bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Local justice
Authors: Elster Jon
Published: July 2009

This paper is a plea for the study of ‘local justice’, i.e. the allocation by institutions of scarce goods and necessary burdens. It is largely programmatic, with few new findings to report. Later, case studies which are currently being carried out in West Germany, France, Norway and the United States will provide answers to some of the questions raised below.
Entre mythe et utopie : les grandes découvertes: La construction de l'espace et l'invention de l'humanité aux XVe et XVIe siècles
Authors: Godinho Vitorino Magalhães
Published: July 2009

« L'Amérique, il est vrai, découverte et conquise, la route par mer frayée aux Indes et aux Moluques sont des prodiges de courage et de succès qui appartiennent sans contestation aux Espagnols et aux Portugais ». L'intrépide Magellan, « rien ne put lui dérober la gloire d'avoir le premier fait le tour du globe. Encouragés par son exemple, les navigateurs anglais et hollandais trouvèrent de nouvelles terres et enrichirent l'Europe en l'éclairant ». C'est ainsi qu'en 1771 Bougainville, qui accomplit un des plus importants voyages scientifiques autour du monde, caractérisait l'œuvre des découvertes des XVe et XVIe siècles, à une époque où, comme l'écrit son compagnon de voyage, le prince de Nassau, « l'esprit des découvertes se ranime en Europe, les différents ouvrages qui se répandent dans le public y rappellent l'attention des particuliers. Ces nouvelles entreprises vont faire une mémorable époque dans le monde et nous parviendrons enfin à l'entière connaissance du globe. Ces nouveaux Colomb et Cortez ont des champs de gloire aussi vastes à parcourir, mais c'est le siècle de l'humanité, et il faut du moins espérer que les Européens ne veulent plus faire connaissance avec leurs frères de l'hémisphère austral que pour leur enseigner la vérité et les rendre heureux par la vertu ».
The use and misuse of rational models in collective behavior and social psychology
Authors: Turner Ralph H.
Published: July 2009

During the past two decades the use of rational decision models, especially those which assume self-interest motivation, has diffused widely throughout sociology, including the fields of collective behavior and social psychology. This trend is interesting as a datum for study in the sociology of sociology, for what it reveals about changing assumptions concerning the nature and dynamics of social behavior, and as a trend that is sometimes beneficial and sometimes deleterious. My objective is to raise questions based on these three kinds of interest, and to suggest some answers.
Recompositions sacrificielles au Nigeria contemporain
Authors: Nicolas Guy
Published: July 2009

La pratique sacrificielle s'inscrit au cœur des traditions de toutes les sociétés africaines, dont elle a constitué la pierre d'angle. Rite omniprésent, nœud de visions du monde globales, elle fut associée jusqu'à l'impact colonial à tous les détours de la vie économique, sociale, politique de celles-ci. C'sest en partie pour cette raison que le colonisateur l'a souvent prise pour cible, pour le plus grand bénéfice des « religions du Livre » où sa place, bien que centrale, n'est plus que symbolique. La dissociation du « religieux », de l'économique, du politique, la diffusion de modèles nouveaux de « développement », la réduction des cultes ancestraux en ont réduit la portée en même temps que les normes éthiques « modernes » l'expurgeaient de ses aspects contraires à la sensibilité occidentale.
The search for social cohesion: from Durkheim to the European Commission
Authors: Pahl R. E.
Published: July 2009

In the search for social cohesion there is a consistent tendency for some sociologists, both classical and contemporary, to become prophets manqués. They regularly affirm that there has been some fall from grace and that the morality of their times is confused and impoverished. The golden age of traditional morality is, typically, not very precisely described and nor, for that matter, are the future consequences for society of its ‘relinquished common morality’ (Wilson 1983: 332) specified very clearly. I do not want to spend much time in documenting this tendency but a few examples may illustrate well enough the position I have in mind.
Adoption as an issue of local justice
Authors: Toft Monica Duffy , McIntyre David P.
Published: July 2009

The focus of this paper is adoption, specifically adoption as an issue of local justice. Local justice, as conceived by Jon Elster, is a way of thinking about how scarce goods and burdens are allocated by local, low-level institutions; and encompasses such issues as military service, college admission, organs for transplantation, donation of sperm, child custody, and adoption. There are three principle elements to local justice: scarce goods, institutions that allocate them, and the individuals who step forward as allocative candidates. Over time, the individual will bring his or her needs before a succession of institutional providers, while the institutions will find before them a succession of individuals who need, want, or merit the scarce good being allocated. In many instances, such as the allocation of organs for transplantation, allocation may be a matter of life or death; while in other instances, the consequences of not receiving the good may not be life threatening, but nonetheless affect an individual's future life plans (e.g. admittance into Harvard). Thus allocative decisions can be evaluated according to their importance along two different axes. The first contains decisions which are ‘important’ because they involve life and death outcomes, such as the allocation of kidneys, while other decisions are ‘important’ not because they carry with them life-and-death outcomes, but because they influence the lives of a vast number of individuals. Selection choices for college admission are among this latter type of important decision.
‘Living’ the house, ‘feeling’ the house: Neapolitan issues in thought, organization and structure
Authors: Pardo Italo
Published: July 2009

