bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The commercial connection
Authors: Abell Angela , Wingar Lucy
Published: August 2005

The increasing dependence of commercial organizations on trading knowledge, and the ability of such organizations to exploit the power of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to shrink and globalize the world, offer considerable opportunities for librarians and information professionals to build successful careers in this field. This article outlines the basic features of the commercial information landscape relevant to librarians and information professionals, including: information supply; partnerships; and information architecture. These major components of the information landscape are considered in terms of some of the short-term challenges involved, including outsourcing and the high expectation of employers. The authors find that librarians and information professionals can find ways to base their careers on the needs of commercial organizations as long as they are able to muster the right mix of skills. Recent research has identified a number of key information skills required for work in the knowledge economy and a large number of specialized roles for librarians and information professionals working in the teams involved, including: chief knowledge officer; content manager; contracts/supply manager; data modellers; Electronic Records and Document Management (EDRM) manager; information architect; internal communications officer; and portal manager. The multi-disciplinary nature and virtual structures involved in such information teams typically require a mix of specialist information and ICT skills, plus expertise in organizational design and human resources, training and development. The article concludes that, if librarians and information professionals can develop the transferable and business skills required to match their professional skills, they are well placed to maximize the opportunities that the commercial sector offers.
Realigning a business information service for future success
Authors: Phillips Stephen
Published: August 2005

This article reviews the some of the pressures that have been felt by the global financial markets over the past ten years, including: the normal recession/boom cycles; the massive growth and sudden collapse of the dotcom boom; the continuing globalization of the world’s financial markets; the financial markets’ own poor market performance (with shareholder discontent in many of the larger institutions); financial institutions’ clients economizing to protect their revenues; the terrorist attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001; the spectacular bankruptcies of Enron and WorldCom (with the spate of new regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act); and legislation against money laundering. These pressures have provided considerable opportunities for information professionals to demonstrate their expertise and become trusted advisers on information management issues to the business at large with tasks that have included: cutting costs; improving profitability; and dealing with the fall-out from the regulatory and legislative impact. The period 2001-2005 has seen an increasing polarization of the activities associated with information management and information supply and this is expected to result in a realignment of information management to the strategic aims of the business and placing information retrieval work onto a more tactical foundation. The author concludes that a new class of information professional will emerge that is capable of understanding the strategic requirements of the business and the large number of factors that shape that strategy.
Media Effects and the Active Elite Audience
Authors: Davis Aeron
Published: August 2005

This article explores the impact of communications on investor behaviour and trading patterns in the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The significance of the work is two-fold. First, for many observers, the wild trading patterns that regularly occur in stock markets suggest the presence of ‘strong’ media effects in action; a finding in conflict with mainstream audience research. Second, the audience investigated is an elite one that most ‘actively’ consumes its media and is rarely observed in studies of media effects. The research thus attempts to identify in what ways the media are implicated in stock market movements and, at the same time, how exactly this active, elite audience makes use of its media. The empirical material presented here is primarily that gained from interviews with elite fund managers at the London Stock Exchange, Europe’s largest financial centre.
Election Campaigning Online
Authors: Schweitzer Eva Johanna
Published: August 2005

This article presents an integrated quantitative analysis of the functional, formal and content-related aspects of German political party websites during the 2002 National Elections. The analysis is guided by the normalization hypothesis of cyberspace, which infers a transfer of ‘real-world’ features of politics to the Internet. Results provide empirical evidence of a limited normalization in German e-campaigning: indeed, German party websites primarily serve information functions while neglecting interactive features. Yet, no overall gap in professionalism is found between major and minor parties analysed. Finally, online campaigning is dominated by a high level of self-referentiality but lacks both the expected degree of personalization and characteristic differences in communication styles between incumbents and challengers.
The Lord of the Rings and ‘Identification’
Authors: Barker Martin J.
Published: August 2005

The concept of ‘identification’ remains a commonly called-upon resource for considering how media audiences might be influenced into taking up moral and cultural positions. Yet very little empirical evidence exists to support its claims; and recent critical conceptual work has significantly undermined many constituent parts of it. This article draws upon the very large data set gathered in the course of the Lord of the Rings international audience research project, to mount critical tests of the concept’s claims. The article then uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence to explore the different bases on which audiences chose nine of the films’ characters as their favourites. An alternative approach to theorizing audience relations to characters is briefly outlined.
Bayesian Hybrid Model-State Estimation Applied to Simultaneous Contact Formation Recognition and Geometrical Parameter Estimation
Authors: Gadeyne K. , Lefebvre T. , Bruyninckx H.
Published: August 2005

