bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing Women's Presence in Slovene Parliament
Authors: AntiĆ Milica G.
Published: March 2005

This chapter examines the under-representation of women in Slovene national politics. The main obstacles to female representation in the Slovene National Assembly are political. Female representation can be improved by increasing the size of the legislature to provide more opportunities for women to participate, eliminating territorial sub-units (voting units) and adopting a straightforward proportional representation system, removing the second tier by either using territorial constituencies exclusively or collapsing geographical constituencies into a single nationwide unit, and adopting affirmative action or quotas in recruitment.
Women's Legislative Representation in Post-Communist Bulgaria
Authors: Kostadinova Tatiana
Published: March 2005

This chapter examines women’s representation in Bulgaria’s national assembly. It is argued that women’s representation can be improved when parties become unified organizations and when women achieve leadership in these parties. However, the volatile party system and the uncertainty of voter support has made parties hesitant to nominate women in competitive list positions.
The British Regulatory State
Authors: Moran Michael
Published: March 2005

This book examines the transformation of governing arrangements in Britain from stagnation in the first two-thirds of the 20th century to hyper-innovation. These two phases were connected by crisis, namely, a crisis of economic policy and the crisis of the content of rule itself. The collapse of the club system is also discussed to explain the reasons behind the hostility towards the new regulatory state.
Images of the Regulatory State
Authors: Moran Michael
Published: March 2005

This chapter examines the competing images of the regulatory state. It looks at the regulatory state as an American state, a European Madisonian state, a smart state, and a risk state. It then analyses the British state as a regulatory state. The discussion of risk society and regulatory society sketches a very different kind of hypothetical understanding, one that promises to account for the hyper-innovation of recent decades.
Transforming Self-Regulation
Authors: Moran Michael
Published: March 2005

This chapter examines self-regulation in Britain. From the 1970s to 1990s, the complex mosaic of self-regulation was rearranged according to a consistent pattern, characterised by growth in the extent to which systems of self-regulation were institutionalised, codified, and juridified. Self-regulation became an instrument for achieving wider social purposes, such as efficient healthcare delivery, honest financial services, or internationally successful sport.
Regulating Privatization
Authors: Moran Michael
Published: March 2005

This chapter argues that the system of privatisation regulation reflects the age of hyper-innovation in British government. The onset of hyper-innovation played a key role in the collapse of a club world that had pre-democratic origins. It presents an account of rail regulation, which represents the first great crisis of the regulatory system, and its failure in this crisis. It considers the wider issues of business regulation, showing how the fragility of this wider system has interacted with the fragile system for governing privatisation.
Regulating and Colonizing Public Worlds
Authors: Moran Michael
Published: March 2005

This chapter examines the regulation of the public sphere in Britain. It presents the four major domains of reorganization. Hyper-politicisation is discussed, which resulted from the breakdown of the old mechanisms protecting interests from democratic accountability, thus exposing them to the full force of partisan politics.
The German Case: A Key Moderator in a Competitive Multi‐Level Environment
Authors: Maurer Andreas , Wessels Wolfgang
Published: March 2005

This study of the German permanent representation at Brussels unravels the complexities of co-ordination in a domestic political system characterized by vertical and horizontal pluralism, administrative fragmentation, and parallel competition from the ‘foreign relations systems’ of the Länder. Success in high politics at the European level contrasts with the ‘diplomacy of improvisation’ that is the outcome of ‘autonomy, polyphony, and organized anarchy in routine policy-making. The first section of the chapter conceptualizes the ‘Janus-like character of permanent representations at Brussels and discusses various theoretical approaches to these bodies. The following sections look at the history, growth and differentiation of the German permanent representation, its tasks, the German Länder system as a complicating factor, and the co-ordination and communication activities of the German permanent representation, which orients its European policy-making activities in six directions—between Bonn/Berlin and Brussels, within Brussels, within Bonn/Berlin, with the Länder, with the European Commission and the European Parliament, and with Brussels-based interest groups.
Italy
Authors: della Cananea Giacinto
Published: March 2005

The Italian permanent representation at Brussels has received very little academic or political attention, and there has been no explicit debate as to how this body should be shaped. Even when the central government decided that it should control all aspects of the formulation of EC policies though delegating to regions their implementation in a number of cases, the permanent representation was not even mentioned in the legislation. It is argued that this neglect is problematic for several reasons, which are discussed. An explanation is advanced for this neglect in terms of the high politics of Italian membership of the European Community. The chapter is organized in five sections: first, a brief examination is made of the broader problem determined by the lack of a central authority to co-ordinate of EU policies in Italy; second and third, the functions and powers of the permanent representation, and its organization and internal functioning are considered; fourth, the division of labour between the central authorities (the Italian government) and the permanent representation is examined; finally, other policy networks that influence Italian European policies are discussed.
Dual Loyalties: The Boundary Role of the Dutch Permanent Representation to the EU
Authors: Soetendorp Ben , Andeweg Rudy B.
Published: March 2005

