bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tuning garbage collection for reducing memory system energy in an embedded java environment
Authors: Chen G. , Shetty R. , Kandemir M. , Vijaykrishnan N. , Irwin M. J. , Wolczko M.
Published: August 2005

Java has been widely adopted as one of the software platforms for the seamless integration of diverse computing devices. Over the last year, there has been great momentum in adopting Java technology in devices such as cellphones, PDAs, and pagers where optimizing energy consumption is critical. Since, traditionally, the Java virtual machine (JVM), the cornerstone of Java technology, is tuned for performance, taking into account energy consumption requires reevaluation, and possibly redesign of the virtual machine. This motivates us to tune specific components of the virtual machine for a battery-operated architecture. As embedded JVMs are designed to run for long periods of time on limited-memory embedded systems, creating and managing Java objects is of critical importance. The garbage collector (GC) is an important part of the JVM responsible for the automatic reclamation of unused memory. This article shows that the GC is not only important for limited-memory systems but also for energy-constrained architectures.This article focuses on tuning the GC to reduce energy consumption in a multibanked memory architecture. Tuning the GC is important not because it consumes a sizeable portion of overall energy during execution, but because it influences the energy consumed in the memory during application execution. In particular, we present a GC-controlled leakage energy optimization technique that shuts off memory banks that do not hold live data. Using two different commercial GCs and a suite of thirteen mobile applications, we evaluate the effectiveness of the GC-controlled energy optimization technique and study its sensitivity to different parameters such as bank size, the garbage collection frequency, object allocation style, compaction style, and compaction frequency. We observe that the energy consumption of an embedded Java application can be significantly more if the GC parameters are not tuned appropriately. Further, we notice that the object allocation pattern and the number of memory banks available in the underlying architecture are limiting factors on how effectively GC parameters can be used to optimize the memory energy consumption.
Egoless writing
Authors: Weiss Edmond H.
Published: August 2005

When technical communicators have a strong personal attachment to the publication they are preparing, this attachment may interfere with the design and testing of the publication itself. Documents developed by solo authors tend to be late, buggy, and exceedingly difficult for others to maintain. "Ego-less" methods---collaborative and structured---break the proprietary connection between the writer and the book; in so doing they permit the most powerful tools of engineering and testing to be used. But they also reduce the satisfactions of the communicator's job.
Consequences of the engineering approach to technical writing
Authors: Waite Bob
Published: August 2005

In a series of publications, Edmond Weiss describes the change in both programming and technical writing from an artistic craft to an engineering discipline. The change brought numerous benefits to the users and readers, to the programmers and writers, and to the companies they work for. In exchange for those benefits, Weiss says, writers had to give up control over the content and format of the documentation. They also lost the esthetic pride of creating a work of art and the personal satisfaction of teaching and protecting the reader. Weiss anticipates a future in which technical documentation is generated automatically and the technical documentor's job is merely to feed information databases. In the conclusion, I note a few differences of opinion, but overall I agree with Weiss's view.
Reply to commentaries on
Authors: Weiss Edmond H.
Published: August 2005

The author discusses two contextual problems associated with responses to his article. After discussing how documentation relates to business models, he concludes that communicators, to ensure their longevity, should pursue knowledge management opportunities.
XML and the new design regime
Authors: Wilkes Gilbert Vanburen
Published: August 2005

In this study I attempt (a) to specify a theory that explains the historical character of change or transition in the production of written artifacts, and (b) use that theory to cast light on a particular instance of change or transition in the production of written artifacts, that of the Web, principally, the issue of structured markup and discussions about precisely what a structured Web should look like, the work it should do, and so forth. What I attempt to identify, describe, and analyze, are the norms and conventions that govern the production of written discourse.
Assessing quality documents
Authors: Smart Karl L.
Published: August 2005

In recent years, an emphasis on quality has emerged in a variety of organizations and in several fields, including technical documentation. Producing Quality Technical Information (PQTI) was one of the first comprehensive discussions of the quality of documentation. An important contribution of the book is in identifying quality as multiple, measurable dimensions that can be defined and measured (previous views of quality identified it more as some elusive thing that could be identified if present but was difficult to articulate and describe). Despite its contributions to the quality discussion, PQTI runs the risk of simplifying the quality process, reducing quality to a simple checklist that information developers can use to develop effective documentation. PQTI fails to address the fluid nature of some aspects of quality: some dimensions that are important in assessing one document may be less important or irrelevant with other documents. Additionally, PQTI falls short of accounting for the larger contextual framing of documents--that the importance of individual dimensions of quality changes depending upon the audience, context, and purpose of the document.This commentary suggests that all quality efforts should be grounded in customer data and user-centered design processes, and that we should learn to better differentiate among quality dimensions, determining those dimensions that are essential to customer satisfaction and those that are merely attractive. Through increased attention to developing the quality of information, organizations can better differentiate their products and services, facilitate greater productivity, and increase customer satisfactions, all significant activities in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Energy-aware design of embedded memories
Authors: Benini Luca , Macii Alberto , Poncino Massimo
Published: August 2005

