bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The construction of units in conversational talk
Authors: SELTING MARGRET
Published: July 2002

The notion of Turn-Constructional Unit (TCU) in
Conversation Analysis has become unclear for many researchers.
The underlying problems inherent in the definition of this
notion are here identified, and a possible solution is
suggested. This amounts to separating more clearly the
notions of TCU and Transition Relevance Place (TRP). In
this view, the TCU is defined as the smallest interactionally
relevant complete linguistic unit, in a given context,
that is constructed with syntactic and prosodic resources
within their semantic, pragmatic, activity-type-specific,
and sequential conversational context. It ends in a TRP
unless particular linguistic and interactional resources
are used to project and postpone the TRP to the end of
a larger multi-unit turn. This suggestion tries to spell
out some of the assumptions that the seminal work in CA
made in principle, but never formulated explicitly.
ERP effects of intermodal attention and cross‐modal links in spatial attention
Authors: Eimer Martin , Schröger Erich
Published: July 2002

Effects of intermodal attention and of cross‐modal links in spatial attention on visual and auditory event‐related potentials (ERPs) were investigated in two experiments where participants had to attend to one stimulus modality (audition or vision) to respond to infrequently presented targets whenever these were presented at a relevant location (indicated by a cue). The ERP effects of intermodal attention (measured by comparing the ERPs elicited by visual and auditory stimuli when the respective modality was relevant or irrelevant) were differently distributed in vision and audition, suggesting that intermodal attention operates by a selective modulation of modality‐specific areas. Similar ERP effects of spatial attention (measured by comparing the ERPs to stimuli at cued and uncued locations) were elicited at midline electrodes in vision and audition. With one notable exception, these effects were also present when attention was directed within the other modality, suggesting the existence of cross‐modal links between vision and audition in the control of transient spatial attention.
Why the analyses of cognitive processes matter
Authors: Hoffrage Ulrich
Published: July 2002

Stanovich & West analyze individual differences with respect to response output (e.g., participants' numerical estimates). They do not analyze the underlying cognitive processes that led to the outputs; they thereby probably misclassify some non-normative responses as normative. Using base rate neglect and overconfidence as examples, I demonstrate the advantages of analyzing cognitive processes further.
Evolution of mating strategies: Evidence from the fossil and archaeological records
Authors: Mithen Steven
Published: July 2002

Gangestad & Simpson provide a persuasive argument that both men and women have evolved conditional mating strategies. Their references to “ancestral” males and females are rather vague, which is unfortunate, as they seek to justify their arguments by invoking human evolutionary history. When one actually examines the evidence for human evolution further, more support for their arguments can be found, as predominant types of mating strategies are likely to have shifted in light of environmental and anatomical developments. We can also see in the archaeological record evidence for a further dimension of strategic pluralism – the use of material culture to advertise good genes in some species of ancestral males.
The magic number and the episodic buffer
Authors: Baddeley Alan
Published: July 2002

Cowan's revisiting of the magic number is very timely and the case he makes for a more moderate number than seven is persuasive. It is also appropriate to frame his case within a theoretical context, since this will influence what evidence to include and how to interpret it. He presents his model however, as a contrast to the working memory model of Baddeley (1986). I suggest that this reflects a misinterpretation of our model resulting in a danger of focusing attention on pseudo-problems rather than genuine disparities between his approach and my own.
Rediscovering Turing's brain
Authors: Kirlik Alex
Published: July 2002

The embodied AI paradigm represents a distinct shift toward an
ecological perspective on intelligent behavior. I outline how Ballard
et al. have made a promising advance in expanding the seat of
intelligence to include sensory and motor systems, but they have
not gone far enough. Sustained growth toward truly generalizable
accounts of intelligent systems will also require expanding the locus
of intelligence to include the environmental structure participating
in intelligent behavior.
A common structure for concepts of individuals, stuffs, and real kinds: More Mama, more milk, and more mouse
Authors: Millikan Ruth Garrett
Published: July 2002

Concepts are highly theoretical entities. One cannot study
them empirically without committing oneself to substantial preliminary
assumptions. Among the competing theories of concepts and
categorization developed by psychologists in the last thirty years,
the implicit theoretical assumption that what falls under a concept is
determined by description (“descriptionism”) has never
been seriously challenged. I present a nondescriptionist theory of our
most basic concepts, “substances,” which include (1)
stuffs (gold, milk), (2) real kinds (cat, chair), and (3) individuals
(Mama, Bill Clinton, the Empire State Building). On the basis of
something important that all three have in common, our earliest and
most basic concepts of substances are identical in structure. The
membership of the category “cat,” like that of
“Mama,” is a natural unit in nature, to which the concept
“cat” does something like pointing, and continues to point
despite large changes in the properties the thinker represents the
unit as having. For example, large changes can occur in the way a
child identifies cats and the things it is willing to call
“cat” without affecting the extension of its word
“cat.” The difficulty is to cash in the metaphor of
“pointing” in this context. Having substance concepts need
not depend on knowing words, but language interacts with substance
concepts, completely transforming the conceptual repertoire. I will
discuss how public language plays a crucial role in both the
acquisition of substance concepts and their completed
structure.
The historical case against null-hypothesis significance testing
Authors: Stam Henderikus J. , Pasay Grant A.
Published: July 2002

