bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the reliability of a renewable multiple cold standby system
Authors: Vanderperre E. J.
Published: July 2005

We present a general reliability analysis of a renewable multiple
cold standby system attended by a single repairman. Our analysis
is based on a refined methodology of queuing theory. The
particular case of deterministic failures provides an explicit
exact result for the survival function of the duplex system.
Modelling of free boundary problems for phase change with diffuseinterfaces
Authors: Sanyal Dipayan , Rao P. Ramachandra , Gupta O. P.
Published: July 2005

We present a continuum thermodynamical framework for simulating multiphase Stefan problem. For alloy solidification, which is marked by a diffuse interface called the mushy zone, we present a phase filed like formalism which comprises a set of
macroscopic conservation equations with an order parameter which can account for the solid, liquid, and the mushy zones with the help of a phase function defined on the basis of the liquid fraction, the Gibbs relation, and the phase diagram with local approximations. Using the above formalism for alloy solidification, the width of the diffuse interface (mushy zone) was computed rather accurately for iron‐carbon and ammonium chloride‐water binary alloys and validated against experimental data from literature.
Escape time from potential wells of strongly nonlinear oscillatorswith slowly varying parameters
Authors: Cai Jianping , Li Y. P. , Wu Xiaofeng
Published: July 2005

The effect of negative damping to an oscillatory system is to force the amplitude to increase gradually and the motion will be out of the potential well of the oscillatory system eventually. In order to deduce the escape time from the potential well of
quadratic or cubic nonlinear oscillator, the multiple scales method is firstly used to obtain the asymptotic solutions of strongly nonlinear oscillators with slowly varying parameters, and secondly the character of modulus of Jacobian elliptic function is applied to derive the equations governing the escape time. The approximate potential method, instead of Taylor series expansion, is used to approximate the potential of an oscillation system such that the asymptotic solution can be expressed in terms of Jacobian elliptic function.
Numerical examples verify the efficiency of the present method.
Steroid 11-Beta-Hydroxylase Deficiency Caused by Compound Heterozygosity for a Novel Mutation, p.G314R, in One CYP11B1 Allele, and a Chimeric CYP11B2/CYP11B1 in the Other Allele
Authors: Kuribayashi Isao , Nomoto Satoshi , Massa Guy , Oostdijk Wilma , Wit Jan M. , Wolffenbuttel Bruce H.R. , Shizuta Yutaka , Honke Koichi
Published: July 2005

Aims: Steroid 11β-hydroxylase deficiency (11β-OHD) is the second most common (5–8%) cause of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and results from homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations or deletions of the responsible gene CYP11B1. In order to better understand the molecular basis causing 11β-OHD, we performed detailed studies of CYP11B1 in a newly described patient diagnosed with the classical signs of 11β-OHD. Methods:CYP11B1 of the patient was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, Southern blotting, and transient cell expression. Results: We identified two new mutated alleles in CYP11B1. In one allele CYP11B1 has a g.940G→C (p.G314R) missense mutation. On the other allele we found a chimeric gene that consists of part of the aldosterone synthase gene (CYP11B2) at exons 1–3 and part of the 11β-hydroxylase gene (CYP11B1) at exons 4–9. Inin vitro studies, the g.940G→C (p.G314R) mutation abolished all hydroxylase activity in comparison with the wild-type 11β-hydroxylase. The chimeric CYP11B2/CYP11B1 protein retained 11β-hydroxylase enzymatic activity in vitro. Conclusion: This case is caused by compound heterozygosity for a nonfunctional missense mutation and a chimeric CYP11B2/CYP11B1 gene with hydroxylase activity that is controlled by the CYP11B2 promoter. The most likely explanation is that the CYP11B2 promoter does not function in the zona fasciculata/reticularis where cortisol is exclusively synthesized.
Presence of Surfactant Lamellar Bodies in Normal and Diseased Sinus Mucosa
Authors: Woodworth Bradford A. , Smythe Nancy , Spicer Samuel S. , Schulte Bradley A. , Schlosser Rodney J.
Published: July 2005

