bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What Is Islamic Law?
Authors: Dupret Baudouin
Published: March 2007

In this article, I first criticize commonly held assumptions about what Islamic law is. I suggest that it is at best useless and at worst wrong to start with a label like ‘Islamic law’ to describe something that is presumed to be an instance of such a label. I identify the source of confusion, i.e. the postulate that there must be a kind of genealogical continuity between what people refer to as Islamic law and Islamic law as it is found in the heterogeneous legacy of sharî’a and fiqh treatises. My contention is that Islamic law is what people consider as Islamic law, nothing more, nothing less, and that it is up to theologians, believers and citizens, not social scientists, to decide whether something does conform or not to some ‘grand tradition’. Second, I argue that instead of looking at the hypothetical Islamic-law model, which something like Egyptian personal status law would be an instance of, the task of social scientists is, rather, to describe the situations, the mechanisms and the processes through which people orient themselves to something they call ‘Islamic law’. This position is grounded on a principle of indifference that seeks to avoid any normative and evaluative engagement: the focus is put on the description of practices, not on their evaluation. Moreover, this position is based upon the refusal of any ironical standpoint. In other words, it denies that social scientists occupy any kind of overhanging position vis-a-vis the social that would allow them to ‘reveal’ to ‘self-deceived people’ the truth that is concealed from them because of their ‘lack of critical distance’, ‘ignorance’ and/or ‘bad faith’. Third, I ground this praxiological re-specification in examples drawn from Egyptian judicial activity in the field of personal status.
Globalization and the Politics of Religious Knowledge
Authors: Mandaville Peter
Published: March 2007

Globalizing processes have rendered as analytically insufficient accounts of authority in the Muslim world that rely exclusively on the interaction between text, discursive method and personified knowledge. The construction and negotiation of globalized authority in Islam, it is argued, can only be understood by reference to a set of pluralizing processes that intensify and in some instances radicalize a tendency towards authoritative pluralism that has long been present in Islam. This can be understood in terms of (1) functionalization, or changes in terms of how individual Muslims understand the social purpose and ends of knowledge seeking; (2) respatialization; and (3) mediatization or interrelated changes in terms of how far away and in what kinds of spaces and media one seeks authority or authorization. Collectively, such pluralizing processes combine to construct global Islamic authority in diverse forms that transcend or challenge conventional understandings of religious knowledge, its location and mode of articulation. Reference is made throughout to illustrative ethnographic examples, social movements and practices.
Authority in Question
Authors: Salvatore Armando
Published: March 2007

The politicization of Islam from a European viewpoint is apparent in how the Islamic ‘veil’ has become an icon of Islam’s alleged deficits with regard to fitting into European modernity. This article unpacks the iconic symbolism of ‘political Islam’ and shifts the focus to Muslim voices articulating struggles for justice and solidarity through the attempt to reformulate secular republicanism and critique its authority basis. This is the emerging trend of ‘critical Islam’, which targets both the hegemonic discourse on secularity and republicanism, and its antithesis, that is, ‘communitarianism’, understood, in European-continental parlance, as the ideology that perpetuates traditional forms of authority. In this context, the article examines the work of the French commission on laïcité and the debates it initiated within the emerging Euro-Islamic public sphere. The analysis puts in evidence the critical potential of this public sphere to enrich the categories of the European sociology of religion. The critique of the normative limits of secularity is thus linked to the valorization of the transnational positioning of critical Islamic voices in Europe. Their capacity to penetrate the political process, related to the erosion of the nation-state and to the conflicted reconstruction of a pan-European republicanism, is a precious asset.
British Muslim Perspectives on Multiculturalism
Authors: Modood Tariq , Ahmad Fauzia
Published: March 2007

We explore aspects of what it means to be a ‘moderate’ Muslim in Britain. Based on interviews with 21 Muslim intellectuals or those active in public or community debates (not all of whom were happy with the term ‘moderate Muslims’), we examine what these Muslims think about multiculturalism. While there is a variety of views, the respondents are promulticulturalism as long as it includes faith as a dimension of ‘difference’, something they believe has only belatedly, tentatively and slowly happened in Britain. Most of the other aspects of the multicultural ideal and criticisms of contemporary British practice, such as the distinction between mutual respect and tolerance, the importance of non-separateness and dialogue, the need for transformative change on the part of the minorities as well as the majority, seem to be similar to the views held by non-Muslim British multiculturalists. Yet some believe that the Qur’an, Islam and Muslim history are powerful sources of multi-culturalism and represent a form superior to any that has been developed elsewhere or is on offer in the contemporary West. This view was held by those who are experts in using and engaging with contemporary Western discourses rather than those who are authorities in interpreting Islamic texts, and so they, like most others in the group could be said to be a relatively new kind of Muslim public figure.
Modernity, Secularism and Islam
Authors: Keyman E. Fuat
Published: March 2007

