bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bulk Synthesis of Poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) Long Macromonomer with Narrow Distribution by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization and Nucleophilic Substitution
Authors: Yang Wei , Kaneko Tatsuo , Liu Xiao-Ya , Chen Ming-Qing , Akashi Mitsuru
Published: January 2006

Poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) macrointermediates (PtBMA-Br) with a bromine atom end group were synthesized in the presence of the single ligand N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in bulk. A macromonomer was successfully prepared by the nucleophilic substitution of the chain end to attain a high efficiency of C=C incorporation (89–92%; 1H NMR). The macromonomer molecular weight was controlled to result in a high molecular weight (11000) with a narrow distribution of 1.20.
EXAFS Studies about the Sorption of Cadmium Ions on Montmorillonite
Authors: Takamatsu Rieko , Asakura Kiyotaka , Chun Wang-Jae , Miyazaki Tsuyoshi , Nakano Masashi
Published: January 2006

We investigated local structures around cadmium (Cd) sorbed on montmorillonite at various pH values by EXAFS (extend X-ray absorption fine structure). We found two sorption types, an outer-sphere complex and a surface precipitate. The outer-sphere complex was mainly formed at a lower pH which had an identical structure to aqueous Cd2+, while the surface precipitate was found at high pH which had a one-layer Cd5(OH)8(NO3)2(H2O)2-like structure.
Photocatalytic Decomposition of Environmentally Persistent Perfluorooctanoic Acid
Authors: Chen Jing , Zhang Pengyi , Zhang Li
Published: January 2006

Perfluorooctanoic acid was photocatalytically decomposed by using TiO2/Ni–Cu, and a small bias potential (−0.1 V) applied on TiO2/Ni–Cu electrode greatly enhanced its decomposition.
The Impact of E-Commerce on Competition in the Retail Brokerage Industry
Authors: Bakos Yannis , Lucas Henry C. , Oh Wonseok , Simon Gary , Viswanathan Siva , Weber Bruce W.
Published: January 2006

This paper analyzes the impact of e-commerce on markets where established firms face competition from Internet-based entrants with focused offerings. In particular, we study the retail brokerage sector where the growth of online brokerages and the availability of alternate sources of information and research services have challenged the dominance of traditional brokerages. We develop a stylized game-theoretic model to analyze the impact of competition between an incumbent full-service brokerage firm with a bundled offering of research services and trade execution and an online entrant offering just trade execution. We find that as consumers’ willingness to pay for research declines, the incumbent finds it optimal to unbundle its offering when competing with the online entrant. We also find that the online entrant chooses a lower quality of trade execution when faced with direct competition from the incumbent’s unbundled offering. The analytical model motivates a unique field experiment placing actual simultaneous trades with traditional full-service and online brokers, to compare order handling practices and the quality of trade execution. In keeping with our analytical results, our empirical findings show a significant difference in the quality of execution between online brokerages and their full-service counterparts. We discuss the relevance of our findings for quality differentiation, price convergence, and profit decline in a variety of markets where traditional incumbents are faced with changes in the competitive landscape as a result of e-commerce.
Psychological Contract Violation in Online Marketplaces: Antecedents, Consequences, and Moderating Role
Authors: Pavlou Paul A. , Gefen David
Published: January 2006

This study examines the nature and role of Psychological Contract Violation (PCV) in online marketplaces, a critical factor that has been largely overlooked by previous research. Applied to buyer-seller relationships, PCV is defined as a buyer’s perception of having being treated wrongly regarding the terms of an exchange agreement with an individual seller. PCV with individual sellers is proposed as a formative first-order construct driven by the occurrence of fraud, product misrepresentation, contract default, delivery delay, and failure to follow product guarantees and payment policies. PCV with an individual seller is proposed to prompt a generalized perception of PCV with the entire community of sellers in a marketplace.

PCV with the community of sellers is hypothesized to negatively affect buyer transaction behavior in a marketplace by directly impacting transaction intentions, price premiums, trust, perceived risk, and the perceived effectiveness of institutional structures. PCV is also hypothesized to act as a moderator, transforming the buyers’ initial trust-based mindset to one more centered on perceived risk. Finally, PCV is hypothesized to attenuate the positive impact of trust on transaction intentions, while reinforcing the negative impact of perceived risk on transaction intentions. It is also proposed to attenuate the impact of the perceived effectiveness of institutional structures on trust, while strengthening its negative effect on perceived risk. As a means of preventing PCV, the buyers’ positive experience and the sellers’ favorable past performance are hypothesized to make PCV with the community of sellers less likely.

A combination of primary and secondary longitudinal data from 404 buyers in eBay’s and Amazon’s online auctions support the proposed hypotheses, validating PCV as a central element of buyer-seller relationships in online marketplaces. Interestingly, ex post facto results show that buyers with higher perceptions of PCV with the community of sellers are less likely to experience PCV with an individual seller in the future.

