bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information systems outsourcing: a Delphi study from Spain
Authors: Gonzalez Reyes , Gasco Jose , Llopis Juan
Published: April 2010

Purpose

The widespread growth of information systems (IS) outsourcing on an international scale contrasts sharply with the somewhat limited development of this practice in Spain. The purpose of this paper is to deal with the situation of IS outsourcing in this country.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, the paper has used the opinions and comments of those in charge of IS departments at the largest Spanish firms through a normative Delphi study.

Findings

Outsourcing makes it possible to achieve strategic as well as economic advantages and managers propose a number of ways to reduce the risks associated with this practice. Provider specialisation and permanent client‐provider contact are key aspects in order to ensure outsourcing success and development.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is basically descriptive and, though it uses quantitative information, the analysis carried out is mainly qualitative. Furthermore, it refers exclusively to the context of large Spanish firms.

Originality/value

Despite the limitations mentioned above, the paper has the advantage that in the panellists' words it interprets the results obtained, which means that we can largely ratify the results of the first questionnaire elaborated. Moreover, it is worth studying the Spanish outsourcing model, which is less developed and has not received as much attention from researchers as that of other western countries.
Electromechanical wavebreak in a model of the human left ventricle
Authors: Keldermann R. H. , Nash M. P. , Gelderblom H. , Wang V. Y. , Panfilov A. V.
Published: April 2010

In the present report, we introduce an integrative three-dimensional electromechanical model of the left ventricle of the human heart. Electrical activity is represented by the ionic TP06 model for human cardiac cells, and mechanical activity is represented by the Niederer-Hunter-Smith active contractile tension model and the exponential Guccione passive elasticity model. These models were embedded into an anatomic model of the left ventricle that contains a detailed description of cardiac geometry and the fiber orientation field. We demonstrated that fiber shortening and wall thickening during normal excitation were qualitatively similar to experimental recordings. We used this model to study the effect of mechanoelectrical feedback via stretch-activated channels on the stability of reentrant wave excitation. We found that mechanoelectrical feedback can induce the deterioration of an otherwise stable spiral wave into turbulent wave patterns similar to that of ventricular fibrillation. We identified the mechanisms of this transition and studied the three-dimensional organization of this mechanically induced ventricular fibrillation.
Efficient Isolation of Cardiac Stem Cells from Brown Adipose
Authors: Liu Zhiqiang , Wang Haibin , Zhang Ye , Zhou Jin , Lin Qiuxia , Wang Yanmeng , Duan Cuimi , Wu Kuiwu , Wang Changyong
Published: April 2010

Cardiac stem cells represent a logical cell type to exploit in cardiac regeneration. The efficient harvest of cardiac stem cells from a suitable source would turn promising in cardiac stem cell therapy. Brown adipose was recently found to be a new source of cardiac stem cells, instrumental to myocardial regeneration. Unfortunately, an efficient method for the cell isolation is unavailable so far. In our study we have developed a new method for the efficient isolation of cardiac stem cells from brown adipose by combining different enzymes. Results showed that the total cell yield dramatically increased (more than 10 times,P<.01) compared with that by previous method. The content of CD133-positive cells (reported to differentiate into cardiomyocytes with a high frequency) was much higher than that in the previous report (22.43% versus 3.5%). Moreover, the isolated cells could be the efficiently differentiated into functional cardiomyocytes in optimized conditions. Thus, the new method we established would be of great use in further exploring cardiac stem cell therapy.
FDG-PET/CT Imaging Predicts Histopathologic Treatment Responses after Neoadjuvant Therapy in Adult Primary Bone Sarcomas
Authors: Benz Matthias R. , Czernin Johannes , Tap William D. , Eckardt Jeffrey J. , Seeger Leanne L. , Allen-Auerbach Martin S. , Dry Sarah M. , Phelps Michael E. , Weber Wolfgang A. , Eilber Fritz C.
Published: April 2010

Purpose. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate whether FDG-PET allows an accurate assessment of histopathologic response to neoadjuvant treatment in adult patients with primary bone sarcomas.Methods. Twelve consecutive patients with resectable, primary high grade bone sarcomas were enrolled prospectively. FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed prior to the initiation and after completion of neoadjuvant treatment. Imaging findings were correlated with histopathologic response.Results. Histopathologic responders showed significantly more pronounced decreases in tumor FDG-SUVmax from baseline to late follow up than non-responders (64±19% versus29±30%, resp.;P=.03). Using a 60% decrease in tumor FDG-uptake as a threshold for metabolic response correctly classified 3 of 4 histopathologic responders and 7 of 8 histopathologic non-responders as metabolic responders and non-responders, respectively (sensitivity, 75%; specificity, 88%).Conclusion. These results suggest that changes in FDG-SUVmax at the end of neoadjuvant treatment can identify histopathologic responders and non-responders in adult primary bone sarcoma patients.
A Review of Constraint-Handling Techniques for Evolution Strategies
Authors: Kramer Oliver
Published: April 2010

