bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ensuring Service Quality for Campus Career Services Centers: A Modified SERVQUAL Scale
Authors: Engelland Brian T. , Workman Letty , Singh Mandeep
Published: March 2007

High-quality career services centers benefit marketing students by providing a full range of career counseling and job placement information so that when they enter the workforce, they are prepared to make better job choice decisions leading to more satisfying and productive careers. However, not all students receive high-quality guidance. Faculty have an obligation to monitor the effectiveness of their campus career services unit as part of their teaching mission. Accordingly, appropriate metrics are needed to measure and track service quality in a career services setting. This article outlines the development and potential use of a modified SERVQUAL scale that can be used as part of an ongoing program of service quality improvement for career services centers on college campuses.
New Horizons in Distance Education: The Online Learner-Centered Marketing Class
Authors: Eastman Jacqueline K. , Swift Cathy Owens
Published: March 2007

The teaching environment is undergoing a major shift as more and more marketing programs are offering classes either partially (Web enabled) or totally (Web exclusive) online. This shift is due to rising costs in education, enrollment management issues, and an evolution in the use of distance learning. This article first describes this evolution in distance learning and the progress into online classes. Next, based on their online marketing class experiences, the authors offer guidelines for other marketing faculty preparing to teach online. The focus is how marketing educators can use the online technology to provide a better learning experience for their students. Concerns marketing instructors may have with teaching online courses are discussed.
Marketing Educator Internet Adoption in 1998 versus 2000: Significant Progress and Remaining Obstacles
Authors: Lincoln Douglas J.
Published: March 2007

Two separate surveys were conducted over a 2-year period to gauge how marketing educators’ use of the Internet changed between 1998 and 2000. Respondents were found to have made significant strides in their adoption of electronic technology and appeared satisfied with their efforts. While most were not expected by their institutions to have Web sites, many did so out of personal motivation. Both those with and without administrative duties see the same significant obstacles to increased adoption: time to learn, execute, and maintain faculty Web sites. Despite the use of Marketing Educators’ Association members as the sample frame, study findings provide an excellent benchmark on which individual marketing faculty and administrators can gauge their own efforts and design future plans.
Be a Good Teacher and Be Seen as a Good Teacher
Authors: Desai Suzanne , Damewood Earl , Jones Richard
Published: March 2007

Teaching in a higher educational setting is analogous to service delivery in the business sector. Students, as consumers of professorial output, have needs and wants, which, if better understood, should result in an improved educational experience. The empirical research presented here explores ideas about good teaching that faculty members might heed as they work to better serve students. A model is suggested that may be useful in analyzing teaching approaches, policies, and practices. By considering a marketing model of customer orientation, insights are gained into improved ways of teaching, and students will likely respond more favorably to classes and instructors.
Explaining the Appeal of Sales Careers: A Comparison of Black and White College Students
Authors: DelVecchio Susan , Honeycutt Earl D.
Published: March 2007

As firms attempt to broaden the racial diversity of their corporate sales force through recruiting activities, the perceptions of sales careers held by college recruits is an important issue. Although both black and white college students rate sales careers as being less appealing, previous research suggests that students differ in how they reach this conclusion. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, is to examine the basis for the low appeal ratings normally ascribed to sales careers by black and white college students. The findings of this study suggest that black and white students attach a similar importance to the job attributes of starting salary, autonomy, and education when rating sales career options. These findings imply that educational efforts aimed at improving the perceptions of the salary and autonomy levels offered by a career in sales can be equally effective for both racial minority and majority students.
The Basic Marketing Course Utilizing an Emergent Simulation Approach
Authors: Wynn Claude T. , Crawford George E.
Published: March 2007

There is little controversy about what the student should have been exposed to when he completes the in troductory course in marketing. However, it is the assumption of this paper that there are a variety of ways to achieve this awareness. Further, it is sug gested that some approaches improve on the basic awareness of these concepts. This exposure can be brought to the point, that it becomes knowledge that has been tried and, therefore, has a high probability of being used by the student in situations he will face in the future. This paper describes a program designed to provide this experiential reference in the marketing area.
Brainstorming the Marketing Experience
Authors: Jacobs Laurence W.
Published: March 2007

Brainstorming may have some interesting applications in the marketing classroom. As a methodology, it can provide insight into marketing problems, and the degree of student involvement, commitment, and enthusiasm is of great pedagogical value. This article provides a classroom-tested illustration of the application of brainstorming.
Marketing Case Instruction at the Undergraduate Level
Authors: Frey Cynthia J. , Keyes Raymond F.
Published: March 2007

