bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Becoming a Nonexpert and Other Strategies for Managing Fieldwork Dilemmas in the Criminal Justice System
Authors: Castellano Ursula
Published: November 2007

In this article, the author presents three fieldwork strategies for managing role conflict in criminal justice settings. One of the most critical issues for ethnographers immersed in fieldwork is balancing the tension between the researcher and participant-observation roles. Ethnographers in criminal justice settings as well as other types of street-level bureaucracies are commonly confronted with dilemmas involving physical risk, highly sensitive data, marginalized clientele, and the exploitive use of power and domination by institutional gatekeepers. Researchers venturing into challenging fieldwork settings, such as criminal justice environments, must be highly attuned to the constraints and opportunities for collecting data. The author argues that these strategies can augment ethnographers' “data collection toolkit” to better address fieldwork problems. In addition, deploying these strategies can help to reveal unforeseen findings in the study.
Synthesis of Nanosilver/PMMA Composites Via Ultrasonically Bi-In situ Emulsion polymerization
Authors: Guo Cai Xu  , Jing Yu Xiong  , Xiao Li Ji  , Yan Li Wang
Published: November 2007

Silver-poly(methyl methacrylate) (Ag/PMMA) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by bi-in situ ultrasonic radiating the emulsion containing methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer and silver nitrate; no initiator or reductant in this method. The resultant Ag/PMMA nanocomposites were charazcterized by infrared spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results revealed that nanosilver as core within the composites particles were uniform polycrystallines. The thermoanalysis of the nanocomposites showed that the nanosilver within the nanocomposites possessed the effect of the small dimension. The experimental factors such as systemic temperature, the concentration of the silver nitrate, and contents of MMA on the final conversion of monomer were also discussed. It is interesting that the polymerization can be promoted by silver clusters.
Investigation by TGA—FTIR of the Effect of Styrene Content and Thickness on the UV-curing of Vinylester Resins
Authors: Cardona F. , Rogers D. , Van Erp G.
Published: November 2007

The influence of styrene content and thickness of the samples on the UV curing of vinyl ester/styrene resins (VERs) is investigated by DSC and the combination of TGA and FTIR (TGA—FTIR). The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the network polymers after curing are found to be lower for the VERs with higher styrene content. The released heat during UV curing further increases the Tg, with this increase being proportional to the volume of the resins. Within the range of thickness investigated (up to 30 mm) the relative amount of emissions of styrene, VE, and CO2 are found to be similar at the top and at the bottom of the samples. Similar results are obtained from the TGA analysis, indicating that the VERs are fully or almost fully cured all along the cross section. A good correlation is found between the analysis of the thermal properties by DSC and the results obtained by the TGA—FTIR system.
Mechanical Characterization of E-Chopped Strand Glass Fiber Reinforced Wood/PVC Composites
Authors: Tungjitpornkull S. , Chaochanchaikul K. , Sombatsompop N.
Published: November 2007

E-chopped strand glass fibers with different initial fiber lengths and contents are introduced into wood-polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites having the wood content of 50 parts per hundred (phr). The initial fiber lengths and glass fiber contents varied from 3, 6, and 12 mm, and 10, 20, and 30 phr, respectively, and the mechanical and morphological properties of the wood/PVC composites are then monitored. The results suggest that the tensile and flexural moduli and strengths of the wood/PVC composites increase with increasing glass fiber contents. The tensile and flexural moduli and strengths of the WPVC composites at 10—20 phr glass fiber loadings are more dependent on carbonyl (C=O) content on the fiber surface, but those at 30 phr glass fiber loadings are influenced by the average final length of glass fibers. The impact strength of the wood/PVC composites progressively increase with increasing glass fiber content. The elongation at break is found to slightly decrease with increasing glass fiber content due to increases in fiber-end effects and stress concentrations in the wood/PVC composites. The effect of initial fiber length on the degree of composite shrinkage is very small, the values ranging from 0.3 to 1.3%.
Free Vibration Analysis of Laminated Cylindrical Shells by Using Fourier Series Expansion Method
Authors: Shao Z.S. , Ma G.W.
Published: November 2007

Free vibration analysis of laminated cylindrical shells with arbitrary classical boundary conditions is presented in this article. Strain-displacement relations from Love's shell theory are employed in the analysis. Using Fourier series expansion and Stokes' transformation, frequency determinant of laminated cylindrical shells is derived. Comparisons between the results of the present method and previous studies are performed. Excellent agreement is obtained when enough terms of the infinite Fourier series are considered. As a numerical example, an antisymmetric angle-ply laminated cylindrical shell is considered. The effects of boundary conditions, length-to-radius ratio, thickness-to-radius ratio, and fiber orientation on the natural frequencies are analyzed and graphically presented.
The 228 Incident and the Taiwan Independence Movement's Construction of a Taiwanese Identity
Authors: Fleischauer Stefan
Published: November 2007

