bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Completely mechanical quick changeable joints for multipurpose explosive ordnance disposal robots
Authors: Kececi E. Faruk
Published: August 2008

This paper is an investigation of completely mechanical quick changeable joints for multipurpose explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robots. With the assistance of a quick changeable joint, an ordinary EOD robot becomes a multipurpose robot with an end effector which can be switched during the task. This exchangeable end effector permits the robot to perform more complex duties. Making the joint completely mechanical increases its capacity and decreases its complexity of control and risk of failure. In this paper, the design, manufacturing, and testing stages are explained for four quick changeable joints each possessing different physical working principles. The test results reveal the best design for a multipurpose EOD robot and give ideas for other uses of quick changeable joints. Employing the quick changeable joints in other mobile robot applications can increase a robot's capacity and efficiency.
Neuroadaptive control of elastic-joint robots using robust performance enhancement
Authors: Macnab C.J.B. , D'Eleuterio G.M.T.
Published: August 2008

A
neuroadaptive control scheme for elastic-joint robots is proposed that uses
a relatively small neural network. Stability is achieved through standard
Lyapunov techniques. For added performance, robust modifications are made to
both the control law and the weight update law to
compensate for only approximate learning of the dynamics. The estimate
of the modeling error used in the robust terms is
taken directly from the error of the network in modeling
the dynamics at the currant state. The neural network used
is the CMAC-RBF Associative Memory (CRAM), which is a modification
of Albus's CMAC network and can be used for robots
with elastic degrees of freedom. This results in a scheme
that is computationally practical and results in good performance.
The Performative Self: Improvisation for Self and Other
Authors: Quinn Ruth
Published: August 2008

This paper was prepared for the ‘Postmodernism and Spirituality’ conference
held at the University of Central Lancashire in April this year, and Ruth Quinn has now
reworked the piece in the light of Clive Barker's article in NTQ69, ‘In Search
of the Lost Mode: Improvisation and All that Jazz’. Ruth Quinn first studied Theology
at Oxford, but has been teaching Drama and Theatre Studies for eleven years, currently at
the University of Central Lancashire within the Contemporary Performing Arts Department.
Here she outlines some of the key elements of improvisation and how the dynamic between
self and other develops in an actor's training.
Culture, Memory, and American Performer Training
Authors: Watson Ian
Published: August 2008

In today's technologically complex and racially hybrid society, what is the meaning of ‘cultural memory’? Like performance, Ian Watson argues, culture ‘exists only in the doing’ – yet if our formative experiences are in that sense ‘rehearsals’ for life, the subsequent ‘performance’ is in a constant state of flux and renewal. Here, Ian Watson looks at the interface between theatrical and cultural training in American society, from the old apprenticeship system of the stock companies, through the Delsarte-based approach of the earliest conservatoires and the pervasiveness of Americanized Stanislavsky in the post-war period, towards a renewed concern with the techniques of voice and movement to meet the demands of both the classical and the contemporary experimental repertoires. In contrast to the deep cultural roots of much eastern theatrical training, perceptions of actor training in America are, he argues, as eclectic and diffuse as American society itself, and so (using Eugenio Barba's distinction) lean strongly towards creating a ‘professional’ rather than a ‘personal’ identity for the performer – one which ‘bears the signature of the hybrid narrative it springs from’. Ian Watson, who is an Advisory Editor of New Theatre Quarterly, teaches at Rutgers University–Newark, where he is the Acting Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. He is author of Towards a Third Theatre: Eugenio Barba and the Odin Teatret (Routledge, 1993) and of Negotiating Cultures: Eugenio Barba and the Intercultural Debate (Manchester University Press, 2002). He edited Performer Training across Cultures (Routledge, 2001), and has also published numerous articles on theatre in scholarly journals.
Simple Pleasures: the Ten-Minute Play, Overnight Theatre, and the Decline of the Art of Storytelling
Authors: Mitchell Rick
Published: August 2008

The ten-minute play is burgeoning in the United States, yet it is a phenomenon which has received virtually no critical attention. Here, a contributing playwright places the ten-minute play – and its cousin, the ‘overnight’ play – within an historical and theoretical context in order to examine the aesthetic and political implications of the genre. Rick Mitchell's discussion thus ranges between the history of the one-act play, Walter Benjamin's essay on storytelling, Bertolt Brecht's notions of ‘complex’ (as opposed to ‘simple’) pleasures and epic acting, Filippo Marinetti's writings on the variety theatre, and Chekhov's ideas about the strengths of the short, nonsensical, vaudeville farce. Rick Mitchell also relates his own recent experience in creating a ten-minute comedy, Acadiana Sludge – written, rehearsed, and performed (off-book) in less than twenty-four hours – and the text of this play augments the article. Rick Mitchell's other plays include Brecht in L.A., Ventriloquist Sex, Urban Renewal, Potlatch, and The Composition of Herman Melville, recently published by Intellect Books. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at California State University, Northridge, where he directs the Northridge Playwrights Workshop, and he has published numerous articles about performance, theory, and playwriting.
NTQ Reports and Announcements
Authors: Sierz Aleks
Published: August 2008

