bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Overview of CellML 1.1, a Biological Model Description Language
Authors: Cuellar Autumn A. , Lloyd Catherine M. , Nielsen Poul F. , Bullivant David P. , Nickerson David P. , Hunter Peter J.
Published: April 2004

CellML is an XML-based exchange format developed by the University of Auckland in collaboration with Physiome Sciences, Inc. CellML 1.1 has a component-based architecture allowing a modeller to build complex systems of models that expand and reuse previously published models. CellML Metadata is a format for encoding contextual information for a model. CellML 1.1 can be used in conjunction with CellML Metadata to provide a complete description of the structure and underlying mathematics of biological models. A repository of over 200 electrophysiological, mechanical, signal transduction, and metabolic pathway models is available at www.cellml.org.
An Approach for Dividing Models of Biological Reaction Networks into Functional Units
Authors: Ederer Michael , Sauter Thomas , Bullinger Eric , Gilles Ernst-Dieter , Allgöwer Frank
Published: April 2004

Biological reaction networks consist of many substances and reactions between them. Like many other biological systems, they have a modular structure. Therefore, a division of a biological reaction network into smaller units highly facilitates its investigation. The authors propose an algorithm to divide an ordinary differential equation (ODE) model of a biological reaction network hierarchically into functional units. For every compound, an activity function dependent on concentration or concentration change rate is defined. After performing suitable simulations, distances between the compounds are computed by comparing the activities along the trajectories of the simulation. The distance information is used to generate a dendrogram revealing the internal structure of the reaction network. The algorithm identifies functional units in two models of different networks: catabolite repression in Escherichia coli and epidermal growth factor (EGF) signal transduction in mammalian cells.
Experimental Design in Systems Biology, Based on Parameter Sensitivity Analysis Using a Monte Carlo Method: A Case Study for the TNFα-Mediated NF-κ B Signal Transduction Pathway
Authors: Cho Kwang-Hyun , Shin Sung-Young , Kolch Walter , Wolkenhauer Olaf
Published: April 2004

Mathematical modeling and dynamic simulation of signal transduction pathways is a central theme in systems biology and is increasingly attracting attention in the postgenomic era. The estimation of model parameters from experimental data remains a bottleneck for a major breakthrough in this area. This study’s aim is to introduce a new strategy for experimental design based on parameter sensitivity analysis. The approach identifies key parameters/variables in a signal transduction pathway model and can thereby provide experimental biologists with guidance on which proteins to consider for measurement. The article focuses on applying this approach to the TNFα-mediated NF-κB pathway, which plays an important role in immunity and inflammation and in the control of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. A mathematical model of this pathway is proposed, and the sensitivity analysis of model parameters is illustrated for this model by employing the Monte Carlo method over a broad range of parameter values.
Simulating Collision Probabilities of Landing Airplanes at Nontowered Airports
Authors: Shortle John F. , Xie Yue , Chen C. H. , Donohue George L.
Published: April 2004

Making greater use of smaller airports is one way that has been proposed to increase the capacity of the National Airspace System. A major difficulty is that many small airports do not have control towers, and thus capacity is severely limited during poor visibility. The authors consider a proposed system in which airplanes self-separate, so they are able to land at higher capacities without a control tower. Before such a system is implemented, it must first be shown to be safe. Safety is a difficult metric to measure and predict because accidents are so rare. Even computer simulation can be slow because of the long time to observe accidents. One methodology that has been successful in assessing aviation safety through simulation is TOPAZ (Traffic Organizer and Perturbation AnalyZer). In this study, the authors apply the methodology to assess the safety of the proposed nontowered system.
The Jet:Wise Model of National Air Space System Evolution
Authors: Niedringhaus William P.
Published: April 2004

Jet:Wise is an agent-based model that explores the evolution of the airline industry and its interactions with the National Airspace System (NAS). It models competitive decisions airlines make, such as setting fleet mix, itineraries, schedules, and fares and responding to delays and missed connections. The model addresses questions of the form, “How would a specific, quantifiable change in one aspect of the NAS affect the entire NAS?” Examples include changes in operational costs, passenger demand, and flight times; removal of certain Federal Aviation Administration restrictions; improvements in technology; new facilities; congestion pricing; mergers; startup airlines; and the expansion of low-cost carriers. Understanding their complex interaction is beyond the ability of traditional modeling tools and has not been attempted until now. Validation evidence is presented: Jet:Wise is shown to produce a close correlation between simulated and observed leisure passenger counts both by origin-destination city pairs and for individual flights.
Rapid Prototyping of Airport Advanced Operational Systems and Procedures through Distributed Simulation
Authors: Adelantado Martin
Published: April 2004