After the Second World War, Taiwan was returned to Chinese authority after 50 years of Japanese colonial rule. Only 18 months later, the local inhabitants of the island revolted against the new Chinese rulers of the KMT regime, demanding a greater degree of autonomy. After a brief period of feigned negotiations, this uprising was brutally suppressed by military reinforcements from the mainland. This 228 Incident of 1947 came to play a pivotal role in the struggle of the Taiwan independence movement. One of the major tasks of the movement was to create and propagate a distinct Taiwanese identity, which would legitimate the strife for an independent Taiwanese nation. In the course of the last 60 years, however, these attempts to create a Taiwanese “We” group distinct from China have not been static, but have had to be redefined and renegotiated according to a changing international and domestic environment. These alterations of group demarcation have necessitated reinterpretations of the 228 Incident, as a means of maintaining its legitimizing power for the Taiwan independence movement. As could be observed in the spectacular 228 hand-in-hand rally in 2004, redefinition and renegotiation are still unfolding to this day.
SARS in Chinese Politics and Law
Authors: Keith Ronald , Lin Zhiqiu
Published: November 2007

This article surveys the Chinese response to SARS in law and politics. Over the course of the spread of SARS the party-state qualified legal reform strategy that was designed to provide new human rights protection and to curtail the state's arbitrary resort to policy and regulation without the benefit of law. This immediate response revealed the underlying problems of rule-of-law making, but the experience of SARS later informed the creation of new and improved law on infectious disease that reiterated the original assumptions of legal reform within a newly developing approach to the public management of health crises.
Reproduction and State-Building along China's Frontiers
Authors: Rohlf Greg
Published: November 2007

This article analyzes population resettlement to western China during contemporary times within a historical framework that emphasizes gender. During the 1950s most relocatees to Qinghai were men, following the historical pattern set by Qing policies. Empirical data also show that the PRC government explicitly recruited women for relocation to border and remote areas. Women were moved to western regions as somewhat gender-neutral workers and also to serve in their traditional roles as wives and mothers. In both roles, women were a crucial component in state-building policies in border and remote areas. In fact, because sovereignty could not be permanently established without a naturally reproducing population, one can argue that reproduction was, and is, a basic component of state-building—an assertion that gets little attention in analyses of social and political change in border regions. This article describes the consolidation phase of territorial expansion as a feminine or yin process that relied upon incremental, organic growth, or “soft” assertions of power. Government documents, published materials, census records, and journalistic reporting are used to demonstrate these patterns and processes.
Miaohui, the Temples Meeting Festival in North China
Authors: Zhao Xudong , Bell Duran
Published: November 2007

We examine the multiple purposes and modalities that converge during a circuit of festivals, miaohui, which temples organize in recognition of local gods and which are attended reciprocally by temple representatives from the surrounding area in North China. The festivals involve intense expressions of devotion to one or more deities, while offering an opportunity for representatives of other villages to seek recognition through rather boisterous drumming and prolonged choreographed dancing. We note also the emergence of Mao as a great god whose legacy as Chairman of the CCP is projected in order to legitimate current Party leadership and their policy of reform while concurrently acting as a powerful denial of those same policies from the perspective of villagers.
Screening Disability in the PRC
Authors: Dauncey Sarah
Published: November 2007

This article outlines the political, social, economic, and cultural factors affecting disability representation in Chinese cinema from the founding of the PRC onwards, particularly after 1976. With reference to a wide variety of films that include main characters with visual, hearing, speech, physical, and learning impairments, it demonstrates how socialist realism, the equation of a “healthy” body with a healthy nation, and the great economic endeavor of the Mao era all contributed to the limitation of disabled people on the big screen, whilst the opening-up reforms, spiritual civilization campaigns, and commercial and critical demands of the post-Mao era effectively promoted their inclusion. At different times, the marginality of disabled people has resulted in them being overlooked as irrelevant, rejected as impaired, employed as a political tool, or identified as a marketable commodity. The representation or nonrepresentation of disability in Chinese film is closely linked to the politics of looking good.
Diplomatic condolences: ideological positioning in the death of Yasser Arafat
Authors: Fenton-Smith Ben
Published: November 2007

Yasser Arafat wasakey figure in the political life ofthelate20th and early 21st centuries. As Palestinian president, he was a central player in negotiations over the most contentious issue of the time: Middle East peace. But although his significance is unquestioned, his status is ambiguous: for some he was a freedom fighter, for others a terrorist. It is interesting, therefore, to observe the ways in which different world governments marked the death of Arafat in November 2004, in their official condolence messages. Using the tools of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and systemic functional linguistics (SFL), this article treats the diplomatic condolence message as a recognizable text type that has much to tell us about how governments signal and construct ideological positions and in doing so `enact' the international community.
A thorn by any other name: sexist discourse as hate speech
Authors: Lillian Donna L.
Published: November 2007

