bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exposure Assessment of Heavy Metals Resulting from Farmland Application of Wastewater Sludge in Tianjin, China: The Examination of Two Existing National Standards for Soil and Farmland‐Used Sludge
Authors: Cao Hongbin , Ikeda Saburo
Published: March 2003

Land application is one of the major methods of managing municipal sludge in China. The sludge is used for fertilizing and conditioning soil, but due to the high concentration of heavy metals and other chemicals that it contains, improper use of sludge will lead to the contamination of farmland soil. To provide guidance on the application of sludge in China, the Control Standards for Pollutants in Sludge for Agricultural Use (CSPSAU) were enacted, and implemented in 1985. Afterwards, the National Environment Quality Standards for Soil (NEQSS) were also formulated and put into effect in 1996. In this article, these two national standards were examined by means of exposure assessment. The main exposure pathway to humans that was considered was dietary intake of crops grown on the sludge‐applied farmland. Five major types of agricultural crops (rice, wheat, tuber roots, vegetables, and fruits) and three groups of exposure population (the urban individual group, the rural sludge‐applying individual group, and the rural sludge nonapplying individual group) were assessed. This case study in Tianjin, China, shows the necessity of reexamining the national standards of the CSPSAU and the NEQSS in the context of risk assessment. More comprehensive surveys and monitoring programs assessing heavy metals contained in farmland soils and crop tissues will be necessary for examining the risks to human health.
Protection Motivation and Risk Communication
Authors: Neuwirth Kurt , Dunwoody Sharon , Griffin Robert J.
Published: March 2003

The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of protection motivation theory (PMT) in the context of mass media reports about a hazard. Content elements of a hazard's severity, likelihood of occurring, and the effectiveness of preventive actions were systematically varied in a news story about a fabricated risk: exposure to fluorescent lighting lowering academic performance. Results of this experiment (N = 206) suggest that providing information about the severity of a hazard's consequences produces greater information seeking. In addition, information about levels of risk, severity, and efficacy combined jointly to produce greater rates of willingness to take actions designed to avoid the hazard. Results are seen as providing general support for PMT and are discussed within the broader framework of information seeking and heuristic and systematic information processing.
Limits of Knowledge and the Limited Importance of Trust
Authors: Sjöberg Lennart
Published: March 2003

Perceived risk and related attitudes have been implicated as major factors in many of the difficult policy problems that face modern society (nuclear power, genetically modified food, etc). Experts often argue that no or very small risks are involved; people are still worried. Why? The standard answer is lack of trust. Data on trust and risk perception, however, point to only a weak relationship between the two (r approximately 0.3). It is suggested here that the reason for the surprisingly minor importance of trust is that people believe that there are clear limits to how much science and experts know. Results are presented from studies of risk perception of the public, experts, and politicians. Politicians and members of the public believe that there are many unknown effects of technology and such beliefs were strongly related to their perceived risk. Experts on nuclear waste, on the other hand, seemed to believe that little is unknown in their field of expertise. Regression analyses of risk perception showed the unknown‐effects factor to be a more important explanatory factor than trust for the public and politicians.
Differences in Expert and Lay Judgments of Risk: Myth or Reality?
Authors: Rowe Gene , Wright George
Published: March 2003

This article evaluates the nine empirical studies that have been conducted on expert versus lay judgments of risk. Contrary to received wisdom, this study finds that there is little empirical evidence for the propositions (1) that experts judge risk differently from members of the public or (2) that experts are more veridical in their risk assessments. Methodological weaknesses in the early research are documented, and it is shown that the results of more recent studies are confounded by social and demographic factors that have been found to correlate with judgments of risk. Using a task‐analysis taxonomy, a template is provided for the documentation of future studies of expert–lay differences/similarities that will facilitate analytic comparison.
A Deliberative Method for Ranking Risks (II): Evaluation of Validity and Agreement among Risk Managers
Authors: Morgan Kara M. , DeKay Michael L. , Fischbeck Paul S. , Morgan M. Granger , Fischhoff Baruch , Florig H. Keith
Published: March 2003

A deliberative method for ranking risks was evaluated in a study involving 218 risk managers. Both holistic and multiattribute procedures were used to assess individual and group rankings of health and safety risks facing students at a fictitious middle school. Consistency between the rankings that emerged from these two procedures was reasonably high for individuals and for groups, suggesting that these procedures capture an underlying construct of riskiness. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with their groups’ decision‐making processes and the resulting rankings, and these reports were corroborated by regression analyses. Risk rankings were similar across individuals and groups, even though individuals and groups did not always agree on the relative importance of risk attributes. Lower consistency between the risk rankings from the holistic and multiattribute procedures and lower agreement among individuals and groups regarding these rankings were observed for a set of high‐variance risks. Nonetheless, the generally high levels of consistency, satisfaction, and agreement suggest that this deliberative method is capable of producing risk rankings that can serve as informative inputs to public risk‐management decision making.
The Numbers Wonk as Existential Hero
Authors: Strawser Cornelia
Published: March 2003