Successful use of complex cases in the undergraduate curriculum requires some modification of the traditional case method approach. This article examines the function of cases in the undergraduate environment and the role of the instructor in creating an effective learning atmosphere. Particular emphasis is given to the instructor who is new to case teaching or is transferring case teaching skills to the undergraduate level.
Will the Best Teaching Practice Please Stand Up?
Authors: Weaver Pamela
Published: March 2007

One only has to listen to student complaints and faculty comments to realize that there is a cold war going on in academia concerning testing practices in the classroom. This article will clarify for marketing educators the differences between the many types of examinations used in classrooms, as well as the usefulness and characteristics of these exams. The purpose of this article is not to point out practices that are educationally unsound, but to enlighten marketing educators in the field of testing where most have very little, if any, formal education.
An Analysis of the Source of Articles in the "Journal of Marketing Education" Since its Founding in 1979
Authors: Clark Gary L. , Hanna Nessim
Published: March 2007

The historical publishing pattern in the JME is examined in terms of the characteristics of the contributing authors. Nearly one-half of the 146 articles appearing in the JME since its inception in 1979 have been written by a single author. Results indicate that publication in the JME represents a significant scholarly achievement.
Marketing Researchers as Consumers: An Analysis of the Use of the Journal of Marketing
Authors: Muehling Darrel D. , Cote Joseph A. , Umesh U. N. , Weeks William A.
Published: March 2007

Citations of and references in the Journal of Marketing are examined to determine the contribution of JM to marketing and the social sciences. The results indicate that while JM may make a contribution to the marketing literature, its contribution to the social sciences is limited. In addition, it was found that the authors of JM articles tend to rely on more proven works, rather than citing very recent literature that has not passed the test of time. Lastly, both the Advances in Consumer Research and the AMA Educators' Proceedings were found to make significant contributions to the Journal of Marketing
Cognitive and Affective Dimensions of Educational Objectives: Scale Development and Measurement
Authors: Sandler Dennis , Kamins Michael A.
Published: March 2007

This article presents the development of a scale to measure both the cognitive and effective dimensions of educational objectives and describes an application of the scale regarding the quantification of the impact of differing term assignments upon the achievement of these objectives. As hypothesized, cognitive objectives were affected by these differing assignments, whereas no significant effect was observed upon affective educational objectives. As educational objectives may differ as a function of the target audience (e.g., foreign students, nonbusiness students, senior- and middle-level managers), this study both enables the educator to measure the attainment of such objectives as well as suggests strategies which may effectively do so.
Applying Marketing Techniques to Improve Students' Perceptions of Marketing
Authors: Danko William D. , Schaninger Charles M.
Published: March 2007

Even though the ratio of marketing majors to all business students has been shrinking on a nationwide basis, the trend can be reversed by applying marketing techniques. This study used a simulated before-after quasi-experimental design to demonstrate how students' perceptions can be assessed. Specific modifications were implemented to meet students' needs and expectations. The follow-up measure 18 months later showed not only an enrollment increase in marketing courses, but a more favorable perception of marketing among nonmajors as well.
The Marketing Portfolio: On Advising Students for Job Interviews
Authors: Taylor Ruth Lesher
Published: March 2007

This article provides suggestions for the use of a marketing portfolio of student work as a job interview tool. The suggestions are the result of interviews with students who had used such a portfolio, prospective employers, personnel placement agency staff, and campus placement directors. Interviewees discussed the appropriateness and benefits of an interview portfolio.
The Project Approach to Teaching the Capstone Marketing Course
Authors: Haas Robert W. , Wotruba Thomas R.
Published: March 2007

The benefits of teaching the undergraduate capstone marketing management course with a project approach are reviewed, and a detailed example of a project involving building a marketing plan for a client organization is provided.
Team Projects: Achieving their Full Potential
Authors: Williams David L. , Beard John D. , Rymer Jone
Published: March 2007

Team projects offer many pedagogical benefits, as is evident from their widespread use by marketing instructors. This article summarizes the major benefits of team projects, including new perspectives from educational research, and discusses a significant problem that can undermine these benefits, that of unequal team member contributions. The authors propose a reward structure with both individual and group grading components as a means to achieve the full potential of group assignments. The article concludes with a description of several techniques for individual evaluation.
The Education Service Encounter: The Socialization of Students
Authors: Hoffman K. Douglas , Kelley Scott W.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to examine and discuss the organizational socialization process as it applies to students. An organizational stage model is presented and tested empirically in the context of marketing education using a sample of students. Implications for marketing educators are presented and discussed.
The Right Choice: A Case Method for Taching Ethics in Marketing
Authors: Schaupp Dietrich L. , Ponzurick Thomas G. , Schaupp Frederick W.
Published: March 2007

