bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Approaching the Hindu Goddess of Desire
Authors: Dobia Brenda
Published: September 2007

Pre-eminent among Tantric Goddess temples in India is Kamakhya, revered as the site where the generative organ of the Goddess is worshipped. The name of the Goddess, Kamakhya, indicates that she is at once the desired, the desiring and the granter of desires. This paper considers the ways that desire was implicated in a collaborative feminist-oriented pilgrimage made by six women scholars to the Kamakhya temple in Assam. It examines problems associated with cross-cultural desiring and describes how these were addressed. The place of desire and the status of women in Tantric conceptions of the Goddess are explored along with implications for feminist appreciations of Goddesses and Tantra.
Feminist Theology as Practice of the Future
Authors: Muers Rachel
Published: September 2007

Does feminist theology have a future? This article explores the practices and methods of feminist theology as inherently future-oriented, attentive to the other and hence destabilizing of fixed identities-including fixed feminist or theological identities. I propose that the concern of third-wave feminism with the ways in which images of women and femininity are produced, reproduced and distributed can be taken up in feminist theology through sustained attention to how theology is done. This can help to overcome the tension between the perceived need for feminist theology to move on and the continued widespread resistance to, or ignorance of, its basic ideas. I describe this as an examination of the spiritualities of feminist theology-and hence as a contribution to theologies of the Holy Spirit.
Representing the Divine: Feminism and Religious Anthropology
Authors: Harrison Victoria S.
Published: September 2007

This article examines some of the problems androcentric religious anthropologies raise for Jewish, Christian and Muslim women-particularly, with respect to their demand to occupy leadership roles within their respective faith-communities-while also considering the failure of conservative thinkers adequately to respond to these problems. Focusing on the connection between religious anthropologies and the conception of God within the Abrahamic faiths reveals, what many religious feminists have described as, a symbiotic relationship between the conception of God employed in their tradition and an androcentric religious anthropology. Given that religious anthropologies have been, and will continue to be, subject to change as the religious traditions evolve, the article concludes that, by seeking greater control over such changes, religious feminists have an opportunity to re-shape the Abrahamic faiths in ways that could make them genuinely capable of responding to the religious requirements of both women and men.
`Healthification' and the Promises of Urban Space
Authors: Fusco Caroline
Published: September 2007

In this article, I begin to unpack how urban physical activity space is being imagined by physical activity policy-makers. I review literature pertaining to youth, urban space and play, and I engage in a preliminary analysis of a small selection of government (Canada) and media communications to examine how space and health are represented discursively in policy texts. These representations of space and health are not necessarily new, but are appearing to become more prevalent in Canadian public health contexts as the `panic' about youth crime and physical (in)activity escalates. I am concerned with how space is represented in policy texts and what space is called onto be(come) in the service of the new public health in Toronto, Canada. I examine how youth are discursively incited, and in what ways, to make use of, and to find salvation in, `healthified' urban spaces. In current neoliberal and neo-conservative times, youth are increasingly called upon to engage in healthy living in spaces that are replete with discourses of `healthification', civic engagement and consumerism. I conclude by suggesting that we need to pay attention to current investments in urban youth's active living space, how urban youth take up and/or refuse spatial inscriptions and prescriptions, and how youth imagine themselves as subjects of healthified urban spaces (that are best thought of in terms of a complicated network of hegemonic local and global interrelations).
`The Times They are A-Changin'
Authors: Crossman Jane , Vincent John , Speed Harriet
Published: September 2007

This study compared how selected broadsheet newspapers from three countries covered female and male tennis players competing in the 2004 Wimbledon Championships. From the UK, The Times; from the US, The New York Times; and from Canada, The Globe & Mail were examined. This cross-national comparison extends the work of Vincent (2004) who performed an analysis of three British newspapers' coverage of Wimbledon (one broadsheet and two tabloids). Content analysis was used to compare the amount and prominence of the coverage devoted to female and male tennis players in all articles and photographs during the Wimbledon Championships fortnight (20 June—5 July 2004). Data were also collected one day prior to the Championships and one day following for a total of 16 days. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine statistically significant differences ( p<.05). Male players had significantly more total coverage than female players and significantly more articles/photographs. However, the size of the articles/photographs was not significantly different. The Times had the greater disparity in total space allocated to males versus females and significantly more total space devoted to Wimbledon coverage than the other two newspapers. Reasons for the results are discussed and compared to previous quantitative studies examining the newspaper coverage of other sport events.
The Relevance of the Black Atlantic in Contemporary Sport
Authors: Andersson Mette
Published: September 2007

