Digital Debates. WebWise Conference on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World Proceedings (10th, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C, February 25-27, 2009)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zorich, Diane

2010-01-01

Debates typically invoke an image of individuals arguing over the merits of opposing viewpoints. However, the term has a softer, more deliberative sense that connotes reflection, discussion, and consideration. The 2009 WebWise conference, titled "Digital Debates," was conducted in this spirit, with panelists and attendees engaged in…

Nudges and coercion: conceptual, empirical, and normative considerations.

PubMed

Cratsley, Kelso

2015-01-01

Given that the concept of coercion remains a central concern for bioethics, Quigley's (Monash Bioethics Rev 32:141-158, 2014) recent article provides a helpful analysis of its frequent misapplication in debates over the use of 'nudges'. In this commentary I present a generally sympathetic response to Quigley's argument while also raising several issues that are important for the larger debates about nudges and coercion. I focus on several closely related topics, including the definition of coercion, the role of empirical research, and the normative concerns at the core of these disputes. I suggest that while a degree of precision is certainly required when deploying the relevant concepts, perhaps informed by empirical data, we need to continue to push these debates towards more pressing normative considerations.

Patterns of demographic change in the Americas.

PubMed

Ubelaker, D H

1992-06-01

Considerable scholarly debate has focused on the nature of demographic change in the Americas before and after 1492. Recent research on human skeletal samples and related archeological materials suggests that morbidity and mortality were increasing throughout much of the Western Hemisphere before 1492 in response to increased population density, increased sedentism, and changing subsistence. The evidence suggests that after 1492 population reduction was caused not by continental pandemics but by localized or regional epidemics augmented by social and economic disruption. The twentieth century has witnessed remarkable Native American population recovery, fueled both by improvements in health care and changing definitions of "being Indian."

Perimortem fractures in Lucy suggest mortality from fall out of tall tree.

PubMed

Kappelman, John; Ketcham, Richard A; Pearce, Stephen; Todd, Lawrence; Akins, Wiley; Colbert, Matthew W; Feseha, Mulugeta; Maisano, Jessica A; Witzel, Adrienne

2016-09-22

The Pliocene fossil 'Lucy' (Australopithecus afarensis) was discovered in the Afar region of Ethiopia in 1974 and is among the oldest and most complete fossil hominin skeletons discovered. Here we propose, on the basis of close study of her skeleton, that her cause of death was a vertical deceleration event or impact following a fall from considerable height that produced compressive and hinge (greenstick) fractures in multiple skeletal elements. Impacts that are so severe as to cause concomitant fractures usually also damage internal organs; together, these injuries are hypothesized to have caused her death. Lucy has been at the centre of a vigorous debate about the role, if any, of arboreal locomotion in early human evolution. It is therefore ironic that her death can be attributed to injuries resulting from a fall, probably out of a tall tree, thus offering unusual evidence for the presence of arborealism in this species.

Genetic Engineering--A Lesson on Bioethics for the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Armstrong, Kerri; Weber, Kurt

1991-01-01

A unit designed to cover the topic of genetic engineering and its ethical considerations is presented. Students are expected to learn the material while using a debate format. A list of objectives for the unit, the debate format, and the results from an opinion questionnaire are described. (KR)

The Australian Mathematics Curriculum: A Move Forward or Back to the Future?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atweh, Bill; Goos, Merrilyn

2011-01-01

The release of the "Australian curriculum: Mathematics" has generated considerable debate in the education community. Some educators warn that this debate has centred on mathematical content and skills, setting the conditions for a "back to basics" movement in line with the political rhetoric that accompanied the national…

The Current and Future Role of Business Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rayment, John; Smith, Jonathan

2013-01-01

Purpose: Considerable debate since the global financial crisis has been evident concerning the role of business schools. This article aims to outline the authors' research on their role. Design/methodology/approach: The paper begins with an overview of the significant literature highlighting the current debates impacting on business schools and…

Current debates on end-of-life sedation: an international expert elicitation study.

PubMed

Papavasiliou, Evangelia Evie; Payne, Sheila; Brearley, Sarah

2014-08-01

End-of-life sedation, though increasingly prevalent and widespread internationally, remains one of the most highly debated medical practices in the context of palliative medicine. This qualitative study aims to elicit and record the perspectives of leading international palliative care experts on current debates. Twenty-one professionals from diverse backgrounds, sharing field-specific knowledge/expertise defined by significant scholarly contribution on end-of-life sedation, were recruited. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews, following a topic-oriented structure reflecting on current debates, were conducted. Results were analysed using thematic content analysis. Three main aspects of sedation were identified and discussed as potentially problematic: (a) continuous deep sedation as an extreme facet of end-of-life sedation, (b) psycho-existential suffering as an ambivalent indication for sedation and (c) withdrawal or withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration as potentially life-shortening. On these grounds, concerns were reported over end-of-life sedation being morally equivalent to euthanasia. Considerable emphasis was placed on intentions as the distinguishing factor between end-of-life acts, and protective safeguards were introduced to distance sedation from euthanasia. This study shows that, despite the safeguards introduced, certain aspects of sedation, including the intentions associated with the practice, are still under question, parallels being drawn between end-of-life sedation and euthanasia. This reaffirms the existence of a grey area surrounding the two practices, already evidenced in countries where euthanasia is legalized. More clarity over the issues that generate this grey area, with their causes being uncovered and eliminated, is imperative to resolve current debates and effectively inform research, policy and practice of end-of-life sedation.

How to Proceed in the Disease Concept Debate? A Pragmatic Approach.

PubMed

De Vreese, Leen

2017-08-01

In the traditional philosophical debate over different conceptual analyses of "disease," it is often presupposed that "disease" is univocally definable and that there are clear boundaries which distinguish this univocal category "disease" from the category of "nondisease." In this paper, I will argue for a shift in the discussion on the concept of "disease" and propose an alternative, pragmatic approach that is based on the conviction that "disease" is not a theoretical concept but a practical term. I develop a view on which our use of the term "disease" is determined by two interacting factors, namely, value-laden considerations about the (un)desirabilty of certain states and discoveries of cause(s) which is/are explanatorily relevant. I show how these factors interact with regard to a taxonomy of kinds of diseases. This pragmatic approach will not lead me to a final definition of "disease," but will result in a more realistic description of the way we build, use, apply, and change our concept of "disease." Meanwhile, it is useful as a basis for critical reflection on disease-labeling in medicine. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Important considerations in the management of Graves' disease in pregnant women.

PubMed

Okosieme, Onyebuchi E; Lazarus, John H

2015-01-01

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disorder in which autoantibodies to the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor cause hyperthyroidism through unregulated stimulation of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor. Effective management of Graves' disease in pregnancy must address the competing fetal and maternal priorities of controlling hyperthyroidism in the mother on the one hand, and on the other, minimizing the impact of maternal disease and antithyroid drugs on the well-being of the fetus. Optimal strategies for achieving this intricate balance are currently a source of continued debate among thyroid experts and studies in recent decades are now providing greater clarity into the risk posed to the unborn baby by the combination of biochemical, immunological and pharmacological hazards arising from Graves' disease and its therapy. This review summarizes the current best practice and highlights important considerations and areas of uncertainty in the management of Graves' disease in pregnant women.

Probiotics and Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Finding the Missing Pieces of the Probiotic Puzzle

PubMed Central

Luedtke, Sherry A.; Yang, Jacob T.; Wild, Heather E.

2012-01-01

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the leading causes of death in the neonatal intensive care unit. Morbidity and mortality rates significantly increase with decreases in gestational age and birth weight. Strong evidence suggests probiotic prophylaxis may significantly decrease the incidence of NEC and should therefore be incorporated into the standard of care for preterm infants. However, debate still remains because of limitations of completed studies. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of the controversies regarding probiotic use in preterm infants and to shed light on the practical considerations for implementation of probiotic supplementation. PMID:23412969

Coastal Louisiana in Crisis: Subsidence or Sea Level Rise?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, Juan L.; Törnqvist, Torbjörn E.

2006-11-01

The drowning of wetlands and barrier islands in coastal Louisiana has become a widely publicized environmental catastrophe in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The devastation caused by these storms has reenergized the debate about restoring the natural coastal-defense system and building higher and sturdier levees, in anticipation of future storms. Understanding the contributions of land subsidence and eustatic (global) sea level rise to Louisiana's wetland loss is crucial to the success of any plan designed to protect coastal communities. It is argued here that accelerated sea level rise in the future may pose a larger threat than subsidence for considerable portions of coastal Louisiana.

Supporting Evidence-Based Policy on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Recommendations for Effective Policy Briefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balian, Estelle V.; Drius, Liza; Eggermont, Hilde; Livoreil, Barbara; Vandewalle, Marie; Vandewoestjine, Sofie; Wittmer, Heidi; Young, Juliette

2016-01-01

Knowledge brokerage on biodiversity and ecosystem services can apply communication tools such as policy briefs to facilitate the dialogue between scientists and policymakers. There is currently considerable debate on how to go beyond the linear communication model, outdated in theoretical debate but still often implicitly leading interaction with…

Challenges for an Interdisciplinary Consideration of Cognitive Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birney, Damian Patrick

2015-01-01

Whether fluid cognitive functions are malleable has been a topic of ongoing debate for at least the past 100 years. Ever-evolving technology has led to new and diverse fields of investigation entering this debate. There are significant advantages to be gained by integrating different scientific paradigms, but there are also significant challenges.…

Case to Cause: Back to the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abramovitz, Mimi; Sherraden, Margaret S.

2016-01-01

This article reopens the historic debate about the roles of micro and macro practice in social work and encourages the profession to find ways to achieve a better balance between case and cause in education, practice, and research. To this end, it traces the history of the case versus cause debate including conceptual frameworks for rebalancing…

Sediment, land use, and freshwater mussels: Prospects and problems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brim-Box, J.; Mossa, J.

1999-01-01

The decline in freshwater mussel populations in many river basins throughout North America has been attributed, in part, to land-use modifications that cause changes in sediment regimes. However, the specific associations that mussels have with stream sediments are poorly understood, making it difficult to assess the impacts of changes in sedimentation rates on unionid mussels. Both bed and suspended materials, and concomitant changes in channel form associated with changes in sediment supply, may affect mussels in numerous ways at various stages in their life cycle. Considerable debate and uncertainty remains regarding the strength of associations between sediments and mussels, including whether increased sedimentation is a cause of recent mussel declines. It is important to be aware of appropriate procedures for sampling and analyzing fluvial sediments, and the nature of sediment sources, to adequately assess relationships between unionid mussels and fluvial sediments.

Debate: Open radical prostatectomy vs. laparoscopic vs. robotic.

PubMed

Nelson, Joel B

2007-01-01

Surgical removal of clinically localized prostate cancer remains the most definitive treatment for the disease. The emergence of laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomy (RP) as alternatives to open RP has generated considerable discussion about the real and relative merits of each approach. Such was the topic of a debate that took place during the 2006 Society of Urologic Oncology meeting. The participants were Dr. William Catalona, Northwestern University, advocating for open RP, Dr. Betrand Guillonneau, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center advocating for laparoscopic RP, and Dr. Mani Menon, Henry Ford Hospital, advocating for robotic RP. The debate was moderated by Dr. Joel Nelson, University of Pittsburgh. This paper summarizes that debate.

Epidemiology and economic burden of measles, mumps, pertussis, and varicella in Germany: a systematic review.

PubMed

Damm, Oliver; Witte, Julian; Wetzka, Stefanie; Prosser, Christine; Braun, Sebastian; Welte, Robert; Greiner, Wolfgang

2016-09-01

Despite the availability of vaccines and the existence of public vaccination recommendations, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases still cause public health debate. The objective of this systematic review was to provide an overview of the current epidemiology and economic burden of measles, mumps, pertussis, and varicella in Germany. We systematically reviewed studies published since 2000. The literature search was conducted using PubMed and EMBASE. Also, we used German notification data to give an up-to-date overview of the epidemiology of the four diseases under consideration. Thirty-six studies were included in our review. Results suggest that there is still considerable morbidity due to childhood diseases in Germany. Studies providing cost estimates are scarce. Comparative analyses of different data sources (notification data vs. claims data) revealed a potential underestimation of incidence estimates when using notification data. Furthermore, several studies showed regional differences in incidence of some of the diseases under consideration. Our findings underline the need for improved vaccination and communication strategies targeting all susceptible age and risk groups on a national and local level.

Restyling the Humanities Curriculum of Higher Education for Posthuman Times

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siddiqui, Jamila R.

2016-01-01

The future viability of the humanities in higher education has been broadly debated. Yet, most of these debates are missing an important consideration. The humanities' object of study is the human, an object that some would argue has been replaced in our onto-epistemological systems by the posthuman. In her 2013 book, "The Posthuman,"…

75 FR 66725 - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Proposes To Revise Codes and Standards

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-29

... Technical Committee by a formal written ballot. If the ROP does not receive approval by a two-thirds vote.... Following the completion of the Proposal and Comment periods, there is a further opportunity for debate and... the debate and consideration of motions to amend the Report. Before making an allowable motion at an...

Risking a Debate--Redefining Risk and Risk Management: A New Zealand Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zink, Robyn; Leberman, Sarah

2001-01-01

Interviews with 12 New Zealand outdoor instructors found that they viewed risk as an opportunity to gain something of value, as opposed to losing something of value. Repositioning risk in this manner could allow the debate around adventure education to move away from being dominated by risk management, allowing consideration of adventure…

Popular misconceptions: agricultural biotechnology.

PubMed

McHughen, Alan; Wager, Robert

2010-12-31

Agricultural biotechnology, especially genetic engineering or genetic modification (GM), is a topic of considerable controversy worldwide. The public debate is fraught with polarized views and opinions, some are held with religious zeal. Unfortunately, it is also marked with much ignorance and misinformation. Here we explore some popular misconceptions encountered in the public debate. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Academic Disciplines and Debates: An Essay on Criminal Justice and Criminology as Professions in Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morn, Frank T.

Current developments concerning criminology and criminal justice education are viewed historically and placed within a broader perspective of academic professionalization, and a few of the debates going on within and between the two fields are considered. Some early sociologists made considerable claim to studies of crime, and criminology and…

The Role of Universities in Supporting and Delivering Enterprise Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Louise-Jayne; Muir, Elizabeth J.

2007-01-01

While the academic debate has moved beyond the question of whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught and whether or not there is a need or demand for it, there is still considerable debate as to the most appropriate methods of delivering entrepreneurship education. This paper provides an overview of teaching strategies, pedagogies and methods…

Enhanced wintertime greenhouse effect reinforcing Arctic amplification and initial sea-ice melting.

PubMed

Cao, Yunfeng; Liang, Shunlin; Chen, Xiaona; He, Tao; Wang, Dongdong; Cheng, Xiao

2017-08-16

The speeds of both Arctic surface warming and sea-ice shrinking have accelerated over recent decades. However, the causes of this unprecedented phenomenon remain unclear and are subjects of considerable debate. In this study, we report strong observational evidence, for the first time from long-term (1984-2014) spatially complete satellite records, that increased cloudiness and atmospheric water vapor in winter and spring have caused an extraordinary downward longwave radiative flux to the ice surface, which may then amplify the Arctic wintertime ice-surface warming. In addition, we also provide observed evidence that it is quite likely the enhancement of the wintertime greenhouse effect caused by water vapor and cloudiness has advanced the time of onset of ice melting in mid-May through inhibiting sea-ice refreezing in the winter and accelerating the pre-melting process in the spring, and in turn triggered the positive sea-ice albedo feedback process and accelerated the sea ice melting in the summer.

Networked Learning: Design Considerations for Online Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Czerkawski, Betul C.

2016-01-01

The considerable increase in web-based knowledge networks in the past two decades is strongly influencing learning environments. Learning entails information retrieval, use, communication, and production, and is strongly enriched by socially mediated discussions, debates, and collaborative activities. It is becoming critical for educators to…

"It's Pretty Cool to Be Clever": The Marginal Relevance of Gender to Educational Practices and Attainment at A/AS Level?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kettley, Nigel

2006-01-01

Gender differences in educational attainment have generated considerable debate. Unfortunately, this debate has been constructed in terms of either the measurement of change in the size of the gender gap over time or attempts to theorise such change. This scholarly divide reflects the commitment of researchers to particular methodological…

Russian Dreams and Prussian Ghosts: Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University and Debates over Historical Memory and Identity in Kaliningrad

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarkson, Alexander

2017-01-01

This article examines how the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University and the Kaliningrad State Technical University have come to exert considerable influence over debates surrounding historical memory and identity in the Kaliningrad region. Under the direct control of the Russian Federation, the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad is surrounded by…

The Creative Problem Solving Skills of Arts and Science Students--The Two Cultures Debate Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Peter K.

2011-01-01

Research, carried out mainly in the period between the 1960s and 1980s, reported significant differences in the thinking styles of science and arts students. At this time university and school teaching was highly specialised and concern was expressed in the ongoing "two cultures" debate (Snow, 1959).Considerable changes have taken place in the…

Medicalising short children with growth hormone? Ethical considerations of the underlying sociocultural aspects.

PubMed

Murano, Maria Cristina

2018-06-01

In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of growth hormone treatment for idiopathic short stature children, i.e. children shorter than average due to an unknown medical cause. Given the absence of any pathological conditions, this decision has been contested as a case of medicalisation. The aim of this paper is to broaden the debate over the reasons for and against the treatment, to include considerations of the sociocultural phenomenon of the medicalisation of short stature, by means of a critical understanding of the concept of medicalisation. After defining my understanding of medicalisation and describing both the treatment and the condition of idiopathic short stature, I will problematise two fundamental issues: the medical/non-medical distinction and the debate about the goals of medicine. I will analyse them, combining perspectives of bioethics, medical sociology, philosophy of medicine and medical literature, and I will suggest that there are different levels of normativity of medicalisation. Ultimately, this study shows that: (1) the definition of idiopathic short stature, focusing only on actual height measurement, does not provide enough information to assess the need for treatment or not; (2) the analysis of the goals of medicine should be broadened to include justifications for the treatment; (3) the use of growth hormone for idiopathic short stature involves strong interests from different stakeholders. While the treatment might be beneficial for some children, it is necessary to be vigilant about possible misconduct at different levels of medicalisation.

Malaria in the United Republic of Tanzania: cultural considerations and health-seeking behaviour.

PubMed Central

Oberländer, L.; Elverdan, B.

2000-01-01

Malaria is one of the biggest health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. Large amounts of resources have been invested to control and treat it. Few studies have recognized that local explanations for the symptoms of malaria may lead to the attribution of different causes for the disease and thus to the seeking of different treatments. This article illustrates the local nosology of Bondei society in the north-eastern part of the United Republic of Tanzania and shows how sociocultural context affects health-seeking behaviour. It shows how in this context therapy is best viewed as a process in which beliefs and actions are continuously debated and evaluated throughout the course of treatment. PMID:11143196

HEALTH, JUSTICE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

PubMed Central

Roman, Gerard

2014-01-01

In this article, we argue that the scope of bioethical debate concerning justice in health should expand beyond the topic of access to health care and cover such issues as occupational hazards, safe housing, air pollution, water quality, food and drug safety, pest control, public health, childhood nutrition, disaster preparedness, literacy, and many other environmental factors that can cause differences in health. Since society does not have sufficient resources to address all of these environmental factors at one time, it is important to set priorities for bioethical theorizing and policy formation. Two considerations should be used to set these priorities: (1) the impact of the environmental factor on health inequality, and (2) the practicality of addressing the factor. PMID:17845481

Commentary: childhood cancer near nuclear power stations

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

In 2008, the KiKK study in Germany reported a 1.6-fold increase in solid cancers and a 2.2-fold increase in leukemias among children living within 5 km of all German nuclear power stations. The study has triggered debates as to the cause(s) of these increased cancers. This article reports on the findings of the KiKK study; discusses past and more recent epidemiological studies of leukemias near nuclear installations around the world, and outlines a possible biological mechanism to explain the increased cancers. This suggests that the observed high rates of infant leukemias may be a teratogenic effect from incorporated radionuclides. Doses from environmental emissions from nuclear reactors to embryos and fetuses in pregnant women near nuclear power stations may be larger than suspected. Hematopoietic tissues appear to be considerably more radiosensitive in embryos/fetuses than in newborn babies. Recommendations for advice to local residents and for further research are made. PMID:19775438

[Chances and limitations of patients' advance decisions at the end of life].

PubMed

Bauer, Axel W

2009-01-01

Death by "natural" causes is not appreciated in Western industrialized countries because it may be regarded as an obstacle against performance and consumption. In addition, life-saving therapies for patients with an infaust prognosis are often rather expensive and therefore classified as "futile". Utilitarian measures for the individual's quality of life (QALY's), which are allegedly objective, veil the fact that they can only reflect the parameters that have been considered during their construction. Caused by fear of a life in the nursing home, which is partially intensified by the media, many ethicists and lawyers propagate anticipating models of retaining patients' autonomy at the end of life. Apart from general considerations published by the former National Ethics Council in 2005, the German Parliament in 2009 will have to discuss three different bills concerning patients' advance decisions to refuse medical treatment. The illusion of "autonomous dying" is not a convincing model for the end of life debate.

NORMAL HUMAN VARIATION: REFOCUSSING THE ENHANCEMENT DEBATE

PubMed Central

Kahane, Guy; Savulescu, Julian

2015-01-01

This article draws attention to several common mistakes in thinking about biomedical enhancement, mistakes that are made even by some supporters of enhancement. We illustrate these mistakes by examining objections that John Harris has recently raised against the use of pharmacological interventions to directly modulate moral decision-making. We then apply these lessons to other influential figures in the debate about enhancement. One upshot of our argument is that many considerations presented as powerful objections to enhancement are really strong considerations in favour of biomedical enhancement, just in a different direction. Another upshot is that it is unfortunate that much of the current debate focuses on interventions that will radically transform normal human capacities. Such interventions are unlikely to be available in the near future, and may not even be feasible. But our argument shows that the enhancement project can still have a radical impact on human life even if biomedical enhancement operated entirely within the normal human range. PMID:23906367

Debating DSM-5: diagnosis and the sociology of critique

PubMed Central

Pickersgill, Martyn D

2014-01-01

The development of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—the DSM-5—has reenergised and driven further forward critical discourse about the place and role of diagnosis in mental health. The DSM-5 has attracted considerable criticism, not least about its role in processes of medicalisation. This paper suggests the need for a sociology of psychiatric critique. Sociological analysis can help map fields of contention, and cast fresh light on the assumptions and nuances of debate around the DSM-5; it underscores the importance of diagnosis to the governance of social and clinical life, as well as the wider discourses critical commentaries connect with and are activated by. More normatively, a sociology of critique can indicate which interests and values are structuring the dialogues being articulated, and just how diverse clinical opinion regarding the DSM can actually be. This has implications for the considerations of health services and policy decision-makers who might look to such debates for guidance. PMID:24327375

From Theory to Research: Contextual Predictors of "Estar + Adjective" and the Study of the SLA of Spanish Copula Choice--A Response to Woolsey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lafford, Barbara A.

2008-01-01

The use of social vs. cognitive approaches to the study of second language acquisition (SLA) has engendered considerable debate in the field. For instance, the recent "Modern Language Journal" Focus Issue (Lafford, 2007a) reviewed the ongoing debate between scholars espousing socially- and cognitively-grounded approaches to SLA research and…

Can relocated wolves survive?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fritts, Steven H.; Paul, William J.; Mech, L. David

1985-01-01

Considerable interest has been expressed recently in establishing gray wolves (Canis lupus) into parts of their former range (Bailey 1978, Weaver 1978, Klinghammer 1979, Mech 1979, Henshaw 1982). However, the proper procedure for reintroductions is debatable (Klinghammer 1979). To date, wolf relocations have been conducted in Alaska, where 5 2-year-old captive-reared wolves were released into an area occupied by wolves, (Henshaw and Stephenson 1974, Henshaw et al. 1979) and in Michigan, where a pack 4 wolves was released in a relatively wolf-free area (Weise et al. 1975).Wolf reintroductions are expensive, controversial, and attract considerable public attention. The potential for success of an effort will greatly influence the willingness of agencies to attempt reintroductions.The 9 wolves released in Alaska and Michigan had a high rate of mortality, with humans being the major cause. The present study assessed the survival and behavior of relocated wolves. We hypothesized that relocated wolves, especially pups, would have poorer survival when moved outside a familiar territory.