Evolution strategies are successful global optimization methods. In many practical numerical problems constraints are not explicitly given. Evolution strategies have to incorporate techniques to optimize in restricted solution spaces. Famous constraint-handling techniques are penalty and multiobjective approaches. Past work has shown that in particular an ill-conditioned alignment between the coordinate system of Gaussian mutation and the constraint boundaries leads to premature convergence. Covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategies offer a solution to this alignment problem. Last, metamodeling of the constraint boundary leads to significant savings of constraint function calls and to a speedup by repairing infeasible solutions. This work gives a brief overview over constraint-handling methods for evolution strategies by demonstrating the approaches experimentally on two exemplary constrained problems.
An Evaluation of the Diagnostic Accuracy of the Grade of Preoperative Biopsy Compared to Surgical Excision in Chondrosarcoma of the Long Bones
Authors: Jennings Robert , Riley Nicholas , Rose Barry , Rossi Roberto , Skinner John A. , Cannon Steven R. , Briggs Timothy W. R. , Pollock Rob , Saifuddin Asif
Published: April 2010

Chondrosarcoma is the second most common primary malignant bone tumour. Distinguishing between grades is not necessarily straightforward and may alter the disease management. We evaluated the correlation between histological grading of the preoperative image-guided needle biopsy and the resection specimen of 78 consecutive cases of chondrosarcoma of the femur, humerus, and tibia. In 11 instances, there was a discrepancy in histological grade between the biopsy and surgical specimen. Therefore, there was an 85.9% (67/78) accuracy rate for pre-operative histological grading of chondrosarcoma, based on needle biopsy. However, the accuracy of the diagnostic biopsy to distinguish low-grade from high-grade chondrosarcoma was 93.6% (73/78). We conclude that accurate image-guided biopsy is a very useful adjunct in determining histological grade of chondrosarcoma and the subsequent treatment plan. At present, a multidisciplinary approach, comprising experienced orthopaedic surgeons, radiologists, and pathologists, offers the most reliable means of accurately diagnosing and grading of chondrosarcoma of long bones.
Molecular Therapeutic Targets for Glioma Angiogenesis
Authors: Takano Shingo , Yamashita Toshiharu , Ohneda Osamu
Published: April 2010

Due to the prominent angiogenesis that occurs in malignant glioma, antiangiogenic therapy has been attempted. There have been several molecular targets that are specific to malignant gliomas, as well as more broadly in systemic cancers. In this review, I will focus on some topics related to molecular therapeutic targets for glioma angiogenesis. First, important angiogenic factors that could be considered molecular targets are VEGF, VEGF-induced proteins on endothelial cells, tissue factor, osteopontin, integrin, and thymidine phosphorylase as well as endogenous inhibitors, soluble Flt1, and thrombospondin 1. Second, hypoxic areas are also decreased by metronomic CPT11 treatment as well as temozolomide. Third, glioma-derived endothelial cells that are genetically and functionally distinct from normal endothelial cells should be targeted, for example, with SDF-1 and CXCR7 chemokine. Fourth, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) likely contribute towards glioma angiogenesis in the brain and could be useful as a drug delivery tool. Finally, blockade of delta-like 4 (Dll4) results in a nonfunctioning vasculature and could be another important target distinct from VEGF.
Preschool Participation and BMI at Kindergarten Entry: The Case for Early Behavioral Intervention
Authors: McGrady Meghan E. , Mitchell Monica J. , Theodore Sarah N. , Sersion Brian , Holtzapple Elizabeth
Published: April 2010

Preschool years (ages 3–5) are a critical period in growth and development. Emerging studies suggest that preschool attendance may be linked to future weight, and perhaps obesity. This study examined relationships between public preschool attendance, demographic variables, and weight at kindergarten entry. Participants included 2,400 children entering kindergarten in 2006. Height and weight were used to calculate a child's BMI category based on CDC norms. At kindergarten entry, 17% of participants were overweight, and 18% were obese. Children attending a public preschool were at an increased risk for overweight(OR=1.06)and obesity(OR=1.34)at kindergarten entry,χ2(2)=6.81,P=.03relative to children who did not attend preschool. No significant trends relationships between demographics and weight status were found, but demographic variables are summarized descriptively. Policy and clinical implications are provided.
Heavy Metal and Trace Metal Analysis in Soil by Sequential Extraction: A Review of Procedures
Authors: Zimmerman Amanda Jo , Weindorf David C.
Published: April 2010

Quantification of heavy and trace metal contamination in soil can be arduous, requiring the use of lengthy and intricate extraction procedures which may or may not give reliable results. Of the many procedures in publication, some are designed to operate within specific parameters while others are designed for more broad application. Most procedures have been modified since their inception which creates ambiguity as to which procedure is most acceptable in a given situation. For this study, the Tessier, Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), Short, Galán, and Geological Society of Canada (GCS) procedures were examined to clarify benefits and limitations of each. Modifications of the Tessier, BCR, and GCS procedures were also examined. The efficacy of these procedures is addressed by looking at the soils used in each procedure, the limitations, applications, and future of sequential extraction.
A Class of Two‐Person Zero‐Sum Matrix Games with Rough Payoffs
Authors: Xu Jiuping , Yao Liming
Published: April 2010