This chapter on the Dutch permanent representation at Brussels sets out to test the claim that national idiosyncrasies are the key to understanding the functioning of the permanent representations of the European Union. The authors find, contrary to this contention, that the features of the Dutch political and administrative system—fragmentation, segmentation, and a lack of central authority—do not produce national arrangements at the European level that are similarly fractured. Indeed, in this important area of policy co-ordination, the machinery put in place by the Netherlands is considerably less idiosyncratic than might have been expected. The different sections of the chapter discuss the organization of the Dutch permanent representation, its personnel, its internal functioning and working methods, its role, its capacity to implement ambitions, and its effectiveness.
German Banks and Banking Structure
Authors: Hackethal Andreas
Published: March 2005

Examines past and present structural features of the German banking industry. It shows empirically that – whilst conventional commercial banking is clearly in decline in the United States – the traditional dominance of banks in the German financial system has not eroded significantly over the last three decades. The way in which, and the extent to which, German banks fulfil the central functions for the German financial system are still consistent with its overall logic. A structural convergence of the German system towards the market-oriented financial systems of the United States or the United Kingdom is therefore unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Institutional Investors in Germany: Insurance Companies and Investment Funds
Authors: Maurer Raimond
Published: March 2005

Focuses on institutional investors in the German financial markets. Institutional investors are specialised financial intermediaries who collect and manage funds on behalf of small investors towards specific objectives in terms of risk, return, and maturity. The major types of institutional investors in Germany are insurance companies and investment funds.

We will examine the nature of their businesses, their size and role in the financial sector, the size and the composition of the assets under their management, aspects of financial regulation, and features of their asset-liability-management.
Universal Banks and Relationships with Firms
Authors: Elsas Ralf , Krahnen Jan P.
Published: March 2005

Reviews recent empirical evidence regarding the special role of banks for the corporate governance of German firms (hausbank-relationships). We differentiate between the role of banks as monitors and financiers of large, exchange-listed firms and of smaller, non-listed firms. Sub-sections of the chapter deal with direct shareholdings, proxy-voting rights, supervisory board representation, debt financing, and distress resolution. The accumulated evidence supports the idea that relationship lending plays a distinctive role in German firms’ corporate governance, and will continue to influence the future development of the financial system.
How is Strength of Will Possible?
Authors: Holton Richard
Published: March 2005

Most recent accounts of will power have tried to explain it as reducible to the operation of beliefs and desires. In opposition to such accounts, this essay argues for a distinct faculty of will power. Considerations from philosophy and from social psychology are used in support.
Emotions and the Intelligibility of Akratic Action
Authors: Tappolet Christine
Published: March 2005

What is the role of emotions in akratic action? Proposing that emotions are non‐conceptual perceptions of values, the author argues that such states have the capacity not just to cause but also to render intelligible actions that are contrary to one's better judgement. Akratic actions prompted by an emotion may even be more rational than following one's evaluative judgement, for the perception might enable the agent to better track the reasons she has, compared to the judgement. By contrast, akratic actions in which no emotion is involved (cases of ‘cool’ akrasia) are genuinely puzzling and of dubious intelligibility.
Weakness of Will and Practical Judgement
Authors: Stroud Sarah
Published: March 2005

A practical judgement is one which enjoys an internal, necessary relation to subsequent action or intention, and which can serve as a sufficient explanation of such action or intention. Does the phenomenon of weakness of will show that deliberation does not characteristically issue in such practical judgements? The author argues that the possibility of akrasia does not threaten the view that we make practical judgements, when the latter thesis is properly understood. Indeed, the author suggests that the alleged possibility of global akrasia actually supports the practical‐judgement model over what she considers its main rival, a kind of ‘Humean externalism’ about practical reason.
The Work of the Will
Authors: Watson Gary
Published: March 2005

The first part of the essay explores the relations between the will and practical reason or judgement. The second part takes up decision in the realm of belief, i.e. deciding that such and such is so. This phenomenon raises two questions. Since we decide that as well as to, should we speak of a doxastic will? Secondly, should we regard ourselves as active in the formation of our judgements as in the formation of our intentions? The author's answer to these two further questions is ‘no’ and ‘yes’, respectively: the boundaries between the active and the passive are not marked by the will.
Choosing Rationally and Choosing Correctly
Authors: Wedgwood Ralph
Published: March 2005

Argues that internal requirements on rational choice are derived from the ultimate practical ‘aim’ of arriving at correct choices, which depend on which of one's options really are good things to do. In order to defend this ‘recognitional’ view of practical reason against the ‘constructivist’ who sees the internal, procedural requirements on rational choice as fundamental, the author argues that the objections which constructivists have raised against the recognitional view in fact apply only to substantive and not to formal versions of the latter. Furthermore, the author urges, objections of the very same kind can be pressed against the constructivist view itself.
Class Transformation and Trends in Social Fluidity in the Republic of Ireland 1973–94
Authors: Layte Richard , Whelan Christopher T.
Published: March 2005