Did you think there was once a golden age of honest budgeting? Well, it wasn't in Britain before or during World War I, according to a classic novel about the period. The novelist Ford Madox Ford placed the hero of his tale in a government career in statistics and budgeting. It seems like a strange choice for a hero, but the dilemmas of that career are the conditions against which the protagonist must struggle to maintain his integrity.
Can Democratic Governments Save? Experiences of Countries with Budget Surpluses
Authors: Posner Paul L. , Gordon Bryon S.
Published: March 2003

It has long been held that it is difficult for advanced democracies to achieve and sustain continued fiscal restraint. The benefits of such restraint are diffuse, and as a result restraint will generally lose out to spending increases and/or tax cuts that are supported by organized political agents. However, our study of other nations that have achieved budget surpluses makes the case that it is possible for an advanced democracy to achieve consensus on the need for continued fiscal restraint during a period of surplus. To some extent, the design of budget processes in these nations has played a critical role in encouraging fiscal discipline. But even more importantly, these nations demonstrate that ideas matter and that the ability to sustain fiscal discipline is related to the ability of decision makers to reframe the budget debate in terms of broader national goals. However, it is unclear how long this new consensus will last, and many competing policy ideas wait in the wings to spring forth when economic and political circumstances shift.
The Virtues of Metaphysics: A Review of Iris Murdoch's Philosophical Writings
Authors: Antonaccio Maria
Published: March 2003

Iris Murdoch's moral philosophy has long influenced contemporary ethics, yet it has not, in general, received the kind of sustained critical attention that it deserves. Existentialists and Mystics and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals provide new access to most of Murdoch's philosophical writings and make possible a deeper appreciation of her contribution to current thought. After assessing the recent critical reception of Murdoch's thought, this review places her moral philosophy in the context of contemporary trends in ethics by tracing her influence on the work of Charles Taylor, highlights the distinctive features of her moral philosophy (especially her analysis of consciousness), and suggests future directions for Murdochian ethics.
The Neuropsychological Basis of Religions, or Why God Won't Go Away
Authors: D'Aquili Eugene G. , Newberg Andrew B.
Published: March 2003

By the end of the eighteenth century, the intellectual elite generally believed that religion would soon vanish because of the advent of the Higher Criticism and the scientific method. However, two hundred years later, religions and the concept of God have not gone away and, in many instances, appear to be gaining in strength. This paper considers the neuropsychological basis of religion and religious concepts and tries to develop an understanding of why religion does not go away so easily. In general, religion appears to serve two major functions—it is a system of self‐maintenance and a system of self‐transcendence. Since both of these functions bear directly on human survival and adaptability, the neuropsychological mechanisms that underlie religions appear to have become thoroughly ingrained in the human gene pool and ultimately human experience. This paper reviews these two functions of religions from a neuropsychological perspective to try to explain why religion continues to thrive. Finally, we consider the conclusions regarding reality and epistemology that a neuropsychological analysis of religious experience suggests.
Biology Precedes, Culture Transcends: An Evolutionist's View of Human Nature
Authors: Ayala Francisco J.
Published: March 2003

I will, first, outline what we currently know about the last 4 million years of human evolutionary history, from bipedal but small‐brained Australopithecus to modern Homo sapiens, our species, through the prolific toolmaker Homo habilis and the continent wanderer Homo erectus. I shall then identify anatomical traits that distinguish us from other animals and point out our two kinds of heredity, the biological and the cultural.

Biological inheritance is based on the transmission of genetic information, in humans very much the same as in other sexually reproducing organisms. But cultural inheritance is distinctively human, based on transmission of information by a teaching and learning process that is in principle independent of biological parentage. Cultural inheritance makes possible the cumulative transmission of experience from generation to generation. Cultural heredity is a swifter and more effective (because it can be designed) mode of adaptation to the environment than the biological mode. The advent of cultural heredity ushered in cultural evolution, which transcends biological evolution.