We concentrate on discussing a class of two‐person zero‐sum games with rough payoffs. Based on the expected value operator and the trust measure of rough variables, the expected equilibrium strategy andr‐trust maximin equilibrium strategy are defined. Five cases whether the game existsr‐trust maximin equilibrium strategy are discussed, and the technique of genetic algorithm is applied to find the equilibrium strategies. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed technique.
Exploring the 7p22.1 Chromosome as a Candidate Region for Autism
Authors: Bayou Nadia , Belhadj Ahlem , Daoud Hussein , Briault Sylvain , Helayem M. Bechir , Chaabouni Habiba , M'rad Ridha
Published: April 2010

A high incidence of de novo chromosomal aberrations in a population of persons with autism suggests a causal relationship between certain chromosomal aberrations and the occurrence of autism. A previous study on a Tunisian boy carrying a t(7;16) translocation identified the 7p22.1 as a positional candidate region for autism on chromosome 7. The characterization of the chromosomal breakpoints helped us to identify new candidate regions on chromosome 16p11.2 which contain no known genes and the other one on 7p22.1 containing a portion of genes (NP 976327.1, RBAK, Q6NUR6 also called RNF216L and MMD2). We proposed Q6NUR6 (RNF216L) as a candidate gene for autism due to its vicinity to the translocation breakpoint on the chromosome derivative 7. Q6NUR6 is predicted to be an E3ubiquitin-ligase. Quantitative PCR demonstrates that Q6NUR6 gene has an ubiquitous expression and that it is strongly expressed in fetal and adult brain. The Q6NUR6 expression is increased in the patient blood cells in comparison to controls. This is the first report of Q6NUR6 gene (E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIAD3 EC 6.3.2) increasing blood levels in a patient with autism. It's probably caused by a position effect involving this gene and modifying its expression.
Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic “Salvage” Rectopexy for Recurrent Ileoanal J-Pouch Prolapse
Authors: Ragupathi Madhu , Patel Chirag B. , Ramos-Valadez Diego I. , Haas Eric M.
Published: April 2010

Total restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (RP/IPAA) has become the standard of care for the surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis. Despite its correlation with an excellent quality of life and favorable long-term outcomes, RP/IPAA has been associated with several complications. Prolapse of the ileoanal pouch is a rare and debilitating complication that should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pouch failure. Limited data exist regarding the prevalence and treatment of pouch prolapse. We present the case of a recurrent J-pouch prolapse treated with a novel minimally invasive “salvage” approach involving a robotic-assisted laparoscopic rectopexy with mesh.
Through a Lattice Darkly: Shedding Light on Electron-Phonon Coupling in the HighTcCuprates
Authors: Garcia D. R. , Lanzara A.
Published: April 2010

With its central role in conventional BCS superconductivity, electron-phonon coupling appears to play a more subtle role in the phase diagram of the high-temperature superconducting cuprates. Their added complexity due to potentially numerous competing phases, including charge, spin, orbital, and lattice ordering, makes teasing out any unique phenomena challenging. In this review, we present our work using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) exploring the role of the lattice on the valence band electronic structure of the cuprates. We introduce the ARPES technique and its unique ability to the probe the effect of bosonic renormalization (or “kink”) on near-EFband structure. Our survey begins with the establishment of the ubiquitous nodal cuprate kink leading to how isotope substitution has shed a critical new perspective on the role and strength of electron-phonon coupling. We continue with recently published work connecting the phonon dispersion seen with inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) to the location of the kink observed by ARPES near the nodal point. Finally, we present very recent and ongoing ARPES work examining how induced strain through chemical pressure provides a potentially promising avenue for understanding the broader role of the lattice to the superconducting phase and larger cuprate phase diagram.
Emotional Communication in Finger Braille
Authors: Matsuda Yasuhiro , Sakuma Ichiro , Jimbo Yasuhiko , Kobayashi Etsuko , Arafune Tatsuhiko , Isomura Tsuneshi
Published: April 2010

We describe analyses of the features of emotions (neutral, joy, sadness, and anger) expressed by Finger Braille interpreters and subsequently examine the effectiveness of emotional expression and emotional communication between people unskilled in Finger Braille. The goal is to develop a Finger Braille system to teach emotional expression and a system to recognize emotion. The results indicate the following features of emotional expression by interpreters. The durations of the code of joy were significantly shorter than the durations of the other emotions, the durations of the code of sadness were significantly longer, and the finger loads of anger were significantly larger. The features of emotional expression by unskilled subjects were very similar to those of the interpreters, and the coincidence ratio of emotional communication was 75.1%. Therefore, it was confirmed that people unskilled in Finger Braille can express and communicate emotions using this communication medium.
Patch Departure Behavior of Bumble Bees: Rules and Mechanisms
Authors: Taneyhill Dale E.
Published: April 2010