Processes of homogenization and differentiation have characterized international sports organizations and competitions for more than a century. So have imaginaries of race as these are linked to sportive stereotypes in various sports. In this article, I discuss how racial imaginaries in two Norwegian sports, basketball and track and field, are informed by the real and imaginary links to the same sports in the USA. Theoretically, the article is informed by Paul Gilroy's theory of the Black Atlantic. I ask whether Gilroy's theory illuminates present-day processes in Norwegian basketball and track and field, and how the Norwegian case may relate to broader, global processes in sport. The empirical analysis is based on a wide material from Norway, including observational data and interviews with non-white top athletes, coaches, managers, sport journalists and representatives of ethnic minority organizations.
Game, Name and Fame — Afterwards, Will I Still Be the Same?
Authors: Stier Jonas
Published: September 2007

Drawing from micro-sociology and the psychology and sociology of sport, and using a qualitative interview design, this study explores career retirement, role exit and related identity issues among eight Swedish ex-professional tennis players. Several questions are addressed. What were the characteristics of the professional tennis player role and of the retirement process? How did the ex-players cope with role-exit and what does their life look like today? What implications have the professional tennis player role and the retirement process had for their construction of identity? Results indicate that a `role restricted' socialization, intense media exposure, an overemphasis on performance and competition, in conjunction with how people confuse the interviewees' role with their identity, brought about what can be referred to as `role-identity fusion'. By analysing career termination along four, overlapping, phases it is clear that each phase urged the interviewees to make career and life choices, with a variety of identity implications. It is concluded that career retirement was a gradual, transitional process of psychological and social adaptation and quest for self-identity. As such it was challenging for the players, but not as dramatic as much scientific literature suggests.
U.S. Heritage-Seeking Students Discover Minority Communities in Western Europe
Authors: Comp David
Published: September 2007

This research article examines quantitative data relevant to an increasingly multiethnic Western Europe and investigates European opportunities for U.S. minority heritage-seeking students. In addition to analyzing the demographic data of Western Europe, a review of U.S. higher education enrollment demographics derived from current national education statistics as well as a look at the racial and ethnic makeup of U.S. students studying abroad will be conducted.
Making the Strange Familiar
Authors: Brumberger Eva R.
Published: September 2007

Scholarly conversation within the field of professional communication increasingly has focused on the practice, research, and pedagogy of visual rhetoric. Yet, visual thinking has received relatively little attention within the field. If our programs produce students who can think verbally but not visually, they risk producing writers who are visual technicians but are unable to move fluidly between and within modes of communication. This article examines the literature and pedagogical practices of visually oriented disciplines to identify strategies for helping students develop the ambidexterity of thought needed for the communication tasks of today's workplace.
Comments on Lab Reports by Mechanical Engineering Teaching Assistants
Authors: Taylor Summer Smith
Published: September 2007

Many engineering undergraduates receive their first and perhaps most intensive exposure to engineering communication through writing lab reports in lab courses taught by graduate teaching assistants (TAs). Most of the TAs' teaching of writing happens through their comments on students' lab reports. Technical writing faculty need to be aware of TAs' response practices so they can build on or counteract that instruction as needed. This study examines the response practices of two TAs and the ways the practices shifted after the TAs began using a grading rubric. The analysis reveals distinct patterns in focus and mode, some reflecting best practices and some not. It also indicates encouraging changes after the TAs started using the grading rubric. The TAs' marginalia became more content focused and specific and, perhaps most important, less authoritative and more likely to reflect a coaching mode. The article concludes with implications for technical writing courses.
Business Communication Needs
Authors: Goby Valerie Priscilla
Published: September 2007

How should we teach international business communication? What role can multiculturalism play in the business communication classroom? Can we identify a set of business communication requirements that are valid across different cultures? This article enters this discussion by presenting a small empirical study of the business communication needs expressed by postgraduate students in a North Cyprus university and comparing it to similar studies conducted in the United States and Singapore. The findings reveal some interesting correspondences between the needs expressed by students in these different countries. In addition, the multicultural environment of the North Cyprus university studied suggests that multicultural interaction increases students' sensitivity to the need for a nonethnocentric approach to international communication. The findings also indicate that respondents in multicultural settings may be more inclined to engage in groupthink because of their heightened awareness of cultural differences and their wish to avoid conflict.
An Internal Crack Subjected to a Thermal Flow in Magnetoelectroelastic Solids: Exact Fundamental Solution
Authors: Wang B.L. , Zhang H.Y. , Niraula O.P.
Published: September 2007

