bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differential Involvement of Neurons in the Dorsal and Ventral Premotor Cortex During Processing of Visual Signals for Action Planning
Authors: Hoshi Eiji , Tanji Jun
Published: February 2006

We examined neuronal activity in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex (PMd and PMv, respectively) to explore the role of each motor area in processing visual signals for action planning. We recorded neuronal activity while monkeys performed a behavioral task during which two visual instruction cues were given successively with an intervening delay. One cue instructed the location of the target to be reached, and the other indicated which arm was to be used. We found that the properties of neuronal activity in the PMd and PMv differed in many respects. After the first cue was given, PMv neuron response mostly reflected the spatial position of the visual cue. In contrast, PMd neuron response also reflected what the visual cue instructed, such as which arm to be used or which target to be reached. After the second cue was given, PMv neurons initially responded to the cue's visuospatial features and later reflected what the two visual cues instructed, progressively increasing information about the target location. In contrast, the activity of the majority of PMd neurons responded to the second cue with activity reflecting a combination of information supplied by the first and second cues. Such activity, already reflecting a forthcoming action, appeared with short latencies (<400 ms) and persisted throughout the delay period. In addition, both the PMv and PMd showed bilateral representation on visuospatial information and motor-target or effector information. These results further elucidate the functional specialization of the PMd and PMv during the processing of visual information for action planning.
Nonlinear Information Processing in a Model Sensory System
Authors: Chacron Maurice J.
Published: February 2006

Understanding the mechanisms by which sensory neurons encode and decode information remains an important goal in neuroscience. We quantified the performance of optimal linear and nonlinear encoding models in a well-characterized sensory system: the electric sense of weakly electric fish. We show that linear encoding models generally perform better under spatially localized stimulation than under spatially diffuse stimulation. Through pharmacological blockade of feedback input and spatial saturation of the receptive field center, we show that there is significantly less synaptic noise under spatially diffuse stimuli as compared with spatially localized stimuli. Modeling results suggest that pyramidal cells nonlinearly encode sensory information through shunting in their dendrites and clarify the influence of synaptic noise on the performance of linear encoding models. Finally, we used information theory to quantify the performance of linear decoders. While the optimal linear decoder for spatially localized stimuli could capture 60% of the information in pyramidal cell spike trains, the optimal linear decoder for spatially diffuse stimuli could only capture 40% of the information. These results show that nonlinear decoders are necessary to fully access information in pyramidal cell spike trains, and we discuss potential mechanisms by which higher-order neurons could decode this information.
Intracortical Inhibition During Volitional Inhibition of Prepared Action
Authors: Coxon James P. , Stinear Cathy M. , Byblow Winston D.
Published: February 2006

Volitional inhibition is the voluntary prevention of a prepared movement. Here we ask whether primary motor cortex (M1) is a site of convergence of cortical activity associated with movement preparation and volitional inhibition. Volitional inhibition was studied by presenting a stop signal before execution of an anticipated response that requires a key lift to intercept a revolving dial. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were elicited in intrinsic hand muscles by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess corticomotor excitability and short interval intracortical inhibition (sICI) during task performance. The closer the stop cue was presented to the anticipated response, the harder it was for subjects to inhibit their response. Corticomotor pathway excitability was temporally modulated during volitional inhibition. Using subthreshold TMS, corticomotor excitability was reduced for Stop trials relative to Go trials from 140 ms after the cue. sICI was significantly greater for Stop trials compared with Go trials at a time that preceded the onset of muscle activity associated with the anticipated response. These results provide evidence that volitional inhibition is exerted at a cortical level and that inhibitory networks within M1 contribute to volitional inhibition of prepared action.
The Role of Identity in Acculturation among Immigrant People: Theoretical Propositions, Empirical Questions, and Applied Recommendations
Authors: Schwartz Seth J. , Montgomery Marilyn J. , Briones Ervin
Published: February 2006

The present paper advances theoretical propositions regarding the relationship between acculturation and identity. The most central thesis argued is that acculturation represents changes in cultural identity and that personal identity has the potential to ‘anchor’ immigrant people during their transition to a new society. The article emphasizes the experiences of nonwhite, non-Western immigrant people moving to Western nations. The article also calls for research on heretofore unexplored aspects of the relationship of acculturation to personal and social identity. Ideas are proposed for interventions to promote cultural identity change and personal identity coherence.
Regulation of GATA-3, c-maf and T-bet mRNA Expression in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Cells and Bronchial Biopsies after Segmental Allergen Challenge
Authors: Erpenbeck Veit J. , Hagenberg Andreas , Krentel Harald , Discher Marc , Braun Armin , Hohlfeld Jens M. , Krug Norbert
Published: February 2006