Despite the recent crisis in civil aviation, most agree that air traffic growth will soon recover and rise even further. To meet the expected airport demand and improve efficiency of ground operations while maintaining safety, several new operational systems and procedures are being tested and evaluated. Rapid prototyping through modeling and simulation remains a well-suited approach to meet evaluation and assessment requirements. Likewise, simulation is increasingly part of the decision support tools used by both air and ground traffic managers and the airline industry for short-term decision making. Within this context, the French Aeronautics and Space Research Center is designing a set of modeling and simulation tools for rapid prototyping of advanced operational systems and procedures. The main goal of this initiative is to develop an open, scalable, and reusable simulation architecture, facilitating both integration of additional components and interoperability between them, to evaluate and compare several airport configurations.
An Object-Oriented Approach to Risk and Reliability Analysis: Methodology and Aviation Safety Applications
Authors: Wyss Gregory D. , Durán Felicia A. , Dandini Vincent J.
Published: April 2004

This article describes how features of event tree analysis and Monte Carlo–based discrete event simulation can be combined with concepts from object-oriented analysis to develop a new risk assessment methodology, with some of the best features of each. The resultant object-based event scenario tree (OBEST) methodology enables an analyst to rapidly construct realistic models for scenarios for which an a priori discovery of event ordering is either cumbersome or impossible. Each scenario produced by OBEST is automatically associated with a likelihood estimate because probabilistic branching is integral to the object model definition. The OBEST methodology is then applied to an aviation safety problem that considers mechanisms by which an aircraft might become involved in a runway incursion incident. The resulting OBEST model demonstrates how a close link between human reliability analysis and probabilistic risk assessment methods can provide important insights into aviation safety phenomenology.
Simulation Model Design of a Security System Based on a Policy-Based Framework
Authors: Seo Hee Suk , Cho Tae Ho
Published: April 2004

The management of network infrastructure is difficult and complex with the growth of the Internet. In an era of increasing technical complexity, it is becoming difficult to find trained personnel who can manage the new features introduced into the various servers, routers, and security systems. This article describes the modeling and simulation of a security system based on a policy-based framework that has some merits. Each component is implemented in a hybrid design using modeling concepts from discrete event system specification (DEVS) formalism and problem-solving concepts from the blackboard architecture of artificial intelligence. The authors propose that the intrusion detection system detects intrusions by using the blackboard and reports this information to the policy-based framework for automatic management. The policy server informs the firewall about this situation to prevent damage to the network.
‘We Hate the English, Except for You, Cos You’re Our Pal’
Authors: McIntosh Ian , Sim Duncan , Robertson Douglas
Published: April 2004

This article explores the experiences of the largest minority group in Scotland: the English-born. To date the English in Scotland are a relatively under researched group. Our research indicates that a key experience for many English people in Scotland is that of a constant reminder of difference. This can make questions of ‘belonging’ problematic. Constructions of ‘Englishness’, via often routine and mundane interactions with Scottish people, were often foisted upon those perceived to be English. This has implications for how we understand ‘Englishness’ and ‘Scottishness’ and the development of national identities more generally; particularly for minority groups. The article also argues that for many Scots ‘the English’ continue to be the key ‘other’ that helps to define what it is to be ‘Scottish’.
Childhood, Politics and Ambiguity
Authors: Wyness Michael , Harrison Lisa , Buchanan Ian
Published: April 2004

This article examines the relationship between children, young people and the world of politics. Whilst the past decade or so has seen the development of initiatives that draw children within the political sphere, there are powerful political and social forces that position children as dependent subalterns and thus exclude them from political participation.We address this ambiguous situation by referring to competing discourses on childhood: the discourse on children’s needs that foregrounds their transitional social status and an imperative to protect, and a set of ideas that revolves around children having collective ‘interests’ that require political articulation. In drawing out these competing discourses, the article addresses a range of ‘inclusive’ policies at global, national and local levels.
Women Architects and Their Discontents
Authors: Fowler Bridget , Wilson Fiona
Published: April 2004

The article critically investigates recent assumptions that professional women are en route to equality with professional men by assessing the field of architecture as a case study. It addresses the poorer completion rates for women architectural students, together with the lower proportions of professionally registered and promoted women architects.The article explores, in particular, Bourdieu’s theories of gender divisions and higher professions as an explanatory grid for understanding these phenomena, deploying especially two late works, Masculine Domination (2001) and The State Nobility (1996). It is argued that the extended Bourdieusian theory of practice illuminates the interview data gathered from women architects, especially through its emphasis on a disposition to naturalize domination. While Bourdieu’s position is not without weaknesses, this theory sheds light on the difficulties women practitioners are found to face empirically, especially in combining architecture and parenting.
The Shell, the Stranger and the Competent Other
Authors: Scott Susie
Published: April 2004