The resurgence of religious movements all over the world, their varying claims to identity and politics (from public deliberations to fundamentalism), and their success in generating system-transforming effects in both national and world politics have indicated clearly that there is a need to uncover the invisible interconnections between religion and politics. Moreover, the way in which religion has been striking back has taken different forms. From religious and terrorist fundamentalism to multiculturalism, from communitarian claims to the religious state to religion-based civil societal calls for pluralism and freedom, it is possible to see different articulations of the resurgence of religion in the world in which we live. In this context, Turkey constitutes a sociologically illuminating, theoretically challenging and politically timely case study. As a modern republic on the margins of Europe and preparing for accession negotiations with the European Union for full membership, Turkey is both a Muslim society and a strictly secular nation-state. This article suggests, first, that the process of modernization and democratization in Turkey has always faced the problem of establishing a delicate balance between politics and religion, and, second, that in this process the more secularism is used by the state elite to control religion, the less pluralistic and democratic the state has become in governing a society where Islam has always played an important role in the symbolic formation of Turkish identity. What is needed in this context is a ‘democratic secular imaginary’ as a more dialogical, tolerant and accommodating strategy of living with difference, enabling us to understand religious claims to difference in their own right, and to approach them clearly and critically.
Prison Field Trips: Can White-Collar Criminals Positively Affect the Ethical and Legal Behavior of Marketing and MBA Students?
Authors: Castleberry Stephen B.
Published: March 2007

Marketing educators bear some responsibility for teaching ethics and legal issues to their students. Visits to white-collar criminals in a federal prison camp are one method of achieving this task. This article develops and empirically assesses ten objectives for such a visit by MBA and undergraduate marketing classes. Undergraduates rated the experience higher on “ helped me see that I am vulnerable to temptation to do the wrong thing” and “ encouraged me to avoid making poor ethical decisions” than graduate students, while graduate students rated “ helped make the course more relevant” higher. Also, students with less work experience gained a greater appreciation for the importance of business ethics as a result of the visit. There were no differences in terms of age or gender. Implications of the findings, future research suggestions, and implementation guidelines for those interested in taking their students on a prison visit are provided.
Teaching Experiential Learning: Adoption of an Innovative Course in an MBA Marketing Curriculum
Authors: Li Tiger , Greenberg Barnett A. , Nicholls J. A. F.
Published: March 2007

Colleges of business administration are under continuing pressure to develop innovative courses to meet demands from the business community. At the same time, faculty members are facing increasing challenges in adopting innovative technologies because of the amount of risk and effort involved. This article examines the adoption of Marketplace, a purely experiential learning course, in an MBA curriculum. The investigation shows that group dynamics and product characteristics were two key factors in the success of the innovation adoption. Findings from an empirical study demonstrate that the students perceived the simulation course as a viable alternative to the lecture-based pedagogy.
Conceptual and Statistical Problems of Using Between-Class Data in Educational Research
Authors: Clayson Dennis E.
Published: March 2007

This article looks at the methodological problems created by incorrectly using between-class data when looking at effects generated by individual students. The grade/evaluation association found in the student evaluation of teaching was used as a case example. A theoretical framework to understand the contributions to the relationship by both between-class data (leniency) and within-class data (reciprocity) was created that shows how the two are confounded when looking only at between-class effects. The findings suggest that within-class data is the appropriate starting point when investigating associational problems with either within-or between-case data.
Enhancing the Relevance and Value of Marketing Curriculum Outcomes to a Liberal Arts Education
Authors: Petkus Ed
Published: March 2007

Could marketing coursework be part of the general education requirements for all college students? This article describes the ways in which the professional school marketing curriculum model (Schibrowsky, Peltier, & Boyt, 2002) can complement and enhance liberal arts education outcomes. First, the general relationship between liberal arts education and business education is reviewed. Second, the relevance of specific marketing curriculum outcomes to the broadly established goals of a liberal arts education is discussed. Third, a model is developed that details these relationships, addressing theory-driven outcomes, practice-driven outcomes, and blended (theory + practice) outcomes. Finally, the article offers specific recommendations by which marketing educators can tailor their curricular offerings to enhance their contribution to a liberal arts education in the areas of critical and reflective thinking, formation of abstract concepts and theory, analytical skills, independent and creative thinking, leadership skills, social and emotional judgment, and oral and written communication skills.
The Curiosity in Marketing Thinking
Authors: Hill Mark E. , McGinnis John
Published: March 2007

