bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Material civilization: things and society
Authors: Dant Tim 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis paper argues that although classical sociology has largely overlooked the importance of social relations with the material world in shaping the form of society, Braudel's concept of ‘material civilization’ is a useful way to begin to understand the sociological significance of this relationship. The limitations of Braudel's historical and general concept can be partially overcome with Elias's analysis of the connection between ‘technization’ and ‘civilization’ that allows for both a civilizing and a de‐civilizing impact of emergent forms of material relation that both lengthen and shorten the chains of interdependence between the members of a society. It is suggested that the concept of the ‘morality of things’ employed by a number of commentators is useful in summarizing the civilizing effects of material objects and addressing their sociological significance. From the sociology of consumption the idea of materiality as a sign of social relationships can be drawn, and from the sociology of technology the idea of socio‐technical systems and actor‐networks can contribute to the understanding of material civilization. It is argued that the concept of ‘material capital’ can usefully summarize the variable social value of objects but to understand the complexity of material civilization as it unfolds in everyday life, an analysis of ‘material interaction’ is needed. Finally the paper suggests some initial themes and issues apparent in contemporary society that the sociological study of material civilization might address; the increased volume, functional complexity and material specificity of objects and the increased social complexity, autonomy and substitutability that is entailed. A theory of ‘material civilization’ is the first step in establishing a sociology of objects.
Life‐long protein malnutrition in the rat (Rattus norvegicus) results in altered patterns of craniofacial growth and smaller individuals
Authors: Lobe Shannon L. , Bernstein Marica C. , German Rebecca Z. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractDietary protein is a limiting factor in mammalian growth, significantly affecting the non‐linear trajectories of skeletal growth. Young females may be particularly vulnerable to protein malnutrition if the restriction is not lifted before they become reproductive. With such early malnutrition, limited amino acids would be partitioned between two physiological objectives, successful reproduction vs. continued growth. Thus, the consequences of protein malnutrition could affect more than one generation. However, few studies have quantified these cross‐generational effects. Our objective was to test for differences in skeletal growth in a second generation of malnourished rats compared with rats malnourished only post‐weaning, the first generation and with controls. In this longitudinal study we modelled the growth of 22 craniofacial measurements with the logistic Gompertz equation, and tested for differences in the equation's parameters among the diet groups. The female offspring of post‐weaning malnourished dams did not catch up in size to the first generation or to controls, although certain aspects of their craniofacial skeleton were less affected than others. The second generation's growth trajectories resembled the longer and slower growth of the first malnourished generation. There was a complex interaction between developmental processes and early nutritional environment, which affected variation of adult size.
Identification and location of bone‐forming cells within cartilage canals on their course into the secondary ossification centre
Authors: Blumer Michael J. F. , Schwarzer Christoph , Pérez Maria Teresa , Konakci Kadriye Zeynep , Fritsch Helga 
Published: May 2006

AbstractOsteoblasts and osteocytes derive from the same precursors, and osteocytes are terminally differentiated osteoblasts. These two cell types are distinguishable by their morphology, localization and levels of expression of various bone cell‐specific markers. In the present study on the chicken femur we investigated the properties of the mesenchymal cells within cartilage canals on their course into the secondary ossification centre (SOC). We examined several developmental stages after hatching by means of light microscopy, electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Cartilage canals appeared as extensions of the perichondrium into the developing distal epiphysis and they were arranged in a complex network. Within the epiphysis an SOC was formed and cartilage canals penetrated into it. In addition, they were successively incorporated into the SOC during its growth in the radial direction. Thus, the canals provided this centre with mesenchymal cells and vessels. It should be emphasized that regression of cartilage canals could never be observed in the growing bone. Outside the SOC the mesenchymal cells of the canals expressed type I collagen and periostin and thus these cells had the characteristics of preosteoblasts. Periostin was also expressed by numerous chondrocytes. Within the SOC the synthesis of periostin was down‐regulated and the majority of osteoblasts were periostin negative. Furthermore, osteocytes did not secret this protein. Tissue‐non‐specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) staining was only detectable where matrix vesicles were present. These vesicles were found around the blind end of cartilage canals within the SOC where newly formed osteoid started to mineralize. The vesicles originated from osteoblasts as well as from late osteoblasts/preosteocytes and thus TNAP was only expressed by these cells. Our results provide evidence that the mesenchymal cells of cartilage canals express various bone cell‐specific markers depending on their position. We suggest that these cells differentiate from preosteoblasts into osteocytes on their course into the SOC and consider that cartilage canals are essential for normal bone development within the epiphysis. Furthermore, we propose that the expression of periostin by preosteoblasts and several chondrocytes is required for adhesion of these cells to the extracellular matrix.
