bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stalin at the Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam Conferences
Authors: Roberts Geoffrey
Published: October 2007

This article presents new evidence from the Russian Foreign Ministry archive regarding Josif Stalin's participation in the Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam conferences. The article shows that the published Soviet records of these wartime summits are incomplete and inaccurate in a number of respects. These omissions and distortions were motivated by political considerations, and the correction of them facilitates a more complete rendition of Stalin's statements at the three conferences. Of particular importance is evidence that Stalin during the war strongly favored the dismemberment of Germany. Not until later did he begin to propagate the myth that he had always supported German unity.
Structure and Agency in the World of Asian Commerce during the Era of European Colonial Domination (c. 1750-1950)
Authors: Markovits Claude
Published: October 2007

This paper examines the theme of the 'survival' of Asian business in the period of European colonial domination in Asia, i.e. c. 1750-1950, through the trajectories of some Indian merchant communities. It shows how Indian nationalist discourse systematically overlooked the role played by Indian merchants in the economies of colonized countries outside India. A critique of the paradigm of the great pan-Asian bazaar as put forward by the Indian historian Rajat Ray follows. The last section looks at two networks of Sind merchants which operated worldwide during the colonial period, and proposes a different reading of the evidence regarding the insertion of Indian merchants within a European-dominated world economy. Cet article traite du thème de la « survie » des marchands asiatiques pendant la période de domination coloniale européenne à travers une analyse de certaines communautés marchandes indiennes. On souligne que le discours nationaliste indien a tendu à négliger le rôle joué par des marchands indiens dans l'économie de nombreux pays colonisés en dehors de l'Inde. On examine de façon critique la théorie du « grand bazar pan-asiatique » proposée par l'historien indien Rajat Ray. A partir d'une étude de deux réseaux marchands de la province du Sind, on propose une vue différente de l'insertion des marchands asiatiques dans l'économie coloniale globale.
25th Anniversary Commemoration of the adoption of the 1981 UN Declaration on the elimination of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief — A Report
Authors: Temperman Jeroen
Published: October 2007

This report presents the proceedings of the 25th Anniversary Commemoration of the adoption of the 1981 UN Declaration on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, which was held in Prague, Czech Republic on the 25th of November 2006. e focus of this event was on the merits of this Declaration as well as on the challenges as experienced over the past 25 years, the current key issues and obstacles as to its implementation and—whilst drawing on this document—the desired way forward: how to ensure compliance with everyone's right to freedom of religion or belief world-wide?
Vertical Variability of Cloud Hydrometeors in the Stratiform Region of Mesoscale Convective Systems and Bow Echoes
Authors: McFarquhar Greg M. , Timlin Michael S. , Rauber Robert M. , Jewett Brian F. , Grim Joseph A. , Jorgensen David P.
Published: October 2007

During the Bow Echo and Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experiment, the NOAA P-3 research aircraft executed 17 spiral descents to the rear of convective lines to document the vertical variability of hydrometeors above, within, and below the stratiform melting layer. Ten spirals were behind lines that exhibited bowing at some stage in their evolution. Although quick descents on some spirals forced sampling of different particle zones, clear trends with respect to temperature were seen. For 16 spirals, the ambient relative humidity with respect to ice was in the range of 100% ± 4% at temperatures between −10°C and the melting layer, but exhibited steady decreases below the melting layer to an average relative humidity with respect to water of 77% ± 15% at 9°C. In contrast, one spiral conducted on 29 June 2003 directly behind a developing bow echo had a relative humidity with respect to ice averaging 85% at heights above the 0°C level and relative humidity with respect to ice further decreased below the 0°C level to a minimum relative humidity with respect to water of 48% at 9°C. Vertical profiles of particle shapes, size distributions (SDs), total mass contents (TMC), number concentrations, and parameters of gamma distributions fit to SDs were computed using optical array probe data in conjunction with measurements of radar reflectivity from the P-3 X-band tail radar. For spirals with humidity at or near saturation above the melting layer, melting particles occurred through about 300 m of cloud depth between 0° and 2° or 3°C. Above the melting layer, number concentrations, dominated by smaller crystals, decreased at 19% ± 10% °C−1, faster than the 10% ± 7% °C−1 decrease of TMC dominated by larger particles. Increases in the numbers of crystals with a maximum dimension <2 mm (N<2) and in the slope parameter with temperature also occurred. To the extent that in-cloud heterogeneity did not complicate observed trends, these trends suggest aggregation dominated the evolution of SDs. Observations on 29 June differ from other days and are explained by the unique position and timing of the spiral in subsaturated air behind a developing bow. On 29 June the presence of an isothermal layer at 2.5°C suggested that sublimative cooling delayed the onset of melting. Ice at 7°C showed that melting particles were present through 500 m of cloud depth. A slight decrease in N<2, but no decrease in the slope parameter, with temperature suggested that sublimation modified the impact of aggregation. Sublimative cooling would only have been significant at the location of the 29 June spiral. For other spirals, evaporative cooling below the melting layer in subsaturated regions was the most important diabatic processes in the stratiform regions at the time of the observations.
A Comparison of Two Coastal Barrier Jet Events along the Southeast Alaskan Coast during the SARJET Field Experiment*
Authors: Olson Joseph B. , Colle Brian A. , Bond Nicholas A. , Winstead Nathaniel
Published: October 2007

