political support and agricultural development. The paper recognises the growing internal differentiation and class contradictions within the peasant communities but it suggests that such divisions can only be effectively addressed after the consolidation of democratic state power. There is, therefore, the need to mobilise peasants politically for the national democratic cause on issues which unite rather than divide them. The encroachment on peasants lands by state and capital is one such area of common concern. There is also a wide scope for democratic struggles for more equitable distribution of public services on a community basis.
Development theory and reality: the World Bank in Northern Ivory Coast
Authors: Bassett Thomas J.
Published: July 2007

The ‘complementarity thesis’ is that food production will benefit from the promotion of an export crop. Critics of this thesis maintain that export crops compete with food crops. Bassett argues that outcomes can only be understood in the light of the specific agrarian and political‐economic contexts in which such policies may be applied. The case of cotton in northern Ivory Coast demonstrates the issues.
Zimbabwe's agricultural ‘success’ and food security in Southern Africa
Authors: Cliffe Lionel
Published: July 2007

Zimbabwe's track record is being touted as the latest ‘miracle’ that should be copied in promoting agricultural production. It has indeed succeeded in producing food surpluses in most years and its African smallholders have greatly increased their contribution to marketed crop production since 1980. This article seeks to explore how far it can be the basis for a ‘model’ for agricultural development, at least for the ‘labour‐reserve economies’ of southern Africa (including even a reformed South Africa). In order to do that it first explores the basis for such success as has occurred but also spells out the limits of these ‘successes’, what areas of necessary agrarian transformation have not yet been addressed and how these might be tackled.

It will be shown that smallholders in the former ‘reserves’ have responded to removal of settler colonialism's imposed barriers and to the extension to them of new opportunities of credit and inputs and of centralised (not as the World Bank would prefer ‘free’ marketing structures, both of which had been built up to serve large‐scale white settler farming. These benefits have been confined to a minority of regions and of better‐off peasants and have not solved the problems of poverty faced by the majority. The long‐run need to transform the technical, social and environmental limitations of the agrarian system in the smallholder ('communal') areas and to generate a more democratic, productive and sustainable system have still to be tackled. It is argued that to do so will require a second stage of agrarian reform that will be constitutionally more possible in 1990, reform that integrates changes in ‘communal’ agriculture with continued redistribution of the large scale commercial holdings of the white settlers. In this respect Zimbabwe can build on its ‘resettlement programme’ which has been a qualitative success in production terms (though one whose positive record has been denied by various vested interests) even if not yet on a sufficiently large scale.
Restructuring an authoritarian state: ‘democratic renewal’ in Benin
Authors: Allen Chris
Published: July 2007

Benin was an early example of transition from single‐party rule to competitive multi‐party politics, achieved through high levels of popular urban mobilisation in 1989–90. This article analyses the causes of the downfall of the former regime, attributing it to the erosion of state capacity and strength and to growing corruption, together with the expansion in the scope and strength of civil society and changes in consciousness arising from political struggle. The new regime is however limited in policy choice by debt and a structural adjustment programme, and has distanced itself rapidly from the workers and students who brought it to power. The immediate prognosis for democratic survival is thus poor.
The fall and rise of multi‐party politics in Zambia
Authors: Baylies Carolyn , Szeftel Morris
Published: July 2007

The overwhelming electoral victory of the MMD in November 1991 restored multi‐party politics to Zambia and ended the UNIP monopoly of government which had existed since 1964. A coalition of forces disenchanted by economic decline and resentful of authoritarian one‐party rule, the MMD has moved swiftly to reduce the economic and social role of the state and to promote market restructuring in line with IMF conditionalities. An alliance of trade union leaders and local capitalists, the MMD also committed itself to political reform which encouraged hopes that stable democratic institutions can be forged. However, after only a few months in office, criticism of presidential authoritarianism and the widespread use of patronage in appointments raises doubts that such promises will be delivered. The question is posed of whether MMD replaces UNIP or simply reproduces it.
Transition politics' and the challenge of gender in Nigeria
Authors: Abdullah Hussaina
Published: July 2007