The analysis of intensity factors for cracks under thermal, mechanical, electrical and magnetic boundary conditions has become a very important topic in fracture mechanics. In this paper, an exact and complete fundamental solution is derived for the problem of a penny-shaped crack in magneto-electro-thermo-elastic material under prescribed thermal flux on the crack faces. The problem is analyzed within the framework of the theory of linear magneto-electro-thermo-elasticity. Electro-magneto-thermo-elasticity includes the effective elastic, piezoelectric, piezomagnetic, dielectric permittivity, magnetic permeability and electromagnetic coupling moduli, as well as the effective thermal expansion coefficients and the associated pyroelectric and pyromagnetic constants. The coupling features of transversely isotropic magneto-electro-thermo-elastic solids are governed by a system of partial differential equations with respect to the elastic displacements, the electric potential and the magnetic potential and temperature field. The heat conduction equation and equilibrium equations for an infinite magneto-electro-thermo-elastic media are solved by means of Hankel integral transform. The intensity factors of thermal stress, electric displacement and magnetic induction are derived explicitly for impermeable and permeable cracks. Due to its explicitness, the solution is remarkable and should be of great interest in the magneto-electro-thermo-elastic material analysis and design.
Azimuthal Shear of a Transversely Isotropic Elastic Solid
Authors: Kassianidis F. , Ogden R.W. , Merodio J. , Pence T.J.
Published: September 2007

In this paper we study the problem of (plane strain) azimuthal shear of a circular cylindrical tube of incompressible transversely isotropic elastic material subject to finite deformation. The preferred direction associated with the transverse isotropy lies in the planes normal to the tube axis and is at an angle with the radial direction that depends only on the radius. For a general form of strain-energy function the considered deformation yields simple expressions for the azimuthal shear stress and the associated strong ellipticity condition in terms of the azimuthal shear strain. These apply for a sense of shear that is either “with” or “against” the preferred direction (anticlockwise and clockwise, respectively), so that material line elements locally in the preferred direction either extend or (at least initially) contract, respectively. For some specific strain-energy functions we then examine local loss of uniqueness of the shear stress—strain relationship and failure of ellipticity for the case of contraction and the dependence on the geometry of the preferred direction. In particular, for a reinforced neo-Hookean material, we obtain closed-form solutions that determine the domain of strong ellipticity in terms of the relationship between the shear strain and the angle (in general, a function of the radius) between the tangent to the preferred direction and the undeformed radial direction. It is shown, in particular, that as the magnitude of the applied shear stress increases then, after loss of ellipticity, there are two admissible values for the shear strain at certain radial locations. Absolutely stable deformations involve the lower magnitude value outside a certain radius and the higher magnitude value within this radius. The radius that separates the two values increases with increasing magnitude of the shear stress. The results are illustrated graphically for two specific forms of energy function.
On Variational Formulations in Nonlinear Magnetoelastostatics
Authors: Bustamante R. , Dorfmann A. , Ogden R.W.
Published: September 2007

Two new variational principles for nonlinear magnetoelastostatics are derived. Each is based on use of two independent variables: the deformation function and, in one case the scalar magnetostatic potential, in the other the magnetostatic vector potential. The derivations are facilitated by use of Lagrangian magnetic field variables and constitutive laws expressed in terms of these variables. In each case all the relevant governing equations, boundary and continuity conditions emerge. These principles have a relatively simple structure and therefore offer the prospect of leading to finite-element formulations that can be used in the solution of realistic boundary-value problems.
Material Stability Conditions for a Class of Inhomogeneous Anisotropic Media
Authors: Daros C.H.
Published: September 2007

In this paper we analyze the hyperbolicity of a non-homogeneous differential operator of constant coefficients, which describes a class of inhomogeneous anisotropic media. This class of inhomogeneous media requires constraints on the types of material profiles. We identify two subclasses, Case A, which requires additional material constraints and Case B. We show that for Case A, the non-homogeneous differential operator is hyperbolic independent from the strictly or non-strictly hyperbolic behavior of its principal part. For Case B we have identified two regions of material instability when the operator's principal part ceases to be strictly hyperbolic. The analysis is exemplified for inhomogeneous transversely isotropic media.
On the Formulation of Balance Laws for Electromagnetic Continua
Authors: Steigmann David J.
Published: September 2007

Kovetz' formulation ( Electromagnetic Theory, Oxford University Press, 2000) of the system consisting of the linear momentum balance, moment-of-momentum balance, energy balance and Clausius— Duhem inequality for electromagnetic media is derived from basic ideas in continuum mechanics and electromagnetism and shown thereby to be compatible with earlier formulations.
An Elliptic Inhomogeneity Subjected to a General Class of Nonuniform Remote Loadings in Finite Elasticity
Authors: Kim C.I. , Schiavone P.
Published: September 2007