In this paper we describe a Bayesian approach to model selection and state estimation for sensor-based robot tasks. The approach is illustrated with a hybrid model-state estimation example from force-controlled autonomous compliant motion: simultaneous (discrete) contact formation recognition and estimation of (continuous) geometrical parameters. Previous research in this area mostly tries to solve one of the two subproblems, or treats the contact formation recognition problem separately, avoiding integration between the solutions to the contact formation recognition and the geometrical parameter estimation problems. A more powerful hybrid model, explicitly modeling contact formation transitions, is developed to deal with larger uncertainties. This paper demonstrates that Kalman filter variants have limits: iterated extended Kalman filters can only handle small uncertainties on the geometrical parameters, while the non-minimal state Kalman filter cannot deal with model selection. Particle filters can handle the increased level of model complexity. Explicit measurement equations for the particle filter are derived from the implicit kinematic and energetic constraints. The experiments prove that the particle filter approach successfully estimates the hybrid joint posterior density of the discrete contact formation variable and the 12-dimensional, continuous geometrical parameter vector during the execution of an assembly task. The problem shows similarities with the well-known problems of data association in simultaneous localization and map-building (SLAM) and model selection in global localization.
Improving Perception in Time-delayed Telerobotics
Authors: Tanner Neal A. , Niemeyer Günter
Published: August 2005

Telerobotics has long struggled to provide realistic force feedback to a user, especially across substantial time delays. Wave variable based controllers provide stable force reflection at frequencies up to a few hertz for typical communication delays; however, the bandwidth of human perception extends to a thousand hertz. In this paper we aim to improve the user’s perception by constructing a fundamentally asymmetric controller that better matches the sensory capabilities of the human operator. The improvements stem from two extensions to a normal wave variable controller. First, we revisit wave reflections and utilize wave filtering and shaping to separate distracting oscillations from useful reaction information. This avoids excess damping inherent to impedance matching and enhances the low-frequency feel of the system. Secondly, we incorporate high-frequency feedback from a force sensor located at the slave end-effector. This augmented system leverages the passivation capabilities of wave filters to compensate for energy generation. It renders the complete spectrum of environment interaction forces to the user, allowing the perception of small environment features across substantial delays. These improvements are tested and validated in three simple experiments on a three-degrees-of-freedom testbed.
Topological Map Merging
Authors: Huang Wesley H. , Beevers Kristopher R.
Published: August 2005

When multiple robots cooperatively explore an environment, maps from individual robots must be merged to produce a single globally consistent map. This is a challenging problem when the robots do not have a common reference frame or global positioning. In this paper, we describe an algorithm for merging embedded topological maps. Topological maps provide a concise description of the navigability of an environment, and, with measurements easily collected during exploration, the vertices of the map can be embedded in a metric space. Our algorithm uses both the structure and the geometry of topological maps to determine the best correspondence between maps with single or multiple overlapping regions. Experiments with simulated and real-world data demonstrate the efficacy of our algorithm.
Study on POM Composites Modified by Ekonol and Lubricant
Authors: Long Chunguang , Hua Manyu
Published: August 2005

Ekonol and solid lubricants (graphite and MoS2) had been used to modify polyoxymethylene (POM). Composites of different Ekonol contents and constant lubricant had been prepared by the Torque Rheometer mixing and compression molding. Their mechanical properties, such as hardness, compressive strength, and impact strength, have been tested. The crystalline features have been studied by DSC, and also the tribological behavior has also been investigated by the friction and wear experiment. The worn surface of the composite has been studied by the SEM technique, and the wear mechanism analyzed. Results show that it is possible to prepare POM-graphite-MoS2-Ekonol composites of relatively high tribology performance and good mechanical properties by the Torque Rheometer mixing and compression molding. The wear mechanism has been changed from adhesion plus plough to fatigue wear plus abrasive wear with the rise of Ekonol content. Graphite and MoS2 can promote the crystallization of POM and enhance its properties.
Mechanical Properties of Hollow Glass Bead-filled ABS Composites
Authors: Liang Ji-Zhao
Published: August 2005

In this article, three types of hollow glass beads (HGB1, HGB2, and HGB3) with different sizes and distribution are used as fillers. HGB1 has a small mean particle diameter and wide distribution, HGB2 has a large diameter and medium distribution, and HGB3 has a medium diameter and narrow distribution. The tensile, notched Charpy impact and flexural properties of HGB-filled acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) composites are measured at room temperature. It has been found that the Young’s modulus increases linearly with increasing volume fraction φf of the fillers. The tensile yield stress and tensile stress at break decrease gently with the increase of φf. For ABS/HGB2 system, the tensile fracture strength energy (Etb) is obviously lower than that of the unfilled ABS. For ABS/HGB1 system, the Etb values are somewhat lower than that of the unfilled ABS. While for ABS/HGB3 system, the Etb values are slightly higher than that of the unfilled ABS. The notched Charpy impact strength decreases quickly at φf≤ 5%, and then decreases gently with increasing (φf). On the other hand, the flexural strength increases at φf≤ 5%, and then it decreases with increasing φf. In general, the effects of filler size and its distribution on these mechanical properties are not significant.
Effect of Talc and Synthetic Sodium Aluminum Silicate (SSAS) on the Properties of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)
Authors: Bose Suryasarathi , Pandey Rachna , Kulkarni M. B. , Mahanwar P. A.
Published: August 2005