I will, finally, explore ethical behavior as a model case of a distinctive human trait, and seek to ascertain the causal connections between human ethics and human biology. My conclusions are that (1) moral reasoning—that is, the proclivity to make ethical judgments by evaluating actions as either good or evil—is rooted in our biological nature; it is a necessary outcome of our exalted intelligence, but (2) the moral codes that guide our decisions as to which actions are good and which ones are evil are products of culture, including social and religious traditions. This second conclusion contradicts those evolutionists and sociobiologists who claim that the morally good is simply that which is promoted by the process of biological evolution.
Theory in Weberian Marxism: Patterns of Critical Social Theory in Lukács and Habermas
Authors: Dahms Harry F.
Published: March 2003

For Weberian Marxists, the social theories of Max Weber and Karl Marx are complementary contributions to the analysis of modern capitalist society. Combining Weber's theory of rationalization with Marx's critique of commodity fetishism to develop his own critique of reification, Georg Lukács contended that the combination of Marx's and Weber's social theories is essential to envisioning socially transformative modes of praxis in advanced capitalist society. By comparing Lukács ‘s theory of reification with Habermas's theory of communicative action as two theories in the tradition of Weberian Marxism, I show how the prevailing mode of “doing theory” has shifted from Marx's critique of economic determinism to Weber's idea of the inner logic of social value spheres. Today, Weberian Marxism can make an important contribution to theoretical sociology by reconstituting itself as a framework for critically examining prevailing societal definitions of the rationalization imperatives specific to purposive-rational social value spheres (the economy, the administrative state, etc.). In a second step, Weberian Marxists would explore how these value spheres relate to each other and to value spheres that are open to the type of communicative rationalization characteristic of the lifeworld level of social organization.
Sense and Segmentarity: Some Markers of a Deleuzian-Guattarian Sociology
Authors: Bogard William
Published: March 2003

Although the focus of their work was rarely explicitly sociological, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari developed concepts that have important and often profound implications for social theory and practice. Two of these, sense and segmentarity, provide us with entirely new ways to view sociological problems of meaning and structure. Deleuze conceives sense independently of both agency and signification. That is, sense is neither the manifestation of a communicating subject nor a structure of language—it is noncorporeal, impersonal, and prelinguistic, in his words, a “pure effect or event.” With Guattari, Deleuze notes that it is not a question of how subjects produce social structures, but how a “machinics of desire” produces subjects. In Deleuze and Guattari, desire is not defined as a want or a lack, but as a machinery of forces, flows, and breaks of energy. The functional stratification we witness in social life is only the molar effect of a more primary segmentation of desire that occurs at the molecular level, at the level of bodies. In Deleuze and Guattari, bodies are not just human bodies, but “anorganic” composites or mixtures, organic form itself being a mode of the body's subjectification. The problem of the subject, and thus of the constitution of society, is first a problem of how the sense of bodies is produced through the assembly of desiring-machines. The subject, we could say, is the actualization of desire on the incorporeal surface of bodies.
False Connections: Systems and Action Theories in Neofunctionalism and in Jürgen Habermas
Authors: Schwinn Thomas
Published: March 2003

Recent theoretical discussions have served to bridge the gap separating systems- and action-theoretical approaches; however, the question of their basic compatibility has rarely been raised. This paper takes up two efforts at linking systems and action theory: those of neofunctionalists and those of Jürgen Habermas. Neofunctionalists start from the inadequacies of systems functionalism and seek to open it to the theory of action. Habermas, on the other hand, seeks to overcome the limits of the theory of action by widening its scope in systems-theoretical terms. Successful synthesis eludes both efforts: either the status of voluntaristic aspects is so enhanced that the systemic whole and its functional imperatives practically vanish, or too much emphasis is placed on the systemic aspect, reducing actors to the mere executing agents of systemic needs. The combination of theories of structure and action provides a way out of this dilemma.
Authoritative Knowledge and Heteronomy in Classical Sociological Theory
Authors: Martin John Levi
Published: March 2003

This article traces the impact of philosophical questions regarding the grounds of moral autonomy and heteronomy (rule-from-another as opposed to rule-from-oneself) on classical sociological theory, arguing that both Weber and Durkheim understood sociology to have a contribution to make in the debate with Kant over the grounds of ethical action. Both insisted that the only possible ethical action was one within the bounds of rational knowledge that was inherently authoritative, but this sat uneasily with their focus on the relation between concrete social authority and the authoritativeness of beliefs in the sociology of religion. In rejecting Comte's explicit avowal of the embodiment of moral authority in the secular priesthood of sociologists, Weber and Durkheim had to paper over the social authority supporting the formulation of this rational knowledge. Each then produced a sociology of knowledge without a well-specified mechanism, in turn encouraging the development of the sociology of knowledge as a flawed sub-discipline.
Georg Simmel as an Eidetic Social Scientist
Authors: Backhaus Gary
Published: March 2003

