bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Prediction Equations for Estimating Glomerular Filtration Rate in Adult Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 4–5
Authors: Fontseré Néstor , Bonal Jordi , Navarro Maru , Riba Joaquim , Fraile Manel , Torres Ferran , Romero Ramón
Published: August 2006

Background: The accuracy of prediction equations has not been validated in adult patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 4–5 in extreme situations of nutritional status and age. Objective and Methods: The significance of nutritional status, calculated with the creatinine production (CP) formula, and age (≤64 years and >64 years) in the application of different prediction equations – modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD), simplified MDRD (sMDRD), Cockcroft-Gault (CG) – and the mean of urea and creatinine clearance (Cr-Ur) compared with the isotopic glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation calculated by 51Cr-EDTA was studied in 87 Caucasian adults with CKD stages 4–5 (GFR: 30–8 ml/min/1.73 m2). The Bland-Altman method and Lin’s concordance coefficient (Rc) were used to study accuracy (bias) and precision. Results: The GFR calculated with 51Cr-EDTA in the study group was 22.2 ± 6.9 ml/min/1.73 m2 (range: 8–30). CG and sMDRD were the best prediction equations with bias of –1.1 and –3.8 ml/min/1.73 m2 and Rc of 0.52–0.50. In this situation, the mean Cr-Ur proved the most inaccurate equation compared with the isotopic technique with bias of –5.4 ml/min/1.73 m2 and Rc of 0.32. In the analysis of patients with higher CP (> 0.90; n = 44), CG and sMDRD obtained the best bias of 1.2 and –2.7 ml/min/1.73 m2 and Rc of 0.54–0.53. In patients aged ≤64 (n = 44), these equations obtained a bias of 1.1 and –3.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 and Rc 0.50–0.49. Both in lower CP (≤0.90; n = 43) and older age (>64 years; n = 43), all the equations underestimated the value obtained with isotopic GFR. In these situations, the results obtained with CG had a bias of –2.2 and –3.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 (Rc 0.29–0.56) and with sMDRD –4.0 and –4.1 ml/min/1.73 m2 (Rc 0.39–0.51). In these circumstances, Cr-Ur was the most inaccurate equation, obtaining a bias of –10.1 and –13.2 ml/min/1.73 m2 (Rc 0.14–0.16). Conclusions: In the group with higher CP and age ≤64 years, results of the presented data yielded no evidence for superiority of the MDRD equation over CG formula in patients with advanced renal failure. On the basis of our results, we do not recommend the use of the Cr-Ur adjusted to 1.73 m2 of body surface area, which was the most imprecise equation. Application of all the equations proved inaccurate in lower CP patients with or without advanced age, implying the premature start of substitution renal treatment. In these circumstances, ambulatory GFR determination by isotopic techniques would be indicated.
Endoscopic Therapy for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: Sgouros Spiros N. , Bergele Christina
Published: August 2006

The high prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in Western societies has accelerated the need for new modalities of treatment. Currently, medical and surgical therapies are widely accepted among patients and physicians. The minimally invasive treatment revolution, however, has stimulated several new endoscopic techniques for GERD. Up to now, the data is limited and further studies are necessary to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the various endoscopic techniques to medical and laparoscopic management of GERD. This systematic review reports the efficacy and durability of various endoscopic therapies for GERD whilst the potential for widespread use of these techniques is also discussed. Despite the limited number of studies and remarkable differences between various trials, strict criteria were used for the pooled data presented and an effort was made to avoid bias by including only studies that used off-antisecretory medication scoring as baseline and intent to treat.
Appropriate Treatment for Crohn’s Disease: Methodology and Summary Results of a Multidisciplinary International Expert Panel Approach – EPACT
Authors: Vader J.-P. , Froehlich F. , Juillerat P. , Burnand B. , Felley C. , Gonvers J.-J. , Mottet C. , Pittet V. , Dubois R.W. , Wietlisbach V. , Michetti P.
Published: August 2006

