bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strands and Embedding: Henry IV and Godfrey of Bouillon
Authors: Matthews Alastair
Published: September 2012

This chapter examines the episode about Henry IV in the Kaiserchronik, which contains a substantial embedded narrative about Godfrey of Bouillon. Drawing on Eberhard Lämmert's concept of narrative strands, the chapter describes how the stories of the two figures are defined and combined with each other. A letter preserved in the Codex Udalrici and (apparently) sent to Pope Paschal II by Daimbert of Pisa, Godfrey, and Raymond of Saint-Gilles in 1099 provides the starting point for the analysis. The chapter describes how the content of the letter reappears, worked into the story of Godfrey, in the chronicles of Frutolf of Michelsberg and Ekkehard of Aura. A comparison of these Latin chronicles with the Kaiserchronik then shows that the latter develops more clearly than its predecessors the story of Godfrey as a self-contained narrative strand in its own right, one that is defined primarily by his presence as a character in it
Dhimmīs, Sharīʿa, and Empire
Authors: Emon Anver M.
Published: September 2012

This chapter provides a historiographic analysis of the literature on the dhimmī rules and offers a historical backdrop that helped inform the content of the rules and the debates about them.
Pluralism, Dhimmī Rules, and the Regulation of Difference
Authors: Emon Anver M.
Published: September 2012

This chapter analyzes juristic debate on a range of issues related to the regulation of dhimmīs in the Muslim empire. The chapter starts with an analysis of the jizya or poll tax that non-Muslims would pay, and then addresses issues of property and liability for theft, the protection of chattel property, charitable endowments, the development of churches and synagogues, home construction regulations, attire and transport, and the capacity of dhimmīs to be witnesses in court.
The Rationale of Empire and the Hegemony of Law
Authors: Emon Anver M.
Published: September 2012

This chapter offers a close reading of particular Islamic source texts that are invoked to justify various dhimmī rules. It also provides an analysis of an early legal proceeding to examine the dynamics of legal argument and reveal the potential hegemony that can be perpetuated in the name of the law.
The Role International Actors Other Than States can Play in the New World Order
Authors: Bhuta Nehal
Published: September 2012

States remain the primary actors on the international scene. This remains true although at present numerous state functions appear to be disaggregated and delegated to, or calibrated by reference to, a variety of non-state entities, such as transnational networks of officials, public-private administrative bodies operating at the transnational plane, or treaty-based arbitral bodies with specific functional competences. In recent years three sets of actors have appeared on the world scene: nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); (violent) non-state armed groups; and multinational corporations. Can they be legitimately associated to sovereign states? Every argument about who is and ought to be recognized as a subject of international law is striated with a normative vision of what makes international law legitimate and what purposes should be served by it (peace, justice, order, etc.). Sweeping institutional prescriptions for expanding and consecrating the role of non-state actors such as NGOs in international lawmaking and international institutions are neither realistic nor normatively desirable. Yet the value of democratic legitimacy in international politics remains uncertain where no clear demos can be identified, and where the actors claiming to represent democratic values are themselves rarely created and maintained in a democratic manner.
The Role That Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples can Play in the Current World Community
Authors: Yusuf Abdulqawi A.
Published: September 2012

There are two strands of self-determination, one based on Lenin's anti-colonialist principles, the other on Wilson's insistence on the right of a people freely to select its own government. These two strands have been referred to as external and internal self-determination. However, there is also a third normative strand of the principle that was not foreseen in the earlier conceptions of self-determination — the right of peoples freely to pursue their economic, social, and cultural development, and to participate, contribute to, and enjoy such development. Together with internal self-determination, this third strand, which may be called socio-economic self-determination, is likely to contribute in the future to a better realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Two aspects of this third strand are likely to assume growing legal importance in the twenty-first century: one based on the evolution of the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources, and the other related to the realization of the equal rights of peoples through the mitigation or elimination of the inequalities inherent in the international economic system.
The WTO: Already the Promised Land?
Authors: Weiler J.H.H.
Published: September 2012

There are deep inequities in the current system — the most notable and notorious being the one rooted in an inequitable distribution of tariff reductions and other barriers (including subsidies) which continue to exclude agriculture to the detriment of many poorer economies (and consumers in the richer countries). There was a distinct political deception in the Uruguay process whereby important systemic reform was pushed and accepted as the multilateral ‘Single Undertaking’, whereas the actual negotiations of terms of trade was left to the usual multi-lateralized bilateralism where each state is on its own and which favours the rich consuming economies with plenty of trade leverage, at the expense of the poorer ones with less leverage or none at all. Two major issues must be addressed: whether the World Trade Organization has a ‘constitutional’ future; and whether a global approach will prevail over a regional one.
Building involuntary states in Slavic
Authors: Rivero María Luisa , Arregui Ana
Published: September 2012

