bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Technology To Support Data Collection and Management in the Public Schools
Authors: Garrett Jennifer Walz
Published: March 2013

With the demands of paperwork in the field of speech-language pathology, school professionals are looking to technology to become more efficient. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) requires that experts collect data for a variety of purposes, while the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) provide protection of privacy and confidentiality. Speech-language pathologists are considering mobile- and tablet-based applications (apps) for data collection and management because these devices are portable, affordable, and available. In this article, I will explore considerations and resources for app selection related to data collection and management.
A large-acceptance beam-deceleration module for retrofitting into ion-source beam lines
Authors: Hijazi H. , Meyer F. W.
Published: March 2013

We describe a large-acceptance deceleration module capable of decelerating large-emittance full-intensity ion beams typical of ECR ion sources to very low energies with high efficiency. The deceleration module is designed to permit convenient retrofitting into an existing beam line to replace, e.g., the first Faraday cup after magnetic analysis of the beam extracted from the ion source. For starting energies of 10 keV, and incident ion currents as large as 300 μA, deceleration efficiencies have been measured to be greater than 80% for final energies as low as 70 eV. The decelerated beam intensity can be monitored either by insertion of a beam catcher floating at the final deceleration voltage or from the current to the exit grid itself, with suitable correction applied for the grid transparency factor. The behavior of the deceleration optics was modeled using SIMION, incorporating the effects of intra-beam space charge repulsion. We describe a recent application of this deceleration module to study near-surface He bubble and blister formation of a W target heated to 1250 K and irradiated with a 98 eV He ion beam with a flux of ∼1016 cm−2 s−1.
Molecular structure and elastic properties of thermotropic liquid crystals: Integrated molecular dynamics—Statistical mechanical theory vs molecular field approach
Authors: Capar M. Ilk , Nar A. , Ferrarini A. , Frezza E. , Greco C. , Zakharov A. V. , Vakulenko A. A.
Published: March 2013

The connection between the molecular structure of liquid crystals and their elastic properties, which control the director deformations relevant for electro-optic applications, remains a challenging objective for theories and computations. Here, we compare two methods that have been proposed to this purpose, both characterized by a detailed molecular level description. One is an integrated molecular dynamics-statistical mechanical approach, where the bulk elastic constants of nematics are calculated from the direct correlation function (DCFs) and the single molecule orientational distribution function [D. A. McQuarrie, Statistical Mechanics (Harper & Row, New York, 1973)]. The latter is obtained from atomistic molecular dynamics trajectories, together with the radial distribution function, from which the DCF is then determined by solving the Ornstein-Zernike equation. The other approach is based on a molecular field theory, where the potential of mean torque experienced by a mesogen in the liquid crystal phase is parameterized according to its molecular surface. In this case, the calculation of elastic constants is combined with the Monte Carlo sampling of single molecule conformations. Using these different approaches, but the same description, at the level of molecular geometry and torsional potentials, we have investigated the elastic properties of the nematic phase of two typical mesogens, 4′-n-pentyloxy-4-cyanobiphenyl and 4′-n-heptyloxy-4-cyanobiphenyl. Both methods yield K3(bend) >K1 (splay) >K2 (twist), although there are some discrepancies in the average elastic constants and in their anisotropy. These are interpreted in terms of the different approximations and the different ways of accounting for the structural properties of molecules in the two approaches. In general, the results point to the role of the molecular shape, which is modulated by the conformational freedom and cannot be fully accounted for by a single descriptor such as the aspect ratio.
Laboratory studies of the dynamic of resonance cones formation in magnetized plasmas
Authors: Nazarov V. V. , Starodubtsev M. V. , Kostrov A. V.
Published: March 2013

The paper is devoted to experimental studies of formation of resonance cones in magnetized plasmas by pulsed RF source in the lower-hybrid (whistler) and the upper-hybrid frequency ranges. It is shown that in both frequency ranges, resonance cones exhibit similar dynamics after switching-on the RF source: at first, wide maxima of radiation are formed in non-resonance directions, which then become narrower, with their direction approaching the resonance one. While the resonance cones are being formed, one observes a fine structure in the form of secondary radiation maxima. It is shown that the characteristic formation time of stationary resonance cones is determined by the minimal value of the group velocity of the quasi-electrostatic waves excited by the antenna. In the low-temperature plasma, this value is limited in the lower-hybrid frequency range by the spatial spectrum of the emitting antenna and in the upper-hybrid range, by the effects of spatial plasma dispersion.
Two-point derivative dispersion relations
Authors: Ferreira Erasmo , Sesma Javier
Published: March 2013