Background/Aims: For many therapeutic decisions in Crohn’s disease (CD), high-grade evidence is lacking. To assist clinical decision-making, explicit panel-based appropriateness criteria were developed by an international, multidisciplinary expert panel. Methods: 10 gastroenterologists, 3 surgeons and 2 general practitioners from 12 European countries assessed the appropriateness of therapy for CD using the RAND Appropriateness Method. Their assessment was based on the study of a recent literature review of the subject, combined with their own expert clinical judgment. Panelists rated clinical indications and treatment options using a 9-point scale (1 = extremely inappropriate; 9 = extremely appropriate). These scenarios were then discussed in detail at the panel meeting and re-rated. Median ratings and disagreement were used to aggregate ratings into three assessment categories: appropriate (A), uncertain (U) and inappropriate (I). Results: 569 specific indications were rated, dealing with 9 clinical presentations: mild/moderate luminal CD (n = 104), severe CD (n = 126), steroid-dependent CD (n = 25), steroid-refractory CD (n = 37), fistulizing CD (n = 49), fibrostenotic CD (n = 35), maintenance of medical remission of CD (n = 84), maintenance of surgical remission (n = 78), drug safety in pregnancy (n = 24) and use of infliximab (n = 7). Overall, 146 indications (26%) were judged appropriate, 129 (23%) uncertain and 294 (52%) inappropriate. Frank disagreement was low (14% overall) with the greatest disagreement (54% of scenarios) being observed for treatment of steroid-refractory disease. Conclusions: Detailed explicit appropriateness criteria for the appropriate use of therapy for CD were developed for the first time by a European expert panel. Disease location, severity and previous treatments were the main factors taken into account. User-friendly access to EPACT criteria is available via an Internet site, www.epact.ch, allowing prospective evaluation and improvement of appropriateness of current CD therapy.
Radiative Fluxes in the ECHAM5 General Circulation Model
Authors: Wild Martin , Roeckner Erich
Published: August 2006

Radiative fluxes in the ECHAM5 general circulation model (GCM) are evaluated using both surface and satellite-based observations. The fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) are generally in good agreement with the satellite data. Larger deviations in simulated cloud forcing are found especially at lower latitudes where the shortwave component within the intertropical convergence zone is overestimated during boreal summer and underestimated in the marine stratocumulus regimes, especially during boreal winter. At the surface the biases in the radiative fluxes are significantly smaller than in earlier versions of the same model and in other GCMs. The shortwave clear-sky fluxes are shown to be in good agreement with newly derived observational estimates. Compared to the preceding model version, ECHAM4, the spurious absorption of solar radiation in the cloudy atmosphere disappears due to the higher resolution in the near-infrared bands of the shortwave radiation code. This reduces the biases with respect to collocated surface and TOA observations. It is illustrated that remaining biases in atmospheric absorption may be related to the crude aerosol climatology, which does not account for high loadings of absorbing aerosol such as from biomass burning, whereas the biases disappear in areas and seasons where aerosol effects are less important. In the longwave, the introduction of the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTM) radiation code leads to an increase in the longwave downward flux at the surface at high latitudes, thereby reducing biases typically found in GCMs. The considerable skill in the simulation of the fluxes at the earth’s surface underlines the suitability of ECHAM5 as an atmospheric component of an integrated earth system model.
The Influence of Sea Surface Temperatures on the Northern Winter Stratosphere: Ensemble Simulations with the MAECHAM5 Model
Authors: Manzini E. , Giorgetta M. A. , Esch M. , Kornblueh L. , Roeckner E.
Published: August 2006

The role of interannual variations in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on the Northern Hemisphere winter polar stratospheric circulation is addressed by means of an ensemble of nine simulations performed with the middle atmosphere configuration of the ECHAM5 model forced with observed SSTs during the 20-yr period from 1980 to 1999. Results are compared to the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40). Three aspects have been considered: the influence of the interannual SST variations on the climatological mean state, the response to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, and the influence on systematic temperature changes. The strongest influence of SST variations has been found for the warm ENSO events considered. Namely, it has been found that the large-scale pattern associated with the extratropical tropospheric response to the ENSO phenomenon during northern winter enhances the forcing and the vertical propagation into the stratosphere of the quasi-stationary planetary waves emerging from the troposphere. This enhanced planetary wave disturbance thereafter results in a polar warming of a few degrees in the lower stratosphere in late winter and early spring. Consequently, the polar vortex is weakened, and the warm ENSO influence clearly emerges also in the zonal-mean flow. In contrast, the cold ENSO events considered do not appear to have an influence distinguishable from that of internal variability. It is also not straightforward to deduce the influence of the SSTs on the climatological mean state from the simulations performed, because the simulated internal variability of the stratosphere is large, a realistic feature. Moreover, the results of the ensemble of simulations provide weak to negligible evidence for the possibility that SST variations during the two decades considered are substantially contributing to changes in the polar temperature in the winter lower stratosphere.
Ocean Circulation and Tropical Variability in the Coupled Model ECHAM5/MPI-OM
Authors: Jungclaus J. H. , Keenlyside N. , Botzet M. , Haak H. , Luo J.-J. , Latif M. , Marotzke J. , Mikolajewicz U. , Roeckner E.
Published: August 2006

This paper describes the mean ocean circulation and the tropical variability simulated by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM). Results are presented from a version of the coupled model that served as a prototype for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) simulations. The model does not require flux adjustment to maintain a stable climate. A control simulation with present-day greenhouse gases is analyzed, and the simulation of key oceanic features, such as sea surface temperatures (SSTs), large-scale circulation, meridional heat and freshwater transports, and sea ice are compared with observations.

