bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
APPLICATION OF SYNTHETIC FIBER ROPES TO REDUCE BLAST RESPONSE OF A PORTAL FRAME
Authors: MOTLEY M. R. , PLAUT R. H.
Published: December 2006

A steel portal frame subjected to an external blast is analyzed. The use of diagonal synthetic fiber ropes to brace the frame is studied. The force-elongation relationship of the ropes when in tension is modeled either as a bilinear function with initial slackness, or a power law based on tests. The effect of the ropes in reducing deflections and plastic strains is determined using the finite element software ABAQUS/Explicit. Inclusion of the influence of strain-rate on the material behavior of the frame is important. Several blast magnitudes and rope stiffness coefficients are considered. Snap loads occur in the ropes if the blast is sufficiently large. Deformations and strains may be reduced significantly by the ropes, and failure may be prevented.
Notes on the Augenblick in and Around Jacques Derrida's Reading of Paul Celan's "The Meridian"
Authors: Pasanen Outi
Published: December 2006

Jacques Derrida wrote twice, in 1984 in "Shibboleth" and in 2002 for his Paris seminar lectures, about "The Meridian," Paul Celan's Georg Büchner prize speech that forms the most elaborate exposition of the poet's poetics. In both readings Derrida, in one way or the other, deals with the question of time. In "Shibboleth," at stake is the notion of date; in the seminar lectures, the "other's time." Through the Greek, Christian, and Jewish experiences involved, the present article takes the notion of Augenblick as a fil conducteur.
Resilience, Family Adversity and Well-Being Among Hawaiian and Non-Hawaiian Adolescents
Authors: Carlton Barry S. , Goebert Deborah A. , Miyamoto Robin H. , Andrade Naleen N. , Hishinuma Earl S. , Makini George K. , Yuen Noelle Y.C. , Bell Cathy K. , McCubbin Laurie D. , Else 'Iwalani R.N. , Nishimura Stephanie T.
Published: December 2006

Background: Minorities and indigenous peoples are likely to have poor mental health and physical outcomes. This study examines resiliency indicators in Hawaiian adolescents.

Aims: Multiple resiliency indicators were examined across different domains including individual, family and community in relation to increased psychological well-being.

Methods: Existing data from the Native Hawaiian Mental Health Research Development Program (NHMHRDP) were used. These data included information from a community sample of five high schools on three islands from the state of Hawai'i. The sample included 1,832 students, where 64% were Native Hawaiian and 36% were non-Hawaiian.

Results: This study found that Native Hawaiian youth experienced more family adversity compared with non-Hawaiians, but Native Hawaiians were also more likely to have higher levels of family support. For internalizing symptomatology, the most robust resiliency factors were family support and physical fitness/health for Native Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian adolescents. For externalizing symptomatology, achievement and family support were consistently strong resiliency factors. The indicator for physical fitness and health was more influential among Native Hawaiians than non-Hawaiians for externalizing symptoms, while academic achievement was more influential among non-Hawaiians than for Native Hawaiians for the protection against internalizing symptoms.

Conclusions: Our findings support the need for intervention programs designed to promote resilience in adolescents, including highlighting the importance of the family. Further research is needed to design and evaluate programs that promote well-being, enhance resilience and improve mental health in culturally appropriate ways.
Change in Work Performance in Vocational Rehabilitation for People with Severe Mental Illness: Distinct Responder Groups
Authors: Watzke Stefan , Galvao Anja , Gawlik Berthold , Huehne Michael , Brieger Peter
Published: December 2006

Background: Vocational rehabilitation aims to improve work performance. Few studies have examined the course of work performance during vocational rehabilitation. It remains unclear whether all subjects profit equally from rehabilitation programs regarding improvement of work performance.

Aims: The purpose of this study is to examine the course of work performance in order to differentiate between responder groups and to distinguish between those groups regarding sociodemographic status, psychiatric diagnosis, level of individual satisfaction and vocational rehabilitation success.

Methods: Work performance of N = 125 subjects with severe mental disorders was rated on intake to the rehabilitation program and six months later with the German version of the Work Personality Profile (WPP). A cluster analysis was conducted to identify different responder groups.

Results: Groups with poor, moderate, improving and superior work performance were identified. These groups differed in educational level, psychiatric diagnosis, individual satisfaction and rehabilitation outcome.

