bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physiologically‐Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Benzene in Humans: A Bayesian Approach
Authors: Yokley Karen , Tran Hien T. , Pekari Kaija , Rappaport Stephen , Riihimaki Vesa , Rothman Nat , Waidyanatha Suramya , Schlosser Paul M.
Published: September 2006

Benzene is myelotoxic and leukemogenic in humans exposed at high doses (>1 ppm, more definitely above 10 ppm) for extended periods. However, leukemia risks at lower exposures are uncertain. Benzene occurs widely in the work environment and also indoor air, but mostly below 1 ppm, so assessing the leukemia risks at these low concentrations is important. Here, we describe a human physiologically‐based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model that quantifies tissue doses of benzene and its key metabolites, benzene oxide, phenol, and hydroquinone after inhalation and oral exposures. The model was integrated into a statistical framework that acknowledges sources of variation due to inherent intra‐ and interindividual variation, measurement error, and other data collection issues. A primary contribution of this work is the estimation of population distributions of key PBPK model parameters. We hypothesized that observed interindividual variability in the dosimetry of benzene and its metabolites resulted primarily from known or estimated variability in key metabolic parameters and that a statistical PBPK model that explicitly included variability in only those metabolic parameters would sufficiently describe the observed variability. We then identified parameter distributions for the PBPK model to characterize observed variability through the use of Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis applied to two data sets. The identified parameter distributions described most of the observed variability, but variability in physiological parameters such as organ weights may also be helpful to faithfully predict the observed human‐population variability in benzene dosimetry.
Direct Estimation of the Cost Effectiveness of Tornado Shelters
Authors: Simmons Kevin M. , Sutter Daniel
Published: September 2006

This article estimates the cost effectiveness of tornado shelters using the annual probability of a tornado and new data on fatalities per building struck by a tornado. This approach differs from recent estimates of the cost effectiveness of tornado shelters in Reference 1 that use historical casualties. Historical casualties combine both tornado risk and resident action. If residents of tornado‐prone states take greater precautions, observed fatalities might not be much higher than in states with lower risk. Estimation using the tornado probability avoids this potential bias. Despite the very different method used, the estimates are $68 million in permanent homes and $6.0 in mobile homes in Oklahoma using a 3% real discount rate, within about 10% of estimates based on historical fatalities. The findings suggest that shelters provide cost‐effective protection for mobile homes in the most tornado‐prone states but not for permanent homes.
Using Graph Models to Analyze the Vulnerability of Electric Power Networks
Authors: Holmgren Åke J.
Published: September 2006

In this article, we model electric power delivery networks as graphs, and conduct studies of two power transmission grids, i.e., the Nordic and the western states (U.S.) transmission grid. We calculate values of topological (structural) characteristics of the networks and compare their error and attack tolerance (structural vulnerability), i.e., their performance when vertices are removed, with two frequently used theoretical reference networks (the Erdös‐Rényi random graph and the Barabási‐Albert scale‐free network). Further, we perform a structural vulnerability analysis of a fictitious electric power network with simple structure. In this analysis, different strategies to decrease the vulnerability of the system are evaluated. Finally, we present a discussion on the practical applicability of graph modeling.
Flooding Risks: A Comparison of Lay People's Perceptions and Expert's Assessments in Switzerland
Authors: Siegrist Michael , Gutscher Heinz
Published: September 2006

Experts on the risk of flooding have developed very detailed maps for different parts of Switzerland that indicate the types of damage possible and the probabilities of adverse events. Four categories of risk severity are defined on the maps, ranging from high risk to no risk. Based on these existing maps, we selected respondents for a mail survey, some from areas high in risk and others from low‐risk regions. Respondents answered several questions related to flood risk perception and preparedness. Survey results showed that respondents' risk perceptions were correlated with the experts' risk assessments. Respondents who lived in areas designated “no risk” by the experts had lower perceptions of risk than respondents who lived in areas with higher levels of designated risk. With regard to concrete prevention behavior, no differences between people living in different risk areas were observed. Survey results further suggest that many inhabitants do not know that flooding maps exist for their region. Results suggest that in some regions people overestimate the risks associated with flooding. Consequently, some people are more afraid of flooding than is justified by the facts. Some people show prevention behavior that most likely is superfluous. However, in other regions people underestimate the risks associated with flooding. These people do not show prevention behavior, and they are not well prepared for an adverse event. Furthermore, results suggest that respondents' experiences with flooding are positively related to their perceptions of flood risk. Findings of the present study are in line with the availability heuristic.
Application of the Precautionary Principle by Senior Policy Officials: Results of a Canadian Survey
Authors: Wilson Kumanan , Leonard Blair , Wright Robert , Graham Ian , Moffet John , Pluscauskas Michael , Wilson Michael
Published: September 2006

