bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EXPERIENCES AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS END‐OF‐LIFE DECISIONS AMONGST DANISH PHYSICIANS
Authors: FOLKER ANNA P. , HOLTUG NILS , JENSEN ANNETTE B. , KAPPEL KLEMENS , NIELSEN JESPER K. , NORUP MICHAEL
Published: October 2007

In this survey we have investigated the experiences and attitudes of Danish physicians regarding end‐of life decisions. Most respondents have made decisions that involve hastening the death of a patient, and almost all find it acceptable to do so. Such decisions are made more often, and considered ethically more acceptable, with the informed consent of the patient than without. But both non‐resuscitation decisions, and decisions to provide pain relief in doses that will shorten the patient's life, have been made and found acceptable by at least 50% of the respondents, even when there is no informed consent. Furthermore, 12% have doubled morphine dosages with fixed intervals, thus providing doses substantially higher than that necessary to control pain, without the informed consent of the patient. Two per cent have helped in assisted suicide, and 5% have administered a lethal injection at the patient's request. Respectively 37% and 34% find these last two practices ethically acceptable. Amongst those that do not find them acceptable, the most important reasons to be opposed are, the doctrine of double effect, the doctrine of doing and allowing, and the view that human life is sacred. Amongst supporters, the most important reasons mentioned are, that the patient's right to self‐determination should be respected, the view that a patient should not be forced to suffer, and the view that the patient has a right to be helped to a dignified death.
WHAT IS THE GOOD OF HEALTH CARE?
Authors: HARRIS JOHN
Published: October 2007

This paper sets out to discuss what precisely is meant by “benefit” when we talk of the requirement that the health care system concern itself with health gain or with maximising beneficial health care. In particular I argue that in discharging the duty to do what is most beneficial we need to choose between rival conceptions of what is meant by beneficial. One is the patient's conception of benefit and the second is the provider's or funder's conception of benefit. I argue that it is the patient's conception of benefit which is paramount and that if this is followed it commits us to a conception of patient care which must be blind to prognosis in so far as prognosis is thought to bear upon issues of prioritisation or resource allocation.
CHOOSING THE BEST: AGAINST PATERNALISTIC PRACTICE GUIDELINES
Authors: SAVULESCU JULIAN
Published: October 2007

Isobel Ross rightly points out that providing information is not enough to guarantee that patients will choose the best course of action. She argues that to adequately protect patients’interests, we need practice guidelines to‘ensure that dangerous and unnecessarily risky procedures are excluded from practice’. What constitutes an‘unnecessarily risky procedure’is to be determined by a group of reasonable doctors. At one point, Ross suggests that such guidelines are‘presumptive’rather than ‘absolute’. But this is really a concession to patient variability. She intends that certain procedures are ruled out on paternalistic grounds.

I will argue that practice guidelines are desirable but should not determine practice. We should not rule out procedures on paternalistic grounds.
ON A ROMANIAN ATTEMPT TO LEGISLATE ON MEDICALLY ASSISTED HUMAN REPRODUCTION
Authors: CUTAS DANIELA E.
Published: October 2007

The paper presents and briefly analyses some of the provisions of a Romanian legislative proposal which arrived at the Presidency for ratification twice, in slightly different forms, and which was rejected twice: the first time at the Presidency in October 2004, and the second at the Constitutional Court in July 2005. The proposal was finally dropped in February 2006. My intention here is to point to some of the most problematic deficiencies of the legislative document in the hope that this may assist with future debates and regulations on assisted reproduction either in Romania or elsewhere. I have isolated the features to be discussed under two headings: (1) whose are the rights to reproduce, that the document claimed to ‘acknowledge, regulate and guarantee’ and (2) what is the status of the embryo, the child and the surrogate mother?
MAKING A CLEAN BREAK: ADDICTION AND ULYSSES CONTRACTS
Authors: ANDREOU CHRISOULA
Published: October 2007

I examine current models of self‐destructive addictive behaviour, and argue that there is an important place for Ulysses contracts in coping with addictive behaviour that stems from certain problematic preference structures. Given the relevant preference structures, interference based on a Ulysses contract need not involve questionably favouring an agent's past preferences over her current preferences, but can actually be justified in terms of the agent's current concerns and commitments.
Higher retention after a new take‐home computerised test
Authors: Park Jooyong , Choi Byung‐Chul
Published: October 2007