A parameterization that accounts for the effect of ocean currents on surface wind stress is implemented in the model. The largest impact of this parameterization is in the tropical Pacific, where the mean state is significantly improved: the strength of the trade winds and the associated equatorial upwelling weaken, and there is a reduction of the model’s equatorial cold SST bias by more than 1 K. Equatorial SST variability also becomes more realistic. The strength of the variability is reduced by about 30% in the eastern equatorial Pacific and the extension of SST variability into the warm pool is significantly reduced. The dominant El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) period shifts from 3 to 4 yr. Without the parameterization an unrealistically strong westward propagation of SST anomalies is simulated. The reasons for the changes in variability are linked to changes in both the mean state and to a reduction in atmospheric sensitivity to SST changes and oceanic sensitivity to wind anomalies.
Climatology and Forcing of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation in the MAECHAM5 Model
Authors: Giorgetta M. A. , Manzini E. , Roeckner E. , Esch M. , Bengtsson L.
Published: August 2006

The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in the equatorial zonal wind is an outstanding phenomenon of the atmosphere. The QBO is driven by a broad spectrum of waves excited in the tropical troposphere and modulates transport and mixing of chemical compounds in the whole middle atmosphere. Therefore, the simulation of the QBO in general circulation models and chemistry climate models is an important issue. Here, aspects of the climatology and forcing of a spontaneously occurring QBO in a middle-atmosphere model are evaluated, and its influence on the climate and variability of the tropical middle atmosphere is investigated. Westerly and easterly phases are considered separately, and 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data are used as a reference where appropriate. It is found that the simulated QBO is realistic in many details. Resolved large-scale waves are particularly important for the westerly phase, while parameterized gravity wave drag is more important for the easterly phase. Advective zonal wind tendencies are important for asymmetries between westerly and easterly phases, as found for the suppression of the easterly phase downward propagation. The simulation of the QBO improves the tropical upwelling and the atmospheric tape recorder compared to a model without a QBO. The semiannual oscillation is simulated realistically only if the QBO is represented. In sensitivity tests, it is found that the simulated QBO is strongly sensitive to changes in the gravity wave sources. The sensitivity to the tested range of horizontal resolutions is small. The stratospheric vertical resolution must be better than 1 km to simulate a realistic QBO.
Impact of Climate Change on the Future Chemical Composition of the Global Troposphere
Authors: Brasseur Guy P. , Schultz Martin , Granier Claire , Saunois Marielle , Diehl Thomas , Botzet Michael , Roeckner Erich , Walters Stacy
Published: August 2006

A global chemical transport model of the atmosphere [the Model for Ozone and Related Tracers, version 2 (MOZART-2)] driven by prescribed surface emissions and by meteorological fields provided by the ECHAM5/Max Planck Institute Ocean Model (MPI-OM-1) coupled atmosphere–ocean model is used to assess how expected climate changes (2100 versus 2000 periods) should affect the chemical composition of the troposphere. Calculations suggest that ozone changes resulting from climate change only are negative in a large fraction of the troposphere because of enhanced photochemical destruction by water vapor. In the Tropics, increased lightning activity should lead to larger ozone concentrations. The magnitude of the climate-induced ozone changes in the troposphere remains smaller than the changes produced by enhanced anthropogenic emissions when the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A2P is adopted to describe the future evolution of these emissions. Predictions depend strongly on future trends in atmospheric methane levels, which are not well established. Changes in the emissions of NOx by bacteria in soils and of nonmethane hydrocarbons by vegetation associated with climate change could have a significant impact on future ozone levels.
Interaction of Vegetation and Atmospheric Dynamical Mechanisms in the Mid-Holocene African Monsoon*
Authors: Hales Katrina , Neelin J. David , Zeng Ning
Published: August 2006

Paleoevidence indicates that generally wetter conditions existed in the Sahara during the mid-Holocene. Climate modeling studies addressing this issue generally agree that mid-Holocene values of the earth’s orbital parameters favored an enhanced North African summer monsoon but also suggest that land surface and vegetation feedbacks must have been important factors. Attempts to reproduce the “green” mid-Holocene Sahara in model studies with interactive vegetation may be interpreted to indicate that the problem is highly sensitive to the atmospheric dynamics of each model employed. In other work, dynamical mechanisms have been hypothesized to affect monsoon poleward extent, particularly ventilation, by import of low-moist static energy air to the continent. Here, interactive vegetation and the ventilation mechanism are studied in an intermediate complexity atmospheric model coupled to simple land and vegetation components. Interactive vegetation is found to be effective at enhancing the precipitation and vegetation amount in regions where the monsoon has advanced because of changes in orbital parameters or ventilation yet not very effective in moving the monsoon boundary if ventilation is strong. The poleward extent of the mid-Holocene monsoon and the steppe boundary are primarily controlled by the strength of ventilation in the atmospheric model. Within this boundary, the largest changes in monsoon precipitation and vegetation occur when interactive vegetation and reduced ventilation act simultaneously, as these greatly reinforce each other.
Changes to ENSO under CO2 Doubling in a Multimodel Ensemble
Authors: Merryfield William J.
Published: August 2006