A new derivation is given for the representation, under certain conditions, of the integral dispersion relations of scattering theory through local forms. The resulting expressions have been obtained through an independent procedure to construct the real part and consist of new mathematical structures of double infinite summations of derivatives. In this new form the derivatives are calculated at the generic value of the energy E and separately at the reference point E = m that is the lower limit of the integration. This new form may be more interesting in certain circumstances and directly shows the origin of the difficulties in convergence that were present in the old truncated forms called standard-derivative dispersion relations (DDR). For all cases in which the reductions of the double to single sums were obtained in our previous work, leading to explicit demonstration of convergence, these new expressions are seen to be identical to the previous ones. We present, as a glossary, the most simplified explicit results for the DDR’s in the cases of imaginary amplitudes of forms (E/m)λ[ln (E/m)]n that cover the cases of practical interest in particle physics phenomenology at high energies. We explicitly study the expressions for the cases with λ negative odd integers, that require identification of cancelation of singularities, and provide the corresponding final results.
About simple nonlinear and linear superpositions of special exact solutions of Veselov-Novikov equation
Authors: Dubrovsky V. G. , Topovsky A. V.
Published: March 2013

New exact solutions, nonstationary and stationary, of Veselov-Novikov (VN) equation in the forms of simple nonlinear and linear superpositions of arbitrary number N of exact special solutions u(n), n = 1, …, N are constructed via Zakharov and Manakov \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$\overline{\partial }$\end{document}∂¯-dressing method. Simple nonlinear superpositions are represented up to a constant by the sums of solutions u(n) and calculated by \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$\overline{\partial }$\end{document}∂¯-dressing on nonzero energy level of the first auxiliary linear problem, i.e., 2D stationary Schrödinger equation. It is remarkable that in the zero energy limit simple nonlinear superpositions convert to linear ones in the form of the sums of special solutions u(n). It is shown that the sums \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\begin{document}$u= u^{(k_1)}+\ldots + u^{(k_m)}$\end{document}u=u(k1)+...+u(km), 1 ⩽ k1 < k2 < … < km ⩽ N of arbitrary subsets of these solutions are also exact solutions of VN equation. The presented exact solutions include as superpositions of special line solitons and also superpositions of plane wave type singular periodic solutions. By construction these exact solutions represent also new exact transparent potentials of 2D stationary Schrödinger equation and can serve as model potentials for electrons in planar structures of modern electronics.
Surface correlation behaviors of metal-organic Langmuir-Blodgett films on differently passivated Si(001) surfaces
Authors: Bal J. K. , Kundu Sarathi
Published: March 2013

Langmuir-Blodgett films of standard amphiphilic molecules like nickel arachidate and cadmium arachidate are grown on wet chemically passivated hydrophilic (OH-Si), hydrophobic (H-Si), and hydrophilic plus hydrophobic (Br-Si) Si(001) surfaces. Top surface morphologies and height-difference correlation functions g(r) with in-plane separation (r) are obtained from the atomic force microscopy studies. Our studies show that deposited bilayer and trilayer films have self-affine correlation behavior irrespective of different passivations and different types of amphiphilic molecules, however, liquid like correlation coexists only for a small part of r, which is located near the cutoff length (1/κ) or little below the correlation length ξ obtained from the liquid like and self-affine fitting, respectively. Thus, length scale dependent surface correlation behavior is observed for both types of Langmuir-Blodgett films. Metal ion specific interactions (ionic, covalent, etc.,) in the headgroup and the nature of the terminated bond (polar, nonpolar, etc.,) of Si surface are mainly responsible for having different correlation parameters.
Analysis of plasmonic properties of heavily doped semiconductors using full band structure calculations
Authors: Jung Jesper , Pedersen Thomas G.
Published: March 2013

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonances are not limited to noble metals. Any material with a substantial amount of free carriers will support surface plasma oscillations which, when coupled to an electromagnetic field, will result in surface plasmon polaritons and localized surface plasmon resonances in confined systems. Utilizing a full band structure approach, we analyze the plasmonic properties of several heavily doped semiconductors. We present rigorous quantum mechanical calculations of the plasma frequency, and study in detail its dependence on impurity doping concentration. Results are presented for silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, zinc oxide, and gallium nitride. For silicon and zinc oxide, the surface plasmon resonance frequency is calculated for a large range of doping concentrations and we study the dispersion of surface plasmon polaritons on thin films. The investigated properties of heavily doped semiconductors hold promises for several interesting applications within plasmonics.
Gate length related transfer characteristics of GaN-based high electron mobility transistors
Authors: Zhang X. F. , Wei L. , Wang L. , Liu J. , Xu J.
Published: March 2013

The measured drain current of GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) shows a saturated characteristic as gate bias increases. HEMTs with short gate length have drain currents saturate more readily as compared to long gate length. In this paper, the relationship between drain currents saturation and gate bias was analyzed by using a simple series resistance model and was also validated by two-dimensional device simulation. The effects of these saturated transfer characteristics on electron mobility extraction of GaN HEMT were evaluated. Furthermore, the possible extension of GaN HEMT to logic inverter by utilizing the feature of saturation was also discussed.
Low substrate temperature fabrication of high-performance metal oxide thin-film by magnetron sputtering with target self-heating
Authors: Yang W. F. , Liu Z. G. , Wu Z. Y. , Hong M. H. , Wang C. F. , Lee Alex Y. S. , Gong H.
Published: March 2013

Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films with high transmittance and low resistivity were achieved on low temperature substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering using a high temperature target. By investigating the effect of target temperature (TG) on electrical and optical properties, the origin of electrical conduction is verified as the effect of the high TG, which enhances crystal quality that provides higher mobility of electrons as well as more effective activation for the Al dopants. The optical bandgap increases from 3.30 eV for insulating ZnO to 3.77 eV for conducting AZO grown at high TG, and is associated with conduction-band filling up to 1.13 eV due to the Burstein–Moss effect.
Seabird and marine-mammal attendance and by-catch in semi-industrial trawl fisheries in near-shore waters of northern Argentina
Authors: Pon Juan Pablo Seco , Copello Sofía , Moretinni Ariel , Lértora Hugo P. , Bruno Ignacio , Bastida Julián , Mauco Laura , Favero Marco
Published: March 2013

Seabird and marine-mammal attendance and by-catch in mid-water and bottom otter semi-industrial coastal pair-trawl fisheries were assessed for the first time in northern Argentina. Observers were placed onboard trawlers between autumn 2007 and autumn 2008. Fifteen marine top-predator species were associated with the vessels. The most abundant and frequent seabirds (trawl fisheries combined) were the kelp gull, Larus dominicanus (~70% of total birds and >96% occurrence), and the Olrog’s gull, L. atlanticus (~12% and >50%, respectively). Other seabird taxa such as Procellariiforms and Sphenisciforms, among others, were represented in very low numbers. The only mammal species recorded was the South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens (1% and 2%, respectively). Analysis of environmental and operational variability affecting the abundance of gulls indicated a significant increase in abundance with fishing depth, time of day, seasonality, wind intensity and wind direction. Incidental mortality of top predators was low and comprised only Magellanic penguins, Spheniscus magellanicus, in the mid-water gear. The results of the present study showed that the semi-industrial trawl fisheries operating in coastal waters in northern Argentina may a have a relatively minor impact on marine top-predator populations, at least in terms of incidental capture.
Valproic acid enhances early development of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos by alleviating endoplasmic reticulum stress
Authors: Song Bong-Seok , Yoon Seung-Bin , Sim Bo-Woong , Kim Young-Hyun , Cha Jae-Jin , Choi Seon-A , Jeong Kang-Jin , Kim Ji-Su , Huh Jae-Won , Lee Sang-Rae , Kim Sang-Hyun , Kim Sun-Uk , Chang Kyu-Tae
Published: March 2013

Despite the positive roles of histone deacetylase inhibitors in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), few studies have evaluated valproic acid (VPA) and its associated developmental events. Thus, the present study was conducted to elucidate the effect of VPA on the early development of bovine SCNT embryos and the underlying mechanisms of action. The histone acetylation level of SCNT embryos was successfully restored by VPA, with optimal results obtained by treatment with 3 mM VPA for 24 h. Importantly, the increases in blastocyst formation rate and inner cell mass and trophectoderm cell numbers were not different between the VPA and trichostatin A treatment groups, whereas cell survival was notably improved by VPA, indicating the improvement of developmental competence of SCNT embryos by VPA. Interestingly, VPA markedly reduced the transcript levels of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers, including sXBP-1 and CHOP. In contrast, the levels of GRP78/BiP, an ER stress-alleviating transcript, were significantly increased by VPA. Furthermore, VPA greatly reduced cell apoptosis in SCNT blastocysts, which was further evidenced by the increased levels of the anti-apoptotic transcript Bcl-xL and decreased level of the pro-apoptotic transcript Bax. Collectively, these results suggest that VPA enhances the developmental competence of bovine SCNT embryos by alleviating ER stress and its associated developmental damage.
Manipulating livestock grazing to enhance native plant diversity and cover in native grasslands
Authors: Mavromihalis J. A. , Dorrough J. , Clark S. G. , Turner V. , Moxham C.
Published: March 2013

Temperate perennial grasslands globally have been subject to extensive biodiversity loss. Identifying livestock grazing regimes that maintain and enhance the diversity and cover of native plant species in these ecosystems remains a key challenge. The responses of vegetation to different sheep grazing regimes were assessed over 3 years in grasslands of south-eastern Australia. An open communal experimental design was used to assess the effects of varying season and duration of exclusion of grazing by sheep, replicated at three locations. Manipulation of season and duration of exclusion of grazing led to few major changes in the cover of native perennial grasses or forbs, although seasonal variation was considerable. Exclusion of grazing in the spring did increase the likelihood of occurrence of grazing-sensitive native forb species but also lead to an increase in the cover of exotic annual species. However, cover of exotic annual species tended to decline with increasing duration of exclusion, while the abundance of native, grazing-sensitive forbs and the cover of perennial grasses increased. Small-scale richness of native perennial forb species increased with a 3-month period of exclusion of grazing, but declined with year-round exclusion of sheep. Total species richness also declined in response to year-round exclusion of sheep and rates of decline were correlated with the rate at which herbage mass accumulated. While strategic grazing did not result in major vegetation changes in the short term, it is suggested that some grazing exclusion may enhance the survival of infrequent species most sensitive to sheep grazing. Caution, however, should be taken when grazing regimes implemented benefit both desirable (native forbs) and undesirable (exotic annuals) species. Having a mosaic of flexible grazing management regimes across the landscape is likely to be beneficial for native plant diversity.
Double-strand break repair by homologous recombination in primary mouse somatic cells requires BRCA1 but not the ATM kinase
Authors: Kass Elizabeth M. , Helgadottir Hildur R. , Chen Chun-Chin , Barbera Maria , Wang Raymond , Westermark Ulrica K. , Ludwig Thomas , Moynahan Mary Ellen , Jasin Maria
Published: March 2013