This article identifies the curiosity in marketing thinking and offers ways to teach for marketing thinking through an environment that fosters students’ curiosity. The significance of curiosity in its relationship with thinking is that when curiosity is absent, so is thinking. Challenges are discussed in recognizing the fragility of curiosity through an understanding of the factors that suppress it. Drawing on existing research in education, psychology, and marketing, a synthesized pedagogical reversal is suggested—instead of pursuing learning in the form of students’ acquisition of knowledge, the focus should be on students’ exploration and appropriation of knowledge and marketing knowledge through their curiosity and thinking. The pedagogical differences are discussed in terms of expectations, measures of success, and what students leave with upon completion.
Application of Contemporary Literature to Enhance Interpersonal Skills and Ethical Decision Making in Professional Selling Coursework
Authors: Kimball Bob
Published: March 2007

Educators and marketing professionals agree that course-work must address interpersonal communication skills and ethical decision making in addition to traditional business functions and skills. This article describes an innovative approach to teaching the professional selling course in which students enhance their competency in these areas through assigned readings in contemporary American literature. Students read starkly contrasting works by Jack Kerouac, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ayn Rand that present dramatic comparisons of individuals and their personal and professional paths, helping students appreciate the skills and ethical foundation essential to success as a professional salesperson. Reaction to this innovative approach has been extremely positive, with very high course evaluations and comments praising the value of literature as a learning laboratory that provided an understanding and appreciation of these issues. This approach could readily be applied to numerous other business courses addressing interpersonal communication, ethics, or other critical issues with works of contemporary literature.
Educators Who Have Made a Difference for Their Students: Observations and Reflections of Three Nationally Recognized Marketing Professors
Authors: Sautter Elsie “Pookie” , Gagnon Gary B. , Mohr Jakki J.
Published: March 2007

The CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) Professor of the Year program recognizes outstanding professors for their dedication to teaching, commitment to students, and innovative instructional methods. It is the only national program to recognize college and university professors for their teaching skills. Three marketing professors were chosen for this award in 2005 and now share their teaching philosophies. Their philosophies focus on innovation, experimentation, creating a culture of learning, the first day of class, and maintaining high academic standards.
Connecting in Megaclasses: The Netnographic Advantage
Authors: O’Reilly Norman J. , Rahinel Ryan , Foster Mary K. , Patterson Mark
Published: March 2007

Large universities are increasingly offering marketing courses in classes of 300 or more students. Without access to the usual verbal and nonverbal cues, instructors in these megaclasses are disadvantaged in terms of their ability to respond to learners’ needs. As a result, marketing instructors have supplemented course infrastructure with technology to encourage communication. In seeking to better understand such communication, this study positions netnography as a marketing research technique that provides incremental advantages over other pedagogical methods through its support and enhancement of student learning. The authors provide specific recommendations for the adoption of netnography to marketing educators teaching megaclasses.
Young people, masculinities, religion and race: new social geographies
Authors: Hopkins Peter E.
Published: March 2007

Ideas about race and racism have been a centrepiece of social geography for as much as 50 years, yet it was not until the 1990s that markers of difference rooted in religion, masculinities and generation achieved the same critical attention. Moreover, while all of these literatures are now well established in the discipline, relatively few studies – within or beyond human geography – have sought to bring them together. Focusing on recent research about race, religion, young people and masculinities, from within human geography as well as from neighbouring disciplines, I suggest various ways in which human geographers might seek to include the experiences, identities and practices of young racialized and religious men in their future research. In engaging with the lived experiences of young people whose voices are usually silenced, often unheard and frequently distorted, this article seeks to explore some of the ways in which masculinities and the experiences of young people may be mediated by the geographies of racism and religion. Initially offering a brief summary of some of the recent trends in the geography of race and racism, religion, youth and masculinities, I then suggest ways in which an agenda for research with young racialized and religious men might be taken forward.
Lost geographers: power games and the circulation of ideas within Francophone political geographies
Authors: Fall Juliet J.
Published: March 2007

This paper takes a reflexive look at the production of scientific discourses by exploring the context and practice of political geography within the Francophone world. This article builds on the idea that the fundamental difference between Anglo and Francophone geographies relates to how theoretical writings and texts circulate, rather than to fundamental differences of content or topic. It examines how certain texts, ideas and thinkers have circulated, suggesting in particular that it is timely to reconsider Claude Raffestin's contributions on power, territory and territoriality. It argues that his critical theoretical framework, inspired by a number of authors including Michel Foucault, Henri Lefebvre and Luis Prieto, has been overlooked by Francophone and Anglo geographers for a number of institutional, conceptual and personal factors. By focusing on institutional structure, the nature of the academy and styles of debate in the Francophone world, and in confronting Claude Raffestin to both John Allen and Yves Lacoste's geographies of power, this paper questions the divide between these two academic traditions.
Emissions from baled municipal solid waste: II. Effects of different treatments and baling techniques on the emission of volatile organic compounds
Authors: Nammari Diauddin R , Marques Marcia , Hogland William , Mathiasson Lennart , Thörneby Lars , Mårtensson Lennart , Marques Marcia
Published: March 2007