Background:Pulmonary surfactant originates from phospholipid lamellar bodies secreted from the type II epithelial cell of the alveolus. In the lower airway, surfactant optimizes surface tension and oxygen exchange, decreases mucus viscosity and aids in mechanical elimination of inhaled pathogens. In addition to the lung, lamellar bodies have been identified in many other cell types throughout the human body. However, no prior studies have identified lamellar bodies in human sinus mucosa. Objectives: We performed ultrastructural studies to assess whether lamellar bodies are present in the human sinus in a variety of diseased and normal epithelium. Methods:We biopsied sinus mucosa from 5 subjects, 1 each with allergic fungal sinusitis, eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis, cystic fibrosis, frontal sinus mucocele, and cerebrospinal fluid leak (healthy control). Mouse lung served as a positive control. Specimens were prepared using ferrocyanide-reduced osmium tetroxide and thiocarbohydrazide for fixation (R-OTO method) to avoid extraction of phospholipids during dehydration and were viewed with transmission electron microscopy. Results:We identified lamellar bodies in the sinus mucosa of all patients. Additionally, preservation of mouse lung lamellar bodies confirms that the R-OTO method is a valid technique to preserve these structures. Conclusions:We describe a simpler, faster technique for identification of cellular phospholipid components than those used previously. Definitive identification of these lamellar bodies within ciliated pseudostratified epithelium of the upper airway indicates that surfactant may have a role in sinus function and pathophysiology.
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Polymorphism in Schizophrenia: Associations with Cognitive and Motor Impairment
Authors: Galderisi Silvana , Maj Mario , Kirkpatrick Brian , Piccardi Paola , Mucci Armida , Invernizzi Giordano , Rossi Alessandro , Pini Stefano , Vita Antonio , Cassano Paolo , Stratta Paolo , Severino Giovanni , Del Zompo Maria
Published: July 2005

Cognitive and motor deficits have been proposed as markers of abnormal neurodevelopment in schizophrenia and have been associated with genetic liability. In a multicenter study involving 106 subjects, 56 with deficit schizophrenia and 50 with nondeficit schizophrenia, we tested the hypothesis that the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism is associated with cognitive and motor deficits either in schizophrenia as a whole or in its deficit subtype. The COMT Val158Met polymorphism shared 6.6% of the executive/attention dysfunction variance in patients with schizophrenia and 15.6% of the motor impairment variance in patients with deficit schizophrenia. These results support the hypothesis that the COMT Val158Met polymorphism influences executive functions in schizophrenia and the neuromotor performance in the deficit subtype only.
Mechanical Device–Based Methods of Managing and Treating Heart Failure
Authors: Mancini Donna , Burkhoff Daniel
Published: July 2005

Despite advances in pharmacological treatments aimed at neurohormonal blockade for heart failure in the setting of left ventricular pump dysfunction, there is still a growing number of patients with advanced symptoms who suffer significant morbidity and mortality. Mechanical stresses and chronic neurohormonal activation conspire to propagate maladaptive ventricular remodeling responsible for the insidious nature of this disease. Recent studies suggest that further pharmacological neurohormonal blockade may not be safe or effective, which has driven development of devices for this patient population. Furthermore, such devices may target fundamental pathophysiological abnormalities that are largely hemodynamic and mechanical in nature that are not addressed by available pharmacological agents. The profound reverse remodeling routinely associated with left ventricular assist device use, reviewed in detail, further validates device-based approaches and should inspire research to find ways to make this recovery more complete and permanent. Accordingly, this review focuses on the multitude of mechanical device–based approaches currently being investigated to manage and treat this population. From devices for monitoring patient status to anticipate congestive heart failure exacerbations and preemptively adjust therapy to devices to support preterminal patients with end-stage disease, it is recognized that these device-based approaches will assume an increasingly important role in treating the growing number of patients with advanced heart failure.
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Blockade Mediates Smooth Muscle Cell Apoptosis and Improves Survival in Rats With Pulmonary Hypertension
Authors: Merklinger Sandra L. , Jones Peter L. , Martinez Eliana C. , Rabinovitch Marlene
Published: July 2005

Background—

We previously reported that administration of elastase inhibitors reverses fatal pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in rats by inducing smooth muscle cell (SMC) apoptosis. We showed in pulmonary artery (PA) organ culture that the mechanism by which elastase inhibitors induce SMC apoptosis involves repression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and subsequent signaling through α
v
β
3
-integrins and epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs). This suggests that blockade of these downstream effectors may also induce regression of PAH.

Methods and Results—

In this study, we first showed in PA organ culture that MMP inhibition or α
v
β
3
-integrin blockade with agents in clinical and preclinical use (SC-080 and cilengitide, respectively) mediates SMC apoptosis and regression of medial hypertrophy. We also documented similar results with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. We then induced PAH in rats by injection of monocrotaline and, at day 21, began a 2-week treatment with SC-080, cilengitide, or the EGFR inhibitor PKI166. No vehicle- or cilengitide-treated animal survived beyond 2 weeks. Administration of SC-080 resulted in 44% survival at 2 weeks, and PKI166 therapy resulted in 78% and 54% survival in daily or 3-times-weekly treated animals, respectively. Four weeks after cessation of PKI166, we documented survivals of 50% and 23% in the 2 treatment groups, associated with reductions in pulmonary pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and abnormally muscularized distal arteries.

