bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultraviolet radiation and consumer effects on a field‐grown intertidal macroalgal assemblage in Antarctica
Authors: ZACHER KATHARINA , WULFF ANGELA , MOLIS MARKUS , HANELT DIETER , WIENCKE CHRISTIAN
Published: May 2007

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) research on marine macroalgae has hithero focussed on physiological effects at the organism level, while little is known on the impact of UV radiation on macroalgal assemblages and even less on interactive effects with other community drivers, e.g. consumers. Field experiments on macrobenthos are scarce, particularly in the Antarctic region. Therefore, the effects of UVR and consumers (mainly limpets were excluded) on early successional stages of a hard bottom macroalgal community on King George Island, Antarctica, were studied. In a two‐factorial design experimental units [(1) ambient radiation, 280–700 nm; (2) ambient minus UVB, 320–700 nm and (3) ambient minus UVR, 400–700 nm vs. consumer–no consumer] were installed between November 2004 and March 2005 (n= 4 plus controls). Dry mass, species richness, diversity and composition of macroalgal assemblages developing on ceramic tiles were followed. Consumers significantly suppressed green algal recruits and total algal biomass but increased macroalgal richness and diversity. Both UVA and UVB radiation negatively affected macroalgal succession. UVR decreased the density of Monostroma hariotii germlings in the first 10 weeks of the experiment, whereas the density of red algal recruits was significantly depressed by UVR at the end of the study. After 106 days macroalgal diversity was significantly higher in UV depleted than in UV‐exposed assemblages. Furthermore, species richness was significantly lower in the UV treatments and species composition differed significantly between the UV‐depleted and the UV‐exposed treatment. Marine macroalgae are very important primary producers in coastal ecosystems, serving as food for herbivores and as habitat for many organisms. Both, UVR and consumers significantly shape macroalgal succession in the Antarctic intertidal. Consumers, particularly limpets can mediate negative effects of ambient UVR on richness and diversity till a certain level. UVB radiation in general and an increase of this short wavelength due to stratospheric ozone depletion in particular may have the potential to affect the zonation, composition and diversity of Antarctic intertidal seaweeds altering trophic interactions in this system.
A new catalogue of eclipsing binary stars with eccentric orbits
Authors: Bulut İ. , Demircan O.
Published: May 2007

A new catalogue of eclipsing binary stars with eccentric orbits is presented. The catalogue lists the physical parameters (including apsidal motion parameters) of 124 eclipsing binaries with eccentric orbits. In addition, the catalogue also contains a list of 150 candidate systems, about which not much is known at present.
Reactive oxygen species in legume and actinorhizal nitrogen‐fixing symbioses: the microsymbiont’s responses to an unfriendly reception
Authors: Tavares Fernando , Santos Catarina L. , Sellstedt Anita
Published: May 2007

The plant responses to infection by pathogenic bacteria have been extensively reviewed in recent years, including the spatial and temporal production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The immediate and localized release of ROS upon infection, known as the oxidative burst, was shown not only to be part of the hypersensitive response but also likely responsible for mediating, directly or via signal transduction pathways, other plant defence strategies. This paradigm inspired studies in nitrogen‐fixing root nodule symbioses, and a parallelism is unavoidable. In rhizobia–legume symbioses, histochemical data revealed the presence of ROS in the host infection threads and in the root nodules primordia. On the other hand, in actinorhizal infections, it has been shown that Alnus glutinosa root exudates induce several oxidative stress response‐related proteins in compatible Frankia. These data suggest that the nitrogen‐fixing microsymbionts must have had to evolve adaptations to overcome and possibly regulate an unfriendly environment. In this review, particular emphasis will be given to the bacteria antioxidant mechanisms at different developmental stages of the nitrogen‐fixing root nodule symbioses.
The effect of plastic overwraps on storage measures of red cell concentrates
Authors: van der Meer P. F. , Pietersz R. N. I.
Published: May 2007

Background  For hygienic purposes, plastic overwraps can be used for storage of leucoreduced red cell concentrates (LR‐RCC). However, the effect of the use of such overwrapping on in vitro parameters during 42 days of storage was unknown.

Methods  In paired experiments, LR‐RCCs in SAGM (saline, adenine, glucose, mannitol) were packed in two types of polyethylene overwrap or in a polypropylene overwrap; no overwrap served as reference (n = 12 paired experiments). Units were stored at 2–6 °C for 42 days and sampled at regular intervals for in vitro analysis.

Results  No significant effect was found for any of the overwraps investigated. All units contained > 2·7 µmol adenosine triphosphate per gram haemoglobin and had a haemolysis rate well below 0·8% on Day 42.

Conclusion  The use of plastic overwraps does not affect red cell quality markers in vitro.
Protective effect of glucosamine against ibuprofen‐induced peptic ulcer in rats
Authors: Santhosh Sethumadhavan , Anandan Rangasamy , Sini Theruvathil K , Mathew Paruthapara T
Published: May 2007

Background:  Helicobacter pylori is the major causative factor of ulcer but the use of ibuprofen and other non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs have also been implicated in development of ulcer. The purpose of the present study was to determine the anti‐ulcer effect of glucosamine.