This article outlines a useful methodology for incorporating ethics into the marketing classroom. Students are encouraged to explore the ramifications of a variety of marketing situations and determine the appropriate response for each. The exercise evolves into a discussion of the underlying justification for arriving at that particular decision. This pedagogical approach has proven useful in moving ethical decisions away from situation specific answers and toward internalized decisions.
Retailing in Marketing Education: Implications of Cross-Disciplinary and Gender Diverse Programs
Authors: Mikitka Kathleen Faith , Stampfl Ronald W.
Published: March 2007

This article (1) reviews a current and historical context of disciplinary and gender diversity in marketing and retailing education, (2) explores cross-disciplinary dimensions and impact of the diversity, and (3) suggests ways to integrate diverse marketing-oriented programs, including cross-disciplinary cooperation and collaboration. The questions of degree standards and program accreditation are raised.
Focus on Service Quality: Adapting Total Quality Management Principles to Services Marketing Education
Authors: Carter W. Richard
Published: March 2007

This article describes the conceptual rationale, content development, and experience of teaching a new course, Understanding Service Delivery Systems, to senior year undergraduate students majoring in marketing and hospitality management at an international university. A major feature of the course is a group project in which students apply Total Quality Management (TQM) principles within a business environment by conducting a service delivery process improvement project. Students are also required to conduct research on the expectations, desires, and service delivery performance perceptions of customers as part of the project. Perceived student and industry benefits, as well as modifications and improvements for subsequent years, are highlighted.
Services Education: Cross-Functional Integration for Quality
Authors: Stuart F. Ian , Tax Stephen S.
Published: March 2007

This article examines how the "services revolution" has challenged existing assumptions underpinning marketing, operations, and human resource education. A framework is developed, using the "House of Quality" technique, to plan and implement a marketing course that is responsive to the challenges of services and illustrates the integrative educational approach required.
Student-Faculty Research Agencies: Marketing Education Integration Using an Entrepreneurial Education Experience
Authors: Peltier James W. , Schibrowsky John A. , Keimenhagen Arno
Published: March 2007

Integrating theoretical disciplines has become one of the greatest challenges facing marketing educators. This article discusses an entrepreneurial educational program designed to provide students with a hands-on experience of operating a student-faculty marketing research agency. Results from a cumulative study that measured students' perceptions of their learning experiences are also presented.
International Business Education and Technology-Based Active Learning: Student-Reported Benefit Evaluations
Authors: Lawson Diana , White D. Steven , Dimitriadis Serge
Published: March 2007

This article presents and evaluates alternative ways in which international business education can become an active-learning process for students. Exercises involving varying levels of technology were designed to enhance students' international experience and understanding. They proved useful in raising students' awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the international business environment.
The Salient Management Skills: A Conceptual Framework for a Curriculum for Managers in Nonprofit Organizations
Authors: Heimovics Richard D. , Herman Robert D.
Published: March 2007

As the definition of public affairs and administration expands to encompass nonprofit organizations and as more university programs in public administration begin to develop curricula in nonprofit organization management, questions of what such curricula should include have become increasingly important. Based on a program of research on nonprofit management skills, the questions that have been raised about appropriate curricula are reviewed, the literature and research program that serve as foundations for the proposed approach to curriculum are described, four executive roles for nonprofit organizations and the implications of each for curriculum are specified, and four sets of behaviorally oriented skills are proposed as useful and appropriate components of nonprofit management curricula.
The Relevance of the Heroic Myths to Public Servants
Authors: Hubbell Larry
Published: March 2007

In The Hero With a Thousand Faces and other related works, Joseph Campbell indicated that the heroic myth is an ageless myth that has universal applications to all cultures. The several ways that the concept of heroism is understood in America are explored in this article. Typically in America, heroism is associated with "the great man" who distinguishes himself by being valorous on the battlefield, but the author holds that everyone faces heroic opportunities. The life of a hero can be likened to a journey—the journey of individuation—that has three major phases: the calling, the encounter with death, and the return to a community. Heroes maintain contact with their environment while reflexing with their unconscious. Given the current malaise that characterizes much of the public service, the concept of heroism can be a particularly powerful way for federal workers to understand and relate to their work.
Street-Level Policymaking: Characteristics of Decision and Policy in Public Welfare
Authors: Moore Scott T.
Published: March 2007