We argue that Chow's defense of hypothesis-testing
procedures attempts to restore an aura of objectivity to the core
procedures, allowing these to take on the role of judgment that should
be reserved for the researcher. We provide a brief overview of what we
call the historical case against hypothesis testing and argue that the
latter has led to a constrained and simplified conception of what
passes for theory in psychology.
Consciousness and control: The argument from developmental psychology
Authors: Zelazo Philip David , Frye Douglas
Published: July 2002

Limitations of Dienes & Perner's (D&P's)
theory are traced to the assumption that the higher-order thought
(HOT) theory of consciousness is true. D&P claim that 18-month-old
children are capable of explicitly representing factuality, from which
it follows (on D&P's theory) that they are capable of
explicitly representing content, attitude, and self. D&P then
attempt to explain 3-year-olds' failures on tests of voluntary
control such as the dimensional change card sort by suggesting that
at this age children cannot represent content and attitude explicitly.
We provide a better levels-of-consciousness account for age-related
abulic dissociations between knowledge and action.
Markers of developmental surface dyslexia in a language (Italian) with high
grapheme–phoneme correspondence
Authors: ZOCCOLOTTI PIERLUIGI , DE LUCA MARIA , DI PACE ENRICO , JUDICA ANNA , ORLANDI MARCO , SPINELLI DONATELLA
Published: July 2002

This article examines the characteristics of surface dyslexia in a language (Italian) with high
grapheme–phoneme correspondence. The reading performances of four boys are reported.
The most pervasive reading symptom was severe slowness, which was associated in some, but
not all, cases with reduced text comprehension. All four dyslexics performed at chance level on a
task requiring comprehension of homophonous words (Study I). Vocal reaction times to single
words were delayed with respect to the controls and showed a clear word length effect (Study II).
However, vocal reaction times to pictorial stimuli were normal (Study III). Eye movement
recordings taken during reading indicated an increased number and a reduced amplitude of
rightward saccades and longer fixation durations (Study IV). A test of letter recognition in central
and peripheral vision indicated that the reading deficit could not be explained in terms of an
abnormal attentional “window,” as found in other cases of dyslexia (Study V). An
analysis of the boys' cognitive skills (Study VI) indicated spared phonological awareness
in three of four subjects; a severe deficit in rapid scanning of nonlinguistic stimuli was present in
all of the subjects. Overall, these results indicate that parallel visual processing of words was
impaired, and that the boys analyzed words sequentially, presumably through an
orthographic–phonological conversion. This condition may be interpreted as surface
dyslexia, even though the prominent characteristics of this syndrome are somewhat different in
Italian than in other languages. In languages with “loose” relationships between
graphemes and phonemes (e.g., English), when the phonological analysis of words is insufficient,
a variety of errors is produced. In languages with considerably more regular
grapheme–phoneme correspondence (e.g., Italian), the number of errors may be small
since phonological reading is generally correct, and the most conspicuous symptom is slowness
in reading.
The European Union Budget, the Balanced Budget Rule and the Development of Common European Policies
Authors: Ackrill Robert
Published: July 2002

The European Union budget is subject to a strict annual balanced budget rule. Given different types of expenditure within the budget, this rule has most effect on – and is most threatened by – spending on the Common Agricultural Policy. This article examines the merits of applying a balanced budget rule to the EU budget and explores the links between the budget and the CAP. The rule has forced the EU to improve its financial management, as the 1999 CAP reform shows. The presence of a pre-agreed spending limit on the CAP forced changes to be made to the initial CAP reform agreement in order to comply with this limit, although political bargaining was critical in shaping particular changes. The general perception is that the CAP drives the European budget. Yet the budget, if not driving the CAP, imposes an increasingly tight constraint on its reform.
Governing the Skies: Conditions for the Europeanisation of Airline Policy
Authors: Lawton Thomas C.
Published: July 2002

