bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spectrophotometric studies of the reaction of quercetin with peroxynitrite at different pH
Authors: Gebicka Lidia , Stawowska Katarzyna
Published: November 2011

Peroxynitrite (ONOOH/ONOO-) which is formed in vivo under oxidative stress is a strong oxidizing and nitrating agent. It has been reported that several flavonoids, including quercetin, inhibit the peroxynitrite-induced oxidation and/or nitration of several molecules tested; however, the mechanism of their protective action against peroxynitrite is not univocally resolved. The kinetics of the reaction of quercetin with peroxynitrite was studied by stopped-flow as well as by conventional spectrophotometry under acidic, neutral and alkaline pH. The obtained results show that the protective mechanism of quercetin against peroxynitrite toxicity cannot be explained by direct scavenging of peroxynitrite. We propose that quercetin acts via scavenging intermediate radical products of peroxynitrite decomposition (it is an excellent scavenger of ·NO2) and/or via reduction of target radicals formed in the reaction with peroxynitrite.
Ab initio study regarding the evaluation of the antioxidant character of cyanidin, delphinidin and malvidin
Authors: Pop Raluca , Ştefănut Mariana , Căta Adina , Tănasie Cristian , Medeleanu Mihai
Published: November 2011

A theoretical study regarding the evaluation of the antioxidant character of three of the most wide-spread anthocyanidins (cyanidin, delphinidin and malvidin) was carried out at ab initio level. Different parameters (bond dissociation enthalpy, ionization potential, proton affinity, and electron transfer enthalpy) were computed for each OH group of the compounds in order to predict their antioxidant capacity. Several molecular descriptors based on frontier molecular orbital theory (hardness, electrophilicity, frontier charge density) were also calculated, as well as the atomic charges corresponding to the O atoms of the hydroxyl groups.
Determination of lipophilicity for antitumor acridinone derivatives supported by gradient high-performance liquid chromatography method
Authors: Koba Marcin , Belka Mariusz , Ciesielski Tomasz , Bączek Tomasz
Published: November 2011

The lipophilicity values of selected acridinone (imidazoacridinone and triazoloacridinone) derivatives were measured by gradient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using a C18 stationary phase with a water/acetonitrile mixture as a mobile phase. The retention times obtained served as input data and appropriate log kw values (i.e., the retention factor log kw extrapolated to 0% organic modifier) as an alternative to log P were calculated using the DryLab program. The relationships between the lipophilicity (log kw) and the chemical structure of the studied compounds, as well as correlation between experimentally determined lipophilicities (log kw) and log P data calculated using some commonly available software, are discussed.
Removal of heavy metals from wastewater using micellar enhanced ultrafiltration technique: a review
Authors: Mungray Alka , Kulkarni Shrirang , Mungray Arvind
Published: November 2011

Application of Micellar enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) for the removal of different heavy metals has been reviewed. It is considered an economical alternative available to the conventional membrane separation process, because it reduces the requirement of higher pressure and high membrane costs. MEUF is a separation processes which uses surfactants and ultrafiltration membranes to remove multivalent ions from wastewater with high percent rejection using electrostatic attraction between metals and micelles.

This review seeks to define the effect of the operating parameters, i.e., applied pressure, surfactant concentration, feed temperature, metal ion concentration, feed flow rate, operating time etc. on the removal of metal ions. Emphasis is given to the application of MEUF for the removal of single metal ions, multiple metal ions and different metals along with other organic materials. Also, this review focuses on studies related to micelle formation, attraction between metal ions and micelles, and recovery of surfactants for future research.
Optimization of analytical procedures for the simultaneous voltammetric determination of total Hg(II) in presence of Cu(II) in environmental matrices
Authors: Melucci Dora , Montalbani Simona , Locatelli Clinio
Published: November 2011

The present work reports the critical comparison about the employment of three different supporting electrolytes (0.1 mol L−1 HClO4, 0.01 mol L−1 EDTA-Na2 + 0.06 mol L−1 NaCl + 2.0 mol L−1 HClO4 and 0.1 mol L−1 KSCN + 0.001 mol L−1 HClO4) and their instrumental and chemical optimisation for the simultaneous voltammetric determination of total mercury(II) and copper(II) in sediments and sea water at gold electrode, especially discussing the reciprocal interference problems.

The differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric (DPASV) measurements were carried out using a conventional three-electrode cell: a gold electrode (GE) as working electrode, a platinum wire and an Ag‖AgCl‖KClsat as auxiliary and reference electrodes, respectively.

The analytical procedure was verified by the analysis of standard reference materials: Estuarine Sediment BCR-CRM 277, River Sediment BCR-CRM 320 and Mercury in Water NIST-SRM 1641d.