The Southeastern Alaskan Regional Jets experiment investigated the structures and physical processes of barrier jets along the coastal Fairweather Mountains near Juneau, Alaska, from 24 September to 21 October 2004. This paper compares in situ aircraft data and high-resolution simulations from the first intensive observation period (IOP1), which featured a nearly terrain-parallel barrier jet (classical jet) with another coastal jet event (IOP7) that was influenced by offshore-directed gap flows at the coast (hybrid jet). IOP1 featured southerly onshore flow preceding a landfalling trough, which was blocked by the coastal terrain and accelerated down the pressure gradient to produce a 5–10 m s−1 wind enhancement in the alongshore direction in the lowest 1 km MSL. In contrast, IOP7 featured higher surface pressure and colder low-level temperatures to the east (inland) of the study area than did IOP1, which resulted in offshore-directed coastal gap flow exiting Cross Sound below ∼500 m that turned anticyclonically and merged with the ambient flow. Unlike the classical jet (IOP1), IOP7 had a surface warm anomaly adjacent to the steep coastal terrain, while a cold anomaly existed farther offshore within the gap outflow. Above the shallow gap flow (>500 m MSL), there were more classical barrier jet characteristics. High-resolution fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5) simulations were performed to compare the structures and underlying dynamics between the two cases. Model trajectories show that coastal winds for IOP1 originated offshore, while much of the coastal flow in IOP7 had gap flow origins near the surface and offshore origins above the gap outflow. A model momentum budget suggests that the vertical mixing of southerly momentum from aloft forced the gap outflow in IOP7 to turn anticyclonically more rapidly than an inertial circle. A simulation of IOP7 with the Cross Sound gap removed (filled in) produced a coastal jet with similar maximum wind speeds to the control but resulted in a reduction in the width of the coastal jet by about 40%.
Vertical Structures of Precipitation in Cyclones Crossing the Oregon Cascades
Authors: Medina Socorro , Sukovich Ellen , Houze Robert A.
Published: October 2007

The vertical structure of radar echoes in extratropical cyclones moving over the Oregon Cascade Mountains from the Pacific Ocean indicates characteristic precipitation processes in three basic storm sectors. In the early sector of a cyclone, a leading edge echo (LEE) appears aloft and descends toward the surface. Updraft cells inferred from the vertically pointing Doppler radial velocity are often absent or weak. In the middle sector the radar echo consists of a thick, vertically continuous layer extending from the mountainside up to a height of approximately 5–6 km that lasts for several hours. When the middle sector passes over the windward slope of the Cascades, the vertical structure of the precipitation exhibits a double maximum echo (DME). One maximum is associated with the radar reflectivity bright band. The second reflectivity maximum is located approximately 1–2.5 km above the bright band. The secondary reflectivity maximum aloft does not appear until the middle sector passes over the windward slope of the Cascades, suggesting that this feature results from or is enhanced by the interaction of the baroclinic system with the terrain. In the intervening region between the two reflectivity maxima there is a turbulent layer with updraft cells (>0.5 m s−1), spaced 1–3 km apart. This turbulent layer is thought to be crucial for enhancing the growth of precipitation particles and thus speeding up their fallout over the windward slope of the Cascades. In the late sector of the storm, the precipitation consists of generally isolated shallow convection echoes (SCEs), with low echo tops and, in some cases, upward motion near the tops of the cells. The SCEs become broader upon interacting with the windward slope of the Cascade Range, suggesting that orographic uplift enhances the convective cells. In the SCE period the precipitation decreases very sharply on the lee slope of the Cascades.
An Efficient Solution Method for the Buoyancy Wave Equation at Variable Wind and Temperature
Authors: Rõõm Rein , Zirk Marko
Published: October 2007

To solve a horizontally spectral, vertically discrete buoyancy wave equation in conditions of arbitrary wind and temperature distribution with height, a novel method is applied, which consists of a presentation of the solution in the form of a cumulative product of complex decrease factors. For decrease factors, a nonlinear, inhomogeneous, two-member recurrence formula follows that is initiated, assuming the radiative condition at the top. Singularities of the wave equation, corresponding to a critical layer in the vicinity of evanescent wind, are eliminated by turbulent friction. The estimation of minimal vertical resolution is derived, enabling solution stability and accuracy. The areas of application of the developed numerical scheme are the high-precision modeling of orographic waves for arbitrary orography in general atmospheric stratification conditions and testing of adiabatic kernels of numerical weather prediction models.
Detection of Rainfall Events Using Underwater Passive Aquatic Sensors and Air–Sea Temperature Changes in the Tropical Pacific Ocean
Authors: Ma Barry B. , Nystuen Jeffrey A.
Published: October 2007