Conclusion—

We propose that selective blockade of EGFR signaling may be a novel strategy to reverse progressive, fatal PAH.
The Effects of Multiple Doses of Fenofibrate on the Pharmacokinetics of Pravastatin and Its 3α‐Hydroxy Isomeric Metabolite
Authors: Gustavson Linda E. , Schweitzer Sarah M. , Koehne‐Voss Stephan , Achari Ramanuj , Chira Titus O. , Esslinger Hans‐Ulrich , Yannicelli H. Daniel
Published: July 2005

Published data indicate that coadministration of multiple doses of the fibrate drug, gemfibrozil, led to a 202% increase in pravastatin systemic exposure (area under the plasma concentration‐time curve, AUC). To evaluate the effects of another fibrate drug, fenofibrate, on the pharmacokinetics of pravastatin, 24 healthy subjects took pravastatin (40 mg once daily) on study days 1 to 15 and fenofibrate (160 mg once daily) on study days 6 to 15. Blood samples were collected for 24 hours after dosing on days 5, 6, and 15. Plasma concentrations of pravastatin and its active metabolite, 3α‐hydroxy‐iso‐pravastatin, were measured, and pharmacokinetics was assessed. Safety assessments were based on adverse events, physical examinations, electrocardiogram results, vital signs, and clinical laboratory testing. Safety results were unremarkable. Coadministration of fenofibrate had modest effects on pravastatin and 3α‐hydroxy‐iso‐pravastatin systemic exposures (AUC). Increases in pravastatin systemic exposures (19%‐28%, on average) and 3α‐hydroxy‐iso‐pravastatin systemic exposures (24%‐39%, on average) were observed upon coadministration, but individual changes were variable. Pravastatin and 3α‐hydroxy‐iso‐pravastatin systemic exposures were not statistically significantly different following the 1st and 10th doses of fenofibrate.
Effect of Rosuvastatin on Warfarin Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics
Authors: Simonson Steven G. , Martin Paul D. , Mitchell Patrick D. , Lasseter Kenneth , Gibson Gordon , Schneck Dennis W.
Published: July 2005

The effect of rosuvastatin on warfarin pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics was assessed in 2 trials. In trial A (a randomized, double‐blind, 2‐period crossover study), 18 healthy volunteers were given rosuvastatin 40 mg or placebo on demand (o.d.) for 10 days with 1 dose of warfarin 25 mg on day 7. In trial B (an open‐label, 2‐period study), 7 patients receiving warfarin therapy with stable international normalized ratio values between 2 and 3 were coadministered rosuvastatin 10 mg o.d. for up to 14 days, which increased to rosuvastatin 80 mg if the international normalized ratio values were <3 at the end of this period. The results indicated that rosuvastatin can enhance the anticoagulant effect of warfarin. The mechanism of this drug‐drug interaction is unknown. Rosuvastatin had no effect on the total plasma concentrations of the warfarin enantiomers, but the free plasma fractions of the enantiomers were not measured. Appropriate monitoring of the international normalized ratio is indicated when this drug combination is coadministered.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Warfarin When Coadministered With Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium
Authors: Modi Nishit B. , Kell Sherron , Simon Mary , Vargas Ramon
Published: July 2005

The effect of pentosan polysulfate sodium on warfarin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics was investigated in healthy subjects. Warfarin was titrated to an international normalized ratio between 1.4 and 1.8. Subjects continued their titrated dose of warfarin and received pentosan polysulfate sodium 100 mg or placebo every 8 hours for 7 days. The Cmax of R‐ and S‐warfarin was ∼840 to 890 ng/mL and 680 to 730 ng/mL, respectively, and was similar in the absence and presence of pentosan polysulfate sodium. The half‐life for R‐ and S‐warfarin was 52 to 56 hours and 36 to 40 hours, respectively. Prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, and the international normalized ratio for warfarin + placebo and warfarin + pentosan polysulfate sodium were comparable. The AUCINR indicated no treatment effect (P = .772); however, there was a period effect. Analysis of variance for the treatments by period indicated no treatment effect (P > .1). Adverse events were mild and included headache, epistaxis, and rash. Most adverse events were unrelated to treatment and were seen during warfarin titration. Pentosan polysulfate sodium did not affect warfarin pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics.
Concomitant Cyclosporine and Micafungin Pharmacokinetics in Healthy Volunteers
Authors: Hebert Mary F. , Townsend Robert W. , Austin Stephen , Balan Guhan , Blough David K. , Buell Donald , Keirns James , Bekersky Ihor
Published: July 2005

Cyclosporine is a marketed immunosuppressive agent and a known substrate for CYP3A. Micafungin is an antifungal agent and a mild inhibitor of CYP3A‐mediated metabolism in vitro. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of cyclosporine and micafungin before and with concomitant administration. The pharmacokinetics of single‐dose oral cyclosporine (5 mg/kg) were estimated on days 1, 9, and 15 (n = 27). Subjects received micafungin (100 mg/d over 1 hour) on days 7, 9, and 11 through 15. Micafungin pharmacokinetics were estimated on days 7, 9, and 15. Mean apparent oral cyclosporine clearances were estimated to be 645 ± 236 mL/h/kg, 546 ± 101 mL/h/kg (P = .01), and 540 ± 104 mL/h/kg (P = .02) for days 1, 9, and 15, respectively. Micafungin appears to be a mild inhibitor of cyclosporine metabolism.
Essai
Authors: Pelzer Peter
Published: July 2005