Though use of the controversial precautionary principle in risk management has increasingly been recommended as a guide for the construction of public policy in Canada and elsewhere, there are few data available characterizing its use in risk management by senior public policymakers. Using established survey methodology we sought to investigate the perceptions and terms of application of the precautionary principle in this important subset of individuals. A total of 240 surveys were sent out to seven departments or agencies in the Canadian government. The overall survey response rate was 26.6%, and our findings need to be interpreted in the context of possible responder bias. Of respondents, the overwhelming majority perceived the precautionary principle and the management of risk as complementary, and endorsed a role for the precautionary principle as a general guideline for all risk management decisions. However, 25% of respondents responded that the lack of clarity of the definition of the principle was a limitation to its effective use. The majority of respondents viewed their own level of understanding of the precautionary principle as moderate. Risk managers appeared to favor an interpretation of the precautionary principle that was based on the seriousness and irreversibility of the threat of damage, and did not endorse as strongly the need for cost effectiveness in the measures taken as a precaution against such threats. In contrast with its perceived role as a general guideline, the application of the precautionary principle by respondents was highly variable, with >60% of respondents reporting using the precautionary principle in one‐quarter or less of all risk management decisions. Several factors influenced whether the precautionary principle was applied with the perceived seriousness of the threat being considered the most influential factor. The overwhelming majority of risk managers felt that “preponderance of evidence” was the level of evidence required for precautionary action to be instituted against a serious negative event. Overall, the majority of respondents viewed the precautionary principle as having a significant and positive impact on risk management decisions. Importantly, respondents endorsed a net result of more good than harm to society when the precautionary principle was applied to the management of risk.
Egyptian Farmers' Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Agricultural Pesticides: Implications for Pesticide Risk Communication
Authors: Ibitayo Olurominiyi O.
Published: September 2006

The need to boost pre‐ and postharvest agricultural productivity serves as a powerful driving force for developing countries to promote the use of agricultural pesticides. Pesticides are, however, “poisons by design” and poisonings resulting from unsafe use of these chemicals are the most prevalent and serious occupational hazards faced by agricultural workers in developing countries. This article provides the results of a study designed to investigate the extent of unsafe use of pesticides by farmers in one of the largest agricultural areas in Egypt, the farmers' knowledge about pesticides, and their preferred sources of receiving risk information on pesticides. The results of this study show a high level of unsafe use of pesticides and inappropriate methods of disposal of empty pesticide containers. Also, knowledge about pesticides is scant. Notwithstanding that more than half of the farmers obtain regular drinking water from wells, most of the respondents were “not sure” as to whether or not pesticides may contaminate groundwater. The low level of knowledge about pesticides can be attributed to relatively low levels of education and that almost all the respondents have never participated in a pesticide education program. This article concludes with a recommendation for pesticide and pesticide use education programs, especially through “ministry officials” who most of the respondents seem to trust regarding receiving pesticide information.
Integrating Software into PRA: A Software‐Related Failure Mode Taxonomy
Authors: Li Bin , Li Ming , Chen Ken , Smidts Carol
Published: September 2006

Probabilistic risk assessment is a methodology to assess the probability of failure or success of a mission. Results provided by the risk assessment methodology are used to make decisions concerning choice of upgrades, scheduling of maintenance, decision to launch, etc. However, current PRA neglects the contribution of software to the risk of failure of the mission. Our research has developed a methodology to account for the impact of software to system failure. This article focuses on an element of the approach: a comprehensive taxonomy of software‐related failure modes. Application of the taxonomy is discussed in this article. A validation of the taxonomy and conclusions drawn from this validation effort are described. Future research is also summarized.
Implicit Attitudes Toward Nuclear Power and Mobile Phone Base Stations: Support for the Affect Heuristic
Authors: Siegrist Michael , Keller Carmen , Cousin Marie‐Eve
Published: September 2006

The implicit association test (IAT) measures automatic associations. In the present research, the IAT was adapted to measure implicit attitudes toward technological hazards. In Study 1, implicit and explicit attitudes toward nuclear power were examined. Implicit measures (i.e., the IAT) revealed negative attitudes toward nuclear power that were not detected by explicit measures (i.e., a questionnaire). In Study 2, implicit attitudes toward EMF (electro‐magnetic field) hazards were examined. Results showed that cell phone base stations and power lines are judged to be similarly risky and, further, that base stations are more closely related to risk concepts than home appliances are. No differences between experts and lay people were observed. Results of the present studies are in line with the affect heuristic proposed by Slovic and colleagues. Affect seems to be an important factor in risk perception.
Comparing Experimental Designs for Benchmark Dose Calculations for Continuous Endpoints
Authors: Kuljus Kristi , Von Rosen Dietrich , Sand Salomon , Victorin Katarina
Published: September 2006