Slavic constructions known as Involuntary States share a similar syntax with parallel dative subjects and reflexive markers, but belong to two semantic classes with different truth conditions. Involuntary States allude to an uncontrollable mental state of their dative subject, but West Slavic and Russian varieties report eventualities in the actual world, and are thus Factual, while South Slavic varieties report dispositions/urges of the dative, and are thus Desiderative. The chapter derives such a semantic contrast from microvariation in Viewpoint Aspect within the Slavic family. South Slavic displays intentional Imperfectives for plans, and they form the compositional basis of Desiderative Involuntary States. West Slavic and Russian lack similar intentional Imperfectives, and their Involuntary States are consistently factual, whether imperfective or perfective.
Trees, Fish, and Other Fictions
Authors: Coley John D. , Muratore Tara M.
Published: September 2012

In this chapter it is argued that the difficulty in understanding evolution by natural selection does not stem solely from the complexity of the theory. Rather, the difficulty in teaching, learning, and understanding evolutionary biology can be traced to a clash between the basic tenets of evolutionary theory and the basic architecture of the cognitive systems used to understand the world in general, and the biological world in particular. Evidence from cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and cognitive anthropology is presented that shows that people naturally develop a sophisticated conceptual system, or folk biology, that allows us to intuitively categorize, reason about, and understand the biological world. These same intuitive ways of understanding the biological world may be largely responsible for the difficulty in teaching, learning and understanding evolution
Heuristics and the Counterintuitive in Science and Religion
Authors: Tweney Ryan D.
Published: September 2012

Religious beliefs can have a complex effect on the ease or difficulty of learning about evolution, echoing the complex historical tension between religion and science. Recent research on the counterintuitive nature of religious concepts and on the complex epistemologies of science is reviewed, and the considerations applied to the understanding of the ‘evolution challenge’.
Commentary on Section II
Authors: Brem Sarah K. , Sinatra Gale M.
Published: September 2012

This chapter summarizes the content of the chapters from the second half of the book. It is suggested that it is important to consider how multiple levels of analysis might lead to more effective approaches to teaching and learning about evolution. The chapter suggests that an isolated focus on cognitive misconceptions and educational approaches to overcome them rooted in cognitive psychology have led to an incomplete and incorrect analysis of the challenges that individuals face when learning about evolution and accepting evolution. It is argued that a multi-layered approach that integrates theories and explanations at multiple levels of analysis is needed. The chapter also summarizes curriculum models presented in the last six chapters, exploring how they utilize multi-faceted approaches.
Representing Red and Blue
Authors: Barker David C. , Carman Christopher Jan
Published: September 2012

This book argues that to understand how representation works in the United States, we need understand the demand side of the representational relationship. Citizens, the book proposes, have a sense for the degree to which they instinctively like “leaders who lead” (trustees), on the one hand, or “public servants who listen” (delegates), on the other. Picking up cues about a potential representative's representation style during election campaigns, citizens “reward” politicians with electoral support when they recognize a similar representational perspective. This pattern continues after the election: job approval may be shaped, in part, by whether the representative's governing style is consistent with the one constituents prefer. The central claim is that cultural traditionalists-especially, but not exclusively, evangelical Christians-tend to embrace trustee-style representation more readily than do seculars, religious progressives, or civil libertarians. By extension, the book contends that as long as religious and other cultural differences continue to color ideological identification, partisanship, and vote choices in the United States-with cultural traditionalists trending Republican, and seculars, religious progressives, and civil libertarians migrating Democratic-then preferences regarding styles of representation may also come in distinct partisan shades of “Red” and “Blue”. This book presents an in-depth analysis of several years (conducted between 2004 and 2009) of national surveys designed specifically to assess public preferences for, and evaluations of, political representation. In addition, unique aggregate data are used to examine how public preferences for representation influence how elected officials represent their constituents.
Representation Styles, Candidate Cues, and the Voting Booth
Authors: Barker David C. , Carman Christopher Jan
Published: September 2012

This chapter attempts to begin connecting the dots between the results discussed in Chapter 4 and the ultimate argument that representation itself comes in culturally “Red” or “Blue” shades. The first step is the ballot box, and that is the focus of this chapter. First, the chapter shows that in both 2006 and 2008, those who prefer trustee-style representation tended to vote overwhelmingly for Republican candidates at all levels of government. Next, the chapter reports evidence from a controlled survey experiment that asked respondents to evaluate hypothetical candidates based on representation style that is evidenced rhetorically. This experiment reveals that traditionalistic Christians (and Republicans) are more likely to think that candidates sending “trustee”-style messages will be better representatives if elected.
Weeping
Authors: Peponi Anastasia-Erasmia
Published: September 2012

