bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selective Attention to Affective Value Alters How the Brain Processes Olfactory Stimuli
Authors: Rolls Edmund T. , Grabenhorst Fabian , Margot Christian , da Silva Maria A. A. P. , Velazco Maria Ines
Published: March 2008

How does selective attention to affect influence sensory processing? In a functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation, when subjects were instructed to remember and rate the pleasantness of a jasmin odor, activations were greater in the medial orbito-frontal and pregenual cingulate cortex than when subjects were instructed to remember and rate the intensity of the odor. When the subjects were instructed to remember and rate the intensity, activations were greater in the inferior frontal gyrus. These top-down effects occurred not only during odor delivery but started in a preparation period after the instruction before odor delivery, and continued after termination of the odor in a short-term memory period. Thus, depending on the context in which odors are presented and whether affect is relevant, the brain prepares itself, responds to, and remembers an odor differently. These findings show that when attention is paid to affective value, the brain systems engaged to prepare for, represent, and remember a sensory stimulus are different from those engaged when attention is directed to the physical properties of a stimulus such as its intensity. This differential biasing of brain regions engaged in processing a sensory stimulus depending on whether the cognitive demand is for affect-related versus more sensory-related processing may be an important aspect of cognition and attention. This has many implications for understanding the effects not only of olfactory but also of other sensory stimuli.
Aging Does Not Affect Brain Patterns of Repetition Effects Associated with Perceptual Priming of Novel Objects
Authors: Soldan Anja , Gazes Yunglin , Hilton H. John , Stern Yaakov
Published: March 2008

This study examined how aging affects the spatial patterns of repetition effects associated with perceptual priming of unfamiliar visual objects. Healthy young (n = 14) and elderly adults (n = 13) viewed four repetitions of structurally possible and impossible figures while being scanned with blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Although explicit recognition memory for the figures was reduced in the elder subjects, repetition priming did not differ across the two age groups. Using multivariate linear modeling, we found that the spatial networks of regions that demonstrated repetition-related increases and decreases in activity were identical in both age groups, although there was a trend for smaller magnitude repetition effects in these networks in the elder adults for objects that had been repeated thrice. Furthermore, repetition-related reductions in activity in the left inferior frontal cortex for possible objects correlated with repetition-related facilitation in reaction time across both young and elder subjects. Repetition-related increases of an initially negative response were observed for both object types in both age groups in parts of the default network, suggesting that less attention was required for processing repeated stimuli. These findings extend prior studies using verbal and semantic picture priming tasks and support the view that perceptual repetition priming remains intact in later adulthood because the same spatial networks of regions continue to show repetition-related neural plasticity across the adult life span.
Plasticity in the Adult Human Auditory Brainstem following Short-term Linguistic Training
Authors: Song Judy H. , Skoe Erika , Wong Patrick C. M. , Kraus Nina
Published: March 2008

Peripheral and central structures along the auditory pathway contribute to speech processing and learning. However, because speech requires the use of functionally and acoustically complex sounds which necessitates high sensory and cognitive demands, long-term exposure and experience using these sounds is often attributed to the neocortex with little emphasis placed on subcortical structures. The present study examines changes in the auditory brainstem, specifically the frequency following response (FFR), as native English-speaking adults learn to incorporate foreign speech sounds (lexical pitch patterns) in word identification. The FFR presumably originates from the auditory midbrain and can be elicited preattentively. We measured FFRs to the trained pitch patterns before and after training. Measures of pitch tracking were then derived from the FFR signals. We found increased accuracy in pitch tracking after training, including a decrease in the number of pitch-tracking errors and a refinement in the energy devoted to encoding pitch. Most interestingly, this change in pitch-tracking accuracy only occurred in the most acoustically complex pitch contour (dipping contour), which is also the least familiar to our English-speaking subjects. These results not only demonstrate the contribution of the brainstem in language learning and its plasticity in adulthood but also demonstrate the specificity of this contribution (i.e., changes in encoding only occur in specific, least familiar stimuli, not all stimuli). Our findings complement existing data showing cortical changes after second-language learning, and are consistent with models suggesting that brainstem changes resulting from perceptual learning are most apparent when acuity in encoding is most needed.
Prestimulus Cortical Activity is Correlated with Speed of Visuomotor
Processing
Authors: Zhang Yan , Wang Xue , Bressler Steven L. , Chen Yonghong , Ding Mingzhou
Published: March 2008