Background: GATA-3 (GATA binding protein 3) and the proto-oncogene c-maf are Th2-regulating transcription factors that control the expression of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5, while T-bet (T-box expressed in T cells) is a Th1-specific transcription factor that controls the expression of interferon (IFN-γ). Allergen provocation in asthmatics induces a Th2-dominated cytokine profile, but so far it is unknown whether the skewed cytokine expression is reflected by the expression of the respective transcriptional regulators. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the regulation of Th1- and Th2-specific transcription factors and cytokines in 10 atopic subjects with mild asthma and 5 nonatopic healthy controls at baseline and after segmental sham and allergen challenge. Methods: The mRNA expression of GATA-3, c-maf and T-bet was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells and bronchial biopsies. The percentage of IL-4+, IL-5+ and IFN-γ+ BAL T cells was determined by flow cytometry, and BAL levels of these cytokines were measured by ELISA. Results: In BAL cells of asthmatics, the mRNA expression of all transcription factors was increased after allergen challenge. In bronchial biopsies, the basal expression of GATA-3 was increased in asthmatics compared to healthy controls but decreased after allergen challenge. Compared to sham challenge, the percentage of IL-5+/CD4+ BAL T cells was increased after allergen challenge in asthmatics while the percentage of IFN-γ+/CD4+ and IFN-γ+/CD8+ T cells was decreased. Expression of c-maf mRNA in BAL cells correlated with IL-4+/CD4+ BAL cells and BAL IL-5 levels. Conclusions: Segmental allergen challenge in asthmatics leads to increased GATA-3, c-maf and T-bet expression in BAL cells but not in bronchial biopsies.
Toxocara Infection Seroprevalence and Its Relationship with Atopic Features in a General Adult Population
Authors: Gonzalez-Quintela A. , Gude F. , Campos J. , Garea M.T. , Romero P.A. , Rey J. , Meijide L.M. , Fernandez-Merino M.C. , Vidal C.
Published: February 2006

Background: The relationship of helminth infection with atopy is controversial. Toxocariasis is the most common helminth infection in industrialized countries. The study aimed to investigate the association between Toxocara exposure and atopic features. Methods: The study is based on a cross-sectional survey of 463 subjects, randomly selected (stratified by decades of age) from a general adult population. Toxocara exposure was defined by the presence of serum Toxocara antibodies. Main outcome measures included total serum IgE levels, skin prick tests (SPT) to a panel of 13 relevant aeroallergens, specific IgE to aeroallergens (Phadiatop test), and respiratory symptoms evaluated by means of a questionnaire. Results: A total of 134 subjects (weighted proportion 28.6%, 95% CI 26.5–30.7%) showed Toxocara exposure. Pet ownership, rural habitat, farming, and low educational level were associated with Toxocara exposure. Toxocara exposure was associated with both positive SPT (particularly to mites) and positive specific IgE (Phadiatop test) after adjusting for potential confounders. The effect of Toxocara exposure on total serum IgE levels and blood eosinophil count was different in SPT-positive subjects and SPT-negative individuals. In SPT-negative individuals, Toxocara exposure was associated with an increase in both serum IgE levels and eosinophil counts, whereas an opposite trend was observed in SPT-positive individuals. Toxocara exposure was not associated with respiratory symptoms. Conclusions: In this adult population, Toxocara exposure is associated with allergic sensitization, particularly to mites. There is evidence of an intriguing interaction between Toxocara exposure and allergic sensitization for both total serum IgE levels and blood eosinophil counts.
Potential Clinical Correlates and Risk Factors for Interatrial Block
Authors: Ariyarajah Vignendra , Apiyasawat Sirin , Moorthi Ranjani , Spodick David H.
Published: February 2006

Background: Interatrial block (IAB; P wave ≧110 ms) denotes a conduction delay between the atria, is strongly associated with atrial tachyarrhythmias, left atrial enlargement, left atrial electromechanical dysfunction, and is a risk for embolism. Despite this, potential risk factors for IAB have not been clearly defined. Methods: Patients admitted via the Emergency Department for nonacute medical reasons to the nontelemetry general medical floors of a tertiary care general hospital from October to November 2004 were screened for sinus rhythm on electrocardiograms. Four hundred and four patients who met our criteria were then evaluated for IAB on respective electrocardiograms. All patients were subsequently compared for common diseases as well as coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors and divided into two groups, those with IAB and those without (control). Mean age ± standard deviation, odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), r values, and p values were calculated. p values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: From the sample (n = 404), 182 patients had IAB (45%; mean age 64.32 ± 19.27 years; males 51.6%) while 222 did not (control). CAD (OR 3.150, 95% CI 2.05–4.83; p < 0.001, r = 0.3), hypertension (OR 2.918, 95% CI 1.85–4.60; p < 0.001, r = 0.2), diabetes mellitus (OR 2.542, 95% CI 1.62–3.97; p < 0.001, r = 0.1), and hypercholesterolemia (OR 1.823, 95% CI 1.22–2.74; p = 0.004, r = 0.2) were significant risk factors and correlates for IAB. Multivariate analysis using stepwise linear regression revealed these factors as direct correlates of IAB. Conclusion: CAD, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia appear to be risk factors for IAB in general hospital patients admitted for nonacute reasons. Considering the known sequelae of IAB, awareness of its associations with such risk factors could be important for patient risk stratification.
Ovarian Fibroma: A Review on the Clinical Characteristics, Diagnostic Difficulties, and Management Options of 23 Cases
Authors: Leung See Wai , Yuen Pong Mo
Published: February 2006