The pleasure and the pain of the listener are intensely negotiated in the Odyssey, until reconciled in the figure of Odysseus. For a modern reader such issues bring up an instrumental concept discussed by Edward Bullough in the early twentieth century, that of psychical distance. This chapter suggests that contrary to current assumptions, in the Odyssey aesthetic pleasure is steadily sought out in spite of a listener’s lack of psychical distance. Two further points are emphasized. First is the importance of underexamined aspects of Plato’s Philebus for understanding mixed pleasure as an aesthetic type of pleasure. Further comparisons between Platonic and Homeric approaches to a listener’s weeping illuminate the subtleties of the latter. Second are Kant’s sparse and insufficient references to weeping as a mode of response. A modern reader of the Odyssey might trace in Odysseus’s aesthetic response a judgment of taste, despite Kant’s own exclusion of this type of judgment from the realm of emotion.
Eros (II)
Authors: Peponi Anastasia-Erasmia
Published: September 2012

This chapter continues the discussion about the relationship between aesthetics and desire, focusing exclusively on Plato’s Republic. Starting with the tenth book of the Republic, the chapter moves gradually backward, its final destination being a section of the third book that so far remains underexplored. Socrates’s explicit and implicit references to the encounter with poetry as being analogous to an affair with a hetaira are explored within a broader context, both Platonic and cultural. More light is shed on Plato’s views on desire in relation to the way mousikê affects the three parts of the soul throughout the Republic. The final section examines in detail the last part of Plato’s discussion about mousikê in the third book. The chapter concludes with a suggestion regarding the great importance of this discussion for understanding Plato’s meditation upon the tension between desire and aesthetic contemplation.
Coda
Authors: Peponi Anastasia-Erasmia
Published: September 2012

This short, concluding chapter sheds light on the differences between modern and ancient Greek aesthetics regarding, in particular, the conceptualization of aesthetic response. According to the author, these differences point the way for contemporary thought to further explore and redefine the aesthetic.
Introduction
Authors: Philpott Daniel
Published: September 2012

This chapter introduces the central question of the book: What does justice consist of in the wake of its massive despoliation? It then outlines reconciliation as the book's central answer to this question. It sets forth the six practices of reconciliation that will be explored later in the book. It contrasts reconciliation with the liberal peace, the globally dominant approach to justice in the wake of massive human rights violations. It then makes a case for the role of religion in an ethic of political reconciliation. It closes with a discussion of the major settings for an ethic of political reconciliation—the aftermath of civil war, genocide, dictatorship, international war, and international intervention.
Reconciliation as a Concept of Justice
Authors: Philpott Daniel
Published: September 2012

This chapter explicates the meaning and content of reconciliation as a concept of justice. It explains what is distinctive about political reconciliation. It then describes how the same concept of justice is also a concept of peace and of mercy. It distinguishes reconciliation from other leading notions of justice, most importantly, the liberal peace. Finally, it offers a defense of this concept of justice from the perspective of the first tradition: restorative justice.
Maimonides’ Counting of the Commandments
Authors: Firestone Reuven
Published: September 2012

This chapter treats the generally meagre discussion among medieval Jews about holy war. While little is added to the discussion outside of Maimonides, that great medieval polymath develops a universal Jewish theory of war patterned after the universal Muslim theories of war that were issues of discussion in his environment under the Caliphate. He portrays biblical wars against the Canaanites and Amalekites as a reflection of the divine will to bring all humanity to right religion rather than for Israel to take possession of the Land. In fact, in Maimonides Book of Commandments, he fails to include conquest of the Land of Israel despite what appears to be repeated divine directives to do so. The commandment to conquer and settle the Land of Israel is not operative in the time of Exile after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.
SHEDDING LIGHT ON OUTCOMES IN CLASS ACTIONS
Authors: Pace Nicholas M. , Rubenstein William
Published: September 2012

Class actions are among the most public forms of civil litigation. However, a veil of secrecy can fall over class action litigation the moment the judge signs off on the agreement. This chapter describes a study that aims to examine the extent to which claiming data are available and—as necessary—to recommend ways to increase transparency in this area. Specifically, it seeks to find out what types of information are already available about concluded class action settlement distributions; to identify the best sources for such information; and to identify policy options for improving the transparency of class action settlements. It begins with a brief background on the typical class action settlement approval process and how monetary benefits are distributed. It next discusses the results of previous selected empirical studies that have attempted to gather information on distribution outcomes. It examines some of the sources available to judges, class members, and outsiders to help guide and inform their evaluations of proposed class settlements. It then describes the findings from the data collection. The chapter concludes by describing why it is so difficult to gather settlement information, why it is so important to achieve more transparency in this area, and what can be done to make settlement information available to judges, government officials, watchdog organizations, class members, and the public.
Analysis of Incidence–Severity Relationships for Strawberry Powdery Mildew as Influenced by Cultivar, Cultivar Type, and Production Systems
Authors: Carisse O. , Lefebvre A. , Van der Heyden H. , Roberge Linda , Brodeur Luc
Published: September 2012

