bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of Malaysian Academic Library Websites by University Students
Authors: Aman M.
Published: May 2004

This study identifies the pattern of twelve Malaysian academic library websites usage among 823 university students. Seventy percent of the respondents knew of the existence of their university library websites. Only 11 percent of respondents searched the Internet before searching printed materials. A majority of the respondents agreed that the Internet adds value to library services and speeds up reference searching. For 23 percent of respondents the Internet was not their first choice in reference searching. A majority of the respondents agreed that the Internet makes reference work more challenging, more fun, more interesting, and more accessible. Eight percent disagreed that using the Internet increases their class assignment grades. 69 percent of respondents did not agree that use of the Internet reduces the students’ need to refer to the library’s helpdesk.
Teleology on Television?
Authors: Aldridge Meryl , Dingwall Robert
Published: May 2004

Wildlife and nature programmes are a popular and profitable genre. To test an impression that these programmes’ references to evolution tend to be teleological, the authors collected a sample of UK radio and television (both terrestrial and cable/satellite) output over a two-month period. Analysis suggests that they fall into seven subgenres but the very high-cost ‘blue chip’ and, conversely, the supposedly cheap and cheerful ‘presenterled’ categories accounted for over half the programmes. Counterintuitively, the most expensive and elaborate programmes seem to be most inclined to treat evolution teleologically. By contrast, the less respected presenter-led subgenre seems to allow more ‘space’ for explanatory complexity. We argue that, as in other subgenres, this is because the assumed audience demand for strong narrative drive can be met by borrowing from other programme genres, action movies and whodunits, for example.
On the Challenges of Cross-National Comparative Media Research
Authors: Livingstone Sonia
Published: May 2004

Funding bodies and policy imperatives increasingly favour comparative research. Stimulated also by the phenomena of globalization and the concomitant rise of globalization theory, researchers in media, communication and cultural studies increasingly find themselves initiating or invited to collaborate in multinational comparative projects. Given the growing prominence of comparative media and communications research, this article examines the claims made for such research in order to foster a more explicit and critical understanding of the research aims, process and findings. Adapting Kohn’s fourfold typology of models for comparative research, a range of epistemological debates regarding cross-national comparison are juxtaposed with the practical experiences of media and communications researchers in order to reveal the key research decisions and their consequences for substantive conclusions.
Theory, Boundaries and Political Communication
Authors: Dahlgren Peter
Published: May 2004

While the themes of fragmentation and insufficient coherence dominated discussions in the field of media and communication studies a decade ago, today they seem less urgent, even if at times still problematic. In terms of theory, the field is well served by its permeable boundaries, since much of its theory is ‘imported’. Moreover, theory needs nondoctrinaire critical stances to address the distress of the world. Systems of political communication are in rapid transformation, and we need good theoretic tools to confront the changes. This subfield is still very much coloured by traditional political science; however, we also see important contributions for the public sphere and culturalist approaches. All three have strengths and weaknesses, all have their differences that must be respected. Yet there are some signs of complementarity, and if we avoid orthodox positions, we may well find more synergic interplay between them.
Reconstructing Mediatization as an Analytical Concept
Authors: Schulz Winfried
Published: May 2004

Mediatization relates to changes associated with communication media and their development. A basic assumption of mediatization is that the technological, semiotic and economic characteristics of mass media result in problematic dependencies, constraints and exaggerations. These are closely associated with three basic functions of the media in communication processes: (1) the relay function, grounded in the media’s technological capacities, serving to bridge spatial and temporal distances; (2) the semiotic function, making messages suitable for human information processing through encoding and formatting; and (3) the economic function, highlighting the standardization of media products as an outcome of mass production processes. The article looks at the analytical functions of mediatization and, finally, discusses three possible answers to the question whether the advent of new media might bring an end to mediatization.
Media Meet the Citizen
Authors: Bardoel Jo , d’Haenens Leen
Published: May 2004

Structural changes in the media world, including an increase in competition and commercialization, mean that the topicality and urgency of the notion of social responsibility in the media are increasing. Analogously, the discussion of the social responsibility of companies and organizations becomes a central concern in the business world and within government, as the relatively new concept of ‘good governance’ shows. In recent years we have seen that the absolute belief in the free market is once again under debate. Rather than a return to a controlling government as the main provider of a context in the complex ‘ecology’ of communication policy, possible solutions are now sought in greater responsibility for the media actors themselves (media companies and organizations, citizens, supervisory boards and commissions) and in self-regulation in the media profession. This article assesses accountability mechanisms currently in existence in the Netherlands and provides a comparative overview of interesting practices in other geographical contexts. This contribution also examines the academic reflection upon and conceptualization of such notions as social ‘responsibility’ and media ‘accountability’ in the division of labour throughout the market, the government and civil society. We are thinking of mechanisms for accountability such as a contract between the government and the broadcasters, an ombudsperson, forms of self-regulation, supervisory bodies, forms of public consultation, and the profession seeking contact with the citizens (e.g. civic journalism).
Research Note: the Relationship between Television Fiction and Fear of Crime
Authors: Van den Bulck Jan
Published: May 2004

