bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Secularly growing oscillations in a stratified rotating fluid
Authors: Shapiro Alan , Fedorovich Evgeni
Published: May 2012

A simple exact solution of the Boussinesq equations of motion, thermal energy, and mass conservation is obtained for an oscillatory flow regime in a stably stratified rotating fluid. The flow is unbounded and characterized by velocity gradients that vary with time but are spatially uniform—the basic state of Craik-Criminale flows. The solution describes an oscillatory convergent-divergent flow in which the linear (normal) strain rates are periodic. However, two of the shear strain rates are forced by the linear strain rates, and their amplitudes grow linearly with time.
Annual instrumentation issue: Lasers: Introduction
Authors: Davis Harold L.
Published: May 2012

Since their invention of a dozen years ago lasers have become a major subject of interest to physicists. The original interest in laser systems as examples of a new and intriguing physical phenomenon continues unabated and has spurred researchers to develop an impressive assortment of lasers of different types and properties. John Emmett brings us up to date on these activities in his article "Frontiers of laser development" (page 24).
US policy: strategic modernization and arms control
Authors: Dean Robert W.
Published: May 2012

The public discussion of the so-called war-fighting strategy of this Administration completely misconstrues the basic objectives of US and alliance policies. We do not seek strategic superiority over the Soviet Union and the nations of the Warsaw Pact. We do seek equality in the form of a strategic balance that provides greater security for all nations.
Plasma waves and transversely accelerated ions in the terrestrial ionosphere
Authors: Kintner Paul M.
Published: May 2012

Developments in measuring the physical mechanisms responsible for strongly driven transverse ion acceleration in the ionosphere are reviewed. Lower-hybrid waves and ion Bernstein waves can be associated very closely with transversely accelerated ions in the auroral ionosphere. In a recent development, very intense and localized lower-hybrid waves have been observed to produce transversely accelerated ions with characteristic energies of 10 eV. The case for current-driven electrostatic oxygen cyclotron waves producing transversely accelerated ions is less compelling.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)α and -γ regulate IFNγ and IL-17A production by human T cells in a sex-specific way
Authors: Zhang Monan Angela , Rego Dorothy , Moshkova Marina , Kebir Hania , Chruscinski Andrzej , Nguyen HoangKim , Akkermann Rainer , Stanczyk Frank Z. , Prat Alexandre , Steinman Lawrence , Dunn Shannon E.
Published: May 2012

Women develop certain autoimmune diseases more often than men. It has been hypothesized that this may relate to the development of more robust T-helper (Th)1 responses in women. To test whether women exhibit a Th1 bias, we isolated naïve cluster of differentiation (CD)4+T cells from peripheral blood of healthy women and men and measured the proliferation and cytokine production by these cells in response to submaximal amounts of anti-CD3 and anti-CD28. We observed that CD4+T cells from women produced higher levels of IFNγ as well as tended to proliferate more than male CD4+T cells. Intriguingly, male CD4+T cells instead had a predilection toward IL-17A production. This sex dichotomy in Th cytokine production was found to be even more striking in the Swiss/Jackson Laboratory (SJL) mouse. Studies in mice and humans indicated that the sexual dimorphism in Th1 and Th17 cytokine production was dependent on the androgen status and the T-cell expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)α and PPARγ. Androgens increased PPARα and decreased PPARγ expression by human CD4+T cells. PPARα siRNA-mediated knockdown had the effect of increasing IFNγ by male CD4+T cells, while transfection of CD4+T cells with PPARγ siRNAs increased IL-17A production uniquely by female T cells. Together, our observations indicate that human T cells exhibit a sex difference in the production of IFNγ and IL-17A that may be driven by expressions of PPARα and PPARγ.
Nucleotide-dependent conformations of FtsZ dimers and force generation observed through molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Hsin Jen , Gopinathan Ajay , Huang Kerwyn C.
Published: May 2012