Embedded systems are often designed under stringent energy consumption budgets, to limit heat generation and battery size. Since memory systems consume a significant amount of energy to store and to forward data, it is then imperative to balance power consumption and performance in memory system design. Contemporary system design focuses on the trade-off between performance and energy consumption in processing and storage units, as well as in their interconnections. Although memory design is as important as processor design in achieving the desired design objectives, the former topic has received less attention than the latter in the literature. This article centers on one of the most outstanding problems in chip design for embedded applications. It guides the reader through different memory technologies and architectures, and it reviews the most successful strategies for optimizing them in the power/performance plane.
Partitioned instruction cache architecture for energy efficiency
Authors: Kim Soontae , Vijaykrishnan N. , Kandemir Mahmut , Sivasubramaniam Anand , Irwin Mary Jane
Published: August 2005

The demand for high-performance architectures and powerful battery-operated mobile devices has accentuated the need for low-power systems. In many media and embedded applications, the memory system can consume more than 50% of the overall system energy, making it a ripe candidate for optimization. To address this increasingly important problem, this article studies energy-efficient cache architectures in the memory hierarchy that can have a significant impact on the overall system energy consumption.Existing cache optimization approaches have looked at partitioning the caches at the circuit level and enabling/disabling these cache partitions (subbanks) at the architectural level for both performance and energy. In contrast, this article focuses on partitioning the cache resources architecturally for energy and energy-delay optimizations. Specifically, we investigate ways of splitting the cache into several smaller units, each of which is a cache by itself (called a
subcache
).
Subcache
architectures not only reduce the per-access energy costs, but can potentially improve the locality behavior as well.The proposed
subcache
architecture employs a page-based placement strategy, a dynamic page remapping policy, and a subcache prediction policy in order to improve the memory system energy behavior, especially on-chip cache energy. Using applications from the SPECjvm98 and SPEC CPU2000 benchmarks, the proposed
subcache
architecture is shown to be very effective in improving both the energy and energy-delay metrics. It is more beneficial in larger caches as well.
Online strategies for dynamic power management in systems with multiple power-saving states
Authors: Irani Sandy , Shukla Sandeep , Gupta Rajesh
Published: August 2005

Online dynamic power management (DPM) strategies refer to strategies that attempt to make power-mode-related decisions based on information available at runtime. In making such decisions, these strategies do not depend upon information of future behavior of the system, or any a priori knowledge of the input characteristics. In this paper, we present online strategies, and evaluate them based on a measure called the competitive ratio that enables a quantitative analysis of the performance of online strategies. All earlier approaches (online or predictive) have been limited to systems with two power-saving states (e.g., idle and shutdown). The only earlier approaches that handled multiple power-saving states were based on stochastic optimization. This paper provides a theoretical basis for the analysis of DPM strategies for systems with multiple power-down states, without resorting to such complex approaches. We show how a relatively simple "online learning" scheme can be used to improve the competitive ratio over deterministic strategies using the notion of "probability-based" online DPM strategies. Experimental results show that the algorithm presented here attains the best competitive ratio in comparison with other known predictive DPM algorithms. The other algorithms that come close to matching its performance in power suffer at least an additional 40% wake-up latency on average. Meanwhile, the algorithms that have comparable latency to our methods use at least 25% more power on average.
Implementation of
O
(
nm
log
n
) weighted matchings in general graphs
Authors: Mehlhorn Kurt , Schäfer Guido
Published: August 2005

We describe the implementation of an algorithm which solves the weighted matching problem in general graphs with
n
vertices and
m
edges in time
O(nm log n)
. Our algorithm is a variant of the algorithm of Galil, Micali and Gabow [Galil et al. 1986] and extensively uses sophisticated data structures, in particular
concatenable priority queues
, so as to reduce the time needed to perform dual adjustments and to find tight edges in Edmonds' blossom-shrinking algorithm.We compare our implementation to the experimentally fastest implementation, named
Blossom IV
, due to Cook and Rohe [Cook and Rohe 1997]. Blossom IV requires only very simple data structures and has an asymptotic running time of

O(n
2
m)

. Our experiments show that our new implementation is superior to Blossom IV. A closer inspection reveals that the running time of Edmonds' blossom-shrinking algorithm in practice heavily depends on the time spent to perform dual adjustments and to find tight edges. Therefore, optimizing these operations, as is done in our implementation, indeed speeds-up the practical performance of implementations of Edmonds' algorithm.
Maximizing rewards for real-time applications with energy constraints
Authors: Rusu Cosmin , Melhem Rami , Mossé Daniel
Published: August 2005