A new computerised testing system was used at home to promote learning and also to save classroom instruction time. The testing system combined the features of short‐answer and multiple‐choice formats. The questions of the multiple‐choice problems were presented without the options so that students had to generate answers for themselves; they could click for the options when they were ready, and could choose one of the options within a brief, specified time period. One hundred thirty‐eight Korean sixth‐grade students (12‐year olds) were divided into two groups: the experimental group took the intervening test on social studies using the new computerised testing method, and the control group used a computerised version of the traditional multiple‐choice method. A few days after the intervening computerised test, a recall posttest was given in paper‐and‐pencil format. The mean posttest score was greater for the experimental group than for the control group. Implications of the result are discussed.
Beyond critical thinking skills: Investigating the relationship between critical thinking skills and dispositions through different online instructional strategies
Authors: Yang Ya‐Ting C. , Chou Heng‐An
Published: October 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the relationship between critical thinking skills (CTS) and critical thinking dispositions (CTD), and (2) the effectiveness of different levels of instructional strategy (asynchronous online discussions (AODs), CTS instruction via AODs, and CTS instruction with CTD cultivation via AODs) in improving students' CTS and CTD. A pretest and posttest quasi‐experimental design was employed to achieve this purpose. The participants in this study were 220 students enrolled in a general education course at a large university in Taiwan. The findings of this study were as follows: (1) the overall relationship between CTS and CTD was positive. However, further analysis of the relationship between the different levels of CTS and CTD showed that only the students with high CTS and medium CTD showed a significant correlation; (2) the enhancement in CTS reinforced CTD, but the improvement in CTD did not increase the level of CTS. In addition, it is recommended that to improve the CTS and CTD of all students (including the students with a high level of CTS), the instructional strategy, CTS instruction with CTD cultivation, be employed.
Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and their planning and conduct of computer‐mediated classroom lessons
Authors: Lim Cher Ping , Chai Ching Sing
Published: October 2007

In this study, we observed and interviewed six teachers from two Singapore primary school classrooms. The schools were reportedly achieving high levels of computer integration as reflected in a nationwide questionnaire survey. Out of the 18 lessons that we observed, 14 lessons have incorporated some elements of constructivist teaching. However, closer examination revealed that the underlying orientation of the lessons was inclined towards information acquisition and regurgitation. Five out of the six teachers we interviewed were reportedly inclined towards constructivist notion of teaching. The teachers accounted for the inconsistency between their espoused beliefs and the teacher‐centric teaching practice as due to contextual constraints. The teachers expressed that the need to complete the syllabi according to stipulated schedules so as to get the students ready for examination was the main barriers that prevented them from engaging in more constructivist teaching. This case study therefore highlights that although it is necessary for teachers to hold pedagogical beliefs that are compatible with the constructivist notion of teaching and learning, this is an insufficient condition to shift traditional teaching practice. Changes in assessment systems and substantial professional development are further conditions that have to be addressed.
The effects of cognitive thinking styles, trust, conflict management on online students' learning and virtual team performance
Authors: Liu Xiaojing , Magjuka Richard J. , Lee Seung‐hee
Published: October 2007

Cognitive style has been regarded as one of the important variables to predict individual cognitive functioning. This paper describes an empirical study that examined the role of thinking styles in relation to students' online learning and teamwork performance. Two hundred and eight students in an online MBA (Master of Business Administration) program participated in the study. Data were collected through surveys and content analysis of online conference transcripts. Sternberg's thinking style inventory was used to measure two dimensions of cognitive style: levels and scope. A personal reflection questionnaire was administrated to measure some variables concerning virtual team experiences including trust, conflict management styles and teamwork satisfaction. The evidence gathered suggests that cognitive styles may be a poor indicator of students' overall online learning performance. However, cognitive style had predictive power over the students' satisfaction with their teamwork experience, as well as the level of trust they exhibited in their team members. This study implies that it would be useful to integrate cognitive styles of individual students as one of the design factors which could foster successful online virtual team experiences.
Imputing continuous data under some non‐Gaussian distributions
Authors: Demirtas Hakan , Hedeker Donald
Published: October 2007

There has been a growing interest regarding generalized classes of distributions in statistical theory and practice because of their flexibility in model formation. Multiple imputation under such distributions that span a broader area in the symmetry–kurtosis plane appears to have the potential of better capturing real incomplete data trends. In this article, we impute continuous univariate data that exhibit varying characteristics under two well‐known distributions, assess the extent to which this procedure works properly, make comparisons with normal imputation models in terms of commonly accepted bias and precision measures, and discuss possible generalizations to the multivariate case and to larger families of distributions.
A Graphical Chain Model for Reciprocal Relationships Between Women’s Gender Role Attitudes and Labour Force Participation
Authors: Berrington Ann , Hu Yongjian , Smith Peter W. F. , Sturgis Patrick
Published: October 2007

We use a graphical chain model to investigate the reciprocal relationships between changes in women’s labour force participation following entry into parenthood and changes in gender role attitude. Results suggest that attitudes are not fixed and that revision of these attitudes in the light of recent life course events is an important process. The adaptation of attitudes to events appears to be stronger than the selection of individuals on the basis of attitudes. We show that it is not entry into parenthood as such, but the change in economic activity that is related to this event that is associated with attitude change.
A Joint Latent Class Changepoint Model to Improve the Prediction of Time to Graft Failure
Authors: Garre Francisca Galindo , Zwinderman Aeilko H. , Geskus Ronald B. , Sijpkens Yvo W. J.
Published: October 2007

