bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reduction of Boundary Value Problem to Possio Integral Equation in Theoretical Aeroelasticity
Authors: Balakrishnan A. V. , Shubov M. A.
Published: June 2008

The present paper is the first in a series of works devoted to the solvability of the
Possio singular integral equation. This equation relates the pressure distribution over a
typical section of a slender wing in subsonic compressible air flow to the normal velocity
of the points of a wing (downwash). In spite of the importance of the Possio equation,
the question of the existence of its solution has not been settled yet. We provide a
rigorous reduction of the initial boundary value problem involving a partial differential
equation for the velocity potential and highly nonstandard boundary conditions to a
singular integral equation, the Possio equation. The question of its solvability will be
addressed in our forthcoming work.
α-Linolenic Acid and Risk of Nonfatal Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Campos Hannia , Baylin Ana , Willett Walter C.
Published: July 2008

Background—

Intake of long-chain n-3 fatty acids found in fish is low in many countries worldwide. α-Linolenic acid could be a viable cardioprotective alternative to these fatty acids in these countries.

Methods and Results—

Cases (n=1819) with a first nonfatal acute myocardial infarction and population-based controls (n=1819) living in Costa Rica matched for age, sex, and area of residence were studied. Fatty acids were assessed by gas chromatography in adipose tissue samples and by a validated food frequency questionnaire specifically designed for this population. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated from multivariate conditional logistic regression models. α-Linolenic acid in adipose tissue ranged from 0.36% in the lowest decile to 1.04% in the highest decile. The corresponding median levels of intake were 0.42% and 0.86% energy. Greater α-linolenic acid (assessed either in adipose or by questionnaire) was associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction. The odds ratios for nonfatal myocardial infarction for the highest compared with the lowest deciles were 0.41 (95% confidence interval, 0.25 to 0.67) for α-linolenic acid in adipose tissue and 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.42 to 0.88) for dietary α-linolenic acid. The relationship between α-linolenic acid and myocardial infarction was nonlinear; risk did not decrease with intakes >≈0.65% energy (1.79 g/d). Fish or eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intake at the levels found in this population did not modify the observed association.

Conclusions—

Consumption of vegetable oils rich in α-linolenic acid could confer important cardiovascular protection. The apparent protective effect of α-linolenic acid is most evident among subjects with low intakes.
Comprehensive Canadian Review of the Off-Label Use of Recombinant Activated Factor VII in Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Karkouti Keyvan , Beattie W. Scott , Arellano Ramiro , Aye Tim , Bussieres Jean S. , Callum Jeannie L. , Cheng Davy , Heinrich Lee , Kent Blaine , Lee Trevor W.R. , MacAdams Charles , Mazer C. David , Muirhead Brian , Rochon Antoine G. , Rubens Fraser D. , Sawchuk Corey , Wang Shaohua , Waters Terrence , Wong Bill I. , Yau Terrence M.
Published: July 2008

Background—

This observational study sought to identify the off-label use pattern of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in cardiac surgery and to identify predictors of its effectiveness and risk.

Methods and Results—

At 18 Canadian centers, 522 nonhemophiliac cardiac surgical patients received rFVIIa during the period 2003 through 2006; data were available, and retrospectively collected, on 503 patients. The median (quartile 1, quartile 3) units of red blood cells transfused from surgery to therapy and in the 24 hours after therapy were 8 (5, 12) and 2 (1, 5), respectively (
P
<0.0001). Mortality rate was 32%, and mortality or major morbidity rate was 44%. These rates were within expected ranges (mortality, 27% to 35%; mortality or morbidity, 39% to 48%), which were calculated with a separate cohort of cardiac surgical patients who did not receive rFVIIa used as reference. Independent predictors of complications included instability before therapy (multiple inotropes or intra-aortic balloon pump) and increasing red blood cell units transfused before and after therapy. Variables independently associated with nonresponse included abnormal coagulation parameters and >15 red blood cell units transfused before therapy.

Conclusions—

In Canada, rFVIIa is used primarily when standard interventions have failed to control bleeding. In this setting, rFVIIa is associated with reduced blood product transfusions and, after risk adjustment, does not appear to be associated with increased or decreased complication rates. The effectiveness of the drug may be enhanced if it is given early in the course of refractory blood loss in the setting of adequate amounts of circulating coagulation factors.
GATT and the Cold War: Accession Debates, Institutional Development, and the Western Alliance, 1947–1959
Authors: McKenzie Francine
Published: July 2008

