bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chronic illness as biographical disruption or biographical disruption as chronic illness? Reflections on a core concept
Authors: Williams Simon
Published: March 2003

Taking as its point of departure Bury’s (1982) concept of chronic illness as biographical disruption, this paper provides a critical assessment of its fortunes since that time. Having ‘rescued’ the concept from recent postmodern and disability critiques, the paper provides a series of further reflections on its strengths and weaknesses, including the notion of ‘normal illness’; the importance of timing and context; the significance of continuity as well as loss; and the role of biographical disruption itself in the aetiology of illness. This, in turn, provides the basis for a broader set of reflections on the vicissitudes of the biographically embodied self in conditions of late modernity: a situation of chronic reflexivity in which our bodies/selves are continually problematised if not pathologised. The paper concludes, given this ‘balance sheet’, with a discussion of some potentially fruitful lines of future research, including links with the life‐events and inequalities literature.
Widening or narrowing inequalities in health? Comparing Britain and Finland from the 1980s to the 1990s
Authors: Lahelma Eero , Arber Sara , Rahkonen Ossi , Silventoinen Karri
Published: March 2003

This paper sheds light on the debate about whether class inequalities have given way to new divisions by employment status, by comparing changes in health inequalities among British and Finnish men and women between 1986 and 1994. Britain experienced high unemployment in the 1980s whereas Finland experienced a sudden increase of unemployment in the early 1990s. We examine how these contrasting labour market situations have influenced changes in health inequalities by employment status and social class using comparable population surveys. In Finland health inequalities by employment status narrowed among men, whereas in Britain they widened or remained stable, with a less strong pattern of change for women. We found similar or slightly larger health inequalities by class among all adults than among the currently employed, with larger class inequalities in Finland than in Britain. We conclude that in countries with high levels of unemployment, there are smaller class inequalities in health among the employed labour force because of the greater chance of a ‘healthy worker effect’.
Sporting cancer: struggle language in news reports of people with cancer
Authors: Seale Clive
Published: March 2003

The predominance of sporting language in news accounts of cancer experiences is reported in a study of the Anglophone press worldwide. News stories commonly feature sports celebrities with cancer, as well as sporting activities by ordinary people with cancer, designed to generate a sense of (usually successful) personal struggle. The findings extend the view of Sontag and subsequent media analysts, that the language of cancer is dominated by purely military connotations. The view that such ‘struggle’ language is harmful to the interests of people with cancer is not yet supported by careful studies of the reception of media messages. While the language of official sport reflects traditional forms of gender bias, reports of breast cancer activism also involve the language of heroic struggle in a sporting context. This is very evident in these articles since they appeared in the first week of breast cancer awareness month, October 1999.
Categorisation and micro‐rationing: access to care in a French emergency department
Authors: Vassy Carine
Published: March 2003

This paper describes how the categorisation of patients by staff in a French emergency department (ED) leads to the micro‐rationing of care. Although ED staff are reluctant to acknowledge it, they refuse to treat many would‐be patients at the reception stage, and advise them to go to other care settings (such as general practitioners’ premises or social dispensaries). The study analyses the judgmental categories staff use to decide patients’ eligibility for care, paying particular attention to their clinical, organisational, moral and social dimensions. Staff ration care at the point of service delivery but they soften the harshness of the rationing by making a positive discrimination in favour of those seen to be in real need. Data from observations and interviews are used to analyse the tensions between the different models of ‘local justice’ employed by doctors.
Fordism in the fast food industry: pervasive management control and occupational health and safety risks for young temporary workers
Authors: Mayhew Claire , Quinlan Michael
Published: March 2003

A growing body of international research points to an association between precarious employment or contingent work arrangements and a higher incidence of injury, disease and psychological distress as well as inferior knowledge/compliance with occupational health and safety (OHS) standards. Despite this, published research on the OHS problems of young workers in hospitality and other service industries largely ignores the fact that many are engaged on a temporary basis. To address this gap we surveyed 304 young temporary workers employed in Australian outlets of a well‐known multinational fast food chain. Indices assessed included work‐related injuries, exposure to occupational violence, and knowledge of OHS practices and legislative rights. In trying to explain the adverse OHS outcomes associated with contingent work, researchers have repeatedly identiﬁed three sets of factors; economic and reward pressures, work disorganisation and regulatory failure. Like most other multinational fast food companies, this ﬁrm adopted a Fordist production system. Given suggestions that Fordist systems adversely affect worker health and wellbeing, it seemed plausible that the combination of Fordism with reliance on a young casualised workforce would result in markedly inferior OHS outcomes. Contrary to this expectation, workers surveyed had an incidence of injury around the norm for full‐time permanent workers, and an excellent knowledge of risk control measures and OHS legislation. On the other hand, they had limited knowledge of their workers’ compensation entitlements and faced an elevated risk of low‐level occupational violence.

