bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Objective Assessment of the Information Content of Visible and Infrared Radiance Measurements for Cloud Microphysical Property Retrievals over the Global Oceans. Part II: Ice Clouds
Authors: Cooper Steven J. , L’Ecuyer Tristan S. , Gabriel Philip , Baran Anthony J. , Stephens Graeme L.
Published: March 2006

Cirrus clouds play an important yet poorly determined role in the earth’s climate system and its various feedback mechanisms. As such, a significant amount of work has been accomplished both in understanding the physics of the ice clouds and in using this knowledge to estimate global distributions of ice cloud properties from satellite-based instruments. This work seeks to build on these past efforts by offering a reexamination of the ice cloud retrieval problem in context of recent advancements in the understanding of optical properties for a variety of realistic ice crystal shapes. In this work, the formal information content analysis outlined in Part I is used to objectively select the optimal combination of measurements for an ice cloud microphysical property retrieval scheme given a realistic assessment of the uncertainties that govern the ice cloud retrieval problem. Although this analysis is for a theoretical retrieval combining simulated measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) with the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) above an ocean surface, the general methodology is applicable to any instrument package. Channel selection via information content is determined through a realistic characterization of not only the sensitivity of top-of-the-atmosphere radiances to desired retrieval parameters but also to the uncertainties resulting from both the measurements themselves and from the forward model assumptions used in relating observational and retrieval space. Results suggest that the channels that maximize retrieval information are strongly dependent upon the state of the atmosphere, meaning that no combination of two or three channels will always ensure an accurate retrieval. Because of the complexities of this state-dependent nature and the need for a consistent retrieval scheme for an operational retrieval, a five-channel retrieval approach consisting of a combination of error-weighted visible, near-infrared, and infrared channels is suggested. Such an approach ensures high information content regardless of cloud and atmospheric properties through use of the inherent sensitivities in each of these spectral regions.
Effect of Air Pollution on Precipitation along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains
Authors: Jirak Israel L. , Cotton William R.
Published: March 2006

Air pollution generated in industrial and urban areas can act to suppress precipitation by creating a narrow cloud droplet spectrum, which inhibits the collision and coalescence process. In fact, precipitation ratios of elevated sites to upwind coastal urban areas have decreased during the twentieth century for locations in California and Israel while pollution emissions have increased. Precipitation suppression by pollution should also be evident in other areas of the world where shallow, orographic clouds produce precipitation. This study investigates the precipitation trends for sites along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains to determine the effect of air pollution on precipitation in this region. The examination of precipitation trends reveals that the ratio of upslope precipitation for elevated sites west of Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado, to upwind urban sites has decreased by approximately 30% over the past half-century. Similar precipitation trends were not found for more pristine sites in the region, providing evidence of precipitation suppression by air pollution.
Evaluating a Hybrid Prognostic–Diagnostic Model That Improves Wind Forecast Resolution in Complex Coastal Topography
Authors: Ludwig Francis L. , Miller Douglas K. , Gallaher Shawn G.
Published: March 2006

The results from a hybrid approach that combines the forecasts of a mesoscale model with a diagnostic wind model to produce high-resolution wind forecasts in complex coastal orography are evaluated. The simple diagnostic wind model [Winds on Critical Streamline Surfaces (WOCSS)] was driven with forecasts (on a 9-km grid) from the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) to obtain detailed near-surface wind forecasts with 3-km horizontal spacing. Forecasts were produced by this hybrid model for four cold-season cases—two frontal and two nonfrontal—over the central California coastal region. They were compared with 3-km forecasts from the innermost COAMPS full physics model nest and with winds observed at 35 surface sites scattered throughout the study domain. The evaluation sought to determine the conditions for which the hybrid approach performs well and those for which it does not. The performance (in terms of bias and root-mean-square error) was evaluated 1) when there were and were not fronts and 2) for the early (6–18 h) and late (21–36 h) periods of the mesoscale model forecasts. The geographic distribution of performance was also examined to see if forecasts were affected by mountains and oceans. The hybrid approach performed best during stable, nonfrontal conditions. There were no clearly defined geographic effects on hybrid performance. The computation requirements of the full physics mesoscale model nested down to 3 km are substantially greater than those of the hybrid approach. Suggestions are given for further improvements.
Assessment of Fiber Contribution to Friction Material Performance Using Grey Relational Analysis (GRA)
Authors: Satapathy B. K. , Bijwe J. , Kolluri D. K.
Published: March 2006

