bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-performance quantification of mature microRNAs by real-time RT-PCR using deoxyuridine-incorporated oligonucleotides and hemi-nested primers
Authors: Wan Guoqiang , ‘En Lim Qing , Too Heng-Phon
Published: June 2010

MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that serve as important regulators of eukaryotic gene expression and are emerging as novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets for human diseases. Robust and reliable detection of miRNAs is an essential step for understanding the functional significance of these small RNAs in both physiological and pathological processes. Existing methods for miRNA quantification rely on fluorescent probes for optimal specificity. In this study, we developed a high-performance real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay that allows specific and rapid detection of mature miRNAs using a fast thermocycling profile (10 sec per cycle). This assay exhibited a wide dynamic range (>7 logs) and was capable of detecting miRNAs from as little as 1 pg of the total RNA or as few as 10 cells. The use of modified reverse-transcription oligonucleotides with a secondary structure and hemi-nested reverse PCR primers allowed excellent discrimination of mature miRNAs from their precursors and highly homologous family members using SYBR Green I. Using a novel approach involving uracil-DNA glycosylase treatment, we showed that carryover of the reverse transcription oligonucleotide to the PCR can be successfully eliminated and discrimination between miRNA homologs could be further enhanced. These assays were further extended for multiplexed detection of miRNAs directly from cell lysates without laborious total RNA isolation. With the robust performance of these assays, we identified several miRNAs that were regulated by glial cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor in human glioblastoma cells. In summary, this method could provide a useful tool for rapid, robust, and cost-effective quantification of existing and novel miRNAs.
Spreadsheets as a Tool for Teaching Simulation
Authors: Evans James R.
Published: June 2010

Simulation can be a difficult subject to teach, as most commercial software requires learning new approaches and time is limited, particularly in business overview courses. Spreadsheets have a distinct advantage in that most students developed a high level of expertise prior to taking management science courses. As such, they provide an ideal platform on which to learn the basics of simulation methodology. In this paper, we describe the use of spreadsheets as a tool for teaching simulation for both pure Monte-Carlo approaches (focusing on the advantages of using Excel add-ins), and for simple systems simulation models such as queueing.
Graphical Spreadsheet Simulation of Queues
Authors: Ingolfsson Armann , Grossman Thomas A.
Published: June 2010

Graphical representations of spreadsheet queueing simulations can be used to teach students about queues and queueing processes. A customer graph shows the experience of every individual customer in a queue, based on arrival time, start of service, end of service, and showing clearly the length of time in queue and service time for each individual customer. The cumulative effect is powerful, illustrating how one long service time (or short interarrival time) can cause delays for many succeeding customers. The server graph (a Gantt chart) shows the experience of each server, illustrating how customers stack up, and the nature of periods of idle time. The graphs are linked to a spreadsheet simulation and update instantly when the simulation is replicated. The graphs illustrate the complete evolution of a queue (which simulation animations cannot do) and help provide a holistic view of queues. They can be used to teach students about the nature of queues and support active learning where the students articulate for themselves the cause of queue behaviors.
Optimization Software Pitfalls: Raising Awareness in the Classroom
Authors: Troxell Denise Sakai
Published: June 2010

Very little can be found in the OR/MS literature on the pitfalls of optimization software. This paper addresses the issue of how to help undergraduate business students handle some of the problems they might encounter when using optimization software. An overview of the teaching approach employed successfully by the author at Babson College is presented. This approach uses the standard Microsoft Excel Solver as an example combining in-class lectures and innovative on-line tutorials on the use of Solver as an optimization tool and as a more powerful Goal Seek.
An Agent-based Learning Approach for Teaching the Relationship Between Lot Size and Cycle Time
Authors: Dessouky Maged M. , Rickel Jeff , Sadagopan Narayanan
Published: June 2010

Students in most industrial engineering programs are taught just-in-time and other production concepts aimed at reducing cycle time and work-in-process inventory. Much of the material stresses setup time and lot size reduction. However, if the setup times cannot be eliminated or reduced significantly, reducing the lot size in some cases may have an adverse effect on the cycle time because more setup time is incurred. Thus, it is important for students to understand the complex relationship between lot size and cycle time when setups are required. In this paper, we present an agent-based learning approach for teaching this relationship. The agent watches as students experiment with a virtual factory and intervenes opportunistically with questions and explanations.
Using Goldratt's Game to Introduce Simulation in the Introductory Operations Management Course
Authors: Johnson Arvid C. , Drougas Anne M.
Published: June 2010

Simulation is a key tool in operations research (OR); however, it is often difficult to introduce and motivate simulation within the introductory operations management (OM) course. Time, software, and student constraints often require simulation to be relegated to an appendix/special topic exercise left for the diligent student or to eliminate its coverage entirely. This paper describes the use of “Goldratt's Game” to provide an Excel-based introduction to the topic of simulation within the normal flow of the introductory OM course. While this coverage is far from complete, it provides students with sufficient preparation—in terms of understanding the motivation for and applicability of simulation—for more advanced, elective OM courses that employ simulation.
Operations Research Capstone Course: A Project-Based Process of Discovery and Application
Authors: Armacost Andrew P. , Lowe James K.
Published: June 2010