An EOF analysis is used to intercompare the response of ENSO-like variability to CO2 doubling in results from 15 coupled climate models assembled for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. Under preindustrial conditions, 12 of the 15 models exhibit ENSO amplitudes comparable to or exceeding that observed in the second half of the twentieth century. Under CO2 doubling, three of the models exhibit statistically significant (p < 0.1) increases in ENSO amplitude, and five exhibit significant decreases. The overall amplitude changes are not strongly related to the magnitude or pattern of surface warming. It is, however, found that ENSO amplitude decreases (increases) in models having a narrow (wide) ENSO zonal wind stress response and ENSO amplitude comparable to or greater than observed. The models exhibit a mean fractional decrease in ENSO period of about 5%. Although many factors can influence the ENSO period, it is suggested that this may be related to a comparable increase in equatorial wave speed through an associated speedup of delayed-oscillator feedback. Changes in leading EOF, characterized in many of the models by a relative increase in the amplitude of SST variations in the central Pacific, are in most cases consistent with effects of anomalous zonal and vertical advection resulting from warming-induced changes in SST.
Radiative and Dynamical Feedbacks over the Equatorial Cold Tongue: Results from Nine Atmospheric GCMs
Authors: Sun D.-Z. , Zhang T. , Covey C. , Klein S. A. , Collins W. D. , Hack J. J. , Kiehl J. T. , Meehl G. A. , Held I. M. , Suarez M.
Published: August 2006

The equatorial Pacific is a region with strong negative feedbacks. Yet coupled general circulation models (GCMs) have exhibited a propensity to develop a significant SST bias in that region, suggesting an unrealistic sensitivity in the coupled models to small energy flux errors that inevitably occur in the individual model components. Could this “hypersensitivity” exhibited in a coupled model be due to an underestimate of the strength of the negative feedbacks in this region? With this suspicion, the feedbacks in the equatorial Pacific in nine atmospheric GCMs (AGCMs) have been quantified using the interannual variations in that region and compared with the corresponding calculations from the observations. The nine AGCMs are the NCAR Community Climate Model version 1 (CAM1), the NCAR Community Climate Model version 2 (CAM2), the NCAR Community Climate Model version 3 (CAM3), the NCAR CAM3 at T85 resolution, the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) Atmospheric Model, the Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model (HadAM3), the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) model (LMDZ4), the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) AM2p10, and the GFDL AM2p12. All the corresponding coupled runs of these nine AGCMs have an excessive cold tongue in the equatorial Pacific.

The net atmospheric feedback over the equatorial Pacific in the two GFDL models is found to be comparable to the observed value. All other models are found to have a weaker negative net feedback from the atmosphere—a weaker regulating effect on the underlying SST than the real atmosphere. Except for the French (IPSL) model, a weaker negative feedback from the cloud albedo and a weaker negative feedback from the atmospheric transport are the two leading contributors to the weaker regulating effect from the atmosphere. The underestimate of the strength of the negative feedbacks by the models is apparently linked to an underestimate of the equatorial precipitation response. All models have a stronger water vapor feedback than that indicated in Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) observations. These results confirm the suspicion that an underestimate of the regulatory effect from the atmosphere over the equatorial Pacific region is a prevalent problem. The results also suggest, however, that a weaker regulatory effect from the atmosphere is unlikely solely responsible for the hypersensitivity in all models. The need to validate the feedbacks from the ocean transport is therefore highlighted.
Reexamination of the Observed Decadal Variability of the Earth Radiation Budget Using Altitude-Corrected ERBE/ERBS Nonscanner WFOV Data
Authors: Wong Takmeng , Wielicki Bruce A. , Lee Robert B. , Smith G. Louis , Bush Kathryn A. , Willis Joshua K.
Published: August 2006

This paper gives an update on the observed decadal variability of the earth radiation budget (ERB) using the latest altitude-corrected Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE)/Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) Nonscanner Wide Field of View (WFOV) instrument Edition3 dataset. The effects of the altitude correction are to modify the original reported decadal changes in tropical mean (20°N to 20°S) longwave (LW), shortwave (SW), and net radiation between the 1980s and the 1990s from 3.1, −2.4, and −0.7 to 1.6, −3.0, and 1.4 W m−2, respectively. In addition, a small SW instrument drift over the 15-yr period was discovered during the validation of the WFOV Edition3 dataset. A correction was developed and applied to the Edition3 dataset at the data user level to produce the WFOV Edition3_Rev1 dataset. With this final correction, the ERBS Nonscanner-observed decadal changes in tropical mean LW, SW, and net radiation between the 1980s and the 1990s now stand at 0.7, −2.1, and 1.4 W m−2, respectively, which are similar to the observed decadal changes in the High-Resolution Infrared Radiometer Sounder (HIRS) Pathfinder OLR and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) version FD record but disagree with the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Pathfinder ERB record. Furthermore, the observed interannual variability of near-global ERBS WFOV Edition3_Rev1 net radiation is found to be remarkably consistent with the latest ocean heat storage record for the overlapping time period of 1993 to 1999. Both datasets show variations of roughly 1.5 W m−2 in planetary net heat balance during the 1990s.
Investigating Subtypes of Child Development
Authors: DiStefano Christine , Kamphaus R. W.
Published: August 2006