This paper offers sectoral evidence in support of the argument that a partial transference of sovereignty has occurred within the EU with the gradual shift in regulatory authority from national capitals to Brussels. This transfer of policy competence is evident even in politically sensitive areas such as civil aviation. However, whilst Europe's supranational institutions have gained in de jure power, they often remain lacking in de facto authority. Democratic legitimacy ensures that nation-states retain real authority in areas such as air transport. This authority is nonetheless being steadily challenged by Brussels and a genuine balance of power is emerging. This has been evident in the development of air transport liberalisation, where a Commission-led coalition of interests ensured that deregulation occurred – despite the resistance of several influential national governments. State aid regulation has been more contentious, with EU rulings frequently encountering resistance from governments seeking to preserve perceived national interests.
Ageism and employment: controversies, ambiguities and younger people's perceptions
Authors: LORETTO WENDY , DUNCAN COLIN , WHITE PHIL J.
Published: July 2002

This paper traces the emergence and evolution of the concept of ageism with
respect to employment matters in the UK, and challenges some features of the
emerging concept as defective and undermining of efforts to eradicate age
discrimination in employment. Also revealed is some loosening in recent years
of the association of the term ‘ageism’ with older employees. This latter
observation informed the focus of our empirical work, which examined the
views of 460 Business Studies students concerning age and employment. A
significant proportion had experienced ageism directly in employment, and a
large majority favoured the introduction of legislative protection against age
discrimination, with blanket coverage irrespective of age. Though negative
stereotypes regarding older workers were by no means uncommon among the
sample, little firm evidence emerged of intergenerational tensions or
resentment towards older people. The concluding section considers the policy
implications of our findings, including the relative merits of weighting policy
responses towards older employees. It is argued that initiatives restricted in
this way, and further constrained by commercial imperatives and macro-economic objectives, are likely to prove divisive and self-defeating as a means
of combating ageism.
Confidence and the older driver
Authors: PARKER DIANNE , MACDONALD LORRAINE , SUTCLIFFE PAUL , RABBITT PATRICK
Published: July 2002

A sample of 555 drivers aged 50 or more were assessed in terms of their confidence in a range of driving situations, self-ratings of their driving ability, self-reported driving behaviour, and personality as measured by Eysenck's EPQ. Levels of nervousness when driving were surprisingly low, although there was no evidence of unrealistic self-ratings of driving ability. Female drivers reported significantly fewer errors and intentional violations than did male drivers. Female drivers were also found to score higher on the Extroversion, Neuroticism and Lie scales than did males. However, the males in the sample scored higher on the Psychoticism scale than the females. Driving confidence was associated with the following: a low level of lapses and errors, and a high level of violations; a low score on the Neuroticism scale and a high score on the Extroversion scale; being male, and high annual mileage. Personality did not mediate the relationship between driving confidence and self-rated driving ability.
Women with Multiple Roles: The
Emotional Impact of Caring for Ageing Parents
Authors: MURPHY BARBARA , SCHOFIELD HILARY , NANKERVIS JULIE , BLOCH SIDNEY , HERRMAN HELEN , SINGH BRUCE
Published: July 2002

As part of a wider study of family caregiving, a sample of 297 women caring
for an ageing parent were identified through a random statewide telephone
survey involving over 26,000 households in Victoria, Australia. In addition to
elder care, half these women were in paid employment and a third had
dependent children. Overload was highest for carers with multiple roles,
particularly those of parent or worker. Resentment in the caring role was
highest for those who had fewer roles apart from elder care, particularly those
who had quit work, and those without a partner. Life satisfaction was higher
for partnered and working carers. These findings highlight the need for
structures to support carers to maintain multiple roles, including greater
flexibility in the workplace and encouragement of greater reliance on informal
networks and formal services, both of which require increased societal
acknowledgment of the elder care role.
Conceptualising practice with older people: friendship and conversation
Authors: CARTER PAM , EVERITT ANGELA
Published: July 2002

We reflect upon the practices of two projects working with older
people – one
involving health promotion and the other arts – in terms of the discourses

deployed in their work. The material discussed is drawn from evaluations

which, through their use of feminist and critical methodologies, were
committed to revealing and challenging the layers of inequality often present

in practice with older people. The familiar notions of friendship and
conversation are shown to be useful in conceptualising the work of these

projects. It is argued that the discourses within which these ideas are

embedded offer the basis of progressive practice with older people even
in
routine settings such as housing, social care, recreation and social work.
These
concepts offer the possibility of thinking of older people as active subjects

within, rather than passive objects of, practice and of challenging inequalities

through reframing more functional discourses.
Secondary school students' knowledge of
and attitudes towards older people: does
an education intervention programme make a difference?
Authors: SCOTT THEA , MINICHIELLO VICTOR , BROWNING COLETTE
Published: July 2002