The relationships between strawberry powdery mildew incidence (I) and severity (S) were investigated for various cultivars, for June-bearing and day-neutral cultivars, and for production systems (open-field and plastic-tunnel) with the objective of deriving a simple relationship for predicting severity (proportion of leaf area diseased [PLAD]) from incidence (proportion of diseased leaves). Data were collected from 2006 to 2011 at 11 commercial and experimental sites, for a total of 2,326 observations (n). For the cultivars grown in open fields, higher severity was observed on ‘Seascape’, with mean PLAD of 0.299 (n = 427); followed by ‘Chambly’, with 0.133 (n = 334); ‘Cavendish’, with 0.115 (n = 250); ‘Darselect’, with 0.111 (n = 321); and ‘Jewel’, with 0.105 (n = 276). In general, mean severity was higher when the strawberry plants were grown in plastic tunnels, with PLAD of 0.204, 0.199, and 0.181 for Chambly (n = 204), Darselect (n = 261), and Jewel (n = 253), respectively. A linear model based on complementary log-log transformation of I and S provided a good fit of the data (coefficient of determination [R2] adjusted for degrees of freedom from 0.82 to 0.96). A covariance analysis indicated that the sampling year and site of sampling did not significantly influence the estimated slope of the I–S relationship, nor did the specific cultivar among the June-bearing ones, whereas the production system (open-field versus plastic-tunnel) and the cultivar type (June-bearing versus day-neutral) significantly influenced the estimated slope. From this analysis, we were able to develop three specific models for open-field-grown June-bearing cultivars (R2 = 0.90), for the open-field-grown day-neutral cultivar (Seascape, R2= 0.91), and for June-bearing cultivars grown in plastic tunnels (R2 = 0.92). From these results, it was concluded that strawberry powdery mildew leaf severity can be accurately estimated from incidence of diseased leaves. The I–S relationships developed in the present study may be used in making practical disease management decisions, especially for management programs that use information on disease level in the field to initiate fungicide spraying programs or to time the interval between sprays.
OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY FINDINGS IN OPTIC NERVE PIT MACULOPATHY AFTER VITRECTOMY
Authors: Iwase Takeshi , Oveson Brian C.
Published: September 2012

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to present a case of optic nerve pit maculopathy and reappraise the previous concepts regarding the pathways of the fluid and the development.

Methods:

A 24-year-old man had an optic nerve pit maculopathy. The visual acuity was 20/50 in the affected eye. Optical coherence tomography showed a multilayered separation of the neurosensory retina, serous retinal detachment, and the optic nerve pit with no membrane on the optic nerve. After 2 months of observations, surgery was performed.

Results:

Surgery included vitrectomy, the separation of the posterior hyaloid, the internal limiting membrane peeling, and gas tamponade. No laser was performed. The vision improved to 20/20, and optical coherence tomography demonstrated that the inner retinal layer separation was resolved except for the ganglion cell layer connected to the optic nerve pit, and subretinal fluid was increased 1 month after surgery. Eventually, the retinal layer separation and the subretinal fluid were resolved completely.

Conclusions:

Vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling and gas tamponade without any additional laser photocoagulation seems to be sufficient for the treatment. Our observations suggest that the fluid can move directly from the optic pit into multiple layers, and fluid emanating from the optic nerve pit still extended even after surgery.
Promoting African indigenous knowledge in the knowledge economy
Authors: Moahi Kgomotso H.
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore why Africa's indigenous knowledge is not playing a more active and visible role in the knowledge economy and to the roles that academia and librarians must play for it to be so.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper's approach is to combine a literature review and discussion of the issues.

Findings

The importance of indigenous knowledge to development has been established over the years. Calls have been made for African universities to take indigenous knowledge into account in their teaching and research, and to view indigenous knowledge as valuable and as a way of addressing the view of Africa as a consumer of knowledge rather than a generator and contributor of knowledge. However, whilst there have been some initiatives in academia and in libraries to integrate indigenous knowledge into their activities, it has not been enough. The reasons are many and varied and stem largely from the globalizing and unifying nature of the world education system. However, this system does also offer an opportunity for African universities to distinguish themselves as African universities that have something different to offer the world.

Research limitations/implications

The paper focuses on universities and libraries in Africa in general although Africa is a vast continent and there are differences in context.

Practical implications

Universities and libraries should look inward and find creative ways of integrating Western and indigenous knowledge systems in their teaching, research, engagement and information management.

Originality/value

The paper explores concrete ways that academia and libraries can address the matter of integrating indigenous knowledge into their activities to ensure recognition as being distinctively African.
Embracing uncertainty to fuel innovation
Authors: by Gareth Bell Interview
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to document an interview with Soren Kaplan.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is an interview with Soren Kaplan, author of Leapfrogging, which offers a divergent contribution to the current discussions about innovation.