The U.S. Air Force Academy offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate program in Operations Research (OR). Our “OR-affiliated” faculty includes members from the Departments of Mathematical Sciences, Management, Computer Science, and Economics and Geography. The OR capstone course comes in the students final semester and is a highlight of their academic experience. The course evolved from a case study-driven course to one in which students serve as OR consultants for a variety of clients in the Air Force and Colorado Springs communities. In addition to the outstanding educational experience for the students, this course provides a valuable service to our community. In this paper, we discuss how we introduce our students to an OR consulting process through our teaching, guidance, and evaluation. We offer several recent success stories from the course and provide the reader with two spreadsheet-based mini-cases derived from those projects.
OR/MS Games: 3. Counterfeit Coin Problem
Authors: Sniedovich Moshe
Published: June 2010

In this discussion we examine two versions of the famous Counterfeit Coin Problem, focusing on their educational OR/MS content. It is shown that this problem provides an excellent environment for illustrating a number of fundamental OR/MS problem-solving concepts and methods related to decision making under uncertainty. A number of interactive modules are provided for experimentation with this problem.
Solving “Einstein's Riddle” Using Spreadsheet Optimization
Authors: Yeomans Julian Scott
Published: June 2010

A solution to Einstein's Riddle is presented using spreadsheet modelling and optimization. Various versions of this problem have been used in introductory management science (MS) classes either as an assignment or as a take-home exam. This riddle has proved to be a challenging problem, since it simultaneously integrates many of the elements that are taught throughout the semester. Namely, the ability to convert a somewhat complicated verbal description into requisite constraints, the creative modelling skills required to transform the problem into an assignment problem-type structure, no “true” or obvious objective function, a difficulty in determining what the (non-obvious) decision variables should be, the use of integer (binary) variables together with either-or constraints requiring satisfaction at equality (an added technical difficulty/challenge), the ubiquitous time issues involved in the solution of integer problems, the numerical representation of numbers by computers that are not readily obvious to business students (i.e. why supposedly integer values may appear in some form of scientific notation) and, most importantly, the ability to appropriately structure the problem formulation into a spreadsheet format for implementation with Solver.
Using Soccer Goals to Motivate the Poisson Process
Authors: Chu Singfat
Published: June 2010

In introducing analytic queuing models, textbooks rarely justify the assumption of the exponential and the Poisson distributions. This paper demonstrates how a real-life phenomenon familiar to many students, namely the occurrences of soccer goals, can drive the ideas. An Excel worksheet is made available for further analysis.
The Conduct of an Effective Simulation Study
Authors: Conway Richard W. , McClain John O.
Published: June 2010

Although the software tools to develop simulation models have improved dramatically, relatively little has been written about how to most effectively exercise those models. This paper provides warnings and suggestions to improve simulation studies. Although based primarily on the authors' experience with discrete-event models in manufacturing situations, many of their observations are more widely applicable.
Monte Carlo Spreadsheet Simulation Using Resampling
Authors: Leong Thin-Yin
Published: June 2010

The ubiquitous spreadsheet can be used to model situations with random values, in what is commonly referred to as Monte Carlo simulation. For simple cases, adding random functions such as Excel™'s RAND) is enough. In general business models, complex inverse distribution functions, in combination with RAND, are needed to generate the right random values. But first the modeler must determine the appropriate best-fit distribution to use. This can be a daunting process for undergraduates and typical executives. So for expediency, simulation add-ins (with additional learning time and possible costs) may be employed. The use of add-ins, however, makes the modeling less transparent. A more direct alternative is to resample the raw data, which in many cases are not sufficient in sample size to establish statistical goodness of fit. This paper reviews the limitations of current spreadsheet resampling methods and proposes new simple yet effective formulations that better accommodate classroom and practical real-world application.
A generalized dimensionality discrepancy measure for dimensionality assessment in multidimensional item response theory
Authors: Levy Roy , Svetina Dubravka
Published: June 2010

A generalized dimensionality discrepancy measure is introduced to facilitate a critique of dimensionality assumptions in multidimensional item response models. Connections between dimensionality and local independence motivate the development of the discrepancy measure from a conditional covariance theory perspective. A simulation study and a real‐data analysis demonstrate the utility of the discrepancy measure's application at multiple levels of analysis in a posterior predictive model checking framework.
Threats: Power, family mealtimes, and social influence
Authors: Hepburn Alexa , Potter Jonathan
Published: June 2010