New technologies have brought about a proliferation of embedded systems, which vary from control systems to sensor networks to personal digital assistants. Many of the portable embedded devices run several applications, which typically have three constraints that need to be addressed:
energy
,
deadline
, and
reward
. However, many of these portable devices do not have powerful enough CPUs and batteries to run all applications within their deadlines. An optimal scheme would allow the device to run the most applications, each using the most amount of CPU cycles possible, without depleting the energy source while still meeting all deadlines. In this paper we propose a solution to this problem; to our knowledge, this is the first solution that combines the three constraints mentioned above. We devise two algorithms, an optimal algorithm for homogeneous applications (with respect to power consumption) and a heuristic iterative algorithm that can also accommodate heterogeneous applications (i.e., those with different power consumption functions). We show by simulation that our iterative algorithm is fast and within 1% of the optimal.
Video games and education
Authors: de Aguilera Miguel , Mendiz Alfonso
Published: August 2005

Fully integrated into the everyday lives of millions of young people throughout the world, video games are a vital part of contemporary culture and society. But the reaction of many authorities and the majority of educators has been to discredit video games by assuming their negative effects. After more than two decades of research, however, many studies have been published that have gradually led to a more complex, nuanced, and useful understanding of video games. This article focuses on one of the most interesting alternative perspectives--that of their educational potential as teaching and learning tools. After justifying this point of view, we offer a critical review of previous research on the subject; and finally reach some conclusions on the advantages of using video games for educational purposes.
Kids and the internet
Authors: Baumgarten Miki
Published: August 2005

When planning and developing successful internet programs for children, it is vital to clearly understand and carefully consider kids' innate developmental capabilities and proclivities. It is necessary to keep in mind that children of different ages have vastly different physical, cognitive, and psycho-social characteristics, as well as disparate interests, likes, dislikes, and fears. A four-year old child may not posses the manual dexterity to operate a complex internet game; an eight-year old's growing ability to reason logically gives him the opportunity to take part in strategy-based activities and contests; twelve-year old preteens may be put off by a topic they believe to be "uncool." The following article provides a brief summary of the developmental stages of children and young teens -- from age two to age fourteen -- and the relationship of these stages to kids' use of electronic media. This summary is based on research in the areas of child development, psychology, education, and technology.
Interviews with Seymour Papert
Authors: Papert Seymour
Published: August 2005

The legendary Quincy Jones and Seymour Papert have graciously
appeared on camera for interviews and joined the ACM Computers in
Entertainment magazines editorial board. Quincy and Seymour are two
of the nicest people to talk to and work with. Quincy talks about
education as fun learning, the impact of music on children, how
technology affects the way music is created and produced, and
digital distribution of music over the Internet. Seymour speaks of
learning-rich entertainment, Logo and computer programming for
children, technology in schools and education, and the future of
home schooling and learning environments. The video clips of the
interviews are available at
http://www.acm.org/pubs/cie/mar2004/index.html

Quincy Jones, who composed more than 50 major motion picture and
television scores, has earned international acclaim as producer of
the best-selling single of all time and the best-selling album in
the history of the recording industry. The all-time most nominated
Grammy artist with a total of 76 nominations and 26 awards, Quincy
has also received an Emmy Award, seven Oscar nominations, and the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Jean Hersholt
Humanitarian Award. More information can be found at
http://www.quincyjonesmusic.com

Seymour Papert, a mathematician and an early pioneer of
Artificial Intelligence, is internationally recognized as the
seminal thinker on how computers can change learning. He is a
cofounder with Marvin Minsky of the AI Lab at MIT and a founding
faculty member of the MIT Media Lab, where he continues to work.
Seymour collaborated for many years with Jean Piaget at the
University of Geneva in Switzerland. He wrote many books including
Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. More
information can be found at http://www.papert.org/
Learning by doing and learning through play
Authors: Roussou Maria
Published: August 2005

The development of interactive, participatory, multisensory
environments that combine the physical with the virtual comes as a
natural continuation to the computer game industrys constant race
for more exciting user experiences. Specialized theme parks and
various other leisure and entertainment centers worldwide are
embracing the interactive promise that games have made users
expect. This is not a trend limited to the entertainment domain;
non-formal learning environments for children are also following
this path, backed up by a theoretical notion of play as a core
activity in a childs development. In this article we explore a
central thread in learning, play, as well as an essential
characteristic of virtual reality environments: interactivity. A
critical review of examples of immersive virtual reality worlds
created for children, with particular attention given to the role
and nature of interactivity, is attempted. Interactivity is
examined in relation to learning, play, narrative, and to
characteristics inherent in virtual reality, such as immersion,
presence, and the creation of illusion.
A self-tuning cache architecture for embedded systems
Authors: Zhang Chuanjun , Vahid Frank , Lysecky Roman
Published: August 2005

