bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Postcolonial Theory: A Language for a Critique of Globalization?
Authors: Lunga Violet Bridget
Published: December 2008

Postcolonial and globalization theory are both complex terms intertwined in an equally complicated relationship. Some theorists have been reluctant to establish a useful relationship between the two theories. In this paper, I will argue that postcolonial theory has a contribution to make to globalization and vice versa and that postcolonialism and globalization can indeed occupy the same discursive space. In conceptualizing the relationship, I present brief definitions of the concepts. I discuss definitions of these terms separately, not to emphasize differences but rather to highlight points of convergence. Postcolonial and global theories are not incompatible at all. Their histories are interconnected. To be useful, the relationship between postcolonial and globalization theory must be conceptualized within actual historical and political contexts and not disconnected from actual issues of power. This implies and emphasizes the imperative to understand the two concepts within a framework of political intervention.
US Financial Power in Crisis
Authors: Konings Martijn , Panitch Leo
Published: December 2008

This essay examines the questions raised by the present financial crisis through an enquiry into the institutional foundations of American finance. We view with some scepticism strong claims concerning the disastrous outcome for the structural dynamism of the global financial system and America's position in it. Many critical political economists tend to take the system of global financial markets as their point of departure and then locate the US in this system. Such approaches, however, generally fail to do justice to the decades-long build up of US financial power and do not capture many of the organic institutional linkages through which the American state is connected to the world of global finance and which are responsible for its imperial sprawl. In many ways, financial globalisation is not best understood as the re-emergence of international finance but, rather, as a process through which the expansionary dynamics of American finance took on global dimensions. Because the present system of global finance has been shaped so profoundly by specifically American institutions and practices, it will not do to evaluate the changes and transformations of this system on the basis of either an abstract, generic model of capitalism or mere extrapolations from conjunctural crises. Crisis and instability are part and parcel of the dynamics of imperial finance and so are the managerial capacities developed by the US state. The most important questions that should occupy critical political economists therefore have to do not with what appear to be external challenges to US financial power (or the putative opportunities for progressive change opened up by them), but, rather, relate to the ways in which the imperial network of intricate, complex and often opaque institutional linkages between the US state and global finance is managed and reproduced.
Mapping Pathways within Italian Autonomist Marxism: A Preliminary Survey
Authors: Wright Steve
Published: December 2008

Borio, Pozzi and Roggero (eds.) 2005 have characterised

operaismo

as 'neither a homogenous doctrinaire corpus, nor a unitary political subject', but rather 'multiple pathways with their roots in a common theoretical matrix'. Starting with a diagram drawn up by Primo Moroni in the 1980s, this paper will explore a number of the ways in which those paths might be mapped out, in terms of key categories and projects, above all for the years that follow 1979.
The Forgotten Face of Postcoloniality: Moroccan Prison Narratives, Human Rights, and the Politics of Resistance
Authors: Moukhlis Salah
Published: December 2008

This article argues that the promise of postcolonial discourse to expose the ramifications of the colonial encounter has been lacking insofar as it ignored many constituencies who write in indigenous languages. Within this context, this article examines three novels by Moroccan writers in Arabic, 'Abd al-Qādir al-Shāwī's Al-Sāhatu al-sharafiyah (The Square of Honor, 1999), Khadījah al-Marwāzī's Sīrat al-ramād (Biography of Ash, 2000), and Sa'īd Hajī's Dhākiratu al-fīnīq: sīratun dhātiyatun li wajhin min sanawāt al-rasās (Memory of the Phoenix: An Autobiography from the Years of Lead, 2006). These texts chronicle the lives of political prisoners and their experiences inside Moroccan prisons during the 1970s and 1980s. As testimonial narratives they expose the relationship between the social, cultural, religious, and political in postcolonial Morocco and show how these discourses shape its system of government and cultural practices. The article thus highlights violations of human rights in post-independence Morocco and the literature that came out to expose and eventually resist these violations. Such focus, the article argues, would perhaps invite a new critical interest in Maghrebian literature that looks beyond the identity politics and cultural othering so familiar in the francophone text.
The Sūra of the Poets Revisited
Authors: Shahîd Irfan
Published: December 2008