This article draws on participant observation and casematerial on significant situations and individuals, who live in a small neighbourhood of central Naples. I shall call this neighbourhood ‘the quartiere’, after local custom. The issues discussed here can reasonably be said to have wider significance, because the old centre is basically sociologically homogeneous. This large part of the city is not, however, socially undifferentiated, as many observers seem to have assumed. In agreement with this pattern, both bourgeois and, in large majority, popolino live in the quartiere, often residing in the same building. Given the graduality of socio-economic positions among local people, I have deliberately decided to use very general terms, such as ‘popolino’ and ‘bourgeois’, in describing my informants.
Nuptialité ou conjugalité? Critique d'un indicateur et état des évolutions conjugales en Europe
Authors: Kaufmann Jean-Claude
Published: July 2009

Les formes et l'importance quantitative du célibat ont considérablement varié suivant les époques, avec de fortes spécificités nationales et régionales. Une des plus importantes variations s'inscrit dans la constitution du « marriage pattern » occidental mis en évidence par J. Hajnal (1965). L'auteur a montré, et sa thése est devenue classique, que le modèle occidental moderne (à partir de la fin du Moyen-Âge) avec mariage tardif, familles conjugales restreintes et taux de célibataires élevé, représentait une exception géographique et une nouveauté historique : à aucune autre époque ni dans aucune autre région du monde le taux de célibataires n'avait été aussi important. André Burguière (1972) a proposé une interprétation originale de cette transition démographique. La mettant en relation avec l'essor de « l'esprit du capitalisme » analysé par Max Weber, il montre comment le nouveau comportement conjugal participe à un ascétisme généralisé exalté par l'Église et lié à un esprit d'entreprise : « la préoccupation du couple n'est plus simplement de fabriquer une famille, mais de savoir la gérer, de préserver et d'améliorer son statut social, devenu sa principale finalité » (p. 1138). Dès l'origine de son développement, le célibat serait ainsi lié aux principes de la modernité.
Max Webers Quellenbehandlung in der »Protestantischen Ethik«: Der »Berufs«-Begriff
Authors: Hanyu Tatsuro
Published: July 2009

In der vorliegenden Arbeit versuche ich, auf der genauen Ebene des Textes und der dort angeführten Quellen einen kleinen Teil jener viel zu unverständlichen und daher bis heute noch niemals genau geprüften Fußnote über den »Berufs«-Begriff in der Abhandlung Max Webers: »Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus« zu entschlüsseln. Zuerst will ich zeigen, welch großen Stellenwert Webers Argumentation über den lutherischen »Berufs«-Begriff für die ganze Konstruktion der PE hat. In der ersten Hälfte der PE versucht Weber, die Quelle des »Geistes des Kapitalismus« bis zum alten Protestantismus zurückzuverfolgen. Beachtet man aber die Darlegungen der PE genau, dann wird klar, daß dabei Weber in Wirklichkeit dem Ursprung des »Geistes des Kapitalismus« doch nicht direkt, sondern auf einem Umweg, nämlich mit der Suche nach der geschichtlichen Herkunft des »Gedankens der Berufspflicht« nachgeht. Um diese Zurückführung zu ermöglichen, müssen die beiden folgenden Bedingungen erfüllt sein:

1: daß es Weber gelingt, den »Gedanken der Berufspflicht«, und zwar als etwas, das für den »Geist des Kapitalimus« von konstitutiver Bedeutung ist, in den »Geist des Kapitalismus« einzuführen,

2: und daß es ferner Weber möglich ist, den Ursprung dieses »Gedankens der Berufspflicht« bis zum »alten Protestantismus« zurückzuverfolgen.

Als Weber aus den zwei Traktaten Benjamin Franklins den Idealtypus des »Geistes des Kapitalismus« komponiert, wird der »Gedanke der Berufspflicht« in ihn noch nicht eingeführt. Nach der dortigen Definition des »Geistes des Kapitalismus« wird das »Interesse an der Vergrößerung seines Kapitals < Archiv: Vermögens >« (Archiv, 14; RS, 33) zwar »als Selbstzweck« aber nicht als Berufspflicht angesehen.
Some Problems with Talcott Parsons'
Authors: Ghosh Peter
Published: July 2009