Response time (RT) is an important behavioral measure of the overall efficacy of sensorimotor processing and is known to vary significantly from trial to trial. Past work on how stimulus evoked cortical responses contribute to RT variability has helped delineate the stages of neuronal information processing. Much less is known about how the state of the brain immediately preceding the stimulus onset (prestimulus) affects RT. We addressed this problem by analyzing data from three macaque monkeys trained to perform a visuomotor pattern discrimination task. Local field potentials were recorded from up to 16 bipolar surface-to-depth electrodes widely distributed over one cerebral hemisphere in each monkey. The degree of linear correlation between RT and prestimulus spectral power was determined over a wide range of frequencies. In the prefrontal cortex, prestimulus power in the beta range (14–30 Hz) was negatively correlated with RT in two monkeys, suggesting a possible role of activity in this frequency range in the mediation of top-down control of visuomotor processing. In the sensorimotor cortex, prestimulus power in the beta range was positively correlated with RT in two monkeys, consistent with the hypothesis that oscillations in this range support the maintenance of steady-state motor output. In visual occipital and temporal lobe areas, prestimulus power in the alpha/low beta range (8–20 Hz) showed positive correlations with RT in three monkeys, possibly reflecting a spatially specific disengagement of visual anticipatory attention. Through measurement of prestimulus spectral coherence, it was further determined that sites showing similar patterns of correlation between spectral power and RT were also linked together in synchronized networks.
Web-Based Algorithmic Composition from Extramusical Resources
Authors: Middleton Jonathan N. , Dowd Diane
Published: March 2008

The authors, a composer and a mathematician, demonstrate how the Web-based application “musicalgorithms” translates numbers into musical events. Details of the algorithmic process and the decisions behind mathematical scaling operations are presented in two compositions called Redwoods Symphony and Dreaming among Thermal Pools and Concentric Spirals.
The Reverse Outlining Perspective of Leonardo's Last Supper and Its Image Formation
Authors: García-Salgado Tomás
Published: March 2008

The accurate perception of a painting's image formation depends upon three concepts: the observer's distance to the perspective plane, the aperture of his or her visual field, and the limits of the perspective plane. A comprehension of these concepts is crucial to the calculation of both the painting's image formation and the observer's vantage point. To approach this problem in Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, the author introduces the reverse outlining perspective method, through which it is shown how the painting's image formation can be deduced.
Marina Abramović'sSeven Easy Pieces:Critical Documentation Strategies for Preserving Art's History
Authors: Santone Jessica
Published: March 2008

This essay raises issues of authenticity, authorship and medium in a discussion of performance, documentation and re-performance. Its object of analysis is Marina Abramović's 2005 performance series, Seven Easy Pieces, including her re-performances of Bruce Nauman's Body Pressure and VALIE EXPORT's Action Pants: Genital Panic. Seven Easy Pieces strives to document the past through manipulation of repetition and temporality; Abramović's re-performances act as performative documents of the past performances she cites. Lessons learned from a close analysis of re-performance and performance documentation can provide useful insights for and promote critical thought about conservation strategies for time-based art.
The Relocation of Ambient Sound: Urban Sound Sculpture
Authors: Fontana Bill
Published: March 2008

The author describes his sound sculptures which explore how various instances of sound possess musical form. He explains the sculptural qualities of sound and the aesthetic act of arranging sound into art. Detailed descriptions of three recent works illustrate how relocating sounds from one environment to another redefines them, giving them new acoustic meanings.
From Technophilia to Technophobia: The Impact of the Vietnam War on the Reception of “Art and Technology”
Authors: Goodyear Anne Collins
Published: March 2008

Using the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's 1971 exhibition “Art and Technology” as a case study, this essay examines a shift in attitude on the part of influential American artists and critics toward collaborations between art and technology from one of optimism in the mid-1960s to one of suspicion in the early 1970s. The Vietnam War dramatically undermined public confidence in the promise of new technology, linking it with corporate support of the war. Ultimately, the discrediting of industry-sponsored technology not only undermined the premises of the LACMA exhibition but also may have contributed to the demise of the larger “art and technology” movement in the United States.
Connections between Potential Vorticity Intrusions and Convection in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Authors: Funatsu Beatriz M. , Waugh Darryn W.
Published: March 2008

The connections between intrusions of stratospheric air into the upper troposphere and deep convection in the tropical eastern Pacific are examined using a combination of data analysis, potential vorticity (PV) inversion, and numerical simulations. Analysis of NCEP–NCAR reanalyses and satellite measurements of outgoing longwave radiation during intrusion events shows increased cloudiness, lower static stability, upward motion, and a buildup of convective available potential energy (CAPE) at the leading edge of the intruding tongue of high PV. Potential inversion inversion calculations show that the upper-level PV makes the dominant contribution to the changes in the quantities that characterize convection. This supports the hypothesis that upper-level PV anomalies initiate and support convection by destabilizing the lower troposphere and causing upward motion ahead on the PV tongue. The dominant role of the upper-level PV is confirmed by simulations using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5). Convection only occurs when the upper-level PV anomaly is present in the simulations, and the relative contribution of the upper-level PV to changes in the quantities that characterize convection is similar to that inferred from the PV inversion calculations.
Nonlinear Atmospheric Adjustment to Momentum Forcing
Authors: Edson Adam R. , Bannon Peter R.
Published: March 2008