The reciprocal of serum creatinine concentration, RC, is often used as a biomarker to monitor renal function. It has been observed that RC trajectories remain relatively stable after transplantation until a certain moment, when an irreversible decrease in the RC levels occurs. This decreasing trend commonly precedes failure of a graft. Two subsets of individuals can be distinguished according to their RC trajectories: a subset of individuals having stable RC levels and a subset of individuals who present an irrevocable decrease in their RC levels. To describe such data, the paper proposes a joint latent class model for longitudinal and survival data with two latent classes. RC trajectories within latent class one are modelled by an intercept-only random-effects model and RC trajectories within latent class two are modelled by a segmented random changepoint model. A Bayesian approach is used to fit this joint model to data from patients who had their first kidney transplantation in the Leiden University Medical Center between 1983 and 2002. The resulting model describes the kidney transplantation data very well and provides better predictions of the time to failure than other joint and survival models.
Criteria for Surrogate End Points
Authors: Chen Hua , Geng Zhi , Jia Jinzhu
Published: October 2007

A surrogate end point is often used to evaluate the effects of treatments or exposures on the true end point in medical researches. Various criteria for the statistical surrogate, principal surrogate and strong surrogate have been proposed. We first illustrate that, with a surrogate end point that is defined by these criteria, it is possible that a treatment has a positive effect on the surrogate, which in turn has a positive effect on the true end point, but the treatment has a negative effect on the true end point. We define such a phenomenon as a surrogate paradox. The surrogate paradox also means that the sign of the treatment effect on the true end point is unpredictable by the effect signs of both the treatment on the surrogate and the surrogate on the true end point. Then we propose two notions for a consistent surrogate and a strictly consistent surrogate to avoid the surrogate paradox. With the causal network that was presented by Lauritzen, we discuss the conditions for a strong surrogate to be a consistent surrogate and a strictly consistent surrogate.
Octatonicism inLuigiDallapiccola'sTwelve‐NoteMusic
Authors: Alegant Brian , Levey John
Published: October 2007

This survey addresses perhaps the least‐known aspect of Luigi Dallapiccola's twelve‐note music, namely the composer's preference for octatonic collections. Part I summarises the different arrangements of octatonic hexachords that are possible within a twelve‐note context. Parts II–IV then examine some of the octatonic characteristics which recur across a number of specific works, several of which have not previously been the subject of critical attention. Octatonicism is thereby revealed as a consistent feature of Dallapiccola's harmonic language that runs throughout his twelve‐note canon.
Evaluation and Proposal for Optimization of Neurophysiological Tests In Migraine: Part 2—Neuroimaging and The Nitroglycerin Test
Authors: Magis D , Bendtsen L , Goadsby PJ , May A , Rio M Sánchez del , Sandór PS , Kaube H , Sandrini G , Schoonman GG , Schoenen J
Published: October 2007

Neuroimaging methods have been widely used in headache and migraine research. They have provided invaluable information on brain perfusion, metabolism and structure during and outside of migraine attacks, contributing to an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of the disorder. Human models of migraine attacks are indispensable tools in pathophysiological and therapeutic research. This review of neuroimaging methods and the attack-provoking nitroglycerin test is part an initiative by a task force within the EUROHEAD project (EU Strep LSHM-CT-2004-5044837-Workpackage 9) with the objective of critically evaluating neurophysiological tests used in migraine. The first part, presented in a companion paper, is devoted to electrophysiological methods, this second part to neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and voxel-based morphometry, as well as the nitroglycerin test. For each of these methods, we summarize the results, analyse the methodological limitations and propose recommendations for improved methodology and standardization of research protocols.
Crossed Cerebellar Diaschisis During Migraine with Prolonged Aura: A Possible Mechanism for Cerebellar Infarctions
Authors: Dodick DW , Roarke MC
Published: October 2007

Migraineurs with frequent aura (≥1 per month) are at a 12-fold increased risk of posterior circulation infarctions. Although the mechanism is unclear, these lesions are located in the arterial borderzone of the cerebellum. This case illustrates, for the first time, crossed cerebellar diaschisis in a patient with migraine with prolonged aura, and raises the possibility that hypoperfusion may be responsible in part for the development of these lesions.
MIDAS and HIT-6 French Translation: Reliability and Correlation Between Tests
Authors: Magnoux E , Freeman MA , Zlotnik G
Published: October 2007