Aim: We review clinical characteristics, diagnostic difficulties, and our experience in the surgical management of ovarian fibromas. Method: Twenty-three women with the operative diagnosis of an ovarian fibroma managed between January 1995 and August 2004 were reviewed retrospectively. Results: These patients comprised 1% of all benign ovarian tumors seen over this study period. The median age was 45 years, and 11 patients (47.8%) were postmenopausal. The main presenting symptom was abdominal pain (43.5%). The diagnosis of an ovarian fibroma or a solid ovarian tumor was correctly made preoperatively in only 5 patients (21.7%). All patients underwent surgical treatment: 18 by laparotomy and 5 by laparoscopy. All tumors were unilateral, and the median size was 13 cm. Fourteen patients underwent conservative surgery, and 9 had total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Two cases of fibrosarcoma were reviewed on the final pathology. Conclusions: Gynecologists should be aware of this group of ovarian tumors despite their uncommon occurrence. There are clinical clues to differentiate an ovarian fibroma from uterine fibroid and ovarian malignancy. Surgical removal of these solid ovarian tumors is recommended because of the low probability of malignancy. Minimal-access surgery is an option, especially when the tumor is of moderate or small size.
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in the Diet and Breast Milk of Lactating Icelandic Women with Traditional Fish and Cod Liver Oil Consumption
Authors: Olafsdottir A.S. , Thorsdottir I. , Wagner K.H. , Elmadfa I.
Published: February 2006

Background/Aims: The proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the diet and breast milk of lactating women with traditional fish and cod liver oil consumption was investigated under free-living conditions. Methods: Dietary intake of 77 lactating women was investigated by 24-hour recalls and breast milk samples were taken at the same occasions. Maternal intake data was calculated and fatty acid pattern from breast milk samples analyzed with gas chromatography. Results: Women using cod liver oil (n = 18) had a significantly higher total PUFA intake (14 ± 10 vs. 9 ± 7 g/day; 5.0 ± 3.4 vs. 3.9 ± 3.0 Energy%; p < 0.05) than women who did not use it (n = 59). In particular, mothers consuming cod liver oil had higher breast milk proportion of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 0.54 vs. 0.30%, p < 0.05). They also had higher breast milk proportions of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 0.16 vs.0.07%; p < 0.05) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; 0.22 vs. 0.17%; p < 0.05). Conclusion: The proportion of PUFA in the diet is significantly higher among women consuming cod liver oil. Its use also gives higher proportion of EPA,DPA and DHA in breast milk without decreasing other important fatty acids. As this may have an impact on the health and development of breast-fed infants in later life, regular maternal cod liver oil intake could be relevant for the infant as well as for the nutritional adequacy of the maternal diet.
Daily Intake of Probiotic as well as Conventional Yogurt Has a Stimulating Effect on Cellular Immunity in Young Healthy Women
Authors: Meyer Alexa L. , Micksche Michael , Herbacek Irene , Elmadfa Ibrahim
Published: February 2006

Background/Aims: The aim of this work was to study the effects of daily yogurt consumption on the cellular immunity of young healthy women and to compare a conventional with a probiotic product. Methods: 33 young healthy women (22–29 years) consumed 100 g/day of either probiotic or conventional commercially available yogurt for 2 weeks and 200 g/day for another 2 weeks followed by a 2-week washout period with no fermented food at all. Before the intervention and after each phase, a complete white blood count was done, the percentage of activated CD69+ T lymphocytes after stimulation of whole blood with pokeweed mitogen was determined as well as the natural cytotoxicity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells against a human erythroleukemic target cell line (K562). All analyses were done by flow cytometry. Results: In the probiotic group only, the numbers of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD3+CD16+CD56+) increased significantly (+30.8% with p = 0.001, +22.1 and +32.7% with p = 0.002, for T2, T3 and T4 compared to T1). There were no major changes for other cell populations, and all remained within the physiological range. In both groups, the expression of CD69 on T lymphocytes increased after yogurt consumption, especially on CD8+ (conventional: T2 +23%, T3 +27.2%, probiotic: T2 +15.7%; T3 +10.8% compared to T1) and to a lesser extent on CD4+ (conventional: T2 +7.7%, T3 +14.9%, probiotic: T2 +4% compared to T1. The cytotoxic activity also augmented following the intake, this effect persisting after cessation of consumption. However, there were no significant differences between the probiotic and the conventional yogurt group. Conclusion: Daily yogurt intake has a stimulating effect on cellular immune functions, but in this study the probiotic product did not perform better than the traditional one.
Analysis of Synapsin III –196 Promoter Mutation in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Lachman Herbert M. , Stopkova Pavla , Papolos Demitri F. , Pedrosa Erika , Margolis Benjamin , Aghalar Maryam Rafael , Saito Takuya
Published: February 2006