Homology-directed repair (HDR) is a critical pathway for the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in mammalian cells. Efficient HDR is thought to be crucial for maintenance of genomic integrity during organismal development and tumor suppression. However, most mammalian HDR studies have focused on transformed and immortalized cell lines. We report here the generation of a Direct Repeat (DR)-GFP reporter-based mouse model to study HDR in primary cell types derived from diverse lineages. Embryonic and adult fibroblasts from these mice as well as cells derived from mammary epithelium, ovary, and neonatal brain were observed to undergo HDR at I-SceI endonuclease-induced DSBs at similar frequencies. When the DR-GFP reporter was crossed into mice carrying a hypomorphic mutation in the breast cancer susceptibility geneBrca1, a significant reduction in HDR was detected, showing that BRCA1 is critical for HDR in somatic cell types. Consistent with an HDR defect,Brca1mutant mice are highly sensitive to the cross-linking agent mitomycin C. By contrast, loss of the DSB signaling ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) kinase did not significantly alter HDR levels, indicating that ATM is dispensable for HDR. Notably, chemical inhibition of ATM interfered with HDR. The DR-GFP mouse provides a powerful tool for dissecting the genetic requirements of HDR in a diverse array of somatic cell types in a normal, nontransformed cellular milieu.
Scaffolding protein SPIDR/KIAA0146 connects the Bloom syndrome helicase with homologous recombination repair
Authors: Wan Li , Han Jinhua , Liu Ting , Dong Shunli , Xie Feng , Chen Hongxia , Huang Jun
Published: March 2013

The Bloom syndrome gene product, BLM, is a member of the highly conserved RecQ family. An emerging concept is the BLM helicase collaborates with the homologous recombination (HR) machinery to help avoid undesirable HR events and to achieve a high degree of fidelity during the HR reaction. However, exactly how such coordination occurs in vivo is poorly understood. Here, we identified a protein termed SPIDR (scaffolding protein involved in DNA repair) as the link between BLM and the HR machinery. SPIDR independently interacts with BLM and RAD51 and promotes the formation of a BLM/RAD51-containing complex of biological importance. Consistent with its role as a scaffolding protein for the assembly of BLM and RAD51 foci, cells depleted of SPIDR show increased rate of sister chromatid exchange and defects in HR. Moreover, SPIDR depletion leads to genome instability and causes hypersensitivity to DNA damaging agents. We propose that, through providing a scaffold for the cooperation of BLM and RAD51 in a multifunctional DNA-processing complex, SPIDR not only regulates the efficiency of HR, but also dictates the specific HR pathway.
The plastic proteome
Authors: Short Ben
Published: March 2013

Researchers catalog how stresses affect the abundance and localization of every budding yeast protein.
Plato
Authors: Brisson Luc , Dufour Richard
Published: March 2013

Born at Athens in a family of noble descent, Plato (b. c. 428–427– d. c. 348–347 bce) naturally sought throughout his life to play a political role as councilor or legislator, not only at Athens but also abroad, especially in Sicily. A writer and philosopher, Plato was above all a citizen who, as is attested by the ten books of the Republic and the twelve books of the Laws (which constitute almost half of his work), wished to reform the political life of his city by assigning power not to wealth or to military force, but to knowledge. Against the traditional vision of culture in his time, essentially transmitted by poetry, Plato proposed a new system of education based on knowledge, in which mathematics plays an important role, and which culminates in the contemplation of true realities and of the Good. Plato’s life is therefore inseparable from his thought. Fairly early, a dogmatism (the term being taken in the minimal sense of the exposition of a doctrine) developed, with the appearance of a doctrine whose principal points became more specific over time. This doctrine is characterized by a twofold reversal. First, the world of things perceived by the senses is a mere image of a set of intelligible forms that represent true reality, for they possess the principle of their existence within themselves. Second, human beings cannot be reduced to their bodies, for their true identity coincides instead with an incorporeal entity, the soul, that accounts for all motion, both material (growth, locomotion, etc.) and spiritual (feelings, sense perceptions, intellectual knowledge, and so on).
Caere/Cerveteri
Authors: Pieraccini Lisa
Published: March 2013