I present an increment-decay model for the mechanism of bumble bees' decision to depart from inflorescences. The probability of departure is the consequence of a dynamic threshold level of stimuli necessary to elicit a stereotyped landing reaction. Reception of floral nectar lowers this threshold, making the bee less likely to depart. Concurrently the threshold increases, making departure from the inflorescence more probable. Increments to the probability of landing are an increasing, decelerating function of nectar volume, and are worth less, in sequence, for the same amount of nectar. The model is contrasted to threshold departure rules, which predict that bees will depart from inflorescences if the amount of nectar in the last one or two flowers visited is below a given level. Field tests comparing the two models were performed with monkshood (Aconitum columbianum). Treated flowers contained a descending series of nectar volumes (6 to 0 L of 30 % sucrose solution). The more nectar that bees encountered in the treated flowers, the more likely they were to remain within the inflorescence after subsequently visiting one to three empty flowers. I discuss the differences between rules and mechanisms in regard to cognitive models of foraging behavior.
Interleukin‐15 Affects Patient Survival through Natural Killer Cell Recovery after Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Non‐Hodgkin Lymphomas
Authors: Porrata Luis F. , Inwards David J. , Micallef Ivana N. , Johnston Patrick B. , Ansell Stephen M. , Hogan William J. , Markovic Svetomir N.
Published: April 2010

Natural killer cells at day 15 (NK‐15), after autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (APHSCT), is a prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS) in non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The potential role of the immunologic (homeostatic) environment affecting NK‐15 recovery and survival post‐APHSCT has not been fully studied. Therefore, we evaluate prospectively the cytokine profile in 50 NHL patients treated with APHSCT. Patients with an interleukin‐15 (IL‐15) ≥ 76.5 pg/mL at day 15 post‐APHSCT experienced superior OS and PFS compared with those who did not; median OS; not reached versus 19.2 months, P < .002; and median PFS; not reached versus 6.8 months, P < .002, respectively. IL‐15 was found to correlate with (rs = 0.7, P < .0001) NK‐15. Multivariate analysis showed only NK‐15 as a prognostic factor for survival, suggesting that the survival benefit observed by IL‐15 is most likely mediated by enhanced NK cell recovery post‐APHSCT.
The Quality of Life of a Multidiagnosis Group of Special Needs Children: Associations and Costs
Authors: Thurston Sandy , Paul Louise , Loney Patricia , Wong Maria , Browne Gina
Published: April 2010

Purpose. To determine the quality of life, associations, and costs of a multidiagnosis group of special needs children.Methods. In this cross-sectional survey families were identified from the Children's Treatment Network, a Canadian multisector program for children with special needs. Families were eligible if the child was aged 2–19 years, resided in Simcoe/York, and if there were multiple child/family needs. Quality of life was measured using the PedsQL (n=429).Results. Quality of life scores were lower in this group compared to published healthy and single disorder groups of children. Quality of life scores decreased with advancing age. Child psychosocial well-being was more strongly associated with child/family variables compared to physical well-being. Health Utilization costs were higher in children with greater physical challenges.Conclusions. Further research is needed in other complex needs child samples to confirm the decrease in quality of life found in these children into adolescence. Investigations into the interactions of child and family variables are needed.
Common Variants in Cardiac Ion Channel Genes Are Associated With Sudden Cardiac Death
Authors: Albert Christine M. , MacRae Calum A. , Chasman Daniel I. , VanDenburgh Martin , Buring Julie E. , Manson JoAnn E. , Cook Nancy R. , Newton-Cheh Christopher
Published: April 2010

Background—

Rare variants in cardiac ion channel genes are associated with sudden cardiac death in rare primary arrhythmic syndromes; however, it is unknown whether common variation in these same genes may contribute to sudden cardiac death risk at the population level.

Methods and Results—

We examined the association between 147 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (137 tag, 5 noncoding SNPs associated with QT interval duration, and 5 nonsynonymous SNPs) in 5 cardiac ion channel genes,
KCNQ1
,
KCNH2
,
SCN5A
,
KCNE1
, and
KCNE2
, and sudden and/or arrhythmic death in a combined nested case-control analysis among 516 cases and 1522 matched control subjects of European ancestry enrolled in 6 prospective cohort studies. After accounting for multiple testing, 2 SNPs (rs2283222 located in intron 11 in
KCNQ1
and rs11720524 located in intron 1 in
SCN5A
) remained significantly associated with sudden/arrhythmic death (false discovery rate=0.01 and 0.03, respectively). Each increasing copy of the major T-allele of rs2283222 or the major C-allele of rs1172052 was associated with an odds ratio of 1.36 (95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 1.60;
P
=0.0002) and 1.30 (95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.51;
P
=0.0005), respectively. Control for cardiovascular risk factors and/or limiting the analysis to definite sudden cardiac death did not significantly alter these relationships.