A nonlinear, numerical model of a dry, compressible atmosphere is used to simulate the hydrostatic and geostrophic adjustment to a localized prescribed injection of momentum applied over 5 min. with a size characteristic of an isolated, deep, cumulus cloud. This theoretical study is relevant to the initialization of updrafts in compressible numerical weather prediction models. The four different forcings studied are vertical, divergent horizontal, and nondivergent horizontal momentum forcings, and a prescribed transverse circulation. These forcings are applied to an isothermal atmosphere, a nonisothermal atmosphere, and an atmosphere with a nonisothermal troposphere capped by an isothermal stratosphere. These scenarios are studied by analyzing the resulting perturbation fields and the energetics of the system. Potential vorticity is used to determine the possibility of steady atmospheric states. The energetics of the system are examined to observe the creation and propagation of atmospheric waves. Both traditional and available energetics are used to determine the presence and strength of these waves. Traditional energetics consist of kinetic, internal, and potential energies while available energetics consist of kinetic, available potential, and available elastic energies. The efficiencies are similar for these different energetics, though they represent different phenomena. The traditional energetics show a strong dependence on the presence of a Lamb wave, whereas in the available energetics the Lamb wave has little or no effect.
Singular Vectors and Time-Dependent Normal Modes of a Baroclinic Wave-Mean Oscillation
Authors: Wolfe Christopher L. , Samelson Roger M.
Published: March 2008

Linear disturbance growth is studied in a quasigeostrophic baroclinic channel model with several thousand degrees of freedom. Disturbances to an unstable, nonlinear wave-mean oscillation are analyzed, allowing the comparison of singular vectors and time-dependent normal modes (Floquet vectors). Singular vectors characterize the transient growth of linear disturbances in a specified inner product over a specified time interval and, as such, they complement and are related to Lyapunov vectors, which characterize the asymptotic growth of linear disturbances. The relationship between singular vectors and Floquet vectors (the analog of Lyapunov vectors for time-periodic systems) is analyzed in the context of a nonlinear baroclinic wave-mean oscillation. It is found that the singular vectors divide into two dynamical classes that are related to those of the Floquet vectors. Singular vectors in the “wave dynamical” class are found to asymptotically approach constant linear combinations of Floquet vectors. The most rapidly decaying singular vectors project strongly onto the most rapidly decaying Floquet vectors. In contrast, the leading singular vectors project strongly onto the leading adjoint Floquet vectors. Examination of trajectories that are near the basic cycle show that the leading Floquet vectors are geometrically tangent to the local attractor while the leading initial singular vectors point off the local attractor. A method for recovering the leading Floquet vectors from a small number of singular vectors is additionally demonstrated.
Multicloud Models for Organized Tropical Convection: Enhanced Congestus Heating
Authors: Khouider Boualem , Majda Andrew J.
Published: March 2008

Despite the recent advances in supercomputing, the current general circulation models (GCMs) poorly represent the large-scale variability associated with tropical convection. Multicloud model convective parameterizations based on three cloud types (congestus, deep, and stratiform), introduced recently by the authors, have been revealed to be very useful in representing key features of organized convection and convectively coupled waves. Here a new systematic version of the multicloud models is developed with separate upper- and lower-troposphere basis functions for the congestus and stratiform clouds. It naturally leads to a new convective closure for the multicloud models enhancing the congestus heating in order to better pinpoint the congestus preconditioning and moistening mechanisms. The models are studied here for flows above the equator without rotation effects. First, the new model results consist of the usual synoptic-scale convectively coupled moist gravity wave packets moving at 15–20 m s−1 but, in addition, these packets have planetary-scale envelopes moving in the opposite direction at about 6 m s−1 and have many of the self-similar features of convectively coupled waves, reminiscent of the Madden–Julian oscillation. Second, when a warm pool forcing is imposed, dry regions of roughly 250 km in extent form “convective barriers” surrounding the warm pool region where only congestus heating survives. Deep convection and moist gravity waves are thus confined within the warm pool region. Finally, linear analysis reveals that, for sufficiently dry mean states, in addition to the inherent synoptic-scale moist gravity waves, the new model supports a planetary (wavenumber 1) standing congestus mode that provides, within its congestus active phase, a region where moist gravity waves evolve and propagate, which results in a Walker-like circulation over a uniform SST background.
Eddy-Mediated Regime Transitions in the Seasonal Cycle of a Hadley Circulation and Implications for Monsoon Dynamics
Authors: Schneider Tapio , Bordoni Simona
Published: March 2008