The advent of plastics and the wide range of fillers that are available have made modification as precise as the tailored resins themselves. Compounds are prepared from poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and two fillers, talc and synthetic sodium aluminum silicate (SSAS), at varying concentrations (up to 40 wt%). The effects of both the fillers on the mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties, salt spray performance; rheological as well as optical properties of filled PMMA are measured. The impact strength of PMMA increased with increasing concentrations of talc and SSAS up to 20 and 15% loading, respectively, and thereafter declined continuously in both the cases. Increase in impact strength is more in the case of talc-filled PMMA than that of SSAS-filled PMMA. Tensile strength decreased with increasing concentration of both the fillers continuously. The elongation at break decreased drastically for PMMA with increasing concentrations of both the fillers. Electrical properties remained almost unchanged with respect to the concentration of the fillers. The zero shear viscosity increased with increasing concentration of both the fillers, but the rate of increase was more for SSAS than that for talc.
Thermoplastic Composite Cylinders for Underwater Applications
Authors: Davies Peter , Riou Luc , Mazeas Florence , Warnier Philippe
Published: August 2005

A study of thermoplastic matrix composites has been performed to investigate their use in underwater applications such as oceanography, submarine, and sub-sea offshore structures. This article first presents six candidate materials. Results from simple mechanical and seawater aging screening tests on flat specimens are then described. Glass/epoxy and carbon/epoxy composites are used as reference materials. Two materials emerged from this process, glass/PEI and carbon/PEEK. Cylinders of both were manufactured and subjected to hydrostatic pressure tests, and results are compared to those for glass/epoxy and carbon/epoxy cylinders of similar geometry. The carbon/PEEK material appeared most promising. It resisted pressures in excess of 90 MPa and was retained for damage tolerance assessment studies. Drop weight impact damage zones were smaller in carbon/PEEK than carbon/epoxy for the same impact energies but the loss in residual collapse strength was more rapid in the thermoplastic composite. This was attributed to a change in failure mode, impact damage initiated a local buckling failure.
Enhancement of Processability of Rice Husk Filled High-density Polyethylene Composite Profiles
Authors: Panthapulakkal S. , Law S. , Sain M.
Published: August 2005

The effect of coupling agent and processing aid on the performance properties of rice husk filled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites was studied. Composite profiles of HDPE filled with 65% rice husk were extruded using a single screw extruder with die dimensions of 3 8 mm. Processability and performance properties of the composites were highly dependent on the concentration of the coupling agent and processing aid in the composite formulation. Attempt was made to optimize the composite formulation with respect to both coupling agent and processing aid to attain optimum mechanical and water absorption properties with an optimum extrusion rate. Incorporation of a terpolymer (ethylene-acrylic ester-maleic anhydride) based coupling agent enhanced the properties of the composites with a significant reduction in the extrusion rate. Addition of processing aid enhanced the extrusion rate and showed a negative impact on the performance properties. Composites with a coupling agent to processing aid ratio of 0.73: 0.59 by weight showed an optimum combination of performance properties and extrusion rate.
Career Barriers Among Native American Students Living on Reservations
Authors: Hoffmann Laura L. , Jackson Aaron P. , Smith Steven A.
Published: August 2005

Patterns of educational achievement and employment indicate that Native American students face considerable barriers to career development. This is particularly true for those who live on reservations. This study used a hermeneutic analysis of qualitative interview data to identify and describe these barriers from the perspective of 29 Native American students in reservation secondary schools. Themes related to the barriers faced by these students are described and discussed.
A Comparison of Career Counseling Provided by Master’s and Doctoral Counselors
Authors: Stewart Alan E.
Published: August 2005

A survey of master’s- and doctoral-level practitioners is conducted to explore the current trends in career counseling practice. Master’s practitioners( n = 151) report significantly larger career counseling caseloads than do doctoral clinicians ( n = 150). Respondents who report an exclusive emphasis on career counseling consist almost entirely of master’s practitioners working from person-centered or cognitive-behavioral perspectives; no respondent reports using a specific career counseling theory. In responding to a career counseling case study, master’s practitioners desire additional information about the client’s personality and career values. Doctoral respondents desire additional family information about the client.
The Effect of the Learning Process in Concurrent Engineering Projects
Authors: Kara Sami , Kayis Berman
Published: August 2005