How Should We Respond to Non-Dominant Healing Practices, the Example of Homeopathy.

PubMed

Gray, Ben

2017-03-01

The debate around the ethics of homeopathy in recent issues of the journal has been approached as a binary question; is homeopathy ethical or not? This paper suggests that this is an unhelpful question and instead discusses a framework to establish the extent to which the dominant (medical) culture should tolerate non-dominant health practices such as homeopathy. This requires a sophisticated understanding of the placebo effect, a critical evaluation of what evidence is available, a consideration of the harm that the non-dominant practice might cause, and a consideration of how this might be affected by the culture of the patient. This is presented as a matter of cultural competence. At a clinical level clinicians need to respect the values and beliefs of their patients and communicate with all the practitioners involved in a patient's care. At a societal level there are a number of factors to be considered when a community decides which practices to tolerate and to what extent.

A Stock Approach to Value Debate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colbert, Kent R.

Existing theories of value debating (resolutions dealing with values rather than policy) may be more effectively applied and developed when viewed as stock issues paradigms for debating values in competitive situations. Issues are vital to an advocate's cause because they are essential to the meaning of a proposition and can also provide an…

Debate Revives Old Arguments on HPV Vaccine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shah, Nirvi

2011-01-01

The author reports on a Republican presidential debate which revives the contention over requiring middle school girls to be vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer. At the September 12 debate, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, of Minnesota, and Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, attacked Texas Governor…

Evaluation and management of recurrent urinary tract infections in children: state of the art.

PubMed

Awais, Muhammad; Rehman, Abdul; Baloch, Noor Ul-Ain; Khan, Farid; Khan, Naseer

2015-02-01

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) represent an important cause of febrile illness in young children and can lead to renal scarring and kidney failure. However, diagnosis and treatment of recurrent UTI in children is an area of some controversy. Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and European Society of Paediatric Radiology differ from each other in terms of the diagnostic algorithm to be followed. Treatment of vesicoureteral reflux and antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of recurrent UTI are also areas of considerable debate. In this review, we collate and appraise recently published literature in order to formulate evidence-based guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of recurrent UTI in children.

International migration, 1995: some reflections on an exceptional year.

PubMed

Bedford, R

1996-10-01

"This paper examines the 1995 international migration statistics in the context of New Zealand's immigration policy, and with reference to the impact of migration on population change in 1995. Particular attention is focused on trying to unravel and interpret the statistics relating to net migration. Considerable confusion has arisen in the public debate about immigration because of uniformed and, at times, quite misleading use of information supplied by Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Labour.... This is a reprinted version of an article originally published in the New Zealand Journal of Geography in April 1996. The article has been reprinted because a number of tables in the earlier version were incorrectly reproduced. Any inconvenience caused by this problem is regretted." excerpt

Ship's doctors qualifications required for cruise ships: Recruiter's comments on the German-Norwegian debate.

PubMed

Ottomann, Christian

2015-01-01

This contribution is intended to fertilise the current discussion of ship's doctors qualifications required for cruise ships. Therefore 10 points are added to the debate containing different considerations focussing on the recommendations of the German Society of Maritime Medicine, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP's) Health Care Guidelines for Cruise Ship Medical Facilities and the different skills a ship's doctor should have from the perspective of the recruiter.

How Can Educational Planning Be Rational? A Consideration of the Process of Educational Planning in Terms of the Problem of Rationality in the Social World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Helen Marie

This paper takes up an issue that is currently being debated in the educational planning literature--the adequacy of the central assumption of rationality in the formulation of public policy planning. It identifies the nature of the rationality that is being called into question and rephrases the debate in terms of the tenability of an assumption…

When Sexual and Religious Orientation Collide: Considerations in Working with Conflicted Same-Sex Attracted Male Clients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haldeman, Douglas C.

2004-01-01

The debate among scholars and gay activists and religious/political activists about the appropriateness and efficacy of conversion therapy has left out a number of individuals for whom neither gay-affirmative nor conversion therapy may be indicated. The present discussion, through the use of case material, offers considerations for the…

Clash! The World of Debate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azzam, Amy M.

2008-01-01

Debating has been around for a long time, with some pretty spectacular results. Look at Socrates, who was put to death in 399 BCE for corrupting the youth of Athens; his accusers could not forgive him for incessantly questioning their beliefs and making "the worse appear the better cause." More recently, debating has morphed into a sport for the…

UK parliamentary debate analysis: bombing ISIL in Syria.

PubMed

Rashed, Haifa

2016-01-01

This paper examines the arguments presented for and against the UK government's motion for the UK to intervene militarily in Syria in the House of Commons debate on ISIL in Syria that took place on 2 December 2015. It considers what the most common arguments were in favour of and in opposition to the motion as well as which arguments were given the most emphasis, in order to understand the prime justifications given that led to the decision to approve the motion. It suggests that due to the shadow of the 2003 Iraq war, politicians in the debate placed a considerable emphasis on the legal justification for military intervention. It argues that the focus on the national security of the UK and its allies in this particular debate seems to contrast with previous military interventions where humanitarian motives were more widely stated. This paper calls for further comparative research of parliamentary debates in order to track such changes in the rhetoric used by UK politicians to defend their support for military intervention.

A Tricky Trait: Applying the Fruits of the "Function Debate" in the Philosophy of Biology to the "Venom Debate" in the Science of Toxinology.

PubMed

Jackson, Timothy N W; Fry, Bryan G

2016-09-07

The "function debate" in the philosophy of biology and the "venom debate" in the science of toxinology are conceptually related. Venom systems are complex multifunctional traits that have evolved independently numerous times throughout the animal kingdom. No single concept of function, amongst those popularly defended, appears adequate to describe these systems in all their evolutionary contexts and extant variations. As such, a pluralistic view of function, previously defended by some philosophers of biology, is most appropriate. Venom systems, like many other functional traits, exist in nature as points on a continuum and the boundaries between "venomous" and "non-venomous" species may not always be clearly defined. This paper includes a brief overview of the concept of function, followed by in-depth discussion of its application to venom systems. A sound understanding of function may aid in moving the venom debate forward. Similarly, consideration of a complex functional trait such as venom may be of interest to philosophers of biology.

Low dose radiation adaptive protection to control neurodegenerative diseases.

PubMed

Doss, Mohan

2014-05-01

Concerns have been expressed recently regarding the observed increased DNA damage from activities such as thinking and exercise. Such concerns have arisen from an incomplete accounting of the full effects of the increased oxidative damage. When the effects of the induced adaptive protective responses such as increased antioxidants and DNA repair enzymes are taken into consideration, there would be less endogenous DNA damage during the subsequent period of enhanced defenses, resulting in improved health from the thinking and exercise activities. Low dose radiation (LDR), which causes oxidative stress and increased DNA damage, upregulates adaptive protection systems that may decrease diseases in an analogous manner. Though there are ongoing debates regarding LDR's carcinogenicity, with two recent advisory committee reports coming to opposite conclusions, data published since the time of the reports have overwhelmingly ruled out its carcinogenicity, paving the way for consideration of its potential use for disease reduction. LDR adaptive protection is a promising approach to control neurodegenerative diseases, for which there are no methods of prevention or cure. Preparation of a compelling ethics case would pave the way for LDR clinical studies and progress in dealing with neurodegenerative diseases.

Debate continues on northwest's merits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stremel, K.

1984-07-01

Estimates of northwest Montana's petroleum reserves range from barren Precambrian rock to reserves exceeding those of Alaska's Prudhoe Bay. Geological debates concerning the merits of the vast areas continues. Seismic data and geological studies indicate that the area holds considerable promise. Several large structures have been identified, and oil and gas seeps have been reported. The area's true potential, however, will be revealed only by drilling, which is both risky and expensive. Several wildcat drilling operations are underway but the area's hydrocarbon potential may not be released for several years.

Social Welfare Policy and Inequalities in Health. Preconceived Truths in Scientific Research.

PubMed

Regidor, Enrique

2016-08-02

At the end of the first decade of the present century debates arose in social epidemiology. These debates set those who defend the existence of a relation between the political and/or welfare stage regime and the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in health against those who maintain the facts do not support such a relation. These debates are similar to other debates in epidemiology in the 1990s related with theories of how diseases are produced and the factors that determine their distribution in the population. Whereas some authors find it impossible to separate ethical and political aspects and professional values from scientific arguments, others consider that epidemiologists and other scientists should make an effort to distinguish between scientific and unscientific considerations. In this paper the author reflects about the harmony that keep science, politics and ethics in the scientific practice on health inequalities, although the empirical evidence is contrary to that harmonious effect.

Framing the policy debate over spirits excise tax in Poland.

PubMed

Zatonski, Mateusz; Hawkins, Benjamin; McKee, Martin

2018-06-01

Industry lobbying remains an obstacle to effective health-oriented alcohol policy. In 2013, an increase in excise tax on spirits was announced by the Polish government. This article presents a qualitative analysis of the public debate that ensued on the potential economic, health and social effects of the policy. It focuses on how competing groups, including industry actors, framed their position and sought to dominate the debate. Online archives of five Polish national newspapers, two spirits trade associations, and parliamentary and ministerial archives were searched. A thematic content analysis of the identified sources was conducted. The overall findings were compared with existing research on the framing of the Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) debate in the UK. A total of 155 sources were analysed. Two main frames were identified: health, and economic. The spirits industry successfully promoted the economic frame in their own publications and in the media. The debate was dominated by arguments about potential growth of the grey market and losses in tax revenue that might result from the excise tax increase. The framing of the debate in Poland differed from the framing of the MUP debate in the United Kingdom. The Polish public health community was unsuccessful in making health considerations a significant element of the alcohol policy debate. The strategies pursued by UK health advocates offer lessons for how to make a more substantial impact on media coverage and promote health-oriented legislation.

Sudden cardiac death and preparticipation screening: the debate continues-in support of electrocardiogram-inclusive preparticipation screening.

PubMed

Asif, Irfan M; Drezner, Jonathan A

2012-01-01

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading cause of death in young athletes during exercise, and there is international agreement among major medical and sporting bodies that young athletes should undergo preparticipation cardiovascular screening. However, there is currently no universally accepted screening protocol, and substantial debate exists about what constitutes the ideal approach to preparticipation screening. The primary objective of preparticipation screening is the detection of intrinsic structural or electrical cardiovascular disorders that predispose an athlete to SCD. Considerable evidence exists suggesting that screening athletes with only a history and physical examination leaves most athletes with a serious underlying cardiovascular disease undetected and, thus, cannot adequately achieve the primary objective of screening. Preparticipating cardiovascular screening inclusive of an electrocardiogram (ECG) greatly enhances the ability to identify athletes at risk and is the only model shown to be cost-effective and may reduce the rate of SCD. The major obstacle to ECG screening in the United States is the lack of a physician workforce skilled in interpretation of an athlete's ECG. However, recent studies have demonstrated a capacity to distinguish physiologic ECG alterations in athletes from findings suggestive of underlying pathology that is both feasible and has a low false-positive rate. Efforts are underway to increase physician education in ECG interpretation. After 2 decades debating the proper screening strategy to identify athletes at risk, the weight of scientific evidence suggests that a screening program inclusive of ECG is the only strategy that merits promotion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Debating DSM-5: diagnosis and the sociology of critique.

PubMed

Pickersgill, Martyn D

2014-08-01

The development of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-the DSM-5-has reenergised and driven further forward critical discourse about the place and role of diagnosis in mental health. The DSM-5 has attracted considerable criticism, not least about its role in processes of medicalisation. This paper suggests the need for a sociology of psychiatric critique. Sociological analysis can help map fields of contention, and cast fresh light on the assumptions and nuances of debate around the DSM-5; it underscores the importance of diagnosis to the governance of social and clinical life, as well as the wider discourses critical commentaries connect with and are activated by. More normatively, a sociology of critique can indicate which interests and values are structuring the dialogues being articulated, and just how diverse clinical opinion regarding the DSM can actually be. This has implications for the considerations of health services and policy decision-makers who might look to such debates for guidance. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

A Framework for Analysis of Research Risks and Benefits to Participants in Standard of Care Pragmatic Clinical Trials

PubMed Central

Chen, Stephanie C; Kim, Scott Y H

2016-01-01

Background/Aims Standard of care pragmatic clinical trials (SCPCTs) that compare treatments already in use could improve care and reduce cost but there is considerable debate about the research risks of SCPCTs and how to apply informed consent regulations to such trials. We sought to develop a framework integrating the insights from opposing sides of the debate. Methods We developed a formal risk-benefit analysis framework for SCPCTs and then applied it to key provisions of the U.S. federal regulations. Results Our formal framework for SCPCT risk-benefit analysis takes into account three key considerations: the ex ante estimates of risks and benefits of the treatments to be compared in a SCPCT, the allocation ratios of treatments inside and outside a SCPCT, and the significance of some participants receiving a different treatment inside a SCPCT than outside the trial. The framework provides practical guidance on how the research ethics regulations on informed consent should be applied to SCPCTs. Conclusions Our proposed formal model makes explicit the relationship between the concepts used by opposing sides of the debate about the research risks of SCPCTs and can be used to clarify the implications for informed consent. PMID:27365010

Rural-Urban Differences in Medicare Quality Outcomes and the Impact of Risk Adjustment.

PubMed

Henning-Smith, Carrie; Kozhimannil, Katy; Casey, Michelle; Prasad, Shailendra; Moscovice, Ira

2017-09-01

There has been considerable debate in recent years about whether, and how, to risk-adjust quality measures for sociodemographic characteristics. However, geographic location, especially rurality, has been largely absent from the discussion. To examine differences by rurality in quality outcomes, and the impact of adjustment for individual and community-level sociodemographic characteristics on quality outcomes. The 2012 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, Access to Care module, combined with the 2012 County Health Rankings. All data used were publicly available, secondary data. We merged the 2012 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data with the 2012 County Health Rankings data using county of residence. We compared 6 unadjusted quality of care measures for Medicare beneficiaries (satisfaction with care, blood pressure checked, cholesterol checked, flu shot receipt, change in health status, and all-cause annual readmission) by rurality (rural noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan). We then ran nested multivariable logistic regression models to assess the impact of adjusting for community and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics to determine whether these mediate the rurality difference in quality of care. The relationship between rurality and change in health status was mediated by the inclusion of community-level characteristics; however, adjusting for community and individual-level characteristics caused differences by rurality to emerge in 2 of the measures: blood pressure checked and cholesterol checked. For all quality scores, model fit improved after adding community and individual characteristics. Quality is multifaceted and is impacted by individual and community-level socio-demographic characteristics, as well as by geographic location. Current debates about risk-adjustment procedures should take rurality into account.

Biodiversity in a complex world: consolidation and progress in functional biodiversity research.

PubMed

Hillebrand, Helmut; Matthiessen, Birte

2009-12-01

The global decline of biodiversity caused by human domination of ecosystems worldwide is supposed to alter important process rates and state variables in these ecosystems. However, there is considerable debate on the prevalence and importance of biodiversity effects on ecosystem function (BDEF). Here, we argue that much of the debate stems from two major shortcomings. First, most studies do not directly link the traits leading to increased or decreased function to the traits needed for species coexistence and dominance. We argue that implementing a trait-based approach and broadening the perception of diversity to include trait dissimilarity or trait divergence will result in more realistic predictions on the consequences of altered biodiversity. Second, the empirical and theoretical studies do not reflect the complexity of natural ecosystems, which makes it difficult to transfer the results to natural situations of species loss. We review how different aspects of complexity (trophic structure, multifunctionality, spatial or temporal heterogeneity, and spatial population dynamics) alter our perception of BDEF. We propose future research avenues concisely testing whether acknowledging this complexity will strengthen the observed biodiversity effects. Finally, we propose that a major future task is to disentangle biodiversity effects on ecosystem function from direct changes in function due to human alterations of abiotic constraints.

A Diversity of Divisions: Tracing the History of the Demarcation between the Sciences and the Humanities.

PubMed

Bouterse, Jeroen; Karstens, Bart

2015-06-01

Throughout history, divides between the sciences and the humanities have been drawn in many different ways. This essay shows that the notion of a divide became more urgent and pronounced in the second half of the nineteenth century. While this shift has several causes, the essay focuses on the rise of the social sciences, which is interpreted as posing a profound challenge to the established disciplines of the study of humankind. This is demonstrated by zooming in on linguistics, one of the key traditional disciplines of the humanities. Through the assumption of a correspondence between mental and linguistic categories, psychology became of central importance in the various conceptions of linguistics that emerged in the nineteenth century. Both linguistics and psychology were very much engaged in a process of discipline formation, and opinions about the proper directions of the fields varied considerably. Debates on these issues catalyzed the construction of more radical divisions between the sciences and the humanities. Both Wilhelm Dilthey's dichotomy between understanding and explanation and Wilhelm Windelband's dichotomy between nomothetic and idiographic sciences respond to these debates. While their constructions are often lumped together, the essay shows that they actually meant very different things and have to be treated accordingly.

Observational Evidence for Enhanced Greenhouse Effect Reinforcing Wintertime Arctic Amplification and Sea Ice Melting Onset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Y.; Liang, S.

2017-12-01

Despite an apparent hiatus in global warming, the Arctic climate continues to experience unprecedented changes. Summer sea ice is retreating at an accelerated rate, and surface temperatures in this region are rising at a rate double that of the global average, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. Although a lot of efforts have been made, the causes this unprecedented phenomenon remain unclear and are subjects of considerable debate. In this study, we report strong observational evidence, for the first time from long-term (1984-2014) spatially complete satellite records, that increased cloudiness and atmospheric water vapor in winter and spring have caused an extraordinary downward longwave radiative flux to the ice surface, which may then amplify the Arctic wintertime ice-surface warming. In addition, we also provide observed evidence that it is quite likely the enhancement of the wintertime greenhouse effect caused by water vapor and cloudiness has advanced the time of onset of ice melting in mid-May through inhibiting sea-ice refreezing in the winter and accelerating the pre-melting process in the spring, and in turn triggered the positive sea-ice albedo feedback process and accelerated the sea ice melting in the summer.

Human Genome Editing and Ethical Considerations.

PubMed

Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj; Singh, Bahadur

2016-04-01

Editing human germline genes may act as boon in some genetic and other disorders. Recent editing of the genome of the human embryo with the CRISPR/Cas9 editing tool generated a debate amongst top scientists of the world for the ethical considerations regarding its effect on the future generations. It needs to be seen as to what transformation human gene editing brings to humankind in the times to come.

Heterologous embryo transfer: Magisterial answers and metaphysical questions.

PubMed

Accad, Michel

2014-02-01

The debate regarding the morality of heterologous embryo transfer (HET) as a solution for the fate of cryopreserved embryos remains active. This paper endeavors to show that the magisterial instructions on bioethical issues can only lead to the conclusion that HET is always morally illicit. I begin by showing that the text of Dignitas personae recognizes HET as a procedure accomplishing a procreative function, and I indicate that it is through gestation that this procreative function occurs. I further show that the previous Instruction, Donum vitae, implicitly points to an ontological or spiritual consideration at play during gestation. This consideration is likely related to the procreative function identified in Dignitas personae. Finally, I place these two textual arguments in the context of the debate concerning HET and conclude that metaphysical questions must be clarified in order for the immorality of HET to be understood from a suitable anthropological perspective and gain more widespread acceptance.

Heterologous embryo transfer: Magisterial answers and metaphysical questions

PubMed Central

Accad, Michel

2014-01-01

The debate regarding the morality of heterologous embryo transfer (HET) as a solution for the fate of cryopreserved embryos remains active. This paper endeavors to show that the magisterial instructions on bioethical issues can only lead to the conclusion that HET is always morally illicit. I begin by showing that the text of Dignitas personae recognizes HET as a procedure accomplishing a procreative function, and I indicate that it is through gestation that this procreative function occurs. I further show that the previous Instruction, Donum vitae, implicitly points to an ontological or spiritual consideration at play during gestation. This consideration is likely related to the procreative function identified in Dignitas personae. Finally, I place these two textual arguments in the context of the debate concerning HET and conclude that metaphysical questions must be clarified in order for the immorality of HET to be understood from a suitable anthropological perspective and gain more widespread acceptance. PMID:24899737

Local or distributed activation? The view from biology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reimers, Mark

2011-06-01

There is considerable disagreement among connectionist modellers over whether to represent distinct properties by distinct nodes of a network or whether properties should be represented by patterns of activity across all nodes. This paper draws on the literature of neuroscience to say that a more subtle way of describing how different brain regions contribute to a behaviour, in terms of individual learning and in terms of degrees of importance, may render the current debate moot: both sides of the 'localist' versus 'distributed' debate emphasise different aspects of biology.

Stimulating debate: ethics in a multidisciplinary functional neurosurgery committee

PubMed Central

Ford, Paul J; Kubu, Cynthia S

2006-01-01

Multidisciplinary healthcare committees meet regularly to discuss patients' candidacy for emerging functional neurosurgical procedures, such as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Through debate and discussion around the surgical candidacy of particular patients, functional neurosurgery programs begin to mold practice and policy supported both by scientific evidence and clear value choices. These neurosurgical decisions have special considerations not found in non‐neurologic committees. The professional time used to resolve these conflicts provides opportunities for the emergence of careful, ethical practices simultaneous with the expansion of therapy applications PMID:16446416

Key papers in prostate cancer.

PubMed

Rodney, Simon; Shah, Taimur Tariq; Patel, Hitendra R H; Arya, Manit

2014-11-01

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and second leading cause of death in men. The evidence base for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer is continually changing. We aim to review and discuss past and contemporary papers on these topics to provoke debate and highlight key dilemmas faced by the urological community. We review key papers on prostate-specific antigen screening, radical prostatectomy versus surveillance strategies, targeted therapies, timing of radiotherapy and alternative anti-androgen therapeutics. Previously, the majority of patients, irrespective of risk, underwent radical open surgical procedures associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Evidence is emerging that not all prostate cancers are alike and that low-grade disease can be safely managed by surveillance strategies and localized treatment to the prostate. The question remains as to how to accurately stage the disease and ultimately choose which treatment pathway to follow.

Climate and the collapse of civilization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abate, T.

1994-09-01

This article looks at the archaeological debate over two important questions: whether abrupt climate changes caused or contributed to the collapse of ancient civilizations and, if the archaeological and paleoclimatological record yields evidence to that effect, what would it mean in a world that today debates whether industrial civilization is altering Earth's climate with uncertain consequences. Areas discussed include the following: climate hints from archaeological sites; hesitations about whether climate change caused civilizations to collapse; and the interdisciplinary checks on each side.

Rhetoric, power and legitimacy: a critical analysis of the public policy disputes surrounding stem cell research in Australia (2005-6).

PubMed

Lysaght, Tamra; Kerridge, Ian

2012-02-01

In December 2006, the Australian Parliament liberalized regulation governing stem cell research. This decision and preceding legislative review generated considerable public debate, which centred on objections to the deliberate creation and destruction of human embryos for research purposes. This paper draws on qualitative research conducted on the public debate surrounding this policy episode. The aim of this research was to examine how science and scientific knowledge are mobilized by participants in these debates to support their arguments. Data were collected from 109 newspaper opinion editorials as well as 23 in-depth interviews and examined using qualitative content and thematic analysis. Results of this analysis depict science as a rhetorical, moral and political resource that provides opportunities for participants to gain legitimacy, negotiate meaning and assert authority in the public domain. The mobilization of science in public discourse is discussed along with suggestions that are aimed at encouraging greater transparency and inclusiveness in public debates around contested science and emergent technologies.