Two classification methods, latent class cluster analysis and cluster analysis, are used to identify groups of child behavioral adjustment underlying a sample of elementary school children aged 6 to 11 years. Behavioral rating information across 14 subscales was obtained from classroom teachers and used as input for analyses. Both the procedures and results were compared. The latent class cluster analysis uncovered three classes representing differing levels of children's behavioral adjustment (well adjusted, average adjustment, functionally impaired), whereas the cluster analysis uncovered seven groups of child behavior. Results show a high degree of overlap, and each procedure offers unique information toward classifying child behavior.
Kinship Center Attachment Questionnaire
Authors: Kappenberg Erin Setsuko , Halpern Diane F.
Published: August 2006

The Kinship Center Attachment Questionnaire (KCAQ) is a newly developed screening instrument completed by the caregiver and appropriate for use with children younger than 6 years. The KCAQ is different from other attachment instruments because it is a time-efficient, quantitative measure of child attachment that is capable of tracking change in attachment over time versus the taxonomic measurements of traditional attachment instruments. The current study describes the development of the KCAQ, presents nonclinical and clinical data gathered with the instrument, and provides evidence for the sound psychometric properties of its scores.
Multisource Assessment of Children's Social Competence
Authors: Junttila Niina , Voeten Marinus , Kaukiainen Ari , Vauras Marja
Published: August 2006

The Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale was developed, based on the School Social Behavior Scale and examined to test the factor pattern and the consistency of the ratings of self, peers, teachers, and parents. The findings of the confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor solution consistent with two main dimensions (prosocial and antisocial), each divided into two subdimensions (cooperating skills, empathy, impulsivity, and disruptiveness). The resultant model was cross-validated with a new sample. The fit indexes implied that the factor patterns were invariant for the two samples. The correlations between the four social agents were statistically significant, albeit quite low, indicating that the different sources tend to provide divergent pictures of a child's social competence. Statistically significant differences in social competence were found between educational settings and between genders.
Including Omission Mistakes in the Calculation of Cohen's Kappa and an Analysis of the Coefficient's Paradox Features
Authors: Simon Patricia
Published: August 2006

The application range of Cohen's Kappa is extended to the field of sequential observation data, where omission mistakes of an observer may often occur. It is shown how the omission mistakes can be incorporated into the calculation of the Kappa coefficient without violating the statistic it is based on. The enhanced coefficient is termed Kappa Coefficient With Omission Calculation (K woc). In addition, the so-called paradox features of the Kappa coefficient, the base-rate problem, and the observer bias are discussed. It is shown that, in the case of observation data, these attributes are desirable features of the Kappa coefficient.
Estimating with a Latent Class Model the Reliability of Nominal Judgments Upon Which Two Raters Agree
Authors: Schuster Christof , Smith David A.
Published: August 2006

Because nominal-scale judgments cannot directly be aggregated into meaningful composites, the addition of a second rater is usually motivated by a desire to estimate the quality of a single rater's classifications rather than to improve reliability. When raters agree, the aggregation problem does not arise. Nevertheless, a proportion of this agreement is likely to have occurred by chance, so reliability issues remain even if the focus is on nominal judgments upon which raters concur. In this article, the reliability of nominal judgments upon which raters agree is addressed in the framework of a latent class model that includes a systematic agreement parameter. It is shown that if attention is limited to agreement cases, the value of this parameter increases as expected. Circumstances under which agreement case reliability is important are discussed.
Statistical Versus Substantive Dimensionality
Authors: Walker Cindy M. , Azen Razia , Schmitt Thomas
Published: August 2006

It is believed by some that most tests are multidimensional, meaning that they measure more than one underlying construct. The primary objective of this study is to illustrate how variations in the secondary ability distribution affect the statistical detection of dimensionality and to demonstrate the difference between substantive and statistical dimensionality. Given dichotomous data simulated to be multidimensional, this study shows how varying the ability distributions affects the results obtained from DIMTEST, a nonparametric statistical procedure based on the theory of essential unidimensionality. Results indicate that the power of DIMTEST decreased as the mean of the secondary ability distribution approached the extremes and/or as the standard deviation of the secondary ability distribution approached zero. This has important implications for both researchers and practitioners because although a test may measure additional dimensions from a substantive viewpoint, these dimensions may not be detected statistically.
Impact of Post Hoc Measurement Model Overspecification on Structural Parameter Integrity
Authors: Fan Weihua , Hancock Gregory R.
Published: August 2006