Scholarship on hate speech usually addresses racist and ethnicist discourses, and less often homophobic discourses. This article opens a conversation about sexist discourse as hate speech. In arguing that sexist discourse should be considered hate speech, I review several definitions of hate speech, one of which I use in analyzing the texts of neoconservative author William D. Gairdner. I argue that, although Gairdner's sexist discourse does not meet the legal definitions of hate speech, it is consistent with linguistic criteria for hate speech and that, since Gairdner's discourse is representative of mainstream sexist discourse, all such sexist discourse counts as hate speech. I conclude by asking why, amid all the published works on hate speech, the question of sexist discourse as hate speech is rarely even addressed. Since society still operates as if `male' and `female' were simple, self-evident categories, we, as feminists, must still respond to and challenge the sexist discourses that perpetuate and reproduce such dichotomies. One way to do that is to recognize sexist discourse as a form of hate speech and to challenge it on that basis.
Pro- and anti-whaling discourses in British and Japanese newspaper reports in comparison: a cross-cultural perspective
Authors: Murata Kumiko
Published: November 2007

This article compares and contrasts the discourse of whaling in British and Japanese newspaper reports. It investigates the ways in which pro- and anti-whaling discourses are formulated in the press by examining, in particular, the following features: (1) the use of specific lexis and syntactic structures, (2) the use of rhetorical devices, and (3) the control and organization of information at a discourse level. The article claims that British and Japanese news reports use very different strategies in expressing their anti- and pro-whaling stances; the former tend to use a more emotive and provocative tone, whereas the latter use a more restrained and factual tone. The article also claims that the issue of whaling tends to be discussed under different cultural assumptions and values in the respective discourses; and thus, suggests the possibility that readers may be influenced by the cumulative effects of these different discourses.
Staging gender online: gender plays in Swiss internet relay chats
Authors: Rellstab Daniel H.
Published: November 2007

The relationship between chat and gender is a topic that has been discussed for more than 20 years now. Feminist theorists have claimed that virtual reality effaces gender. Others have pointed to the fact that gender matters online as well as offline; linguists in particular have shown that `real-life' gender leaves traces online in the form of discourse styles and patterns. This article has a somewhat different focus. It analyzes blatant plays with gender in Swiss internet relay chats (IRCs). In these games, chatters make use of gender, and put it on stage. These plays are possible because the construction of the gender in IRCs is achieved almost exclusively by communicative means. They might also be possible because the IRC releases the pressures of social constraints with regard to gender. And they have an effect, which could be described in gender theoretic terms as `queering.' But it has to be observed that these plays are made visible as plays, marked, and temporally limited; afterwards, gender constraints are effective again.
`She was workin like foreal': critical literacy and discourse practices of African American females in the age of hip hop
Authors: Richardson Elaine
Published: November 2007

This study explores some ways young black women negotiate stereotypical and hegemonic representations of black men and women as sexual savages in mass media, especially as they appear in rap music videos. The objective of the article is to examine how young black women make meaning of these images, in short, how they read rap texts in relation to their experiences of the world as black women. The article aims to: (1) add to the extant research literature on black discourse practices and African American female literacies; (2) demonstrate the complex language, literacy and knowledge-making capacity that exists among young black women who participate in hip hop youth culture, to inform the approaches to the resolution of these complex issues by concerned educators, community activists, and policy makers. I begin by briefly outlining relevant literature in black gender and race studies, and studies of discourse and literacy that will serve my analysis of the young women's discourse practices.
North Atlantic region atmospheric circulation dynamics inferred from a late-Holocene lacustrine carbonate isotope record, northern Swedish Lapland
Authors: Rosqvist Gunhild C. , Leng Melanie J. , Jonsson Christina
Published: November 2007

The first high-resolution record of climate variation based on the oxygen and carbon isotope composition of authigenic carbonate for northern Scandinavia is presented. Modern lake-water isotope data indicate that controls on its oxygen and hydrogen (δ18Ow and δDw) composition are unlikely to be evaporation or temperature, and its variations must therefore reflect changes in, or at the source of, precipitation. Substantial and persistent changes of the isotopic composition of the precipitation are required to change the mean annual isotope composition of lake surface water. For this reason we argue that the recorded changes were significant and that the recurrence of such changes would greatly affect future regional climate conditions in the North Atlantic region. Oxygen isotope (δ18O) minima occurring at ∼ 200, 500, 1300, 1600 and at 2900 cal. yr BP all coincide with major peaks in North Atlantic ice rafted debris deposition. We suggest that the depletion events in δ18O cycles recorded in several lakes in northern Swedish Lapland are caused by the same climatic shifts as those noted in the North Atlantic marine records. This is because changes of atmospheric circulation pattern and the lower ocean and atmospheric temperatures associated with the IRD events help to explain why 18O depletion of precipitation occurred during these events. Our findings indicate that the recorded changes in North Atlantic ice drift and surface hydrography are coupled to changes in atmospheric circulation.
Environmental and cultural changes during the terminal Neolithic: Qingpu, Yangtze delta, eastern China
Authors: Itzstein-Davey Freea , Atahan Pia , Dodson John , Taylor David , Zheng Hongbo
Published: November 2007