Methods:  The protective effect of glucosamine on ibuprofen‐induced peptic ulcer in male albino rats was studied with respect to changes in the volume of gastric juice, acid output, pepsin activity, activities of membrane bound ATPases, protein content, glycoprotein components and histopathology.

Results:  Oral administration of ibuprofen caused significant increase in the number of lesions in the gastric mucosa, increases in the volume of gastric juice and acidity, and decreased activity of pepsin. The levels of protein content and glycoprotein components (hexose, hexosamine and sialic acid) and ATPase activities were also observed. Oral pretreatment with glucosamine resulted in significant reduction in the number of lesions in the gastric mucosa and decreases in the volume of gastric juice and acidity. The pepsin activity was also maintained at near normalcy. Prior oral administration of glucosamine significantly prevented the ibuprofen‐induced depletion of protein and glycoprotein components and maintained the activities of membrane bound ATPases as compared to untreated ulcer induced group of rats.

Conclusion:  The anti‐ulcerogenic activity of glucosamine might be ascribable to its ability to neutralize the hydrochloric acid secreted into the stomach and to its capability to strengthen the mucosal barrier by increasing mucosal glycoprotein synthesis and to its free radical scavenging property. Histopathological investigations of the mucosal tissue also support the anti‐ulcerogenic effect of glucosamine.
Expression of Toll‐like receptor 4 in rat liver during the course of carbon tetrachloride‐induced liver injury
Authors: Hua Jing , Qiu De Kai , Li Ji Qiang , Li Eng Lin , Chen Xiao Yu , Peng Yan Sheng
Published: May 2007

Background and Aim:  It has recently been reported that Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) is involved in cellular responses to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and early liver injury induced by LPS. The aim of the present study was to investigate the alterations of TLR4 gene expression in liver tissues and Kupffer cells during the course of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)‐induced chronic liver injury and fibrosis and its role in liver injury.

Methods:  Rats were induced with liver injury and fibrosis by CCl4 administered subcutaneously twice weekly for up to 8 weeks. The Kupffer cells were isolated by the combined collagenase–pronase perfusion method and incubated with varying doses of LPS. The mRNA expression of TLR4 in liver tissues and Kupffer cells was measured by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α in Kupffer cell culture supernatants were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The plasma levels of the endotoxin were determined by chromogenic substrate limulus amebocyte lysate assay. The association of the endotoxin receptor expression with plasma endotoxin levels was assessed.

Results:  CCl4 administration elicited extensive changes in liver morphology, including steatosis, inflammation, necrosis, and fibrosis. Low levels of TLR4 mRNA were detected in normal rat liver tissues, but no expression was detected in the Kupffer cells. The expression of TLR4 mRNA in liver tissues and Kupffer cells was increased 2 weeks after CCl4 administration, peaked at 4 and 6 weeks, and declined at 8 weeks. Basic TNF‐α production of Kupffer cells isolated from CCl4‐treated rats at 4 and 6 weeks was significantly higher than that of normal rats (P < 0.05). Upon LPS stimulation, production of TNF‐α was markedly increased in Kupffer cells isolated from normal and 2‐,4‐, and 6‐week CCl4‐treated rats. Moreover, LPS‐induced TNF‐α production was dose‐dependent. The plasma levels of the endotoxin were increased during the time of liver injury. There was a correlation between plasma endotoxin levels and TLR4 gene expression in the early and middle stage of liver injury.

Conclusion:  The gene expression of TLR4 was upregulated during the course of CCl4‐induced liver injury, which is associated with the degree of liver injury and Kupffer cell activation. The gut‐derived endotoxin may be involved in the upregulation of TLR4 expression.
Useful marker for the estimation of a recombination pair in the partial azoospermia factor c (gr/gr) deletion using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction
Authors: SUZUKI HIROMI , MATSUI FUTOSHI , KOH EITETSU , FUKUSHIMA MASATO , CHOI JIN , MAEDA YUJI , NAMIKI MIKIO , YOSHIDA ATSUMI
Published: May 2007

Background and aims:  Azoospermia factor c (AZFc) microdeletions are associated with male infertility and are caused by intrachromosal recombination between homologous repetitive sequence segments. Partial AZFc deletion (gr/gr) has been reported in male factor infertility. In the present study, we established detecting the copy number using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) with the genome DNA, and assessed the association of the recombination pair set of gr/gr deletion and deleted in azoospermia copies. Furthermore, we determined the clinical significance of differential recombination patterns of gr/gr deletion, and compared them with azoospermia and proven fertile volunteers, with both groups having gr/gr deleted Japanese subjects.

Materials and methods:  A total of 16 Japanese subjects with idiopathic azoospermia, and 13 proven fertile men with gr/gr deletion, were studied. qRT‐PCR was used for the estimation of an identical site number.