Phosphoinositide regulation of neuroexocytosis: adding to the complexity
Authors: Osborne Shona L. , Wen Peter J. , Meunier Frederic A. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractExocytosis of neurotransmitter containing vesicles supports neuronal communication. The importance of molecular interactions involving specific lipids has become progressively more evident and the lipid composition of both the synaptic vesicle and the pre‐synaptic plasma membrane at the active zone has significant functional consequences for neurotransmitter release. Several classes of lipids have been implicated in exocytosis including polyunsaturated fatty acids and phosphoinositides. This minireview will focus on recent developments regarding the role of phosphoinositides in neurosecretion.
Cell and agonist‐specific regulation of genes for matrix metalloproteinases and their tissue inhibitors by primary glial cells
Authors: Crocker Stephen J. , Milner Richard , Pham‐Mitchell Ngan , Campbell Iain L. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractAn imbalance in the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) : tissue inhibitor of MMP (TIMP) ratio may be associated with tissue injury. Here, we studied the regulation of TIMP and MMP gene expression in primary glial cultures to ascertain the factors involved in the regulation of these genes in conditions of inflammatory neuropathology. Astrocytes were found to basally express TIMP‐1 and TIMP‐3 mRNA while microglia expressed only TIMP‐2 mRNA. TIMP‐4 mRNA was not detectable in either cell type. Treatment with interferon‐α (IFN‐α), IFN‐γ, interleukin‐3 (IL‐3), IL‐6 or tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) did not alter expression of the TIMP genes. However, in astrocytes, but not in microglia, serum, IL‐1β or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) evoked a dose‐ and time‐dependent increase in TIMP‐1 mRNA and a coincident down‐regulation of the TIMP‐3 gene. Astrocytes were found to express mRNA constitutively for MMPs ‐3, ‐11 and ‐14. In contrast, microglia expressed only MMP‐12 mRNA under basal conditions. IL‐1β enhanced MMP‐3 mRNA levels while LPS increased the MMP‐3, ‐9, ‐12, ‐13 and ‐14 mRNAs. Our findings reveal that regulatory control of TIMP and MMP gene expression by glial cells is agonist‐ and cell‐type specific, and suggest that innate immune signals govern the temporal and spatial expression patterns of TIMP and MMP genes in neuroinflammatory conditions of the CNS.
POLITICAL ORIENTATIONS AND PARTICIPATION IN DEMONSTRATIONS AMONG SWEDISH STUDENTS*
Authors: PETERSSON OLOF 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThe attitudinal antecedents of participation in political demonstrations are analyzed on the basis of a survey of 1.723 students in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1969. Highest participation rate is found in the strong left group, lowest in the strong right category (using a self‐placement indicator). It is found that sudden change in basic value preference produces increased propensity to engage in political demonstrations. Students most likely to take part in demonstrations are those combining strong leftist views with high system distrust. The association between distrust and participation, however, turns out to be rather complex because of a curvilinear relationship between distrust and left–right placement. Furthermore, the strength of the link between propensity to engage in demonstrations and actual participation is a function of left–right position as well as system distrust.
POLITICAL PARTIES, SOCIETIES AND REGIMES IN EUROPE: SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE LITERATURE*
Authors: URWIN DEREK W. 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTMany studies of European party systems have not taken into account fully the complexity and richness of party life on the continent. We need more multi‐level, multi‐dimensional analyses within a cross‐national framework in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the relationships between parties, social structure and regimes. The discussion of some of the lacunae in the existing literature and of various ways of looking at political parties‐emphasizes that because of the large number of alternative approaches available to the political sociologist, there is no single source of data, unit or level of analysis suitable for considering all facets of the subject. By crossing back and forth between levels or units of analysis, we may well gain in precision and detail what might be lost in methodological purity.
THE EMERGENCE OF RADICAL SOCIALISM: STRUCTURAL VS. CULTURAL EXPLANATIONS
Authors: LAFFERTY WILLIAM M. 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThe relationship between ecological structures and political radicalism is a long‐pursued but little‐systematized topic among political sociologists. Only recently are we becoming aware of the fact that many of the difficulties in this area actually arise from metascientific preconceptions rather than from the processes themselves. Erik Allardt's analyses of radicalism in Finland are perhaps the best illustration of both the promise and problems of political ecology, and his theories, methods, and metaperspectives are used here as the backdrop for analysing Norwegian data.One of Allardt's more recent six‐fold models is applied to the well‐known emergence of Norwegian radicalism between 1900 and 1921. Factor analysis, incorporating both synchronic and diachronic indicators, is used to test the model and the results show a considerable amount of success in predicting the structural basis of radical socialism. Predictors as to moderate socialism prove to be more problematical, however, and it is in the context of this problem that the general relationship between “structural” and “cultural” explanations is taken up. A deeper analysis of the Norwegian case leads to the conclusion that both types of explanation are, or at least should be, complementary turns of a more fundamental research dialectic.