We consider a composite material containing an elastic elliptic inhomogeneity which is assumed to be perfectly bonded to a surrounding matrix of similar elastic material. In fact, both the inhomogeneity and the matrix belong to the same class of compressible hyperelastic materials of harmonic-type but each has its own distinct material properties. We consider finite plane deformations of the inhomogeneity-matrix system and obtain the complete solution when the system is subjected to classes of nonuniform remote (Piola) stress characterized by stress functions described by general polynomials of order n ≥ 1 in the corresponding complex variable z used to describe the matrix.
The influence of obesity on arterial compliance in adult men and women
Authors: Acree Luke S , Montgomery Polly S , Gardner Andrew W
Published: September 2007

The objective of this study was to determine whether differences in large and small arterial compliance existed among normal weight, overweight, and obese older men and women, and whether large and small arterial compliance were associated with abdominal, hip, and subcutaneous fat distribution. A total of 134 individuals who were 40 years of age and older (age = 62 ± 11 years; mean ± SD) were grouped into normal weight (BMI: 18.5—24.9 kg/m2; n = 33), overweight (BMI: 25.0—29.9 kg/m2; n = 48), or obese (BMI: ≥30.0 kg/m2; n = 53) categories. The hemodynamic and arterial compliance measurements were obtained using the HDI/PulseWave CR-2000 CardioVascular Profiling System (Hypertension Diagnostics, Inc). Body mass index, nine-site sum of skinfolds, and circumference measures around the hip and waist were used for analysis. Large and small arterial compliance was lower (p < 0.001) in the obese group (12.4 ± 4.8 ml/mmHg × 10 vs 4.6 ± 2.5 ml/mmHg × 100, respectively) than the normal weight (16.2 ± 4.9 ml/mmHg × 10 vs 5.5 ± 2.7 ml/mmHg × 100) and overweight (15.2 ± 4.3 ml/mmHg × 10 vs 5.0 ± 2.2 ml/mmHg × 100) groups. This difference remained (p < 0.001) after adjusting for body surface area, sex, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Additionally, large arterial compliance correlated (p < 0.05) with sum of skinfolds (r = — 0.209), while small arterial compliance correlated with hip circumference (r = — 0.189). Arterial compliance measures were not related (p > 0.05) to waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio. In conclusion, obesity was associated with a decrease in large and small arterial compliance independent of conventional risk factors. Additionally, subcutaneous fat and fat around the hips were inversely related to arterial compliance.
Acute lower limb ischemia as the initial symptom of acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Kafetzakis Alexandros , Foundoulakis Andreas , Ioannou Christos V , Stavroulaki Emilia , Koutsopoulos Anastassios , Katsamouris Asterios N
Published: September 2007

Although coagulatory system disorders are well recognized in patients with acute leukemia, these usually present with either hemorrhagic complications or thrombosis of small vessels. Large vessel thrombosis is a very rare clinical presentation. We present a patient with previously undiagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (M5), who was referred to our hospital with symptoms of acute ischemia of his right lower limb. Occlusion of the right external iliac artery due to a combination of leucostasis and coagulation disorders was noted and successfully treated with urgent leukapheresis, immediate chemotherapy and surgical thromboembolectomy.
Controversies in vascular screening — art versus science
Authors: Rooke Thom W.
Published: September 2007

Whether or not to screen asymptomatic members of the general public for various forms of vascular disease is a controversial issue with huge medical, social, and financial ramifications. This article reviews several criteria for determining the appropriateness of vascular screening, including: (1) is it possible to detect occult vascular disease `early'?; (2) what should we screen for, and how should we do it?; (3) who should be screened?; and (4) what standards for vascular screening should be set? While some of these controversies may ultimately be resolvable using an evidence-based approach, it is apparent that there are issues which will not be amenable to strict scientific analysis. Individualized approaches to screening will therefore remain the rule for the foreseeable future.
External iliac artery endofibrosis in an amateur runner: hemodynamic, angiographic, histopathological evaluation and percutaneous revascularization
Authors: Maree Andrew O. , Ashequl Islam M. , Snuderl Matija , Lamuraglia Glenn M. , Stone James R. , Olmsted Kari , Rosenfield Kenneth A. , Jaff Michael R.
Published: September 2007

We describe a case of external iliac artery endofibrosis in an amateur competitive runner. The diagnosis was made by a combination of hemodynamic, angiographic and histopathological assessment and percutaneous revascularization was performed using a balloon expandable stent.
Should troponin and creatinine kinase be routinely measured after vascular surgery?
Authors: Mohler Emile R. , Mantha Srinivas , Miller Alan B. , Poldermans Don , Cropp Anne B. , Aubin Lisa B. St. , Billing Clare B. , Fleisher Lee A.
Published: September 2007