Report on the ‘In-Yer-Face? British Drama in the 1990s’ conference at the University of the West of England, Bristol, 6–7 September 2002.
Endogenous and exogenous control of leaf morphology in Iriartea deltoidea (Palmae)
Authors: TERBORGH JOHN , DAVENPORT LISA
Published: August 2008

Like many other palms, Iriartea deltoidea undergoes ontogenetic transitions in leaf morphology. It has
been asked whether the transition to adult leaf form in Iriartea was a fixed developmental pattern or a more plastic
response to changes in environmental conditions, but studies so far have not resolved the question. We re-examined
the question by taking measurements on palms growing under the full range of conditions experienced in the natural
environment. Using trunk height as a surrogate variable for ontogenetic stage, we found that individual palms undergo
the transition to adult morphology over a wide range of heights from < 10 m to > 20 m. Palms growing in gaps
undergo the transition early, whereas those growing under a closed canopy undergo the transition late. Noting this, we
asked whether the transition occurred in individuals that were growing faster than a critical minimum rate, and found
no correlation between growth and morphological stage. A post-hoc hypothesis, that structural support of the crown
(measured as trunk diameter) could limit or delay the transition, was confirmed. Our results indicate that multiple
conditions must be satisfied before the transition can be completed. The complex requirements for leaf morphogenesis
in Iriartea confer an ability to respond flexibly to spatially and temporally varying environmental conditions.
Subtropical drosophilids in Australia can be characterized by adult distribution across vegetation type and by height
above forest floor
Authors: VAN KLINKEN RIEKS DEKKER , WALTER G. H.
Published: August 2008

Understanding the pattern in which adult drosophilids of different species are distributed across and within different vegetation types is necessary for accurate interpretation of their local ecology and diversity. Such studies have been conducted mainly in temperate regions, and there is no basis for extrapolating their conclusions to tropical areas. This study describes the vertical distribution (0-20 m) of drosophilids attracted to banana baits in five different vegetation types in subtropical eastern Australia including open woodland, and rain-forest types. The distribution of most of the 15 common species could be characterized three-dimensionally by vegetation type and height above forest floor. Only one species, Scaptodrosophila lativittata, was common in all vegetation types and it was a canopy species in rain forests and a ground-level species in open woodland. Vertical distribution of some species clearly matched that of their larval hosts, but it did not in others. For example, the fungivore Leucophenga scutellata was mostly trapped well above the forest floor, yet it breeds at ground level, suggesting behavioural mode can influence vertical distributions. We conclude that the vertical dimension, although still poorly understood in relation to drosophilid habitats, needs to be taken into account when conducting and interpreting studies aimed at understanding drosophilid populations and communities in the subtropics.
The influence of biogeographic and ecological heterogeneity on Amazonian pollen spectra
Authors: BUSH MARK B. , MORENO ENRIQUE , DE OLIVEIRA PAULO E. , ASANZA EDUARDO , COLINVAUX PAUL A.
Published: August 2008

The influence of gamma- (γ) and beta- (β) diversity on modern pollen rain is assessed using data from three Amazonian forests. Pollen rain of 79 forest locations was collected in modified Oldfield pollen traps between 1991 and 1993. Pollen diversity in the traps was high with > 280 palynomorph types recognized. Gamma diversity was assessed by comparing lowland terra firme forests in Cuyabeno, Ecuador, with two terra firme forests near Manaus, Brazil. The influence of β-diversity on local pollen rain was investigated using samples collected from neighbouring terra firme forests, seasonally flooded forests, and Mauritia-rich forests at Cuyabeno, Ecuador. Multivariate analyses revealed that γ-diversity produces a stronger signal in the pollen rain than β-diversity. However, β-diversity is accurately reflected in the pollen rain when the diversity is an expression of strong environmental gradients.
Reproductive phenology, seed-set and pollination in Chamaedorea alternans, an understorey dioecious palm in a rain forest in Mexico
Authors: OTERO-ARNAIZ ADRIANA , OYAMA KEN
Published: August 2008

The pollination ecology and reproductive phenology of a dioecious palm, Chamaedorea alternans were studied at Los Tuxtlas Biological Station in Veracruz state, Mexico during the 1995-96 flowering season. The sexes flower synchronously from October to January. Field observations investigated reproductive phenology, flower visitors and inflorescence and fruit production. Males produce more flowers and inflorescences than females. Seed-set was 13%, indicating low reproductive efficiency. Individual plants showed a great variation in number of inflorescences produced. Five female and eight male plants (out of 25 and 37 plants, respectively) produced 45% of all inflorescences in the population studied. These five females also produced c. 75% of all fruits. Seed production did not show significant differences between insect-excluded and open-pollinated inflorescences, in experiments to test the efficiency of wind pollination. Flowers of this species are wind-pollinated but a great activity of undetermined species of thrips (Thysanoptera) was observed in male inflorescences.
Ants as epiphyte gardeners: comparing the nutrient quality of ant and termite canopy substrates in a Venezuelan lowland rain forest
Authors: BLÜTHGEN NICO , SCHMIT-NEUERBURG VIVIANE , ENGWALD STEFAN , BARTHLOTT WILHELM
Published: August 2008

