bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Music and cultural politics in Taiwan
Authors: Ho Wai-Chung
Published: November 2007

This article aims to examine the current debate concerning the complicated interplay of nationalism and globalization that, along with associated social changes, determines the cultural diversity of contemporary Taiwanese music today. Despite the deep cultural entanglements of Taiwan's political history, the ethnic identities of Taiwanese indigenous and popular music are crystallized by the ways in which identity is constructed and represented in culture and social relations. Over the past two decades, Taiwanese musical culture has been developed largely in relation to policies to integrate traditional Chinese, local Taiwanese and Western music. The historical and political processes in Taiwan's music are factors are pertinent to what is cultural about politics and what is political about culture. Ethnic indigenization and market globalization are part of the conception and practice of the state/party regime's efforts to co-opt the interest of diverse musical elements in a new collective Taiwanese music identity. •
A different kind of ethics
Authors: Ferdinand Jason , Pearson Geoff , Rowe Mike , Worthington Frank
Published: November 2007

Drawing on four `tales from the field', provided one each by the authors, this article examines the ethical and moral dilemmas ethnographers can face during their research. In particular, we address two key questions. First, what does being ethical actually involve? Second, is there a moral duty owed by researchers and, if so, to whom is this duty owed? The article reviews current debates over ethics in ethnographic research, specifically the responsibilities of the researcher to his/her research subjects, before turning to the four `tales from the field'. These tales form the basis for a discussion of a researcher's ethical responsibilities when confronted with wrongdoing, in different forms, in the course of their fieldwork.
Structural Health Monitoring of an Advanced Grid Structure with Embedded Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors
Authors: Amano Masataro , Okabe Yoji , Takeda Nobuo , Ozaki Tsuyoshi
Published: November 2007

The authors focus on the construction of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system with an advanced grid structure (AGS) made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). AGS is often applied to aerospace structures because the ribs carry only axial forces in the carbon fiber direction, making AGS structurally effective and lightweight, and because the repetition of many ribs in the AGS composition results in damage tolerance. The failure of a single rib hardly affects the fracture of the whole structure, making AGS a fail-safe structure. In this research, the authors have embedded multiplexed-fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors into an AGS rib in the longitudinal direction to measure mechanical strains of all ribs in order to detect the existence and regions of AGS rib fractures. Monitoring the change in rib-longitudinal strains is the most effective SHM system for AGS. To confirm the proposal, the authors explore the following. First, various damage characteristics under low-velocity impact loading are investigated and it is verified that partial rib cracks are the most typical damage in AGS. An AGS is then fabricated with embedded FBG sensors and verified that the SHM system is able to measure all rib strains. Subsequently, it is analytically determined that the change in longitudinal-rib strains is the most appropriate mechanical feature for damage detection. Moreover, a statistical outlier analysis is introduced into the SHM system for automatic damage detection. Finally, AGS is established with the SHM system and verified experimentally. Results confirm that the existence of damage and its regions in AGS can be detected with the proposed SHM system.
Age-related subproteomic analysis of mouse liver and kidney peroxisomes
Authors: Mi Jia , Garcia-Arcos Itsaso , Alvarez Ruben , Cristobal Susana
Published: November 2007

Background

Despite major recent advances in the understanding of peroxisomal functions and how peroxisomes arise, only scant information is available regarding this organelle in cellular aging. The aim of this study was to characterize the changes in the protein expression profile of aged versus young liver and kidney peroxisome-enriched fractions from mouse and to suggest possible mechanisms underlying peroxisomal aging. Peroxisome-enriched fractions from 10 weeks, 18 months and 24 months C57bl/6J mice were analyzed by quantitative proteomics.

Results

Peroxisomal proteins were enriched by differential and density gradient centrifugation and proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), quantified and identified by mass spectrometry (MS). In total, sixty-five proteins were identified in both tissues. Among them, 14 proteins were differentially expressed in liver and 21 proteins in kidney. The eight proteins differentially expressed in both tissues were involved in β-oxidation, α-oxidation, isoprenoid biosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, and stress response. Quantitative proteomics, clustering methods, and prediction of transcription factors, all indicated that there is a decline in protein expression at 18 months and a recovery at 24 months.

Conclusion

These results indicate that some peroxisomal proteins show a tissue-specific functional response to aging. This response is probably dependent on their differential regeneration capacity. The differentially expressed proteins could lead several cellular effects: such as alteration of fatty acid metabolism that could alert membrane protein functions, increase of the oxidative stress and contribute to decline in bile salt synthesis. The ability to detect age-related variations in the peroxisomal proteome can help in the search for reliable and valid aging biomarkers.
An uncommon presentation and course of metastatic malignant melanoma: a case report
Authors: Dalhaug Astrid , Pawinski Adam , Norum Jan , Nieder Carsten
Published: November 2007