The sūra of the poets (xxvi) is unique among all the sūras of the Qur'ān. It is the only sūra which treats in a significant manner the secular art of Arabic poetry (verses 224-227) in the context of the defense of the Qur'ān as the Word of God, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (verses 1-9). For Arabic poetry, verse 227 documents the birth of an entirely new genre in the history of Arabic poetry, the Islamic, and what is more, it legitimates poetic composition along strictly Islamic lines, bringing poetry within the purview of the Shari'a. For Qur'ānic studies, verse 226 "and they say what they do not do," has been closely examined and the examination has yielded the conclusion that this "unfulfilled promise" on the part of the poets is the key to discovering what the important Qur'ānic dogma inimitability, I' jāz, consists in. The regnant view of later times understood it in literary terms, but the detailed microscopic examination of the verses, 224-226 has revealed the soundness of this view, already confirmed in the Qur'ān itself. Hence, the twofold significance of these crucial verses in the sūra of the poets to both the history of Arabic poetry and to Qur'ānic studies and the importance of their correct exegesis, discussed by the present writer in JAL (2004, pp 175-220).This has been challenged recently by Michael Zwettler in a long article which appeared in JAL (2007, pp 111-166) and so has reopened the debate on the sūra. It is therefore necessary to examine the arguments, advanced in this article, necessary for both the history of Arabic poetry and of Qur'ānic studies, and also for considering some new elements to be found in this article. This will be done in the spirit of a dialogue, that is essential for advancing the frontiers of knowledge in both disciplines, the literary and the Qur'ānic.
Bringing Chaos to Order: Historical Memory and the Manipulation of History
Authors: Ascough Richard
Published: December 2008

In modern approaches to biblical and classical studies enlightenment scientific models have dominated historical investigation. As such, the notion of memories and traditions, even when they are assumed to be invented, are presented as reflecting a linear projection of history, with singular causes of change. Modern science, however, has moved beyond the Newtonian view of mechanics that undergirds such a view and is working with models of chaos and complexity. Social scientists and humanists are lagging behind and are only now beginning to understand the implications for their disciplines. This paper adds another voice to the small but growing cadre of promoters of a non-linear notion of historiography by noting its implications for a project of redescribing Graeco-Roman antiquity.
From Mad Ritual to Philosophical Inquiry: Ancient and Modern Fictions of Continuity and Discontinuity
Authors: Evans Nancy
Published: December 2008

This paper will explore one of the more creative and influential moments of mythmaking and fictionalizing from the ancient Mediterranean world: the (re-)invention of prophetic madness as recorded in Plato's Phaedrus. The fictionalized encounter between Socrates and Phaedrus ranged over topics ranging from homoerotic lovers to the skills of rhetoricians. In the midst of this dialogue Socrates famously interrupts himself with the palinode where he invokes ancient rites of purification that facilitate human access to knowledge of the divine. Here Socrates investigates the links between prophecy and divine madness, and ultimately applies the purported gifts of this madness to pursuits that are generally considered to be more rational. Overlapping social identities and cultic traditions are alluded to in the palinode; drawing from the work of Walter Burkert, Eric Hobsbawm, Bruce Lincoln and Jonathan Z. Smith the paper concludes with an inquiry into whether the multiple religious identities that lie behind this dialogue could be thought to advance and invent a tradition that later came to be known as philosophy.
'Is It not Sufficient to Be a Human Being?' Memory, Christianity and White Identity in Africa
Authors: Snyman Gerrie
Published: December 2008

Within a hierarchy of senses where sight dominates, race constitutes a regime of visibility with whiteness as the master signifier in the Western world. The essay explores the impossibility to think beyond race in a world that is still deeply racist. Racism is not undone once people have seen through it. In illustrating the performativity of race in terms of white identity issues, the discussion starts with a brief look at what constitutes identity and what is memory's function in constructing particular identities. The argument then turns towards an understanding of Africa's specific memory of Christianity's racialising mission by focussing on how the binaries of Spirit / Flesh became a racial binary of black and white that apparently continues in a post-modern empire without colonies. Subsequently, the essay focuses on an example of this entrapment, namely Bernal's book Black Athena and the ensuing debate where African and Western identities became markers of each other. Lastly, the discussion looks at the way Bernal's construction of memory in President Thabo Mbeki's challenge of Western hegemony and the role of whiteness in our thinking. The essay concludes that whiteness needs to be exposed in terms of the religious roots of its assumed naturalness, eternity and truth that went with its power.
Concerning the Measurement and Magnitude of Heat, Water Vapor, and Carbon Dioxide Exchange from a Semiarid Grassland
Authors: Alfieri Joseph G. , Blanken Peter D. , Smith David , Morgan Jack
Published: December 2008

Grassland environments constitute approximately 40% of the earth’s vegetated surface, and they play a key role in a number of processes linking the land surface with the atmosphere. To investigate these linkages, a variety of techniques, including field and modeling studies, are required. Using data collected at the Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) in northeastern Colorado from 25 March to 10 November 2004, this study compares two common ways of measuring turbulent fluxes of latent heat, sensible heat, and carbon dioxide in the field: the eddy covariance (EC) and Bowen ratio energy balance (BREB) methods. The turbulent fluxes measured by each of these methods were compared in terms of magnitude and seasonal behavior and were combined to calculate eddy diffusivities and examine turbulent transport. Relative to the EC method, the BREB method tended to overestimate the magnitude of the sensible heat, latent heat, and carbon dioxide fluxes. As a result, substantial differences in both the diurnal pattern and long-term magnitudes of the water and carbon budgets were apparent depending on which method was used. These differences arise from (i) the forced closure of the surface energy balance and (ii) the assumption of similarity between the eddy diffusivities required by the BREB method. An empirical method was developed that allows the BREB and EC datasets to be reconciled; this method was tested successfully using data collected at the CPER site during 2005. Ultimately, however, the BREB and EC methods show important differences that must be recognized and taken into account when analyzing issues related to the energy, water, or carbon cycles.
Nonstationary Synchronization of Equatorial QBO with SAO in Observations and a Model
Authors: Kuai Le , Shia Run-Lie , Jiang Xun , Tung Ka-Kit , Yung Yuk L.
Published: December 2008