The bacterial cytoskeletal protein FtsZ is a GTPase that is thought to provide mechanical constriction force via an unidentified mechanism. Purified FtsZ polymerizes into filaments with varying structures in vitro: while GTP-bound FtsZ assembles into straight or gently curved filaments, GDP-bound FtsZ forms highly curved filaments, prompting the hypothesis that a difference in the inherent curvature of FtsZ filaments provides mechanical force. However, no nucleotide-dependent structural transition of FtsZ monomers has been observed to support this force generation model. Here, we present a series of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations probing the effects of nucleotide binding on the structure of an FtsZ dimer. We found that the FtsZ-dimer structure is dependent on nucleotide-binding state. While a GTP-bound FtsZ dimer retained a firm monomer-monomer contact, a GDP-bound FtsZ dimer lost some of the monomer-monomer association, leading to a “hinge-opening” event that resulted in a more bent dimer, while leaving each monomer structure largely unaffected. We constructed models of FtsZ filaments and found that a GDP-FtsZ filament is much more curved than a GTP-FtsZ filament, with the degree of curvature matching prior experimental data. FtsZ dynamics were used to estimate the amount of force an FtsZ filament could exert when hydrolysis occurs (20–30 pN per monomer). This magnitude of force is sufficient to direct inward cell-wall growth during division, and to produce the observed degree of membrane pinching in liposomes. Taken together, our data provide molecular-scale insight on the origin of FtsZ-based constriction force, and the mechanism underlying prokaryotic cell division.
Myotubularin-related protein (MTMR) 9 determines the enzymatic activity, substrate specificity, and role in autophagy of MTMR8
Authors: Zou Jun , Zhang Chunfen , Marjanovic Jasna , Kisseleva Marina V. , Majerus Philip W. , Wilson Monita P.
Published: May 2012

The myotubularins are a large family of inositol polyphosphate 3-phosphatases that, despite having common substrates, subsume unique functions in cells that are disparate. The myotubularin family consists of 16 different proteins, 9 members of which possess catalytic activity, dephosphorylating phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] and phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(3,5)P
2
] at the D-3 position. Seven members are inactive because they lack the conserved cysteine residue in the CX
5
R motif required for activity. We studied a subfamily of homologous myotubularins, including myotubularin-related protein 6 (MTMR6), MTMR7, and MTMR8, all of which dimerize with the catalytically inactive MTMR9. Complex formation between the active myotubularins and MTMR9 increases their catalytic activity and alters their substrate specificity, wherein the MTMR6/R9 complex prefers PtdIns(3,5)P
2
as substrate; the MTMR8/R9 complex prefers PtdIns(3)P. MTMR9 increased the enzymatic activity of MTMR6 toward PtdIns(3,5)P
2
by over 30-fold, and enhanced the activity toward PtdIns(3)P by only 2-fold. In contrast, MTMR9 increased the activity of MTMR8 by 1.4-fold and 4-fold toward PtdIns(3,5)P
2
and PtdIns(3)P, respectively. In cells, the MTMR6/R9 complex significantly increases the cellular levels of PtdIns(5)P, the product of PI(3,5)P
2
dephosphorylation, whereas the MTMR8/R9 complex reduces cellular PtdIns(3)P levels. Consequentially, the MTMR6/R9 complex serves to inhibit stress-induced apoptosis and the MTMR8/R9 complex inhibits autophagy.
To reject or not to reject nationalism: debating Marx and Engels’ struggles with nationalism, 1840s–1880s
Authors: Kasprzak Michal
Published: May 2012

The relationship between Marxism and nationalism has been tumultuous. While theoretically attempting to reject nationalism as a transient product of capitalism, Marxism has in practice oftentimes exploited its appeal and utilized its extensive institutional repertoire. To a large extent, the difficult dialogue between the two ideological constellations can be traced back to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who neglected to leave a definitive statement on the nationality question. The article traces the evolution of Marxism's conceptualization of the nationality question – a slow shift from an outright rejection of nationalism to an acceptance of its progressive features, complexity, varieties and influences. It re-evaluates Marx and Engels’ views on the nationality question, from its outright denial to limited acceptance and application. After identifying factors that shaped their perception of the nationality question, the study offers an analysis of the evolution of these attitudes from the 1840s to the 1860s. The objective is to show how Marx and Engels’ theoretical dogmatism was tainted by their desire for activism. Their views were not inflexible but rather evolved in response to changing circumstances in the mid 19th century.
The language that unites and the language that divides us: Why was Arabic kept and Serbo-Croatian abolished?
Authors: Zabarah Dareg A.
Published: May 2012

This article explores why the Arabs chose to keep a common language, while the Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Montenegrins chose not to. The study argues that the main reason for this can be found in the ideological constrains resulting out of the salience and interaction between different religious and ethnic group building projects in former Yugoslavia and the Arab states. Political elites in both regions favored the ethnic and religious category to different extents. Language planning reflected and implemented the respective ideological imperatives resulting out of these processes. This led to different approaches in defining the common language and its subsequent standardization.
Influence of exercise intensity and duration on perceived exertion in adolescent Taekwondo athletes
Authors: Haddad Monoem , Chaouachi Anis , Wong Del P. , Castagna Carlo , Hue Olivie , Impellizzeri Franco M. , Chamari Karim
Published: May 2012