This paper explores the connection between management and organization and a notion that is generally ignored in literature but that we nevertheless quite often experience as normal in our daily lives in organizations: contempt. Personal experience provides a suitable starting point. An incident in a bank involves a situation where the behaviour of a manager, new to the position, was interpreted by the employees present, in a period of reorganization, as contempt. Contempt is an emotion that is usually denied in organizations, and, if not, is always condemned. A good manager is not allowed to be contemptuous; at least he or she shouldn’t show it. But contempt is a feeling that almost no one can deny having felt at some time. It seems to be ubiquitous. Along these lines, it will be asked if the incident described is a singular perception of misbehaviour or if it hints at a more general phenomenon.
The Diffusion of Medical Innovations: Can Figurational Sociology Contribute?
Authors: Dopson Sue
Published: July 2005

This article seeks to present and explore the relevance of a figurational, or process sociological approach, as developed by Norbert Elias, to the investigation of innovation and change. It is argued that Elias’s work offers a theoretically robust framework for exploring such issues. Applications of the principles of his work, in particular the emphasis on an understanding of longer-term unplanned processes, are a potential help to those charged with planning and managing complex change, such as the introduction of innovation. The example of health policy-makers’ attempts to use the principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM) to change clinical practice is used to explore these claims.
Contextualizing Influence Activities: An Objective Hermeneutical Approach
Authors: Lueger Manfred , Sandner Karl , Meyer Renate , Hammerschmid Gerhard
Published: July 2005

Influence activity is a central aspect of organizations and has attracted a wide range of theoretical and empirical research. Most studies in this field rely on categorization schemes to classify either actors or acts. This article draws on the notion of organizations and actors as socially constructed phenomena and understands influence activities as social practices whose shape and meaning is derived from the social contexts they are embedded in. In this paper, we argue that it is necessary to gain an understanding of the activities’ diverging meanings in their organizational contexts before generalized typologies of tactics and strategies can be fruitfully applied. By drawing on ‘objective hermeneutics’ as methodology, our analyses focus on influence activities within three organizational contexts.
Forests as Seen by Yanagita Kunio: His Contribution to a Contemporary Ecological Idea
Authors: Hamashita Masahiro
Published: July 2005

A forest is only a part of the landscape if seen from the distance. However, it is the important place where people living nearby pick and gather seasonal wild plants or mushrooms. It provides wood that feeds the forestry business. In a forest we generally experience something that leads us to an original memory of our childhood home.
City and Nature, a Missed Opportunity?
Authors: Paquot Thierry
Published: July 2005

The city presents itself as a construction, an artefact, something that is not only artificial but curbs what is natural. Indeed many cities dominate their sites, whose relief and planting they do not hesitate to alter, diverting the river running through, turning their back on the sea or filling in a lake. However, the most flamboyant cities in the urban epoch - which is only 7-9000 years old according to the most reliable estimates - do adorn themselves with parks and gardens. We have only to think of Babylon, Baghdad, Granada, Samarkand and, closer to us, New York and Central Park or New Delhi, a park city designed by Edwin Landseer Lutyens and his landscape gardener Gertrude Jekyll, not forgetting London and its many green spaces. Contrary to a particularly tenacious idée reçue, the ‘demand for green’, the ‘landscaping approach’, the ‘defence of trees in cities’ are not recent phenomena connected with a growing awareness of ecological issues or a wish to pursue a ‘sustainable’ type of town planning; they belong to a kind of ancient ‘collective unconscious’ - of course this is an image - which manifests itself from time to time, and definitely in times of ‘crisis’, whether or not it is perceived as such.
Thinking Rocks, Living Stones: Reflections on Chinese Lithophilia
Authors: Parkes Graham
Published: July 2005

One of the most fascinating features that distinguish Chinese culture from the world's other great traditions is its enduring passion for stone. As in many other places, there is prehistoric evidence in China of religious practices in which stone plays a key role, but the Chinese veneration for stone in its natural, unworked state is unparalleled in its intensity and range. A classic historical text from around the 3rd century BCE mentions ‘weird rocks’ or ‘strange stones’ (guai shi) being sent as tribute to the mythical emperor Yu, and records of rocks being arranged in emperors’ parks go back some two thousand years. At first a prerogative of the imperial families, enthusiasm for stone spread subsequently to the literati, and it remains widespread in the culture to this day. This enthusiasm manifests itself not only in the art of garden making, where sizeable rocks constitute both the framework and the primary features of classical gardens, but also on a smaller scale in the practice of collecting and displaying stones of more modest size to be placed in trays or on the desks of scholars. After assessing the nature of this love of stone in China, and then sketching the philosophical presuppositions for it, I conclude with a brief outline of implications for our experience of, and interactions with, stone and rocks.
Extracts from Stones
Authors: Caillois Roger
Published: July 2005