Conclusion: Not all subjects profit equally from vocational rehabilitation in terms of improvement of work performance. Unfavorable courses of work skills were shown for participants with schizophrenia and low education. Low individual satisfaction with performance is related to consistently low or moderate performance. Group differences predicted reintegration success. Future research should focus on different responder groups and their identification in early stages of the rehabilitation process to ensure appropriate assistance, particularly for subjects with poorer performance.
Schizophrenia Should be Renamed to Help Educate Patients and the Public
Authors: Levin Tomer
Published: December 2006

Background: A new name for schizophrenia, reflecting a biopsychosocial conceptualization, may have utility in educating patients and the public. If readily translatable, it would be of great value in transcultural psychiatry. It may be clinically beneficial to psychoeducation in evidence-based treatment modalities such as medication management, multifamily group psycho-education and cognitive therapy.

Discussion: Neuro-Emotional Integration Disorder (NEID) is proposed as the biopsychosocial candidate term to replace schizophrenia. The following subtypes are proposed: defensive type replacing paranoid, motoric type replacing catatonic, Brief Neuro-Emotional-Integration Breakdown (B-NEIB) replacing brief psychotic episode, NEID-Time Limited replacing schizophreniform disorder. Schizoaffective disorder might be termed NEID-Bipolar type. Anti-psychotic medication would be termed NEI-Enhancing medication.

Conclusions: By emphasizing the neuropsychiatric basis of this ‘highly treatable brain disorder’ through its labeling, stigma may ultimately be reduced. Even if the term NEID is not ultimately adopted, the principles outlined here should be helpful in choosing a replacement term for ‘schizophrenia’.
Moderator Role of Perfectionism between Negative Life Events and Depressive Symptoms among Turkish Youth
Authors: Gençöz Tülİn , Dİnç Yasemin
Published: December 2006

Background: This study examined the moderator role of perfectionism in the relationship between different domains of life events and depressive symptoms.

Method: The participants were 210 undergraduate students. They were asked to complete the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Life Events Inventory for University Students and the Beck Depression Inventory.

Results: Results supported the moderator role of both self-oriented and others-oriented perfectionism between the relationship of achievement-related life events and depressive symptoms. That is, the association between experiencing achievement-related life events and depressive symptoms was stronger for those who had high levels of self-oriented or others-oriented perfectionism. Although socially prescribed perfectionism did not moderate the relationship between life events and depressive symptoms, this dimension of perfectionism and both achievement-related and social life events were found to be significantly associated with depressive symptoms.

Discussion: Particularly for the undergraduates who sethigh standards for themselves and/or for others, experiencing negative achievement-related life events may be crucial for the potential symptoms of depression.
Correlations among Socioeconomic and Family Factors and Academic, Behavioral, and Emotional Difficulties in Filipino Adolescents in Hawai'i
Authors: Guerrero Anthony P.S. , Hishinuma Earl S. , Andrade Naleen N. , Nishimura Stephanie T. , Cunanan Vanessa L.
Published: December 2006

Background: Because of socioeconomic and acculturative challenges faced by immigrant families, Filipino adolescents in Hawai'i may be at risk for academic, behavioral and emotional difficulties.

Aim: To determine, among Filipino adolescents in Hawai'i, whether measures of economic hardship and lower socioeconomic status (SES) correlate positively with poor school performance, aggressive behavior, substance use, anxiety, and depression; and whether family support and cultural identification correlate negatively with these difficulties.

Methods: 216 Filipino adolescents from four public high schools in Hawai'i (1993–1994) were given surveys that assessed basic demographic information, measures of family support and other social variables, and measures of school performance, depression, anxiety, aggression and substance use.

Results: In the total sample, low SES seemed to correlate with poor school performance and behavioral and emotional difficulties. In both the total sample and the sub-sample of adolescents with lower SES, family support was a universally strong protective factor. Learning genealogy was positively correlated with school performance, and speaking a language other than English was inversely correlated with substance use (in the whole sample) and depression (in the lower SES sub-sample).

Conclusions: For Filipino adolescents (in both the whole and lower-SES samples), family support was an important protective factor against academic, behavioral and emotional difficulties. The role of cultural identification as a risk or protective factor among Filipino adolescents deserves further investigation.
Measuring Social Capital of Persons Residing in a Long-Term Psychiatric Institution
Authors: Song Li-Yu , Chang Ly-Yun , Lin Chih-Yuan , Shih Chaiw-Yi , Ping Lieh-Yung , Wang Nai-Yen
Published: December 2006

Background: Most studies support the association between social capital and health. However, none of the studies to date has focused on persons with psychiatric disability, and these past studies have drawbacks in conceptual development and the use of operational variables of social capital.

Aims: This study develops measures and examines patterns of social capital for persons with psychiatric disability.