In the common two-step structural equation modeling process, modifications are routinely made to the measurement portion of the model prior to assessing structural relations. The effect of such measurement model modifications on the structural parameter estimates, however, is not well known and is the subject of the current investigation. For a five-factor confirmatory factor model, Monte Carlo simulation was used to compare interfactor correlations before and after measurement model respecifications (crossloadings, intrafactor error covariances, and interfactor error covariances) under conditions varying number of indicators per factor, loading magnitude, and sample size. Although results indicate some effect on structural parameter estimates arising under conditions of overspecification in the measurement model, in general, the impact is seen to be quite negligible.
The Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch (Part 2)
Authors: Foster Paul
Published: August 2006

Ignatius of Antioch, bishop, martyr and letter writer, provides what is perhaps the clearest snapshot of the diverse expressions of Christianity that existed in part of the eastern Mediterranean world in the early second century, although, admittedly, he himself was not a supporter of such diversity. His writings reflect tensions within Christianity as it struggled to become a more organized and structured movement. Moreover, in these epistles, it is possible to see some highly significant doctrines emerging in embryonic form. Part 2 explores theological concepts and ideas in the letters.
Preaching the Old Testament
Authors: Barr George K.
Published: August 2006

Archaeological investigation contradicts traditional Biblical chronology. Material previously considered to be historical must now be categorised as folk tale. Scalometric analysis confirms that both ‘historical’ and prophetic books were recast after the Babylonian exile. Jesus’ use of these texts provides a guide to assist modern preaching of the Old Testament.
Theorizing Peace Parks: Two Models of Collective Action
Authors: Lejano Raul P.
Published: August 2006

In a reversal of the historical role of territory in intergroup conflict, the article focuses on an emergent notion of territory as an instrument for peace. In this article, the author begins to theorize about the mechanisms by which so-called peace parks might act in resolving conflict and ushering in regional stability. Two models are utilized that differ in their portrayal of how these parks might work. The first model, built on a game-theoretic foundation, provides insight into incentive mechanisms by which parties might agree to a border park. Furthermore, the model sheds light on whether these parks might serve as vacant buffer zones or, alternatively, active zones of cooperation. However, the game-theoretic model should be complemented by another, qualitative model that focuses primarily on how these interactions are embedded in history, culture, tradition, and group identity. To this end, the author develops a second model, which portrays institutions as structures of care. In the model of care, relationships are constitutive of identity, and institutions and practices (including war and peace) evolve in coherence with the web of relationships. It is the employment of mutually complementing analytics that might afford a deeper understanding of how these peace parks might actually serve as effective bridges for peace.
The Geographic Spread of Militarized Disputes
Authors: Braithwaite Alex
Published: August 2006

A thriving literature investigates the claim that geographic processes cause military conflict to cluster and diffuse. With the recent update of the Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) data and the collection of geographic locations to accompany these data, it is now possible to offer a location-based examination of the geographic spread of conflict. Consideration of the literature that identifies a role for physical geography in conflict processes leads to the derivation of hypotheses in which territory and resources are expected to provide incentives for states to seek to increase territorial acquisitions, while impassable terrain is expected to act as a barrier to such spread. These hypotheses are tested using ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation - regressing the spread of individual MIDs in the years 1993-2001 upon a range of location- and dispute-specific variables. These regressions demonstrate that the spread of individual disputes is a function of the issue over which they are fought, the presence of vital resources in the host country, the prevailing terrain of that country, and the relevant conflict history of the participants. It is argued that knowledge of the precipitants of the spread of individual conflicts is of great benefit to policymakers seeking to mitigate the detrimental impact of conflict upon the societies in which it occurs, as well as to those deploying peacekeeping troops to conflict zones.
Strategic Uses of Economic Interdependence: Engagement Policies on the Korean Peninsula and Across the Taiwan Strait
Authors: Kahler Miles , Kastner Scott L.
Published: August 2006

While the determinants and effectiveness of economic sanctions have been the subject of a substantial and growing literature in international relations, much less attention has been given to economic engagement strategies, where a country deliberately expands economic ties with an adversary to change the target’s behavior. This article develops a theoretical framework that distinguishes between three types of engagement strategies: conditional policies that directly link economic ties to changed behavior in the target state; unconditional policies where economic interdependence is meant to act as a constraint on the behavior of the target state; and unconditional policies where economic interdependence is meant to effect a transformation in the foreign policy goals of the target state. The article presents several hypotheses concerning the conditions facilitating or hindering the successful implementation of these different strategies, and then examines engagement policies adopted by three East Asian states: South Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China. The cases offer preliminary confirmation of at least three of the hypotheses: conditional strategies are less likely to succeed when the initiating state is a democracy; transformative strategies are more likely to succeed when the target state is a democracy; and transformative strategies are more likely to succeed when a broad consensus exists in the initiating state.
US Media Pools and Military Interventions in the 1980s and 1990s
Authors: Martin Shannon E.
Published: August 2006