One of the most basic topics in social psychology is the way one agent influences the behaviour of another. This paper will focus on threats, which are an intensified form of attempted behavioural influence. Despite the centrality to the project of social psychology, little attention has been paid to threats. This paper will start to rectify this oversight. It reviews early examples of the way social psychology handles threats and highlights key limitations and presuppositions about the nature and role of threats. By contrast, we subject them to a programme of empirical research. Data comprise video records of a collection of family mealtimes that include preschool children. Threats are recurrent in this material. A preliminary conceptualization of features of candidate threats from this corpus will be used as an analytic start point. A series of examples are used to explicate basic features and dimensions that build the action of threatening. The basic structure of the threats uses a conditional logic: if the recipient continues problem action/does not initiate required action then negative consequences will be produced by the speaker. Further analysis clarifies how threats differ from warnings and admonishments. Sequential analysis suggests threats set up basic response options of compliance or defiance. However, recipients of threats can evade these options by, for example, reworking the unpleasant upshot specified in the threat, or producing barely minimal compliance. The implications for broader social psychological concerns are explored in a discussion of power, resistance, and asymmetry; the paper ends by reconsidering the way social influence can be studied in social psychology.
Image reconstruction using spectroscopic and hyperspectral information for compressive terahertz imaging
Authors: Xu Zhimin , Lam Edmund Y.
Published: June 2010

Terahertz (THz) time-domain imaging is an emerging modality and has attracted a lot of interest. However, existing THz imaging systems often require a long scan time and sophisticated system design. Recently, a new design incorporating compressed sensing (CS) leads to a lower detector cost and shorter scan time, in exchange for computation in an image reconstruction step. In this paper, we develop two reconstruction algorithms that can estimate the underlying scene as accurately as possible. First is a single-band CS reconstruction method, where we show that by making use of prior information about the phase and the correlation between the spatial distributions of the amplitude and phase, the reconstruction quality can be significantly improved over previously published methods. Second, we develop a method that uses the multi-frequency nature of the THz pulse. Through effective use of the spatial sparsity, spectroscopic phase information, and correlations across the hyperspectral bands, our method can further enhance the recovered image quality. This is demonstrated by computation on a set of experimental THz data captured in a single-pixel THz system.
La chronique familiale du Parisinus gr. 1601 et l'identité de son rédacteur
Authors: Efthymiadis Stéphanos , Mazarakis Andéas
Published: June 2010

Codex Parisinus graecus 1601 preserves an anonymous family chronicle covering the years 1446–1458 which records in some detail the dates of its author's marriage and the birth of his children. Apart from restoring some readings from its previous recent edition, this article proposes an identification of the anonymous author with Ioannes Kanaboutzes. A scholar with historiographical interests, he is documented as a native of Phocaea and close associate of the Gattelusio, the Genoese rulers of the adjacent island of Lesbos. He is mostly known for his Commentary on Dionysios of Halicarnassus which he dedicated to Palamede Gattilusio, lord of Ainos and of Samothrace.
A missing Vatican manuscript page at Oxford Holobolus' commentary on the Ara Ionica and the Securis
Authors: Vioque Guillermo Galán
Published: June 2010

From the information previously available, the Triclinian edition of Theocritus, known through the manuscripts Paris, BNF gr. 2832 and Vaticano, BAV gr. 1825 + 1824, was believed to end with the Syrinx and the Ara Dosiadae. Thanks to the discovery of a folio of the MS. Vaticano, BAV gr. 1824 in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, we now know that it continued with at least the Ara Ionica and the Securis, both with Holobolus's scholia. Folio 144 of the MS. Oxford, BL D'Orville 71 thus now constitutes a prime witness of these scholia.
Hacia la identificación de la biblioteca y la mano de Demetrio Ducas
Authors: Manzano Teresa Martínez
Published: June 2010

Demetrios Ducas was a Cretan scholar who emigrated to Italy at the end of the 15th century and then moved to Spain in 1513. Both his editorship of Greek texts in Venice for Aldus Manutius and his activity as a professor of Greek and editor of the New Testament under the aegis of Cardinal Cisneros are well documented. However, no manuscript of his hand and no codex or printed book belonging to his library have been identified so far. This paper reviews testimonies from Ducas' colleagues in Alcalá between 1513 and 1518 and some manuscripts copied at the time in the Complutensian Academy. Such manuscripts give us relevant evidence for a conjectural reconstruction of Ducas' library and open the road to a future identification of his hand. To this end manuscripts Escur. R III 5, Salm. 769, Salm. 295, Salm. 9 and Vat. Reg. gr. Pii II 16 are carefully examined.
Modeling Work for Cognitive Work Support System Design in Operational Control Centers
Authors: Feigh Karen M. , Pritchett Amy R.
Published: June 2010