Several years of long-term high temporal resolution ocean ambient noise data from the tropical Pacific Ocean are analyzed to detect oceanic rainfall. Ocean ambient noise generated by rainfall and wind are identified through an acoustic discrimination process. Once the spectra are classified, wind speed and rainfall rates are quantified using the empirical algorithms. Rainfall-rate time series have temporal resolutions of 1 min. These data provide a unique opportunity to study the rainfall events and patterns in two different climate regions, the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) of the tropical eastern Pacific (10° and 12°N, 95°W) and the equatorial western Pacific (0°, 165°E). At both locations the rain events have a mean rainfall of 15 mm h−1, but the events are longer in the eastern Pacific. After the rain event is defined, the probability that a rain event can be detected using the change in air–sea temperature often associated with the rainfall is investigated. The result shows that the rain event accompanied by the decrease of air temperature is a general feature, but that using the temperature difference to detect the rainfall has a very high false alarm rate, which makes it unsuitable for rainfall detection.
Evaluation of Boundary Layer Similarity Theory for Stable Conditions in CASES-99
Authors: Ha Kyung-Ja , Hyun Yu-Kyung , Oh Hyun-Mi , Kim Kyung-Eak , Mahrt Larry
Published: October 2007

The Monin–Obukhov similarity theory and a generalized formulation of the mixing length for the stable boundary layer are evaluated using the Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study-1999 (CASES-99) data. The large-scale wind forcing is classified into weak, intermediate, and strong winds. Although the stability parameter, z/L, is inversely dependent on the mean wind speed, the speed of the large-scale flow includes independent influences on the flux–gradient relationship. The dimensionless mean wind shear is found to obey existing stability functions when z/L is less than unity, particularly for the strong and intermediate wind classes. For weak mean winds and/or strong stability (z/L > 1), this similarity theory breaks down. Deviations from similarity theory are examined in terms of intermittency. A case study of a weak-wind night indicates important modulation of the turbulence flux by mesoscale motions of unknown origin.
Ethnic Politics, Risk, and Policy-Making
Authors: Lieberman Evan S.
Published: October 2007

What explains country policy responses to the AIDS pandemic? The author highlights ethnic politics as a negative influence on AIDS-related expenditures and other policies. When societies are ethnically divided and fragmented, elites are less likely to mobilize around the idea of risk from a stigmatized condition, fearing that their group will suffer reputational consequences. They are more likely to emphasize that the risks are contained within other groups, or that the threat is exaggerated. In turn, governments are less likely to provide policies because of lower demand and the potential for political resistance to actions viewed as unwelcome and/or unnecessary. A series of cross-national statistical analyses consistently reveal negative effects of ethnic fractionalization on AIDS policy. As compared with analogous analyses, it is possible to rule out the potential endogeneity concern that ethnic political competition might be a consequence as much as it was a cause of bad public policy and underdevelopment.
The Role of Impulsivity in Antisocial and Violent Behavior and Personality Disorders Among Incarcerated Women
Authors: Komarovskaya Irina , Loper Ann Booker , Warren Janet
Published: October 2007

This study investigated the relationships among impulsivity, antisocial and violent behavior, and personality disorders in 590 female inmates of a maximum-security female prison. Measures included the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Prison Violence Inventory, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders Screening Questionnaire, numbers of institutional infractions recorded in inmate files, and violent versus nonviolent offending. Results showed that impulsivity was associated with personality psychopathology and aggressive and antisocial behavior. In contrast to findings of studies with male inmates, female violent offenders did not demonstrate higher levels of impulsivity than nonviolent offenders.
Better Late Than Never? On the Dynamics of Online Regulation of Sadness Using Distraction and Cognitive Reappraisal
Authors: Sheppes Gal , Meiran Nachshon
Published: October 2007

Real-life emotion regulation often occurs at some point after an emotion-triggering event (ETE) has been introduced, but most previous research has involved regulation before or after the ETE. In a series of experiments, the authors examined online regulation via distraction and cognitive reappraisal by manipulating the strategy initiation point in sadness-evoking films. Distraction was effective even when initiated late, presumably because it involves diluting the ETE contents by mixing them with a nonsad input. By contrast, reappraisal was less effective when initiated late, suggesting a possible point of no return for this strategy: Adopting a detached view late in the ETE may be difficult because it involves continued focus on the ETE and hence requires overcoming a previously formed tendency of identifying with the emotional content.
To Prove or to Improve? Which Motive Distorts Perceptions of Personality Controllability?
Authors: El-Alayli Amani , Gabriel Shira
Published: October 2007