In contemporary Western societies, shyness appears to be an increasingly common experience, and yet its sociological relevance has been overlooked. Within psychology, the condition has been seen as an individual pathology, and there has been little attempt to relate this to the wider cultural context. The argument of this article is that shyness can be interpreted as both a privately felt state of mind and a publicly recognized social role. I revisit Mead’s conception of the self as an inner conversation between the ‘I’ and the ‘Me’, arguing that the shy actor perceives themselves as relatively unskilled in interaction by comparison to a ‘Competent Other’. It is then suggested that it is normal for people to drift into isolated episodes of shyness as primary deviance, but that in some cases the reactions of others can lead to a career of secondary deviance. However, while a display of shyness may be normalized in certain situations, in others it can pose a more serious or enduring threat to the residual rules of interaction.This motivates the non-shy majority to defend their normative assumptions by casting moral blame upon the individual, and reframes the ‘problem’ outside of society.
Methodological Pluralism in British Sociology
Authors: Payne Geoff , Williams Malcolm , Chamberlain Suzanne
Published: April 2004

The dominant position on research methodology and methods among British sociologists has for many years been that of ‘methodological pluralism’. However, concerns have lately been expressed about the lack of research involving quantitative methods, not least by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). A study of the four mainstream British journals over two years, together with associated sources, demonstrates national patterns of research methods used in published work, the topics tackled and variations between authors in the methods chosen. The findings suggest empirical support for the concerns recently expressed by the ESRC, and an argument, not for less qualitative research, but for more quantitative research.
Economic Crime Control in Finland
Authors: Alvesalo Anne , Tombs Steve
Published: April 2004

The activities of criminal justice systems focus almost entirely upon the crimes of the relatively powerless. If this relative downplaying of the crimes of the powerful is both a ubiquitous and long-term phenomenon, it has become more pronounced in a period marked by ‘globalization’, within which states are less rather than more likely to regulate business. In this research note, we report upon a recent initiative in Finland, aimed at controlling economic crime, an initiative that is important for at least two reasons. First, because it indicates that attempts at such control are at least possible and, second, because it allows us to identify some of the preconditions for such an initiative to be put into place. We set out some of the basic elements of the crime control initiative before turning to examine how and why this control initiative was able to emerge. Finally, we consider what implications can be drawn from this.
Habitus and the Practical Logic of Practice
Authors: Lau Raymond W.K.
Published: April 2004

Bourdieu confuses himself and others by calling his project a ‘transcendence’ of the objectivist–subjectivist antinomy. Contrary to claims, Bourdieu’s methodology and theoretical premises are directly opposed to phenomenological social constructivism, though he makes use of several key phenomenological concepts. Habitus enriches the objectivist perspective by specifying a partial theory of agency which, contrary to critics, is non-reductionist. Habitus’ current formulation and usage brim with inconsistencies and ambiguities. It is non-reflective but not corporeal; it should not be equated to cultural capital; it is specifiable into concrete components instead of being ‘difficult to specify empirically’.The concepts of practical logic and doxa are connatural to habitus, but the concept of strategy derives from a different premise and is non-essential to habitus.The above interpretation derives from the critical realist view. An empirical study of China’s trade unionists is provided for illustration.
‘New Ways to Remember...’: Community in Southern Africa
Authors: Vale Peter
Published: April 2004

Mainstream International Relations constructs southern Africa through the power and omnipresence of the region’s nation states. Using an interpretative opening offered to social science by the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, this article challenges this particular approach to the idea of regional community. It argues that the construction of the region’s first Westphalian state, South Africa, was an incidental occurrence contingent on a series of other events, including the discovery of mineral wealth. While the grand historical narrative near-obliterated forms of community that lie below the region’s modernist framing, other forms of community are increasingly identifiable. Although apartheid has ended, these other forms, rather than the states, offer the region’s people the opportunity for lasting emancipation.
Speciality Polymer Blends of Polybutylene Terephthalate and Glass-Filled Liquid Crystalline Polymer
Authors: Sahoo N. G. , Das C. K. , Jeong H. , Ha C. S.
Published: April 2004