Three hypotheses regarding the relationship between television viewing and fear of crime exist. The cultivation hypothesis states that watching television increases fear of crime. The mood management hypothesis states that frightened people will watch more crime on television to learn how to cope with their fear. The withdrawal hypothesis states that people who are afraid of crime will be afraid to leave the house. This leads to heavier television viewing, thus creating a spurious relationship between fear of crime and watching crime on television. This article compares these three models and a null model using structural equation models. Data from a representative sample of 909 respondents from Flanders, Belgium, offer support for the cultivation hypothesis, which offers a better explanation than the null model, but do not support either of the other hypotheses. In the model, direct experience of crime was not related to fear, while television viewing was.
On Comparative Analysis, Interdisciplinarity and Internationalization in Sociology
Authors: Smelser Neil J.
Published: May 2004

In this article some links between comparative methods, interdisciplinary studies and the internationalization of sociological knowledge are explored. The most fruitful comparative approach, it is argued, is neither positivistic nor relativistic, but should involve systematic incorporation of contextual analysis in selecting indices and explanatory variables. It is demonstrated that in order to carry out such contextual analysis effectively, the researcher is impelled toward both an interdisciplinary approach and international collaboration.
Debating Civil Society
Authors: Ester Peter , Vinken Henk
Published: May 2004

At the start of the third millennium social scientists’ preoccupation with the weakening of Gemeinschaft is - particularly in western postmodern societies - again at its peak. Waning social capital is believed to have undermined community, as reflected in widespread feelings of social mistrust, in citizens turning away from prime institutions and political authorities, and even engaging less in informal interactions. This diagnosis of civil society as advanced by especially American scholars would be a very serious account of our present times, if the debate and research in this field were not impaired by a set of equally serious theoretical and methodological problems. This article addresses a number of these basic problems. The main issue is the lack of sensitivity in civil society studies to new, alternative and innovative forms of solidarity, connectedness and civic and political engagement, particularly those facilitated by the Internet. It is time to thoroughly define today’s forms of civil society made by contemporary people with contemporary means, in a contemporary world. This article aims to reframe the civil society research agenda.
Leveraging Local Action
Authors: Carmin Joann , Hicks Barbara , Beckmann Andreas
Published: May 2004

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become influential actors in policy and political decision-making. Using a case study of the formation of the White Carpathian Euroregion, this article examines how the actions of local and regional NGOs change in response to shifting political opportunities and how these groups can influence domestic policy and relations between states. The results suggest that NGOs work to advance their agendas by relying on strategies based on communication, leverage and community development. As new political conditions emerge, NGOs rely on the same general strategies, but vary the specific tactics they select based on the degree of political access and receptivity. This study further demonstrates that when domestic NGOs pursue a long-term vision, even when the political context is not favorable, they can gain credibility and establish a basis for action that they can then leverage to foster local, regional and international change when new political opportunities emerge.
A Comparative Study of the Successful Management of Religious Diversity: Melbourne and Hong Kong
Authors: Bouma Gary D. , Singleton Andrew
Published: May 2004

The study of the management of religious diversity has largely proceeded non-comparatively at national and organizational levels. As a result it is not yet possible to declare what promotes and what hinders the emergence of harmonious inter-religious relations in religiously diverse societies. This article compares the management of religious diversity at an urban level through a comparison of Melbourne, Australia and Hong Kong. The article first describes the demographic history of these two cities and then explores their social institutions of religion and organizations promoting inter-religious harmony in order to find explanations for the postwar emergence of societies characterized by both religious diversity and inter-religious harmony. Finally, it reflects on the policy implications of these findings.
The Saussurean Influence in Pierre Bourdieu’s Relational Sociology
Authors: Schinkel Willem , Tacq Jacques
Published: May 2004