Findings

Businesses avoid uncertainty and especially surprises, but the interview discloses that these can often be used to create competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The interview shows how embracing unexpected situations can bring about business change and innovation.
Pursuing “flexible commitment” as strategic ambidexterity
Authors: Kouropalatis Yiannis , Hughes Paul , Morgan Robert E.
Published: September 2012

Purpose

Firms face high velocity conditions today that render product market strategies increasingly temporal. Strategic flexibility is critical for enabling rapid adaptation to a changing environment. At the same time, managerial commitment to product‐market strategy signifies the extent to which a manager comprehends and supports the strategy and reflects a necessary sense of ownership for any chosen product‐market strategy. The purpose of this paper, then, is to examine strategically ambidextrous firms through the twin lenses of flexibility and commitment to determine whether performance benefits accrue from such characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

While traditional research streams examine strategic flexibility and commitment to product‐market strategy as opposing ends of a continuum, this paper adopts a broader perspective and examines strategic flexibility and commitment to product‐market strategy as elements of strategically ambidextrous firms. Cluster analysis is used to identify groups of high and low strategically ambidextrous firms.

Findings

Strategically ambidextrous firms exhibit commitment to product‐market strategy, which enables the effective realisation of selected strategies through focusing managerial attention and firm resources, and strategic flexibility, which enables adaptation of the planned product‐market strategy based on feedback received, or abandonment followed by new strategic choices and impetus. The paper reveals that firms with high strategic ambidexterity exhibit significantly greater levels of strategic resources, decentralisation, product‐market strategy process effectiveness, and implementation effectiveness compared with low ambidexterity firms. Thus, strategic ambidexterity is revealed to endow significant performance benefits.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the need to examine ambidexterity as “flexible commitment”.
Monetary policy effects on investment spending: a firm‐level study of Malaysia
Authors: Abdul Karim Zulkefly
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of monetary policy transmission mechanism channel on firms' investment spending. The focal point is to investigate the differential of monetary policy effects across sub‐sector firms' investment by examining the role of interest rates, and broad credit channel of monetary transmission.

Design/methodology/approach

The following research design has been employed in examining the relevance of both monetary policy channels. First, the firm user cost of capital as a proxy for the interest rates channel is constructed. Second, the neoclassical model of firm‐level investment function has been estimated using the dynamic panel data technique.

Findings

The results revealed that the monetary policy transmission mechanism works through both interest rate, and broad credit channels in influencing firms' investment spending in the Malaysian economy. Monetary policy has heterogeneous effects in respect of sub‐sectors of the economy. In the long‐run, the firm investment in the consumer products and services sectors are significantly affected by the interest rate and broad credit channels. However, the firm investment in the industrial products and property sectors has only been significantly affected by interest rates and broad credit channel, respectively.

Originality/value

The empirical results provide new evidence on the microeconomic effects of monetary policy in a small open economy (i.e. Malaysia) in two dimensions. First, this finding has supported the relevance of interest rates and broad credit channel of monetary transmission in a small open economy. Second, monetary policy effects are also heterogeneous by sub‐sectors of the economy, as some sectors (for example, consumer products, industrial products, and services) are significantly affected by monetary policy, and other sub‐sectors (for example, property) are not affected.
Legitimacy, shared ethos and public management
Authors: Kabbesa‐Abramzon Ruth
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to learn from the Jewish concept of the “public emissary” about how to contend with the contradiction that underlies the formal authority accorded in the Weberian approach when applied to public service.

Design/methodology/approach

The first part of the article explains this contradiction and the second part offers a new way of thinking about the roles of people serving the public by means of the Jewish concept of public emissary – shaliah tzibbur – and exemplifies this in the role of the charity trustee, with reference to Jewish sources.

Findings

The article finds that the model of the “public emissary” constructs a deep emotional commitment to the role, public loyalty and strict ethics. At the same time, the model allows the individual engaging in public service greater autonomy in his work.

Originality/value

This article offers an alternative to the Weberian model of formal authority, which has proven to be less than ideal. In practical terms, it offers a new definition and profile for people serving the public, from which it follows that different areas should be emphasized in their training.
Measuring the efficiency of English Premier League football
Authors: Kern Alexander , Schwarzmann Michael , Wiedenegger Armin
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to prove the superiority of a two‐stage data envelopment analysis compared to a one‐stage approach in measuring a football club's efficiency. Moreover it provides best practice benchmarks for the research sample which supports football officials to orient themselves to the right clubs.

Design/methodology/approach

A non‐parametric two‐stage data envelopment analysis for the seasons 2006/07 to 2008/09 is introduced to measure the efficiency of English Premier League football clubs from an off‐field and an on‐field perspective. The results are compared with those of the traditional one‐stage data envelopment analysis approach to identify insufficiencies of the latter.