The article shows the affinity of Simmel's formal sociology with Husserl's notion of eidetic science. This thesis is demonstrated by the corroboration of Simmel's revision of neo-Kantian epistemology for sociology with Husserl's phenomenology, and the parallel discussion of Simmel and Husserl concerning cognitive levels and exact and morphological eide. Simmel's analysis of dyads is explored as an exemplar of his eidetic insights. An important consequence of this demonstration is the vindication establishing the scientific legitimacy of Simmel's methodology regarding the sociology of the forms of association. Woven throughout is discussion concerning the doctrine of the complementarity of eidetic and empirical science. Simmel's methodology is shown to have been ahead of its time through conjoining these two modes of scientific investigation.
Toward a Theory of Public Ritual
Authors: Etzioni Amitai
Published: March 2003

Given that holidays both reflect a society's attributes and serve to modify these attributes, they are a valuable tool for a macro-sociological analysis. This paper proceeds by examining Durkheim's well-known contributions on rituals and advancing theoretical ideas on how these might be modified, seeking to develop a theory of holidays. The article concerns the role of holidays in managing tensions and recommitment to values; their role in relating communities to the society at large; their effect on gender roles, and the theoretical issues concerning holiday cycles and holiday-engineering efforts by religious authorities and states that have endeavored to adapt holidays for their own purpose. The article relies on public accounts, personal observations, and findings culled from a few studies by contemporary social scientists.
Sociology after Humanism: A Lesson from Contemporary Science Studies
Authors: Breslau Daniel
Published: March 2003

The field of science studies is the site of an explicit reflection on the ontological premises of sociology, with rival approaches defined by distinctive ways of specifying the basic constituents of reality. This article takes advantage of this debate to compare three types of ontological schemes in terms of their internal coherence and their consequences for sociology. Sociological humanism—represented by proponents of the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK)—distinguishes between an immanent domain of social relations, a transcendent and meaningless material reality, and an intermediate, socially constructed level of knowledge, meaning, and culture. Symmetrical humanism—as found in the recent writings of Andrew Pickering—insists that society too should be placed among the constructions, thereby disqualifying it as a source of explanations for human agency and leaving a detached and self-moving human agent. The relational ontology—exemplified by the “actor-network” approach of Bruno Latour and others—makes no a priori distinctions between humans and others, or between transcendent reality and construction, treating these properties as outcomes. The two humanist approaches are found to be incoherent as ontological schemes and also, contrary to the assumptions of the current debate, inimical to sociological explanation. And contrary to the antisociological stance of the actor-network approach, it is found that the relational ontology provides a consistent basis for sociological explanations of human practices.
The Society of Society: The Grand Finale of Niklas Luhmann
Authors: Lee Daniel
Published: March 2003

This paper introduces Niklas Luhmann's final work, Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft (The Society of Society). According to Luhmann, sociologists have failed to produce even a partially adequate theory of society. Epistemological obstacles and humanist concerns for rationality and justice have prevented true progress in the discipline. With his “radically antihumanist, radically antiregional, and radically constructivistic” social system theory, Luhmann intends to bring about a sociological enlightenment. Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft focuses on communication as the only genuinely social phenomenon. Social systems differentiate and evolve as they communicate in three separate dimensions: the social, temporal, and functional. The path of evolution results from a history of variation, selection, and restabilization within these dimensions. Communication, bit by bit, produces social structures that, recursively, produce future structures. Society is communication. Sociology, as the science of society, is communication about how different societal systems operate, communicate, evolve, and maintain their boundaries.
Looking Backwards into the Future: Mathematical Sociology Then and Now
Authors: Skvoretz John
Published: March 2003

I reflect on the last 30 years of mathematical sociology from my point of view as a student of the field 30 years ago and how I expected the field to grow and develop. I discuss how the problems and prospects that concerned me 30 years ago are still relevant today. In particular, I elaborate on the intellectual frustrations faced by formal sociologists, the need for new mathematics to capture social science insights, the diversity of inquiry and lack of unification in mathematical sociology, and the need for formalists to offer empirically grounded models that appeal to the general reader on the basis of the empirical puzzles they explain.
Simmel's Legacy for Contemporary Value Theory: A Critical Assessment
Authors: Kamolnick Paul
Published: March 2003

In this essay I critically assess Georg Simmel's legacy for contemporary value theory and provide the rudiments of an alternative approach. My central thesis is that Simmel fails to satisfactorily conceptualize the nature and origin of value because of his devotion to an asocial, Cartesian–Kantian conception of mind, human freedom, and agency. In contrast, I incorporate recent data from neuroscience, social self theory, developmental psychology, and elements of Marx's theory of the commodity form to provide the terms of a postmetaphysical, intersubjective alternative.
What Collins's The Sociology of Philosophies Says about Sociological Theory
Authors: Goodman Douglas
Published: March 2003