It is a truth sometimes acknowledged in private but not publicly discussed that the only English translation of the most famous work of twentieth century historical sociology is seriously defective. The purpose of this paper is to establish the nature of the defects and to suggest some of their causes and consequences. As I shall seek to show, these involve rather more than matters of technical linguistic competence in German. Although Parsons' translation of Weber is indeed littered with a continuous stream of individual mistranslations, misprints and omissions of up to clause-length which can destroy the meaning of entire paragraphs, a mere catalogue of these would serve little purpose. Nor can one do more than mention his persistent disintegration of Weber's extraordinarily dense and over-burdened sentence structures, which have an average length of something like 8–10 lines: the desire to render Weber into readable English is evident, but so, too, is the damage which necessarily occurs to the meaning and argumentative sequence of the original. In justice to Parsons we must accept that his pioneering achievement was based primarily on an intellectual construction of Weber's meaning; linguistic and stylistic considerations were quite secondary. This order of priorities is one that, rightly, has been observed in almost all subsequent translations of Weber, and one that the present writer also adheres to. On the other hand, precisely the same cause underlies the bulk of Parsons' mistranslations of Weber, since he always believed that the latter required ‘a certain amount of construction’ to bring out his meaning fully [Camic, 22 cf. SOSA 501]. In what follows, then, I shall seek to isolate a series of systematic intellectual distortions occurring in the English-language version of the Protestant Ethic, although this series is selective rather than comprehensive.
Pandora's jar: scarcity and the standard of living in classical Greek economic theory
Authors: Booth William J.
Published: July 2009

Few ideas are as central both to social scientific analysis and normative political philosophy as the concept of scarcity. For the social analyst, scarcity is at the core of many models, including most prominently what Gary Becker has called the economic approach to human behavior, for example rational choice and game theoretic approaches. Its importance in this sphere stems from the fact that it is one of the key ingredients generating calculation and strategic interaction, cooperative or conflictual. Where, conversely, a superabundance is postulated there is, as Carl Menger observed, no economizing behavior, no competition, nor any need for a property regime. And so too is the idea of scarcity one of the background conditions for the theory of justice in general—‘justice derives its origins’ from human selfishness combined with ‘the scanty provision nature has made for his wants’ —and for the problems of distributive justice in particular. Again, where there is superabundance these matters would not so much as arise. Yet scarcity is at the same time one of those concepts which, like the notion of the standard of living, seems readily accessible, transparent, indeed available almost pre-theoretically. So universal, so ready-to-hand does the notion of scarcity appear that we may be tempted to allow it to enter our theoretical lexicon unexamined.
Is Sicily the future of Russia? Private protection and the rise of the Russian Mafia
Authors: Varese Federico
Published: July 2009

It is difficult to discuss a phenomenon when one does not know precisely what it is. This problem is particularly vexing in the case of the Mafia. It has been argued that ‘the need for a definition [of the Mafia] is crucial; not just for any definition with some degree of contingent empirical plausibility, but for a definition with some analytical clout’. The word ‘Mafia’ itself has travelled far to distant lands, such as the former Soviet Union. For instance, according to Arkadii Vaksberg, Russian journalist and author of The Russian Mafia, the Mafia is ‘the entire soviet power-system, all its ideological, political, economical and administrative manifestations’. In an article published in a magazine for British executives dealing with Russia, the label Mafiosi is used to lump together bureaucrats, smugglers from the Caucasus, the cpsunomenklatura accused of embezzling state funds, the late British businessman Robert Maxwell and many others.
L'ethnie: les vicissitudes d'un concept
Authors: de Heusch Luc
Published: July 2009

In spite of recent criticisms the concept of ethnicity should be retained in anthropological analysis to designate more or less coherent cultural entities. These entities will be fluctuating, of course, due to their position in a larger social space where women, goods, ideas, and institutions are exchanged. Ethnicity is not, as some have argued, a colonial invention, but an incontestable anthropological fact, where identity is nurtured by otherness. Ethnicity does not of itself have a political vocation: traditional African states were more often than notpluri-ethnic. The ‘national’ phenomenon, the convergence of the State and ethnicity, is rare in pre-colonial African history. The nation-state is a modern phenomenon, the product of a more or less arbitrary manipulation by an elite having a certain number of ethnic traits; a political re-modelling of collective identity.
À Frazer ce qui est de Frazer: vers une réinterprétation de l'intellectualisme du Golden Bough
Authors: Rosa Frederico
Published: July 2009

Current interpretations of James Frazer's work overestimate the importance of the three stages theory (Magic-Religion-Science) and of individual reflection in thephilosopbes sauvages. The Golden Boughis more about the idea of a universal and spontaneous psychological atmosphere, beyond the distinction between Religion and Magic. Frazer prefers to characterise this atmosphere through the explicit content of rites and beliefs, often neglected by twentieth century religious anthropology.
Exclus ou citoyens ? Les pauvres devant les sciences sociales
Authors: Procacci Giovanna
Published: July 2009

A logic of exclusion-inclusion nowadays dominates the debate on poverty and social policies, namely through categories such asunderclassandsocial exclusion. Thus, poverty becomes an essentially moral problem, rather than political, and the poor are treated as a group apart. Though different, both concepts work to reinforce the fracture separating the poor, and increasing a process of erosion of citizenship ties—what Madeleine Rébérioux denounces as being today a crisis not only of work, but of political and civic ties as well.
The Dutch model: An Obvious Candidate for the ‘Third Way’?
Authors: Hemerijck Anton , Visser Jelle
Published: July 2009