Most patients with brain metastases from malignant melanoma are diagnosed after treatment for known extracranial metastases and have a poor outcome despite various local and systemic therapeutic approaches. Here we discuss an unusual case where a 45-year old patient presented with a brain metastasis as the first symptom of disease and where the presumed primary lesion later was found in the gastro-intestinal tract. Treatment consisted of sequential surgical removal of a total of 4 tumor sites (2 extracranially), whole-brain radiotherapy and two radiosurgery procedures within 13 months. Following her last treatment, the patient has now been in remission for 20 months. This case illustrates that some patients with multi-organ melanoma manifestations may benefit from the repeated use of effective local therapeutic approaches and may experience a quite favourable prognosis.
Mitogen-Stimulated and Rapamycin-Sensitive Glucose Transporter 12 Targeting and Functional Glucose Transport in Renal Epithelial Cells
Authors: Wilson-O’Brien Amy L. , DeHaan Carrie L. , Rogers Suzanne
Published: November 2007

We hypothesized that glucose transporter 12 (GLUT12) is involved in regulation of glucose flux in distal renal tubules in response to elevated glucose. We used the Madin-Darby canine kidney polarized epithelial cell model and neutralizing antibodies to analyze GLUT12 targeting and directional GLUT12-mediated glucose transport. At physiological glucose concentrations, GLUT12 was localized to a perinuclear position. High glucose and serum treatment resulted in GLUT12 localization to the apical membrane. This mitogen-stimulated targeting of GLUT12 was inhibited by rapamycin, the specific inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). The functional role of GLUT12 was also examined. We constructed a GLUT12 cDNA containing a c-Myc epitope tag in the fifth exofacial loop. Assays of glucose transport at the apical membrane were performed using Transwell filters. By comparing transport assays in the presence of neutralizing anti-c-Myc monoclonal antibody, we specifically measured GLUT12-mediated glucose transport at the apical surface. GLUT12-mediated glucose transport was mitogen dependent and rapamycin sensitive. Our results implicate mTOR signaling in a novel pathway of glucose transporter protein targeting and glucose transport. Activity of the mTOR pathway has been associated with diabetic kidney disease. Our results provide evidence for a link between GLUT12 protein trafficking, glucose transport and signaling molecules central to the control of metabolic disease processes.
Rhythmic Expression of Functional MT1 Melatonin Receptors in the Rat Adrenal Gland
Authors: Richter Hans G. , Torres-Farfan Claudia , Garcia-Sesnich Jocelyn , Abarzua-Catalan Lorena , Henriquez Mauricio G. , Alvarez-Felmer Mauro , Gaete Fernando , Rehren German E. , Seron-Ferre Maria
Published: November 2007

We previously demonstrated that melatonin is involved in the regulation of adrenal glucocorticoid production in diurnal primates through activation of MT1 membrane-bound melatonin receptors. However, whether melatonin has a similar role in nocturnal rodents remains unclear. Using an integrative approach, here we show that the adult rat adrenal gland expresses a functional MT1 melatonin receptor in a rhythmic fashion. We found that: 1) expression of the cognate mRNA encoding for the MT1 membrane-bound melatonin receptor, displaying higher levels in the day/night transition (1800–2200 h); 2) expression of the predicted 37-kDa MT1 polypeptide in immunoblots from adrenals collected at 2200 h but not 1000 h; 3) no expression of the MT2 melatonin receptor mRNA and protein; 4) specific high-affinity 2-[125I]iodomelatonin binding in membrane fractions and frozen sections from adrenals collected at 2200 h but not 0800 h (dissociation constant = 14.22 ± 1.23 pm; maximal binding capacity = 0.88 ± 0.02 fmol/mg protein); and 5) in vitro clock time-dependent inhibition of ACTH-stimulated corticosterone production by 1–100 nm melatonin, which was reversed by 1 μm luzindole (a melatonin membrane receptor antagonist). Our findings indicate not only expression but also high amplitude diurnal variation of functional MT1 melatonin receptors in the rat adrenal gland. It is conceivable that plasma melatonin may play a role to fine-tune corticosterone production in nocturnal rodents, probably contributing to the down slope of the corticosterone rhythm.
A Tensor Sum Preconditioner for Stochastic Automata Networks
Authors: Touzene Abderezak
Published: November 2007

Stochastic automata networks (SANs) have gained great interest within the performance-modeling community because of their natural ability to capture parallel and distributed activities. SANs and the related concept of stochastic process algebra are advantageous because they keep the transition matrix in a compact form called the SAN descriptor. Several iterative and projection methods have been tested for SANs. Some preconditioners for SANs have been developed to speed up the convergence. Recently, Langville and Stewart [Langville, A., W. Stewart. 2004. A Kronecker product approximate preconditioner for SANs. Numer. Linear Algebra Appl. 11 723–752] proposed the nearest Kronecker product (NKP) preconditioner for SANs with great success. Encouraged by their work, we propose a new preconditioning method, called the tensor sum preconditioner (TSP), which uses a tensor sum preconditioner rather than a Kronecker product preconditioner. In TSP, we take into account as much as possible the effect of synchronization using term grouping, factorizations, and approximation techniques. We conducted an experimental study to compare our TSP with the NKP preconditioner, and the results show that TSP outperformed NKP on both the number of iterations and the execution time.
Research Note—The Impact of Information Technology Investments and Diversification Strategies on Firm Performance
Authors: Chari Murali D. R. , Devaraj Sarv , David Parthiban
Published: November 2007