>At present Nigeria is in a ‘transitional’ period as the country moves into the Third Republic, a form of civilian government devised by the present Federal Military Government (FMG). This has not only entailed the creation of political parties (one, the National Republican Convention, a ‘little to the right’, the other, the Social Democratic Party, a ‘little to the left'), it has also involved the establishment of other organisations conforming to the views of the FMG. A striking number of these are apparently directed towards improving the position of women in Nigerian society. These organisations are critically examined in the context of a structural adjustment programme promoted by the military government, and against the activities of trade unions, political parties and democratic associations.
Peasant response to economic crisis in Uganda: rice farmers in Busoga
Authors: Nabuguzi Emmanuel
Published: July 2007

This study examines the response of a section of the peasantry in Uganda to economic crisis over the last decade. In Nabweyo, a peasant village in Busiki county, Busoga, farmers have changed from growing cotton for export to producing rice for the domestic market. The switch has been the consequence of changing price structures which have in turn resulted from disruption of the marketing and processing infrastructure of traditional cash crops. The experience of Busiki reflects a more general reaction to political and economic crisis which has transformed peasant processes of production. Rural populations along the whole stretch of the Lake Kyoga basin in both Busoga and Tororo Districts responded to the crisis by increasing small scale commercial farming of rice as a survival strategy. It is argued that in the process rural hierarchies are being reshaped in a manner which may alter the balance of social forces within Uganda as a whole.
The study of political transitions in Africa
Authors: Osaghae Eghosa E.
Published: July 2007

This article examines some of the inadequacies of dominant Western perspectives, especially those originating from the US for studying political transitions in Africa, by focusing on the current democratic transitions. It attributes the major flaws to the hegemonic and ideological interests which these transitions are designed to serve and which underlie approaches made popular by Western scholars, to a ‘periodic’ conceptualisation of the process of transition itself, to the consequent treatment of transition in an ahistorical manner and the abandonment of previous perspectives of social and political change, and to the failure to relate transitions to the developmental needs of countries involved as determined by the peoples themselves. It discusses how these weaknesses can be overcome and outlines the requirements for a more adequate framework for studying transitions.
Understanding African politics
Authors: Allen Chris
Published: July 2007

Generalisation about African politics and political systems is made difficult by the extent to which African states both differ from one another and have changed since independence. This article discusses whether it is nevertheless possible to understand African states as examples of the same political system, as some recent studies have asserted (or assumed). It argues that by comparing the historical patterns of political development in African states, one can identify a limited number of distinct historical paths, starting with the process of decolonisation (where there are two variants). Subsequently divergent paths arose from differing responses to early post‐independence political crises, producing contrasting forms of politics ‐ ‘centralised‐bureaucratic politics’ and ‘spoils politics’ ‐ and corresponding political systems. Further differentiation has arisen systematically from popular responses to the breakdown of these forms, giving rise to populist revolts, state collapse or to democratic challenges (and sometimes democratic restructuring). Each of these represents a distinct form of politics, and political systems, within Africa. A model of the process of political development in post‐war Africa is set out along these lines, and used to criticise several recent attempts at characterisation of African politics, in which either states belonging to one historical path (and thus one political system) are treated as representative of all African states, or in which states from different paths and belonging to different systems are seen as examples of the same political form and political process.
Who needs civil society?
Authors: Allen Chris
Published: July 2007

‘Civil society’ has become a popular concept in both the analysis of the social bases of recent political change in Africa, and in external policy support for processes of liberal democratic political reform. In the latter case, civil society, as represented by a set of (largely urban) formal organisations and especially by NGOs with external links, is portrayed as the driving force behind and guarantee of democratisation and the containment of the state. Conceptually, however, ‘civil society’ proves to be diffuse, hard to define, empirically imprecise, and ideologically laden. Analytically it is vacuous, and concepts such as class or gender contribute far more to understanding recent political change than can ‘civil society’. Its popularity and continued employment rest on its ideological underpinning, notably on claims that civil society is necessarily distinct from the state, in opposition to the state, and the source of (liberal) democratic values and pressures. It is thus the proponents of liberal democratic reform, notably those external to African polities, that ‘need’ civil society.
Acute Myocarditis Associated with Clozapine
Authors: Varambally Shivarama , Howpage Padmini
Published: July 2007

Objective: A case of acute myocarditis associated with the commencement of clozapine is described, highlighting the onset, course and possible contributing factors. There is an urgent need to raise awareness about this potentially fatal complication of clozapine use.