The current guidelines for the evaluation and prediction of adverse cardiovascular events (CVEs) following vascular surgery in high-risk patients recommends serial electrocardiograms (ECGs) but not biomarkers such as cTn-I and CK-MB. The objective of this study was to determine whether biomarkers should be routinely measured in high-risk patients undergoing vascular surgery. A multicenter, prospective study with investigators blinded to core laboratory results was conducted. cTn-I and CK-MB were obtained on the day of surgery, as well as 24 hours, 72 hours and 120 hours after surgery, 24 hours prior to planned hospital discharge and at the onset of symptoms of a suspected CVE. The CVE was adjudicated by an endpoint committee using ECG, biomarker and symptoms data and was defined as cardiac death or myocardial infarction (MI) occurring up to 30 days after surgery. A total of 784 patients, with a mean age of 70.1 (SD ± 9.8), underwent vascular surgery. Of the 83 patients with a CVE, cTn-I was positive in 42 and CK-MB was positive in 29 on or before the day of the CVE. The number of patients not classified as having a CVE but positive for elevation of cTn-I or CK-MB was 64 and 20, respectively. cTn-I was more sensitive than CK-MB (50.6% versus 34.9%) for predicting a CVE. The optimum time for measuring cTn-I after surgery with the highest positive predictive value was 24 hours. In conclusion, these data support routine serial measurement of cTn-I after vascular surgery.
Scientific Communication and Cognitive Codification
Authors: Leydesdorff Loet
Published: September 2007

The intellectual organization of the sciences cannot be appreciated sufficiently unless the cognitive dimension is considered as an independent source of variance. Cognitive structures interact and co-construct the organization of scholars and discourses into research programs, specialties, and disciplines. In the sociology of scientific knowledge and the sociology of translation, these heterogeneous sources of variance have been homogenized a priori in the concepts of practices and actor-networks. Practices and actor-networks, however, can be explained in terms of the self-organization of the cognitive code in scientific communication. The code selects knowledge claims by organizing them operationally in the various discourses; the claims can thus be stabilized and potentially globalized. Both the selecting codes and the variation in the knowledge claims remain constructed, but the different sub-dynamics can be expected to operate asymmetrically and to update with other frequencies.
Process Narratives, Grey Boxes, and Discourse Frameworks
Authors: Saferstein Barry
Published: September 2007

The article presents a model of understanding that takes into account interaction, cultural knowledge, and the constraints of organizations and institutions. It analyzes discourse and cognition in high school biology classes and clinical consultations involving discussions of genetics. The analytical lenses of constraint satisfaction, coherence-based reasoning, and collective cognition reveal multilayered social, cultural, and interactional components of authority and agency that influence understanding. The analysis reveals similarities across settings in discourse structure and the ways that participants relate to local constraints. In both types of settings, participants attempt to develop process narratives that present a sequential or causal relationship between information and lead to remembered understandings of concepts. However, the absence of certain process information that links terms or concepts functions like a missing plot point in a story, hindering the development of process narratives and understandings. In order to cover such information gaps, students and patients construct and display grey boxes. In addition to talk and text, these consist of various actions and resources specific to a local discourse framework such as pointing at graphics, tabular information, and symbols. Grey boxes satisfy the organizational constraints of time, resources, and task structure that affect interaction related to understanding concepts and procedures, but their connection to a particular discourse framework restricts the transfer of knowledge between settings. The power of medical practitioners and teachers to enhance or restrict understandings relates to the ways that they accommodate the use of grey boxes during interactions with clients and students. Professional frames of reference that teachers or practitioners apply to task interactions may constrain the ways students or clients apply grey boxes and process narratives. Awareness of the functions of process narratives and grey boxes presents opportunities to modify local discourse frameworks and increase understandings of concepts, medical conditions, and treatment options.
An Argumentativist Point of View in Cognitive Sociology
Authors: Bouvier Alban
Published: September 2007

Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice Theory (broadly understood) can integrate various research programmes in cognitive sociology (itself broadly understood). This article sets out two different but closely related conceptions, depending on the focus of the analysis (macro-sociological or micro-sociological) and the goals, although both deal — to some extent — with the bridge between these levels. Raymond Boudon's programme is relevant when the focus is the macro-sociological level but can be considered as weakly `cognitive'. Alban Bouvier presents a slightly stronger cognitive programme — the argumentativist programme — that makes sense when the focus is on the micro-sociological level. This new programme leads to integrating cognitive psychology and recent argumentation theory more and, as well, the philosophy of mind and social philosophy. Examples here are borrowed from historical sociology.
How is Sociological Realism Possible?
Authors: Pharo Patrick
Published: September 2007