Background: The 22q13-linked gene synapsin III is a positional candidate gene for schizophrenia (SZ). One interesting synapsin III single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), –196G/A, has been identified in the promoter region. The –196A allele results in a 6/8 base match to the core recognition octamer sequence for Oct-1, a member of the POU family of transcription factors. Objective: To determine whether or not the –196 SNP is associated with either SZ or bipolar disorder (BD). Methods: A case control comparison was used to determine whether or not differences in allele or genotype distribution occurred in patients with SZ and BD. Electromobility gel shift assay (EMSA) was used to determine whether the –196 SNP affected protein binding. Results: A trend towards significance was detected when the allele distribution was analyzed in Caucasian patients with SZ (n = 145; 191 controls) and a cohort of subjects from the Czech Republic with BD (n = 82; 94 controls). No association was found in bipolar patients from the United States (n = 127) or in African-American patients with SZ (n = 124; 133 controls). EMSA showed that the region encompassing the –196 SNP binds to a brain protein in an allele-specific manner. Conclusions: These data, while inconclusive, suggest that –196 SNP should be further investigated as a candidate for 22q13-linked SZ.
Intravenous Mirtazapine Is Safe and Effective in the Treatment of Depressed Inpatients
Authors: Mühlbacher M. , Konstantinidis A. , Kasper S. , Eichberger G. , Hinterhuber H. , Hofmann P. , Nimmerrichter A. , Schubert H. , Egger C. , Nickel M. , Stuppaeck C.
Published: February 2006

Mirtazapine is a third-generation antidepressant with a dual mode of action. The oral administration has been shown to be effective and safe in the treatment of depressed patients. In this multicenter naturalistic study, we assessed the safety, tolerability, and therapeutic efficacy of intravenously administered mirtazapine in 80 moderately to severely depressed inpatients during a treatment period of 14 days. We found a significant decrease of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale total score compared to baseline. Side effects were mild and transient. Our data indicate that intravenous mirtazapine is an effective, safe and well-tolerated treatment for depressed inpatients.
Dopamine Infusion and Anterior Pituitary Gland Function in Very Low Birth Weight Infants
Authors: Filippi Luca , Pezzati Marco , Cecchi Alessandra , Serafini Lisa , Poggi Chiara , Dani Carlo , Tronchin Michele , Seminara Salvatore
Published: February 2006

Background: Previous studies demonstrated that dopamine infusion reduces plasma concentration of thyroxine (T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), prolactin (PRL), and growth hormone (GH) in adults, children, and infants. Objectives: The purpose of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the relationship between dopamine infusion and the dynamics of T4, TSH, PRL, and GH in preterm newborns weighing less than 1,500 g (very low birth weight infants, VLBW) admitted in a neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital over a one year period. Methods: A total of 97 preterm newborns were enrolled and divided into two groups: group B included hypotensive infants treated with plasma expanders and dopamine infusion; group A was the control group including newborns who were never treated with dopamine. The newborns were studied dynamically through blood samples taken every day till 10 days. Newborns of group B were studied during dopamine infusion and after its withdrawal. Results: Among the VLBW newborns who were given dopamine, the four pituitary hormones had different dynamics: a reduction of T4, TSH, and PRL levels was noticed since the first day of treatment, and a rebound of their levels was evident since the first day after its interruption. On the contrary, the postprandial GH levels were roughly constant: GH plasma concentrations were in fact a little lower in newborns treated with dopamine, and a slight increase was observed after its withdrawal. However, observed differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: The results suggest that dopamine infusion reduces T4, TSH, and PRL plasma levels in preterm VLBW infants and have no effect on postprandial GH rate. This hormonal suppression reverses rapidly after dopamine withdrawal. This observation suggests that the iatrogenic pituitary suppression probably cannot produce long-term injuries.
Effects of Heat Shock and Hypoxia on Neonatal Neutrophil Lipopolysaccharide Responses: Altered Apoptosis, Toll-Like Receptor-4 and CD11b Expression Compared with Adults
Authors: Molloy Eleanor J. , O’Neill Amanda J. , Doyle Belinda T. , Grantham Julie J. , Taylor Cormac T. , Sheridan-Pereira Margaret , Fitzpatrick John M. , Webb David W. , Watson R. William G.
Published: February 2006