Implications for buyer-seller relationships in online marketplaces and the PCV literature are discussed. Also discussed is how the increasing number of buyers who experience PCV in online marketplaces extends the literature that has been largely developed based on buyers who had not experienced PCV.
Managing Piracy: Pricing and Sampling Strategies for Digital Experience Goods in Vertically Segmented Markets
Authors: Chellappa Ramnath K. , Shivendu Shivendu
Published: January 2006

Digital goods lend themselves to versioning but also suffer from piracy losses. This paper develops a pricing model for digital experience goods in a segmented market and explores the optimality of sampling as a piracy-mitigating strategy. Consumers are aware of the true fit of an experience good to their tastes only after consumption, and as piracy offers an additional (albeit illegal) consumption opportunity, traditional segmentation findings from economics and sampling recommendations from marketing, need to be revisited. We develop a two-stage model of piracy for a market where consumers are heterogeneous in their marginal valuation for quality and their moral costs. In our model, some consumers pirate the product in the first stage allowing them to update their fit-perception that may result in re-evaluation of their buying/pirating decision in the second stage. We recommend distinct pricing and sampling strategies for underestimated and overestimated products and suggest that any potential benefits of piracy can be internalized through product sampling. Two counterintuitive results stand out. First, piracy losses are more severe for products that do not live up to their hype rather than for those that have been undervalued in the market, thus requiring a greater deterrence investment for the former, and second, unlike physical goods where sampling is always beneficial for underestimated products, sampling for digital goods is optimal only under narrowly defined circumstances due to the price boundaries created by both piracy and segmentation.
Research Note—Two Competing Perspectives on Automatic Use: A Theoretical and Empirical Comparison
Authors: Kim Sung S. , Malhotra Naresh K. , Narasimhan Sridhar
Published: January 2006

Although much research has examined conscious use, which involves deliberate evaluation and decision making, we know less about automatic use, which occurs spontaneously with little conscious effort. The objective of this study is to compare two contrasting views in the literature on the nature of automatic use, namely, the habit/automaticity perspective (HAP) and the instant activation perspective (IAP). According to HAP, automatic use occurs because of the force of habit/automaticity without the formation of evaluations and intention; thus, past use—which is a proxy for habit/automaticity—is believed to weaken the evaluations-intention-usage relationship. In contrast, IAP posits that automatic use is simply an expedited form of conscious use; accordingly, as with conscious use, automatic use is still a function of evaluations/intention, so past use will not weaken the evaluations-intention-usage relationship. We tested the competing hypotheses using 2,075 cross-sectional and 990 longitudinal responses from actual users of two online news sites. Our results show that the evaluations-intention-usage relationship is generally weaker among heavier users than among lighter users. These findings suggest that with an increase in past use, user behavior becomes less evaluative and less intentional, in support of the argument that automatic use is driven more by habit/automaticity than by instant activation of cognitions. Overall, this research shows an initial piece of evidence of the moderating role of past use in postadoption phenomena, and it is expected to help the information systems community systematically investigate the important yet underexplored subject of habit/automaticity.
Editorial Notes
Authors: Sambamurthy Vallabh
Published: January 2006

This has been truly a momentous year for Information Systems Research. Submission volumes are up by more than 100% over the previous years. The accomplishments and the challenges facing the journal are reviewed here. Changes to the editorial board, including the appointment of a new senior editor, are announced.
Convergence to Second-Order Stationary Points of a Primal-Dual Algorithm Model for Nonlinear Programming
Authors: Di Pillo Gianni , Lucidi Stefano , Palagi Laura
Published: January 2006

We define a primal-dual algorithm model (second-order Lagrangian algorithm, SOLA) for inequality constrained optimization problems that generates a sequence converging to points satisfying the second-order necessary conditions for optimality. This property can be enforced by combining the equivalence between the original constrained problem and the unconstrained minimization of an exact augmented Lagrangian function and the use of a curvilinear line search technique that exploits information on the nonconvexity of the augmented Lagrangian function.
Characterizations of the Strong Basic Constraint Qualifications
Authors: Hu Hui
Published: January 2006

In this paper, we characterize the general difference between strong basic constraint qualification (BCQ) and BCQ. For this purpose, we introduce a new measurement, the extent of a subdifferential, and show that for an inequality defined by a proper convex function f, the strong BCQ at a boundary point x of the solution set is equivalent to the extended BCQ plus the positivity of the extent of subdifferential at x. Applying the above characterization to the case when f is the maximum of finitely many differentiable convex functions, we show that the metric regularity at a boundary point x is equivalent to BCQ at every point in a “boundary-neighborhood” of x. In addition, we provide an answer to the open question proposed by Zheng and Ng [ 11 ]. We construct an example to show that BCQ at a boundary point x does not ensure the metric regularity at x.
Minimizing Makespan in No-Wait Job Shops
Authors: Bansal Nikhil , Mahdian Mohammad , Sviridenko Maxim
Published: January 2006