Design of friction material composition is a multicriteria optimization problem. The role of fibers in controlling tribo-performance, in particular, is multifunctional. The present article deals with the assessment of fiber contribution to the performance of friction materials based on various possible combinations of organic fibers (Aramid and PAN) and rock fibers (basalt and lapinus). The performance of the materials is evaluated on a Krauss friction tester. The various performance criteria selected for the analysis are friction fade, friction recovery, performance friction, difference between the maxima and the minima in the coefficient of friction, temperature rise of the disc, and wear. The criteria are normalized to conform to the smaller-the-better performance norm correspondingly to their respective performance defining attributes (PDAs). The degree of influence that the fiber combination factors exert on the overall performance is studied by investigating the geometrical correlation between them using grey relational analyzing (GRA). By analyzing the grey relational grade matrix, the most influential fiber combinations with regard to an objective property can be picked. The influence of the individual PDAs on the overall performance is studied. This is based on the correlation between the fiber combinations and their corresponding PDAs. Further, the GRA has enabled to speculate the performance of grey friction materials (based on fiber combinations, which are not evaluated within the context of the present article) in compliance with the existing set of incomplete data.
Stiffness and Strength of Multilayer Beams
Authors: Bareisis Jonas
Published: March 2006

This article describes an original method for calculating stiffness and strength of multilayer beams (MBs) when the beam is deformed within elasticity limits. It draws on previous studies by the same author, but for the first time fully describes the proposed method, both the theory and its practical application. This method is very useful for engineering calculations and scientific research. The equations obtained allow establishing the positions of neutral layers and of the geometric and stiffness centers when the cross section of the beam is not symmetric to both x- and y-axes. This study also presents the equations for establishing the stiffness for bending and shear, and for calculating normal and shear stresses at any point of the beam’s cross section. The efficiency and practical application of this new method are demonstrated by analyzing how MB stiffness and strength change depending on the influence of certain factors, such as mechanical properties of layers, number of layers, and their arrangement and dimensions.
Analysis of Stress Concentrations in 2 2 Braided Composites
Authors: Goyal Deepak , Whitcomb John D.
Published: March 2006

The stress distribution in braided composites is complex even for simple uniaxial loading. The interlacing of the tows creates a complex load path that results in full three-dimensional (3D) stress distribution. The location and magnitude of peak stresses depend on the particular stress component and vary with various braid architecture parameters such as braid angle and degree of waviness. Finite element analyzes for different braids were performed and it was seen that the peak stresses in the tow mainly occur at the undulating region and along the edges of the tow. Stress distribution in braids was compared with those in ‘equivalent laminates’. A considerable volume of the tow (10-45% for the considered range of parameters) had stresses larger than an ‘equivalent lamina’. The severity of stresses in a braid as compared to those in an equivalent lamina depends upon braid geometric parameters. Braid angle changes the stress distribution in the tow considerably. However, most of that effect is due to the orientation of the tows in the + and directions and can be eliminated by matching the loading on the tow of different braids. The severity of peak stresses seems to be increasing linearly with an increase in waviness ratio.
The Global Institutionalization of Health as a Social Concern
Authors: Inoue Keiko , Drori Gili S.
Published: March 2006

Drawing from sociological neoinstitutionalism, this article considers the emergence and evolution of the global health system. Tracing the dates of the founding of health-related international organizations shows a clear pattern of institutionalization over time. First, the article shows a clear trend of organizational structuration and expansion: with the oldest health-related international organizations tracing their origins to the 17th century, the global organizational field today includes some 2600 health-related organizations. Second, the field has clearly changed over time in the framing of health as a social concern: delineating the goals and aims of these health-related international organizations, the article reveals four general approaches to international health (as an act of charity, as a professional activity, as a means for development and as a basic human right) and a historic thematic shift from charity to human rights-based notions of health between 1650 and 1997. Such shifts are theorized within the framework of the neoinstitutional perspective.
Political Integration, War and Suicide
Authors: van Tubergen Frank , Ultee Wout
Published: March 2006

Contrary to Durkheim’s idea about suicide during wartime, the Netherlands had high suicide rates in 1940 and 1945. To explain these findings, we propose the social integration theory, according to which, people who expect to be excluded from society are more likely to commit suicide. We examine this idea using individual-level data on suicide in the Netherlands during the Second World War, assuming that Jews expected to be excluded by the occupying German forces, whereas political delinquents expected punishment after the war. In support of our theory, we found high suicide rates among Jews at the beginning of the war and high suicide rates among political delinquents when the Netherlands was liberated. These findings support the proposed theory and call for refinement of Durkheim’s ideas.
Class Voting in the New Political Culture
Authors: Achterberg Peter
Published: March 2006