The BMD (benchmark dose) method that is used in risk assessment of chemical compounds was introduced byCrump (1984)and is based on dose‐response modeling. To take uncertainty in the data and model fitting into account, the lower confidence bound of the BMD estimate (BMDL) is suggested to be used as a point of departure in health risk assessments. In this article, we study how to design optimum experiments for applying the BMD method for continuous data. We exemplify our approach by considering the class of Hill models. The main aim is to study whether an increased number of dose groups and at the same time a decreased number of animals in each dose group improves conditions for estimating the benchmark dose. Since Hill models are nonlinear, the optimum design depends on the values of the unknown parameters. That is why we consider Bayesian designs and assume that the parameter vector has a prior distribution. A natural design criterion is to minimize the expected variance of the BMD estimator. We present an example where we calculate the value of the design criterion for several designs and try to find out how the number of dose groups, the number of animals in the dose groups, and the choice of doses affects this value for different Hill curves. It follows from our calculations that to avoid the risk of unfavorable dose placements, it is good to use designs with more than four dose groups. We can also conclude that any additional information about the expected dose‐response curve, e.g., information obtained from studies made in the past, should be taken into account when planning a study because it can improve the design.
Psychological Determinants of Reactions to Food Risk Messages
Authors: Kuttschreuter Margôt
Published: September 2006

In recent years, European countries have witnessed a number of food crises such as dioxin‐contaminated chicken, foot‐and‐mouth disease, and BSE. In such cases, food might be contaminated by microorganisms or chemicals that could pose a risk to the consumer. These cases attract media attention and might instigate the consumer to reduce the consumption of the allegedly contaminated products. Although a decline in consumption of (potentially) contaminated products has been observed, it is not yet clear what determines the individual's reaction to food risk messages. To study the psychological determinants of the reaction to food risk messages, a survey was conducted in the Netherlands (n= 280). Subjects had to imagine two situations involving chicken contamination and report how they would react behaviorally if this situation occurred. Risk perception, affective response, perceived susceptibility to foodborne disease, self‐efficacy, outcome expectation, trust, experience with foodborne disease, and need for information were also assessed. It was found that 60% of the subjects would allegedly avoid the risks by not consuming chicken for a while and approximately 60% would seek additional information. Risk avoidance was significantly related to information seeking and the psychological determinants, especially risk perception, affective response, need for information, perceived susceptibility to foodborne disease, and trust. Seeking information was also significantly related to risk perception, affective response, need for information, susceptibility to foodborne disease, and trust, but to a lesser degree. A model describing the relationships between the variables was tested using AMOS. Results are presented and implications are discussed.
TCDD Exposure‐Response Analysis and Risk Assessment
Authors: Cheng Hong , Aylward Lesa , Beall Colleen , Starr Thomas B. , Brunet Robert C. , Carrier Gaétan , Delzell Elizabeth
Published: September 2006

We examined the relation between cancer mortality and time‐dependent cumulative exposure to 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin (TCDD) estimated from a concentration‐ and age‐dependent kinetic model of elimination, and we estimated incremental cancer risks at age 75. Data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study of 3,538 workers with occupational exposure to TCDD were analyzed using standardized mortality ratios and Cox regression procedures. Analyses adjusted for potential confounding by age, year of birth, and race and considered exposure lag periods of 0, 10, or 15 years. Other potential confounders including smoking and other occupational exposures were evaluated indirectly. To explore the influence of extreme values of cumulative TCDD ppt‐years, we restricted the analysis to observations with exposure below the 95th percentile or used logarithmic (ln) transformed exposure values. We applied penalized smoothing splines to examine variation in the exposure‐response relation across the exposure range. TCDD was not statistically significantly associated with cancer mortality using the full data set, regardless of the lag period. When we restricted the analysis to observations with exposure below the 95th percentile, TCDD was associated positively with cancer mortality, particularly when a 15‐year lag was applied (untransformed exposure data: regression coefficient , standard error (s.e.) = 1.4 × 10−6, p < 0.05; ln‐transformed exposure data: , s.e. = 2.9 × 10−2, p < 0.05). The estimated incremental lifetime risk of mortality at age 75 from all cancers was about 6 to more than 10 times lower than previous estimates derived from this cohort using exposure models that did not consider the age and concentration dependence of TCDD elimination.
The Role of Society in Engineering Risk Analysis: A Capabilities‐Based Approach
Authors: Murphy Colleen , Gardoni Paolo
Published: September 2006