The aim was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the French translation of the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) and Headache Impact Test (HIT)-6 questionnaires as applied to episodic and chronic headaches and to assess the correlation between these two questionnaires. The MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires, which assess the degree of migraine-related functional disability, are widely used in headache treatment clinics. The French translation has not been checked for test-retest reliability. MIDAS involves recall, over the previous 3 months, of the number of days with functional disability with regard to work and to home and social life. HIT-6 involves a more subjective and general assessment of headache-related disability over the previous 4 weeks. We expect that there may be greater impact recall bias for chronic headaches than for episodic headaches and considered it important to be able to determine if the reliability of these questionnaires is equally good for these two patient populations. Given that both questionnaires have the same objective, that of assessing headache impact, it was thought useful to determine if their results might show a correlation and if they could thus be used interchangeably. The study was approved by an external ethics committee. The subjects were patients who regularly visit the Clinique de la Migraine de Montréal, which specializes in the treatment of headaches. The MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires were completed by the patients during their regular visit. Twelve days later, the same questionnaires were mailed with a prepaid return envelope. Sixty-five patients were required in both the episodic and chronic headache groups, assuming an 80± questionnaire return rate. One hundred and eighty-five patients were enrolled, and 143 completed the study, 75 with episodic headaches and 68 with chronic headaches. The questionnaire return rate was 78.9±. On average, questionnaires were completed a second time 21 days after the first, with a median of 19 days. The Shrout-Fleiss intraclass correlation coefficients for MIDAS and HIT-6 were, respectively, 0.76 and 0.77 for episodic headaches and 0.83 and 0.80 for chronic headaches. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires was 0.48 for episodic headaches and 0.58 for chronic headaches at the first compilation and 0.42 and 0.59 at the second compilation. The test-retest intraclass correlation of the French versions for both MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires indicates moderate reliability for episodic headache and substantial reliability for chronic headache. The correlation between the MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires is weak for episodic headaches, but approaches a level of ‘good’ for chronic headaches.
Work Stress and New-Onset Migraine in a Female Employee Population
Authors: Mäki K , Vahtera J , Virtanen M , Elovainio M , Keltikangas-Järvinen L , Kivimäki M
Published: October 2007

This prospective cohort study examined whether work stress, as indicated by the job strain model and the effort-reward imbalance model, predicts new-onset migraine among 19 469 female employees with no history of migraine at study entry. A baseline survey between 2000 and 2002 assessed work stress and demographic factors. Self-reported newly diagnosed migraine was measured at follow-up between 2004 and 2005 and 1281 new cases of migraine were detected. In logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, socioeconomic position and depression at baseline, no association between job strain and migraine was found. In contrast, high effort-reward imbalance was associated with slightly increased risk of migraine at follow-up, odds ratio 1.23 (95± confidence interval 1.04, 1.45). The proportion of new migraine cases attributable to high effort-reward imbalance was 6.2±. If the observed association is causal, our findings suggest that high effort-reward imbalance might function as a modifiable risk factor for new-onset migraine.
The fear of love: the denial of self in relationship
Authors: Knox Jean
Published: October 2007

Abstract:  This paper explores the fear of love and relationship which develops when a child has experienced parents who cannot tolerate emotional separation and so attempt to retain perfect contingency with their infant, long after the infant needs to begin to separate and individuate. The child is a ‘self‐object’ for the parents, who depend on the responses of others, including their own child, to maintain a sense of their own identity. The impact of this demand for ‘reverse parenting’ on the child's development is explored and clinical work with an adult patient whose history reflects this process is described.
Symbolic conceptions: the idea of the third
Authors: Colman Warren
Published: October 2007

Abstract:  The idea of the third which appears in Jung's concepts of the transcendent function and the coniunctio also occurs in several psychoanalytic theories concerning the emergence of reflective and symbolic thought in childhood development (defined here as the development of ‘imaginal capacity’). Noting the way this process is often conceived in terms of the metaphor of sexual intercourse leading to ‘conception’, this paper suggests that such images need to be understood as symbolic conceptions of the meaning‐making functions of the human mind. This leads to a different view of psychoanalytic theories that attempt to account for the development of imaginal capacity in terms of the Oedipus complex. It is suggested that a) these functions must be operative in the mind before the Oedipal situation can become meaningful and b) that psychoanalytic theories are themselves symbolic conceptions which, like mythological narratives, seek to communicate and comprehend psychic reality through imaginal forms.
Jung and Lévy‐Bruhl
Authors: Segal Robert A.
Published: October 2007