Responsible, Inclusive Innovation and the Nano-Divide.

PubMed

Schroeder, Doris; Dalton-Brown, Sally; Schrempf, Benjamin; Kaplan, David

Policy makers from around the world are trying to emulate successful innovation systems in order to support economic growth. At the same time, innovation governance systems are being put in place to ensure a better integration of stakeholder views into the research and development process. In Europe, one of the most prominent and newly emerging governance frameworks is called Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). This article aims to substantiate the following points: (1) The concept of RRI and the concept of justice can be used to derive similar ethical positions on the nano-divide. (2) Given the ambitious policy aims of RRI (e.g. economic competitiveness enhancer), the concept may be better suited to push for ethical outcomes on access to nanotechnology and its products rather than debates based on justice issues alone. It may thus serve as a mediator concept between those who push solely for competitiveness considerations and those who push solely for justice considerations in nano-technology debates. (3) The descriptive, non-normative Systems of Innovation approaches (see below) should be linked into RRI debates to provide more evidence on whether the approach advocated to achieve responsible and ethical governance of research and innovation (R&I) can indeed deliver on competitiveness (in nano-technology and other fields).

Splenic infarction - A rare cause of acute abdominal pain following gastric surgery: A case series.

PubMed

Yazici, Pinar; Kaya, Cemal; Isil, Gurhan; Bozkurt, Emre; Mihmanli, Mehmet

2015-01-01

The dissection of splenic hilar lymph nodes in gastric cancer surgery is indispensable for treating gastric cancers located in the proximal third of the stomach. Splenic vascular injury is a matter of debate resulting on time or delayed splenectomy. We aimed to share our experience and plausible mechanisms causing this complication in two case reports. Two male patients with gastric cancer were diagnosed with acute splenic infarction following gastric surgery in the early postoperative period. Both underwent emergent exploratory laparotomy. Splenectomy was performed due to splenic infarction. Because we observed this rare complication in recent patients whose surgery was performed using vessel-sealing device for splenic hilar dissection, we suggested that extensive mobilization of the surrounding tissues of splenic vascular structures hilum using the vessel sealer could be the reason. In case of acute abdominal pain radiating to left shoulder, splenic complications should be taken into consideration in gastric cancer patients performed radical gastrectomy. Meticulous dissection of splenic hilar lymph nodes should be carried out to avoid any splenic vascular injury. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Splenic infarction – A rare cause of acute abdominal pain following gastric surgery: A case series

PubMed Central

Yazici, Pinar; Kaya, Cemal; Isil, Gurhan; Bozkurt, Emre; Mihmanli, Mehmet

2015-01-01

Introduction The dissection of splenic hilar lymph nodes in gastric cancer surgery is indispensable for treating gastric cancers located in the proximal third of the stomach. Splenic vascular injury is a matter of debate resulting on time or delayed splenectomy. We aimed to share our experience and plausible mechanisms causing this complication in two case reports. Case presentations Two male patients with gastric cancer were diagnosed with acute splenic infarction following gastric surgery in the early postoperative period. Both underwent emergent exploratory laparotomy. Splenectomy was performed due to splenic infarction. Discussion Because we observed this rare complication in recent patients whose surgery was performed using vessel-sealing device for splenic hilar dissection, we suggested that extensive mobilization of the surrounding tissues of splenic vascular structures hilum using the vessel sealer could be the reason. Conclusion In case of acute abdominal pain radiating to left shoulder, splenic complications should be taken into consideration in gastric cancer patients performed radical gastrectomy. Meticulous dissection of splenic hilar lymph nodes should be carried out to avoid any splenic vascular injury. PMID:25818369

CONTROVERSIES IN EPILEPSY – DEBATES HELD DURING THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON SEIZURE PREDICTION

PubMed Central

Frei, Mark G.; Zaveri, Hitten P.; Arthurs, Susan; Bergey, Gregory K.; Jouny, Christophe; Lehnertz, Klaus; Gotman, Jean; Osorio, Ivan; Netoff, Theoden I.; Freeman, Walter J.; Jefferys, John; Worrell, Gregory; Le Van Quyen, Michel; Schiff, Steven J.; Mormann, Florian

2010-01-01

Debates on 6 controversial topics were held during the Fourth International Workshop on Seizure Prediction (IWSP4) convened in Kansas City (July 4–7, 2009). The topics were 1) Ictogenesis: focus vs. network? 2) Spikes and seizures: step-relatives or siblings? 3) Ictogenesis: a result of hyposynchrony? 4) Can focal seizures be caused by excessive inhibition? 5) Do high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) provide relevant independent information? and 6) Phase synchronization – is it worthwhile as measured? This manuscript, written by the IWSP4 organizing committee and the debaters, summarizes the arguments presented during the debates. PMID:20708976

A Purposeful Understanding of Homework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phares, Tim

2017-01-01

There has been a long standing debate over the purpose of homework; it has been a topic for educational reform, discussed in educational debates, and looked at as a means to improve student achievement (Foyle & Bailey, 1986; Gill & Schlossman, 2003; Xu, 2005; Fisher & Frey, 2008). Homework can cause frustration for students and…

Randomization Does Not Help Much, Comparability Does

PubMed Central

Saint-Mont, Uwe

2015-01-01

According to R.A. Fisher, randomization “relieves the experimenter from the anxiety of considering innumerable causes by which the data may be disturbed.” Since, in particular, it is said to control for known and unknown nuisance factors that may considerably challenge the validity of a result, it has become very popular. This contribution challenges the received view. First, looking for quantitative support, we study a number of straightforward, mathematically simple models. They all demonstrate that the optimism surrounding randomization is questionable: In small to medium-sized samples, random allocation of units to treatments typically yields a considerable imbalance between the groups, i.e., confounding due to randomization is the rule rather than the exception. In the second part of this contribution, the reasoning is extended to a number of traditional arguments in favour of randomization. This discussion is rather non-technical, and sometimes touches on the rather fundamental Frequentist/Bayesian debate. However, the result of this analysis turns out to be quite similar: While the contribution of randomization remains doubtful, comparability contributes much to a compelling conclusion. Summing up, classical experimentation based on sound background theory and the systematic construction of exchangeable groups seems to be advisable. PMID:26193621

Science and ethics: Some issues for education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrew, Jennifer; Robottom, Ian

2001-11-01

Ethical issues concerning pain and suffering of animals are necessarily a consideration when it comes to killing pest or feral species in Australia. Within a continent where there are no large predators, many introduced animal species such as rabbits, foxes, horses, donkeys, camels, goats, and mice have been able to thrive, competing with the interests of farmers and graziers, and livestock and food production. These species, thus, gain the label of pest. Many methods now exist to kill these species and, consequently, ethical issues arise concerning the possible pain and suffering caused as a direct result of these methods. Yet within government and scientific communities, ethical issues are reduced to a secondary consideration without serious debate or contention. Ethical issues appear to be at odds with scientific agendas. How can environmental ethics be incorporated as part of science-based decision making that appeals to objectivity and scientific evidence? Within educational institutions as well, the same dilemma exists: How can ethical issues be addressed within the science curriculum and in the classroom? A greater understanding of various perspectives on the subject of environmental ethics and the value positions advocated by proponents of these perspectives may help teachers consider ways of handling such issues in the science classroom.

LEGAL ISSUES OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

Legal issues are becoming as important as any other in promoting or limiting the development of GIS technology. Certainly legal considerations must now be kept in mind during the creation and implementation of large public and private GIS projects. Debate focuses on a number of...

A perspective on livestock-wolf interactions on western rangelands

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The reintroduction of wolves into their historical ranges in western North America is possibly one of the most ambitious ecosystem restoration efforts of the recent past. This initiative has been controversial and has stimulated considerable debate among concerned stakeholders about the feasibility ...

Symbolic Representation of Probabilistic Worlds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feldman, Jacob

2012-01-01

Symbolic representation of environmental variables is a ubiquitous and often debated component of cognitive science. Yet notwithstanding centuries of philosophical discussion, the efficacy, scope, and validity of such representation has rarely been given direct consideration from a mathematical point of view. This paper introduces a quantitative…

The Net Neutrality Debate: The Basics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenfield, Rich

2006-01-01

Rich Greenfield examines the basics of today's net neutrality debate that is likely to be an ongoing issue for society. Greenfield states the problems inherent in the definition of "net neutrality" used by Common Cause: "Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be able to access any web content they choose and…

Ethical issues in paleopathological and anthropological research experiences.

PubMed

Licata, Marta; Monza, Francesca

2017-10-23

In recent years, archaeologists and anthropologists involved in the study of human remains have had to take into consideration ethical issues, which have come to the fore. The aim of this study is to illustrate the ethical and religious issues involved in relation to the positions of researchers. Ethical issues involve the different study phases of human remains: archaeological excavation, anthropological analysis and, finally, museum display. Osteoarchaeological remains may find a place in museums. However, in recent years, even the display of human remains museum has had to face new important ethical issue involving previously ignored or neglected aspect. The adoption of Native American Grave Protection Act in 1990 in the United States and the Human Tissue Act in 2004 in England, has created new scenarios relating to the storage of human remains in museum. All this caused a series of changes in the study of human remains, but many issues remain open to debate.

Stabilizing human regulatory T cells for tolerance inducing immunotherapy.

PubMed

He, Xuehui; Koenen, Hans Jpm; Slaats, Jeroen Hr; Joosten, Irma

2017-08-01

Many autoimmune diseases develop as a consequence of an altered balance between autoreactive immune cells and suppressive FOXP3 + Treg. Restoring this balance through amplification of Treg represents a promising strategy to treat disease. However, FOXP3 + Treg might become unstable especially under certain inflammatory conditions, and might transform into proinflammatory cytokine-producing cells. The issue of heterogeneity and instability of Treg has caused considerable debate in the field and has important implications for Treg-based immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss how Treg stability is defined and what the molecular mechanisms underlying the maintenance of FOXP3 expression and the regulation of Treg stability are. Also, we elaborate on current strategies used to stabilize human Treg for clinical purposes. This review focuses on human Treg, but considering that cell-intrinsic mechanisms to regulate Treg stability in mice and in humans might be similar, data derived from mice studies are also discussed in this paper.

Naturalization fosters the long-term political integration of immigrants

PubMed Central

Hainmueller, Jens; Hangartner, Dominik; Pietrantuono, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Does naturalization cause better political integration of immigrants into the host society? Despite heated debates about citizenship policy, there exists almost no evidence that isolates the independent effect of naturalization from the nonrandom selection into naturalization. We provide new evidence from a natural experiment in Switzerland, where some municipalities used referendums as the mechanism to decide naturalization requests. Balance checks suggest that for close naturalization referendums, which are decided by just a few votes, the naturalization decision is as good as random, so that narrowly rejected and narrowly approved immigrant applicants are similar on all confounding characteristics. This allows us to remove selection effects and obtain unbiased estimates of the long-term impacts of citizenship. Our study shows that for the immigrants who faced close referendums, naturalization considerably improved their political integration, including increases in formal political participation, political knowledge, and political efficacy. PMID:26417099

The Recent Atlantic Cold Anomaly: Causes, Consequences, and Related Phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Josey, Simon A.; Hirschi, Joel J.-M.; Sinha, Bablu; Duchez, Aurélie; Grist, Jeremy P.; Marsh, Robert

2018-01-01

Cold ocean temperature anomalies have been observed in the mid- to high-latitude North Atlantic on interannual to centennial timescales. Most notably, a large region of persistently low surface temperatures accompanied by a sharp reduction in ocean heat content was evident in the subpolar gyre from the winter of 2013-2014 to 2016, and the presence of this feature at a time of pervasive warming elsewhere has stimulated considerable debate. Here, we review the role of air-sea interaction and ocean processes in generating this cold anomaly and place it in a longer-term context. We also discuss the potential impacts of surface temperature anomalies for the atmosphere, including the North Atlantic Oscillation and European heat waves; contrast the behavior of the Atlantic with the extreme warm surface event that occurred in the North Pacific over a similar timescale; and consider the possibility that these events represent a response to a change in atmospheric planetary wave forcing.

Using Debate Skills to Engage Students in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karsten, Anna

2016-04-01

To increase the excitement for the astronomy unit and to expose the subject in all of its weird glory, students debate each other in a bracket style tournament defending their idea of the coolest object in the universe. At the start of May, causing the name of this event to be called May Madness, students choose an object or concept in the universe to research and construct an opening argument on how it is the coolest object in the universe. Every student in the eighth grade selects an object and proceeds to debate its attributes in a head-to-head competition leading to a class winner. The class winners then debate in front of the grade with celebrity guest judges. In the four minute debate, two students defend, cross examine, and construct a rebuttal for their chosen object.

Spontaneous Number Representation in Mosquitofish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dadda, Marco; Piffer, Laura; Agrillo, Christian; Bisazza, Angelo

2009-01-01

While there is convincing evidence that preverbal human infants and non-human primates can spontaneously represent number, considerable debate surrounds the possibility that such capacity is also present in other animals. Fish show a remarkable ability to discriminate between different numbers of social companions. Previous work has demonstrated…

NITROUS OXIDE BEHAVIOR IN THE ATMOSPHERE, AND IN COMBUSTION AND INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

Tropospheric measurements show that nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations are increasing over time. This demonstrates the existence of one or more significant anthropogenic sources, a fact that has generated considerable research interest over the last several years. The debate has ...

New Developments in Education for the Seventies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaulding, Seth

Theories relating to proposed improvements in education are discussed. Changes in curricula, contributions of fields such as psychology, and issues currently being debated are given consideration. Innovative models and approaches are proposed, and several interesting speculations are offered related to the future of education. Following the…

Research in Mathematics Education: Multiple Methods for Multiple Uses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Battista, Michael; Smith, Margaret S.; Boerst, Timothy; Sutton, John; Confrey, Jere; White, Dorothy; Knuth, Eric; Quander, Judith

2009-01-01

Recent federal education policies and reports have generated considerable debate about the meaning, methods, and goals of "scientific research" in mathematics education. Concentrating on the critical problem of determining which educational programs and practices reliably improve students' mathematics achievement, these policies and reports focus…

International Large-Scale Assessments: What Uses, What Consequences?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johansson, Stefan

2016-01-01

Background: International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) are a much-debated phenomenon in education. Increasingly, their outcomes attract considerable media attention and influence educational policies in many jurisdictions worldwide. The relevance, uses and consequences of these assessments are often the focus of research scrutiny. Whilst some…

Curricular Transposition in Citizenship Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCowan, Tristan

2008-01-01

The considerable debate in recent years on the aims of citizenship education has not been accompanied by an equally substantial discussion on the educational processes involved. This article puts forward a theoretical framework, referred to as "curricular transposition", for understanding the complex task of realizing normative ideals of…

Parallel Acquisition of Awareness and Differential Delay Eyeblink Conditioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weidemann, Gabrielle; Antees, Cassandra

2012-01-01

There is considerable debate about whether differential delay eyeblink conditioning can be acquired without awareness of the stimulus contingencies. Previous investigations of the relationship between differential-delay eyeblink conditioning and awareness of the stimulus contingencies have assessed awareness after the conditioning session was…

Co-existence of GM, conventional and organic crops in developing countries: Main debates and concerns.

PubMed

Azadi, Hossein; Taube, Friedhelm; Taheri, Fatemeh

2017-06-05

The co-existence approach of GM crops with conventional agriculture and organic farming as a feasible agricultural farming system has recently been placed in the center of hot debates at the EU-level and become a source of anxiety in developing countries. The main promises of this approach is to ensure "food security" and "food safety" on the one hand, and to avoid the adventitious presence of GM crops in conventional and organic farming on the other, as well as to present concerns in many debates on implementing the approach in developing countries. Here, we discuss the main debates on ("what," "why," "who," "where," "which," and "how") applying this approach in developing countries and review the main considerations and tradeoffs in this regard. The paper concludes that a peaceful co-existence between GM, conventional, and organic farming is not easy but is still possible. The goal should be to implement rules that are well-established proportionately, efficiently and cost-effectively, using crop-case, farming system-based and should be biodiversity-focused ending up with "codes of good agricultural practice" for co-existence.

Exploring Criticality in Management Education through Action Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breen, Judith

2014-01-01

The field of management education has been the focus of much debate in recent times. Issues relating to the real world and a lack of relevancy in business schools have caused much of this debate. In particular, questions have been raised regarding why business schools should endeavour to bridge this relevancy gap? However, it is important to…

A framework for analysis of research risks and benefits to participants in standard of care pragmatic clinical trials.

PubMed

Chen, Stephanie C; Kim, Scott Yh

2016-12-01

Standard of care pragmatic clinical trials that compare treatments already in use could improve care and reduce costs, but there is considerable debate about the research risks of standard of care pragmatic clinical trials and how to apply informed consent regulations to such trials. We sought to develop a framework integrating the insights from opposing sides of the debate. We developed a formal risk-benefit analysis framework for standard of care pragmatic clinical trials and then applied it to key provisions of the US federal regulations. Our formal framework for standard of care pragmatic clinical trial risk-benefit analysis takes into account three key considerations: the ex ante estimates of risks and benefits of the treatments to be compared in a standard of care pragmatic clinical trial, the allocation ratios of treatments inside and outside such a trial, and the significance of some participants receiving a different treatment inside a trial than outside the trial. The framework provides practical guidance on how the research ethics regulations on informed consent should be applied to standard of care pragmatic clinical trials. Our proposed formal model makes explicit the relationship between the concepts used by opposing sides of the debate about the research risks of standard of care pragmatic clinical trials and can be used to clarify the implications for informed consent. © The Author(s) 2016.

Toward a gender-sensitive assisted reproduction policy.

PubMed

Donchin, Anne

2009-01-01

The recent case of the UK woman who lost her legal struggle to be impregnated with her own frozen embryos, raises critical issues about the meaning of reproductive autonomy and the scope of regulatory practices. I revisit this case within the context of contemporary debate about the moral and legal dimensions of assisted reproduction. I argue that the gender neutral context that frames discussion of regulatory practices is unjust unless it gives appropriate consideration to the different positions women and men occupy in relation to reproductive processes and their options for autonomous choice. First, I consider relevant legal rulings, media debate, and scholarly commentary. Then I discuss the concept of reproductive autonomy imbedded in this debate. I argue that this concept conflates informed consent and reproductive autonomy, thereby providing an excessively narrow reading of autonomy that fails to give due regard to relations among individuals or the social, political and economic environment that shapes their options. I contrast this notion of autonomy with feminist formulations that seek to preserve respect for the agency of individuals without severing them from the conditions of their embodiment, their surrounding social relationships, or the political contexts that shape their options. Taking these considerations into account I weigh the advantages of regulation over the commercial market arrangement that prevails in some countries and suggest general guidelines for a regulatory policy that would more equitably resolve conflicting claims to reproductive autonomy.

Relating the Content and Confidence of Recognition Judgments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selmeczy, Diana; Dobbins, Ian G.

2014-01-01

The Remember/Know procedure, developed by Tulving (1985) to capture the distinction between the conscious correlates of episodic and semantic retrieval, has spawned considerable research and debate. However, only a handful of reports have examined the recognition content beyond this dichotomous simplification. To address this, we collected…

Honey bee queens do not count mates to assess their mating success

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The mating system of honey bees (genus Apis) is extremely polyandrous, where reproductive females (queens) typically mate with 12 or more males (drones) during their mating flight(s). The evolutionary implications for hyperpolyandry have been subject to considerable debate and empirical testing beca...

Whither Constructivism?--A Chemistry Teachers' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niaz, Mansoor

2008-01-01

Constructivism in science education has been the subject of considerable debate in the science education literature. The purpose of this study was to facilitate chemistry teachers' understanding that the tentative nature of scientific knowledge leads to the coexistence and rivalries among different forms of constructivism in science education. The…

Some Pre-Methodological Considerations in Foreign-Language Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgs, Theodore V.

1981-01-01

Combines studies in cognitive psychology and language acquisition with observations of pedagogical materials and student performance to analyze foreign-language teaching from the perspective of what students and teachers need to understand about language learning and language before meaningful debate over methodology can be undertaken. (Author/MES)

Textbooks: What's at Stake?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Focus in Change, 1992

1992-01-01

Textbooks have an enormous influence on the curriculum of schools across the nation. Many issues are taken into consideration when selecting textbooks. Textbooks that present students with a multicultural curriculum are often at the center of debate among school administrators. This journal presents a series of articles based on interviews with…

Language-Universal Sensory Deficits in Developmental Dyslexia: English, Spanish, and Chinese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goswami, Usha; Wang, H.-L. Sharon; Cruz, Alicia; Fosker, Tim; Mead, Natasha; Huss, Martina

2011-01-01

Studies in sensory neuroscience reveal the critical importance of accurate sensory perception for cognitive development. There is considerable debate concerning the possible sensory correlates of "phonological processing", the primary cognitive risk factor for developmental dyslexia. Across languages, children with dyslexia have a specific…

Comparative and Familial Analysis of Handedness in Great Apes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopkins, William D.

2006-01-01

Historically, population-level handedness has been considered a hallmark of human evolution. Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable debate. This paper summarizes published data on handedness in great apes. Comparative analysis indicated that chimpanzees and bonobos show population-level right…

University Chaplaincy Provisions: Taking the Religion Out?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Stephen

2013-01-01

Albeit fragmented and largely uncoordinated, there is currently considerable debate regarding the nature and rationale of university chaplaincy provisions in England and Wales. Clearly chaplaincies have repositioned themselves from an exclusively Christian ethical and service-based provider to cater for the challenging demands of a multi-faith…

Poor commissioning discussed in depth.

PubMed

Towse, Bob; Whitby, Robin; Wignall, Stephen; Barrass, Chris; Newman, Alan; Shaw, Christopher; Johnston-Stuart, Chris; James, Chris

2014-05-01

Last October's Healthcare Estates 2013 conference saw one of the first day's 'Engineering' sessions debate the topic, 'Why do so many buildings disappoint their owners and occupants?' Much of the discussion centered on the problems caused by 'inadequate management of the commissioning process'. A roundtable debate jointly staged recently in London by IHEEM and the B&ES, the leading U.K. trade association for building services engineering contractors, took the debate forward. As HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie reports, the discussions confirmed that one of the key contributors to poor commissioning is a failure to involve specialist building services contractors sufficiently early. It was also agreed that finding a really effective 'client-side' project manager, with the panoply of skills and experience the role requires, can be 'a tough ask'. In this issue of HEJ we report on the debate's first 'half'; in June's edition, we will cover 'part two' of a lively, forthright, and positive debate.

Communicating Chemical Risks for Social Learning: Findings from an Expert Opinion Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyytimaki, Jari; Assmuth, Timo; Hilden, Mikael

2009-01-01

Environmental and health risks caused by chemical substances have been intensively debated in various arenas of science and policy, and in news media. The impacts of risk debates on the public have been widely studied, while less attention has been paid to expert views. We present results from a cross-national survey charting expert views on the…

Variability in Second Language Article Production: Beyond the Representational Deficit vs. Processing Constraints Debate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trenkic, Danijela

2007-01-01

This article addresses the debate on the causes of variability in production of second language functional morphology. It reports a study on article production by first language (L1) Serbian/second language (L2) English learners and compares their behaviour to that of a Turkish learner of English, reported in Goad and White (2004). In particular,…

Public Opinion Is More than Law: Popular Sovereignty and Vigilantism in the Nebraska Territory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kammer, Sean M.

2011-01-01

After months of intense debate, Congress finally passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act on May 30, 1854, largely along sectional lines. Over the next several years Kansas Territory became "Bleeding Kansas" as violence erupted between pro-slavery and free-state factions. While scholars continue to debate the true causes of the fighting in Kansas,…

Towards a richer debate on tissue engineering: a consideration on the basis of NEST-ethics.