Methods: Subjects (n = 273) were selected from a long-term psychiatric institution in Taiwan, based on their level of functioning. The measures of social capital were designed at the individual level, and included social networks, reciprocal help (engagement) and level of seeking help (trust and mobilization). Data were collected through face-to-face interviews.

Results: Factor analyses revealed a three-factor structure of social capital with 14 measures: bonding and reciprocity in the hospital, bonding and reciprocity within the ward, and network resources. Through cluster analyses, five patterns of social capital emerged among the consumers: large network and strong bonding, strong network and high bonding, ward network and bonding, ward network and low bonding, and low social capital. Based on the profile of each cluster, younger age, a history of drug abuse, shorter hospitalization and better social functioning seem to correlate with higher social capital.

Conclusion: The results support the idea that social capital is a metaconstruct, and reveal that consumers have the ability to establish social capital. The measurement and level of social capital as well as its implications for the rehabilitation of consumers into community living are discussed.
Exploring the Ethnic Density Effect: A Qualitative Study of a London Electoral Ward
Authors: Whitley Rob , Prince Martin , McKenzie Kwame , Stewart Rob
Published: December 2006

Background: The ethnic density effect describes a phenomenon whereby adverse mental health outcomes among individuals from ethnic minorities are greater in neighbourhoods where they comprise a smaller proportion of the population. Most previous studies of the ethnic density effect have been quantitative in design, and thus have only been able to speculate on some of the underlying mechanisms explaining this phenomenon.

Aims: This paper attempts to remedy this deficit, using in-depth qualitative methodology to explore mechanisms underlying the ethnic density effect.

Methods: We chose an inner-London electoral ward, Gospel Oak, with a relatively low proportion of ethnic minorities, as a case study. Thirty-two residents, eight of whom were from minority ethnic groups, participated in either focus groups or in-depth interviews. We also conducted participant observation and collected relevant quantitative data.

Results: We found four principal overlapping mechanisms that may help to explain why minorities living in predominantly white electoral wards may have greater risk of adverse mental health outcomes. These were perceived exclusion from local networks, a need to rely on geographically dispersed culturally specific services and facilities, perceived risk of physical and psychological intimidation and damaging effects of everyday racism.

Conclusions: These mechanisms are presented as a framework, grounded in a qualitative case study, which can be applied in future study. They may help to explain the causes behind the ethnic density effect on mental health although further research in other settings is necessary in order to test the framework's external validity.
Better public sector governance through partnership with the private sector and civil society: the case of Guatemala’s forest administration
Authors: Birner Regina , Wittmer Heidi
Published: December 2006

Improving public sector governance is an important challenge for developing countries. Taking the case of Guatemala’s forest administration, the Instituto Nacional de Bosque (INAB), as an example, this article analyses an innovative option for public sector reform: the delegation of authority to an independent agency that is jointly managed by professionals from the public sector, the private sector and civil society. The article develops an analytical framework, based on transaction cost economics and politics. The analysis shows that delegation and partnership have considerable potential to reduce political interest capture, but they involve potential problems of ‘delegatee drift’ and ‘legitimacy drift’. In view of this trade-off, the comparative advantage of delegation and partnership is influenced by the level of organization among the stakeholders, their managerial capacity and the degree to which they share common interests. The article also discusses the political dimension of the reform process that led to the creation of the INAB.
Strengthening competitiveness of local public service providers in Germany
Authors: Reichard Christoph
Published: December 2006

This article discusses the challenges for providers of local public services to adapt to increasing marketization and competition in the public sector. Based on some empirical evidence from local government in Germany, the article describes different adaptive measures in the past and shows the legal restrictions to strengthening performance and particularly competitiveness. Furthermore, the article presents some findings from good practice cases of local service providers in Germany who have successfully exposed themselves to market mechanisms. Finally, the article discusses observed results of increased competitiveness in the local government sector, with special regard to quality, efficiency and public employment. The article concludes with describing necessary elements of a competitive regime for public services and with some general reflections about the role of competition in the public sector.
Administrative system and culture in East Asia, Europe and the USA: a transformation of the administrative system through the mutual mixture of cultures in Korea
Authors: Yun Eun Gee
Published: December 2006

This article explains the network and relationship between culture and administrative system in East Asia, Europe and the USA. The cultures of individualism in the USA, social contract-oriented collectivism in Nordic countries and Confucianism in Korea have an important effect on the formation of the administrative system of pluralist government in the USA, societal corporatism in Nordic countries, and state corporatism in Korea, respectively. The development of the administrative system can be accomplished by the advancement of administrative culture regardless of state corporatism, societal corporatism or pluralism. A sound administrative structure entails the growth of sound administrative culture, which involves anti-corruption, solidarity, trust and accountability in the advanced liberal and corporate states. In the process of the development of administrative culture, contemporary Confucians express a unity between Confucianism and liberalism to show the principle of an admixture between different administrative cultures. Contemporary Confucianism offers ways of changing traditional administrative culture in Korea.
Stretching the concept of representative bureaucracy: the case of Nunavut
Authors: Timpson Annis May
Published: December 2006