In this contribution the relationship between Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of class and semiotics is clarified. It is therefore focused on the relational logic that underpins his analysis in Distinction. It is argued that Bourdieu’s relational logic stems for a large part from Saussure. The differences Bourdieu identifies as signifying classes do so only as arbitrary signs and not because of any intrinsic qualities. Furthermore, it is argued that this relational logic is a necessary completion in Bourdieu’s analysis, because of his rejection of Kantian aesthetics, in which an immediate understanding of intrinsic quality is a central point. Both the Kantian and the Saussurean influence are given in the title and subtitle of his work: Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. This clarification of Bourdieu’s chief methodological principle shows how Bourdieu, who, in his later years, became more and more engaged in public debates, has always been a critical thinker.
Conceptualizing Hybridization
Authors: Frank Robert , Stollberg Gunnar
Published: May 2004

Scholars have explored a broad range of topics affected by the dynamics of globalization. The field of ‘medicine’, however, has largely been neglected, even though there is a long history of transcontinental diffusion of medical knowledge. This article aims to analyse the latest episode in medical globalization: the diffusion of Asian medical knowledge to the western world. Twenty-nine semistructured interviews with German medical doctors who are practising either acupuncture or Ayurveda were conducted in order to assess the ways in which the adoption of Asian medicine changes medical practice. As hypothesized about the cultural consequences of globalization, hybridization of a number of orthodox as well as heterodox modes of treatment was most common among participants. The researchers, therefore, attempted to break down the rather vague term ‘hybridization’ into several types of hybridization. Finally, a second look at homogenizing processes in medical globalization was taken.
The Path from Nuclein to Human Genome: A Brief History of DNA with a Note on Human Genome Sequencing and Its Impact on Future Research in Biology
Authors: Choudhuri Supratim
Published: May 2004

Recent completion of the human genome sequence is a spectacular achievement of the 20th-century biology. This achievement has opened the door for future revolutions in biological and medical sciences. By learning about the gene sequences and the individual genetic differences, scientists hope to understand the molecular basis of the normal state and the diseased state of life on one hand, and individualize medicine on the other hand. However, the human genome sequencing project was not an isolated, spectacular undertaking. Rather, it was a natural extension and the culmination of the advances in the science and techniques of molecular biology. The present article is an attempt to summarize these major landmarks in the history of DNA research, beginning from the identification of “nuclein.”
The Trajectory of Ivan Illich
Authors: Hoinacki Lee
Published: May 2004

The notion of Ivan Illich as a social critic, philosopher, or historian is seen as secondary to the principal thrust and purpose of his life and work. To understand Illich, it is more important to see his journey into apophatic expression. After his period as a churchman in the Catholic Church, he developed a unique series of books and articles characterized above all as apophatic theology. The author explains the meaning of the term and examines the different ways in which Illich used this approach. Illich studied technological artifacts, whether individual devices or institutional structures, in terms of their relationship to Christian belief in the Incarnation. His work is interpreted in terms of its consonance with the thought of Jacques Ellul. Having known Illich for more than 40 years, and having lived with him for extended periods, the author also draws on comments Illich made to the author.
Fishing for Identity: Mercury Contamination and Fish Consumption Among Indigenous Groups in the United States
Authors: Roe Amy
Published: May 2004

Mercury contamination of local fish stocks has become an escalating problem in the United States. Federal and state governments increasingly have issued fish consumption advisories to warn individuals of the risks of eating specific species of fish in particular quantities from individual bodies of water. Some indigenous groups in the United States who rely on these fisheries for subsistence and ritual cultural reasons have become disproportionately impacted by the risks of mercury contamination of their food source. Some of these groups are forced to make a decision whether to continue their cultural life ways and become exposed to mercury or to stop eating fish and witness the degradation of their identity. This article explores the unique conditions of cultural fishing practices among Native American groups in the United States and their disproportionate risk to mercury contamination. Spatial analysis using the geographical information systems software is accompanied by two case studies to explore the risks faced by indigenous communities.
Further Reflections on Heidegger, Technology, and the Everyday
Authors: Dreyfus Hubert L. , Spinosa Charles
Published: May 2004

This article traces the trajectory of Heidegger’s thinking about technology over the course of what is considered to be his early, middle, and late periods. Over the course of the years, Heidegger’s concerns moved from somewhat conventional concerns over the consumerism technology entails, and the damage it causes to the environment, to the more complex position that technicity distorts human nature with an accompanying loss of meaning. The real danger, he said, is not the destruction of nature or culture, nor selfindulgent consumerism, but a new totalizing style of practices that would restrict our openness to people and things by driving out all other styles of practice that enable us to be receptive to realty.
Dwarfing the Social? Nanotechnology Lessons from the Biotechnology Front
Authors: Einsiedel Edna F. , Goldenberg Linda
Published: May 2004