It is now increasingly recognised that if we are to combat ageism
the attitudes
and knowledge of young people need to be more positively constructed so
that
they do not hold stereotypic views of ageing. This study evaluates the
impact
of an educational intervention programme on the attitudes and knowledge
of
students aged 17–18 years from six secondary schools in Melbourne,
Australia.
Using Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz to assess knowledge about and
attitudes
towards ageing in a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design, the

results reveal that, in general, students hold low knowledge about older
people
and negative attitudes about ageing. However, the pre-test mean knowledge

scores differed significantly between male and female students and across
the
various schools, and students who had greater contact with grandparents

possessed slightly more knowledge. The post-test results show that the

intervention education programme was not successful in raising the student's

level of knowledge. The results also show that, in general, the students
hold
negative attitudes towards older people and that there was little change
in
their attitudes following the intervention programme. The paper discusses
the
implications of these results regarding curriculum development in education

programmes on ageing intended for young people.
Getting on in the BBC: a case study of older workers
Authors: PLATMAN KERRY , TINKER ANTHEA
Published: July 2002

National (and international) trends in the employment of older
workers show
a decline in the economic participation of older people, and especially
older
men, since the 1970s, and general evidence of age discrimination in the

workplace. This case study of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

examines statistical patterns in the fortunes of staff aged 50 years and
over in
a company with good reason to buck the trends. The BBC is a large, publicly-funded, equal opportunities employer endeavouring to reflect a diverse
nation
in its staff composition. The research is in two parts. First, we carried
out a
comparison at five-year intervals of the age profile of the Corporation
and
observed trends in official retirement at age 60 and the employment of
staff
working beyond retirement age, from 1978 to 1993. Secondly, an age-related

analysis of departures, recruitment and part-time working was undertaken
for
a 12-month period, from 1992 to 1993.

The research revealed the increasing marginalisation of older workers
at the
BBC. This accelerated during a period of substantial contraction in the
latter
part of the 15-year study period and led to an age profile far younger
than in
other public sectors such as Local Government. Pressures to become ‘lean
and
efficient’ appeared to have been at the expense of older workers,
who were
unprotected in the workplace.
Stepfamilies and older people:
evaluating the implications of family
change for an ageing population
Authors: BORNAT JOANNA , DIMMOCK BRIAN , JONES DAVID , PEACE SHEILA
Published: July 2002

The changing nature of family life has become a major issue in contemporary
Britain. Concerns that change will bring moral decline and social fragmentation are
countered by a more optimistic view which focuses on a future
of more equitable and flexible family ties. Research drawing on area-based
data in Luton amongst older, middle-aged and younger people with
experience of family change suggests that so far as inter-generational relations,
caring, and transfers of family wealth are concerned, traditional attitudes
towards blood ties, household independence and care and support survive
alongside new step relationships. The research also suggests that although
several respondents had more than one generation of experience of family
change, the language of step relationships is still one which is not yet
completely accepted, or one with which people feel completely at ease.
‘User pays’ and other approaches to the
funding of long-term care for older people
in Australia
Authors: FINE MICHAEL , CHALMERS JENNY
Published: July 2002

It has been argued that without some system in which future generations of
users are able to pay for their care the cost of services for an increasingly large
group of older people will be borne by a declining base of economically active
younger people. Is the answer a user pays approach to the financing of aged
care, as promoted by recent changes to aged care financing? This paper
reviews this concept and its recent history in Australia. On the basis of a brief
review of alternative funding systems, it also considers the potential of public
and private insurance schemes to increase funding by potential service users
and underwrite the long-term viability of funding for aged care services.
Ideas part-way down
Authors: KEOHANE ROBERT O.
Published: July 2002

Social Theory of International Politics is in my view a major work in our field, fully deserving of this symposium in the Review of International Studies. Indeed, I think that Alexander Wendt's book is virtually certain to become a classic work on international relations theory, standard on graduate reading lists. Wendt's distinctive combination of scientific realism, holism, and what he calls ‘idealism’, will certainly spark much conversation and, it is to be hoped, a great deal of thought.
Wars, hotel fires, and plane crashes
Authors: KRASNER STEPHEN D.
Published: July 2002

Alexander Wendt has drawn on an exceptional range of theoretical literature in his effort to reconceptualize the nature of the international system. His discussion of scientific realism ought to be required reading for any student of international relations, or political science for that matter. He puts to rest the notion that constructivism is necessarily postmodern, devoid of an objective referent. In John Searle's felicitous formulation it is possible to have a subjective ontology but an objective epistemology. In emphasizing that all knowledge is theory laden, Wendt underscores the point that facts never simply speak for themselves. In both the social and natural sciences brute empiricism is never an adequate research strategy. Our theories shape the way we see the world but they cannot remake the world in their own image.
On the Via Media: a response to the critics
Authors: WENDT ALEXANDER
Published: July 2002