The Irish case provides a particularly appropriate test of the consequences for social mobility of economic growth and, in particular, of the hypothesis of increasing merit selection. This is so not only because the lateness and speed of economic change allows us to capture it through a set of national surveys conducted in the past three decades but because such change was based on a sustained policy of increased openness to international competitive forces. The functional requirements of the economy and a rapid increase in the supply of those with higher educational qualifications provided an ideal context in which to observe the predicted movement from ascription to achievement. However, while changes in the class structure and a rapid expansion of educational opportunity had significant consequences in terms of absolute mobility, there was no clear evidence of a significant shift towards meritocratic principles; indeed, the impact of educational qualifications on class destination diminished. Controlling for education, we find that the impact of class origin effects is substantial and shows relatively little sign of diminishing over time.
Opportunities, Little Change: Class Mobility in Israeli Society, 1974–91
Authors: Yaish Meir
Published: March 2005

Engages with the long lasting debate in sociology concerning the consequences of industrialization process for social mobility. It is argued that Israeli society provides one of the most adequate tests of this thesis. In this context, then, the analysis in this chapter is guided by two main questions: (1) has equality of opportunity in Israeli mobility increased over time, (2) has the mobility process in Israeli society become more meritocratic over time. The analysis in this chapter is based on data from two nationally representative surveys that were tailored to the study of social mobility–the 1974 and the 1991 Israeli mobility surveys. It is shown that Israelis (men and women alike) experience high level of social mobility and fluidity–but with little temporal variations. It is also shown that while the Israeli stratification system has some meritocratic components, these did not gain in strength over time. Thus it is concluded that, in the Israeli context, social mobility, and the industrialization process do not go hand in hand.
The Limitations of Financial Reporting
Authors: Ballwieser Wolfgang
Published: March 2005

After a general introduction (Section 1), Section 2 discusses the objectives of financial reporting with respect to information. It explains the concept of decision usefulness by looking first at the individual decision-model, and then at the measurement of economic wealth or income using financial statements. Section 3 briefly examines some of the attempts that have been made to test decision usefulness empirically, and gives an overview of some of the results. Section 3 is the conclusion.
Value-Based Management and Performance Measures: Cash Flow versus Accrual Accounting
Authors: Pfaff Dieter
Published: March 2005

The objective is to reflect on the merits of accrual accounting in light of its various imperfections, and to provide some explanation for why we still have only a limited understanding of accruals. The argument presented is based on a two-period model and attempts to demonstrate the problem of the ‘impatient manager’ to show how accruals can help solve this problem. The goal is to lay out the basic rationalization for using both accruals and the underlying assumptions and relationships as clearly and simply as possible. This rationale is then used as the basis for an examination of the question of which direction we might use to develop new models that propose the advantages of using accruals. The chapter is organized as follows: Section 1 introduces; Section 2 shows the substantial assumptions for the analysis of accruals – and cash-flow-based incentive systems in investment decisions; Section 3 discusses accruals as optimal performance measures, clarifying the connections between compensation functions and performance measures, and showing how performance measures can be designed to induce efficient investment decisions in a two-period model; Section 4 summarizes the results, thereby taking a more general look at the connections between incentive contracts, performance measures, and information structures; Section 5 discusses the problems of analytical research in showing the advantage of using accruals instead of cash flows as a performance measure to control investment decisions; Section 6 concludes.
Changing Boundaries of Innovation Systems
Authors: McKelvey Maureen
Published: March 2005

Discusses the issue of the changing boundaries of system integration competencies between different actors. The argument is made that many complex, knowledge‐intensive innovations are not only systemic in the sense of requiring many components and interactions, but they must also be analysed as a situation where final demand requires a bundling of goods and services. Demand therefore must be analysed as an integrated set of goods and services. A multi‐sectoral comparison is made, as the bundling of goods and services is visible in such diverse areas as building and construction, health care management, biotechnology, and telecommunication infrastructures.
Modernizing the State: A New Style of Governance?
Authors: Newman Janet
Published: March 2005

Examines the social policies associated with 'third ways' in European social democracy. It focuses on the Third Way in terms of discourse (e.g. a rhetoric of reconciliation), values (e.g. solidarity, equity), and policy goals and mechanisms (e.g. maximizing employment; containing public spending and strengthening the social investment component of welfare states). Our main conclusion is that the current position is best represented by one-third way with several variants, and that there is greater similarity on the level of policy content than on values or discourse.
The Third Way's Social Investment State
Authors: Lister Ruth
Published: March 2005

Traces the dispersal of power associated with contemporary transformations of the state and discusses the tensions that arise in the shift towards partnership working, public participation, citizen engagement, and the 'responsibilisation' of citizens in modernized social health and welfare systems. Governance theory, it argues, has much to contribute to analyses of the Third Way in that it shifts the focus of attention beyond economic structures or processes towards a broader concern with issues of citizenship, concepts of community, and flows of power beyond the state. However, the chapter critiques a number of assumptions on which it is based and highlights its capacity to de-politicize analyses of the state and to legitimize the Third Way as an inevitable consequence of social and economic change.
The Future of the Welfare State
Authors: Castles Francis G.
Published: March 2005