Media pools have frequently been deployed by the US military during the past 25 years, and there has been much written about the effects and limitations of their use in particular cases. The military actions reviewed in this study are troop deployments to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Grenada, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Panama, and Somalia, all of which resulted in the loss of American lives. The research examines whether there is a correlation between the characterization of the intervention as it is presented in media pool stories and the shifts in public opinion during this range of US military interventions. The examination shows that (1) when US media are constrained by military pooling, then the military intervention is characterized by the media as facilitating political change, and the public opinion is initially favorable; and (2) when US media are not constrained by military pooling, then the military intervention is characterized by the media as facilitating humanitarian efforts, and the public opinion is initially less favorable. This evidence also suggests a savvy practice of agenda-framing and second-level agenda-setting among military operations planners who determine the implementation of media pooling. The evidence also suggests the need for additional attention by researchers interested in the variables of second-level message-framing effects during those periods when both media and audiences are vulnerable to message management.
Armed Conflict and Peace Agreements
Authors: Harbom Lotta , Högbladh Stina , Wallensteen Peter
Published: August 2006

In 2005, there were 31 ongoing conflicts, down by 1 from 2004. Notable for 2005 as well as for the previous year is that, while there were no major fluctuations in the number of conflicts, there were numerous changes when it comes to the conflicts listed. While ten of the conflicts recorded for 2004 were no longer active in 2005, nine conflicts restarted, four with action taken by new rebel groups and five by previously recorded actors. A total of 231 armed conflicts have been recorded since the end of World War II and 121 after the end of the Cold War. In one-third of the conflicts recorded after the Cold War, the conflicting parties have concluded peace agreements, solving, regulating, or deciding the incompatibility. Of the 144 accords, 70% were signed in conflicts over government; many of them were part of a peace process containing more than one agreement. In conflicts over government, the most common provision for resolving the incompatibility was the holding of elections. In conflicts over territory, the agreements often established local governance over the disputed territory.
Assembled agency: media and hegemony in the Chilean transition to civilian rule
Authors: Wiley Stephen B. Crofts
Published: August 2006

Through a close analysis of the media campaign to oust Chilean General Augusto Pinochet from power in 1988, this article explores the construction of national hegemony in transnational context. The Chilean opposition's success in constituting a political and cultural alternative to military rule illustrates the process by which hegemony is constructed, but at the same time it allows us to reconsider this classic sociological concept in several important ways. While hegemony is constructed at the national level, it is composed out of transnational flows. Hegemony has also been understood primarily as a form of ideological domination. This analysis, by contrast, demonstrates the importance of going beyond culture as meaning to take into account the material, technological and affective dimensions of hegemony.
In search of a strong European public sphere: some critical observations on conceptualizations of publicness and the (European) public sphere
Authors: Splichal Slavko
Published: August 2006

The present-day popular advocacy of the 'European public sphere' is not only a normative-theoretical endeavour, but largely also an expression of the general (political) dissatisfaction with a neoliberal domination of economy over other political issues essential for democratic citizenship in the 'New Europe', or a reaction to an imbalance between the intense economic and rather sloppy political integration, and the democratic deficit in the decision-making. The idea of a pan- European post-national political public (sphere) contains an enlightened humanist ideology focused on its emancipatory potential, but it may also denote the fabrication of a fictitious Europe of elites without citizens if not deep-rooted in the concept of the 'strong' public sphere. The genealogy of the 'public (sphere)' demonstrates that the contemporary concept should be considered neither selfevident nor coherent. The article relates the concept to its late-18th-century ancestors and delineates main currents of thought in the subsequent two centuries. The concept of the weak public sphere dominates both in theory and in empirical research, and thus also in many contemporary media-centred studies of the/a 'European public sphere', which tend to reduce its definition to 'the lowest common denominator'.
Reading between the headlines: SARS, Focus and TV current affairs programmes in China
Authors: Zhang Xiaoling
Published: August 2006

This article first examines the coverage of SARS by Focus with a view to examining whether there really was a 'breakthrough' for TV current affairs programmes in China in the coverage of SARS after two decades of reform that has greatly increased the power of the market relative to the old political imperatives. The article then explores why Focus, as a product of reform, has failed audiences' expectations. The article concludes that TV current affairs programmes in China have been exploited to play a key role in shaping public discourse and creating a social or psychological climate favourable for political stability, and at times of crisis has far less freedom than usual to violate the guidelines set down by the state. Focus will remain as 'an example' of media supervision for other TV current affairs programmes in China and for the outside world.
Buying and selling: mediating persuasion in British property shows
Authors: Lorenzo-Dus Nuria
Published: August 2006

Persuasion has been extensively examined in broadcast contexts such as political speeches/debates and advertisements. In contrast, it has only been tangentiallyconsidered in relation to the increasingly popular lifestyle media. This is despite both scholarly consensus that these programmes actively promote certain lifestyles as desirable over others and that general views of these programmes being nothing more than trivial, mindless entertainment belie their influence on viewer patterns of living and spending time and money.

