bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What Happens When Institutions Do Not Work: Jueteng, Crises of Presidential Legitimacy, and Electoral Failures in the Philippines
Authors: Fabella Raul V.
Published: February 2007

In the Millennium Development Goals discussion, the question of how we eliminate bad institutions that perpetuate global poverty often arises. Democracy and participatory institutions are proposed as meta-institutions that are meant to create better ones. Democracies, however, also stumble. We study two episodes of crisis of presidential legitimacy in the Philippines: one arising from perceived electoral failure and the other from involvement in an illegal numbers game called Jueteng. A crisis of legitimacy can arise because the “declared winner” may not be the “true winner” because of the compromise of mechanisms of recall and accountability, or because the “true winner” reveals himself or herself ex post to be the “incorrect choice,” or both. The ensuing crisis of legitimacy, in turn, robs the executive of political mandate and momentum for reform. In the struggle to survive, executive autonomy is traded away as the power brokers of the status quo are enlisted for the defense. Thus, democracy's march to good institutions may be blocked or even reversed.
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand: New Administrations, New Policies, New Performance?
Authors: Hanna Don
Published: February 2007

The administrations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have all put in place economic policies designed to increase growth, reduce poverty, and improve governance. In Thailand, the government is taking a more activist role, a change from the previous, more hands-off approach. In both Indonesia and Malaysia, new policies reduce the activist role of the state, creating greater predictability and transparency. Better governance remains a key to growth, with many reforms within governments' reach. While many of the policies focus on the medium term, there is an acceptance of the need for prudent short-term management. The open question is whether progress on structural changes can persist when the short-term macroeconomic picture becomes more challenging.
Directions of East Asian Regional Financial Cooperation
Authors: Sussangkarn Chalongphob , Vichyanond Pakorn
Published: February 2007

The East Asian financial crisis was the impetus for many financial cooperation initiatives within the region. This paper reviews progress in a number of areas, particularly the Chiang Mai Initiative, which aims to enhance a country's access to foreign reserves in times of stress via a series of swap arrangements in the region, and the development of the Asian Bond Market in order to increase long-term financing for deficit countries so they will not have to rely mainly on short-term foreign borrowing, as was the case prior to the crisis. A number of recommendations are made, including the setting up of a regional organization to coordinate a multilateral version of the Chiang Mai Initiative and further development of the regional currency and bond markets to increase the private sector's access to long-term financing. Given the region's huge holding of foreign reserves, the paper also recommends a much more proactive approach in managing these reserves in order to influence global financial developments.
A Qualitative Study of Patients' Perceptions of a ‘Minimal’ Psychological Therapy
Authors: Macdonald Wendy , Mead Nicola , Bower Peter , Richards David , Lovell Karina
Published: February 2007

Background: Access to psychological therapy is often difficult. Problems with access may be overcome through ‘minimal interventions’ (such as books and computer programs), which encourage self-help for mental health problems and are less dependent on the availability of specialist therapists. However, to be effective, such interventions must be acceptable to patients.

Aims: To use qualitative methods to explore patient attitudes, by examining patient expectancies of psychological therapy and their experiences with a ‘minimal intervention’ (guided self-help).

Methods: Qualitative interviews ( N = 24) were conducted with patients after they had received guided self-help for depression as part of a randomised controlled trial.

Results: There were important gaps between patients' expectancies of psychological therapy and their experience of the guided self-help. These gaps related to the process of therapy (e.g. time, professional expertise) and outcomes. Particularly salient was a theme relating to explanatory models. Patients were often seeking insight into the ‘cause’ of their current difficulties, whereas the minimal intervention was largely focused on symptom resolution.

Conclusions: The effective implementation of ‘minimal interventions’ requires an understanding of the expectancies of patients concerning psychological therapy, in order to provide a basis for effective communication and negotiation between professionals and patients.
Relationships between Social Functioning and Quality of Life in a Population of Dutch Adult Psychiatric Outpatients
Authors: Trompenaars F. J. , Masthoff E. D. , Van Heck G. L. , de Vries J. , Hodiamont P. P.
Published: February 2007

Background: The relationship between social functioning and QOL in psychiatric patients has not been explicitly investigated before.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between social functioning and QOL in a population of psychiatric outpatients (N = 410) with a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders.

Method: Social functioning was assessed with the Groningen Social Behavior Questionnaire-100 (GSBQ-100) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. QOL was measured with the WHO Quality of Life Assessment Instrument (WHOQOL-100).