As companies continue to make large investments in information technology (IT), questions about how and in what contexts such investments pay off have gained importance. We develop a theoretical framework to explain how IT investments could pay off in the economically significant context of corporate diversification, and empirically find that the performance pay off to IT investments is greater for firms with greater levels of diversification. We also find that the performance payoff to IT investments is greater in related diversification than in unrelated diversification.
The Politics of Quangocide
Authors: Hood Christopher
Published: November 2007

Quangos (a vogue term for central non-departmental bodies) have been one of the growth sectors in British government in recent decades. But the election to office (in 1979) of a Conservative government committed to retrenchment and the curbing of quangos might lead us to expect ‘quangocide’ – a massacre of quangos. What actually took place in the review of non-departmental bodies announced in January 1980 was nothing of the kind. Rather, it amounted to a combination of cuts in future spending, personnel changes, a degree of cosmetic and of ‘politically selective’ surgery, and a degree of rather weak ‘medicine’. On past evidence, quangos seem to be a fairly hardy breed, and the gap between pre-election rhetoric and the realpolitik of actions in office may be explained by the fact that quangos are instruments too useful to politicians of any colour to be lightly discarded.
An Examination of Equity in the Administration of the Attendance Allowance
Authors: Bradshaw Jonathan , Lawton Dorothy
Published: November 2007

Data on families with very severely handicapped children are subjected to multivariate analysis in an attempt to examine whether decisions on claims for the attendance allowance are made equitably. The disability and handicap of the child as well as some socio-demographic characteristics of the families are considered. Reservations are made about the measures and techniques used in the analysis but some inconsistencies in decision making are noted.
Transport Policy in Britain and the Soviet Union: A Political Paradox
Authors: Crouch Martin
Published: November 2007

Popular images of political systems can often be appropriately reinforced by specific case studies. But not always. This is an attempt to illustrate the fact that such imagescan be inappropriate, with a comparative case study of British and Soviet transport policy. The ‘totalitarian’ image of the Soviet political system, with all that this implies in terms of autocracy, central direction of state power and a controlling ideology, is well enough established. Equally clear is the converse image of modem British government as democratic, open, pluralist, often to the extent of being unnecessarily buffeted by pressure groups and dominated, in consequence, by decision making of an ad hoc and incremental kind.

The concern of this study is to show that, in at least the field of road passenger transport policy, these images are far from accurate. Indeed, paradoxically, it may be that they are applied precisely the wrong way round; that Soviet policy making towards road passenger transport is characterised by irnmobilism and ad hocery, while, as the 1980 Transport Act shows, in Britain the executive can be relatively singleminded enough to disregard powerful state and other established interests in the legislativeprocess. Let us take the Soviet case first.
Strategic Planning: Metaphor or Method?
Authors: Solesbury William
Published: November 2007

The term ‘strategy’ is now inescapably fixed in the vocabulary of politics. No manifesto, statement of public policy or policy analysis is complete without it. Political parties develop vote-winning strategies, governments commit themselves to industrial strategies, environmental strategies or health strategies, analysts urge the adoption of more strategic approaches to the resolution of political issues.

Nor is this just rhetoric. In the last decade or so public authorities of many kinds have engaged in strategic policy making or planning. The practice has become regarded as a proper part of management responsibility. Planning units have been established in many organisations, systematic procedures for strategic monitoring and review have been widely produced. The practice of strategic planning has become sufficiently widespread and sufficiently significant in the public sector to enable and merit some examination.

The concept of strategy, and the distinction between it and tactics, is military in its origin and developed through the 19th century. The most widely accepted military definition is that strategy is the means of bringing forces into contact with the enemy while tactics is the means of defeating him in battle.
The Development of Equal Opportunities Theory and Practice in the European Community
Authors: Cunningham Susan
Published: November 2007

This article examines the development of equal opportunities policies and practice within the EC since 1975. There is a comparative focus on policies relating to women, race and disability within the framework of a concept of equality of opportunity as a primary right. It is demonstrated that equal opportunities policy has developed most strongly in relation to women and represents the model for implementation. Action in respect of race and disability is less advanced. Overall, current equal opportunities policy is now more radical in its approach, but its implementation is hampered by the operation of the subsidiarity principle. It is the central contention of this article that unless equality of opportunity is recognised as a primary right then the policies followed will never go far enough to fulfil the basic social objectives of the EC.
Dendritic Cell Populations in Colon and Mesenteric Lymph Nodes of Patients With Crohn's Disease
Authors: Verstege Marleen I. , Kate Fiebo J. W. ten , Reinartz Susanne M. , Drunen Cornelis M. van , Slors Frederik J. M. , Bemelman Willem A. , Vyth-Dreese Florry A. , Velde Anje A. te
Published: November 2007

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key cells in innate and adaptive immune responses that determine the pathophysiology of Crohn's disease. Intestinal DCs migrate from the mucosa into mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs). A number of different markers are described to define the DC populations. In this study we have identified the phenotype and localization of intestinal and MLN DCs in patients with Crohn's disease and non-IBD patients based on these markers. We used immunohistochemistry to demonstrate that all markers (S-100, CD83, DC-SIGN, BDCA1-4, and CD1a) showed a different staining pattern varying from localization in T-cell areas of lymph follicles around blood vessels or single cells in the lamina propria and in the MLN in the medullary cords and in the subcapsular sinuses around blood vessels and in the T-cell areas. In conclusion, all different DC markers give variable staining patterns so there is no marker for the DC.
Immunocytochemistry and Laser Capture Microdissection for Real-time Quantitative PCR Identify Hindbrain Neurons Activated by Interaction Between Leptin and Cholecystokinin
Authors: Williams Diana L. , Schwartz Michael W. , Bastian L. Scot , Blevins James E. , Baskin Denis G.
Published: November 2007