Far from exacerbating the situation, the primary reason for the positive injury and knowledge outcomes was the Fordist system that tightly speciﬁed tasks and incorporated detailed risk assessment and control procedures. This system was shaped by an overriding concern for the company’s bottom line (hence the worker’s poor knowledge of worker’s compensation – a result more typical of contingent workers) but pervasive controls had beneﬁts for an otherwise vulnerable workforce. Ritzer (2000) and others have portrayed the Fordist regimes of fast food chains as integral to a system where workers are indoctrinated, class relations obfuscated and covert threats to continued employment used to undermine solidarity. Without denying this, these systems may still constitute a less hazardous working environment for temporary workers than more disorganised work settings. Further research is needed to determine whether the study ﬁndings can be generalised or are restricted to this chain or its Australian outlets.
Gender and risk assessment in contraceptive technologies
Authors: Kammen Jessika van , Oudshoorn Nelly
Published: March 2003

This paper concerns a comparison of risk assessment practices of contraceptives for women and men. Our analysis shows how the evaluation of health risks of contraceptives does not simply reflect the specific effects of chemical compounds in the human body. Rather, we show how side‐effects were rated differently according to the risk model that was adopted. Our analysis shows an important new aspect of risk assessment: lay perspectives of men are taken more seriously by experts and policymakers than those of women. In the case of male contraceptives, men’s wellbeing when using contraceptives was a central issue from the very beginning. Men’s emotional wellbeing and sexuality has been put on the international research agenda by the reproductive scientists themselves, and the need for long‐term data about male contraceptives has been emphasised by the pharmaceutical industry. In the case of female contraceptives, the concern for the long‐term effects of contraceptives was put forward by women’s health movements, and research into women’s mental health and libido when using hormonal contraceptives was initiated only at the instigation of women’s health advocates. We therefore conclude that the incorporation of lay interests in the experts’ methods of risk assessment shows a clear gender pattern. Whereas the perspectives of male contraceptive users have been emphasised and negotiated by authoritative spokespersons within the medical establishment, the incorporation of the interests and needs of female contraceptives users depended on women’s health advocates.
On modelling overdispersion of counts
Authors: Poortema K.
Published: March 2003

For counts it often occurs that the observed variance exceeds the nominal variance of the claimed binomial, multinomial or Poisson distributions. We study how models can be extended to cope with this phenomenon: a survey of literature is given. We focus on modelling, not on estimation or testing statistical hypotheses. The attention is restricted to independent observations.
Analysis of discrete‐time stochastic petri nets
Authors: Van Der Aalst W. M. P. , Van Hee K. M. , Reijers H. A.
Published: March 2003

The Petri net formalism is widely applied in both theoretical and practical settings. For the sake of performance analysis, the original Petri net model has been extended with the notion of time. This paper addresses the different issues involved with this extension. Also, it provides a state‐of‐the‐art overview of different analysis techniques for timed Petri nets. A new analysis technique is presented, which combines the freedom of choosing arbitrary time distributions within a Petri net model on the one hand and efficient computation means on the other.
Local minimax pointwise estimation of a multivariate density
Authors: Belitser E.
Published: March 2003

We consider the problem of the nonparametric minimax estimation of a multivariate density at a given point. A concept of smoothness classes in nonparametric minimax estimation problems is proposed. The smoothness of a function is characterized by the approximability of the function at a point by an integral of the product of this function with an approximate identity. We propose a singular integral estimator, an integral of this approximate identity with respect to the empirical distribution function. Under some assumptions on the approximate identity, the bias of the estimator is shown to be of smaller order asymptotically than the variance, and the estimator itself is shown to be asymptotically locally minimax with respect to the quadratic risk in a proper topology.
Measuring Diagnostic Accuracy of Statistical Prediction Rules
Authors: Hand D. J.
Published: March 2003

Many different statistical methods have been developed for predicting the disease classes of patients. However, in order to have confidence in the results of such methods, their performance needs to be assessed. Different performance measures are reviewed and the circumstances in which they are relevant are described. Subtleties exist which must be taken into account to ensure that the measure chosen matches the objectives. Examples are given showing different interpretations of future diagnostic performance.
The Lognormal Distribution as a Model for Survival Time in Cancer, With an Emphasis on Prognostic Factors
Authors: Royston P.
Published: March 2003