The poor availability of suitable substrate and nutrients strongly limits the distribution and growth of vascular epiphytes in lowland rain forests (Benzing 1990, Nieder et al. 2000). In some epiphyte species nutrition may be assisted by adventitious roots that grow into animal debris in plant cavities such as domatia and bromeliad tanks (Huxley 1980). For epiphyte species lacking these modifications, animals may nevertheless play a substantial role by providing a large proportion of the limited substrate in lowland forests (Catling 1995, Longino 1986). Such associations between epiphytes and nutrient/substrate-providing animals may often be non-specific and commensalistic (Davidson & Epstein 1989, Longino 1986), while highly evolved mutualistic associations occur in the case of ant gardens which are very abundant in neotropical forests (Huxley 1980, Kleinfeldt 1986, Ule 1901). Ant gardens typically are densely inhabited by different epiphytes from various plant families whose seeds or fruits are attractive to the ants and carried into the nest (Davidson 1988). In addition, ants have been suggested to play a role in protection and nutrition of ant-garden epiphytes (Kleinfeldt 1978, 1986). Ants may benefit from epiphytes through increased nest stability (Yu 1994) or nutrition via extrafloral nectaries, fruit pulps or seed arils (Davidson 1988, Kleinfeldt 1986). In this study,we compare the nutrient quality of such ant gardens with other similar substrates rarely inhabited by epiphytes, namely nests and galleries of ants and termites.
Fruit dispersal of two dipterocarp species in a Malaysian rain forest
Authors: OSADA NORIYUKI , TAKEDA HIROSHI , FURUKAWA AKIO , AWANG MUHAMAD
Published: August 2008

Seed dispersal is the predominant mobile stage for sessile plants, and critically affects the distribution patterns of the species (Nathan & Muller-Landau 2000). Thus, seed dispersal patterns are important in understanding the population dynamics of the species.
Secondary forest succession in a tropical dry forest: patterns of development across a 50-year chronosequence in

lowland Bolivia
Authors: KENNARD DEBORAH K.
Published: August 2008

Stand structure, species richness and population structures of tree species were characterized in 12 stands

representing 50 y of succession following slash-and-burn agriculture in a tropical dry forest in lowland Bolivia.

Estimates of tree species richness, canopy cover and basal area reached or surpassed 75% of mature forest levels in

the 5-, 8-, and 23-y-old stands respectively. Total stem density of the 50-y-old stand was almost twice that of the

mature forest stand. This rapid recovery may be due to a high percentage of sprouting tree species, potentially high

seed fall into abandoned fields, or the disturbance history of the mature stand. The even-aged size-class structures,

dominance of long-lived pioneers, and presence of charcoal and pottery shards in soils of the mature forest stand

suggest it formed after a severe disturbance, possibly fire of anthropogenic origin.
Ontogenetic changes in leaf phenology of a canopy species, Elateriospermum tapos (Euphorbiaceae), in a Malaysian rain forest
Authors: OSADA NORIYUKI , TAKEDA HIROSHI , FURUKAWA AKIO , AWANG MUHAMAD
Published: August 2008

Leaf phenology was studied in individuals of a canopy species, Elateriospermum tapos (Euphorbiaceae), at various ontogenetic stages, in a Malaysian rain forest. The timing of leaf emergence was not synchronized among sapling individuals, and was not correlated with any meteorological factors of the preceding month. The timing of leaf fall in saplings was positively correlated with net radiation, and maximum and minimum temperature, but negatively correlated with relative humidity the preceding month, although these correlations were weak. The leaf production rate was larger under higher light, but the leaf fall rate was not related to the light regime of the saplings. Thus, leaf production was enhanced by the light availability for each individual, while leaf fall may have been enhanced by drought stress. Non-synchronous leaf production appears to be important for sapling growth, allowing saplings to occupy better-lit space quickly. On the other hand, tall trees showed a clear synchronous leaf-fall pattern, with an annual cycle, and no meteorological factors were correlated with the timing of leaf fall. Mature trees of this species produced flowers simultaneously with new leaves, after shedding their leaves. This suggests that the need to synchronize flowering might be the primary determinant of leaf production phenology in mature individuals.
Direct and indirect effects of fire on radial growth of cerrado savanna trees
Authors: HOFFMANN WILLIAM A.
Published: August 2008

Fire is the most prevalent form of disturbance in the cerrado savannas of south-central Brazil, commonly occurring at 2-to 3-y intervals (Coutinho 1990). Frequent fires are known to increase tree mortality (Sato & Miranda 1996), but it is unclear how they affect the growth of the surviving trees. Damage to the crown from scorching is likely to have a direct negative effect on plant growth, however the reduction in tree density due to repeated burning could indirectly stimulate growth because of release from competition. Understanding the relative strength of these contrasting direct and indirect effects of fire on tree growth is important for predicting human impacts on the cerrado vegetation.
Fire as a large-scale edge effect in Amazonian forests
Authors: Cochrane Mark A. , Laurance William F.
Published: August 2008