Current evidence suggests that leptin reduces food intake in part by enhancing the hindbrain neuronal response to meal-related gastrointestinal signals, including cholecystokinin (CCK), but the phenotypes of the relevant cells are not known. To identify neurons that participate in this interaction in the rat nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), we induced c-Fos gene expression in NTS neurons with leptin and CCK. We focused on NTS catecholamine neurons because these cells have been implicated in the feeding response to CCK. Hindbrain sections from rats that received CCK with or without leptin pretreatment were immunostained for c-Fos and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) by a double immunofluorescence procedure. Leptin pretreatment increased the number of NTS cells expressing c-Fos-like immunoreactivity (cFLI) 3-fold relative to CCK alone, but the number of TH-positive cells with cFLI was increased 6-fold. Next, cells detected by immunofluorescence for TH were collected by laser capture microdissection and pooled for real-time quantitative PCR of c-Fos mRNA. Here, neither leptin nor CCK alone affected the relative amount of mRNA in the TH cell–enriched samples, but leptin plus CCK substantially increased c-Fos mRNA content. These histochemical findings identify hindbrain catecholamine cells as potential mediators of the interaction between leptin and CCK.
Ontogeny and nutritional programming of mitochondrial proteins in the ovine kidney, liver and lung
Authors: Yakubu D P , Mostyn A , Hyatt M A , Kurlak L O , Budge H , Stephenson T , Symonds M E
Published: November 2007

This study investigated the developmental and nutritional programming of two important mitochondrial proteins, namely voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) and cytochrome c, in the sheep kidney, liver and lung. The effect of maternal nutrient restriction between early and mid-gestation (i.e. 28- to 80-day gestation, the period of maximal placental growth) on the abundance of these proteins was also examined in fetal and juvenile offspring. Fetuses were sampled at 80 and 140 days of gestation (term ~147 days), and postnatal animals at 1 and 30 days and 6 months of age. The abundance of VDAC peaked at 140 days of gestation in the lung, compared with 1 day after birth in the kidney and liver, whereas cytochrome c abundance was greatest at 140 days of gestation in the liver, 1 day after birth in the kidney and 6 months of age in lungs. This differential ontogeny in mitochondrial protein abundance between tissues was accompanied with very different tissue-specific responses to changes in maternal food intake. In the liver, maternal nutrient restriction only increased mitochondrial protein abundance at 80 days of gestation, compared with no effect in the kidney. In contrast, in the lung mitochondrial protein, abundance was raised near to term, whereas VDAC abundance was decreased by 6 months of age. These findings demonstrate the tissue-specific nature of mitochondrial protein development that reflects differences in functional adaptation after birth. The divergence in mitochondrial response between tissues to maternal nutrient restriction early in pregnancy further reflects these differential ontogenies.
Pharmacokinetics of Oral Posaconazole in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients with Graft‐versus‐Host Disease
Authors: Krishna Gopal , Martinho Monika , Chandrasekar Pranatharthi , Ullmann Andrew J. , Patino Hernando
Published: November 2007

Study Objective. To analyze the pharmacokinetics of posaconazole administered as prophylaxis for invasive fungal infections in recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs) who have graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD).

Design. Pharmacokinetic analysis in a subset of posaconazole‐treated patients from a large, multicenter, phase III, randomized, double‐blind, double‐dummy, parallel‐group trial that compared posaconazole with fluconazole.

Setting. Ninety international medical centers.

Patients. The subset of patients comprised 246 HSCT recipients for whom pharmacokinetic data were available.

Intervention. All patients received posaconazole 200 mg oral suspension 3 times/day for a maximum of 16 weeks.

Measurements and Main Results. Blood samples were collected after dosing on day 2; at weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12; and on the last day of oral treatment. After patients had received posaconazole for at least 7 days (i.e., after achieving steady state), both maximum observed posaconazole concentration (Cmax) and average posaconazole concentration (Cav) were determined. Five patients developed invasive fungal infections while receiving treatment. Median Cav and Cmax were 611 and 635 ng/ml, respectively, in these five patients and were 922 and 1360 ng/ml, respectively, in the 241 patients without invasive fungal infection. In patients without invasive fungal infection, posaconazole concentrations were not clinically affected by race, body weight, or age. Median plasma posaconazole concentrations were higher in patients with chronic GVHD than in those with acute GVHD. In 18 patients without invasive fungal infection who experienced diarrhea on the day of sampling, posaconazole concentrations were lower than the concentrations in patients without diarrhea. No relationship was observed between alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, or bilirubin levels and posaconazole concentrations.