Results: The study population experienced a wide range of problems concerning all aspects of social functioning. The numbers of problems were significantly higher compared with healthy controls and (partly) also compared with a norm group of psychiatric outpatients. Almost all scales of the GSBQ-100 were negatively correlated with all QOL aspects, whereas the GAF score correlated positively with all QOL aspects. In general, participants with problems on aspects of social functioning had lower QOL scores than those without such problems, even after a correction for the presence of psychopathology according to DSMIV classification.

Conclusion: In addition to the presence of psychopathology, social functioning is significantly related to QOL. Therefore, it should be considered more systematically in psychiatric assessment, treatment and program evaluation.
A Clients' Perspective on Demand-Oriented and Demand-Driven Health Care
Authors: Rijckmans Madeleine J.N. , Bongers Inge M.B. , Garretsen Henk F.L. , Van de Goor Ien A.M.
Published: February 2007

Background: In many Western European countries, there is an increasing request for demand-oriented and demand-driven approaches in health care. In these approaches, the emphasis is on the clients' perspective on healthcare policy and healthcare services. A study was conducted to gain insight into the clients' view of health care.

Methods: In 2004 a survey was conducted in the Netherlands among 4250 ambulatory mental health clients, by means of a postal questionnaire. To include clients with different experiences of mental health care, the sample was stratified according to the length of the treatment history. A total of 865 clients responded to the survey.

Results: Elements that are found to be important to most clients are that ‘needs are determined in consultation with the client’, that ‘the client is treated in a pleasant manner’ and that ‘the professional informs the client about the possibilities in his/her situation’. Significant differences were found between groups with different background factors: income, education, age, sex and treatment history all had significant correlations.

Conclusion: Most clients in ambulatory mental health care appreciate the demand-oriented and demand-driven approaches. However, not all the elements are appreciated in the same manner. In general, clients do not seem to care much about who makes the decisions, but they care much more about the way the decision-making process is carried out. Clients especially value being heard and being involved in the process as a serious party.
The Mental Health Expert Patient: Findings from a Pilot Study of a Generic Chronic Condition Self-Management Programme for People with Mental Illness
Authors: Lawn Sharon , Battersby Malcolm W. , Pols Rene G. , Lawrence John , Parry Trevor , Urukalo Mick
Published: February 2007

Background: Less than optimal outcomes and escalating costs for chronic conditions including mental illness have prompted calls for innovative approaches to chronic illness management.

Aims: This study aimed to test the feasibility and utility of combining a generic, clinician administered and peer-led self-management group approach for people with serious mental illness.

Method: General practitioners and mental health case managers used a patient centred care model (the Flinders model) to assist 38 patients with serious mental illness to identify their self-management needs, and match these with interventions including Stanford peer-led, self-management groups and one-to-one peer support. Self-management and quality of life outcomes were measured and qualitative evaluation elicited feedback from all participants.

Results: Collaborative care planning, combined with a problems and goals focused approach, resulted in improved self-management and mental functioning at 3 to 6 months follow-up. The Stanford self-management course was applicable and acceptable to patients with serious mental illnesses. Qualitative feedback was highly supportive of this approach.

Conclusions: Generic, structured assessment and care planning approaches, resulting in self-management education targeted to the individual, improved self-management and quality of life. Patients and service providers reported considerable gains despite the challenges associated with introducing a generic model within the mental health and general practice sector.
Adverse Incidents, Patient Flow and Nursing Workforce Variables on Acute Psychiatric Wards: The Tompkins Acute Ward Study
Authors: Bowers Len , Allan Teresa , Simpson Alan , Nijman Henk , Warren Jonathan
Published: February 2007

Background: Adverse incidents (violence, self-harm and absconding) can cause significant harm to patients and staff, are difficult to predict, and are driving an increase in security measures and defensive practice.

Aims: To explore the relationship between adverse incidents on acute psychiatric wards, admissions and nursing workforce variables.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of officially collected data covering a period of 30 months on 14 acute wards at three hospitals. This data included 69 serious untoward incidents.

Results: Adverse incidents were more likely during and after weeks of high numbers of male admissions, during weeks when other incidents also occurred, and during weeks of high regular staff absence through leave and vacancy.

Conclusions: It may be possible to predict adverse incidents. Careful staff management and deployment may reduce the risks.
Nonlinear Relationship Between Length of Residence and Depression in a Community-Based Sample of Vietnamese Americans
Authors: Tran Thanh V. , Manalo Victor , Nguyen Victor T.D.
Published: February 2007

Background: Length of residence has been viewed as an indicator of acculturation among immigrants and refugees in their host society. This study aims to test an inverted U relationship between length of residence and depression in a community-based sample of Vietnamese Americans.