In this paper, we study polynomial time approximation schemes (PTASes) for the no-wait job shop scheduling problem with the makespan objective function. It is known that the problem is MaxSNP-hard in the case when each job is allowed to have three operations or more. We show that if each job has at most two operations, the problem admits a PTAS if the number of machines is a constant (i.e., not part of the input). If the number of machines is not a constant, we show that the problem is hard to approximate within a factor better than 5/4.
Convergence of a Hybrid Projection-Proximal Point Algorithm Coupled with Approximation Methods in Convex Optimization
Authors: Alvarez Felipe , Carrasco Miguel , Pichard Karine
Published: January 2006

In order to minimize a closed convex function that is approximated by a sequence of better behaved functions, we investigate the global convergence of a general hybrid iterative algorithm, which consists of an inexact relaxed proximal point step followed by a suitable orthogonal projection onto a hyperplane. The latter permits to consider a fixed relative error criterion for the proximal step. We provide various sets of conditions ensuring the global convergence of this algorithm. The analysis is valid for nonsmooth data in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Some examples are presented, focusing on penalty/barrier methods in convex programming. We also show that some results can be adapted to the zero-finding problem for a maximal monotone operator.
SomeP-Properties for Nonlinear Transformations on Euclidean Jordan Algebras
Authors: Tao Jiyuan , Gowda M. Seetharama
Published: January 2006

In this article, we introduce the concepts of P and P0properties for a nonlinear transformation defined on a Euclidean Jordan algebra and study existence of solution in the associated complementarity problems. In particular, we show, in this general setting, that if a transformation has the P0and R0properties, then all associated complementarity problems have solutions. We also describe a necessary condition for a transformation to have the (global) uniqueness of solution property.
Single-Machine Scheduling with Precedence Constraints
Authors: Correa José R. , Schulz Andreas S.
Published: January 2006

We discuss the problem of sequencing precedence-constrained jobs on a single machine to minimize the average weighted completion time. This problem has attracted much attention in the mathematical programming community since Sidney’s pioneering work in 1975 (Sidney, J. B. 1975. Decomposition algorithms for single machine scheduling with precedence relations and deferral costs. Operations Research 23 283–298). We look at the problem from a polyhedral perspective and uncover a relation between Sidney’s decomposition theorem and different linear programming relaxations. More specifically, we present a generalization of Sidney’s result, which particularly allows us to reason that virtually all known 2-approximation algorithms are consistent with his decomposition. Moreover, we establish a connection between the single-machine scheduling problem and the vertex cover problem. Indeed, in the special case of series-parallel precedence constraints, we prove that the sequencing problem can be seen as a special case of the vertex cover problem. We also argue that this result is true for general precedence constraints if one can show that a certain integer program represents a valid formulation of the sequencing problem. Finally, we give a 3/2-approximation algorithm for two-dimensional partial orders, and we also provide a characterization of the active inequalities of a linear programming relaxation in completion time variables.
Fluid Queues with Heavy-Tailed M/G/∞ Input
Authors: Borst Sem , Zwart Bert
Published: January 2006

We consider a fluid queue fed by several heterogeneous M/G/∞ input processes with regularly varying session lengths. Under fairly mild assumptions, we derive the exact asymptotic behavior of the stationary workload distribution. In addition, we obtain several asymptotic results for the transient workload distribution, which are applied to obtain a conditional limit theorem for the most probable time to overflow.

The results are strongly inspired by the large-deviations idea that overflow is typically due to some minimal combination of extremely long concurrent sessions causing positive drift. The typical configuration of long sessions is identified through a simple integer program, paving the way for the exact computation of the asymptotic workload behavior. The calculations provide crucial insight in the typical overflow scenario.
The Consistent Coalitional Value
Authors: Bergantiños Gustavo , Vidal-Puga Juan
Published: January 2006

We describe a value for nontransferable utility games with coalition structure. This value coincides with the consistent value for trivial coalition structures, and with the Owen value for transferable utility games with coalition structure. Furthermore, we present two characterizations: the first one using properties of balanced contributions and the second one using a consistency property.
Estimating Tangent and Normal Cones Without Calculus
Authors: Hare W. L. , Lewis A. S.
Published: January 2006

We study simple estimates of the tangent and normal cones to a set with a nonsmooth boundary. We seek estimates that are robust relative to the base point and that depend only on collections of nearby points known to lie inside and outside of the set.
Prediction of Oil and Oleic Acid Concentrations in Individual Corn (Zea Mays L.) Kernels Using Near-Infrared Reflectance Hyperspectral Imaging and Multivariate Analysis
Authors: Weinstock B. André , Janni James , Hagen Lisa , Wright Steven
Published: January 2006