Conclusion. Posaconazole 200 mg 3 times/day resulted in median plasma drug concentrations sufficiently high to prevent invasive fungal infections in HSCT recipients with GVHD, without compromising patient safety. Plasma posaconazole concentrations are generally unaffected by demographic variables, including race, sex, body weight, and age.
Solution of mathematical models by localization
Authors: Stankovic Bogoljub
Published: November 2007

A definition of the Laplace transform of elements of D'?(?) of a subspace of distributions is given which can successfully be ap?plied to solve in a prescribed domain linear equations with derivatives, par?tial derivatives fractional derivatives and convolutions, all with initial or boundary conditions, regardless of the existence of classical or generalized solutions.
An extension on Trilinear Hilbert transform
Authors: Buckovska Aneta
Published: November 2007

The Trilinear Hilbert transform H: Lp x Lq x A -> Lr is extended to DLp x DLq x DA -> DLr -> as a continuous mapping.
Asymptotics of some classes of nonoscillatory solutions of second-order half-linear differential equations
Authors: Takasi Kusano , Maric Vojislav , Tanigawa Tomoyuki
Published: November 2007

The precise asymptotic behaviour at infinity of some classes of nonoscillatory solutions of the half-linear differential equations is determined.
On the compressed elastic rod with rotary inertia on a viscoelastic
Authors: Stankovic B. , Atanackovic T.M.
Published: November 2007

We study transversal vibrations of an elastic axially compressed rod on a fractional derivative type of viscoelastic foundation. We assume that the axial force has a constant and a time dependent part given by Dirac distributions. The dynamics of the system is described by a system of two partial differential equations, having integer and fractional derivatives. The solution of this system is obtained in the space of distributions and its asymptotic behavior is investigated. It is shown that the foundation increases the stability bound. AMS Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 74H45.
On a model equation that reflects some of the shear flow hydrodynamic stability properties
Authors: Djordjevic V.D.
Published: November 2007

A model equation is proposed in the paper that mimics some of the shear flow hydrodynamic stability properties. It contains the basic velocity profile which can be arbitrarily chosen, and a nonlinear term, whose form can be appropriately adjusted to any particular problem. Full linear and weakly nonlinear theories for the Bickley jet velocity profile are elaborated. The solution of the linear problem is obtained in terms of associated Legendre functions. Within the weakly nonlinear theory a Landau equation is derived that describes the evolution of the perturbations near the critical wave number. The conditions for supercritical stability and subcritical instability are revealed. AMS Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 76E05, 76E30.
Inequalities between distance-based graph polynomials
Authors: Gutman I. , Miljkovic Olga , Zhou B. , Petrovic M.
Published: November 2007

In a recent paper [ I. Gutman, Bull. Acad. Serbe Sci. Arts (Cl. Math. Natur) 131 (2005) 1-7], the Hosoya polynomial H = H(G,?) of a graph G, and two related distance-based polynomials H1 = H1(G, ?) and H2 = H2(G, ?) were examined. We now show that max-?H1 - ?2H, ?H1 - ?2H} ? H2 ? ?H1 - ??H holds for all graphs G and for all ? ? 0, where ? and ? are the smallest and greatest vertex degree in G. The answer to the question which of the terms ?H1 -?2H and ?H1 -?2H is greater, depends on the graph G and on the value of the variable ?. We find a number of particular solutions of this problem. AMS Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 05C12, 05C05.
Generalized solutions to singular initial-boundary hyperbolic problems with non-Lipshitz nonlinearities
Authors: Kmit Irina
Published: November 2007

We prove the existence and uniqueness of global generalized solutions in a Colombeau algebra of generalized functions to semilinear hyperbolic systems with nonlinear boundary conditions. Our analysis covers the case of non-Lipschitz nonlinearities both in the differential equations and in the boundary conditions. We admit strong singularities in the differential equations as well as in the initial and boundary conditions. AMS Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 35L50, 35L67, 35D05.
Defining political community
Authors: Sladecek Michal
Published: November 2007

This paper considers the concept of political community, its constitution and value. The starting point is that the concept of community is not sufficiently recognized in modern political theories, as well as in contemporary liberal theory. In the last two decades communitarian and republican political theory attempted to revitalize this notion. The first part of the paper elaborates on the polemics between these three theoretical orientations. The concluding part examines the possibilities and prospect for stable political community in conditions of pluralism of particular social communities and ethnocultural heterogeneity.
Being and responsibility
Authors: Lausevic Savo
Published: November 2007

Drawing on Levinas, the author seeks to explore the question of being and responsibility, as a relation between ontology and ethics, from the perspective of a meta-position that would enable a critique of the classical West European ontological tradition with its strongly cosmocentric, anthropocentric, and egocentric character. The main purpose of the paper is to examine whether there is in West European thought a possibility to found the ethics of responsibility on overcoming the ontology of being. More precisely, the author seeks to show that in contemporary Western philosophy the significance and validity of the classical ontological principle are declining when it gets separated from the ethos of philosophy itself. Moreover, a gradual shift from the impersonal being to the ontology of the personality takes place. This ontology of the personality is grounded in the Other. It withdraws from the game of consciousness which represents being. The personality thus understood, in Levinas' words, carries within itself vested responsibility, because in the personality there lie the infinite and transcendence.
Philosophiam profiteri or on Derrida's "declarative engagement"
Authors: Savic Mile
Published: November 2007