While the progressive European politicians are on the lookout for a new model of ‘third way’ capitalism with a human face, after the (temporary?) defeat of the Swedish, Dutch welfare state reform occupies a prominent place in many commentaries.Although it attracted only international attention in the mid- 1990s, the ‘Dutch miracle’ has its basis in policy changes in the early 1980s. For a full explanation of the Dutch experience we must go back at least fifteen years, and study the combination of problem loads, power shifts, institutions, politics and ideas, in three ‘tightly coupled’ policy domains of the Dutch welfare state: industrial relations, social security, and labour market policy. The return to wage moderation took place in the early followed by a series of reforms in the systems of social security in the late 1980s and early 1990s. From the mid-1990s, finally, the adoption of an active labour market policy stance, in order to enhance overall efficiency and create a new domestic balance between wages and social benefits, gained political currency. In this article we present a stylised narrative of these policy changes—what happened, how it happened and what it meant. We demonstrate that these three policy shifts, although embedded in different corporate actors, were interrelated; they created the conditions and the demand for one another, and neither of these policies could have been successful on its own.
The Emergence of Sociology in Austria 1885–1935
Authors: Torrance John
Published: July 2009

None would deny the fateful role of Austria in European political history during the past century. Her place in intellectual history is of equal importance, as several recent studies have reminded us. Her contribution to the emergence of sociology was both important and peculiar, yet its distinctiveness has often been overlooked. This is partly because of the tendency not to discriminate between Austrian and German thought, and partly because of concentration on successful and positive contributions, rather than on inhibited and negative ones. The latter, however, may be even more instructive than the former.
Cérémonies funéraires dans la Yougoslavie orthodoxe
Authors: Ribeyrol Monette , Schnapper Dominique
Published: July 2009

Dans les sociétés industrielles, il existe une distinction analytique entre la loi d'efficacité, qui est celle du système économique, et la perpétuation, souvent inconsciente, des traditions et des valeurs. La manière dont chaque unité culturelle choisit et utilise les objets produits par le système économique, adapte les rythmes imposés par les nécessités proprement organisationnelles en fonction des rythmes du passé, la manière dont elle interprète les rôles de la société traditionnelle, la manière dont elle continue (ou cesse) de célébrer les fêtes familiales et collectives définissent aujourd'hui les spécificités des divers groupes culturels. L'étude anthropologique doit en effet moins décrire et analyser les objets, les manières, les rythmes collectifs ou les modes de la vie quotidienne que montrer comment des objets, des manières, des rythmes collectifs ou des modes de vie liés à la nature même de la société industrielle sont interprétés et réinterprétés en fonction de la logique propre à chaque systeme culturel. La société industrielle implique certains modèles de comportements qui se trouvent en contact avec ceux de la culture traditionnelle. Entre les modèles de l'une et de l'autre se font les emprunts et les interprétations réciproques par lesquels les anthropologues rendent raison de l'acculturation.
Inequality and the division of labor: the Davis-Moore theory reexamined
Authors: Wrong Dennis H.
Published: July 2009

Social inequality has long been subject to theoretical dispute with moral and political overtones. The most recent debate was over the argument of American sociologists Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore that unequal rewards were ‘functionally’ necessary to maintain a complex division of labour. Their theory has gained new credibility as a market model of occupational selection assuming competition among self-interested individuals. Its abstractness and limited scope need recognition, but it remains a valuable starting point for the consideration of inequality.
Privatization and elite reproduction in Eastern Europe
Authors: Windolf Paul
Published: July 2009

This analysis concentrates on die different privatization methods which have been applied in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and East Germany. It is argued that the different privatization methods had a considerable impact upon the unequal distribution of ownership and control in former state-owned enterprises. The reproduction rate of the former nomenclature is relatively high in all four countries regardless of the privatization method. In post-socialist countries a particular type of capitalism is evolving which can be characterized by its specific ideology and the governance structure of the privatized firms. The outcome of shock therapy which has been applied in some post-socialist countries has been paradoxical: it did not destroy the power basis of the nomenclature, but radier stabilized it. In most firms there is no clear-cut separation of ownership and control (manager capitalism), but rather a balance of power between managers (nomendature) and the new owners.
Fear of crime and fear of falling : English anxieties approaching the millennium
Authors: Taylor Ian , Jamieson Ruth
Published: July 2009

This paper develops an analysis of the ways in which the issues of ‘unemployment’, ‘social order’ and ‘crime’ appeared to be dealt with, within the dominant culture of English society in the mid-1990s.