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of exercise intensity and session duration on rating of perceived exertion (RPE) in adolescent Taekwondo (TKD) athletes. Twelve male youth competitive TKD athletes, aged between 13 and 18 years took part in this study. Training data (368 individual sessions) were collected during the 12 weeks of the pre‐competitive TKD season. Daily training load was calculated using the heart rate and the session‐RPE. Exercise intensity was also classified in five zones [i.e. 50–60%, 61–70%, 71–80%, 81–90% and 91–100% of maximal heart rate (HRmax)] and the time spent in each zone was expressed as percentage of total session time. The analysis of variance showed a significant main effect for zone (p<0.001) with most of the time (69%) spent at intensities between 61 and 90% of HRmax, and only 10% spent above 91% (mean differences compared to the other zones ranging from –6.6% versus zone 1 to –14.8% versus zone 3; p<0.0001). The individual correlation between session‐RPE and HR‐based methods were moderate to large. The stepwise multiple regression showed that RPE was influenced mainly by the time spent in the high intensity zone that explained 22.1% of the variance in RPE. Session duration accounted for only an additional 3.2%. The results suggest the time spent at high‐intensity (i.e. between 91 and 100% HRmax) and only marginally the session duration influences the RPE referred to the whole training session. This seems to confirm that the determination of the TL multiplying the RPE and session duration is acceptable.
The perception of attractiveness and trustworthiness in male faces affects hypothetical voting decisions differently in wartime and peacetime scenarios
Authors: Little Anthony C. , Roberts S. Craig , Jones Benedict C. , DeBruine Lisa M.
Published: May 2012

Facial appearance of candidates has been linked to real election outcomes. Here we extend these findings by examining the contributions of attractiveness and trustworthiness in male faces to perceived votability. We first use real faces to show that attractiveness and trustworthiness are positively and independently related to perceptions of good leadership (rating study). We then show that computer graphic manipulations of attractiveness and trustworthiness influence choice of leader (Experiments 1 and 2). Finally, we show that changing context from wartime to peacetime can affect which face receives the most votes. Attractive faces were relatively more valued for wartime and trustworthy faces relatively more valued for peacetime (Experiments 1 and 2). This pattern suggests that attractiveness, which may indicate health and fitness, is perceived to be a useful attribute in wartime leaders, whereas trustworthiness, which may indicate prosocial traits, is perceived to be more important during peacetime. Our studies highlight the possible role of facial appearance in voting behaviour and the role of attributions of attractiveness and trust. We also show that there may be no general characteristics of faces that make them perceived as the best choice of leader; leaders may be chosen because of characteristics that are perceived as the best for leaders to possess in particular situations.
On the Learnability of Frequent and Infrequent Word Orders: An Artificial Language Learning Study
Authors: Tabullo ángel , Arismendi Mariana , Wainselboim Alejandro , Primero Gerardo , Vernis Sergio , Segura Enrique , Zanutto Silvano , Yorio Alberto
Published: May 2012

Most languages have a basic or “canonical” word order, which determines the relative positions of the subject (S), the verb (V), and the object (O) in a typical declarative sentence. The frequency of occurrence of the six possible word orders among world languages is not distributed uniformly. While SVO and SOV represent around 85% of world languages, orders like VSO (9%) or OSV (0.5%) are much less frequent or extremely rare. One possible explanation for this asymmetry is that biological and cognitive constraints for structured sequence processing make some word orders easier to be processed than others. Therefore, the high frequency of these word orders would be related to their higher learnability. The aim of the present study was to compare the learnability of different word orders between groups of adult subjects. Four artificial languages with different word orders were trained: two frequent (SVO, SOV) and two infrequent (VSO, OSV). In a test stage, subjects were asked to discriminate between new correct sentences and syntax or semantic violations. Higher performance rates and faster responses were observed for more frequent word orders. The results support the hypothesis that more frequent word orders are more easily learned.
The relationship between vertical stimulation and horizontal attentional asymmetries
Authors: Nicholls Michael E. R. , Thomas Nicole A. , Loetscher Tobias , Wignall Sophie , Yates Mark J. , Forte Jason D. , Spence Charles J.
Published: May 2012

The original aim was to examine the effect of perceived distance, induced by the Ponzo illusion, on left/right asymmetries for line bisection. In Experiment 1, university students ( n = 29) made left/right bisection judgements for lines presented in the lower or upper half of the screen against backgrounds of the Ponzo stimuli, or a baseline. While the Ponzo illusion had relatively little effect on line bisection, elevation in the baseline condition had a strong effect, whereby the leftward bias was increased for upper lines. Experiment 2 ( n = 17) eliminated the effect of elevation by presenting the line in the middle and moving the Ponzo stimuli relative to the line. Despite this change, the leftward bias was still stronger in the upper condition in the baseline condition. The final experiment ( n = 17) investigated whether upper/lower visual stimulation, which was irrelevant to the task, affected asymmetries for line bisection. The results revealed that a rectangle presented in the upper half of the screen increased the leftward line bisection bias relative to a baseline and lower stimulation condition. These results corroborate neuroimaging research, showing increased right parietal activation associated with shifts of attention into the upper hemispace. This increased right parietal activation may increase the leftward attentional bias—resulting in a stronger leftward bias for line bisection.
Structure control of sputtered zinc oxide films by utilizing zinc oxide seed layers tailored by ion beam assisted sputtering
Authors: Köhl Dominik , Natarajan Gomathi , Wuttig Matthias
Published: May 2012