Memory accesses often account for about half of a microprocessor system's power consumption. Customizing a microprocessor cache's total size, line size, and associativity to a particular program is well known to have tremendous benefits for performance and power. Customizing caches has until recently been restricted to core-based flows, in which a new chip will be fabricated. However, several configurable cache architectures have been proposed recently for use in prefabricated microprocessor platforms. Tuning those caches to a program is still, however, a cumbersome task left for designers, assisted in part by recent computer-aided design (CAD) tuning aids. We propose to move that CAD on-chip, which can greatly increase the acceptance of tunable caches. We introduce on-chip hardware implementing an efficient cache tuning heuristic that can automatically, transparently, and dynamically tune the cache to an executing program. Our heuristic seeks not only to reduce the number of configurations that must be examined, but also traverses the search space in a way that minimizes costly cache flushes. By simulating numerous Powerstone and MediaBench benchmarks, we show that such a dynamic self-tuning cache saves on average 40% of total memory access energy over a standard nontuned reference cache.
Experiments on the minimum linear arrangement problem
Authors: Petit Jordi
Published: August 2005

This paper deals with the Minimum Linear Arrangement problem from an experimental point of view. Using a testsuite of sparse graphs, we experimentally compare several algorithms to obtain upper and lower bounds for this problem. The algorithms considered include Successive Augmentation heuristics, Local Search heuristics and Spectral Sequencing. The testsuite is based on two random models and "real life" graphs. As a consequence of this study, two main conclusions can be drawn: On one hand, the best approximations are usually obtained using Simulated Annealing, which involves a large amount of computation time. Solutions found with Spectral Sequencing are close to the ones found with Simulated Annealing and can be obtained in significantly less time. On the other hand, we notice that there exists a big gap between the best obtained upper bounds and the best obtained lower bounds. These two facts together show that, in practice, finding lower and upper bounds for the Minimum Linear Arrangement problem is hard.
Effects of Agonists and Antagonists of NMDA and ACh Receptors on Plasticity of Bat Auditory System Elicited by Fear Conditioning
Authors: Ji Weiqing , Suga Nobuo , Gao Enquan
Published: August 2005

In big brown bats, tone-specific plastic changes [best frequency (BF) shifts] of cortical and collicular neurons can be evoked by auditory fear conditioning, repetitive acoustic stimuli or cortical electric stimulation. It has been shown that acetylcholine (ACh) plays an important role in evoking large long-term cortical BF shifts. However, the role of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in evoking BF shifts has not yet been studied. We found 1) NMDA applied to the auditory cortex (AC) or inferior colliculus (IC) augmented the auditory responses, as ACh did, whereas 2-amino-5-phosphovalerate (APV), an antagonist of NMDA receptors, reduced the auditory responses, as atropine did; 2) although any of these four drugs did not evoke BF shifts, they influenced the development of the long-term cortical and short-term collicular BF shifts elicited by conditioning; 3) like ACh, NMDA augmented the cortical and collicular BF shifts regardless of whether it was applied to the AC or IC; 4) endogenous ACh of the AC and IC is necessary to produce the long-term cortical and short-term collicular BF shifts; 5) blockade of collicular NMDA receptors by APV abolished the development of the collicular BF shift and made the cortical BF shift small and short-term; 6) blockade of cortical NMDA receptors by APV reduced the cortical and collicular BF shifts and made the cortical BF shift short-term; and 7) conditioning with NMDA + atropine applied to the AC evoked the small, short-term cortical BF shift, whereas conditioning with APV + ACh applied to the AC evoked the small, but long-term cortical BF shift.
Spectral Analysis Identifies Sites of High-Frequency Activity Maintaining Atrial Fibrillation in Humans
Authors: Sanders Prashanthan , Berenfeld Omer , Hocini Mélèze , Jaïs Pierre , Vaidyanathan Ravi , Hsu Li-Fern , Garrigue Stéphane , Takahashi Yoshihide , Rotter Martin , Sacher Fréderic , Scavée Christophe , Ploutz-Snyder Robert , Jalife José , Haïssaguerre Michel
Published: August 2005

Background—

The identification of sites of dominant activation frequency during atrial fibrillation (AF) in humans and the effect of ablation at these sites have not been reported.