Due to their heterogeneous structure and variability in form, individual corn ( Zea mays L.) kernels present an optical challenge for nondestructive spectroscopic determination of their chemical composition. Increasing demand in agricultural science for knowledge of specific traits in kernels is driving the need to find high-throughput methods of examination. In this study macroscopic near-infrared (NIR) reflectance hyperspectral imaging was used to measure small sets of kernels in the spectroscopic range of 950 nm to 1700 nm. Image analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine kernel germ from endosperm regions as well as to define individual kernels as objects out of sets of kernels. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis was used to predict oil or oleic acid concentrations derived from germ or full kernel spectra. The relative precision of the minimum cross-validated root mean square error (RMSECV) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for oil and oleic acid concentration were compared for two sets of two hundred kernels. An optimal statistical prediction method was determined using a limited set of wavelengths selected by a genetic algorithm. Given these parameters, oil content was predicted with an RMSEP of 0.7% and oleic acid content with an RMSEP of 14% for a given corn kernel.
Determination of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients by Heteroatom Selective Detection Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Ultrasonic Nebuilization and Membrane Desolvation Sample Introduction
Authors: Kwok Kaho , Carr John E. , Webster Gregory K. , Carnahan Jon W.
Published: January 2006

The combination of ultrasonic nebulization with membrane desolvation (USN-MD) is utilized to determine active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) by heteroatom inductively coupled mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) detection. Ultrasonic nebulization provides efficient sampling while use of the membrane desolvator acts to reduce solvent-based interferences. This approach reduces interferences sufficiently so that a standard argon ICP-quadrupole MS can be utilized. Examined APIs and associated heteroatoms included: phosphomycin (P), amoxicillin (S), chlorpropamide (Cl), and ofloxacin (F). The optimum plasma r.f. powers for P, S, and Cl were in the 1000 to 1200 watts range. The high ionization energy of F required that the plasma be operated at 1500 W. The 16O2+ interference at mass 32 precluded determinations using the sulfur-32. The sulfur-34 (4.2% natural isotopic abundance), however, was relatively free of isobaric interferences. Interferences were relatively small at the mass 35 isotope of Cl, but increased with higher ICP r.f. powers. Overlaps were significant at the masses of monoisotopic species, fluorine-19 and phosphorus-31. Detection limits for P, S, Cl, and F of 2, 3, 90, and 3000 ng/mL, respectively, were generally lower than those produced with other quadrupole systems and comparable to or better than values published utilizing high-resolution instruments.
Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Chernozem Humic Acid and Their Fractions Obtained by Coupled Size Exclusion Chromatography—Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SEC-PAGE)
Authors: Sanchez-Cortes S. , Corrado G. , Trubetskaya O. E. , Trubetskoj O. A. , Hermosin B. , Saiz-Jimenez C.
Published: January 2006

A humic acid extracted from a chernozem soil was fractionated combining size exclusion chromatography and polyacrylamide electrophoresis (SEC-PAGE). Three fractions named A, B, and C+D, with different electrophoretic mobilities and molecular sizes (MS), were obtained and subsequently characterized by thermochemolysis and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The data confirmed that fraction A, with the higher MS, was more aliphatic than fractions B and C+D and, in turn, fractions with lower MS (B and C+D) denoted an enrichment in lignin residues. These structural features explain conformational changes when varying the pH in the humic fraction A and indicated that combination of the two techniques is a good approach for characterizing humic substances.
Spectral Simulation Study on the Influence of the Principal Component Analysis Step on Principal Component Regression
Authors: Hasegawa Takeshi
Published: January 2006

Principal component regression (PCR) is unique in that the principal component analysis (PCA) step is explicitly involved in the central part of the method. In the present paper, the PCA part is examined in order to study the influence of noise in spectra on PCR by spectral simulation. It has been suggested, as a result, that PCR calibration would have a large inaccuracy when the estimated number of basis factors analyzed by the eigenvalue method is less than that by cross-validation, which was studied by use of synthesized spectra. This instability is because the minute noise is largely enhanced by the PCA calculation via the normalization of loadings. At the same time, the noise enhancement by PCA has also been characterized to influence the estimation of basis factors.
Raman and Infrared Microspectral Imaging of Mitotic Cells
Authors: Matthäus Christian , Boydston-White Susie , Miljković Miloš , Romeo Melissa , Diem Max
Published: January 2006

We report the first ever Raman and infrared microspectroscopic images of human cells at different stages of mitosis. These spectroscopic methods monitor the distribution of condensed nuclear chromatin, and other biochemical components, utilizing inherent protein and DNA spectral markers, and, therefore, do not require the use of any stains. In conjunction with previously reported data from the G1, S, and G2 phases of the cell cycle, the complete cell division cycle has now been mapped by spectroscopic methods. Although the results reported here do not offer new insights into the distribution of biochemical components during mitosis, the recognition of cell division without the use of stains, and the possibility of doing so on living cells, may be useful for an automatic, spectroscopic determination of the proliferation rates of cells and tissues. Spectral images were constructed by plotting spectral intensities of DNA or protein versus the coordinates from which spectra were recorded. We found that both Raman and infrared intensities depend on the overall chromatin density variation among the individual subphases of mitosis.
Resonance-Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Detection of Nitrogen Containing Aliphatic and Aromatic Compounds: Resonance-Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization Spectroscopic Investigation and On-Line Analytical Application
Authors: Streibel T. , Hafner K. , Mühlberger F. , Adam T. , Zimmermann R.
Published: January 2006

Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) is an analytical method capable of on-line monitoring of trace compounds in complex matrices. A necessary prerequisite for substance selective detection is spectroscopic investigation of the target molecules. Several organic nitrogen compounds comprising aliphatic and aromatic amines, nitrogen heterocyclic compounds, and aromatic nitriles are spectroscopically investigated with a tunable narrow bandwidth optical parametric oscillator (OPO) laser system providing a scannable wavelength range between 220 and 340 nm. These species are known as possible precursors in fuel–NO formation from combustion of solid fuels such as biomass and waste. A newly conceived double inlet system was used in this study, which allows rapid change between effusive and supersonic molecular beams. The resulting REMPI spectra of the compounds are discussed with respect to electronic transitions that could be utilized for a selective ionization of these compounds in complex mixtures such as combustion and process gases. The practicability of this approach is demonstrated by wavelength selected on-line REMPI-TOFMS detection of aniline and cyanonaphthalene in the burning chamber of a waste incineration plant. REMPI mass spectra recorded at different excitation wavelengths as well as variations in time show the utilization of species-selective REMPI-TOFMS detection for on-line monitoring of crucial substances in pollutant formation.
Limitations Arising from Two-Photon Absorption of Solvent in Pulsed-Laser Thermal Lens Detection: Determination of the Two-Photon Absorption Coefficient of Ethanol at 266 nm
Authors: Ghaleb Khalil Abbas , Georges Joseph
Published: January 2006

Two-photon absorption of the solvent under pulsed-laser excitation at 266 nm produces a high background thermal lens signal interfering with the analyte signal. Discrimination of both solvent and analyte signals along with calibration of the photothermal response has allowed the determination of the two-photon absorption coefficient of ethanol. The obtained value, 3.0 × 10−10 cm W−1, is close to the literature values obtained from transmittance measurements using picosecond or femtosecond laser pulses.
Preliminary Evaluation of Micro-Raman Spectrometry for the Characterization of Individual Aerosol Particles
Authors: Potgieter-Vermaak S. S. , Van Grieken R.
Published: January 2006

Raman spectrometry has been used to determine the graphitic C content and to estimate particle size and disordered character of the C in aerosol particulate matter collected on filters, with sample spot sizes on the order of 100 μm being analyzed. Individual analysis of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 μm has therefore not been considered. In this investigation, various size fractions of aerosol particulate matter originating from both indoor and outdoor sources were collected by means of impactors or passive dry deposition on different types of substrate and analyzed by means of micro-Raman spectrometry with spot sizes ranging from 1–5 μm. The aim was to investigate the possible application of micro-Raman spectrometry to the molecular characterization of individual aerosol particles and to assess the applicability of the various substrates in such an analysis. It was demonstrated that the molecular characterization of most inorganic particles is trivial, but organic and heterogeneous conglomerates proved to be more challenging. Spectral contributions of the substrates, currently favored for individual particle analysis, were significant. Results obtained from micro Raman spectrometry can certainly add valuable molecular information on individual aerosol particles as small as 1 μm aerodynamic diameter.
Observations in Collinear Femtosecond—Nanosecond Dual-Pulse Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
Authors: Scaffidi J. , Pearman W. , Carter J. C. , Angel S. M.
Published: January 2006

In the work reported herein, we have combined a short-lived femtosecond laser-induced plasma (LIP) and a longer-lived nanosecond LIP in a collinear pulse configuration to examine the source(s) of atomic emission and signal-to-noise enhancement in dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Initial studies indicate that the primary source of dual-pulse LIBS enhancement in the collinear configuration may in large part be a matter of pulse focus; focusing on the sample surface, for example, yields atomic emission enhancements whose lifetime correlates reasonably well with the femtosecond LIP emissive lifetime, suggesting that plasma–plasma coupling may play an important role at that pulse focus. At a second “optimal” focal position above the sample surface, alternatively, atomic emission and signal-to-noise enhancements correlate quite well with the nitrogen and oxygen atomic emission reductions previously seen following use of a femtosecond air spark and a nanosecond ablative pulse in the orthogonal dual-pulse configuration, suggesting that pressure or number density reductions due to femtosecond LIP formation in air may be significant at that pulse focus.
Regional Difference of Water Content in Human Skin Studied by Diffuse-Reflectance Near-Infrared Spectroscopy: Consideration of Measurement Depth
Authors: Egawa Mariko , Arimoto Hidenobu , Hirao Tetsuji , Takahashi Motoji , Ozaki Yukihiro
Published: January 2006