Methods: Data were collected from a community-based survey of adult Vietnamese Americans living in an East Coast metropolitan area consisting of 349 respondents aged 18 and older. However, due to missing data, the actual sample in our regression analysis using listwise deletion method is 311. Among the participants, 52.1% are female ( n = 182), and 47.9% are male ( n = 167). The age of the respondents ranges from 18 to 73 years with the average age being 38.76 (SD = 13.76). The average number of years that the participants lived within the United States was 7.01 years (SD = 5.22).

Results: Findings from a polynomial regression analysis support the hypothesis that depression levels tend to be high during the first decade of initial resettlement. However, after approximately 12.5 years, depression levels decrease.

Conclusion: As revealed by the data and community experts, immigrants/refugees tend to suffer from higher levels of psychological problems during their first decade of resettlement. It takes more than a decade for a non-English-speaking immigrant or refugee to adjust psychologically into his/her host society.
Can't Live with 'Em; Can't Live without 'Em
Authors: Bolton Sharon C. , Muzio Daniel
Published: February 2007

Successful professions have historically relied on the establishment of effective closure regimes. The last 30 years or so have witnessed a gradual erosion of the legal profession's external closure regime, which seems to be associated with the gradual feminization of the legal profession. Women now represent the majority of salaried solicitors; yet, despite some recent progress,they still represent a mere quarter of partners. In reference to these developments this article seeks to cultivate a typology of patterns of gendered segmentation in the legal profession. We argue that gendered segmentation, which thrives on the ideology of women's difference, has become a defence mechanism of an embattled profession, ensuring that the elite segments hold onto their status and associated rewards while the feminized segments increase leverage without rocking the partnership system, effectively forming a reserve army of legal labour with lesser terms and conditions.
Displaying Families
Authors: Finch Janet
Published: February 2007

This article argues that the sociology of contemporary family relationships should be developed to recognize the importance of ‘displaying’ as well as ‘doing’ family. The addition of the concept of ‘display’ to the sociological tool kit is not only a necessary complement to the important conceptual developments which have taken place in recent years, but is also rich in its potential for further empirical and theoretical work. In developing this theme, the article examines empirical evidence from recent UK studies of family relationships, exploring why ‘display’ is important in contemporary family relationships as well as the process through which it occurs. The article represents an initial exploration of these themes. The author's principal aim is to open up this aspect of family life for debate within the relevant sociological research community, encouraging others to refine the concept as well as to use it.
Forms of Glocalization
Authors: Giulianotti Richard , Robertson Roland
Published: February 2007

The concept of glocalization has the potential to advance sociological understanding of globalization with reference to social agency and cultural differentiation. In this article, we develop a four-fold typology of glocalization projects, with reference to relativization, accommodation, hybridization and transformation. We illustrate and elaborate this typology through substantive reference to specific migrant cultures, namely the North American-based supporters of two Scottish football (soccer) clubs. We advance a theoretical model that may be utilized and applied to account for the glocalization projects of different migrant communities in other domains of popular culture.
The Embodiment of Caste
Authors: Gorringe Hugo , Rafanell Irene
Published: February 2007

Caste is often presented as a stable or fixed form of social stratification that conditions the behaviour of its members.This occludes the micro-structural process by which caste is embodied.This article uses empirical work on caste protest to discuss the fluid nature of embodied activity, and the analytical utility of two social constructionist accounts: the tacitly pre-given structures of Bourdieu's model are compared to the continuous creation model of Foucault.Whereas the internalized structures of Bourdieu's habitus initially appear to make most sense of the embodiment and permanence of caste, we contend that a Foucauldian approach offers better insight into the interactional basis of social structures and identity formation.The article reconsiders both theories in light of these empirical data and concludes that analysing interaction at a local level enables us to better comprehend the emergence of social structural features in a caste context.
The Effects of War on Children: School Psychologists’ Role and Function
Authors: Lasser Jon , Adams Krysta
Published: February 2007

War may be the most profound psychosocial stressor on child and adolescent development, for it has the potential to inflict loss, disruption of stability, deleterious health effects and family/community system disorganization. This article reviews the literature regarding the effects of war on children and explores the role and function of the school psychologist with respect to the profession’s responsibilities regarding war and peace. Recommendations are made for local, national and international efforts.
A Positive Youth Development Model for Students Considered At-Risk
Authors: Edwards Oliver W. , Mumford Vincent E. , Serra-Roldan Rut
Published: February 2007

Children considered ‘at-risk’ for school failure and other adverse life outcomes have received increasing attention in multiple countries across the world. The research literature is replete with studies that emphasize specific detrimental factors that may make a child’s life more difficult upon entering adulthood. The traditional, negative perspective of first identifying deficits and pathology before offering aid contrasts sharply with resiliency research and the emerging positive youth development (PYD) model. The developmental assets framework is under the rubric of PYD and offers a strength-based approach to child development, prevention and intervention. This article reviews and integrates data which demonstrate how asset-building is beneficial to students considered at-risk. School psychologists are well-positioned to collaborate with teachers and other educators to play vital roles in implementing this proactive PYD model to help all students.
A Comparison of Dutch and US Teachers’ Perceptions of the Incidence and Management of ADHD
Authors: Havey J. Michael
Published: February 2007