This paper focuses on the volatile organic compound emissions from baled municipal solid waste (MSW). The analytical methodology was based on sampling with adsorbent tubes once a month during seven occasions within a time period of 1 year. Automated analyses were carried out on-line work-up with thermal desorption directly connected to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. The effect of different baling techniques, cylindrical and rectangular baling was compared. It was found that cylindrically baled MSW emitted larger concentration of esters than their rectangular counter parts. Conversely, aromatic compounds emissions dominated in rectangularly baled MSW. This indicates that different degradation mechanisms operate in the waste bales. Cylindrical and rectangular bales are generally wrapped with six layers of 250 μm thick low density polyethylene (LDPE). It was observed that by wrapping an extra six layers of LDPE film onto the bales, the emissions from cylindrical bales increased while emissions from the rectangular counterpart decreased. Over time, the volatile organic compound emissions from cylindrical bales decreased two orders of magnitudes from 96.2 ± 20.8 μgm-3 in September 2003 to 0.80 ± 0.07 μgm-3 in July 2004. The rectangular bales exhibited an almost identical relative emission reduction from 54.4 ± 4.3 μgm-3 in September 2003 to 0.46 ± 0.02 μgm-3 in July 2004. Future work will concentrate on full-scale storages, taking into account waste type, storage size, temperature development and the different baling techniques among other variables.
Improving the adsorption capacity and solid structure of natural volcanic soil using a foaming-sintering process based on recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Authors: Navia Rodrigo , Rubilar Olga , Diez M. Cristina , Schmidt Karl-Heinz , Behrendt Gerhard , Lorber Karl E.
Published: March 2007

The volcanic soils of southern Chile have demonstrated a high capacity to adsorb environmental pollutants, but for an industrial application, a stable solid material is necessary. The objective of this work was to produce a stable ceramic material through a process involving volcanic soil-polyurethane foam produced with recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET)- polyols, and further thermal treatment. The selected foam formulation with 35.4% volcanic soil (< 63 μm) seems to be the most suitable for thermal treatment, with temperature steps at 700, 850, 1000 and 1200°C. The porous ceramic material obtained has a stable solid form and an improved chlorophenols adsorption capacity (comparable to natural zeolites) that makes it suitable for advanced wastewater treatment and landfill leachate depuration.
Report: Environmental assessment of Darmstadt (Germany) municipal waste incineration plant
Authors: Rimaityté Ingrida , Denafas Gintaras , Jager Johannes
Published: March 2007

The focus of this study was the emissions from waste incineration plants using Darmstadt (Germany) waste incineration plant as an example. In the study the emissions generated by incineration of the waste were considered using three different approaches. Initially the emissions from the waste incineration plant were assessed as part of the impact of waste management systems on the environment by using a Municipal Solid Waste Management System (MSWMS) assessment tool (also called: LCA-IWM assessment tool). This was followed by a comparison between the optimal waste incineration process and the real situation. Finally a comparison was made between the emissions from the incineration plant and the emissions from a vehicle.
Report: Treatment of commercial, construction and demolition waste in North Rhine-Westphalia: policy-making and operation options
Authors: Karavezyris Vassilios
Published: March 2007

This paper summarizes a long-term-investigation of the mechanical treatment of commercial, construction and demolition waste materials in North Rhine-Westphalia in the light of applied operation standards and a disposal ban on untreated waste. It is shown how both the allocation of output materials from mechanical treatment plants and the subsequent treatment channels have changed since enforcement of the ban in 2005. Based on the findings of the investigation, two waste management scenarios offering alternative policies have been defined and are discussed. It is suggested that consistent enforcement of the ban affects both the diversion of waste to incineration and the recovery of materials on a regional scale. On the other hand, potential energy recovery may be fully exploited only insofar as operators of mechanical treatment plants concentrate their business on the production of refuse-derived fuel.
Anaerobic digestion potential of urban organic waste: a case study in Malmö
Authors: Davidsson Åsa , la Cour Jansen Jes , Appelqvist Björn , Gruvberger Christopher , Hallmer Martin
Published: March 2007