It has often been suggested that the period of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) has a tendency to synchronize with the semiannual oscillation (SAO). Apparently the synchronization is better the higher up the observation extends. Using 45 yr of the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data of the equatorial stratosphere up to the stratopause, the authors confirm that this synchronization is not just a tendency but a robust phenomenon in the upper stratosphere. A QBO period starts when a westerly SAO (w-SAO) descends from the stratopause to 7 hPa and initiates the westerly phase of the QBO (w-QBO) below. It ends when another w-SAO, a few SAO periods later, descends again to 7 hPa to initiate the next w-QBO. The fact that it is the westerly but not the easterly SAO (e-SAO) that initiates the QBO is also explained by the general easterly bias of the angular momentum in the equatorial stratosphere so that the e-SAO does not create a zero-wind line, unlike the w-SAO. The currently observed average QBO period of 28 months, which is not an integer multiple of SAO periods, is a result of intermittent jumps of the QBO period from four SAO to five SAO periods. The same behavior is also found in the Two and a Half Dimensional Interactive Isentropic Research (THINAIR) model. It is found that the nonstationary behavior in both the observation and model is caused not by the 11-yr solar-cycle forcing but by the incompatibility of the QBO’s natural period (determined by its wave forcing) and the “quantized” period determined by the SAO. The wave forcing parameter for the QBO period in the current climate probably lies between four SAO and five SAO periods. If the wave forcing for the QBO is tuned so that its natural period is compatible with the SAO period above (e.g., at 24 or 30 months), nonstationary behavior disappears.
The Role of Boundary Layer Processes in Limiting PV Homogenization
Authors: Zhang Yang , Stone Peter H. , Solomon Amy
Published: December 2008

A β-plane multilevel quasigeostrophic channel model with interactive static stability and a simplified parameterization of atmospheric boundary layer physics is used to study the role of different boundary layer processes in eddy equilibration and their relative effect in maintaining the strong boundary layer potential vorticity (PV) gradient.

The model results show that vertical thermal diffusion, along with the surface heat exchange, is primarily responsible for limiting PV homogenization by baroclinic eddies in the boundary layer. Under fixed SST boundary conditions, these two processes act as the source of the mean flow baroclinicity in the lower levels and result in stronger eddy heat fluxes.

Reducing surface friction alone does not result in efficient elimination of the boundary layer PV gradient, but the equilibrium state temperature gradient is still largely influenced by surface friction and its response to changes in surface friction is not monotonic. In the regime of strong surface friction, with reduced poleward eddy heat flux, a strong temperature gradient is still retained. When the surface friction is sufficiently weak along with the stronger zonal wind, the critical level at the center of the jet drops below the surface. As a result, in the lower levels, the eddy heat flux forcing on the mean flow moves away from the center of the jet and the equilibrium state varies only slightly with the strength of the vertical momentum diffusion in the boundary layer.
Sensible Heat Flux by Surface Layer Scintillometry and Eddy Covariance over a Mixed Grassland Community as Affected by Bowen Ratio and MOST Formulations for Unstable Conditions
Authors: Odhiambo G. O. , Savage M. J.
Published: December 2008

Measurements of sensible heat flux for an extended period for unstable conditions using surface layer scintillometry (SLS) and eddy covariance (EC) and supplemented by Bowen ratio measurements for a mixed grassland community on the eastern seaboard of South Africa are presented. Measurements of SLS sensible heat flux density were compared with those obtained using EC for a wide range of Bowen ratio (β). Also presented is an analysis of the different forms of the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) functions used in micrometeorology and suggested by various authors, done by comparing EC sensible heat and measured by SLS through the use of an iterative determination of Monin–Obukhov parameters. A comparison of the SLS-measured structure parameter of air temperature CT2 corrected for β and uncorrected was carried out, with the results showing good correspondence but with a slight bias indicating that not correcting SLS measurements of CT2 for β would also result in a slight bias in H. Eddy covariance estimates of sensible heat flux density (HEC), obtained using averaging periods between 1 and 120 min and compared with scintillometer measurements, demonstrated that short-time averaging periods resulted in underestimated HEC. The EC measurements for 60- and 120-min averaging periods were sometimes inconsistent with SLS measurements. A sensitivity analysis indicates that both the EC and SLS measurements of H are influenced by β. For 0 < β < 0.2, the correction to HSLS amounts to more than 10% compared to more than 20% for HEC, although the magnitude of the differences are small. A comparison of HEC and HSLS measurements for 0.1 intervals of β between 0 and 4.3 shows reasonable correspondence for β > 1. For 0 < β < 1, the HSLS (y) versus HEC (x) scatterplot linear regression slope decreased from 1.25 to close to 1 for β increasing from 0 to 1. A comparison between β-corrected HEC and HSLS measurements—the latter computed using various empirical stability functions used by MOST—shows significant differences compared to HEC ranging from almost 20% overestimation for some methods to 20% underestimation for others. Long-term use of the recommended MOST stability functions for the SLS method is shown to result in reasonable correspondence between SLS and EC sensible heat flux for a wide range in atmospheric conditions, stability, and sensible heat magnitude.
Lagrangian Drifter Dispersion in the Surf Zone: Directionally Spread, Normally Incident Waves
Authors: Spydell Matthew , Feddersen Falk
Published: December 2008