In Collins's latest book, we see an attempt to apply his sociological theories to the history of philosophy. While Collins's macrosociology of knowledge provides important insights into the role of conflict in an intellectual field, his microsociology is more problematic. In particular, Collins's micro theory ignores the fundamental importance of social interpretations. This leads him to use a vague and unproductive notion of emotions. Nevertheless, we can usefully apply Collins's findings to sociological theory itself. As in philosophy, we see the same competitive appropriation and elaboration of accumulated intellectual capital and the same struggle over the limited resources necessary to intellectual production, especially over what Collins calls the intellectual attention space.
Automated Path Planning for Mobile Crane Lifts
Authors: Reddy H. Raghunatha , Varghese Koshy
Published: March 2003

Planning the lift path of a crane is an important subtask within the heavy–lift planning process. This paper reports the work done toward applying configuration space (C–space) and search concepts to develop a tool to identify lift paths that satisfies the planning requirements. The C–space is generated using an interference detection technique. Two levels of heuristic search are performed within the C–space. The first search is a heuristic depth search to determine the obstacle–free lift paths. The second search performs a more detailed optimization of the path within a constrained search space. The tool can be used within the AutoCad environment and is based on program modules developed using AutoLisp and external programs. The system was tested on a number of problems. It was found that the system was capable of generating good paths in complex situations.
Genetic Algorithm–Based Methodology for Design Optimization of Reinforced Concrete Frames
Authors: Rajeev S. , Krishnamoorthy C. S.
Published: March 2003

Design optimization of reinforced concrete plane frames using genetic algorithm–based methodology is presented in this paper. Most of the approaches reported in the literature consider the design variables to be continuous, and the optimal solution obtained requires further modification to make it constructible. Since the area of reinforcement after detailing is different from that obtained theoretically, use of area of reinforcement as a continuous variable cannot provide rational solutions. Aspects such as detailing and placing of reinforcement in beams and columns and other issues related to construction are brought into the optimal design model presented in this paper. Genetic algorithm–based methodologies provide ideal techniques for handling such issues and generate rational optimal solutions. Examples of reinforced concrete plane frames are solved, and results are presented. Emphasis is placed on genetic modeling aspects, which provide mechanisms for considering realistically the practical issues, resulting in a rigorous optimal design model providing rational solutions.
Collision Avoidance Using a Cerebellar Model Arithmetic Computer Neural Network
Authors: Eskandarian Azim , Thiriez Stephane
Published: March 2003

Avoiding collisions with obstacles in a clustered environment is a difficult task for autonomous vehicles. Deterministic algorithms cannot address all scenarios encountered and may fail to perform in dynamically changing environments. Neural networks, owing to their ability to map complex relationships between multiple input‐output patterns, can learn the task of maneuvering around and in‐between obstacles to reach a goal state. The Cerebellar Model Arithmetic Computer (CMAC) neural network in particular is based on a model of human sensory motor responses and can efficiently model responsive control actions. A CMAC neural network controller was developed and examined, in simulation, for its suitability to capture a driver's function of steering and braking. The performance of the controller was tested in a simulation of a moving platform (vehicle) encountering obstacles of various shapes, whereas the CMAC was trained only with limited shapes and scenarios. Preliminary simulation results have shown the CMAC's ability to successfully generalize its learned patterns to avoid obstacles after only a few training sessions. The CMAC output is generated in a computationally efficient manner with physically and economically realizable memory sizes. Therefore, real‐time hardware implementation of the controller is feasible. This research demonstrates that the method has the ability to accommodate more complex scenarios.
Traffic Prediction and Management via RBF Neural Nets and Semantic Control
Authors: Amin S. Massoud , Rodin E. Y. , Liu A‐P. , Rink K. , García‐Ortiz A.
Published: March 2003

The objective of this work has been to develop layers of control and optimization modules for the purpose of urban traffic management. We utilize the semantic control paradigm to model both the macrolevel (traffic control) and the microlevel (vehicle path planning and steering control). A semantic controller consists of three modules for identification, goal selection, and adaptation, respectively. This hierarchical structure has been used successfully at the Center for Optimization and Semantic Control to solve complex, nonlinear, and time‐varying problems. In our previous work we have used a judicious combination of artificial intelligence, optimization, and control systems.

The focus of this paper is the identifier module, which performs “system identification,” i.e., determines the road network congestion level. Traffic flow can be characterized as a nonlinear stochastic process where linear prediction models such as linear regression are not suitable. However, neural network techniques may provide an effective tool for data‐based modeling and system identification. The radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is an attractive tool for nonlinear time‐series modeling and traffic‐flow prediction. The goal selector module that finds the shortest path is also discussed in some detail.