The blends of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) with glass-filled thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP-g) was prepared by a melt mixing technique. The rheological, crystalline, thermal, dynamic mechanical, and morphological characteristics of these blends were investigated. The viscosity of the blends was higher than PBT in the whole shear rate range. At low shear rate, the viscosity of blends decreased with LCP concentration. Higher percent crystallinity was observed with increasing LCP-g content in the blend with PBT. The thermal stability increased with LCP-g content in the blend with PBT. The relaxation phenomenon as observed from DMTA analysis was changing depending on the blend ratio. The variation of stiffness and storage modulus as a function of LCP-g concentration at various temperatures suggested the phase inversion occurred at 40% LCP-g present in the blend. The orientation of the LCP-g molecules probably play a major role in determining the surface morphology rather than the surface free energy difference.
Restricting the HyperelasticModels for Elastomers Basedon Some Thermodynamical,Mechanical, and Empirical Criteria
Authors: Bilgiliy Ecevit
Published: April 2004

The stress–strain relation for rubber-like or elastomeric polymersis derivable from a strain energy function within the context of hyperelasticity.In the mechanical characterization of elastomers, a certain functional form ofthe strain energy function is considered in a hyperelastic constitutive modelthat is fitted to some experimental stress–strain data via regression analysis. Thisallows the experimenters to identify the parameters in the strain energy function.Unfortunately, most researchers performed a blind fit to the experimental datawithout restricting the strain energy function, which could lead to non-sensicalprediction of the material behavior in complex deformations. The current studypresents some thermodynamical, mechanical, and empirical criteria that restrictthe hyperelastic models, thus enabling the experimenters to find physicallyplausible material parameters. As an application of the criteria, the Yeoh modelwas restricted, and some specific constitutive inequalities were derived.
HIV Prevention Research for African Americans: Current and Future Directions
Authors: Beatty Lula A. , Wheeler Darrell , Gaiter Juarlyn
Published: April 2004

African Americans experience HIV and AIDS at a rate 10 times greater than the U.S. White population. Although there have been advances in HIV risk-reduction strategies, these efforts have not been as successful in decreasing HIV infection in the African American population. This article reviews the research base of HIV prevention interventions to identify research that will lead to the development of more effective prevention strategies for African Americans. Major limitations found in the research include the exclusion of African Americans in studies, particularly those at higher risk, and the lack of using culturally based theory to guide research. Recommendations for improving research are offered. They include conducting research that focuses on structural interventions rather than individuals, controlling for diversity within the African American population, defining culture when using it in research, and developing a cadre of African American researchers involved in prevention intervention studies.
HIV Risk-Reduction Strategies for Substance Abusers: Effecting Behavior Change
Authors: Jones Dionne J.
Published: April 2004

Substance abuse has a strong link to HIV/AIDS in the United States. Use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs often reduce inhibitions and encourage engagement in high-risk sexual behaviors that can ultimately result in HIV and AIDS. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States has disproportionately affected minorities with African Americans being the group hardest hit. This article presents some of the behavioral, social, and psychological factors that influence the risk for drug use. It highlights and assesses the effectiveness of HIV risk-reduction strategies developed for drug-using populations and makes recommendations for a more holistic and integrated approach utilizing multiple interventions at multiple levels.
The STD and HIV Epidemics in African American Youth: Reconceptualizing Approaches to Risk Reduction
Authors: Miller Kim S. , Boyer Cherrie B. , Cotton Garnette
Published: April 2004

Sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), disproportionately affect African American adolescents and young adults. Many of our current strategies and approaches have been inadequate in the promotion of risk reduction among youth and need to be reconceptualized. This article identifies issues that may guide researchers to better address the risks faced by African American youth. Some of these issues include tailoring of intervention messages and programs, timing of intervention delivery, consideration of contextual factors that influence risk behaviors, and increasing the breadth of our intervention focus. Discussions of how these strategies and approaches may enhance intervention effectiveness are highlighted.
Intervening in the HIV/AIDS Crisis: The Role of Black Psychologists
Authors: Roberts George W. , Miller Robin L.
Published: April 2004

Over the prior 2 decades, HIV and AIDS have ravaged the Black community. This article summarizes the epidemiologic, social, and psychological impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals and affected subpopulations in the Black community. An overview is then provided of prevailing research on psychological and mental health issues in HIV/AIDS-related prevention and care that highlights key issues of concern to Black psychologists and areas in which Black psychologists are well positioned to make important contributions to the field. In conclusion, specific suggestions for Black psychologists to become more involved in work on HIV/AIDS are provided.
HIV Prevention Research: Are We Meeting the Needs of African American Men Who Have Sex with Men?
Authors: Mays Vickie M. , Cochran Susan D. , Zamudio Anthony
Published: April 2004