In view of this, I examine the resources and strategies that the lifestyle media deploy in order to persuade viewers to pursue specific lifestyles, drawing upon a corpus of 45 episodes of British primetime television property shows. Textual analysis of this corpus reveals the shows' promotion of ready-made lifestyle packages which interlock material, lifestyle and identity choices and use ease and aesthetics as incentives. The analysis also focuses upon the shows' persuasive combination of two participation frameworks: diluted didactics and melodrama. This article therefore contributes to the current debate on the purchase of lifestyles in contemporary, mass-mediated societies by critically examining a broadcast genre in which lifestyles are not only showcased but persuasively offered to viewers.
The Effect of Psychotherapy on Self-Awareness in Incarcerated and Nonincarcerated Alcoholics
Authors: Slaski Slawomir , Zylicz Piotr Olaf
Published: August 2006

Changes in self-awareness in incarcerated and nonincarcerated male alcoholics are measured before and after disaccustoming therapy based on Alcoholics Anonymous principles. The four-mode conception of self-awareness of Zaborowski is employed. The results show significant and expected changes in incarcerated participants (in defensive, individual, and reflective modes of self-awareness) and almost no changes in nonincarcerated individuals. An effect of motivation on therapy is also identified. Incarceration appears to be more conducive to recovery than to conditions outside the prison.
DNA Evidence in Rape Cases and The Debbie Smith Act
Authors: Telsavaara Terhi V.T. , Arrigo Bruce A.
Published: August 2006

The Debbie Smith or “Justice for All” Act was passed on November 1, 2004. The act addresses the problem of collecting and analyzing DNA evidence from backlogged rape kits sitting in crime laboratories around the country. Presently, no empirical data exist by which to assess the soundness of the legislation. However, the act clearly affects discrete operations within the forensic and criminal justice systems. This article explores the relative merits of the Debbie Smith law, highlighting changes in Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs, law enforcement, court administration, correctional treatment, and juvenile justice practices. Concerns linked to the likely impact of the “Justice for All” Act raise significant questions about its overall programmatic utility and treatment efficacy.
Gender Disparity in Criminal Offenses Among Persons of High IQ
Authors: Monk-Turner Elizabeth , Oleson James , Cortez Paul , Dean Daniel , Kracke Cole , Harmon Jennifer , Restituto Peter , Trach Greg
Published: August 2006

Criminologists have largely neglected deviance among those with high IQs. This work uses Towers's (1988) concept of conventional genius to analyze how deviant behavior varies by gender among genius offenders. Like Bisi (2002), the authors expect female patterns of deviance to be lower than that for males even within this genius sample. Their work finds that male geniuses are significantly more likely to self-report ever having committed violent felonies. Among the authors' conventional genius sample of university students, gender differences in nonviolent felonies, misdemeanor offenses, and unethical behaviors are not significantly different between the female and male respondents.
The Meaning of Anger for Australian Indigenous Offenders
Authors: Day Andrew , Davey Linda , Wanganeen Rosemary , Howells Kevin , DeSantolo Jason , Nakata Martin
Published: August 2006

The problem of overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders in Australian prisons highlights the need for effective tertiary intervention programs within correctional settings as a way of reducing Indigenous reincarceration. This study seeks to explore meanings of anger within an Indigenous context that might inform the development of more acceptable and potentially more effective rehabilitation programs. A methodology that acknowledges the importance of narrative, context, and culture was devised to explore how anger as an emotion is understood and experienced by a group of Indigenous men in a South Australian prison. Although some of the major themes reflected experiences of anger common to many offenders, it was evident that for these Indigenous men, anger was experienced within a broad social and political context that imbued the experience of anger with layers of culturally specific meaning. It is suggested that these layers of meaning constitute sufficient difference to warrant further exploration.
Out on the Town
Authors: Sharp Douglas , Atherton Susie R.
Published: August 2006

Alcohol has long been identified as a significant contributory factor in crime and anti social behaviour, yet there is a dearth of effective treatment available for those individuals whose drinking contributes significantly to their criminality, and subsequently the health risks and the economic and wider social implications associated with it. The literature on treatment programmes is drawn almost exclusively from medical experience but indicates that brief interventions are at least as effective as more intensive programmes in reducing alcohol consumption in at-risk groups. This research was undertaken to evaluate projects based in the West Midlands, United Kingdom, providing brief motivational interventions to offenders arrested for offences where alcohol is identified as a significant contributory factor. The evaluation indicates that an arrest referral scheme as developed in the West Midlands can achieve good levels of identification and referral, acceptable attendance, retention rates, and effective outcomes in terms of attitude and behaviour change.