The Etruscan metropolis Caere, known to the Etruscans as Cisra (Greek, Agylla; Roman, Caere) was located in southern Etruria and had a commanding view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Known today as Cerveteri (from the Latin Caere Vetus), the city is situated forty-five kilometers northwest of Rome and six kilometers from the Tyrrhenian Coast. Cerveteri is famous for its ancient tombs, numbering in the thousands and located in several necropolises—the Banditaccia, Monte Abatone, and Cava Della Pozzolana and the Iron Age necropolis of Sorbo. The numerous objects discovered in tombs demonstrate not only the wealth of the Caeretan aristocracy and its rich trade relations with the Greeks and the Near East but also the abundant talent of local craftspeople. Such tombs provide scholars with copious material reflecting daily life and funerary ritual. The architecture of Caeretan tombs reflects not only the homes of the living but also chronological and stylistic developments that span hundreds of years, making it one of the primary sites for understanding Etruscan domestic architecture. Late-20th- and early-21st-century excavations have revealed substantial civic and religious centers of the ancient city, confirming Caere’s leading role in southern Etruria.
Xenophon
Authors: Gray Vivienne
Published: March 2013

Xenophon (c. 430 to post-355 bce) wrote fourteen works of varied content and style. His interest in leadership gives them some unity, and they can be grouped into philosophic, historical, biographical, and technical writings; but they have separate manuscript traditions and bibliographies. The works are known by Greek or Latin or translated titles. Anabasis is the account of Xenophon’s march with Cyrus the Younger of Persia to challenge Artaxerxes for the Persian kingdom and his march back after Cyrus’s death (401–400 bce). Hellenica is a history of events from where Thucydides left his history unfinished down to the battle of Mantinea (411–362 bce). Cyropaedia describes how Cyrus the Great of Persia secured and maintained his empire. Among the Socratic works, Memorabilia defends Socrates, Xenophon’s teacher, against the charges of impiety and corruption for which he was executed by the Athenians, and then demonstrates through largely conversational vignettes that he helped people rather than harmed them as the charges alleged; Oeconomicus has Socrates teach Critobulus how to manage an estate and reports to him the conversation he once had with the master economist, Ischomachus; Symposium has Socrates and companions discuss their virtues at a party; Apologia Socratis explains why Socrates was so brazen at his trial. Xenophon’s minor works (opuscula) include a dialogue between Simonides and Hiero of Syracuse (Hiero), an encomium for Agesilaus of Sparta (Agesilaus), an account of the laws of Lycurgus that secured Spartan success (Lacedaemoniorum Politeia, LP), two works on horses and their management (De re equestri On Horsemanship and Hipparchicus Cavalry Commander), one on hunting with dogs (Cynegeticus), and the essay on how to improve the Athenian economy (Poroi). Athenian Constitution is included among his minor works, but it is not treated here as his work. Xenophon was a pioneer of new literary forms, but there is no complete study of this. Anabasis combines autobiographical history and travel book. Cyropaedia pioneers historical biography and contains early novellas. His Socratic works are new forms of dialogue and economic treatise. Hiero comes from the traditions of meetings of the wise and powerful, now lost in a stand-alone form. Agesilaus rivals Isocrates’s Evagoras as the first extant encomium. His technical treatises are the first extant.
Bhāviveka / Bhāvaviveka
Authors: Eckel Malcolm David
Published: March 2013

Bhāviveka or Bhāvaviveka (also known as Bhavya) was an influential 6th-century Indian Buddhist philosopher. He is best known as a commentator on Root Verses on the Middle Way (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā) by Nāgārjuna and as the author of The Flame of Reason (Tarkajvālā), an encyclopedic compendium of the schools of Indian philosophy. Bhāviveka’s compendium provides a unique historical source for the study of Indian philosophy at a time of great intellectual ferment and change. It also provided a model for the genre of the philosophical compendium or “doxography” that has guided students and debaters through the intricacies of Indian philosophical disputes from Bhāviveka’s time to the present not only in India but also in Tibet. There is little reliable information about his life. A few surviving legends associate him with what is now Andhra Pradesh, the region in South India that also was the legendary home of Nāgārjuna. These legends also depict him as a determined debater who was willing to travel long distances to confront his philosophical opponents. Bhāviveka’s interest in debate was accompanied by a heightened concern for logical procedure. This concern gave rise to the deepest and longest-lasting division in the Madhyamaka tradition. Bhāviveka was recognized by his successors as a svātantrika-mādhyamika (one who uses independent inferences and makes independent assertions) as opposed to a prāsaṅgika-mādhyamika (one who simply reduces opponents’ assertions to consequences that are unacceptable to the opponents themselves). The distinction between a svātantrika-mādhyamika and a prāsaṅgika-mādhyamika was elaborated in great detail by Tibetan philosophers. For contemporary scholars of Mahayana thought, especially the concept of Emptiness, the svātantrika-prāsaṅgika distinction is an important point of entry into the deeper philosophical issues of Madhyamaka thought.
Pagan (Bagan)
Authors: Frasch Tilman
Published: March 2013