Reactively sputtered zinc oxide thin films typically exhibit a c-oriented (0 0 0 1) texture of low crystalline order when deposited on unheated substrates. The structural order can be significantly improved upon heating the substrates during deposition. Here it will be demonstrated that by utilizing c-textured seed layers, which are grown by an ion beam assisted sputtering (IBAS) process, films can be deposited at room temperature with significantly improved c-texture. These films are significantly less sensitive to detrimental oxygen ion bombardment. By tailoring the IBAS process, even seed layers with dominant a-texture can be produced. Subsequently thick ZnO films can be grown on appropriate seed layers which are pre-dominantly a-textured.
On radial and polar Blaschke-Minkowski homomorphisms
Authors: Zhao Chang-jian
Published: May 2012

Brunn-Minkowski type inequalities for radial Blaschke-Minkowski homomorphisms of star bodies and polar Blaschke-Minkowski homomorphisms of convex bodies are established.
Sbf/MTMR13 coordinates PI(3)P and Rab21 regulation in endocytic control of cellular remodeling
Authors: Jean Steve , Cox Sarah , Schmidt Eric J. , Robinson Fred L. , Kiger Amy
Published: May 2012

Cells rely on the coordinated regulation of lipid phosphoinositides and Rab GTPases to define membrane compartment fates along distinct trafficking routes. The family of disease-related myotubularin (MTM) phosphoinositide phosphatases includes catalytically inactive members, or pseudophosphatases, with poorly understood functions. We found that Drosophila MTM pseudophosphatase Sbf coordinates both phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P) turnover and Rab21 GTPase activation in an endosomal pathway that controls macrophage remodeling. Sbf dynamically interacts with class II phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and stably recruits Mtm to promote turnover of a PI(3)P subpool essential for endosomal trafficking. Sbf also functions as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor that promotes Rab21 GTPase activation associated with PI(3)P endosomes. Of importance, Sbf, Mtm, and Rab21 function together, along with Rab11-mediated endosomal trafficking, to control macrophage protrusion formation. This identifies Sbf as a critical coordinator of PI(3)P and Rab21 regulation, which specifies an endosomal pathway and cortical control.
Global Equity Markets
Authors: Smith Roy C. , Walter Ingo , Delong Gayle
Published: May 2012

This chapter discusses the extraordinary growth in international stocks. Issuers tap international stock markets to increase the pool of available funds, lower costs of raising capital, expand their investor base, and/or avoid domestic regulatory complications. Investors move to international markets to improve portfolio performance and to lower risks. Both groups' interests have been furthered by the erosion of regulatory barriers, including exchange controls, limits on ownership, limits on participation in domestic markets, and obstructive listing and trading practices. Capital market integration is leading to a single world equity market. Investment houses stand prepared to make markets twenty-four hours a day in selected stocks. The infrastructure for such activity is being consolidated, sharpened, and challenged by new opportunities and competitive pressures.
Institutional Asset Management
Authors: Smith Roy C. , Walter Ingo , Delong Gayle
Published: May 2012

This chapter discusses six important points about the asset-management industry: The industry is likely to grow substantially in the years ahead. Despite the prospects for rapid growth, the structure of the asset-management industry is likely to reflect a high degree of contestability. The rapid evolution of the institutional asset-management industry will have a major effect on financial markets. Cross-border asset allocation will grow disproportionately as a product of institutional investors’ search for efficient portfolios through international diversification. The development of deeper and broader global capital markets will fundamentally change the market for corporate control into a much more fluid one focused on financial performance and shareholder value. Developments in institutional asset management will pose strategic challenges for the management of banks and other traditional financial institutions.
Strategic Drivers of Structural Change in Global Banking
Authors: Smith Roy C. , Walter Ingo , Delong Gayle
Published: May 2012

This chapter assesses the factors that appear to be driving the structural reconfiguration of the financial services sector and its competitive consequences. Strategic options that are open to financial firms in responding to–and anticipating—structural change are then examined, as well as the factors that seem to drive competitive performance with respect to market share and profitability. Few industries have encountered as much “strategic turbulence” in recent years as the financial services sector. In response to far-reaching regulatory and technological change, together with important shifts in client behavior and globalization of specific financial intermediation functions, the organizational structure of the financial services industry has been profoundly displaced, and a great deal of uncertainty about the nature of any future equilibrium in the industry’s contours remains.
Managing Competitive Global Banking Firms
Authors: Smith Roy C. , Walter Ingo , Delong Gayle
Published: May 2012