In a simulation of seasonal cycles with an idealized general circulation model without a hydrologic cycle and with zonally symmetric boundary conditions, the Hadley cells undergo transitions between two regimes distinguishable according to whether large-scale eddy momentum fluxes strongly or weakly influence the strength of a cell. The center of the summer and equinox Hadley cell lies in a latitude zone of upper-level westerlies and significant eddy momentum flux divergence; the influence of eddy momentum fluxes on the strength of the cell is strong. The center of the cross-equatorial winter Hadley cell lies in a latitude zone of upper-level easterlies and is shielded from the energy-containing midlatitude eddies; the influence of eddy momentum fluxes on the strength of the cell is weak. Mediated by feedbacks between eddy fluxes, mean zonal winds at upper levels, and the mean meridional circulation, the dominant balance in the zonal momentum equation at the center of a Hadley cell shifts at the transitions between the regimes, from eddies dominating the momentum flux divergence in the summer and equinox cell to the mean meridional circulation dominating in the winter cell. At the transitions, a feedback involving changes in the strength of the lower-level temperature advection and in the latitude of the boundary between the winter and summer cell is responsible for changes in the strength of the cross-equatorial winter cell. The transitions resemble the onset and end of monsoons, for example, in the shift in the dominant zonal momentum balance, rapid shifts in the latitudes of maximum meridional mass flux and of maximum convergence at lower levels, rapid changes in strength of the upward mass flux, and changes in direction and strength of the zonal wind at upper and lower levels. In the monsoonal regime, the maximum upward mass flux occurs in an off-equatorial convergence zone located where the balance of the meridional geopotential gradient in the planetary boundary layer shifts from nonlinear frictional to geostrophic. Similar dynamic mechanisms as at the regime transitions in the simulation—mechanisms that can act irrespective of land–sea contrasts and other inhomogeneities in lower boundary conditions—may be implicated in large-scale monsoon dynamics in Earth’s atmosphere.
Dynamics of Eddy-Driven Low-Frequency Dipole Modes. Part IV: Planetary and Synoptic Wave-Breaking Processes during the NAO Life Cycle
Authors: Luo Dehai , Gong Tingting , Diao Yina
Published: March 2008

Based on a highly idealized, analytical solution of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) derived in Part III of this series, it is shown that wave breaking is not a necessary condition for the occurrence of NAO events. The breaking of synoptic waves can arise from the interaction between planetary and synoptic waves that gives rise to NAO events, and the type of wave breaking is dominated by the initial conditions of the two waves that determine the phase of the NAO. The planetary wave breaking (PWB) seems to be attributed to an amplification of the NAO amplitude. It is further found that both the planetary wave breaking and the cyclonic (anticyclonic) breaking of synoptic waves undergo an in-phase (out phase) evolution during the life cycles of negative (positive) phase NAO, or NAO− (NAO+), events. An interesting result found is that for NAO− (NAO+) events the breaking of synoptic waves is enhanced (weakened) during the growing phase, but is weakened (enhanced) during the decaying phase.

In the absence of a topographic planetary wave (TPW), PWB occurs mainly in the midlatitude regions of the Atlantic basin for NAO− events, but is concentrated in subtropical and subpolar regions for NAO+ events. However, once the TPW is involved, the reversed planetary-scale potential vorticity (PV) gradient that characterizes the PWB exhibits a southwest–northeast (southeast–northwest) tilted tripole for NAO− (NAO+) events, in agreement with the diagnostic results presented herein. The PWB in the subtropical Atlantic is found to occur more frequently for NAO+ events than for NAO− events because the weaker subtropical mean flow is more likely to emerge during the NAO+ life cycle. In conclusion, the results of the highly idealized model used here appear to show that the PWB, synoptic wave breaking, and meridional shift of the westerly jet may be different descriptions of the NAO phenomenon.
Hurricane Vortex Dynamics during Atlantic Extratropical Transition
Authors: Davis Christopher A. , Jones Sarah C. , Riemer Michael
Published: March 2008

Simulations of six Atlantic hurricanes are diagnosed to understand the behavior of realistic vortices in varying environments during the process of extratropical transition (ET). The simulations were performed in real time using the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model (ARW), using a moving, storm-centered nest of either 4- or 1.33-km grid spacing. The six simulations, ranging from 45 to 96 h in length, provide realistic evolution of asymmetric precipitation structures, implying control by the synoptic scale, primarily through the vertical wind shear.

The authors find that, as expected, the magnitude of the vortex tilt increases with increasing shear, but it is not until the shear approaches 20 m s−1 that the total vortex circulation decreases. Furthermore, the total vertical mass flux is proportional to the shear for shears less than about 20–25 m s−1, and therefore maximizes, not in the tropical phase, but rather during ET. This has important implications for predicting hurricane-induced perturbations of the midlatitude jet and its consequences on downstream predictability.