Conclusion—

In this combined analysis of 6 prospective cohort studies, 2 common intronic variants in
KCNQ1
and
SCN5A
were associated with sudden cardiac death in individuals of European ancestry. Further study in other populations and investigation into the functional abnormalities associated with noncoding variation in these genes may lead to important insights into predisposition to lethal arrhythmias.
Legitimizing and Necessitating Inter-Faith Dialogue: The Dynamics of Inter-Faith for Individual Faith Communities
Authors: Greggs Tom
Published: April 2010

In an age in which religion is a burning issue in the geopolitical sphere, the need for peoples of different religions to engage in inter-faith dialogue may seem clear; what is less clear is whether there is legitimacy for and an imperative to members of individual faith communities to engage with the religious other on the exclusive grounds of their individual faith. This article thus seeks to advocate that theology done in the service of individual faiths needs, as a priority, to engage in legitimizing and necessitating dialogue with the religious other as the religious other. The article considers the grounds on which exclusivist religious people can undertake inter-faith dialogue. In looking to the need to attend to particularity and the genuine otherness of the religious other, the article advocates that faiths should begin to understand what is internal to their traditions that makes inter-faith dialogue a necessity for intense and particular religious self-identity. Members of faith communities need to be legitimated on terms internal to their community and by leaders of their community to engage in dialogue with the other: they need to know not only how to engage with the other but also why they engage with the other. In considering the particular tradition of Christianity, the article attends to these themes by seeking hints from Scripture and Christ that a Christian should engage with the religious other in order to be more intensely Christian.
Jonathan Edwards, The Ethics of Virtue and Public Theology
Authors: Guyette Frederick
Published: April 2010

In The Nature of True Virtue, Jonathan Edwards does not deny that common morality is important; benevolence, beauty, conscience, justice, love for family and country are all threads in the fabric of a common morality. Without love for God as their chief end, however, the ‘virtues’ of common morality do not rise to the level of true virtue. This incommensurability can be problematic for Christian ethics in the public square. Edwards understood his project within the horizon of a commonwealth founded on Christian faith, but modern liberal democracies envision a different relationship between religious discourse and public life. In these contexts, so different from Edwards’ setting, pluralism and tolerance are among the keys to a peaceful pursuit of the common good. With these differences in view, then, I explore what contribution Edwards’ work on virtue might make to the practice of public theology in the areas of environmental ethics, bioethics and immigration policy.
Lympho-vascular invasion in BRCA related breast cancer compared to sporadic controls
Authors: Heerma van Voss Marise R , van der Groep Petra , Bart Jos , van der Wall Elsken , van Diest Paul J
Published: April 2010

Background

Germline mutations in the BRCA1 gene predispose to the development of breast cancer, exhibiting a specific histological phenotype. Identification of possible hallmarks of these tumors is important for selecting patients for genetic screening and provides inside in carcinogenetic pathways.

Since BRCA1-associated breast cancers have pushing borders that prevent them from easily reaching vessels and are often of the medullary (like) type that is known to have a low rate of lympho-vascular invasion (LVI), we hypothesized that absence of LVI could characterize BRCA1 related breast cancer.

Methods

A population of 68 BRCA1 related invasive breast cancers was evaluated for LVI by an experienced breast pathologist blinded to mutation status, and compared to a control group matched for age, grade and tumor type.

Results

LVI was present in 25.0% of BRCA1 related cases, compared to 20.6% of controls (P = 0.54, OR = 1.29, CI 0.58-2.78).

Conclusion

LVI is frequent in BRCA1 germline mutation related breast cancers, but seems to occur as often in sporadic controls matched for age, grade and tumor type. Apparently, these hereditary cancers find their way to the blood and lymph vessels despite their well demarcation and often medullary differentiation.
Reconsidering the History of Latin and Sabellic Adpositional Morphosyntax
Authors: Fortson Benjamin W.
Published: April 2010

Latin constructions of the type magna cum laude "with great praise" have traditionally been equated structurally and historically with univerbated phrases of the type mecum "with me" and further with postpositional constructions in Sabellic like Umbrian nertru-co persi "at the left foot." Moreover, all three have been adduced as archaic survivals of postpositional syntax in Italic. A detailed investigation of both the synchrony and diachrony of these constructions, however, reveals that these conclusions are for the most part incorrect and that our historical account of the evolution of adpositional syntax in both branches of Italic must be revised.
Unseemly Professions and Recruitment in Late Antiquity: Piscatores and Vegetius Epitoma 1.7.1-2
Authors: Charles Michael B.
Published: April 2010

Vegetius' Epitoma rei militaris , in its discussion of Roman military recruitment in the Late Empire, provides a list of professions deemed unsuitable for military service. Among those groups associated with a lack of manly virtus are piscatores . This article aims to provide a rationale for Vegetius' ostensibly puzzling rejection of men involved in fishing activity by analyzing the antiquarian sources that colored his perception of Roman morality. The treatment of the piscatores thus reinforces the notion of Vegetius as a continuator of reactionary discourse on traditional Roman mores , even though late antique attitudes towards masculinity were clearly changing.
The Tyrant Lists: Tacitus' Obituary of Petronius
Authors: Haynes Holly
Published: April 2010