The design of cognitive work support systems for operational control centers is an emerging challenge for human factors practitioners. This paper presents an example of applying techniques derived from the interactive design tradition to a context-of-use analysis, including both knowledge elicitation and modeling, to inform the design of a cognitive work support system. The paper integrates insights from the Cognitive Control Model—specifically, contextual control modes—into the cognitive analysis of work. The inclusion of COCOM in contextual inquiry helps to identify important contextual factors and brings meaning and organization to the different patterns of activity observed. Specifically, the paper presents the results of a contextual inquiry for airline operation control centers in the form of work models that have been extended to account for contextual control modes.
Epistemological Self-Confidence in Human Factors Research
Authors: Dekker Sidney W. A. , Nyce James M. , van Winsen Roel , Henriqson Eder
Published: June 2010

A recent conversation in the literature asks whether human factors constructs amount to folk modeling or to strong science. In this paper we explore this further in the context of well-known positions on the production of science and scientific rationality. We inquire about the sources of epistemological self-confidence—the extent to which human factors is satisfied with its beliefs and assumptions about how it knows what it knows. We question whether a large body of evidence for a construct is evidence of strong science, or whether critical reflection and skepticism about this is actually what distinguishes scientific knowledge from folk models. We also review presumptions of a-perspectival objectivity, in which researchers believe they are able to take a “view from nowhere” and enjoy an objective window onto an existing reality. We ask whether human factors constructs don't so much reflect but rather create a particular empirical world, which would not even exist without those constructs. This article serves as an invitation to rethink what we mean by epistemological confidence and how we arrive at it.
Emergency Department Status Boards: A Case Study in Information Systems Transition
Authors: Bisantz Ann M. , Pennathur Priyadarshini R. , Guarrera Theresa K. , Fairbanks Rollin J. , Perry Shawna J. , Zwemer Frank , Wears Robert L.
Published: June 2010

Patient status boards play an important role in coordinating and communicating about patient care in hospital emergency departments (EDs). Status boards are transitioning from dry-erase whiteboards to electronic systems. Although electronic systems may preserve some surface features of the manual artifacts, important affordances of the manual technology are not always maintained. We compared information on manual and electronic status boards in an ED. Photographs of the manual board and screen shots of the electronic system were obtained before and after a hospital transitioned between systems. Displayed information as well as detailed content regarding patient chief complaints, clinical plans, and dispositions were coded and analyzed to understand the type and function of information present, as well as the use of features such color. Results indicated that although categories of information found were similar, the frequency with which some types of information appeared on the two system displays was substantially different. In particular, information used to coordinate aspects of patient treatment was more frequently found in the manual system. Results suggest that in the design of new information technologies, simply matching the format or information fields available on an existing system may not be sufficient to sustain current work practices or to prevent unanticipated shifts in use.
Analyzing the Riding Behavior of Recreational Skiers and Snowboarders
Authors: Schmitt Kai-Uwe , Niemetz Peter , Muser Markus
Published: June 2010

Video recordings of a ski slope were used in combination with a video-based tracking software to analyze the riding behavior of skiers and snowboarders. It was shown that the methodology is a powerful tool to measure biomechanical parameters such as the speed and curve radii of individual skiers and snowboarders. A total of 6821 observations was recorded and evaluated. Average riding speeds ranged from 16 to 32 km/h (on the different parts of the slope that were analyzed) with maximum speeds of up to 113 km/h. Average curve radii between 6.2 and 9.3 m were measured.
Ball Grid Array Lead-Free Solder Joint Strength under Monotonic Flexural Load
Authors: Geng Phil
Published: June 2010

This work compared ball grid array (BGA) lead-free solder joint strengths to eutectic lead (Sn–Pb) solder joint strengths under monotonic bend load at room temperature. Flexural test methodologies for evaluating solder joint strength are presented. Various effects on solder joint strength were summarized systematically into three parts. The first part focused on the effect of solder joint geometries. BGAs with Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu and 63Sn-37Pb solders were tested, respectively. The effects of package side solder resist opening sizes, solder ball diameters, and board side metal defined/solder mask defined pads were investigated with 0.062 in printed circuit board (PCB). The results showed that the solder joint strength of Sn–Ag–Cu solder is lower than that of the traditional Sn–Pb solder under room temperature board flexural load and similar dynamic load. The second part investigated the effects of type of package (plastic BGA (PBGA) versus ceramic BGA (CBGA)), board thickness (0.093 in. versus 0.135 in.), and the effect of rework (reworked versus non-reworked) with Sn-3.9Ag-0.7Cu and 63Sn-37Pb solders. The joint strength of Sn–Ag–Cu solder is consistently lower than that of eutectic Sn–Pb solder for both board thicknesses, both CBGA and PBGA packages, and both non-reworked and reworked packages. The third part explored the feasibility of alternative low temperature solders as board-level interconnects. In addition to the traditional 63Sn-37Pb solder and the lead-free Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu solder, four other lead-free solders (Sn-52In, Sn-58Bi, Sn-57Bi-1Ag, and Sn-9Zn-0.006Al) were tested with 0.044 in PCB. Effects of board surface finishes with immersion silver (ImAg) or organic solderability preservatives, and pads with via-in-pad (VIP) or non-VIP pads were investigated. Test results showed that most of the BGAs with non-VIP pads performed better than those with VIP pads, except Sn–In solder with ImAg surface finish. The Sn–In solder showed the lowest performance, while Sn–Bi and Sn–Bi–Ag solder compositions showed better performance. Sn–Zn–Al solder joint strength performs better than others.
To Eat or Not To Eat: An Easy Simulation of Optimal Diet Selection in the Classroom
Authors: Ray Darrell L.
Published: June 2010