Historical accounts of the Cold War usually relegate the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to footnotes, if they acknowledge the GATT at all. This article examines the impact of the Cold War on the institutional development of GATT, showing how geopolitical considerations influenced decisions about whether to grant membership in GATT to Communist and non-aligned countries. The accession debates in GATT also reveal the multicentered dynamic of the Western alliance, exposing a variety of views about whether the Cold War was a battle to be waged or a condition of global international relations to be accepted. But if the GATT could not evade the Cold War, its secretariat also manipulated Cold War circumstances, beliefs, and priorities to strengthen the institution. The result of the GATT accession debates was to reposition the GATT as a forum and instrument of the Western alliance, rather than the universal organization it was supposed to be, and to impart new meaning to the process of liberalizing world trade.
L'Origine Des Formules Pauliniennes "Le Christ S'Est Livré Pour Nous", "Le Christ Nous a Aimés Et S'Est Livré Pour Nous"1
Authors: Romaniuk Kazimierz
Published: June 2008

La charité salvifique du Christ est souvent exprimée chez Paul à l'aide de ces formules que sont "I1 s'est livré pour nous" ou "I1 nous a aimés et s'est livré pour nous". Puisque celles-ci se répètent à diverses reprises et qu'elles ne sont pas une manière ordinaire de parler de la mort de quelqu'un,-c'est le verbe beaucoup plus frequent dans de pareils contextes, qui exprime cette idée-il nous semble utile et même nécessaire de rechercher l'origine littéraire de ces formules pour mieux expliquer la sotériologie de saint Paul.
Voraussage-Empfang, Offenbarungs-Gewissheit Und Gebetskraft-Erfahrung Bei Jeremia
Authors: Eissfeldt Otto
Published: June 2008

Das Nebeneinander der Jeremias Sekretär und Freund Baruch ben-Nerijja zu dankenden Er-Erzählungen von Jeremias Schicksalen und der von dem Propheten selbst herrührenden, nämlich von ihm dem Baruch diktierten Ich-Berichte über die einzelnen Phasen seiner Verkündigung, wie es im Jeremia-Buch vorliegt, trägt zum Verständnis der jeweiligen Vorgänge dadurch wesentlich bei, daß die Er-Erzählungen und die Ich-Berichte sich aufs glücklichste ergänzen, indem jene den äußeren Verlauf des Geschehens, diese das dabei von dem Propheten verkündete Gotteswort zum Inhalt haben. Das Musterbeispiel dafür ist das Nebeneinander der ihrer Grundlage nach aus einem Ich-Bericht Jeremias stammenden "Tempelrede" in C. vii und der von Baruch verfaßten Er-Erzählung von den Folgen, die der Vortrag dieser Rede für Jeremia gehabt hat, in C. xxvi. Aber es finden sich im Jeremia-Buche auch noch andere Fälle ähnlicher Art. Auf einige von ihnen ist in dem Beitrag des Verfassers zur Festschrift für WILHELM RUDOLPH hingewiesen worden 1), und einem weiteren, nämlich der "Parallele" von xxxvii II-I6 und C. xxxii, gelten die folgenden Ausführungen.
A Conceptual Model of the Surface Salinity Distribution in the Oceanic Hadley Cell
Authors: Nilsson Johan , Körnich Heiner
Published: June 2008

A conceptual model of the salinity distribution in the oceanic Hadley cell is presented. The model pertains to the region of tropical easterly surface winds, where the surface salinity increases poleward from a local salinity minimum near the equator to a subtropical salinity maximum. A fundamental constraint is that the meridional freshwater transports in the atmosphere and the ocean have the same magnitude but opposite directions. A key assumption is that the strength of the meridional overturning cells in the atmosphere and the ocean is proportional and set by the surface layer Ekman transport. It is further assumed that, to the lowest order of approximation, the zonal-mean Ekman transports accomplish the meridional freshwater transports, that is, eddy fluxes and gyre-induced transports are ignored. The model predicts that the salinity variation in the oceanic cell is directly proportional to the specific humidity of the near-surface air, but independent of the meridional mass transport (as long as the atmospheric and oceanic mass transports remain proportional). If the relative humidity of the near-surface air is constant, the salinity variation in the oceanic Hadley cell varies essentially with the surface temperature according to the Clausius–Clapeyron expression for the saturation vapor pressure. Further, the model is compared to observations and a global warming simulation and found to give a leading-order description of the tropical surface salinity range.
Critically Reassessing Tropospheric Temperature Trends from Radiosondes Using Realistic Validation Experiments
Authors: Titchner Holly A. , Thorne P. W. , McCarthy M. P. , Tett S. F. B. , Haimberger L. , Parker D. E.
Published: June 2008

Biases and uncertainties in large-scale radiosonde temperature trends in the troposphere are critically reassessed. Realistic validation experiments are performed on an automatic radiosonde homogenization system by applying it to climate model data with four distinct sets of simulated breakpoint profiles. Knowledge of the “truth” permits a critical assessment of the ability of the system to recover the large-scale trends and a reinterpretation of the results when applied to the real observations.