This research extends past work on positive illusions and self-goals by examining motivated perceptions of how much control people think they have over changing their personality traits. A self-validation motivation should cause individuals to view their personality weaknesses as uncontrollable (to avoid blame for having them) and their personality strengths as controllable (to take credit for having them). A self-growth motivation should cause individuals to view their weaknesses as controllable (to view them as improvable) and their strengths as uncontrollable (to view them as unchanging). Studies 1 and 2 find evidence for self-validation in perceptions of trait controllability. Study 3 finds this pattern to be stronger for validation-seeking individuals but weaker for growth-seeking individuals. Studies 3 and 4 find that being primed with one's successful self-improvements or one's future self can attenuate the self-validation. The potential implications of distorted perceptions of trait controllability for both well-being and self-change are discussed.
From the Interpersonal to the International: Understanding Commitment to the “War on Terror”
Authors: Agnew Christopher R. , Hoffman Aaron M. , Lehmiller Justin J. , Duncan Natasha T.
Published: October 2007

Applying constructs from the investment model used traditionally to understand interpersonal commitment, the present investigation seeks to elucidate social cognitive antecedents of commitment to the war on terror waged by the United States. In Study 1, satisfaction with, investments in, and alternatives to the war on terror predict levels of commitment to the war beyond several important control variables. In Study 2, levels of satisfaction with, investments in, and alternatives to the war are experimentally manipulated. The highest levels of commitment to the war are observed among participants exposed to a high satisfaction, high investment, and low alternatives scenario, and the lowest levels are among those exposed to a low satisfaction, low investment, and high alternatives scenario. These results support broadening the targets of commitment normally considered within the context of the investment model and suggest applying relational models to understanding broader societal concerns.
What's So Funny About Not Having Money? The Effects of Power on Laughter
Authors: Stillman Tyler F. , Baumeister Roy F. , Nathan DeWall C.
Published: October 2007

Two studies tested the hypothesis that occupying a position of low power increases the likelihood of laughter, presumably as a means of gaining friends and supporters. In Study 1, participants laughed more at an interviewer's jokes when the interviewer controlled their cash rewards than in the absence of monetary contingencies. Study 2 found that low-power participants (manipulated again by expecting that someone else would decide their cash rewards) laughed more than high-power participants even when they were alone. Low power also increased laughing at a fellow low-power coworker. These findings suggest that low power motivates interest in making friends and hence increases behaviors that promote social bonding.
The Effect of Self-Affirmation in Nonthreatening Persuasion Domains: Timing Affects the Process
Authors: Briñol Pablo , Petty Richard E. , Gallardo Ismael , DeMarree Kenneth G.
Published: October 2007

Most research on self-affirmation and persuasion has argued that self-affirmation buffers the self against the threat posed by a persuasive message; thus, it increases the likelihood that participants will respond to the message favorably. Little research, in contrast, has looked at the effects of self-affirmation on persuasive messages that are not threatening to the self. This research examines mechanisms that can operate under these conditions. Consistent with the idea that self-affirmation affects confidence, the article shows that self-affirmation can decrease information processing when induced prior to message reception (Experiment 1) and can increase the use of self-generated thoughts in response to a persuasive message when induced after message reception (Experiment 2). In addition, Experiment 3 manipulates the timing of self-affirmation to replicate both effects and Experiment 4 provides direct evidence for the impact of self-affirmation on confidence.
Bias of Exploratory and Cross-Validated DETECT Index Under Unidimensionality
Authors: Monahan Patrick O. , Stump Timothy E. , Finch Holmes , Hambleton Ronald K.
Published: October 2007

DETECT is a nonparametric ``full'' dimensionality assessment procedure that clusters dichotomously scored items into dimensions and provides a DETECT index of magnitude of multidimensionality. Four factors (test length, sample size, item response theory [IRT] model, and DETECT index) were manipulated in a Monte Carlo study of bias, standard error, and root mean square error (RMSE) under the condition of unidimensionality. Bias, standard error, and RMSE of both DETECT indices increased as test length and sample size decreased. Results suggest that the cross-validated index should always be preferred over the exploratory index, even for 100 examinees and five items. Bias, standard error, and RMSE may be problematic for both indices under certain conditions of small samples or short tests. A Monte Carlo procedure could be built into DETECT to estimate and adjust for potential bias.
An Item Response Theory Model for Incorporating Response Time Data in Binary Personality Items
Authors: Ferrando Pere J. , Lorenzo-Seva Urbano
Published: October 2007

This article describes a general item response theory model for personality items that allows the information provided by the item response times to be used to estimate the individual trait levels. The submodel describing the item response times is a modification of Thissen's log-linear model and is based on the distance-difficulty hypothesis in personality measurement. First, the procedures for fitting the model and assessing the goodness of fit are described. Second, the gain in the precision of estimating the individual trait levels when the information provided by the response times is used is assessed. Finally, all the developments in this article are illustrated by means of an empirical example.
Influence of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Bundles on Knee Kinematics
Authors: Robinson James , Carrat Lionel , Granchi Carinne , Colombet Philippe
Published: October 2007

Background

The synergistic functions of the anteromedial and posterolateral bundles of the anterior cruciate ligament in restraining anterior laxity are known. Cadaveric experiments have also suggested different functions of the 2 bundles in controlling a combined rotatory load simulating the pivot shift.