Product development projects have evolved from the traditional sequential process into Concurrent Engineering (CE), which is known for its ability to reduce product development time and cost, while increasing quality. CE achieves this by overlapping the activities and executing them in parallel, which in return significantly increases iterations. The number of iterations largely depends on uncertainties in the process and learning occurs during the subsequent iterations. In this article, the effect of learning on CE projects is presented. First, the modeling of the activity structure, activity overlapping, and iterations are explained in a CE environment. Then a simulation model, which is developed by using the Arena Simulation package, is presented to test the effect of the learning process in CE projects. The simulation model developed is used to test five well-known learning theories through an extensive amount of data gathered from an industry-based project. The results suggest that all the learning models show similar behavior in terms of number of iterations required for the ultimate learning once their maximum value is reached.
An Integrated Approach to Manufacturing Process Design and Costing
Authors: Grewal S. , Choi C. K.
Published: August 2005

In order to accurately cost the new product manufacture, and to assess a ‘what if ’ scenario in a rapid manner, requires an information system which can integrate the process design data for part manufacture and assembly with the organization’s business data. This article describes the development of such an information system, with a focus on the data model and the user interface design underpinning its operation, the benefits it has provided to the industry, and its usefulness as a teaching aid in the universities.
Improving the use of QFD with Axiomatic Design
Authors: Gonçalves-Coelho António M. , Mourão António J. F. , Pereira Zulema L.
Published: August 2005

Concurrent engineering employs a set of functional disciplines to simultaneously perform the tasks that lead to a product satisfying a list of customer needs. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a methodology that has been broadly used to listen to the voice of the customer. This article intends to improve the use of QFD in concurrent engineering by adoption of axiomatic design (AD) principles, namely the independence of functional requirements and the hierarchical decomposition following a zigzag path. The conclusion is that the inclusion of these AD concepts avoids multilevel iterations in the QFD approach, which can significantly reduce the lead time and costs.
Managing and Organizing Concurrent Processes According to the CMM Levels
Authors: David Michael , Idelmerfaa Zahra , Richard Jacques
Published: August 2005

Research for reduced lead time and cost in concurrent process development (CPD) becomes crucial in new work organizations. Today, the concurrent processes involve more and more activities and work groups which must be efficiently coordinated. In this article, the authors propose a framework for structuring concurrent activities in order to improve the global performance (lead time, workload, risks, etc.). Many research works aim at proposing methods for management and control of concurrent development activities, but these methods are often ‘isolated’ and specific to an activity. There is no global solution that covers the entire development process and the set of related management and organizational activities. In this article, the authors used the SEI’s (Software Engineering Institute) CMM (Capability Maturity Model) as a guideline to define an approach for the management and the control of a set of concurrent development activities. According to the CMM levels, the proposed approach is decomposed into four improvement steps that direct the organization’s focus to manage its organizational development process. The first step applies basic project management methods to decompose and to schedule a process into several work groups. The second step addresses activities such as controlling the size of the obtained work groups, and characterizing each actor in a group. In the third step, a model based on the work transformation matrix (WTM) is proposed for the performance estimation of an organization. The last level aims at continually optimizing the organizational processes. For this purpose, models for sequential and parallel execution of processes are proposed and compared.
Dynamic Response of Sandwich Plates to Medium-velocity Impact
Authors: Suvorov Alexander P. , Dvorak George J.
Published: August 2005

Overall and local deflections of a single span of a continuous sandwich plate are evaluated under local contacts with a rigid indenter, at relative velocities of 10 and 20 m/s (20-40 knots), to simulate the effect of impacts that can be applied to ship sandwich structures by floating objects or moorings. Laminated carbon-vinyl ester face sheets and a H100 PVC foam core, possibly separated from the impacted face sheet by a stiff and ductile polyurethane (PUR) interlayer, comprise the sandwich plate. As in our previous study of the effect of quasi-static contacts (Suvorov, A.P. and Dvorak, G.J. (2005). Protection of Sandwich Plates from Low Velocity Impact, Journal of Composite Materials (to appear)), the focus is on the evaluation of contact forces and deflections of the face sheet and foam core interface, and on the membrane or in-plane strains in the face sheet at the contact point. These quantities are well-known potential sources of damage, causing core crushing, and face sheet delamination and/or penetration. As expected, the results show that the magnitudes of these quantities depend on both the distance of the contact point from the nearest support, and on the initial velocity of the indenter of a given mass. Both local face sheet deflections and core interface indentations are high if the impact point is within a distance from a support that is equal to 2-3 times the total sandwich plate thickness; significantly lower values are found at more distant contact points. These deflections are much reduced by replacing the foam core with an aluminum honeycomb in the supported region of the plate. However, this reinforcement elevates both the contact force and the in-plane strain in the face sheet. Therefore, thickening of the exposed face sheets should be considered around supports. Most of the kinetic energy is absorbed by the core, hence addition of the stiff and ductile PUR interlayer does not have as much effect on the results as it had in quasi-static contact.
Material Selection Considerations for Polymer Composite Structures in Naval Ship Applications
Authors: Vallbo S.
Published: August 2005