Can the study of ideas in international politics be made scientifically respectable? The question is central to the Third Debate, yet the dominant voices in the ‘debate’ seem oddly to agree. ‘Positivists’ are sceptical because ideas seem ephemeral, difficult to measure, and generally resistant to hard science. As a result, positivist theories of international politics tend to favour seemingly more objective material factors like military and economic capabilities, and only bring in ideas as a last resort. In this way positivist epistemology shapes international ontology. Against this tendency, ‘post-positivists’ argue that it is simply a mistake to think that ideas can or should be studied in the same way we study physical objects. Ontology should determine epistemology, not vice versa. However, in developing this important insight many post-positivists have gone further, to efface any connection between their subsequent work and science—Understanding versus Explanation. The ironic result is to echo the positivist feeling that the study of ideas cannot be made scientifically respectable.
Car culture and global environmental politics
Authors: PATERSON MATTHEW
Published: July 2002

This article develops emerging critical approaches to global environmental politics
by starting with the question, posed by Julian Saurin: ‘If degrading practices occur as a
matter of routine, how do we account for this?’. Through an analysis of the global political
economy of the car, it shows that widespread social practices which systemically produce
global environmental change are simultaneously deeply embedded in the reproduction of
global power structures. It focuses on three interconnected aspects of this global political
economy—the role of the car industry in processes of globalization, its role in reproducing
capital accumulation in the twentieth century, and the promotion of the car over its
alternatives by states.
Mediation, conflict resolution and critical theory
Authors: LLOYD JONES DEINIOL
Published: July 2002

Focusing primarily on questions of methodology, this article argues that mediation in international affairs has yet to be properly analysed using the theoretical tools provided by the post-positivist turn in international relations theory. Recognizing the familiar distinction between power-political and facilitative approaches, the article makes the case for a third approach based on the political theory of Jurgen Habermas. The debate between neorealist forms of analysis and critical theory is well known. More contentious, however, is the argument that facilitative forms of third party intervention, such as the Norwegian mediation of the Oslo Accords, cannot operate without a more formal and abstract notion of the ‘right’ in politics. Facilitation's gently working of the lifeworld has much in common with the hermeneutic approach to social science. Like hermeneutics, therefore, facilitation may suffer as it fails to root out relations of power and domination. Even ‘interim stages’ in conflict resolution need a sense of ‘final status’ to gather a sense of pace and direction. The Oslo Accords, for example, demonstrate the need to create a strong vision of ‘final status’ during the interim stage. The article leaves the practical political questions to one side. However, a ‘methodological space’ for critical theory opens up once the defects of the tradition are highlighted, a space which may be filled by distinct forms of mediation practice.
A New Methodology for Designing PD Controllers
Authors: Atia Khaled R. , Cartmell M. P.
Published: July 2002

It is known that it is impossible to select fixed gains for a PD controller that will critically damp the response to disturbances for all configurations of a given robot system. Because of this the potential for overshoot is always present and cannot be avoided

unless the system is severely overdamped. This is not necessarily a practical solution and can be an economically unacceptable approach. On the other hand, however, if overshoot is permissible to some degree for some systems in the case of conventional Serial robots it is still prohibited in the case of Parallel robots as it may easily bring the robot to one of its possible singular configurations, causing damage to the

system. This paper introduces a new algorithm for the design of PD controllers that ensures uniform and fast dynamic responses, which are free from overshoots for all robot configurations. The technique also satisfies general stability requirements for the system.
The 6-Dof 2-Delta
parallel robot
Authors: Lallemand J. P. , Goudali A. , Zeghloul S.
Published: July 2002

In this paper, we will present a new 6-DOF parallel robot using a set of
two Delta structures. An effective method is proposed to establish explicit
relationships between the end effector co-ordinates and the active and passive
joint variables. A simulation of the 2-Delta robot on a C.A.D. Robotics system
will also be presented. This simulation will allow us to validate the cohesion
of our calculations, and to show the workspace depending on the mechanical
limits on passive joints variables. Finally, an approach is proposed to study
the influence of small clearances of the passive joint on the precision of the
position and rotation of the effector. This approach is based on a concept
similar to that of Yoshikawa's manipulability.
Experimental Evaluation of Identification Schemes on a Direct Drive Robot
Authors: Reyes Fernando , Kelly Rafael
Published: July 2002

This paper describes the experimental evaluation of three
identification schemes to determine the dynamic parameters of a two
degrees of freedom direct-drive robot. These schemes involve a recursive
estimator while the regression models are formulated in continuous time.
The fact that the total energy of robot manipulators can be represented
as a linear relation in the inertial parameters, has motivated the suggestion
in the literature of several regression models which are linear in a common
dynamic parameter vector. Among them, in this paper we consider the schemes
based on the filtered dynamic regression model, the supplied energy regression
model and a new one proposed in this paper: the filtered power regression model.
The underling recursive parameter estimator used in the experimental evaluation
is the standard least-squares.
Integrated control of MANUS manipulator and wheelchair enhanced by environmental
docking
Authors: Kwee H. Hok
Published: July 2002