A study of existing organic waste types in Malmö, Sweden was performed. The purpose was to gather information about organic waste types in the city to be able to estimate the potential for anaerobic treatment in existing digesters at the wastewater treatment plan (WWTP). The urban organic waste types that could have a significant potential for anaerobic digestion amount to about 50 000 tonnes year-1 (sludge excluded). Some of the waste types were further evaluated by methane potential tests and continuous pilot-scale digestion. Single-substrate digestion and co-digestion of pre-treated, source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste, waste-water sludge, sludge from grease traps and fruit and vegetable waste were carried out. The experiments showed that co-digestion of grease sludge and WWTP sludge was a better way of making use of the methane potential in the grease trap sludge than single-substrate digestion. Another way of increasing the methane production in sludge digesters is to add source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste (SSOFMSW). Adding SSOFMSW (20% of the total volatile solids) gave a 10-15% higher yield than could be expected by comparison with separate digestion of sludge respective SSOFMSW. Co-digestion of sludge and organic waste is beneficial not just for increasing gas production but also for stabilizing the digestion process. This was seen when co-digesting fruit and vegetable waste and sludge. When co-digested with sludge, this waste gave a better result than the separate digestion of fruit and vegetable waste. Considering single-substrate digestion, SSOFMSW is the only waste in the study which makes up a sufficient quantity to be suitable as the base substrate in a full-scale digester that is separated from the sludge digestion. The two types of SSOFMSW tested in the pilot-scale digestion were operated successfully at mesophilic temperature. By adding SSOFMSW, grease trap sludge and fruit and vegetables waste to sludge digesters at the wastewater treatment plant, the yearly energy production from methane could be expected to increase from 24 to 43 GWh.
Modelling C and N mineralization during decomposition of anaerobically digested and composted municipal solid waste
Authors: Luxhøi Jesper , Bruun Sander , Jensen Lars Stoumann , Magid Jakob , Jensen Anne , Larsen Thomas
Published: March 2007

Application of municipal solid waste (MSW) to arable land can be used to close the nutrient cycle between urban and rural areas. The aim of the current study was to quantify net N mineralization and respiration from composted MSW (CMSW) and anaerobically digested MSW (ADMSW) applied to soil, and to test whether a simple relationship between net N mineralization and respiration that was developed for plant materials, was applicable for these types of MSW. In a laboratory experiment, CMSW and ADMSW were incorporated into soil and incubated at 15°C. During the 149-day experiment, net N mineralization and respiration were determined. Cumulative respiration derived from both MSW types was very steep during the first 30 days, after which it levelled off. However, calculated on the basis of applied C, the ADMSW was 10 times more degradable than the CMSW. Both MSW types caused initial net N immobilization followed by re-mineralization. A simple model based on the relationship between net N mineralization and respiration was only applicable for the MSW after significant modifications. If farmers are to recognize CMSW and ADMSW as valuable fertilizers, it is important that they can be produced with higher maturity, in order to avoid initial N immobilization.
Deepcut: the media messed up
Authors: Cathcart Brian
Published: March 2007

Reporters and the public were outwitted after the mysterious deaths of young soldiers at the Surrey Barracks, writes Cathcart: "Knowing what we now know (and that is still less than half the picture), we should expect people to be held to account." The author believes that, "at the very heart of this scandal has been the withholding of information - reporters, families and the public have been kept in the dark" and he warns: "All this may be history now...but it is not without current resonance. Deepcut was left to run amok by the Army because resources were tight. Just such a squeeze is under way within the Armed Forces again today and there is no guarantee that commanders will not make the same, potentially disastrous decisions again."
Out of China, into the light
Authors: Waghorn Dominic
Published: March 2007

Foreign correspondent Waghorn compares long-term assignments in China and Israel and observes: "Whereas in China the challenge was engaging the viewers' interest in somewhere so unfamiliar and alien, here [Israel] it is keeping them interested in somewhere they find over familiar. Rock- throwing, suicide bombs, helicopter gunships, funeral rallies and weeping relatives - they have seen it all before, time and time again." And in terms of physical obstacles to reporting, he writes, in Israel "they come in more dangerous forms than in China. In Gaza, for example, we operate with the risk of kidnapping and although dodging around in taxis, trying to remain unnoticed, can feel the same as ducking and diving to avoid Chinese police interference, in China a western correspondent can be fairly confident that the worst to fear is detention, losing your tapes and an occasional roughing up. Here there are more mortal dangers and neither side in the conflict has ever shown sufficient interest in the health and safety of journalists in the heat of battle." But in terms of obtaining information, Israel is light years ahead, he believes.
Meeting spin with spin
Authors: Routledge Paul
Published: March 2007

There is a new breed of trades union press journalists - and they are fast breeders, writes Routledge. Union membership has more than halved, to 6.5 million, since the mid-1970s, yet there are dozens of media officers in the labour movement, and a clutch of ex-union PRs are in the House of Commons, some of them in senior ministerial positions. "By the same token," writes Routledge, "the number of journalists specialising in industrial affairs has diminished almost to vanishing point, yet the number of full-time spin-doctors seeking to bend their ear has sharply increased. Some kind of inverse Parkinson's Law is at work, requiring the number of press officers to rise in direct proportion to the decline in trade union activity. What is going on?"
For the sake of the children
Authors: Millar Fiona
Published: March 2007