Dutch and US teachers were questioned about their perceptions of the incidence and causes of ADHD, as well as their views of appropriate treatments. Dutch teachers were more likely than US teachers to think the etiology of the disorder lay in biochemistry, while US teachers were more likely to believe in a combination of environmental and biochemical factors. Both sets of teachers believed a combination of medical and behavioral interventions was the most effective treatment. Teachers were also asked to indicate the number of students in their classes who had been diagnosed with ADHD and to estimate the number of students who they thought might have ADHD. Both sets of teachers indicated that they thought there were students with undiagnosed ADHD in their classes, but Dutch teachers reported significantly fewer students in both the actual and perceived categories. Class size was related to US teacher perceptions, but not Dutch perceptions.
Who Is Blameworthy? : Social Identity and Inter-Group Bullying
Authors: Gini Gianluca
Published: February 2007

Using social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel and Turner, 1979) and social identity development theory (SIDT; Nesdale, 1999) as a framework, this study investigated attitudes towards inter-group bullying at school. Preadolescent boys and girls ( n = 314) participated in a study, utilizing the short story technique, in which they were induced to identify with their own school-class, whose social status was manipulated to be high or low. A story was told in which the group engaged in an episode of physical bullying as either the bully group or the victim group. The designed out-group was another class of the same school. Attribution of blame to both the in-group and the out-group was assessed. Results showed a higher preference for the in-group when it was the victimized group. Moreover, participants blamed the high status out-group more than any other group. The results are discussed in relation to the literature about bullying and the application of SIT and SIDT to this domain.
Temperament-Based Learning Styles of Palestinian and US Children
Authors: Oakland Thomas , Alghorani Mohammed Adnan , Lee Dong Hun
Published: February 2007

Temperament styles of 400 Palestinian children living in Gaza are described, examined for possible gender and age differences, and compared with those of 3,200 US children in light of Jung’s theory of temperament as modified by Myers and Briggs. The results show that Palestinian children generally prefer practical to imaginative, feeling to thinking and organized to flexible styles. Differences in their preferences for extroversion and introversion styles are not significant. In contrast to females, males are more likely to prefer thinking and flexible styles. Gender differences are not significant on extroversion-introversion and practical-imaginative styles. Age differences are seen on all styles. In contrast to US children, Palestinian children tend to express higher preferences for introversion, practical, feeling and organized styles.
Using ICT to Help the Poor Access Public Services: an action research programme
Authors: Sharma Geeta , Sturges Paul
Published: February 2007

The proposition that provision of some form of ICT could assist the population of the urban slums of developing countries to obtain the access to public services to which they are entitled is being widely tested through experimentation. The particular programme of experiments in Croatia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan described here was funded by the UK Department of International Development as participatory action research. The Indian project is dealt with in most detail. It took a poorly used hospital specializing in maternal and child health care in New Delhi and supplied a community-based voice connection for use by potential patients. Use of the hospital increased, relations between community and the hospital improved, inadequacies in the hospital services were addressed and a vision of what the hospital might achieve in the future began to emerge. The mechanisms by which this was achieved are examined, and some generally applicable conclusions drawn.
Harnessing Knowledge Management for Africa’s Transition to the 21st Century
Authors: Mchombu Kingo J.
Published: February 2007

The paper starts with an exploration of knowledge management which focuses on the knowledge pyramid concept. The successful management of the transition from an agricultural to a knowledge based society, it is argued, should go beyond formulating information communication technology policies to include knowledge management policies as well. The contribution of information and knowledge systems in six key sectors of the national economy is described as vital to kick start the revival and reconstruction of Africa. The sectors identified are: poverty eradication and wealth generation, transfer of technologies and innovations, education sector, agricultural sector, small, medium and micro enterprises, and health sector. The new era of knowledge management challenges information specialists toreinvent and reposition themselves as infomediaries and knowledge managers who can manage efficiently the process of converting data and information into knowledge for development.
Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning in Latin America: the challenge to build social sustainability
Authors: Dudziak Elisabeth Adriana
Published: February 2007