The purpose of this article is to investigate how the political cultures of 20 western countries have changed in the postwar period and how these changes are related to differences in class voting in these countries. To answer these questions, first political party manifestos are analysed in order to show that class issues have neither decreased nor increased in importance and that new - cultural and environmental - issues have risen in importance. Second, using data provided by the World Values Surveys (1990-2000), it is demonstrated that the observed changes in political cultures have led to lower levels of class voting. Third, it is demonstrated that the importance of old and new issues conditions individual voting motives. It is concluded that the rise of new issues undermines traditional class-party alignments. At the end of the article the implications of these findings for the realignment-dealignment debate are discussed.
Coming to Grips with a Changing Class Structure
Authors: Oesch Daniel
Published: March 2006

Over the last 30 years, trends such as service sector growth, welfare state expansion and rising female participation rates have promoted increasing heterogeneity within the occupational system. Accordingly, this article argues that the class map has to be redrawn in order to grasp these changes in the employment structure. For that purpose, it develops the bases of a new class schema that partly shifts its focus from hierarchical divisions to horizontal cleavages. The middle class is not conceptualized as a unitary grouping and the manual/non-manual divide is not used as a decisive class boundary. Instead, emphasis is put on differences in marketable skills and the work logic. The schema is expected to more accurately reflect the class location of unskilled service employees and to make visible the political divide within the salaried middle class. This expectation is empirically examined with survey data from Britain, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. Findings for earnings and promotion prospects indicate that the schema successfully captures the hierarchical dimension in the class structure. Moreover, results for party support and union membership suggest that the schema grasps a salient horizontal cleavage between managers and sociocultural professionals.
Reinforcement of Piezoelectric Polymers with Carbon Nanotubes: Pathway to Next-generation Sensors
Authors: Ramaratnam Arun , Jalili Nader
Published: March 2006

Piezoelectric polymers such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) are being currently utilized as low-cost sensors in many structural vibration control applications and measurements. Their low electromechanical coupling coefficient, however, has always been a concern when utilized in different applications. In order to remedy this, carbon nanotubes, known for their extraordinary properties, can be mixed with such piezoelectric polymers as they have the potential to improve the electromechanical response of these polymers. Along this line of reasoning, different types of nanotubes; namely, single-walled and multiwalled are blended with a copolymer of PVDF. Through extensive experimental vibration testing and theoretical verification, it is found that the nanotube-based polymers yield better response characteristics than those of the plain piezoelectric polymers. More specifically, it is demonstrated that the dominant mechanism responsible for improved sensing performance is the increased Young’s modulus of elasticity of the nanotube-based polymer for the samples considered here. The significant change in properties of these piezoelectric polymers with different fabrication conditions and nanotube addition, though provokes doubts about standardization, creates a pathway for the development of next-generation sensors with enhanced or entirely new properties.
Carbon Nanotube Thin Film Coating for Improved Thermal Management in Piezoceramic Sheet Actuators
Authors: Cho Dae-Bok , Suhr Jonghwan , Koratkar Nikhil A.
Published: March 2006

Minimally intrusive carbon nanotube coatings are used to demonstrate improved thermal management in piezoceramic actuators. Because of their nanoscale cylindrical structure, carbon nanotubes provide an order of magnitude increase in the exposed surface area compared to the uncoated piezoceramic sheet. This along with their excellent thermal conductivity allows the nanotube coating to act as a heat sink, drawing energy away from the bulk piezoceramic material and dissipating it to the atmosphere. Reduced self-heating of the actuator minimizes capacitive losses and reduces actuator power consumption. To demonstrate the concept, carbon nanotube films are deposited on the surfaces of 0.025 cm thick, commercially available PZT-5H sheets. Two types of carbon-based nanostructures are used to construct the coatings - (1) fluorine functionalized single-walled nanotubes (F-SWNTs) and (2) multiwalled nanotubes (MWNTs). The F-SWNT coating performs better than the MWNT coating and gives up to 40% reduction in surface temperature and 25% reduction in power consumption compared to the baseline uncoated actuator (for the same induced-strain level).
Damping Properties of Epoxy Films with Nanoscale Fillers
Authors: Suhr Jonghwan , Koratkar Nikhil A. , Ye Dexian , Lu Toh-Ming
Published: March 2006

This study demonstrates improved damping in epoxy films using nanoscale fillers. The mechanism for damping improvement is related to frictional energy dissipation arising from interfacial sliding at the nanofiller-matrix interface. The combination of extremely large interfacial contact area, high aspect ratio, many interfaces, and low density implies that nanoscale fillers could be far more efficient with regard to damping augmentation than traditional fillers. In this study, three categories of nanoscale fillers are investigated; (1) silica nanoparticles, (2) silicon nanorods, and (3) silicon nanosprings. The nanofillers are dispersed in an epoxy matrix and the nanocomposite film is tested dynamically (in the shear mode) using an MTS-858 servohydraulic test facility. The results indicate that nanospring fillers generate greater energy dissipation than nanoparticles or nanorods. The material loss factor (or damping ratio) of the epoxy film (with silicon nanospring fillers) showed a 150% increase compared to the baseline (pure) epoxy. The nanocomposite damping materials developed here show the potential to overcome the limitations of traditional viscoelastic polymers and could help to efficiently deliver significant levels of damping to structural components.
Effects of Interfacial Friction on the Damping Characteristics of Composites Containing Randomly Oriented Carbon Nanotube Ropes
Authors: Liu Ailin , Huang Jin H. , Wang K. W. , Bakis C. E.
Published: March 2006