This chapter discusses the evolution of the financial services industry in order to determine future opportunities and challenges. In the past, because of deregulation, technological advances, and globalization, many different types of financial services firms, following different business strategies, have converged into the capital markets arena. This has greatly increased competition, to the benefit of market users, but it has also greatly increased the risks associated with being a major wholesale banking firm. The coming years will represent great challenges to most of the world's large financial service organizations, as they continue to compete for market share in a tougher regulatory environment and to recover their higher market valuations. These firms will have to rethink their basic business strategies and attempt to reposition themselves to maximize their comparative advantages, but also need to be able to control the formidable risks inherent in the strategies selected.
The Phonology of Japanese
Authors: Labrune Laurence
Published: May 2012

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the phonology of Japanese, based on Japanese and Western materials and the author’s original research. It provides a rich source of materials and critical discussion of some current problems, reviewing previously published analyses and proposing solutions. Focussing on modern standard (Tôkyô) Japanese, with occasional excurses into major dialectical variations and historical backgrounds, the book offers both a critical synthesis of Japanese phonology and new analyses on some of its central features. Starting with the vowel inventory, the phonology of high vowel devoicing, insertion and elision, prosodic lengthening and shortening, and the status of diphthongs, it moves to the consonant system and the phonology of voicing, and to the so-called moraic segments. The chapter dedicated to the prosodic units provides a detailed and original analysis of the relation between the mora and syllable, one of the key issue of Japanese phonology, not to forget the foot and the prosodic word. It argues that the mora and the foot are sufficient for the comprehension and analysis of the phonology of Japanese. The final and longest chapter is devoted to accent, through descriptions and analyses of simplex and compound noun accentuation, default accentuation, the underlying accent of Sino-Japanese morphemes and that of numeral compounds to name just a few. It also addresses the question of the typological status of the Japanese accent in relation to tone.
History and Typology
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

This book is concerned with EU administrative law, which includes analysis of the main forms of administration through which policy is delivered, as well as the principles of judicial review. It is fitting therefore to begin with an understanding of the history and typology of EU administration. This chapter starts by considering the evolution of EU administration. The focus then shifts to typology, and the features that distinguish different types of EU administration. The analysis takes as its ‘staging posts’ the original Rome Treaty and later Treaty amendments, and considers the evolution of EU administration in each of these periods.
Courts
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

This chapter focuses on EU courts. The way in which the principles of review have developed has been affected by the jurisdictional divide between the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and General Court (GC), and between these courts and national courts. It is argued that a necessary condition for an effective regime of judicial control is the existence of a rational judicial architecture, embracing the ECJ, GC, and national courts. The chapter is organized as follows. It begins with an analysis of the central structural and jurisdictional features of the present system, followed by consideration of the case-load problems of the EU courts, and the techniques available to limit the cases that are heard. The focus then shifts to the aims that should underlie reform of the Union's judicial architecture. The bulk of the chapter is concerned with the relationship between the ECJ and the GC, and that between the EU courts and the national courts. The discussion draws on two important papers concerning the EU's judicial architecture. One was produced by the then current members of the ECJ and CFI; the other was written by a Working Party composed largely of former judges of the ECJ at the behest of the Commission. The papers generated significant discussion and comment, which are referred to in the course of the ensuing analysis.
Process
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

This chapter is concerned with process rights, and should be read in conjunction with the previous chapter on access. The sources of process rights are eclectic. Treaty articles, EU legislation, the Union courts, the European Ombudsman, and the Commission have all contributed towards the enumeration of such process rights, drawing inspiration from national legal systems. The discussion takes a broad view of process and addresses the topic from three perspectives. The initial perspective is concerned with discrete process rights and the way that they have been developed by the EU courts and by Union legislation. The second perspective is concerned with process rights and sector-specific legislation. The final perspective considers the way in which the meaning accorded to process rights has broader implications for the objectives of judicial review.
Law, Fact, and Discretion
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

This chapter focuses on some central precepts of substantive review. The discussion begins with the meaning accorded to the concepts of law, fact, and discretion in EU law. This is followed by examination of the test for review for questions of law. The focus then shifts to review of fact and discretion. The test for review and the meaning accorded to it in the early case law is explicated. This is followed by an examination of the more recent jurisprudence, and it is shown that the EU courts have used the tests for review more intensively than hitherto, although there may be some modification of this in some recent case law. The final two sections of the chapter contain broader reflections on the standard of review emerging from the case law in relation to fact and discretion, respectively.
Equality
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

This chapter is concerned with equality and the way in which it has been shaped by Union legislation and the Courts' jurisprudence. The principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination are found within a number of Treaty articles, but the European Court of Justice held that these were merely specific enunciations of the general principle of equality as one of the fundamental principles of EU law, which must be observed by any court.
Legal Certainty and Legitimate Expectations
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