This book uses data from 21 OECD countries for the period 1980 to 1998 to test a variety of hypotheses suggesting that contemporary welfare states are in crisis and to establish the factors shaping the trajectory of welfare state development during these years. It assesses the validity of arguments that globalization leads to a ‘race to the bottom’ in social spending and that population ageing poses a threat to public budgets. It finds both of these arguments wanting and, instead, suggests that contemporary welfare states have been converging to a steady state over recent decades. The book also examines the extent to which welfare states across the OECD have been restructured in recent years and whether there are signs of the emergence of a distinctive European ‘social model’. Again, it finds that accounts of substantial welfare state restructuring and of the Europeanization of the welfare state are much exaggerated. Finally, the book identifies a potential threat to the viability of existing societies in a trend to declining fertility throughout the advanced world, but argues that the welfare state in the form of family-friendly policy is actually our best protection against this trend.
A European Welfare State Convergence?
Authors: Castles Francis G.
Published: March 2005

Seeks to explore the notion that European welfare states have been becoming more alike in recent years, with a view to establishing the reality or otherwise of the notion of a distinct ‘European social model’. The analysis shows that convergence within Europe is largely restricted to aggregate social expenditure levels, but that welfare state standards, spending on individual welfare programmes and welfare state priorities quite often differ appreciably within and between different European families of nations. In consequence, it would appear that we are no nearer to a European ‘social model’ in the early twenty-first century than we were in the early 1980s.
Introduction
Authors: Corazza Eros
Published: March 2005

In discussing the semantic/pragmatic divide and how it applies to context-sensitive expression, a picture of situated thought and utterances is presented and defended. This is labelled situational contextualism. It is argued that semantics is pragmatically informed.
A Multiple-Proposition Approach
Authors: Corazza Eros
Published: March 2005

Proposes a multiple-proposition theory, which explains certain linguistic data in a straightforward way. The data are provided by description-names, i.e. proper names like ‘The Holy Virgin’, ‘The Beatles’, etc. and complex demonstratives, i.e. NPs of the form ‘that table covered in books’, ‘this pen’, ‘these horses’, etc. The multiple-proposition theory proposed fits within the framework of direct reference.
The First-Person Pronoun
Authors: Corazza Eros
Published: March 2005

Focuses on the first person pronoun and semantic properties. It also discusses how one’s use of ‘I’ relates to one’s psychological states and egocentricity and defends the view that someone’s self-consciousness is manifested in mastering the use of the first person pronoun.
Empathy, Imagination, and Reports
Authors: Corazza Eros
Published: March 2005

Discusses the attribution of attitudes. In attributing to someone an attitude, we usually use constructions like: “Jane believes/desires/wishes/said/…that p”, where the that-clause ‘that p’ should capture what the attributee, Jane, believes/desires/wishes/said/…The conception proposed concentrates on the notion of imagination. In particular, it rests on the notion of transference, i.e. the way one imagines oneself to be another.
Quasi-Indexicality and Puzzling Reports
Authors: Corazza Eros
Published: March 2005

Proposes a picture of attitude ascriptions, which relies on the notion of quasi-indicators. The main idea defended is that in an attitude ascription we relate the attributee to a proposition and a sentence. The latter is the sentence the reporter uses to classify the attributee’s mental state. This classification can be more or less accurate and often it can only be partial.
Quantitative Risk Assessment of FMD Virus Transmission via Water
Authors: Schijven Jack , Rijs Gerard B. J. , De Roda Husman Ana Maria
Published: March 2005

Foot‐and‐mouth disease (FMD) is a viral disease of domesticated and wild cloven‐hoofed animals. FMD virus is known to spread by direct contact between infected and susceptible animals, by animal products such as meat and milk, by the airborne route, and mechanical transfer on people, wild animals, birds, and by vehicles. During the outbreak of 2001 in the Netherlands, milk from dairy cattle was illegally discharged into the sewerage as a consequence of transport prohibition. This may lead to contaminated discharges of biologically treated and raw sewage in surface water that is given to cattle to drink. The objective of the present study was to assess the probability of infecting dairy cows that were drinking FMD virus contaminated surface water due to illegal discharges of contaminated milk. So, the following data were collected from literature: FMD virus inactivation in aqueous environments, FMD virus concentrations in milk, dilution in sewage water, virus removal by sewage treatment, dilution in surface water, water consumption of cows, size of a herd in a meadow, and dose‐response data for ingested FMD virus by cattle. In the case of 1.6 × 102 FMD virus per milliliter in milk and discharge of treated sewage in surface water, the probability of infecting a herd of cows was estimated to be 3.3 × 10−7 to 8.5 × 10−5, dependent on dilution in the receiving surface water. In the case of discharge of raw sewage, all probabilities of infection were 100 times higher. In the case of little dilution in small rivers, the high level of 8.5 × 10−3 is reached. For 104 times higher FMD virus concentrations in milk, the probabilities of infecting a herd of cows are high in the case of discharge of treated sewage (3.3 × 10−3 to 5.7 × 10−1) and very high in the case of discharge of raw sewage (0.28–1.0). It can be concluded that illegal and uncontrolled discharges of contaminated milk into the sewerage system may lead to high risks to other cattle farms at 6–50 km distance of the location of discharge within one day. This clearly underlines current measures that prohibit such discharges, and also asks for strict control. This risk assessment clearly demonstrated the potential significance of FMD virus transmission via water, and the results will be useful on an international scale, and could also serve as a basis for other FMD risk‐assessment models.
A Structured Expert Judgment Study for a Model of Campylobacter Transmission During Broiler‐Chicken Processing
Authors: Van der Fels‐Klerx H. J. , Cooke Roger M. , Nauta Maarten N. , Goossens Louis H. , Havelaar Arie H.
Published: March 2005