This article examines the complexities of creating a representative public service in the new Canadian territory of Nunavut. It discusses initiatives taken to build a representative public service that reflects the composition, language base and cultural interests of the territory’s predominantly Inuit population. The article shows how the Government of Nunavut’s multi-dimensional approach to creating a population-reflective public service stretches the concept of representative bureaucracy. It highlights the potential radicalizing effects of creating a public service grounded in Indigenous perspectives and experience.
Multiple accountability relationships and improved service delivery performance in Hyderabad City, Southern India
Authors: Caseley Jonathan
Published: December 2006

This article examines a series of service delivery reforms that were undertaken at the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board in Andhra Pradesh State, southern India. Key to sustained improvements in service delivery performance were three effective accountability relationships, triangulating between citizens, senior managers, and frontline workers. In this dynamic, consistent citizen demand for accountability provided new sources of performance information to senior managers, which they could then use to hold frontline workers to account for responsive service provision. Transparent and accessible citizen-based accountability mechanisms have the potential to contribute to organizational change and sustained improvements in service delivery performance in public sector service providers.
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Switzerland: experiences—risks—potentials
Authors: Lienhard Andreas
Published: December 2006

The growing pressure for efficiency in Switzerland requires alternative forms of organization for fulfilling public tasks. Following an international trend, Public Private Partnerships are among those topics that are increasingly being discussed. The following article describes this context and communicates experiences gleaned from previous PPP projects in Switzerland. Economic and legal aspects are examined—taking the special characteristics of the Swiss political system into consideration. It is generally concluded that, in Switzerland, there is considerable potential for Public Private Partnerships, particularly in the areas of structural engineering, transportation, and local promotion. Realizing this potential, however, requires considerable effort, at the centre of which is a PPP competency network in which public authorities, private companies, and companies regulated by public law collaborate with organizations and private individuals who deal with PPPs either in the practical realm or the academic setting.
E = RS2: the new return of Government? A debate on the French experience
Authors: Timsit Gérard
Published: December 2006

With regard to the triple thematic problem of the responsible Government, strategic Government and social Government, we are experiencing a certain kind of return of the Government in the life and management of the community—a return of the Government, but of a new Government, one which, using techniques developed, in particular, over the past few years of the last century, is renewing the customs of the Government, and, in cumulating the uses of the Government, represents an opportunity for a new economic recovery and a new effectiveness, based on dialogue with civil Society, a dialogue which is always fragile.
The Informal World of Police Patrol
Authors: Thale Christopher
Published: December 2006

Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foot patrolmen did not have friendly contact with all citizens on their beats. Police-citizen relations were sometimes hostile or simply anonymous. Beats embraced large, socially divided populations, which did not always agree on police priorities. This article explores street-level police-citizen relations in New York City in the early twentieth century using disciplinary records, police-oriented newspapers, autobiographies, and other sources. Police-citizen contacts were selective. Merchants, shopkeepers, watchmen, and janitors shared common interests with police, which were strengthened by exchange of goods, services, the use of space, and sympathy and conversation. Police became especially attentive to their concerns about crime and disorder. Few other citizens could establish such links with beat patrolmen. Officers’ relationships on their beats were influential but had significant built-in biases, reinforcing the enforcement of law and control of disorder in ways congruent with the needs and views of neighborhood notables.
“Conventions of Simultaneity”
Authors: McCrossen Alexis
Published: December 2006

This article considers the saturation of American cities and towns with government-sponsored public clocks during the Gilded Age. In doing so, it seeks to establish that while clocks are part of the modern technological landscape of order, discipline, and efficiency, they also constitute another terrain of power: that of the state. The article considers the diffusion of government clocks across the nation and the nationalist symbolism associated with many period government clocks as well as clocks in general.
The Black Power and Chicano Movements in the Poverty Wars in Los Angeles
Authors: Bauman Robert
Published: December 2006