Biotechnology and nanotechnology are both strategic technologies, and the former provides several lessons that could contribute to more successful embedding and integration processes for the latter. This article identifies some of the key questions emerging from the biotechnology experience and summarizes several lessons learned in the context of constructive technology assessment. This approach broadens the range of social considerations relevant to the sustainable development of nanotechnology and emphasizes the need for developing social tools for nanotechnology innovation while the technology is in its early stages of design.
Nanotechnology: From “Wow” to “Yuck”?
Authors: Kulinowski Kristen
Published: May 2004

Nanotechnology is science and engineering resulting from the manipulation of matter’s most basic building blocks: atoms and molecules. As such, nanotechnology promises unprecedented control over both the materials we use and the means of their production. Such control could revolutionize nearly every sector of our economy, including medicine, defense, and energy. Despite the relatively recent emergence of this field, it already enjoys generous federal funding and enthusiastic media coverage. The tenor of discourse on nanotechnology is changing, however, as the voices of critics begin to sound about a host of concerns ranging from the societal impacts of improving human performance to the specter of environmental devastation and human disease.
Globalization and the Capitalization of Nature: A Political Ecology of Biodiversity in Mesoamerica
Authors: Toly Noah J.
Published: May 2004

Globalization, as a technological and economic phenomenon, asserts specific models for the governance of common resources. In particular, the technological and economic impulses of globalization further the capitalization of nature. This process is evident in the regionalization of bioprospecting efforts in Mesoamerica.
Max Weber and the Iron Cage of Technology
Authors: Maley Terry
Published: May 2004

Max Weber is seen by mainstream social scientists as a sociologist, social theorist, and theorist of bureaucracy. In this reassessment of Weber’s social science and its methodology, it is suggested that Weber can also be seen as a compelling early 20th-century critic of science and technology. The theme of technology, and Weber’s ambivalence about it, is approached through a discussion of his notion of disenchantment. In the modern, disenchanted world, social scientists are compelled to choose the values that guide research, but research is constrained by the technocratic requirements of large, bureaucratic institutions that sponsor and fund it. The article asks whether Weber’s notion of individual values is still applicable in the context of social science in the early 21st century. In a line of thought that can be traced to Postman and Ellul, it is asked whether the choices social scientists make can puncture the dense web of bureaucratic-technological rationality of which Weber was critical.
Antonio Meucci, Inventor of the Telephone: Unearthing the Legal and Scientific Proofs
Authors: Catania Basilio
Published: May 2004

This article deals with the events that preceded the U.S. House Resolution No. 269 of June 11, 2002, acknowledging the primacy of Antonio Meucci in the invention of the telephone and that were decisive to the passing of the same. Among them are the author’s lecture at the University of NewYork of October 10, 2000, and Resolution No. 1566 of the New York City Council urging the U.S. Congress to recognize the priority of Antonio Meucci in the invention of the telephone, which followed 2 days after. This lecture is reported here as it was newly delivered in Canada during the author’s visit in April 2003.
Neil Postman and the Critique of Technology (In Memory of Neil Postman Who Died on October 5, 2003)
Authors: van der Laan J. M.
Published: May 2004

This (by no means exhaustive) survey of Postman’s work reflects on his penetrating analyses of contemporary technology. He focused attention on the ways technology today, especially the television and the computer, inevitably change us. The essential questions he asks us to ask (and answer) are, How does technology affect us? Is it for good or ill? and Must we accept all technological advances? Postman recognized the current dominance and autonomy of technology as well as the concomitant dangers and consequently made the case and the plea for the reassertion of human over technological values.
Skill Acquisition in Ski Instruction and the Skill Model’s Application to Treating Anorexia Nervosa
Authors: Duesund Liv , Jespersen Ejgil
Published: May 2004

The Dreyfus skill model has a wide range of applications to various domains, including sport, nursing, engineering, flying, and so forth. In this article, the authors discuss the skill model in connection with two different research projects concerning ski instruction and treating anorexia nervosa. The latter project has been published but not in relation to the skill model. The skill model may very well be applied to these areas, and the authors conclude that in doing so, it also brings about new ways of understanding the different domains.
The Ethical Implications of the Five-Stage Skill-Acquisition Model
Authors: Dreyfus Hubert L. , Dreyfus Stuart E.
Published: May 2004

We assume that acting ethically is a skill. We then use a phenomenological description of five stages of skill acquisition to argue that an ethics based on principles corresponds to a beginner’s reliance on rules and so is developmentally inferior to an ethics based on expert response that claims that, after long experience, the ethical expert learns to respond appropriately to each unique situation. The skills model thus supports an ethics of situated involvement such as that of Aristotle, John Dewey, and Carol Gilligan against the detached, rationalist ethics of Kant, John Rawls, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Jürgen Habermas.
Describing the Behavior and Documenting the Accomplishments of Expert Teachers
Authors: Berliner David C.
Published: May 2004