This article explores the limits of social constructionism and criticizes the `demiurgic conception of society' associated with it. It contemplates the possibility of sociological realism by investigating the intrinsic and objective properties of action, cognition and morality. The incorporation of intrinsic meanings and intentions in social actions, the objective information supporting cognitive processes and human sensitivity to pleasure and pain as well as the normative rejection of undue suffering, delineate the objective core of social facts, which can be interpreted or influenced, but not arbitrarily or capriciously constructed or manipulated. This general argument is supported by various illustrations drawn from the semantics of social actions and classical puzzles of interpretative sociology such as the meaning of suicide or the morality of social sanctions.
Global religion and the re-enchantment of the world
Authors: Csordas Thomas J.
Published: September 2007

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement is a paradigm case for an examination of the globalization of religion. Centred in Rome, but spread throughout the world, it invites reconsideration of centre-periphery and local-global dynamics in the contemporary world system. Working through a small but intriguing body of literature on the movement by ethnographers working independently of one another who have encountered the phenomenon in the field, I trace the international expansion of the movement and compare its local instantiations in India, Brazil and Nigeria. The movement simultaneously invokes contrasting images of universal culture and cultural fragmentation, and raises a series of questions about religion and social class, bodily experience and re-enchantment of the world in a global perspective.
Discounting the future, yet again
Authors: Brennan Geoffrey
Published: September 2007

The question of `discounting the future' is one on which philosophers and economists have divergent professional views. There is a lot of talking at cross-purposes across the disciplinary divide here; but there is a fair bit of confusion (I think) within disciplines as well. My aim here is essentially clarificatory. I draw several distinctions that I see as significant:

• between inter-temporal and intergenerational questions

• between price (discount rate) and quantity (inter-temporal and intergenerational allocations) as the ethically relevant magnitude, and

• between price change and preference change as the primary instrument of change.

I show that discounting does not violate the principle of inter-temporal and intergenerational neutrality, but I also cast some doubt on whether making adequate allowance for future generations has really been the problem that economists and philosophers seem to have taken it to be.
Translucency, assortation, and information pooling: how groups solve social dilemmas
Authors: Spiekermann Kai
Published: September 2007

In one-shot public goods dilemmas, defection is the strictly dominant strategy. However, agents with cooperative strategies can do well if (1) agents are `translucent' (that is, if agents can fallibly recognize the strategy other agents play ex ante) and (2) an institutional structure allows `assortation' such that cooperative agents can increase the likelihood of playing with their own kind. The model developed in this article shows that even weak levels of translucency suffice if cooperators are able to pool their information to exclude defectors. Computer simulations confirm this claim. The results imply that conditional cooperation can be a successful strategy given translucency and `assortation', even if the game has a one-shot character. The article discusses implications for moral theory against the backdrop of `virtual self-regard' and the concept of moral integrity.
On revaluing the currency of human rights
Authors: Eddy Katherine
Published: September 2007

In a recent spate of reflective writings on the concept of human rights, philosophers have been concerned to firm up the analytical boundaries of human rights discourse, without excluding welfare rights from the catalogue. The article considers three of these recent attempts to `revalue the currency' of human rights: the agency conception, the pluralist conception, and the negative duties conception. It ultimately defends a `dignity-based' account of human rights, in which any number of human interests and values may ground a right, but in which the failure to respect the right must constitute a threat to human dignity (one's sense of self-worth as a person) in order for it to count as a genuine human right. It further argues that a `dignity-based' account of human rights justifies a focus on the state as the agent against which human rights are held, and gives us reason to doubt that the state could adequately fulfil the human-rights-based duties it owes its citizens by simple forbearance. On the account offered here, the state may be said to violate the rights of its members, and to threaten their human dignity, when it fails to provide them with the means to realize their basic needs.
Democratic legitimacy and proceduralist social epistemology
Authors: Peter Fabienne
Published: September 2007

A conception of legitimacy is at the core of normative theories of democracy. Many different conceptions of legitimacy have been put forward, either explicitly or implicitly. In this article, I shall first provide a taxonomy of conceptions of legitimacy that can be identified in contemporary democratic theory. The taxonomy covers both aggregative and deliberative democracy. I then argue for a conception of democratic legitimacy that takes the epistemic dimension of public deliberation seriously. In contrast to standard interpretations of epistemic democracy, however, the conception I put forward avoids procedure-independent standards of correctness. Instead, it relies on a procedural social epistemology and defines legitimacy entirely in terms of the fairness of procedures. I call this conception of democratic legitimacy `Pure Epistemic Proceduralism'. I shall argue that it should be preferred over `Rational Epistemic Proceduralism', the conception of legitimacy that underlies the standard interpretation of epistemic democracy.
Fairness in trade I: obligations from trading and the Pauper-Labor Argument
Authors: Risse Mathias
Published: September 2007