Two decades of HIV prevention efforts with men who have sex with men (MSM) have not eliminated the risk of new HIV infections in this vulnerable population. Indeed, current incidence rates in African American MSM are similar to those usually only seen in developing countries. A review of the existing literature suggests that the prevention research agenda for Black MSM could benefit from reframing conceptualization of risk as a function of individual properties to a broad consideration of social and interpersonal determinants. Studies that investigate dyadic and social-level influences on African American MSM’s relationships are needed. This includes research explicating the diversity existing within the categorizations of Black MSM with respect to perceived identity (gay, bisexual, “men on the down low,” “homo thugz”), constructions of masculinity, sexual scripts, sources of social support, and perceived norms and expectations. Recommendations are proposed for a research agenda focusing on linkages between interpersonal and social-structural determinants of HIV risk.
The Substance of Things Hoped for: a Study of the Future Orientation, Minority Status Perceptions, Academic Engagement, and Academic Performance of Black High School Students
Authors: Brown William T. , Jones James M.
Published: April 2004

This study investigated the relationship between the Future Temporal Orientation (FTO) and academic performance of African American high school students. We hypothesized that the relationship between FTO and academic performance would be mediated by students’ perceptions of the usefulness of an education and their valuing of academic work and that the relationships between FTO and the hypothesized mediators would be moderated by students’ perceptions of school and societal inequity. The students (N = 334) completed questionnaires assessing their temporal orientation and educational attitudes, and GPAs were gathered from their transcripts. Results and post hoc analyses supported the existence of a three-step process: FTO was associated with perceptions of education usefulness, which was then associated with valuing academic work (a relationship moderated by perceived unfair treatment at school), which was then associated with GPAs. The significance of FTO development as a normative process and possible protective factor against depressed academic achievement are discussed.
African American Women and AIDS: Factors Influencing Risk and Reaction to HIV Disease
Authors: McNair Lily D. , Prather Cynthia M.
Published: April 2004

African American women represent the fastest growing group of individuals infected with HIV in the United States. Social and contextual influences on HIV risk vulnerability in this group are discussed, with particular emphasis on risk behaviors related to heterosexual contact and injection drug use. Social factors associated with the sex-ratio imbalance and low rates of condom use in the African American community are addressed, as are contextual influences related to environmental stress and psychosocial issues. We describe interventions that directly address both social and contextual influences on African American women’s risk behaviors. Finally, mental health and psychological concerns are presented as a framework for better understanding women’s reactions to HIV/AIDS and for developing comprehensive programs and services that better meet their needs.
The Geographic Concentration of Knowledge: Scale, Agglomeration, and Congestion in Innovation Across U.S. States
Authors: Sedgley Norman , Elmslie Bruce
Published: April 2004

Evidence of the importance of agglomeration economies in productivity is reported by a number of studies in regional economics. We extend the literature by looking into agglomeration and congestion in innovation and technological change using an endogenous innovation approach. It turns out that the geographic specificity of knowledge spillovers is also a central concern. Using data from U.S. states, evidence is found that knowledge spillovers are geographically concentrated but agglomeration economies far outweigh congestion effects. These results have important implications for new growth theory as well as regional economics because growth theorists have abandoned the scale implications of their models.
Space-Time Analysis of GDP Disparities among European Regions: A Markov Chains Approach
Authors: Le Gallo Julie
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this article is to study the evolution of GDP disparities among 138 European regions over the period from 1980 to 1995. Regional per capitaGDPcross-sectional distribution is characterized by means of nonparametric estimations of density functions, and the growth process is modeled as a first-order stationary Markov chain. Spatial effects are then introduced within the Markov chain framework using regional conditioning and spatial Markov chains. The results of the analysis indicate the persistence of regional disparities, a progressive bias toward a poverty trap, and the importance of geography in the convergence process.
The Determinants of Employment Creation in Small Regional Firms
Authors: Papanikos Gregory T.
Published: April 2004

This article examines the determinants of employment creation in small regional firms. Anumber of factors are considered that account for the external and internal environment of the firm. A simple theoretical model of employment creation is developed where the determinants of a firm’s employment are the volume of production, the capital of the firm, and the uncertainty of the demand as evaluated by the individual entrepreneur. Employment is found to be positively related to sales, the amount of required paperwork, the application of new production processes, and the openness of the establishment to new ideas. There is no significant qualitative difference in results when a distinction is made between male and female workers. However, in terms of the magnitude of results, female employment is more difficult to account for (lower coefficient of determination), and firms employing females are more likely to be innovative.
Religion and State Failure: An Examinationof the Extent and Magnitude of Religiousconflict from 1950 to 1996
Authors: Fox Jonathan
Published: April 2004