Once set up on the standard reference materials, the analytical procedure was transferred and applied to sediments and sea waters sampled in a lagoon ecosystem connected with Adriatic Sea (Ravenna area, Italy).
Effects of Tibolone on Markers of Bone Metabolic Activity in Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Krejović Snežana , Živanović Aleksandar , Živanović Sandra , Marković Rade
Published: November 2011

Effects of Tibolone on Markers of Bone Metabolic Activity in Postmenopausal Women

Osteoporosis, a systemic disease of the bones, is a serious health and socio-economic problem because of its consequences, i.e. broken bones. It is believed that 10% of the world's population suffers from osteoporosis and it affects mostly postmenopausal women (postmenopausal osteoporosis). Tibolone is a synthetic steroid that has estrogenic, androgenic, and progestagenic properties. It has been used primarily for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis and treatment of climacteric symptoms. The research included a group of 40 postmenopausal women with osteopenia treated with tibolone. The control group included 40 postmenopausal women who were not taking any medication. Control group patients were older (54.5 ± 9.84) than the patients treated with tibolone (51.6 ± 6.22). Bone metabolic activity was evaluated using osteocalcin (N-MID osteocalcin) for bone formation and CTX I for bone resorption. Blood samples were taken before therapy was introduced and 3 months after its introduction. The average value of osteocalcin after three months of tibolone therapy was 26.32 ± 3.312 ng/mL compared to the average osteocalcin value prior to therapy of 29.6 ± 3.343 ng/mL. The average value of CTX I three months after tibolone therapy of 0.2870 ± 0.0783 ng/mL was lower compared to the average CTX I value before the therapy of 0.4539 ± 0.1144 ng/mL. Our results show the efficacy of tibolone in preventing bone loss, which was highly statistically significant. They also reveal its suppressive effects on bone formation and resorption, but these effects are statistically less significant. Tibolone significantly reduces the level of bone resorption in postmenopausal women with osteopenia. Its effects on bone formation are less expressed. The parameters of bone metabolic activity are a very useful diagnostic means in the evaluation of tibolone effects on bone metabolic activity and in the prognosis of bone mass loss.
Formalization of Evidence: A Comparative Study
Authors: Wang Pei
Published: November 2011

Formalization of Evidence: A Comparative Study

This article analyzes and compares several approaches of formalizing the notion of evidence in the context of general-purpose reasoning system. In each of these approaches, the notion of evidence is defined, and the evidence-based degree of belief is represented by a binary value, a number (such as a probability), or two numbers (such as an interval). The binary approaches provide simple ways to represent conclusive evidence, but cannot properly handle inconclusive evidence. The one-number approaches naturally represent inconclusive evidence as a degree of belief, but lack the information needed to revise this degree. It is argued that for systems opening to new evidence, each belief should at least have two numbers attached to indicate its evidential support. A few such approaches are discussed, including the approach used in NARS, which is designed according to the considerations of general-purpose intelligent systems, and provides novel solutions to several traditional problems on evidence.
Modelling Dynamic Decision Making with the ACT-R Cognitive Architecture
Authors: Peebles David , Banks Adrian
Published: November 2011

Modelling Dynamic Decision Making with the ACT-R Cognitive Architecture

This paper describes a model of dynamic decision making in theDynamic Stocks and Flows(DSF) task, developed using the ACT-R cognitive architecture. This task is a simple simulation of a water tank in which the water level must be kept constant whilst the inflow and outflow changes at varying rates. The basic functions of the model are based around three steps. Firstly, the model predicts the water level in the next cycle by adding the current water level to the predicted net inflow of water. Secondly, based on this projection, the net outflow of the water is adjusted to bring the water level back to the target. Thirdly, the predicted net inflow of water is adjusted to improve its accuracy in the future. If the prediction has overestimated net inflow then it is reduced, if it has underestimated net inflow it is increased. The model was entered into a model comparison competition—theDynamic Stocks and Flows Challenge—to model human performance on four conditions of the DSF task and then subject the model to testing on five unseen transfer conditions. The model reproduced the main features of the development data reasonably well but did not reproduce human performance well under the transfer conditions. This suggests that the principles underlying human performance across the different conditions differ considerably despite their apparent similarity. Further lessons for the future development of our model and model comparison challenges are considered.
Testing for Equivalence: A Methodology for Computational Cognitive Modelling
Authors: Stewart Terrence , West Robert
Published: November 2011

Testing for Equivalence: A Methodology for Computational Cognitive Modelling

The equivalence test (Stewart and West, 2007; Stewart, 2007) is a statistical measure for evaluating the similarity between a model and the system being modelled. It is designed to avoid over-fitting and to generate an easily interpretable summary of the quality of a model. We apply the equivalence test to two tasks: Repeated Binary Choice (Erev et al., 2010) and Dynamic Stocks and Flows (Gonzalez and Dutt, 2007). In the first case, we find a broad range of statistically equivalent models (and win a prediction competition) while identifying particular aspects of the task that are not yet adequately captured. In the second case, we re-evaluate results from the Dynamic Stocks and Flows challenge, demonstrating how our method emphasizes the breadth of coverage of a model and how it can be used for comparing different models. We argue that the explanatory power of models hinges on numerical similarity to empirical data over a broad set of measures.
The Poet’s “Caressive Sight:” Denise Levertov’s Transactions with Nature
Authors: Poks Małgorzata
Published: November 2011