The Oahu branch of the Public Welfare Division in the Hawaii Department of Social Services and Housing is examined to extend and refine the theory on street-level bureaucracy, specifically in terms of the policy-relevant choices exercised by street-level bureaucrats. From analysis based upon interviews and observation, the author concludes that policy obscurity and situational ambiguities contributed to the construction of numerous and distinctive regimens of pragmatic choices. The author also concludes that these choices are of a scale of significance beyond what is conventionally called discretion. Three types of street-level policymaking, the intervener, the withdrawn, and the student, are analyzed, and the source and content of the policy of each is examined. Each policymaking regimen represents a distinctive response to the setting of official policy and the operational pressures of doing public assistance work. Implications are then drawn for the theory of street-level bureaucracy, street-level policymaking, and the appropriate locus of reform.
Assuring a Healthy Food Supply: A Case for Fundamental Reform of Regulatory Programs
Authors: Hardy Stuart B.
Published: March 2007

Recent months have brought a steady procession of well publicized food scares-some more perceived than real—that have alarmed consumers and drawn attention to the surveillance and inspection activities of various regulatory programs. Investigations by Congressional committees, the General Accounting Office and others have revealed significant shortcomings in program design and execution. Many problems are deeply rooted in a history of food regulation too often characterized by hasty, piecemeal solutions to health threats that have arisen in one food sector or another. Less attention has been paid to examining potential hazards in the food supply as a whole and directing limited federal resources toward areas where risks to health are greatest.

The result is a system replete with inconsistencies, conflicts and gaps. Nor have regulatory programs kept pace with science. In some instances, regulators continue to use analytical tools that are decades out of date. State governments increasingly are moving into what they perceive as a regulatory vacuum with the best of intentions but the very real prospect of adding to regulatory conflicts and contradictions, without any corresponding benefit to public health.

There is a pressing need to harmonize and modernizing the food regulatory system as a whole. A growing number of policymakers, consumer groups and industry leaders believe that this can be accomplished through the implementation of a science-based set of regulatory principles known as Hazard Analysis, Critical Control Points (HACCP). These principles, applicable to every link in the food production, processing and distribution chain, focus on the process rather than the product, and seek to control potential hazards at critical points on the farm, in the plant, in the market and elsewhere. However, the introduction of science based systems of food safety assurance will pose numerous challenges to the federal, state and local agencies charged with food regulation. Moreover, since HACCP transfers much of the burden of safety assurance onto the industry itself, its success ultimately depends on the good faith commitment of the food industry.

The lively dialogue now taking place in the food regulatory arena has widespread implications for other sectors of the economy where government safety assurance activities may also require harmonization and modernization.
Where there is Power, there is no Eros: A Jungian Interpretation of the Weberian Legacy
Authors: Jacobson Kaaren Hedblom
Published: March 2007

This article examines the influence of Weberian rationality on the human unconscious. Using the work of the depth psychologist C. G. Jung, I conclude that Weber's ideal construct is too one-sided. This entirely masculine and conscious approach to organizing posits too much psychic energy with the conscious ego, and, accordingly, the feminine, and the entire unconscious, all that we are not consciously aware of, is repressed. Thus this article finds that modern-day careerists who identify their whole being with their work suffer from emotionally stunted lives. Moreover, this repressed state of being transcends the boundary of the individual's organizational and private life. Concluding that repression of feeling in our culture, and the integral part that modern organization plays within this societal context, is serious, this study calls for a tempering of rationality within organization. Following the Jungian perspective that anything repressed for too long turns violent and that psychic wholeness can be obtained only by integrating the masculine and feminine opposites, the article suggests that individuals, as well as society, must open an avenue to the unconscious that will permit the feminine its rightful existence along with the masculine.
Treating the Nation as a Brand: Some Neglected Issues
Authors: O’Shaughnessy John , O’Shaughnessy Nicholas Jackson
Published: March 2007

After discussing the concepts of nation and image, this article considers (1) the extent to which the notion of a brand is applicable to a nation, (2) the mechanisms by which a nation’s image influences attitudes toward its products, (3) the choice processes in which country of origin is most likely to play a significant role, and (4) the extent to which the image of a nation can be manipulated. One conclusion is that the reputational capital of a nation with respect to a product category will influence choice more than a nation’s overall attractiveness, though fragments of a nation’s imagery may nonetheless be successfully exploited.
Revolving, Not Revolutionary Books: The History of Rental Libraries until 1960
Authors: Rassuli Kathleen M. , Hollander Stanley C.
Published: March 2007

Small rental libraries that circulated popular fiction and nonfiction for a small fee flourished as sideline businesses in many U.S. and British nonbook retail and service outlets from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Publisher’s Weekly estimated that there were 50,000 of these so-called drugstore libraries in the United States alone in 1935. This article explores the antecedents, history, operation, and influence of those libraries. It then considers this one subindustry’s implications for such marketing concepts as theories of retail firm growth and decline, the vagueness of the distinction between products and services, loss-leader and scrambled merchandising, and relationship marketing. The overall picture is one of very considerable flexibility in both private- and ultimately public-sector response to changing consumer needs and desires.
Toward a Theory of the Macro Systemic Effects of the Marketing Function
Authors: Reidenbach R. Eric , Oliva Terence A.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the relationship between the Entropy Law and marketing from a macro perspective. The authors examine the relationship between environmental disorder, technology, and societal levels of standard of living. They conclude that the tradeoffs between order and disorder can be theoretically managed.
Technological Antecedents of the Modern Marketing Mix
Authors: Funkhouser G. Ray
Published: March 2007