This article explores three distinct community action agencies (CAAs) created as part of the War on Poverty in Los Angeles and their connection to movements for cultural and economic empowerment. The city’s “official” War on Poverty agency eventually collapsed under the weight of intransigence by city officials, differences among black leaders and civil rights activists, and divisions between blacks and Latinos in part fueled by the Black Power and Chicano movements. Meanwhile, African Americans and Latinos used the inspiration of those movements and the support of labor unions to establish separate CAAs outside of the domain of the “official” War on Poverty agency. Those ethnically distinct “community unions” provided a sense of racial/ethnic/cultural pride and solidarity for Latino and African American neighborhoods and communities in Los Angeles. This article demonstrates how the shifting boundaries of race shaped the development of the War on Poverty in Los Angeles and that the War on Poverty encouraged movements for cultural and economic empowerment.
Dependency and Opportunity
Authors: Yee Shirley J.
Published: December 2006

This article explores the work environment as a site for interactions between Chinese and non-Chinese in New York City between 1870 and 1943. A gendered and racially stratified paid labor force, shaped by federal immigration restriction laws, migration and settlement patterns to and within New York City, state occupational restrictions, and the development of a skilled white male urban working class, created the economic conditions within which the Chinese and non-Chinese struggled to survive during the exclusion period (1882-1943). Mutually dependent relationships often developed out of these phenomena. The survival of Chinese communities depended upon whites as well as Chinese and the skills and services offered by men of European descent. In turn, white men in trades and small businesses depended upon Chinese customers and fellow merchants. Chinese/white relations during this period provide a glimpse into how both groups created livelihoods and in the process built ethnic and cross-cultural urban communities.
Stress in parents of adopted children
Authors: Palacios Jesús , Sánchez-Sandoval Yolanda
Published: December 2006

Stress associated with adoptive parenthood was studied in a sample of parents of 104 children below the age of 12 adopted several years before. Most of the children were adopted when they were babies, all were adopted through national adoption programs and very few matched a profile of initial adversity or of special needs. High correlations were found between mothers' and fathers' stress scores, which were in some aspects similar to, and in others lower than, that of normative data. The hierarchical regression analysis on the stress experienced by the mothers showed that both the features of children and of parents, as well as features concerning the use of support resources, are significantly predictive of stress scores for adoptive parenthood.
Is the maternal Q-Set a valid measure of preschool child attachment behavior?
Authors: Moss Ellen , Bureau Jean-François , Cyr Chantal , Dubois-Comtois Karine
Published: December 2006

The objective of this study is to examine preschool-age correlates of the maternal version of the Attachment Q-Set (AQS) (Waters & Deane, 1985) in order to provide validity data. Concurrent associations between the Attachment Q-Set and measures of separation-reunion attachment classifications (Cassidy & Marvin, 1992), quality of mother–child interaction, maternal stress, and child externalizing behavior problems were examined for a low-risk sample of 152 preschool children. Results showed that, even after controlling for maternal stress, ambivalent and disorganized children had lower scores on the AQS when compared with the secure group. However, avoidant and controlling children did not differ from secure children in maternal sorts. Significant associations between the maternal Q-Set and affective quality of mother–child interaction were also maintained, when controlling for maternal stress. The AQS was significantly associated with both mother and teacher reported externalizing behavior problem reports, but the association with teacher reports was not maintained when maternal stress was entered in the equation as a covariate. The discussion focuses on the validity of the maternal Q-Set as a measure of child attachment behavior in preschoolers.
French and European American child–mother play: Culture and gender considerations
Authors: Suizzo Marie-Anne , Bornstein Marc H.
Published: December 2006

Research on French and European American mothers' childrearing practices, and potential effects of these differences on children's behavioral development, is scarce. This study compared 33 French and 39 European American 20-month-old children and their mothers on exploratory, symbolic, and social play and interaction. French children engaged in more exploratory play, whereas US children engaged in more symbolic play. French and US mothers engaged in similar amounts of exploratory and symbolic play, and equally frequently solicited exploratory play. French mothers less frequently solicited symbolic play and offered less verbal praise than US mothers. Developmental play levels and activities also varied according to children's sex. Boys engaged in more exploratory play; girls engaged in more symbolic play. Girls received more physical affection from their mothers; boys received more verbal praise. These results suggest the coexistence of universal and culturally variable aspects of mother–child interactions and children's developmental processes.
Mothers provide differential feedback to infants' prelinguistic sounds
Authors: Gros-Louis Julie , West Meredith J. , Goldstein Michael H. , King Andrew P.
Published: December 2006