Revisnng the famous debate between Perry Anderson, Tom Nairn and Edward Thompson in the 1960s, the paper argues for an understanding of the specificity of the English ‘social formation’ and, in particular, the sensibilities of the dominant middle class of that country. Inspired in part by field work in the English suburb in which the authors currently reside, the paper applies this approach to the analysis of the deep anxieties that are routinely exhibited in such areas in the mid-1990s over crime—anxieties which are then separately examined along six discrete dimensions: a) the safety of self, b) the safety of home and employment position, c) personal status and the symbolic world, d) the loss of virtue, e) the fears for England, and f) the crisis of the inheritance. The paper concludes by arguing for an interpretation of the widespread fear of crime as a complex social metaphor, with a specific social/national provenance, invisible to the mass of contemporary empirical social scientists in England whose work is parasitical upon such fears.
Language conflict and violence: the straw that strengthens the camel's back
Authors: Laitin David D.
Published: July 2009

Based on the ‘Minorities at risk’ data set, which codes the status and conflicts of 268 politically active groups in 148 different countries, this paper finds: 1) the greater the language difference between the language of the minority and that of the dominant group, the lower the probability of minority rebellion against the state; 2) language grievances held by the minority are weakly but negatively related to rebellion; 3) language grievances are strongly associated with increased levels of political protest, suggesting that the remedy for these grievances is more likely to be sought in the political realm rather than in guerrilla action; 4) language grievances when compounded by religious grievances (which are a reasonable predictor of rebellion) strongly and significantly reduce the magnitude of rebellion. The mechanisms supporting these results are elucidated in a formalized official language game. The equilibrium path of this game is illustrated in case studies of India and Sri Lanka.
Anthelmintic effects ofProsopis laevigatan-hexanic extract againstHaemonchus contortusin artificially infected gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus)
Authors: De Jesús-Gabino A.F. , Mendoza-de Gives P. , Salinas-Sánchez D.O. , López-Arellano M.E. , Liébano-Hernández E. , Hernández-Velázquez V.M. , Valladares-Cisneros G.
Published: July 2009

The anthelmintic effect ofProsopis laevigata(mezquite)n-hexanic extract was evaluated againstHaemonchus contortusendoparasitic stages in artificially infected gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).Prosopis laevigataleaves were collected from the Sierra de Huautla, Ecological Reserve of the Biosphere, in Morelos State, Mexico; dehydrated under shade and macerated withn-hexane for 3 days, followed by distillation for 8 h. This procedure was repeated three times and the final extract was kept at 4°C. Thein vivoeffect of the plant extract was evaluated in gerbils artificially infected withH. contortus. Plant extract concentration was 40 mg/ml. Three groups of gerbils were as follows: group 1 (n = 7),P. laevigataextract at 100 μl intraperitoneally (IP); group 2 (n = 6), control – Tween 20 in water at a single dose of 100 μ l IP; group 3 (n = 8) also served as a control, receiving water only, to determine the mortality due to causes other than the plant extract. An additional group of seven gerbils (group 4) was administered fenbendazole, as a positive control. Five days later the animals were euthanized and stomach and mucosa removed to quantify the nematodes. Data were analysed using the Student'st-test to compare the mean of nematodes obtained in groups 1, 2 and 3. The parasite population in the plant extract treated group 1 was reduced by 42.5% (P < 0.05) with respect to the control group 2; and when control group 3 was used for comparison the parasitic reduction was estimated as 53.11%. This study shows thein vivoanthelmintic effect ofP. laevigatan-hexane extract for the first time, using gerbils as anin vivomodel, with potential use in sheep.
Aggregations of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) in Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, south-eastern Brazil: distribution patterns and ecological characteristics
Authors: Dias Laura Aichinger , Herzing Denize , Flach Leonardo
Published: July 2009

Between August 2005 and July 2007, 376 Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) encounters were documented in Sepetiba Bay. For the purpose of this study all dolphin sightings were classified as groups or aggregations. Groups (N = 268, x = 20, range = 1–90) consisted of dolphins in apparent association usually engaged in the same behaviour and moving in the same direction. Aggregations (N = 108, x = 204, range = 100–450) consisted of temporal association of numerous groups gathered in an area, totalling several hundred individuals usually engaged in the same behaviour but not necessarily moving in the same direction. Guiana dolphin groups and aggregations differed significantly in behavioural activity, spatial and temporal distribution and age composition. Most aggregated dolphins were engaged in foraging/feeding activities and primarily located at the interior of the bay, and also, aggregations were more likely recorded during morning hours and had more neonates and calves present when compared to groups. The plotted GPS records of aggregations formed two distinct clusters of distribution within the bay, indicating potential areas where conservation strategies could be implemented.
Cetacean records from Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic
Authors: Best Peter B. , Glass James P. , Ryan Peter G. , Dalebout Merel L.
Published: July 2009

The cetacean fauna at the Tristan da Cunha archipelago has been assessed from ship-based, aerial and land-based observations from 1983–2000, from strandings on Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island between 1983 and 1995, and from whaling catch data from 1934–1967. Five species(Eubalaena australis, Megaptera novaeangliae, Tasmacetus shepherdi, Globicephala melasandOrcinus orca)have been sighted within the territorial waters of the archipelago, eight species(Balaenoptera physalus, B. borealis, B. acutorostrata/bonaerensis, Physeter macrocephalus, Mesoplodon mirus, M. bowdoini, Delphinussp. andLissodelphis peronii)have been seen or taken within 200 nautical miles (360 km) of the group or have been found stranded on its shores, while another two species(Caperea marginataandLagenorhynchus obscurus)have been recorded close enough to be considered likely to occur within 200 nautical miles. The records ofMesoplodon mirusandM. bowdoinirepresent significant extensions to their known distribution. Apart from its possible importance as a mid-oceanic nursery area for southern right whales, the waters of the Tristan Archipelago seem to be a concentration area forT. shepherdi, one of the least-known of the world's cetaceans.
A comparative costs analysis of brachytherapy and Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy therapies for clinically localized prostate cancer
Authors: Gianino Maria Michela , Galzerano Mario , Minniti Davide , Di Novi Cinzia , Martin Barbara , Davini Ottavio , Barbaro Silvana
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The aim of this study is to perform a comparative costs analysis of brachytherapy (BT) and radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) for clinically localized prostate cancer and to shed light on the difficulties of comparing their relative economic effectiveness.