Results: A 20-year-old male with schizophrenia developed a sudden onset of myocarditis after commencement of clozapine. The patient recovered with intensive medical support. The symptoms occurred around 2 weeks after starting clozapine in an inpatient setting. Possible contributing factors may have been concomitant antidepressant use and unaccustomed physical activity.

Conclusions: Myocarditis is an increasingly recognized complication associated with the use of clozapine. It can be fatal if not recognized and treated early. Considering that clozapine remains the gold standard in treatment of resistant psychosis, there is an urgent need to raise awareness among medical and paramedical staff involved in the care of these patients. There are also implications for recommendations and regulations regarding the use of clozapine.
The Clinicide Phenomenon: An Exploration Of Medical Murder
Authors: Kaplan Robert
Published: July 2007

Objective: The aim of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of clinicide.

Conclusions: The study of medical killers is barely in its infancy. Clinicide is the unnatural death of multiple patients in the course of treatment by a doctor. Serial medical killing is a relatively new phenomenon. The role model is Dr Marcel Petiot, the worst serial killer in French history. More recently, Dr Harold Shipman was Britain's worst serial killer and in the United States and Zimbabwe, Dr Michael Swango killed 60 patients. A number of doctors have such high patient death rates that it cannot be ignored. At some level, these doctors have an awareness of what they are doing, countered by an overweening refusal to acknowledge the implications or desist from further treatment. Treatment killer offences usually occur on the basis of serial mental illness, but may include the contentious area of euthanasia killing. Doctors have frequently been accomplices in state repression, brutality and genocide in direct contravention to their sanctioned role to relieve suffering and save life. They have become mass murderers on an exponential scale, making any comparison with a doctor killing his own patients almost risible. Many clinicidal doctors have extreme narcissistic personalities, a grandiose view of their own capability and inability to accept that they could be criticized or need assistance from other doctors. Such doctors develop a God-complex, getting a vicarious thrill out of ending suffering and by determining when a person dies.
Personality and the Slope of Loudness Function
Authors: Stephens S. D. G.
Published: July 2007

The slope of the loudness function in direct magnitude estimation was studied at two frequencies in two groups of naive subjects. In the first group a limited scale was used and in the second group, an open ended scale. In all conditions the slope of the loudness function was found to be significantly positively correlated with test anxiety scores.
Word Frequency and Age of Acquisition as Determiners of Picture-Naming Latency
Authors: Carroll John B. , White Margaret N.
Published: July 2007

In multiple-regression analysis of picture-naming latencies from an experiment modelled on Oldfield and Wingfield's (1965), with 94 stimuli and 37 adult subjects, two word frequency measures had insignificant beta weights, while two measures estimating age at which the word was learned had highly significant weights. Objects whose names were learned early were named faster. This result may have important implications for the interpretation of studies using word frequency as a critical variable. It is suggested that word retrieval may be a one-stage process that depends upon the age at which a word was learned.
Response Coding in Recall of Colours by Monkeys
Authors: Gaffan David
Published: July 2007

Two monkeys learned a recall task with colours as the samples and spatial discriminanda at the retention test. The relationship between the sample colours and the retention test discriminanda was such that it was possible to distinguish between errors that were related to the visual similarity of the sample colours and those that were related to the similarity of the recall responses. When errors were induced by lengthening the delay between sample and retention test, they were related to the similarity of the recall responses. But in a comparable recognition memory task with colours, performance was related to the visual similarity of the colours. These results imply that the monkeys recognised the colours directly from a visual trace but recalled them indirectly from a response-coded trace.
A Dual Task Response Modality Effect: Support for Multiprocessor Models of Attention
Authors: McLeod Peter
Published: July 2007