I speak of stones that have always lain out in the open or sleep in their lair and the dark night of the seam. They hold no interest for the archaeologist, artist or diamond-cutter. No one made palaces, statues, jewels from them; or dams, ramparts, tombs. They are neither useful nor famous. They do not sparkle in any ring, any diadem. They do not publicize lists of victories, laws of Empire, carved in ineffable characters. Neither boundaries nor memorials, yet exposed to the elements, but without honour or veneration, they are witnesses only to themselves.
The Myth of the Mandrake, the ‘Plant-Human’
Authors: Zarcone Thierry
Published: July 2005

There is no plant that embodies the encounter between humans and plants better than the mandrake, whose myth, as Arlette Bouloumié writes, ‘has the cosmic sense of a profound correlation between nature and humanity and the possibility of their merging’. The plant, which was already known to doctors in antiquity and ancient China for its narcotic and anaesthetic qualities, had the reputation among magicians and sorcerers of arousing love due to its aphrodisiac characteristics and of curing sterility in women. Its origin is biblical: Lea, Jacob's wife, is cured of her barrenness thanks to the mandrake's qualities (Genesis 30, 14). However, the mandrake's magical nature comes chiefly from the shape of its root, which vaguely resembles the human body: it has two ‘legs’ and its rootlets are reminiscent of hairs. This explains why, among the many names given to it throughout history and in various parts of the world, all of them normally refer either to love or to its human shape.
Effects of Plasticity Models on Residual Stresses and Plastic Zone Growth in Aluminum Metal-matrix Composites Under Out-of-plane Loading
Authors: Yildiz Hasan , Aktas Mehmet
Published: July 2005

In this study, steel-fiber-reinforced aluminum metal-matrix laminated composite plates, which are clamped and subjected to out-of-plane loading are investigated, to obtain residual stresses and the growth of plastic zone by using different plasticity models such as Ludwick, Holloman, and Barlat. Laminated plates are composed of four orthotropic layers oriented with different angles in symmetric or antisymmetric manner. The plates are meshed into 64 elements and 289 nodes with clamped boundary condition. Laminates are subjected to a transverse uniform distributed load. The loading is gradually increased after yield point of the plate to the higher levels with 400, 500, and 600 loading steps. Numerical solution is performed by using the finite element method and the first-order shear deformation theory. For solution, Lagrange elements with nine nodes are used.
The Three-dimensional Elastic-plastic Analysis of Interlaminar Stresses in Notched Thermoplastic Composites
Authors: Ding Shu-Rong , Tong J. W. , Shen M.
Published: July 2005

In this paper, a one-parameter plasticity model is used for characterizing the plastic behavior of AS4/PEEK thermoplastic composites. Using the finite element program generator (FEPG), the three-dimensional one-parameter plasticity model which is not presented in the commercial codes is introduced into this system, and the relative finite element programs are developed. The interlaminar stresses of the AS4/PEEK thermoplastic laminate [0/90]s are computed and analyzed. The interlaminar stresses are presented in three ways: through the thickness, around the hole, and along the symmetric axes. The delamination locations are predicted.
Fracture Toughness of Vinyl Ester Composites Cured by Microwave Irradiation: Preliminary Results
Authors: KU H. S. , Baddeley D. , Snook C. , Chew C. S.
Published: July 2005

The shrinkage of vinyl ester particulate composites has been reduced by curing the resins under microwave conditions. The reduction in the shrinkage of the resins by microwaves will make the manufacture of large vinyl ester composite items possible. The impact strength of the vinyl ester composite components cured under microwave was reduced only by 1% when tested by drop weight impact tests. The aim of this study is to investigate the difference in fracture toughness between microwave-cured vinyl ester particulate composites and those cured under ambient conditions. Short bar method of fracture toughness measurement was used to perform the tests. The results show that the difference in the fracture toughness is minimal between the ambient condition-cured and the microwave-cured samples, provided the power level and duration of microwave irradiation are properly and optimally selected.
Where Has Marxism Gone? Gauging the Impact of Alternative Ideas in Transition Bulgaria
Authors: Ganev Georgy
Published: July 2005

Marxism dominated in Bulgaria for more than forty years until 1989 and then completely vanished from the public discourse within several years. Where has it gone? The present article addresses this question by noting that even if they are out of the public discourse, remnants of the previously dominant set of ideas should still be found in people’s thinking. It illustrates this general argument by outlining how the survival into post-communism of a pillar of Marxist economic theory—the labor theory of value—can explain several significant discrepancies between facts and perceptions, called the “experience gap,” shown to exist in Bulgaria at the beginning of the twenty-first century. On the other side, the presence of the experience gap in Bulgaria is a factor influencing the availability and the choice of policy options. Thus, the Marxist labor theory of value continues to live in people’s minds and still shapes today’s Bulgarian reality.
The “Triumph of Neoliberalism” Reconsidered: Critical Remarks on Ideas-Centered Analyses of Political and Economic Change in Post-Communism
Authors: Ganev Venelin I.
Published: July 2005