Abstract:  For his knowledge of ‘primitive’ peoples, C. G. Jung relied on the work of Lucien Lévy‐Bruhl (1857–1939), a French philosopher who in mid‐career became an armchair anthropologist. In a series of books from 1910 on, Lévy‐Bruhl asserted that ‘primitive’ peoples had been misunderstood by modern Westerners. Rather than thinking like moderns, just less rigorously, ‘primitives’ harbour a mentality of their own. ‘Primitive’ thinking is both ‘mystical’ and ‘prelogical’. By ‘mystical’, Lévy‐Bruhl meant that ‘primitive’ peoples experience the world as identical with themselves. Their relationship to the world, including to fellow human beings, is that of participation mystique. By ‘prelogical’, Lévy‐Bruhl meant that ‘primitive’ thinking is indifferent to contradictions. ‘Primitive’ peoples deem all things identical with one another yet somehow still distinct. A human is at once a tree and still a human being. Jung accepted unquestioningly Lévy‐Bruhl's depiction of the ‘primitive’ mind, even when Jung, unlike Lévy‐Bruhl, journeyed to the field to see ‘primitive’ peoples firsthand. But Jung altered Lévy‐Bruhl's conception of ‘primitive’ mentality in three key ways. First, he psychologized it. Whereas for Lévy‐Bruhl ‘primitive’ thinking is to be explained sociologically, for Jung it is to be explained psychologically: ‘primitive’ peoples think as they do because they live in a state of unconsciousness. Second, Jung universalized ‘primitive’ mentality. Whereas for Lévy‐Bruhl ‘primitive’ thinking is ever more being replaced by modern thinking, for Jung ‘primitive’ thinking is the initial psychological state of all human beings. Third, Jung appreciated ‘primitive’ thinking. Whereas for Lévy‐Bruhl ‘primitive’ thinking is false, for Jung it is true—once it is recognized as an expression not of how the world but of how the unconscious works. I consider, along with the criticisms of Lévy‐Bruhl's conception of ‘primitive’ thinking by his fellow anthropologists and philosophers, whether Jung in fact grasped all that Lévy‐Bruhl meant by ‘primitive’ thinking.
Estimating the effect of inbreeding on survival
Authors: Armstrong D. P. , Cassey P.
Published: October 2007

Conservation biologists need to be able to estimate reliably the effects of inbreeding on survival, and need to be able to do so with a range of different data types. Kalinowski and Hedrick described a non‐linear maximum likelihood estimation procedure for modelling relationships between survivorship and inbreeding. Although their method is useful for illustrating the concepts involved in modelling such relationships, it is only applicable to simple datasets. We illustrate that the parameter estimates generated by Kalinowski and Hedrick's method are easily obtained using generalized linear modelling procedures available in standard statistical packages, and that these offer several advantages even with simple datasets. We suggest procedures that can be used for modelling relationships between survival and inbreeding with more complex data types, including datasets with multiple and ragged encounters, uncertain detection and random effects.
Response of waterbird colonies in southern Louisiana to recent drought and hurricanes
Authors: Leberg P. L. , Green M. C. , Adams B. A. , Purcell K. M. , Luent M. C.
Published: October 2007

Although hurricanes have been implicated in causing shifts in waterbird use of individual colonies, little is known about whether or not these effects are consistent across broader areas affected by a storm. We examined the effects of Hurricane Rita, and to a lesser extent Katrina, and a subsequent drought, on the nesting activity of waterbirds across colonies located in southern Louisiana. Using ground counts, we compared changes in numbers of nesting pairs between 2005 and 2006, the years encompassing the hurricanes and drought, with changes between 2004 and 2005. Following the hurricanes, colonies were more likely to become inactive or experience large shifts in numbers of nesting pairs, compared with the period before the hurricanes. Although one third of the surveyed colonies became inactive following the hurricanes, total numbers of nesting birds of most species increased. We hypothesize that these increases were the result of birds shifting from damaged to active colonies. Colony use was negatively associated with the maximum wind speeds experienced at each site, apparently as a result of damage to nesting habitat. There were no associations of colony use with either storm‐related flooding or localized rainfall during the drought; however, this may be due to manipulation of water levels by management agencies. Our results suggest that monitoring colonies over a broad area is necessary to understand the influence of hurricanes on the nesting activity of waterbirds.
cisprimertool: software to implement a comparative genomics strategy for the development of conserved intron scanning (CIS) markers
Authors: JAYASHREE B. , JAGADEESH V. T. , HOISINGTON D.
Published: October 2007

The availability of complete, annotated genomic sequence information in model organisms is a rich resource that can be extended to understudied orphan crops through comparative genomic approaches. We report here a software tool (cisprimertool) for the identification of conserved intron scanning regions using expressed sequence tag alignments to a completely sequenced model crop genome. The method used is based on earlier studies reporting the assessment of conserved intron scanning primers (called CISP) within relatively conserved exons located near exon‐intron boundaries from onion, banana, sorghum and pearl millet alignments with rice. The tool is freely available to academic users at http://www.icrisat.org/gt‐bt/CISPTool.htm.
THE SECTILIA PANELS OF FARAGOLA (ASCOLI SATRIANO, SOUTHERN ITALY): A MULTI‐ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE RED, ORANGE AND YELLOW GLASS SLABS*
Authors: SANTAGOSTINO BARBONE A. , GLIOZZO E. , D’ACAPITO F. , MEMMI TURBANTI I. , TURCHIANO M. , VOLPE G.
Published: October 2007