Charities need to be adroit if they want to use the media to get coverage for serious issues, writes Millar, chair of the Family and Parenting Institute, but more important is "trying to unpick the increasingly tangled relationship that is developing between parents, the media and public policy makers as the very private act of parenting becomes a very public business." There is a deluge of parenting magazines, most newspapers have their dedicated sections and there are many TV programmes - in fact only radio appears to be lagging behind. "However when it comes to angels versus demons [children], or good guys versus the baddies in the case of the adults, the picture is much less rosy and the role of the media more murky."
Beyond the Oozone Layer
Authors: Andreadis Eleni , Smith Joe
Published: March 2007

Despite occasional pockets of climate change scepticism, the days when journalists would report on climate change by balancing "pro" and "sceptic" voices, or by knocking the human-induced climate change argument with prominent coverage of an alternative theory, already seem a distant memory in the UK, claim the authors. This marked change in the treatment of climate change in the British media has helped lay the ground for a dramatic shift in the quality of public debate around the issue. Numerous specialists credit UK journalism of the last 18 months with being leagues ahead of their U.S. colleagues in the depth and regularity of coverage. Yet, why did it take the media 10 years to understand where the centre of gravity of informed opinion on climate change lay? - "the story didn't break, it oozed," they write. "The basics of the science have, after all, changed little since the mid 1990s. There are worrying signs that some of the reasons for this delay - above all a well-intentioned deep affection for sceptical opinion - could impede public debate on the next and vital stage in the climate change debate as we work out what political and economic steps to take."
Let’s hear it for the Boomers
Authors: Thornhill Matt
Published: March 2007

The president and found of the Boomer Project has the answer to newspaper circulation problems: "For the last 10 or so years, as the internet has become a major part of daily life, newspapers in the United States have been struggling with the loss of the young adult reader - those 18 to 34 year olds. Paper after paper, large and small, urban and rural, have tried to address the strategic imperative issued from on high: Attract more young adult readers! Our advice to newspapers is the opposite. Don't worry about young adults, worry about Baby Boomers, those adults ages 41 to 60." While recognising the difference between U.S. and UK markets, Thornhill produces statistics to show that papers should be chasing Boomers: "In the United States today, according to the Census Bureau, one out of every three adults over the age of 21 are Baby Boomers. Those 78 million post-WWII babies are a population bubble that is still a long way from bursting. If Boomers comprise such a large portion of the total potential audience for newspapers, ignoring them seems foolish. According to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, consumption of newspapers in the U.S. by Boomers has withstood the birth of new media fairly well." And targeting Boomers will work in Britain, he suggests.
Performance Evaluation of Two Different Bypass-type MR Shock Dampers
Authors: Nam Yun-Joo , Park Myeong-Kwan
Published: March 2007

This article presents the performance evaluation of two different bypass-type magneto-rheological (MR) shock dampers for high impulsive force systems, one of which is a single-ended damper and the other a double-ended one. First of all, MR shock dampers are designed and manufactured on the basis of the Bingham properties of MR fluid and the result of the magnetic field analysis for the magnetic circuit. After experimental investigations on both the magnetic field-dependent damping force and the response characteristics, the quasi-steady state models describing the dynamic behavior of the proposed dampers are formulated. Then, a simple one degree-of-freedom mass-drop system as a test bench for the MR shock dampers is constructed, and the simple and practical control algorithm is proposed in consideration of dynamic characteristics of the shock control system. Finally, in order to investigate their dynamic characteristics and control performances under shock condition, a comparison study is conducted through a series of experiments and simulations. The results show the controllability and adaptability of the proposed MR shock dampers for shock or impulsive force as well as the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm.
Comparison of Plain Piezoceramics and Inter-digital Transducer for Crack Detection in Plates
Authors: Quek S.T. , Tua P.S. , Jin J.
Published: March 2007

The use of piezoceramics transducers (PZTs) for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) via Lamb waves has attracted significant attention recently in view of its favorable sensing and actuating characteristics. A comprehensive strategy to locate and trace the geometry of cracks in plates has been developed earlier using either plain piezoceramics or interdigital transducers (IDTs) based on time of flight analysis of incident and reflected waves. In this article, a comparison of the two techniques is presented based on results from laboratory experiments. Cracks of differing geometries, namely, linear crack, curved crack, and multiple cracks, on aluminum plates are considered. Comparisons of their detection capabilities are also made on a crack of fine width (220 μm) and cracks filled with impurities such as grease, araldite epoxy, metallic epoxy, and spray paint. Both techniques are applied in the case of weld where a notch is induced in the weld on an aluminum plate and the results obtained for the weld with and without the notch are compared. The results for all cases considered show that both the plain piezoceramics and IDT techniques can successfully detect and locate the cracks. Plain piezoceramics are able to provide accurate detection for linear, nonlinear, and piecewise linear cracks, and notch in weld. The geometries are traced with reasonable accuracy. However, IDT has been shown to be more accurate, procedurally simpler, and is an efficient alternative to plain piezoceramics.
Numerical Stress Investigation for Piezoelectric Elements with a Circular Cross Section and Interdigitated Electrodes
Authors: Paradies Rolf , Melnykowycz Mark
Published: March 2007