Results:  The g1/g2 deletion was found in 69.2% (9/13) in proven fertile men and in 75% (12/16) of idiopathic infertile men. The gr/gr deletion could result in the recombination of g1/g2 segments. Furthermore, there was no difference in the position of deletion between azoospermic patients and controls (P = 0.59).

Conclusion:  There was no association between the loss of DAZ cluster and azoospermia in gr/gr deletion. This suggests that most of the partial deletions are neutral variants.
Effect of protopanaxatriol saponin on spermatogenic stem cell survival in busulfan‐treated male mice
Authors: JI MINYOUNG , MINAMI NAOJIRO , YAMADA MASAYASU , IMAI HIROSHI
Published: May 2007

Background and aims: Panax ginsengC.A. Meyer is a medicinal herb widely used in Asian countries. Many of its pharmacological actions are attributed to ginsenosides (saponin). However, the pharmacological effects or functions of ginsenosides on mammalian spermatogenesis are unclear.

Methods: In the present study study, we investigated the therapeutic and prophylactic effects of protopanaxatriol saponin (PT) on testicular organ weight and morphology, testicular germ cells, proliferation, differentiation and spermatogenesis after induction of toxicity by a chemotherapeutic agent, busulfan, in male mice.

Results: Intraperitoneally (IP) busulfan treatment markedly decreased the organ weight of testis, caput and cauda epididymis. After the treatment, the testes had collapsed seminiferous tubules with incomplete spermatogenesis. However, a single dose of busulfan treatment followed by PT injection showed milder damage on seminiferous tubules than busulfan alone.

Conclusion: These results suggest that PT is effective in recovery of the male reproductive organ, and induced an increase in the number and viability of germ cells overcoming busulfan toxicity. PT might have applications in the recovery of male infertility arising from azoospermia and oligospermia.
Effect of fatty acids bound to bovine serum albumin‐V on acrosome reaction and utilization of glucose in boar spermatozoa
Authors: HOSSAIN MD SHAROARE , HYEONG LEE JUN , MIAH ABDUL GAFFAR , TSUJII HIROTADA
Published: May 2007

Aim:  The present study has been designed with the objective of determining if fatty acids bound to bovine serum albumin‐V (BSA‐V) can improve motility, viability, and increase acrosome reaction (AR) and utilization of glucose in boar spermatozoa.

Methods:  Boar spermatozoa were washed, swum‐up and incubated at 37°C for 6 h in TALP medium supplemented with fatty acids bound to bovine serum albumin fraction V (BSA‐V), fatty acid free BSA (BSA‐FAF), polyvinyl alcohol + main fatty acids bound to BSA‐V (PVA + FA) and PVA. Sperm motility, viability, AR, and the incorporation and oxidation of 14C‐glucose were evaluated during 6 h of incubation.

Results:  The results show that the BSA‐V was superior to BSA‐FAF and PVA in improving motility and AR. Viability was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by only BSA‐V compared with PVA. When the main fatty acids compound of BSA‐V were added to PVA, the sperm motility, viability and AR became almost the same as with BSA‐V. The rate of incorporation and oxidation of 14C‐glucose were significantly increased (P < 0.05) by BSA‐V compared with BSA‐FAF and PVA. Fatty acids bound to BSA‐V are important for improvement of sperm functions.

Conclusions:  The present study postulates that fatty acids bound to BSA‐V are important to acrosome reaction and the utilization of glucose in boar spermatozoa.
Sexual activity in normal married couples in Japan: Investigation by questionnaire
Authors: NAGAO K.
Published: May 2007

Aims:  After sildenafil, an inhibitor of type‐5 phosphodiesterase (PDE5), was put on the Japanese market in March 1999 and then vardenafil emerged later in June 2004, the diagnosis and therapy of erectile dysfunction (ED) has changed dramatically in Japan. However, there have been few studies in the meantime concerning the actual sexual activity in married couples. It has been almost impossible to understand and access the target(s), and the information regarding sex‐life between couples in order to establish medical treatment for patients with ED.

Methods:  In the present study, a questionnaire survey was carried out to examine the frequency, periodicity and foreseeability of sexual intercourse and other relevant matters in 300 married couples who had previously revealed that they had sexual intercourse once or more in 3 months.

Results:  The results obtained clearly show that very few couples have sexual intercourse more than once when the opportunity of intercourse arises, and a majority of them had intercourse at night. Furthermore, the results indicated that more than 80% of the couples could not foresee sexual intercourse 30 min earlier.

Conclusion:  It was concluded that drugs used to treat ED should be fast acting and make it possible to have sexual intercourse without feeling uncomfortable.
Community‐based processes behind species richness gradients: contrasting abundance–extinction dynamics and sampling effects in areas of low and high productivity
Authors: Carnicer Jofre , Brotons Lluís , Sol Daniel , Jordano Pedro
Published: May 2007

Aim To consider the role of local colonization and extinction rates in explaining the generation and maintenance of species richness gradients at the regional scale.