The lower Yangtze, eastern China, was colonized by several Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures giving rise to possibly the highest concentration of prehistoric sites in the world. Early Neolithic cultures in the delta region cultivated rice ( Oryza sativa) and agricultural developments appear to have occurred throughout the Neolithic with abrupt socio-economic changes possibly associated with the terminal Neolithic. Given the extensive history of environmental exploitation and well-preserved archaeological sites, the Yangtze delta is an ideal setting to explore the complex interactions between humans and their environment. Multiproxies of environmental changes, namely pollen, charcoal and phytoliths, in a 14C AMS-dated sequence of sediments from an exposed profile at Qingpu, Yangtze delta, were investigated. 14C AMS dating indicates that the age range of the sedimentary sequence analysed is from c. 1800 to 6000 BP, and therefore encompasses the terminal Neolithic and subsequent Bronze Age in the region. This paper reviews this sediment-based evidence in the light of current understanding of human—environment interactions during a critical phase of the development of the Yangtze delta and associated human cultures.
A record of Holocene climate change in the Guanzhong Basin, China, based on optical dating of a loess-palaeosol sequence
Authors: Zhao Hui , Chen Fa-Hu , Li Sheng-Hua , Wintle Ann G. , Fan Yu-Xin , Xia Dun-Sheng
Published: November 2007

Optical dating was used to obtain a chronology for a loess-palaeosol sequence in the Guanzhong Basin on the Loess Plateau in China. The sedimentary sequence recorded two dry episodes (3.7~2.4 ka and 1.2~0.8 ka ago) in the Holocene as shown by the presence of two layers of loess within the Holocene deposits. These two arid events are consistent with records of global climate change in the Holocene and also coincident with major historic events in China. This finding suggests that loess-paleosol sequences in China can record global climate changes and implies that rapid climate change affected the progress of human civilization. In addition, changes in the sedimentation rate through the section suggest that agricultural expansion may have accelerated the rate of dust accumulation.
Evidence of enhanced winter precipitation and the prevalence of a cool and dry climate during the mid to late Holocene in mainland Gujarat, India
Authors: Prasad Vandana , Phartiyal Binita , Sharma Anupam
Published: November 2007

The Kothiyakhad sedimentary sequence of Mahi estuary in mainland Gujarat, India, contains valuable information on late- to mid-Holocene climatic conditions as inferred by phytolith, palynofacies, magnetic susceptibility and clay mineralogical studies. Three distinct climatic regimes, ie, Phase I, II and III, were established. Phase I (3660—~3400 yr BP) shows a gradual weakening of SW monsoonal activity, though overlapped by enhanced western disturbances which led to the development of cool climatic conditions. The coupled effect of SW monsoon and enhanced winter precipitation produced improved hydrological conditions, which supported the agrarian society of the Indus Valley civilization until the beginning of Phase II (~3400—~3000 yr BP). During Phase II the SW monsoon was in a state of severe recession, leading to severe drought-like conditions, other than for a brief but intensely warm and humid pulse recorded at ~3320 yr BP, associated with SW monsoonal activity. In Phase III (~3000—2850 yr BP), SW precipitation fluctuated greatly with a considerable increase in warm summer conditions, similar to present-day conditions. The weak SW monsoonal activity ~3500 yr BP also coincided with a global cool and arid phase and this probably explains the timing as well as the cause of why the population of the Indus civilization migrated to more humid areas to sustain their livelihoods.
A transfer-function model developed from an extensive surface-pollen data set in northern China and its potential for palaeoclimate reconstructions
Authors: Li Yuecong , Xu Qinghai , Liu Jinsong , Yang Xiaolan , Nakagawa Takeshi
Published: November 2007

A total of 237 surface soil pollen samples were collected from less disturbed zonal communities, and a new surface pollen data set has been established in northern China. Pollen—climate parameter transfer functions using weighted-averaging regression and calibration partial least squares (WA-PLS) model as a tool to reconstruct past climate changes from pollen data, were tested with this new surface pollen data set. The results of cross-validation showed that the method worked very well with precipitation ( R = 0.94, R2jack = 0.89, RMSEPjack = 69 mm, the safe dynamic range of the reconstruction was 40 mm~800 mm) and worked well with temperature ( Tann: R = 0.84, R 2jack = 0.71, RMSEPjack = 2.0°C, the safe dynamic range of the reconstruction was −4°C~13°C; MTwa: R = 0.79, R2jack = 0.63, RMSEPjack = 2.5°C, and the safe dynamic range of the reconstruction was 8°C~26°C), indicating that the surface pollen data set and WA-PLS reconstruction technique in this paper have strong potential for palaeoclimatic reconstruction.
Interpretation of charcoal morphotypes in sediments from Ferry Lake, Wisconsin, USA: do different plant fuel sources produce distinctive charcoal morphotypes?
Authors: Jensen Katie , Lynch Elizabeth A. , Calcote Randy , Hotchkiss Sara C.
Published: November 2007