Few studies have focused on mechanisms of developmental change during the prelinguistic period. The lack of focus on early vocal development is surprising given that maternal responsiveness to infants during the first two years has been found to influence later language development. In addition, in a variety of species, social feedback is essential for vocal development. Previous research demonstrated that maternal feedback to prelinguistic vocalizations influenced the production of more developmentally advanced vocalizations, suggesting that effects of maternal responsiveness on vocal development may start during the prelinguistic phase; however, because mothers were instructed how and when to respond to their infants' vocalizations, the timing and type of typical maternal feedback is unknown. In the present study, we analyzed unstructured play sessions for 10 mother–infant dyads to explore the relationship between prelinguistic vocal production and maternal responsiveness. Mothers responded contingently to prelinguistic vocalizations over 70% of the time. Mothers responded with more vocal responses compared to interactive responses (e.g., gazes, smiling, physical contact). Investigation of specific types of vocal responses revealed that mothers responded mainly with acknowledgments to both vowel-like sounds and consonant–vowel clusters. Mothers also showed differential responding to vocalizations that varied in quality. Mothers responded with play vocalizations to vowel-like vocalizations significantly more than to consonant–vowel clusters, whereas they responded with imitations to consonant–vowel clusters more than to vowel-like sounds. Mothers, therefore, appeared to regulate their contingent feedback relative to the speech-like quality of infants' vocalizations which may provide relevant stimulation to guide communicative development.
“What sort of an adult would you like your child to be?”: Mothers' developmental goals in different cultural communities in Israel
Authors: Rosenthal Miriam K. , Roer-Strier Dorit
Published: December 2006

This paper discusses the impact of changing ecological contexts on socialization, utilizing qualitative data obtained from 42 mothers of 3–4 year old children, in five communities in Israel. In depth interviews explored mothers' developmental goals concerning valued characteristics for their young boys and girls and valued goals for their children as adults. Similarities and differences in gender-related expectations are discussed in relation to cultural scripts. One major finding in this study is the great similarity between themes mothers used to describe the characteristics they valued in their young children and the themes that emerge from their descriptions of their long-term developmental goals for these children. Our study challenges the dichotomy between individualism and collectivism as a unit of analysis of parental socialization goals and suggests that parents' goals in different cultural communities ought to be characterized not only in relation to the underlying cultural scripts of their community but also in relation to: (a) the level of exposure to eco-cultural change; (b) the specific social structure of the community, or socio-cultural group, undergoing such a change; (c) the community's, or individual's attitude towards such a change; and (d) the host culture excluding or including attitudes.
Young children's representations of their families: A longitudinal follow-up study of family drawings by children living in different family settings
Authors: Roe Amy , Bridges Laura , Dunn Judy , O'Connor Thomas G.
Published: December 2006

Family drawings of 166 children aged 7 years (97 boys and 69 girls, age range 6.7–7.9 years), living in various family settings–stepfather, single-parent, complex stepfamilies and non-step control families–were investigated; longitudinal data were available for 119. The exclusion of family members and the grouping of parents were examined in relation to family type, biological relatedness and residency. Longitudinal analyses showed consistency in familial representations and predictions of child adjustment over time, validating the measure. Children from step and single-parent families were more likely to exclude family members than children from non-stepfamilies. Half and step-siblings were more likely to be excluded than full siblings. Non-resident family members were more likely to be excluded than resident members. Children biologically related to both resident parents were more likely to group their parents together. Omission of resident siblings or biological father, and drawing mother alone were associated with poorer adjustment as reported by mothers. Omission of resident siblings added predictive power to adjustment. These findings indicate that certain obvious and easily-coded features of family drawings may be an empirically supported and useful research and clinical tool.
Preschool children's awareness of private speech
Authors: Manfra Louis , Winsler Adam
Published: December 2006

The present study explored: (a) preschool children's awareness of their own talking and private speech (speech directed to the self); (b) differences in age, speech use, language ability, and mentalizing abilities between children with awareness and those without; and (c) children's beliefs and attitudes about private speech. Fifty-one children between the ages of 3 and 5 completed a selective attention task from which a sample of private speech was video-recorded for use during a subsequent experimenter–child interview. Children also completed a standardized language assessment and a battery of mentalizing tasks. Roughly half of the children (54%) showed awareness of talking during the task, and 52% of the children who talked during the task stated that their speech was self-directed. Children who were aware of their private speech were significantly older, had greater expressive language skills, used more private speech, and had higher deceptive-box scores than children who were not aware of their private speech. Participants believed that private speech was positive and helpful. Implications of this work for researchers and early childhood educators are discussed.
Children's beliefs about authorship
Authors: Levorato M. Chiara , Arfé Barbara
Published: December 2006