In Experiment I two groups of 11 men performed a continuous visual input/manual output task simultaneously with a two-choice tone identification task. One group responded vocally to the tones; one group responded with the hand not involved in the continuous tracking task. In either perceptual or stimulus uncertainty terms the two combinations were identical; the only difference between them was the modality of the two-choice responses. The continuous task was performed significantly worse when the two-choice responses were manual. The probability of response production on the continuous task was affected by the production of manual responses but not by the production of vocal responses. It was concluded that although the two manual responses were produced by a single limited capacity process, the manual and vocal responses were produced by independent processes. In Experiment II the same manual tracking task was combined with a mental arithmetic task at two levels of difficulty. Tracking performance was independent of the difficulty of the arithmetic task. These results support a multi-processor approach to attention as opposed to single channel models. Results of dual task studies which have used only one pair of response modalities are re-examined in the light of the response modality effect found in Experiment I.
Time On-market and Price Trade-offs in High-rise Housing Sub-markets
Authors: Ong Seow Eng , Koh Yen Ching
Published: July 2007

This paper provides the first analytical study of the relationship between list price and time on-market (TOM) for high-rise public housing flats stratified by sub-markets in terms of geographical region and property type. In addition, the effects of macroeconomic variables pertinent to the price discovery process for property markets are analysed. By using data from single listings with one major agency firm to control for brokerage effects, the results obtained in this study are robust to incentive factors arising from firm size, number of listings, commission structure and incentive measures. The key results are that floor level affects the relationship between pricing and TOM, and variations in determinants of TOM exist across sub-markets. Moreover, TOM is influenced by price movements in both the public and private housing markets, as well as by individual agent effort.
Comment on Keith Haartman's “Religious Ecstasy and Personality Transformation in John Wesley's Methodism: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations”
Authors: Carroll Michael P.
Published: July 2007

Keith Haartman argues that childrearing practices distinctive of the English middle class in the 18th century produced a type of personality structure characterized by excessive splitting. Methodism proved popular because the Methodist experience providing a way of confronting and working through the conflicts generated by this sort of personality structure. Unfortunately, although Haartman's argument is plausible, there is little or no evidence to support his central contention: that the individuals who found Methodism most appealing were associated with the childhood experiences he posits. A somewhat different psychoanalytic interpretation of the same data that Haartman presents emerges when we pay attention to things, like the orality that pervaded the Methodist experience and the intended goal of the Methodist conversion experience, that Haartman ignores. This article concludes by suggesting that when psychoanalytic investigators study large-scale historical patterns, they would do well to recognize the limits of psychoanalytic explanation in this area.
From Brain Imaging Religious Experience to Explaining Religion: A Critique
Authors: Azari Nina P. , Slors Marc
Published: July 2007

Recent functional neuroimaging data, acquired in studies of religious experience, have been used to explain and justify religion and its origins. In this paper, we critique the move from describing brain activity associated with self-reported religious states, to explaining why there is religion at all. Toward that end, first we review recent neuroimaging findings on religious experience, and show how those results do not necessarily support a popular notion that religion has a primitive evolutionary origin. Importantly, we call into question an assumption—key to that account of religion—concerning a conceptual relation between ‘religion’ and ‘religious experience’. Then, we examine the conditions that must be met in order to explain religion on the basis of brain imaging findings. Moreover, we list principled reasons to be sceptical of explanations of religion in terms of the neural underpinnings of experiences. We conclude that the data from neuroimaging studies are not suited for an explanation of religion.
The ordination of women and inclusivity within the Church in Wales: Theological and psychological considerations
Authors: Little Keith
Published: July 2007

This study explored the hypothesis that clergywomen tend to hold a more inclusive attitude toward ministry than is the case among clergymen. The hypothesis was tested against data provided by 311 clergymen and 66 clergywomen, generated from a 66% response rate to a survey of all stipendiary parochial clergy in the Church in Wales concerning views on Christian initiation. The data confirmed the hypothesis across all five aspects of Christian initiation included in the questionnaire. This finding was employed to challenge recent theologically-informed claims denying consistent gender differences in approaches to ministry.
Wolfgang Iser — In Memoriam
Authors: Rimmon-Kenan Shlomith
Published: July 2007

An obituary for Wolfgang Iser (1926—2007), a great scholar and a kind and generous person. An overview of the history of Iser's theoretical thought is followed by a record of an episode of private life.
Schluss
Authors: Klatt Andrea
Published: February 2025