This article presents a model for describing the damping characteristics of uniaxially stressed polymeric composites filled with randomly oriented single-wall nanotube (SWNT) ropes. A close-packed lattice consisting of seven nanotubes in hexagonal array is used to present the nanoropes. The composite is described as a three-phase system composed of a resin, a resin sheath acting as a shear transfer zone, and SWNT ropes. The concept of ‘stick-slip’ motion caused by frictional contacts is proposed to describe the load transfer behavior between individual nanotubes and between a nanotube rope and a sheath. The results of the analytical study show that both the Young’s modulus and the loss factor of the composite are sensitive to stress magnitude. Also, to show the inter-tube sliding effects due to nanotube aggregation, the Young’s moduli and the loss factors of composites filled with aligned SWNTs, aligned nanoropes, and randomly oriented nanoropes are compared.
Fluid Transport through Nanochannels using Nanoelectromechanical Actuators
Authors: Soare M. A. , Picu R. C. , Tichy J. , Lu T. -M. , Wang G. -C.
Published: March 2006

The article presents the basic principle of a nanodevice used to transport fluids through nanochannels. The nanochannel is defined by two parallel plates, one (or both of them) being covered by active thin films. The films deform under the action of an electric current passing in the film through the thickness direction. This leads to a local increase in film thickness, which forms a protrusion that narrows the channel. The propagation of such protrusions along the channel leads to the pumping effect. This motion is produced and controlled electronically. Here we focus on the mechanical actuation device as well as the ensuing coupled fluid and solid mechanics problem. We describe in detail the nature and function of the active films. Then, we provide an answer to the question: given a desired fluid flux, what is the magnitude and spatial distribution of the controlling current one has to supply to the actuators?
Modeling and Testing of the Viscoelastic Properties of a Graphite Nanoplatelet/Epoxy Composite
Authors: Odegard Gregory M. , Gates Thomas S.
Published: March 2006

To facilitate the interpretation of experimental data, a micromechanical modeling procedure is developed to predict the viscoelastic properties of a graphite nanoplatelet/epoxy composite as a function of volume fraction and nanoplatelet diameter. The storage and loss moduli predicted for the composite are compared to values measured from the same material using three test methods: dynamical mechanical analysis, nanoindentation, and quasi-static tensile tests. In most cases, the model and experiments indicate that for increasing volume fractions of nanoplatelets, both the storage and the loss moduli increase. In addition, the results indicate that for nanoplatelet sizes above 15 mm, nanoindentation is capable of measuring properties of individual constituents of a composite system. A comparison of the values predicted to the data measured helps to illustrate the relative similarities and differences between the bulk and the local measurement techniques.
Atomistic Modeling of Carbon Nanotube-based Mechanical Sensors
Authors: Li Chunyu , Chou Tsu-Wei
Published: March 2006

This article provides an overview of our recent studies on single-walled carbon nanotube-based sensors for measuring mass, strain, pressure, and temperature at the nanoscale. The carbon nanotube in a cantilevered or bridged configuration is simulated by an atomistic modeling, the molecular structural mechanics method. The principle of sensing is based on the resonant frequency shift of a carbon nanotube resonator when it is subjected to changes in attached mass, external loading, or temperature. The results indicate that a logarithmically linear relationship exists between the resonant frequency and the attached mass when the mass is larger than 10 20 g. The resonant frequency shifts are shown to be linearly dependent on the applied axial strain and the applied pressure, and approximate linearity exists between the resonant frequency shift and temperature. The sensing capability of carbon nanotube-based sensors far exceeds that of current microsensors and the sensitivities can be enhanced with the use of small size carbon nanotubes.
Rheological Parameter Estimation for a Ferrous Nanoparticle-based Magnetorheological Fluid using Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Chaudhuri Anirban , Wereley Norman M. , Radhakrishnan R. , Choi S. B.
Published: March 2006