The connected concepts of legal certainty and legitimate expectations are to be found in many legal systems, although their precise legal content may vary. These concepts are used in a number of different ways and it is important to distinguish them in order to avoid confusion. This chapter begins with the basic precept of legal certainty and the constraints placed on EU norms that have an actual retroactive effect. This is followed by differentiation of other types of case where legal certainty and legitimate expectations are utilized and the rationale for affording legal protection. The remainder of the chapter analyses the law and policy applicable in these different areas, including revocation of lawful and unlawful decisions, individual representations, representations and changes of policy, departure from existing policy, and unlawful representations.
Proportionality I: EU
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

Proportionality is an important principle of EU administrative law. It can be used to challenge EU action, and Member State action. Different considerations tend to apply in these two spheres, and this chapter focuses on proportionality and Union action. The discussion begins with analysis of the meaning of proportionality as elaborated by the Union courts. It then focuses on the way in which proportionality has been applied and the intensity of review. Three broad types of case can be distinguished: cases involving discretionary policy choices, whether social, political, or economic in nature; cases concerned with infringement of a right recognized by EU law; and cases involving a disproportionate penalty or financial burden.
Precautionary Principle
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

While the precautionary principle is found in some legal systems, such as Germany, it is nonetheless relatively novel as a precept of administrative law. It has however become of increased importance in EU law. This chapter begins by examining the development of the precautionary principle into a general principle of EU law. It then analyses the use of the principle for review of EU and Member State action. It considers the political status of the principle and the way in which it informs decision-making. The chapter concludes by assessing the principle from a more normative dimension. There is considerable controversy over the meaning of the precautionary principle and its application. The political and legal interpretation of the principle is evaluated in the light of this critical literature.
The Ombudsman
Authors: Craig Paul
Published: May 2012

The Treaty of Maastricht introduced the European Ombudsman into the institutional landscape of the Union. The emergence of an extra-judicial mechanism geared towards overseeing the administrative behaviour of the Union bureaucracy served a two-fold objective. In legal terms, it sought to enhance the protection of citizens' rights and interests in the Union space by establishing an alternative route to administrative litigation. In political terms, it was employed as a tool to put a smiling face to a largely distant, impersonal, and incomprehensible Community structure, sooth the growing uneasiness of the Union citizenry, and sugar the pill of further European integration. This chapter is organized as follows. It begins with a brief discussion of the historical emergence of the Ombudsman. It then considers the powers of the European Ombudsman and the restraints placed thereupon. It analyses the way in which the Ombudsman has defined and applied the concept of maladministration. Specific aspects of the institutional relationship between the Ombudsman and the Union judiciary are then addressed. The chapter concludes with some general remarks pertaining to the institutional evolution of the Ombudsman in the Union's political and legal order.
Normal Organizational Wrongdoing
Authors: Palmer Donald
Published: May 2012

Normal Organizational Wrongdoing critically reviews theory and research on wrongdoing in and of organizations, focusing on the individual level of analysis. The book considers a wide variety of organizational misconduct, including corporate crime, white-collar crime, unethical behaviour, and socially irresponsible behaviour. It begins by developing an overarching framework for classifying existing theories of organizational wrongdoing. Then it uses this framework to guide its presentation, evaluation, and extension of theories currently in use in the field. The overarching framework distinguishes between two broad classes of theories of wrongdoing; one, shared by most students of wrongdoing, considers wrongdoing an abnormal phenomenon and the other, championed by the author, considers wrongdoing a normal occurrence. Two existing explanations of wrongdoing, the rational choice and culture accounts, fall into the former category. Four existing theories, the administrative system, situational social influence, power structure, and accidental accounts, fall into the latter category. One current theory, the behavioural decision account, serves as a bridge between the two approaches. The book's overarching framework also suggests the need for an eighth explanation of organizational wrongdoing that has largely been overlooked to this point, the social control account. The theoretical arguments advanced in the book are illustrated by rich case studies of instances of organizational wrongdoing. The book concludes with a discussion of the practical implications that the theory reviewed and developed in the book holds for those seeking to curb wrongdoing in and of organizations.
Introduction
Authors: Palmer Donald
Published: May 2012