In this paper the author reconstructs the meaning of Derrida's concept of "declarative engagement". He shows that Derrida revives the modern idea of the "engaged intellectual" and even develops it in a radical, prophetic/messianic form. The final consequence of such a position, in the opinion of the author, is a paradoxical coupling of political decisionism with social escapism, which renews in a specific way the nostalgia for the "heroic role" of the Marxist intellectual vanguard. This is a major reason for Derrida's popularity in Serbia, it is argued, but can also be taken as the starting point for an analysis of the problem of responsibility of engaged intellectuals.
Ideas and strategies of discursive equalization of life and death
Authors: Djeric Gordana
Published: November 2007

By analyzing discursive equalization of the categories of life and death in different spoken and written genres in the 1990s, the author uncovers a number of ideas and strategies around which the discourses guided by this phenomenon are structured. The first part of the paper is aimed at understanding the relation of these categories in Serbian folk culture and possible influences of the latter on recent articulations of the examined phenomenon. In the second part of the paper the central ideas of the phenomenon are identified. These refer to the survival of the nation, "not betraying the ancestors", and ethnic territorialization. From the analysis of different spoken and written genres the conclusion may be derived that the "cancellation of boundaries" between the extremely opposed categories of life and death is made possible by the following discursive strategies: 1. "non-existification", 2. collective individualization, 3. vitalization, 4. mortification, and 5. various combination of the foregoing strategies. .
Kantovo shvatanje uma
Authors: Kindjic Zoran
Published: November 2007

(nemacki) Der Verfasser befasst sich zuerst mit den theoretischen und gesellschaftlich - geschichtlichen Voraussetzungen der Konzeption der Vernunft Kants. Kants Auseinandersetzung mit dem Problem der Metaphysik, wie auch die Aufgaben einer philosophischen Begr?ndung der Wissenschaft und einer Grundlegend der Ethik, haben die Einf?hrung eines Unterschieds zwischen Verstand und Vernunft, Kategorien und Ideen, bzw. der theoretischen und der praktischen Sph?re bedingt. Nach einer Betrachtung der Konstitution Rolle des Verstandes und des Regulativen Gebrauchs der Ideen in der theoretischen Sph?re untersuchte der Autor Kants Auffassung ?ber die Konsumtion Rolle der Vernunft in der praktischen Sph?re. Sich auf seine Lehre vom Primat der praktischen ?ber die theoretischen Vernunft, bzw. vom Primat der Moralit?t ?ber die Wissenschaft st?tzend, stellt der Verfasser fest, dass f?r eine Zivilisieren der Verstand gen?gt, aber f?r eine Moralisieren die Vernunft unentbehrlich ist. Bei seiner Betrachtung von Kants Versuch der ?berbr?ckung des Abgrunds zwischen Natur und Freiheit durch die Einf?hrung der reflektierenden Urteilskraft, verweist der Autor auf eine ?hnlichkeit zwischen der Vernunft und der reflektierenden Urteilskraft bez?glich ihrer Regulativen Rolle in der theoretischen Erkenntnis. Die Untersuchung des Verh?ltnisses zwischen Natur und Vernunft in der Philosophie von Kant, wie auch die Konfrontation der Konzeptionen der Vernunft von Kant und Hegel bietet die Voraussetzungen f?r das Verstehen eines ambivalenten Verh?ltnisses des K?nigsberg Denkers zur Revolution. Nach einer ?berpr?fung des Urteils von Lukacs ?ber Kant als einem typischen Vertreter des b?rgerlichen Denkens, er?rtert der Verfasser am Ende der Studie, ob uns Kants Philosophie helfen kann, die Krise zu ?berwinden, in der sich die Menschheit heute befindet. .
Socialist realism and Sreten Maric
Authors: Boskovic Dusan
Published: November 2007

In histories of Serbian painting Sreten Maric is listed among the protagonists of socialist realism, and that on the basis of a single article - his criticism of an exhibition staged by the Association of Visual Artists of Serbia to the benefit of wounded veterans (the exhibition was opened in Belgrade in late 1944, and the article was published in the Christmas 1945 issue of ?Politika?). Without denying the historical basis for this judgment, the author of the present paper pleads for a more nuance approach and propounds the thesis that socialist realism was primarily a complex pattern of social relations, and only in the second place a substantively defined doctrine. On the basis of an insight into the relevant sources it is argued that Maric was not a theorist of socialist realism; on the other hand, an ideologue of social painting he was indeed, believing in a synthesis of Art and Revolution. By way of comparison, the figures of Miroslav Krleza and Georg Luk?cs are referred to: neither of the two was a protagonist of socialist realism, though both belonged firmly to the so-called leftist thought.
Robert Nozick: Utopia in libertarian perspective
Authors: Sládecek Michal
Published: November 2007

The author first looks at how the basic tenets of libertarianism, as presented in the opening chapters of Nozick?s ?Anarchy, State and Utopia?, are connected with the idea of community. In the second section Nozick?s own conception of utopia and voluntary associations is discussed. In the closing section various critiques of this libertarian conception are analyzed. Though compatible with social co-operation, Nozick?s position rests on an indeterminate concept of rights and is incapable of explaining adequately the relations of mutual connectedness, i.e. community. Communities are treated as selfsufficient entities in a way that is in line with the communitarian standpoint, but incongruent with the republican model of integration. The latter objection refers especially to the conflict of loyalties to particular associations and to the ?framework community?.
Influence of transition features on gender relations in Serbia
Authors: Micunovic Natalija
Published: November 2007