Propositions about the nature of expertise, in general, and expertise in pedagogy, in particular, are discussed. The time needed to develop expertise in teaching and the highly contextual nature of teachers’ knowledge are also discussed. Four theories of teacher development are presented, with an elaboration on the heuristic value of the theory of Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986). Examples from the pedagogical literature are used to illustrate this theory. The recent research establishing causal relationships between those identified as experts in teaching and their students’ academic achievement is also presented. This research allows those who study expertise in teaching to have a more objective measure for identifying and studying expert pedagogues.
Adolescent Ego-Development Trajectories and Young Adult Relationship Outcomes
Authors: Hennighausen Katherine H. , Hauser Stuart T. , Billings Rebecca L. , Schultz Lynn Hickey , Allen Joseph P.
Published: May 2004

Adolescent ego-development trajectories were related to close-relationship outcomes in young adulthood. An adolescent sample completed annual measures of ego development from ages 14 through 17. The authors theoretically determined and empirically traced five ego-development trajectories reflecting stability or change. At age 25, the sample completed a close-relationship interview and consented for two peers to rate the participants’ego resiliency and hostility. Participants who followed the profound-arrest trajectory in adolescence reported more mundane sharing of experiences, more impulsive or egocentric conflict-resolution tactics, and less mature interpersonal understanding in their young adult relationships, and their young adult peers described these participants as more hostile. Participants who attained or maintained higher levels of ego development in adolescence reported more complex sharing of experiences, more collaborative conflict-resolution strategies, and greater interpersonal understanding, and their young adult peers rated them as less hostile and as more flexible.
Relations among Maternal Parenting Style, Academic Competence, and Life Satisfaction in Chinese Early Adolescents
Authors: Leung Candice Y.-W. , McBride-Chang Catherine , Lai Beatrice P.-Y.
Published: May 2004

The relations among maternal concern and restrictiveness, self-evaluated academic competence, and life satisfaction were explored in a short-term longitudinal study of 346 7th-grade students (126 males and 220 females) in Hong Kong. The authors found that perceived maternal concern, academic competence, and life satisfaction significantly declined from the beginning to the end of the 7th grade. Mothers viewed themselves as higher in parental concern than adolescents viewed them. Structural equation modeling found that adolescents’ perceived maternal concerns and academic competences significantly predicted life satisfaction over time, whereas perceived maternal restrictiveness did not. The data support the importance of perceived maternal concern and academic competence in predicting early adolescent life satisfaction.
Value of Information Literature Analysis: A Review of Applications in Health Risk Management
Authors: Yokota Fumie , Thompson Kimberly M.
Published: May 2004

This article provides the first comprehensive review of value of information (VOI) analyses related to health risk management published in English in peer-reviewed journals by the end of 2001. VOI analysis represents a decision analytic technique that explicitly evaluates the benefit of collecting additional information to reduce or eliminate uncertainty. Through a content analysis of VOI applications, this article characterizes various attributes of VOI applications, shows the evolution of the methodology and advances in computing tools that allow analysis of increasingly complex problems, and suggests the need for some standardization of reporting methods and results. The authors’ analysis shows a lack of cross-fertilization across topic areas and the tendency of articles to focus on demonstrating the usefulness of the VOI approach rather than applications to actual management decisions. This article provides important insights for VOI applications in medical decision making.
Mapping the SF-12 to the EuroQol EQ-5D Index in a National US Sample
Authors: Franks Peter , Lubetkin Erica I. , Gold Marthe R. , Tancredi Daniel J. , Jia Haomiao
Published: May 2004

Background. Preference scores for the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) SF-12 would enable its use in cost-effectiveness analyses. Previous mapping studies of MOS instruments to preference-based instruments have not examined performance in national samples. Participants. 15,000 adults in the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey annual survey including the SF-12 and EQ-5D Index. Methods. Regression of the EQ-5D Index scores onto the physical and mental component summary scores of the SF-12, testing 2nd-4th degree polynomial and spline models, including and excluding sociodemographics. Results. A 2nd degree polynomial model explained 63% of the variance in EQ-5D scores, with robust internal and external validation. More complex models explained minimally additional variance. Compared with EQ-5D valuations, prediction models overestimated the lowest health states (6% of the population). Conclusions. The mapped SF-12 yields usable preference-scaled scores, with some caution for the lowest health states.
Attitudes about Work Practices, Time Allocation, and Publication Output: Profiles of U.S. Marketing Academics
Authors: Polonsky Michael Jay , Juric Biljana , Mankelow Gary
Published: May 2004