PubMed

Oerlemans, A J M; van Hoek, M E C; van Leeuwen, E; van der Burg, S; Dekkers, W J M

2013-09-01

In their 2007 paper, Swierstra and Rip identify characteristic tropes and patterns of moral argumentation in the debate about the ethics of new and emerging science and technologies (or "NEST-ethics"). Taking their NEST-ethics structure as a starting point, we considered the debate about tissue engineering (TE), and argue what aspects we think ought to be a part of a rich and high-quality debate of TE. The debate surrounding TE seems to be predominantly a debate among experts. When considering the NEST-ethics arguments that deal directly with technology, we can generally conclude that consequentialist arguments are by far the most prominently featured in discussions of TE. In addition, many papers discuss principles, rights and duties relevant to aspects of TE, both in a positive and in a critical sense. Justice arguments are only sporadically made, some "good life" arguments are used, others less so (such as the explicit articulation of perceived limits, or the technology as a technological fix for a social problem). Missing topics in the discussion, at least from the perspective of NEST-ethics, are second "level" arguments-those referring to techno-moral change connected to tissue engineering. Currently, the discussion about tissue engineering mostly focuses on its so-called "hard impacts"-quantifiable risks and benefits of the technology. Its "soft impacts"-effects that cannot easily be quantified, such as changes to experience, habits and perceptions, should receive more attention.

Family Factors and Student Outcomes. PRGS Dissertation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xia, Nailing

2010-01-01

There is considerable debate about the relative importance of family versus school factors in producing academic and nonacademic student outcomes, and whether and how their impacts vary across different student groups. In addition to critically reviewing and synthesizing earlier work, this study extends the literature by (a) using the ECLS-K, a…

(Re)Considering Normal: Queering Social Norms for Parents and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Laura; Klecka, Cari

2009-01-01

Recent debates regarding same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian adoption highlight the role of schools as sociopolitical institutions. Accordingly, teachers operating within social norms have considerable influence through their interactions with students and their families. Previous research points to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)…

Biotechnologies and Human Dignity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sweet, William; Masciulli, Joseph

2011-01-01

In this article, the authors review some contemporary cases where biotechnologies have been employed, where they have had global implications, and where there has been considerable debate. The authors argue that the concept of dignity, which lies at the center of such documents as the 2005 Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, the…

Contesting Global Neoliberalism and Creating Alternative Futures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hursh, David W.; Henderson, Joseph A.

2011-01-01

Neoliberal policies, in spite of their considerable damage to economic equality, the environment, and education, remain dominant. In this paper, we suggest that neoliberalism has remained dominant in part because the power elite who benefit from the policies have gained control over both public debate and policy-making. By dominating the discourse…

Literacy: An Essential Ingredient in the Recipe for Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Scott

2005-01-01

The ingredients that underpin economic growth are well-known and generally accepted; population growth, physical capital, financial capital and human capital all play a part in creating long term differences in the wealth of nations. There remains, however, considerable debate about the ideal recipe for economic growth. Recently, Statistics Canada…

International Education Comparison: An Intellectual Tradition and Its Contemporary Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yu-Chih

2017-01-01

What is the nature of comparative and international education as a discipline? What are the relationships and connections between comparison and internationalization? Such questions have long been discussed in comparative education and have provoked much debate."Comparative and International Education: An Introduction to Theory, Method, and…

From Conceptual Frameworks to Mental Models for Astronomy: Students' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pundak, David; Liberman, Ido; Shacham, Miri

2017-01-01

Considerable debate exists among discipline-based astronomy education researchers about how students change their perceptions in science and astronomy. The study questioned the development of astronomical models among students in institutions of higher education by examining how college students change their initial conceptual frameworks and…

The Analysis of the Relation between Education and Economic Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monteils, Marielle

2004-01-01

The debate concerning the various determinants of economic growth has attracted considerable attention. The argument according to which endogenous growth models explain long-term economic growth is often put forward. Particularly, it is held that the production of knowledge by education induces self-sustained growth. In spite of numerous…

Cocos nucifera L

Treesearch

James A. Allen

2002-01-01

The genus Cocos is monotypic. Cocos nucifera is believed to have originated in the Old World tropics, but the natural range is unknown and the origin of the species is the subject of considerable debate (Harries 1978, Parrotta 1993). Dispersal by humans has played a major role in the naturalization of the species on tropical...

Diet composition, dry matter intake and diet overlap of mule deer, elk and cattle.

Treesearch

Scott L. Findholt; Bruce K. Johnson; Daalkhaijav Damiran; Tim DelCurto; John G. Kie

2004-01-01

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), elk (Cervus elaphus) and cattle share rangeland throughout much of interior western North America. Considerable debate exists about the degree to which facilitation or competition occurs for forage between these three species (Nelson 1982, Wisdom and Thomas 1996, Miller 2002).

Being Human: Transdisciplinarity in Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timmons, Stephen; Edgley, Alison; Meal, Andy; Narayanasamy, Aru

2016-01-01

Nursing as an academic discipline typically draws on a wide range of other disciplines. There is debate about whether this is a sound basis for the discipline, or whether nursing needs to develop a distinctive body of knowledge. The concept of transdisciplinarity, though little discussed in nursing, is of considerable value in understanding…

California spotted owl: scientific considerations for forest planning

Treesearch

John J. Keane

2014-01-01

California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) (fig. 1) have been at the forefront of Sierra Nevada management and conservation debates for 25 years because of their strong habitat associations with commercially valuable large trees, snags, and late-successional forests. Initial concerns focused on the effects of timber harvest on large...

Symbolic Number Skills Predict Growth in Nonsymbolic Number Skills in Kindergarteners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyons, Ian M.; Bugden, Stephanie; Zheng, Samuel; De Jesus, Stefanie; Ansari, Daniel

2018-01-01

There is currently considerable discussion about the relative influences of evolutionary and cultural factors in the development of early numerical skills. In particular, there has been substantial debate and study of the relationship between approximate, nonverbal (approximate magnitude system [AMS]) and exact, symbolic (symbolic number system…

Evaluating the use of red light running photographic enforcement using collisions and red light running violations ; Final Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-12-01

The issue of red light running (RLR) has long been a problem throughout the United States. : There is considerable debate within the general public and public agencies regarding the use of : photographic enforcement to deter red light violations. Man...

The Poverty of the Mayan Stimulus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pye, Clifton

2012-01-01

Poverty of the stimulus (POS) arguments have instigated considerable debate in the recent linguistics literature. This article uses the comparative method to challenge the logic of POS arguments. Rather than question the premises of POS arguments, the article demonstrates how POS arguments for individual languages lead to a "reductio ad absurdum"…

Current Directions in ADHD and Its Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norvilitis, Jill M., Ed.

2012-01-01

The treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a matter of ongoing research and debate, with considerable data supporting both psychopharmacological and behavioral approaches. Researchers continue to search for new interventions to be used in conjunction with or in place of the more traditional approaches. These interventions run the…

Relational Frame Theory: An Overview of the Controversy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gross, Amy C.; Fox, Eric J.

2009-01-01

Although Skinner's "Verbal Behavior" (1957) was published over 50 years ago, behavior-analytic research on human language and cognition has been slow to develop. In recent years, a new behavioral approach to language known as relational frame theory (RFT) has generated considerable attention, research, and debate. The controversy surrounding RFT…

From SRI to ESG: The Changing World of Responsible Investing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, Lauren; Griswold, John S.; Jarvis, William F.

2013-01-01

Thoughtful investment professionals continue to debate whether a portfolio's long-term performance can be enhanced by including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in the security selection process, but responsible investing is more than a passing trend. The terms socially-responsible investing, mission-related investing,…

The Philosophical Problem of Truth in Librarianship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labaree, Robert V.; Scimeca, Ross

2008-01-01

The authors develop a framework for addressing the question of truth in librarianship and in doing so attempt to move considerations of truth closer to the core of philosophical debates within the profession. After establishing ways in which philosophy contributes to social scientific inquiry in library science, the authors examine concepts of…

The Missing Link: The Sexualisation of Culture and Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Maria

2012-01-01

Whilst debate around the sexualisation of culture proliferates across discursive arenas, the potential meanings and impacts for the lives of women, girls and young people dominates discussion. Meanwhile, consideration of men and masculinities remains scarce or only thinly sketched across the field. This viewpoint explores sexualisation as a…

Tweens' Conceptions of Privacy Online: Implications for Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Katie; James, Carrie

2013-01-01

There is considerable debate about young people's concern for privacy today, given their frequent use of social media to share information and other content about themselves and others. While researchers have investigated the online privacy practices of teens and emerging adults, relatively little is known about the attitudes and behaviors of…

The Analysis of Athletic Performance: Some Practical and Philosophical Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Lee J.; Groom, Ryan

2012-01-01

This article presents a hypothetical dialogue between a notational analyst (NA) recently schooled in the positivistic assessment of athletic performance, an "old-school" traditional coach (TC) who favours subjective analysis, and a pragmatic educator (PE). The conversation opens with NA and TC debating the respective value of quantitative and…

Some Nice Relations between Right-Angled Triangles and the Golden Section

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scimone, Aldo

2011-01-01

The international debate about experimental approaches to the teaching and learning mathematics is very current. While number theory lends itself naturally to such approaches, elementary geometry can also provide interesting starting points for creative work in class. This article shows how simple considerations about right triangles and the…

The Health and Welfare of University Students in Britain, 1920-1939

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon, Keith

2008-01-01

Throughout the interwar period, there was considerable discussion concerning the health and welfare of university students in Britain, involving university officials, student organizations and government departments. In the light of these debates, there was a significant expansion of amenities for students, which included halls of residence,…

Information Processing and Dynamics in Minimally Cognitive Agents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beer, Randall D.; Williams, Paul L.

2015-01-01

There has been considerable debate in the literature about the relative merits of information processing versus dynamical approaches to understanding cognitive processes. In this article, we explore the relationship between these two styles of explanation using a model agent evolved to solve a relational categorization task. Specifically, we…

Chronic Broca's Aphasia Is Caused by Damage to Broca's and Wernicke's Areas

PubMed Central

Fridriksson, Julius; Fillmore, Paul; Guo, Dazhou; Rorden, Chris

2015-01-01

Despite being perhaps the most studied form of aphasia, the critical lesion location for Broca's aphasia has long been debated, and in chronic patients, cortical damage often extends far beyond Broca's area. In a group of 70 patients, we examined brain damage associated with Broca's aphasia using voxel-wise lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM). We found that damage to the posterior portion of Broca's area, the pars opercularis, is associated with Broca's aphasia. However, several individuals with other aphasic patterns had considerable damage to pars opercularis, suggesting that involvement of this region is not sufficient to cause Broca's aphasia. When examining only individuals with pars opercularis damage, we found that patients with Broca's aphasia had greater damage in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG; roughly Wernicke's area) than those with other aphasia types. Using discriminant function analysis and logistic regression, based on proportional damage to the pars opercularis and Wernicke's area, to predict whether individuals had Broca's or another types of aphasia, over 95% were classified correctly. Our findings suggest that persons with Broca's aphasia have damage to both Broca's and Wernicke's areas, a conclusion that is incongruent with classical neuropsychology, which has rarely considered the effects of damage to both areas. PMID:25016386

Genetic predisposition to schizophrenia associated with increased use of cannabis

PubMed Central

Power, Robert A.; Verweij, Karin J.H.; Zuhair, Mohamed; Montgomery, Grant W.; Henders, Anjali K.; Heath, Andrew C.; Madden, Pamela A.F.; Medland, Sarah E.; Wray, Naomi R.; Martin, Nicholas G.

2015-01-01

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide. With debate surrounding the legalization and control of use, investigating its health risks has become a pressing area of research. One established association is that between cannabis use and schizophrenia, a debilitating psychiatric disorder affecting approximately 1% of the population over their lifetime. Although considerable evidence implicates cannabis use as a component cause of schizophrenia, it remains unclear whether this is entirely due to cannabis directly raising risk of psychosis, or whether the same genes that increases psychosis risk may also increase risk of cannabis use. In a sample of 2,082 healthy individuals, we show an association between an individual’s burden of schizophrenia risk alleles and use of cannabis. This was significant both for comparing those who have ever vs. never used cannabis (p=2.6×10−4), and for quantity of use within users (p=3.0×10−3). While directly predicting only a small amount of the variance in cannabis use, these findings suggest that part of the association between schizophrenia and cannabis is due to a shared genetic aetiology. This form of gene-environment correlation is an important consideration when calculating the impact of environmental risk factors, including cannabis use. PMID:24957864

Deciding on gender in children with intersex conditions: considerations and controversies.

PubMed

Thyen, Ute; Richter-Appelt, Hertha; Wiesemann, Claudia; Holterhus, Paul-Martin; Hiort, Olaf

2005-01-01

Biologic factors such as genetic and hormonal influences contribute to gender identity, gender role behavior, and sexual orientation in humans, but this relationship is considerably modified by psychologic, social, and cultural factors. The recognition of biologically determined conditions leading to incongruity of genetically determined sex, somatic phenotype, and gender identity has led to growing interest in gender role development and gender identity in individuals with intersex conditions. Sex assignment of children with ambiguous genitalia remains a difficult decision for the families involved and subject to controversial discussion among professionals and self-help groups. Although systematic empirical data on outcomes of functioning and health-related quality of life are sparse, anecdotal evidence from case series and individual patients about their experiences in healthcare suggests traumatic experiences in some. This article reviews the earlier 'optimal gender policy' as well as the more recent 'full consent policy' and reviews published data on both surgical and psychosocial outcomes. The professional debate on deciding on sex assignment in children with intersex conditions is embedded in a much wider public discourse on gender as a social construction. Given that the empirical basis of our knowledge of the causes, treatment options, long-term outcomes, and patient preferences is insufficient, we suggest preliminary recommendations based on clinical experience, study of the literature, and interviews with affected individuals.

Argument within a Scientific Debate: The Case of the DRD2 A1 Allele as a Gene for Alcoholism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wastyn, Ronald O.; Wastyn, M. Linda

1997-01-01

Investigates how opposing parties advanced arguments to the scientific community about the validity of DRD2 A1 allele as a gene causing alcoholism. Demonstrates to what extent scientists debate each other in journals by advancing opposing viewpoints with rigor and insight. Reveals what it means when scientists label a discovery in terms of finding…

Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Boys Diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Leigh Adams; Govender, Kaymarlin

2017-01-01

The "new sociology of childhood" has activated a growing interest in children as social actors and their level of involvement in activities that affect their lives. In the field of research, debate is underway regarding the consent processes and methodological activities that support child participation. This paper highlights…

Mechanisms of Masked Priming: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van den Bussche, Eva; Van den Noortgate, Wim; Reynvoet, Bert

2009-01-01

The extent to which unconscious information can influence behavior has been a topic of considerable debate throughout the history of psychology. A frequently used method for studying subliminal processing is the masked priming paradigm. The authors focused on studies in which this paradigm was used. Their aim was twofold: first, to assess the…

Literacy Education and Orthography in the Spanish Golden Age, 1531-1631

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gómez Camacho, Alejandro; Casado Rodrigo, Jesús

2016-01-01

During the Spanish Golden Age, language was developing fast. An important debate on orthology and orthography was taking place at the time. Many authors posed different proposals for a reform of spelling. The arguments discussed in these works also included educational considerations in favour of their proposals, which makes them an invaluable…

Beyond ADHD: A Consideration of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Pedagogy in Australian Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prosser, Brenton J.

2008-01-01

A psycho-medical discourse that explains behavioural dysfunction through neurological deficit has dominated debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, if only medical questions are asked, only medical answers will be found, resulting in more or less drug treatment. When behavioural dysfunction results in impairment…

Cognitive Adaptation to the Experience of Social and Cultural Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crisp, Richard J.; Turner, Rhiannon N.

2011-01-01

Diversity is a defining characteristic of modern society, yet there remains considerable debate over the benefits that it brings. The authors argue that positive psychological and behavioral outcomes will be observed only when social and cultural diversity is experienced in a way that challenges stereotypical expectations and that when this…

A Rationale for Critical Pedagogy in EFL: The Case of Tajikistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredricks, Lori

2007-01-01

As EFL programs become more prevalent throughout the world, the cultural implications of English teaching are more often debated. These cultural considerations are extremely relevant in Islamic cultures, where English education can be viewed as contributing to the influence of Western Christian or secular pedagogy. This potential clash of…

Approval Procedures and Passive Consent Considerations in Research among Young People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Meyrick, Julian

2005-01-01

Purpose: The intention of this paper is to encourage debate among ethical researchers on this very important issue. Research necessary to underpin health education and health promotion is often controversial and often involves vulnerable populations such as young people and children. It is essential that the rights of these respondents are…

Dispositions in Teacher Education: A Look at Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villegas, Ana Maria

2007-01-01

The use of a dispositional framework in the preparation of teachers, especially one that attends to issues of social justice, has generated considerable debate of late. In this article, the author argues that assessing teacher candidates' dispositions related to social justice is both reasonable and defensible. She explains why social justice…

Finance Graduates' Knowledge and Skills Development: Graduate and Employer Perceptions in United Arab Emirates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al Shayeb, Abdulrahman Mohamed

2013-01-01

There has been considerable debate over the past decades concerning the extent to which finance education has fulfilled employers' and graduates' expectations related to knowledge and skills needed in a changing and challenging business environment. This study seeks to examine whether there are significant differences in expectations between…

Twenty Years of Progress in Violence Risk Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, R. Karl

2005-01-01

Violence risk assessment has advanced considerably in the last 20 years. In the 1980s, leading professionals questioned the very possibility of valid violence risk assessments; now, many of the major risk factors have been identified, and professional debate focuses on how best to combine these risk factors into meaningful evaluations. An…

Health Lifestyle Theory and the Convergence of Agency and Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cockerham, William C.

2005-01-01

This article utilizes the agency-structure debate as a framework for constructing a health lifestyle theory. No such theory currently exists, yet the need for one is underscored by the fact that many daily lifestyle practices involve considerations of health outcomes. An individualist paradigm has influenced concepts of health lifestyles in…

Examining the Role of Corporate Sponsorship in the Public School System: Appropriate Pathways

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potter, Maria

2012-01-01

To compensate for declining public school budgets, an increasing number of local public education organizations are soliciting and accepting financial support from U.S. corporations. There is considerable debate as to whether corporate involvement ultimately aids or hampers students' academic achievement, and there are many conflicting opinions as…

Science Consistency Reviews A Primer for Application

Treesearch

James M. Guldin; David Cawrse; Russell Graham; Miles Hemstrom; Linda Joyce; Steve Kessler; Ranotta McNair; George Peterson; Charles G. Shaw; Peter Stine; Mark Twery; Jeffrey Walter

2003-01-01

Concern over Federal land management decisions has grown in recent years. Public debates over activities on Federal land have been contentious, especially regarding management of national forests. Decisions on the management and use of national forest lands are based on many different considerations and values. Although Federal land managers can make choices concerning...

Short-Term Stability of Psychopathic Traits in Adolescent Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Zina; Klaver, Jessica R.; Hart, Stephen D.; Moretti, Marlene M.; Douglas, Kevin S.

2009-01-01

There is considerable debate about the assessment of psychopathic traits in adolescence due in part to questions regarding the stability of traits. We investigated the 6-month stability of psychopathic traits in a sample of 83 male adolescent offenders using an augmented protocol for the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and the self-report…

Teaching Community, Praxis, and Courage: A Foundations Pedagogy of Hope and Humanization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renner, Adam

2009-01-01

America's sense of community is broken down; its sense of connectedness and the collective is "collapsing." That these senses ever existed is a matter for considerable debate. But, as the new millennium gains momentum and neoliberalism seeks expansion, the author argues that a focus on rekindling these concepts of community,…

Understanding Links between Punitive Parenting and Adolescent Adjustment: The Relevance of Context and Reciprocal Associations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roche, Kathleen M.; Ghazarian, Sharon R.; Little, Todd D.; Leventhal, Tama

2011-01-01

There is considerable debate regarding the extent to which punitive parenting adversely impacts youth well-being. Using an ecological-transactional model of human development, we examined reciprocity and contextual variability in associations between maternal punitive discipline and adolescent adjustment among 1,147 low-income, urban youth…

Towards a Critical Theory of Educational Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okan, Zuhal

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study is to offer a critical consideration of current initiatives, and common sense discourses, forcing educators to adopt and integrate educational technology on a large scale. This study argues that it is time, in the relative absence of a critical debate, to ask questions that should precede a wholesale adoption of…

Distinct Patterns of Grey Matter Abnormality in High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McAlonan, Grainne M.; Suckling, John; Wong, Naikei; Cheung, Vinci; Lienenkaemper, Nina; Cheung, Charlton; Chua, Siew E.

2008-01-01

Background: Autism exists across a wide spectrum and there is considerable debate as to whether children with Asperger's syndrome, who have normal language milestones, should be considered to comprise a subgroup distinct other from high-functioning children with autism (HFA), who have a history of delayed language development. Magnetic resonance…

The Great Race Debate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Kimberly

2012-01-01

When the U.S. Supreme Court takes up "Fisher v. Texas" in the fall--its first major consideration of affirmative action policies in higher education since 2003--scholars, legal experts and university administrators say the policies that are the basis of affirmative action in the nation's colleges and universities may be coming to an end. While…

Prosody Signals the Emergence of Intentional Communication in the First Year of Life: Evidence from Catalan-Babbling Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esteve-Gibert, Nuria; Prieto, Pilar

2013-01-01

There is considerable debate about whether early vocalizations mimic the target language and whether prosody signals emergent intentional communication. A longitudinal corpus of four Catalan-babbling infants was analyzed to investigate whether children use different prosodic patterns to distinguish communicative from investigative vocalizations…

The Future of the National Technical Information Service: Issues and Options.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClure, Charles R.

In recent years there has been considerable debate about the appropriate role, management structure, and activities for the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). This background paper identifies key issues that require attention by Congress and by NTIS itself to increase the effectiveness of NTIS in the collection and dissemination of…

Gender Inequality and Research Performance: Moving beyond Individual-Meritocratic Explanations of Academic Advancement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Mathias Wullum

2016-01-01

Academic debates addressing the persistent gender gap in science reveal considerable contestation of the relevance and extent of the problem. Particular attention has been given to the question of whether women's high attrition rates should be ascribed to the structural and cultural barriers inherent to the academic system or instead…

Landscape assessment of a stable aspen community in southern Utah, USA

Treesearch

Paul C. Rogers; A. Joshua Leffler; Ronald J. Ryel

2010-01-01

Recent reports of rapid die-off of aspen (Populus tremuloides), coupled with vigorous debate over longterm reduction of aspen cover in western North America, has prompted considerable research given the importance of this forest type for economic and non-economic interests. Despite this interest, indicators of aspen conditions are...

Differential Relationships between WISC-IV and WIAT-II Scales: An Evaluation of Potentially Moderating Child Demographics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konold, Timothy R.; Canivez, Gary L.