This study examines identification of rheological parameters for a constitutive model characterizing the rheological behavior of a ferrous nanoparticle-based magnetorheological (MR) fluid. Particle size is nominally 28 nm and the MR fluid has a weight fraction of 27.5% Fe. A constant shear rate rheometer is used to measure flow curves (shear stress vs. shear rate), as a function of applied magnetic field, of an MR suspension of nanometer-sized iron particles in hydraulic oil. The MR fluid is characterized using both Bingham-plastic (BP) and Herschel-Bulkley (HB) constitutive models. These models have two regimes that can be characterized by a field-dependent yield stress: pre-yield implies that the local shear stress is less than the yield stress, and post-yield implies that the local shear stress is greater than the yield stress. Both models of MR fluid behavior assume that the MR fluid is rigid in the pre-yield regime. However, the post-yield behavior is different. The BP model assumes that the post-yield increase in shear stress is proportional to shear rate. However, the HB model assumes that the post-yield increase in shear stress is proportional to a power law of shear rate. Identification of the model parameters is complicated by model non-linearities, as well as variance in experimental data. The rheological parameters of the BP and HB models are identified using both a gradient-based least mean square minimization procedure, as well as a genetic algorithm (GA). The HB model is shown to represent better, the rheological behavior of the ferrous nanoparticle-based MR fluid. Also, the GA performs better than the gradient-based procedure in minimizing modeling error.
Academic Shape Shifting: Gender, Management and Identities in Sweden and England
Authors: Barry Jim , Berg Elisabeth , Chandler John
Published: March 2006

This article considers gender and managerial identities in organizational life, taking the recent change in higher education in Sweden and England with the coming of the new public management as the context in which to explore these issues. In reviewing the literature on gender identity and organization/management, which has moved from a pre-occupation with difference to an examination of the complex inter-relationship between gender and organization, an attempt is made to operationalize the concept of positionality, using insights from the work of Alcoff and Melucci. It is argued that Academic Shape Shifting is developed by academics during their time in academia, as well as in defensive and proactive response to the recent managerial reforms. A number of indicative responses to the recent changes are identified. These are: the Stressed Professor, the Managerial Advocate, the Administrative Patrician, the Accidental Female, the Academic Chameleon and the Resolute Researcher. As Academic Shape Shifting is used by social individuals in interaction with others, at particular moments in time and in different circumstances, it is concluded that the implications suggest complexity in the changing character of university life, with female academics in middle range positions facing more difficult compromises than their male counterparts.
Organizing Death: Remembrance and Re-collection
Authors: Smith Warren
Published: March 2006

Much writing on death contrasts its existential significance with our strategies of avoidance. These strategies, it is argued, are manifested in the practices and institutions of modern life and have led to the sequestration of death. This is felt to have separated us from something vital, a belief that seems to, implicitly or explicitly, rest upon claims of (lost) authenticity. But this seems a rather cool account that somewhat conveniently disposes of the dreadful effects of death and is at odds with our sense of its lurking inevitability. The tension between death as both sequestered and shattering is therefore the focus of this paper. It recognizes that death is both absent and present and that this condition is inadequately conveyed by its disposal in the modern organizations of sequestration. Rather, it sees death as being temporarily dispersed through a network of different relations. However, this network is unstable; what was (re)collected may be disturbed. Consequently, I show how our engagement with death is affected by this organization; death ‘moves’ us because of movement in this network. Therefore, I have two propositions: (i) that controlling and concealing death involves a process of organization and (ii) that death erupts when this organizing breaks down.
Living on the Edge: Towards a Monstrous Organization Theory
Authors: Thanem Torkild
Published: March 2006

Following the recent curiosity for monsters in social and organizational research, this paper questions the power, purity and boundaries of organization by accentuating its risky encounters with heterogeneous, monstrous bodies. In an attempt to problematize organization theory’s implicit dissociation of monsters from organization, the understanding and treatment of monsters is traced across a variety of discursive formations in Western history—from Medieval and Renaissance theology and medicine, via Classical life science, freak shows and contemporary performance art, to recent social science and organization theory. Invoking Deleuze and Guattari’s (1988) work on creative involution, the paper goes beyond previous social and organizational research in thinking the radicality of monsters, and it concludes with an argument for a monstrous organization theory that: (i) encourages organizational researchers to critically reflect about their own monstrosity; (ii) challenges the stigmatization of monstrous embodiment; and (iii) delves into bodies that live on the edge and disrupt organizational boundaries.
Attention to facial emotion expressions in children with autism
Authors: Begeer Sander , Rieffe Carolien , Terwogt Mark Meerum , Stockmann Lex
Published: March 2006

High-functioning children in the autism spectrum are frequently noted for their impaired attention to facial expressions of emotions. In this study, we examined whether attention to emotion cues in others could be enhanced in children with autism, by varying the relevance of children’s attention to emotion expressions. Twenty-eight high-functioning boys with autism and 31 boys from a control group were asked to sort photos depicting smiling or frowning faces of adults. As found in earlier studies, in neutral conditions children with autism were less attentive to emotion expressions than children from a control group. This difference disappeared when children were explicitly asked to make a socially relevant decision. These findings suggest that the attention of children with autism to emotion expressions in others is influenced by situational factors. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Screening for autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Williams Jo , Brayne Carol
Published: March 2006