Background: Dysfunctional inflammatory responses have been implicated in several neonatal inflammatory disorders following infection and hypoxia. Objectives: We aimed to study the effects of in vitro hypoxia and heat shock (HS) on normal adult and newborn neutrophil migration (CD11b) and persistence (apoptosis) following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Methods: The mechanism for altered LPS responses was assessed at the level of the LPS signalling receptors, Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4), TLR-2 and CD14 expression in normal neonates and adults. Results: In adults, although hypoxia delayed neutrophil apoptosis, LPS enhanced this response. In contrast, HS (42°C) increased adult apoptotic rates and abrogated the LPS responses. Both hypoxia and HS prevented the LPS-induced increase in adult CD11b although it was unaltered in neonates. Adult TLR-4 neutrophil expression was increased by LPS and hypoxia, and decreased in HS, possibly explaining their variable LPS responsiveness. In contrast, neonatal neutrophils were LPS hyporesponsive which may be mediated by failure of TLR-4 upregulation with LPS. Conclusions: Neonates do not have increased LPS responsiveness in hypoxia or heat shock in vitro, which may prevent hyperinflammation and thereby minimise tissue damage in inflammation or infection.
X-Linked Hyper-Immunoglobulin M Syndrome: Molecular Genetic Study and Long-Time Follow-Up of Three Generations of a Chinese Family
Authors: Lin Sheng-Chieh , Shyur Shyh-Dar , Lee Wen-I , Ma Yi-Chun , Huang Li-Hsin
Published: February 2006

Background: X-linked hyper-immunoglobulin M (IgM) syndrome (XHIGM) is a rare immunodeficiency disease caused by mutations of the CD40 ligand gene. Patients are subject to recurrent infections and have normal or elevated levels of IgM but markedly decreased serum IgG. Objective: We describe molecular genetic studies and clinical manifestations in three generations of one family, as well as results of long-term treatment of 2 young men with the disorder. Methods: Of 37 living family members, mutational analysis of the CD40 ligand gene was performed in 36 members. Laboratory data for patients and carriers were reviewed. Results: Four male family members had died of unexplained causes. The 3 patients with XHIGM syndrome and the 5 carriers all had a novel mutation located at Tyr 169 Asn (T526A) in exon 5, the tumor necrosis factor domain of the CD40 ligand gene. In the 3 patients, CD40 ligand expression in activated CD4+ T cells was below 1%. In the carriers, about half of activated CD4+ cells expressed CD40 ligand. One carrier had malignant lymphoma. Long-term (>20 years) intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in 2 patients improved IgG levels but did not fully suppress the high levels of IgM, nor did it prevent late complications (bronchiectasis and sclerosing cholangitis). Conclusions: Diagnosis of a genetic immunodeficiency, especially an X-linked disease such as XHIGM syndrome, should prompt a survey of the entire family.
Institutionalizing Codes of Governance
Authors: Enrione Alfredo , Mazza Carmelo , Zerboni Fernando
Published: February 2006

Economic systems are undergoing a generalized effort to improve corporate governance structures and processes. Waves of scandals and increasing public scrutiny push institutional regulators and corporate boards of directors to establish and adopt new practices. Codes of good governance have emerged as a primary tool to increase the effectiveness of corporate governance systems. Building on extant views of institutional change, the authors study the process of the institutionalization of codes of governance and the role of the different actors involved in issuing the codes. They define four groups of actors: law-makers, model makers, market makers, and governance enactors. They analyze a sample of 150 codes of governance introduced in 78 countries from 1978 to 2004 to describe the following stages of institutionalization: precipitating jolts, theorization, diffusion, and reinstitutionalization. This description invites thorough investigation of the content of codes of governance and the likelihood adopting such codes in a given country.
Presidential Powers and Consolidation of New Postcommunist Democracies
Authors: Beliaev Mikhail V.
Published: February 2006

The present study analyzes the institutional design of the presidency in 22 postcommunist countries from 1993 to 1998 and its effects in terms of democratization. The analysis indicates that two dimensions of presidential powers should be distinguished: (a) a president’s ability to act as a de facto head of government and (b) his or her authority to serve as an arbiter between the legislative and executive branches of government and to patronize the courts. Other factors hold that constant, political regimes with stronger executive powers of presidents exhibit worse contemporaneous democratic performance and are less able to consolidate as democracies. The results show that superpresidential regimes, in which presidents had been vested with authorities of both types, perform the worst. However, the marginal effect of presidential arbiter authorities is rather positive.
Duration of Party Control in Parliamentary and Presidential Governments
Authors: Maeda Ko , Nishikawa Misa
Published: February 2006

Most of the previous work on political stability uses cabinet duration or leadership duration to measure stability. This study, however, focuses on another area of stability, namely the party control of the executive branch. This approach not only allows us to compare political durability in presidential and parliamentary systems directly, but it also, we believe, better reflects policy changes that stem from government party composition. Our analysis of longitudinal data from 65 democracies reveals that presidential and parliamentary governments create different patterns of government survival. Ruling parties in parliamentary systems encounter a declining hazard rate over time, whereas those in presidentialism face an increasing hazard rate in their survival. We explain this difference by focusing on how parliamentary and presidential systems create different incentive structures for political parties.
Escaping the Symbolic Politics Trap: Reconciliation Initiatives and Conflict Resolution in Ethnic Wars
Authors: Kaufman Stuart J.
Published: February 2006