This chapter very briefly outlines the book's five contributions. First, the book identifies two broad perspectives on organizational wrongdoing and misconduct, conceived broadly as corporate crime, white-collar crime, unethical behavior, and socially irresponsible behavior. One perspective characterizes wrongdoing as an abnormal phenomenon, and the other characterizes it as a normal one. Second, it elaborates two general approaches to analyzing the causes of organizational wrongdoing. One is dominant in the field today, and the other represents an emerging alternative view. Third, it delineates eight specific explanations of organizational wrongdoing. Two explanations are associated with the abnormal perspective and dominant approach, five are associated with the normal perspective and alternative approach, and one occupies a bridging position. Fourth, the book illustrates these perspectives, approaches, and explanations with rich case material. Fifth, it explores the implications of the theoretical ideas presented for those interested in curbing wrongdoing in and of organizations.
Situational Social Influence
Authors: Palmer Donald
Published: May 2012

This chapter presents the situational social influence explanation of organizational wrongdoing. This explanation is the second of five alternative accounts of wrongdoing considered in the book. It is rooted in a theoretical perspective that views organizations as systems of localized social interaction, and views organizational participants as by nature or necessity attentive to the attitudes and behaviors of those in their immediate environment. The chapter elaborates three forms of situational social influence that inform explanations of organizational wrongdoing considered in previous chapters: social information processing, groupthink, and definition of the situation. It also elaborates forms of situational influence that charter entirely new territory, including the norm of reciprocity, group dynamics, social comparison and liking-based compliance, and commitment to a failing course of action (which is considered in depth). The chapter concludes with an overall assessment of the situational social influence explanation.
Accidental Wrongdoing
Authors: Palmer Donald
Published: May 2012

This chapter presents the accident explanation of organizational wrongdoing. This explanation is the fourth of five alternative accounts of wrongdoing considered in the book. It is rooted in the assumptions that organizational environments are complex and organizational participants are boundedly rational, assumptions that underpin several of the alternative explanations of wrongdoing considered to this point. This chapter argues that complexity and bounded rationality sometimes cause people to make mistakes and that sometimes mistakes constitute wrongdoing. It examines the factors that can give rise to accidents that constitute wrongdoing, analyzing them as the product of system failures at four levels of social organization: the individual, the small group, the formal organization, and the organizational field. Further, it distinguishes between two types of causal factors: faulty system design or operation and unavoidable system complexity and tight coupling (i.e. normal accidents). The chapter concludes with an overall assessment of the accident explanation.
Conclusion
Authors: Palmer Donald
Published: May 2012

This chapter briefly addresses an anticipated misinterpretation of the book's fundamental message, the construal that the book is an apology for wrongdoers. It then considers at length the implications that the dominant and alternative accounts of organizational wrongdoing hold for those interested in curbing wrongdoing in and of organizations. The chapter considers the policy prescriptions associated with the rational choice and culture explanations of wrongdoing (governance reform and ethics training). It then explores the implications of the ethical decision, administrative systems, situational social influence, and power perspectives. Finally, it notes the implications of the social control account. The chapter concludes that while the eight explanations of organizational wrongdoing examined in the book provide a sound foundation for interventions that can reduce wrongdoing in and of organizations, the alternative accounts imply that wrongdoing is endemic to organizational behavior, and ultimately will prove intransigent in the face of attempts to eradicate it.
Identities and Social Change in Britain since 1940
Authors: Savage Mike
Published: May 2012

This book examines how, between 1940 and 1970, British society was marked by the imprint of the academic social sciences in profound ways that have an enduring legacy on how we see ourselves, focusing on how interview methods and sample surveys eclipsed literature and the community study as a means of understanding ordinary life. It draws extensively on archived qualitative social science data from the 1930s to the 1960s, which it uses to offer an account of post-war social change in Britain. The book also uses this data to conduct a new kind of historical sociology of the social sciences, one that emphasises the discontinuities in knowledge forms, and which stresses how disciplines and institutions competed with each other for reputation. Its emphasis on how social scientific forms of knowing eclipsed those from the arts and humanities during this period offers a re-thinking of the role of expertise today that will provoke social scientists, scholars in the humanities, and the general reader alike.
2005 to 1938: Lifting Social Groups Out of the Landscape
Authors: Savage Mike
Published: May 2012

This chapter traces the relations between technology, change, and identity in Great Britain from 1938 to 2005, through a focus on the role of the social sciences in eliciting and shaping cultural idioms of change and attachment in the post-war period. It discusses the ‘quiet revolution’ in which early social scientists helped generate a new relationship to the enchanted landscape that broke from literary, Wordsworthian motifs of rural romanticism. The chapter contrasts the contemporary capacity of significant numbers of people to electively belong, to evoke an enchanted landscape, saturated with personal aesthetic and moral markers, with the more functional and pragmatic accounts articulated by respondents in earlier periods.
1948 to 1962: The Remaking of Social Class Identities
Authors: Savage Mike
Published: May 2012

This chapter examines how the social science infrastructure explored the changing character of popular identities in Great Britain during the post-war period. It argues against epochalist accounts that see any simple changes in popular identities and shows the persistence of enduring themes in working-class value which include emphasis on practical skill. The chapter also describes how the middle classes avoided overt forms of cultural elitism and became more confident in their assertion of meritocratic and technocratic values.
Luminescence Spectroscopy of Semiconductors
Authors: Pelant Ivan , Valenta Jan
Published: May 2012