Amazonian forests are being rapidly cleared, and the remaining forest fragments appear unusually vulnerable to fire. This occurs because forest remnants have dry, fire-prone edges, are juxtaposed with frequently burned pastures, and are often degraded by selective logging, which increases forest desiccation and fuel loading. Here we demonstrate that in eastern Amazonia, fires are operating as a large-scale edge effect in the sense that most fires originate outside fragments and penetrate considerable distances into forest interiors. Multi-temporal analyses of satellite imagery from two frontier areas reveal that fire frequency over 12-14-y periods was substantially elevated within at least 2400 m of forest margins. Application of these data with a mathematical core-area model suggests that even large forest remnants (up to several hundred thousand ha in area) could be vulnerable to edge-related fires. The synergistic interactions of forest fragmentation, logging and human-ignited fires pose critical threats to Amazonian forests, particularly in more seasonal areas of the basin.
Effects of remnant trees in fallows on diversity and structure of forest regrowth in a slash-and-burn agricultural system in southern Cameroon
Authors: Carrière Stéphanie M. , Letourmy Philippe , McKey Doyle B.
Published: August 2008

Remnant trees in fields may facilitate regeneration in fallows by attracting seed dispersers and creating favourable sites for plant establishment. Ntumu shifting cultivators in Cameroon clearing rain forest spare some trees to provide shade for crops. This study examines their effects on regeneration by comparing vegetation in quadrats beneath and away from their crowns, in fallows of varying age (3-20 y). For fallows of all age classes, plant diversity was not significantly different between positions. Trees accounted for larger proportions of species and stems beneath remnant trees. Herbs, principally large monocots, accounted for larger proportions away from trees. Basal area was much higher in quadrats beneath trees. In all quadrats, the majority of individuals belonged to species with animal-dispersed seeds. These accounted for a larger proportion of individuals beneath trees (75%) than away (64%). Wind-dispersed species accounted for a larger proportion of stems away from trees (23.6%) than beneath (11.7%). These data suggest that enhanced seed rain by attraction of perching animals, demonstrated in a companion study, nfluenced regeneration patterns. Effects on regeneration were similar beneath trees of an animal-dispersed (Pycnanthus angolensis, Myristicaceae) and a wind-dispersed (Triplochiton scleroxylon, Sterculiaceae) species. Remnant trees in fallows may facilitate succession by nucleation, resulting in more rapid restoration of forest and conservation of nutrients in plant biomass.
Upper forest line reconstruction in a deforested area in northern Ecuador based on pollen and vegetation analysis
Authors: Wille Michael , Hooghiemstra Henry , Hofstede Robert , Fehse Jan , Sevink Jan
Published: August 2008

Pollen analysis of a 150-cm-long core from Pantano de Pecho (0°20′S, 78°37′W) at 3870 m altitude in the Ecuadorian páramo documents altitudinal migrations and the composition of the upper forest line prior to deforestation. Four successive radiocarbon dates of 293 ± 41 14C y BP, 498 ± 40 14C y BP, 626 ± 33 14C y BP, and 729 ± 44 14C y BP show that the record includes the last c. 730 radiocarbon y, corresponding to the last c. 660 calendar years (cal y BP). The natural upper forest line was at a minimum altitude of 3400-3500 m between c. AD 1290 to 1315 (zone 1), from c. AD 1315 to 1350 at 3500-3600 m (zone 2), from c. AD 1350 to 1640 at 3600-3700 m (zone 3), from c. AD 1640 to c. 1765 at 3750 m (zone 4), and from c. AD 1765 to the present at 3700-3650 m (zone 5). The most important taxa were Alnus, Hedyosmum, Miconia, other Melastomataceae, Gunnera and Solanaceae. Since c. AD 1350 Podocarpus was continuously present with low abundance, but possibly not close to the upper forest line. Rarer elements of the upper montane forest were Dodonaea, Myrsine, Weinmannia, Myrica, Myrtaceae, Sapium, Juglans, Piper, Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae. Human disturbance and deforestation are shown by the presence of Rumex, Spermacoce pollen and charcoal particles. We surveyed the vegetation composition from isolated forest patches located between 3650 m and 4300 m. TWINSPAN analysis indicates forest patches up to 3950 m have a similar floristic composition to closed forest below the upper forest line. We argue that this apparent similarity does not necessarily mean that the slopes between 3750 and 3950 m were covered by closed forest in the past.
Evidence of orchid visitation by Bactrocera species (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Papua New Guinea
Authors: Clarke Anthony R. , Balagawi Solomon , Clifford Barbara , Drew Richard A. I. , Leblanc Luc , Mararuai Amanda , McGuire Daniel , Putulan David , Sar Simphorian A. , Tenakanai David
Published: August 2008

Bactrocera Macquart (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a genus of nearly 500 species, the
majority of which are endemic to tropical South-East Asia and Australasia
(Drew 1989). Nearly all Bactrocera have frugivorous larvae that feed on the
fleshy fruit of tropical trees, shrubs, and vines, and some species are major
horticultural pests (White & Elson-Harris 1992). In this paper,where the term
‘fruit fly’ is used, we are referring explicitly to species of Bactrocera.
Litterfall, decomposition and nutrient release in a lowland tropical rain forest, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea
Authors: Rogers Howard M.
Published: August 2008