A model of the highway system, based on historical data provided by Missouri Highway and Transportation Department (MoHTD), has been developed. The prediction and planning system is evaluated using the traffic‐flow data from nine sensors located on the highway in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Formulation of Fuzzy Finite‐Element Methods for Solid Mechanics Problems
Authors: Muhanna Rafi L. , Mullen Robert L.
Published: March 2003

Accounting for uncertainties in mechanics problems has been accomplished previously by probabilistic methods that may require highly repetitive and time‐consuming computations to analyze the behavior of mathematical models. In addition to the repetitions, knowledge of the probability distribution of state variables is often incomplete. This article introduces a new treatment of uncertainties in continuum mechanics based on fuzzy set theory. Uncertainties or fuzzy numbers herein are viewed through the concept of presumption level of the uncertainty (α‐cut), α∈[0, 1]$, which gives an interval of confidence Aα = [a1(a), a2(α]. This treatment is included in a new fuzzy finite‐element formulation. The fuzzy approach to treating uncertainties in continuum mechanics is applied to load, geometric, and material uncertainties in a number of examples. Results demonstrate sharp inclusion of the fuzzy solutions in comparison with the exact solutions.
Deployment of Fiber‐Optic Lane Use Indication Signs Using a Distributed Control Architecture
Authors: Bullock Darcy , Harvey Arthur , Messer Carroll
Published: March 2003

This article reviews the basic signing technologies available to the traffic engineer for dynamically changing sign displays. An example installation of dynamic lane assignment in Houston, Texas, is reviewed and referenced as the motivation for developing a simple traffic signal cabinet interface for dynamic lane assignment signs. The failure modes of these dynamic lane assignment signs are identified so that suitable control models can be selected. Various candidate control architectures are summarized, and a distributed control model is recommended because of the simple cabinet retrofit and the inherent malfunction management capabilities. The article concludes by describing the distributed computing design comprised of the sign‐control interface (SCI) residing in the cabinet and the sign‐control modules (SCM) residing in each sign. Photographs of the SCI and SCM prototypes are included.
Unstructured Mesh Computations on Networks of Workstations
Authors: Jones Mark T. , Plassmann Paul E.
Published: March 2003

Unstructured mesh technology can be used to create highly efficient scientific and engineering application software. Networks of workstations (NOWs) provide cost‐effective platforms for the timely solution of large problems in science and engineering. The performance of unstructured mesh computations on NOWs is investigated in this article. Several parallel unstructured mesh algorithms are shown informally to have computation and communication characteristics similar to those of parallel sparse matrix‐by‐vector multiplication. These characteristics are discussed, and the requirements they place on an interconnection network are described. Experimental data are given to summarize the communication parameters of four different NOW configurations. Finally, extensive empirical results are given to characterize the performance of unstructured mesh computations on the four NOWs.
A CPM‐Based Construction Quality Inspection and Decision‐Aid System
Authors: Leu Sou‐Sen , Tzeng Bing‐Rong
Published: March 2003

This article adopted the concept of decision support to establish a CPM‐based construction quality inspection and decision‐aid system (CQIDS) to improve ineffective field quality inspection processes. The system consists of two main subsystems: the database subsystem and the decision subsystem. The database subsystem contains information about quality specifications, shop drawings, checklists, and corrective actions that comprises a multimedia network. The decision subsystem contains statistical algorithms to facilitate in situ quality data analysis. Moreover, in order to execute quality management in a timely fashion, quality management timetables are generated automatically from the CQIDS and sent to field quality supervisors by integrating quality management activities within the project's own CPM network.
Impact‐Resistant Design of RC Slabs Using Immune Algorithms
Authors: Miyamoto Ayaho , Nakamura Hideaki , Ramezanianpour Ali A.
Published: March 2003

A three‐dimensional nonlinear dynamic finite‐element method (FEM) was applied to evaluate the ultimate behavior and failure modes of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs subjected to soft impact loads. In order to propose a practical impact‐resistance evaluation method for RC slab structures, computer graphics (CGs) were used as a visualization technique to simulate impact‐failure behavior of RC slabs until postfailure range was reached on the analytic results during impact loading. Immune algorithms are combined with a three‐dimensional nonlinear dynamic FEM analysis for the purpose of proposing the design of RC slabs subject to soft impact loads. The results give evidence that presents complicated failure modes, and immune algorithms can be applied to the design of RC slabs effectively.
Artificial Intelligence–Based Decision Support Technologies in Pavement Management
Authors: Sundin Sten , Braban‐Ledoux Corinne
Published: March 2003