According to Tacitus, Petronius' last act was to send to Nero a list of the latter's sexual partners and activities. Petronius' list in Annals 16 illuminates the structure of the Book, which conveys the tyranny of Nero's last years as a list of deaths and punishments. The nature of these lists—series of elements whose connection their authors decline to spell out—mirrors the arbitrary nature of imperial power under Nero and Domitian, which punishes according to no legitimate judicial logic. Tacitus' interest in Petronius extends beyond the latter's list to his function as Nero's elegantiae arbiter , a seemingly superficial position that Tacitus suggests actually illustrates the important function of pleasure in the principate.
Menander's Theophoroumene between Greece and Rome
Authors: Nervegna Sebastiana
Published: April 2010

This article identifies and discusses a fragmentary fresco (Ufficio Scavi di Pompei 20545), which is of interest to scholars of both ancient drama and music. This panel, which reproduces an excerpt of the climactic scene of Menander's Theophoroumene , provides new and early evidence for the process of manipulation of the Early-Hellenistic archetype of this illustration. In particular, the gigantic pipe it features can be better identified as a Roman tibia than a Greek aulos . Re-elaborated and variously adjusted, the Theophoroumene boasts a rich visual record which is in stark contrast with the overall poor survival of this play as a text. Our sources for the ancient reception of this comedy point to the independence of its iconographic tradition from both its performance tradition and its textual transmission.
Middle Comedy and the "Satyric" Style
Authors: Shaw Carl A.
Published: April 2010

Although "Middle Comedy" may best serve as a chronological label, the remains of pre-Menandrian, fourth-century comic productions suggest that certain characteristics were more dominant at this time than in earlier or later periods of Greek comedy. The possible sources for these characteristics are wide-ranging, but available evidence indicates that fifth-century satyr drama was one of the most important. Not only do fragments, titles, and plots reveal a significant generic relationship, but Aristotle even seems to link their comic mode. Fifth-century satyr plays, I argue, functioned as an important model for the poets of Middle Comedy.
Coaxing the Corrido: Centering Song in Performance
Authors: McDowell John Holmes
Published: April 2010

Drawing on ballad performances on Mexico's Costa Chica, I seek to isolate and identify a niche in the performance sequence that I refer to as "coaxing the corrido," an interlude during which ballad performers indulge in muted renderings of the next song to assure their control over its words and music. I argue that comparable episodes are most likely present in many or most of the world's performance traditions and that attending closely to them holds the promise of insights into the management of musical performance, the dynamics of artistic collaboration, and native modes of experiencing these art forms.
From Sorrow to Activism: A Father's Memorial to His Son Alexander Arredondo, Killed in the U.S. Occupation of Iraq
Authors: Pershing Linda , Bellinger Nishelle Y.
Published: April 2010

After his son Alexander was killed in the Iraq War, Carlos Arredondo created a memorial to honor him. Using enlarged photographs, a coffin, and Alex's military uniform and boots, Arredondo created a portable tribute to his son. The memorial provides him with a way to work through his grief while simultaneously asking viewers to contemplate the consequences of the war. Distinctively shaped by dimensions of race and ethnicity, class, gender, and national identity, the memorial challenges governmental efforts to obfuscate the deaths caused by the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Indonesia: The Irony of Success
Authors: Aspinall Edward
Published: April 2010

Abstract: Indonesia is alternately lauded as a democratization success story and derided as an exemplar of low-quality democracy. This article explains both Indonesian democracy's surprising survival and its defects by focusing on how it fended off three potential spoilers: the military, Islamism and ethnic and regional unrest. In each case, democratic spoilers were granted concessions and incorporated into the democratic system, rather than being excluded from it, pointing to an absorptive capacity in Indonesian democracy inherited from the predecessor authoritarian Suharto regime. Indonesian democracy's resilience and its defects are not in fundamental conflict, but are two sides of the one coin.
Trouble in Central America: Crime, Hard Times, and Discontent
Authors: Seligson Mitchell A. , Booth John A.
Published: April 2010

Abstract: Central America confronts two key challenges, one stemming from the global economic crisis and the other from escalating levels of criminal and gang-related violence. Within the region, however, there is wide variation of the impacts of both challenges, with some countries doing far better than others. AmericasBarometer survey data reveal that public levels of frustration with economic performance and institutions and support for democracy vary considerably. The extreme case of multiple frustration is Honduras, suggesting that the 2009 coup that took place there occurred in part because of elites' reactions to citizen dissatisfaction. The article also raises concerns about Guatemala based on those same data.
Indonesia: Personalities, Parties, and Voters
Authors: Mujani Saiful , Liddle R. William
Published: April 2010

Abstract: In Indonesia's third national elections since democratization in 1999, incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono easily won reelection, while his Democratic Party tripled its vote from the previous 2004 election. Voters in the parliamentary and presidential contests, held in April and July 2009, were motivated, according to two author-conducted nationwide opinion surveys, by support for individual leaders and candidates, the influence of media campaigns, perceptions of the state of the economy, evaluations of governmental performance, and (though declining) identification with political parties. Effects include a strengthened and more responsive presidency at the cost of a more fragmented and volatile party system.
The Freedom House Survey for 2009: The Erosion Accelerates
Authors: Puddington Arch
Published: April 2010