The flexibility in the material selection for polymer composite sandwich structures in naval ship applications provides opportunities to optimize properties for various requirements. However, this freedom comes with a price in terms of increased complexity. This study presents considerations in the material selection process based on experience from the development of the composite sandwich structure for the 73 m Visby Class Corvette.
The Power of the ‘Imaginary’ in Disciplinary Processes
Authors: Roberts John
Published: August 2005

The focus of this article is on processes of social control and the role that images and processes of identification play in effecting such control. The article begins by schematically tracing the history of the new paradigm of control firstly within the managerial literature as a move ‘from control to commitment’, then through critical accounts of ‘employee subjection’, through to more recent discussions of the nature of resistance. This history and its various puzzling inversions are then reviewed through Lacan’s account of the ‘imaginary’, and Butler’s associated re-reading of oedipal identifications. These offer an account both of the constitution of a humanist, interiorized sense of self—of the self as a discrete, autonomous, independent entity—as well as of the illusions or misunderstandings of this humanist conception of the self. It is suggested that the power of the imaginary lies in the power of recognition and the way in which this acts as a lure or trap in which we seek and find ourselves. It is this desire for existence confirming recognition that founds our interest in the control of others and leaves us vulnerable to control by others. Understanding the misrecognition involved in such processes of identification allows clearer sight of the conditions for effective resistance.
Nice Work? Rethinking Managerial Control in an Era of Knowledge Work
Authors: Sewell Graham
Published: August 2005

This article assesses the ability of labour process theory (LPT) to account for the persistence of managerial control under the apparent conditions of greater autonomy and discretion we have come to associate with ‘knowledge Work’. LPT has traditionally problematized control around the need to resolve ‘the indeterminacy of labour’—that is, how do managers ensure that workers’ actual labouring efforts approach their potential labour power? In contrast, I propose that it is more useful to problematize control around the ‘indeterminacy of knowledge’—that is, how do managers ensure that workers’ cognitive efforts approach their full cognitive potential? A common response to the problem of the indeterminacy of knowledge has been to cede discretion to workers so that they can exercise their mental capabilities in order to provide their organizations with solutions to workplace problems. I will show, however, that this still requires the operation of disciplinary mechanisms that perpetuate managerial control under conditions that ostensibly reverse the separation of the conception and the execution of work tasks inherent in the logic of Taylorism.
What Have the Feminists Done for Us? Feminist Theory and Organizational Resistance
Authors: Thomas Robyn , Davies Annette
Published: August 2005

In developing our understandings of resistance, both organization theorists and feminist theorists have struggled with issues of the subject and object of resistance. In particular, attention has been focussed on an adequate theorizing of resistance that can offer a detailed and varied understanding of the different motivations of individuals and groups to transform dominant norms. This article draws on the tensions and debates within feminist theory, to argue that feminist theory problematizes but ultimately enriches and revitalizes conceptualizations of resistance within organization studies. The article focuses on three tensions within resistance studies, namely the subject of resistance, what ‘counts’ as resistance, and when resistance counts. The article illustrates how feminist theory has worked through these tensions in maintaining a practical politics of change and transformation whilst avoiding the problems of universalism, essentialism and privilege. Feminism, in attending to these tensions, offers a contingent politics of constant vigilance within power relations.
Theorizing Contemporary Control: Some Post-structuralist Responses to Some Critical Realist Questions
Authors: Willmott Hugh
Published: August 2005