The analysis of litter quantity, litter decomposition and its pattern of nutrient release is important for understanding nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. Plant growth and maintenance are partly met through nutrient cycling (O'Connell & Sankaran 1997) which is dominated by litter production and decomposition. Litter fall is a major process for transferring nutrients from above-ground vegetation to soils (Vitousek & Sanford 1986), while decomposition of litter releases nutrients (Maclean & Wein 1978). The rate at which nutrients are recycled influences the net primary productivity of a forest. Knowledge of these processes from tropical rain forests is relatively poor (O'Connell & Sankaran 1997), and in particular there are no known published studies on nutrient cycling from lowland tropical forests in Papua New Guinea. The few studies from Papua New Guinea are confined to the mid-montane forest zone (Edwards 1977, Edwards & Grubb 1982, Enright 1979, Lawong et al. 1993).
Abundance of sympatric skunks (Mustelidae: Carnivora) in Oaxaca, Mexico
Authors: Cervantes Fernando A. , Loredo Joel , Vargas Julieta
Published: August 2008

There are seven species of skunk (Mustelidae) in Mexico which belong to the genera Mephitis, Conepatus and Spilogale (Ramírez-Pulido et al. 1996). They may be found all over the country and live in a wide variety of habitats. Some species occur sympatrically, particularly in tropical and subtropical ranges (Cervantes & Yépez 1995). However, their biology is relatively unknown.
The age of tropical rain-forest canopy species, Borneo ironwood (Eusideroxylon zwageri), determined by 14C dating
Authors: Kurokawa Hiroko , Yoshida Toshiya , Nakamura Toshio , Lai Julaihi , Nakashizuka Tohru
Published: August 2008

Using 14C dating, the life span and growth rate of Borneo ironwood (Eusideroxylon zwageri, Lauraceae), which is a canopy tree species with extremely durable and decay-resistant wood distributed in tropical rain forests of South-East Asia, were studied. Timber segments collected from 15 logged stumps in Kubah National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, were analysed by accelerator mass spectrometry and the obtained data were calibrated to determine the age of individuals. The 14C dating turned out to be an effective method for estimating ages of long-lived trees, such as E. zwageri, in the aseasonal tropics because the estimated error was small compared with estimated age. We found that E. zwageri can live more than 1000 y and that the growth rate of this species was very slow, with a mean radial growth rate of 0·058 cm y-1. The life span was much greater and the growth rate was much slower than those observed or estimated for trees of Dipterocarpaceae, the dominant family in this tropical forest. The long life span of this species may be caused by wood durability with a high specific gravity and abundant defensive compounds. Given equal carbon allocation, the high density and carbon-based defensive compounds may result in a reduced growth rate.
The epiphyte vegetation of the palm Socratea exorrhiza - correlations with tree size, tree age and bryophyte cover
Authors: Zotz Gerhard , Vollrath Birgit
Published: August 2008

We conducted a survey of the epiphyte flora growing on the stilt palm Socratea exorrhiza in a primary lowland rain forest in Panama by means of a canopy crane. For each palm in a 0.9-ha plot, we determined diameter at breast height, tree height, per cent bryophyte cover and the number, identity and attachment site of all vascular epiphytes. The 118 palm trees hosted a total of 701 epiphytes and hemi-epiphytes, belonging to 66 species. Trees were estimated to be c. 20 y old before colonization with vascular epiphytes began. Epiphyte species were highly clumped and segregated along the vertical axis of the trunk. Sequential colonization led to an increased number of species and individuals as the tree grows. Epiphytes were associated with bryophyte patches much more than expected by chance, but no species seemed to depend upon them for establishment. The influence of tree size, age and bryophyte cover on the composition of the epiphyte community are discussed.
Free groups and finite-type invariants of pure braids
Authors: MOSTOVOY JACOB , WILLERTON SIMON
Published: August 2008

In this paper finite type invariants (also known as Vassiliev invariants) of pure
braids are considered from a group-theoretic point of view. New results include a
construction of a universal invariant with integer coefficients based on the Magnus
expansion of a free group and a calculation of numbers of independent invariants of
each type for all pure braid groups.
The zeta function of [sfr ][lfr ]2 and resolution of singularities
Authors: DU SAUTOY MARCUS , TAYLOR GARETH
Published: August 2008

Let L be a ring additively isomorphic to ℤd. The zeta function of L is defined to be

where the sum is taken over all subalgebras H of finite index in L. This zeta function
has a natural Euler product decomposition:

These functions were introduced in a paper of Grunewald, Segal and Smith [5] where
the local factors ζL[otimes ]ℤp(s) were shown to always be rational functions in p−s. The proof
depends on representing the local zeta function as a definable p-adic integral and then
appealing to a general result of Denef’s [1] about the rationality of such integrals.
The proof of Denef relies on Macintyre’s Quantifier Elimination for ℚp [8] followed
by techniques developed by Igusa [6] which employ resolution of singularities.
Kadec–Pełczyński decomposition for Haagerup Lp-spaces
Authors: RANDRIANANTOANINA NARCISSE
Published: August 2008

Let [Mscr ] be a von Neumann algebra (not necessarily semi-finite). We provide a
generalization of the classical Kadec–Pełczyński subsequence decomposition of bounded
sequences in Lp[0, 1] to the case of the Haagerup Lp-spaces (1 [les ] p < 1 ). In particular,
we prove that if { φn}∞n=1 is a bounded sequence in the predual [Mscr ]∗ of [Mscr ],
then there exist a subsequence {φnk}∞k=1 of {φn}∞n=1, a decomposition φnk = yk+zk
such that {yk, k [ges ] 1} is relatively weakly compact and the support projections
supp(zk) ↓k 0 (or similarly mutually disjoint). As an application, we prove that
every non-reflexive subspace of the dual of any given C*-algebra (or Jordan triples)
contains asymptotically isometric copies of [lscr ]1 and therefore fails the fixed point
property for non-expansive mappings. These generalize earlier results for the case of
preduals of semi-finite von Neumann algebras.
Infinitely generated complements to partial tilting modules
Authors: ANGELERI-HÜGEL LIDIA , COELHO FLÁVIO ULHOA
Published: August 2008