Location A Mediterranean biome (oak forests, deciduous forests, shrublands, pinewoods, firwoods, alpine heathlands, crops) in Catalonia, Spain.

Methods We analysed the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of community size in explaining species richness gradients. Direct sampling effects of community size on species richness are predicted by Hubbell's neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography. The greater the number of individuals in a locality, the greater the number of species expected by random direct sampling effects. Indirect effects are predicted by the abundance–extinction hypothesis, which states that in more productive sites increased population densities and reduced extinction rates may lead to high species richness. The study system was an altitudinal gradient of forest bird species richness.

Results We found significant support for the existence of both direct and indirect effects of community size in species richness. Thus, both the neutral and the abundance–extinction hypotheses were supported for the altitudinal species richness gradient of forest birds in Catalonia. However, these mechanisms seem to drive variation in species richness only in low‐productivity areas; in high‐productivity areas, species richness was uncorrelated with community size and productivity measures.

Main conclusions Our results support the existence of a geographical mosaic of community‐based processes behind species richness gradients, with contrasting abundance–extinction dynamics and sampling effects in areas of low and high productivity.
Firm Turnarounds: an Integrative Two‐Stage Model*
Authors: Arogyaswamy Kamala , Barker Vincent L. , Yasai‐Ardekani Masoud
Published: May 2007

This paper presents a model proposing that turnaround firms exhibit two classes of response to decline: (a) decline‐stemming strategies that reverse the dysfunctional consequences of decline, and (b) recovery strategies that position the firm to better compete in its industry. We further propose that effective top management actions supportingbothof these strategies are vital to recovering from decline. Our model of the turnaround process questions some existing assumptions about turnarounds and extends theory in several key areas. First, we argue that success in initially stemming decline requires managers to go beyond retrenchment or focusing on financial issues to include effective management of a firm's external stakeholders and internal climate and decision processes. Second, we outline important contingencies impacting each class or stage of response to decline and discuss the interaction between stages. Finally, we demonstrate how our model provides explanations for several unresolved issues regarding turnarounds and has implications for management practice.
Believing Is Seeing: Joint Ventures and Organization Learning*
Authors: Inkpen Andrew C. , Crossan Mary M.
Published: May 2007

This paper develops a conceptual framework for the study of organization learning and applies it to learning in joint ventures (JVs). the framework presents a multilevel view of the phenomenon, suggesting that learning in organizations occurs at the individual, group and organization levels. the framework integrates behavioural and cognitive perspectives of organization learning and delineates both learning processes and outcomes. Four key elements of organization learning are addressed: the nature of managerial learning experiences, the sharing and integration of managerial learning within an organization, the insti‐tutionalization of learning, and the relationship between organization learning and performance. In applying the framework to a study of learning and JVs, we observed firms with explicit learning objectives unable to put into place the appropriate mechanisms and systems to transfer knowledge from the JV to the parent. While individual managers in the JVs were often enthusiastic and positive about their learning experiences, integration of the learning experience at the parent firm level was problematic, limiting the institutionalized learning. the fundamental position in this paper is that a rigid set of managerial beliefs associated with an unwillingness to cast off or unlearn past practices can severely limit the effectiveness of organization learning.
Personifying the State: Consequences for Attitude Formation
Authors: McGraw Kathleen M. , Dolan Thomas M.
Published: May 2007

Because states are abstract entities, they often require embodiment for mass publics and elites to understand them. This embodiment often occurs as personification, where the state is associated with the most salient figure in the political system, but embodiment can also occur through political institutions and social groups. Surprisingly, there is virtually no systematic empirical work on the political and psychological consequences of state personification, or other forms of embodiment. In this experiment, we investigate how various ways of embodying the state influence attitude formation processes. Drawing on the on‐line/memory‐based processing and entitativity literatures, we hypothesize that personification of the state should facilitate on‐line processing and stronger attitudes, whereas embodying the state as a parliamentary institution should produce weaker attitudes that are formed in a memory‐based fashion. The results support these hypotheses. Embodiment as a social group produced inconsistent results. This study provides the first systematic evidence that the widespread practice of personification of the state has robust and potentially far‐reaching attitudinal consequences that have meaningful implications for strategic interaction, perception and learning, and attitude change in the international realm.
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND POLITICS: SENIOR BUREAUCRATS IN FRANCE
Authors: ROUBAN LUC
Published: May 2007

Why is new public management reform so difficult to implement in France? In order to answer this question, this article examines the changes that have affected the higher civil service since the late 1970s. Decision‐making networks have been considerably politicized, and public policies are now largely devised by ministerial cabinets staffs. Simultaneously, the tasks of career senior civil servants are increasingly technical and specialized. The management reforms undertaken since 2002 by an economically liberal government might have offered senior bureaucrats the opportunity to regain a more active professional role, but the reforms run counter to their political culture, since the large majority of them still share a leftwing political ideology. Reformers seem to have no other choice than to change the institutional system in order to resolve this contradiction.
PERCEPTIONS OF BENEFIT FRAUD STAFF IN THE UK: GIVING P.E.A.C.E. A CHANCE?
Authors: WALSH DAVID , MILNE REBECCA
Published: May 2007

This article reports a study concerning perceptions of benefit fraud staff and of management concerning their own interviewing techniques and standards, and their views pertaining to a preferred model of interviewing. Interviewing fraud suspects forms an important task performed by Fraud Investigators (FIs) within the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in the UK. Given this significance, it is surprising that there has been little analysis of the skills used to do this task. Current training consists of a course centred on an interviewing framework called the PEACE model, which was originally developed for police use.