SEM–EDS, EMPA, ICP–MS and ICP–OES were applied to the study of three sectilia panels made of red, orange and yellow glass slabs. In order to determine the chemical state of Cu, XAS was also performed. The results indicate that, with the exception of the red samples, all slabs were made by mixing a siliceous sand with natron. The red slabs show significant compositional differences with respect to K2O and MgO contents, probably linked to the use of plant ashes as a source of alkali. The red, orange and yellow slabs are coloured by metallic copper, cuprite and Pb antimonates, respectively. The comparison between the chemical composition of the Faragola samples and several glass reference groups did not provide conclusive evidence of provenance.
DETERIORATION ASSESSMENT OF WATERLOGGED ARCHAEOLOGICAL LIGNOCELLULOSIC MATERIAL VIA 13C CP/MAS NMR*
Authors: POURNOU A.
Published: October 2007

This study investigates the residual chemical composition of waterlogged archaeological lignocellulosic material found in Greece. Hazelnut pericarps and oak wood found in a 16th‐century wreck, along with endocarps of olives dated at 300 bc, were examined. 13C CP/MAS NMR was applied to compare fresh and waterlogged archaeological materials. Results show qualitative alterations in their composition. The virtual absence of peaks at ~21 ppm and ~173 ppm, corresponding to hemicelluloses in all archaeological materials, indicates that these constituents can be an important indicator in assessing the type and degree of deterioration.
COLD NEUTRON PROMPT GAMMA ACTIVATION ANALYSIS—A NON‐DESTRUCTIVE METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH SILICA CONTENT CHIPPED STONE TOOLS AND RAW MATERIALS*
Authors: KASZTOVSZKY ZS. , BIRÓ K. T. , MARKÓ A. , DOBOSI V.
Published: October 2007

Recently, several archaeometrical projects have been started on the prehistoric collection of the Hungarian National Museum. Among the analytical methods applied, non‐destructive prompt gamma activation analysis has a special importance. We have also tested the potential of this method on chipped stone tools, with the aim of determining their exact provenance. On the basis of major and trace element components, characterizations of stone tools and their raw materials—silicites (flint, chert, radiolarite and hornstone) as well as volcanites (felsitic porphyry and obsidian)—were performed. We discuss some important results concerning each group, as case studies. Compiling the data set of different PGAA analysis series, compositions of 110 samples are reported, including 76 archaeological pieces. In the future, we plan to extend the number of investigated objects in each class.
METHODS OF USING PHYLOGENETIC SYSTEMATICS TO RECONSTRUCT THE HISTORY OF THE LINEAR B SCRIPT*
Authors: SKELTON C.
Published: October 2007

Phylogenetic systematics, developed in biology for reconstructing evolutionary histories of organisms, has been successfully applied to languages and manuscripts. This paper pioneers its use for writing systems, with Linear B, a pre‐alphabetic Greek script, the test subject. Taxa represent scribal hands. Phylogenetic characters represent different forms of the same Linear B sign. The tree produced by running the data matrix using parsimony as the optimality criterion is consistent with and clarifies what is known or hypothesized about the history of Linear B. This demonstrates the effectiveness of using phylogenetic analysis to reconstruct the history of writing systems.
The Staffing–Outcomes Relationship in Nursing Homes
Authors: Konetzka R. Tamara , Stearns Sally C. , Park Jeongyoung
Published: October 2007

Objective. To assess longitudinally whether a change in registered nurse (RN) staffing and skill mix leads to a change in nursing home resident outcomes while controlling for the potential endogeneity of staffing.

Data Sources. Minimum Data Set (MDS) nursing home resident assessment data from five states merged with Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) data from 1996 through 2000.

Study Design. Resident‐level longitudinal analysis with facility fixed effects and instrumental variables. Outcomes studied are incidence of pressure sores and urinary tract infections. RN staffing was measured as the care hours per resident‐day and skill mix was measured as RN staffing hours as a proportion of total staffing hours.

Data Extraction Method. We use all quarterly MDS assessments that fall within 120 days of an annual OSCAR data point, resulting in 399,206 resident‐level observations.

Principal Findings. Controlling for endogeneity of staffing increases the estimated impact of staffing on outcomes in nursing homes. Greater RN staffing significantly decreases the likelihood of both adverse outcomes. Increasing skill mix only reduces the incidence of urinary tract infections.

Conclusions. Research that fails to account for endogeneity of the staffing–outcomes relationship may underestimate the benefit from increased RN staffing. Increases in RN staffing are likely to reduce adverse outcomes in some nursing homes. More research using a broader array of instruments and a national sample would be beneficial.
Prescription Drug Coverage and Effects on Drug Expenditures among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries
Authors: Huh Soonim , Rice Thomas , Ettner Susan L.
Published: October 2007

Objective. To identify determinants of drug coverage among elderly Medicare beneficiaries and to investigate the impact of drug coverage on drug expenditures with and without taking selection bias into account.

Data Sources/Study Setting. The primary data were from the 2000 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) Cost and Use file, linked to other data sources at the county or state‐level that provided instrumental variables. Community‐dwelling elderly Medicare beneficiaries who completed the survey were included in the study (N=7,525). A probit regression to predict the probability of having drug coverage and the effects of drug coverage on drug expenditures was estimated by a two‐part model, assuming no correlation across equations. In addition, the discrete factor model estimated choice of drug coverage and expenditures for prescription drugs simultaneously to control for self‐selection into drug coverage, allowing for correlation of error terms across equations.