Methods:A systematic literature review of costing studies available in the Medline, Embase, DARE, and INAHTA databases.

Results:There is a lack of homogeneity among published studies in this field. Differences in the reported costs are related to different environments in which the two techniques (BT and RRP) are applied, and in particular due to the use of different methodology, cost items included, time frames, and different price levels in different settings.

Conclusion:Published studies of costing data of BT and RRP do not provide clear-cut evidence for a conclusion about which treatment may be more effective from an economic point of view.
A preliminary survey on the influence of rapid health technology assessments
Authors: Hailey David
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The aim of this study was to obtain information on rapid health technology assessments (HTAs) prepared by members of the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA).

Methods:A questionnaire was prepared, drawing on earlier INAHTA documents for recording HTA impact. A request for responses was sent to member agencies, seeking information on rapid HTA reports prepared during 2006.

Results:Responses were provided on fifteen rapid HTAs, which covered both new and widely distributed technologies. The most common purpose for the HTAs (n= 8) was to inform coverage decisions, but other reasons included capital funding, formulary decisions, referral for treatment, program operation, guideline formulation, influence on routine practice, and indications for further research. All the rapid HTAs were considered by the agencies to have had some influence. The most common indications of influence were consideration by the decision maker, use of the HTA as reference material (bothn= 10), and acceptance of recommendations or conclusions (n= 8).

Conclusions:Rapid HTAs are used for a broad range of technologies, to inform several types of decision, and are effective in informing the decision-making process. Supplementation of their findings by further assessments will be appropriate in some cases.
International meeting for HTA-emerging countries
Authors: Kahveci Rabia
Published: July 2009

KDTD (Turkish Evidence-Based Medicine Association) hosted a conference on the subject of health technology assessment (HTA)-emerging countries in Ankara, Turkey on March 4–6, 2009.
Scanning the horizon of obsolete technologies: Possible sources for their identification
Authors: Ibargoyen-Roteta Nora , Gutierrez-Ibarluzea Iñaki , Asua José , Benguria-Arrate Gaizka , Galnares-Cordero Lorea
Published: July 2009

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify and rank the sources for the detection of potentially obsolete technologies (POTs).

Methods:A specific questionnaire related to the search strategies and sources used for the identification of POTs and also for ineffective, inefficient or harmful health technologies was sent to the Health Technology Assessment International's Information Resources Group (HTAi-IRG) group. With the obtained information and taking into account the sources used for the identification of new and emerging technologies, a second questionnaire was elaborated and sent to EuroScan and International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) members, who had to select and score them. For the final ranking, the number of votes and the median score were taken into account.

Results:Seven HTAi-IRG members answered to the first questionnaire. Seventeen agencies answered to the second one (thirteen EuroScan members and four more members from INAHTA), but only seven had worked in the identification of POTs and one of them using only experts for it. The remaining six agencies answered the part related to devices, diagnostics, and procedures; five of them did it for settings and programmes and only three for drugs. The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (5 votes; median = 2), Cochrane Collaboration (5 votes; median = 3), NICE (4 votes; median = 1), Food and Drug Administration (4 votes; median = 1.5), and EuroScan (4 votes, median = 2) were the most relevant sources for devices and diagnostics.

Conclusions:There is little experience on POTs identification. The identified sources provide mostly indirect information and further research should take place to determine the best use of them.
On the cooperation of the constraint domains ℋ, ℛ, and ℱ in CFLP
Authors: ESTÉVEZ-MARTÍN S. , HORTALÁ-GONZÁLEZ T. , RODRÍGUEZ-ARTALEJO M. , DEL VADO-VÍRSEDA R. , SÁENZ-PÉREZ F. , FERNÁNDEZ A. J.
Published: July 2009

This paper presents a computational model for the cooperation of constraint domains and an implementation for a particular case of practical importance. The computational model supports declarative programming with lazy and possibly higher-order functions, predicates, and the cooperation of different constraint domains equipped with their respective solvers, relying on a so-called constraint functional logic programming (CFLP) scheme. The implementation has been developed on top of theCFLPsystem, supporting the cooperation of the three domains ℋ, ℛ, and ℱ, which supply equality and disequality constraints over symbolic terms, arithmetic constraints over the real numbers, and finite domain constraints over the integers, respectively. The computational model has been proved sound and complete w.r.t. the declarative semantics provided by theCFLPscheme, while the implemented system has been tested with a set of benchmarks and shown to behave quite efficiently in comparison to the closest related approach we are aware of.
Remote sensing of wave roller lengths in the laboratory
Authors: Haller Merrick C. , Catalán P. A.
Published: July 2009