Lagrangian drifter statistics in a surf zone wave and circulation model are examined and compared to single- and two-particle dispersion statistics observed on an alongshore uniform natural beach with small, normally incident, directionally spread waves. Drifter trajectories are modeled with a time-dependent Boussinesq wave model that resolves individual waves and parameterizes wave breaking. The model reproduces the cross-shore variation in wave statistics observed at three cross-shore locations. In addition, observed and modeled Eulerian binned (means and standard deviations) drifter velocities agree. Modeled surf zone Lagrangian statistics are similar to those observed. The single-particle (absolute) dispersion statistics are well predicted, including nondimensionalized displacement probability density functions (PDFs) and the growth of displacement variance with time. The modeled relative dispersion and scale-dependent diffusivity is consistent with the observed and indicates the presence of a 2D turbulent flow field. The model dispersion is due to the rotational components of the modeled velocity field, indicating the importance of vorticity in driving surf zone dispersion. Modeled irrotational velocities have little dispersive capacity. Surf zone vorticity is generated by finite crest-length wave breaking that results, on the alongshore uniform bathymetry, from a directionally spread wave field. The generated vorticity then cascades to other length scales as in 2D turbulence. Increasing the wave directional spread results in increased surf zone vorticity variability and surf zone dispersion. Eulerian and Lagrangian analysis of the flow indicate that the surf zone is 2D turbulent-like with an enstrophy cascade for length scales between approximately 5 and 10 m and an inverse-energy cascade for scales of 20 to 100 m. The vorticity injection length scale (the transition between enstrophy and inverse-energy cascade) is a function of the wave directional spread.
Observations of Polarity Reversal in Shoaling Nonlinear Internal Waves
Authors: Shroyer E. L. , Moum J. N. , Nash J. D.
Published: December 2008

Observations off the New Jersey coast document the shoaling of three groups of nonlinear internal waves of depression over 35 km across the shelf. Each wave group experienced changing background conditions along its shoreward transit. Despite different wave environments, a clear pattern emerges. Nearly symmetric waves propagating into shallow water develop an asymmetric shape; in the wave reference frame, the leading edge accelerates causing the front face to broaden while the trailing face remains steep. This trend continues until the front edge and face of the leading depression wave become unidentifiable and a near-bottom elevation wave emerges, formed from the trailing face of the initial depression wave and the leading face of the following wave. The transition from depression to elevation waves is diagnosed by the integrated wave vorticity, which changes sign as the wave’s polarity changes sign. This transition is predicted by the sign change of the coefficient of the nonlinear term in the KdV equation, when evaluated using observed profiles of stratification and velocity.
Modeling the Dynamics of the North Water Polynya Ice Bridge
Authors: Dumont Dany , Gratton Yves , Arbetter Todd E.
Published: December 2008

The North Water polynya, the largest polynya in the world, forms annually and recurrently in Smith Sound in northern Baffin Bay. Its formation is governed in part by the formation of an ice bridge in the narrow channel of Nares Strait below Kane Basin. Here, the widely used elastic–viscous–plastic elliptical rheology dynamic sea ice model is applied to the region. The idealized case is tested over a range of values for e = [1.2, 2.0] and initial ice thicknesses from 0.75 to 3.5 m, using constant northerly winds over a period of 30 days, to evaluate long-term stability of different rheological parameterizations. Idealized high-resolution simulations show that the formation of a stable ice bridge is possible for e ≤ 1.8. The dependence of the solution in terms of grid discretization is studied with a domain rotated 45°. A realistic domain with realistic forcing is also tested to compare time-variant solutions to actual observations. Cohesion has a remarkable impact on if and when the ice bridge will form and fail, assessing its importance for regional and global climate modeling, but the lack of observational thickness data during polynya events prevents the authors from identifying an optimal value for e.
Experiments with EOF-Based Perturbation Methods and Their Impact on the CPTEC/INPE Ensemble Prediction System
Authors: Mendonça Antônio Marcos , Bonatti JoséPaulo
Published: December 2008