The aim of this work is to explore information literacy and lifelong learning concepts in Latin America. First, we consider the Latin American challenges: inequalities, unstable politics, lack of formation of workers, poverty. Second, we discuss different concepts of society, focusing on the Learning Society, that requires emancipated individuals that are lifelong learners because they are information literate. The next section considers social sustainability as a consequence of sustainable development actions. In Latin America, interest around information literacy and lifelong learning has been growing in recent years because of librarians’ initiatives. In conclusion, information literacy and lifelong learning emerge as fundamental factors for a sustainable development and the consolidation of democracy in Latin America.
AGLINET, AGORA, et al.: enhancing access to information in support of research and extension in the developing world
Authors: Wu Jane , Ochs Mary Anderson
Published: February 2007

A number of information programs have been developed over the years to support worldwide agricultural research and extension. This paper discusses two of these programs, AGLINET and AGORA in the context of recent global library, information and communications technologies, best practices and future trends. Specifically, the programs are discussed in the context of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals, the Alexandria High Level Colloquium on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning, the Alexandria Manifesto and the outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society. The advantages and disadvantages and future potential of these and similar programs and the need for complementary programs in development are discussed in the context of the present and future challenges for agricultural libraries and some future directions are proposed.
Vicissitudes of Ethical Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Wnuk-Lipiński Edmund
Published: February 2007

The article focuses on the role of civil society in the aggregate of causes that eventually brought about the collapse of the communist block and — in consequence — changed the global balance of power. The concept of ‘ethical civil society’ is introduced in explaining the path to democracy of former Soviet bloc countries. The article also explores cultural determinants of democratisation in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989; in particular the relation between religious confession and likelihood of democratic outcome of post-communist transformation is examined.
Against the New Utopianism
Authors: Elshtain Jean Bethke
Published: February 2007

Why do utopian dreams of a peaceable kingdom run high despite all historic evidence to the contrary? Examining this question in light of the current struggle on how best to respond to terrorism and within the framework of a just war tradition indebted to Augustine, the paper examines, first, the new utopianism, before going on to assay the ongoing capacities of Augustinianism as an alternative way to frame issues of international justice in light of contemporary threats.
Christian Realism and the Successful Modern State
Authors: Lovin Robin W.
Published: February 2007

By focusing on the importance of power relationships between states and emphasising the tendency to injustice and tyranny in any unchecked power, Christian realism in the middle of the twentieth century made sense of an international order structured by rivalry between nuclear superpowers. These lessons remain important for international politics, but a pluralistic Christian realism will have to give more attention in the future to relationships between the state and other primary social forces, especially business and religion. The classic political problem of providing sufficient order without destroying freedom remains central, but it takes on different contours in a world no longer structured by rival superpowers.
Just Peace as Leading Perspective: Towards the Concept and Task Profile of an Ethics of International Politics
Authors: Hoppe Thomas
Published: February 2007

In the course of history, the doctrine of just war has proven to be susceptible to political misuse. Furthermore, it features a number of conceptual deficiencies. In the leading perspective of ‘just peace’, peace ethics primarily emphasises the task of violence prevention, for which the realisation and protection of human rights gain central importance. Even the traditional term ‘common good’ can be reformulated in this context. The concept of ‘just peace’ critically confronts the discussion on the legitimacy of pre-emptive wars. With regard to ‘humanitarian interventions’, it calls for a sophisticated catalogue of criteria that helps to define the presuppositions under which such interventions can be deemed legitimate.
The Weakness of Power and the Power of Weakness: The Ethics of War in a Time of Terror
Authors: Northcott Michael
Published: February 2007

In 2002 a significant number of American theologians declared that the ‘war on terror’ was a just war. But the indiscriminate strategies and munitions technologies deployed in the invasion and occupation of Iraq fall short of the just war principles of non-combatant immunity, and proportionate response. The just war tradition is one of Christendom's most enduring legacies to the law of nations. Its practice implies a standard of virtue in war that is undermined by the indiscriminate effects of many modern weapons and by the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure. The violent power represented by the technology of what the Vatican calls ‘total war’has occasioned a significant shift in Catholic social teaching on just war since the Second World War. Total war generates an asymmetry of weakness in those subjected to these techniques of terror, and this has only strengthened the violence of the Islamist struggle against the West. But those who draw inspiration and legitimacy from this weakness in their struggle with the West also reject virtue in war. In a time of terror the theological vocation is to speak peace and to recall the terms in which the peace of God was achieved by way of the cross.
Justification of Force in the Trans-Atlantic Debate: Towards a Moderate Institutionalist Cosmopolitanism
Authors: Haspel Michael
Published: February 2007