This study examines attitudes of U.S.-based Academy of Marketing Science members toward teaching, research, participation in administration (including service), and academic promotional issues. Individuals were grouped using Ward’s and K-means clustering procedures, which revealed four groups—established academics, research-focused academics, less satisfied midcareer academics, and satisfied teachers. Clusters were further profiled according to the amount of time spent on teaching, research, and administration; research output; and individual demographic and institutional characteristics. Overall, clusters were generally dissatisfied with a range of work-related issues, with workload stress appearing as an issue that needs to be addressed within marketing academia.
If it Walks Like a Duck...: Concerns about Quackery in Marketing Education
Authors: Chonko Lawrence B.
Published: May 2004

Quackery is a term commonly associated with the medical profession. It is often associated with those who are proponents of alternative medicines, the benefits of which are not based on science. In this article, it is asserted that quack methodologies have been infused into the teaching of marketing. Marketing education is not indicted with being dominated by quack teachers. Rather, the article presents a number of concerns about the infusion of quack teaching methodologies that, as practiced, are proffered to contribute positively to student learning. The article offers a challenge to marketing educators to engage in more scientific assessment of teaching methods. Throughout the article, questions are presented that, it is hoped, will energize some marketing educators to rigorously examine teaching methodologies in the continuing quest to improve the quality of marketing education.
Balancing Marketing Education and Information Technology: Matching Needs or Needing a Better Match?
Authors: Hunt Lynn , Eagle Lynne , Kitchen Philip J.
Published: May 2004

The use of new information technology in marketing education has been widely, and often uncritically, accepted as both inevitable and beneficial with little in-depth analysis of this phenomenon, which is both a new mode of teaching (and learning) and a competency domain in its own right. This article examines both the potential advantages and dangers of information technology in the context of creating knowledge workers for the marketing industry. Research findings are presented to illustrate that students have distinctively different learning profiles and experiences, and these affect how students respond to traditional and new technological modes of teaching. The authors suggest that acceptance of new technologies in education by students will rely heavily on the ability of educational institutions to manage the change process.
Academic Dishonesty: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of U.S. and Chinese Marketing Students
Authors: Rawwas Mohammed Y. A. , Al-Khatib Jamal A. , Vitell Scott J.
Published: May 2004

Chinese as well as American business colleges are attempting to improve morality of their students due to recent scandals in both countries. This study investigates several beliefs and values, opportunism, and certain demographic variables that might contribute to the academic dishonesty of American and Chinese marketing students. The findings suggest that American marketing students who are young, tolerant, detached, relativistic, less religious, opportunistic, and negative tend to believe that academic dishonesty is more acceptable than do their counterparts exhibiting the opposite characteristics. Chinese marketing students who are male, detached, relativistic, less religious, opportunistic, and behaviorist oriented tend to perceive that academic dishonesty is more acceptable than do their counterparts. The results also reveal that the Chinese marketing students are more tolerant and detached than are the American marketing students, and they are less sensitive to the acceptance of academic dishonesty than are the American students.
Planning Velocities of Free Sliding Objects as a Free Boundary Value Problem
Authors: Li Qingguo , Payandeh Shahram
Published: May 2004

In this paper, a novel planning method is proposed to solve initial velocities of the free sliding object for given initial and final configurations. Finding the desired initial velocities for free sliding objects is a key step for implementing impulse manipulation and multi-agent dynamic cooperative manipulation. The motion of free sliding objects on a plane is governed by friction forces and the initial state of the object; this motion can be modeled by a set of six first-order differential equations. In this paper, the planning problem is formulated as a free boundary value problem (FBVP). In order to solve the problem, the FBVP is first reduced to a standard two-point boundary value problem, then quasi-Newton based optimization procedures are utilized to solve the planning problem. The proposed method does not require qualitative motion characteristics; thus, it can be used for objects with general shape and arbitrary pressure distribution. Numerical and experimental results on objects with different geometries and pressure distributions are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed planner.
Geometric Design of 3R Robot Manipulators for Reaching Four End-Effector Spatial Poses
Authors: Lee Eric , Mavroidis Constantinos
Published: May 2004