We describe five common charcoal morphotypes observed in late-Holocene lake sediments from northern Wisconsin and compare them with charcoal produced by burning modern plant material. Our experiments show that grass cuticle, conifer wood and leaves of some broadleaved taxa all produce recognizable charcoal types that are preserved in sediments. We use the identification of charcoal morphotypes to enhance our interpretation of a previously published charcoal record from Ferry Lake, Wisconsin. The occurrence of the different charcoal morphotypes changed as the vegetation and fire regimes changed over the past 2300 yr. Charred grass cuticle was more common before 1300 cal. yr BP when small charcoal peaks were frequent and the pollen assemblage suggests that an open oak savanna surrounded the lake. Charcoal with bordered pits produced from burned conifer wood was more common after 1300 cal. yr BP, when red/jack pine pollen increased and the frequency of charcoal peaks decreased, suggesting a switch from a surface fire regime to one with less frequent crown fires. Our results suggest that stratigraphic changes in the occurrence of charcoal morphotypes can improve our understanding of past vegetation and fire regimes.
Holocene vegetation and fire history of the Coast Range, western Oregon, USA
Authors: Long Colin J. , Whitlock Cathy , Bartlein Patrick J.
Published: November 2007

Pollen and high-resolution charcoal records from three lakes were examined to reconstruct the vegetation and fire history of the Oregon Coast Range for the last 9000 years. The sites are located along a north-to-south effective precipitation gradient and changes in vegetation and fire activity provided information on the nature of this gradient in the past. The relation of vegetation to climate change was examined at millennial timescales and the relation between fire and climate was examined on centennial timescales by comparing fire-interval distribution and fire synchrony between sites. The pollen data indicate more fire-adapted vegetation during the early-Holocene period ( c. 9000 to 6700 cal. yr BP), followed by a shift to forests with more fire-sensitive taxa in the mid Holocene ( c. 6700 cal. yr BP to 2700 cal. yr BP) and modern forest assemblages developing over the last c. 2700 years. Comparisons of fire-interval distributions showed that the time between fires was similar between two of the three combinations of sites, suggesting that the moisture gradient has played an important role in determining long-term fire frequency. However, century-scale synchrony of fire occurrence between the two sites with the largest difference in effective precipitation suggests that centennial-scale shifts in climate may have overcome the environmental differences between these locations. Asynchrony in fire occurrence between the sites with more similar effective precipitation implies that local conditions may have played an important role in determining fire synchrony between sites with similar long-term climate histories.
Long-term and millennial-scale climate variability in northwestern France during the last 8850 years
Authors: Naughton Filipa , Bourillet Jean-François , Sánchez Goñi Maria Fernanda , Turon Jean-Louis , Jouanneau Jean-Marie
Published: November 2007

Vegetation and quantitative climate reconstructions from a northwestern France shelf core (VK03-58Bis) show orbital and suborbital climate variability for the last 8850 years in this region. A long-term cooling trend in summer temperatures, marked by gradual temperate and humid forest decline, parallels cooling in Greenland and the decrease of mid-latitude summer insolation reduction until at least 2000 cal. yr BP. At the long-term scale, the lowering in seasonal contrast revealed by vegetation changes follows the increase of precession. Corylus woodlands spread at the expense of deciduous Quercus forest, between 8740 and 8390 cal. yr BP, linked with the high seasonality conditions that, counterbalancing the long-term astronomical forcing trend, were amplified by the north Atlantic high-latitudes winter sea-ice expansion. High seasonality conditions resulted from the Agassiz and Ojibway final outburst episodes and consequent gradual reduction of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). Between 8390—8060 cal. yr BP, a sudden Corylus woodland decline marks the 8.2 kyr cold event in northwestern France probably triggered by the severe MOC reduction leading to the additional drop in winter temperature over Europe and Greenland. Nonetheless, seasonality remains high during this interval. The high seasonality conditions detected in `VK03-58Bis' between 8740 and 8060 cal. yr BP reflects the multicentennial-scale climate cooling 8.6—8.0 kyr episode of the North Atlantic. Following the Agassiz and Ojibway final outburst episodes, climate became more stable. However, millennial-scale climate cooling episodes are recorded in `VK03-Bis' and are characterized by weak winter cooling and increases in precipitation. Furthermore, dinocyst analysis and benthic gastropod Turritella communis occurrences indicate regional changes such as the southward migration of the Boreal biogeographical zone between 8740 and 8480 cal. yr BP and the subsequent opening of the English Channel at around 8480—8390 cal. yr BP.
Chronology of Holocene rock-avalanche deposits based on Schmidt-hammer relative dating and dust stratigraphy in nearby bog deposits, Vora, inner Nordfjord, Norway
Authors: Aa Asbjørn Rune , Sjåstad Jan , Sønstegaard Eivind , Blikra Lars Harald
Published: November 2007