This article proposes a new conceptual framework in engineering risk analysis to account for the net impact of hazards on individuals in a society. It analyzes four limitations of prevailing approaches to risk analysis and suggests a way to overcome them. These limitations are a result of how societal impacts are characteristically accounted for and valued. Prevailing approaches typically focus too narrowly on the consequences of natural or man‐made hazards, not accounting for the broader societal impacts of such hazards. Such approaches lack a uniform and consistent metric for accounting for the impact of the nonquantifiable consequences (like psychological trauma or societal impacts) and rely upon implicit and potentially inaccurate value judgments when evaluating risks. To overcome these limitations, we propose an alternative, Capabilities‐Based Approach to the treatment of society in risk analysis. A similar approach is currently used by the United Nations to quantitatively measure the degree of development in countries around the world. In a Capabilities‐Based Approach, the potential benefits and losses due to a hazard are measured and compared in a uniform way by using individual capabilities (functionings individuals are able, still able, or unable to achieve) as a metric. This Capabilities‐Based Approach provides a foundation for identifying and quantifying the broader, complex societal consequences of hazards and is based on explicit, value judgments. The Capabilities‐Based Approach can accommodate different methods or techniques for risk determination and for risk evaluation and can be used in assessing risk in diverse types of hazards (natural or man‐made) and different magnitudes that range from minor to catastrophic. In addition, implementing a Capabilities‐Based Approach contributes to the development of a single standard for public policy decision making, since a Capabilities‐Based Approach is already in use in development economics and policy.
An Integrated Model of Infection Risk in a Health‐Care Environment
Authors: Nicas Mark , Sun Gang
Published: September 2006

Certain respiratory tract infections can be transmitted by hand‐to‐mucous‐membrane contact, inhalation, and/or direct respiratory droplet spray. In a room occupied by a patient with such a transmissible infection, pathogens present on textile and nontextile surfaces, and pathogens present in the air, provide sources of exposure for an attending health‐care worker (HCW); in addition, close contact with the patient when the latter coughs allows for droplet spray exposure. We present an integrated model of pertinent source‐environment‐receptor pathways, and represent physical elements in these pathways as “states” in a discrete‐time Markov chain model. We estimate the rates of transfer at various steps in the pathways, and their relationship to the probability that a pathogen in one state has moved to another state by the end of a specified time interval. Given initial pathogen loads on textile and nontextile surfaces and in room air, we use the model to estimate the expected pathogen dose to a HCW's mucous membranes and respiratory tract. In turn, using a nonthreshold infectious dose model, we relate the expected dose to infection risk. The system is illustrated with a hypothetical but plausible scenario involving a viral pathogen emitted via coughing. We also use the model to show that a biocidal finish on textile surfaces has the potential to substantially reduce infection risk via the hand‐to‐mucous‐membrane exposure pathway.
Life‐Cycle Flexibility: How to Measure and Improve the Innovative Capability in Turbulent Environments*
Authors: Buganza Tommaso , Verganti Roberto
Published: September 2006

Managing innovation in rapidly moving environments, such as Interned‐based services, is a major challenge for the consolidated theories on product and service development. The innovation management literature identifies flexibility as the right way for coping with these challenges. By increasing the development process flexibility, it is possible to reduce the development time as well as the time and cost needed for last‐minute concept changes. But this is not enough. The product or service must also be flexible after it has been released: A life‐cycle flexibility (LCF) must be pursued. Focused on the Italian on‐line discount brokers industry, this article is a result of a two‐staged research process that started with a qualitative explorative phase (i.e., case‐study methodology) and ended with a quantitative explorative one (i.e., questionnaire methodology). It identifies three different LCF dimensions—frequency of adaptation, rapidity of adaptation, and quality of adaptation—and it defines a metric for each of them. Subsequently, it identifies five managerial and organizational practices that increase at least one of the three LCF dimensions: (1) to manage the back‐end technological competences; (2) to share the front‐end technological competences with external suppliers; (3) to utilize open and standard technologies; (4) to have a low formalization of the new service development (NSD) procedures; and (5) to have high formalization of the NSD organization.
Decomposing Product Innovativeness and Its Effects on New Product Success
Authors: Calantone Roger J. , Chan Kwong , Cui Anna S.
Published: September 2006