The homogenization system consistently reduces the bias in the daytime tropical, global, and Northern Hemisphere (NH) extratropical trends but underestimates the full magnitude of the bias. Southern Hemisphere (SH) extratropical and all nighttime trends were less well adjusted owing to the sparsity of stations. The ability to recover the trends is dependent on the underlying error structure, and the true trend does not necessarily lie within the range of estimates. The implications are that tropical tropospheric trends in the unadjusted daytime radiosonde observations, and in many current upper-air datasets, are biased cold, but the degree of this bias cannot be robustly quantified. Therefore, remaining biases in the radiosonde temperature record may account for the apparent tropical lapse rate discrepancy between radiosonde data and climate models. Furthermore, the authors find that the unadjusted global and NH extratropical tropospheric trends are biased cold in the daytime radiosonde observations.

Finally, observing system experiments show that, if the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Upper Air Network (GUAN) were to make climate quality observations adhering to the GCOS monitoring principles, then one would be able to constrain the uncertainties in trends at a more comprehensive set of stations. This reaffirms the importance of running GUAN under the GCOS monitoring principles.
Evidence for Enhanced Eddy Mixing at Middepth in the Southern Ocean
Authors: Smith K. Shafer , Marshall John
Published: June 2008

Satellite altimetric observations of the ocean reveal surface pressure patterns in the core of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that propagate downstream (eastward) but slower than the mean surface current by about 25%. The authors argue that these observations are suggestive of baroclinically unstable waves that have a steering level at a depth of about 1 km. Detailed linear stability calculations using a hydrographic atlas indeed reveal a steering level in the ACC near the depth implied by the altimetric observations. Calculations using a nonlinear model forced by the mean shear and stratification observed close to the core of the ACC, coinciding with a position where mooring data and direct eddy flux measurements are available, reveal a similar picture, albeit with added details. When eddy fluxes are allowed to adjust the mean state, computed eddy kinetic energy and eddy stress are close to observed magnitudes with steering levels between 1 and 1.5 km, broadly consistent with observations.

An important result of this study is that the vertical structure of the potential vorticity (PV) eddy diffusivity is strongly depth dependent, implying that the diffusivity for PV and buoyancy are very different from one another. It is shown that the flow can simultaneously support a PV diffusivity peaking at 5000 m2 s−1 or so near the middepth steering level and a buoyancy diffusivity that is much smaller, of order 1000 m2 s−1, exhibiting less vertical structure. An effective diffusivity calculation, using an advected and diffused tracer transformed into area coordinates, confirms that the PV diffusivity more closely reflects the mixing properties of the flow than does the buoyancy diffusivity, and points explicitly to the need for separating tracer and buoyancy flux parameterizations in coarse-resolution general circulation models. Finally, implications for the eddy-driven circulation of the ACC are discussed.
The Statistical Theory of Breaking Entrainment Depth and Surface Whitecap Coverage of Real Sea Waves
Authors: Yuan Yeli , Han Lei , Hua Feng , Zhang Shuwen , Qiao Fangli , Yang Yongzeng , Xia Changshui
Published: June 2008

Some basic statistics for wave breaking have been derived based on the statistical model of real sea waves. The analytic expressions of breaking entrainment depth and surface whitecap coverage involved with both sea wave characteristics and surface wind velocity have been derived on the basis of the whitecap formation model. The concept of the upper envelope for all the whitecap coverage data versus wind speed has been proposed, and it is assumed to correspond to the whitecap coverage in the case of the infinite wind duration and fetch to determine the model constants. The analytic expressions of breaking entrainment depth and whitecap coverage have been compared with the observations in several ways, and consistently favorable agreement can be found for most observations.
An Analysis of Errors in Drop Size Distribution Retrievals and Rain Bulk Parameters with a UHF Wind Profiling Radar and a Two-Dimensional Video Disdrometer
Authors: Kanofsky Laura , Chilson Phillip
Published: June 2008

Vertically pointed wind profiling radars can be used to obtain measurements of the underlying drop size distribution (DSD) for a rain event by means of the Doppler velocity spectrum. Precipitation parameters such as rainfall rate, radar reflectivity factor, liquid water content, mass-weighted mean drop diameter, and median volume drop diameter can then be calculated from the retrieved DSD. The DSD retrieval process is complicated by the presence of atmospheric turbulence, vertical ambient air motion, selection of fall speed relationships, and velocity thresholding. In this note, error analysis is presented to quantify the effect of each of those factors on rainfall rate. The error analysis results are then applied to two precipitation events to better interpret the rainfall-rate retrievals.