A structured expert judgment study was organized to obtain input data for a microbial risk‐assessment model describing the transmission of campylobacter during broiler‐chicken processing in the Netherlands. More specially, the expert study was aimed at quantifying the uncertainty on input parameters of this model and focused on the contamination of broiler‐chicken carcasses with campylobacter during processing. Following the protocol for structured expert judgment studies, expert assessments were elicited individually through subjective probability distribution functions. The classical model was used to aggregate the individual experts' distributions in order to obtain a single combined distribution per variable. Three different weighting schemes were applied, including equal weighting and performance‐based weighting with and without optimalization of the combined distributions. The individual experts' weights were based on their performance on the seed variables. Results of the various weighting schemes are presented in terms of performance, robustness, and combined distributions of the seed variables and some of the query variables. All three weighting schemes had adequate performance, with the optimized combined distributions significantly outperforming both the equal weight and the nonoptimized combined distributions. Hence, this weighting scheme, having adequate robustness, was chosen for further processing of the results.
Health Effects Caused by Primary Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Emitted from Buses in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland
Authors: Tainio Marko , Tuomisto Jouni T. , Hänninen Otto , Aarnio Päivi , Koistinen Kimmo J. , Jantunen Matti J. , Pekkanen Juha
Published: March 2005

Fine particle (PM2.5) emissions from traffic have been associated with premature mortality. The current work compares PM2.5‐induced mortality in alternative public bus transportation strategies as being considered by the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council, Finland. The current bus fleet and transportation volume is compared to four alternative hypothetical bus fleet strategies for the year 2020: (1) the current bus fleet for 2020 traffic volume, (2) modern diesel buses without particle traps, (3) diesel buses with particle traps, and (4) buses using natural gas engines. The average population PM2.5 exposure level attributable to the bus emissions was determined for the 1996–1997 situation using PM2.5 exposure measurements including elemental composition from the EXPOLIS‐Helsinki study and similar element‐based source apportionment of ambient PM2.5 concentrations observed in the ULTRA study. Average population exposure to particles originating from the bus traffic in the year 2020 is assumed to be proportional to the bus emissions in each strategy. Associated mortality was calculated using dose‐response relationships from two large cohort studies on PM2.5 mortality from the United States. Estimated number of deaths per year (90% confidence intervals in parenthesis) associated with primary PM2.5 emissions from buses in Helsinki Metropolitan Area in 2020 were 18 (0–55), 9 (0–27), 4 (0–14), and 3 (0–8) for the strategies 1–4, respectively. The relative differences in the associated mortalities for the alternative strategies are substantial, but the number of deaths in the lowest alternative, the gas buses, is only marginally lower than what would be achieved by diesel engines equipped with particle trap technology. The dose‐response relationship and the emission factors were identified as the main sources of uncertainty in the model.
Forgetting of Trauma Cues in Adults Reporting Continuous or Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Authors: McNally Richard J. , Ristuccia Carel S. , Perlman Carol A.
Published: March 2005

According to betrayal trauma theory, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) who were molested by their caretakers (e.g., a father) are especially likely to dissociate (“repress”) their memories of abuse. Testing college students, some reporting CSA, DePrince and Freyd (2004) found that those scoring high on a dissociation questionnaire exhibited memory deficits for trauma words when they viewed these words under divided-attention conditions. Replicating DePrince and Freyd's procedure, we tested for memory deficits for trauma words relative to neutral words in adults reporting either continuous or recovered memories of CSA versus adults denying a history of CSA. A memory deficit for trauma words under divided attention was expected in the recovered-memory group. Results were inconsistent with this prediction, as all three groups exhibited better recall of trauma words than neutral words, irrespective of encoding conditions.
A quantitative approach to recording peristaltic activity from segments of rat small intestine in vivo
Authors: Bogeski G. , Shafton A. D. , Kitchener P. D. , Ferens D. M. , Furness J. B.
Published: March 2005