This article traces the technological antecedents of several key elements of the modern marketing mix (Borden 1964)-distribution, promotion, and packaging.
Sasquatch, the Abominable Snowman, Free Riders and other Elusive Beings
Authors: Mittelstaedt Robert A.
Published: March 2007

Recent arguments by some legal scholars and attempts by the Antitrust Department of the US. Justice Department to overturn the 74-year old per se prohibition of vertical price restrictions have invoked the argument that resale price maintenance agreements (RPMs) control "free riders". This article reviews the legal history of the per se rule and examines the alleged procompetitive benefits of eliminating free riders through the use of RPM agreements by identifying the situations in which free riding is likely to occur, the circumstances in which it can be controlled by an RPM, and the social costs of using RPMs. It is concluded that true free riding is a relatively rare phenomenon and the benefit from moving to a rule of reason is insufficient to offset the social and economic costs of abandoning the per se rule.
Structuring the Macromarket: Lessons from Alexander Hamilton
Authors: Keep William W.
Published: March 2007

As the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton exerted significant influence on the formation of governmental policy. This article examines Hamilton's attempt to institute a macromarketing plan for the United States. This plan would have promoted commerce, as well as economic and social development, but it failed. Hamilton's experience exemplifies the difficulty in developing a comprehensive macromarketing plan.
Marketing Ethics, Macromarketing, and the Managerial Perspective Reconsidered
Authors: Priddle John
Published: March 2007

This article argues that recent criticism of business education and the resurgence of serious interest in marketing ethics and macromarketing during the 1980s are best understood as making the case for repositioning business and marketing education away from a managerial and toward a more inclusive stakeholder perspective. It then briefly explores some of the differences this perspective can make for marketing education.
Marketing and the Wealth of Firms
Authors: Falkenberg Andreas Wyller
Published: March 2007

A firm increases its wealth by creating value for its customers. This article proposes that the main source of wealth creation is in the "behavioral assets" of the firm, that is, the routines and competencies of the people involved. These valuable behavioral assets are located not only inside, but also outside the firm. For this reason it is not sufficient to use the individual firm as a unit of analysis when looking for the sources of the wealth of the firm; one must look at the complete value-creating network surrounding the firm. The article classifies assets into three categories: physical assets, valuable paper, and behavioral assets. These are categorized in a matrix based on the degree to which a firm may exercise control of them and on the location of the assets relative to the firm. Marketing is a major contributor to the wealth of firms, especially as this wealth is generated from behavioral assets outside the firm itself
Physical Quality-of-Life Indicators in Post-Stalinist Russia
Authors: Dixon Donald F. , Polyakov Evgeny
Published: March 2007

Repeated economic reform efforts since 1985 have not improved the material well-being of the average Russian; the decline in GDP since 1991 has been greater than that in the United States during the Great Depression. Since the beginning of the Gorbachev era, per capita consumption has fallen for all food products, with the exception of bread and potatoes. Poor nutrition has contributed to poor health and a rising death rate. A decline in the birthrate also is attributed, in part, to declining living standards.
Generalized Unfoldings for Shortest Paths
Authors: Bajaj Chanderjit , Moh T.T.
Published: March 2007

We consider the problem of determining shortest paths in the presence of polyhe dral obstacles between two points in Euclidean three-space. For the special case when paths are constrained to the surfaces of three-dimensional objects, simple planar unfoldings are used to obtain the shortest path. For the general case when paths are not constrained to lie on any surface, we describe general ized unfoldings wherein the shortest path in three-space again becomes a straight line. These unfoldings of consist of multiple rotations about the edges of the polyhedral obstacles.
Decentralized Adaptive and Nonadaptive Position/Force Controllers for Redundant Manipulators in Cooperations
Authors: Liu Yun-Hui , Arimoto Suguru
Published: March 2007