Diffuse reflectance (DF) spectra in the 1250–2500 nm region were measured in vivo for the skin of the forehead, cheek, jaw, elbow, volar forearm, palm, knee, and heel of seven healthy volunteers, using a Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectrophotometer with a fiber-optic probe. Apparent regional differences of water content in the skin, as estimated from the diffuse reflectance NIR spectra, are discussed in relation to the influence of measurement depth. The NIR spectra were collected with or without a 300 μm gap between the fiber-optic probe and the skin surface. For comparison, in vitro NIR spectra of stratum corneum sheets equilibrated at 41, 50, 63, and 81% relative humidity, at 25 °C, were also obtained. There was a difference in the ratio of the two water bands centered near 1450 nm and 1900 nm between the contact and non-contact measurements. In addition, regional differences of water content calculated from the peak height of the 1900 nm water band, which was normalized to the peak height of the 2175 nm amide band, were compared. The results of Monte Carlo simulation indicated that the apparent regional differences arise at least in part from differences in the measurement depth due to differences in specular reflection at the skin surface and in the thickness of the stratum corneum.
Hallucinating Ted Serios: the impossibility of failed performativity
Authors: Hiebert Ted
Published: January 2006

Hallucination: the perception of an impossible image. That which can never appear suddenly does so anyways - a private world that appears only to the eye of the one imagining it... until now. Ted Serios, psychic photographer, claimed he could project images directly from his mind onto
photographic film. Under the sign of the psychic photograph, “Hallucinating Ted Serios” is a theorization of the dominant forms of uncertainty that persist in postmodern evaluations of representation, interpretation and identity. The central thesis of this paper is that the imaginary
and the real have collapsed into the spectral hallucination of one another, rendering impossible the rhetorical separation of hallucination from image. With the collapse of the boundary between the fictive and the real, the world of representation becomes intelligible only as an imaginary
phenomenon; with the collapse between the object and the observer, interpretation is rendered deceptively magical; and, with the collapse between the self and its anonymous double, identity itself is relegated to a state of impossibility. Consequently, under the persisting signs of the imaginary,
the magical and the impossible, “Hallucinating Ted Serios” asserts that in our contemporary world there no longer exists the possibility of failed performativity – psychic, imaginary or otherwise.
Electric flesh - the electromagnetic medium
Authors: Dunning Alan , Woodrow Paul
Published: January 2006

This paper discusses the work of the Einstein's Brain Project and its representations of a dynamic world through the production of technologically sustained realities and recursive cognitive systems examining bio-electrical fields. These augmented realities combine the languages of
art, science and technology, and the new structures of hypermorphism - the ever morphing, ever changing object, and the parallaxic remix - the ever moving contextual eye -to reveal the invisible elements of biological existence and the dynamics of living systems.
Immersive Excess in the Apse of Lascaux
Authors: Nechvatal Joseph
Published: January 2006

This paper will investigate the anonymous collective of skilled artists which created an immersive work of art of a high order in the Abside (Apse) of the Grotte de Lascaux. The Apse is a roundish, semi-spherical, penumbra-like chamber (like those adjacent to Romanesque basiliques)
approximately 4.5 metres in diameter (about 5 yards) covered on every wall surface (including the ceiling) with thousands of entangled, overlapping, engraved drawings (Leroi-Gourhan 1968: 315) for which, on request, I received a very unique privilege of seeing, though far too briefly.
The Role of Applied Potential on Environment-Assisted Cracking of Zirconium Alloys
Authors: Roy AK , Valliyil U , Govindaraj E
Published: January 2006

Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 have been tested by the slow-strain-rate technique at ambient and elevated temperatures in an acidic environment relevant to the proposed geologic repository at the Yucca Mountain site. Tests were performed with and without cathodic and anodic applied potentials. The results of stress corrosion cracking testing without applied potentials indicate that the ductility of both alloys was enhanced in terms of percent elongation, percent reduction in area, failure strain, and the time-to-failure with increasing temperature indicating improved ductility. However, the magnitude of true failure stress was gradually reduced at higher testing temperatures. The application of anodic and cathodic controlled potentials during slow-strain-rate testing enhanced the cracking susceptibility of both alloys showing more pronounced effect at anodic applied potentials. The corrosion potential for both alloys, became more active at the elevated temperature. The morphology of failure at cathodic potentials was ductile, showing dimpled microstructure. However, transgranular brittle failure was observed with both alloys at anodic controlled potentials.
Plasma Assisted Heat Treating Processes of Bearing Components
Authors: Beer O
Published: January 2006