Abstract  We have developed methods that allow correlation of propulsive reflexes of the intestine with measurements of intraluminal pressure, fluid movement and spatio‐temporal maps of intestinal wall movements for the first time in vivo. A segment of jejunum was cannulated and set up in a Trendelenburg recording system while remaining connected to the vascular and nerve supply of the anaesthetized rat. The resting intraluminal pressure in intact intestine was 2–4 mmHg. Hydrostatic pressures of 2, 4, 8 and 16 mmHg were imposed. At a baseline pressure of 4 mmHg, propulsive waves generated pressures of 9 ± 1 mmHg, that progressed oral to anal at 2–5 mm s−1. Individual propulsive waves propelled 0.8 ± 0.4 mL of fluid. The frequency of propulsive waves increased with pressure, but peristaltic efficiency (mL per contraction) decreased with pressure increase between 4 and 16 mmHg. Atropine, as a bolus, transiently blocked peristalsis, but caused maintained block when infused. Hexamethonium blocked propulsive contractions. Inhibition of nitrergic transmission converted regular peristalsis to non‐propulsive contractions. These studies demonstrate the utility of an adapted Trendelenburg method for quantitative investigation of motility and pharmacology of enteric reflexes in vivo.
Comparison between partial agonist (ME3412) and antagonist (alosetron) of 5‐hydroxytryptamine 3 receptor on gastrointestinal function
Authors: Kawano K. , Mori T. , Fu L. , Ito T. , Niisato T. , Yoshida S. , Shiokawa S. , Sato Y. , Murakami H. , Shishikura T.
Published: March 2005

Abstract  Therapeutic use of 5‐hydroxytryptamine 3 (5‐HT3) receptor antagonists for diarrhoea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome may be accompanied by constipation. We hypothesized that ME3412, 5‐chloro‐2‐(1,4‐diazacycloheptan‐1‐yl)‐7‐methylbenzoxazole, a novel partial agonist of the 5‐HT3 receptor, would minimize constipation without reducing antidiarrhoeal activity. Receptor binding studies showed that ME3412 is highly selective for the human 5‐HT3 receptor (Ki = 1.51 nmol L−1). A 5‐HT3 receptor agonist, 2‐methyl‐5‐HT, caused contractile response in the isolated guinea‐pig ileum and accelerated secretion in the guinea‐pig colonic mucosal preparation. ME3412 and 5‐HT3 receptor antagonist, alosetron, antagonized the 2‐methyl‐5‐HT‐induced responses with similar potency in insurmountable and surmountable manner, respectively. ME3412 caused weak agonism in isolated ileum strips and also in the colonic mucosa with intrinsic activity of 0.09 and 0.59, respectively. In conscious dogs, alosetron (3 μg kg−1 i.v.) suppressed the migrating motor complex (MMC), whereas a relatively high dose (300 μg kg−1) of ME3412 was required for inhibition of MMC. ME3412 and alosetron suppressed 5‐HT induced‐diarrhoea in mice. In contrast, ME3412 did not significantly affect colonic propulsion compared with alosetron. These results imply that the partial agonist may relieve diarrhoea with low risk of inducing constipation.
A question of perception: Bourdieu, art and the postmodern
Authors: Prior Nick
Published: March 2005

Bourdieu and Darbel's classic study of European art museum audiences,The Love of Art(1991), remains one of the most influential academic studies of the social indices of art perception. Its findings were central to Bourdieu's on‐going study of culture‐mediated power relations, as found in the bookDistinction(Bourdieu 1984), as well as social surveys of the behaviour of museum audiences across the world. Much in Bourdieu's account of art perception, however, has begun to appear dated and in need of supplementation. This paper will be a critical but sympathetic re‐reading of Bourdieu's sociology of art perception in the light of recent criticisms of his approach. Whilst fine art and its institutions continue to function as sources of social identification and differentiation, this paper argues that the relationship between perception and stratification is somewhat looser than connoted in Bourdieu's work. Beyond the shift to a less rigid taxonomy of social formations, the immense expansion of the visual arts complex has opened up possibilities for the dissemination of art knowledge beyond the cultivated bourgeois. The erosion of boundaries between the aesthetic and the economic, between art and popular culture, are the result of processes of commodification that have placed museums alongside shopping malls within the realms of consumption and entertainment. New audiences have emerged from this mix with less dichotomized – that is,eithercultivated or popular – ways of seeing culture that suggest a revision of Bourdieu's overly integrated account of class and cognition. An alternative, ‘postmodern’, approach to art perception is entertained, where an aesthetics of distinction is replaced by a culture of distraction, but this abstracts culture from any structural grounding. Capturing the shift to an accelerated cultural present, instead, requires a warping of Bourdieu's categories to account for broader patterns of culture and economy and the accentuation of modern visual culture.
Release of phosphorus from sewage sludge using microwave technology
Authors: Liao P H , Wong W T , Lo K V
Published: March 2005

A novel microwave treatment of sewage sludge was developed as part of the ongoing studies for enhancing the recovery of phosphorus from municipal wastes. The microwave treatment provided a rapid and efficient process to release phosphate from sewage sludge. By using the microwave treatment for only 5 min, up to 76% of the total phosphate in the sludge could be released into the solution. No chemical additions were necessary in the microwave process. After the sewage sludge was microwave treated at a temperature of 100 °C, no microbial activities were observed over a period of 24 h. This microwave process could also be used for the conditioning and stabilization of liquid sludge. Key words: microwave technology, phosphate release, conditioning and stabilization of sludge.
By-product formation during ultraviolet disinfection of a pretreated surface water
Authors: IJpelaar G F , van der Veer A J , Medema G J , Kruithof J C
Published: March 2005