Abstract: In a year of intensified repression against human-rights defenders and democratic activists by many of the world's most powerful authoritarian regimes, Freedom House found a continued erosion of freedom worldwide, with setbacks in Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East. For the fourth consecutive year, declines trumped gains, creating the longest continuous period of deterioration in the nearly forty-year history of Freedom in the World , Freedom House's annual assessment of the state of political rights and civil liberties in every country in the world.
Do Muslims Vote Islamic?
Authors: Kurzman Charles , Naqvi Ijlal
Published: April 2010

Islamic parties have won parliamentary elections in several countries in recent years, leading some observers to speculate that Muslims vote Islamic whenever they are given the chance. However, a review of every parliamentary election in Muslim societies over the past 40 years shows that Islamic parties often compete and rarely win—and the freer the election, the worse these parties perform. In addition, an unprecedented collection of Islamic party platforms shows that Islamic parties have transformed since the 1980s, publicly endorsing democracy and women's rights and de-emphasizing shari'a and jihad. This record suggests that Islamic parties have embraced elections more than engulfing them.
The Freedom House Survey for 2009: Mozambique's Slide into One-Party Rule
Authors: Manning Carrie
Published: April 2010

Abstract: In 2009, Mozambique celebrated 17 years of peace and held its fourth round of general elections. Yet while peace has been consolidated, democracy has not. Each election has further entrenched the ruling party, Frelimo, which has used its control over state power and resources to maintain a highly uneven playing field. In the last elections serious irregularities, thinly veiled efforts to suppress competition, and an absence of transparency undermined the outcome's legitimacy. A dubious electoral commission ruling marginalized a promising new opposition party, and the main opposition, Renamo, lost half its voting base. Democracy in Mozambique appears more fragile than ever.
The Ex-Presidents
Authors: Anderson Lisa
Published: April 2010

The decision by a leader to risk defeat in elections or retire from office at the end of a limited term suggests a rare faith in democratic process and procedure, and an unusual conviction that there can be personal advantage in self-denial. Because of the three considerations all outgoing leaders face—supporting themselves, securing their legacies, and assuring a steady political transition—the market for their skills and expertise will shape their behavior in office. In other words, officeholders behave in ways that anticipate the market for their services after they leave office.
The Ballot and the Badge: Democratic Policing
Authors: Wiatrowski Michael D. , Goldstone Jack A.
Published: April 2010

The most visible arm of government for ordinary citizens is the police. In authoritarian regimes, the police mission is to intimidate and suppress opposition and to protect the regime. In democratic societies, the police mission is to protect and serve the citizenry, building safe communities by responding to both crime and official corruption and abuse. Efforts to build stable democratic regimes in postconflict and fragile states thus require a radical reformation of police forces and their actions. However, international policing and police training missions in postconflict and fragile states have been fragmented, ad hoc, and rarely focused on the principles of democratic policing. Major reforms to international policing and police training are needed if efforts to promote stable democratic government are to succeed.
Trouble in Central America: Honduras Unravels
Authors: Ruhl J. Mark
Published: April 2010

Abstract: In June 2009, the Honduran armed forces ousted President Manuel Zelaya in the first successful military coup in Latin America since 1991. Zelaya's overthrow was precipitated by a constitutional crisis that pitted the leftist president against the Supreme Court, National Congress, Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and both major political parties. An interim civilian government backed by the military resisted international and domestic pressures to reinstate Zelaya for months and held scheduled elections to select his successor. The new president assumed office in 2010, but the outlook for democracy remains uncertain. Competing elites no longer trust democratic rules, and the mass population continues to be disillusioned with elected leaders' failure to address poverty, corruption, and crime.
Unpinning Desdemona (Again) or “Who would be toll’d with Wenches in a shew?”
Authors: Rutter Carol Chillington
Published: April 2010

This article considers one area of what Scott McMillin has described as Othello's "textual mystery" by looking at the theatrical work that text performs. Thinking about the striking differences between Q and F of Othello (printed only a year apart), it asks whether performance can offer answers to textual problems, and further, whether performance can be captured for an archive that might be useful to editors, actors, students, and directors. Taking 4.3 - the unpinning, or 'willow' scene - as a test case, the essay records practical performance experiments conducted on the stages of Shakespeare's (reconstructed) Globe with actors wearing (reconstructed) early modern dress, presenting the record of this experimental work in an online archive (see
The Lost Workers : Process, Performance, and the Archive
Authors: Holland Peter
Published: April 2010