This paper addresses the problem of controlling positions and forces of multiple redundant manipulators cooperatively handling an ob ject in a decentralized manner while optimizing a performance in dex. The authors propose one adaptive and two nonadaptive de centralized controllers. The adaptive controller is able to cope with unknown or uncertain physical parameters of the system. The Lya punov approach proves that this controller not only yields asymp totic convergence of the position and force errors but also opti mizes the specified performance index. To improve the transition performance, besides the nonadaptive version of the controller, an implicit decentralized force controller with exponential stability is developed. The controllers realize the force and position controls simultaneously by using coupled force and position signals. The coupled signals distinguish these methods from traditional hybrid controllers in which decoupling of the signals is a must. The de centralized architectures of all the controllers must be emphasized. In detail, the joint input for each robot is designed in its own state space; thus, no coordinator exists, and the computation cost is less expensive than that of centralized controllers designed in the state space of the whole system.
Task Constraints Specification via Optimized Hyperellipsoids
Authors: Cloutier Guy M. , Gourdeau Richard
Published: March 2007

This paper proposes a method to numerically construe task con straints ellipsoids from bounded task domains. The nature of tasks and bounded task domains are discussed, and some geometric bounded domains are presented with their suitable hyperquadratic approximations. Analytical solutions yielding their maximum vol ume substitute ellipsoids are compared against the bounded do mains themselves and against a competing maximum volume sub stitute box. The aforementioned numerical method is presented and is gauged against the known analytical solutions.
A Practical Approach to Near Time-Optimal Inspection-Task-Sequence Planning for Two Cooperative Industrial Robot Arms
Authors: Cao Bailin , Dodds Gordon I. , Irwin George W.
Published: March 2007

A near time-optimal inspection-task-sequence planning for two co operative industrial robots is outlined. The objective of the task- sequence planning is not only to find a series of near time-optimal final configurations for two arms where the inspection operations are undertaken for segment motions, but also to find a near time-optimal task sequence of inspection points.

A time-efficient, continuous joint-acceleration profile is proposed for a class of general industrial robots, and simplified by suitably choosing the time intervals of the profile for each segment motion between any two points to be inspected. The optimization problem to find near time-optimal final configurations is solved using the non linear optimization method of sequential quadratic programming (SQP). The computation overhead arising with this approach is suc cessfully dealt with. The task-sequence planning is formulated as a variation of the travelling salesman problem, and simulated anneal ing is used to find a near time-optimal route. The near time-optimal task-sequence planning and time-efficient trajectory planning are effectively integrated with the related computational problems ad dressed and solved.

The proposed method is applied to an environment containing two RTX SCARA-type industrial robots with six joints. Computations have been carried out for moving points in a route, as compared with the same fixed points in a route where only one arm moves. The conclusion is that it is much more efficient if two robot arms work in a cooperative mode. A speed increase by a factor of close to 3 has been achieved through effective use of joint capabilities in the cooperative system. Experiments have also been conducted on the RTX system, yielding satisfactory results that are consistent with those obtained by simulation.
TangentBug: A Range-Sensor-Based Navigation Algorithm
Authors: Kamon Ishay , Rimon Elon , Rivlin Ehud
Published: March 2007

The Bug family algorithms navigate a 2-DOF mobile robot in a completely unknown environment using sensors. TangentBug is a new algorithm in this family, specifically designed for using a range sensor. TangentBug uses the range data to compute a locally short est path, based on a novel structure termed the local tangent graph (LTG). The robot uses the LTG for choosing the locally optimal di rection while moving toward the target, and for making local short- cuts and testing a leaving condition while moving along an obstacle boundary. The transition between these two modes of motion is governed by a globally convergent criterion, which is based on the distance of the robot from the target. We analyze the properties of TangentBug, and present simulation results that show that Tangent Bug consistently performs better than the classical Bug algorithms. The simulation results also show that TangentBug produces paths that in simple environments approach the globally optimal path, as the sensor's maximal detection-range increases. The algorithm can be readily implemented on a mobile robot, and we discuss one such implementation.
An Iterative Learning- Control Scheme for Impedance Control of Robotic Manipulators
Authors: Danwei Wang  , Cheah C.C.
Published: March 2007

In this paper, an iterative learning-control law is proposed for impedance control of robotic manipulators. In most of the learning- controller designs in the literature, a reference trajectory is given and a learning algorithm is designed to force the trajectory track ing error to converge to zero as the action is repeated. In contrast, our approach allows the performance of the learning system to be specified by a target impedance. A design method for analyzing the learning-impedance system is developed, and sufficient conditions for guaranteeing the convergence of the error to zero are derived. The robustness of the learning impedance-control system to the fluc tuation of the dynamics, output measurement noise, and error in the initial conditions is also analyzed in details. Experimental results on a system using an industrial robot (SEIKO TT3000) are presented to illustrate the theoretical results.
Human Interface, Automatic Planning, and Control of a Humanoid Robot
Authors: Hwang Yong K. , Kang Sung C. , Lee Sooyong , Park Sang M. , Cho Kyoung R. , Kim Hyun S. , Lee Chong W.
Published: March 2007