The research outlined in this paper examined both FIs and their managers’ perceptions and attitudes of the model and of their own practices. It was found that, while there was general support for the model, reservations were voiced over how effective PEACE may actually be in practice. These reservations centred on insufficient time to prepare for investigations along with a perceived inflexibility over the model’s framework. In, addition, it was highlighted that the absence of any national supervisory framework for investigative interviews should give the organization cause for concern in ensuring standards.
HABERMAS’ MODELS OF DECISIONISM, TECHNOCRACY AND PRAGMATISM IN TIMES OF GOVERNANCE: THE RELATIONSHIP OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, POLITICS AND SCIENCE IN THE ALCOHOL PREVENTION POLICIES OF THE SWISS MEMBER STATES
Authors: SAGER FRITZ
Published: May 2007

This article assesses the effects different constellations of science, administration and the political sphere display on the policy process in the field of alcohol prevention policy in the Swiss member states. First, it is argued that Habermas’ models of Decisionism, Technocracy, and Pragmatism can be interpreted as distinct modes of governance that take place in today’s policy‐making and implementation. Second, as for the effects of these different constellations of science, administration and politics, the findings from a written survey of the Swiss cantons reported here imply that a broad and adequate policy design is found in cantons with an alcohol prevention policy that is dominated by administrative actors. Output performance proves to be comparatively higher in cantons with a high influence either of scientific actors or of political actors. In an overall comparison, a combined model of administrative dominance with strong affiliation to the scientific community is shown to prevail against the other models considered.
IMPROVING UK PUBLIC SERVICES: A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE
Authors: HODGSON LESLEY , FARRELL CATHERINE M. , CONNOLLY MICHAEL
Published: May 2007

Over a number of years in the UK, public service improvement has been at the centre of both Conservative and Labour policy. Keen to make improvements in public services, the current Labour government is pursuing this issue more strongly than any other. This paper examines the concept of improvement and reviews the academic literature which has empirically assessed improvements in a range of public services. Drawn from over 50 studies of improvement, the evidence highlights seven determinants or improvement ‘triggers’ which have been put in place and which have had a positive effect on a public service. These include quality frameworks and public participation forums. The paper reviews the evidence and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the studies themselves. The findings of the paper indicate that, despite a political drive to improve public services, there is insufficient evidence available on ‘what works’ in bringing about improvement. The need for sustained research in this area is emphasized and conclusions are drawn on a way forward.
INDIVIDUALS AND THE DYNAMICS OF POLICY LEARNING: THE CASE OF THE THIRD BATTLE OF NEWBURY
Authors: DUDLEY GEOFFREY
Published: May 2007

In recent years, the phenomenon whereby key individuals introduce effective ideas into policy processes has been identified as a vital agent in the redefinition of policy issues. In turn, this raises the basic question of how these individuals themselves undergo processes of learning and change. The article examines three models of policy learning in order to analyse what they may tell us about the dynamics of individual learning: the advocacy coalition framework; the process of learning by means of ‘development’; and issue redefinition through processes of punctuated equilibria.

The models are examined in the context of the learning dynamics of three key individuals within the salient anti‐bypass group the ‘Third Battle of Newbury’. The article’s conclusion identifies three apparent paradoxes in individual learning dynamics and attempts to answer these with particular reference to the concepts of frame reflection and regulation by means of norm setting.
RECYCLING BINS, GARBAGE CANS OR THINK TANKS? THREE MYTHS REGARDING POLICY ANALYSIS INSTITUTES
Authors: STONE DIANE
Published: May 2007

The phrase ‘think tank’ has become ubiquitous – overworked and underspecified – in the political lexicon. It is entrenched in scholarly discussions of public policy as well as in the ‘policy wonk’ of journalists, lobbyists and spin‐doctors. This does not mean that there is an agreed definition of think tank or consensual understanding of their roles and functions. Nevertheless, the majority of organizations with this label undertake policy research of some kind. The idea of think tanks as a research communication ‘bridge’ presupposes that there are discernible boundaries between (social) science and policy. This paper will investigate some of these boundaries. The frontiers are not only organizational and legal; they also exist in how the ‘public interest’ is conceived by these bodies and their financiers. Moreover, the social interactions and exchanges involved in ‘bridging’, themselves muddy the conception of ‘boundary’, allowing for analysis to go beyond the dualism imposed in seeing science on one side of the bridge, and the state on the other, to address the complex relations between experts and public policy.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RELATIONAL CONTRACTING IN A TEMPORARY PUBLIC ORGANIZATION: INTENSIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN AN ENGLISH LOCAL AUTHORITY AND PRIVATE CONTRACTORS
Authors: DAVIS PAUL
Published: May 2007