Realisations and concepts are presented on the control of the MANUS wheelchair-mounted telemanipulator arm by severely disabled persons with few residual functions. Functional aspects are stressed as a basis for technical implementations, with special attention to the ergonomics of interactive control of the manipulator-wheelchair system in unstructured human environments. Adaptability of the control is accentuated, both
with respect to abilities and impairments of the individual user and with respect to characteristics of the environment and the task to be executed. Some methods to improve adaptability are discussed, and the need for standard interfacing methods is underlined.
Control configurations in actual daily use by persons with different severe disabilities are presented in some detail. A first implementation of integrated chin joystick control of MANUS manipulator and electric wheelchair, in daily use by a person with a C4/C5 spinal cord lesion, is reported as an example.
Simulation studies of tip tracking control of a single-link flexible robot based on a lumped model
Authors: Zhu G. , Ge S.S. , Lee T.H.
Published: July 2002

In this paper, tip tracking control of a single-link flexible robot is studied through computer simulations. The controller investigated is of a two-loop PD type, which is deduced from a control approach originally developed for elastic joint robots. A very simple model, with the flexible link of the robot being lumped to a spring-mass unit, is employed for the controller design. Bounded Input and Bounded Output (BIBO) stable tip tracking performance is guaranteed. The controller is robustly stable under system parameter uncertainties, and is comparatively easy to implement. In the simulations, different payloads are considered, and
the system performance is compared with the traditional Singular Perturbation (SP) method. The simulation results show that the PD type controller designed based on the simple lumped model is able to provide quite satisfactory performance.
Elephant trunk type elastic manipulator - a tool for bulk and liquid materials transportation
Authors: Cieślak Radosław , Morecki Adam
Published: July 2002

This paper presents some problems dealing with the transportation of bulk and liquid materials. The robotization of the transport process by an elastic manipulator of an elephant trunk type is proposed. The design of an experimental stand and some results of statical and dynamical analysis are presented. In conclusion, some proposals describing the possibilities of utilising elastic manipulators for transport purposes are given.
Dynamic biped robot locomotion on less structured surfaces
Authors: Cheng M.-Y. , Lin C.-S.
Published: July 2002

Most studies in the past on the control of biped locomotion considered only level surfaces. However, in the real world the ground is rarely completely flat. More research on locomotion on less structured surfaces is needed. In this study, we investigated a control design method that searches for suitable control and trajectory parameters using a Genetic
Algorithm (GA). Many sets of parameters are generated through the search and the best set is selected based on a robustness measure developed from the linearized Poincaré map. This technique reduces tedious analysis and is favorably applicable to the design for locomotion on unstructured surfaces, for which analytical approaches are less appropriate. Simulations have been performed. Control parameters for different slopes were obtained and stored in a database. During the control, the control parameters suitable for the current surface slope were retrieved and the trajectory for a level surface was modified according to the surface slope. The control parameters changed values according to the terrain. Simulation results were promising.
An investigation of the music activity preferences of pre-school children
Authors: Temmerman Nita
Published: July 2002

Life attitudes to, level of involvement with and success in musical learning are all tied to first musical experiences. Consequently an important objective in the planning of any musical programme for young children is to acknowledge their interests in and attitudes to different musical activities. The purpose of this investigation was to determine young children's attitudes to musical activities included in their pre-school musical programme. In particular it sought to discern if preferences exist for certain activities. What emerged from the investigation is that pre-school children generally appear to respond favourably towards involvement in all musical activities but that preferences do exist for moving and playing based activities.
Developing peer-learning programmes in music: group presentations and peer assessment
Authors: Hunter Desmond
Published: July 2002

The purpose of this paper is to provide an interim report on one aspect of a major project based in the Department of Music at the University of Ulster. The project, ‘Peer Learning in Music’, builds on the programme of peer assessment which was piloted in a module in performance studies on the BMus course during the academic year 1992–3 and has since become an established feature of the course. The project started in October 1996 and since then peer-learning techniques have been introduced in a range of modules throughout the course, impacting on the teaching and learning methods and the conduct of assessment. Dissemination of the nature of the work and the operation of the programmes is being actively pursued in universities, colleges and conservatories in England and Northern Ireland.
Bridging the divide: embedding voice-leading analysis in string pedagogy and performance
Authors: Mawer Deborah
Published: July 2002

Experience as a music lecturer in higher/further education and as an instrumental teacher suggests that instrumental pedagogy – focused on strings – and music analysis could usefully be brought closer together to enhance performance. The benefits of linkage include stimulating intellectual enquiry and creative interpretation, as well as honing improvisatory skills; voice-leading analysis, particularly, may even aid technical issues of pitching, fingering, shifting and bowing. This article details an experimental curriculum, entitled ‘Voice-leading for Strings’, which combines voice-leading principles with approaches to string teaching developed from Nelson, Rolland and Suzuki, supplemented by Kodály's hand-signs. Findings from informal trials at Lancaster University (1995–7), which also adapted material for other melody instruments and keyboard, strongly support this perceived symbiotic relationship.
WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ARTHRITIS SYMPTOM ALLEVIATION
Authors: Slothuus Ulla , Larsen Mette L. , Junker Peter
Published: July 2002

Objective: To compare two methods of measuring willingness to pay
(WTP): closed-ended questions with and without follow-up.