Despite their long history, parametric survival‐time models have largely been neglected in the modern biostatistical and medical literature in favour of the Cox proportional hazards model. Here, I present a case for the use of the lognormal distribution in the analysis of survival times of breast and ovarian cancer patients, specifically in modelling the effects of prognostic factors. The lognormal provides a completely specified probability distribution for the observations and a sensible estimate of the variation explained by the model, a quantity that is controversial for the Cox model. I show how imputation of censored observations under the model may be used to inspect the data using familiar graphical and other technques. Results from the Cox and lognormal models are compared and shown apparently to differ to some extent. However, it is hard to judge which model gives the more accurate estimates. It is concluded that provided the lognormal model fits the data adequately, it may be a useful approach to the analysis of censored survival data.
Dynamic Antisymmetry: Movement as a Symmetry‐breaking Phenomenon
Authors: Moro Andrea
Published: March 2003

Movement is a specific property of human languages and one that has at least implicitly been recognized in all linguistic theories. The most recent development posits that movement is forced by morphological requirements (Chomsky 1995). In this paper I will suggest a different approach to movement, suggesting that it is essentially related to the geometry of phrase structure. A weak version of Kayne's 1994 theory of the antisymmetry of syntax, namely ‘dynamic antisymmetry’ will be introduced. In the strong version, UG only allowed for antisymmetrical configurations, in terms of c‐command. Within dynamic antisymmetry, however, symmetrical configurations can be generated, provided that movement makes them antisymmetric before spell‐out. In other words, I will suggest that movement is a symmetry‐breaking phenomenon, i.e. it is triggered by purely geometrical factors as opposed to morphological ones. Data will range from small clause constructions (both in copular sentences and believe‐type verbs) to wh‐movement in interrogatives. Italian and English will be the major sources of examples.
Avoidance of idioms in a second language: The effect of L1‐L2 degree of similarity
Authors: Laufer Batia
Published: March 2003

The study investigates whether avoidance of L2 (English) idioms is determined by the degree of similarity to their L1 (Hebrew) counterparts. Four degrees of similarity were established through a three‐dimensional framework for L1‐L2 comparison. 56 university English majors were tested on 20 idioms (5 per each type), elicited by a fill‐in translation test. The totals of idiomatic and non‐idiomatic responses were compared for each student, for each idiom type. Results showed that idioms as a category were not avoided, that L2 proficiency was a factor in idiom avoidance and that avoidance of specific idiom types was related to L1‐L2 degrees of similarity.
On the Application of the Briggs' and Steepest‐Descent Methods to a Boundary‐Layer Flow
Authors: Lingwood R. J.
Published: March 2003

The evolution of wave packets generated by impulsive disturbances of the rotating‐disk boundary‐layer flow is studied. It is shown, by comparison with Briggs' method, that there are certain difficulties associated with the steepest‐descent time‐asymptotic method of evaluating the impulse response. The rotating‐disk boundary layer provides examples of saddle points through which the steepest‐descent path can and cannot be made to pass. It is shown that it is critically important to establish, from the topography of the phase function, whether the steepest‐descent path passes through particular saddle points. If this procedure is not carried out, calculations of the wave‐packet evolution can be majorly flawed and incorrect conclusions can be drawn about the stability of the flow, i.e., whether it is convectively or absolutely unstable.
Convective Linear Stability of Solitary Waves for Boussinesq Equations
Authors: Pego Robert L. , Weinstein Michael I.
Published: March 2003

Boussinesq was the first to explain the existence of Scott Russell's solitary wave mathematically. He employed a variety of asymptotically equivalent equations to describe water waves in the small‐amplitude, long‐wave regime. We study the linearized stability of solitary waves for three linearly well‐posed Boussinesq models. These are problems for which well‐developed Lyapunov methods of stability analysis appear to fail. However, we are able to analyze the eigenvalue problem for small‐amplitude solitary waves, by comparison to the equation that Boussinesq himself used to describe the solitary wave, which is now called the Korteweg–de Vries equation. With respect to a weighted norm designed to diminish as perturbations convect away from the wave profile, we prove that nonzero eigenvalues are absent in a half‐plane of the form Rλ>−b for some b>0, for all three Boussinesq models. This result is used to prove the decay of solutions of the evolution equations linearized about the solitary wave, in two of the models. This “convective linear stability” property has played a central role in the proof of nonlinear asymptotic stability of solitary‐wave‐like solutions in other systems.
Intrinsic Geometry of the NLS Equation and Its Auto‐Bäcklund Transformation
Authors: Rogers C. , Schief W. K.
Published: March 2003