The importance of male dominance in the scientific community is no strange to us all. Science, as a source of respected and influential information is a staunchly guarded male domain for millennia. What is specific for our time and place (the umber global zing beginning of the third millennium and a country in transition from post communism to yet to be determined brand of capitalism) is the nervousness with which female presence is accepted. It is also the time of great changes in the axis of power, and the struggle for control is very aggressive. What is even more so in Serbia and Montenegro one of the pieces of ruins of the late SFRJ, is that the dysfunction of the war and sanctions brought about more inequality than before. And science is a field of professional achievement with slow and uncertain rewards, vast investment of time, effort and funds, for a career that is beneficial more to vanity than to the bank account. Women are seen as frivolous when they devote a huge amount of work and other resources to self-improvement and personal achievement and not to the comfort of the immediate family.
Bolonjski projekt - transformacija akademskog polja
Authors: Biresev Ana
Published: November 2007

(francuski)Dans cet article l?auteur situe le sujet de sa recherche et donne un aper?u des th?ories dominantes qui examinent le processus de la transformation du champ acad?mique dans les pays ayant adh?r? ? la D?claration de Bologne, aussi bien que des th?ories qui peuvent contribuer ? expliquer l??tat actuel du champ de l?enseignement sup?rieur. L??laboration de ce sujet a pour son but principal la construction d?un instrument analytique ad?quat pour la conceptualisation et la recherche sur la r?forme du syst?me de l?enseignement sup?rieur. Une attention particuli?re sera consacr?e ? l?analyse du champ acad?mique en Serbie.
Why still critique
Authors: Krstic Predrag
Published: November 2007

This paper is attempting to mark dilemmas, de-montage and pre-composition of philosophy that have been noticeable in its self-understanding, for the past few decades. As an answer to the cardinal question, three different and competing strands have been singled out - suggested and represented by Adorno, Habermas and Rorty - where the philosophy believes it could continue to appear. It has been detected, however, that the problem of survival and legitimisation of critique in modern philosophy has been, at first, identified with the question of survival of philosophy itself. Philosophy that has found itself on defense, but without loosing all illusions regarding its mission, it seems to see its last retreat and safe resort in the critical function of philosophy, traditionally understood as continual search for the truth. Nevertheless, politically situated, des-invested, even renouncing that enlightenment figure it seems that for the philosophical theory - more or less transformed - there is still place for autonomous action that is not without direct social consequences. .
What did he actually say? About translation as politics and interpretation in factual literature
Authors: Eggen Jo
Published: November 2007

Twenty years ago, Slobodan Milosevic uttered a sentence which was afterwards repeated in the literature about the Yugoslav tragedy innummerable times. The sentence "Niko ne sme da vas bije" was directed to the Serb demonstrators in Kosovo. In this text, the author analyzes the ways this sentence was translated in factional literature (non-fiction literature: essays, newspaper article, history, biographies etc.) and shows that different versions, apart from being different lexically and semantically, influence the political interpretation and understanding of the Yugoslav conflict. This text poses another, maybe even more important question: are unprecise and wrong translations of Milosevic's words a proof of what Georg Johannesen claimed - that faction is fiction. .
Souveränität, pseudo-souveränität, protektionat: am beispiel der staaten im ehemaligen Jugoslawien
Authors: Bojanic Petar
Published: November 2007

(nemacki) Was ist vom Begriff der "Souver?nit?t" geblieben, mit anderen Worten: ist es nach der Schaffung einer Vielzahl kleiner souver?ner Staaten in Osteuropa noch m?glich, ?ber die Figur des Souver?ns zu sprechen? Was ist ein Staat sofern er kein Souver?n ist bzw. sofern er nur teilweise ein Souver?n ist? Wieviel Souver?nit?t bedarf es (ist es m?glich, die Souver?nit?t zu messen?) damit ein Staat wirklich souver?n ist? Verhandelt der Internationale Gerichtshof f?r Kriegsverbrechen, die innerhalb des ehemaligen Jugoslawien begangen wurden, de facto die Folgen jener Verbrechen, die die Grundlage der Souver?nit?t und der Unabh?ngigkeit aller dieser neuen kleinen Staaten liegen, w?hrend er de iure auf einer rein pers?nlichen Verantwortlichkeit insistiert? Die Ausf?hrungen versuchen, eine der grundlegenden Aporien der internationalen Rechts zu problematisieren, die - von Kant bis heute - die Unverletzlichkeit der Souver?nit?t eines Staates und, im selben Moment, das Recht auf humanit?re Intervention und auf pr?ventive Gewalt betrifft.
Paleomagnetism of the Late Paleogene and Neogene rocks of the Serbian Carpatho-Balkanides: Tectonic implications
Authors: Marovic Milun , Djokovic Ilija , Milicevic Vlada , Toljic Marinko , Gerzina Natasa
Published: November 2007