Although the role of religion in conflict has been gaining increasing attention in recent times, few cross-sectional studies have examined the extent to which internal conflict since World War II has been religious, and those that have done so are limited in either the type of conflict or time span they cover. Accordingly, this article uses the State Failure data set to assess whether the relative and absolute number of religious conflicts since World War II has increased, whether these conflicts are more intense than other conflicts, and whether any particular religions participate in conflict more often than others. The findings show that while occurring less often than other types of conflicts, religious conflicts have increased between 1950 and 1996, and are more intense than nonreligious conflicts. Also, Christian groups disproportionally participate in internal conflict, but most of those conflicts are with other Christian groups. This, along with other findings of the study, contradicts major elements of Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” theory.
Are Two Theories Better Than One? A Constructivist Model of the Neorealist–Neoliberal Debate
Authors: Thies Cameron G.
Published: April 2004

This article constructs a test of the logical consistency of neorealism and neoliberalism by applying McPhee’s (1963) survival model to international relations theory. McPhee’s model demonstrates how some cultural artifacts survive over time, while others are forgotten or eliminated from the cultural canon. Employing Wendt’s notion of roles as cultural artifacts in conjunction with McPhee’s model allows us to clarify the logical assumptions and implications of neorealism and neoliberalism. I argue that neorealism is best characterized by the logic of a single screening system and neoliberalism by a repetitive screening system. The logical test that follows demonstrates that both theories are internally consistent with respect to the cultures of anarchy they predict.However, the logic of the repetitive screening model demonstrates that neoliberalism is theoretically more capable of dealing with the complexity of interstate relations. I suggest that the distinction between neorealism and neoliberalism is based upon a flawed understanding of the operation of process and structure within the international system. This misunderstanding, when clarified by the survival model and constructivist theory, indicates that the two competing theories are actually variants of a single, underlying model.
Preferential Voting: Incidence and Effects
Authors: Karvonen Lauri
Published: April 2004

Many democratic voting systems simply present voters with a choice between parties, while others give them the opportunity to choose among individual candidates as well. This article focuses on the latter type of electoral systems, that is, those allowing for preferential voting. A classification according to the degree and type of candidate choice is presented, and the electoral systems of some 70 democracies are classified with the aid of this scheme. Preferential voting proper is found to be largely a western European phenomenon. Eight hypotheses concerning the effects of preferential voting on party systems, parties, candidates, and voters are tested. Overall, the impression is that preferential voting has few discernible effects at the aggregate level.
Art Invoked: A Mode of Understanding and Shaping the Political
Authors: Negash Girma
Published: April 2004

There are several reasons why the arts, in all their forms and productions, provide a site from where we can observe and experience aspects of political life that we cannot possibly do in any other way. First, art takes account of the intentions, motivations, and reasons for human action. Second, art is a privileged medium in the sense that it imparts knowledge about political life at both the abstract level and at a deeper cultural level. Third, literary and other texts provide the site for political discourse because they are influenced by historical circumstances both temporally and spatially. Lastly, we seek the perspectives of art in informing politics because of the innovative role played by intellectuals and artists and their influence in the making of shared meanings. While this investigation is primarily theoretical, it will be informed by the novels of Biyi Bandele and the films of Gaston Kaborè.
The Enduring Dialogue of Conflict and Order in a Changing World
Authors: Leca Jean
Published: April 2004

Political science is the science of a self-contradicting universe since the politics of human societies (that is, “politics” per se) brings together units—individual or collective—that do not conform to a hierarchy of rational preferences immutable across cultures, nor do they rigidly behave according to a sociobiological program. Hence the “two faces” of political science looking both at divisive conflict and at unifying government. Political science as a social science solves the problem by splitting into two radically opposed outlooks: a majoritarian and reasonable institutionalism on the one hand, a minoritarian and sulphurous decisionism on the other. A “grand narrative” reconciles the two views and bridges the gap between our “tacit” and our “systematic” knowledge, as well as between our cognition and our values. Yet, is this narrative still valid?
International Relations Theory and Game Theory: Baroque Modeling Choices and Empirical Robustness
Authors: Allan Pierre , Dupont Cédric
Published: April 2004