The scientific community has put significant effort into the development and optimization of sensors and actuators manufactured as piezoelectric composites with interdigitated electrodes (IDEs), well known as active fiber composite (AFC) and macro fiber composite (MFC). The advantages of these elements are their higher actuation performance and flexibility as compared to monolithic piezoceramic (PZT) elements. In general, their mechanical properties are calculated based on the classical lamination theory and the uniform field model (UFM). These two theories are well suited for predicting the stiffness and piezoelectric strain constants of the AFC or MFC. Although there are a variety of numerical investigations related to their electromechanical properties, there are no appropriate tools for accessing the stresses within these piezoelectric elements (including the inhomogeneous electric field conditions as well as the change in material properties). Explanations are given for this situation indicating the problems in investigating these types of piezoelectric elements with respect to stress states. In this work a finite element modeling approach is presented, which shows the influence of the IDE on the mechanical properties of PZT fibers. Experimental evidence is presented, which affirms the location of critical stress predicted in this model and explains the reported cracking in AFC in past research.
Behavior of Smart Concrete Beams with Embedded Shape Memory Alloy Bundles
Authors: Lei Li  , Qingbin Li  , Fan Zhang
Published: March 2007

The behavior of smart concrete beams with embedded shape memory alloy (SMA) bundles is investigated in this study. Two beams measuring 1996 × 99 × 85 cm3, which will be integrated into a smart bridge in a freeway, are manufactured and examined. Each beam contains six trusses of SMA bundles used as actuators to achieve recovery force. The SMA bundles are connected with pre-stressing steel strands and separated from the concrete matrix, so that temperature interaction between SMA bundles and the matrix can be reduced to as low as possible. Some temperature sensors, reinforcement meters, and displacement sensors are used to monitor the active control effect of SMA bundles, all the data are acquired through a 16-channel dynamic data-acquisition system, and each beam is examined several times with different activating current intensity. Experimental results indicate that the recovery force induced by SMA bundles is significant and controllable, the deflection generated by the SMA bundles at the middle span of the beam is about 0.44 mm, and the capability of resisting overload of each beam is about 2.98 kN (average). A relationship between SMA temperature and activating/inactivating time is also formulated. The conclusion is that SMA can be used in civil engineering structures either from a technological or economic aspect.
Comparison of Piezoelectric, Magnetostrictive, and Electrostrictive Hybrid Hydraulic Actuators
Authors: John Shaju , Sirohi Jayant , Wang Gang , Wereley Norman M.
Published: March 2007

In recent years, active material driven actuators have been widely researched for potential applications in the fields of aerospace, automotive, and civil engineering. While most of these active materials, such as piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, and electrostrictive materials, have high force and bandwidth capabilities, they are limited in stroke. In combination with hydraulic systems, the field-dependent motion of these materials can be amplified to produce high force, high stroke actuators. In a hybrid hydraulic pump, the motion of an active material is used to pressurize a hydraulic fluid. Since the properties of active materials vary greatly in terms of free strain and block force, there is a need to identify the optimum active material for a particular application. This study compares four active materials, Lead—Zirconate—Titanate (PZT), Lead—Magnesium—Niobate (PMN), Terfenol-D and Galfenol, as the drivers of a hybrid hydraulic actuation system. The performance of each of these active materials has been evaluated in the same hydraulic actuator through systematic testing of the actuator while maintaining the same length and volume for each active material. In each case, the active material has a length of around 54 mm and a cross-sectional area of 25 mm2. Commonly used metrics such as output power and electromechanical efficiency are used for comparison. Of the four materials tested in this study, PMN presented the largest free strain (2000 με), while Galfenol presented the least (300 με). The highest no-load velocity is also exhibited by the PMN-based actuator (270 mm/s). The maximum output power obtained is 2.5 W for both PMN and Terfenol-D-based actuators while the highest electromechanical efficiency obtained is 7% for the PMN-based actuator.
Measurement and Evaluation of Tactile Sensations using a PVDF Sensor
Authors: Tanaka Mami , Tanaka Yoshihiro , Chonan Seiji
Published: March 2007