A number of large rock avalanches from the northern slope of the 1435 m high mountain of Vora in Breim, inner Nordfjord have been mapped. The avalanche tongues dam the 4 km long Sandalsvatnet, they cover an area of 3 km 2 and the volume exceeds 100 million m3. Age estimates have been obtained by radiocarbon datings of rock dust layers in a bog and the Schmidt-hammer method. Altogether 11 large rock avalanches have occurred throughout the Holocene, of which six lobes can be recognized morphologically. Five silt laminae in a 5.5 m deep bog basin distally to the avalanche lobes are interpreted as primary sediments from dust clouds generated by rock avalanches. In addition three silt beds are interpreted as glaciolacustrine sediments related to temporary damming caused by landsliding. Average avalanche frequency during the Holocene was c. 1 per 1000 yr and during the period 7100—3600 BP it was c. 1 per 700 yr. After 3600 BP no rock avalanches have been recognized.
Rapid lake infill following major rockfall (bergsturz) events revealed by ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements, Reintal, German Alps
Authors: Sass O. , Krautblatter M. , Morche D.
Published: November 2007

The capability of GPR (ground-penetrating radar) measurements to decipher the sedimentary history of young alluvial plains is investigated. The sediment basins result from the infill of two lakes, which were dammed by high-magnitude rockfalls 400—600 and 200 years ago in an Alpine trough valley. The thickness and structure of the dammed sediments was derived from a series of longitudinal and cross profiles. In order to take advantage of both high penetration and high resolution measurements, we applied 25, 50, 100 and 200 MHz antennas. The radargrams allow for a detailed analysis of the history of the alluvial fill. The pre-existing valley bottom is clearly visible under one of the basins. The profiles display the former clayey lake bottom and illustrate several stages of lake infill. Small-scale sedimentary structures, such as topset beds or foreset beds, are discernible and provide proxy information on water level, sediment supply and phases of infill activity. At the second basin, discordant structures in the adjacent sediment cones indicate the abrupt rise of the base level resulting from the rockfall event. Radar-derived information and historical records of lake retreat were used to reconstruct the sediment budget of the 200 year lifespan of the younger alluvial plane. Therefore, it can be concluded that the sedimentation rates of the twentieth century (489 ± 87 m3/yr) are several times larger than those of the nineteenth century (103 ± 7 m3/yr). A 130-yr rainstorm record suggests that the overall increase in sediment supply in the twentieth century corresponds to increased rainstorm frequencies during warm periods.
Vegetation history, fire history and lake development recorded for 6300 years by pollen, charcoal, loss on ignition and chironomids at a small lake in southern Kyrgyzstan (Alay Range, Central Asia)
Authors: Beer Ruth , Heiri Oliver , Tinner Willy
Published: November 2007

Analyses of pollen, microscopic charcoal, loss on ignition (LOI) and chironomids in the sediment of the small sub-alpine lake Kichikol (2541 m a.s.l.; 39°59'N, 73°33'E; Alay Range, Kyrgyzstan) provide new data to reconstruct the vegetational and lacustrine history during the past 6300 years. From 6300—5100 calibrated 14C years BP (cal. yr BP) semi-deserts with Chenopodiaceae and Ephedra and rather open Juniperus stands persisted around the lake. At 5100—4000 cal. yr BP dense Juniperus forest established. Around 4000 cal. yr BP the forest retreated and was probably restricted to north-facing slopes, as is the case today. Changes in the hydrology of Kichikol are inferred from lithological properties, pollen of aquatic plants and remains of aquatic invertebrates. The lacustrine development of Kichikol suggests a step-wise increase in humidity during the mid and late Holocene, with major shifts recorded at 5000 and 4000 cal. yr BP. At the beginning of the record Kichikol was a very shallow, possibly temporary pond. An initial rise in water-table is registered at c. 5000 cal. yr BP, followed by a second rise to near present levels at c. 4000 cal. yr BP. These hydrological shifts could be related to an increase of westerly moisture transport from the Mediterranean region as a consequence of a late-Holocene weakening of the Central Asian High and Indian monsoon systems. Moderate human impact in the region is recorded after 2100 cal. yr BP, as indicated by pollen of Plantago lanceolata-type and a slight increase of charcoal accumulation rates. Considering the general course of climate as well as human impact we conclude that the present forest composition is natural or quasi-natural.
Historical records of San Rafael glacier advances (North Patagonian Icefield): another clue to 'Little Ice Age' timing in southern Chile?
Authors: Araneda Alberto , Torrejón Fernando , Aguayo Mauricio , Torres Laura , Cruces Fabiola , Cisternas Marco , Urrutia Roberto
Published: November 2007

Past ice lobe behaviour at Laguna San Rafael is described in documents provided by Spanish and then Chilean explorers from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. These records begin in AD 1675, when temperate conditions, probably similar to those at present, prevailed. At that point, the glacier was confined within its valley, not penetrating the Laguna. The glacier advanced noticeably during the nineteenth century and probably reached a maximum position for the `Little Ice Age' around AD 1875. The historical sources suggest a slight retreat in AD 1904 in relation to the conditions prevailing 29 years earlier. The historical data show that the eighteenth to nineteenth century cooling period at San Rafael glacier was within the temporal window of the European `Little Ice Age'. This work provides independent, direct historical evidence for the occurrence of this event in southern Chile.
Holocene sea-level change on the southeast coast of Australia: a review
Authors: Sloss Craig R. , Murray-Wallace Colin V. , Jones Brian G.
Published: November 2007