The nonlinear Schrödinger equation is derived in a general intrinsic geometric setting involving a normal congruence originally investigated by Marris and Passman in 1969 in a hydrodynamical context. Geometric properties of members of the normal congruence are adduced and an intrinsic representation of the auto‐Bäcklund transformation is obtained for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.
Solitary Wave Transformation Due to a Change in Polarity
Authors: Grimshaw Roger , Pelinovsky Efim , Talipova Tatjana
Published: March 2003

Solitary wave transformation in a zone with sign‐variable coefficient for the quadratic nonlinear term is studied for the variable‐coefficient Korteweg–de Vries equation. Such a change of sign implies a change in polarity for the solitary wave solutions of this equation. This situation can be realized for internal waves in a stratified ocean, when the pycnocline lies halfway between the seabed and the sea surface. The width of the transition zone of the variable nonlinear coefficient is allowed to vary over a wide range. In the case of a short transition zone it is shown using asymptotic theory that there is no solitary wave generation after passage through the turning point, where the coefficient of the quadratic nonlinear term goes to zero. In the case of a very wide transition zone it is shown that one or more solitary waves of the opposite polarity are generated after passage through the turning point. Here, asymptotic methods are effective only for the first (adiabatic) stage when the solitary wave is approaching the turning point. The results from the asymptotic theories are confirmed by direct numerical simulation. The hypothesis that the pedestal behind the solitary wave approaching the turning point has a significant role on the generation of the terminal solitary wave after the transition zone is examined. It is shown that the pedestal is not the sole contributor to the amplitude of the terminal solitary wave. A negative disturbance at the turning point due to the transformation in the zone of the variable nonlinear coefficient contributes as much to the process of the generation of the terminal solitary waves.
Infinite Interval Problems Modeling the Flow of a Gas Through a Semi‐Infinite Porous Medium
Authors: Agarwal Ravi P. , O'Regan Donal
Published: March 2003

Various existence results are presented for boundary‐value problems on the infinite interval. In particular, our theory includes a discussion of a problem arising in the unsteady flow of a gas through a semi–infinite porous medium.
Stammering in School Children
Authors: Lees Roberta M.
Published: March 2003

As in the previous article, on epilepsy, most teachers will have had some contact with pupils who stammer. Roberta Lees takes us through the background to the disorder, how to properly diagnose and treat it. She particularly stresses the need for collaboration with the speech and language therapist. She concludes that this is not only a matter for professionals; the child is also an active participant.
‘Keeping Cool’: Anger Management through Group Work
Authors: Dwivedi Kedar , Gupta Arun
Published: March 2003

How do young people deal with their feelings and anxieties? How can they be helped to explore their emotional states in a constructive way? In this article, and the next, the authors consider the use of group work as a means by which schools can provide the time and space to help young people learn how to cope with feelings such as disaffection, violence, bullying or isolation. In this article, Kedar Dwivedi and Arun Gupta describe their use of group work to promote emotional regulation, or self management, among a group of 15 teenage boys.
Designing inclusive schools: how can children be involved?
Authors: Penrose Vanessa , Thomas Gary , Greed Clara
Published: March 2003

If children are to be included in the classrooms of the future, then it is important to think about how one can learn from the ideas of the young people themselves. The research described here by Vanessa Penrose, Gary Thomas and Clara Greed concerns a pilot project to gather preliminary data about children's views and opinions on design. The results suggest that there is much to be gained from more extensive research in this area.
Invisible Fences: Egalitarianism, Nationalism and Racism
Authors: Gullestad Marianne
Published: March 2003

With its specific combination of a bureaucratic welfare state and an open, globalized capitalist economy, Norway, along with the other Nordic countries, provides a particularly interesting context for the examination of the relationship between egalitarianism, nationalism, and racism in Europe. A racialization of difference takes place, as immigration emerges as a site for racial and racist discourse, and as a site of conjuncture between the welfare state and its citizens. By presenting an analysis of the contemporary debate on immigration in Norway, this article demonstrates how equality conceived as sameness (‘imagined sameness’) underpins a growing ethnification of national identity. Widely different utterances and points of view refer to metaphors of home and family life, a close link between territory and generalized kinship, and the renewed importance of Lutheran Christianity in contrast to Islam. A model of group identity and relationship is therefore suggested, in which organizational boundaries and cultural substance inflect one another, rather than being the bases of different or even opposed approaches. It is also argued that anthropologists need to take a more serious interest in the European majority populations.
The bones affair: indigenous knowledge practices in contact situations seen from an Amazonian case
Authors: Fausto Carlos
Published: March 2003