Im Schlussteil wird im Sinne der Haupthypothese der große Bogen zwischen den ersten Sterbeerzählungen des 19. Jahrhunderts und den Erzählungen der Gegenwart gespannt und ihr ‚Wert‘ im Sterbediskurs (Kap. 6, Abschn. 1) bestimmt. Anhand der erarbeiteten Funktions- und Wirkungspotenziale (Kap. 6, Abschn. 2) wird veranschaulicht, wie vielfältig mit der Textsorte ‚Erzählung‘ auf die Konfrontation mit dem eigenen Tod reagiert werden kann. Mit einem Ausblick auf Forschungsdesiderate (Kap. 6, Abschn. 3) schließt die Studie.
The Role of Financial Literacy on Retirement Preparedness in Brunei Darussalam
Authors: Md Hasnol Alwee Pg Hj Md Salleh Pg , Baha Roslee
Published: February 2025

In this chapter, the role of financial literacy vis-à-vis retirement preparedness in Brunei Darussalam is assessed through structured interviews with 700 public sector employees. The analysis examines not only their retirement preparations but also the challenges or concerns they foresee in retirement. An attempt is also made to understand the justifications of those without an additional retirement plan. Using Pearson’s chi-squared test, the results indicate that financially literate respondents are more knowledgeable about retirement needs, attend financial seminars and invest further into their retirement schemes on a voluntary basis. For those with an additional retirement plan, financially literate respondents also tend to seek professional guidance, and include land and insurance in their retirement plans to a greater extent compared to less financially literate respondents. For those without an additional plan, other current pressing commitments and the availability of family support are the main justifications. Despite the limitations of purposive sampling, the chapter underlines the value of financial literacy in retirement planning, which provides impetus for policymakers to incorporate financial literacy initiatives in the workplace, education system and other teachable opportunities, notably for older employees who earn relatively modest salaries and possess lower educational attainment.
Ketogenic diet induces an inflammatory reactive astrocytes phenotype reducing glioma growth
Authors: Rosito Maria , Maqbool Javeria , Reccagni Alice , Mangano Micol , D’Andrea Tiziano , Rinaldi Arianna , Peruzzi Giovanna , Silvestri Beatrice , Rosa Alessandro , Trettel Flavia , D’Alessandro Giuseppina , Catalano Myriam , Fucile Sergio , Limatola Cristina
Published: February 2025

The use of a ketogenic diet (KD) in glioma is currently tested as an adjuvant treatment in standard chemotherapy regimens. The metabolic shift induced by the KD leads to the generation of ketone bodies that can influence glioma cells and the surrounding microenvironment, but the mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the potential involvement of glial cells as mediators of the KD-induced effects on tumor growth and survival rate in glioma-bearing mice. Specifically, we describe that exposing glioma-bearing mice to a KD or to β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB), one of the main KD metabolic products, reduced glioma growth in vivo, induced a pro-inflammatory phenotype in astrocytes and increased functional glutamate transporters. Moreover, we described increased intracellular basal Ca2+ levels in GL261 glioma cells treated with β-HB or co-cultured with astrocytes. These data suggest that pro-inflammatory astrocytes triggered by β-HB can be beneficial in counteracting glioma proliferation and neuronal excitotoxicity, thus protecting brain parenchyma.
Free-by-cyclic groups are equationally Noetherian
Authors: Kudlinska Monika , Valiunas Motiejus
Published: February 2025

A group G is said to be equationally Noetherian if every system of equations in G is equivalent to a finite subsystem. We show that all free-by-cyclic groups are equationally Noetherian. As a corollary, we deduce that the set of exponential growth rates of a free-by-cyclic group is well ordered. Along the way, we prove that free-by-cyclic groups with polynomially growing monodromies of infinite order admit non-elementary 4-acylindrical actions on trees. We show that the splittings arising from the improved relative train track machinery of Bestvina et al. (Ann Math 161:1–59, 2005) [6] are 2-acylindrical, when the growth is at least quadratic.
The Sticky Particle Dynamics of the 1D Pressureless Euler-Alignment System as a Gradient Flow
Authors: Galtung Sondre Tesdal
Published: February 2025