This review examines the evidence for screening for autism spectrum disorders in the general population and the information needed to inform screening policy. The UK National Screening Committee criteria are taken as the framework. These criteria cover the condition, the screening test, the treatment and the screening programme as a whole. With respect to the condition, reasons for variation in prevalence estimates for autism spectrum disorders need to be resolved and there are few longitudinal studies to describe the natural history of autism spectrum disorders that include data on children identified at an early age. There is no screening test suitable for use in a population setting that has been fully validated. There is insufficient evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions. This review supports the current policy position of the National Screening Committee, that on the basis of existing evidence, screening for autism spectrum disorders cannot be recommended.
Play behaviours and play object preferences of young children with autistic disorder in a clinical play environment
Authors: Dominguez Anna , Ziviani Jenny , Rodger Sylvia
Published: March 2006

Play is the primary occupation of childhood and provides a potentially powerful means of assessing and treating children with autistic disorder. This study utilized a cross-sectional comparison design to investigate the nature of play engagement in children with AD ( n = 24), relative to typically developing children ( n = 34) matched for chronological age. Play behaviours were recorded in a clinical play environment. Videotapes comprising 15 minutes of the children’s spontaneous play behaviour were analysed using time-interval analysis. The particular play behaviours observed and play objects used were coded. Differences in play behaviours ( p < 0.0001) and play object preferences ( p < 0.0001) were identified between the groups. Findings regarding play behaviour contribute to contention in the literature surrounding functional and symbolic play. Explanations for play object preferences are postulated. Recommendations are made regarding clinical application of findings in terms of enhancing assessment and intervention by augmenting motivation.
The Son-Rise Program® intervention for autism
Authors: Williams K. R.
Published: March 2006

With increasing availability of interventions for children with autism, it is important that these are backed by rigorous evaluation data that have high levels of ecological validity. To achieve this, a key prerequisite for any evaluation is to gather data on typical consumers and typical implementation patterns of the intervention. This study collected such data longitudinally in relation to the Son-Rise Program®, a home-based parent-run intervention for autism. Questionnaires and interview data on family demographics, implementation patterns, and perceived treatment fidelity were gathered three times over the course of a year from families who had attended a Son-Rise® initial training course. Although it proved possible to produce a profile of intervention use, findings indicated that the programme is not always implemented as it is typically described in the literature. The study also highlighted methodological challenges likely to be encountered in any future evaluation of this and similar interventions for autism.
Johnny won’t read, and Susie won’t either: Reading instruction and student resistance
Authors: Powell Rebecca , McIntyre Ellen , Rightmyer Elizabeth
Published: March 2006

Why are children off task? What is going on in classrooms where a majority of children are off task? In this study we analyzed primary-grade classroom literacy instruction in which there was considerable off-task behavior. Using Turner and Paris’s frame for understanding student motivation in the classroom, we analyzed 73 activity settings where students were off task at least 25 percent of the time for instructional characteristics positively associated with student motivation: choice, challenge, control, collaboration, constructing meaning, and consequences. Student off-task behavior was prevalent in classrooms where few of these six variables were present and instructional tasks were characterized as ‘closed’, i.e. where the products and processes were predetermined. Where there was indication of a high degree of off-task behavior, a disproportionately high number (23 of the 28 data sets) were from classrooms that used scripted literacy instructional programs. Findings are interpreted using both psychological and critical frameworks.
Young children’s readings of wordless picture books: What’s ‘self’ got to do with it?
Authors: Lysaker Judith T.
Published: March 2006

To understand difficulties in early literacy most research has focused on print related knowledge. Knowing about print, however, is only one aspect of reading and may neglect how successful early readers also develop capacities to enter the text world and make sense of it through a personal, relational experience. To explore this other aspect of early literacy I examined the wordless picture book readings of 18 children aged 5 and 6 prior to their ability to decode print. Analyses imply that the development of ‘self that reads’ might be described as a process of movement along a continuum over which a complex, flexible, dialogic self-system develops and which then influences the kind and amount of transactional relationship a reader has with a text. Acknowledging the importance of the developing ‘self that reads’ during childhood may deepen definitions of emergent literacy and broaden our approaches to young readers.
Arts and aesthetics: Marketing and cultural production
Authors: Venkatesh Alladi , Meamber Laurie A.
Published: March 2006