Methods and Results—

Thirty-two patients undergoing AF ablation (19 paroxysmal, 13 permanent) during ongoing arrhythmia were studied. Electroanatomic mapping was performed, acquiring 126±13 points per patient throughout both atria and coronary sinus. At each point, 5-second electrograms were obtained to determine the highest-amplitude frequency on spectral analysis and to construct 3D dominant frequency (DF) maps. The temporal stability of the recording interval was confirmed in a subset. Ablation was performed with the operator blinded to the DF maps. The effect of ablation at sites with or without high-frequency DF sites (maximal frequencies surrounded by a decreasing frequency gradient ≥20%) was evaluated by determining the change in AF cycle length (AFCL) and the termination and inducibility of AF. The spatial distribution of the DF sites was different in patients with paroxysmal and permanent AF; paroxysmal AF patients were more likely to harbor the DF site within the pulmonary vein, whereas in permanent AF, atrial DF sites were more prevalent. Ablation at a DF site resulted in significant prolongation of the AFCL (180±30 to 198±40 ms;
P
<0.0001; κ= 0.77), whereas in the absence of a DF site, there was no change in AFCL (169±22 to 170±22 ms;
P
=0.4). AF terminated during ablation in 17 of 19 patients with paroxysmal and 0 of 13 with permanent AF (
P
<0.0001). When 2 patients with nonsustained AF during mapping were excluded, 13 of 15 (87%) had AF termination at DF sites (54% at the initially ablated DF site): 11 pulmonary veins and 2 atrial. In addition, AF could no longer be induced in 69% with termination of AF at a DF site. There were no significant differences in the number or percentage of DF sites detected (5.4±1.6 versus 4.9±2.1;
P
=0.3) and ablated (1.9±1.0 versus 2.4±1.0;
P
=0.3) in those with and without AF termination. The duration of radiofrequency ablation to achieve termination was significantly shorter than that delivered in those with persisting AF (34.8±24.0 versus 73.5±22.9 minutes;
P
=0.0002). All patients with persisting AF had additional DF sites outside the ablated zones.

Conclusions—

Spectral analysis and frequency mapping identify localized sites of high-frequency activity during AF in humans with different distributions in paroxysmal and permanent AF. Ablation at these sites results in prolongation of the AFCL and termination of paroxysmal AF, indicating their role in the maintenance of AF.
Response of Atrial Fibrillation to Pulmonary Vein Antrum Isolation Is Directly Related to Resumption and Delay of Pulmonary Vein Conduction
Authors: Verma Atul , Kilicaslan Fethi , Pisano Ennio , Marrouche Nassir F. , Fanelli Raffaele , Brachmann Johannes , Geunther Jens , Potenza Domenico , Martin David O. , Cummings Jennifer , Burkhardt J. David , Saliba Walid , Schweikert Robert A. , Natale Andrea
Published: August 2005

Background—

The role of pulmonary vein (PV) isolation in ablative treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been debated in conflicting reports. We sought to compare PV conduction in patients who had no AF recurrence (group I), patients who could maintain sinus rhythm on antiarrhythmic medication (group II), and patients who had recurrent AF despite antiarrhythmic medication (group III) after PV antrum isolation (PVAI).

Methods and Results—

PV conduction was examined in consecutive patients undergoing second PVAI for AF recurrence. We also recruited some patients cured of AF to undergo a repeat, limited electrophysiological study at >3 months after PVAI. All patients underwent PVAI with an intracardiac echocardiography (ICE)–guided approach with complete isolation of all 4 PV antra (PVA). The number of PVs with recurrent conduction and the shortest atrial to PV (A-PV) conduction delay was measured with the use of consistent Lasso positions defined by ICE. Late AF recurrence was defined as AF >2 months after PVAI with the patient off medications. Patients in groups I (n=26), II (n=37), and III (n=44) did not differ at baseline (38% permanent AF; ejection fraction 53±6%). Recurrence of PV–left atrial (LA) conduction was seen in 1.7±0.8 and 2.2±0.8 PVAs for groups II and III but only in 0.2±0.4 for group I (
P
=0.02). In patients with recurrent PV-LA conduction, the A-PV delay increased from the first to second procedure by 69±47% for group III, 267±110% for group II, and 473±71% for group I (
P
<0.001). When pacing was at a faster rate, A-PV block developed in all 5 of the group I patients with recurrent PV-LA conduction.

Conclusions—

The majority of patients with drug-free cure show no PV-LA conduction recurrence. Substantial A-PV delay is seen in patients able to maintain sinus rhythm on antiarrhythmic medication or cured of AF compared with patients who fail PVAI.
Intraseasonal Variability of the South China Sea Summer Monsoon
Authors: Mao Jiangyu , Chan Johnny C. L.
Published: August 2005

The objective of this study is to explore, based on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP–NCAR) reanalysis data, the intraseasonal variability of the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon (SM) in terms of its structure and propagation, as well as interannual variations. A possible mechanism that is responsible for the origin of the 10–20-day oscillation of the SCS SM is also proposed.