Hypothesis

The posterolateral bundle is important in controlling the coupled tibial axial rotation laxity occurring during clinical laxity tests performed in vivo, particularly the pivot-shift maneuver.

Study Design

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods

Twenty-one patients underwent navigated 2-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. The navigation was additionally used to measure the knee kinematics in response to the anterior drawer test (performed at 90°), Lachman test (performed at 20° of flexion), and pivot-shift test. Two sequential reconstruction protocols were used to assess the contribution of the anteromedial and posterolateral bundles to restraining tibial translations and coupled axial rotation occurring with the manually performed clinical laxity tests.

Results

Anterior tibial translation during the anterior drawer test was better restrained by anteromedial bundle reconstruction than by posterolateral bundle reconstruction. Conversely, posterolateral bundle reconstruction better restrained anterior tibial translation during the Lachman test. Both bundles contributed to the control of anterior laxity during the pivot shift. However, the posterolateral bundle was more important than was the anteromedial bundle in controlling the tibial rotational component (posterolateral bundle reconstruction caused a 53% reduction in tibial rotation laxity compared with a 42% reduction with anteromedial bundle reconstruction, P < .0001).

Conclusion

This study provides objective, in vivo data about how the anteromedial and posterolateral bundles act differentially to stabilize the knee, particularly during the pivot shift. The posterolateral bundle was important in controlling not only anterior laxity toward knee extension but the rotational component of the pivot shift.
Application of Probablistic Neural Network for the Development of Wear Mechanism Map for Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics
Authors: Srinivasan V. , Maheshkumar K.V. , Karthikeyan R. , Palanikumar K.
Published: October 2007

Glass fiber reinforced plastic composite materials are finding increased applications due to their excellent properties. Fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) composite materials comprise soft matrix and fiber elements. This article presents the tribological aspects of glass fiber reinforced plastic composites. The wear test is carried out for FRP in a pin-on-roller wear tester. The wear rate obtained from different sliding speeds and normal pressure are plotted as a contour map. The scanning electron microscopy images are taken to study the deformations that occurred in the wear zone. The regions of different wear mechanisms are identified using scanning electron microscopy. The regions of wear mechanisms are classified using probabilistic neural networks and superimposed over wear rate contours. The wear mechanisms observed using scanning electron microscopy, along with wear rate data, are used for the construction of wear mechanism maps.
Conceptualizing the Hijacking Threat to Civil Aviation
Authors: Miller John M.
Published: October 2007

The threat to airline safety from hijacking may have been declining in the past couple of decades in terms of numbers of incidents, but the potential of increased harm from each individual attack has grown. In this “incident-driven” analysis of a new database of aircraft hijackings between 1993 and 2003, a taxonomy of hijacking is developed based on 27 characteristics of those incidents reported in open sources. One of the four clusters produced is shown to align with terrorist incidents. Characteristics such as the number of perpetrators, whether or not they were armed, whether the perpetrators were affiliated with formal organizations, whether the flight was domestic or international, and the country of flight origination were all critical in forming the clusters. The four groups differed significantly in terms of the type(s) of strategies effective in resolving the attack and the likelihood of the success of those efforts.
Preschool Antecedents of Mathematics Achievement of Latinos
Authors: Lopez Edward M. , Gallimore Ronald , Garnier Helen , Reese Leslie
Published: October 2007

Seventy-three Latino middle school students participated in a longitudinal study of the preschool antecedents of their mathematics achievement. Path analysis indicated that family resources (parents' educational level, occupation, and income) predicted home literacy activities, which predicted combined early Spanish literacy and English language proficiencies at kindergarten entry, which predicted elementary mathematics achievement, which in turn predicted middle school mathematics performance. These results and qualitative analyses with a subsample of 30 randomly selected families suggest that literacy and numeracy proficiency go hand in hand, and to close the Latino mathematics achievement gap a combined effort of preschool and early elementary literacy and numeracy interventions programs are needed to supplement efforts in middle and high school.
Did a Strong Economy in the 1990s Affect Poverty in U.S. Metro Areas? Exploring Changes in Poverty in Metropolitan Areas Over the Last U.S. Business Cycle, 1992-2003
Authors: Gittell Ross , Tebaldi Edinaldo
Published: October 2007