Two studies investigated children's beliefs about texts and their origins in an author's mind. In Study 1, 80 children between 4 and 7 years of age were interviewed during a dialogic story-reading activity to investigate their level of awareness about the author's existence and his or her mental processes. Study 2, involving only 5-and 6-year-olds, tested the hypothesis that guided reflection on fictional realities in a story might facilitate children's understanding that an author exists and that a story is the result of his or her mental activity. Results show that mature conceptions of the mental origins of the text appear around the age of 7 but that structured reflection about the fictional nature of the story may trigger this awareness starting around the age of 5 or 6.
Schooling and everyday cognitive development among Kharwar children in India: A natural experiment
Authors: Brouwers Symen A. , Mishra Ramesh C. , van de Vijver Fons J.R.
Published: December 2006

The confounding of chronological and educational age and of schooling and socioeconomic status are persistent problems in the study of the cognitive consequences of schooling. The educational system among the Kharwar in India provides a natural experiment to overcome these problems, since it shows neither source of confounding. The sample comprised of 201 schooled and unschooled Kharwar children from 6 to 9 years of age. The test battery contained tests of mathematics and memory with formal and local stimulus content, as well as tests of inductive reasoning, analogies, fluency, picture vocabulary, and numbers. Confirmatory factor analyses supported similar hierarchical factor structures, with general intelligence in the apex, for both unschooled and schooled children. The per annum score increments of chronological age were about twice as large as those of educational age. These findings illustrate the important role of everyday experiences in the development of basic features of cognitive functioning.
Filling the gap between researchers studying different materials and different methods: a proposal for structured keywords
Authors: Kajikawa Yuya , Abe Koji , Noda Suguru
Published: December 2006

Scientific publications written in natural language still play a central role as our knowledge source. However, due to the flood of publications, obtaining a comprehensive view even on a topic of limited scope, from a stack of publications is becoming an arduous task. Examples are presented from our recent experiences in the materials science field, where information is not shared among researchers studying different materials and different methods. To overcome the limitation, we propose a structured keywords method to reinforce the functionality of a future e-library.
Brief Communication Adjacency and proximity searching in the Science Citation Index and Google
Authors: Kostoff Ronald N. , Rigsby John T. , Barth Ryan B.
Published: December 2006

We have developed simple algorithms that allow adjacency and proximity searching in Google and the Science Citation Index (SCI). The SCI algorithm exploits the fact that SCI stopwords in a search phrase function as a placeholder. Such a phrase serves effectively as a fixed adjacency condition determined by the number n of adjacent stopwords (i.e. retrieve all records where word A and word B are separated by n words in at least one location). The algorithm integrates over search phrases with different numbers of adjacent stopwords to provide a flexible adjacency or proximity capability (i.e. retrieve all records where word A and word B are separated by n or fewer words in at least one location, where n is the maximum separation desired between A and B in at least one location). The Google algorithm exploits the fact that asterisks (in Google) separating words in a phrase function like word wildcards. The difference between two such phrases (the first phrase containing one fewer asterisk than the second phrase) serves effectively as a fixed adjacency or proximity condition, with the number of separating words equal to the number of asterisks in the first phrase. The algorithm integrates over these phrase differentials to provide a flexible adjacency or proximity capability (i.e. retrieve all records where word A and word B are separated by n or fewer words in at least one location, where n is the maximum separation desired between A and B in at least one location).
An integrated framework for intellectual capital measurement and knowledge management implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises
Authors: Montequín Vicente Rodríguez , Fernández Francisco Ortega , Cabal Valeriano Alvarez , Gutierrez Nieves Roqueñí
Published: December 2006

This paper presents a model for measuring intellectual capital (IC) within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in correlation with the key factors for the successful implementation of knowledge management (KM). Most of the existing IC measurement models are intended to cover general aspects. The kernel of these models could be customized/extended to handle more specific aspects, like KM. The focus of this study is the integration between an IC measurement model and the key factors for successful implementing of KM. The paper identifies, analyses and compares IC elements that are relevant for SMEs and how they can be linked with the IC measurement methods for determining if a company is ready for KM. For this purpose, a general IC measurement model is taken as reference for the study.
The role of inter-unit coordination mechanisms in knowledge sharing: a case study of a British MNC
Authors: Willem Annick , Buelens Marc , Scarbrough Harry
Published: December 2006

Valuable knowledge in organizations is too often ‘locked in’ within one unit. The contribution of this paper is to provide insights into the knowledge-sharing effect of inter-unit coordination mechanisms. This topic has not yet received in-depth study. We fill this gap with a case study of a UK-based multinational, in which we explore knowledge sharing between business units. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interviews. The findings from our study highlight that formal coordination is preferable. Informal networking as an inter-unit coordination mechanism was not perceived as beneficial for knowledge sharing. The knowledge-sharing enablers, trust and knowledge complexity, largely dominated the possibilities for inter-unit knowledge sharing whatever coordination was used. Especially, the perceived knowledge complexity caused problems that could not be fully compensated for by any type of coordination mechanism. The study also highlights the unexpectedly minor role of common knowledge and the only indirect effect of coordination through values.
Mental models: a theoretical overview and preliminary study
Authors: Westbrook Lynn
Published: December 2006