The scientific consciousness which broke with the holistic perception of life is credited with "unweaving the rainbow," or disenchanting the world. No longer perceived as sacred, the non-human world of plants and animals became a site of struggle for domination and mastery in implementing humankind's supposedly divine mandate to subdue the earth. The nature poetry of Denise Levertov is an attempt to reverse this trend, reaffirm the sense of wonder inherent in the world around us, and reclaim some "holy presence" for the modern sensibility. Her exploratory poetics witnesses to a sense of relationship existing between all creatures, both human and non-human. This article traces Levertov's "transactions with nature" and her evolving spirituality, inscribing her poetry within the space of alternative—or romantic—modernity, one that dismantles the separation paradigm. My intention throughout was to trace the way to a religiously defined faith of a person raised in the modernist climate of suspicion, but keenly attentive to spiritual implications of beauty and open to the epiphanies of everyday.
The Hidden Gaze of the Other in Michael Haneke’s Hidden
Authors: Dobrogoszcz Tomasz
Published: November 2011

In his 2005 French production Hidden (Caché), Michael Haneke continues disturbing his audience with poignant and stirring images. When Georges and Anne Laurent keep finding on their doorstep videotapes showing the exterior of their house filmed with a hidden camera, they do not realize that trying to trace the identity of the photographer will lead Georges back to his deeply concealed childhood atrocity and gravely affect their present life. With Hidden, Haneke presents a provocative case of Freudian return of the repressed and probes the uncertain grounding and pretentiousness of French national self-importance.

The article attempts an analysis of Hidden from two interconnected perspectives, provided by the use of the Lacanian category of the gaze in relation to film studies and by the application of certain categories derived from post-colonial theory (voiced here by Homi Bhabha). The discussion ventures to demonstrate that the camera-eye "hidden" in its impossible position can be interpreted as a gaze imagined by Georges in the field of the Other. The voyeuristic act of filming also suggests the question of colonial surveillance, which relates to the racial issue underlying the conflict repressed by Georges. Haneke investigates the way in which the symbolic power bestowed on the authority of the French state facilitates discrimination. Georges, a model representative of the civil/civilized society, is shown as rent by primal fears of imaginary savage "terror," desperately trying to fortify his dominion against Algerian aggressors who are otherwise a necessary part of the structure.
Dichotomous Images in McEwan’s Saturday: In Pursuit of Objective Balance
Authors: Kosmalska Joanna
Published: November 2011

Saturday sets out to depict the contemporary world with its ambiguities and paradox. In the novel, like in a mirror painting, every event, character and conflict is highlighted from diverse, often contradictory, angles by the narrator's extensive commentary, flashback and reference to other books. The prevailing happiness of mass protests against the war on Iraq is countered by the recollection of mass graves, an element of Saddam's callous regime, the real terrorist threat is contrasted with national paranoia, and the Prime Minister's performance of truthfulness is scrutinized by means of Paul Ekman's study of micro-expressions.

The technique of dualistic depiction is further used in order to describe the characters. Reworking the idea of two sides of the same coin, McEwan offers the novel as a metaphorical study of the intricacies of human personality. Therefore, Baxter becomes simultaneously an offender and a victim, John Grammaticus turns from a successful poet into an alcoholic womanizer, and Lilian Perowne's physical and mental disintegration is contrasted with her past as a champion swimmer.

McEwan's dichotomous description of the world echoes Barthes's binaries, not only in the duality itself, but also in the fact that the juxtaposition of contradictory images constitutes a more complete depiction of an event or a person. The contrast between the opposing ideas is further accentuated by the use of different jargons: the language of medicine, media, upper-class, working-class, and the like. The use of language throughout the novel seems to repeat the notion that by means of jargons people control and exclude others, highlighting their authority and constructing their position of supremacy.

Saturday, which captures acutely the events of a single day in the life of a renowned neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne, presents issues, such as the terrorist threat or the creation of media reality, that appear international in consciousness. The essay illustrates how, with admirable artistry, McEwan incorporates meaningful images, visually complex descriptions and different kinds of language into a diary account, for readers to enjoy a more objective comment on the contemporary world.
Generation C: Content, Creation, Connections and Choice
Authors: Hardey Mariann
Published: November 2011

This paper reports the findings from an in-depth, exploratory research project designed to understand how consumers create, use and behave in response to content on consumer review websites. Based on data from members of a consumer review site, it seeks to capture the experiences and behaviours of consumers, and to convey their voice as users of social media and other digital sources. Consumers, who are part of Generation C, constitute a significant proportion of the membership on consumer review websites. In this paper, the nature of this generational category is discussed and situated within their use of social media. Reflecting calls in this journal for an innovative and open research agenda, the methodology is designed to reveal new forms of informational behaviour among this group of consumers, who are at the forefront of social media adoption. The research reveals that activities within consumer review sites are embedded in broader social media behaviours, and that this influences the creation and use of consumer-generated and marketing content. The identification of such new forms of consumer activity forms the basis for further research and the incorporation of Generation C into successful marketing strategies.
A Curcumin Derivative, 2,6-Bis(2,5-dimethoxybenzylidene)-cyclohexanone (BDMC33) Attenuates Prostaglandin E2 Synthesis via Selective Suppression of Cyclooxygenase-2 in IFN-g/LPS-Stimulated Macrophages
Authors: Lee Ka-Heng , Abas Faridah , Alitheen Noorjahan Banu Mohamed , Shaari Khozirah , Lajis Nordin Haji , Ahmad Syahida
Published: November 2011