This article considers whether the economic transformation in the United States during the 1990s included the reduction of poverty in metropolitan (metro) areas. The authors investigate poverty change over the last business cycle, a period of overall strong economic growth. Their analysis identifies evidence of both poverty reduction and persistence. Findings show a general decline in poverty, with decline greatest in the metro areas with the highest poverty rates at the beginning of the last business cycle. Yet the relatively strong economy did not move the metro areas with the highest poverty from their relative position. The article documents that the underlying factors affecting metro-area poverty will have to be changed to fundamentally address poverty in high-poverty-rate metro areas. Reliance on changes in the macro economy will not be sufficient.
Damping Behavior of Semi-passive Vibration Control using Shunted Piezoelectric Materials
Authors: Guyomar D. , Richard C. , Mohammadi S.
Published: October 2007

Piezoelectric transducers in conjunction with appropriate electric networks can be used as mechanical energy dissipation devices. Semi-passive vibration control devices using nonlinear methods have experienced significant development in recent years, due to their performance and advantages compared with passive and active techniques. More precisely, synchronized switch damping (SSD) and derived techniques, which have been developed in the field of piezoelectric damping, lead to a very good trade-off between simplicity, required power supply, and performance. This technique consists of nonlinear processing of the piezoelement voltage which induces an increase in electromechanical energy conversion. The control law consists of triggering the inverting switch on each extremum of voltage (or displacement). The purpose of this study is the experimental observation of piezoelement damping sensitivity to variations of amplitude and frequency of excitation force. In addition, the effect of the size of piezoelement area on the vibration damping in high and low values of these parameters has been studied using SSDI method. The proposed method for switching sequence is based on statistical evaluation of the structural deflection.
Culturally Specific Youth Substance Abuse Resistance Skills: Applicability Across the U.S.—Mexico Border
Authors: Marsiglia Flavio F. , Kulis Stephen , Martinez Rodriguez Gregorio , Becerra David , Castillo Jason
Published: October 2007

This article reports on the prevalence and frequency of use of a set of drug-resistance strategies among a sample of Mexican adolescents. The keepin' it REAL (refuse, explain, avoid, and leave) strategies are part of a model drug-prevention intervention program originally developed by and for youth in the United States. The present study tests the applicability of these drug-resistance strategies among Mexican youth from Monterrey, Mexico. The sample consisted of 327 adolescents, mostly aged 15 and 16, attending two public high schools. Findings indicate that most Mexican adolescents in this sample utilized each of the REAL strategies to deal with offers of alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana, and other types of strategies were used only in combination with the REAL strategies. Use of the strategies varied by gender, age, and level of exposure to offers of substances, but there were no differences by socioeconomic status or academic performance.
Applying Randomized Controlled Trials and Systematic Reviews in Social Work Research
Authors: Soydan Haluk
Published: October 2007

This article elaborates on the centrality of interventions for social work practice and the importance of understanding the effects of interventions for a more efficient, harmless, transparent, and ethical social work practice. Low-bias research designs and meta-analyses are important means of generating the best possible evidence on what works in social work practice. An evidence-based practice model is promising in terms of translating and implementing scientific evidence that is uncertain, volatile, and incomplete and might be difficult to access.
State Policy Innovation in Perspective
Authors: Roch Christine H. , Howard Robert M.
Published: October 2007

Why and when courts will change policy has been the subject of significant scholarly attention, but there has been little effort to integrate this research within the existing research of determinants of state legislative policy change. In this article, the authors incorporate both of these research areas to answer the question of whether policy change will occur through the legislature or through the courts, examining the important issue of education finance reform. To understand and predict this change, the authors characterize the state policy environment as consisting of political, legal, and strategic factors. The authors find that a combination of political and strategic factors influences legislatures and the courts, but that law matters greatly to the courts, particularly state constitutional education clauses. The authors also find that institutional structure influences the degree to which politics matters to the courts.
Improving Outcomes for African Americans with Chronic Heart Failure: A Comparison of Two Home Care Management Delivery Methods
Authors: Bondmass Mary D.
Published: October 2007

Available data indicate disparity in heart failure (HF) morbidity and mortality among African Americans. African Americans are diagnosed with HF at a younger age, have a more rapid clinical progression, and have higher hospitalization rates related to HF than Whites. Lack of inclusion of African Americans in research studies has been suggested as a possible contributing factor to this disparity. This study presents a secondary analysis from a randomized trial comparing biopsychosocial outcomes for only the African Americans whose HF home management was provided by one of two home care delivery methods—nurse telemanagement (NTM) or nurse home visits. Results indicate significantly higher self-efficacy, home care satisfaction, and quality of life, with significantly lower symptom distress, HF rehospitalization, and intervention charges for African Americans whose HF home management was delivered by the NTM method. These data suggest, independent of race, that NTM may be more efficient and effective as a delivery method for HF home management.
Health Care for American Indian Elders: An Overview of Cultural Influences and Policy Issues
Authors: Smyer Tish , Stenvig Thomas E.
Published: October 2007