Existing approaches to resolving civil wars are based primarily on the assumption that these wars result from conflicts of interest among rational individuals. However, peacebuilding efforts based on this approach usually fail in cases of ethnic civil war, leading sooner or later to renewed fighting. Symbolic politics theory suggests the problem with these peace efforts is that they pay insufficient attention to ameliorating the emotional and symbolic roots of extremist ethnic politics. The theory suggests that resolving ethnic war requires reconciliation–changing hostile attitudes to more moderate ones, assuaging ethnic fears, and replacing the intragroup symbolic politics of ethnic chauvinism with a politics that rewards moderation. The only policy tools for promoting such attitudinal and social changes are reconciliation initiatives such as leaders’ acknowledgement of their sides’ misdeeds, public education efforts such as media campaigns, and problem-solving workshops. Integrating such reconciliation initiatives into a comprehensive conflict resolution strategy, it is argued, is necessary for conflict resolution efforts to be more effective in ending ethnic civil wars.
The Past's Promise: Lessons from Peace Processes in Northern Ireland and the Middle East
Authors: Maney Gregory M. , Ibrahim Ibtisam , Higgins Gareth I. , Herzog Hanna
Published: February 2006

Just as the Northern Ireland and Israeli–Palestinian peace processes appeared close to achieving lasting resolutions to conflict, both initiatives fell into crisis. This study combines power conflict and transaction cost approaches to analyze the strengths and the weaknesses of the Belfast Good Friday (BGF) and the Oslo peace processes. Dimensions that empower participants and increase certainty strengthen peace processes. Dimensions that are disempowering of participants and decrease certainty weaken peace processes. The two peace processes shared the strengths of including militant nationalists in negotiations and generating international pressure and support. Unlike the Oslo process, the BGF process benefited from greater constitutional certainty, minority safeguards, grass-roots legitimacy, effective responses to spoilers, and minority-supportive intervention by the US government. Unlike the BGF process, the Oslo process benefited from broad international participation in negotiations, leading to agreements that had clearly specified mechanisms for implementation. Shared weaknesses of the two processes included transgressing zero-sum game assumptions and identity boundaries, manipulation of popular fears by elites, and the marginal, if not negative, role played by civil society. In addition to pointing out ways that each peace process could benefit by appropriating the advantages of the other, the article offers several promising strategies for overcoming shared weaknesses, including challenging zero-sum assumptions, constructing more inclusive collective identities, grass-roots education regarding manipulative elites, strengthening non-sectarian segments of civil society, and breaking cycles of violence through reconciliation processes.
Human Rights Rogues in Interstate Disputes, 1980–2001
Authors: Caprioli Mary , Trumbore Peter F.
Published: February 2006

Rogue states have typically been characterized as those states that consistently violate accepted international norms of behavior. While US foreign policymakers and policy analysts have identified rogue states as those violating a narrow set of international norms of external conduct, specifically terrorism sponsorship and illicit pursuit of banned weapons, this article proposes an alternative understanding of rogue state status that harks back to earlier notions of international pariah states, isolated from the rest of international society, owing to their egregious treatment of their own citizens. Building on Galtung's concept of structural violence and feminist insights concerning the interconnectedness of violence at all levels of human society, the authors develop a rogue state index to identify human rights rogues, based on ethnic and gender discrimination and the violation of personal integrity rights. An important part of the rogue state formula developed by policymakers over the recent decades is the expectation that such states represent dangers to international peace and stability. Focusing on the recognized international human rights norms of non-discrimination and security of person, and informed by the causal mechanisms inherent in the normative explanation for the democratic peace, this article tests whether human rights rogues are more likely to become involved in militarized interstate conflicts and violent interstate conflicts. The results of the analysis show that human rights rogues are more likely to become involved in militarized interstate disputes in general, and violent interstate disputes specifically, than other states during the period 1980–2001, suggesting that policymakers must keep a close watch on serial human rights abusers, while seeking to identify future threats to international security.
International Linkages and Environmental Sustainability: The Effectiveness of the Regime Network
Authors: Ward Hugh
Published: February 2006

While the literature on environmental regime effectiveness has focused on particular regimes considered in isolation, the overall effects of the system of regimes are more relevant. First, regimes are connected because they often share institutional architecture, deal with different aspects of the same problem, frame issues using similar legal and policy principles, and are subject to attempts to coordinate across issues by groups of nations, NGOs and international agencies. Thus, the network of regimes has social capital that can be applied to particular issues. Second, owing to ecological interconnectedness, regimes can have both positive and negative side-effects on environmental issues that they do not explicitly deal with. Allowing for political interconnectedness using concepts drawn from social network theory and for ecological interconnectedness using broad measures of sustainability, this article argues that nations more central to the network of environmental regimes should score higher on measures of sustainability. This is because the social capital in the regime network can more easily be brought to bear on centrally placed nations to make them cooperate and because they are more likely to be aware of negative regime side-effects. Measures of network centrality do, indeed, positively impact on nations’ performance on four sustainability indicators. The analysis also finds that a nation's position in the general international system further positively impacts on its sustainability scores. This leads to the suggestion that the environmental regime network is supported by social capital in more general international networks.
Peace in the Eyes of Israeli and Palestinian Youths: Effects of Collective Narratives and Peace Education Program
Authors: Biton Yifat , Salomon Gavriel
Published: February 2006