In this paper, the four-precision-point geometric design problem of serial-link robot manipulators with three revolute joints is solved using a polynomial continuation method. At each precision point, the end-effector spatial locations are defined. The dimensions of the geometric parameters of the 3R manipulator are computed so that the manipulator’s end-effector will be able to reach these four pre-specified locations. Denavit and Hartenberg parameters and 4 × 4 homogeneous matrices are used to formulate the problem and obtain the design equations. Three of the design parameters are set as free choices and their values are selected arbitrarily. Two different cases for selecting the free choices are considered and their design equations are solved using polynomial homotopy continuation. In both cases for free choice selection, 36 distinct manipulators are found, the end-effectors of which can reach the four specified spatial positions and orientations.
Stride Period Adaptation of a Biomimetic Running Hexapod
Authors: Cham Jorge G. , Karpick Jonathan K. , Cutkosky Mark R.
Published: May 2004

We demonstrate an adaptation strategy for adjusting the stride period in a hexapedal running robot. The robot is inspired by discoveries about the self-stabilizing properties of insects and uses a sprawled posture, a bouncing alternating-tripod gait, and passive compliance and damping in the limbs to achieve fast (over four body-lengths per second), stable locomotion. The robot is controlled by an open-loop motor pattern that activates the legs at fixed intervals. For maximum speed and efficiency, the stride period of the pattern should be adjusted to match changes in terrain (e.g., slopes) or loading conditions (e.g., carrying an object). An ideal adaptation strategy will complement the design philosophy behind the robot and take advantage of the self-stabilizing role of the mechanical system. In this paper we describe an adaptation scheme based on measurements of ground contact timing obtained from binary sensors on the robot’s feet. Wediscuss the motivation for the approach, putting it in the context of previous research on the dynamic properties of running machines and bouncing multi-legged animals, and we show the results of the experiments.
A Hybrid-Control Approach to the Parking Problem of a Wheeled Vehicle Using Limited View-Angle Visual Feedback
Authors: Murrieri Pierpaolo , Fontanelli Daniele , Bicchi Antonio
Published: May 2004

In this paper we consider the mobile robot parking problem, i.e., the stabilization of a wheeled vehicle to a given position and orientation, using only visual feedback from low-cost cameras. We take into account the practically most relevant problem of keeping the tracked features in sight of the camera while maneuvering to park the vehicle. This constraint, often neglected in the literature, combines with the non-holonomic nature of the vehicle kinematics in a challenging controller design problem. We provide an effective solution to such a problem by using a combination of previous results on non-smooth control synthesis and recently developed hybrid control techniques. Simulations and experimental results on a laboratory vehicle are reported, showing the practicality of the proposed approach.
Modeling Swarm Robotic Systems: a Case Study in Collaborative Distributed Manipulation
Authors: Martinoli Alcherio , Easton Kjerstin , Agassounon William
Published: May 2004

In this paper, we present a time-discrete, incremental methodology for modeling, at the microscopic and macroscopic levels, the dynamics of distributed manipulation experiments using swarms of autonomous robots endowed with reactive controllers. The methodology is well suited for non-spatial metrics, as it does not take into account robot trajectories or the spatial distribution of objects in the environment. The strength of the methodology lies in the fact that it has been generated by considering incremental abstraction steps, fromreal robots to macroscopic models, each with well-defined mappings between successive implementation levels. Precise heuristic criteria based on geometrical considerations and systematic tests with one or two real robots prevent the introduction of free parameters in the calibration procedure of models. As a consequence, we are able to generate highly abstracted macroscopic models that can capture the dynamics of a swarm of robots at the behavioral level while still being closely anchored to the characteristics of the physical setup. Although this methodology has been and can be applied to other experiments in distributed manipulation (e.g. object aggregation and segregation, foraging), in this paper we focus on a strictly collaborative case study concerned with pulling sticks out of the ground, an action that requires the collaboration of two robots to be successful. Experiments were carried out with teams consisting of two to 600 individuals at different levels of implementation (real robots, embodied simulations, microscopic and macroscopic models). Results show that models can deliver both qualitatively and quantitatively correct predictions in time lapses that are at least four orders of magnitude smaller than those required by embodied simulations and that they represent a useful tool for generalizing the dynamics of these highly stochastic, asynchronous, nonlinear systems, often outperforming intuitive reasoning. Finally, in addition to discussing subtle numerical effects, small prediction discrepancies, and difficulties in generating the mapping between different abstractions levels, we conclude the paper by reviewing the intrinsic limitations of the current modeling methodology and by proposing a few suggestions for future work.
The Autonomous Blimp Project of LAAS-CNRS: Achievements in Flight Control and Terrain Mapping
Authors: Hygounenc Emmanuel , Jung Il-Kyun , Souères Philippe , Lacroix Simon
Published: May 2004