Changing demography (people living longer and large cohorts aging) is a global phenomenon. American Indians are among the transitional groups with the proportion of elderly expected to double in the next 50 years. The excess burden of illness and health-status disparities between American Indians and the general population are well documented and have consequences affecting health status and functional abilities of American Indians. Health problems and functional limitations intensify the need for home- or community-based long-term-care services among older American Indians. Important considerations in providing these services include understanding historical and cultural influences on their family life, role expectations across generations, and aging as part of human development in contemporary life. In addition, poverty and changing federal policies influence how elders view health and health care delivery on reservations. This article provides an overview of the cultural influences and policy issues related to health care for American Indian elders on reservations.
Health Care
Authors: Berry Leonard L. , Bendapudi Neeli
Published: October 2007

Health care is an enormously expensive, highly complex, universally used service that significantly affects economies and the quality of daily living. Service management, operations, and marketing scholars have much to offer to a critically important, intellectually challenging, but deeply troubled health care service sector. In this article, the authors use the opportunity they had to study at one of the world's most admired medical institutions— Mayo Clinic—as the basis for discussing the similarities and dissimilarities between health care and other services. The article takes the reader “inside” health care. The authors challenge service scholars to consider health care for their research activities and propose areas for future research.
The Impact of the Customer Orientation of Call Center Employees on Customers' Affective Commitment and Loyalty
Authors: Dean Alison M.
Published: October 2007

This study investigated the potential benefits of employees' customer orientation to service providers. To achieve that aim, the author tested relationships between customer focus (creating value for customers) and customer feedback (seeking evaluations of work and quality) and perceived service quality and customers' affective commitment and loyalty to service firms. Mail survey data were collected from customers of two call centers in Australia. The samples consisted of end “consumers” of insurance services (n = 289) and business “customers” of a bank (n = 325). Two key findings emerged from the final structural model. First, customer focus was related to loyalty, with partial mediation by perceived service quality. Second, and in contrast, customer feedback exhibited a direct relationship only to affective commitment. The findings were highly consistent for the two samples and have implications for both managers and researchers.
The longitudinal relationship between the patient-reported Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale and the clinician-assessed Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite
Authors: Costelloe L. , O'Rourke K. , McGuigan C. , Walsh C. , Tubridy N. , Hutchinson M.
Published: October 2007

Background To examine the longitudinal relationship between the patient-rated Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) and the doctor-reported Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC).

Methods Two-hundred and four MS patients at baseline and 150 patients one to three years later had MSFC and MSIS-29 assessments. Cross-sectional correlations between these measures and correlations of change in scores were examined. Minimally important change (MIC) in the MSFC was defined at either 0.5 or 0.32 SD from baseline. Effect sizes (ES) were calculated.

Results Validity: The MSIS-29 physical correlated moderately with the total MSFC score and the 25-foot timed walk and 9-hole peg test. Correlations of the MSIS-29 physical with the PASAT, and the MSFC with the MSIS-29 psychological were weak. Responsiveness: When MIC in the MSFC was defined as 0.5, mean MSIS-29 physical change was 11.26 (ES = 0.53). At MSFC change of 0.32, mean MSIS-29 physical change was 10.4 (ES = 0.52). Change in MSFC scores correlated weakly with change in the MSIS-29 scores. Stability: In patients with stable MSFC scores, the mean MSIS-29 physical scores improved minimally over time with negligible ES.

Conclusions Although the MSIS-29 physical demonstrates moderate cross-sectional correlation with the MSFC, the weak correlations of change scores between the two instruments indicate that they measure different aspects of the effects of multiple sclerosis morbidity. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 255—258. http://msj.sagepub.com
Polymorphisms of the cannabinoid 1 receptor gene and cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Woolmore JA , Stone MJ , Holley SL , Jenkinson PM , Ike A. , Jones PW , Fryer AA , Strange RC , Stephens R. , Langdon DW , Hawkins CP
Published: October 2007

Cognitive impairment occurs in 45—65% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The cannabinoid system may potentially be neuroprotective in MS. We examined the relationship between polymorphisms of the CNR1 gene and neuropsychological outcome in MS using a test and confirmatory sample of patients. One hundred and ninety-four MS patients were assessed over five key areas of neuropsychological function, which are most commonly impaired in MS. The first 97 patients formed the test sample. A further confirmatory sample of 97 patients was used to test association found in the test sample. The schedule included: Wisconsin card sorting test 64 version, Rey auditory verbal learning task immediate and delayed scores, controlled oral word association task, judgement of line orientation and symbol digit modalities task. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were typed within the CNR1 gene.