A revised Holocene sea-level curve for the southeast coast of New South Wales, Australia, is presented based on a review of previously published geochronological results for fossil molluscs, organic-rich mud, mangrove roots and fixed biological indicators. It is supplemented by new radiocarbon and amino acid racemization-derived ages on fossil molluscs from transgressive sandsheet facies in back-barrier settings within shallow incised valleys along the southern coast of New South Wales. This data base has been limited to fossils with accurate descriptions of their facies associations and stratigraphic relationships to present mean sea level. Results show that sea level during the Holocene marine transgression rose to between −15 and −11 m at 9400—9000 cal. yr BP. Sea level then rose to approximately −5 m by 8500 cal. yr BP and to approximately −3.5 m between 8300 and 8000 cal. yr BP inundating shallow incised valleys resulting in the deposition of shell-rich transgressive sandsheets within shallow incised bedrock valleys. Present sea level was attained between 7900 and 7700 cal. yr BP, approximately 700—900 years earlier than previously proposed. Sea level continued to rise to between +1 and +1.5 m between 7700 and 7400 cal. yr BP, followed by a sea-level highstand that lasted until about 2000 cal. yr BP followed by a gradual fall to present. A series of minor negative and positive oscillations in relative sea level during the late-Holocene sea-level highstand appear to be superimposed over the general sea-level trend. However, the precise nature of the oscillations are difficult to quantify because of problems associated with accurately determining palaeotidal and wave regimes, climatic conditions and the antecedent morphology of the shallow marine environments during the mid Holocene.
In search of finiteness: the limits of fine-resolution palynology of Sphagnum peat
Authors: Joosten Hans , de Klerk Pim
Published: November 2007

High-resolution analysis of ombrogenous peats often reveals pollen frequencies that change markedly from one sample to the next, indicating limited postdepositional mixing. This raises the question whether — with sufficiently thin samples — seasonal differences in pollen deposition can be observed. Seasonal resolution in peat would provide a dating technique with an accuracy similar to that of other, annually banded archives. To study the limits of temporal resolution, contiguous 0.5 mm thick slices of slightly humified Sphagnum section Cuspidata peat were palynologically analysed. No seasonal patterns in the pollen stratigraphy could be observed. This is ascribed to the mixing of pollen grains as a result of small-scaled vertical water movements and to the horizontal mode of shoot layering in the Sphagnum species. The latter process may also be the cause of a smoothed annual signal. Because of the absence of seasonal differentiation, the palynological distinction of annual peat layers is not feasible.
An oxygen isotope record from the Foscagno rock-glacier ice core, Upper Valtellina, Italian Central Alps
Authors: Stenni Barbara , Genoni Laura , Flora Onelio , Guglielmin Mauro
Published: November 2007

New high-resolution isotopic records (δ18O, δD and deuterium excess), from an ice core drilled in the Foscagno rock glacier (Italian Central Alps), are presented. The δ18O data suggest a clear division between an upper part (2.5 and 4 m), showing relatively homogeneous values, and a middle part (4—7.65 m), showing seasonal variations of this parameter. The isotopic analyses confirm previous results (crystallographic and chemical analyses) suggesting a division of this relict glacier ice body into an upper part, between 2.5 and 4 m, where melting and refreezing processes occur, and a middle part, between 4 and 7.65 m, where the isotopic signal is preserved. Larger deuterium excess variations ( d = δD−8*δ 18O) are found in the massive ice (below 4 m depth) rather than in the overlying ice. These are in antiphase with the δ18O but without any clear correspondence with the presence of the debris layers. Postdepositional processes could have affected, at least partially, the isotopic content of the original precipitation. The radiocarbon dating of a leaf ( Salix spp.) found in the massive ice from another nearby borehole in the same rock glacier gave a calendar age ranging between AD 765 and 1260. The expected δ18O values of the present-day precipitation in the Foscagno valley are of the same order as those found in the massive ice (−12.4‰). This similarity would suggest climate conditions not very different from present day, in good agreement with other available palaeoclimate reconstructions for this period. However, only more abundant precipitation would make the existence of a glacier possible in a climate not very different from that of the present.
The influence and chronological uncertainties of the 8.2 ka cooling event on continental climate records in China
Authors: Jin Zhangdong , Yu Jimin , Chen Hangxin , Wu Yanhong , Wang Sumin , Chen Shiyue
Published: November 2007