The 30–60-day (hereafter the 3/6 mode) and 10–20-day (hereafter the 1/2 mode) oscillations are found to be the two intraseasonal modes that control the behavior of the SCSSM activities for most of the years. Both the 3/6 and 1/2 modes are distinct, but may not always exist simultaneously in a particular year, and their contributions to the overall variations differ among different years. Thus, the interannual variability in the intraseasonal oscillation activity of the SCS SM may be categorized as follows: the 3/6 category, in which the 3/6 mode is more significant (in terms of the percentage of variance explained) than the 1/2 mode; the 1/2 category, in which the 1/2 mode is dominant; and the dual category, in which both the 3/6 and 1/2 modes are pronounced.

Composite analyses of the 3/6 category cases indicate that the 30–60-day oscillation of the SCS SM exhibits a trough–ridge seesaw in which the monsoon trough and subtropical ridge exist alternatively over the SCS, with anomalous cyclones (anticyclones), along with enhanced (suppressed) convection, migrating northward from the equator to the midlatitudes. The northward-migrating 3/6-mode monsoon trough–ridge in the lower troposphere is coupled with the eastward-propagating 3/6-mode divergence–convergence in the upper troposphere. It is also found that, for the years in the dual category, the SCS SM activities are basically controlled by the 3/6 mode, but modified by the 1/2 mode.

Composite results of the 1/2-mode category cases show that the 10–20-day oscillation is manifest as an anticyclone–cyclone system over the western tropical Pacific, propagating northwestward into the SCS. A close coupling also exists between the upper-level convergence (divergence) and the low-level anticyclone (cyclone). It is found that the 1/2 mode of the SCS SM mainly originates from the equatorial central Pacific, although a disturbance from the northeast of the SCS also contributes to this mode. The flow patterns from an inactive to an active period resemble those associated with a mixed Rossby–gravity wave observed in previous studies.
Sensitivity of the Ocean’s Climate to Diapycnal Diffusivity in an EMIC. Part I: Equilibrium State
Authors: Dalan Fabio , Stone Peter H. , Kamenkovich Igor V. , Scott Jeffery R.
Published: August 2005

The diapycnal diffusivity in the ocean is one of the least known parameters in current climate models. Measurements of this diffusivity are sparse and insufficient for compiling a global map. Inferences from inverse methods and energy budget calculations suggest as much as a factor of 5 difference in the global mean value of the diapycnal diffusivity. Yet, the climate is extremely sensitive to the diapycnal diffusivity. In this paper the sensitivity of the current climate to the diapycnal diffusivity is studied, focusing on the changes occurring in the ocean circulation. To this end, a coupled model with a three-dimensional ocean with idealized geometry is used.

The results show that, at equilibrium, the strength of the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic scales with the 0.44 power of the diapycnal diffusivity, in contrast to the theoretical value based on scaling arguments for uncoupled models of 2/3. On the other hand, the strength of the circulation in the South Pacific scales with the 0.63 power of the diapycnal diffusivity in closer accordance with the theoretical value.

The vertical heat balance in the global ocean is controlled by, in the downward direction, (i) advection and (ii) diapycnal diffusion; in the upward direction, (iii) isopycnal diffusion and (iv) parameterized mesoscale eddy [Gent–McWilliams (GM)] advection. The size of the latter three fluxes increases with diapycnal diffusivity, because the thickness of the thermocline also increases with diapycnal diffusivity leading to greater isopycnal slopes at high latitudes, and hence, enhanced isopycnal diffusion and GM advection. Thus larger diapycnal diffusion is compensated for by changes in isopycnal diffusion and GM advection. Little change is found for the advective flux because of compensation between downward and upward advection.

Sensitivity results are presented for the hysteresis curve of the thermohaline circulation. The stability of the climate system to slow freshwater perturbations is reduced as a consequence of a smaller diapycnal diffusivity. This result is consistent with the findings of two-dimensional climate models. However, contrary to the results of these studies, a common threshold for the shutdown of the thermohaline circulation is not found in this model.
Eliasian Sociology as a ‘Central Theory’ for the Human Sciences
Authors: Quilley Stephen , Loyal Steven
Published: August 2005

For the last three decades, sociology has been in a permanent state of theoretical and programmatic disarray. Symptoms of the crisis include ambivalence about the possible scientific status of sociological knowledge, theoretical and methodological fragmentation and ambivalence about the appropriate degree of political and ethical ‘involvement’ in the sociological stance, and deep-seated anxieties about the relationship between sociology and neighbouring disciplines across the human sciences. Through a comprehensive exegesis of his major contributions, it is argued that Norbert Elias provides the foundations for a ‘central theory’, integrating diverse theoretical traditions within sociology, while providing a clear framework for establishing a synthesis across the full range of (social and biological) human sciences. In short, Elias provides us with the rudiments of a comprehensive human science, with sociology well placed to play an orchestrating role in the investigation of phenomena at the highest level of integration.
Relationship building in small firms: The development of a model
Authors: Chell Elizabeth , Tracey Paul
Published: August 2005