This paper presents an integrated robotic system consisting of human interfaces, motion- and grasp-planning algorithms, a controller, a graphical simulator, and a humanoid robot with over 60 joints. All of these subsystems are integrated in a coordinated fashion to enable the robot to perform a commanded task with as much autonomy as possible. The highest level of our system is the human interfaces, which enable a user to specify tasks conveniently and efficiently. At the mid-level, several planning algorithms generate motions of the robot body, arms, and hands automatically. At the lowest level, the motor controllers are equipped with both a position controller and a compliant motion controller to execute gross motions and contact motions, respectively. The main contributions of our work are the large-scale integration and the development of the motion planners for a humanoid robot. A hierarchical integration scheme that pre serves the modularities of the human interfaces, the motion planners, and the controller has been the key for the successful integration. The set of motion planners is developed systematically so as to coordi nate the motions of the body, arms, and hands to perform a large variety of tasks.
Fast-Bearing Measurement with a Single Ultrasonic Transducer
Authors: Yata Teruko , Kleeman Lindsay , Yuta Shin'ichi
Published: March 2007

In conventional ultrasonic sensing, accurate ultrasonic target- bearing measurement is often regarded as difficult, due to the wide- beam angle of ultrasonic transducers. However, the accurate mea surement of distances and angles is usefulfor many robot tasks, such as obstacle avoidance and wall following. In this paper, we propose a method for extracting bearing information by using a single trans ducer in ultrasonic pulse-echo sensing, which basically exploits the dependency of the echo spectrum on bearing angle. The method em ploys a simple approach using a zero-crossing time interval of the reflected echo, and consequently is a fast measurement technique. This paper also presents experimental results on a real mobile robot and illustrates the usefulness of the ultrasonic bearing-measurement approach.
Chinese and American Music Majors: Cross-Cultural Comparisons in Motivation and Strategies for Learning and Studying
Authors: Brand Manny
Published: March 2007

North American, European and Australian music schools, departments and conservatories actively recruit talented music students from Asia. Stereotyped by some music faculties as "model international students", Asian students are typically viewed as highly talented, incredibly diligent, and extremely hard working. However, another image, as reported in surveys of University faculty, depicts the Asian learner as a rote learner.

Utilising Bigg's (1987) Study Process Questiontnaire (SPQ), this study examines these assumptions by comparing motives for learning and cognitive strategies of 335 American and Chinese music students. The SPQ, a 42-item, self-report questionnaire, is often used in cross-cultural comparisons of university students' approaches to learning. While it was found that on most aspects of the SPQ, American and Asian music students are similar in terms of their depth of involvement and dedication to music study and musical achievement, findings reveal that the American students show a greater tendency to rely on extrinsic motivation and greater reliance on rote learning approach as compared to Chinese music students.
Music in the Daily Experience of Grade Six Children: an Interpretive Study
Authors: Taylor Marlene M.
Published: March 2007

The study involved a systematic search for an understanding of the ways in which students subjectively experience music. The purpose of the study was to investigate the reports of children on their thoughts when engaged in a music listening task. A group of eighteen grade six students, 12 girls and six boys, were studied in one school in a Saskatchewan city during May and June, 1982. Interviews with the parents of 12 of the children were conducted as part of the data collection. A qualitative research method guided the study through a series of phases: participant-observation in the classrooms, a laboratory setting within the school, stimulated-recall interviews, parent interviews, and the administration of the Music Aptitude Profile (Gordon, 1965). The study drew some conclusions about the meaning of music to the students. While pop/ rock music was the preferred musical style, students experienced considerable difficulty providing verbal explanations to explain their preference decisions. Both musical and non-musical associations were made by the students engaged in the music-listening task. The study also found that the research influenced the role of music in the experience of the student. Stimulated-recall may be a useful technique in probing the thinking processes of students so long as it is preceded by a research phase that allows students to become comfortable with the person to whom they will express their thoughts. Finally, the study concluded that the parents and the home were not influential in determining a child's musical preferences. The conclusions suggest the need for continued study of the relationship between music as an aesthetic experience and music education as a curriculum entity.
Musical Performance as Interpretation
Authors: Shaffer L. Henry
Published: March 2007

Performances by expert pianists of works by Bach, Chopin and Beethoven were computer recorded. The timing and dynamic of performance were examined in relation to analyses of the musical structure. Comparisons of structure and expression enable us to consider performance as both elucidating structure and inventing a musical character. Character is the patterning of expression in response to large-scale structures and moods perceived in the music, and as such it is essentially an imaginative construct. This concept is needed for a full epistemology of performance, which hitherto has tended to concentrate on the structural aspect of interpretation.
What is the Problem with Experts?
Authors: Turner Stephen
Published: March 2007