For about 250 years, from c. 1044 to 1284 ce, Pagan (or Bagan, in modern Burmese transcription) was the capital of a kingdom covering most of what is modern-day Myanmar (Burma). During this period, more than 2,500 Buddhist monuments—stupas, temples, and monasteries—were built in and around the city alone; further religious edifices were erected in the provincial centers of the kingdom, such as Pakkoku, Sale, Salin, and Myinmu. The people of Pagan were in close contact with other Buddhist communities of South and Southeast Asia, most notably Sri Lankans, Northeast Indians, and the Khmers, and perhaps with the Tibetans and Chinese as well. Between these regions and communities, there was a regular flow of royal ambassadors, Buddhist monks, artists, pilgrims, and other travelers, who exchanged letters and Buddhist scriptures, skills, and ideas. Given this position as a nodal point in a wider Buddhist network, the Buddhism of Pagan was cosmopolitan in nature, embracing influences from various sources and different traditions. Particularly in the late 12th and the early 13th centuries, when increased contact with external Buddhist communities coincided with the maturation of internal developments, Pagan became the crucible in which the major features of Burmese Theravada were mixed.
Milarepa
Authors: Quintman Andrew
Published: March 2013

Milarépa (Mi la ras pa, b. c. 1040–d. 1123) is one of the most famous figures in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Although considered an early founder of the Kagyu sect that traces its origins back to the Indian siddhas Nāropa and Tilopa, he is equally revered throughout the Tibetan Buddhist world as an exemplar of religious dedication, perseverance in yogic practice, and meditative mastery. Little of his life is known with historical certainty, and calculations of the dates for his birth and death vary widely in the Tibetan sources. Yet it is clear that he lived during the 11th and early 12th centuries, at the outset of the formative period known as the later dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet. The most famous account of his life (the Mi la ras pa’i rnam thar, or Life of Milarepa) and collection of his songs of realization (Mi la’i mgur ‘bum, or The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa) are extremely popular throughout the Himalayan region. The themes associated with his life story—purification of past misdeeds, faith and devotion to the guru, perseverance in meditation and yogic practice, and the possibility of attaining buddhahood in a single lifetime—have influenced the development of Buddhist literature, doctrine, and practice in Tibet and continue to do so. He studied briefly under several masters before meeting his principal guru, Marpa Chokyi Lodro (Mar pa Chos kyi blo gro, b. 1012–d. 1097), who had trained under several great Indian tantric masters. Marpa bestowed numerous tantric initiations and instructions, especially those of mahāmudrā and the so-called Six Yogas of Nāropa (Nā ro chos drug), which includes the practice of tummo, or “yogic heat.” Milarépa spent the rest of his life practicing meditation in seclusion and teaching small groups of yogin disciples through poetry and songs of realization. These songs, together with their brief framing narratives, were eventually collected and published in an independent volume as The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. He was active across southern Tibet, and dozens of locations associated with the saint have become important pilgrimage sites and retreat centers. Foremost among Milarépa’s disciples were Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (Sgam po pa Bsod rnam rin chen, b. 1079–d. 1153), from whom many Kagyu lineages descend, and Rechungpa Dorje Drak (Ras chung pa Rdo rje grags, b. 1084–d. 1161).
Mahāsāṃghika
Authors: Dessein Bart
Published: March 2013

Tradition posits the start of the history of the Mahāsāṃghika (Mahāsāńgika/Mahasamghika/Mahasanghika) school of Buddhism with the so-called Buddhist Council of Vaiśālī (present-day Besarh in the northwest of Bihar state), held about a hundred years after the demise of Śākyamuni Buddha. This council is reported to have introduced the first schism in the Buddhist community, when the famous king Aśoka (reigned c. 270–c. 230 bce) intervened in a dispute among the monastics and decided in favor of the majority, whence the name “Mahāsāṃghika” (“Great Community,” Chinese name “dazhong bu,” 大眾部, as an alternative for the transliteration “Mohesengqi bu,” 摩訶僧祇部). The other group involved in the dispute became known as the Sthaviravādins (“the Elders”), of whom the present-day Theravādins are the only successors. In the course of time, along with the spread of the Mahāsāṃghikas over the Indian subcontinent, the school was the subject of a further dissemination. The presence of a variety of Mahāsāṃghika subgroups is attested by epigraphic evidence and is corroborated in Buddhist literature. Until the beginning of the common era, the Mahāsāṃghikas had their stronghold in the North. Starting from the 2nd century ce, the valley of the Kŗṣṇā River in Andhra Pradesh developed into a major center of different Mahāsāṃghika subschools. Apart from some textual materials belonging to the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda and Bahuśrutīya subgroups, the few extant texts are those preserved in Chinese translation. This textual evidence reveals that the northern groups had a much more divinized concept of a bodhisattva than the southern groups had. In the South, a more human description of the bodhisattva prevails. It is therefore not unlikely that the so-called five points of Mahādeva (who is in some accounts also mentioned with respect to the Council of Vaiśālī), which are depreciatory of the status of the arhat, played a decisive role in the formation of the southern subschools. It is likely that a more human concept of the arhat also encroached on the interpretation of the status of the bodhisattva and the attribution of divine characteristics to the Buddha only. The exalted status of the Buddha only, also helps to explain why the Andhra region witnessed the development of stūpa worship. Although the Mahāsāṃghikas no longer exist as a separate Buddhist school, their doctrinal and cultic developments have been important for the development of the Mahayana, the general name for what was originally known as “bodhisattvayāna.” The Mahāsāṃghikas have also been important for the development of tantric Buddhism. The very existence of Chinese textual sources related to the Mahāsāṃghikas attests the presence in China, at some point in history, of the Mahāsāṃghikas—or at least of Mahāsāṃghika texts.
Buddhism and New Religions in Japan (Shinshūkyō)
Authors: Baffelli Erica
Published: March 2013