The authors studied the extent to which the collective narrative of a group in conflict and participation in a peace education program affects youngsters’ perceptions of peace. Participants in the study were 565 Jewish Israeli and Palestinian adolescents, about half of whom participated in a year-long schoolbased program; the other half served as a control group. Pre- and post-program questionnaires measured youngsters’ free associations to the concept of peace, their explanations of it, and its perceived utility, and suggested strategies to attain it. Initially, Israeli students stressed the negative aspects of peace (absence of violence) and Palestinians stressed its structural aspects (independence, equality). Unlike the controls, both Israeli and Palestinian program participants came to stress more the positive aspects of peace (cooperation, harmony) following participation in the program. Also, whereas the controls came to increasingly suggest war as a means to attain peace, possibly as a function of the ongoing mutual hostilities (intifada), no such change took place among program participants. Palestinian controls also manifested greater hatred towards Jews, but no change took place among program participants. That is, peace education can serve as a barrier against the deterioration of perceptions and feelings. It became evident that individuals’ perceptions of peace are differentially colored by their group's collective narratives and more immediate experiences of current events, but are significantly altered by participation in a peace education program.
To Appease or to Concede? Contrasting Two Modes of Accommodation in International Conflict
Authors: Azubuike Samuel
Published: February 2006

It is sometimes necessary in serious interstate disputes for a party to unilaterally accommodate an opponent’s demands or claims. Such unreciprocated or one-sided accommodation, however, does not only pose political and psychological risks, it also seems to conflict with the basic bargaining norm of reciprocity. Yet the imperative of ending deadlocks that can degenerate into belligerent conflicts demands such unreciprocated accommodation. This imperative also calls for a positive and principled concept for understanding unreciprocated accommodation. With the perhaps unjustified and continuing discrediting of appeasement as a legitimate accommodative bargaining strategy, this article highlights the notion of concession as a valuable, non-pejorative concept of accommodation. The article offers a framework of concession that helps determine when/why a strong state would undertake the unreciprocated accommodation of an opponent. The argument is empirically illustrated using the Anglo-American conflict over Venezuela at the end of the nineteenth century.
The ‘Transformation of War’ Debate: Through the Looking Glass of Ulrich Beck’s World Risk Society
Authors: Heng Yee-Kuang
Published: February 2006

This article adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the ongoing ‘transformation of war’ debate in an age of globalisation. It suggests that careful scrutiny of recent Anglo-American campaigns, from Kosovo to Iraq, reveals a shared underlying concern: the management of globalised systemic risks. This implies an interesting continuity where one might expect discontinuity, given the different US administrations and strategic contexts involved. Policymakers, for instance, have consistently prioritised anticipatory proactive stances to avert probabilistic scenarios. Underpinning the analysis presented here is what sociologist Ulrich Beck terms the ‘world risk society’. Social sciences, notably sociology, have fruitfully incorporated risk theories into their research agendas. International relations, however, has largely not done so in a concerted fashion, despite its cross-disciplinary nature. This article demonstrates that Beck’s ideas in fact have great relevance to understanding the impetus, ethos and outcomes of contemporary war.
Rwanda and Darfur: The Media and the Security Council
Authors: Melvern Linda
Published: February 2006

The United Nations Security Council is central to the application of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This article examines the role of the Council in the circumstances of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and questions the secrecy of its decision making. It outlines the similarities between response to genocide in Rwanda and the mass human rights abuses in Darfur, Sudan. It questions the failure of the western press to provide adequate and timely information about both these tragedies.
Gendering Grotius
Authors: Kinsella Helen M.
Published: February 2006

I construct a genealogy of the principle of distinction; the injunction to distinguish between combatants and civilians at all times during war. I outline the influence of a series of discourses—gender, innocence, and civilization—on these two categories. I focus on the emergence of the distinction in the seventeenth-century text On the Law of War and Peace, authored by Hugo Grotius, and trace it through the twentieth-century treaties of the laws of war—the 1949 Geneva Protocols and the 1977 Protocols Additional. I draw out how the practices of and referents for our current wars partially descend from and are governed by the binary logics of Christianity, barbarism, innocence, guilt, and sex difference articulated in Grotius’s text. These binaries are implicated in our contemporary distinction of “combatant” and “civilian,” troubling any facile notion of what “humanitarian” law is or what “humanitarian” law does, and posing distinct challenges to theorizations of the laws said to regulate war.
A Tale of Two Indias
Authors: Kohn Margaret , O’Neill Daniel I.
Published: February 2006