Methods: A measurement experiment based on dichotomous choice
contingent valuation survey data is reported. Marginal WTP estimates for
alleviation of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms resulting from treatment with a
novel anti-rheumatic agent, cA2 (TNF-α blockade), were calculated. Monte
Carlo simulations were undertaken to evaluate the methods with respect to
their statistical power.

Results: The estimated marginal WTP values using closed-ended
questions with and without follow-up were DKK 637 (US $91) and DKK 1,268 (US
$181), respectively. A Wilcoxon's signed-rank test showed that the
difference of DKK 631 was significant. Moreover, including a follow-up
question increases the precision of the result. Monte Carlo simulations showed
that trade-offs between power (i.e., the probability of a correct rejection of
a false null hypothesis), efficiency, and size may exist in the two models.

Conclusions: There was a significant difference between the WTP
estimates when using closed-ended questions with and without follow-up. When
choosing between the models, however, power, efficiency, and size could be
used as selection criteria.
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT IN AUSTRIA
Authors: Wild Claudia
Published: July 2002

The Austrian healthcare system relies mainly on physicians in private practice and on various services

provided by hospitals. The social health insurance scheme is compulsory, covering 99% of the

population. The system is very decentralized. While the federal state provides the framework, the nine

autonomous provinces are responsible for administering health and social services. There is ongoing

public discussion about centralizing the healthcare system to make it more efficient and to enforce

structural reforms. Because of concerns about healthcare expenditures, in 1997 the Performance-Related

Hospital Financing System (LKF), a system similar to the diagnosis-related group system,

was introduced for hospitals, including a plan for

large medical devices. It is too early to evaluate the success of this new system, although some effects of

the LKF system that could have been anticipated, such as shortened lengths of stay and more

hospitalizations, have been seen. Previously, health technologies have been almost uncontrolled in

Austria. The evaluation of health technologies as an instrument to support or to control their

dissemination and use or to help define policies is not institutionalized or systematically used. It seems

clear that structural reforms of the Austrian healthcare system are needed. Health technology assessment

should be part of such reforms.
GENERALIZATION OF GMM TO A CONTINUUM OF MOMENT CONDITIONS
Authors: Carrasco Marine , Florens Jean-Pierre
Published: July 2002

This paper proposes a version of the generalized
method of moments procedure that handles both the case
where the number of moment conditions is finite and the
case where there is a continuum of moment conditions. Typically,
the moment conditions are indexed by an index parameter
that takes its values in an interval. The objective function
to minimize is then the norm of the moment conditions in
a Hilbert space. The estimator is shown to be consistent
and asymptotically normal. The optimal estimator is obtained
by minimizing the norm of the moment conditions in the
reproducing kernel Hilbert space associated with the covariance.
We show an easy way to calculate this estimator. Finally,
we study properties of a specification test using overidentifying
restrictions. Results of this paper are useful in many
instances where a continuum of moment conditions arises.
Examples include efficient estimation of continuous time
regression models, cross-sectional models that satisfy
conditional moment restrictions, and scalar diffusion processes.
Microhabitat separation among diurnal saxicolous lizards in Zimbabwe
Authors: Howard Karen E. , Hailey Adrian
Published: July 2002

Studies of niche overlap within communities of lizards have shown that separation may be along the three major dimensions of space, time and food. Space is usually the most important dimension where a range of habitats are involved; there is less information on the importance of microhabitat separation within a single habitat type. This study investigated microhabitat relationships of small diurnal lizard species occupying granitic rock habitat in Zimbabwe. There was statistically significant niche separation among all species in both the type of rock occupied (size, shape, number of cracks, closeness to other rocks, and vegetation cover) and the position of the lizard in the microhabitat (height on rock, slope angle, and distance to cover). Overlap of microhabitat was lowest between the generalist terrestrial skink Mabuya varia and all other species. The arboreal skink Mabuya striata was found on rocks at one site where the more saxicolous Mabuya quinquetaeniata was absent, due to competitor release. Overlap of microhabitat among rock specialists was lowest between the sit-and-wait foragers Agama kirkii and Platysaurus intermedius, as in other tropical lizard communities. The high degree of microhabitat separation was attributed to the high structural complexity of the granitic rock habitat.
The Enterprise Ontology
Authors: USCHOLD MIKE , KING MARTIN , MORALEE STUART , ZORGIOS YANNIS
Published: July 2002