The paper explores how control in organizations is analysed by counterposing a poststructuralist reading and critique against what is identified as a critical realist account of its nature and significance. Drawing primarily upon Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, it argues that critical realist analysis exemplifies a position in which science is privileged and dualism is defended, in contrast to Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory where dualism is refused and there is a stronger commitment to emancipation. These differences between these versions of critical analysis are related to the more familiar terrain of organizational analysis examined in Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis ; and, more specifically, in their discussion of the challenge posed by ethnomethodology to more established, commonsensical forms of analysis. The problematizing of commonsense found in ethnomethodological studies, it is suggested, has affinities with the deconstructive impulse of Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory but, crucially, the former lacks the latter’s politicoemancipatory intent (see also Pollner, 1991). In Burrell and Morgan’s terms, Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory is more radical than radical humanism (e.g. Critical Theory) in rejecting the latter’s ontology as well as refusing the sociological regulationism attributed to interpretivist analysis. The paper closes with a series of reflections upon the relevance of discourse theory for theorizing contemporary control.
Toward a Philosophical Orientation on Control
Authors: Barker James R.
Published: August 2005

I argue that CMS scholars should focus and orient on our role as philosophers as we theorize control into the future. I assert that by concentrating on the philosophical ethics of control—how we rhetorically create control as a moral organizational force—we can integrate and unite our critical efforts in ways that position us to change, substantively, managerial practice and to enhance the relevance of our field. I discuss the basis of a philosophical orientation on control grounded in shared moral values and describe the points in organizational discourse at which we can look to find and assess these values.
Context and Coalition-Bargaining
Authors: Druckman James N. , Roberts Andrew
Published: August 2005

Eastern European countries have adopted parliamentary institutions that resemble those in the West. This enables researchers to evaluate the effects of institutions in contrasting contexts. In this article, we study the impact of context on the allocation of government portfolios. We find that the distinct economic and cultural situation in less advanced Eastern European countries has a pronounced effect on coalition-bargaining over portfolios. In contrast, more advanced Eastern European countries exhibit patterns of allocation that match those found in the West. We discuss the implications of our results for studies of institutions and coalition theory.
Partisan Politics
Authors: Solowiej Lisa A. , Martinek Wendy L. , Brunell Thomas L.
Published: August 2005

Only a few studies of the lower federal court confirmation process consider the role of the race/gender of nominees in that process and none consider the intersection of party politics with those characteristics. We address this deficiency, arguing that the different electoral incentive structures of the two major parties have consequences for the treatment of minority and female nominees. The levels of minority and female support enjoyed by the Democratic Party, as well as the Republican Party’s desire to shed its reputation as being insensitive to issues of importance to those constituencies, lead us to expect that the nominations of minorities and women will be handled most expeditiously under conditions of unified Republican control, followed by unified Democratic control, divided control with a Republican president and divided control with a Democratic president. Our empirical analysis provides partial support for this hierarchy and demonstrates the importance of considering the conditioning effect of partisan politics.
Decomposition of Regional Voting in South Korea
Authors: Moon Woojin
Published: August 2005

In this article, I offer a theoretical model specifying the electoral mechanism in South Korea. In the model, political parties offer regional benefits to sway the ideological voting decisions of voters. Regional benefits are an effective way of winning regional votes as the parties’ ideological positions become less distinguishable. Analysis of the model shows that political parties receive stronger regional support (1) as the ideological positions of voters and their regional party become more congruent and (2) when voters have a powerful regional leader. I test these predictions using two statistical models - one based on survey data the other on aggregate election outcome data. The results indicate that previous interpretations of regional voting in terms of either ideological conflicts or regional nepotism overestimate the effects of these factors.
The Roots of Third Party Voting
Authors: Allen Neal , Brox Brian J.
Published: August 2005

By many accounts, Ralph Nader had a substantial effect on the dynamics of the 2000 presidential campaign. While Nader’s place in history is unique due to his impact on the election’s outcome, Nader’s campaign follows in a long tradition of significant third party candidacies in the twentieth century. We explore the 2000 Nader campaign with the goal of placing its appeals - as well as its effect on voters - within this broader context of recent third party candidacies for the presidency. Based on the nature of his issue appeals, we can characterize the Nader campaign as a blend of left-wing populism and anti-system sentiment. Noting the similarity of this appeal with those of other significant third party candidates (excepting Wallace in 1968), we go on to look at the electoral impact of Nader and these other candidates. Our analysis of state-wide voting patterns yields surprisingly large correlations between the Nader vote and votes for recent third party campaigns that were ideologically different from the Green Party campaign. Moving to individual-level analysis, we find that third party voting is driven largely by alienation from the major parties and the political system as well as identification with third parties. As a result, we find that Democrats in 2000 were unlikely to defect from Al Gore, suggesting that people who did vote for Nader did so because of their repulsion from the major parties or attraction to Nader and/or the Green Party.
An Artificial Neural Receptor System for Structural Health Monitoring
Authors: Martin W. N. , Ghoshal A. , Sundaresan M. J. , Lebby G. L. , Pratap P. R. , Schulz M. J.
Published: August 2005