Optimal diet selection, a component of optimal foraging theory, suggests that animals should select a diet that either maximizes energy or nutrient consumption per unit time or minimizes the foraging time needed to attain required energy or nutrients. In this exercise, students simulate the behavior of foragers that either show no foraging preference or demonstrate a foraging preference based on profitability ratios (average energy content of food item, E//average handling time, h). Foragers that optimize their diets consistently acquire more total energy in a timed foraging period. The demonstration is scalable to a full laboratory exercise with statistical analysis and graphing activities.
From Skeletons to Bridges & Other STEM Enrichment Exercises for High School Biology
Authors: Riechert Susan E. , Post Brian K.
Published: June 2010

The national Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education Initiative favors a curriculum shift from the compartmentalization of math and science classes into discrete subject areas to an integrated, multidisciplinary experience. Many states are currently implementing programs in high schools that provide greater integration of math, sciences, and technology. Program evaluation results indicate that students participating in multidisciplinary team projects of this type exhibit significantly higher levels of motivation and develop greater cognitive skills than students in the traditional, compartmentalized curriculum (Ross & Hogaboam-Gray, 1988; Venville et al., 2000).
Peer Sharing Facilitates the Effect of Inquiry-based Projects on Science Learning
Authors: Chung Hui-Min , Behan Kristina Jackson
Published: June 2010

Authentic assessment exercises are similar to real-world tasks that would be expected by a professional. An authentic assessment in combination with an inquiry-based learning activity enhances students' learning and rehearses them for their future roles, whether as scientists or as informed citizens. Over a period of 2 years, we experimented with two inquiry-based projects; one had traditional scientific inquiry characteristics, and the other used popular culture as the medium of inquiry. We found that activities that incorporated group learning motivated students and sharpened their abilities to apply and communicate their knowledge of science. We also discovered that incorporating popular culture provided ““Millennial”” students with a refreshing view of science learning and increased their appetites to explore and elaborate on science.
The Use of Corn versus Sugarcane to Produce Ethanol Fuel: A Fermentation Experiment for Environmental Studies
Authors: Banschbach Valerie S. , Letovsky Robert
Published: June 2010

This article provides both an experiment and a framework for discussion that students can use to compare the efficiency of producing ethanol by using corn versus sugarcane as a raw material.
Incidental Findings on Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Children With Sickle Cell Disease
Authors: Jordan Lori C. , McKinstry Robert C. , Kraut Michael A. , Ball William S. , Vendt Bruce A. , Casella James F. , DeBaun Michael R. ,   for the Silent Infarct Transfusion Trial Investigators, Strouse John J.
Published: June 2010

OBJECTIVE:

We describe the prevalence and range of incidental intracranial abnormalities identified through MRI of the brain in a large group of children screened for a clinical trial.

METHODS:

We included 953 children between 5 and 14 years of age who were screened with MRI of the brain for the Silent Infarct Transfusion Trial. All had sickle cell anemia or sickle β-null thalassemia. MRI scans were interpreted by 3 neuroradiologists. MRI scans reported to have any abnormality were reviewed by 2 study neuroradiologists. Incidental findings were classified into 4 categories, that is, no, routine, urgent, or immediate referral recommended. Cerebral infarctions and vascular lesions were not considered incidental and were excluded.

RESULTS:

We identified 63 children (6.6% [95% confidence interval: 5.1%–8.4%]) with 68 incidental intracranial MRI findings. Findings were classified as urgent in 6 cases (0.6%), routine in 25 cases (2.6%), and no referral required in 32 cases (3.4%). No children required immediate referral. Two children with urgent findings underwent surgery in the subsequent 6 months.