Findings

The results show evidence that different conclusions derive from either the one‐ or the two‐stage approach with the threat of potential misinterpretations in the case of the former. Furthermore, this study provides football clubs with information to focus on specific efficiency‐enhancing strategies at the individual stages of the production process and therefore acts as a supportive tool for the football club officials for setting corrective actions if inefficiencies are identified.

Research limitations/implications

The present article provides a foundation for future studies in other football leagues as well as for an intertemporal analysis which evaluates the efficiency of a club on a yearly basis.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that introduces a two‐stage data envelopment analysis approach in football research. It has proven that it can identify sources of inefficiencies more accurately than a one‐stage data envelopment analysis and provides football officials with valuable information about their club.
Public policy and funding New York's new sports venues
Authors: Santomier James , Gerlach John
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to examine selected public policy and funding issues of six New York Metropolitan Area sport venues and to discuss their implications for the future of sport venue construction.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of this paper is a descriptive case study, which is appropriate when the question to be answered is how or why, when there is no necessary control of behavioral events, and when the study is focused on contemporary events. A systematic review of public documents and available research related to the recent development and funding of selected sport venues was conducted. In addition, a critical appraisal and financial analysis was performed on selected data collected from a variety of proprietary facility reports and public documents.

Findings

Based on a systematic examination of public documents and available research it was determined that a complex mix of local, regional, and state politics has impacted significantly the dynamics of professional sport venue development in the New York Metropolitan Area. It is also apparent that there has been a significant lack of transparency with respect to public policy. In addition, it appears that sport venue development in the entire US will experience a trend toward integration with retail, commercial, and residential real estate development that appears to be a result of political pressure and the need to rapidly recoup investment costs associated with sport venue construction.

Research limitations/implications

Because this is a descriptive case study, the findings, etc., are limited to those specific venues and public policy issues that were selected for examination.

Practical implications

This case study should provide educators and practitioners with insight into the complexity of mission critical decisions that are involved in the development and funding of sport venues. It also should provide insight into the political process related to sport venue construction and the importance of transparency in communicating with the public.

Social implications

This case study may provide educators and practitioners with insight into the relationship among public policy, venue financing, and selected social issues.

Originality/value

This case study provides original insight into the key elements of funding sport venues in the New York Metropolitan Area. It will provide educators and practitioners with a frame of reference for further examination of the development of sport venues worldwide.
A (partial) review of entrepreneurship literature across disciplines
Authors: Campbell Noel , Mitchell David T.
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to stimulate researchers’ interest by acquainting them with some aspects of the entrepreneurship literature they may not have known.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a non‐meta‐analytic literature review of several literatures in entrepreneurship.

Findings

The entrepreneurship literature is vast and can be found in every discipline where humans and their behaviour are the object of analysis.

Research limitations/implications

Because the entrepreneurship literature is so large and widespread, the paper reviews only a small, deliberately chosen sample of the literature.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, no one has previously written a unified review of the market entrepreneurship, political entrepreneurship, and public choice.
Non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic, non‐purinergic contractions of the urothelium/lamina propria of the pig bladder
Authors: Moro C. , Chess‐Williams R.
Published: September 2012

Acetylcholine, and to a lesser extent ATP, mediates neurogenic contractions of bladder smooth muscle. Recently, the urothelium and lamina propria have also been shown to have contractile properties, but the neurotransmitters involved in mediating responses to nerve stimulation have not been investigated.

Isolated strips of porcine urothelium with lamina propria were electrically field stimulated and contractions recorded. Drugs interfering with neurotransmission were then employed to identify which neurotransmitters mediated responses.

Strips of urothelium/lamina propria developed spontaneous contractions with a frequency of 3.5 ± 0.1 cycles min−1 and amplitude of 0.84 ± 0.06 g. Electrical field stimulation at 5, 10, and 20 Hz resulted in frequency‐related contractions (1.13 ± 0.36 g, 1.59 ± 0.46 g and 2.20 ± 0.53 g, respectively, n = 13), and these were reduced in the presence of tetrodotoxin (1 μm) by 77 ± 20% at 5 Hz, 79 ± 7% at 10 Hz and 74 ± 12% at 20 Hz (all P < 0.01), indicating they were predominantly neurogenic in nature.

Neither the muscarinic antagonist atropine (10 μm), the adrenergic neurone blocker guanethidine (10 μm) nor desensitization of the purinergic receptors with α,β‐methylene ATP (10 μm) affected the contractile amplitude. Similarly, responses were not affected by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor l‐NNA (100 μm) or drugs that interfere with peptide neurotransmission (capsaicin, NK2 antagonist GR159897, protease inhibitors).