2010-01-01

Considerable debate exists regarding the accuracy of intelligence tests with members of different groups. This study investigated differential predictive validity of the "Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition". Participants from the WISC-IV--WIAT-II standardization linking sample (N = 550) ranged in age from 6 through…

Deriving Multidimensional Poverty Indicators: Methodological Issues and an Empirical Analysis for Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coromaldi, Manuela; Zoli, Mariangela

2012-01-01

Theoretical and empirical studies have recently adopted a multidimensional concept of poverty. There is considerable debate about the most appropriate degree of multidimensionality to retain in the analysis. In this work we add to the received literature in two ways. First, we derive indicators of multiple deprivation by applying a particular…

Alcohol Measures and Terms: A Perfect Storm for Chronic Confusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glassman, Tavis Jared

2010-01-01

Members in the prevention and treatment fields continue to examine how to most effectively assess and label high volume alcohol consumption. Terms such as "binge" drinking have resulted in considerable controversy and debate. Conventionally the criteria for assessing high-risk drinking includes: five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks…

The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Quality Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siegel, Donald

2005-01-01

The short- and long-term effects of quality physical education programs have been a subject of considerable debate by educational administrators and state legislators during the past decade. While physical educators have repeatedly demonstrated the importance of daily moderate and vigorous physical activity on the immediate health and wellbeing of…

Migrant Workers and the Changing Psychological Contract

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Arthur; Finniear, Jocelyn

2009-01-01

Purpose: The influx of migrant workers in the UK has widespread interest. This group's experience of the British work place has evoked considerable debate ranging from the potential to be exploited through unscrupulous practices to allegations about taking away jobs from British workers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about the…

Doing the Scut Work of Infant Care: Does Religiousness Encourage Father Involvement?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeMaris, Alfred; Mahoney, Annette; Pargament, Kenneth I.

2011-01-01

Considerable debate exists regarding whether religiousness promotes or impedes greater father involvement in parenting. Our study addresses this issue using a Midwestern longitudinal data set that tracks the transition to first parenthood for 169 married couples. We focus on performance of the "messier" tasks of infant care. We find little…

A Study of North Carolina Technology Teacher Evaluation Practices and Job Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olah, Dean Anthony

2013-01-01

Defining and measuring teacher effectiveness is one of the most hotly debated topics in public education today. The "No Child Left Behind" Act placed considerable emphasis on high quality teaching standards, making it a focal point of study among educators, administrators, and curriculum developers. Recruitment and retention of high…

Child Labour, Education Policy and Governance in Cambodia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Chae-Young

2011-01-01

This paper considers how the issue of child labour is located in Cambodian education policy debates and how it is affected by the major constraints surrounding the Cambodian education sector. In particular, it asks why Cambodian policy makers have not sought to address the issue explicitly despite its considerable, and adverse, impact on…

The Educational Afterlife of Greater Britain, 1903-1914

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Philip

2012-01-01

Following its late nineteenth-century emergence as an important element within federalist thinking across the British Empire, the idea of Greater Britain lost much of its political force in the years following the Boer War. The concept however continued to retain considerable residual currency in other fields of Imperial debate, including those…

How Useful Are Indices of Personality Pathology when Assessing Domestic Violence Perpetrators?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibbons, Peter; Collins, Marjorie; Reid, Corinne

2011-01-01

There has been considerable debate about profiling personality pathology when assessing and treating male perpetrators of domestic violence (DV). This study used the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III) to explore the severity and diversity of male perpetrator personality pathology and response bias in a group of DV perpetrators being…

Theoretical Considerations and Standards for the Use of Turnarounds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Clark D.

The term "turnaround" has taken a permanent place among the intercollegiate debate jargon. All too often, the first affirmative rebuttalists charge "turnaround" for every plan or response they do not know how to label properly. After so many "false alarms," judges are too weary or aggravated to notice the real thing,…

Childhood and/or Adolescent Sexual Experiences: Predicting Variability in Subsequent Adjustment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seidner, Andrea L.; And Others

There is considerable debate regarding the effects of childhood sexual abuse on an individual's subsequent adjustment. To determine which variables are most useful in predicting subsequent adjustment of individuals who were involved in sexual experiences as children or adolescents, 59 female and 17 male undergraduates who reported having had a…

Student, Teacher, Professor: Three Perspectives on Online Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearcy, Mark

2014-01-01

Today, a third of American children regularly use computer tablets, while over 40% use smartphones and 53% regularly use laptops in their home. While this is encouraging there is still considerable debate about the shape and direction technology should take in school, particularly online education making it necessary for educators to change in…

Religion in School, Interreligious Relations and Citizenship: The Case of Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leirvik, Oddbjorn

2008-01-01

The article analyses the relation between religion, education and citizenship as reflected in recent research and current debates regarding religion in Pakistani schools. Following a description of the political context, two different views (one Christian, one Muslim) on the current state of affairs are presented. After a consideration of the…

Nonword Repetition and Vocabulary Use in Toddlers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stokes, Stephanie F.; Moran, Catherine; George, Anjali

2013-01-01

Purpose: There is general consensus that the ability to repeat nonsense words is related to vocabulary size in young children, but there is considerable debate about the nature of the relationship and the mechanisms that underlie it. Research with adults has proposed a shared neural substrate for nonword repetition (NWR) and language production,…

Conflicts of Interest: An Indispensable Element of Education for Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundegard, Iann; Wickman, Per-Olof

2007-01-01

A central concept introduced in the Nordic debate on sustainable development is "action competence". The concept has been defined as a competence of learners, i.e. the ability to take into consideration the social factors and human conflict of interest that lies behind environmental questions and sustainable development. The concern of…

Alternative Schedules: What, How, and to What End?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasley, Patricia A.

1997-01-01

The principal of a traditional high school in upstate New York asked faculty to reexamine the school schedule. After considerable debate, teachers decided to rotate class time so that no one suffered the afterlunch slump or day's-end rowdiness in a single class. Having gained confidence, a permanent teacher committee has added time blocks and…

Are "Digital Natives" Really Digitally Competent?--A Study on Chinese Teenagers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yan; Ranieri, Maria

2010-01-01

Literature review has found that despite the considerable attention focused on "digital natives", few studies have carefully investigated the characteristics of this group. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the debate on digital natives by providing a "piece of evidence" on the digital competence status of a group…

The journals are full of great studies but can we believe the statistics? Revisiting the mass privatisation - mortality debate.

PubMed

Gerry, Christopher J

2012-07-01

Cross-national statistical analyses based on country-level panel data are increasingly popular in social epidemiology. To provide reliable results on the societal determinants of health, analysts must give very careful consideration to conceptual and methodological issues: aggregate (historical) data are typically compatible with multiple alternative stories of the data-generating process. Studies in this field which fail to relate their empirical approach to the true underlying data-generating process are likely to produce misleading results if, for example, they misspecify their models by failing to explore the statistical properties of the longitudinal aspect of their data or by ignoring endogeneity issues. We illustrate the importance of this extra need for care with reference to a recent debate on whether discussing the role of rapid mass privatisation can explain post-communist mortality fluctuations. We demonstrate that the finding that rapid mass privatisation was a "crucial determinant" of male mortality fluctuations in the post-communist world is rejected once better consideration is given to the way in which the data are generated. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Probing the Hawaiian Hot Spot With New Broadband Ocean Bottom Instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laske, Gabi; Collins, John A.; Wolfe, Cecily J.; Solomon, Sean C.; Detrick, Robert S.; Orcutt, John A.; Bercovici, David; Hauri, Erik H.

2009-10-01

The Hawaiian hot spot is regarded as the textbook example of the product of a deep-rooted mantle plume [Wilson, 1963; Morgan, 1971]. Its isolated location, far from any plate boundary, should provide an opportunity to test most basic hypotheses on the nature of plume-plate interaction and related magmatism [e.g., Ribe and Christensen, 1999]. Yet the lack of crucial geophysical data has sustained a debate about whether Hawaii's volcanism is plume-related or is instead the consequence of more shallow processes, such as the progressive fracturing of the plate in response to extensional stresses [Turcotte and Oxburgh, 1973]. In the plume model for Hawaii's volcanism, hot material is expected to ascend near vertically within the more viscous surrounding mantle before ponding and spreading laterally beneath the rigid lithosphere. Mantle convection in general, and the fast moving Pacific plate in particular, shear and tilt the rising plume. The plume top is dragged downstream by the plate, and this dragged material may give rise to an elongated bathymetric swell [Davies, 1988; Olson, 1990; Sleep, 1990; Phipps Morgan et al., 1995]. However, identifying the dominant cause of the swell remains elusive, and proposed mechanisms include thermal rejuvenation, dynamic support, compositional buoyancy, and mechanical erosion (see Li et al. [2004] for a summary). There is also considerable debate about the continuity of the plume within the mantle, how discrete islands are formed, and how a deep-rooted plume interacts with the mantle transition zone [e.g., van Keken and Gable, 1995].

Safety of allergen immunotherapy: a review of premedication and dose adjustment.

PubMed

Morris, A Erika; Marshall, Gailen D

2012-03-01

From the first allergen immunotherapy proposed in the early 1900s to the present day, numerous studies have proven the efficacy of allergen immunotherapy for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, allergic asthma and stinging insect hypersensitivity. The major risk, however small, with allergen immunotherapy is anaphylaxis. There has been considerable interest and debate regarding risk factors for immunotherapy reactions (local and systemic) and interventions to reduce the occurrence of these reactions. One of these interventions that is especially debated regards dose adjustment for various reasons, but in particular for local reactions. In this review, we discuss the safety of immunotherapy and provide a comprehensive review of the literature regarding immunotherapy schedules and doses.

What is wrong with "ethics for sale"? An analysis of the many issues that complicate the debate about conflicts of interests in bioethics.

PubMed

Sontag, David N

2007-01-01

This article addresses all of the issues involved in the debate about whether or not bioethicists should be paid by private biomedical companies to perform consultations. These issues include the following: differentiation of this role from bioethicists' other roles, an analysis of to whom bioethicists owe a duty, consideration of what bioethicists are "selling," whether bioethicists should be allowed to get paid, when payment becomes problematic, and whether consulting fee arrangements should be regulated. The author often compares bioethicists' relationship to the companies to bioethicists' other relationships, as well as to professional relationships in other fields, such as law and accounting.

Carvedilol in the treatment of chronic heart failure: Lessons from The Carvedilol Or Metoprolol European Trial

PubMed Central

Kveiborg, Britt; Major-Petersen, Atheline; Christiansen, Buris; Torp-Pedersen, Christian

2007-01-01

Beta-blockers have been shown to improve survival in patients with chronic heart failure. The effect of different generations of beta blockers has been debated. Both metoprolol and carvedilol have demonstrated beneficial effects in placebo-controlled trials. In The Carvedilol Or Metoprolol European Trial (COMET) two beta blockers were compared in a double-blind randomized matter. This is the first direct comparison between metoprolol and carvedilol of long-term effect on survival in patients with chronic heart failure. The all-cause mortality was signif icantly reduced in the favour of carvedilol. The dose and formulation of metoprolol used in this trial has caused debate, and it has been questioned whether a similar beta1-blockade is obtained in the two intervention groups. At this time there is an unresolved debate as to whether carvedilol is a superior beta-blocker or whether differences in beta1-blockade explained the results of COMET. PMID:17583173

The toxicological geochemistry of Earth materials: An overview of processes and the interdisciplinary methods used to understand them

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Morman, Suzette A.; Ziegler, Thomas L.

2006-01-01

A broad spectrum of earth materials have been linked to, blamed for, and/or debated as sources for disease. In some cases, the links are clear. For example, excessive exposures to mineral dusts have long been recognized for their role in diseases such as: asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancers (asbestos); silicosis and lung cancer (silica dusts); and coal-workers pneumoconiosis (coal dust). Lead poisoning, particularly in toddlers and young children, has been conclusively linked to involuntary ingestion of soils or other materials contaminated with lead-rich paint particles, leaded gasoline combustion byproducts, and some types of lead-rich mine wastes or smelter particulates. Waters with naturally elevated arsenic contents are common in many regions of the globe, and consumption of these waters has been documented as the source of arsenic-related diseases affecting thousands of people in south Asia and other regions. Exposure to dusts or soils containing pathogens has been documented as the cause of regionally common diseases such as valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) and much rarer diseases such as anthrax. Links between many other earth materials and specific diseases, although suspected, are less clear or are debated. For example, it has been suggested that geographic clusters of diseases such as leukemia are related to exposures to waters or atmospheric particulates containing organic or metal contaminants; however, for many clusters the exact causal relationships between disease and environmental exposure are difficult to prove conclusively. Even for many diseases in which the causal relationship is clear, such as in asbestosis and mesothelioma triggered by asbestos exposure, the minimum exposures needed to trigger disease, the influence of genetic factors, and the exact mechanisms of toxicity are still incompletely understood and are the focus of considerable debate within the public health community. Hence, understanding the health effects resulting from occupational and environmental exposures to a wide variety of earth materials remains a very active and fruitful area of research.

The Artilect Debate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Garis, Hugo; Halioris, Sam

Twenty-first-century technologies will allow the creation of massively intelligent machines, many trillions of times as smart, fast, and durable as humans. Issues concerning industrial, consumer, and military applications of mobile autonomous robots, cyborgs, and computer-based AI systems could divisively split humanity into ideological camps regarding whether "artilects" (artificial intellects) should be built or not. The artilect debate, unlike any before it, could dominate the 21st-century political landscape, and has the potential to cause conflict on a global scale. Research is needed to inform policy and individual decisions; and healthy debate should be initiated now to prepare institutions and individuals alike for the impact of AI.

The role played by stakeholders in the public debate that brought Italy out of the club of nuclear energy producers.

PubMed

Cantone, Marie Claire; Sturloni, Giancarlo; Brunelli, Giancarlo

2007-10-01

In 1964, Italy was the fourth largest world producer of electricity generated by nuclear reactors, second in Europe only to United Kingdom. In subsequent years, various controversial political events contributed towards drastically slowing down the development of the Italian national nuclear program. The 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, which caused a public outcry all over Europe, had particularly serious repercussions in Italy. In a controversial referendum, held in November 1987, Italian citizens voted to repeal three laws promoting the installation of nuclear power plants (NPP) on Italian soil and allowing the National Institute for Electrical Energy (ENEL) to participate in the construction of NPP's abroad. This work analyzes the reasons for that decision and the communication strategies of the stakeholders that took part in the public debate on nuclear energy during the weeks following the Chernobyl accident. Drawing from the methodologies used in media studies, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of two leading Italian newspapers was performed. The results reveal that a variety of stakeholders, upholding different values and interests, took part in the debate. There being no tradition of a public dialogue and participation in Italy, the debate was polarized to a "yes/no choice," which eventually caused Italy to abandon the production of nuclear power for civilian use.

Abortion and public health: Time for another look

PubMed Central

McCurdy, Stephen A.

2016-01-01

Four decades after Roe v. Wade, abortion remains highly contentious, pitting a woman's right to choose against a fetal claim to life. Public health implications are staggering: the US annual total of more than one million induced abortions equals nearly half the number of registered deaths from all causes. Sentiment regarding abortion is roughly evenly split among the general public, yet fundamental debate about abortion is largely absent in the public health community, which is predominantly supportive of its wide availability. Absence of substantive debate on abortion separates the public health community from the public we serve, jeopardizing the trust placed in us. Traditional public health values—support for vulnerable groups and opposition to the politicization of science—together with the principle of reciprocity weigh against abortion. Were aborted lives counted as are other human lives, induced abortion would be acknowledged as the largest single preventable cause of loss of human life. Lay Summary: Four decades after Roe v. Wade, abortion remains highly divisive. Public sentiment regarding abortion is roughly evenly split, yet fundamental debate is largely absent in the public health community, which supports abortion’s wide availability. Absence of substantive debate separates the public health community from the public it serves. Traditional public health values—support for vulnerable populations and opposition to politicization of science—and the principle of reciprocity (“the Golden Rule”) weigh against abortion. Were aborted lives counted as are other human lives, induced abortion would be acknowledged as the largest single preventable cause of loss of human life. PMID:27833179

Becoming more oneself? Changes in personality following DBS treatment for psychiatric disorders: Experiences of OCD patients and general considerations

PubMed Central

Rietveld, Erik; Stokhof, Martin; Denys, Damiaan

2017-01-01

Does DBS change a patient’s personality? This is one of the central questions in the debate on the ethics of treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). At the moment, however, this important debate is hampered by the fact that there is relatively little data available concerning what patients actually experience following DBS treatment. There are a few qualitative studies with patients with Parkinson’s disease and Primary Dystonia and some case reports, but there has been no qualitative study yet with patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we present the experiences of 18 patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who are undergoing treatment with DBS. We will also discuss the inherent difficulties of how to define and assess changes in personality, in particular for patients with psychiatric disorders. We end with a discussion of the data and how these shed new light on the conceptual debate about how to define personality. PMID:28426824

Complex mediascapes, complex realities: critically engaging with biotechnology debates in Ghana.

PubMed

Rock, Joeva

2018-01-01

The recent increase in research and commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa has resulted in considerable and understandable interest from farmers, scholars, and practitioners. However, messy situations are often hard to critically engage in from afar, and the recent article published by Braimah et al. [(2017). Debated agronomy: Public discourse and the future of biotechnology policy in Ghana. Global Bioethics . doi:10.1080/11287462.2016.1261604] presents certain claims that further obfuscate - rather than clarify - an already complex landscape. In this commentary I first seek to clarify particular details of the Ghanaian "GMO" (as GM crops are colloquially called in Ghana) story with particular focus on certain actors and their stances. Next, I highlight some methodological shortcomings of Debated Agronomy and correct certain dubious quotations and claims. Finally, I suggest a more ethnographically and discourse-focused methodology to gain much needed insight into how Ghanaians are actively molding, contesting, and questioning GM discourse, funding, and use.

Patient advocacy and DSM-5.

PubMed

Stein, Dan J; Phillips, Katharine A

2013-05-17

The revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) provides a useful opportunity to revisit debates about the nature of psychiatric classification. An important debate concerns the involvement of mental health consumers in revisions of the classification. One perspective argues that psychiatric classification is a scientific process undertaken by scientific experts and that including consumers in the revision process is merely pandering to political correctness. A contrasting perspective is that psychiatric classification is a process driven by a range of different values and that the involvement of patients and patient advocates would enhance this process. Here we draw on our experiences with input from the public during the deliberations of the Obsessive Compulsive-Spectrum Disorders subworkgroup of DSM-5, to help make the argument that psychiatric classification does require reasoned debate on a range of different facts and values, and that it is appropriate for scientist experts to review their nosological recommendations in the light of rigorous consideration of patient experience and feedback.

Complex mediascapes, complex realities: critically engaging with biotechnology debates in Ghana

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT The recent increase in research and commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa has resulted in considerable and understandable interest from farmers, scholars, and practitioners. However, messy situations are often hard to critically engage in from afar, and the recent article published by Braimah et al. [(2017). Debated agronomy: Public discourse and the future of biotechnology policy in Ghana. Global Bioethics. doi:10.1080/11287462.2016.1261604] presents certain claims that further obfuscate – rather than clarify – an already complex landscape. In this commentary I first seek to clarify particular details of the Ghanaian “GMO” (as GM crops are colloquially called in Ghana) story with particular focus on certain actors and their stances. Next, I highlight some methodological shortcomings of Debated Agronomy and correct certain dubious quotations and claims. Finally, I suggest a more ethnographically and discourse-focused methodology to gain much needed insight into how Ghanaians are actively molding, contesting, and questioning GM discourse, funding, and use. PMID:29887770

The end of life decisions -- should physicians aid their patients in dying?

PubMed

Sharma, B R

2004-06-01

Decisions pertaining to end of life whether legalized or otherwise, are made in many parts of the world but not reported on account of legal implications. The highly charged debate over voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide was brought into the public arena again when two British doctors confessed to giving lethal doses of drugs to hasten the death of terminally ill patients. Lack of awareness regarding the distinction between different procedures on account of legal status granted to them in some countries is the other area of concern. Some equate withdrawal of life support measures to physician assisted suicide whereas physician assisted suicide is often misinterpreted as euthanasia. Debate among the medical practitioners, law makers and the public taking into consideration the cultural, social and religious ethos will lead to increased awareness, more safeguards and improvement of medical decisions concerning the end of life. International Human Rights Law can provide a consensual basis for such a debate on euthanasia.

The debate over weight- versus price-based taxation of snuff in the United States' state legislatures.

PubMed

Timberlake, David S; Sami, Mojgan; Patel, Sonam; Thiagarajan, Shamili; Badiyan, Ramin; Willard, Shay

2014-08-01

Discount snuff, known for its cheap price, high nicotine content, and popularity among youth, has increased substantially in market share in the United States. As a likely result, the leading manufacturer of premium snuff has supported legislation changing the basis for taxing snuff from price to weight. To determine which public health issues arose in legislative debates, we transcribed 17 of 52 bills from US state legislatures and coded for arguments broadly categorized into public health, fair taxation, tax revenue, tax efficiency, and anti-competitiveness. State legislators expressed frustration that equitable taxation, revenue generation, and prevention of youth tobacco use were frequently conflated in the debates. Public health advocates expressed concerns over youths' incentives to purchase low-weight snuff, but seldom discussed youths' growing preference for discount snuff. The evolving market of moist snuff is a critical consideration for US state legislators as well as policy makers from other countries who may evaluate taxation methods for alternate tobacco products.

Becoming more oneself? Changes in personality following DBS treatment for psychiatric disorders: Experiences of OCD patients and general considerations.

PubMed

de Haan, Sanneke; Rietveld, Erik; Stokhof, Martin; Denys, Damiaan

2017-01-01

Does DBS change a patient's personality? This is one of the central questions in the debate on the ethics of treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). At the moment, however, this important debate is hampered by the fact that there is relatively little data available concerning what patients actually experience following DBS treatment. There are a few qualitative studies with patients with Parkinson's disease and Primary Dystonia and some case reports, but there has been no qualitative study yet with patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we present the experiences of 18 patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who are undergoing treatment with DBS. We will also discuss the inherent difficulties of how to define and assess changes in personality, in particular for patients with psychiatric disorders. We end with a discussion of the data and how these shed new light on the conceptual debate about how to define personality.

An Update to Returning Genetic Research Results to Individuals: Perspectives of the Industry Pharmacogenomics Working Group

PubMed Central

Prucka, Sandra K; Arnold, Lester J; Brandt, John E; Gilardi, Sandra; Harty, Lea C; Hong, Feng; Malia, Joanne; Pulford, David J

2015-01-01

The ease with which genotyping technologies generate tremendous amounts of data on research participants has been well chronicled, a feat that continues to become both faster and cheaper to perform. In parallel to these advances come additional ethical considerations and debates, one of which centers on providing individual research results and incidental findings back to research participants taking part in genetic research efforts. In 2006 the Industry Pharmacogenomics Working Group (I-PWG) offered some ‘Points-to-Consider’ on this topic within the context of the drug development process from those who are affiliated to pharmaceutical companies. Today many of these points remain applicable to the discussion but will be expanded upon in this updated viewpoint from the I-PWG. The exploratory nature of pharmacogenomic work in the pharmaceutical industry is discussed to provide context for why these results typically are not best suited for return. Operational challenges unique to this industry which cause barriers to returning this information are also explained. PMID:24471556

Role of eosinophils in airway inflammation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Tashkin, Donald P; Wechsler, Michael E

2018-01-01

COPD is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. In some patients with COPD, eosinophils contribute to inflammation that promotes airway obstruction; approximately a third of stable COPD patients have evidence of eosinophilic inflammation. Although the eosinophil threshold associated with clinical relevance in patients with COPD is currently subject to debate, eosinophil counts hold potential as biomarkers to guide therapy. In particular, eosinophil counts may be useful in assessing which patients may benefit from inhaled corticosteroid therapy, particularly regarding exacerbation prevention. In addition, several therapies targeting eosinophilic inflammation are available or in development, including monoclonal antibodies targeting the IL5 ligand, the IL5 receptor, IL4, and IL13. The goal of this review was to describe the biologic characteristics of eosinophils, their role in COPD during exacerbations and stable disease, and their use as biomarkers to aid treatment decisions. We also propose an algorithm for inhaled corticosteroid use, taking into consideration eosinophil counts and pneumonia history, and emerging eosinophil-targeted therapies in COPD.