The field of road pavement engineering has seen an explosion of artificial intelligence–based applications since the late 1980s. Such applications are found at key stages of the decision process involved in pavement management. In the analysis phase, they perform pavement diagnosis and deterioration modeling tasks. In the design phase, they enable rehabilitation needs to be assessed and contribute to the identification and selection of maintenance actions. Finally, in the choice phase, they are applied for priority programming of rehabilitation and maintenance. They either represent alternative approaches to existing systems or collaborate to make the overall system more efficient. The purpose of this article is to summarize the findings of up‐to‐date research articles concerning the application of artificial intelligence to pavement management and to illustrate the potential such tools can offer to pavement engineers. Artificial intelligence techniques include expert systems, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms, and hybrid systems.
The Effects of Strategic Notetaking on the Recall and Comprehension of Lecture Information for High School Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Boyle Joseph R. , Weishaar Mary
Published: March 2003

This investigation examined the effects of strategic notetaking on the recall and comprehension of high school students with learning disabilities (LD) or educable mental retardation (EMR). Twenty‐six students with high incidence disabilities (LD or EMR) were randomly assigned by grade and disability to either an experimental or control group. Using strategic notetaking, students in the experimental group were taught to independently take notes while viewing a videotaped lecture. Students who were taught strategic notetaking scored significantly higher on measures of immediate free recall, long‐term free recall, comprehension, and number of notes recorded than students in the control group who used conventional notetaking. The limitations of the research and implications of this technique for classroom application are discussed.
Bricks and Behavior: The Repair and Maintenance Costs of Housing for Persons with Mental Illness
Authors: Newman Sandra , Harkness Joseph , Galster George , Reschovsky James
Published: March 2003

Comprehensive data on 153 properties offering independent living for persons with mental illness are used to examine the effects on repair and maintenance (RM) costs of building quality, neighborhood quality, building size, proportion of tenants with mental illness, and management experience with mentally ill tenants. We find an inverted U‐shaped relationship between the proportion of mentally ill tenants in a building and its RM costs, which suggests favorable behavioral effects on mentally ill tenants of living in the same building with others who are mentally ill. We also find amenity features are associated with higher RM costs in properties where more tenants are mentally ill.
Genetic Algorithms and Public Economics
Authors: Brooks Arthur C.
Published: March 2003

To address common limitations of traditional economic models while maintaining a convenient mathematical framework, some economists have begun to employ genetic algorithms (GAs). GA optimization occurs in a way that may resemble the dynamics of actual decision making. It also alleviates any need for a closed form to the policy problem and can ‘decide’ between alternative optima. This paper provides a tutorial on the use of GAs in economics and constructs an example application in the area of tax policy formation. It also critically surveys the landscape of current uses, focusing on both the advantages and disadvantages of GAs in public economics contexts.
Commodity Taxes, Wage Determination, and Profits
Authors: Delipalla Sophia , Sanfey Peter
Published: March 2003

We examine the effects of two different types of commodity taxation, specific and ad valorem, on wages and profits. We analyze two models of wage determination, one with efficiency wage setting and one with union‐firm bargaining. In the former, a (locally) revenue‐neutral shift from specific to ad valorem taxation leads to an increase in both employment and wages and a reduction in profitability. In the latter, the effect on wages and profits may be reversed: predominantly ad valorem taxation raises employment but lowers wages, and under certain circumstances, the net effect is an increase in profits.
On Social Transfers and Income Taxation
Authors: Wambach Achim
Published: March 2003

In this paper we provide a different rationale for the use of social transfers. It is assumed that the government is unable to condition the (possibly nonlinear) income tax scheme on the productivity and the endowment of the citizens. However, people applying for social benefit have to demonstrate their financial assets, which is costly for the government to verify. We show that under weak conditions the government will prefer to provide social transfers that induce some voluntary unemployment to reduce the informational rent the highly productive and/or rich types obtain.
A Note on the Theory of Charitable Fund‐raising: The Role of Refunds
Authors: Pecorino Paul , Temimi Akram
Published: March 2003

Andreoni (1998, Journal of Political Economy106, 1186–1213) shows that a small amount of seed money from the government can generate substantial additional private donations toward the provision of a public good, when there is a threshold level of provision below which no benefits are achieved. We argue that Andreoni's solution can be extended to a mechanism where refunds are possible. We then argue that a greater “bang per buck” may be achieved if the seed money is targeted to cover the administrative costs of providing refunds.
Toward the Fullness of Christ: A Catholic Vision of Ecumenism
Authors: Del Colle Ralph
Published: March 2003

This article locates the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s recent document Dominus Iesus against the background of great ecumenical advance in North America and elsewhere and a series of highly encouraging ecumenical statements published by John Paul II. Its most contentious statement is a reiteration and clarification of the Vatican II teaching in Lumen Gentium that the church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church. It distinguishes among churches in the proper sense, with valid episcopate and eucharist, and defective ecclesial communities. The church of Christ cannot subsist in them but only in the Catholic Church. The article points out, nevertheless, that since all these bodies are recognized as having elements of the church, the operation of grace is still ecclesial and not individual and secondly that a pneumatologically orientated Christology sees ecumenism as a response in grace to the divine economy.
Sabina Spielrein: psychoanalytic studies
Authors: Spielrein Sabina
Published: March 2003