It was found that a large source of error in rain rate is due to unaccounted-for vertical air motion. For example, in stratiform rain with a rainfall rate of R = 10 mm h−1, a mesoscale downdraft of 0.6 m s−1 can result in a 34% underestimation of the estimated value of R. The fall speed relationship selection and source of air density information both caused negligible errors. Errors due to velocity thresholding become more important in the presence of significant contamination near 0 m s−1, such as ground clutter. If particles having an equivalent volume diameter of 0.8 mm and smaller are rejected, rainfall rate errors from −4% to −10% are possible, although these estimates depend on DSD and rainfall rate.
Well-Posed Lateral Boundary Conditions for Spectral Semi-Implicit Semi-Lagrangian Schemes: Tests in a One-Dimensional Model
Authors: Voitus F. , Termonia P. , Bénard P.
Published: June 2008

The aim of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of well-posed lateral boundary conditions in a Fourier spectral semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian one-dimensional model. Two aspects are analyzed: (i) the complication of designing well-posed boundary conditions for a spectral semi-implicit scheme and (ii) the implications of such a lateral boundary treatment for the semi-Lagrangian trajectory computations at the lateral boundaries.

Straightforwardly imposing boundary conditions in the gridpoint-explicit part of the semi-implicit time-marching scheme leads to numerical instabilities for time steps that are relevant in today’s numerical weather prediction applications. It is shown that an iterative scheme is capable of curing these instabilities. This new iterative boundary treatment has been tested in the framework of the one-dimensional shallow-water equations leading to a significant improvement in terms of stability.

As far as the semi-Lagrangian part of the time scheme is concerned, the use of a trajectory truncation scheme has been found to be stable in experimental tests, even for large values of the advective Courant number. It is also demonstrated that a well-posed buffer zone can be successfully applied in this spectral context. A promising (but not easily implemented) alternative to these three above-referenced schemes has been tested and is also presented here.
On the Improvement of COAMPS Weather Forecasts Using an Advanced Radiative Transfer Model
Authors: Liu Ming , Nachamkin Jason E. , Westphal Douglas L.
Published: June 2008

Fu–Liou’s delta-four-stream (with a two-stream option) radiative transfer model has been implemented in the U.S. Navy’s Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS)1 to calculate solar and thermal infrared fluxes in 6 shortwave and 12 longwave bands. The model performance is evaluated at high resolution for clear-sky and overcast conditions against the observations from the Southern Great Plains of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program. In both cases, use of the Fu–Liou model provides significant improvement over the operational implementation of the standard Harshvardhan radiation parameterization in both shortwave and longwave fluxes. A sensitivity study of radiative flux on clouds reveals that the choices of cloud effective radius schemes for ice and liquid water are critical to the flux calculation due to the effects on cloud optical properties. The sensitivity study guides the selection of optimal cloud optical properties for use in the Fu–Liou parameterization as implemented in COAMPS. The new model is then used to produce 3-day forecasts over the continental United States for a winter and a summer month. The verifications of parallel runs using the standard and new parameterizations show that Fu–Liou dramatically reduces the model’s systematic warm bias in the upper troposphere in both winter and summer. The resultant cooling modifies the atmospheric stability and moisture transport, resulting in a significant reduction in the upper-tropospheric wet bias. Overall ice and liquid water paths are also reduced. At the surface, Fu–Liou reduces the negative temperature and sea level pressure biases by providing more accurate radiative heating rates to the land surface model. The error reductions increase with forecast length as the impact of improved radiative fluxes accumulates over time. A combination of the two- and four-stream options results in major computational efficiency gains with minimal loss in accuracy.
The Measurement of Principal Rule Administration Behavior and Its Relationship to Educational Leadership
Authors: Caldwell William E. , Lutz Frank W.
Published: July 2008

A report of research on the theoretical development, instrumentation, and subsequent investigations of the rule administration behavior of public school principals is the basis of this article. Findings indicate that principals can reduce conflict and increase leadership perception by utili zation of representative rule administration.
The School Property Tax Reconsidered
Authors: Jones Thomas
Published: July 2008

Recent literature has defined school finance reform in terms offairness to pupils and taxpayers. One major reform plan implemented in several states has been the Guaranteed Tax Base (G. T.B.): a plan designed to equalize the property tax bases of school districts. This paper analyzes tax equalization for school districts in terms of fairness to persons. Central cities are used as the illustrative case. Citing past research and his own findings, the author concludes that achievement of tax base equali zation is fundamentally irrelevant to interpersonal equity. The author suggests a financing system that promotes equity among persons, rele gating property tax equalization to a minor role.
Rational and Boundedly Rational Behavior in a Binary Choice Sender–Receiver Game
Authors: Landi Massimiliano , Colucci Domenico
Published: July 2008

The authors investigate the strategic rationale behind the message sent by Osama bin Laden on the eve of the 2004 U.S. Presidential elections. They model this situation as a signaling game in which a population of receivers takes a binary choice, the outcome is decided by majority rule, sender and receivers have conflicting interests, and there is uncertainty about both players' degree of rationality. They characterize the structure of the sequential equilibria of the game as a function of the parameters governing the uncertainty and find that in all pure strategy equilibria, the outcome most preferred by the rational sender is chosen. An explanation of the above-mentioned events relies crucially on the relative likelihood of rational and naive players: If a sufficient departure from full rationality of the electorate is posited, then our model suggests that bin Laden's pre-electoral message succeeded in tilting the race toward his preferred outcome.
Relief Work and Malaria in Greece, 1943—1947
Authors: Gardikas Katerina
Published: July 2008