Role of eosinophils in airway inflammation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

PubMed Central

Tashkin, Donald P; Wechsler, Michael E

2018-01-01

COPD is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. In some patients with COPD, eosinophils contribute to inflammation that promotes airway obstruction; approximately a third of stable COPD patients have evidence of eosinophilic inflammation. Although the eosinophil threshold associated with clinical relevance in patients with COPD is currently subject to debate, eosinophil counts hold potential as biomarkers to guide therapy. In particular, eosinophil counts may be useful in assessing which patients may benefit from inhaled corticosteroid therapy, particularly regarding exacerbation prevention. In addition, several therapies targeting eosinophilic inflammation are available or in development, including monoclonal antibodies targeting the IL5 ligand, the IL5 receptor, IL4, and IL13. The goal of this review was to describe the biologic characteristics of eosinophils, their role in COPD during exacerbations and stable disease, and their use as biomarkers to aid treatment decisions. We also propose an algorithm for inhaled corticosteroid use, taking into consideration eosinophil counts and pneumonia history, and emerging eosinophil-targeted therapies in COPD. PMID:29403271

Improving dementia care: The role of screening and detection of cognitive impairment

PubMed Central

Borson, Soo; Frank, Lori; Bayley, Peter J.; Boustani, Malaz; Dean, Marge; Lin, Pei-Jung; McCarten, J. Riley; Morris, John C.; Salmon, David P.; Schmitt, Frederick A.; Stefanacci, Richard G.; Mendiondo, Marta S.; Peschin, Susan; Hall, Eric J.; Fillit, Howard; Ashford, J. Wesson

2014-01-01

The value of screening for cognitive impairment, including dementia and Alzheimer's disease, has been debated for decades. Recent research on causes of and treatments for cognitive impairment has converged to challenge previous thinking about screening for cognitive impairment. Consequently, changes have occurred in health care policies and priorities, including the establishment of the annual wellness visit, which requires detection of any cognitive impairment for Medicare enrollees. In response to these changes, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation convened a workgroup to review evidence for screening implementation and to evaluate the implications of routine dementia detection for health care redesign. The primary domains reviewed were consideration of the benefits, harms, and impact of cognitive screening on health care quality. In conference, the workgroup developed 10 recommendations for realizing the national policy goals of early detection as the first step in improving clinical care and ensuring proactive, patient-centered management of dementia. PMID:23375564

Making psycholinguistics musical: Self-paced reading time evidence for shared processing of linguistic and musical syntax

PubMed Central

Robert Slevc, L.; Rosenberg, Jason C.; Patel, Aniruddh D.

2009-01-01

Linguistic processing–especially syntactic processing–is often considered a hallmark of human cognition, thus the domain-specificity or domain-generality of syntactic processing has attracted considerable debate. These experiments address this issue by simultaneously manipulating syntactic processing demands in language and music. Participants performed self-paced reading of garden-path sentences in which structurally unexpected words cause temporary syntactic processing difficulty. A musical chord accompanied each sentence segment, with the resulting sequence forming a coherent chord progression. When structurally unexpected words were paired with harmonically unexpected chords, participants showed substantially enhanced garden-path effects. No such interaction was observed when the critical words violated semantic expectancy, nor when the critical chords violated timbral expectancy. These results support a prediction of the shared syntactic integration resource hypothesis (SSIRH, Patel, 2003), which suggests that music and language draw on a common pool of limited processing resources for integrating incoming elements into syntactic structures. PMID:19293110

A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Fraternity or Sorority Membership and College Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowman, Nicholas A.; Holmes, Joshua M.

2017-01-01

Despite considerable debate about the effects of fraternities and sororities on college campuses, the extent to which these organizations promote or detract from student success is unclear. Therefore, we used propensity score analyses to examine the link between membership in a social fraternity or sorority and several student success outcomes.…

Considerate, Convivial and Capacious? Finding a Language to Capture Ethos in "Creative" Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bragg, Sara; Manchester, Helen

2017-01-01

Concepts of school "ethos" or "culture" have been widely debated in education since the 1980s. This is partly as a consequence of marketisation, partly because ethos has been identified as a low-cost route to school improvement. Corporate, authoritarian, and most recently "military" models of ethos have been widely…

Visual Impairments in People with Severe and Profound Multiple Disabilities: An Inventory of Visual Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van den Broek, Ellen G. C.; Janssen, C. G. C.; van Ramshorst, T.; Deen, L.

2006-01-01

Background: The prevalence of visual impairments in people with severe and profound multiple disabilities (SPMD) is the subject of considerable debate and is difficult to assess. Methods: In a typical Dutch care organization, all clients with SPMD (n = 76) participated in the study and specific instruments adapted to these clients (requiring a…

Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2012

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5

2011-09-14

House - 09/15/2011 Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 399 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 79 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without... (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

A Transnational Approach to "ReOrient" Asian Studies to Global Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marinelli, Maurizio

2007-01-01

This article is written in line with the debate on internationalisation in higher education, especially taking into consideration the connections between the rise of East Asia and the need to internationalise the universities in the West. The author focuses specifically on his professional experience as a member of the Expanding East Asian Studies…

Private Schools as Battlefields: Contested Visions of Learning and Livelihood in Nepal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caddell, Martha

2006-01-01

Current policy and programme considerations of the role of the private sector in the promotion of schooling reform and the achievement of Education For All encompass a somewhat narrow arena of debate. Discussion of the relative merits of private / state schools remain based on measurable, yet partial, markers of efficiency and effectiveness.…

Reforming Long-Term Care in the United States: Findings from a National Survey of Specialists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Edward Alan; Mor, Vincent; Clark, Melissa

2010-01-01

Purpose: Theories of the policy process recognize that policy proposals are typically generated, debated, redrafted, and accepted for consideration through the gradual accumulation of knowledge within communities of specialists. Thus, to inform long-term care (LTC) reform efforts, we conducted a Web-based survey of 1,147 LTC specialists…

Social Media, Professionalism and Higher Education: A Sociomaterial Consideration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenwick, Tara

2016-01-01

Within debates about student professionalism and how to develop it in higher education (HE), increasing focus has turned to students' uses of social media. While social media skills are promoted by some HE educators, most emphasis is still given to perceived hazards and abuses of social media in practice. These are typically framed as a matter of…

A Simple Experiment to Demonstrate the Effects of Greenhouse Gases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keating, C. F.

2007-01-01

The role of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is the subject of considerable discussion and debate. Global warming is well-documented, as is the continually increasing amount of greenhouse gases that human activity puts in the air. Is there a relationship between the two? The simple experiment described in this paper provides a good demonstration…

Without You None of This Would Have Happened: A Consideration of University Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esteban Bara, Francisco

2014-01-01

Teaching in university has been widely debated in the past few years. However, this issue should not be limited solely to psychological and pedagogical matters. This paper examines university teaching in terms of its relational and human dimension which, as we would expect, also has an important impact on learning and student development. The…

Who Has Rights to What? Inclusion in Australian Early Childhood Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petriwskyj, Anne

2010-01-01

In early childhood settings prior to school and in the early years of primary school, debate continues over the meaning of inclusion and its scope in terms of the groups under consideration. The genealogies of early childhood education and care, early primary school, special education and cultural education were examined to identify recurring and…

Attitudes of Turkish EFL Student Teachers towards Technology Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baz, Esra Harmandaoglu

2016-01-01

The hot debate of integrating technology into instruction has captured the interest of the world in the context of 21st century education. A considerable amount of effort has been presented in order to incorporate technology into education. In this respect, attitudes have been considered as a good indicator of the tendency to implement technology…

Privatising Public Schooling in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Equity Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Motala, Shireen

2009-01-01

Through an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data on school funding in South Africa, this paper aims to analyse the user fee policy option in public schooling in South Africa. Debate is ongoing about the role of private input into public schooling and whether this practice affects access (and the constitutional right) to basic education,…

High Possibility Classrooms as a Pedagogical Framework for Technology Integration in Classrooms: An Inquiry in Two Australian Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Jane

2017-01-01

Understanding how well teachers integrate digital technology in learning is the subject of considerable debate in education. High Possibility Classrooms (HPC) is a pedagogical framework drawn from research on exemplary teachers' knowledge of technology integration in Australian school classrooms. The framework is being used to support teachers who…

Recovery in Context: Bereavement, Culture, and the Transformation of the Therapeutic Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paletti, Robin

2008-01-01

The concept of recovery is integral to the work of bereavement professionals, though there remains considerable debate as to the precise definition and applicability of the term. A number of factors have contributed to the controversy; competing bereavement models, for instance, have given rise to fundamental differences in the way that recovery…

Literacy in a 'Broad and Balanced' Primary School Curriculum: The Potential of a Disciplinary Approach in Irish Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Patrick; Welsch, Jodi G.

2018-01-01

The prominence afforded to literacy in the Irish Primary School Curriculum has received considerable attention in recent years, spurred by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings, governmental priorities, public commentary and academic debate. At times, this discourse has presented literacy as a separate and distinct entity…

Educational Inclusion in England: Origins, Perspectives and Current Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lauchlan, Fraser; Greig, Susan

2015-01-01

In this paper we examine different aspects of the inclusion debate, including how it has been shaped by the political context in England over the past 30 years. We then give consideration to the key argument that has dominated the inclusion agenda over the last decade: should effective inclusion be considered only as placement in mainstream school…

Gender Risks and Education: The Particular Classroom Challenges for Urban Low-Income African American Boys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Duane E.; Stevenson, Howard

2009-01-01

A fundamental consideration in discourses on risk and schooling for primary and secondary school-age students focuses on gender inequalities in the classroom. Gender equity in education debates have raged for several decades and so remain an enduring concern of educators and researchers across the nation. However, educational research often…

Orbitals in Chemical Education. An Analysis through Their Graphical Representations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barradas-Solas, Francisco; Gomez, Pedro J. Sanchez

2014-01-01

Students' understanding of the orbital concept has been subject to considerable research and debate and often found at variance with a quantum mechanical ideal. Could it be the case that orbitals as actually used by practising chemists in teaching and research also differ from that ideal? Our experience shows that this might often be the case.…

ICT and Educational (Dis)advantage: Families, Computers and Contemporary Social and Educational Inequalities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Angus, Lawrence; Snyder, Ilana; Sutherland-Smith, Wendy

2004-01-01

Because access to new technologies is unequally distributed, there has been considerable debate about the growing gap between the so-called information-rich and information-poor. Such concerns have led to high-profile information technology policy initiatives in many countries. In Australia, in an attempt to 'redress the balance between the…

The Academic Achievement of Elite Athletes at an Australian University: Debunking the Dumb Jock Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgakis, Steve; Wilson, Rachel; Ferguson, Jamaya

2014-01-01

Elite athletes and their academic achievement in higher education have long been subject to considerable debate within North American scholarship. This interest proliferated especially after the release of the Knight Report (2001), which, amongst other findings, revealed a clear negative link between elite athletes and their academic achievement.…

Gamed by the System: Adequate Yearly Progress as an Indicator of Persistently Low-Achieving School Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hochbein, Craig; Mitchell, Amanda M.; Pollio, Martin

2013-01-01

The recent policy focus on the turnaround of persistently low-achieving schools has generated considerable debate about the reforms needed to dramatically and quickly increase school performance. The purpose of this article is not to focus on specific turnaround interventions, but rather on the identification of schools slated to receive these…

Arab Education Going Medieval: Sanitizing Western Representation in Arab Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labidi, Imed

2010-01-01

In the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2000, debate about Arab education as the new apparatus for religious fanaticism used by Arab extremist groups to entice hate and violence against the West took prominence in Western discourse. Considerable ink was spilled confusing hostile narratives in Arab curricula and the metaphors of identity…

Growing into What? The (Un-)Disciplined Socialisation of Early Stage Researchers in Transdisciplinary Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felt, Ulrike; Igelsbock, Judith; Schikowitz, Andrea; Volker, Thomas

2013-01-01

Over past decades we have witnessed considerable debate questioning the capacity of contemporary research to address the challenges posed by complex societal developments. As a consequence the need for rethinking cultures and practices of knowledge production has moved high on the policy agenda. In this context transdisciplinarity has become one…

A Unified Framework for Bounded and Unbounded Numerical Estimation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Dan; Opfer, John E.

2017-01-01

Representations of numerical value have been assessed by using bounded (e.g., 0-1,000) and unbounded (e.g., 0-?) number-line tasks, with considerable debate regarding whether 1 or both tasks elicit unique cognitive strategies (e.g., addition or subtraction) and require unique cognitive models. To test this, we examined how well a mixed log-linear…

Sediment transport and soil disturbance after postfire logging.

Treesearch

James D. McIver

2003-01-01

Recently there has been considerable debate on the practice of postfire logging, in which burned forests are entered soon after fire to recover commercially valuable trees. Proponents of the practice argue that postfire logging is part of a 'restoration package' that can be used to control erosion (e.g., contour logging) and can help to mitigate costs of...

Are marine and nonmarine extinctions correlated?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rampino, Michael R.

Recent papers in Eos have debated the possible relationships between marine mass extinctions, comet showers, and volcanism [Alvarez, 1986; Officer and Grieve, 1986], and ail three might be linked [Rampino, 1987]. Moreover, as Officer and Grieve [ 1986] point out, various other causes have been suggested for given extinction events, including changes in climate, ocean circulation, and sea level fluctuations, possibly related to plate tectonics and continental positions. Also under debate is the issue of whether mass extinctions were gradual, stepped, or geologically sudden events (see, for example, Hut et al. [1987]). A missing ingredient thus far in these debates has been the record of faunal diversity of nonmarine animals. Does this show any agreement with the marine extinction record?

An Integrative Account of Constraints on Cross-Situational Learning

PubMed Central

Yurovsky, Daniel; Frank, Michael C.

2015-01-01

Word-object co-occurrence statistics are a powerful information source for vocabulary learning, but there is considerable debate about how learners actually use them. While some theories hold that learners accumulate graded, statistical evidence about multiple referents for each word, others suggest that they track only a single candidate referent. In two large-scale experiments, we show that neither account is sufficient: Cross-situational learning involves elements of both. Further, the empirical data are captured by a computational model that formalizes how memory and attention interact with co-occurrence tracking. Together, the data and model unify opposing positions in a complex debate and underscore the value of understanding the interaction between computational and algorithmic levels of explanation. PMID:26302052

Lake trout in the Great Lakes: Basin-wide stock collapse and binational restoration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hansen, Michael J.; Taylor, William W.; Ferreri, C. Paola

1999-01-01

The lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) was important to the human settlement of each of the Great Lakes, and underwent catastrophic collapses in each lake in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The timing of lake trout stock collapses were different in each lake, as were the causes of the collapses, and have been the subject of much scientific inquiry and debate. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize and review pertinent information relating historical changes in Great Lakes lake trout stocks, binational efforts to restore those stocks, and progress toward stock restoration. This presentation attempts to generalize patterns across the Great Lakes, rather than to focus within each lake. Lake specific analyses have been used to understand lake specific causes and effects, but there is continuing debate about some of these causes and effects. A basinwide review may suggest mechanisms for observed changes that are not evident by lake specific analysis.

Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium)

PubMed Central

Henry, Amanda G.; Brooks, Alison S.; Piperno, Dolores R.

2011-01-01

The nature and causes of the disappearance of Neanderthals and their apparent replacement by modern humans are subjects of considerable debate. Many researchers have proposed biologically or technologically mediated dietary differences between the two groups as one of the fundamental causes of Neanderthal disappearance. Some scenarios have focused on the apparent lack of plant foods in Neanderthal diets. Here we report direct evidence for Neanderthal consumption of a variety of plant foods, in the form of phytoliths and starch grains recovered from dental calculus of Neanderthal skeletons from Shanidar Cave, Iraq, and Spy Cave, Belgium. Some of the plants are typical of recent modern human diets, including date palms (Phoenix spp.), legumes, and grass seeds (Triticeae), whereas others are known to be edible but are not heavily used today. Many of the grass seed starches showed damage that is a distinctive marker of cooking. Our results indicate that in both warm eastern Mediterranean and cold northwestern European climates, and across their latitudinal range, Neanderthals made use of the diverse plant foods available in their local environment and transformed them into more easily digestible foodstuffs in part through cooking them, suggesting an overall sophistication in Neanderthal dietary regimes. PMID:21187393

Critical Branching Neural Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kello, Christopher T.

2013-01-01

It is now well-established that intrinsic variations in human neural and behavioral activity tend to exhibit scaling laws in their fluctuations and distributions. The meaning of these scaling laws is an ongoing matter of debate between isolable causes versus pervasive causes. A spiking neural network model is presented that self-tunes to critical…

Social Networking in Schools: Benefits and Risks; Review of the Research; Policy Considerations; and Current Practices. Information Capsule. Volume 1109

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blazer, Christie

2012-01-01

The role that social media should play in education is being hotly debated in school districts across the country. The adoption of social networking for educational purposes lags behind the public's general usage because educators fear that students will be exposed to inappropriate online content, unwanted adult interactions, and bullying from…

Edge Effects and Ecological Traps: Effects on Shrubland Birds in Missouri

Treesearch

April A. Woodward; Alix D. Fink; Frank R. Thompson III

2001-01-01

The effect of habitat edge on avian nesting success has been the focus of considerable debate. We studied relationships between habitat edges, locations of nests, and predation. We tested the ecological trap hypothesis for 5 shrubland bird species in the Missouri Ozarks. We compared habitat selection and daily nest predation rates among 3 distance-to-edge categories....

Understanding the Role of Culture in Developing Inclusive Schools: A Case Study from Cyprus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Angelides, Panayiotis; Antoniou, Eleni

2012-01-01

Over the last few years, there has been considerable debate regarding the ways in which the different educational systems in the world should develop more inclusive practices in their schools. An important aspect of this discussion revolves around the question of what schools can do to become more inclusive in terms of maximizing the participation…

Parental Choice? A Critical Reconsideration of Choice and the Debate about Choice. Critical Constructions: Studies on Education and Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, P. L.

2010-01-01

Education has rarely been absent from local and national public discourse. Throughout the history of modern education spanning more than a century, individuals have as a culture lamented the failures of public schooling, often making such claims based on assumptions instead of any nuanced consideration of the many influences on teaching and…

Examining the Factor Structure and Hierarchical Nature of the Quality of Life Construct

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Mian; Schalock, Robert L.; Verdugo, Miguel A.; Jenaro, Christina

2010-01-01

There is considerable debate in the area of individual quality of life research regarding the factor structure and hierarchical nature of the quality of life construct. Our purpose in this study was to test via structural equation modeling an a priori quality of life model consisting of eight first-order factors and one second-order factor. Data…

Preparing College Students for Real-World 2.0: Towards a Recipe for the "Secret Sauce"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Steven; Gayeski, Diane

2013-01-01

In light of considerable debate centering on the value of higher education and its effect on student preparation for the world of work, this article describes new methods employed in teaching an introductory professional course and the outcomes of its initial offerings. This case study supports research indicating that problem-based learning is an…

Demographically idiosyncratic responses to climate change and rapid Pleistocene diversification of the walnut genus Juglans (Juglandaceae) revealed by whole-genome sequences

Treesearch

Wei-Ning Bai; Peng-Cheng Yan; Bo-Wen Zhang; Keith E. Woeste; Kui Lin; Da-Yong Zhang

2018-01-01

Whether species demography and diversification are driven primarily by extrinsic environmental changes such as climatic oscillations in the Quaternary or by intrinsic biological interactions like coevolution between antagonists is a matter of active debate. In fact, their relative importance can be assessed by tracking past population fluctuations over considerable...

Reading the "International" through Postcolonial Theory: A Case Study of the Adoption of the International Baccalaureate at a School in Lebanon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azzi, Iman

2018-01-01

Considerable debate has revolved around the question of what constitutes an international school, focusing on attributes such as number of nations represented by the student body, stated curricular goals, and school culture or mission. Less attention has been paid to how "international" is lived within these schools. This article…

Peer Assessment in MOOCs: The Relationship between Peer Reviewers' Ability and Authors' Essay Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huisman, Bart; Admiraal, Wilfried; Pilli, Olga; van de Ven, Maarten; Saab, Nadira

2018-01-01

In a relatively short period of time, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become a considerable topic of research and debate, and the number of available MOOCs is rapidly growing. Along with issues of formal recognition and accreditation, this growth in the number of MOOCs being developed increases the relevance of assessment quality. Within…

Assessment Policy and Practice in Higher Education: Purpose, Standards and Equity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leathwood, Carole

2005-01-01

This paper places a discussion of assessment in higher education (HE) in the UK within the wider policy context. It argues for a critical sociological analysis to consider some of the issues, themes and debates in relation to assessment in HE at this time. Recent trends in assessment policy and practice are discussed, alongside a consideration of…

Discursive Dancing: Traditionalism and Social Realism in the 2013 English History Curriculum Wars

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Joseph

2017-01-01

This paper is an exploration of the debates surrounding the publication of a new National Curriculum for history in England. The draft curriculum was published in February 2013 and was withdrawn just 6 months later in the face of considerable opposition. This paper offers a tentative explanation for this example of a rare phenomenon: effective…

A Sense of Deja Vu across the Tasman? What Australians Might Learn from the New Zealand Experience with the Te Kotahitanga Professional Development Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Openshaw, Roger

2007-01-01

Throughout Australasia, indigenous educational issues remain a subject of considerable debate. In New Zealand, Maori underachievement in education has long been a matter of widespread concern. Currently the most highly visible professional development programme now operating in New Zealand mainstream secondary schools, Te Kotahitanga claims to…

The Nature of an Object-Oriented Program: How Do Practitioners Understand the Nature of What They Are Creating?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Errol; Kinshuk

2011-01-01

Object-oriented programming is seen as a difficult skill to master. There is considerable debate about the most appropriate way to introduce novice programmers to object-oriented concepts. Is it possible to uncover what the critical aspects or features are that enhance the learning of object-oriented programming? Practitioners have differing…

The Economics of Timber Supply: An Analytical Synthesis of Modeling Approaches

Treesearch

David N. Wear; Peter J. Parks

1994-01-01

The joint supply of timber and other services from forest environments plays a central role in most forest land debates. This paper defines a general conceptual model of timber supply that provides the context for discussing both individual harvest choice and aggregate supply models. While the structure and breadth of these models has developed considerably over the...

Soil disturbance and hill-slope sediment transport after logging of a severely burned site in northeastern Oregon.

Treesearch

James D. McIver; R. McNeil

2006-01-01

Despite considerable public debate in recent years on the practice of postfire logging, few studies have directly evaluated its effects. Soil disturbance and hill-slope sediment transport were measured after a postfire logging operation conducted two years after the 1996 Summit Wildfire (Malheur National Forest), in northeastern Oregon. The wildfire was relatively...

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Environmental and Sustainability Education: Developing Geography Students' Understandings of Sustainable Development Using Poetry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walshe, Nicola

2017-01-01

Education for sustainable development (ESD) persists as an important concept within international policy and yet, despite considerable debate, there remains a lack of consensus as to a pedagogy for ESD in schools. This paper presents findings from a study investigating how an interdisciplinary approach to ESD in England developed one class of 16-…

Using E-Cigarettes in the Home to Reduce Smoking and Secondhand Smoke: Disadvantaged Parents' Accounts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowa-Dewar, Neneh; Rooke, Catriona; Amos, Amanda

2017-01-01

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are subject to considerable public health debate. Most public health experts agree that for smokers who find it particularly challenging to quit, e-cigarettes may reduce harm. E-cigarette use in the home may also reduce children's secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, although e-cigarette vapour may pose risks. This…

Does MTV Really Do a Good Job of Evaluating Professors? An Empirical Test of the Internet Site Ratemyprofessors.com

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Keith B.; Zdravkovic, Srdan

2016-01-01

Considerable debate continues regarding the efficacy of the website RateMyProfessors.com (RMP). To date, however, virtually no direct, experimental research has been reported which directly bears on questions relating to sampling adequacy or item adequacy in producing what favorable correlations have been reported. The authors compare the data…

The Conditional Effect of Parental Drug Use on Parental Attachment and Adolescent Drug Use: Social Control and Social Development Model Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drapela, Laurie A.; Mosher, Clayton

2007-01-01

The effect of parental deviance on adolescent deviance has been a source of considerable debate in the criminological literature. Classic theoretical explanations of the relationships between parental and adolescent deviance posit additive effects of parental deviance on youth behavior. Proponents of the Social Development Model have hypothesized…

[PSMA-PET/CT has to be performed in every patient with biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy for early tumor detection].