A low-pressure (LP-UV) and medium-pressure UV lamp (MP-UV) were compared for the formation of nitrite, assimilable organic carbon (AOC), and genotoxicity using pretreated surface water in a bench UV unit. The results have been compared with the by-products formed in pretreated surface water using a pilot unit equipped with four medium-pressure lamps identical to the one used in the bench unit. It was found that although significant nitrite formation occurred in the MP-UV bench tests, it remained well below the European standard (0.1 mg/L NO2–) in the pilot unit. The LP-UV gave no or very low amounts of nitrite (bench unit). The AOC and genotoxicity increase with LP-UV was negligible. The AOC content and genotoxicity after MP-UV irradiation in the bench unit was significant as well, whereas AOC was formed limitedly in the pilot unit. Genotoxicity was elevated but not significant. Key words: AOC, biodosimetry, by-products, disinfection, genotoxicity, LP-UV, MP-UV, nitrite, UV.
Enhanced ghrelin secretion in rats with cysteamine-induced duodenal ulcers
Authors: Fukuhara Seiichiro , Suzuki Hidekazu , Masaoka Tatsuhiro , Arakawa Mamoru , Hosoda Hiroshi , Minegishi Yuriko , Kangawa Kenji , Ishii Hiromasa , Kitajima Masaki , Hibi Toshifumi
Published: March 2005

Ghrelin, produced and secreted by the A-like cells of the stomach, stimulates growth hormone secretion, gastric motility, and food intake. Cysteamine inhibits the release of somatostatin and induces the formation of duodenal ulcers in rats. The present study was conducted to investigate the dynamics of ghrelin secretion in rats treated with cysteamine. Male Wistar rats (7 wk old) were administered three doses of cysteamine (400 mg/kg) orally; at 50 h after the first dose, duodenal ulcers were induced, and the plasma level of somatostatin and gastric density of somatostatin-immunoreactive cells were significantly reduced. The plasma total and active ghrelin levels were significantly higher in the cysteamine-treated rats than in the control rats, whereas the gastric ghrelin levels, number of gastric ghrelin-immunoreactive cells, and preproghrelin mRNA expression levels were significantly lower. Even at the time points of 2 and 10 h after the first dose of cysteamine, at which time no significant ulcer formation or antral neutrophil accumulation was yet noted, a significant increase in the plasma ghrelin level and decrease in the gastric ghrelin level were observed. Furthermore, although lansoprazole treatment attenuated the duodenal ulceration induced by cysteamine, the increase in the plasma level of ghrelin could still be demonstrated. Because an inverse correlation was found between the plasma ghrelin and somatostatin levels, the inhibition of somatostatin secretion may be associated with the increased ghrelin secretion. In conclusion, an increase in the plasma ghrelin level precedes the formation of duodenal ulcers in rats treated with cysteamine.
Menstrual cycle and sex affect hemodynamic responses to combined orthostatic and heat stress
Authors: Meendering Jessica R. , Torgrimson Britta N. , Houghton Belinda L. , Halliwill John R. , Minson Christopher T.
Published: March 2005

Women have decreased orthostatic tolerance compared with men, and anecdotal evidence suggests women are more susceptible to orthostatic intolerance in warm environments. Because estrogen and progesterone affect numerous physiological variables that may alter orthostatic tolerance, the purpose of our study was to compare orthostatic tolerance across the menstrual cycle phases in women during combined orthostatic and heat stress and to compare these data with those of men. Eight normally menstruating women and eight males (22 ± 4.0 and 23 ± 3.5 yr, respectively) completed the protocol. Women were studied during their early follicular (EF), ovulatory (OV), and midluteal (ML) phases. Men were studied twice within 2–4 wk. Heart rate, cardiac output, blood pressure, core temperature (Tc), and cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) were measured during three head-up tilt tests, consisting of two tilts in the thermoneutral condition and one tilt after a 0.5°C rise in Tc. There was no difference in orthostatic tolerance across the menstrual cycle phases, despite higher CVC in the ML phase after heating (EF, 42.3 ± 4.8; OV, 40.1 ± 3.7; ML, 57.5 ± 4.5; P < 0.05). Orthostatic tolerance in the heat was greater in men than women ( P < 0.05). These data suggest that although many physiological variables associated with blood pressure regulation fluctuate during the menstrual cycle, orthostatic tolerance in the heat remains unchanged. Additionally, our data support a clear sex difference in orthostatic tolerance and extend upon previous data to show that the sex difference in the heat is not attributable to fluctuating hormone profiles during the menstrual cycle.
Role of endogenous nitric oxide in endotoxin-induced alteration of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction in mice
Authors: Spöhr Fabian , Cornelissen Annemiek J. M. , Busch Cornelius , Gebhard Martha M. , Motsch Johann , Martin Eike O. , Weimann Jörg
Published: March 2005