The subject of empire has emerged as a central concern in political theory. Edmund Burke and John Stuart Mill have been at the center of much recent scholarship on this topic. A number of depictions of Burke as a critic and Mill as a defender of empire rely largely on their writings about India. This article focuses instead on Burke and Mill’s writings on the West Indies and America from the standpoint of both thinkers’ connection to Scottish Enlightenment historiography. It argues that Burke’s embrace of the notion of a civilizing process helps explain his dismissive treatment of Africans and Indians in the Americas and makes it clear that he was no simple defender of cultural pluralism and difference. Conversely, it argues that Mill’s essay, “The Negro Question,” and his public criticism of martial law in Jamaica suggest his doubts about the civilizing effect of British rule. By re-examining their writings from this particular geographical and theoretical perspective, the article challenges the new scholarly orthodoxy surrounding Burke’s and Mill’s views of the imperial project.
Democratic Identification
Authors: Norval Aletta J.
Published: February 2006

This article explores the formation of democratic subjectivity and its connection to change. Drawing on Wittgenstein’s account of aspect seeing, it seeks to elucidate the processes through which political grammars change. More specifically, it illuminates two dimensions of the formation of democratic political subjectivity: the initial “identification as” a democratic subject and its repeated renewal, necessary to the maintenance of a democratic ethos. I argue that by drawing a distinction between “aspect dawning” and “aspect change,” it is possible to capture the key characteristics of these two dimensions. This account is developed in contrast to existing democratic theory, which either does not deal sufficiently with the formation of subjectivity or does not give full attention to the specific requirements of the formation of democratic forms of identification.
Survey of Pennsylvania Jail Wardens
Authors: Sturges Judith E. , Hardesty Katherine N.
Published: February 2006

In recent years, jails have become more interdependent with the community, and policy demands have helped create a system that is becoming more open. The research discussed in this article focuses on the changes involving inmate visitation and attitudes of jail administrators using the concepts of ecosystem theory. The authors use an ecosystem perspective to suggest that clarifying and standardizing policies, increasing collaborative efforts between county facilities, developing specialized training for correction officers, and improving methods of disseminating information to visitors will help lessen some of the problems administrators normally associate with visitation.
Insiders’ Views of Prison Amenities
Authors: Tewksbury Richard , Mustaine Elizabeth Ehrhardt
Published: February 2006

Existing research on views of prison amenities has largely focused on the general public. This research assesses the perceptions and views of correctional staff regarding what should be provided. Based on data from 554 Kentucky Department of Corrections staff members, results show that correctional staffers tend to have favorable views regarding the presence of prison amenities. Furthermore, analyses of patterns and trends across types of jobs, experience, and educational attainment show that prison staffers are accepting of most particular amenities. Finally, views on prison amenities are related to one’s position and length of experience in the prison, as well as one’s educational level. Policy and practical implications are discussed.
Correctional Officers’ Perceptions of Equitable Treatment in the Masculinized Prison Environment
Authors: Griffin Marie L. , Armstrong Gaylene S. , Hepburn John R.
Published: February 2006

Research suggests that employee perceptions of an organization’s support for policies that promote an equitable work environment may differ significantly by race and gender groups. This study examines such perceptual differences and their attitudinal effects on employee experiences within the unique context of a prison setting. Significant differences in correctional officer perceptions of policies are found to exist by race and gender groups. Contrary to expectations, all race and gender groups perceive strong organizational support for equal treatment policies. Moreover, the work experiences of White males are not negatively affected by perceptions of organizational support for equal treatment as had been hypothesized.
Explaining Police Officer Discretionary Activity
Authors: Smith Brad W. , Novak Kenneth J. , Frank James , Lowenkamp Christopher
Published: February 2006

Existing research on the activities of police officers has examined a range of police behaviors and decision processes. The present article attempts to delineate factors that influence the daily discretionary choices of officers concerning the activities they undertake on a daily basis. By empirically examining the contribution of officer and community factors on decisions to engage in a variety of typical police activities, this article provides a more complete understanding of factors that influence the work-related decisions of street-level police officers. Using systematic social observation data on both community-oriented and traditional beat officers, multivariate models are developed to explain officers’ daily activities. The findings reveal that neighborhood-level and attitude variables influenced community and traditional police officers differently. Overall, the individual-level attributes of officers did not influence activity choices of either type of officer. These findings are discussed in the context of community policing within the city studied.
Locating Political Parties in Policy Space
Authors: Franzmann Simon , Kaiser André
Published: February 2006

Starting from a number of deficiencies in the Comparative Manifestos Project approach to studying left–right policy scales in election programs, an additive model based on the distinction between position and valence issues is proposed. This allows analysis of the policy space in established democracies under the assumption that left and right have different meanings from country to country and over time. The model is illustrated with regard to four Western European countries with different types of party system: Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Empirical findings affirm that the procedures are workable and that the data generated are capable of yielding detailed information beyond that which previous approaches are able to deliver. In addition, preliminary tests on external validity produce reassuring results.