Our preliminary screening had shown that the curcumin derivative [2,6-bis(2,5-dimethoxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone] or BDMC33 exhibited improved anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis in activated macrophage cells. In this study, we further investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of BDMC33 on PGE2 synthesis and cyclooxygenase (COX) expression in IFN-g/LPS-stimulated macrophages. We found that BDMC33 significantly inhibited PGE2 synthesis in a concentration-dependent manner albeit at a low inhibition level with an IC50 value of 47.33 ± 1.00 µM. Interestingly, the PGE2 inhibitory activity of BDMC33 is not attributed to inhibition of the COX enzyme activities, but rather BDMC33 selectively down-regulated the expression of COX-2. In addition, BDMC33 modulates the COX expression by sustaining the constitutively COX-1 expression in IFN-g/LPS-treated macrophage cells. Collectively, the experimental data suggest an immunodulatory action of BDMC33 on PGE2 synthesis and COX expression, making it a possible treatment for inflammatory disorders with minimal gastrointestinal-related side effects.
System-Level Biochip for Impedance Sensing and Programmable Manipulation of Bladder Cancer Cells
Authors: Chuang Cheng-Hsin , Huang Yao-Wei , Wu Yao-Tung
Published: November 2011

This paper develops a dielectrophoretic (DEP) chip with multi-layer electrodes and a micro-cavity array for programmable manipulations of cells and impedance measurement. The DEP chip consists of an ITO top electrode, flow chamber, middle electrode on an SU-8 surface, micro-cavity arrays of SU-8 and distributed electrodes at the bottom of the micro-cavity. Impedance sensing of single cells could be performed as follows: firstly, cells were trapped in a micro-cavity array by negative DEP force provided by top and middle electrodes; then, the impedance measurement for discrimination of different stage of bladder cancer cells was accomplished by the middle and bottom electrodes. After impedance sensing, the individual releasing of trapped cells was achieved by negative DEP force using the top and bottom electrodes in order to collect the identified cells once more. Both cell manipulations and impedance measurement had been integrated within a system controlled by a PC-based LabVIEW program. In the experiments, two different stages of bladder cancer cell lines (grade III: T24 and grade II: TSGH8301) were utilized for the demonstration of programmable manipulation and impedance sensing; as the results show, the lower-grade bladder cancer cells (TSGH8301) possess higher impedance than the higher-grade ones (T24). In general, the multi-step manipulations of cells can be easily programmed by controlling the electrical signal in our design, which provides an excellent platform technology for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) or a micro-total-analysis-system (Micro TAS).
La persécution maternelle primaire
Authors: Parmentier Sabine
Published: November 2011

La clinique nous fait rencontrer des mères qui, au lieu d’un sentiment de sollicitude primaire à l’égard de leur enfant, manifestent, au contraire, un sentiment de persécution primaire envers lui. Cette situation est en relation avec l’absence du père, un couple parental discordant, une dévalorisation du statut du masculin et l’accès difficile, pour ces mères, à la différence des sexes.
Être mère « en dehors » du temps : un cas de schizophrénie
Authors: Lippi Silvia
Published: November 2011

Nous analyserons le désir d’être mère chez une patiente schizophrène. Nous verrons de quelle manière et à quelles conditions, le désir du psychotique se structure : une « autre » temporalité est implicite dans le maniement du transfert. Lorsqu’un délire ou une suppléance ne peuvent pas se mettre en place, c’est le spéculaire, à distinguer de la capture imaginaire, qui peut compenser l’absence d’ancrage symbolique dans la psychose.
Le bouclier de Persée et la psychose
Authors: Gamova Anastassia
Published: November 2011

L’exposé présente la conception originale de la psychose de Francis Pasche d’après son article « Le bouclier de Persée ou psychose et réalité » et essaie d’éclaircir les références de Pasche aux textes de Freud. Pour Pasche, le bouclier de Persée représente le système perception-conscience. Le psychotique sera celui qui manque cette capacité de percevoir et qui est envahi par la réalité comme les victimes de la Méduse sont envahies et pétrifiées.
Productividad e impacto de los investigadores españoles: umbrales de referencia por áreas científicas
Authors: Jiménez-Contreras Evaristo , Robinson-García Nicolás , Cabezas-Clavijo Álvaro
Published: November 2011