For the overall neuropsychological assessment score we used a multiple linear regression model with selected covariates to show that subjects with the AA genotype of the SNP RS1049353 were more impaired (mean -2.47, SD 5.75, P = 0.008, Bonferroni corrected P = 0.024) than the other subjects (mean 0.24, SD 4.24). This was not confirmed when the association was retested in the confirmatory sample.

No associations were identified between these CNR1 variants and cognitive impairment in MS. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 177—182. http://msj.sagepub.com
Paroxysmal dystonia and pathological laughter as a first manifestation of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Aguirregomozcorta M. , Ramió-Torrentà LI , Gich J. , Quiles A. , Genís D.
Published: October 2007

Paroxysmal dystonia is an uncommon but well-established feature of multiple sclerosis (MS). Attacks can occur in established MS and may even occasionally be the initial symptom of this disorder. Pathological laughter is usually seen as a pseudobulbar palsy in some diffuse neurological diseases, but cases have been described, mostly in ischaemic attacks or tumours, where it is presented as bursts of laughter of variable duration. The pathogenesis of neither of the two phenomena has been fully established but both have been reported as being positive phenomena resulting from ectopic activation with ephaptic spread. We describe the first reported case of a paroxysmal hemidystonia together with bursts of pathological laughter as the first manifestation of MS. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 262—265. http://msj.sagepub.com
Do children with autism acknowledge the influence of mood on behaviour?
Authors: Begeer Sander , Meerum Terwogt Mark , Rieffe Carolien , Stegge Hedy , Koot Hans M.
Published: October 2007

We tested whether children with and without high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) differ in their understanding of the influence of mood states on behaviour. A total of 122 children with HFASD or typical development were asked to predict and explain the behaviour of story characters during hypothetical social interactions. HFASD and typically developing children predicted at equal rates that mood states likely result in similar valenced behaviour. `Explicit' descriptions were used to explain predictions more often by children with HFASD than by typically developing children. However, `implicit' and `irrelevant' descriptions elicited fewer mood references among HFASD children. Furthermore, they less often referred to the uncertainty of the influence of mood on behaviour, and less often used mood-related explanations, in particular when they had to rely on implicit information. This may indicate a rote- rather than self-generated understanding of emotions in children with HFASD.
Fighting like a wildcat
Authors: Bereswill Mechthild
Published: October 2007

This article draws upon a hermeneutic tradition of interpreting a cultural testimony like The Jack-Roller, and the text is revealed from a psychoanalytically inspired perspective. The unconscious meaning of the text is approached through the reader's irritations and reactions to the tale by a method that is called `scenic understanding'. Finally we see different passages or scenes throughout the narrative being connected via a basic conflict in Stanley's life: his struggle for social recognition as a man and his longing for love and care as a child overlap in the ambivalent position of perpetrator and victim. This is related to a not-yet-contained experience of loss and mourning which fundamentally structures what Shaw calls Stanley's `selfjustificatory attitude'.
Interpretation and the case study
Authors: Brown Alison P.
Published: October 2007

Drawing on a psychodynamic relational perspective, Stanley in The Jack-Roller can be seen as propelled by multiple losses and the lack of early development through play into a defended position that can be characterized as schizoid—alternating between isolation and destructive patterns of relating. This is one interpretation of his situation. To utilize a relational approach, however, also challenges our view of interpretation. In a therapeutic context, interpretation as destructive, giving insight or a search for the `truth' may be less important than other aspects of relating such as playing, disagreeing or not knowing. The implications for a psychodynamic or psychosocial sociology are that it challenges us to find methods that are fully intersubjective, contingent and constructive.
The `home-sickness' of The Jack-Roller
Authors: Koesling Almut , Neuber Anke
Published: October 2007

The aim of this article is to approach the single case study The Jack-Roller from a conflict-oriented perspective. The article examines the different meanings of `home' in the biographical narration and the ambivalence of `home-sickness'. By tracing the latent meaning of this category, a deeper level of conflict that is hidden in the narrative can be revealed. It will be argued that in the concept of `home-sickness', an underlying conflict of attachment and autonomy becomes apparent. The central argument of the article is that in order to analyze and comprehend biographical processes in depth, it is vital to hermeneutically reconstruct the central biographical conflicts. From this perspective, the subjective meaning of delinquency in the individual biography can be disclosed.
Growing Into the Canopy
Authors: McWhinney Will
Published: October 2007

organizational development; self-organizing systems; systems thinking Will McWhinney, founding editor of the Journal of Transformative Education , uses the metaphor of the complex ecologies of a rainforest for a review of his lifelong engagement with systems thinking. A journey that began in computers and management science takes him through industry, community, and the academy where he explores the diverse paradigms that are inter woven in the canopy above the human forest of ideas.