A compilation of early-Holocene terrestrial records from lacustrine sediments, ice cores, peat bog, palaeosols, stalagmites and flood sediments from China indicates that the early-Holocene climate was unstable and characterized by at least one centennial-scale (500—200 years) cooling event between 9.0 and 7.6 ka BP. The cold period recorded in different settings has been previously linked to the 8.2 ka event suggested by δ18O ice from Greenland ice cores, but the differences in time duration and regional climate conditions have been attributed to monsoon systems, inadequate age control and sampling resolution, and complex topography in China. However, our compilation indicates that it is premature to attribute the cold periods recorded at different locations in China simply to the 8.2 ka event, let alone to attribute the cause of those anomalies to a freshening of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation. Whether there was one synchronous event or not in China, where the climate is mainly affected by the monsoons and the westerlies, is open to discussion, because most of the records lack sufficient dating control to define clearly the nature of the cooling event. If a cooling event did occur, more evidence is required in multiple dimensions to characterize the time duration, magnitude and cause of the event, so much work remains to be done.
A Proposed Design for the Business Capstone Course with Emphasis on Improving Students' Information Competency
Authors: Gilinsky Armand , Robison Richard
Published: November 2007

Business school accrediting agencies and employers increasingly demand evidence that students are mastering information competency (IC) skills. The authors present an innovative approach to inculcate IC skills in the strategic management “capstone” class, integrating cross-departmental student training in using electronic information sources, pretests and posttests of student familiarity with such resources, an externally judged team case presentation sequence, and a unique research log component. Their results from the pretests and posttests show preliminary evidence of IC mastery, supported by anecdotal evidence from participants and judges. The authors also offer guidance for implementing and evaluating this exercise.
Professor Delight: Cultivating Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Authors: Mazen Abdelmagid , Herman Susan , Ornstein Suzyn
Published: November 2007

This article describes the rationale for and use of a class innovation the authors call “professor delight.” This inexpensive, high-yield concept allows students and professors to enact their understanding of citizenship throughout the term, and often beyond. The authors explain the concept, describe its implementation in class, and link it to the literature on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). They offer extensive examples of professor delight behaviors aligned with their corresponding theoretical OCB dimensions and provide venues for future research in OCB and positive organizational scholarship.
Learning To Negotiate Reality: a Strategy for Teaching Intercultural Competencies
Authors: Antal Ariane Berthoin , Friedman Victor J.
Published: November 2007

Intercultural competencies are more important for people in business than ever before. In this article, the authors present an approach they designed and used for developing “negotiating reality” as a key intercultural competence at an international business school in Europe. They outline the theoretical underpinnings from intercultural communication and action learning, on which their approach is based. Then, they describe the iterative process through which they guide students in group work, starting by analyzing a difficult intercultural situation they experienced and leading to role-plays in which they experiment with alternative responses. The teaching materials are in the text and appendices.
The Motor Cortex and Its Role in Phantom Limb Phenomena
Authors: Reilly Karen T. , Sirigu Angela
Published: November 2007

Limb amputation results in plasticity of connections between the brain and muscles; the cortical motor representation of the missing limb seemingly disappears. The disappearance of the hand's motor representation is, however, difficult to reconcile with evidence that a perceptual representation of the missing limb persists in the form of a phantom limb endowed with sensory and motor qualities. Here, we argue that despite considerable reorganization within the motor cortex of upper-limb amputees, the representation of the amputated hand does not disappear. We hypothesize that two levels of hand-movement representation coexist within the primary motor cortex; at one level, limb movements are specified in terms of arm and hand motor commands, and at another level, limb movements are specified as muscles synergies. We propose that primary motor cortex reorganization after amputation concerns primarily the upper limb's muscular map but not its motor command map and that the integrity of the motor command map underlies the existence of the phantom limb. NEUROSCIEN-TIST 14(2):195—202, 2008. DOI: 10.1177/1073858407309466
Lessons from fMRI about Mapping Cortical Columns
Authors: Kim Seong-Gi , Fukuda Mitsuhiro
Published: November 2007

Recently developed fMRI can map small functional structures noninvasively and repeatedly without any depth limitation. However, there has been a persistent concern as to whether the high-resolution fMRI signals actually mark the sites of increased neural activity. To examine this outstanding issue, the authors used iso-orientation columns of isoflurane-anesthetized cats as a biological model and confirmed the neural correlation of fMRI iso-orientation maps by comparing them with intrinsic optical imaging maps. The results suggest that highest fMRI signals indeed indicate the sites of increased neuronal activity. Now fMRI can be used to determine plastic and/or developmental change of functional columnar structure possibly on a layer-to-layer basis. In this review, the authors focus mainly on what technical aspects should be considered when mapping functional cortical columns, including imaging techniques and experimental design. NEUROSCIENTIST 14(3):287–299, 2008. DOI: 10.1177/1073858407309541
Skills, learning styles and success of first-year undergraduates
Authors: Goldfinch Judy , Hughes Moira
Published: November 2007

This study investigates the relationships between students' confidence in their generic skills on entry to university, their learning styles and their academic performance in first year. Research based on a large cohort of Scottish undergraduates found that students generally entered university feeling very confident that they already possessed good skills, and there was a suggestion of over-confidence in that those who failed the year entered with slightly higher confidence than other students. However, those students who withdrew during the year had significantly less confidence. The most significant combination of factors in explaining success in first year were a low score on the activist learning style scale and high initial confidence in the skills of self-reliance, time management and teamwork, together with lower initial confidence in written communication skills. The implications of this research are discussed and some suggestions made for improving educational practice.