Hurricane vortices in the sample resist shear by either adjusting their vertical structure through precession (Helene 2006), forming an entirely new center (Irene 2005), or rapidly developing into a baroclinic cyclone in the presence of a favorable upper-tropospheric disturbance (Maria 2005). Vortex resiliency is found to have a substantial diabatic contribution whereby vertical tilt is reduced through reduction of the primary vortex asymmetry induced by the shear. If the shear and tilt are so large that upshear subsidence overwhelms the symmetric vertical circulation of the hurricane, latent heating and precipitation will occur to the left of the tilt vector and slow precession. Such was apparent during Wilma (2005).
Reply
Authors: Schultz David M. , Durant Adam J. , Straka Jerry M. , Garrett Timothy J.
Published: March 2008

Doswell has proposed a mechanism for mammatus called double-diffusive convection, the mechanism responsible for salt fingers in the ocean. The physics of salt fingers and mammatus are different. Unlike the ocean where the diffusivity is related to molecular motions within solution, the hydrometeors in clouds are affected by inertial and gravitational forces. Doswell misinterprets the vertical temperature profiles through mammatus and fails to understand the role of settling in volcanic ash clouds. Furthermore, given that mixing is a much more effective means of transferring heat in the atmosphere and given idealized numerical model simulations of mammatus showing that the destabilizing effect of subcloud sublimation is an effective mechanism for mammatus, this reply argues that double-diffusive convection is unlikely to explain mammatus, either in cumulonimbus anvils or in volcanic ash clouds.
Zonal Jets as Transport Barriers in Planetary Atmospheres
Authors: Beron-Vera F. J. , Brown M. G. , Olascoaga M. J. , Rypina I. I. , Koçak H. , Udovydchenkov I. A.
Published: March 2008

The connection between transport barriers and potential vorticity (PV) barriers in PV-conserving flows is investigated with a focus on zonal jets in planetary atmospheres. A perturbed PV staircase model is used to illustrate important concepts. This flow consists of a sequence of narrow eastward and broad westward zonal jets with a staircase PV structure; the PV steps are at the latitudes of the cores of the eastward jets. Numerically simulated solutions to the quasigeostrophic PV conservation equation in a perturbed PV staircase flow are presented. These simulations reveal that both eastward and westward zonal jets serve as robust meridional transport barriers. The surprise is that westward jets, across which the background PV gradient vanishes, serve as robust transport barriers. A theoretical explanation of the underlying barrier mechanism is provided. It is argued that transport barriers near the cores of westward zonal jets, across which the background PV gradient is small, are found in Jupiter’s midlatitude weather layer and in the earth’s summer hemisphere subtropical stratosphere.
An Analysis of Precipitation Variability, Persistence, and Observational Data Uncertainty in the Western United States
Authors: Guirguis Kristen J. , Avissar Roni
Published: March 2008

This paper presents an intercomparison of precipitation observations for the western United States. Using nine datasets, the authors provide a comparative climatology and season- and location-specific evaluations of precipitation uncertainty for the western United States and for five subregions that have distinct precipitation climates. All data are shown to represent the general climate features but with high bias among datasets. Interannual variability is similar among datasets with respect to the timing of precipitation excesses and deficits, but important differences occur in the spatial distribution of specific anomalous events. Dataset distribution differences, as represented by their cumulative density functions (CDFs), are statistically significant for 80% of data combinations stratified by subregion and season. The CDFs of anomaly fields are more similar but uncertainty remains, as data differences are significant for 40% of dataset comparisons. Observational uncertainty is low for persistence studies because the data are found to be similar with respect to (i) grid cell estimates of a characteristic persistence time scale and (ii) distributions of anomaly length scales. Spatially, the greatest uncertainty in magnitude differences occurs along the Rocky Mountains in winter, spring, and fall, and along the California coastline in summer. In linear (phase) association, the greatest differences occur in northern Mexico during all seasons; along the Rocky Mountains in winter, spring, and fall; and in California, Nevada, and the intermountain region in summer. Overall, data similarity is lowest in summer as a result of a reduction in phase association and an increase in amplitude differences.
Separated Brethren
Authors: Allen David
Published: March 2008

Pentecostalism in Britain owes its origins to meetings convened by Anglican priest Alexander Boddy and addressed by Norwegian preacher T. B. Barratt, in Boddy's Sunderland parish, just over a century ago. From the outset most Pentecostals regarded Roman Catholicism as a serious departure from New Testament Christianity at best and thinly disguised paganism at worst. Roman Catholics, in their turn, saw Pentecostalism as yet another and rather unruly sect imported from across the Atlantic. This article traces the steps and circumstances by which a significant number of Roman Catholics and Pentecostals, through the Charismatic Movement and via personal contacts, came to regard each other as `separated brethren'.
FreeMix Radio: The Original Mixtape Radio Show
Authors: Ball Jared
Published: March 2008