Does product innovativeness affect new product success? The current research proposes that the ambiguity in findings may be due to an overly holistic conceptualization of product innovativeness that has erroneously included the concepts of product advantage and customer familiarity. This article illustrates how the same measures have often been used to assess product advantage with product innovativeness and product innovativeness with customer familiarity. These paired overlaps in measurement use are clarified in this research, which decomposes dimensions of product innovativeness along conceptual lines into distinct product innovativeness, product advantage, and customer familiarity constructs. To further support this decomposition, structural equation modeling is used to empirically test the distinctions. The measurement model supports the conceptual separation, and the path model reveals contingent effects of product innovativeness. Although product innovativeness enhances product advantage, a high level of innovativeness reduces customer familiarity, indicating that product innovativeness can be detrimental to new product success if customers are not sufficiently familiar with the nature of the new product and if innovativeness fails to improve product advantage. This exercise in metric development also reveals that after controlling for product advantage and customer familiarity, product innovativeness has no direct effect on new product profitability. This finding has strong implications for firms that mistakenly pursue innovation for its own sake. Consideration of both distribution and technical synergy as driving antecedents demonstrates how firms can still enhance new product success even if an inappropriate level of innovativeness is present. This leads to a simple but powerful two‐step approach to bringing highly innovative products to market. First, firms should only emphasize product innovativeness when it relates to the market relevant concepts of product advantage and customer familiarity. Second, existing technical and distribution abilities can be used to enhance product quality and customer understanding. Distribution channels in particular should be exploited to counter customer uncertainty toward newly introduced products.
Creating Dynamic Capability: The Role of Intertemporal Integration, Knowledge Retention, and Interpretation
Authors: Marsh Sarah J. , Stock Gregory N.
Published: September 2006

Uncertainty about the ability for technological knowledge to be transformed to meet market demands, lack of complementary technologies, the lack of developed markets for a given technical feature, and other types of uncertainty add significant challenges to organizations as they develop products for future markets. In spite of these significant challenges, some organizations develop a dynamic capability in new product development that becomes a powerful source of competitive advantage and a source of renewal, growth, and adaptation as the environment changes. Many approaches to new product development (e.g., cross‐functional development teams, quality function deployment, early supplier involvement, heavyweight product development teams) address the need to integrate knowledge more rapidly and effectively within projects. These approaches do not address, however, how knowledge is integrated over time or how integration of knowledge from previous new product development efforts influences the firm's new product development performance. This study focuses on providing a greater understanding of the integrative practices that contribute to this capability in new product development. Based on insights from the innovation and learning literatures, this study proposes relationships about the influence of knowledge retention and interpretation activities on the organization's ability to integrate knowledge developed in prior new product development projects and on new product development performance. Data collected from a sample of new product development professionals are employed to test the proposed relationships among knowledge retention, knowledge interpretation, integration of prior knowledge, and new product development performance. The findings suggest that knowledge retention and interpretation activities positively impact a firm's new product development performance. In particular, practices that enable the retention and interpretation of knowledge improve new product development performance indirectly through the firm's enhanced ability to apply knowledge developed in prior product development projects to subsequent projects. Practices that enable the interpretation of knowledge in the firm's current strategic context also improve new product development performance directly. These findings lead to important implications for managing new product development.
New Product Development as a Complex Adaptive System of Decisions
Authors: McCarthy Ian P. , Tsinopoulos Christos , Allen Peter , Rose‐Anderssen Christen
Published: September 2006

Early research on new product development (NPD) has produced descriptive frameworks and models that view the process as a linear system with sequential and discrete stages. More recently, recursive and chaotic frameworks of NPD have been developed, both of which acknowledge that NPD progresses through a series of stages, but with overlaps, feedback loops, and resulting behaviors that resist reductionism and linear analysis. This article extends the linear, recursive, and chaotic frameworks by viewing NPD as a complex adaptive system (CAS) governed by three levels of decision making—in‐stage, review, and strategic—and the accompanying decision rules. The research develops and presents propositions that predict how the configuration and organization of NPD decision‐making agents will influence the potential for three mutually dependent CAS phenomena: nonlinearity, self‐organization, and emergence. Together these phenomena underpin the potential for NPD process adaptability and congruence. To support and to verify the propositions, this study uses comparative case studies, which show that NPD process adaptability occurs and that it is dependent on the number and variety of agents, their corresponding connections and interactions, and the ordering or disordering effect of the decision levels and rules. Thus, the CAS framework developed within this article maintains a fit among descriptive stance, system behavior, and innovation type, as it considers individual NPD processes to be capable of switching or toggling between different behaviors—linear to chaotic—to produce corresponding innovation outputs that range from incremental to radical in accord with market expectations.
What Customers Want: Using Outcome‐Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services by Anthony W. Ulwick
Authors: Pinegar Jeffrey S.
Published: September 2006

Books reviewed in this issue:

What Customers
Want: Using Outcome‐Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services

Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators: From Idea to Execution

The Design of Things to Come: How Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Products