Cultural production concerns the creation, diffusion, and consumption of cultural products. In this article, we discuss cultural production as related to the marketing and consumption of aesthetics. The article addresses the following topics: the nature of cultural production, including the roles that producers, cultural intermediaries and consumers play in the process; emerging perspectives and ideas on cultural production; aesthetics and art in cultural production; new epistemologies concerning postmodernism and posthumanism as related to cultural production; and the implications of the cultural production processes for the marketing aspects of cultural industries. This article sets forth marketing as the context and framework for the functioning of the cultural production system.
Bringing the market to life: screen aesthetics and the epistemic consumption object
Authors: Zwick Detlev , Dholakia Nikhilesh
Published: March 2006

This article argues that the new ‘visuality’ (Schroeder, 2002) of the Internet transforms the stock market into an epistemic consumption object. The aesthetics of the screen turn the market into an interactive and response-present surface representation. On the computer screen, the market becomes an object of constant movement and variation, changing direction and altering appearance at any time. Following Knorr Cetina (1997, 2002b) we argue that the visual logic of the screen ‘opens up’ the market ontologically. The ontological liquidity of the market-on-screen simulates the indefiniteness of other life forms. We suggest that the continuing fascination with online investing is a function of the reflexive looping of the investor, who aspires to discern what the market is lacking, through the market-on-screen that continuously signals to the investor what it still lacks. Implications for existing theories on relationships and involvement are discussed.
The interactive effects of colors and products on perceptions of brand logo appropriateness
Authors: Bottomley Paul A. , Doyle John R.
Published: March 2006

This article explores the role that color can play in building brand meaning with two experiments. Without prior conditioning, we demonstrate how an appropriately chosen color for a brand name (logo) can bring inherent and immediate value to a brand. Experiment 1 explores the notion of congruity, showing that it is more appropriate for functional products to be presented in functional colors, and sensorysocial products in sensory-social colors. Experiment 2 examines the effect of red and blue on brands of products that can be classified as both functional and sensory-social, and the ability of color to enhance a brand's desired image. When people know how brands are attempting to position themselves, people consider colors congruent with those positions to be more appropriate.
The aestheticization of consumption: an exploration of ‘brand.new’ and ‘Shopping’
Authors: Szmigin Isabelle
Published: March 2006

This article explores the aestheticization of consumption through a study of two recent exhibitions in Britain. The collapse of many of the historical boundaries and distinctions between art and life have led to what Featherstone (1991) refers to as the aestheticization of everyday life. It is important for marketing theory to both explore the meaning of this and its implications. The article considers some of the issues to be addressed in examining the nature of aesthetics both in relation to art and consumption, suggesting that processes of de-differentiation (Lash, 1988) and integration (Holt, 1995) have effectively broken down aesthetic barriers. There follows a detailed examination of two exhibitions which it is argued exemplify this breakdown in aesthetic barriers; an exhibition at the V&A in 2000 entitled ‘brand.new’ which was a celebration and critique of the brand in modern society, and ‘Shopping: A Century of Art and Consumer Culture’ at the Tate Liverpool in 2003, which brought together numerous artists' interpretations and responses to consumer culture. The article ends by assessing the nature of the convergence of art and consumption and considering some implications for marketing theory.
Strategic Upstream and Downstream Considerations for Effective Global Performance Management
Authors: Vance Charles M.
Published: March 2006

In the context of balancing the dynamic tensions of duality and competing forces of convergence and divergence in global business management, this article examines various important company headquarters ‘upstream’ and local country unit ‘downstream’ processes and activities that must work in sync to build global synergies and effectively implement company strategy. Upstream processes and activities of global performance management considered here include strategic performance management integration and coordination, workforce internal alignment, knowledge management, and organizational learning. Downstream considerations include responsiveness to local conditions, sensitivity to cross cultural differences, establishment of the performance management relationship, and comprehensive training efforts.
Cross Cultural Learning and the Role of Reverse Knowledge Flows in Vietnam
Authors: Napier Nancy K.
Published: March 2006

Knowledge transfer has long been a topic within the literature on multinational companies (MNCs), although there has been less focus on non-MNC settings and on transition or developing economies. Here the assumption has been that foreign ‘experts’ offer knowledge, skills and talents to local ‘learners’. Yet cross cultural adaptation and learning may also flow in a reverse direction: from ‘learners’ to ‘experts’. Locals may possess unanticipated pockets of knowledge useful for foreigners. This article tackles the question: what conditions appear to enhance the possibility of knowledge flow from locals to experts and what appears to encourage cultural adaptation and learning by foreigners in transition economies? It proposes a tentative framework relating to reverse flow of knowledge. It concludes that factors like dramatic economic change and increased sophistication of local managers generate conditions that are ripe for reverse flow of knowledge and learning. For foreigners and locals to succeed in meeting joint goals, such cross cultural adaptation, particularly by foreigners, and reverse knowledge flow is likely to become even more crucial in the future. The article seeks to expand the notion of reverse knowledge flow to become a way to facilitate learning by foreigners and argues that locals may increasingly have unanticipated pockets of knowledge that are of value to foreigners, even beyond their on-site specific tasks.
Perceived Effectiveness of Influence Strategies in the United States and Three Chinese Societies
Authors: Leong Joyce L.T. , Bond Michael Harris , Fu Ping Ping
Published: March 2006