The increasing popularity of game modeling in international relations theory has fostered a tendency toward theoretical elegance to the detriment of empirical concerns. In this article attention is focused on the empirical implications of a series of choices that users of game theory must make when they model social interactions. In particular, possible trade-offs between theoretical complexity and empirical robustness are evaluated. This is done both abstractly and with specific references to recent modeling efforts in the fields of security and international political economy.
Wall Street and the Mexican Crisis: A Temporal Analysis of Emerging Markets
Authors: Santiso Javier
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the Mexican episode provides an excellent laboratory for exposing the interactions between political and economic time-scales. The events in Mexico invite us to take a closer look at what has become a crucial factor in world affairs, namely the mechanisms driving the financial markets and their interactions with the international system. The latter, led by the United States, was forced to adjust its own reaction time to that of the financial markets in record time. States which had long been the unquestioned masters of time are now confronted with a driving force whose scope and paroxysms are among the major challenges as the twentieth century draws to a close.
Problem-Solving through International Environmental Agreements: The Issue of Regime Effectiveness
Authors: Hisschemöller Matthijs , Gupta Joyeeta
Published: April 2004

Regime analysts tend to assume that for environmental agreements to be effective the environmental problem at stake must be relatively simple or “benign.” This means, inter alia, that scientists should have reached consensus on causes and effects and that interests between and within countries are deemed to be not too conflicting. The implication of this assumption is, however, that international environmental regimes cannot effectively address more complex issues, such as the current global environmental issue of sustainability and climate change. This article outlines an alternative approach. Building upon a typology of policy problems developed in the policy sciences, it argues that, for addressing different kinds of environmental problems, we need different kinds of environmental regimes. It then goes on to develop a typology of environmental regimes which can deal with different types of environmental problems.
State, Party, and Market: Chinese Politics and the Asian Crisis
Authors: Lautard Stéphanie
Published: April 2004

This article addresses the problem of the interactions between Chinese politics (circumscribed to leaders and institutions), its emerging economy and the start of the Asian crisis. It shows that the regional financial crisis agenda intersected with Beijing domestic political timing from mid-1997 to 1998. In international politics, the Beijing leaders economic policy and attitudes toward Hong Kong may have helped to modify to its best advantage the position of China with regard to its external relations with Asia and the rest of the world. In domestic politics, an important consequence of the regional crisis was to press a reluctant leadership to try to push forward economic and monetary reforms whose delay was often at the heart of the problem in countries in crisis. Moreover, such a situation may have helped to impose a new technocratic leadership dominated by economic officials and a new political style. Finally, this article asserts that the true nature of the Asian crisis is more political than economic. As a consequence, that crisis already has had profound effects on the overall transformation of the Beijing regime.
The New Political Economy of Trading and its Institutional Consequences
Authors: Luterbacher Urs , Norrlöf Carla
Published: April 2004

This article offers a theory that can explain a relatively open international trade system as corresponding to a non-cooperative (in the game-theoretical sense) outcome of bargaining interactions between states. Such a non-cooperative outcome, as will be shown, can be expressed as a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium between several states or trading blocs. This type of Nash equilibrium does not lead countries to complete “free” trade, but to an outcome that is closer to what is usually called “managed” trade. The theory also shows that under certain circumstances, this Nash equilibrium corresponds to a trade war similar to the one that broke out in the 1930s, and has the advantage of explaining the emergence of large trading blocs. Also introduced is the concept of a two-dimensional strategy when actors use two independent instruments as policy tools and establish the existence of a unique Nash equilibrium between three actors optimizing in two instruments.
The Effect of Global Environmental Regimes: A Measurement Concept
Authors: Sprinz Detlef F. , Helm Carsten
Published: April 2004

The article outlines a method to measure the effect which international regimes have on solving global environmental problems such as global climate change. By using political-economic cost/benefit analysis, a no-regime counterfactual and a collective optimum (lower and upper bounds) are derived. By comparing the actual performance of a regime to these bounds, a simple coefficient of regime effectiveness can be computed. After theoretically deriving the various bounds, the authors discuss the determining factors and provide guidance on how such a research agenda could be pursued empirically. The authors conclude with suggestions to further refine the measurement concept and its merit for public policy.
When in Rome: Heterosexism, Homophobia, and Sports Talk Radio
Authors: Nylund David
Published: April 2004

This article critically analyzes the U.S. growth of sports talk radio programs, with a particular focus on its sex and gender implications. It has been argued that sports talk radio texts reinscribe dominant ideologies, namely, hegemonic masculinity. A textual and audience analysis of the most popular nationally syndicated program, The Jim Rome Show, suggests that although the program reproduces many aspects of traditional masculinity, sexism, and heterosexism, there are fissures and exceptions to the dominant, hyper-masculine discourse. For instance, Jim Rome’s liberal stance on homophobia and sports indicates that sports radio may be a place for sports fans/men to discuss gender and sexuality in meaningful ways. Hence, The Jim Rome Show serves as a mediated site where men can negotiate and reconfigure masculinity in contemporary postmodern times.
The Double Temporality of Lagaan: Cultural Struggle and Postcolonialism
Authors: Farred Grant
Published: April 2004