Principal Findings. Findings indicated that unobservable characteristics leading elderly Medicare beneficiaries to purchase drug coverage also lead them to have higher drug expenditures on conditional use (i.e., adverse selection), while the same unobservable factors do not influence their decisions whether to use any drugs. After controlling for potential selection bias, the probability of any drug use among persons with drug coverage use was 4.5 percent higher than among those without, and drug coverage led to an increase in drug expenditures of $308 among those who used prescription drugs.

Conclusions. Given significant adverse selection into drug coverage before the implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act, it is essential that selection effects be monitored as beneficiaries choose whether or not to enroll in this voluntary program.
Social Survey Research1 in Japanese Sociology
Authors: Tamano Kazushi
Published: October 2007

Abstract:  In this paper, we look at the history of social survey development in Japanese sociology. First, the history of social research in Japan before World War II is explored. Second, the introduction of survey research to Japan during the American occupation after World War II is examined, and third, the present state and roles of social survey research in Japanese sociology is discussed. Social research was introduced as an administrative tool for the government. Sociology and social research were developed under British empiricism and American pragmatism, but Japanese academia has been based on a metaphysical approach. Social research introduced as a practical tool long had difficulty in being accepted by Japanese academia. For this reason, most sociologists in universities did not use social survey research for practical purposes, but pursued qualitative methodologies for analyzing data to gain academic prestige even after Social Stratification and Mobility (SSM) and Sabro Yasuda's research projects spread social survey methods in the field of Japanese sociology. Such academics did not think that findings acquired through qualitative case studies had to be confirmed through quantitative data to serve a practical purpose, nor did they believe that quantitative data could be better understood when examined along side qualitative data. Social survey methods have been opposed by those who have favored case‐study analysis methods in Japanese sociology. Needless to say, this opposition is fruitless. I propose that professional sociologists in Japanese universities should use social survey research for practical problems more frequently. This is the best way to establish sociology and social research as a science in Japanese society.
Problems Relating to Declining Response Rates to Social Survey Research in Japan: Trends After 2000
Authors: Inaba Akihide
Published: October 2007

Abstract: Sociologists in Japan recognize that the circumstances under which social survey research is conducted have been deteriorating and have become critical since 2000. Social survey research is understood as a large‐scale survey that mainly draws samples by a random sampling method, using a questionnaire as a measurement tool. The crises of social survey research are summarized as following: (1) the increasing difficulty of conducting accurate sampling and (2) the decline in response rates to drawn samples (planned samples). This paper focuses on the decline in response rates to social survyes by examining recent trends in relation to social surveys conducted by the Japanese government and local government (prefectures). In summary, there has been a landslidedecline of the response rate between 2005 and 2006 in surveys conducted by Japanese government. This decline was thought to mainly come from the declining of response rates among the elderly and women, groups that had previously had high response rates. This seems to be the result of the growing level of the crime involving the abuse of the personal information. However, there did not appear to be a serious decline in the response rate for surveys conducted by local governments. Given that it is not easy to restore response rates, it is important to develop research methods and techniques to cope with the decline. Further, informing respondents of the purpose of the research and its benefit to may help raise response rates.
The Demize of Comparative Sociology? Globalization and its Shadow
Authors: Nomiya Daishiro
Published: October 2007

Abstract:Comparative sociology is stranded; as a result of globalization, it is losing the ground upon which it was built. In cross‐national studies, a longstanding research tradition in sociology, globalization blurs the national in material and non‐material ways, and thus erodes two fundamental principles any comparative studies need to obey: case independence and case comparability. Two familiar solutions—the nationalist approach and the globalist approach—do not work in the face of globalization. This paper argues instead that the emergent property approach and the variable approach, strategies that respect both global and national–local forces, are viable alternatives for future comparative sociologists to follow.
The Possibility of Mixed‐Mode Surveys in Sociological Studies
Authors: Hayashi Takuya
Published: October 2007

Abstract:  This paper explores the possibility of the mixed‐mode survey in Japan in order to ensure a wider range of respondents, focusing on the specific type of mixture that is designed to make contact with a respondent by more than one mode and in which a respondent can choose an alternative mode convenient for him or her. The dataset mainly used comes from the survey Study on the Social Composition of the Urban Local Community conducted in Shinagawa Ward of Tokyo in 1999. Three other studies are introduced for additional information. As an indicator of the effectiveness of a mixed‐mode design, the response rates of four studies are examined and some improvement in the response rates is observed, compared to that of a single‐mode design. Another indicator is the representativeness of a sample and it is evaluated using the data of the Shinagawa survey. When the discrepancy between valid respondents and the population on some demographic characteristics is regarded as representation bias, a mixed‐mode design is found to reduce the bias. An inherent problem in a mixed‐mode design is “mode effect.” In order to control for the mode effect in analyses, the inclusion of an additional variable indicating “mode” in the model is recommended. It is further suggested that the interaction effects between the “mode” and the respondents’ traits should be checked, on the assumption that the survey mode affects respondents differently. The attempts are made and discussed in this paper using two variables drawn from the Shinagawa survey.
‘Never was I the golden cloud’: Ovidian myth, ambiguous speaker and the narrative in the sonnet sequences by Petrarch, Sidney and Spenser
Authors: Kambasković‐Sawers Danijela
Published: October 2007