We study the existence of complements to a partial tilting module over an
arbitrary ring. As a consequence, we show that a finitely generated partial tilting module
over an artin algebra has a (possibly infinitely generated) complement.
Derived functors and Hilbert polynomials
Authors: THEODORESCU EMANOIL
Published: August 2008

Let R be a commutative Noetherian ring, I an ideal, M and N finitely generated
R-modules. Assume V(I) [xcap ] Supp (M) [xcap ] Supp (N) consists of finitely many maximal
ideals and let λ(Exti(N/InN, M)) denote the length of Exti(N/InN, M). It is shown
that λ(Exti(N/InN, M)) agrees with a polynomial in n for n [Gt ] 0, and an upper
bound for its degree is given. On the other hand, a simple example shows that some
special assumption such as the support condition above is necessary in order to
conclude that polynomial growth holds.
On the size of Diophantine m-tuples
Authors: DUJELLA ANDREJ
Published: August 2008

Let n be a nonzero integer. A set of m positive integers {a1, a2, …, am} is said to
have the property D(n) if aiaj+n is a perfect square for all 1 [les ] i [les ] j [les ] m. Such a
set is called a Diophantine m-tuple (with the property D(n)), or Pn-set of size m.

Diophantus found the quadruple {1, 33, 68, 105} with the property D(256). The
first Diophantine quadruple with the property D(1), the set {1, 3, 8, 120}, was found
by Fermat (see [8, 9]). Baker and Davenport [3] proved that this Fermat’s set cannot
be extended to the Diophantine quintuple, and a famous conjecture is that there does
not exist a Diophantine quintuple with the property D(1). The theorem of Baker and
Davenport has been recently generalized to several parametric families of quadruples
[12, 14, 16], but the conjecture is still unproved.

On the other hand, there are examples of Diophantine quintuples and sextuples like
{1, 33, 105, 320, 18240} with the property D(256) [11] and {99, 315, 9920,
32768, 44460, 19534284} with the property D(2985984) [19]].
The distribution of finite values of meromorphic functions with
deficient poles
Authors: LANGLEY J. K.
Published: August 2008

We prove the existence of unbounded open subsets S of the complex plane with
the following property. If f is a function transcendental and meromorphic in the
plane, the poles of which have positive Nevanlinna deficiency, then f takes every
finite value, with at most one exception, infinitely often in the complement of S.
On the geometry of generalized Chaplygin systems
Authors: CANTRIJN FRANS , CORTÉS JORGE , DE LEÓN MANUEL , DE DIEGO DAVID MARTÍN
Published: August 2008

Some aspects of the geometry and the dynamics of generalized Chaplygin systems
are investigated. First, two different but complementary approaches to the construction
of the reduced dynamics are reviewed: a symplectic approach and an approach
based on the theory of affine connections. Both are mutually compared and further
completed. Next, a necessary and sufficient condition is derived for the existence of
an invariant measure for the reduced dynamics of generalized Chaplygin systems of
mechanical type. A simple example is then constructed of a generalized Chaplygin
system which does not verify this condition, thereby answering in the negative a
question raised by Koiller.
A note on good real perturbations of singularities
Authors: HOUSTON KEVIN
Published: August 2008

One can study the local topology of images of complex analytic maps and the
restriction of such a map to a real subspace. Conditions are given for the topology
of the image multiple point spaces of the complex and real maps to have the same
homology or homotopy type.
Operads and Γ-homology of commutative rings
Authors: ROBINSON ALAN , WHITEHOUSE SARAH
Published: August 2008

We introduce Γ-homology, the natural homology theory for E∞-algebras, and a cyclic version of it. Γ-homology specializes to a new homology theory for discrete
commutative rings, very different in general from André–Quillen homology. We prove
its general properties, including at base change and transitivity theorems. We give
an explicit bicomplex for the Γ-homology of a discrete algebra, and elucidate
connections with stable homotopy theory.
A (locally nilpotent)-by-nilpotent variety of groups
Authors: SHUMYATSKY PAVEL
Published: August 2008

Given positive integers k and n, let [Xfr ] be the class of all groups G such that γk(G)
is locally nilpotent and [x1, x2, …, xk]n = 1 for any x1, x2, …, xk ∈ G. It is shown
that [Xfr ] is a variety.
Race-ing Performativity through Transculturation, Taste and the Mulata Body
Authors: Arrizón Alicia
Published: August 2008

A Cuban cocktail called mulata inspires an examination of the mulata body. Beyond an analysis of the cocktail as a commercial commodity, the mulata body can be placed within an intercultural space shaped by the processes of colonization, slavery and race relations. By examining the grammars in the mulata cocktail, the discussion moves the subject through other texts and discourses in order to mediate the mulata's embodied genealogy as a form of transculturation. As a hybrid body that inhabits a ‘racialized’ performativity, the mulata's subaltern agency is imagined beyond the exoticism charged to its presence in the Latin American and Caribbean contexts. A closer look at the mulata body helps to trace not only the process of objecthood affected by masculinist power and desire, but also by the way the process of subjecthood is performatively achieved.
Japanese Americans at Dachau: Intercultural Exchange in the US Tour of The Gate of Heaven
Authors: Colborn Emily
Published: August 2008