In this paper we provide a progress report of the LAAS-CNRS project of autonomous blimp robot development, in the context of field robotics. Hardware developments aimed at designing a generic and versatile experimental platform are first presented. On this base, the flight control and terrain mapping issues, which constitute the main thrust of the research work, are presented in two parts. The first part, devoted to the automatic control study, is based on a rigorous modeling of the airship dynamics. Considering the decoupling of the lateral and longitudinal dynamics, several flight phases are identified for which appropriate control strategies are proposed. The description focuses on the lateral steady navigation. In the second part of the paper, we present work on terrain mapping with lowaltitude stereovision. A simultaneous localization and map building approach based on an extended Kalman filter is depicted, with details on the identification of the various errors involved in the process. Experimental results show that positioning in the three-dimensional space with a centimeter accuracy can be achieved, thus allowing the possibility to build high-resolution digital elevation maps.
Snakes and Strings: New Robotic Components for Rescue Operations
Authors: Hirose Shigeo , Fukushima Edwardo F.
Published: May 2004

The International Rescue System Institute has been established in Japan to promote research and development of key technologies for the realization of practical search-and-rescue robots, anticipating future large-scale earthquakes and other catastrophic disasters. In this paper we propose a new paradigm called “snakes and strings”, for developing practical mobile robot systems that may be useful in such situations. “Snakes” stands for snake-like robots, which can skillfully move among the debris of the collapsed buildings. “Strings”, on the other hand, means robotic systems using strings or tethers, such as proposed in the “hyper-tether” research. Tethers can continuously supply energy, accomplish reliable communication links, and also exhibit high traction force. In this paper we present many new mechanical implementations of snake-like robots developed in our laboratory, and we also explain in detail the new paradigm.
Elements of the Medical Emergency’s Epistemological Alignment
Authors: Nurok Michael
Published: May 2004

This paper develops the concept of epistemological alignment as a means of understanding how the medical emergency entered into biomedical classification. The working hypothesis is that the medical emergency could not develop as a paradigm from which knowledge could proliferate until a series of related concepts had been elucidated, and its epistemology became aligned. This argument is advanced by exploring the historically constructed lexicon of the medical emergency’s key components. In the process, a semantic network created by 18th-century attempts to problematize sudden death is elucidated and explored. The paper concludes by arguing that the First World War served as a catalyst for the alignment of concepts central to the epistemology of the medical emergency.
A Context of Motivation
Authors: Oreskes Naomi
Published: May 2004

In the late 1970s, scientists discovered something new under the sea: sea-floor hydrothermal vents, supporting complex biotic communities under conditions previously thought inimical to life. While the vents themselves were predicted by the theory of plate tectonics, their extent and geochemical significance, and the ecosystems associated with them, were a profound surprise. Perhaps for this reason, their discovery has been portrayed as an example of the serendipitous nature of scientific research, a triumph of curiosity-driven investigation. Yet the US scientific presence in the deep-sea environment was anything but the result of chance. In the period following World War II, the US Navy actively promoted research in the deep-sea environment in support of pro-and anti-submarine warfare. Central to this was the development of deep-sea technologies to aid underwater acoustic surveillance of Soviet submarines, and it was this technology that enabled the discovery of the sea-floor vents. The US political desire to monitor the deep ocean provided both justification for substantial expenditures for deep-oceanographic research, and motivation for oceanographers to build expensive experimental technologies and use them in creative ways. In this sense, the Cold War political context was highly productive of scientific advance. Yet, at the same time, the scientific topics that gained the attention of the oceanographers came into focus through the crosshairs of national security. Like a lens, military pertinence brought certain subjects into clear sight while others remained on the edges of the field of view.
The Politics of Seismology
Authors: Barth Kai-Henrik
Published: May 2004

The present paper analyzes the transformation of seismology from a small academic discipline to a large academic-military-industrial enterprise during the 1960s. In the late 1950s scientists, diplomats, and policy-makers recognized that improved seismological knowledge was crucial for the detection and identification of Soviet underground nuclear-weapon tests. Consequently, the Eisenhower administration initiated a comprehensive research and development program in seismology, known as Project Vela Uniform. Vela Uniform, managed by the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, increased annual federal support for US seismology by more than a factor of 30. An analysis of the origins, mechanisms, and consequences of Department of Defense patronage for seismology is at the center of this paper. I emphasize the role of scientific advisory groups and mission agency program managers in negotiating the field’s research directions. I argue that despite massive Department of Defense patronage, academic seismologists did not lose control over their field. They participated actively in the transformation of their discipline, realizing that arms control requirements offered a unique opportunity to modernize their field. This suggests that the case of seismology challenges some of the assumptions of the ‘distortionist’ theory, the dominant historiographical approach to science in the Cold War.