The impact of modifications of the perturbation method based on empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) used operationally upon the ensemble prediction system (EPS) at the Center for Weather Prediction and Climate Studies/National Institute for Space Research (CPTEC/INPE) is evaluated. The main changes proposed in this study are to apply the EOF method to perturb the midlatitudes, apply additional perturbations to the surface pressure (P) and specific humidity (Q) fields, and compute regional perturbations over South America. The impact of these modifications in the characteristics of the initial perturbations and in the quality of the EPS forecasts is investigated. The EPS forecasts are evaluated through average statistical scores over the period 15 December 2004–15 February 2005. The statistical scores used in the evaluation are pattern anomaly correlation, root-mean-square error, ensemble spread, Brier skill score, and perturbation versus error correlation analysis (PECA). Results indicate that with the inclusion of perturbations on P and Q, EOF-based perturbations acquire a more baroclinic structure. It is also observed that the simultaneous application of additional perturbations both in the extratropics and to the P and Q fields improves the performance of CPTEC EPS and enhances the quality of forecast perturbations. Moreover, regional EOF-based perturbations computed over South America have positive impact on the ensemble forecasts over the target region.
Bow Echo Mesovortices. Part I: Processes That Influence Their Damaging Potential
Authors: Atkins Nolan T. , St. Laurent Michael
Published: December 2008

This two-part study examines the damaging potential and genesis of low-level, meso-γ-scale mesovortices formed within bow echoes. This was accomplished by analyzing quasi-idealized simulations of the 10 June 2003 Saint Louis bow echo event observed during the Bow Echo and Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experiment (BAMEX). This bow echo produced both damaging and nondamaging mesovortices. A series of sensitivity simulations were performed to assess the impact of low- and midlevel shear, cold-pool strength, and Coriolis forcing on mesovortex strength. By analyzing the amount of circulation, maximum vertical vorticity, and number of mesovortices produced at the lowest grid level, it was observed that more numerous and stronger mesovortices were formed when the low-level environmental shear nearly balanced the horizontal shear produced by the cold pool. As the magnitude of deeper layer shear increased, the number and strength of mesovortices increased. Larger Coriolis forcing and stronger cold pools also produced stronger mesovortices. Variability of ground-relative wind speeds produced by mesovortices was noted in many of the experiments. It was observed that the strongest ground-relative wind speeds were produced by mesovortices that formed near the descending rear-inflow jet (RIJ). The strongest surface winds were located on the southern periphery of the mesovortex and were created by the superposition of the RIJ and mesovortex flows. Mesovortices formed prior to RIJ genesis or north and south of the RIJ core produced weaker ground-relative wind speeds. The forecast implications of these results are discussed. The genesis of the mesovortices is discussed in Part II.
The Politics of Fear and the Fear of Politics: Reflections on Xenophobic Violence in South Africa
Authors: Neocosmos Michael
Published: December 2008

Reflecting on the causes of the recent xenophobic pogroms in South Africa, it is striking how most commentators have stressed poverty and deprivation as the underlying causes of the events. Yet it requires little effort to see that economic factors, however real, cannot possibly account for why it was those deemed to be non-South Africans who bore the brunt of the vicious attacks. Poverty can be and has historically been the foundation for the whole range of political ideologies, from communism to fascism and anything in between. In fact, poverty can only account for the powerlessness, frustration and desperation of the perpetrators, but not for their target. Why were not Whites, or the rich, or White foreigners in South Africa targeted instead? Of course, it is a common occurrence that the powerless regularly take out their frustrations on the weakest: women, children, the elderly — and outsiders. Yet this will not suffice as an explanation. The systematic and concerted attacks on those deemed to be foreign according to popular stereotypes requires more of an explanation than powerlessness can provide, however important a factor that may have been.
Cross-border Dynamics of Violent Conflict
Authors: Grawert Elke
Published: December 2008

Violent conflicts in Africa are often presented as ethnic strife in a framework of weak states. This article takes a diachronical actor-oriented perspective to analyse the conflict in Sudan. It shows how apparently local conflicts have been interlinked with the aims and interests of governments and opposing groups, army factions and militant organizations in the larger sub-region that Sudan is part of. The focus is on the interrelationship between current conflicts in Sudan and Chad and their connection with the 2005 peace agreement between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). In conclusion, a paradigm shift in conflict and peace research is proposed. Instead of using the state as the unit of analysis, it is suggested that the sub-regional arenas where conflicts break out be examined.
Nonpartisans and Party System of Taiwan
Authors: Tsai Chia-hung , Chao Shuang-Chun
Published: December 2008