During the German occupation, Greece suffered a serious malaria epidemic, and the progress in malaria control achieved by the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) mission to Greece in the 1930s was wiped out. At the same time, however, medical relief was channelled into the country through a relaxation of the Allied blockade. While the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) inherited the wartime local relief distribution networks, malaria control measures required a return of the RF scientists within the organizational and logistical framework provided by UNRRA's Medical Division. They introduced dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) spraying on a nationwide scale, revolutionizing malaria control and the idea of disease eradication, and created UNRRA's largest DDT malaria programme. As the Greek civil war unfolded, the fight against malaria acquired a dynamic which immunized it from the political issues of the postwar international scene. In the Greek case, the RF's influence on malaria control by means of DDT moved smoothly from UNRRA to the World Health Organization (WHO) framework.
Linguistically Responsive Teacher Education
Authors: Lucas Tamara , Villegas Ana María , Freedson-Gonzalez Margaret
Published: July 2008

Students who speak languages other than English are a growing presence in U.S. schools. As a result, many mainstream classroom teachers are finding that they have English language learners in their classes. Unfortunately, most mainstream classroom teachers have had little or no preparation for providing the types of assistance that such learners need to successfully learn academic content and skills through English while developing proficiency in English. In this article, the authors identify a small set of principles that can serve as the linguistic foundation for the teaching of English language learners in mainstream classes. The authors then outline linguistically responsive pedagogical practices that flow directly from those principles. They conclude with concrete suggestions for how teacher education programs can incorporate the knowledge and skills that will prepare all preservice teachers to be linguistically responsive.
A Mediation Model of Tourists' Repurchase Intentions for Packaged Tour Services
Authors: He Yanqun , Song Haiyan
Published: July 2008

This study examines the mutual relationships among tourists' perceived service quality, value, satisfaction, and intentions to repurchase packaged tour services from travel agents. A mediation model where tourist satisfaction is hypothesized as a key mediator of the relationships between perceived service quality and repurchase intentions, and between perceived value and repurchase intentions, is developed and tested using a substantial data set with a time span of 9 consecutive years, available from a well-established regional consumer satisfaction survey. While previous literature has suggested that quality perceptions impose a direct effect on tourists' repurchase intentions, this study shows that such effect is fully mediated by tourists' satisfaction. The mediating role of satisfaction is further supported by examining the direct and indirect effects of perceived value on tourists' repurchase intentions.
The Role of the Teacher in Helping Learners Overcome the Negative Impact of Child Sexual Abuse
Authors: Tlakale Nareadi Phasha
Published: June 2008

Current literature suggesting the negative impact of childhood experiences of sexual abuse on school functioning makes it imperative to consider the role of the teacher in helping survivors overcome the negative impact of such experiences. Schools cannot ignore the reason why some learners cannot learn. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study that investigated both the school functioning of sexually abused learners and teachers' roles in helping learners overcome the negative impact of such experiences. The study followed in-depth interviews with 22 sexually abused learners and focus interviewing with two groups of teachers. Six roles were identified by both learners with childhood experiences of sexual abuse and the teachers namely: identifying sexually abused learners; providing support; building trusting relationships; ensuring security; offering preventive and treatment programs and making referrals. The study also provides information about factors that could undermine the educator's role in this matter.
United States and Finnish Adolescents' Perceptions of Social Support
Authors: Davidson Lisa M. , Demaray Michelle Kilpatrick , Malecki Christine Kerres , Ellonen Noora , Korkiamäki Rkka
Published: June 2008

The purpose of the current preliminary study was to examine the levels of perceived social support by adolescents in the US and Finland. American research has demonstrated that high perceived levels of social support can buffer adolescents against many negative psychosocial symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and low self-esteem and is a necessary resource in adolescent well-being (Demaray and Malecki, 2002). Research on social support in Finland has demonstrated similar effects. However, less is known about the potential differences in the perceptions of social support cross-culturally. Perceptions of the frequency of different sources and types of support were assessed in both countries ( n = 148 US, n = 144 Finland) via the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; Malecki et al., 2000). US participants perceived higher levels of both source and type of social support. These preliminary analyses serve as a springboard for further cross-cultural social support research.
Factors Predicting Rural Chinese Adolescents' Anxieties, Fears and Depression
Authors: Huijun Li  , Ying Zhang
Published: June 2008