In conclusion, electrical depolarization of the nerves present in the porcine urothelium/lamina propria results in frequency‐dependent contractions, which are predominantly neurogenic in nature. These contractions are resistant to drugs that inhibit the adrenergic, cholinergic and purinergic systems. The neurotransmitter involved in the responses of this tissue is therefore unknown but does not appear to be a peptide.
Anatomic Reference for Computed Tomography of Paranasal Sinuses and Their Communication in the Egyptian Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)
Authors: Alsafy M. A. M. , El‐Gendy S. A. A. , El Sharaby A. A.
Published: September 2012

The purpose of this work was to present an anatomic reference for computed tomography (CT) for the paranasal sinuses of adult buffalo fit the use of anatomists, radiologists, clinicians and veterinary students. CT images with the most closely corresponding cross sections of the head were selected and studied serially in a rostral to caudal progression from the level of the interdental space to the level of the nuchal line. The anatomical features were compared with the dissected heads and skulls. The paranasal sinuses of buffalo comprise dorsal conchal, middle conchal, maxillary, frontal, palatine, sphenoidal (inconstant, small and shallow when present), lacrimal and ethmoidal that were identified and labelled according to the premolar and molar teeth as landmarks. The topographic description of all the compartments, diverticula, septa and communication of the paranasal sinuses in buffalo has been presented. The relationship between the various air cavities and paranasal sinuses was easily visualized.
Safety and predictors of adverse events during oral immunotherapy for milk allergy: severity of reaction at oral challenge, specific IgE and prick test
Authors: Vázquez‐Ortiz M. , Álvaro‐Lozano M. , Alsina L. , Garcia‐Paba M. B. , Piquer‐Gibert M. , Giner‐Muñoz M. T. , Lozano J. , Domínguez‐Sánchez O. , Jiménez R. , Días M. , Martín‐Mateos M. A. , Plaza‐Martín A. M.
Published: September 2012

Background

Strict avoidance is the only accepted management for cow's milk (CM) allergy. CM oral immunotherapy (CM‐OIT) is under investigation.

Objectives

To evaluate long‐term safety of CM‐OIT. To identify clinical/immunological predictors of adverse events.

Methods

Prospective longitudinal epidemiological intervention study. CM‐allergic children aged 5–18 underwent a Spanish‐approved CM‐OIT protocol without premedication. Clinical data, skin prick test (SPT) and specific IgE (sIgE) at baseline and 1 year after OIT were registered. All dose‐related reactions, treatments needed and cofactors involved were recorded. Through survival analysis, we studied the cumulative probability of reactions resolution over time and clinical/immunological risk factors of reactions persistence.

Results

81 children were recruited. Mean follow‐up was 25 months. 95% of children suffered reactions, 91% of which affected a single organ. Reactions were heterogeneously distributed: (a) 60 children (75%) had occasional symptoms which ceased over time. 86% of them reached complete desensitization (200 mL). (b) 20 children (25%) suffered frequent (78% of total reactions), more severe and unpredictable reactions, which persisted during follow‐up or led to withdrawal (6 cases). Reactions persistence was associated with a higher frequency and severity. Kaplan–Meier estimate revealed a cumulative probability of reactions resolution of 25% at 3 months (95% CI: 1.9–4.1) and 50% (95% CI: 6.1–9.9) at 8 months based on all patients. Cox proportional hazards multivariate regression model identified 3 variables (CM‐sIgE ≥ 50 KU L−1, CM‐SPT ≥ 9 mm and Sampson's severity grades 2, 3 and 4 at baseline food challenge) as independent risk factors of reactions persistence. The combination of 2 or 3 of these factors involved hazard ratios to develop persistent reactions of 2.26 (95% CI: 1.14–4.46; P = 0.019) and 6.06 (95% CI: 2.7–13.7; P < 0.001), respectively.

Clinical implications

CM‐OIT was insufficiently safe in 25% of children. The above‐mentioned clinical and immunological parameters would help clinicians to identify highly reactive patients before CM‐OIT. In them, individualized schedules and premedication should be considered.
In silico prediction of Ara h 2 T cell epitopes in peanut‐allergic children
Authors: Pascal M. , Konstantinou G. N. , Masilamani M. , Lieberman J. , Sampson H. A.
Published: September 2012

Background

Despite the frequency and severity of peanut allergy, the only approved treatment is strict avoidance. Different types of immunotherapy with crude peanut extract are not universally effective and have been associated with relatively high adverse reaction rates.

Objective

We sought to determine whether in silico predictive algorithms were useful in identifying candidate peptides for an Ara h 2 peptide‐based vaccine using peanut‐allergic patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in vitro. A human leucocyte antigen (HLA) distribution analysis was also performed.

Methods

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)‐class II‐binding peptides were predicted using NetMHCIIpan‐2.0 and NetMHCII‐2.2 algorithms. PBMCs from 80 peanut‐allergic patients were stimulated with overlapping 20‐mer Ara h 2 peptides. Cell supernatant cytokine profiles were evaluated by multiplex assays. HLA‐DRB1* and HLA‐DQB1* typing were performed.