The Gate of Heaven, which toured the United States for two years marking the 50th anniversary of the Dachau concentration camp liberation and commemorating the heroism of Japanese-American soldiers in World War II, imagines the friendship between a Japanese-American veteran and the Holocaust survivor he saves at the gates of Dachau in 1945. While the playwright-performers set out simply to celebrate their family histories – Lane Nishikawa is a third-generation Japanese American and Victor Talmadge lost many relatives in the Holocaust – the commemorative politics they encountered at each stop on the tour transformed the meaning of their play. A reconstruction of the social framework the play encountered at four venues, including the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Old Globe Theatre in southern California, demonstrates the malleable nature of race relations in America and the instability of Holocaust representation.
Varieties of Capitalist Interests: Power, Institutions, and the Regulatory Welfare State in the United States and Sweden
Authors: Swenson Peter A.
Published: August 2008

Current wisdom about the American welfare state's laggard status among advanced industrial societies, by attributing it to the weakness of the Left and organized labor, poses a historical puzzle. In the 1930s, the United States experienced a dramatically progressive turn in social policy-making. New Deal Democrats, dependent on financing from capitalists, passed landmark social insurance reforms without backing from a well-organized and electorally successful labor movement like those in Europe, especially Scandinavia. Sweden, by contrast, with the world's strongest Social Democratic labor movement, did not pass important social insurance legislation until the following two decades.
Challenging American Boundaries: Indigenous People and the “Gift” of U.S. Citizenship
Authors: Bruyneel Kevin
Published: August 2008

On June 2, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed into law the Indian Citizenship Act (ICA), which unilaterally made United States citizens of all indigenous people living in the United States. This new law made citizens of approximately 125,000 of the 300,000 indigenous people in the country (the remainder were already U.S. citizens). Usually, people who have been excluded from American political life see the codi- fication of their citizenship status as an unambiguously positive political development. In the case of indigenous people and U.S. citizenship, however, one cannot find such clear and certain statements. All indigenous people certainly did not look at U.S. citizenship in the same light; in fact, very few saw it as unambiguously positive. This study demonstrates that the indigenous people who engaged the debate over U.S. citizenship came to define themselves, in various ways, as “ambivalent Americans,” neither fully inside nor fully outside the political, legal, and cultural boundaries of the United States. This effort to define a form of ambivalent American-ness reflects a significant tradition in indigenous politics, which involves indigenous political actors working back and forth across the boundaries of American political life to secure rights, resources, and/or sovereignty for the indigenous people they represent.
Emerging Patterns in America's Political and Religious Self-Understanding
Authors: Eisenach Eldon J.
Published: August 2008

Parallel statements through the 1970s and 1980s can be found regarding study of the religious elements in early modern liberal political thought, notably that of Hobbes and Locke. By any measure, the study of religion in American politics, history, and culture, and in political philosophy today, is not only flourishing, it threatens to overwhelm us. This is true not only in the bureaucratic sense of the Religion and Politics Section of the APSA, but in the focus on religion across the discipline and in the use by these political scientists of the work of political, social, cultural, racial, and gender historians and literary critics. And where enough entrepreneurial academics go, grant-giving foundations are sure to follow.
Policy Making Is Decision Making: A Response to Hattam
Authors: Skrentny John D.
Published: August 2008

How should we explain politics and policymaking in one of the most tumultuous and active periods in the history of the American state? Victoria Hattam and I approach the same topic from different starting points and with different goals. While she argues for attention to grass roots mobilization, I look to the policymaking process. I believe the study of policy change should begin at the center of power, where policy decision-making takes place, and should assume nothing about the relevance or role of the political grass roots. Policymakers themselves are always part of the story of policymaking. Grass roots groups are sometimes key actors, yet their impact on policymaking must be demonstrated, not assumed. Assessing this impact and understanding policy development also requires examining cases of failure along with cases of success, and I believe Hattam's neglect of the comparative framework in my book leads her analysis astray.
Avian influenza vaccines: a practical review in relation to their application in the field with a focus on the Asian experience
Authors: PEYRE M. , FUSHENG G. , DESVAUX S. , ROGER F.
Published: August 2008

Vaccination can be a useful tool for the control of avian influenza (AI) outbreaks, but its use is prohibited in most of the countries worldwide because of its interference with AI surveillance tests and its negative impact on poultry trade. AI vaccines currently in use in the field increase host resistance to the disease but have a limited impact on the virus transmission. To control or eradicate the disease, a carefully conceived vaccination strategy must be accompanied by strict biosecurity measures. Some countries have authorized vaccination under special circumstances with contradictory results, from control and disease eradication (Italy) to endemicity and antigenic drift of the viral strain (Mexico). Extensive vaccination programmes are ongoing in South East Asia to control the H5N1 epidemic. This review provides practical information on the available AI vaccines and associated diagnostic tests, the vaccination strategies applied in Asia and their impact on the disease epidemiology.
Guttural deletion in loanwords
Authors: Paradis Carole , LaCharité Darlene
Published: August 2008