This is a comprehensive description of the Enterprise Ontology, a collection of terms and definitions relevant to business enterprises. We state its intended purposes, describe how we went about building it, define all the terms and describe our experiences in converting these into formal definitions. We then describe how we used the Enterprise Ontology and give an evaluation which compares the actual uses with original purposes. We conclude by summarising what we have learned. The Enterprise Ontology was developed within the Enterprise Project, a collaborative effort to provide a framework for enterprise modelling. The ontology was built to serve as a basis for this framework which includes methods and a computer tool set for enterprise modelling. We give an overview of the Enterprise Project, elaborate on the intended use of the ontology, and give a brief overview of the process we went through to build it. The scope of the Enterprise Ontology covers those core concepts required for the project, which will appeal to a wider audience. We present natural language definitions for all the terms, starting with the foundational concepts (e.g. entity, relationship, actor). These are used to define the main body of terms, which are divided into the following subject areas: activities, organisation, strategy and marketing. We review some of the things learned during the formalisation process of converting the natural language definitions into Ontolingua. We identify and propose solutions for what may be general problems occurring in the development of a wide range of ontologies in other domains. We then characterise in general terms the sorts of issues that will be faced when converting an informal ontology into a formal one. Finally, we describe our experiences in using the Enterprise Ontology. We compare these with the intended uses, noting our successes and failures. We conclude with an overall evaluation and summary of what we have learned.
SOME RESULTS ON REVERSED HAZARD RATE
Authors: Chandra Nimai Kumar , Roy Dilip
Published: July 2002

In view of the growing importance of reversed hazard
rate (RHR) in reliability analysis and stochastic modeling,
we have considered different implicative relationships
with respect to the monotonic behavior of RHR. In that
context, a few characterizing properties have also been
presented based on expected inactivity time.
OVERPASSIVIZATION ERRORS BY SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Authors: Ju Min Kyong
Published: July 2002

This study investigates whether conceptualizable agents in the discourse play a role in
English L2 overpassivization errors (nontargetlike passivization of unaccusative verbs, a subclass
of intransitives). It hypothesizes that learners are more likely to make overpassivization errors in
externally caused events (in which an agent or cause may form part of the speaker's mental
representation) than in internally caused events (in which the cause or causer of the event is not
clear). Advanced Chinese learners of English were asked to choose the more grammatical form
(active or passive) in target sentences with unaccusative verbs. Each target sentence was
embedded in two different contexts expressing external and internal causation. A significant
difference in error rates was found between the two different contexts: Learners accepted
passivized unaccusative verbs more frequently when an agent or cause was available than when
it was not. This finding is taken as an indication that learners transitivize unaccusative verbs
before they passivize them and that the degree of transitivization varies depending on the
presence of conceptualizable agents in the discourse. Thus this paper argues against a purely
syntactic analysis of interlanguage errors such as overpassivization and in favor of an approach
that takes cognitive factors into account.
SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ON LANGUAGE CHANGE IN DIASPORA:
SOVIET IMMIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES.David R. Andrews.
Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1999. Pp. xiv + 182. $69.00 cloth.
Authors: Burton Robert S.
Published: July 2002

David Andrews's examination of the Russian language's evolution in
post–Cold War North America is based on two intriguing premises that will surely be of
interest to cultural historians, general linguists, specialists in bilingualism, as well as, more
obviously, Slavic linguists.
TRAINING TEACHERS IN PRACTICE. Michael Grenfell.
Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 1998. Pp. iv + 187. $23.95 paper.
Authors: Lacorte Manel
Published: July 2002

Training Teachers in Practice is the ninth volume of the series Modern
Languages in Practice, whose publications include both practical ideas and theoretical
treatment on issues in language teaching and learning, such as motivation, fluency, learning
strategies, and technology. This volume provides an engaging analysis of training modern
(“foreign” in the North American terminology) language teachers, owing to the
author's interest in (a) examining the diverse processes of reflection in the development of
training programs in a range of different contexts, and (b) incorporating the teachers' own
perspectives on such processes as the essence of the discussion.
Disorderly nature
Authors: MARATSOS MICHAEL
Published: July 2002

Sabbagh & Gelman have written an unusually thorough and careful commentary,

and furthermore, I agree with virtually everything they say. Most

of what I want to do in this commentary (given the space) is to try to situate

these issues in a broader perspective.

To start with, I'll assume that my sympathy for statistical analytic

processes as an important part of children's language acquisition is well-established (Maratsos & Chalkley, 1980; Maratsos, 1998), even if I think

there are qualifications and limits of some sorts that are necessary (Maratsos,

1998). Simultaneously, I strongly agree with the implications of many of

Sabbagh & Gelman's remarks: these mechanisms may be variously biased or

specially set for various activities, and probably are not the only thing going

on, either.