CONCLUSION:

In this large cohort of children, incidental intracranial findings were identified for 6.6%, with potentially serious or urgent findings for 0.6%.
What's the Problem with Religion?
Authors: McPhillips Kathleen
Published: June 2010

The study of religion at tertiary and secondary levels of education in Australia has undergone significant challenge and change in the last 15 years. There has been some analysis of this phenomenon during this time, but also, lament and disappointment at the loss of religious studies as an academic discipline. In particular, the growth of religious studies as an examinable secondary subject has not articulated to increased numbers in religious studies at tertiary level. This paper explores this situation and argues that the study of religion has become a problem for discipline-based discourse, and is located in fragmentary discussions across multiple discourses. As well, in a post-Sept 11th society, the study of religion has become highly politicized. The consequences are numerous, including funding issues for researchers and the derailment of religious studies forums at a time when analysis is needed more than ever.
Thai Buddhist Women, 'Bare Life' and Bravery
Authors: Kameniar Barbara
Published: June 2010

This paper addresses the ambiguous position of the largest group of Buddhist renunciant women in Thailand today, the mae chii. It provides a brief historical overview of the position of renunciant women in Buddhism more generally before taking up the case of the mae chii. While the mae chii are often represented as subordinate women who are suppressed by the current legal and religious systems in Thailand, this paper attempts to offer a different reading of their current position through the lens of Georgio Agamben’s notion of homo sacer. The paper draws on research literature and interviews undertaken in 2007 and 2008 to make the case that it is possible to not only see “mae chii” as a submissive category but as a subversive one too.
Max Charlesworth, Françoise Dussart and Howard Morphy (eds.), Aboriginal Religions in Australia: An Anthology of Recent Writings. and Tanya Storch (ed.), Religions and Missionaries around the Pacific, 1500–1900.
Authors: Trompf Garry W.
Published: June 2010

Max Charlesworth, Françoise Dussart and Howard Morphy (eds.), Aboriginal Religions in Australia: An Anthology of Recent Writings. Vitality of Indigenous Religions Series, 4. Ashgate, Aldershot, 2005, pp. xii[i] + 324, 0754651282.
 
Tanya Storch (ed.), Religions and Missionaries around the Pacific, 1500–1900. The Pacific World: Lands, Peoples and their History of the Pacific, 1500–1900, 17. Ashgate Variorum, Aldershot, 2006, pp. xxxvii + 415, ISBN: 0754606678.
Euan Cameron, Interpreting Christian History: The Challenge of the Churches’ Past.
Authors: Crotty Robert
Published: June 2010

Euan Cameron, Interpreting Christian History: The Challenge of the Churches’ Past. Blackwell, Oxford and Melbourne, 2005, pp. xii + 292, ISBN I3 978-0-631-21522-6.
Cultivating Intimacy
Authors: Bielo James
Published: June 2010

In this article I contribute to the sociology and anthropology of American Evangelicalism by examining the discourse of group Bible study. Every week millions of Christians in the U.S. meet for group study, and in doing so, actively negotiate the categories of meaning central to their faith. Yet, this crucial practice has received scant attention from scholars. This study is grounded in theories of social practice and symbolic interaction, where cultural life is understood through its vital institutions, and institutions are treated as inter-subjective accomplishments. I employ the concept of ‘interactive frames’ to define how Evangelicals understand the Bible study experience. Ultimately, I argue that the predominant interactive frame for Evangelicals is that of cultivating intimacy, which directly reflects the type of personalized, relational spirituality characteristic of their faith. This, in turn, has serious consequences for how Bible reading and interpretation are performed in groups. I use a case study approach, providing close ethnographic analyses of a mixed-gender group from a Restoration Movement congregation.
“What Kind of Catholic Are You?”
Authors: Olsen Elizabeth
Published: June 2010

This paper explores the intersections between feminist conceptions of reflexivity and activism in the context of social research on religion in the southern Andes of Peru. Emerging geographies of religion have been strongly influenced by feminist theory and methodology, yet few geographers working on themes of religion have openly analysed the role of reflexivity in research or activism. I draw upon the research that I conducted with the Catholic Iglesia Surandina and the Protestant Iglesia Evangélica Peruana in one of the high provinces of Cusco, and consider two different approaches toward reflexivity—a focus on my own religious identity and considerations of access, and a broader engagement with the politics of knowledge construction in the region. I conclude by suggesting the need for a more thoughtful consideration of the complex and contradictory politics and ethics of social religious research.
Researching the Heartland of Pentecostalism
Authors: Freston Paul
Published: June 2010

Latin America is undergoing a singular process of Christian pluralization from within and from the bottom up. It is thus a unique site for globalizing the US–European debate on religion and modernity. Pentecostalism has been the engine of religious change in Latin America, introducing a new model of the religious field. This article examines the relationship between the simultaneous growth of Pentecostalism and “no religion.” Latin America is also an important site for exploring the validity of controversial interpretations of the political implications of global southern Protestantism, with regard to geopolitics, democracy, urban violence and human rights. This paper also asks what light is thrown by Latin American Pentecostalism on the historical correlation between Protestantism and economic development, and by Latin American Pentecostal missionaries on the global debate about the rights and wrongs of proselytism. The conclusion discusses how the approaching ceiling on Pentecostal growth will change its sociological characteristics.
Researching Belief without Asking Religious Questions
Authors: Day Abby
Published: June 2010