This article evaluates the factors that shaped the effectiveness of three strategic contracts pursued with private firms by a local authority in the English West Midlands. The contracts generated highly political outputs that supported the council’s defence of the core interests of local residents. The analysis explores the form taken by the contracts; the mechanisms that delivered and integrated them; and the wider structural factors that helped to secure apparently benign contractual outputs. The evaluative yardsticks used to support the analysis were: relationality; flexibility; and performativity.

The article argues that relationality is crucial in determining quality in temporary, project‐based organizations. Relationality yields flexibility and effective performance, based on mutual regard and loyalty. The case study highlights the need to explore perceptual gaps between the parties; the importance of the time‐path of relationality; the significance of ‘value residuals’ in incentivizing substantive loyalty; and the potential contribution of zones of flexibility to performance.
SUPRANATIONAL GOVERNANCE OR NATIONAL BUSINESS‐AS‐USUAL? THE NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS IN THE NETHERLANDS AND DENMARK
Authors: YESILKAGIT KUTSAL , BLOM‐HANSEN JENS
Published: May 2007

The partnership principle in EU cohesion policy was introduced in order to involve subnational authorities and interest organizations in policy formulation and implementation. In this article we examine how the member states have reacted to this call for a new way of making public policy.

We argue that the multi‐level governance literature and the critics of the multi‐level governance framework have not examined implementation structures properly, but have focused on regional influence. We conduct a comparative analysis of the Dutch and Danish implementations of the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. Our findings show that when examining implementation structures it becomes clear that member states are in full control of the re‐allocation of EU funds. They show that Denmark and The Netherlands have been able to absorb EU cohesion policy within already existing national implementation structures of labour market policies and regional development. One central theoretical implication of our study is that the focus of studies of any fundamental re‐allocation of power resources in cohesion studies should comprise the entire network of implementation rather than the strategies of its individual component actors.
Human Service organizations: an Australian perspective
Authors: Martin Elaine Wilson
Published: May 2007

Theoretical models or frameworks of change in human service organizations, both governmental and non‐governmental, must adapt to the changing circumstances faced by such organizations in the later 1980s and 1990s. Too often change no longer means innovation initiated from within a service organization in order to improve service to its clients, but rather change engendered or enforced from outside the organization which may have uncertain or adverse implications for clients, target groups, or staff. Major changes may have to be implemented within tight time limits and in situations of high intra‐ and inter‐organizational conflict. In such situations, sequential models of organizational change based upon a rational problem solving process, developed during the more favourable era of the 1970s, may be of limited use. A complementary framework for analysis and action planning can be built upon four dimensions of change identified here as rational‐empirical, social‐systems, power‐politics and values‐vision. These dimensions offer a comprehensive framework for understanding and intervening in various aspects of the change process, such as assessing the forces for and against change, preparing an organization for change, building up a change system, selecting change strategies, and evaluating a change process. Such a framework can be useful to those seeking to influence change in various alternative directions.
‘The poor have the right to be beautiful’: cosmetic surgery in neoliberal Brazil
Authors: Edmonds Alexander
Published: May 2007

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in hospitals that offer cosmetic surgery to the poor, this article examines the causes of a rapid growth in plastic surgery rates in Brazil over the past two decades. It argues that problems with diverse social origins manifest themselves as aesthetic defects, which are diagnosed and treated by the beauty industry. But plastic surgery also incites the consumer desires of people on the margins of the market economy and mobilizes a racialized ‘beauty myth’ (a key trope in national identity) in marketing and clinical practice. Beauty practices offer a means to compete in a neoliberal libidinal economy where anxieties surrounding new markets of work and sex mingle with fantasies of social mobility, glamour, and modernity.
Sensual, material, and technological understanding: exploring prehistoric soundscapes in south India
Authors: Boivin Nicole , Brumm Adam , Lewis Helen , Robinson Dave , Korisettar Ravi
Published: May 2007

Recent years have witnessed an increased interest within archaeology in the non‐visual senses, and particularly sound. To date, however, most studies have focused on the evidence for musical instruments and the acoustic properties of special structures and spaces, like monuments and caves. This study reports on further evidence for special musical activities at the prehistoric site of Sanganakallu‐Kupgal in south India, but then also moves on to a discussion of the acoustic dimension of more mundane Neolithic technological and productive activities, like flint‐knapping, axe‐grinding, and crop production. It focuses on the evidence for links between such activities at Sanganakallu‐Kupgal, based on shared material, gestural, and acoustic properties, and argues that the hammering of ringing rocks to make music was only one aspect of a wider Southern Neolithic cultural propensity to address technological and ritual requirements by applying stone against stone. The article attempts to bring to recent discussions of the senses an awareness of the materiality of sensory experience, which, despite recent interest in the body, remains marginalized in theoretical accounts.
Witchcraft and the limits of mass mediation in Malawi
Authors: Englund Harri
Published: May 2007