This article explores the relation between beliefs and practices manifest in the interaction between indigenous people and outsiders in contact situations. Drawing on oral history, myth, and written documentation, it seeks to reconstruct the experience of the Parakanã, a Tupi–speaking people of Southeastern Amazonia, in their early stable contact with national society. It focuses on some apparently implausible events in order to address the question of how certain beliefs about the nature of the whites were put into action during the contact process. The article also employs historical data from South America and comparative ethnography from Melanesia to suggest new perspectives on the Sahlins–Obeyesekere debate, making use of the Peircian notion of abduction to account simultaneously for the flexibility and the resilience of magico–religious ideas.
An Investigation into Site and Situation: Cruise Ship Ports
Authors: McCalla Robert J.
Published: March 2003

Cruise ports have specific site and situation requirements. Exactly what they are will vary according to whether they are home ports, ports of call or hybrid ports. This article suggests initially that port situation should dominate port site in explaining cruise port success. Two sources of information are used to explore this thesis. First, a content analysis is applied to cruise port advertising abstracts which appeared in the 1995 Directory of the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention. Second, a questionnaire was sent to those ports represented at the convention asking them to rank the importance of factors considered to be site and situation related. Results from both show that ports recognise the importance of their site and situation in their promotion and operations. However, it is not universal that one factor is seen as more important than the other; although there is a tendency for situation‐related factors to dominate. For example, of the 30 ports responding to the questionnaire, 19 ranked situation‐related factors highest. Ports of call especially stress their situation.
Closing the Gap: Australian–Indonesian Relations, the ‘Perilous Moment’ and the Maritime Boundary Zone
Authors: Mercer David
Published: March 2003

Australia and Indonesia are two vastly different countries that share a common sea border in the Timor and Arafura Seas. Yet economically, culturally and diplomatically, Australia and Indonesia have been moving much closer together over the last 20 years. In March 1997, the final portion of the seabed border was finally delineated, shortly before the onset of the serious economic crisis. This paper focuses on the changing political and economic relations between the two countries and links this with a discussion of border issues, specifically UNCLOS III, fish and hydrocarbon resources, the Timor Gap Zone of Cooperation and the still unresolved East Timor question.
Food Consumption in the Mediterranean Region
Authors: Grigg David
Published: March 2003

This paper deals with the present diet in the Mediterranean. Many of the plants and animals used in the traditional Mediterranean diet were domesticated in the Near East and spread from there around the Mediterranean. There is a clear distinction between the food consumption of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea and those north of the Alps; but there are regional differences within the Mediterranean.

In the West Mediterranean meat consumption is high, and cereal consumption low, but North Africa has a high consumption of cereals, and little meat or dairy foods. In the East Mediterranean olive oil consumption is being replaced by oilseed, but the former remains dominant from Portugal to Greece. Fruit and vegetables are particularly significant in the East Mediterranean. Rapid economic growth in the European countries of the Mediterranean since 1960 has ended the traditional Mediterranean diet and diminished the unity that the basin once had in diets.
Conflict and compromise among borderland identities in northern Italy
Authors: Kaplan David
Published: March 2003

Borderlands are dominated by the interplay, overlap and competition of larger national identities. This paper examines the interaction of separate national, regional and local identities in two borderland regions of Northern Italy: the Alto‐Adige/Suüdtirol region and the Julian region (which includes the city of Trieste). The main argument is that the histories of these two borderland regions have rendered a mixture of incompatible identities. While these identities continue to rival one another, there is a possibility that changes in ethnic attitudes and macro‐developments, including the strengthening of the European Union, may allow for the creation of a distinct borderland identity. This identity would exist in conjunction with the identities that exist at larger and smaller spatial scales.
Regions in geography and the regional geography of semiperipheral development
Authors: Terlouw Kees
Published: March 2003

The revival of interest in regions contrasts with a lack of systematic study of them. Usually regions are not studied to understand regions, but to understand how the regional influences specific processes. These studies focus on a specific topic in a particular type of region. However useful these thematic case studies into the role of the regional are, they need to be augmented by other perspectives. Three different dimensions of regions are essential to understand regions. Regions are: arenas of social processes; territories of control; and spatial formations interacting at different scales. An overview of semiperipheral development illustrates how these three dimensions and different scales in the world‐system can be connected.
Corridors in the Netherlands: apple of discord in spatial planning
Authors: Priemus Hugo
Published: March 2003

Since 1993 the spatial planning debate in the Netherlands has been enriched with a new spatial concept: the corridor. Three meanings of this concept are distinguished: the corridor as infrastructure axis, as economic developments axis, and as urbanisation axis. In the Starting Memorandum on Spatial Planning (1999) the Dutch Government seemed to accept the ‘corridor’ as planning concept, following the slogan by the VROM‐Raad: From unplanned corridor formation to planned corridor development. In the preparation of the Fifth Memorandum on Spatial Planning, however, spatial planning minister Pronk abandoned the corridor as spatial planning concept and moved to the ‘urban network’ as the central concept of spatial policy for the next decades. This may be wise but it is impossible to neglect the empirical phenomenon of the corridor. And the question remains of how the spatial organisation of corridors should be mapped out.
The territoriality of European integration and the territorial features of the European Union: the first 50 years
Authors: Mamadouh Virginie
Published: March 2003