A unique research method was designed to answer the question “What do people believe in nowadays and how do we find out?” This approach was intended to research belief by asking non-religious questions of apparently non-religious people. The qualitative method, detailed here, produced data that led me to conclude that statements of religious affiliation are often expres-sions of “believing in belonging,” where people associate with religion to reinforce ethnic, familial or other social identities. Fieldwork issues such as informant selection, interviews and data interpretation are discussed in detail.
Canada’s Dataless Debate About Religion
Authors: Bibby Reginald W.
Published: June 2010

Scholars interested in the study of implicit religion often appear to work from the assumption that traditional forms of organized religion have become less pervasive, but that less visible and important religious expressions nonetheless persist. The argument has been particularly pertinent when observers have tried to understand what happens to religion in settings where secularization seems apparent. However, a somewhat different pattern also warrants examination—where fairly overt or explicit expressions of religion are minimized by individuals and institutions, and defined as “implicit” even though the facts suggest otherwise. In this paper, the author shows how organized religion in Canada has known relative health since at the least the mid-1980s, complete with significant public participation. Yet, despite the data at hand, the media and most academics have held unwaveringly to a secularization framework, depicting participation in organized religion as being in an ongoing free-fall, with the prevalent message one of decline and insignificance. A considerable gap has consequently come to exist between public perception and reality. The result is that objectively explicit religion has been relegated by meaning-makers to implicit religion— where it is depicted as being embraced by diminishing numbers and largely irrelevant to public life and discourse. The author concludes with a discussion of the implications of this “Canadian case study” of perception and deception for an understanding of religious developments elsewhere.
Implicit Religion in Popular Culture
Authors: Porter Jennifer
Published: June 2010

Studies of the relationship between religion and popular culture are not new, and the past decade has seen a dramatic burgeoning of interest in this relationship. Explorations of everything from Star Trek to Elvis have appeared in the scholarly literature, often making comparative arguments regarding the religious dimensions of popular culture. However, when scholars explore the religious dimensions of fan communities, analyses tend to pathologize the implicitly religious dimensions of fan experience. The concept of “authenticity” is used to undermine and devalue the sacred spaces that fans create, raising the question of what it means to be authentically religious.
Social Values in a Secular Age
Authors: Carter Andrew
Published: June 2010

The aim of this consultation is to examine the concepts of motivation, commitment and enthusiasm in today’s society; to ask why people choose a certain lifestyle, adopt a particular attitude, or specific mode of behaviour; and what it is that leads them to look beyond selfishness. I am not a theologian, a philosopher, a sociologist or a psychologist. So you may wonder— perhaps rightly—whether I have any qualifications to be requesting your attention for the next few minutes. In justification I can only plead the fact that for the past few years at St George’s House I have been able to observe and listen to much discussion of topical secular problems, and also of matters of religion (not only Christian). One cannot do that without wondering about the motivation and reasoning which lies behind what people say; especially if, in a world which does not lack scary or depressing features, the predominant mood is of optimism, idealism and altruism. You may think that this happy state of affairs is as unsurprising as it is welcome. What is so strange about people being moved by idealism or selflessness? These qualities are frequently encountered in human nature. Let me explain why—at least to some extent I have been surprised.
“Fresh Expressions”
Authors: Percy Martyn
Published: June 2010

Strictly speaking, the vast majority of theology should be the study of the implicit rather than the explicit. For it is in the life of congregations and denominations that the gospel is discerned, interpreted and lived. Theology, for the most part, “happens” in discipleship; it is not “read” in textbooks. For example, reading the treatises of Martin Luther King Jr. can only form a small part of the process of assessing his contribution to theology and society. It is really only in hearing and experiencing his radio or TV broadcasts that one begins to get a sense of how his theology performed; how it moved and motivated his followers. The style of presentation matters at least as much as the substance of the message: the sensate and persuasive timbre of the rhetoric conveyed in the performance is itself theological material. Likewise, the key to understanding the theology of churches—their declared theological priorities—can never be a matter of mere textual analysis. Such an approach would miss the fact that “church” is an interpretation and performance of theology that takes on a life it its own.
Theoretical bases of a conceptual framework with reference to intercultural communicative competence
Authors: Lussier Denise
Published: June 2010

With the rapid expansion of communication, the mobility of people and the expansion of immigration, it is generally agreed, in language education, that ‘intercultural communicative competence’ (ICC) should be an essential component of ‘language competence’ or vice versa. It also implies that there could not be intercultural communication without the integration of intercultural competence in language teaching. But, there is a need to study this issue logically and coherently. Accordingly, this article reviews existing theories and models. It also proposes a conceptual framework for the development of ICC which involves cognitive, affective and psychological factors. The three essential domains of ICC are: intercultural knowledge, intercultural skills and intercultural being. They capture the interrelations that are embedded in language, thought and culture. The paper argues that language competence needs to address not only the linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic/discourse elements of langue but should integrate (inter)cultural interactions and transactions between individuals in the learning process.
Of Leopards and Other Lovely Frightful Things
Authors: Snodgrass Jeffrey , Sharma Satish Kumar , Jhala Yuvraj Singh , Lacy Michael G. , Advani Mohan , Bhargava N. K. , Upadhyay Chakrapani
Published: June 2010