Standard economic theory teaches that trade benefits all countries involved, at least in the long run. While there are other reasons for trade liberalization, this insight, going back to Ricardo's 1817 Principles of Political Economy , continues to underlie international economics. Trade also raises fairness questions. First, suppose A trades with B while parts of A's population are oppressed. Do the oppressed in A have a complaint in fairness against B? Should B cease to trade? Second, suppose because of oppression or lower social standards, A's products are cheaper than B's. Can industries in B legitimately insist that their government take measures to help them compete? The Pauper-Labor Argument makes that case, and many economists enjoy dismissing it in undergraduate classes. Third, suppose A subsidizes its industries. If this lowers world market prices, does B have a fairness complaint against A? Ought countries to consider how trade policies affect others? This article is the first of two, which together develop a view that is meant to serve as a reference point for moral assessments of international trade policies. I develop this view by way of offering affirmative answers to these three questions. Since this discussion is organized around these three questions, the two studies can be read independently of each other.
Teaching and learning in a model-based action research course
Authors: Peters John M. , Gray Annie
Published: September 2007

We describe an action research course from the point of view of our joint participation as instructor and student. The course is structured and its process is driven by the instructor's model of action research. We discuss the demands that the model places on participants as they develop individual plans for action research. The article concludes with our reflection on participants' experiences and a discussion of assumptions that inform course design and process.
The Victimization of Dependent Drug Users
Authors: Stevens Alex , Berto Daniele , Frick Ulrich , Kerschl Viktoria , McSweeney Tim , Schaaf Susanne , Tartari Morena , Turnbull Paul , Trinkl Barbara , Uchtenhagen Ambros , Waidner Gabriele , Werdenich Wolfgang
Published: September 2007

This article contributes to the literature on drug users, victimization and offending using data on 545 dependent drug users entering treatment in four European countries. Members of the sample were exposed to high levels of criminal victimization. Sub-groups who were particularly vulnerable to crime were women (and especially sex workers), the homeless, recent offenders and those with a history of poor mental health. Multivariate analysis indicated that frequent drug use, recent offending and histories of depression and anxiety were significantly predictive of violent victimization, and only gender and a history of anxiety were significantly predictive of property victimization. The article discusses how these findings relate to theoretical approaches to victimization, in both positivist and critical frameworks.
An examination of the efficiency of the sequential parallel design in psychiatric clinical trials
Authors: Tamura Roy N , Huang Xiaohong
Published: September 2007

Background Psychiatric clinical trials have a high failure rate, even among agents which are known to be effective. Because of this high failure rate, a novel clinical trial design has been proposed which incorporates a second phase in which non-responders to placebo are randomly reassigned to drug or placebo.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to examine the efficiency of this new design compared to the conventional two arm clinical trial. We consider both binary and continuous endpoints.

Methods The limiting distribution of a class of weighted average test statistics is obtained for the binary case which allows analytic calculation of the power for a given set of parameters. For the continuous case, we examine the efficiency of seemingly unrelated regression and a weighted average statistic via simulation.

Results The novel design reduces the sample size 20—25% compared to the standard design under a wide range of parameters.

Limitations There are no actual trials with the novel design therefore assumptions of the effect size across two periods for actual psychiatric agents is unknown.

Conclusions The new design reduces sample size which in turn should reduce the cost of clinical trials. Further refinements of the design are possible including alternative test statistics and incorporation of additional data from placebo responders. Clinical Trials 2007; 4: 309—317. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Design of the fish oil inhibition of stenosis in hemodialysis grafts (FISH) study
Authors: Lok Charmaine E. , Allon Michael , Donnelly Sandra , Dorval Marc , Hemmelgarn Brenda , Moist Louise , Oliver Matthew J. , Tonelli Marcello , Stanley Kenneth
Published: September 2007

Background Arteriovenous grafts (AVG) are the predominant form of permanent vascular access used among hemodialysis (HD) patients in North America but suffer from high intervention and complication rates associated with vascular stenosis. The fish oil inhibition of stenosis in hemodialysis grafts (FISH) study evaluates the efficacy of fish oil in improving HD graft patency.

Methods This study is a multi-center, randomized, double blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of 232 chronic HD patients who require a new graft access. Participants are randomized to fish oil versus placebo post-operatively. The primary endpoint is the proportion of AVG with loss of native patency within 12 months of creation. Secondary endpoints are aimed to determine the effect of fish oil on factors that may promote stenosis and thrombosis. Cumulative patency rates, survival analysis, and analysis of inflammatory markers and adverse events will provide a better understanding of the potential effect of fish oil on a patient's vascular access and cardiovascular system. The FISH study is registered at current controlled trials (www.controlled-trials.com) ISRCTN: 15838383.