Se presentan umbrales de referencia de producción e impacto científico de la investigación española con visibilidad internacional para las áreas definidas por la Agencia Nacional de Evaluación y Prospectiva (ANEP) en sus convocatorias. Tomando como población los solicitantes de proyectos del Plan Nacional de I + D 2007 (n= 3.356) se construyen tablas de referencia por percentiles que funcionan a modo de benchmarks, permitiendo efectuar comparaciones entre el comportamiento bibliométrico de un investigador y los registros de referencia en su área científica. Igualmente se ofrecen los datos de producción, impacto y visibilidad promedios para las áreas ANEP, y se discute el proceso de internacionalización de dichas áreas en el período 2000-2006, con una especial atención a las Ciencias Sociales. Finalmente, se sugiere el uso de umbrales de referencia como método de evaluación tanto para agencias financiadoras como para instituciones de investigación en sus procesos selectivos.
Impact of environmental altruism on adoption of solid waste management practices in the firm: case of agri-food processing sector in Sri Lanka
Authors: Udugama JMM , Jayasinghe-Mudalige UK , Anjali GHI
Published: November 2011

This study examines empirically the potential relationship between the environmental altruism of a firm’s decision maker on environmental quality and the level of adoption of enhanced environmental controls by the firm using the special case of adoption of solid waste management practices (SWMPs) recommended by the Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka to the agri-food processing firms in Sri Lanka. The data collected from 275 firms by means of an in-depth interview with the environmental manager/owner were used to formulate a Weighted Environmental Altruism Index (WEAI) to estimate the degree of altruism of the manager. The Count Data Model was specified to assess the relationship between altruism and levels of adoption of SWMPs. The results suggest that the degree of environmental altruism of these mangers was relatively low (i.e. 0.25, on an average, of the WEAI ranges from -1 to 1) and the level of adoption of SWMPs was very unsatisfactory (i.e. Mean 1.2 with 47% of non-adopters) showing no significant relationship between these two factors. This implies the importance of augmenting the perspective of a firm’s management beyond the profits through a collaborative action of the firm and other social institutions to make sure that the businesses will not be liable for the environment it operates. Keywords: Agri-food processing sector; Altruism; Environmental controls; Waste management DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jas.v6i1.3811 The Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2011 Vol.6(1) 32-44
Arrangement of Vinča culture figurines: a study of social structure and organisation
Authors: Crnobrnja Adam N.
Published: November 2011

In this working paper, I present a unique assemblage of 43 figurines and 11 miniature tool models discovered at the Late Vin≠a culture site at Crkvine, Stubline in Serbia. The distinctiveness of this find is that it was discovered in it original context, where the figurines were used, and that the objects were found in their original arrangement. I also discuss to what extent it is possible, considering the figurines arrangement, to understand hints of social structure and organisation of communities in the final phase of Vinča culture.
An exercise in archaeological demography: estimating the population size of Late Neolithic settlements in the Central Balkans
Authors: Porčić Marko
Published: November 2011

This paper reflects on the methodology for estimating population size from settlement data. Archaeologists are faced with a static record of houses, which is the result of dynamic processes of population growth and house use. There is no simple relationship between the total number of houses and population size. In order to produce more realistic estimates of population size, a quantitative model is presented which takes into account population dynamics and the dynamics of house accumulation. The model is used to estimate the population size of three Late Neolithic settlements in Southeast Europe: Gomolava, Divostin and Uivar.
Late Neolithic cultural elements from the Danube and Carpathian regions of Precucuteni – Trypillia A culture
Authors: Burdo Nataliia
Published: November 2011

The relations of Precucuteni – Trypillia A cultures with the cultures of the Late Neolithic/Early Eneolithic of South-Eastern Europe were primarily determined by two factors: origin and cultural contacts. Ideas about Precucuteni – Trypillia A formation appeared sixty years ago on the basis of typology and stratigraphy. The first part of the twentieth century was marked by numerous investigations of Neolithic cultures in South-Eastern Europe and excavations of Trypillia A sites in Ukraine. First, we present these materials. Precucuteni-Trypillia A complex was a multi-component formation which included components of different Southern and Western components originating from different cultures from the wide Balkan-Carpathian area. At different stages of T rypillia, some directions of contact became more important than others.
The petroglyphs of Dowzdaghi, Northwestern Iran
Authors: Kazempur Mehdi , Eskandari Nasir , Shafizade Asadollah , Shafizade Asadollah
Published: November 2011

This paper deals with recording and interpreting a complex of petroglyphs at Dowzdaghi in the northern part of Iranian Azerbaijan in Northwestern Iran. The assemblage can be divided into four sub-assemblages; the designs and images depicted on the surfaces of isolated boulders usually constitute a panel and sometimes individual motifs and inscriptions. The investigations have revealed more than 400 carved and scratched drawings on rock boulders on Mt. Dowzdaghi. The main themes include anthropomorphic figures, animals (ibex, with long elaborated curved horn, deer, dog, horse, bull, ram, fox, snake, alligator, and hedgehog), hunting scenes, Arabic and Persian inscriptions, and symbolic designs.
2 - Citizenship, Alienation and Conflict in Nigeria
Authors: William O. O. Idowu
Published: November 2011