The unconscious fantasies in Kuprin's Duel, p.201

Animal symbolism and a boy's phobia, p.202

The mother‐in‐law, p.205
The Self as violent Other: the problem of defining the self
Authors: Huskinson Lucy
Published: March 2003

This paper identifies the problem of arriving at a solid definition of C. G. Jung's notion of the Self, and seeks its resolution. The author first demonstrates how this problem is articulated by scholars of Jungian theory by showing that they have ultimately depended upon ‘limited’ definitions of the Self, where the Self is no more than a transcendental postulate, a simple derivative from the internal structure of Jungian argument. She then determines the reason for the problem by arguing that there can never be a complete definition of the Self for it encompasses that which is unconscious and is thus irreducible to ego‐comprehension. By using a method of philosophical analysis (in the guise of Levinas) the author will show that through the Self's very need to evade comprehension the Self is essentially comprehended as an overpowering and violent entity. The author will argue that the Self as a force of violence is crucial to its definition, and scholars must not ignore the Self as numinous experience in favour of passive functionality. She will thus argue that through the adoption of a Levinasian critique, the Self can be defined and justified outside of the internally self‐consistent system from which it is conventionally derived.
The Distribution and Redistribution of Opportunity
Authors: Peragine Vitorocco
Published: March 2003

Recent theories of distributive justice focus on individual opportunities as the appropriate standard for distributive judgements. To translate this philosophical view into concrete public policy, three branches of economic literature have arisen, which we draw together here and critically assess. These concern (i) the measurement of individuals’ opportunity sets, (ii) the measurement of the degree of inequality present in a distribution of opportunities, and (iii) the design of redistribution mechanisms intended to increase the degree of ‘opportunity equality’. The purpose of the exposition is to unify the three themes, to give a flavour in non‐technical terms of what is going on in these very active literatures, and to indicate areas which remain open for research.
Game‐Theoretic Modelling of Transboundary Pollution
Authors: Missfeldt Fanny
Published: March 2003

Transboundary pollution is pollution which is emitted in one country, and deposited or causing harm in another country. Due to the absence of a supranational institution that could enforce international legislation, transboundary externalities cannot be approached in the same way as domestic pollution problems. In an attempt to find non‐traditional solutions to such crossborder problems, recent environmental economics literature incorporates behavioural assumptions with the help of game theory. This paper discusses how different types of transboundary pollution have been approached, and which static and dynamic game theoretic solution concepts have been evaluated. While full cooperation among countries yields the economically optimal outcome it is difficult to reach, because countries are faced with an inequitable sharing of the burden of pollution abatement and with the incentive to free‐ride. Side payment schemes to aid burden sharing and strategies to circumvent free riding are reviewed. Issues such as transaction costs, information and motivation are briefly discussed.
Central Bank Independence: An Update of Theory and Evidence
Authors: Berger Helge , De Haan Jakob , Eijffinger Sylvester C.W.
Published: March 2003

This paper reviews recent research on central bank independence (CBI). After we have distinguished between independence and conservativeness, research in which the inflationary bias is endogenised is reviewed. Finally, the various challenges that have been raised against previous empirical findings on CBI are discussed. We conclude that the negative relationship between CBI and inflation is quite robust.
The Economics of Tropical Deforestation
Authors: Barbier E. B. , Burgess J. C.
Published: March 2003

This paper provides a survey of ‘first wave’ economic studies of tropical deforestation and land use. These studies of tropical forest land conversion are generally at the cross‐country level. We also conduct a synthesis cross‐country analysis of tropical agricultural land expansion. The results show that agricultural development is the main factor determining land expansion, but institutional factors have an important influence. Income effects tend to vary from region to region, and do not always display an ‘Environmental Kuznets Curve’ relationship
Measures of Fit for Rational Expectations Models
Authors: Engsted Tom
Published: March 2003

This survey provides a detailed description of some of the recent theoretical and empirical literature on rational expectations econometrics. The survey pays special attention to non–stationarity of the data, and to the various methods for evaluating rational expectations models that have been developed as alternatives to the classical statistical approach of testing overidentifying restrictions. These methods have become very popular and widely used in empirical research. We provide an illustration using Danish stock market data, and we summarize the many results obtained recently using these measures in areas as diverse as stock prices, the term structure of interest rates, exchange rates, consumption and saving, the balance of payments, tax–smoothing, hyperinflation, and linear quadratic adjustment cost models for inventories, labour demand, and money demand.