The optical intensity signals from surf zone waves in a laboratory flume are analyzed using several different phase‐averaging techniques, and a methodology is developed for estimating wave roller lengths and local wave dissipation. The intensity signals (i.e., phase‐averaged intensity profiles) of individual breaking waves are compared with the wave profiles measured by in situ wave gauges, and the optical signal of the wave roller is shown to ramp up from the toe of the wave roller on the front face of the wave to a maximum intensity at the wave crest. The remote sensing observations capture the growth, equilibrium, and decay phases of the roller as it propagates over a fixed bed arranged in a bar/trough morphology. Next, for the regular wave conditions considered here, the local maxima of the phase‐averaged intensities are shown to better indicate the initial onset of wave breaking and the occurrence of wave breaking in the bar trough, as compared to the more commonly used time‐averaged mean intensity. In addition, the phase‐averaged profiles are used to measure the size of the roller, and these measurements are compared to previous observations of smaller‐scale rollers in equilibrium. The observed roller lengths are shown to agree with predictions from a wave roller model and to provide a new physical link between the remotely sensed signal and roller dissipation. Finally, as an example application of these new data, a simple wave height inversion model is presented that allows an estimation of surf zone wave heights from the remotely sensed roller lengths.
Discrete element simulation of the Jiufengershan rock‐and‐soil avalanche triggered by the 1999 Chi‐Chi earthquake, Taiwan
Authors: Chang Kuo‐Jen , Taboada Alfredo
Published: July 2009

We present Contact Dynamics discrete element simulations of the earthquake‐triggered Jiufengershan avalanche, which mobilized a 60 m thick, 1.5 km long sedimentary layer, dipping ∼22°SE toward a valley. The dynamic behavior of the avalanche is simulated under different assumptions about rock behavior, water table height, and boundary shear strength. Additionally, seismic shaking is introduced using strong motion records from nearby stations. We assume that seismic shaking generates shearing and frictional heating along the surface of rupture, which, in turn, may induce dynamic weakening and avalanche triggering; a simple “slip‐weakening” criterion was adopted to simulate shear strength drop along the rupture surface. We investigate the mechanical processes occurring during triggering and propagation of an avalanche mobilizing shallowly dipping layers. Incipient deformation forms a pop‐up structure at the toe of the dip slope. As the avalanche propagates, the pop‐up deforms into an overturned fold, which overrides the surface of separation along a décollement. Simultaneously, uphill layers slide at high velocity (125 km/h) and are folded and disrupted as they reach the toe of the dip slope. The avalanche foot forms a wedge that is pushed forward as deformed rocks accrete at its rear. We simulated five cross sections across the Jiufengershan avalanche, which differ in the geometry of the surface of separation. Topographic and simulated surface profiles are similar. The friction coefficient at the surface of separation determined from back analysis is abnormally low (μSS = 0.2), possibly due to lubrication by liquefied soils. The granular deposits of simulated earthquake‐ and rain‐triggered avalanches are similar.
Spatial evolution of frictional heating and the predicted thermospheric wind effects in the vicinity of an auroral arc measured with the Sondrestrom incoherent‐scatter radar and the Reimei satellite
Authors: Oyama S. , Tsuda T. T. , Sakanoi T. , Obuchi Y. , Asamura K. , Hirahara M. , Yamazaki A. , Kasaba Y. , Fujii R. , Nozawa S. , Watkins B. J.
Published: July 2009

Simultaneous observation with the Sondrestrom incoherent‐scatter (IS) radar and the Reimei satellite was conducted on 3 October 2007. The objective was to measure horizontal patterns of the ionospheric structure in the vicinity of an auroral arc. The IS radar was scanned azimuthally with a fixed elevation angle, and the satellite narrow‐view camera (557.7 nm) was directed downward taking pictures every 0.12 s. A stationary auroral arc was captured at 05:17 UT (02:54 MLT) with both instruments simultaneously. Gross ionospheric features measured with the IS radar around the arc were in good agreement with the expected magnetosphere‐ionosphere current system. Of particular interest was the horizontal pattern in the ion speed and temperature in the F region. The ion speed within the arc was close to zero; by contrast the larger ion speed (350–400 m s−1) on the poleward side was parallel to the arc and almost no horizontal shear within about 20 km width perpendicular to the arc. This area was separated into two parts by the ion temperature: one was associated with clear enhancements in excess of 1200 K, and another was with more moderate enhancements (less than ∼1000 K). The widths of the two areas were approximately 10 km each. The horizontal shear seen in the ion temperature suggested the presence of a narrow thermospheric wind shear of about 10 km width. This paper suggests that the possible cause for the thermospheric wind shear was ion drag associated with localized soft particle precipitation or F‐region ionization.
Joule heating and high frequency nonlinear effects in the surface impedance of high Tc superconductors
Authors: Kermorvant Julien , Jacominus van der Beek Cornelis , Mage Jean-Claude , Marcilhac Bruno , Lemaître Yves , Briatico Javier , Bernard Rozenn , Villegas Javier
Published: July 2009