The term “new religious movements” (NRMs) is an umbrella term used for movements or organizations that are sometimes called “alternative religions,” “nonconventional religions,” or “new religious groups.” The criteria used to define a group as “new” and to distinguish a “new religion” from a “traditional” religious movement or from a sectarian organization are controversial and they change over time. “New” is always a relative term. For example, when does a new religion cease to be called “new”? Some “new” religions are now more than a hundred years old. In Japan, the concept of “new religions” (shinshūkyō新宗教) was first used after the end of World War II, and the term indicates a number of groups that arose since the mid-19th century. “New religions” is a useful chronological category, but it is important to note that these religious groups are rooted in different traditions and developed a wide variety of teachings and practices. However, some characteristics have been recognized as common to many (if not all) of these groups: the role of a (charismatic) leader; references to different religious traditions; the ability to change quite radically in a short period of time; and the focus on communal activities. The size of “new religions” also varies greatly: some groups claim membership of millions (Sōka Gakkai 創価学会 became one of the biggest organizations in Japan), while other groups only reached a few thousand members. Some of them tried, with some success, to internationalize their messages, and some became dynamically involved in political activities. Several Japanese new religions founded during the 19th and 20th centuries have been located (or locate themselves) in the Buddhist tradition. Some of them, such as Sōka Gakkai, Risshō Kosei kai 立正佼成会, and Reiyūkai 霊友会 are based on Nichiren Buddhism, while others such as Agonshū 阿含宗 and Shinnyoen 真如苑 derive their teachings from esoteric Buddhism. This article will first provide an overview of scholarly debates regarding the definition of NRMs and then focus on some religious groups that are generally considered NRMs (not always without disagreement) and have been situated (or define themselves) inside the Buddhist tradition. Because their roots are from the Japanese religious tradition, most Japanese new religions include elements from Buddhist cosmology and practice. However, this article will focus on groups markedly known as Buddhist. Significant amounts of work on Japanese new religions have been produced in the 1960s and 1970s, but this article will generally focus on more recent publications in the field.
Beauty
Authors: McMahon Jennifer A.
Published: March 2013

Philosophical interest in beauty began with the earliest recorded philosophers. Beauty was deemed to be an essential ingredient in a good life and so what it was, where it was to be found, and how it was to be included in a life were prime considerations. The way beauty has been conceived has been influenced by an author’s other philosophical commitments―metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical―and such commitments reflect the historical and cultural position of the author. For example, beauty is a manifestation of the divine on earth to which we respond with love and adoration; beauty is a harmony of the soul that we achieve through cultivating feeling in a rational and tempered way; beauty is an idea raised in us by certain objective features of the world; beauty is a sentiment that can nonetheless be cultivated to be appropriate to its object; beauty is the object of a judgement by which we exercise the social, comparative, and intersubjective elements of cognition, and so on. Such views on beauty not only reveal underlying philosophical commitments but also reflect positive contributions to understanding the nature of value and the relation between mind and world. One way to distinguish between beauty theories is according to the conception of the human being that they assume or imply, for example, where they fall on the continuum from determinism to free will, ungrounded notions of compatibilism notwithstanding. For example, theories at the latter end might carve out a sense of genuine innovation and creativity in human endeavors while at the other end of the spectrum authors may conceive of beauty as an environmental trigger for consumption, procreation, or preservation in the interests of the individual. Treating beauty experiences as in some respect intentional, characterizes beauty theory prior to the 20th century and since, mainly in historically inspired writing on beauty. However, treating beauty as affect or sensation has always had its representatives and is most visible today in evolutionary-inspired accounts of beauty (though not all evolutionary accounts fit this classification). Beauty theory falls under some combination of metaphysics, epistemology, meta-ethics, aesthetics, and psychology. Although during the 20th century beauty was more likely to be conceived as an evaluative concept for art, recent philosophical interest in beauty can again be seen to exercise arguments pertaining to metaphysics, epistemology, meta-ethics, philosophy of meaning, and language in addition to philosophy of art and environmental aesthetics. This work has been funded by an Australian Research Council Grant: DP150103143 (Taste and Community).
Philosophy of Film
Authors: Thomson-Jones Katherine
Published: March 2013