Plasma surface-engineering technologies show several advantages over conventional surface engineering. In this paper the basic properties of a glow discharge plasma process and the way it is used for industrial applications is demonstrated via plasma nitriding and plasma carburizing of bearing parts. Plasma nitriding was applied for duplex hardening (DH) of bearing parts made from M50 and M50 NiL material. The influence of the process parameters on hardness profile and microstructure of the diffusion layer formed during nitriding is shown. By metallurgical evaluation of many specimens, located at different positions in the furnace, the uniformity of the process is demonstrated. Results of several rig tests show the superiority of the nitrided bearings but also confirm the importance of close control of the nitriding process. Plasma carburizing processes were applied on bearing parts made from M50 NiL material. The mechanical and thermo chemical pre-treatment of the surface can be replaced by an initial sputtering which improves the reliability of the process. Hardness profiles, microstructure, and residual stress profiles of the carburized zone are comparable to those from gas carburizing.
Research on potential cementitious reactivity and immobilisation effect by Portland cement on MSW fly ash
Authors: Shi H. , Shi J. , Wang L. , Yuan L.
Published: January 2006

Incinerator fly ash is the material collected by the scrubber after incineration of municipal solid wastes (MSW). By composition it belongs to the CaO−SiO2−Al2O3−Fe2O3system, and it is similar to the slag and fly ash from electricity generating stations that is usually used. It may contain water-leachable heavy metals and so it is regarded as hazardous and must be immobilised/stabilised. The physical properties of fly ash were studied experimentally and its influence on the mechanical properties of the hardened cement paste, the hydration mechanism when the fly ash was added to the cement system and the pollution from heavy metals within the fly ash were also investigated. The feasibility of using the fly ash derived from the incineration of MSW as supplementary cementitious material was explored. It was shown that the reactivity of fly ash was lower and the addition of fly ash to cement may lead to retardation of cement hydration and, furthermore, that ettringite can be formed during the hydration process, which is beneficial for strength development. It was also shown that the immobilisation effect of cement on this fly ash is good and that heavy metals can be immobilised within the structure of the hydration phases through addition, substitution or sorption mechanisms.
Children's views on the road environment and safety
Authors: Lupton K. , Bayley M.
Published: January 2006

This paper describes the qualitative phase of a research study that explored children's perceptions of the road environment, traffic and accidents involving children. It includes their views and experience of road crossing facilities and measures that they believe would help them to cross more safely. The children interviewed were aged between 8 and 15 and were drawn from junior and secondary schools in North London and Hertfordshire. Children believed that they were most at risk in the company of other children, owing to the distraction of conversation or play. In addition, they found that the volume and speed of traffic made it difficult for them to find safe crossing opportunities, which could cause them to be hesitant or to take undue risks. Mandatory controls over drivers were popular, and they wanted to see crossing facilities that simplified the crossing task and offered them more protection.
Does Framing Matter for Conditional Cooperation? Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment
Authors: Meier Stephan
Published: January 2006

Framing a decision situation differently has affected behavior substantially in previous studies. This paper tests a framing effect in a field experiment at the University of Zurich. Each semester, every student has to decide whether to contribute to two social funds. Students were randomly informed that a high percentage of the student population contributed (or, equivalently, that a low percentage did not contribute), while others received the information that a relatively low percentage contributed (or a high percentage did not contribute).The results show the influence of framing effects is limited. People behave in a conditional cooperative way if informed either about the number of contributors or about the equivalent number of non-contributors. The positive correlation between group behavior and individual behavior is, however, weaker when the focus is on the defectors. The field experiment also shows gender differences in social comparison.
Indirect Costs and Discounting in Health Care Decision-Making: The Role of Distortionary Taxation
Authors: Liu Liqun , Rettenmaier Andrew J , Saving Thomas R
Published: January 2006

Two important unresolved issues in the evaluation of health care programs are the treatment of indirect costs and the selection of the appropriate discount rate. This paper emphasizes the role of distortionary taxation in addressing these issues. It establishes that: (i) indirect government-paid costs should be treated differently from indirect privately-paid costs; (ii) direct and indirect government costs of a health program should be discounted by the gross rate of return, while consumers' monetary valuations of the program's effects, less direct private costs, should be discounted at the net rate of return; and (iii) the present value of total government costs should be multiplied by a marginal cost of funds before it is comparable to the present value of net private benefits.
How to Spin the 2002 Election
Authors: Polsby Nelson W.
Published: January 2006

Professor Polsby explains that the 2002 elections ended in nearly a draw, even though the conventional wisdom is that the Republicans won a clear victory.
September 11: Symbolism and Responses to "9/11"
Authors: Hopkins Mark , Hopkins Raymond F.
Published: January 2006