Managing Agile Projects

Service Design for Six Sigma: A Roadmap for Excellence

Axiomatic Quality: Integrating Axiomatic Design with Six‐Sigma, Reliability, and Quality Engineering

Design for Six Sigma as Strategic Experimentation
The Diffusion of Rights: From Law on the Books to Organizational Rights Practices
Authors: Barnes Jeb , Burke Thomas F.
Published: September 2006

How does law change society? To gain new leverage on this long-standing question, this article draws on two lines of research that often ignore each other: political science research on the mobilization of law, and sociological research on the diffusion of organizational practices. Our insights stem from six case studies of diverse organizations' responses to the accommodation provisions in the Americans with Disabilities Act and related state laws. We found that different modes of exposure to the law combined with organizational attributes to produce distinct “rights practices”—styles of standard operating procedures and informal routines that reflect the understanding of legal requirements within an organization. The diversity of the organizational responses challenges simple dichotomies between compliance/noncompliance, change through deterrence/change through norms, and mobilization/nonmobilization, and it underscores the importance of combining political science and sociological perspectives on law and social change.
Distrust of Government, the Vigilante Tradition, and Support for Capital Punishment
Authors: Messner Steven F. , Baumer Eric P. , Rosenfeld Richard
Published: September 2006

This study probes the interconnections among distrust of government, the historical context, and public support for the death penalty in the United States with survey data for area-identified samples of white and black respondents. Multilevel statistical analyses indicate contrary effects of government distrust on support for the death penalty for blacks and whites, fostering death penalty support among whites and diminishing it among blacks. In addition, we find that the presence of a “vigilante tradition,” as indicated by a history of lynching, promotes death penalty support among whites but not blacks. Finally, contrary to Zimring's argument in The Contradictions of Capital Punishment, we find no evidence that vigilantism moderates the influence of government distrust on support for the death penalty, for either whites or blacks. Our analyses highlight the continuing influence of historical context as well as contemporary conditions in the formation of public attitudes toward criminal punishment, and they underscore the importance of attending to racial differences in the analysis of punitive attitudes.
The “Compliance” Trap: The Moral Message in Responsive Regulatory Enforcement
Authors: Parker Christine
Published: September 2006

Simple deterrence will often fail to produce compliance commitment because it does not directly address business perceptions of the morality of regulated behavior. Responsive regulation, by contrast, seeks to build moral commitment to compliance with the law. This article shows that a regulator can overcome the deterrence trap to improve compliance commitment with the skillful use of responsive regulatory techniques that “leverage” the deterrence impact of its enforcement strategies with moral judgments. But this leads it into the “compliance trap.” The compliance trap occurs where there is a lack of political support for the moral seriousness of the law it must enforce, such as is the case with cartel enforcement in Australia. In these circumstances, business offenders are likely to interpret the moral leveraging of responsive regulation as unfair or stigmatizing, and business perceptions of regulator unfairness are likely to have a negative influence on long-term compliance with the law. Moreover, big businesses that perceive regulatory enforcement as illegitimate are also likely to actively lobby for the political emasculation of the regulator. In these circumstances, most regulators are likely to avoid conflict by taking the easy option of enforcing the law “softly,” and therefore ineffectively.
Postapartheid Justice: Can Cosmopolitanism and Nation-Building Be Reconciled?
Authors: Nagy Rosemary
Published: September 2006

South African plaintiffs are suing numerous multinational corporations under the American Alien Tort Claims Act for aiding and abetting apartheid's crimes against humanity. This article argues that Re South African Apartheid Litigation should be understood as a cosmopolitan re-membering of the nation. This interpretation runs counter to theoretical and political presumptions of an inherent antagonism between cosmopolitanism and nationhood. The apparent divide between cosmopolitanism and nation-building is bridged by the concept of victimhood. Insofar as nation-building in South Africa depends upon the restoration of victims, so too is cosmopolitanism victim-centered in its commitment to prevent harm and suffering. The apartheid litigants enact the duality of cosmopolitanism: they press for justice on the basis of cosmopolitan right, yet they do so in part because of their continued marginalization in the “new” South Africa with respect to issues of “truth” and reparation. Following on the “unfinished business” of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the apartheid litigation illustrates the intersection of cosmopolitanism with national memory and belonging.
Friends of the Court: The Republican Alliance and Selective Activism of the Constitutional Court of Turkey
Authors: Belge Ceren
Published: September 2006