A STRUCTURAL‐FUNCTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE ANALYSIS OF UNICAMERAL AND BICAMERAL PARLIAMENTS*
Authors: COTTA MAURIZIO 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTWhat is the significance of a bicameral system in the organization of parliamentary structures? This is the basic question with which this essay is concerned. Its scope is limited, however, to proposing a theoretical framework for the comparative investigation of the phenomenon. The approach is structural‐functional. In order to clarify the choice between the unicameral and the bicameral solution, a general survey is conducted of the many different structural dimensions of legislatures, and a structural typology of parliamentary assemblies, which provides finer distinctions between unicameral and bicameral parliaments, is outlined. The next step is the analysis of the functional aspects of the problem. The essay surveys the major parliamentary functions and then attempts to define a number of criteria for evaluating performances. The final step is the elaboration of a set of hypotheses concerning the structural‐functional relationships that appear both plausible and theoretically interesting. Such relationships may be of a quantitative or qualitative nature. Moreover, they may be either particular or general in their scope, i.e. they may be focused on single functions or on the general features of the political system.
DYNAMIC FACTORS IN GOVERNMENT COALITION FORMATION*
Authors: LAVER MICHAEL 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThis note attempts to add a historical dimension to formal theories of coalition formation. It is based on the electoral success of previous government coalition members. The modified theories are tested using data collected for a previous article, “Government Coalitions in Western Europe.” Furthermore, the hypothesis that coalitions correctly predicted by the simple theories also last longer is tested, using the same data.
EXPLORATIONS IN UNORTHODOX POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR: A SCALE TO MEASURE “PROTEST POTENTIAL”*
Authors: MARSH ALAN 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTA method of measuring attitudes towards examples of unorthodox behaviour is developed, found to be reliable and to possess considerable population and construct validity when deployed among a target‐group sample of students, young workers, older workers, and older middle‐class groups. The structure of attitudes towards unorthodox political behaviour is examined in detail and is found to be characterised by a powerful unidimensional factor of “positive‐to‐negative affect” traversed by strongly related dimensions like approval, justification, behavioural intentions, and even evaluative dimensions like “effectiveness”. A model (akin to Fishbein's formulation) for combining these dimensions into a single measure of “Protest Potential” is derived from regression analysis.The relationships between this new measure and more familiar socio‐political attitudes are examined and some substantive conclusions are indicated, in particular, the role of politicised personal dissatisfaction.
THE NATURE OF THE CONCEPT OF POWER
Authors: ALLISON LINCOLN 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThe tests of successful conceptual analysis are (1) fidelity to the working of natural language; (2) precise criteria for the application of a concept; and (3) operational applicability to political situations.Power can be shown to be a partially‐quantifiable concept with logical properties similar to those of wealth and intelligence and radically different from those of height and specific gravity. For this reason, comparisons and measurements of power cannot be used except for making rather general and obvious comments about political situations. The prime difficulty is the need to study power in terms of intentions, which involve considerable ambiguity even within a given “scope” and “domain”.The logical properties (and consequent limitations) of the concept of power are often ignored because power is an “obsessive” concept in our culture. That is to say, whatever its logical inadequacies as a concept, we nevertheless want to talk about it.
ARMS RACE MODELS: WHERE DO WE STAND?
Authors: LUTERBACHER URS 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThis review article is an attempt to analyze the econometric approach to the question of mathematical arms race models. It tries to show that the major contributions of this perspective are its data analysis techniques which lead to the estimation of the relevant parameters in the arms interaction equations. Some weaknesses of these statistical procedures are exposed. The most important one is the inability of these methods to give reliable estimates for parameters of unstable arms race systems.