This article explores what the study of witchcraft in an African setting can contribute to current efforts to theorize mass mediation and the imagination it fosters. Recent ethnographies of witchcraft discourses in Africa have continued to associate them with the formation of small‐scale groups, but evidence from Malawi shows how they enable subjects to imagine sociality on an indeterminate scale. The article deploys the concept of mediation to theorize how in this imagination witches mediate sociality as the unrecognized third parties who give rise to recognized social relationships of varying scale. The ethnography of witchcraft discourses in radio broadcasting and an impoverished peri‐urban area demonstrates not only their relevance to apparently disparate contexts but also their potential to exceed the impact of the mass media. The case of a violent conflict involving Pentecostal Christians, South Asian entrepreneurs, Muslims, and members of a secret society provides an example of how arguments about witchcraft had a greater impact on the popular imagination than a mass‐mediated report of the same conflict. The article concludes by arguing that witchcraft discourses should be accorded weight equal to the mass media in theorizing the imagination.
Obvious pretence: for fun or for real? Cross‐cousin and international relationships in Sri Lanka
Authors: Argenti‐Pillen Alexandra
Published: May 2007

Rather than understanding ‘lying’ or deception as a weapon of the oppressed, I use a Machiavellian and Nietzschean framework to investigate linguistic technologies of power that involve deception in contemporary Sri Lanka. My argument is based on distinct speech events collected in the village of Udahenagama and elite circles in Colombo: youthful flirtations, ritual negotiations with spirits, conversations with government officials and soldiers, a reported presidential diplomatic exchange, and everyday village banter. I highlight how the focus of the deceptive recorded interactions is revelation, rather than concealment, and I thereby propose a supplementary translation of the practice of telling boru, as obvious pretence. Obvious pretence is an important aspect of Sinhala linguistic technologies of power which imbue interdependent micro‐ and macro‐level political spheres. I use Bakhtin's work on tones to describe how ‘obvious pretence’ intertwines, on the one hand, a tone of domination, aggression, and superiority, and, on the other hand, a tone of accommodation, conflict avoidance, and courtship. An aesthetic of power – as the power to deceive – lies in the tension between those two opposing tones, which are encompassed within the single linguistic and pragmatic practice of ‘obvious pretence’.
‘What else do we Bengalis do?’ Sorcery, overseas migration, and the new inequalities in Sylhet, Bangladesh
Authors: Callan Alyson
Published: May 2007

In Sylhet, Bangladesh, remittances sent home by sons and husbands working abroad have led to new inequalities conducive to the proliferation of sorcery accusations. In cases of illness, sorcery is often the preferred diagnosis. The virilocal rule of residence positions the son's wife as an outsider and, as such, she has been traditionally viewed as the prime suspect in cases of sorcery. This structural tension has been intensified by overseas migration as sons working abroad increase the isolation and vulnerability of their wives. Patients and their families do not passively act out structural contradictions but actively pursue a sorcery diagnosis. Through a detailed case study of one woman's struggle to come to terms with infertility, I show how a diagnosis of sorcery acts as a face‐saving mechanism in situations of material inequality between kin.
Neoliberalism reified: suzhi discourse and tropes of neoliberalism in the People's Republic of China
Authors: Kipnis Andrew
Published: May 2007

Since the mid‐1990s, ‘neoliberalism’ has grown in importance as an explanatory trope for socio‐cultural anthropologists. This article seeks to unravel the various strands of neoliberalism's anthropological meaning and demonstrate the blind spots of using neoliberalism as an overarching trope. I begin by analysing the contradictions between two common forms of theorizing neoliberalism. The remainder of the article then focuses the initial discussion by examining a particular case: suzhi discourse in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Suzhi may be glossed as human quality, and suzhi discourse refers to the myriad ways in which this notion of human quality is used in processes of governing contemporary China. I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments of those who explain suzhi discourse in terms of neoliberalism and suggest ways in which this discourse might be contextualized more fruitfully than as a form of neoliberalism.
Some reflections on anthropological structural Marxism
Authors: Nugent Stephen
Published: May 2007

The primary topic in this discussion is the brief career of anthropological structural Marxism and the possibility of its continued relevance. That issue is framed by a more general one: on what basis are explanatory theories adopted and discarded in anthropology? The discussion of structural Marxism is framed within recent debates about the desirability of socio‐cultural anthropology's traditional associations with other sub‐fields of anthropology, and it is argued that the isolation of sub‐fields is a regressive theoretical move.
Spurious Regression and Trending Variables*
Authors: Noriega Antonio E. , Ventosa‐Santaulària Daniel
Published: May 2007