The European Union is generally presented as the most elaborated institutional form of integration ever achieved between democratic states. What the European Union really is or should be is, however, a much debated issue: a (federal) state in formation? or a new form of political governance, very much different from the modern state? Assuming that the later is describing the reality more adequately than the former, this paper explores the territoriality of European integration since the end of the Second World War, in which aftermath Western European states have embarked into the process of peaceful integration. It aims at discussing the specific territoriality of the supranational framework in which Member States partake. To emphasise differences and similarities with modern states, territoriality will be addressed through three main aspects: the territorial dimension of the integration process (e.g. the evolution of the territory under jurisdiction of the supranational authority), the territorial expression of integration in political landscapes typically linked to state territoriality: borders and capital cities.
Process of Othering in the case of India and Pakistan
Authors: Chaturvedi Sanjay
Published: March 2003

Integral to the geopolitics of place‐making on the subcontinent, having acquired hegemonic categorical forms in the imperial mapping of ‘India’ as two opposed and self‐contained communities of the ‘Hindus’ and the ‘Muslims’, authenticated by an ‘unclean partition’, the otherness in the case of India and Pakistan persists in its various avatars. The reflexivity in the process of othering is evident in the character as well as behaviour of nations, which not only define themselves in respect to each other, but also seek for some kind of purity for the self through the demonisation of the other. Otherness is further reinforced through hegemonic, homogenising, state‐centric discourses on ‘national identity’ and ‘national (in)security’, and exclusivist geopolitical imaginations of various ethno‐religious groups. The discourse of otherness meets practice not only in the Pakistani social studies curriculum but also at the least expected site of the Wagah border crossing between Pakistan and India. But it does raise a few difficult questions, which are worth probing by inter‐disciplinary, comparative studies of partition.
A Framework and Software Tool to Support Collaborative Landscape Analysis: Fitting Square Pegs into Square Holes
Authors: Fall Andrew , Daust Dave , Morgan Don G.
Published: March 2003

For landscape models to be applied successfully in management situations, models must address appropriate questions, include relevant processes and interactions, be perceived as credible and involve people affected by decisions. We propose a framework for collaborative model building that can address these issues, and has its roots in adaptive management, computer‐supported collaborative work and landscape ecology. Models built through this framework integrate a variety of information sources, address relevant questions, and are customized for the particular landscape and policy environment under study. Participants are involved in the process from the start, and because their input is incorporated, they feel ownership of the resulting models, increasing the chance of model acceptance and application. There are two requirements for success: a tool that supports rapid model prototyping and modification, that makes a clear link between a conceptual and implemented model, and that has the ability to implement a wide range of model types; and a core team with skills in communication, research and analysis, and knowledge of ecology and forestry in addition to modelling. SELES (Spatially Explicit Landscape Event Simulator) is a tool for building and running models of landscape dynamics. It combines discrete event simulation with a spatial database and a relatively simple modelling language to allow rapid development of landscape simulations, and provides a high‐level means of specifying complex model behaviours ranging from management actions to natural disturbance and succession. We have applied our framework in several forest modelling projects in British Columbia, Canada. We have found that this framework increases the interest by local experts and decision‐makers to participate actively in the model building process. The workshop process and resulting models have efficiently provided insight into the dynamics of large landscapes over long time frames. The use of SELES has facilitated this process by providing a flexible, transparent environment in which models can be rapidly implemented and refined. As a result, model findings may be more readily incorporated into decision‐support systems designed to assist resource managers in making informed decisions.
A Distributed Geoprocessing Concept for Enhancing Terrain Analysis for Environmental Modeling
Authors: Schneider Bernhardt , Martinoni Daria
Published: March 2003

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are well suited to support environmental modeling for dealing with space. However, some of the limitations of current GIS are the lack of tools for comprehensive documentation of the models, the inadequate representation of fields, and the deficient methodology for comprehensive management of uncertainty. Using Digital Terrain Modeling and Analysis as an example, this paper proposes an enhanced approach to overcome these drawbacks. It suggests implementing sophisticated functionality for modeling and analysis of fields in special‐purpose modules outside monolithic GIS. These modules include three components: (1) an extensive framework for metainformation that allows a sound assessment of the fitness‐for‐use of digital field representations for environmental modeling applications, (2) an explicit digital representation of the field phenomenon equipped with the appropriate tools for the derivation of data, and (3) the methods to assess the quality of derived data. A standardized interface enables communication between the module and other software components. The presented modular approach combines the functionality of common GIS with highly specialized modeling and analysis tools encapsulating expert knowledge about the represented phenomena.
Using Ontologies for Integrated Geographic Information Systems
Authors: Fonseca Frederico T. , Egenhofer Max J. , Agouris Peggy , Câmara Gilberto
Published: March 2003