This article investigates relationships between Owner Managers and First Line Managers (supervisors) in small firms. A model comprising four components - competency, role, style and vision - was developed to consider the operating reality of this dyad, and its robustness considered using an embedded case study design ( n= 15). The analysis relied upon ‘pattern matching’ in which a set of a priori propositions were examined, and (a) the predicted outcome (based on the model) compared with (b) the observed outcome (based on respondents’ assessment of the relationship). Two types of factor were identified: style and vision were found to be contingent, varying according to the dynamic of the relationship and expectations of those involved, while competency and role were deemed to be core elements without which effective interrelating is unlikely. Finally, the model was revised to include a fifth dimension - an emotional bond comprising trust/mutual respect - which appeared to be a crucial feature of effective relationships.
Understanding the Trust-Control Nexus
Authors: Bijlsma-Frankema Katinka , Costa Ana Cristina
Published: August 2005

This article aims at contributing to the understanding of the trust-control nexus. The objective is to bring the discussion around the relationship between both concepts a step further by identifying common foundations, distinctive mechanisms and key implications relevant for theory-building and empirical research on trust and control. First, the concept of trust and related concepts are introduced. Second, the developments related to the diminished effectiveness of control and a growing importance of trust in both intra- and inter-organizational relations are discussed. Finally, the state of the art regarding the trust-control nexus and a brief summary of the four articles included in this special issue are provided.
Children’s student nurses’ knowledge of spirituality and its implications for educational practice
Authors: Kenny Gerard , Ashley Martin
Published: August 2005

Children’s nurse educators have to rely predominantly on adult-based literature to guide their educational practice concerning spirituality in the nursing curriculum. The aim of this study was to get a children’s nursing perspective. A questionnaire was designed around the main themes emerging from the adult literature on spirituality. This was distributed to children’s nurses on the undergraduate curriculum at a UK university. The results showed that some of the challenges of delivering spirituality are common to both adult and children’s nursing. However, there were also significant differences revolving around the impact that children and families had in informing students’ understanding of spirituality, and the problems of seeking a unified theory of spirituality in a children’s nursing context. It concludes that children’s nursing has important lessons to learn from the adult literature; however, it must strive to construct its own insights and use this understanding to inform educational approaches to the topic.
Mothering a hospitalized child: it’s the ‘little things’ that matter
Authors: Gasquoine Susan E.
Published: August 2005

This article reports one aspect of a phenomenological study that described the lived experience of mothering a child hospitalized with acute illness or injury. The significance for mothers that nurses do the ‘little things’ emerged in considering the implications of this study’s findings for nurses in practice. Seven mothers whose child had been hospitalized in the 12 months prior to the first interview agreed to share their stories. The resulting data were analysed and interpreted using van Manen’s interpretation of phenomenology. This description of mothering in a context of crisis is useful in the potential contribution it makes to nurses’ understanding of mothers’ experience of the hospitalization of their children. It supports the philosophy of family-centred care and highlights the ability of individual nurses to make a positive difference to a very stressful experience by acknowledging and doing ‘little things’, because it is the little things that matter to the mothers of children in hospital.
The involvement of parents and nurses in the care of acutely-ill children in a non-specialist paediatric setting
Authors: Roden Janet
Published: August 2005

The examination of both parents’ and nurses’ expectations and attitudes towards parental participation in the care of ill children in a community hospital, non-specialty setting was undertaken in this exploratory, qualitative research study within Australia. First, in this triangulated research study, 14 in-depth interviews with parents were carried out about their participation in the care of their ill children. Content analysis revealed that the four main themes were to do with parental factors including control, expectations, support and emotion; communication; the importance of being with your child; and the fact that mothers do the mothering and nurses do the nursing. Two focus group sessions were held with paediatric nursing staff. Content analysis confirmed real communication problems between nurses and parents. Implications that arose for nursing practice were for in-service workshops to improve communication between nurses and families as well as workshops to prepare students of university nursing programmes offering paediatric electives.
Parental Consent and the Ethics of Research with Foster Children
Authors: Bogolub Ellen B. , Thomas Nigel
Published: August 2005

Prior to writing this article, the two authors (Bogolub, US and Thomas, UK) conducted separate qualitative research studies with foster children. After briefly describing their individual studies, the two authors engage in a cross-cultural dialogue based on their differing perspectives on the importance of birth parent consent for foster children’s research participation. The authors’ differences appear largely, although not exclusively, related to contrasts between a US academic culture, which often stresses the fiduciary relationship between parents and developing children, and a UK academic culture, which places more emphasis on children’s competence and independence. Conclusions center on the importance of cross-cultural dialogue as a way to promote considered decisions about the overlapping methodological and ethical questions that inevitably arise when doing research with children, particularly those involved with the child welfare system.
The Usefulness of Oral Life (Hi)story to Understand and Empower
Authors: Patel Tina
Published: August 2005