For almost as long as there have been films, there have been philosophical theories about their art status, inherent realism, and distinctive aesthetic character. But philosophy of film did not become a unified field of study until the 1990s, the period in which analytic aesthetics generally began to pay more attention to the individual arts. Among the various philosophies of art, philosophy of film is distinguished by the degree to which it draws on a broader theoretical tradition. Many scholars in film studies are important contributors to philosophy of film. There is a particularly rich and productive collaboration between cognitive film theorists and philosophers on our engagement with films. In addition, some of the most influential views in the tradition of film theory influenced by psychoanalysis and semiotics have been subject to philosophical critique. It is important to note that philosophy of film is not the same thing as the increasingly popular practice of “doing philosophy” with film—using particular films to illustrate philosophical problems. There is some overlap, however, in interpretive work that also sheds light on distinctive features of the art form—for example, on how film narration works. There is also overlap in the growing subfield of film as philosophy: with the use of particular films as case studies, authors develop general accounts of the way film, as a distinctive artistic medium, can prompt and sustain philosophical reflection. Work in this subfield involves careful analysis both of the nature of philosophical activity and the nature of film as an art. Given the relative youth of the field, there is still plenty of work to be done in philosophy of film. The focus so far has been on narrative fiction film, and so more work is needed on nonfiction film—for example, documentary—as well as on experimental film. The main topics currently pursued in philosophy of film are described below, but with more work on different kinds of film, as well as on specific film genres and filmmaking traditions, new topics will undoubtedly emerge. Another important source of growth and development in the field is reflection on the significance of technological changes in filmmaking. Most notably, the ongoing shift from filmstrip-based to digital film has profound implications for our understanding of the art form. Philosophers have only just begun to explore these implications.
Human Rights
Authors: Gordon John-Stewart
Published: March 2013

There is an enormous range of contemporary and rapidly expanding literature on human rights that pervades almost every area of human life. This entry cannot do justice to all of these areas and would inevitably fail to cover all aspects of the philosophy of human rights. Here, the goal is more modest: offering a primary overview of the thorny literature and many vital human rights issues that can become increasingly complex and muddled. The concept of human rights, however, came to particular prominence in the twentieth century after World War II, due to the atrocities (e.g., genocide against the Jews) committed by the Nazis. Since then, the idea of human rights has become profoundly influential in many different fields such as ethics, applied ethics, political philosophy, political sciences, law, international law, medicine, and public health. This has led to the formation of a new area in philosophy called “the philosophy of human rights.” The very idea of human rights, however, is older and can be traced back to early religious ideas and the notion of natural rights in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Generally speaking, human rights are primarily universal moral norms that bind all people in all places at all times independently of any legal recognition. Whether there is a widespread agreement that all human beings have human rights simply because they are human beings is a matter of debate. However, there is currently no common ground with regard to the moral and legal justification or the ontological and epistemological status of human rights. Human rights are primarily universal moral rights and, secondly, international legal rights observed and enforced by nation-states. Despite major caveats concerning the theoretical foundations of human rights, most scholars nonetheless hold the view that there is a vital consensus on the practical importance of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) (cited under Modern Documents), is the most important human rights document and contains at least seven groups of basic rights: security rights, due process rights, liberty rights, political rights, equality rights, social welfare rights, and group rights.
Soviet Union in World War II
Authors: Bellamy Chris
Published: March 2013

The Soviet Union in World War II is the story of several wars. When World War II started, the Soviet Union was effectively an ally of Nazi Germany in a relatively conventional European interstate war. Although the Germans did most of the fighting in Poland, the Soviet Union occupied the eastern part. Until 22 June 1941, when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Union provided Nazi Germany with large quantities of strategic raw materials. Furthermore, the Soviet Union gave Germany access to the Far East, and especially rubber, which was brought through Siberia. During this time it also fought the 1939–1940 “Winter War” with Finland and, in 1940, occupied Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and what is now Moldova. However, the Soviet Union expected more technological aid from Germany than it was prepared to give. Hitler determined to conquer the country, in part, to seize its natural resources. The second war did not involve the Soviet Union and was about control of the Mediterranean. The third war, arguably the largest single component of World War II, began on 22 June 1941, when the Germans attacked the Soviet Union. Overnight, the Soviet Union became an ally of Britain and a recipient of Lend-Lease aid from the United States. That war, the “War on the Eastern Front,” is known in the Soviet Union and Russia as Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna—the “Great Patriotic War.” It lasted for 1,418 days, and between twenty-six and twenty-seven million Soviet people, mostly civilians, died. Even after the Western Allies got ashore in Europe, the Soviet Union was still engaging the majority of German forces. Final Soviet battlefield losses were 8.7 million. After the defeat of Germany, the Soviet Union entered the Pacific War, which had begun with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. On 9 August 1945 the Soviet Union attacked the Japanese Army in Manchuria, which capitulated eight days later. The Soviet effort, and particularly the dramatic reversal of fortunes that occurred in 1942 and 1943, turned a “pariah state” experimenting with a new economic and political system into the successful exponent of the same, and into a space-bound superpower with the revived trappings of its imperial past. The Soviet nuclear program, for example, began in 1942. The decisive contribution of its armed forces to the overall Allied victory was underrated in the West during the Cold War. However, the process of reconciliation that began in the 1980s and the breakup of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991 changed that.