Today, there is a huge amount of data gathered about the Earth, not only from new spatial information systems, but also from new and more sophisticated data collection technologies. This scenario leads to a number of interesting research challenges, such as how to integrate geographic information of different kinds. The basic motivation of this paper is to introduce a GIS architecture that can enable geographic information integration in a seamless and flexible way based on its semantic value and regardless of its representation. The proposed solution is an ontology‐driven geographic information system that acts as a system integrator. In this system, an ontology is a component, such as the database, cooperating to fulfill the system’s objectives. By browsing through ontologies the users can be provided with information about the embedded knowledge of the system. Special emphasis is given to the case of remote sensing systems and geographic information systems. The levels of ontologies can be used to guide processes for the extraction of more general or more detailed information. The use of multiple ontologies allows the extraction of information in different stages of classification. The semantic integration of aerial images and GIS is a crucial step towards better geospatial modeling.
A Dynamic Architecture for Distributing Geographic Information Services
Authors: Tsou Ming–Hsiang , Buttenfield Barbara P.
Published: March 2003

Traditional GISystems are no longer appropriate for modern distributed, heterogeneous network environments due to their closed architecture, and their lack of interoperability, reusability, and flexibility. Distributed GIServices can provide broader capabilities and functions for data management, browsing, and exchange. This paper introduces a dynamic architecture for distributing GIServices. The term dynamic indicates that the architecture is constructed temporarily by connecting or migrating geodata objects and GIS components across a network. The intention of the paper is to overview components and protocols necessary for a workable implementation of dynamically linked GIServices. The paper introduces a metadata scheme for both geodata objects and software components, and proposes an implementation framework based on existing languages, computing architectures and web services. In the framework, GIS nodes form the basic processing unit. All GIServices can be accomplished through collaboration between GIS nodes. The design of the presented framework emphasizes scalability, reusability, and dynamic integration. Current distributed computing environments cannot fully support dynamic architectures for technical and other reasons. Throughout the discussion, we distinguish what currently can be implemented from what cannot. We summarize costs and benefits of adopting a dynamic GIServices paradigm in a final section.
The Role of International and National Agencies in Trade–related Capacity Building
Authors: Prowse Susan
Published: March 2003

With increased recognition that trade can bring significant benefits to developing countries, and the launch of a new trade round, bilateral and multilateral agencies have begun to mobilise resources for trade–related capacity building (TRCB). The biggest challenge is to ensure that available resources are effectively utilised to deliver tangible benefits to developing countries. This paper argues that the effective delivery of TRCB relates specifically to two areas: in–country to help formulate appropriate trade positions as well as to place trade reform in the context of the country's overall development strategy that will promote a supply response and facilitate pro–poor growth; and secondly within the global rule making process to ensure that implementation of WTO rules and efforts to negotiate and implement future disciplines makes sense from a development perspective, and that TRCB is considered in the context of other competing development needs. The paper elaborates an issues based approach to bring the main providers to TRCB and bilateral donors together to support recipient countries to include a trade agenda in their overall development strategy and to facilitate developing country participation and implementation of WTO agreements that could be formulated within the global trade rules.
The Dismantling of CONASUPO, a Mexican State Trader in Agriculture
Authors: Yunez–Naude Antonio
Published: March 2003

In the 1990s, Mexico gradually dismantled and ultimately liquidated CONASUPO, its state enterprise in agriculture. CONASUPO was a typical less developed country (LDC) parastatal, exacting control over an important component of Mexico's food chain. This paper examines the demise of CONASUPO in the context of domestic economic reforms and trade liberalisation. It documents the process by which CONASUPO was eleminated, the political environment that made this possible, and the implications for agricultural production and trade. The paper concludes by distilling lessons from Mexico's experience for other LDCs as the liberalisation of domestic and international markets continues to unfold.
Your Language, My Language or English? The Potential Language Choice in Communication Among Nationals of the European Union
Authors: Labrie Normand , Quell Carsten
Published: March 2003