This study examined age, gender, birth order and self-perceived level of achievement and popularity, as predictors of anxieties, fears and depression in Chinese adolescents. A sample of 398 rural Chinese adolescents participated in this study. Gender, academic performance and popularity have been found to make the greatest contributions to the prediction of Chinese adolescents' anxieties, fears and depression. Girls with poor academic performance reported higher anxiety level than boys of similar achievement level whereas boys with an average academic performance level were reportedly more anxious than their girl counterparts. Adolescents who perceived themselves as having a higher achievement level and enjoying a higher level of popularity generally reported lower levels of anxieties, fears and depression than those who perceived themselves as less academically advanced and as unpopular. Implications for preventive interventions and directions for future research are discussed.
Family Religious Involvement, Parenting Practices and Academic Performance in Adolescents
Authors: Hae Seong Park  , Bonner Patricia
Published: June 2008

This project investigated the impacts of family religious involvement and family religious affiliations on parenting practices and academic performance. This study utilized data from the base-year and first follow-up of the Education Longitudinal Study: 2002/2004 (ELS). A series of statistical techniques were incorporated to examine the nature of the overall associations. The results revealed that parents' religious involvement with their children is related to their parenting practices and their children's academic performance, but this link is mediated by the parents' religious affiliation. Significant associations among religious involvement, parenting practices for family socialization and academic performance suggest that a higher level of family religious participation indicates a level of social impact on education that leads to better academic performance. Implications for researchers and parents were discussed.
Good death study of elderly patients with terminal cancer in Taiwan
Authors: Cheng SY , Hu WY , Liu WJ , Yao CA , Chen CY , Chiu TY
Published: July 2008

Objectives: Over half of all terminal cancer patients in Taiwan are 65 or older, thus demonstrating the importance of terminal care for elderly people. This study investigates the good death status of elderly patients with terminal cancer, comparing the differences in the degree of good death among elderly and younger groups, and exploring the factors related to the good death score. Methods: Three hundred and sixty-six patients with terminal cancer admitted to a palliative care unit were enrolled. Two structured measurements, the good death scale and the audit scale for good death services, were used as the instruments in the study. Results: The scores of individual items and of the good death scale were increased significantly in both elderly ( n = 206, 56.3%) and younger ( n = 160, 43.7%) groups from the time of admission to just prior to death. However, the elderly group had significantly lower scores in ‘awareness’ ( t = −3.76, P < 0.001), ‘propriety’ ( t = −2.92, P < 0.01) and ‘timeliness’ ( t = −2.91, P < 0.01) than the younger group prior to death. Furthermore, because of a lack of truth-telling, the elderly group also had significantly lower scores than the younger group in both ‘respect for autonomy’ and ‘decision-making participation’ ( t = –2.17, P < 0.05; t = –2.21, P < 0.05, respectively). Multiple regression analysis revealed that ‘respect for autonomy’ (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.76–1.67) and ‘verbal support ‘(OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.34–1.51) were two independent correlates of the good death score in the elderly group. Conclusion: The dilemma of truth-telling compromises the autonomy of the elderly patients with terminal cancer and consequently affects their good death scores. The palliative care team should emphasize the issue of truth-telling in the process of caring for terminally ill cancer patients, especially elderly patients.
The acceptability of an information leaflet explaining cardiopulmonary resuscitation policy in the hospice setting: a qualitative study exploring patients’ views
Authors: Johnson HM , Nelson A
Published: July 2008

Background: Guidelines advise that patients receiving palliative care should be given realistic information about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and encouraged to participate in decisions about this. For many patients attending a hospice, CPR is unlikely to be successful because of advanced disease. It is difficult to predict which patients would like to discuss CPR and whether such discussion might cause distress. Aim: This research set out to determine the acceptability and understanding of a patient information leaflet about CPR given to inpatients and day-unit patients in one hospice, and to seek patients’ views on communication about resuscitation. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with five hospice inpatients and one day-unit patient and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis for emergent themes. Results and conclusions: The leaflet was acceptable to the participants but was interpreted in the context of their understanding of their illness and prognosis. The leaflet alone is not a reliable method of communicating resuscitation policy and should be followed up by the opportunity to ask questions, if the patient wishes. Many factors influence patient choices about CPR. Realistic information about prognosis and about the risks and harms of CPR would allow patients to make a better-informed decision. However, if a patient prefers not to talk about their prognosis and end-of-life issues, then this should be respected.
Death during transfer of a palliative care patient
Authors: Pease NJ , Finlay IF
Published: July 2008

This short report illustrates the potential confusion that exists when terminally ill patients die during transfer between places of care. The report documents the legal requirements necessary if a terminally ill patient dies during transfer and raises the debate regarding what policies and practice currently exist, within the UK, for transfer of terminally ill patients.
The response of a Swiss university hospital’s palliative care consult team to assisted suicide within the institution
Authors: Pereira J , Laurent P , Cantin B , Petremand D , Currat T
Published: July 2008