Professors Hopkins and Hopkins review the impact of 9/11 as a symbol in American politics. Following the terrorist attacks, "9/11" became a simple reference condensing wide-ranging events and emotions. Various interpretations emerged about what caused "9/11" and enabled the attacks. The authors claim that 9/11 allowed US leaders to pursue certain policy prescriptions that otherwise would have been blocked. Among four possible prescriptions for responding to the attacks, the Bush administration chose a "praetorian" policy of preventive war, with Iraq as its first example. In the authors view, by pursuing an expansive but highly militarized response, the US has overlooked the need to alleviate the conditions that made 9/11 possible. The authors recommend that the US, as part of a multilateral effort, allocate major resources to expanding "global public goods," including measures that strengthen barriers to proliferation, enhance fighting of global crime, and reduce incentives for terrorism, especially ones arising in failing states where distorted education and weak protection of human rights encourage organized terrorism.
An Irresponsible Intrusion
Authors: Lowenstein Daniel H.
Published: January 2006

Professor Lowenstein argues that the en banc 9th Circuit was correct to reinstate the Oct. 7 recall election. Blocking the election would have been an irresponsible intrusion into a states political system and an incorrect reading of Bush v. Gore. In addition, delaying the election would have created chaos for candidates and election officials, perhaps creating greater distortions in the electoral process than if the recall proceeded as required under the California Constitution.
What the Rise of the Republicans as America's First Ideological Party Means for the Democrats
Authors: Gilman Nils
Published: January 2006

Gilman argues that the Republicans have transformed themselves into the first ideologically-defined American political party to achieve success, while the Democrats remain an old-fashioned non-ideological party serving group interests. These partisan differences are manifest in approaches to governing: Democrats prefer to bargain and compromise, while Republicans assume that a majority entitles them to full control over policy outcomes. To challenge the Republicans successfully, Democrats must abandon the old-style of governing as policy tacticians and adopt an ideological approach to governing in the classic European sense.
Black, White, Brown and Cajun: The Racial Dynamics of the 2003 Louisiana Gubernatorial Election
Authors: Skinner Richard , Klinkner Philip A
Published: January 2006

The recent gubernatorial election in Louisiana suggests that racial issues remain salient in the Deep South. Pre-election polls showed Republican Bobby Jindal, an Indian-American supported by George W. Bush and Governor Mike Foster, with a comfortable lead. However, Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco may have benefited from white voters discomfort with supporting a brown-skinned Indian-American. Her performance, both absolutely and relative to normal Democratic showings, correlates strongly with the support won by David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klansman, who ran as Republican in 1991. These findings also suggest that efforts to build a more racially diverse Republican party may encounter resistance from white conservatives, especially in rural areas.
Like Father, Like Son: Testing the Bush I-Bush II Comparison Predictions
Authors: Carpenter Dick
Published: January 2006

Professor Carpenter challenges the conventional wisdom that George W. Bush must avoid the fate of his father by focusing on the economy. He argues that the economic picture was quite different for father and son, such as dissimilar rates of change in unemployment and inflation during their tenures in office. More importantly, economic approval ratings fail to predict accurately their overall approval ratings. In contrast to the conventional wisdom, Carpenters analysis shows that perceptions of foreign policy leadership appear to be more important in predicting approval for both presidencies. And even though the combination of economic and foreign approval ratings appear to drive Bush IIs performance ratings overall, these played a rather insignificant role for Bush I.
The Rise and Fall of Howard Dean and Other Notes on the 2004 Democratic Presidential Nomination
Authors: Bernstein Jonathan
Published: January 2006

Professor Bernstein looks back at this year's Democratic presidential nomination, and discusses the implications for the future of the nominating system. Among the interesting aspects of the 2004 cycle he comments on: the demise of the winner of the invisible primary, Howard Dean; the decisions by Dean and nominee John Kerry to opt out of public financing; and the ability of Democrats to rapidly converge on a nominee after the surprising results of the Iowa caucuses.
From the End of the Nomination Contest to the Start of the National Conventions: Preliminary Thoughts on a New Period in Presidential Campaign Politics
Authors: Mayer William G.
Published: January 2006

As the presidential nomination process has become more front-loaded and the New Hampshire primary has been scheduled earlier in the calendar year, a new period in presidential campaign politics has emerged, running from about mid-March until late July, in which both parties' nomination races have been effectively settled, even though neither national convention has yet taken place. This article presents an initial exploration of this period, focused on how and why it emerged, what is distinctive about it, and whether it has any apparent impact on the final outcome.
Why the Democrats Can Win This Year
Authors: Koster R.M.
Published: January 2006

Koster describes the four visions of America that continue to contend for primacy within and between the two major parties. With fewer Americans feeling like outsiders during the 2000 Elections, the Democratswho champion the value of fairnesstemporarily lost their dominance over Republicans. Under the Bush presidency, however, the Democratic principle of fairness has become attractive again to voters.
What's Right with Our Universities...and What's Wrong
Authors: Rosenzweig Robert
Published: January 2006

Professor Rosenzweig explains how universities are now trapped in a competitive commercial market, which undermines academic norms and programs. While acknowledging that universities remain vibrant intellectual institutions, he cites growing problems that need to be addressed as these institutions become increasingly embedded in a commercial environment.