We show how the sticky dynamics for the one-dimensional pressureless Euler-alignment system can be obtained as an

$$L^2$$

L
2

-gradient flow of a convex functional. This is analogous to the Lagrangian evolution introduced by Natile and Savaré for the pressureless Euler system, and by Brenier et al. for the corresponding system with a self-interacting force field. Our Lagrangian evolution can be seen as the limit of sticky particle Cucker–Smale dynamics, similar to the solutions obtained by Leslie and Tan from a corresponding scalar balance law, and provides us with a uniquely determined distributional solution of the original system in the space of probability measures with quadratic moments and corresponding square-integrable velocities. Moreover, we show that the gradient flow also provides an entropy solution to the balance law of Leslie and Tan, and how their results on cluster formation follow naturally from (non-)monotonicity properties of the so-called natural velocity of the flow.
Late gadolinium enhancement in areas with electrically fractionated potentials during sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation
Authors: Suzuki Yuya , Kiuchi Kunihiko , Takami Mitsuru , Imamura Kimitake , Sakai Jun , Nakamura Toshihiro , Yatomi Atsusuke , Sonoda Yusuke , Takahara Hiroyuki , Nakasone Kazutaka , Yamamoto Kyoko , Tani Kenichi , Iwai Hidehiro , Nakanishi Yusuke , Shoda Mitsuhiko , Yonehara Shogo , Murakami Atushi , Hirata Ken-ichi , Fukuzawa Koji
Published: February 2025

The areas with electrically fractionated potentials (AEFP) during sinus rhythm are related to non-pulmonary vein triggers and may serve as substrates of atrial fibrillation (AF) maintenance. However, the histological properties of these compounds remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) properties of AEFP in patients with AF. We enrolled 15 patients with AF who had undergone LGE magnetic resonance imaging before catheter ablation. AEFP in the left atrium was detected using the HD-Grid and NavX systems after pulmonary vein isolation. We compared LGE properties between AEFP and the surrounding non-fractionated areas (non-AEFP). LGE heterogeneity and density were evaluated through entropy (LGE entropy) and the volume ratio of the enhancement voxel (LGE volume ratio), respectively. Thirty-three AEFP were detected in the left atrium. LGE entropy and LGE volume ratio were significantly higher in AEFP than in non-AEFP [LGE entropy: 6.2 (6.1–6.4) vs. 5.9 (5.8–6.0), p ≤ 0.0001; LGE volume ratio: 23.0% (17.2–29.0%) vs. 10.4% (3.4–20.2%), p ≤ 0.0001]. The atrial voltages did not differ [2.4 (1.3–3.7) vs. 2.5 (1.9–3.1) mV, p = 0.96]. AF recurrence was more significantly found in patients with more than three AEFP than in those without it (log-rank test: p = 0.009). AEFP is likely to be distributed in heterogeneous and moderate LGE areas, regardless of the atrial voltage.
The financial impact and utilization of inpatient dermatology services: historical insights and future implications
Authors: Burke Olivia , Hartoyo Mara , Lin Rachel , Kirsner Robert S. , Elman Scott A.
Published: February 2025

Skin diseases affect millions of Americans, imposing a large financial burden on the U.S. healthcare system annually. Inpatient dermatology is a subspecialty focused on treating complicated skin diseases in hospitalized patients. Utilization of these services enhances diagnostic accuracy, shorten hospital stays, lower readmission rates, and improve patient outcomes. However, studies have indicated an overall decline in inpatient dermatology consultations and dermatology as primary admitting services. Currently, only two academic hospitals in the United States grant dermatologists admitting privileges, indicating decreased exposure to inpatient dermatology in residency despite the need for more hospital-based dermatologists. Therefore, this narrative review aims to characterize the financial impact and utilization of inpatient dermatology services. Historical and recent data consistently highlight the financial benefit of dermatologic hospitalizations and poor utilization of inpatient dermatology consultations. Teledermatology consultations also improve diagnostic accuracy and expedite interventions to improve patient outcomes. However, challenges like reduced reimbursement, lack of protocols, and limited resident training in inpatient dermatology have discouraged dermatologists from providing inpatient consultations. Policy changes are needed to promote these services that benefit patients as well as health systems.