Le présent article se propose d'examiner le lien complexe entre les problèmes de citoyenneté, d'aliénation et de conflit au Nigeria. Il commence par une analyse du concept de conflit et de certains termes connexes de violence et de crise. A partir de cette analyse, le document procède à l'identification et à l'examen critique de certains points de vue avancés par les chercheurs sur les causes profondes des conflits au Nigeria, comme l'existence d'enjeux politiques et de conflits de classe, le problème de l'Etat et du paradigme résistant de l'ethnicité. L'article affirme que les hypothèses et présuppositions centrales de ces points de vue ne suffisent pas à expliquer le problème des conflits au Nigeria. L'article conclut que le problème de conflits au Nigeria est intimement lié à l'absence de citoyenneté authentique et véritable dans les interactions et attitudes politiques. Il décrit la vie politique au Nigeria qu'il assimile à l'état conjoncturel de la nature où il n'existe aucune idée de citoyenneté véritable. Etant donné la manière particulière dont est contruit le modèle de citoyenneté nigerianne, c'est-à-dire, un modèle d'exclusion et non d'inclusion, il décrit l'existence d'une relation inter groupes dans laquelle la citoyenneté se définit au niveau sous-étatique. Les enjeux politiques, dans ces conditions, deviennent des enjeux d'antagonisme et de guerre, car ils participent de l'aliénation et de l'exclusion de certains groupes du pouvoir et de ses fruits, et de la domination par des groupes ethniques qui ont réussi à reléguer d'autres groupes à un status marginal.
6 - Social Rationality and Class Analysis on National Conflict in Nigeria: A Historiographical Critique
Authors: Ehimika A. Ifidon
Published: November 2011

Depuis son acession à l'indépendance en 1960, voire avant, le Nigéria a connu plusieurs épisodes de conflits nationaux. L'analyse des classes sociales sur la base d'une critique du modèle de conflit ethnique pré-dominant, s'attache à démontrer que le Nigéria est capitaliste, et que le conflit national, est donc un conflit de classes. Le présent essai constitue une critique du modèle de conflit de classes appliqué au contexte nigérian. L'essai soutient que l'analyse de classes, non-structurelle, a été une appropriation du modèle de pluralisme culturel. En définitive, la question n'est pas une question théorique de savoir si tous les conflits dans une société capitaliste sont des conflits de classes ou pas, mais une question historique de savoir si les conflits nationaux au Nigéria ont des conflits de classes.
6 - Democracy in The Gambia: Past, Present and Prospect for the Future
Authors: Edie Cariene J.
Published: November 2011

Le coup d'État militaire de 1994 a mis fin au règne du gouvernement du Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) de Sir Daouda Jawara, effaçant 29 années de politiques électorales en Gambie après l'indépendance. La Gambie sous Jawara était décrite comme étant un pays démocratique stable, avec un leader qui s'est efforcé de développer le pays, et qui a bénéficié du soutien de la majorité.Cet article affirme, au contraire, que la Gambie d'après indépendance manquait de stabilité démocratique, et que les institutions politiques ont été utilisées pour perpétuer le pouvoir de ceux qui contrôlent l'Etat, et non pour œuvrer des changements nécessaires au développement du pays. Ce point de vue contraire est sous-tendu par une évaluation des conditions sociale, économique, et politique pendant et après le règne de Jawara. Des questions concernant les perspectives d'un développement démocratique après l'interlude militaire sont soulevées.
12 - Comparison Between School Effectiveness Characteristics and Classroom Instruction Strategies in the United States and Nigeria
Authors: Adewuyi David  A.
Published: November 2011

One incontrovertible, if unsettling, discovery in School Effectiveness Research (SER) is that an accumulation of evidence on the characteristics of effective instruction has not answered the perplexing question of why certain characteristics work in on school and not in others. One suggestion by many researchers to deal with this nagging problem is the contextualisation of SER such that local school and classroom cultures are considered in the design, implementation, and interpretation of studies. Studying the nuances of local cultures might illuminate the relationships between school level effectiveness characteristics and the classroom level instructional strategies employed b effective teachers to enhance students' academic achievement This article discusses some Nigerian language examination-oriented instructional strategies' employed in effective language education classrooms. The strategies are compared and contrasted with Tikunoffs (1987) dimensions of effective instruction in die United States. Conceptual and policy assumptions that breed differences of approach in the two domains are highlighted; and implications of the strategies for school improvement programmes in the Third World are discussed.
3 - Lessons of International and African Perspectives on Public Service Reform: Examples from Five African Countries
Authors: Mutahaba Gelase , Kiragu Kithinji
Published: November 2011