This article offers a critical discussion of a widely popular ideas-centered interpretation of transformative processes in post-communism: the view that during the 1990s, politics in Eastern Europe was completely dominated by a particular ideology, neoliberalism, and hence observable patterns of socioeconomic change are best explained in terms of the impact of a set of ideas disseminated by international financial institutions and eagerly implemented by local elites. More often than not, such ideational analytical accounts rest on simplistic assumptions about elite behavior, demonstrably inaccurate depictions of the actual course of events in various East European countries, and acontextual forms of theorizing. The article concludes with a plea for novel approaches to the study of the role of ideas in post-communist politics, approaches that avoid the risks inherent in efforts to force evidence from the former socialist countries into preexisting “grand narratives” about the historical essence of the contemporary era.
The open method of coordination on pensions: an economic analysis of its effects on pension reforms
Authors: Eckardt Martina
Published: July 2005

This paper analyses the potential effects of the open method of coordination (OMC) on pension reforms in the European Union. The main results are: (1) The OMC on pensions might foster yardstick competition by providing reliable benchmarks and by improving the quality and quantity of information about successful pension policies in other member states. However, remaining difficulties in defining indicators and with data availability have to be overcome to fully develop its potential. (2) Its impact on national pension policy formation and thus on direct policy transfer will remain low. Although it provides additional input in the political decision-making process, it does not fundamentally alter the incentive structure of national political markets. Therefore, the OMC on pensions will not effectively reduce the obstacles to profound national pension reforms, but it may turn out to contribute to the development of a common EU social-policy paradigm.
Disaster management
Authors: Matthews Graham
Published: July 2005

The article is based on a review, commissioned by the East Midlands Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (EMMLAC), of the East Midlands Museums Service (EmmS) Regional Emergencies and Disaster Squad (REDS). Research methods used included: literature and Internet review, review of REDS documentation, interviews with REDS personnel, questionnaire survey of museums, archives and libraries in the East Midlands, and select follow-up interviews. The article highlights aspects of the findings of the review, considers the transferability of the REDS model to other domains, suggests lessons that can be learned by others in the sector, and makes recommendations for further collaboration between libraries, archives and museums and others with regard to the development of disaster management in the sector.
Relevant repositories of public knowledge?
Authors: Usherwood Bob , Wilson Kerry , Bryson Jared
Published: July 2005

In a project funded by the AHRB, researchers at the University of Sheffield used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine the perceived contemporary relevance of archives, libraries and museums. The research sought to discern how far the British people value access to these established repositories of public knowledge (RPKs) in what some have called the ‘information age’. A telephone survey was used to establish how Britons perceive, value and use, archives, libraries and museums as sources of public knowledge when seeking information on, and trying to understand, contemporary social concerns. In addition, through a series of focus groups it investigated the perceptions and use of other possible sources of information and understanding, and asked about the perceived trustworthiness and authenticity of these different sources.

The data have revealed a number of overlapping themes that help illuminate the role and value of RPKs as understood by a sample of the public, and by the professionals engaged in their day-to-day operations. They also demonstrate how factors such as access and speed of delivery, the depth of complexity of the issues, and the volume of information available can affect the use of libraries, archives and museums. The issue of trust is shown to play a significant part in the public’s information-seeking behaviour, although the data reveal a discrepancy between the information sources that are the most used and those highly trusted. Public libraries are the most trusted sources, and tabloid papers the least. The extent to which the public feel ‘empowered’ or ‘apathetic’ towards the issues of the day is discussed together with the implications of this for RPKs. The research also shows that lifestyle and life stages are significant factors when assessing the value of RPKs, and examining patterns of use.

On the basis of the evidence the authors argue that museums, libraries and archives are still regarded as relevant repositories of public knowledge. Further they suggest that they are some of only a relatively small number of true information organizations. RPKs are not necessarily relevant to all people, all of the time, but the data strongly suggest that most consider archives, libraries and museums to be important institutions even if they do not use them on a regular basis. That is to say, people believe that it is essential for society to maintain and sustain the established repositories of public knowledge.
Leisure role of public libraries
Authors: Hayes Emma , Morris Anne
Published: July 2005

Leisure has been contested as a valid role of public libraries in the UK since their introduction in 1850 yet it has been a major reason for the public’s use of libraries. Where the educational role and information provision function of libraries have been seen as purposeful and worthwhile, the leisure role has been generally valued less with the library profession. This article is the first of two that explore the leisure role of public libraries in the UK and provides a historical overview of leisure reform, public library acts, the great fiction debate, the popularization of libraries, the educational and information role and the recognition of the leisure function.
Vector and Tensor Theorems on Curved Surfaces
Authors: Sewell M. J.
Published: July 2005

Some unfamiliar results are described, with examples of their application in mechanics.
Wave Momentum and Radiative Stresses in Elastic Solids
Authors: Potapov A. I. , Maugin G. A. , Trimarco C.
Published: July 2005