During the past two decades, scholars have noted a global expansion of judicial power and court-led rights revolutions. Far from leading a rights-revolution, the Constitutional Court of Turkey became renowned for its restrictive take on civil liberties during this period. Why are some high courts more activist than others in protecting and expanding civil rights and liberties? I argue that judicial power and judicial independence offer incomplete explanations of judicial activism on questions of rights. Even powerful courts are activist only selectively, using their clout to protect some groups while suppressing the demands of others. Building on perspectives on legal mobilization and judicial entrenchment, I argue that the sociopolitical alliances in which high courts and judiciaries participate explain the selective nature of their activism. The initial parameters of these alliances are set during critical junctures when formerly dominant coalitions are displaced and new institutions entrench new alliances. Such alliances are not static, however, and struggles within alliances can transform high courts' orientations on rights questions.
The People's Law versus Judge Judy Justice: Two Models of Law in American Reality-Based Courtroom TV
Authors: Kohm Steven A.
Published: September 2006

This essay examines the popular American daytime courtroom programs Judge Judy and People's Court and comparatively analyzes two distinct models of law and justice developed in these shows. Using the techniques of qualitative media analysis, I argue that Judge Judy represents a shift in the way popular culture imagines the role of law in the lives of ordinary people. This shift accords with neoliberal notions of governance and individual self-responsibility for protection against risk. Conversely, People's Court represents an older, liberal-legal model of law that emphasizes individual rights, public participation in the court process, and due process. By demonstrating the supersession of Judge Judy justice over that of People's Court, I argue that this shift in the way law is imagined in American popular culture signals wider shifts in American and indeed international attitudes toward the law in our everyday lives.
Coprecipitation Synthesis of MgO‐Doped ZrO2 Nano Powder
Authors: Wang Shaoyan , Zhai Yuchun , Li Xiaoan , Li Yang , Wang Kaiming
Published: September 2006

Nanosized 10 mol% MgO‐doped ZrO2 powder was prepared via coprecipitation, followed by a washing–drying–calcining treatment. Water, ethanol, and a mixture of water and ethanol (volume ratio 1:1) were, respectively, used as solvents for precipitating and washing. These solvents had great influence on the dispersion of the nanopowders, and hence the sintering behavior in the corresponding ceramics. When ethanol was used, uniformly dispersed MgO‐doped ZrO2 with a good sintering property was obtained. The function of ethanol was to weaken the hydrogen bonds between the adjacent nanoparticles that lead to formation of “hard agglomerates” at the first step when the hydroxide precipitate had just formed.
Microstructure and Infrared Absorption of Biomorphic Chromium Oxides Templated by Wood Tissues
Authors: Fan Tongxiang , Li Xufan , Liu Zhaoting , Gu Jiajun , Zhang Di , Guo Qixin
Published: September 2006

Biomorphic Cr2O3 was synthesized using two different wood tissues as templates and was subjected to X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption measurements to investigate the phases and microstructures. A hierarchical pore structure from the ordered pore arrays derived from wood tissues to the nanopores formed on ceramic struts is demonstrated. The microstructure of the ceramic struts changed with increasing calcination temperature. From Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, characteristic IR absorption peaks were detected, and furthermore, an overall collapse of transmission curves with increasing calcination temperature was observed.
Laser‐Assisted Machining of Damage‐Free Silicon Nitride Parts with Complex Geometric Features via In‐Process Control of Laser Power
Authors: Tian Yinggang , Shin Yung C.
Published: September 2006

A methodology to achieve optimal operating conditions for laser‐assisted machining (LAM) is developed for silicon nitride parts with complex geometric features by applying a three‐dimensional, transient thermal model and in‐process laser power control. Complex silicon nitride parts are successfully produced by the LAM operation, where the maximum and material removal temperatures are carefully designed and controlled to achieve good machining results and avoid thermal damage on the final part. On‐line temperature and laser power measurements are conducted and compared with prescribed values to show the effectiveness of the power control scheme. Scanning electron microscopy examination reveals virtually no subsurface microcrack or thermal damage on the silicon nitride parts. The X‐ray diffraction (XRD) study shows the preservation of the silicon nitride microstructure and no phase transformation of β‐Si3N4 during the LAM experiments. XRD residual stress measurements show moderate compressive residual stresses on the silicon nitride workpieces produced by the LAM operation.
Comparison of clinical, radiographic and immunological parameters of teeth and different dental implant platforms
Authors: Machtei Eli E. , Oved‐Peleg Efrat , Peled Micha
Published: September 2006