The phenomenon of expertise produces two problems for liberal democratic theory: the first is whether it creates inequalities that undermine citizen rule or make it a sham; the second is whether the state can preserve its neutrality in liberal `government by discussion' while subsidizing, depending on, and giving special status to, the opinions of experts and scientists. A standard Foucauldian critique suggests that neutrality is impossible, expert power and state power are inseparable, and that expert power is the source of the oppressive, inegalitarian effects of present regimes. Habermas argues that expert cultures make democratic discussion impossible. Analogous problems arise with `cognitive authority', understood in Mertonian terms. Cognitive authority, as Merton sees it, allows us to ask about the democratic legitimacy of this authority, which appears to solve the problem (or part of the problem) because it returns ultimate `authority' to the people, who reject or accept the experts' claims. And many claims to expertise in fact do fail to gain acceptance. Through an examination of the type of expert that appears to evade the demands of legitimation, it is shown that expertise and liberal democracy can in principle co-exist, contrary to the claims of the critics.
The Distribution and Resolution of the Ambiguities of Technology, or Why Bobby Can't Spray
Authors: Rappert Brian
Published: March 2007

Much debate has taken place in science and technology studies (S&TS) regarding how to speak about the capacities of technology. Alternative approaches are bound up with questions over the merits of realist and relativist accounts of technology and their potential for analytical insight and practical engagement. This paper advances a basis for examining the link between politics and artefacts, one that draws on but reconfigures the work of post-essentialist authors. This is done by moving away from attempts to detail the social basis of technology to consider instead where the ambiguities associated with technology are resolved. These issues are examined through the case of a (re-)emerging class of devices called `non-lethal' weapons and, in particular, the chemical incapacitant spray used by British police forces. In doing so, this paper reframes debates in technology studies over how far it is possible and desirable to pursue relativist lines of inquiry.
Project Camelot and the 1960s Epistemological Revolution
Authors: Solovey Mark
Published: March 2007

Project Camelot, a military-sponsored, social science study of revolution, was cancelled in 1965 amidst international and national discussion about the study's political implications. Subsequently, Camelot became the focus of a wide-ranging controversy about the connections between Cold War politics, military patronage, and American social science. This paper argues that following Camelot's demise, efforts to rethink the politics-patronage-social science nexus became an important part of what historian Peter Novick has called `the epistemological revolution that began in the 1960s'. Novick claims that `strictly academic' considerations provided the categories of analysis that challenged the scholarly mainstream's commitment to objectivity and related ideals, like value-neutrality and professional autonomy. In contrast, my analysis - which discusses post-WWII military patronage for the social sciences, Camelot's origins and cancellation, the ensuing controversy, and some long-term implications of this controversy - underscores the centrality of political developments and political concerns in that epistemological revolution.
The Triple Helix and New Production of Knowledge
Authors: Shinn Terry
Published: March 2007

This comment considers the approaches expressed in the books by Gibbons et al., The New Production of Knowledge (1994) and Nowotny et al., Re-Thinking Science (2001), and in the body of work pioneered over the last few years by Henry Etzkowitz and Loet Leydesdorff which expounds the `Triple Helix' analysis of industry/university/government relations. Citation analyses and Internet search data are used to explore the geographical locations, audiences and `impact' of this work. The strengths and weaknesses of these approaches are discussed, and the challenge of ensuring that they become more than fleeting fads, nourishing an unproductive frenzy, but develop so as to contribute something enduring to scholarship and practice
Carving up Population Science
Authors: Ramsden Edmund
Published: March 2007

Using the analytical framework of boundary-work, I examine how the cultural space of demography, its borders and its territories, were constructed and reconstructed as scientists continuously struggled to maintain, increase, and defend the cognitive authority of science and particular interpretations of reality. While the emerging field of population united both biologists and social scientists in the early 20th century, the controversy over the biologist Raymond Pearl’s logistic curve in the inter-war period became one of the defining features in the development of the population sciences in the United States. Pearl’s use of the logistic curve reflected his biologically determinist vision of human progress and the definition and function of science within that process. Pearl’s critics, the majority numbered among the social sciences, opposed such an imperialistic vision. With the weakening of Pearl’s influence, American demography was clearly defined as a social science. In disciplinary histories, Pearl’s defeat is attributed to scientific progress and the collapse of credibility for the eugenics movement. Thus a history of a scientific progression from biological determinism to social empiricism is combined with a shift from population ideology to population science. Yet the attack on the biological lawsin the 1930s had as much to do with differing opinions as how to best regulate a population according to eugenic standards, as it was a struggle between a biologically determinist eugenics and a social science of reform.