In January 2006 the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), a large university hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, became the first hospital in Switzerland to allow assisted suicide (AS) in exceptional cases within its walls. However, euthanasia is illegal. This decision has posed several ethical and practical dilemmas for the hospital’s palliative care consult service. To address these, the team embarked on a formal process of open dialogue amongst its members with the goal of identifying a collective response and position. This process involved meetings every 4 to 6 weeks over the course of 10 months. An iterative process unfolded. One of the principal dilemmas relates to finding a balance between the team’s position against AS and the patient’s autonomy and the institution’s directive. Although all team members expressed opposition to AS, there were mixed opinions as to whether or not the team members should be present during the act if requested so by patients. Some thought this could be misinterpreted as complicity in the act and could send out mixed messages to the public and other health professionals about palliative care. Others felt that the team’s commitment to nonabandonment obliged them to be present even if they did not provide the drug or give any advice or assistance. The implications of nonabandonment are explored, as are several other questions such as whether or not the teams are obliged to provide detailed information on AS when requested by patients.
Dielectric Relaxation and Thermal Stability of Polycarbonate Doped with MnCl2 Salt
Authors: Ayesh A.S.
Published: June 2008

Polycarbonate (PC)/MnCl2 composites have been prepared in order to study the influence of MnCl2 salt on the dielectric properties (resistivity ρ, permittivity ε', dielectric loss ε '', dielectric relaxation time `τ' and dielectric relaxation process) and thermal stability of PC/MnCl2 composites. The dielectric study was carried out over a frequency range from 10 Hz to 306 kHz at room temperature as a function of frequency and salt concentration. Permittivity data was fitted in the frequency domain using Yan and Rhodes model in order to estimate the relaxation times for PC composites. As expected, the resistivity of the composites decreases with increasing of salt concentration and frequency. Also, it was found that, addition of MnCl2 salt to PC host changes the dielectric properties of PC, mainly, broadening dielectric spectra, increases permittivity and dielectric loss, shortening relaxation time and reduces thermal stability of PC and PC composites. Results reveal that the relaxation process of these composites is due to ionic conductivity relaxation with a single relaxation time and not due to viscoelastic relaxation, while in case of pure PC is due to viscoelastic relaxation.
Thermal and Mechanical Properties of PAN- and Pitch-Based Carbon Fiber Reinforced PEEK Composites
Authors: Qiang Yuan  , Bateman Stuart A. , Friedrich Klaus
Published: June 2008

Thermal and mechanical properties of different short carbon fibers (CF) reinforced polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) composites are investigated, where CF is made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN-CF) and pitch (Pitch-CF). The thermal properties of both composites are studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The crystallinity of PEEK increases with the content of PAN-CF, but it is independent of Pitch-CF content. At the isothermal condition, the crystallite rate of Pitch-CF/PEEK composite is faster than that of PAN-CF/PEEK composites. Dynamic tensile modulus of PAN-CF/PEEK increases with the CF content. An increase of glass transverse temperature with an increase in CF content is found in PAN-CF/PEEK, but not in Pitch-CF/PEEK. The fracture toughness of PAN-CF/PEEK composites increases with CF contents; whereas it remains the same value for Pitch-CF composite. The fracture surface of both composites is analysed using scanning electron microscopy.
Improved Approximations of the Rayleigh Wave Velocity
Authors: Pham Chi Vinh  , Malischewsky Peter G.
Published: June 2008

In this article we have derived some approximations for the Rayleigh wave velocity in isotropic elastic solids which are much more accurate than the ones of the same form, previously proposed. In particular: (1) A second (third)-order polynomial approximation has been found whose maximum percentage error is 29 (19) times smaller than that of the approximate polynomial of the second (third) order proposed recently by Nesvijski [Nesvijski, E. G., J. Thermoplas. Compos. Mat. 14 (2001), 356—364]. (2) Especially, a fourth-order polynomial approximation has been obtained, the maximum percentage error of which is 8461 (1134) times smaller than that of Nesvijski's second (third)-order polynomial approximation. (3) For Brekhovskikh—Godin's approximation [Brekhovskikh, L. M., Godin, O. A. 1990, Acoustics of Layered Media: Plane and Quasi-Plane Waves. Springer-Verlag, Berlin], we have created an improved approximation whose maximum percentage error decreases 313 times. (4) For Sinclair's approximation [Malischewsky, P. G., Nanotechnology 16 (2005), 995—996], we have established improved approximations which are 4 times, 6.9 times and 88 times better than it in the sense of maximum percentage error. In order to find these approximations the method of least squares is employed and the obtained approximations are the best ones in the space L2[0, 0.5] with respect to its corresponding subsets.
The politics of recontextualization: discursive competition over claims of Iranian involvement in Iraq
Authors: Hodges Adam
Published: June 2008