Among 4,499 segmental malformations found in English loanwords in three
large corpora of French, the laryngeal /h/ is the only segment that is never
adapted, i.e. replaced by another segment. We suggest that the systematic
deletion of /h/ in French follows from the fact that, phonologically, French, like
Portuguese and Italian, does not employ the Pharyngeal node, the articulator
that characterises gutturals. This prevents English /h/ from being handled
phonologically (deleted or substituted) in those languages. The non-availability
of the Pharyngeal node also explains systematic deletion of the pharyngeal and
laryngeal gutturals in Arabic loanwords in French. In contrast, English /h/ is
adapted by languages employing the Pharyngeal node phonologically, such as
Spanish, Bulgarian, Catalan, Mandarin Chinese, Greek and Russian. Likewise,
the availability of the Pharyngeal node in Fula and English allows the adaptation
of Arabic pharyngeal and laryngeal gutturals in Fula, and non-glottal gutturals
in English.
Internet usage of English for Academic Purposes courses
Authors: JARVIS HUW
Published: August 2008

This paper begins by documenting general usage of the Internet as a tool for
delivery of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses. It then goes on to illustrate how a number of
specific internet-based classroom activities might be integrated onto EAP courses in order to equip
non-native speakers with the main skills that they are likely to need when following an academic
course at a British university.
Institutional and individual dimensions
of transatlantic group work in network-based language teaching
Authors: BELZ JULIE A.
Published: August 2008

Network-based language teaching (NBLT) involves the application of global or
local communication networks within foreign and second language education (Warschauer and Kern, 2000).
In telecollaboration, a type of NBLT, distally located language learners use internet communication
tools to support dialogue, debate, collaborative research and social interaction for the purposes of
language development and cultural awareness (e.g. Kinginger et al., 1999). To date, the
research on NBLT has been limited, focusing primarily on pedagogical implementations of technology
and linguistic features of online communication. In particular, researchers have not robustly
explored social and institutional dimensions of telecollaboration (Chapelle, 2000:217) nor
have they adequately investigated the pervasive assumption that telecollaborative interaction will
necessarily and unproblematically afford language learning (e.g. Kramsch and Thorne, to appear).
Drawing on social realism (Layder, 1993), a sociological theory which emphasizes the
inter-relationship between structure, i.e. society and institution, and agency, i.e. situated
activity and psycho-biography, in researching and explaining social action, I present a
sociocultural account of German-American telecollaboration. In particular, I explore the meanings
that the macro features of (1) language valuation (Hilgendorf, 1996); (2) membership in electronic
discourse communities (Gee, 1999); and (3) culturally determined classroom scripts (Hatch, 1992)
may have for the differential functionality of virtual group work in this partnership. Differences
in group functionality are reflected at the micro-interactional level in terms of (1) frequency and
length of correspondence; (2) patterns of discursive behavior such as question-answer pairs; and
(3) opportunities for assisted L2 performance and negotiation of meaning. Ethnographic data
(e.g. interviews, electronic and classroom discourse, surveys and participant observations) on
individual psycho-biographies are interwoven with macro-level descriptions and statistics to paint
a rich picture of learner behavior in intercultural telecollaboration. This project is funded by a
United States Department of Education International Research and Studies Program Grant
(CFDA No.: 84.017A). The author is a research associate for the German component.
Online interaction: negotiation of meaning and strategies used among
learners of Spanish
Authors: LEE LINA
Published: August 2008

Online interactive exchange offers learners many opportunities to use the
target language to negotiate both meaning and form in a social context that is crucial for
second language acquisition (SLA). This paper discusses the interaction between non-native
speakers (NNSs) and the types of communication strategies employed during the online communication.
A total of forty students participated in online discussions using a private chatroom. Data
from this study suggest that interactive strategies facilitate comprehension of input and output.
The results show that regardless of proficiency level, students used a variety of communication
strategies. However, students tended to use more comprehension checks, clarification checks,
requests and self-repairs to negotiate with each other. The quick interactions taking place in
cyberspace impeded students from producing correct and coherent discourse, especially during the
learner-learner interaction. Pedagogically, students need to be advised of the need to write
correctly to maintain a balance between function, content, and accuracy. One of the corrective
techniques is to make students re-examine and revise their exchanges with guided instruction.
The current study focused on online interaction among NNSs. To claim the effectiveness of online
interaction in SLA with certainty, future studies on online negotiation must include both
NNSs and native speakers.
A defense of checklists for courseware evaluation
Authors: SUSSER BERNARD
Published: August 2008

This paper examines the role of checklists as a device for evaluating
CALL courseware. After defining checklists, it examines the reasons why courseware is
difficult to evaluate compared to other educational materials. It then covers in detail
the main objections to the use of checklists for courseware evaluation; articles in the CAL
literature from the 1980s through the 1990s have complained that checklists are inaccurate,
cannot deal with educational issues, lack objectivity and reliability, are biased, etc. The
present paper then examines these claims one by one, finding either that the criticism is
unjustified or that it applies equally to any form of courseware evaluation. The paper
concludes with speculations, drawn from postmodern literary theory, as to why the checklist
has been the target of so many unsubstantial attacks.