This paper focuses on results of the paleomagnetic research conducted in the territory of Serbian Carpatho-Balkanides, within the following basinal domains: Babusnica-Koritnik (the Oligocene deposits), Zagubica (the upper part of the Lower Miocene and the lower part of the Middle Miocene deposits) and Dacian (the Pontian deposits). The clockwise rotations are established for each basinal region: Babusnica-Koritnik 10?, Zagubica 5-10? and Dacia 5-20?. On the basis of these results and the available data on rotations in the Romanian Southern Carpathians, new tectonic implications are discussed as a contribution to understanding the genesis of the Paleogene-Neogene and Neogene fabric of the Carpatho-Balkanides in Serbia. It is shown that this region has been subjected not only to vertical, but also to horizontal mobility during the latest stage of its geological development.
Albian-Cenomanian stratigraphic column of Andrici village, Western Serbia
Authors: Banjac Nenad
Published: November 2007

The article summarises results of a stratigraphic research of the Upper Cretaceous sediments at the Andrici Village, Western Serbia. During these investigations, a new locality with Upper Cretaceous exposures was discovered. Several stratigraphic members of secondary order were separated. As these members were not described up to now, their lithological characteristics were presented. Field material from outcrops was collected, and detail stratigraphic columns were observed. By the compilation of the observed data, new facts about stratigraphic position of Cretaceous sediments were established. As a result local stratigraphic column of the wider Andrici Village area was contemplated. Paleofauna specimens described and presented in the paper pointed out Albian to Cenomanian age of the sediments.
The age of geothermal waters of Serbia as an indicator of climatic changes
Authors: Milivojevic Mihailo
Published: November 2007

Climatic changes influence on surface water resources directly and in that way, more or less, more quickly or more slowly, by means of waterfalls, the quantity and quality of ground waters or hydrogeological resources, namely their sustenation. The conclusion about the influence of climatic changes on ground waters can be drawn on the basis of isotope research (2H, 14C) by means of which their origin and age are determined most reliably. Present investigation results of the origin and age of ground water resources at the most famous hydrogeothermal regions, as well as the sustenance forecast of their quality and reserves depending on still existing and future climatic changes will be shown in this paper.
Lithostratigraphy, depositional history and sea level changes of the Cauvery Basin, southern India
Authors: Muthuvairvasamy Ramkumar , Stüben Doris , Berner Zsolt
Published: November 2007

The sedimentary sequence exposed in the erstwhile Tiruchirapalli district hosts a more or less complete geological record of the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary period. Systematic field mapping, collation of data on the micro-meso scale lithology, sedimentary structures, petrography, faunal assemblage and facies relationships of these rocks, in the light of modern stratigraphic concepts, helped to enumerate the lithostratigraphic setup and depositional history of the basin. Spatial and temporal variations of the lithologies and revised stratigraphic units are presented in this paper. Many high frequency sea level cycles (presumably fourth or higher order) which stack up to form third order sea level cycles (six in number), which in turn form part of second order cycles (two in number), including seven eustatic sea level peaks, have been recorded in this basin. Trend analysis of sea level curves indicates a gradual increase of the sea level from Barremian to Coniacian and a gradual decrease from Coniacian to Danian. Such lasting sea level trends had their influence on the sedimentation pattern and facies association. It is inferred that depositional bathymetry was maintained at a shallow-moderate level, primarily influenced by a lack of major subsidence during the depositional history of this basin. The study also revealed a prevalent simple basin filling process and dominant control by sea level changes, rather than tectonic movements over the depositional regime.
Stratigraphy and lithology of the loess deposits in eastern Srem, Serbia
Authors: Nenadic Drazenko , Simic Vladimir
Published: November 2007

Eolian loess sediments in the eastern Srem area, the youngest Pleistocene deposits, occur either as a loess plateau, or as a slope-type of loess, formed on the slopes of the Fruska Gora mountain. Lithological, sedimentological, and mineralogical characteristics of these sediments, which were studied from several common clay deposits and boreholes, demonstrated differences between them and the underlying pre-loess sediments, and supported the stratigraphic division of the Quaternary sediments.
The Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary in the Mezdra and Lyutidol syncline, Vratza District (West-Fore Balkan, Bulgaria)
Authors: Jolkicev Nikola
Published: November 2007

This paper discusses the unjustified assignment (based on calcareous nannofossils) of a large portion of the Maastrichtian strata in the Mezdra and Lyutidol synclines (West Fore Balkan, Bulgaria) to the Paleogene. The co-occurrence of Paleocene nannofossils, reported by some authors, and Maastrichtian macrofossil taxa in these sections indicates diachronism in the appearance of macro- and nannofossils across the K/Pg boundary. Thus, this boundary cannot be precisely localized except if the Maastrichtian fossils are assumed to have been redeposited, but there is no evidence of resedimentation. Maastrichtian macrofossils are found not only within the range of the Paleogene nannofossil zones, but also in sections overlying them in the Kajl?ka Formation where new Maastrichtian macrofossil taxa, such as the echinoid Hemipneustes striatoradiatus (LESKE), appear and some inoceramid and cephalopod taxa range into this unit. These facts shed doubt over the applicability of nannofossils in determining the K/Pg boundary where this has already been firmly documented by macrofauna.