This article describes the potential political value of the hip-hop mixtape by demonstrating (a) how a consolidated radio and music industry media environment has largely made the medium of radio an agent of the suppression of mass organization and struggle; (b) how this suppression acts to maintain African America as an internal colony rather than a free citizenry; (c) how in response to this, the application of media theories and general frames of reference that center this experience is necessary; (d) that though hip-hop as a cultural expression has become part of the machinery of colonial control it still offers avenues of liberation specifically the underappreciated aspect of the mixtape as an African American underground communication and press; and (e) the potential of and challenge to mixtapes becoming a source of emancipatory journalism using the author's own Washington, D.C.—based FreeMix Radio: The Original Mixtape Radio Show as case study.
Afrocentricity and the Western Paradigm
Authors: Monteiro-Ferreira Ana
Published: March 2008

This article explores the similarities between Afrocentricity and postmodernism with an eye toward defining their responses to hegemony. The author argues that these ideas share similar platforms, although they may have been derived from different experiences. Clearly, the assault on all forms of prejudice, bigotry, hierarchical arrangements, and class discriminations are at the base of both ideas. By examining the intellectual history and details of the postmodern movement the author seeks to provide its characteristics that relate to the Afrocentric idea.
Introduction
Authors: Chinchilla Norma Stoltz , Bollinger William
Published: March 2008

As an overview of the themes which recur throughout this special Chile edition of Latin American Perspectives, this brief introduction attempts to synthesize the political significance of events in Chile since 1970. Norma Chinchilla, who coordinated this Chile issue with Don Bray, is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. Bill Bollinger, a graduate student in history at the University of California, Los Angeles, is presently in Peru to write a social history of Lima and film a documentary.
II Imperialism and Dependency
Authors: Romagnolo David J.
Published: March 2008

The on-going discussion over the nature of Latin American relationship to imperial ism finds expression in this section in a number of critical essays. David Romagnolo ana lyzes the theory of Permanent Revolution and argues that it has negative implications if employed as a strategy for Latin American revolution. Romagnolo is a graduate student in history at the University of California, Irvine. John Myer assesses the Cardoso variant of dependency theory, arguing that it is not based upon the Marxist class struggle and leads to political inaction. Myer is a graduate student in history at the University of Cali fornia, Irvine. Kyle Steenland, who teaches American Studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo, while disagreeing with Gunder Frank that Chilean agriculture had been capitalist since the conquest, argues that capitalism has characterized the mode of production in Chilean agriculture since 1930. Finally Josd Ocampo responds to the criti cisms of his article (co-authored with Raúl Ferndndez) which appeared in the Spring 1974 issue of Latin American Perspectives. Ocampo is a political scientist at the Universidad Distrital, Bogotá, Columbia.
Language, Society, and Development: Dialectic of French and Creole Use in Haiti
Authors: Fontaine Pierre-Michel
Published: March 2008

Lang Kréyòl sé Kréasion pèp Afrikin ki débaké Gouadloup, Ayiti, Matinik, Dominik, etc. avè chinn an pié a-yo. Sé pa kolon fransé ki rété douvan yon tab, épi ki désidé kouman ésklav té douèt palé, ki chouazi mo lang-la, gramè lang-la. Sé pa konsa sa pasé. Sé pep-la minm ki fè lang-li1 (Bébel-Gisler and Hurbon, 1975: 18). In the constant struggle for power between the petits blancs (or mulattoes) [sic] and negroes, the former, with the encouragement of the Catholic clergy, which is largely French and French Canadian and which has been conducting a bitter fight against voodoo and other Negro legacies, have promoted the use of French in instruction, while the Negroes are more sympathetic to that incomprehensible linguistic medley known as creole (Hilton, 1960: 38-39) (the second set of italics are mine).
The Construction of Democracy in Nicaragua
Authors: Jonas Susanne , Stein Nancy
Published: March 2008

This article, written in 1989, goes to press immediately following the 1990 election—Nicaragua's second such election; the 1989-1990 campaign itself is not covered in detail. While the election was held under siege from the U.S. and resulted in the victory of the anti-Sandinista opposition, the electoral process owes its integrity to the Sandinista revolution, which has been committed to the construction of democracy since 1979. In the words of President Ortega one week after the election, "Of course, the FSLN as a political party fought with all its strength and organizational capacity. But the most global objective of the FSLN has not been simply to win elections as a party, but to open up political space which has never before existed in Nicaragua, to enable the people of Nicaragua to choose between different options. So the great victory of the FSLN, of the revolution, of the people of Nicaragua, is that with these elections we are reaffirming democracy for Nicaragua. " It is to be hoped that the democratic guarantees established by the Sandinista revolution and institutionalized in Nicaragua's constitution will not be violated by the new government and its U.S. sponsors.
How well do current instruments using bereaved relatives’ views evaluate care for dying patients?
Authors: Mayland CR , Williams EMI , Ellershaw JE
Published: March 2008