This paper analyses the asymptotic and finite‐sample implications of different types of non‐stationary behaviour among the dependent and explanatory variables in a linear spurious regression model. We study cases when the non‐stationarity in the dependent and explanatory variables is deterministic as well as stochastic. In particular, we derive the order in probability of the t‐statistic in a spurious regression equation under a variety of empirically relevant data generation processes, and show that the spurious regression phenomenon is present in all cases when both dependent and explanatory variables behave in a non‐stationary way. Simulation experiments confirm our asymptotic results.
They Killed Our Lord: The Perception of Jews as Desecrators of Christianity as a Predictor of Anti‐Semitism
Authors: PARGAMENT KENNETH I. , TREVINO KELLY , MAHONEY ANNETTE , SILBERMAN ISRAELA
Published: May 2007

Drawing on religious coping theory, we examined whether the appraisal that Jews desecrate Christian values (the stressor) is linked to anti‐Semitic attitudes (the response). Further, we considered whether religious ways of understanding and dealing with this stressor (religious coping) mitigate or exacerbate the ties between religious appraisals of Jews and anti‐Semitic responses. College students completed measures of desecration, anti‐Semitism, and religious ways of coping with appraisals of Jews as desecrators of Christianity. Greater desecration was associated with greater anti‐Semitism, after controlling for demographic variables and dispositional measures (e.g., particularism, pluralism, church attendance, Christian orthodoxy, fundamentalism, and authoritarianism). Religious coping in ways that emphasized expressions of Christian love were associated with lower anti‐Semitism; ways of coping that emphasized being punished by God and Jews as demonic were tied to greater anti‐Semitism. Perceptions of Jews as desecrators were predicted by higher levels of authoritarianism and religious orthodoxy, less closeness to Jews, greater exposure to messages of desecration, and less exposure to messages that counter the perception of desecration.
Changes in Religious Giving Reflect Changes in Involvement: Age and Cohort Effects in Religious Giving, Secular Giving, and Attendance
Authors: WILHELM MARK O. , ROONEY PATRICK M. , TEMPEL EUGENE R.
Published: May 2007

We present two patterns over time in religious giving, secular giving, and religious service attendance. The first pattern describes the prewar cohort (born 1924–1938) as they aged between middle adulthood (ages 35–49) and their senior years (ages 62–76). The second pattern compares the baby boom cohort (born 1951–1965) in middle adulthood to the middle adulthood of the prewar cohort. We present patterns for all families as well as separately for Catholic and Protestant families using data from three sources. The prewar cohort increased their religious giving and attendance as they aged, but—compared to the prewar cohort in middle adulthood—baby boomers give less than expected to religion and attend less. Baby boomer giving is noticeably less than expected and attendance noticeably lower among Catholic boomers, but less so among Protestant boomers. We argue that together these patterns are evidence that changes in religious giving reflect changes in religious involvement.
Proximity Matters: Exploring Relationships Among Neighborhoods, Congregations, and the Residential Patterns of Members
Authors: SINHA JILL WITMER , HILLIER AMY , CNAAN RAM A. , McGREW CHARLENE C.
Published: May 2007

Using the Philadelphia Congregations Census, the Neighborhood Change Database, the U.S. Census, and geographic information systems (GIS) software, this study compared characteristics of congregations made up of members who live nearby their congregation's building to those with more members who commute from outside the immediate area or outside the city. We considered whether the neighborhood characteristics in which the “commuter” versus “resident” congregations were located differed in regard to racial composition, socioeconomic status, and residential stability. The study found that where the pastor lives in relation to the building, denomination, racial composition of membership, and the stability of the neighborhood were related to members' residential proximity to the congregation building.
Mighty Fortresses: Explaining the Spatial Distribution of American Megachurches
Authors: KARNES KIMBERLY , McINTOSH WAYNE , MORRIS IRWIN L. , PEARSON‐MERKOWITZ SHANNA
Published: May 2007

One of the most significant phenomena in organized religion over the past two decades is the development and growth of the “megachurch.” While these dramatically large campuses and congregations represent a relatively new aspect of religious life in the United States, they are already having a profound effect on the way in which Americans worship through their size and often their wealth. Given their size and increasing numbers, where they are located takes on a special significance. We assess their location within the context of a range of demographic and economic factors in those states in which they are most prevalent.
Catholic Schooling and Disaffiliation from Catholicism
Authors: PERL PAUL , GRAY MARK M.
Published: May 2007

Using event history analysis of 849 adults raised Catholic, this research note examines effects of attending Catholic elementary school and high school on the likelihood one remains Catholic. Attending Catholic high school for at least three years significantly reduces the likelihood that one disaffiliates from Catholicism, reducing both the likelihood that one converts to another faith and the likelihood that one chooses to have no religion at all. Additional analyses show that Catholic high school has no significant effect on adult Mass attendance when considering respondents who are currently Catholic. But when analyses include all respondents raised Catholic, Catholic high school produces a positive effect on attendance. This may help explain seemingly conflicting findings in the literature on Catholic schooling and religious commitment.