Since 1986, Taiwan has entered an era of party competition and witnessed the flourishing of political parties in terms of the number of parties and their relative strength. We find that the vacillation in the proportion of nonpartisanship is remarkable before and after the relinquishing of KMT dominance in 2000. We argue that partisans may conceal their party attachment if their parties fail to live up to their expectations. The experience of the changing Taiwanese electorate has theoretical implications for other consolidating democracies, especially the eastern European countries that also had one single dominant party before regime change.
The Impact of Nigerian Business Environment on the Survival of Small-Scale Ceramic Industries
Authors: Akinbogun Tolulope Lawrence
Published: December 2008

The manufacturing sector at all levels is performing below-expectation in Nigeria. Many sectors, such as ceramic industry, glass industry and textile industry among others, are facing difficult times. The non-performance has been traced mainly to the unfavourable economic environment. A survey of small-scale ceramic enterprises established in south-western Nigeria from post-independence Nigeria of 1960 to 2004 was carried out in this study; their characteristics in terms of the facilities available for production, types of wares produced and current situation were examined. The study examined this against the business environment in Nigeria. It gave suggestions on how the necessary infrastructures and polices that enhance business environment could be harnessed to make small-scale ceramic production viable in Nigeria.
Consumers' Knowledge of Warning and Information Labels on Products Among Southwestern Nigerians
Authors: Omotosho Babatunde Joshua
Published: December 2008

In spite of the efforts to safeguard consumers' health through product regulations, reports revealed that diseases and illnesses due to unhygienic production and consumption are on the increase. This study examined knowledge of consumers about information and warning labels on selected products in Ado Ekiti in southwestern Nigeria. Findings from the study revealed that respondents had average knowledge of information labels on the selected products. Also, a majority of the respondents did not check information on products before purchase and consumption. Chi-square results further showed relationships among some variables tested. The article recommends ways by which higher knowledge could be achieved.
Subjected to Parliament
Authors: Asdal Kristin
Published: December 2008

In `Sacrifice and the Transformation of the Animal Body into a Scientific Object' Michael Lynch (1988) explores how the animal body is transformed into a scientific object in the laboratory. How did the laboratory become a (relatively) closed space in which scientists, the experts, were delegated the task of negotiating and transforming the interpretative sense of the animal — from sentient beings to analytic objects — as tools in a scientific machinery? By exploring a parliamentary controversy on experimental medicine at the turn of the 20th century I argue that this depended on a reworking of the status of the animal body, as well as the status of the laboratory. Crucial to this was social theory; specifically, utilitarian reasoning. Thus, what we need to study — this paper argues — is not simply the ways in which the practices of annual experimentation were met with opposition and critiques, but also how these practices came to be culturally and politically accepted, and what this implied for science - society relations. In analysing this controversy, the author attends to recent turn to politics in STS and argue for the significance of studying conventional political sites such as `Parliament' and the role that social theory plays in renegotiating and remaking sites and objects.
Standardized Data and Singular Situations
Authors: Almklov Petter G.
Published: December 2008

Today a key feature of every technological organization is the abundance and pivotal role of standardized data sets. This paper discusses the interplay between standardized semantic knowledge representations and situated work on a knowledge intensive workplace. Drawing upon anthropological fieldwork with geologists and engineers in the `subsurface' department of an oil company, this paper discusses how an oil reservoir is represented with standardized semantic entities, and how such representations are used when workers try to make sense of the reservoir. The terms decontextualization and recontextualization are used to address and highlight the work that is involved in transporting meaning out of and into different contexts. Examples are given on how the subsurface personnel try to make sense of the oil reservoir through data: creatively using data to explore, speculate and guess about the subsurface. Through these examples, the paper explores the integrated relationship between the minds trying to understand the reservoir and the symbolic tools they have available, outlining some of the experience-based embodied skills that are involved in this work. It is argued that a key skill in this workplace is handling the translations between the standardized and singular.
From Nation to Family: Two Careers in the Recasting of Eugenics
Authors: Slavishak Edward
Published: December 2008

By examining the professional lives of two popularizers of eugenic thought from the 1910s to the 1940s, this study illustrates the broader change from “mainline” to “reform” eugenics in the United States. Roswell Hill Johnson's university teaching, laboratory research, and later marriage counseling work contrasted greatly with George Seibel's forays into eugenic theater, moral reform, and mass physical fitness movements. Yet both men shifted from a strict position of mandating other people's behavior in the name of national health and racial integrity to a more therapeutic stance that cast individual decisions in the context of managed family life. This study shows that for some, the transformation of eugenics in the 1930s meant adapting the traditional focus on superiority, inferiority, and reproduction by design to the language of a commercial marketplace.
Divorce and Marital Equality in Orizaba, Mexico, 1915—1940
Authors: Swedberg Gregory
Published: December 2008