The artificial neural receptor system is a new approach that greatly simplifies data acquisition, and hence may enable practical Structural Health Monitoring for large structures. The benefits of the system involve reducing data acquisition channels while maintaining the ability to extract substantial structural response information. The approach presented uses an array of piezoelectric sensors wired to mimic the basic receptor connectivity of the biological nervous system. The method of solving for array outputs from individual sensor strains is demonstrated using a 3-by-3 sensor array. For an N-by-N array of sensors, the number of channels of data acquisition is reduced from N 2 in a conventional system to 2N in the artificial neural receptor system. The first few microseconds of signal output from the array rows and columns can determine the location of the excitation. An artificial neural network analysis can be used to extract excitation locations and individual sensor strains from the array. Acoustic emissions and dynamic strains are measured by the array.
Nonlinear Dynamical Effects and Observations in Modeling and Simulating Damage Evolution in a Cantilevered Beam
Authors: Nataraju Madhura , Adams Douglas E. , Rigas Elias J.
Published: August 2005

This study investigates the nonlinear dynamic failure characteristics of a notched cantilever beam using numerical finite element models and experiments with various displacement loads at the root of the beam. Damage states of the beam are represented as quasi-static equilibrium points and, subsequently, all significant damage events are modeled as bifurcations (qualitative changes) in the set of stable equilibria for the structure-damage system using a set of low-order normal forms. When analytical models are used to interpret trends in data from the beam as it undergoes different routes to failure, the state-space relationship between estimated crack length and rate of change of crack length exhibits elastic-plastic transitions, which depend on the effects of damage accumulation and the load history. It is suggested that these transitions could be used as a series of milestones for rendering a prognosis. It is demonstrated that nonlinear normal forms do simulate a variety of damage evolution phenomena using a few key parameters, which must be evaluated in future works.
Does Doctrine Still Divide?
Authors: Wainwright Geoffrey
Published: August 2005

Against an old adage that ‘doctrine divides, service unites’, this article argues that all features of the ecumenical enterprise - evangelistic, humanitarian, moral, liturgical, sacramental, ecclesiological - bear a doctrinal dimension; the point is to discern and foster the unity in doctrine that is necessary to their pursuit. Twentieth-century doctrinal dialogues are surveyed, both in the multilateral arena (notably Faith and Order’s Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry) and in some representative bilateral cases. Their achievements are measured, and the remaining (and new) issues are noted. Attention is paid to the effect of the Roman Catholic Church’s official entry into the Ecumenical Movement with the Second Vatican Council’s decree ‘ Unitatis Redintegratio’, and Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical ‘ Ut Unum Sint ’ is viewed as both a recognition of a century’s progress in ecumenism and the setting of an agenda for continuing work.
Structures of Unity: The Next Ecumenical Challenge - A Possible Way Forward
Authors: Rusch William
Published: August 2005

The modern ecumenical movement with its primary goal of the visible unity of the churches has given attention to ecclesiology. This has been true both in the work of Faith and Order and in many of the bilateral dialogues. Yet both Faith and Order and the dialogues have stated remarkably little about the structures needed for church unity. This article suggests that by building on the concept of differentiated consensus it may be possible to recognize and utilize a concept described as differentiated participation to move the churches toward greater visible unity. In conclusion some examples are given.
Quantification of ADMA: analytical approaches
Authors: Schwedhelm Edzard
Published: August 2005

Methylated L-arginine analogs are involved in nitric oxide synthase activity regulation. Methods based on high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence, capillary electrophoresis, or ion exchange chromatography with absorbance detection were first applied for the quantitative determination of N-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) in human blood and urine. These assays revealed elevated circulating levels of ADMA in various diseases and gave accumulating evidence of the usefulness of ADMA as a cardiovascular risk factor. However, the methods used are hampered by the fact that NMMA, ADMA and SDMA can be distinguished from L-arginine only by means of chromatographic separation. This has promoted the development of alternatives that involve mass spectrometry (MS) technology. Today, various MS-based approaches such as liquid chromatography (LC)-MS, LC-MS/MS, gas chromatography (GC)-MS, and GC-MS/MS are available. L-arginine and its analogs have been subjected to LC-MS analysis with and without further derivatization to their o-phthaldialdehyde derivatives. For these methods, labelled L-arginine was used as the internal standard. The first MS-based method that distinguishes NMMA, ADMA, SDMA and L-arginine by mass-to-charge (m/z)- ratio has been reported by Tsikas et al. This GC-MS approach has been further improved by Albsmeier et al by introducing labelled ADMA as an internal standard. As an alternative to existing methods, a commercially available ELISA kit has recently been developed and validated.
ADMA: its role in vascular disease
Authors: Cooke John P
Published: August 2005

Endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) is the most potent endogenous vasodilator and, by virtue of its anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects, it is an endogenous anti-atherogenic agent. Accordingly, impairment of NO synthesis or bioactivity may increase the risk of vascular disease. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of the NO synthase pathway. Plasma levels of ADMA are increased in patients with vascular disease, or with risk factors for vascular disease. Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that ADMA may mediate the adverse effects of traditional risk factors on endothelial vasodilator function. By impairing endothelial function, ADMA may contribute to pulmonary or systemic hypertension, as well as to vascular disease. Several drugs known to treat cardiovascular disease also reduce plasma ADMA levels, such as angiotensin receptor antagonists, converting enzyme inhibitors, and insulin sensitizing agents. Plasma ADMA may be a common mediator of endothelial dysfunction induced by vascular risk factors. Insights into the mechanisms by which plasma ADMA is regulated may lead to new therapeutic knowledge.
ADMA and hyperhomocysteinemia
Authors: Dayal Sanjana , Lentz Steven R
Published: August 2005

Hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Like many other cardiovascular risk factors, hyperhomocysteinemia produces endothelial dysfunction due to impaired bioavailability of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO). The molecular mechanisms responsible for decreased NO bioavailability in hyperhomocysteinemia are incompletely understood, but emerging evidence suggests that asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of NO synthase, may be a key mediator. Homocysteine is produced during the synthesis of ADMA and can alter ADMA metabolism by inhibiting dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH). Several animal and clinical studies have demonstrated a strong association between plasma total homocysteine, plasma ADMA, and endothelial dysfunction. These observations suggest a model in which elevation of ADMA may be a unifying mechanism for endothelial dysfunction during hyper-homocysteinemia. The recent development of transgenic mice with altered ADMA metabolism should provide further mechanistic insights into the role of ADMA in hyperhomocysteinemia.
DDAH gene and cardiovascular risk
Authors: Valkonen Veli-Pekka , Tuomainen Tomi-Pekka , Laaksonen Reijo
Published: August 2005

The crucial role of nitric oxide (NO) for normal endothelial function is well known. In many conditions associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, abdominal obesity, diabetes and smoking, NO biosynthesis is dysregulated, leading to endothelial dysfunction. The growing evidence from animal and human studies indicates that endogenous inhibitors of endothelial NO synthase such as asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) are associated with the endothelial dysfunction and potentially regulate NO synthase. The major route of elimination of ADMA is metabolism by the enzymes dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 and -2 (DDAH). In our recent study 16 men with either low or high plasma ADMA concentrations were screened to identify DDAH polymorphisms that could potentially be associated with increased susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases. In that study a novel functional mutation of DDAH-1 was identified; the mutation carriers had a significantly elevated risk for cardiovascular disease and a tendency to develop hypertension. These results confirmed the clinical role of DDAH enzymes in ADMA metabolism. Furthermore, it is possible that more common variants of DDAH genes contribute more widely to increased cardiovascular risk.
Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and cardiovascular disease: insights from prospective clinical trials
Authors: Böger Rainer H
Published: August 2005

Evidence has accumulated that asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase. ADMA inhibits vascular NO production at concentrations found in pathophysiological conditions; it also causes local vasoconstriction when infused intra-arterially. ADMA is increased in the plasma of humans with hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension, chronic renal failure, chronic heart failure, and other clinical conditions. Increased ADMA levels are associated with reduced NO synthesis as assessed by impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation or reduced NO metabolite levels. In several prospective and cross-sectional studies, ADMA has evolved as a marker of cardiovascular risk. Moreover, prospective clinical studies have suggested that it may play a role as a novel cardiovascular risk factor. Zoccali and coworkers were the first to show that elevated ADMA is associated with a three-fold increased risk of future severe cardiovascular events and mortality in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Valkonen and coworkers demonstrated in a nested case-control study that elevated ADMA was associated with a four-fold increased risk for acute coronary events in clinically healthy, nonsmoking men. In patients with stable angina pectoris, preinterventional ADMA indicates the risk of developing restenosis or severe clinical events after coronary intervention. Furthermore, in humans with no underlying cardiovascular disease who are undergoing intensive care unit treatment, ADMA is a marker of the mortality risk. A number of additional prospective clinical trials are currently under way in diverse patient populations, among them individuals with congestive heart failure, cardiac transplantation patients, and patients with pulmonary hypertension.

In summary, an increasing number of prospective clinical trials have shown that the association between elevated ADMA levels and major cardiovascular events and total mortality is robust and extends to diverse patient populations. However, we need to define more clearly in the future who will profit from ADMA determination, in order to use this novel risk marker as a more specific diagnostic tool.