The physical meaning of the notions of wave momentum and radiative stress in elastic bodies is considered. Of great importance for defining and calculating these quantities are the variables in which the wave processes in the medium are described. In Euler variables, the radiative stress is defined as the time average of the momentum flux of the medium across the boundary of a volume that is stationary in space. It differs from the radiative stress calculated in Lagrangian variables by the value of the convective component of momentum flux involved with the motion of particles in the medium. It is shown that, physically, the wave momentum can be defined only in Euler variables. In the linear approximation of the small perturbation theory the wave momentum is a quadratic component of the total mechanical momentum of the medium. The integrals of motion of linear acoustic equations correspond to it, as well as to energy. In the second approximation of the perturbation theory, the wave momentum no longer has a rigorous definition. However, the concept of wave momentum borrowed from the linear approximation can be used for the calculation of average values of stresses and deformations, provided the body is not moving as a whole.
Femicide in New York City
Authors: Frye Victoria , Hosein Vanessa , Waltermaurer Eve , Blaney Shannon , Wilt Susan
Published: July 2005

This article reports resultsof an ongoing studyof femicide in New York City. Using medical examiner records, femicides occurring between 1990 and 1999 were categorized according to whether an intimate partner perpetrated the homicide. Descriptive analyses results revealed that most femicide victims were young, Black, and killed in poor neighborhoods. Among cases with a known perpetrator, 40% were intimate partner femicides. Whereas the rate of nonintimate partner femicide decreased between 1990 and 1999, the rate of intimate partner femicide remained relatively stable. Multivariate analyses revealed that the strongest predictors of femicide by an intimate partner included having children under 18, living in a private residence, and being foreign born. Homicide followed by the suicide of the offender was also strongly associated with intimate partner femicide. Intimate partner femicide exhibits a unique epidemiology, and this knowledge should be used to plan and guide prevention activities.
A Cautionary Note on Using County-Level Crime and Homicide Data
Authors: Pridemore William Alex
Published: July 2005

There has beena surge in recentyears in the useof counties as the unit of analysis in homicide research. Employing county-level data, however, can create several problems. In some cases, these problems can be overcome with various methodological procedures. Yet these procedures are not magic, and they assume the use of valid data. Recent measurement and methodological research examining county-level data, however, reveals serious reporting errors in the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) data, that agreement between reporting systems at the county level is not strong, and that the amount of person-time at risk in many counties is simply too small to generate a reliable estimate of the homicide rate. Despite theselimitations, homicide studiesusing thesesmall counties continue be carried out without heeding these previous warnings. This article is thus meant to provide a review of the limitations and to urge caution when employing county-level homicide data.
Forming Successful Business-to-Business Services in Goods-Dominant Firms
Authors: Neu Wayne A. , Brown Stephen W.
Published: July 2005

Extant literature is almost unanimous in suggesting that managers in goods-dominant firms should integrate services into their core market offers. Furthermore, in actual practice, numerous firms are striving with mixed results to become “solutions providers” by adding services to their portfolio of tangible goods. The literature does not, however, describe what factors to consider when adding services and how the factors should be designed to enhance organizational performance. The purpose of this study was to isolate and characterize factors that enable the formation of successful business-to-business (B2B) services in goods-dominant firms. Using a multicase research design, this study highlights four substantive cases of Fortune 500 firms in which B2B service development was a process of aligning strategy with a highly complex market. The study then illustrates how firms that demonstrate a record of successful B2B service development adapt several factors of organization to align with the newly formed strategy.
A TRIZ-Based Method for New Service Design
Authors: Chai Kah-Hin , Zhang Jun , Tan Kay-Chuan
Published: July 2005

This article demonstrates the viability of applying the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) to services by proposing a new approach to new service design. Traditionally, the effectiveness of new service design is unpredictable as service design relies largely on inspiration and the past experiences of service designers. By integrating TRIZ problem-solving tools and its knowledge base, the authors propose a new TRIZ-based approach to address this weakness in service design. Through two case studies, the proposed model is verified. This demonstrates the relevance of TRIZ to service design. It is hoped that this article will raise awareness among service researchers so that more studies in this direction are conducted.
Postcard From the German Democratic Republic
Authors: Weinthal Lois
Published: July 2005

The domestic interior acts as a gauge of the culture in which one lives and the objects with which one identifies. This article examines the influence of politics and economics in the design of domestic products for the home in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The political ideals of socialism established in the GDR under Soviet control after World War II reached the larger urban realm through monuments and buildings but also materialized in the production of goods for the domestic interior. The development of mass production technologies for products such as furniture and dishware allowed for the same products to be available to all consumers to form one economic class. The role of mass production bridged the political ideals of socialism to the physical manifestation of domestic products. At present, we can look at furniture companies such as IKEA and see a similar homogenization of interiors.
Toward a Networked Urbanism
Authors: Gordon Eric
Published: July 2005