In the late 1980s and 1990s, the objective of public administration reforms was to contain and control the costs of running government in response to citizens' concerns that government was involved in too many activities, which were both unproductive and costly. In many countries (developed and developing), these efforts paid off, in that fiscal discipline was enhanced and deficits were elimi nated or contained. However in some countries, especially where government institutions were still in the process of formation and development, there was no fat to cut; so the reforms cut though to the bone and in some cases deformed the public administration systems, which resulted in a serious erosion of govern ment capacity and effectiveness.There is now recognition (starting in the late 1990s) of the need to reform public administration by addressing systemic issues, including capacity build ing, planning, budgeting, performance improvement, and human resources man agement. In many instances these measures are pursued through the adoption of private sector management methods and approaches. As a result what was called "public administration' is now called 'public management'.
In this paper the authors review the efforts of five African countries, which have used a combination of the above methodologies to reform their adminis trative systems. The authors report that almost all the countries studied found it was easier to implement the cost-reduction and stabilization related reforms, which were often driven by donor-funded consultants (Ghana and Uganda were market leaders), and ostensibly the intended results were attained, although in time these have been reversed in some of the countries. As the focus of reform shifted to addressing performance improvement and removing systemic bottle necks the reforms became more difficult to pursue. They required the involvement of a wider cross-section of the public service, commitment at the political level, and ownership by the country, with donors supporting, rather than driving the process. Of the five countries studied, Tanzania has been able to sustain the reforms by galvanizing all key players including the entire public service, politi cians, as well as donors in support of the reform effort. However, the price of pursuing reform through an inclusive process is that results come very slowly but when they do they tend to be sustainable.
6 - Globalisation, Institutional Arrangemen Poverty in Rural Cameroon
Authors: Baye Francis Menjo
Published: November 2011

This paper posits that the institutional environment, which is constantly modi fied by the forces of globalisation, significantly influences access to and returns on primary assets that determine poverty outcomes in rural societies. Within the framework of institutional economics related to globalisation, rural institutions and poverty, the paper ( 1 ) identifies monetary and exchange rate arrangements, public debt burden, democratic culture and rent-seeking, openness and obsta cles to international trade, economic and structural reforms, and NGO activities as the main channels by which the forces of globalisation permeate down to the rural poor and (2) considers changes in land tenure arrangements, rural financial markets and marketing of agricultural products as important within the institu tional environment that determines the capacity of rural dwellers to build on and derive returns from their primary asset endowments. Good governance is viewed as crucial in curbing socio-economic difficulties and poverty in rural Cameroon.
10 - The Challenges of Education and Development in Post-Colonial Kenya
Authors: Ntarangwi Mwenda
Published: November 2011

Explorations of socio-cultural realities of many African countries in the post colonial era reveal a very complex yet saddening reality. Poor infrastructure, large numbers of the local populations living below poverty lines, and contin ued civil and ethnic strife are some of the most prevalent identifiable markers of post-colonial Africa. This paper addresses the legacy of colonialism as mani fested in the educational system of Kenya in the post-colonial era. 1 argue that although Kenya is an independent country, it is overly dependent on the West for its cultural and intellectual nourishment. I critically analyse the role of edu cation in shaping a national sense of identity and as an agent for development. I show that the education system offered in Kenya needs a total overhaul in order to tap the best of its brains by recreating a new cultural orientation. Therefore, this paper examines, with examples from Kenya, the condition of post-coloniality as it relates to education and development, two concepts that are closely related in both national and individual discourses. I argue that through colonialism and post-colonialism, Kenyans have absorbed imperialist values that consequently condition them to think of'development' as the process of shedding any traces of their unique traditions and cultural practices. This has led to a situation where majority of Kenyans have become schizophrenic members of a nation-state that tries to nurture citizens who strive to be Western and yet remain Kenyan. I also argue that even after three decades of political independence, Kenya's educa tion system has not been able to tailor its content and pedagogy to the socio economic and cultural realities of its people. Instead it continues to uphold an education system that is centered around schooling rather than learning and which consequently produces a people who are incapable of fitting into their own social environments. 1 often revert to the first person to articulate my own embeddedness in that which I am critiquing.
2 - Modernité et interprétations religieuses
Authors: Amin Samir
Published: November 2011

La naissance de la modernité en Occident est caractérisée par trois critères principaux: le capitalisme, la démocratie, et la laïcité. Mais pour comprendre ce phénomène, il faut se rendre compte des rôles joués par les trois religions dites du Livre—le christianisme, le judaïsme, et l'islam. L'Europe a pu avancer vers la modernité en s'appropriant le passé classique de la Grèce antique. Ce fut l'invention de la Renaissance. Cette stratégie a permit à l'Europe de la Renaissance de fonder la modernité sur la laïcisation de la vie sociale et de déclarer que les êtres humains font leur propre histoire et que pour ce faire ils ont le droit d'innover et de dépasser les traditions. La modernité annoncée par la Renaissance instaure une rupture définitive avec le principe fondamental des sociétés pré-modernes y compris celle de l'Europe chrétienne et féodale. La Renaissance arabe du XIXe siècle par contre n'est jamais allé au delà des paramètres définis par la religion musulmane, ce qui aurait été nécessaire pour lui permettre de rompre avec les traditions et de s'ouvrir aux concepts modernes de liberté et de démocratie. L'islam politique contemporain n'a pas été une création authentique des peuples musulmans, mais a été inventé par les orientalistes au service du pouvoir britannique aux Indes. Récusant le concept de la modernité émancipatoire, l'Islam politique refuse le principe même de la démocratie et des droits individuels et collectifs. Cela constitue un défi pour le développement en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient.