Data on foreign language learning and the ability to take part in a conversation using a foreign language were collected by Eurobarometer in 1994 from representative samples of the population in 12 member states of the European Union (n = 13,029). Drawing on these data, the authors observe that knowledge of foreign languages has increased considerably in Europe in the last 40 years, thereby improving the potential for communication among Europeans. They note that the three most learned and spoken foreign languages, English, French, and German, are all expanding. However, English is by far the language which has progressed the most, which raises the question of the eventual emergence of English as a lingua franca. The authors use the representative data from the Eurobarometer study, differentiated by country and by age group, to estimate the probability that a particular language will be used when nationals of two different countries belonging to two different age groups (15–24, and 55 and older) interact. Some sociolinguistic implications are examined in the conclusion.
The Spread of English: From France to a More General Perspective
Authors: Truchot Claude
Published: March 2003

This paper outlines a framework for the analysis of the spread of English in the expanding circle. It is organized into eight parts: (1) scientific research; (2) the business world; (3) the internationalization of culture; (4) the internationalization of the marketplace; (5) education; (6) codemixing and borrowings; (7) attitudes towards English; and (8) language policies. Even though it is mainly the situation of English in France that is analyzed here, it is hoped that the framework will be applied to other contexts and provide a basis for analysis of the situation of English in national contexts.
EIL, ESL, EFL: Global Issues and Local Interests
Authors: Widdowson Henry G.`
Published: March 2003

This paper by Henry G. Widdowson was originally presented at a conference in Senegal in December 1995. The author submitted it to WE for consideration for publication with a note saying that ‘I wanted to raise a number of questions for discussion, so the paper is provocative. ... You might indeed want to consider it as a possible contribution to World Englishes, where it might provoke some of the reaction it was originally designed to do’ (January 29, 1996).

We believe that this would be an appropriate paper for initiating this new section in WE entitled the Forum. We hope that the readers of WE will find this contribution as provocative as does the author, and that some will share their reactions with us for publication in future issues of WE.

The perspective presented in the paper is important since Widdowson is one of the most articulate and knowledgeable members of the profession. The points he makes in this paper have earlier been articulated within various theoretical conceptualizations, with persuasive empirical data from West Africa, Southern Africa, and from South and Southeast Asia. Almost five decades ago, India’s Raja Rao (1938) provides a credo for his creativity which has become almost classic and has extensively been quoted by Asian, African, and Western scholars interested in creativity in English. And now in the 1990s, the voice from a guru of the ELT profession is particularly significant. This voice is indeed a mild indicator of a slow but sure increase in the degree of awareness of the paradigm shift among the professional leadership.

Professor Widdowson represents the profession as an educator, as a prolific researcher and as an academic administrator. He is active in two professional organizations of the Inner Circle which are extremely influential: The International Association for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) and the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Editors,
‘Stay queer!’‘Never fear!’: building queer social networks
Authors: Queen Robin M.
Published: March 2003

In this paper, I present evidence in support of the hypothesis that gay men and lesbians may use similar linguistics strategies in order to build and maintain queer social networks. Such social networks rely on an assumption of shared queerness that goes beyond gender‐exclusive groups. The primary strategies discussed here are the incorporation of cultural understandings that are assumed to be shared, the appropriation of gender stereotypes for humorous effect, the use of covert communication strategies, and the use of co‐narration. Taken together, these strategies help index both unique social networks as well as a broader sense of queer community.
The Passive in Singapore English
Authors: Bao Zhiming , Wee Lionel
Published: March 2003

Singapore English has two passive or passive‐like constructions which exhibit substrate influence from Malay and Chinese. They are the kena passive and the give passive. Of the two constructions, the Malay‐derived kena passive is more widely used among Singaporeans regardless of ethnic origin. By contrast, the Chinese‐derived give passive is much rarer. In this paper, we present an analysis of the two passives, and show that while the substrate languages contribute to the grammar of Singapore English, the continued prestige of standard English exerts normative pressure and mitigates the effect of substrate influence – the winner of the competing substrate forms is closer in structure to what may be called the ‘standard’ or ‘prestige’ form.
Americanisms in the New Zealand English Lexicon
Authors: Vine Bernardette
Published: March 2003

This paper investigates lexical shift from British to American terms in New Zealand English. The discussion is based on a survey which gathered information on speakers’ perceptions and attitudes and related this to their usage of terms. The suggestion by earlier researchers that some American terms are not being adopted because speakers identify and avoid these terms is explored. The study found little support for this hypothesis and identified various problems with the assumptions made by these researchers and the methodologies that they adopted. In particular, the assumption that lexical choice involves a simple binary choice between British and American lexical items is disputed. There was not much evidence of shift for the twenty pairs included in the study and in many cases where shift was occurring informants were adopting American terms if they felt a need for new terms rather than simply replacing one term with an equivalent term.