Starting from the trans-Atlantic divide on the issue of justification of force which became obvious after 9/11, it is argued that the differences between the Anglo-American and Continental-European standard arguments can be overcome by a moderate institutionalist cosmopolitanism. It combines a moderate institutionalist approach with a comprehensive concept of human rights and a moderate cosmopolitan stand on the issue of international distributive justice. If all three aspects are taken into account adequately in an ethical theory of international relations, both the Anglo-American traditions of just war theory and a radical Kantian legalism must be revised and common ground could be revealed.
High-resolution alkenone sea surface temperature variability on the North Icelandic Shelf: implications for Nordic Seas palaeoclimatic development during the Holocene
Authors: Bendle James A.P. , Rosell-Melé Antoni
Published: February 2007

The palaeoceanography of the northern Icelandic Shelf for the Holocene period was reconstructed from alkenone indices measured in core JR51-GC35. This contains a continuous record of Holocene sedimentation spanning 0 10.2 cal. kyr BP with a resolution of ~ 20 yr/cm. We have identified a general Holocene cooling trend that has superimposed millennial-scale oscillations of >2°C. Their timing is in close agreement with the timing of glacier advances in northern Iceland. For the later half of the Holocene, the alkenone-sea surface temperature (SST) record from JR51-GC35 correlates with proxy data for the strength of NADW formation recorded in cores south of Iceland. This is interpreted as evidence of a close connection existing between north Icelandic sea surface temperatures and the North Atlantic meridonal overturning circulation. The timing of the millennial-scale SST variability in our core off North Iceland is found to be out of phase, or anti-phased, with the SST variability of a record in the eastern Nordic Seas (MD952011). This suggests that the evolution of Holocene climate in the Nordic Seas was more complex than previously proposed; and it is likely to be caused by differential responses of the Irminger and Norwegian Currents and modulated by changes in atmospheric circulation analogous to the North Atlantic Oscillation.
A 5600-yr history of changing vegetation, sea levels and human impacts from the Black Sea coast of Georgia
Authors: Connor Simon E. , Thomas Ian , Kvavadze Eliso V.
Published: February 2007

Mid-late Holocene pollen evidence from the Ispani-II Sphagnum bog in lowland Western Georgia shows that 4500 years ago Castanea (chestnut)-dominated woods rapidly declined to be replaced by alder swamps and, later, during the first millennium bc, by open, marshy landscapes in which fire played a prominent part. Around 1900 years ago, Sphagnum blanket bog encroached on the marshes and dense Fagus-Carpinus (beech-hornbeam) forest enveloped the surrounding land. This vegetation remained until the mid-twentieth century, when forests were clear-felled and marshes were drained for large-scale, mechanized agriculture. Previous studies have emphasized climate’s governing role in setting the course of Holocene vegetation development in lowland Western Georgia, but our results provide little support for this hypothesis. To a much greater degree, episodes of coastal subsidence, sea-level rise and human impact have shaped the vegetation history of coastal Western Caucasus.
Long-term vegetation changes in the northern Scandinavian forest limit: a human impact-climate synergy?
Authors: Karlsson Hanna , Hörnberg Greger , Hannon Gina , Nordström Eva-Maria
Published: February 2007

A palaeoecological study was performed in the northern Scandinavian mountain range in Sweden. The aim was to study vegetation changes and shifts in forest limit altitudes during the last 5000 years in a tree-less archaeological site (Adamvalta) situated below the regional forest limit, and in a forested reference area with similar geological features but without archaeological evidence of human presence (Ajdevaratj). The suitability of uncritically using forest limit changes as indicators of climate change is also discussed. The study included analyses of pollen, pollen accumulation rates (PAR), macrofossils and loss-on-ignition. The results indicate vegetation changes in both areas plausibly caused by climate c. 3800 BP and c. 500 400 BP. However, at Adamvalta, settlements were established c. 1300 750 BP, close to the mountain birch ( Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovi) forest limit. About 800 BP, the birch forest cover at Adamvalta decreased and the vegetation developed into an alpine heath, as a result of human-induced deforestation. The following ‘Little Ice Age’, in combination with human impact from the sixteenth century onwards, prevented forest recovery, and the site remains treeless. Such vegetation changes were not recorded at Adjevaratj. It is deduced that the present position of the forest limit at Adamvalta is governed by a combination of factors where previous human impact and climate have been the major driving forces determining the long-term vegetation development. Hence, a thorough knowledge of the site history is important when forest limits are used as a proxy for climate change.
How stable are twentieth-century calibration models? A high-resolution summer temperature reconstruction for the eastern Swiss Alps back to AD 1580 derived from proglacial varved sediments
Authors: Blass Alex , Grosjean Martin , Troxler Andrea , Sturm Michael
Published: February 2007