Pulmonary vasoconstriction in response to alveolar hypoxia (HPV) is frequently impaired in patients with sepsis or acute respiratory distress syndrome or in animal models of endotoxemia. Pulmonary vasodilation due to overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) by NO synthase 2 (NOS2) may be responsible for this impaired HPV after administration of endotoxin (LPS). We investigated the effects of acute nonspecific ( NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, l-NAME) and NOS2-specific [l- N6-(1-iminoethyl)lysine, l-NIL] NOS inhibition and congenital deficiency of NOS2 on impaired HPV during endotoxemia. The pulmonary vasoconstrictor response and pulmonary vascular pressure-flow (P-Q) relationship during normoxia and hypoxia were studied in isolated, perfused, and ventilated lungs from LPS-pretreated and untreated wild-type and NOS2-deficient mice with and without l-NAME or l-NIL added to the perfusate. Compared with lungs from untreated mice, lungs from LPS-challenged wild-type mice constricted less in response to hypoxia (69 ± 17 vs. 3 ± 7%, respectively, P < 0.001). Perfusion with l-NAME or l-NIL restored this blunted HPV response only in part. In contrast, LPS administration did not impair the vasoconstrictor response to hypoxia in NOS2-deficient mice. Analysis of the pulmonary vascular P-Q relationship suggested that the HPV response may consist of different components that are specifically NOS isoform modulated in untreated and LPS-treated mice. These results demonstrate in a murine model of endotoxemia that NOS2-derived NO production is critical for LPS-mediated development of impaired HPV. Furthermore, impaired HPV during endotoxemia may be at least in part mediated by mechanisms other than simply pulmonary vasodilation by NOS2-derived NO overproduction.
Remaining Challenges for Humanistic Psychology
Authors: Giorgi Amedeo
Published: March 2005

The humanistic psychology movement that began in the late 1950s and blossomed in the 1960s was a necessary corrective to the mainstream psychology of that era. Primarily, the humanistic movement was a significant factor in restoring the image of the human person that was greatly reduced by behaviorism and strict psychoanalysis. However, humanistic psychology did not totally free itself from the methods and strategies inherited from natural scientific psychology. This article demonstrates the compatibility between humanistic psychology and a phenomenological approach and suggests that remaining challenges to humanistic psychology demand explicit acknowledgement of the need for the development of nonreductionistic human scientific methods for studying persons in psychological meaningful ways.
Islam and Islamic Extremism: An Existential Analysis
Authors: Gibbs Scott
Published: March 2005

Islam, like all religions, offers solutions to existential anxieties. This article provides a timely analysis of Islamic mainstream and extremist doctrinal and ritualistic structures through an existential lens to gain an understanding of the psychological underpinnings of Islamic extremism. It is shown that Islam offers an interlocking tradeoff among the ultimate concerns of meaning, freedom, and death in addition to individual solutions for each. It is argued that this container for holding existential anxiety is under assault by modernization and that the resultant psychic pressure is at the core of the psychology of Islamic extremist organizations. The work of Tillich, Yalom, May, and others provides the existential lens through which Islamic doctrines and practices, both mainstream and extremist, are examined.
Characteristics of Exemplary Altruists
Authors: Lee Dong Yul , Kang Chul Hee , Lee Jee Yun , Park Sung Hee
Published: March 2005

Sixty exemplary altruists (EA) who have been honored individually in an hour-long national television program for their exemplary altruistic behaviors were individually interviewed for 90 to 120 minutes by trained MA-level interviewers. Their interviews were transcribed verbatim and were content analyzed. With regard to personality characteristics, the EAs showed a high sense of integrity and autonomy. With regard to developmental characteristics, the EAs reported a strong parental attachment, and their parents served as lifelong models for them. It was also observed that many experienced psychological or financial difficulties in their early years. A high sense of moral responsibility and a sense of internalized social responsibility to help those who are experiencing difficulties were primary reinforcers and maintainers of these individuals’ altruistic behavior.
Gender and Age Differences in the Topics of Parent-Adolescent Conflict
Authors: Renk Kimberly , Liljequist Laura , Simpson Jennifer E. , Phares Vicky
Published: March 2005

As part of an examination of topics of parent-adolescent conflict, 139 biological mother-father-adolescent triads reported the three most common topics of conflict in their relationships. Using 2 analyses, results indicated that, within the context of their gender and age, adolescents differed in the topics of conflict they listed for their mothers and fathers. When listed by mothers and fathers, frequencies of the topics of parent-adolescent conflict also differed significantly with the gender and age of adolescents. Using analyses of variance, agreement for topics selected by adolescents and their parents was not better for sons versus daughters or for adolescents of a particular age group. These results demonstrated the importance of examining topics of parent-adolescent conflict, in addition to its frequency of occurrence and intensity, as a first step to understanding the dynamics of such conflict. With complete information about parent-adolescent conflicts, clinical interventions can address such conflicts adequately.