Mexico's legalization of divorce in 1917 generated tension in working-class communities such as Orizaba between traditional forms of gender relations that afforded men the right to control and discipline their wives and budding legal opportunities that provided women the opportunity to question their husbands' familial power. The state's legal reforms and its emphasis on protecting women and children were not, however, intended to create equality between husbands and wives. Rather, officials believed that new laws would enable women to carry out their familial responsibilities more effectively. Nonetheless, mothers and wives were quick to understand how their ability to challenge their husbands' power overlapped with the state's mission to protect women and their children.
Evaluating Strategies for Changing Acute Care Nurses' Perceptions on End-of-life Care
Authors: Kruse Barbara G. , Melhado Lolita W. , Convertine Linda , Stecher Jo
Published: December 2008

Providing quality care to the dying has become a primary concern in the United States. Eighty percent of deaths still occur in the hospital even though nurses report they do not think that good deaths are routinely possible within a hospital setting due to lack of appropriate education on end-of-life care. The aim of this pilot study was to test the best method for changing acute nurse's perceptions about end-of-life care. A 3-group experimental design tested the efficacy of a nurse-led hospice collaborative. Hypotheses were: (1) nurses who receive classroom instruction will have greater change in perceptions than the control group and (2) nurses who receive a combination of classroom and hospice experiences will demonstrate greater changes than the classroom or control group. No significant differences were found among the 3 groups. However, the intervention group showed increased guilt about not having enough time to spend with the dying.
Clocking Delirium: The Value of the Clock Drawing Test with Case Illustrations
Authors: Zama Ivan N. , Maynard Walisa K. , Davis Mellar P.
Published: December 2008

Screening for impaired cognition is very important in geriatric and palliative medicine. There are several validated screening tools for delirium; the Confusion Assessment Method, The Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale, and the Bedside Confusion Scale. The Clock Drawing Test, which was initially described in 1963, has also been used to assess cognition and is validated in Alzheimer's disease and in elderly hospice patients with a negative predictive value greater than 0.95. The Clock Drawing Test is quickly and easily performed by patients and can be kept in the patient's medical record for future reference. However, very few studies have used the Clock Drawing Test to assess delirium in cancer and even fewer have used the Clock Drawing Test to determine response to interventions for delirium.
Skew random effects in multilevel binomial models
Authors: Liu Junfeng , Dey Dipak K
Published: December 2008

Compared to modelling observable data, it is more difficult to choose a suitable distribution to describe latent variables since no prior knowledge or observable information can be used and only normal or nonparametric distributions are mainly applied to random effects for generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) in the literature. To enhance the modelling toolkit, this article investigates a class of parametric skew elliptical random effects in multilevel binomial regression models using a Bayesian approach; the class includes skew normal, skew Students’ t-distributions and others. Skewness mechanism is considered through multiplying skewness parameter Δ by standardized folded elliptical random variables, and the posterior sampling is realized by working on a binary skewness indicator (BSI) instead of continuous Δ for parameter identifiability. Simulation study shows that the original continuous skewness parameter Δ and the posterior mean of BSI may have dichotomous signs to describe the directional (right/left) skewness; thus we address the importance of assuming specific random effects distribution and interpreting the skewness carefully. The methodology is exemplified through reanalyzing a teratogenic activity study of two niacin analogs published in the biological literature, and sampling-based model comparison shows that the parametric skew normal random effects model works largely better than nonparametric Dirichlet process mixture models for this data set.
Biology in Bloom: Implementing Bloom's Taxonomy to Enhance Student Learning in Biology
Authors: Crowe Alison , Dirks Clarissa , Wenderoth Mary Pat
Published: December 2008

We developed the Blooming Biology Tool (BBT), an assessment tool based on Bloom's Taxonomy, to assist science faculty in better aligning their assessments with their teaching activities and to help students enhance their study skills and metacognition. The work presented here shows how assessment tools, such as the BBT, can be used to guide and enhance teaching and student learning in a discipline-specific manner in postsecondary education. The BBT was first designed and extensively tested for a study in which we ranked almost 600 science questions from college life science exams and standardized tests. The BBT was then implemented in three different collegiate settings. Implementation of the BBT helped us to adjust our teaching to better enhance our students' current mastery of the material, design questions at higher cognitive skills levels, and assist students in studying for college-level exams and in writing study questions at higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. From this work we also created a suite of complementary tools that can assist biology faculty in creating classroom materials and exams at the appropriate level of Bloom's Taxonomy and students to successfully develop and answer questions that require higher-order cognitive skills.
Randomised controlled trial of CD–ROM-based cognitive–behavioural self-care for bulimia nervosa
Authors: Schmidt U. , Andiappan M. , Grover M. , Robinson S. , Perkins S. , Dugmore O. , Landau S. , Treasure J. , Eisler I. , Williams C.
Published: December 2008

Background

Cognitive–behavioural self-care is advocated as a first step in the treatment of bulimia nervosa.

Aims

To examine the effectiveness of a CD–ROM-based cognitive–behavioural intervention in bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) (bulimic type) in a routine setting.

Method

Ninety-seven people with bulimia nervosa or eating disorder NOS were randomised to either CD–ROM without support for 3 months followed by a flexible number of therapist sessions or to a 3-month waiting list followed by 15 sessions of therapist cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) (ISRCTN51564819). Clinical symptoms were assessed at pre-treatment 3 months and 7 months.