PubMed

Kotzerke, Jörg; Böhmer, Dirk; Schlomm, Thorsten; Maurer, Thomas; Beer, Ambros J; Schmidberger, Heinz

2018-06-01

The debate refers the known evidence for PSMA-PET/CT in biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer and consider carefully interdisciplinary in which situation which patient needs imaging to choose the adequate therapeutic option. General aspects for the care of cancer patients are taken into consideration. Schattauer GmbH.

Fostering Success or Stratification? A Macroapproach to Understanding "Success" in the Community College Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ireland, S. Mei-Yen

2015-01-01

The topic of student success is a central focus for community college educators and researchers, yet little consideration is given to the long-term success that community college students may or may not be attaining. What role (if any) do concerns about social stratification have in the debate over student success? Exploring the ways in which…

"My Key to the Men's Room": Mentor and Protege Relationships in Business and Professional Organizations. An Overview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Kathleen A.

A mentor is a close, trusted, and experienced counselor or guide who trains, disciplines, and assumes a great deal of responsibility in assisting the protege. Considerable debate exists in organizational research as to the value and benefit of mentors, and only recently have some businesses recognized mentors as important to the shaping of new…

"Heating up" or "Cooling up" the Brain? MEG Evidence that Phrasal Verbs Are Lexical Units

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cappelle, Bert; Shtyrov, Yury; Pulvermuller, Friedemann

2010-01-01

There is a considerable linguistic debate on whether phrasal verbs (e.g., "turn up," "break down") are processed as two separate words connected by a syntactic rule or whether they form a single lexical unit. Moreover, views differ on whether meaning (transparency vs. opacity) plays a role in determining their syntactically-connected or lexical…

Exploring early public responses to geoengineering.

PubMed

Pidgeon, Nick; Corner, Adam; Parkhill, Karen; Spence, Alexa; Butler, Catherine; Poortinga, Wouter

2012-09-13

Proposals for geoengineering the Earth's climate are prime examples of emerging or 'upstream' technologies, because many aspects of their effectiveness, cost and risks are yet to be researched, and in many cases are highly uncertain. This paper contributes to the emerging debate about the social acceptability of geoengineering technologies by presenting preliminary evidence on public responses to geoengineering from two of the very first UK studies of public perceptions and responses. The discussion draws upon two datasets: qualitative data (from an interview study conducted in 42 households in 2009), and quantitative data (from a subsequent nationwide survey (n=1822) of British public opinion). Unsurprisingly, baseline awareness of geoengineering was extremely low in both cases. The data from the survey indicate that, when briefly explained to people, carbon dioxide removal approaches were preferred to solar radiation management, while significant positive correlations were also found between concern about climate change and support for different geoengineering approaches. We discuss some of the wider considerations that are likely to shape public perceptions of geoengineering as it enters the media and public sphere, and conclude that, aside from technical considerations, public perceptions are likely to prove a key element influencing the debate over questions of the acceptability of geoengineering proposals.

Woodpeckers and Diamonds: Some Aspects of Evolutionary Convergence in Astrobiology.

PubMed

Ćirković, Milan M

2018-05-01

Jared Diamond's argument against extraterrestrial intelligence from evolutionary contingency is subjected to critical scrutiny. As with the earlier arguments of George Gaylord Simpson, it contains critical loopholes that lead to its unraveling. From the point of view of the contemporary debates about biological evolution, perhaps the most contentious aspect of such arguments is their atemporal and gradualist usage of the space of all possible biological forms (morphospace). Such usage enables the translation of the adaptive value of a trait into the probability of its evolving. This procedure, it is argued, is dangerously misleading. Contra Diamond, there are reasons to believe that convergence not only plays an important role in the history of life, but also profoundly improves the prospects for search for extraterrestrial intelligence success. Some further considerations about the role of observation selection effects and our scaling of complexity in the great debate about contingency and convergence are given. Taken together, these considerations militate against the pessimism of Diamond's conclusion, and suggest that the search for traces and manifestations of extraterrestrial intelligences is far from forlorn. Key Words: Astrobiology-Evolution-Contingency-Convergence-Complex life-SETI-Major evolutionary transitions-Selection effects-Jared Diamond. Astrobiology 18, 491-502.

Fresh embryo donation for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research: the experiences and values of IVF couples asked to be embryo donors

PubMed Central

Haimes, E.; Taylor, K.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND This article reports on an investigation of the views of IVF couples asked to donate fresh embryos for research and contributes to the debates on: the acceptability of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, the moral status of the human embryo and embryo donation for research. METHODS A hypothesis-generating design was followed. All IVF couples in one UK clinic who were asked to donate embryos in 1 year were contacted 6 weeks after their pregnancy result. Forty four in-depth interviews were conducted. RESULTS Interviewees were preoccupied with IVF treatment and the request to donate was a secondary consideration. They used a complex and dynamic system of embryo classification. Initially, all embryos were important but then their focus shifted to those that had most potential to produce a baby. At that point, ‘other’ embryos were less important though they later realise that they did not know what happened to them. Guessing that these embryos went to research, interviewees preferred not to contemplate what that might entail. The embryos that caused interviewees most concern were good quality embryos that might have produced a baby but went to research instead. ‘The’ embryo, the morally laden, but abstract, entity, did not play a central role in their decision-making. CONCLUSIONS This study, despite missing those who refuse to donate embryos, suggests that debates on embryo donation for hESC research should include the views of embryo donors and should consider the social, as well as the moral, status of the human embryo. PMID:19502616

Causation in epidemiology

PubMed Central

Parascandola, M; Weed, D

2001-01-01

Causation is an essential concept in epidemiology, yet there is no single, clearly articulated definition for the discipline. From a systematic review of the literature, five categories can be delineated: production, necessary and sufficient, sufficient-component, counterfactual, and probabilistic. Strengths and weaknesses of these categories are examined in terms of proposed characteristics of a useful scientific definition of causation: it must be specific enough to distinguish causation from mere correlation, but not so narrow as to eliminate apparent causal phenomena from consideration. Two categories—production and counterfactual—are present in any definition of causation but are not themselves sufficient as definitions. The necessary and sufficient cause definition assumes that all causes are deterministic. The sufficient-component cause definition attempts to explain probabilistic phenomena via unknown component causes. Thus, on both of these views, heavy smoking can be cited as a cause of lung cancer only when the existence of unknown deterministic variables is assumed. The probabilistic definition, however, avoids these assumptions and appears to best fit the characteristics of a useful definition of causation. It is also concluded that the probabilistic definition is consistent with scientific and public health goals of epidemiology. In debates in the literature over these goals, proponents of epidemiology as pure science tend to favour a narrower deterministic notion of causation models while proponents of epidemiology as public health tend to favour a probabilistic view. The authors argue that a single definition of causation for the discipline should be and is consistent with both of these aims. It is concluded that a counterfactually-based probabilistic definition is more amenable to the quantitative tools of epidemiology, is consistent with both deterministic and probabilistic phenomena, and serves equally well for the acquisition and the application of scientific knowledge.


Keywords: causality; counterfactual; philosophy PMID:11707485

Designing for students' science learning using argumentation and classroom debate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, Philip Laverne

1998-12-01

This research investigates how to design and introduce an educational innovation into a classroom setting to support learning. The research yields cognitive design principles for instruction involving scientific argumentation and debate. Specifically, eighth-grade students used a computer learning environment to construct scientific arguments and to participate in a classroom debate. The instruction was designed to help students integrate their science understanding by debating: How far does light go, does light die out over distance or go forever until absorbed? This research explores the tension between focusing students' conceptual change on specific scientific phenomena and their development of integrated understanding. I focus on the importance of connecting students' everyday experiences and intuitions to their science learning. The work reported here characterizes how students see the world through a filter of their own understanding. It explores how individual and social mechanisms in instruction support students as they expand the range of ideas under consideration and distinguish between these ideas using scientific criteria. Instruction supported students as they engaged in argumentation and debate on a set of multimedia evidence items from the World-Wide-Web. An argument editor called SenseMaker was designed and studied with the intent of making individual and group thinking visible during instruction. Over multiple classroom trials, different student cohorts were increasingly supported in scientific argumentation involving systematic coordination of evidence with theoretical ideas about light. Students' knowledge representations were used as mediating "learning artifacts" during classroom debate. Two argumentation conditions were investigated. The Full Scope group prepared to defend either theoretical position in the debate. These students created arguments that included more theoretical conjectures and made more conceptual progress in understanding light. The Personal Scope group prepared to defend their original opinion about the debate. These students produced more acausal descriptions of evidence and theorized less in their arguments. Regardless of students' prior knowledge of light, the Full Scope condition resulted in a more integrated understanding. Results from the research were synthesized in design principles geared towards helping future designers. Sharing and refining cognitive design principles offers a productive focus for developing a design science for education.

[Rationing in German health care with particular consideration of oncology: view points of German stakeholders--a qualitative interview study].

PubMed

Lange, J; Gönner, C; Vollmann, J; Rauprich, O

2015-01-01

Germany is at the beginning of a discussion about possible rationing in the health-care system. Cancer treatment, which is often cost-intensive but not always cost-effective, is frequently considered as a field for rationing. Against this background, we conducted semi-structured, guideline-based interviews with different stakeholders of the German health-care system and analysed them with the help of grounded theory techniques. The goal of the study was to collect the experiences and opinions of members of the German Medical Review Board of the Statutory Health Insurance Funds (MDK), leading officials in central administrations of the German health-care sector and health politicians (members of the Parliamentary Committee for Health of the Federal German Parliament, the Bundestag) regarding cost-considerations in treatment decisions in health care with a special focus on oncology. (1) Cost-considerations have a limited role in the daily routine of the interviewed experts; (2) the interviewed personnel of the MDK were open to discuss rationing, while the group of leading officials was ambivalent and the health politicians rejected rationing and its discussion altogether; (3) the awareness of the opportunity costs of medical services varied with the profession of the interviewee: the members of the MDK saw opportunity costs primarily within the field of medicine, the leading officials noted the opportunity costs for other social services, and the health policy makers interpreted opportunity costs under fiscal budgetary aspects; (4) according to the interviewees, decisions on rationing require a legal basis, which should be based on a broad public discussion and an interdisciplinary debate among experts; (5) defining criteria for rationing was regarded as being outside of the professional competence of the interviewees; however, a preference with regard to the criterion of cost-effectiveness became apparent. The results of this study indicate that the strongest opposition to a debate on rationing in Germany does not stem from the medical, but rather from the political sector. The criteria for rationing suggested in the theoretical debate are in need of a context-sensitive examination and specification for the field of oncology. A possible approach to constructively promote the debate on rationing is a stronger focus on social opportunity costs of health care. The exact role of experts in a discourse on rationing, which was emphasised by the interviewees, requires a thorough determination. It is necessary to differentiate between the roles of impartial experts and stakeholders. Decisions on rationing can ultimately only be legitimised politically by parliament. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Interdisciplinary debate in the teaching-learning process on bioethics: academic health experiences.

PubMed

Campos Daniel, Jéssica; Dias Reis Pessalacia, Juliana; Leite de Andrade, Ana Flávia

2016-06-01

The study aimed to understand the health of student experiences to participate in interdisciplinary discussions in bioethics and know the contributions of interdisciplinary methodological resource for the teaching-learning process at graduation. Descriptive study of qualitative approach in a public higher education institution of Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Three categories of analysis were identified: ''active methodologies in the training of a professional critic,'' ''interdisciplinary debate as facilitator reflection of bioethics'' and ''feelings and attitudes caused by the interdisciplinary debate.'' Discussion. There was a lack of approach of bioethical contents in the health curriculum, and the adoption of active methodologies provides a better reflection in bioethics, but that requires changing paradigms of teachers and educational institutions.

Distributing responsibility in the debate on sustainable biofuels.

PubMed

Landeweerd, Laurens; Osseweijer, Patricia; Kinderlerer, Julian

2009-12-01

In the perception of technology innovation two world views compete for domination: technological and social determinism. Technological determinism holds that societal change is caused by technological developments, social determinism holds the opposite. Although both were quite central to discussion in the philosophy, history and sociology of technology in the 1970s and 1980s, neither is seen as mainstream now. They do still play an important role as background philosophies in societal debates and offer two very different perspectives on where the responsibilities for an ethically sound development of novel technologies lie. In this paper we will elaborate on these to two opposing views on technology development taking the recent debate on the implementation of biofuels as a case example.

A proposed World Council on Epidemiology and Causation: summary of feedback and considerations in an international workshop.

PubMed

Bhopal, Raj

2017-03-01

Rigorous evaluation of associations in epidemiology is essential, especially given big data, data mining, and hypothesis-free analyses. There is a precedent in making judgments on associations in the monographs of the International Agency for Research on Cancer; however, only the carcinogenic effects of exposures are examined. The idea of a World Council of Epidemiology and Causality to undertake rigorous, independent, comprehensive examination of associations has been debated, including in a workshop at the International Epidemiology Association's 20 th World Congress of Epidemiology, 2014. The objective of the workshop was both to, briefly, debate the idea and set out further questions and next steps. The principal conclusion from feedback including from the workshop is that the World Council of Epidemiology and Causality idea, notwithstanding challenges, has promise and deserves more debate. The preferred model is for a small independent body working closely with relevant partners with a distributed approach to tasks. Recommendations are contextualized in contemporary approaches in causal thinking in epidemiology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Did They Fight the Great War? A Multi-Level Class Analysis of the Causes of the First World War

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillette, Aaron

2006-01-01

The question, "What were the causes of World War I?," has become one of the classic historical debates of which there seem to be endless permutations. In the past 90 years historians, journalists, and politicians have offered many more or less rational explanations for the war. Although at least some of the usual "causes"…

Demand management: enabling patients to use medical care appropriately.

PubMed

Vickery, D M; Lynch, W D

1995-05-01

A rationale is presented for considering demand management as well as supply management (managed care) in the current debate on health care reform. Demand management is the support of individuals so that they may make rational health and medical decisions based on a consideration of benefits and risks. The concept of demand for medical services is examined within a theoretical framework of four components: morbidity, perceived need, patient preference, and nonhealth motives. Two components, perceived need and patient preference, are suggested to offer considerable potential for making utilization more appropriate and reducing costs. Current demand services and potential hazards related to their continued expansion are discussed.

Health: Wealth versus warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paaijmans, Krijn P.; Thomas, Matthew B.

2011-10-01

The response of malaria distribution to climate change has been debated. Statistical models suggest that by 2050, increasing national wealth will limit the expansion of malaria risk caused by rising temperatures.

The observability principle and beyond. Reply to comments on "Seeing mental states: An experimental strategy for measuring the observability of other minds" by Cristina Becchio et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becchio, Cristina; Koul, Atesh; Ansuini, Caterina; Bertone, Cesare; Cavallo, Andrea

2018-03-01

Is it possible to directly perceive others' mental states? Mediating the debate between Direct Perception and Inferentialism proponents would require knowing "what counts as an inference and how to tell the difference between inferential and non-inferential processing" [1]. However, few theorists have even attempted to answer the question of what counts as inference. The consequence, as noted by Spaulding [1], is that "given that neither Inferentialists nor DSP [Direct Social Perception, Ed.] proponents specify what they mean by inference, it is hard to tell what exactly each side is affirming and denying. Thus, the debate between Inferentialism and DSP is at an impasse". Similar considerations apply to distinguishing between what is 'observable' versus 'unobservable' [2].

Effects of Climate and Climate Change on Vectors and Vector-Borne Diseases: Ticks Are Different.

PubMed

Ogden, Nick H; Lindsay, L Robbin

2016-08-01

There has been considerable debate as to whether global risk from vector-borne diseases will be impacted by climate change. This has focussed on important mosquito-borne diseases that are transmitted by the vectors from infected to uninfected humans. However, this debate has mostly ignored the biological diversity of vectors and vector-borne diseases. Here, we review how climate and climate change may impact those most divergent of arthropod disease vector groups: multivoltine insects and hard-bodied (ixodid) ticks. We contrast features of the life cycles and behaviour of these arthropods, and how weather, climate, and climate change may have very different impacts on the spatiotemporal occurrence and abundance of vectors, and the pathogens they transmit. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vitalism and the Darwin Debate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, James

2012-08-01

There are currently both scientific and public debates surrounding Darwinism. In the scientific debate, the details of evolution are in dispute, but not the central thesis of Darwin's theory; in the public debate, Darwinism itself is questioned. I concentrate on the public debate because of its direct impact on education in the United States. Some critics of Darwin advocate the teaching of intelligent design theory along with Darwin's theory, and others seek to eliminate even the mention of evolution from science classes altogether. Many of these critics base their objections on the claim that non-living matter cannot give rise to living matter. After considering some of the various meanings assigned to `vitalism' over the years, I argue that a considerable portion of Darwin deniers support a literal version of vitalism that is not scientifically respectable. Their position seems to be that since life cannot arise naturally, Darwin's theory accomplishes nothing: If it can only account for life forms changing from one to another (even this is disputed by some) but not how life arose in the first place, what's the point? I argue that there is every reason to believe that living and non-living matter differ only in degree, not in kind, and that all conversation about Darwinism should start with the assumption that abiogenesis is possible unless or until compelling evidence of its impossibility is presented. That is, I advocate a position that the burden of proof lies with those who claim "Life only comes from life." Until that case is made, little weight should be given to their position.

Mule deer and elk winter diet as an indicator of habitat competition

Treesearch

Michael R. Frisina; Carl L. Wambolt; W. Wyatt Fraas; Glen Guenther

2008-01-01

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations have gradually declined in recent decades, while elk (Cervus elaphus) have often increased throughout their common ranges. The cause is uncertain and a source of debate. Increasing elk numbers on these ungulate winter ranges may be causing competition for resources. We contrast winter...

The Impact of Part-Time Faculty on Student Retention: A Case Study in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Curtis V.

2010-01-01

There has been considerable debate in community colleges over the last forty years regarding the impact of increased use of part-time faculty (PTF) on student learning. It has been argued that part-time faculty fail to provide the same level of teaching quality as full-time faculty (FTF). The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of…

Impacts on non-human biota from a generic geological disposal facility for radioactive waste: some key assessment issues.

PubMed

Robinson, C A; Smith, K L; Norris, S

2010-06-01

This paper provides an overview of key issues associated with the application of currently available biota dose assessment methods to consideration of potential environmental impacts from geological disposal facilities. It explores philosophical, methodological and practical assessment issues and reviews the implications of test assessment results in the context of recent and on-going challenges and debates.

Increasing Student Communication and Spontaneous Language Use in the L2 Classroom: A Careful Consideration of the Flipped Classroom Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bachelor, Jeremy W.

2017-01-01

There is an ongoing debate among L2 educators regarding the best way for students to achieve effective communication and language spontaneity. The flipped classroom refers to an educational model where the traditional practice of dedicating class time to direct instruction is flipped so that students receive initial instruction at home and then…

Vertebrate predators have minimal cascading effects on plant production or seed predation in an intact grassland ecosystem

Treesearch

John L. Maron; Dean E. Pearson

2011-01-01

The strength of trophic cascades in terrestrial habitats has been the subject of considerable interest and debate. We conducted an 8-year experiment to determine how exclusion of vertebrate predators, ungulates alone (to control for ungulate exclusion from predator exclusion plots) or none of these animals influenced how strongly a three-species assemblage of rodent...

Subjectivation and Performative Politics--Butler Thinking Althusser and Foucault: Intelligibility, Agency and the Raced-Nationed-Religioned Subjects of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Youdell, Deborah

2006-01-01

Judith Butler is perhaps best known for her take-up of the debate between Derrida and Austin over the function of the performative and her subsequent suggestion that the subject be understood as performatively constituted. Another important but less often noted move within Butler's consideration of the processes through which the subject is…

Debating Global Warming in Media Discussion Forums: Strategies Enacted by "Persistent Deniers" and Implications for Schooling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, G. Michael; Rodger, Valerie

2008-01-01

Newspapers and other media are often used as a source of information on science issues, both by the public and teachers in classrooms. Over six months, we collected discussions of global warming issues from the online forums of a national newspaper. Our analysis of these contributions suggests there is a considerable effort in these forums,…

An Analysis of Current Graduation Thesis Writing by English Majors in Independent Institute

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Ying

2014-01-01

The paper takes 414 graduates from ZJU in 2011 and 2012, NIT as a case, analyzing the status of their writing of graduation thesis. It is found that a considerable number of students have problems in selection and report of topics, writing of each part and debating in the whole process of graduation thesis. In view of the situation, based on the…

Losing Sight of the Child? Human Capital Theory and Its Role for Early Childhood Education and Care Policies in Finland and England since the Mid-1990s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell-Barr, Verity; Nygård, Mikael

2014-01-01

The international interest in early childhood education and care (ECEC) by supranational organisations, including the European Union, has grown considerably due to its dual function of sustaining parental employment and fostering child development. Focussing primarily on child development debates around ECEC, this article argues that human capital…

What Makes a Fiat Run? A Consideration of the Nature of Fiat Power in Academic Policy Deliberation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fadely, Dean

In the game-like world of competitive tournament debating, fiat power is simply another rule of the game, a way of saying "hypothetically" or "for the sake of argument let us assume this affirmative plan to be implemented." While fiat power is just a way of saying "let's pretend," there are limits to the pretense. For…

The Arizona Education Tax Credit and Hidden Considerations of Justice: Why We Ought To Fight Poverty, Not Taxes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Michele S.

2000-01-01

Describes the Arizona education tax credit law as a voucher plan in disguise, and argues that the concept of justice underlying the law is an element largely missing from the school choice debate. Calls on educators and policymakers to concentrate on efforts to help needy students rather than to channel tax dollars toward self-interested ends.…

Ethical Mindfulness and Reflexivity: Managing a Research Relationship with Children and Young People in a 14-Year Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warin, Jo

2011-01-01

This article draws on the articulation of a value for reflexivity that has accumulated within qualitative methods debates in the past decade. It demonstrates how reflexivity is interwoven with the concept of ethical mindfulness. The argument has developed from a consideration of the ethical dilemmas that were a salient aspect of an ongoing…

The Federal Government's Deinstitutionalization Program Initiatives: A Status Report (A Litany of Reports, Studies, Recommendations, Policy Debates, and Even Some Progress).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, E. Clarke

1979-01-01

Analysis of six federal government studies on deinstitutionalization is followed by a discussion of initiatives enacted by the 95th Congress and proposals under consideration in the 96th. Among studies described are reports by the U.S. Government Accounting Office ("Returning the Mentally Disabled to the Community: Government Needs to Do…

Educating for Location? The Policy Context of "Becoming Asia-Literate" in Five Western Countries/Regions in the 1990s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pang, David

2005-01-01

This article examines the educational policy responses by five western countries/regions to the "Asian economic miracle" in the 1990s. It begins by stating that the idea of the global economic context has assumed considerable importance in the current educational thinking and debates. It then shows that Asia has been thematized in the…

Why Aren't We There Yet? Taking Personal Responsibility for Creating an Inclusive Campus. An ACPA Publication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arminio, Jan, Ed.; Torres, Vasti, Ed.; Pope, Raechele L., Ed.