In this paper, we argue that shamans as compared to non-shamans demonstrate a deeper connection to wildlife. Shamans display particularly powerful love and reverence for leopards. That shamans more deeply revere, even worship, nature suggests that indigenous Animism does impact the environmental thought and practice of our informants. However, our indigenous informants’ pro-environmental thinking is most strongly linked to only particular classes of people (like shamans) and to particular animals (like leopards). Likewise, shamans do not demonstrate significant differences with non-shamans on all survey items related to wildlife. Finally, the differences between the conservation sentiments of shamans and non-shamans are less striking than other pro-environmental feelings. We thus argue for a complex, and in some instances opposed, relationship between indigenous Rajasthani religion and pro-environmental thought and practice.
Situating the Corn-Child
Authors: Tiedje Kristina
Published: June 2010

This article analyzes Animism and conservation in the context of a conservation and development program in Mexico. The Eastern Sierra Madre mountains have become contested spaces where certain traditional agricultural practices are challenged by government conservation projects. With a focus on the Nahuas, I ask whether and in what context indigenous religious thought and cultural values translate into conservationist behavior and how conservation ideals influence indigenous views of nature. I focus on ritual behavior directed toward the corn-child as an example of an ethical model to respect sentient beings. Then, I contrast this model with a Mexican conservation and development program. As an example of seemingly changing perceptions of nature, the Nahuas accept the program by weighing economic needs over religious ones, without leaving behind their obligations to nature spirits. My analysis shows how they articulate new representations of the corn-child with conservation to make sense out of recent environmental processes. I also demonstrate the cultural agency of the Nahuas who integrate globally circulating conservation ideas as easily adapted cultural material. The articulation of conservation-as-sacred-practice is an example of how they have come to terms with political, economic, and environmental challenges and offers powerful cultural resources to serve local ends.
‘Nature’, Physis and the Holy
Authors: Swer Gregory Morgan
Published: June 2010

Heidegger’s later philosophy holds much that is of relevance to contemporary interest in the relationship between nature and religion/spirituality. By interpreting nature in ontological terms as a mode of Being’s self-presencing, and defining humanity as Dasein,the essential site for Being’s self-manifestation, Heidegger offers us an account of natural/human spirituality that provides both a coherent critique of the origins and character of the modern ecological crisis and the death of the holy. Heidegger portrays humanity as called upon to protect and care for the entities of nature, and points the way toward the rediscovery of our essential relationship with Being, and thereby the resacralization of nature and the rediscovery of the numinous dimension of human existence.
Social Nature
Authors: Ivakhiv Adrian
Published: June 2010

Noel Castree, Nature (Key Ideas in Geography; London and New York: Routledge, 2005), 312 pp., $38.95, ISBN: 9780415339056.
Bruno Latour, Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 320 pp., $43.95, ISBN 13: 9780199256044.
John Law, After Method: Mess in Social Science Research (New York: Routledge, 2004), pp. 200, $54.95, ISBN: 978-0-415-34175-2.
Jeyamalar Kathirithamby-Wells, Nature and Nation: Forests and Development in Peninsular Malaysia
Authors: De Pater Cathrien
Published: June 2010

Jeyamalar Kathirithamby-Wells, Nature and Nation: Forests and Development in Peninsular Malaysia (Copenhagen: NIAS Press; Singapore: Singapore University Press; Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2005), 487 pp., $32.00 (pbk), ISBN: 87-91114-7 (NIAS pbk), ISBN: 9971-69-302-X (SUP pbk), ISBN: 978-0824828639 (UHP pbk).
The Contribution of Ecotourism to the Conservation of Natural Sacred Sites
Authors: Nyamweru Celia , Kimaru Elias
Published: June 2010

The sacred kaya forests of coastal Kenya are sites of biological and cultural significance currently threatened with degradation and destruction. Conservation efforts over the last fifteen years have had some positive results but the prospects for survival of these forests in areas of acute rural poverty and rapid cultural change remain doubtful. Appropriate cultural tourism and ecotourism projects can generate income for the local communities and thus enhance the forests’ chances of survival. One such project was initiated in 2001 at Kaya Kinondo, a sacred forest of the Digo sub-group of the Mijikenda people on the south Kenya coast. The context of this project is outlined, and a discussion of its history is given with particular attention to environmental, socio-cultural, and economic issues. Information drawn from the experiences of the authors and from interviews with local people and visitors is used to evaluate consequences of the project. After seven years of operation, the Kaya Kinondo Ecotourism Project can be seen as a qualified success, and provides some guidelines for the successful implementation of ecotourism projects to enhance the conservation of threatened, natural, sacred sites in other parts of the world.