While the sonnets of the Petrarchan discourse receive continuous critical attention, mechanisms used to bind sonnet sequences into integrated works of fiction remain unexamined. This essay looks at the way Petrarch, Sidney and Spenser employ refracted Ovidian myth to create ambiguous first‐person speakers for Il Canzoniere, Astrophil and Stella and Amoretti, in order to suggest that the sonneteers used shifting self‐fictionalization and poetics of subtextual ambiguity to foster reader involvement and perception of the sequence as an integral work, a concern which betrays the presence of novelistic thinking. (pp. 637–661)
Masking and politics: the Alison Craik incident, Edinburgh 1561
Authors: Carpenter Sarah
Published: October 2007

The informal performance traditions and theatre games of the sixteenth century had the capacity not only to shape social encounters but also to influence contemporary responses to, and interpretation of, those encounters. Analysis of one domestic masking visit in Edinburgh shows how it functioned as both enactment and interpretation of social and political relations in Scotland in the early months following Mary Queen of Scots return from France in 1561. Topical tensions involving social status, gender, political, religious and national affiliation all find tacit expression through the structure and cultural implications of the masking game. (pp. 625–636)
Textual sacraments: capturing the numinous in the sermons of Lancelot Andrewes
Authors: Reisner Noam
Published: October 2007

Historical analyses of Lancelot Andrewes’ churchmanship and elevated view of the Eucharist often tend to run parallel to discussions of his elaborate prose style, but the connection between the two has not been fully or adequately explored. Though ostensibly ‘metaphysical’ in character, Andrewes’ prose style and rhetorical techniques are primarily a symptom of his religious thinking. His unique use of figurative language, seemingly pedantic display of linguistic erudition and famous practices of scriptural ‘text‐crumbling’ are all grounded in the profound Christology at the heart of his sacramentalism and his belief that words preached in the process of promoting the sacrament enjoy in a borrowed sense a similar measure of ‘real presence’. The vast majority of Andrewes’ surviving sermons end with a call to take Communion in a solemn, uplifting ceremony. Such sermons are self‐consciously anti‐sermonic, because their aim is not merely to confer grace through the preaching of the Word, but to offer a literary ‘sacramental’ experience through the process of rhetorically capturing and conveying the numinous presence of the religious mystery at hand.
Girolamo Cardano: the last years of a polymath
Authors: Maclean Ian
Published: October 2007

In spite of repeated assurances to his readers that he had given up new projects and would devote himself to polishing and revising writings that had not yet been printed, Girolamo Cardano continued to produce works up to his death in 1576 or 1577. Many of these were composed during his time as a medical professor in Bologna (1562–70); a smaller number were written after his imprisonment by the Inquisition in 1570, and his subsequent move to Rome. After his death, his literary executors almost certainly added manuscripts from other sources to his Nachlass. The whole collection was eventually put on sale by a Parisian bookseller in 1654, and was used in the publication of Cardano's Opera omnia of 1663. This article examines some the issues raised by the works composed in Bologna and Rome, and covers both the question of attribution and the problems that arise from their manner of composition. Cardano's late works are placed in the context of his own various encyclopedic ventures and the different fields of knowledge recognized in his day. What emerges is his enduring interest in medicine, ethics and mathematics, and his preoccupation with divinatory sciences, as revealed by the unfinished work on decision theory and prediction entitled De prudentia eximia. An appendix offers a chronology of the works written between 1562–1576, and identifies dubia and spuria among the works attributed to Cardano.
‘Both English and Latin’: Milton's bilingual Muse
Authors: Haan Estelle
Published: October 2007

This paper examines bilingual speaking voices in Paradise Lost within the wider contexts of Renaissance pedagogy, Milton's Latin writings composed at Cambridge and in Italy, the Renaissance questione della lingua, and his self‐presentation in the 1645 volume: Poems Both English and Latin. It argues that in Milton's vernacular epic the Latinless reader is, like Eve, surprised by syntax: bemused, seduced, confounded by the linguistic alterity of a Satan whose use and abuse of Latinate language enables him to function as a serpens bilinguis, a double‐tongued Ciceronian orator, and also by way of a possible pun on ‘brute’ as a second Brutus assassinating Eve, a second Caesar. It concludes by examining the bilingual authorial voice, a voice that is ‘both English and Latin’ and whose essential Latinitas can function perhaps as a signifier of the classical intertexts with which the poem engages.