The article considers the usefulness of the oral life (hi)story approach, and in particular its qualitative method of interviewing, to researching social work issues such as trans-racial adoption. In providing clarification on the decision to use the term life (hi)story in the given (bracketed) way, a descriptive outline of the reported study’s research design into trans-racial adoption is provided. This is followed by a critically reflective assessment of the key methodological issues emanating from the study’s use of oral life (hi)story, highlighting not only its limitations but also offering guidance on its use. In doing so, it is argued that despite some discrepancies, oral life (hi)story offers access to a deeper level of understanding about adoptees’ lives. It also empowers adoptees by giving them the opportunity to speak for themselves about their own lives.
Teaching a Qualitative Research Seminar on Sensitive Issues
Authors: Borochowitz Dalit Yassour
Published: August 2005

The present article describes several methodological questions with which I have had to contend over the past four years regarding teaching a qualitative research seminar. The topic of the seminar is ‘Intimate Violence against Women’, and the students come from very diverse backgrounds (Arabs, Druze, Jews, young and mature students, and new immigrants from Ethiopia and Russia). The present article addresses two principal subjects: (1) The epistemological resistance, which discusses the basic difficulties my students, especially the younger ones, express in accepting qualitative epistemology; and, (2) various questions regarding my own difficulties in deciding what are the recommended limits of reflexivity at each stage of research. The question of reflexivity relates to the fact that the seminar’s subject matter is a ‘sensitive issue’ (Renzetti and Lee, 1993). The present article draws on examples and verbatim quotes from my students, presented with my own questions and reflections.
Reducing HIV Infections at Circuit Parties: From Description to Explanation and Principles of Intervention Design
Authors: Ghaziani Amin , Cook Thomas D.
Published: August 2005

Circuit parties are weekend-long, erotically charged, drug-prevalent dance events attended by up to 25 000 self-identified gay and bisexual men who socialize and dance nonstop, sometimes for 24 hours or longer. Although these parties started originally as part of the gay community’s response to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and to build community and cultural identity, they may have become a site for transmitting HIV across geographical regions and socioeconomic groups of gay and bisexual men. This article reviews the descriptive published studies on circuit parties. The authors use these studies and the literature on drug use and high-risk sexual behavior in gay and bisexual communities, along with sociological and social psychological research, to propose a causal model of why circuit parties may contribute to unsafe sexual practices that increase HIV infection risk. The authors abstract 5 prevention messages relevant to circuit parties and review intervention studies in nonparty settings for insight into how to reduce risky sexual behavior within circuit events. These intervention studies help to identify 5 context-specific groups that can effectively carry the prevention messages. The 5-by-5 matrix represents a first stage in developing a causal model for reducing HIV infections, along with evaluable principles of intervention, at circuit parties.
Biaxial Orientation Characterization in PE and PP Using WAXD X-Ray Pole Figures, FTIR Spectroscopy, and Birefringence
Authors: Ajji A. , Elkoun S. , Zhang X.
Published: August 2005

In this study, different polyethylene and polypropylene films (LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, and PP) are produced using different processes (film blowing and biaxial orientation) and processing conditions. The orientation of the films is characterized in terms of their biaxial crystalline, amorphous, and global orientation factors using birefringence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) using a tilted incidence technique, and X-ray pole figures. The results indicate that FTIR overestimates the crystalline orientation factors, particularly for the crystalline a-axis. Significant discrepancies are also observed for the b-axis orientation, which may be due to an overlap of the amorphous contribution and/or saturation of FTIR bands. These differences are larger for films with low orientation, such as blown films. Amorphous phase orientation from FTIR depends on the band used and is not necessarily in agreement with that determined from the combination of X-ray and birefringence.
Evaluation of Stresses in a Two-Layer Co-Extruded LDPE Melt Blown Film
Authors: Gamache E. , Agassant J. -F. , Demay Y. , Lafleur P. G.
Published: August 2005

Despite the fast growth of co-extruded film production, little research work has been devoted to this process. Films of LDPE, ULDPE, LDPE/ULDPE and ULDPE/LDPE were produced at various processing conditions. A continuous experimental set up was used to evaluate the in-plane birefringence during bubble formation. The data collected were used to derive the axial and transverse stresses. A non-isothermal Newtonian model that allows the determination of the kinematics and dynamics of the two-layer film blowing process was then used to calculate the axial and transverse stress. Generally the calculated stresses are in agreement with the experimental values.