Results

Four regions of overlapping sequences induced PBMC proliferation and predominant Th2 cytokine production. HLA genotyping showed 30 different DRB1* allele specificities and eight DQ serological specificities. The in silico analysis revealed similar relevant regions and predicted identical or similar core 9‐mer epitopes to those identified in vitro. If relevant peptides, as determined by either in vitro or in silico analysis (15 peptides and 9 core epitopes respectively), were used in a peptide‐based vaccine, they would cover virtually all subjects in the cohort studied.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

Four dominant regions in Ara h 2 have been identified, containing sequences that could serve as potential candidates for peptide‐based immunotherapy. MHC‐class II‐based T cell epitope prediction algorithms for HLA‐DR and ‐DQ loci accurately predicted Ara h 2 T cell epitopes in peanut‐allergic subjects, suggesting their potential utility in a peptide‐based vaccine design for food allergy.
Non‐histaminergic angioedema: focus on bradykinin‐mediated angioedema
Authors: Busse P. J. , Buckland M. S.
Published: September 2012

Angioedema is a result of increased vascular permeability, with subsequent extravasation of intravascular fluid into the surrounding tissues. Angioedema may be mediated by histamine, bradykinin or other mediators. Histaminergic angioedema generally presents with urticaria and/or pruritus and will respond to conventional treatment with antihistamines, corticosteroids or epinephrine. Bradykinin‐mediated angioedema, which includes hereditary angioedema (HAE types I, II and III), acquired C1‐INH deficiency, and angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor‐induced angioedema does not typically present with urticaria/weals and does not respond to conventional agents such as antihistamines or corticosteroids. In recent years, several agents that prevent the generation or activity of bradykinin have been developed for the treatment of HAE types I and II and are also being evaluated in other types of bradykinin‐mediated angioedema. These agents have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with different forms of bradykinin‐mediated angioedema.
Is Mandibular Reconstruction Using Vascularized Fibula Flaps and Dental Implants a Reasonable Treatment?
Authors: Jacobsen Christine , Kruse Astrid , Lübbers Heinz‐Theo , Zwahlen Roger , Studer Stephan , Zemann Wolfgang , Seifert Burkhard , Grätz Klaus‐Wilhelm
Published: September 2012

Purpose

this study retrospectively analyzed the rate of screwed implant insertion and risk factors in patients undergoing mandibular reconstruction with microsurgical revascularized fibula flaps.

Methods

This study retrospectively analyzed all patients with microvascularized fibula grafts between 1997 and 2005. Collected data included general data and risk factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use), and irradiation was the main predictor variable. The number of patients rehabilitated with dental implants and the implant success rate were evaluated, possible influencing factors were identified, and the results were compared with previously published data.

Results

The sample included 33 patients (17 men, 16 women; mean age: 52 years); 76% were smokers, 42% drank alcohol regularly, and 73% had undergone mandible irradiation. Twenty‐three patients received 140 screw‐retained implants for dental rehabilitation. Twenty‐three implants were lost. Overall 1‐ and 5‐year implant survival rates were 94% and 83%, respectively. Implant survival rates were 86% in non‐irradiated mandibular bone, 86% in non‐irradiated grafted fibular bone, 82% in irradiated mandibular bone, and 38% in irradiated grafted fibular bone.

Conclusion

This study showed that the use of dental implants in patients with fibula flaps is an appropriate and successful option for dental rehabilitation, even in those with risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, and irradiation. Implant placement in irradiated grafted bone seems to be a high‐risk procedure.
The criteria for metformin‐associated lactic acidosis: the quality of reporting in a large pharmacovigilance database
Authors: Kajbaf F. , Lalau J.‐D.
Published: September 2012

Aims

To study the quality of pharmacovigilance reporting in cases of so‐called ‘metformin‐associated lactic acidosis’ and, ultimately, whether or not the criteria for this condition are indeed met.

Methods

We searched for cases meeting the criteria for metformin‐associated lactic acidosis [arterial pH < 7.35, blood lactate > 5 mmol/l (45 mg/dl) and detectable plasma metformin concentration] in a 15‐year period (1995–2010) in a pharmacovigilance database of the license holder for metformin (Merck Serono, Lyon, France).

Results

We found 869 reports stated as ‘metformin‐associated lactic acidosis’ from 32 countries. The respective criteria for pH, lactate concentration and metformin concentration were met in 51.2, 53.3 and 13.9% of cases. All three criteria were met in just 10.4% of cases. By year, each of the percentages remained roughly stable throughout the study period.

Conclusions

The role of metformin in triggering metformin‐associated lactic acidosis was assessed incorrectly in most patients and the quality of reporting did not improve over time.