This study focuses on the measurement and evaluation of tactile sensations of various fabrics. First, tactile data on six pieces of underwear and seven pieces of polo shirts are collected through a questionnaire and the dominant factors of feelings of wearability are determined through factor analysis. Next, a tactile sensor with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film as the sensory receptor and a sensor apparatus are assembled. The base of the sensor is an aluminum cylinder, around which a rubber sponge layer, a PVDF film, a protective layer of acetate film, and lace are stacked in sequence. The sensor is set on the rotational axis of a motor and a measurement object is placed on the sensor. Then, the sensor is turned to collect tactile information on the object. Features of the collected data are extracted by calculating the average amplitude of low frequency signals, the variance of sensor output, and the power intensity in a medium frequency range. Comparison with the results shows that the PVDF sensor well describes the human tactile perception.
Compliments and Criticisms in Book Reviews About Business Communication
Authors: Mackiewicz Jo
Published: March 2007

Research suggests that book reviews in academic journals tend to be positive but that readers prefer book reviews that include negative and positive evaluation. In this study, the author examines 48 books reviews from three business communication journals to determine whether these reviews are mainly positive. She counts compliments and criticisms, analyzing their location and topics. She also analyzes the force of the criticisms and strategies that reviewers use to mitigate criticism.
A Comparative View of the Law of Interrogation
Authors: Ma Yue
Published: March 2007

Forty years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court fashioned the Miranda procedure to safeguard the rights of suspects subject to police interrogation, the procedure and its exclusionary remedy were considered an American novelty. Few countries then required the police to issue preinterrogation warnings, and it was rare for courts to exclude confessions on the grounds of procedural violations. The past forty years have seen significant changes in the criminal justice landscape on the world scene. Today, the concept of preinterrogation warnings is widely accepted, and failure to issue the required warnings in many countries constitutes a ground for exclusion. This article explores the development in the law of interrogation in England, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, and China. The American Miranda procedure is used as a reference point to highlight the similarities and differences between American and other countries' practices.
A First Glimpse at Narcotics Offenders in an Islamic Republic
Authors: Aliverdinia Akbar , Pridemore William Alex
Published: March 2007

This study tests the efficacy of social control, differential association, social learning, and self-esteem theories as explanations for the variation in individual levels of illegal drug involvement among a sample of adult incarcerated drug offenders in Iran. The results of path analysis indicate that measures of differential association (with drug-involved peers) and self-esteem had significant direct effects on self-reported narcotics crimes, whereas attachment, belief, and family drug involvement were indirectly associated with variation in level of drug involvement. As a result of its sharply different cultural and religious contexts, Iran presents a unique case for the evaluation of theoretical models developed to explain offending in Western nations. Yet because of its political structure and ideological and religious sensitivity to drug use, there have been few published analyses of drug use and drug offenders in Iran, making this study one of the first of its kind in either Western or Persian-language journals.
Sex, Food and Female Power: Discussion of Data Material from Northern Mozambique
Authors: Arnfred Signe
Published: March 2007

Issues of sex and food are often inscribed in male/female relationships. Frequently in a western context sex is perceived as a site of male power and female subordination, while food and cooking are seen as female domains, but still sites of subordination, as elements of women's household chores. In this article, looking at issues of sex and food in a rural matrilineal setting, power aspects of male/female relationships as mediated through sex and food emerge somewhat differently. Sexual proficiency is here a woman's art, mastered by old women and transmitted to the young. Also, in a setting where daily life is largely based on subsistence production, food and cooking become domains of power, again with old women in control. Based on fieldwork in northern Mozambique and with reference to African feminist conceptualizations of male/female power relationships, the article makes a case for rurality and ‘tradition’ not necessarily being adverse to female power in social relationships.
Learning Sex and Gender in Zambia: Masculinities and HIV/AIDS Risk
Authors: Simpson Anthony
Published: March 2007

For men in Southern Africa to play an effective role in efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, more needs to be learnt about their perceptions of themselves as engendered sexual beings. The author describes how a group of Zambian men learnt sex and gender and highlights the importance of the peer group in constructions of masculinity. He reveals the anxieties these men experienced in their early sexual experience and the significance of this experience in adult life. He argues that many expressions of masculinity are best understood as fragile entities and that this fragility, inculcated in childhood and adolescence, explains, in part, the risks men may take in their sexual conduct in spite of the threat of HIV/AIDS.
Performative Queer Identities: Masculinities and Public Bathroom Usage
Authors: Magni Sonia , Reddy Vasu
Published: March 2007

This article critically examines the interface of gender, sex and identity within the context of bathroom facilities in a South African gay club. The public features and behaviors are contrasted with the bathrooms' private and abstract zones in terms of sexualized spaces and activities. The club's bathrooms function as spatial and physical discourses in which gender stability - with reference to masculine or feminine bodily inscriptions - is questioned. The bathrooms are understood as sites of parody practices in which dissonance between sex, gender and identity is made manifest.