The metaphor of networking informed practices of urban spectatorship in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. Hugh Ferriss famously represented a future Manhattan in his book The Metropolis of Tomorrow as a careful grouping of distinct nodes unified by the perspective of an individual spectator. In his drawings, a lone figure seems to assemble the disparate parts of the city into a comprehensible whole. The networked urbanism to which Ferriss alluded was first explored in the built environment during the long construction process of the midtown Manhattan development Rockefeller Center. By focusing on its construction plans, public artwork, and publicity, this essay traces the development of early networked urbanism in New York City. It investigates the rhetoric of the network in real space and imagined and explores how this metaphor influences the relationship between the urban spectator and the developing urban landscape.
Untangling the Unwired
Authors: Mackenzie Adrian
Published: July 2005

Cultural and social studies of technology have regarded infrastructure as less significant than the interfaces, devices, materials, and practices where processes of consumption, representation, attachment, embodiment, identification, and sociality are most visible. Infrastructural elements of new technologies usually remain in the background of analysis. What would it mean to invert the figure-ground relation between technology and “infrastructure”? Via a case study of an increasingly popular, everyday contemporary wireless networking technology, Wi-Fi, the author suggests that infrastructures have begun to figure as sites of cultural contestation. Infrastructures work as highly potentialized fields, triggering a multiplicity of interpretations. Using textual and ethno-graphic materials, the author suggests that rather than being the immobile grounds of technological cultures, different imaginings and practices of connectivity run through the many Wi-Fi projects, enterprises, and visions of the past 2 years. In seeking to understand these different imaginings of connectivity, the author suggests that contemporary infrastructures embody cultural logics at odds with each other.
Scale, Complexity and the Representation of Theories of Change
Authors: Davies Rick
Published: July 2005

Because of the global scale and diversity of their work, international aid agencies face major problems when attempting to represent their plans and evaluate their achievements. In this second of two articles looking at types of change processes, the focus is on complex processes of change that include mutual influence, parallel processes and feedback loops. Four practically oriented arguments are put forward for using a network perspective to represent these processes: the broad applicability of a network framework, its scalability, the range of measurement and descriptive tools available and the multidisciplinary body of theory and research available to inform agencies’ theories of change. Networks are then contrasted with hierarchies as background metaphors, and implications are identified for the monitoring and evaluation of development projects. In this article relevant examples have been drawn from the author’s consultancy experience with development aid programmes in Bangladesh and Ghana.
When Do We Communicate Stereotypes? Influence of the Social Context on the Linguistic Expectancy Bias
Authors: Wigboldus Daniël H. J. , Spears Russell , Semin Gün R.
Published: July 2005

The linguistic expectancy bias (LEB) refers to the tendency to describe expectancy consistent information at a higher level of linguistic abstraction than expectancy inconsistent information. Two experiments examined the influence of the social communicative context on the production of this linguistic bias by manipulating the group membership of the actor in, and the recipient of, stereotypical information. Results supported the prediction that an LEB effect based on stereotypes is especially pronounced in an intergroup social communicative context in which either the actor in or the recipient of the stereotypical information is an outgroup member.
Keeping it to Ourselves: Effects of Audience Size and Composition on Reactions to Criticisms of the Ingroup
Authors: Elder Tracey J. , Sutton Robbie M. , Douglas Karen M.
Published: July 2005

Criticism is an important aspect of communication within and between groups, but reactions to criticism of groups have been little studied. Past research has shown that criticism elicits greater sensitivity when made by an outgroup member, compared to an ingroup member. Two experiments were conducted to examine how this intergroup sensitivity effect (ISE) is affected by the context of the criticism. Experiment 1 showed that the ISE occurs in a private context, but disappears when it is clear that the criticism is made to a large public audience. Experiment 2 investigated intragroup criticism and manipulated both audience size and audience composition. Results showed that ingroup criticism elicited greater sensitivity and less favorable evaluations of the speaker when made to an outgroup rather than an ingroup audience. The results highlight strategic considerations and tacit protocols governing the criticism of groups.
Converting Verbs into Adjectives: Asymmetrical Memory Distortions for Stereotypic and Counterstereotypic Information
Authors: Maass Anne , Cadinu Mara , Boni Marta , Borini Cristiana
Published: July 2005

This paper investigated the hypotheses that (a) inferences from behaviors to traits would occur more frequently than vice versa, (b) this induction-deduction asymmetry would be facilitated by stereotype congruence but inhibited by incongruence, and (c) the tendency to draw trait inferences from stereotype-congruent but not from stereotype-incongruent behaviors would become more pronounced with increasing levels of Need for Cognitive Closure. Participants read information about a female or male job applicant that was in part relevant to gender, in part gender-neutral. The gender-relevant information was either stereotype-congruent or incongruent. Half of the information was presented as trait-adjectives, half as behavior-descriptive verbs. A recognition task was constructed so that some of the items (traits and behaviors) had actually been seen, some were entirely new, and some were new but had been implied by the information given. All three hypotheses were supported. Implications for intra-individual and interpersonal stereotype maintenance are discussed.