Abstract: A comparison between host response in teeth and dental implants was not made. Likewise, the association between host response and periodontal parameters has never been explored. The purpose of this study was to compare periodontal health around natural teeth and dental implants with different restorative platforms. Twenty‐seven partially edentulous patients with dental implants, either external hex butt joint (n=28) or tapered Morse (n=45), were included in this study. Implants were in function for 1–6 years (mean 2.9). Plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD); and clinical attachment level (CAL), were recorded at final examination; alveolar bone loss (ABL) was measured at baseline and final examination using panoramic radiographs. Gingival crevicular fluid samples were obtained from the Ramfjord index teeth and all implants and assayed using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα). Differences between teeth and implants and between the two implant platforms were compared using Student's t‐test. Correlations between cytokines, ABL and clinical parameters were analyzed using Pearson's co‐efficient test. PI and GI were significantly higher in teeth than dental implants (1.2±0.5 vs. 0.8±0.5, P=0.0018; 1.2±0.3 vs. 1.1±0.3, P=0.048). Conversely, PD was deeper in implants (2.66±0.6 vs. 3.66±0.9, P=0.001). GI and PD around teeth and implants were positively associated (R=0.561, P=0.0023; R=0.39, P=0.0452). Greater ABL was observed around dental implants (1.62±2.2 mm) compared with teeth (0.49±0.3 mm). A positive correlation was found between both IL‐1 (R=0.73, P=0.0064; R=0.52, P=0.0081) and TNFα (R=0.64, P=0.0246; R=0.46, P=0.091) and ABL in teeth and implants. Both implant platforms were similar clinically and radiographically; however, TNFα (2.49±0.3 vs. 4.79±0.5, P=0.004) and IL‐1 (24.52±7.3 vs. 45.41±9.9, P=0.095) were higher for the non‐submerged implants. In conclusion, IL‐1 and TNFα are sensitive markers of ABL around teeth and implants. The two dental implant platforms showed a similar clinical and radiographic response; however, the greater host response in the non‐submerged implants might suggest future bone loss.
Indications for immediate loading of implants and implant success
Authors: Nkenke Emeka , Fenner Matthias
Published: September 2006

Abstract: It was the aim of this review to compare the survival and success rates of immediately loaded dental implants with those of conventionally loaded dental implants, based on prospective controlled studies and prospective studies without controls. Studies on immediate loading were identified in the current literature by electronic and hand searches. Only clinical data on root‐form or cylindrical threaded oral implants were included. For immediate loading of oral implants in the edentulous and partially dentate, mandible and maxilla controlled studies could be found. All of these studies were based on limited patient numbers. Therefore, definitive conclusions could not be drawn concerning survival and success rates of immediately loaded implants compared with conventionally loaded implants. The compilation of the current literature shows that prospective controlled studies as well as prospective studies without controls using several different approaches to immediate loading have demonstrated high implant survival and success rates. However, more high‐level evidence‐based studies are needed to demonstrate the relative merits of immediate loading compared with conventional loading in all potential applications.
Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates
Authors: Renouard Franck , Nisand David
Published: September 2006

Introduction: Despite the high success rates of endosseous oral implants, restrictions have been advocated to their placement with regard to the bone available in height and volume. The use of short or nonstandard‐diameter implants could be one way to overcome this limitation.

Material and methods: In order to explore the relationship between implant survival rates and their length and diameter, a Medline and a hand search was conducted covering the period 1990–2005. Papers were included which reported: (1) relevant data on implant length and diameter, (2) implant survival rates; either clearly indicated or calculable from data in the paper, (3) clearly defined criteria for implant failure, and in which (4) implants were placed in healed sites and (5) studies were in human subjects.

Results: A total of 53 human studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Concerning implant length, a relatively high number of published studies (12) indicated an increased failure rate with short implants which was associated with operators' learning curves, a routine surgical preparation (independent of the bone density), the use of machined‐surfaced implants, and the placement in sites with poor bone density. Recent publications (22) reporting an adapted surgical preparation and the use of textured‐surfaced implants have indicated survival rates of short implants comparable with those obtained with longer ones.Considering implant diameter, a few publications on wide‐diameter implants have reported an increased failure rate, which was mainly associated with the operators' learning curves, poor bone density, implant design and site preparation, and the use of a wide implant when primary stability had not been achieved with a standard‐diameter implant. More recent publications with an adapted surgical preparation, new implant designs and adequate indications have demonstrated that implant survival rate and diameter have no relationship.

Discussion: When surgical preparation is related to bone density, textured‐surfaced implants are employed, operators' surgical skills are developed, and indications for implant treatment duly considered, the survival rates for short and for wide‐diameter implants has been found to be comparable with those obtained with longer implants and those of a standard diameter. The use of a short or wide implant may be considered in sites thought unfavourable for implant success, such as those associated with bone resorption or previous injury and trauma. While in these situations implant failure rates may be increased, outcomes should be compared with those associated with advanced surgical procedure such as bone grafting, sinus lifting, and the transposition of the alveolar nerve.