Using the dielectric resonator method, we have investigated nonlinearities in the surface impedance Zs=Rs+jXs of YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films at 10 GHz as a function of the incident microwave power level and temperature. The use of a rutile dielectric resonator allows us to measure the precise temperature of the films. We conclusively show that the usually observed increase in the surface resistance of YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin film as a function of microwave power is due to local heating.
Noncommutative Korteweg–de Vries and modified Korteweg–de Vries hierarchies via recursion methods
Authors: Carillo Sandra , Schiebold Cornelia
Published: July 2009

Here, noncommutative hierarchies of nonlinear equations are studied. They represent a generalization to the operator level of corresponding hierarchies of scalar equations, which can be obtained from the operator ones via a suitable projection. A key tool is the application of Bäcklund transformations to relate different operator-valued hierarchies. Indeed, in the case when hierarchies in 1+1-dimensions are considered, a “Bäcklund chart” depicts links relating, in particular, the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) to the modified KdV (mKdV) hierarchy. Notably, analogous links connect the hierarchies of operator equations. The main result is the construction of an operator soliton solution depending on an infinite-dimensional parameter. To start with, the potential KdV hierarchy is considered. Then Bäcklund transformations are exploited to derive solution formulas in the case of KdV and mKdV hierarchies. It is remarked that hierarchies of matrix equations, of any dimension, are also incorporated in the present framework.
Vibrational coupled cluster theory with full two-mode and approximate three-mode couplings: The VCC[2pt3] model
Authors: Seidler Peter , Matito Eduard , Christiansen Ove
Published: July 2009

Vibrational coupled cluster (VCC) calculations of molecular vibrational energy levels can be characterized by the number of modes coupled in the Hamiltonian operator and the number of modes simultaneously excited in the parameter space. We propose a VCC model which includes all two-mode couplings in the Hamiltonian and excitation space but only an approximate treatment of three-mode couplings. The approximation is based on a perturbational analysis and the introduced concepts can also be used for even more accurate treatments. The method is iterative and allows the use of VCC response theory to obtain excitation energies. Furthermore, the method is shown to scale with the number of vibrational modes to the third power which is no higher than the corresponding VCC model with only two-mode couplings. Encouraging benchmark calculations are given for a test set of three- and four-atomic molecules. The fundamentals of the larger ethylene oxide molecule have been calculated as well using a grid-based potential energy surface obtained from electronic coupled cluster theory with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples (CCSD(T)).
Thermodynamic properties of ammonia clusters (NH3)n n=2–11: Comparing classical and quantum simulation results for hydrogen bonded species
Authors: Lubombo C. , Curotto E. , Janeiro Barral Paula E. , Mella Massimo
Published: July 2009

Classical and quantum simulations of ammonia clusters in the dimer through the hendecamer range are performed using the stereographic projection path integral. Employing the most recent polarizable potential to describe intermolecular interactions, energetic and structural data obtained with our simulations provide support for a more fluxional or flexible nature at low temperature of the ammonia dimer, pentamer, and hexamer than in the other investigated species. The octamer and the hendecamer display a relatively strong melting peak in the classical heat capacity and a less intense but significant melting peak in the quantum heat capacity. The latter are shifted to lower temperature (roughly 15 and 40 K lower, respectively) by the quantum effects. The features present in both classical and quantum constant volume heat capacity are interpreted as an indication of melting even in the octamer case, where a large energy gap is present between its global minimum and second most stable species. We develop a first order finite difference algorithm to integrate the geodesic equations in the inertia ellipsoid generated by n rigid nonlinear bodies mapped with stereographic projections. We use the technique to optimize configurations and to explore the potential surface of the hendecamer.
Microevaporators with accumulators for the screening of phase diagrams of aqueous solutions
Authors: Moreau P. , Dehmoune J. , Salmon J.-B. , Leng J.
Published: July 2009

We design near-autonomous microfluidic devices for concentrating aqueous solutions steadily over days in a very controlled manner. We combine suction pumps that drive the solution and concentrate it steadily, with a nanoliter-sized storage pool where the solute accumulates. The fine balance between advection and diffusion in the pump and diffusion alone in the accumulation pool yields several filling regimes. One of them is universal as being steady and independent of the solute itself. It results a specific equivalence between time and concentration, which we use to build the phase quantitative diagram of a ternary aqueous solution on nanoliter scale.
Size dependence of microscopic Hall sensor detection limits
Authors: Vervaeke K. , Simoen E. , Borghs G. , Moshchalkov V. V.
Published: July 2009

In this paper the magnetic field detection limits of microscopic Hall sensors are investigated as a function of their lateral size. Hall sensors fabricated from GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures and silicon are experimentally investigated at different temperatures using Hall effect and noise spectrum measurements. At room temperature a clear size dependence of the detection limit is observed, whereas at low temperatures this dependence is found to disappear. The results are explained using the theory of noise in semiconductors.