Background: Providing good quality of care for dying patients and their families has been highlighted as a national priority in the UK. Defining and measuring the quality of this care is therefore important. Using the views of patients has practical and ethical difficulties, so an alternative approach is to seek the views of bereaved relatives and close friends after the patients’ death. Aim: To identify and critically appraise instruments previously used with bereaved relatives to measure the quality of care for dying patients and the level of support provided to the family. Methods: A literature review was undertaken using Medline, Cinahl, Embase and AMED databases from 1985 to 2005. The search strategy was based on the following headings: quality of care, dying, assessment and relatives. Key criteria were set for the appraisal of each instrument. Results: Analysis of the 229 articles identified from the searches, yielded seven instruments used with bereaved relatives to assess the quality of ‘care for the dying’. Discussion: Each of these instruments was carefully constructed and all but one had clear documentation of validity and reliability measures. Two instruments used ‘satisfaction’ as an outcome measure, limiting their ability to discriminate between adequate and excellent care. Only one instrument was developed in the UK making it more ‘user-friendly’ for direct use in the UK. Conclusion: None of the instruments in their current format could comprehensively evaluate ‘care for the dying’ in the UK healthcare setting. We would propose to develop and validate a tool specifically assigned for this purpose.
Improving the effectiveness of interventions in palliative care: the potential role of qualitative research in enhancing evidence from randomized controlled trials
Authors: Flemming Kate , Adamson Joy , Atkin Karl
Published: March 2008

Evaluating interventions in palliative care using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has helped advance the specialty and create an evidence base for the delivery of care. RCTs, however, are notoriously difficult to conduct in palliative care, raising a variety of practical, ethical and moral dilemmas. Mixed-methods research, which combines qualitative research and RCTs, offers a potential solution to these problems. This paper begins by examining the theoretical basis for combining the two approaches, before reviewing the specific role qualitative research could play in planning, conducting and implementing trials. The paper then goes on to explore how palliative care research currently uses the mixed-methods approach, by searching the trials included in six Cochrane Systematic Reviews ( n = 146) on the incorporation of qualitative research. Only one trial undertook qualitative research. These findings reflect some of the challenges facing mixed-methods research, which include lack of experience in a research team, the problems of obtaining funding and difficulties in publishing. The paper concludes that while combining qualitative and quantitative research is not a panacea for methodological problems in palliative care research, with careful planning and integration, the approach may enhance the clinical and ethical utility of trial findings, which in turn will improve patient care.
Medication-Related Complications in the Trauma Patient
Authors: Corbett Stephanie Mallow , Rebuck Jill A.
Published: March 2008

Trauma patients are twice as likely to have adverse reactions to medication as nontrauma patients. The need for medication in trauma patients is high. Surgery is often necessary, and immunosuppression and hypercoagulability may be present. Adverse drug events can be caused in part by altered pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, and polypharmacy. Medications may also have serious long-term adverse effects, which must be considered. It is not the purpose of this review article to discuss all adverse effects of all medications. This article will discuss the more common adverse effects of medications for trauma patients in the acute care setting, in the following categories: pain control, sedation, antibiotics, seizure prophylaxis in head trauma, atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism prophylaxis, hemodynamic support, adrenal insufficiency, factor VIIa.
Cardiac Arrest Following Massive Pulmonary Embolism During Mechanical Declotting of Thrombosed Hemodialysis Fistula: Successful Resuscitation With tPA
Authors: Toosy Kaiser , Saito Shigeki , Patrascu Carmen , Jean Raymonde
Published: March 2008

Percutaneous declotting of a thrombosed fistula or graft is standard of care and is a safe procedure. Subclinical pulmonary embolism (PE) during this procedure occurs commonly, but symptomatic PE is extremely rare. The authors report a case of declotting-associated massive PE with cardiopulmonary arrest and successful resuscitation. The patient developed a new right-axis deviation and right-bundle branch block. Diagnosis of PE was confirmed with a computed tomography (CT) angiogram, and the patient received tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and heparin. She required norepinephrine and dobutamine temporarily and was subsequently extubated successfully. Massive PE is a very rare complication of this procedure. Given the grave outcome, the clinical signs and symptoms should be recognized immediately and treatment instituted early.
Interindexer consistency in PsycINFO
Authors: Leininger Kurt
Published: March 2008

Reports results of a study to examine interindexer consistency (the degree to which indexers, when assigning terms to a chosen record, will choose the same terms to reflect that record) in the PsycINFO database using 60 records that were inadvertently processed twice between 1996 and 1998. Five aspects of interindexer consistency were analysed. Two methods were used to calculate interindexer consistency: one posited by Hooper (1965) and the other by Rollin (1981). Aspects analysed were: checktag consistency (66.24% using Hooper’s calculation and 77.17% using Rollin’s); major-to-all term consistency (49.31% and 62.59% respectively); overall indexing consistency (49.02% and 63.32%); classification code consistency (44.17% and 45.00%); and major-to-major term consistency (43.24% and 56.09%). The average consistency across all categories was 50.4% using Hooper’s method and 60.83% using Rollin’s. Although comparison with previous studies is difficult due to methodological variations in the overall study of indexing consistency and the specific characteristics of the database, results generally support previous findings when trends and similar studies are analysed.
The Internet predicament in the Middle East and North Africa
Authors: Houissa Ali
Published: March 2008