Using postcolonial, psychoanalytic, sports, and cultural theory, this article explores the ways in which temporality constitutes a crucial element of the 2002 Bollywood movie, Lagaan. In critiquing this film about cricket, the article explicates how the political moment that is the Indian present functions as a problematic backdrop to Lagaan, which is set at the end of the 19th century. The film is read as text that inhabits, and articulates, a double temporality: Lagaan (“tax” in Hindi) is a movie that looks, simultaneously, to the colonized past and the postcolonial present. Cricket is posited as pivotalto the anticolonial project, and Lagaan demonstrates how the imagined “Indian” nation (which includes all of the Asian subcontinent) conflicts with the Indian and Pakistani nations that emerged after the Partition of the Raj. This article shows how these many ideological pressures operated in “Indian” society and affords gender a critical part in that analysis.
Constructing a Martial Tradition: Rethinking a Popular History of Karate-Dou
Authors: Tan Kevin S. Y.
Published: April 2004

This article seeks to explore and to rethink popular narratives that commonly surround the martial art known as karate. Adopting a dynamic and less exclusive definition of terms such as culture or tradition, I intend to provide a more critical and historically grounded understanding of karate’s technical evolution and ideological foundations. In doing so, this will reveal that contemporary and popular perceptions of karate as a “martial tradition” are more historically complex and politically contingent than what has often been widely accepted.
Pacific Professional Baseball Leagues and Migratory Patterns and Trends: 1995-1999
Authors: Chiba Naoki
Published: April 2004

This article examines the context and process of sports migration among the professional baseball leagues in the Pacific region and the United States from 1995 to 1999. During this 5-year period, the number of foreign players in every league increased. Findings indicate that although some 90% of foreign-born players in U.S. Major League Baseball originate from Latin America, more than 50% of foreigners are Americans in the four Asian leagues. Furthermore, with respect to baseball migration patterns among the Pacific nations, it seems that economic and athletic factors are very important with a geographic dimension being particularly significant in U.S. Major League Baseball. Overall, the study found evidence supporting the increasing influence of globalization based on the relationships of interdependency in professional baseball.
Small Firm Internationalization and Business Strategy
Authors: Bell Jim , Crick Dave , Young Stephen
Published: April 2004

The objective of this study was to explore the linkages between the overall business strategies of small firms and their patterns, processes and pace of internationalization. A qualitative approach was adopted, involving 30 indepth interviews with key decision makers of internationalizing small firms based in 3 UK regions (15 ‘knowledge-intensive’ and 15 ‘traditional’ firms). The findings suggest that business policies, including those linked to ownership and/or management changes, had an important influence upon the international orientation of many firms. There were close relationships between product policies and market focus, with product or process innovation often providing an important stimulus to international expansion. However, differences existed in the patterns, processes and pace of internationalization between small ‘knowledge-intensive’ and ‘traditional’ manufacturing firms. The implications of these results on firm strategy, public policy and theory development are discussed and a series of research questions are postulated for future investigation.
Case-Study Method in Small Business and Entrepreneurial Research
Authors: Perren Lew , Ram Monder
Published: April 2004

The case-study method has a long and respected history in the mainstream management literature. The philosophy and implications of the case-study method have received considerable attention and there are a number of standard texts on the approach. The method is also gaining acceptance, along with other qualitative methods, within the small business and entrepreneurial research community. Yet there has been little discussion of the distinctive philosophical consequences of applying the case-study approach in this area. This article will address this gap by mapping the paradigms adopted by small business and entrepreneurial case-study researchers. This will provide a platform upon which to explore the consequences of the paradigmatic position that researchers adopt.
Investigating the Strategic Utilization of IT Resources in the Small and Medium-Sized Firms of the Eastern Free State Province
Authors: Kyobe Michael E.
Published: April 2004

This study investigated the extent to which the Small-to-Medium sized firms (SMEs) utilized their IT resources strategically, and also identified factors inhibiting such utilization. An attribute approach was adopted to identify attributes characterizing strategic IT utilization in SMEs. Seventy SMEs participated in the study and factor analysis was conducted to identify the underlying factors that explained the inhibitors of strategic IT utilization. While the results show that some SMEs utilize IT resources to reduce costs and improve customer services, many SME managers are still ignorant about their business environment. They do not use IT resources to create links with suppliers, neither do they use them to differentiate products/services nor to enable innovations. Lack of skills and knowledge to employ IT competitively emerged as the prime inhibitor of strategic IT utilization. Other factors were: poor planning; lack of resources; poor IT vision and leadership; and environmental uncertainty.