Based on personal experiences of researching productions at the RSC, this article considers and laments the widespread voicelessness of theatre workers and audiences, who frequently play an integral role in the creation of performance archives. It acknowledges typically overlooked variables - such as the individual perspective of the authors of notes in promptbooks - in the construction of a performance archive, and their potential to skew a researcher's impression of the original performance. Beginning with Derrida, and drawing on the work of the artist Christian Boltanski, it theorises the position of the archive as always in process, highlighting its power to create and shape meanings, while also acknowledging the material lacks that it inevitably creates. The argument rejects the conception of archival objects such as promptbooks as static, completed objects, instead offering a reading of them as the continual marker of the process of creating a performance: both in terms of individual moments in a particular performance, as well as the production as a whole. This allows, the article argues, for a consideration of the tension between performance and the archive as well as the play of performance within the archive: in other words, the performativity of the archive itself.
A Choice of Programs
Authors: Shaughnessy Robert
Published: April 2010

This article considers the shifting nature of theatre programs from their nineteenth-century origins as playbills to the expansive documents collected by 21st-century audiences, offering a selective overview, limited to productions of Hamlet , of a period that commences at the moment which saw Godfrey Tearle in the title role at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1931, and concludes at the early 1960s, where the program stabilized into the format that remains with us today. It offers a close, contextual reading of the program as the bearer of evidence of aspects of theatre history that exceed-and sometimes interrogate-the merely taxonomic. In doing so, it considers theatre programs not only as repositories of information, but as texts which can illuminate the changing practices and habits of theatregoing itself, through their management of the relationships between spectator expectations, experiences, memories, and desires. The article considers the ways in which the program, as something to be consulted before, during and after a performance, also provides evidence of how productions facilitate or determine the responses of their audiences, providing a species of performance documentation that, operating in the space between the artistic, the commercial, and the instructive, often vividly evokes the milieux, both extraordinary and everyday, in which theatrical encounters take place.
Being Good: Actors’ Testimonies as Archive and the Cultural Construction of Success in Performance
Authors: Escolme Bridget
Published: April 2010

This article makes use of a unique archive held at Shakespeare's Globe in London where, at the end of every season, actors in the repertory are interviewed by the company's head of research, creating what are known as 'Research Bulletins'. Comprising actors' notes and records of experimentation with movement, voice, audience response, and character creation in rehearsal and performance, these testimonies reveal the centrality of an actors' desire to be 'good - even when Shakespeare requires that they be 'bad'. The article uses these testimonies and the preoccupations they reveal in order to consider actors as objects and subjects of academic study - rather than as transparent vessels for Shakespeare's meaning. Responding to previous academic work on actor testimonies - namely Carol Chillington Rutter's Clamorous Voices, Sarah Werner's Shakespeare and Feminist Performance, and Jonathan Holmes's Merely Players - it examines the anxieties and uncertainties that still sometimes underpin the relationship between the theatre and the academy. In doing so, it seeks to offer suggestions for how academics can use archives of actors' testimonies to create an ethical and compassionate academic critique of both 'good' and 'bad' performance, while still permitting rigorous critique of objects of study which are also human subjects.
Is There a Distinctive Jewish Poetics? Several? Many?: Is There Any Question?
Authors: Lazer Hank
Published: April 2010

This essay, initially presented as the Duffy Lecture (2007) at the University of Notre Dame, explores the applicability of Talmudic and Rabbinic interpretive traditions for a contemporary American experimental poetics. Drawing heavily on the writings of Marc-Alain Ouaknin and Susan Handelman, I argue for the ongoing conversational relationship of text and commentary. The Jewish poetics that I describe in this essay is insistently open-ended and generative, relying upon a strategic undermining of mastery. The essay also discusses an ongoing compositional practice of mine (for poetry) which I call serial heuristics.
Partisan Experiments: Communism, Poetry, and the Liberal Imagination, 1934–1940
Authors: Goffman Ethan
Published: April 2010

The Partisan Review played an important, yet unacknowledged, role in the development of modernist poetry, publishing important poets and encouraging exploration of linkages between politics and aesthetic experimentation. While initial efforts in the magazine were little more than proletarian propaganda, a more sophisticated, if less direct, exploration of such linkages evolved. This coincided with a move away from communism toward a liberal humanist Jewish identity.
Track ing the Word: Judaism's Exile and the Writerly Poetics of George Oppen, Armand Schwerner, Michael Heller, and Norman Finkelstein
Authors: Kimmelman Burt
Published: April 2010

This essay examines the work of four recent Jewish-American poets of successive generations (respectively, George Oppen, Armand Schwerner, Michael Heller, and Norman Finkelstein). In documenting and elucidating their interrelationships, the essay argues simultaneously for the central, and fundamental, role literacy plays in the formation of the self and in the structure of Jewish identity, and in doing so the essay reveals a core ideological value and even an essentialized aesthetic the four poets share. The essay rests on a basic assumption developed by Walter Ong and other theorists of literacy—that writing, in creating the self and thus self-awareness, also gives rise to alienation. Such alienation can be seen to be if not synonymous with exile then at least intimately involved with it, and so, in reading these four poets, the Jewish Diaspora is given full exploration, and is related back to a considered Jewish sense of exile from the Divinity.