This study explored the perceived effectiveness of organizational influence strategies amongst three Chinese societies and the US. A total of 488 managers rated 16 influence tactics on their effectiveness across three influence directions - upward, downward and lateral. Consistently, these 16 tactics fell into two broad dimensions of influence - the more nurturing Gentle Persuasion (GP) and the more agentic Contingent Control (CC). The perceived effectiveness of GP increased with higher position power of the target, and vice versa for CC. No cultural differences were found for the rated effectiveness of CC. However, regardless of the influence direction, Americans managers rated GP as most effective; Mainland Chinese, the least. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that Reward for Application predicted a manager’s endorsement of GP as more effective, and Fate Control of CC. The effect of Fate Control on CC was, however, moderated by culture, exemplifying culture’s sensitizing role in directing member responses.
Formalin produces depolarizations in human airway smooth muscle in vitro
Authors: Richards Ira S , DeHate Robin B
Published: March 2006

Respiratory irritants may result in airway smooth muscle (ASM) depolarization and bronchoconstriction. We examined the effect of formalin on membrane potentials in human ASM in two types of in vitro preparations: strip preparations, which contain functional sensory and motor nerve endings and cultured cells, which lack these nerve endings due to the tissue dissociation process. Depolarizations occurred in atropine-treated strip preparations in response to formalin exposures, but not in similarly-treated cultured cells, suggesting a role for non-cholinergic mediators in formalin-induced depolarization. It is suggested that formalin may act as an irritant to produce bronchoconstriction that is mediated by the release of endogenous substance P (SP) from peripheral sensory nerve endings. This is supported by our observation that exogenous SP produced depolarizations of a magnitude similar to those produced by formalin in both strip preparations and cultured cells. In addition, capsaicin, which releases endogenous SP from nerve endings, produced depolarizations of a magnitude similar to formalin in strip preparations, but was without effect in cultured cells.
Health effects of subchronic exposure to diesel-water-methanol emulsion emission
Authors: Reed MD , Blair LF , Burling K , Daly I , Gigliotti AP , Gudi R , Mercieca MD , McDonald JD , O’Callaghan JP , Seilkop SK , Ronsko NL , Wagner VO , Kraska RC
Published: March 2006

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and particulate matter (PM) require urban non-attainment areas to implement pollution-reduction strategies for anthropogenic source emissions. The type of fuel shown to decrease combustion emissions components versus traditional diesel fuel, is the diesel emulsion. The Lubrizol Corporation, in conjunction with Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and several subcontracting laboratories, recently conducted a health assessment of the combustion emissions of PuriNOxTM diesel fuel emulsion (diesel-water-methanol) in rodents. Combustion emissions from either of two, 2002 model Cummins 5.9L ISB engines, were diluted with charcoal-filtered air to exposure concentrations of 125, 250 and 500 mg total PM/m3. The engines were operated on a continuous, repeating, heavy-duty certification cycle (US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Chapter I) using Rotella-T® 15W-40 engine oil. Nitrogen oxide (NO) and PM were reduced when engines were operated on PuriNOxTM versus California Air Resources Board diesel fuel under these conditions. Male and female F344 rats were housed in Hazleton H2000 exposure chambers and exposed to exhaust atmospheres 6 h/day, five days/week for the first 11 weeks and seven days/week thereafter. Exposures ranged from 61 to 73 days depending on the treatment group. Indicators of general toxicity (body weight, organ weight, clinical pathology and histopathology), neurotoxicity (glial fibrillary acidic protein assay), genotoxicity (Ames assay, micronucleus, sister chromatid exchange), and reproduction and development were measured. Overall, effects observed were mild. Emulsion combustion emissions were not associated with neurotoxicity, reproductive/developmental toxicity, or in vivo genotoxicity. Small decreases in serum cholesterol in the 500-mg/m3 exposure group were observed. PM accumulation within alveolar macrophages was evident in all exposure groups. The latter findings are consistent with normal physiological responses to particle inhalation. Other statistically significant effects were present in some measured parameters of other exposed groups, but were not clearly attributed to emissions exposure. Positive mutagenic responses in several strains of Salmonella typhimurium were observed subsequent to treatment with emulsion emissions subfractions. Based on the cholesterol results, it can be concluded that the 250-mg/m3 exposure level was the no observed effect level. In general, biological findings in exposed rats and bacteria were consistent with exposure to petroleum diesel exhaust in the F344 rat and Ames assays.