We found a significant positive correlation between local summer air temperature (May-September) and the annual sediment mass accumulation rate (MAR) in Lake Silvaplana (46°N, 9°E, 1800 m a.s.l.) during the twentieth century (r = 0.69, p < 0.001 for decadal smoothed series). Sediment trap data (2001-2005) confirm this relation with exceptionally high particle yields during the hottest summer of the last 140 years in 2003. On this base we developed a decadal-scale summer temperature reconstruction back to AD 1580. Surprisingly, the comparison of our reconstruction with two other independent regional summer temperature reconstructions (based on tree-rings and documentary data) revealed a significant negative correlation for the pre-1900 data (ie, late ‘Little Ice Age’). This demonstrates that the correlation between MAR and summer temperature is not stable in time and the actualistic principle does not apply in this case. We suggest that different climatic regimes (modern/‘Little Ice Age’) lead to changing state conditions in the catchment and thus to considerably different sediment transport mechanisms. Therefore, we calibrated our MAR data with gridded early instrumental temperature series from AD 1760-1880 (r = -0.48, p < 0.01 for decadal smoothed series) to properly reconstruct the late LIA climatic conditions. We found exceptionally low temperatures between AD 1580 and 1610 (0.75°C below twentieth-century mean) and during the late Maunder Minimum from AD 1680 to 1710 (0.5°C below twentieth-century mean). In general, summer temperatures did not experience major negative departures from the twentieth-century mean during the late ‘Little Ice Age’. This compares well with the two existing independent regional reconstructions suggesting that the LIA in the Alps was mainly a phenomenon of the cold season.
Pollen productivity estimates for quantitative reconstruction of vegetation cover on the Swiss Plateau
Authors: Soepboer Welmoed , Sugita Shinya , Lotter André F. , van Leeuwen Jacqueline F.N. , van der Knaap Willem O.
Published: February 2007

We present the first step to quantitatively reconstruct vegetation cover in central Europe. Modern vegetation and pollen deposition were compared for 20 small to medium sized lakes and their catchments on the Swiss Plateau, a relatively flat region between the Jura Mountains and the Alps. To correct for the pollen dispersal bias in pollen assemblages, vegetation abundance was distance-weighted using three different approaches. The Relevant Source Area of Pollen (RSAP) and pollen productivity of 13 plant taxa were estimated using three different submodels of the Extended R-Value model (ERV-model). RSAP was 800 m regardless of the applied distance-weighting or ERV submodel. Pollen Productivity Estimates (PPE) varied from 10 to < 0.1 among pollen taxa and differed slightly between the models. Relative to grasses most trees were higher pollen producers and some were equal producers, whereas the herb taxa showed lower PPE. Generally, PPE from lowland Switzerland differ from those found in other European regions. Sampling strategies of vegetation and pollen samples are a likely cause for this variation. However, pollen productivity is also influenced by regionally different factors, such as climate, vegetation structure, geology and soil types. In addition, differences at genus or species level may occur between areas. Our comparison between the different regions in Europe shows that PPE of one region may not be directly applicable to other regions.
Neoglacial activity in Finland: dating the evidence from glaciolacustrine sediment sequences in the Halti-Ridnitšohkka region
Authors: Ojala Antti E.K. , Hirvas Heikki , Lintinen Petri , Vanhala Heikki
Published: February 2007

Palaeomagnetic dating of sediment sequences from lakes Pihtsusjärvi and Haltijärvi in Enontekiö, northwestern Finnish Lapland, provided a chronology for a study of the palaeohydrological and glacier history of the Halti-Ridnitšohkka fells area. Both sequences exhibited a stable primary component of the NRM direction, allowing a comparison of the secular variation records with the chronology of Lake Nautajärvi reference curves (NRM) to provide a chronological framework for the present study. The basins of Lakes Pihtsusjärvi and Haltijärvi were formed 10 500 and 5500 cal. BP, respectively. Minerogenic layers found from studied Lake Pihtsusjärvi sequences provided evidence of postglacial activity of the Halti fell valley glacier. The results indicated that the Halti glacier was active soon after the continental ice sheet had retreated from the area at around 10 000 9000 cal. BP, during which time the Kovdajohka valley terminal and recessional moraines were formed. This was followed by a Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) in northern Fennoscandia, which was interrupted by climate cooling at around 6000 cal. BP. The basal age of the Lake Haltijärvi sediment core and Lake Pihtsusjärvi sediment stratigraphy indicated minor, short-term neoglacial activity in the Halti fell vicinity between c. 6000 and 5500 cal. BP.
Holocene coastal change and geoarchaeology at Howick, Northumberland, UK
Authors: Boomer Ian , Waddington Clive , Stevenson Tony , Hamilton Derek
Published: February 2007