Results

Only two-thirds of participants started treatment. Although there were significant group × time interactions for bingeing and vomiting, favouring the CD–ROM group at 3 months and the waiting-list group at 7 months, post hoc group comparisons at 3 and 7 months found no significant differences for bingeing or vomiting. CD–ROM-based delivery of this intervention, without support from a clinician, may not be the best way of exploiting its benefits.
General hospital presentations of non-fatal hanging over a 28-year period: case–control study
Authors: Hawton Keith , Bergen Helen , Casey Deborah , Simkin Sue
Published: December 2008

Suicide by hanging and self-strangulation (‘hanging’) has become more common. We studied people who presented to hospital during a 28-year study period after using these methods for non-fatal self-harm. Hanging increased greatly in frequency during this time. The male:female ratio was nearly 3:1. Females were distinguished from males by far higher rates of psychiatric care, personality disorder and previous self-harm. Compared with matched individuals who presented with non-fatal self-poisoning, more of those who used hanging had high suicidal intent, fewer used alcohol in association with the act, and more subsequently died by suicide. They represent an important subgroup of those who self-harm, who require especially careful assessment and follow-up.
Aggressive incidents on a psychiatric intensive care unit
Authors: Cohen Dermot P. , Akhtar Mohammed Saleem , Siddiqui Adeel , Shelley Cathy , Larkin Conal , Kinsella Anthony , O'Callaghan Eadbhard , Lane Abbie
Published: December 2008

Aims and Method

This study looked at patient aggressive behaviour on an Irish psychiatric intensive care unit, and whether it was related to diagnosis, patient's insight and symptomatology. Each aggressive incident was recorded throughout the patient's stay using the Staff-Observed Aggression Scale.

Results

Ninety-nine individuals were admitted to the unit during the study. We recorded 82 aggressive incidents, with most occurring during the daytime and on weekdays. There was no statistical difference in BPRS scores between the aggressive and non-aggressive groups. the aggressive patient group had a lower insight score than the non-aggressive group (P < 0.05) as measured on the Schedule of the Assessment of Insight. However, when gender and verbal aggression only were included in the analysis, the difference in insight was less significant (P=0.07).

Clinical Implications

Aggression is common on a psychiatric intensive care unit. Low levels of insight in patients may increase the risk of aggression.
Pharmacological management of alcohol withdrawal in a general hospital
Authors: Quinn Siobhain , Samuel Rani , Bolton Jim , Iankov Borislav , Stout Anna
Published: December 2008

Aims and Method

To assess the quality of prescriptions for alcohol detoxification and vitamin prophylaxis for in-patients who were alcohol-dependent in a general hospital, before and after the introduction of prescribing guidelines. We assessed 27 prescription charts before and 22 after intervention against standards based on national guidelines.

Results

There was an increase of 43% (95% CI 20–65%) in the proportion of alcohol detoxification prescriptions that met the guidelines. for vitamin prophylaxis there was an increase of 64% (95% CI 42–85%).

Clinical Implications

The pharmacological management of alcohol withdrawal in the general hospital can be significantly improved by promoting and making readily available a prescribing guideline. In turn, this may reduce alcohol-related brain damage.
1 Year on: how psychiatrists feel about the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003
Authors: Donaldson Andrew , Carswell Christine , Brown Keith
Published: December 2008

Aims and Method

To investigate whether psychiatrists' views of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 had changed over time, we repeated our survey of psychiatrists' views and experiences of the Act, 1 year after our original study; 356 College members were surveyed by postal questionnaire.

Results

A response rate of 66% was achieved. More than half (53%) of respondents were reasonably satisfied with the Act and 51% would choose to use it in preference to the previous Act. the majority (89%) felt that their daytime workload had increased as a result of the Act; 17% received payment for Mental Health Act-related work.

Clinical Implications

Satisfaction with the Act has improved since its introduction; however, areas of concern remain.
Liaison psychiatrist in a specialist diabetes centre
Authors: Dalvi Madhusudan , Feher Michael , Caglar Esra , Catalan Jose
Published: December 2008

Aims and Method

To identify psychiatric conditions that may require psychiatric treatment in individuals referred from a diabetes centre to a liaison psychiatry diabetes clinic and to examine the referral pattern and reasons for referral. the study was a prospective case-note survey over a 12-month period.

Results

The most common reason for referral was low mood (37.5%) and the most common psychiatric diagnosis was adjustment disorder (28.6%). Most individuals were referred by diabetes specialist nurses (53.1%). the majority (85.7%) were seen by a clinical psychologist after an initial assessment by a psychiatrist.

Clinical Implications

Common mental disorders occur frequently in individuals referred to a liaison diabetes clinic, hence the importance of early diagnosis. the involvement of psychiatrists in specialist diabetes clinics is very limited and better involvement is desirable.