Within the socio-cognitive framework of sense-making, this paper explicates the term ‘mental model’ and its associated concepts, analyzes the controversies and connections pertaining to mental model research in information studies, and reports the findings of an exploratory study of the mental models of an academic information system. As one aspect of the process of making sense out of their experiences, individuals develop mental models of the systems and processes with which they interact. These models include (1) key components, (2) relationships between those components, and (3) techniques for interacting with the system or process. The small-scale study discussed here identifies three distinct patterns across the models of information seeking held by graduate students in a reference course.
Working with information: information management and culture in a professional services organization
Authors: Choo Chun Wei , Furness Colin , Paquette Scott , van den Berg Herman , Detlor Brian , Bergeron Pierrette , Heaton Lorna
Published: December 2006

The paper presents a case study of a large Canadian law firm with a distinctive information culture that is vigorously implementing an information management strategy. Our findings suggest that, at least for this organization, information culture trumps information management in its impact on information use outcomes. Thus, the strongly held information values and behaviors in the firm accounted for more than one-third of the variance in information use outcomes. Employees did perceive a high level of information management activity in the firm, although information management played a smaller, perhaps indirect role in explaining information use outcomes. What might organizations do to improve information use? This study suggests that organizations might do well to recognize that, in the hustle and bustle to implement strategies and systems, information values and information culture will always have a defining influence on how people share and use information.
Design and Low-Level Control of a Humanoid Robot Using a Distributed Architecture Approach
Authors: Santos Vítor M. F. , Silva Filipe M. T.
Published: December 2006

This article describes methods and strategies used to develop a humanoid robot with a distributed architecture approach where centralized and local control co-exist and concur to provide robust full monitoring and efficient control of a complex system with 22 DOF. A description of the hardware is given before introducing the architecture, since that greatly influences the methods implemented for the control systems and helps in understanding the general decisions. The platform is still undergoing improvement, but the results are very promising, mainly because many potential approaches and research issues have presented themselves and will provide opportunities to test distributed control systems with possibilities that go far beyond the classical control of robots. Some practical issues of servomotor control are also considered since that turned out to be necessary before implementing higher levels of control-these are, in turn, addressed in the last part the article, which gives an example to demonstrate the possibility of keeping a humanoid robot in an upright balanced position using only local control after reaction forces on the ground.
Rebound, Slip, and Compliance in the Modeling and Analysis of Discrete Impacts in Legged Locomotion
Authors: Bergés Pedro , Bowling Alan
Published: December 2006

An energy-based approach to analysis of the impact problem in three dimensional multi-legged robot locomotion is hereby presented. The goal is to combine rigid and deformable body approaches, which come together naturally in a work-energy framework. The rigid body approach is used to calculate the energy restituted after a foot impacts on the ground, and the ground and the foot are considered rigid bodies throughout the analysis. Then the flexible body approach is used to store the energy restituted to the system through the system’s compliance. The proposed hybrid approach can predict both rebound and non-rebound conditions for an energetic coefficient of restitution greater than zero. Zero tangential velocity (i.e., zero slip) in the impacting end effectors can be also predicted, a condition known as sticking. The article presents a method for determining whether the level of compliance in the system at a given configuration is adequate to insure a no-slip, no-rebound impact, with a focus on leg design.
Adaptive Running of a Quadruped Robot Using Forced Vibration and Synchronization
Authors: Zhang Zu Guang , Kimura Hiroshi , Takase Kunikatsu
Published: December 2006

In this paper we regard legged locomotion (e.g., running) as adaptive vibration, which is capable of adapting to changes in internal parameters and in the external environment. We propose control concepts for such adaptive running in general, and present a theoretical study of the bounding locomotion of a quadruped robot according to the proposed control concepts. In our control method, a forced vibratory system with a synchronization function is constructed by using a rhythm generator and a torque generator. The states of both generators are modified by delayed feedback control (DFC) using a stance phase period measured by contact sensors. Such sensory feedback to both generators makes the system adaptive to changes in the physical parameters and also adaptive to changes in terrain. The effectiveness of the proposed method was confirmed by simulations using a quadruped robot with an active hip joint and a passive knee joint in each leg. MPEG footage of these simulations can be seen at: http://www.kimura.is.uec.ac.jp/running.