The recent discovery of one of the earliest Mesolithic occupation sites in northern Britain, at Howick on the Northumberland coast, in association with multiperiod archaeological evidence nearby, highlights the importance of UK coastal settings as focii of human occupation through the Holocene. Environmental evidence from a nearby river valley (8.15 m of sediment ranging in age from about 12 000 cal. BP to the present) records local and regional environmental change. Twenty-four radiocarbon dates based on plant macrofossils provide a strong chronological framework. Calcareous microfossil assemblages (foraminifera, ostracods) have been recovered from the fine-grained sediments, recording a change from marine through to brackish and eventually freshwater conditions between about 8200 and 6500 cal. BP. A preliminary pollen study of the core has permitted a reconstruction of the regional vegetation as it responded to climatic amelioration and human influence upon the landscape. Radiocarbon dating and sedimentological evidence indicates a major hiatus between approximately 11 000 and 8000 years BP (including the period of Mesolithic occupation), represented by a 30 cm layer of coarse sands and sandstone pebbles, probably the result of a significant high-energy event dated to about 8300 cal. BP. Although not a typical tsunami deposit, the age and context suggests that this may be associated with the Storegga Slide event, already well-documented along the eastern coast of Scotland. The sedimentary and biological remains at Howick record environmental change over much of the Holocene and are compared with other environmental change records from the region to provide an environmental framework for the archaeology of this coastline.
Radiocarbon dating of primary aragonite by sequential extraction of CO2
Authors: Bookman R. , Lazar B. , Stein M. , Burr G. S.
Published: February 2007

This paper describes the potential of correcting the 14C age shift resulting from the contamination of primary aragonites by detrital carbonates using online sequential extraction of CO2. The experiments were carried out on laminated lacustrine aragonites collected from Holocene Dead Sea sediment sections. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the presence of detrital calcite interpreted to originate from the watershed and transported to the lake with runoff. The contamination could not be separated physically from the sample, potentially contributing decayed 14C (‘dead carbon’) and increasing the age of the aragonite. Sequential extraction of successive fractions of CO2 unveiled the effect of detrital material on the 14C ages, and showed that the first CO2 extract represents the least contaminated 14C fraction that provides the best approximation for the true 14C age (which includes the lake’s reservoir age). We calculated the age offset contributed by the contamination range encountered in this study (1-21%) to be about 900 years per 10% contamination. The sequential extraction procedure is recommended for 14C dating of Holocene age lacustrine carbonates suspected to be contaminated with extraneous carbon-bearing materials.
Changes in lake-sediment structure and composition caused by human impact: repeated studies of Lake Martiska, Estonia
Authors: Punning J.-M. , Boyle J. F. , Terasmaa J. , Vaasma T. , Mikomägi A.
Published: February 2007

This research uses a comparison of the sediment record of Lake Martiska (NE Estonia) with well-documented historical changes in human impact to identify the factors dominantly affecting the sediment lithological composition, and the accumulation of heavy metals and other microelements into the sediments. To this end, comprehensive lithological-geochemical studies of the upper sediment were undertaken in 1986 and repeated in 2003 and 2005. Oil shale mining and processing heavily impacted the area via atmospheric pollution and groundwater extraction. As a result of the fly-ash deposition clear marker horizons of chemical compounds were formed. Historical water-level fluctuations are clearly reflected in the lithological composition and grain-size variations of the studied sediment cores. During regression and transgression phases displacement of the erosion-transport-accumulation limits caused redistribution of previously accumulated sediments and their return into the biogeochemical matter cycling of the lake. The210Pb chronology of the sediment records is in contradiction with the historical records of fly-ash emissions, suggesting that changes in 210Pb flux and focusing of sediments caused by lake-level change have invalidated the dating models.
Abuse, Intimidation and Violence as Aspects of Managerial Control in Professional Soccer in Britain and Ireland
Authors: Kelly Seamus , Waddington Ivan
Published: February 2007

Using semi-structured tape-recorded interviews, this study focuses on the ways in which managers maintain control over players in professional soccer clubs. More specifically, the article focuses on the ways in which disciplinary codes are established by managers and the sanctions that are imposed on players for breaches of club discipline. The findings highlight the arbitrary character of these codes and the central part played by intimidation and abuse, both verbal and physical, as aspects of managerial control within clubs. We argue that these techniques of managerial control reflect the origins of professional soccer in late Victorian England, when professional players were the equivalent of industrial workers and, like industrial workers, were seen as requiring authoritarian regulation and control. This pattern of management has persisted in professional soccer long after it has been superseded in industrial relations more generally because, while many aspects of the management of soccer clubs have involved increasing professionalization and bureaucratization, the role of the manager has proved remarkably resistant to these processes. The authority of the team manager continues to be based on traditional forms of authoritarianism and this allows managers an unusually high degree of autonomy in defining their own role, while placing relatively few constraints on their authority in relation to players.