The representation of issues, especially those that are highly contested or ambiguous, is an ongoing process always subject to challenge and new re-presentations. This article explores the discursive competition between journalists and White House officials over the recontextualization of words spoken by General Peter Pace, which seemingly cast doubt on White House claims of Iranian involvement in Iraq. Pace's words, along with those spoken by White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and President George W. Bush in their appearances before the press, enter into a web of intertextual connections involved in the contestation over the `truth' of the matter. The analysis explores this intertextual web and the discursive moves employed by journalists and administration officials to differently represent the issue at hand. I argue that the effective study of political discourse, especially as it relates to larger forms of sociocultural knowledge, requires an analytic emphasis on intertextuality.
Duelling discourses, shared weapons: rhetorical techniques used to challenge racist arguments
Authors: Fozdar Farida
Published: June 2008

Racism and anti-racism can be seen as duelling discourses which constantly cross-reference each other. Using interview data from interviews with working-class Maori and Pakeha, this article analyses the ways in which anti-racism expressed by ordinary New Zealanders engages directly with dominant racist discourses. The article explores some of the themes and linguistic devices identified in Wetherell and Potter's classic analysis of middle-class racism in New Zealand, arguing that counterhegemonic discourses challenging these themes are alive and well, and being used to resist racism at a grass-roots level. It specifically analyses challenges to the notions that resources should be used productively; that Maori should appreciate that they are much better off than other indigenous people; that there are legitimate and illegitimate ways of protesting; and that present generations are not responsible for mistakes of the past. It argues that many of the same rhetorical devices utilized in racist talk are also found in the articulation of these arguments, indicating that common linguistic resources are the shared weaponry through which an ideological battle about rights and discrimination is being waged.
Ethical Management Practice in Australia
Authors: Batten Jonathan A. , Hettihewa Samanthala , Mellor Robert
Published: June 2008

This article replicates an earlier study on Australian ethical management practice by Batten et al. (1997) using an identical set of variables and methodology. While differences in the samples of the two studies limit the generalizability of the new findings this study confirms the presence of significant cross-sectional variation in ethical management practice. Overall, much still needs to be done in order for firms to comply with recent industry best practice recommendations.
Turkey's FDI Policy and Chinese Foreign Direct Investments in Turkey
Authors: Yilmaz Nadir Kemal , Cooke Fang Lee , Dellios Rosita
Published: June 2008

The Republic of Turkey and the People's Republic of China are two countries with emerging market economies on the eastern and western borders of Eurasia. Turkey, with its notable economic improvement after the 2001 banking crisis and China, with entrenched economic reforms that have promoted the opening of its market to the world, have become attractive for international investors. Both states’ economic liberalization processes led to considerable increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) although the amount of FDI is much higher for China. China, in turn, is likely to become a major investor in the coming years rather than just being an FDI magnet. This article analyses the FDI environment and recent developments in Turkey as well as indications of Chinese investments which are taking place in Turkey. The rapid expansion of the trade volume between Turkey and China, China's increasing foreign exchange reserves and its desire to enter world markets including the European market are all signalling an increase of its investments in Turkey. The implications of Chinese investments for Turkey are also discussed.
Spirituality in Management
Authors: Pandey Ashish , Gupta Rajen K
Published: June 2008

This article presents a literature review and agenda for research in the field of spirituality in management. To understand the conceptual underpinning of spiritual aspects of the human self, this article covers the contemporary thoughts of humanistic psychology, human wellness and traditional thoughts from ancient Indian wisdom. In the later part, the mainstream ‘spirituality at workplace’ literature is reviewed and a conceptual convergence is identified in the form of three strands; harmony with self, harmony in work environment and experience or belief in transcendence. Potential contribution of the study is in conceptualizing spirituality in business organizations based on synthesis of both traditional and contemporary thoughts and a detailed agenda for research in this field.
Human Obsolescence
Authors: Chauhan S.P. , Chauhan Daisy
Published: June 2008

With the revolutionary growth of information, rapid technological change and tremendous growth of knowledge, the subject of ‘human obsolescence’ is becoming increasingly important for organizations as well as society. As a result of the expansion of new knowledge and the potential deterioration of previously held expertise, learning does not stop for managers and professionals after their education/training is completed. It is after that point that they become dependent on their own self-education strategies for updating, which are unlikely to be as systematic or comprehensive as those in the formal setting they left. A two-pronged approach needs to be adopted to tackle human obsolescence: one at the individual level and the other at the organizational level. At the individual level employees need to take the onus for their self-development and professional growth and take initiatives for self-renewal on a regular basis. Organizations too have a role to play if employees are to expend the necessary energy to remain competent and contribute towards organizational objectives. Continuing professional development of the employees must be an integral part of the organizational culture at every level of the hierarchy. In this article we have suggested that organizations need to adopt different approaches to deal with employees who are at the three different stages of awareness, intention and behaviour in relation to updating themselves.