CONFESSIONAL ATTACHMENT AND ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR IN THE NETHERLANDS*
Authors: MILLER WARREN E. , STOUTHARD PHILIP C. 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThe analysis presented in this paper seeks to outline some of the political consequences of a general decline in the place of the church and religious faith in peoples’ daily lives in the Netherlands. It juxtaposes a reconstruction of religious origins or backgrounds against current assessment of the strength of confessional attachments. Erosion of traditional ties to the church of one's early loyalties is depicted as accompanied by withdrawal from formal participation in the electoral process. Interest in politics and informal participation remain high, but the rejection of institutionalized religion is associated with what appears to be an active rejection of institutionalized politics. For those who do remain in the active electorate, a continued decline in confessional attachment appears to forecast a continued decline in confessional party vote.Insofar as change in the future involves general depillarization, or decreased political relevance of the church for all degrees of confessional attachment, the political beneficiaries may be the parties of center and right as well as left. An across‐the‐board drop in level of confessional voting would mean that many voters with strong confessional attachments would be turning to the secular parties and in doing so – if the recent past is any guide – would turn no more often to the left than to the other options open to them. However, insofar as the future brings a decline in confessional attachment without a diminution in the relevance of confessional attachment for confessional voters, the parties of the left will benefit disproportionately as the newly deconfessionalized turn away from the parties of tradition and seek out the parties of change.
COGNITIVE STRUCTURE, UNCERTAINTY, AND THE RATIONALITY OF POLITICAL ACTION: A SYNTHESIS OF ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES*
Authors: LEHNER FRANZ 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThis article proposes a social‐psychological modification to the economic theory of politics, in particular to the theory of Anthony Downs. Its focal point is the relationship between political behavior and uncertainty. The social‐psychological modification permits a more systematic examination of the individual processing of information and its consequences for individual and collective behavior, and is not concerned with the entire field of application of the economic theory of politics. The argument is presented theoretically, and no empirical evidence is offered in support of the proposed modification.
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND URBANISM IN EUROPE: SOME LESSONS FROM THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE*
Authors: MCKAY DAVID H. 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThe main research emphases of American political science research on urban politics are outlined, and it is concluded that many American conceptual frameworks have been determined by American political culture and by the nature of urban development in the U.S. This research has only limited utility for Europeans because in many important respects European urban development is distinctive, and because where North American and European urbanism do have similarities, American political science studies have generally not generated theories which are useful for guiding comparative research.
STRATEGIC CAMPAIGN BEHAVIOUR FOR ELECTORS AND PARTIES: THE NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY ELECTION OF 1973
Authors: LAVER MICHAEL 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThe article attempts to show how the application of a “rational choice” model of electoral decision making to the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly Election campaign points to some need for a reorientation of this approach, although there is no basic reason why the model cannot be made to work in a seemingly “irrational” situation. Aspects of strategic behaviour other than simple ideological manoeuvring are discussed and related to the campaign itself. These include strategic use of information and resources. Finally the actual vote transfers are used to test the proposition that some degree of rationality did exist in voter choice at the election.
SYSTEM ADAPTATION IN LATIN AMERICA IN THE “FORCED” IMPORT SUBSTITUTION INDUSTRIALIZATION PERIOD
Authors: ANGLADE CHRISTIAN 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTContrary to a view commonly held, the primary export sectors of Latin America did not lose power when industrial production for the internal market was accelerated in some countries of the area after the world economic crisis of 1930. Although based on labour intensive manufacturing for the internal market, the new model of development did not allow wages to increase at a rate capable of promoting a rise in demand for manufactured goods. This may appear surprising in the light of the usual interpretation of the post‐1930 process of industrialization as designed to meet an internal demand for goods which could no longer be imported due to balance of payments deficits. In fact, the satisfaction of internal demand was only a secondary objective, or, rather, it was instrumental to achieve the primary objective of the new model of growth, which was the need to find new investment opportunities for capital accumulation.With the exception of Argentina, where a relative shortage of labour prevailed, the existence of a labour surplus in all the other Latin American economies considerably weakened the bargaining power of the workers and allowed for a rapid capital accumulation. The basic stability of the pre‐crisis distribution of national income between profits and wages was thus maintained. Furthermore, the presence of a labour surplus helped to resolve – by eliminating it – the conflict assumed to have taken place between those groups which derived their profits from the export of primary goods and those groups whose profits came from investment in industry. In other words, the presence of a labour surplus acted as a mechanism by which the pre‐crisis system could be easily adapted. This article analyses some of the economic and political techniques through which that adaptation was implemented.
THE CONSOCIATIONAL MODEL AND ITS DANGERS
Authors: BARRY BRIAN 
Published: May 2006

ABSTRACTThe model of ‘consociational democracy’ is no longer regarded in Anglo‐Saxon countries as a curiosity but may be in danger of being accepted too uncritically as a model for the resolution of divisions within a society. This argument is applied in particular to the cases of Canada and Northern Ireland, to suggest that the effect of attempting to introduce consociational practices might make matters worse.