Results Details of the study protocol are described including mechanisms of reducing bias through randomization and double blinding, sample size determination, evaluation of patient adherence, access monitoring, and the safety of using fish oil. The main challenges of designing and implementing this study, including using a natural supplement as an intervention in modern medical practice and recruitment of graft recipients in the `fistula first' environment are discussed. Conclusion This is the first large, multicenter, randomized controlled trial of a natural supplement in preventing HD graft stenosis and thrombosis. Clinical Trials 2007; 4: 357—367. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Applying the law of iterated logarithm to control type I error in cumulative meta-analysis of binary outcomes
Authors: Hu Mingxiu , Cappelleri Joseph C , Lan K K Gordon
Published: September 2007

Background Cumulative meta-analysis typically involves performing an updated meta-analysis every time when new trials are added to a series of similar trials, which by definition involves multiple inspections. Neither the commonly used random effects model nor the conventional group sequential method can control the type I error for many practical situations. In our previous research, Lan et al. (Lan KKG, Hu M-X, Cappelleri JC. Applying the law of iterated logarithm to cumulative meta-analysis of a continuous endpoint. Statistica Sinica 2003; 13: 1135—45) proposed an approach based on the law of iterated logarithm (LIL) to this problem for the continuous case.

Purpose The study is an extension and generalization of our previous research to binary outcomes. Although it is based on the same LIL principle, we found the discrete case much more complex and the results from the continuous case do not apply to the binary case. The simulation study presented here is also more extensive.

Methods The LIL based method `penalizes' the Z-value of the test statistic to account for multiple tests and for the estimation of heterogeneity in treatment effects across studies. It involves an adjustment factor, which is directly related to the control of type I error and determined through extensive simulations under various conditions.

Results With an adjustment factor of 2, the LIL-based test statistics controls the overall type I error when odds ratio or relative risk is the parameter of interest. For risk difference, the adjustment factor can be reduced to 1.5. More inspections may require a larger adjustment factor, but the required adjustment factor stabilizes after 25 inspections.

Limitations It will be ideal if the adjustment factor can be obtained theoretically through a statistical model. Unfortunately, real life data are too complex and we have to solve the problem through simulation. However, for large number of inspections, the adjustment factor will have a limited effect and the type I error is controlled mainly by the LIL.

Conclusions The LIL method controls the overall type I error for a very broad range of practical situations with a binary outcome, and the LIL works properly in controlling the type I error rates as the number of inspections becomes large. Clinical Trials 2007; 4: 329—340. http://ctj.sagepub.com
The intention-to-treat approach in randomized controlled trials: Are authors saying what they do and doing what they say?
Authors: Gravel Jocelyn , Opatrny Lucie , Shapiro Stan
Published: September 2007

Background Intention-to-treat (ITT) is an approach to the analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) in which patients are analyzed as randomized regardless of the treatment actually received.

Purpose To ascertain the proportion of RCT reporting the use of intention-to-treat and the accuracy of that report and to examine the distribution and analysis of missing data for the studies reporting an ITT analysis.

Method We conducted a cross-sectional literature review of RCTs reported in 10 medical journals in 2002. All articles were assessed using a standardized form. Two evaluators independently reviewed a 10% sample of articles to assess reliability. Subsequently, one evaluator reviewed the remaining articles. The proportion of articles reporting the use of ITT was calculated. Among these, the proportion of articles that `analyzed patients as randomized' and the proportion and analysis of missing data were evaluated using standardized definitions.

Results Of the 403 articles, 249 (62%) reported the use of ITT. Among these, available patients were clearly analyzed as randomized in 192 (77%). Authors used a modified ITT in 23 (9%); clearly violated a major component of ITT in 17 (7%), and the approach used was unclear in 17 (7%). More than 60% of articles had missing data in their primary analysis. Few articles reported a strategy for missing data. The main reason for missing data was loss to follow-up.

Limitations A single evaluator evaluated most articles, but the high concordance obtained during the inter-rater evaluation suggests that the assessments were consistent. In addition, the small spectrum of journals limits generalizability. Finally, there could be a difference between what was reported and what was performed.

Conclusions This study emphasizes that authors use the label `intention-to-treat' quite differently. The most common use refers to the analysis of all available subjects as randomized regardless of the missing data aspect. Clinical Trials 2007; 4: 350—356. http://ctj.sagepub.com