Samir Amin, Directeur, Forum du Tiers Monde, Dakar
4 - Fanon and Development: A Philosophical Look
Authors: Gordon Lewis R.
Published: November 2011

This article examines concepts of imitation, theodicy, and immaturity in Fanon's ideas on development and explores how his critique unfolds in the thought of two scholars influenced by his work: Sylvia Wynter and Irene Gendzier. Wynter, working from a poeticist semiotic perspective, rejects development as a much limited concept premised upon European normativity and calls for building an epistemological revolution. Gendzier, through a genealogical historicist critique of development studies, substantiates Wynter's critique and argues that development studies reveals more about the First World than any others. The author then considers and issues a critique of Amartya Sen's recent effort to rescue development studies through his formulation of development as an economy of freedom. The rest of the article presents an Africana postcolonial phenomenological treatment of freedom as a dialectical relationship between the lived reality of choices and social options and the need for a radical humanistic globalism with which to fight contemporary neoliberal and conservative ones.
7 - Philosophy and Development On the Problematic of African Development: A Diachronie Analysis
Authors: Keita Lansana
Published: November 2011

The idea of development is generally seen as central to any discussion of the economic, cultural, and political sociologies of the world's nations. Nations of the West are seen as 'developed' and members of the 'First World', while those of Africa, Latin America and some of those of Asia are seen as 'developing'and belonging to the 'Third World'. I propose to examine the meaning and application of the term 'development' with respect to Africa, then discuss whether Africa was ever developed—recognizing that the term is temporally relative. I will also discuss the idea of what Africa 'would look like' were it at the frontiers of development. I will then examine theories and applications of theories of development for Africa. Finally, I will examine current theories of development and their potential for success in Africa. Theories to be examined are the neoclassical theory, dependency theory, post-structuralism, and developmentalism.
2 - Re-inventing Federalism in Post-Transition Nigeria: Problems and Prospects
Authors: Agbu Osita
Published: November 2011

This paper grapples with the question of Nigeria's federal practice. It argues that there is a need to re-examine federalism in the country with a view to restructuring the system so that it reflects the ethnological and political realities on the ground. It proposes the de-concentration or decentralisation of the powers of the central government, which increased astronomically during military rule to the disadvantage of the component units—the states. In addressing this subject matter, the paper critically examines the theoretical basis for the notion of federalism, seeking to determine Nigeria's suitability as a federal state in the first instance. A historical overview of the origin of Nigeria's federalism— alongside a discussion of present-day predicaments—is presented in the preliminary analysis. Subsequently, the persisting problems in Nigeria's federalism—like the monopoly of state power, revenue allocation, state creation and federal character—are re-visited with a view to determining the situation in the post-transition democratic environment. Finally, the paper makes a case for the constitutional division of the country into geo-political zones, the rotation of power amongst these zones, and the decentralisation of power away from the centre ft) the states and local governments.
The Multiparty Promise Betrayed: The Failure of Neo-Liberalism in Malawi
Authors: Khembo Nixon S.
Published: November 2011

The advent of multiparty politics in Malawi in June 1993 was not immediately perceived as the harbinger of a myriad of political twists and turns that have now confounded many. Emerging from the grip of a 30-year-old totalitarian regime, Malawians had every reason to jubilate when the pro-multiparty politics movement triumphed after the June 14, 1993 national referendum results were announced in which the movement was awarded a 64 percent victory of the vote cast to allow multiparty politics to be re-introduced into the country. First, this paper argues that the new multiparty system of government in the country is caught up in neo-liberal and neo-patrimonial puzzles that undermine the process of démocratisation. Second, that this state of affairs is rooted in the failure of neo-liberalism in Malawi; thus, the Malawian case has demonstrated that when neo-liberalism flounders, despotism recurs in a cycle of regime change. Third, that the selective application and the strange interpretation of constitutional law in Malawian politics is a clear manifestation of the existence, and draconian domination, of this despotism. Fourth, and finally, that liberal ideology, by its very nature, is a major drawback to the creation of a truly just state in Malawi.
1 - Cultivating Conflict: Agricultural 'Betterment', the Native Land Husbandry Act (NLHA) and Ungovernability in Colonial Zimbabwe, 1951-196
Authors: Guy Guy
Published: November 2011

in the 1950s, the white minority regime in Zimbabwe launched an ambitious development scheme for peasant agriculture, known as the Native Land Husbandry Act. It was abandoned in 1962 in the face of massive rural opposition. This paper explores the key provisions of this surprising scheme and its origins in the political economy of the colony and the contradictory interests of the settler community. It then looks at why Africans rejected the measure, arguing the NLHA undermined key peasant strategies for production, environmental management, and survival in the colonial order. Peasants initially tried to evade the impositions of the scheme, but then became defiant as the state tried to coerce them to follow the law. Protests spread throughout the country, creating a state of ungovernability that threatened white rule. These developments played a key role in rural mobilisation and the emergence of land-based nationalism in Zimbabwe, factors that continue to shape the political and social landscape today.