Luminescence of semiconductors is nowadays based on very firm background of solid state physics. The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to the study of the physical principles underlying inorganic semiconductor luminescence phenomena. It guides the reader starting from the very introductory definitions over luminescence of bulk semiconductors and finishing at the up-to-date luminescence spectroscopy of individual nanocrystals. The book thus set the aim of filling the gap between general textbooks on semiconductors and dedicated advanced monographs. At the beginning, important knowledge of the solid state like lattice vibrations, exciton–phonon interaction and the concept of configurational coordinate are reviewed. Self-contained chapters are then devoted to exciton luminescence processes, effects of high optical excitation, and to an overview of the essentials of electroluminescence. Apart from spontaneous luminescence, special attention is paid to stimulated emission and investigation of optical gain. Considerable space is given also to optical processes in low-dimensional semiconductor structures. The book has been written by experimentalists and is destined primarily for experimentalists, too. Visual approach using schemes and graphs is used frequently instead of rigorous mathematical derivation. The chapter devoted to experimental techniques of luminescence spectroscopy is rich in content. Whenever it makes sense, the accent is put on how to extract from the appearance of luminescence emission spectrum (shapes of emission lines, their behaviour with varying experimental parameters) as much information on microscopic origin of luminescence as possible. The book cannot be regarded as a comprehensive monograph on semiconductor luminescence; selected examples from extremely rich literature only have been chosen to illustrate the text.
Introduction
Authors: Pelant Ivan , Valenta Jan
Published: May 2012

Introduction is of quite general nature. It contains basic terminological definitions used throughout the book. The term secondary radiation is introduced. The difference between ‘luminescence’ (cold light) and ‘incandescence’ is explained. Specific kinds of luminescence are defined (photoluminescence, electroluminescence, chemiluminescence, bioluminescence, cathodoluminescence, thermoluminescence etc.). Distinctions between fluorescence and phosphorescence, between mechanisms of luminescence in organic and inorganic materials and between intrinsic and extrinsic origins of luminescence are stressed. The terms phosphor, Stokes’ law, thermal quenching and edge emission are explained. The basic terms and definitions are elucidated via using representative examples of luminescence emission spectra taken in various semiconductors.
Channels of radiative recombination in semiconductors
Authors: Pelant Ivan , Valenta Jan
Published: May 2012

Channels of radiative recombination in bulk crystalline semiconductors: a short overview is at first given, then the following processes and their microscopic origin are analyzed: recombination of free electron–hole pairs (both in direct and in indirect bandgap); recombination free electron(hole)–neutral acceptor(donor); recombination of donor–acceptor pairs; two‐photon excited luminescence; luminescence from semiconductors doped with transition metal and rare earth ions. The accent is put on typical lineshape (e.g. Maxwell–Boltzmann) and intensity dependence of each particular process. The role of the density of states, the transition matrix element and suitable occupancy in bands is addressed. Selected examples of experimental emission spectra illustrate the exposition. Discussion of various types of excitons and their radiative recombination is postponed to Chapter 7.
Non-radiative recombination
Authors: Pelant Ivan , Valenta Jan
Published: May 2012

Nonradiative recombination involves various kinds of transformation of the electronic excitation energy into other types of energy than light. Instead of being emitted as luminescence, there are three basic ways how the excitation energy can be nonradiatively dissipated: (i) transformation into heat, which comprises multiphonon nonradiative recombination, surface recombination and Auger recombination, (ii) creation of lattice defects and (iii) photochemical changes of the electronically excited material. Relevant kinetic equations are outlined. Criteria conditioning the occurrence of particular processes are discussed. A noteworthy case of the competition between photochemical sensitivity and photoluminescence efficiency in silver halides as a function of temperature is addressed.
Luminescence of disordered semiconductors
Authors: Pelant Ivan , Valenta Jan
Published: May 2012

Luminescence of disordered (amorphous) semiconductors is due to a different microscopic mechanism compared to those being active in the luminescence of crystalline counterparts with long-range order. Electron and hole tail states, originating from dangling bonds, play the decisive role. Features typical for the amorphous semiconductor luminescence are discussed, namely: peculiar temperature dependence driven by the demarcation energy and distribution of luminescence decay times. Two theoretical models describing spectral shape of the emission band are examined: the phonon broadening model and the disorder broadening model. Theoretical band shapes are compared with experimental spectra found in amorphous elemental semiconductors. The concept of geminate and non-geminate electron–hole pairs is briefly debated. Multiple nonradiative recombination paths are mentioned as well as luminescence of impurities and defects.