Initial enthusiasm for the Internet, by countries in the Middle East and North Africa, has been tempered by extreme caution and ambivalence on the part of government and religious organizations, the concern focusing on those aspects of the Internet which are seen by its enthusiasts as its greatest advantages: complete openness and lack of regulation. Fearing its subversive potential, governments are trying to erect legal and technical barriers limiting its free use. Other factors limiting growth of the Internet include the relative high cost of computer hardware, excessive telecommunication charges in many countries, the dominance of English language and the fairly limited computer literacy in the region. These and other issues are reviewed on a country basis, including: Internet connectivity, services and costs; the Internet subscriber boom in selected Middle East countries; the dominance of English-language materials on the Internet; the problems posed by non-Roman scripts; and control and regulation issues. Concludes that even restricted access to the Internet in these countries is preferable to none and points to the paradox that, while excessive effort is exerted by authorities to control contents and free online access, the same authorities exhibit an almost deliberate tolerance of software pirating and copyright infringement.
Evaluation of Tolimac
Authors: Rumsey Sally , Spoiden Anne
Published: March 2008

Tolimac (Total Library Management Concept) is an Internet based system for providing controlled access to networked information resources, particularly electronic document delivery (EDD). The system, based on smart cards and PINs (Personal Identification Number), encryption technology and an architecture is designed so that the library acts as an intermediary between the user and the document supplier, addresses three EDD problem areas facing libraries: computer security with regard to open networks (confidentiality, identification, authentication and document integrity); user authorization; and cost recovery. The prototype was evaluated by the Tolimac Consortium at three libraries: Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB); George Edwards Library, University of Surrey; and University College Dublin (UCD); results from the first two sites only being reported in this article. User based performance evaluation, at ULB and Surrey was achieved using the Performance Measurement Method (PMM), whereas Dublin used the SUMI (Software Usability Measurement Inventory) evaluation method. Overall reaction to the Tolimac system was positive and users thought that the system was easy to use and were happy with the response time the smart card access.
Uses and perceptions of the World Wide Web in an information-seeking environment
Authors: Dalgleish Andrew , Hall Robert
Published: March 2008

A number of models are reported in the literature which can be used to identify the ways in which the World Wide Web can be used as part of the student learning process. This article reports the results of a study to examine how undergraduate students view their information acquisition in terms of the open resource model, where the Web is accessed to retrieve information from diverse sources which may, or may not, be educationally-based. This model was chosen as being the closest in concept to the function of the library. A series of interviews, with open-ended questions, were conducted with 12 students who were all from one university. The students were encouraged to talk freely about their own feelings and conceptions concerning the World Wide Web. Analysis revealed five recurring themes: responses to the information-seeking context; expressed relationships to the process of information retrieval; information seeking strategies; perceptions of information quality; and attitudes to the future of the Web in higher education. Each of these themes is reported in detail and it is concluded that a key factor in students’ use of the Web as an information resource is time, in the sense of obtaining information quickly and easily, not experiencing difficulties in locating the required information, and avoiding inherent delays in the computer systems.
Social exclusion and the public library
Authors: Williamson Matthew
Published: March 2008

Assesses the role of public libraries with particular reference to the services they provide to socially excluded groups in society and drawing on the works of John Stuart Mill and Jurgen Habermas. Discusses the way in which Mill’s reworking of utilitarianism and the emergence of Habermas’ concept of the ‘public sphere’ influenced the formation and development of the public library and the definition of its role in terms of social inclusion and exclusion. One of the major strengths within the public sphere of the recreational role of the public library is seen to be its impartiality, something upon which Habermas laid great emphasis. Concludes that the major problem facing public libraries in the future is the very real danger that the redefinition of the educational and informational roles of the public library into a ‘faked version’ of the public sphere will lead to a diminution of service provision in its recreational and cultural roles.
Fulfilling the learning resource requirements of students at the Open University of Tanzania
Authors: McHarazo Alli A.S. , Olden Anthony
Published: March 2008

Reports more fully the results of a study and questionnaire survey, previously reported on in an earlier article ( Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 31 (2) June 1999, p.101-109), conducted at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) to determine the user needs of their distance education students. Data is presented for 1994-1998, showing the distribution of students by regions of the country and by gender. Discusses the materials used by distance learning students: module/unit study materials; textbooks, other books and reference materials; human support; and publishers. Details are given of the role played by the Tanzania Library Service, OUT Library, and other libraries. Notes the effect of changing attitudes and sets out the study conclusions and recommendations applicable narrowly to OUT and more widely to planners of distance learning programmes.