2012-01-01

Despite seeming endless debate and public attention given to the issue for several decades, those committed to creating welcoming and engaging campus environments for all students recognize that there is considerably more work to be done, and ask "Why aren't we there yet, and when will we be done?" While our campuses have evolved from being…

The Evolving Domestic Forum for National Security Debates

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-01-01

of USAWC in March 1974, he was Director, Social Science Studies, Westinghouse Center for Advanced Studies and Analyses. He is the author of n umeIOUS...American social and cultural contex ts, which necessarily overlap the areas of politics, economics, foreign relations, and national security affairs. At...preserve its integrity if individual conscience is accorded a priority overriding all other considerations? - Which value, achievement or equality

Securing Annuities for Federal Employees Act of 2012

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Rep. Ross, Dennis A. [R-FL-12

2012-01-24

House - 02/14/2012 Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 547 Reported to House. The resolution provides for one hour of debate on H.R. 3408. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. Specified amendments printed in part A of the report accompanying this... (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

What Are the Communication Considerations for Parents of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children? NIDCD Fact Sheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 2006

2006-01-01

Deafness or hearing impairment affects not only a child who is deaf or has a hearing loss, but also the child's family, friends, and teachers. For hundreds of years, people have debated the best ways to develop communication skills and provide education for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. This fact sheet presents a few points upon which…

The Beginning of Civic Universities: A Survey of Societal and Internal Influences. Yale Higher Education Program Working Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, David R.

The history of universities in their social context is not a merely antiquarian study; it is the soundest basis for consideration of the contemporary university and its problems. The most frequent debate, that of the ivory tower, is really a question of the form and efficiency of the university's articulation with society at large. The…

SLA Research and L2 Pedagogy: Misapplications and Questions of Relevance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spada, Nina

2015-01-01

There has been considerable debate about the relevance and applicability of SLA theory and research for L2 pedagogy. There are those who maintain that SLA must be applicable to L2 pedagogy: a view based on the argument that because SLA is a subfield of applied linguistics, it should have direct relevance to L2 teaching. Others take the view that…

"Pregnancy and labour cause more deaths than oral contraceptives": The debate on the pill in the Spanish press in the 1960s and 1970s.

PubMed

Ortiz-Gómez, Teresa; Ignaciuk, Agata

2015-08-01

From 1941 to 1978, Franco's regime in Spain banned all contraceptive methods. The pill started circulating in Spain from the 1960s, officially as a drug used in gynaecological therapy. However, in the following decade it was also increasingly used and prescribed as a contraceptive. This paper analyses debates about the contraceptive pill in the Spanish daily newspaper ABC and in two magazines, Blanco y Negro and Triunfo, in the 1960s and 1970s. It concludes that the debate on this contraceptive method was much more heterogeneous than might be expected given the Catholic-conservative character of the dictatorship. The daily press focused on the adverse effects of the drug and magazines concentrated on the ethical and religious aspects of the pill and discussed it in a generally positive light. Male doctors and Catholic authors dominated the debate. © The Author(s) 2013.

Controversies on the values for health instruments of Chinese medicine.

PubMed

Hou, Zheng-Kun; Chang, Xiang; Liu, Feng-Bin; Xie, Nelson; Guo, Nicole; Chen, Xin-Lin

2017-02-01

Currently, there are increasing debates on the necessity of health instruments in Chinese medicine (CM) emerging in China. This study aims to reevaluate its status and values. Analyzing the causes, limits, advantages, and properties characters of health instruments in CM, it is found that weak fundamental research, incomplete self-awareness, and complicated social factors are the primary causes of debates. A comprehensive analysis showed health instruments in CM have health evaluation benefits to people from a dominant Chinese culture, meet the requirements of cultural background, and bring long-term value to Chinese instrument researches. However, its values and status should be treated differently depending on various subtypes. Although little theoretical and practical evidences proved that patients-reported health instruments in CM should be proposed independently, the doctors- and nurses-reported questionnaires are necessary. With this in mind, the study group proposes the 'Chinese cultural instruments (CCIs)' and 'health-related CCIs'. The latter one aims to evaluate the health status of people in a dominant Chinese culture. The CCIs theory represents Chinese instrument researches on a larger regional and higher level, and resolves the debates on instruments between CM and Western medicine in China. Health instruments in CM bring more scientific and social benefits for Chinese instrument researches. However, it does not include cultural demands, and lacks scientific significance. CCIs have all its virtues, and add solutions to the latter's theory bottleneck and scientific debates, thus bringing increased benefits to clinical assessment in complementary and alternative medicine researches.

Reifying human difference: the debate on genetics, race, and health.

PubMed

Braun, Lundy

2006-01-01

The causes of racial and ethnic inequalities in health and the most appropriate categories to use to address health inequality have been the subject of heated debate in recent years. At the same time, genetic explanations for racial disparities have figured prominently in the scientific and popular press since the announcement of the sequencing of the human genome. To understand how such explanations assumed prominence, this essay analyzes the circulation of ideas about race and genetics and the rhetorical strategies used by authors of key texts to shape the debate. The authority of genetic accounts for racial and ethnic difference in disease, the author argues, is rooted in a broad cultural faith in the promise of genetics to solve problems of human disease and the inner truth of human beings that is intertwined with historical meanings attached to race. Such accounts are problematic for a variety of reasons. Importantly, they produce, reify, and naturalize notions of racial difference, provide a scientific rationale for racially targeted medical care, and distract attention from research that probes the complex ways in which political, economic, social, and biological factors, especially those of inequality and racism, cause health disparities.

Antithyroid drugs induced agranulocytosis and multiple myeloma: case report and general considerations.

PubMed

Dănciulescu Miulescu, R; Carşote, M; Trifănescu, R; Ferechide, D; Poiană, C

2013-09-15

Antithyroid drugs as thionamides are largely used in the treatment of the thyrotoxicosis. Side effects were reported in less than 10% of the cases, especially hematological, hepatic or skin allergies. One of the most severe manifestations is agranulocytosis, probably based on an immune mechanism that is exacerbated by the presence of the thyroid autoimmune disease itself. If the presence of the severe leucopenia is actually an epiphenomenon of a preexisting hematological disturbance as multiple myeloma is debated. The myeloma may also be correlated with an autoimmune predisposition. We present the case of a 56 years old female patient diagnosed with Graves' disease, who developed agranulocytosis after 8 months of therapy with thiamazole. Two months after antithyroid drug's withdrawal, the granulocytes number increased and she received therapy with radioiodine. Two years later she came back for diffuse bone pain that turned out to be caused by a multiple myeloma, confirmed by bone marrow biopsy. It might be a connection between the severe form of leucopenia that the patient developed and the medullar malignancy.

Antithyroid drugs induced agranulocytosis and multiple myeloma: case report and general considerations

PubMed Central

Dănciulescu Miulescu, R; Carșote, M; Trifănescu, R; Ferechide, D; Poiană, C

2013-01-01

Antithyroid drugs as thionamides are largely used in the treatment of the thyrotoxicosis. Side effects were reported in less than 10% of the cases, especially hematological, hepatic or skin allergies. One of the most severe manifestations is agranulocytosis, probably based on an immune mechanism that is exacerbated by the presence of the thyroid autoimmune disease itself. If the presence of the severe leucopenia is actually an epiphenomenon of a preexisting hematological disturbance as multiple myeloma is debated. The myeloma may also be correlated with an autoimmune predisposition. We present the case of a 56 years old female patient diagnosed with Graves’ disease, who developed agranulocytosis after 8 months of therapy with thiamazole. Two months after antithyroid drug’s withdrawal, the granulocytes number increased and she received therapy with radioiodine. Two years later she came back for diffuse bone pain that turned out to be caused by a multiple myeloma, confirmed by bone marrow biopsy. It might be a connection between the severe form of leucopenia that the patient developed and the medullar malignancy. PMID:24155785

"Disease entity" as the key theoretical concept of medicine.

PubMed

Hucklenbroich, Peter

2014-12-01

Philosophical debates about the concept of disease, particularly of mental disease, might benefit from reconsideration and a closer look at the established terminology and conceptual structure of contemporary medical pathology and clinical nosology. The concepts and principles of medicine differ, to a considerable extent, from the ideas and notions of philosophical theories of disease. In medical theory, the concepts of disease entity and pathologicity are, besides the concept of disease itself, of fundamental importance, and they are essentially connected to the concepts cause of disease or etiological factor, natural course or natural history of disease, and pathological disposition. It is the concept of disease entity that is of key importance for understanding medical pathology and theory of disease. Its central role is shown by a short reconstruction of its main features and its intrinsic connection to the concept of pathologicity. The meaning of pathologicity is elucidated by explicating the underlying criteria. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Making psycholinguistics musical: self-paced reading time evidence for shared processing of linguistic and musical syntax.

PubMed

Slevc, L Robert; Rosenberg, Jason C; Patel, Aniruddh D

2009-04-01

Linguistic processing, especially syntactic processing, is often considered a hallmark of human cognition; thus, the domain specificity or domain generality of syntactic processing has attracted considerable debate. The present experiments address this issue by simultaneously manipulating syntactic processing demands in language and music. Participants performed self-paced reading of garden path sentences, in which structurally unexpected words cause temporary syntactic processing difficulty. A musical chord accompanied each sentence segment, with the resulting sequence forming a coherent chord progression. When structurally unexpected words were paired with harmonically unexpected chords, participants showed substantially enhanced garden path effects. No such interaction was observed when the critical words violated semantic expectancy or when the critical chords violated timbral expectancy. These results support a prediction of the shared syntactic integration resource hypothesis (Patel, 2003), which suggests that music and language draw on a common pool of limited processing resources for integrating incoming elements into syntactic structures. Notations of the stimuli from this study may be downloaded from pbr.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.

Recent developments and current controversies in depression.

PubMed

Ebmeier, Klaus P; Donaghey, Claire; Steele, J Douglas

2006-01-14

In this review of the last 5 years' developments in research into depression we focus on recent advances and current controversies. We cover epidemiology and basic science as well as the treatment of depression in adults in all its forms. Depression in , as well as in has been covered in recent Seminars in The Lancet. Depression in adulthood remains a very common and under-treated condition, resulting in a high degree of disability. Increasingly detailed knowledge about impairment of information processing in depression is being supplemented by quantitative studies of the brain processes underlying these impairments. Most patients improve with present treatments. The mechanisms of action of antidepressants are not fully understood; the hypothesis that reversing hippocampal cell loss in depression may be their active principle is a fascinating new development. Moral panic about the claim that antidepressant serotonin reuptake inhibitors cause patients to commit suicide and become addicted to their medication may have disconcerted the public and members of the medical profession. We will try to describe the considerable effort that has gone into collecting evidence to enlighten this debate.

Malaria parasite mutants with altered erythrocyte permeability: a new drug resistance mechanism and important molecular tool

PubMed Central

Hill, David A; Desai, Sanjay A

2010-01-01

Erythrocytes infected with plasmodia, including those that cause human malaria, have increased permeability to a diverse collection of organic and inorganic solutes. While these increases have been known for decades, their mechanistic basis was unclear until electrophysiological studies revealed flux through one or more ion channels on the infected erythrocyte membrane. Current debates have centered on the number of distinct ion channels, which channels mediate the transport of each solute and whether the channels represent parasite-encoded proteins or human channels activated after infection. This article reviews the identification of the plasmodial surface anion channel and other proposed channels with an emphasis on two distinct channel mutants generated through in vitro selection. These mutants implicate parasite genetic elements in the parasite-induced permeability, reveal an important new antimalarial drug resistance mechanism and provide tools for molecular studies. We also critically examine the technical issues relevant to the detection of ion channels by electrophysiological methods; these technical considerations have general applicability for interpreting studies of various ion channels proposed for the infected erythrocyte membrane. PMID:20020831

Climate change and mental health: a causal pathways framework.

PubMed

Berry, Helen Louise; Bowen, Kathryn; Kjellstrom, Tord

2010-04-01

Climate change will bring more frequent, long lasting and severe adverse weather events and these changes will affect mental health. We propose an explanatory framework to enhance consideration of how these effects may operate and to encourage debate about this important aspect of the health impacts of climate change. Literature review. Climate change may affect mental health directly by exposing people to trauma. It may also affect mental health indirectly, by affecting (1) physical health (for example, extreme heat exposure causes heat exhaustion in vulnerable people, and associated mental health consequences) and (2) community wellbeing. Within community, wellbeing is a sub-process in which climate change erodes physical environments which, in turn, damage social environments. Vulnerable people and places, especially in low-income countries, will be particularly badly affected. Different aspects of climate change may affect mental health through direct and indirect pathways, leading to serious mental health problems, possibly including increased suicide mortality. We propose that it is helpful to integrate these pathways in an explanatory framework, which may assist in developing public health policy, practice and research.

Loss of function of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 1 leads to unconventional lignin and a temperature-sensitive growth defect in Medicago truncatula.

PubMed

Zhao, Qiao; Tobimatsu, Yuki; Zhou, Rui; Pattathil, Sivakumar; Gallego-Giraldo, Lina; Fu, Chunxiang; Jackson, Lisa A; Hahn, Michael G; Kim, Hoon; Chen, Fang; Ralph, John; Dixon, Richard A

2013-08-13

There is considerable debate over the capacity of the cell wall polymer lignin to incorporate unnatural monomer units. We have identified Tnt1 retrotransposon insertion mutants of barrel medic (Medicago truncatula) that show reduced lignin autofluorescence under UV microscopy and red coloration in interfascicular fibers. The phenotype is caused by insertion of retrotransposons into a gene annotated as encoding cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase, here designated M. truncatula CAD1. NMR analysis indicated that the lignin is derived almost exclusively from coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde and is therefore strikingly different from classical lignins, which are derived mainly from coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols. Despite such a major alteration in lignin structure, the plants appear normal under standard conditions in the greenhouse or growth chamber. However, the plants are dwarfed when grown at 30 °C. Glycome profiling revealed an increased extractability of some xylan and pectin epitopes from the cell walls of the cad1-1 mutant but decreased extractability of others, suggesting that aldehyde-dominant lignin significantly alters cell wall structure.

Loss of function of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 1 leads to unconventional lignin and a temperature-sensitive growth defect in Medicago truncatula

PubMed Central

Zhao, Qiao; Tobimatsu, Yuki; Zhou, Rui; Pattathil, Sivakumar; Gallego-Giraldo, Lina; Fu, Chunxiang; Jackson, Lisa A.; Hahn, Michael G.; Kim, Hoon; Chen, Fang; Ralph, John; Dixon, Richard A.

2013-01-01

There is considerable debate over the capacity of the cell wall polymer lignin to incorporate unnatural monomer units. We have identified Tnt1 retrotransposon insertion mutants of barrel medic (Medicago truncatula) that show reduced lignin autofluorescence under UV microscopy and red coloration in interfascicular fibers. The phenotype is caused by insertion of retrotransposons into a gene annotated as encoding cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase, here designated M. truncatula CAD1. NMR analysis indicated that the lignin is derived almost exclusively from coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde and is therefore strikingly different from classical lignins, which are derived mainly from coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols. Despite such a major alteration in lignin structure, the plants appear normal under standard conditions in the greenhouse or growth chamber. However, the plants are dwarfed when grown at 30 °C. Glycome profiling revealed an increased extractability of some xylan and pectin epitopes from the cell walls of the cad1-1 mutant but decreased extractability of others, suggesting that aldehyde-dominant lignin significantly alters cell wall structure. PMID:23901113

Research Domain Criteria versus DSM V: How does this debate affect attempts to model corticostriatal dysfunction in animals?

PubMed

Young, Jared W; Winstanley, Catharine A; Brady, Anne Marie; Hall, Frank Scott

2017-05-01

For decades, the nosology of mental illness has been based largely upon the descriptions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM). A recent challenge to the DSM approach to psychiatric nosology from the National Institute on Mental Health (USA) defines Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) as an alternative. For RDoC, psychiatric illnesses are not defined as discrete categories, but instead as specific behavioral dysfunctions irrespective of DSM diagnostic categories. This approach was driven by two primary weaknesses noted in the DSM: (1) the same symptoms occur in very different disease states; and (2) DSM criteria lack grounding in the underlying biological causes of mental illness. RDoC intends to ground psychiatric nosology in those underlying mechanisms. This review addresses the suitability of RDoC vs. DSM from the view of modeling mental illness in animals. A consideration of all types of psychiatric dysfunction is beyond the scope of this review, which will focus on models of conditions associated with frontostriatal dysfunction. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Plastination: ethical and medico-legal considerations.

PubMed

Bin, Paola; Conti, Adelaide; Buccelli, Claudio; Addeo, Giuseppe; Capasso, Emanuele; Piras, Mauro

2016-01-01

The international plastination phenomenon has proved to be immensely popular with audiences world-wide. Never before has the human body been exposed to public gaze in such an accessible manner. The exhibitions have perplexed many, included anatomists, some of whom find the display of human bodies unethical. The objective of this study is to review the attention on the use of plastination and exhibition of entire human bodies for non-educational or commercial purposes. The nature of these exhibitions and the uneasy balance between entertainment and education has caused heated debate. The possible legitimacy of the expression of one's will as far as exhibition purposes isn't considered sufficient for the indiscriminate use of a corpse despite the ethical necessity of respecting the wishes of individuals based on respect for the deceased. The informed consent of an individual represents only the most basic and minimal prerequisite for the use of the deceased's body for exhibition purposes, and is absolutely not enough on its own to justify its use in entertainment exhibitions or for the commercialization of the death.

The generativist-interactionist debate over specific language impairment: psycholinguistics at a crossroads.

PubMed

Shanker, Stuart

2002-01-01

Certain defining problems in psychology force us to clarify both the origins and the limits of a paradigm that has long governed our thinking in a particular area of research. The current debate over the nature and causes of specific language impairment is proving to be just such an issue. In particular, the existence of the KE family, 15 of whose 37 members suffer from specific language impairment, has raised far-reaching questions about the conceptual foundations of our current views about language deficits and, indeed, about language development in general.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure": exploring economic and moral subtexts of the "organ shortage" problem in public views on organ donation.

PubMed

Schicktanz, S; Schweda, M

2009-08-01

The debate over financial incentives and market models for organ procurement represents a key trend in recent bioethics. In this paper, we wish to reassess one of its central premises-the idea of organ shortage. While the problem is often presented as an objective statistical fact that can be taken for granted, we will take a closer look at the underlying framework expressed in the common rhetoric of "scarcity", "shortage" or "unfulfilled demand". On the basis of theoretical considerations as well as a socioempirical examination of public attitudes, we will argue that this rhetoric has an economic subtext that imbues the debate with normative premises that have far-reaching social and ethical consequences and need to be made explicit and discussed.

Sex, gender, and health biotechnology: points to consider

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Reproductive technologies have been extensively debated in the literature. As well, feminist economists, environmentalists, and agriculturalists have generated substantial debate and literature on gender. However, the implications for women of health biotechnologies have received relatively less attention. Surprisingly, while gender based frameworks have been proposed in the context of public health policy, practice, health research, and epidemiological research, we could identify no systematic framework for gender analysis of health biotechnology in the developing world. Discussion We propose sex and gender considerations at five critical stages of health biotechnology research and development: priority setting; technology design; clinical trials; commercialization, and health services delivery. Summary Applying a systematic sex and gender framework to five key process stages of health biotechnology research and development could be a first step towards unlocking the opportunities of this promising science for women in the developing world. PMID:19622163

Is Linus Pauling, a vitamin C advocate, just making much ado about nothing? (Review).

PubMed

Kodama, M; Kodama, T

1994-01-01

Clinical use of vitamin C has been the subject of much debate in both the USA and Japan. We examine a number of topics to clarify the reasons for the confrontation of opinion between the pros and the cons as to the medical usefulness of this vitamin. We refer to our own experiences on the use of vitamin C infusion treatment for the control of either diabetes mellitus or autoimmune disease and allergy to show the importance of pharmacological considerations in the assessment of the effect of vitamin C. We also refer to a number of scientific debates to prove that a shift of paradigm is indispensable for getting a full comprehension of the benefits of vitamin C including the control of both diabetes mellitus and autoimmune disease/allergy complex.

Positive argument for debate in J Neural Transmission: Alzheimer's disease: are we intervening too late? Yes, by years if not decades.

PubMed

Shea, Thomas B; Remington, Ruth

2012-12-01

The ongoing debate as to whether we are or are not early enough in treatment for Alzheimer's disease presents distinct vantage points. Points expressed range from stressing the need for early preventive measures to highlighting the failure of "alternative" therapies, and concluding that we are unfortunately doing all that we can at present. Herein, we stress the worth of nutritional intervention, and review why such studies are often inherently compromised. We conclude that considerable education is needed to advance lifestyle modifications early enough to obtain their optimal effect, and instead of positioning "classical" interventions against "alternative" interventions, the combinations of both may impart maximal benefit. The introduction of novel detection methods at the earliest indications of cognitive impairment may provide a window of opportunity for initiation of preventative approaches.

Widening the debate about conflict of interest: addressing relationships between journalists and the pharmaceutical industry.

PubMed

Lipworth, Wendy; Kerridge, Ian; Sweet, Melissa; Jordens, Christopher; Bonfiglioli, Catriona; Forsyth, Rowena

2012-08-01

The phone-hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World newspaper in Britain has prompted international debate about media practices and regulation. It is timely to broaden the discussion about journalistic ethics and conduct to include consideration of the impact of media practices upon the population's health. Many commercial organisations cultivate relationships with journalists and news organisations with the aim of influencing the content of health-related news and information communicated through the media. Given the significant influence of the media on the health of individuals and populations, we should be alert to the potential impact of industry-journalist relationships on health care, health policy and public health. The approach taken by the medical profession to its interactions with the pharmaceutical industry provides a useful model for management of industry influence.

Information processing and dynamics in minimally cognitive agents.

PubMed

Beer, Randall D; Williams, Paul L

2015-01-01

There has been considerable debate in the literature about the relative merits of information processing versus dynamical approaches to understanding cognitive processes. In this article, we explore the relationship between these two styles of explanation using a model agent evolved to solve a relational categorization task. Specifically, we separately analyze the operation of this agent using the mathematical tools of information theory and dynamical systems theory. Information-theoretic analysis reveals how task-relevant information flows through the system to be combined into a categorization decision. Dynamical analysis reveals the key geometrical and temporal interrelationships underlying the categorization decision. Finally, we propose a framework for directly relating these two different styles of explanation and discuss the possible implications of our analysis for some of the ongoing debates in cognitive science. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Medical confidentiality in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: an Anglo-German comparison1

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Summary Professional secrecy of doctors became an issue of considerable medico-legal and political debate in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in both Germany and England, although the legal preconditions for this debate were quite different in the two countries. While in Germany medical confidentiality was a legal obligation and granted in court, no such statutory recognition of doctors’ professional secrecy existed in England. This paper is a comparative analysis of medical secrecy in three key areas - divorce trials, venereal disease and abortion - in both countries. Based on sources from the period between c.1870 and 1939, our paper shows how doctors tried to define the scope of professional secrecy as an integral part of their professional honour in relation to important matters of public health. PMID:21077462

Military NGO Interaction: The Value of Cultural Competence

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-08

18-04-2013 2. REPORT TYPE Master of Military Studies Research Paper 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) September 2012 - April 2013 4. TITLE AND...Force and the American Red Cross. There has also been considerable discussion of the value of cultural training and cultural competence* This paper ...Definitions of the term “cultural competence” are still being debated. This paper will use the definition proposed by Brian R

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: A Study of Information Technology and Information Systems (IT/IS) Usage between Students and Faculty of Nigerian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ololube, Nwachukwu Prince; Kpolovie, Peter James; Amaele, Samuel; Amanchukwu, Rose N.; Briggs, Teinye

2013-01-01

It is presumed that Nigerian students and teachers have been unable to find effective ways to use technology in the classroom and other aspects of their teaching and learning. Yet, considerable debate remains over the most efficient techniques and procedures to measure students and faculties information technology and information systems (IT/IS)…

Wallace, Darwin and Ternate 1858.

PubMed

Smith, Charles H

2014-06-20

Recent debates on the mailing date of Alfred Russel Wallace's 'Ternate essay' to Charles Darwin in the spring of 1858 have ignored certain details that, once taken into account, alter the matter considerably. Here, a closer look is taken at the critical question of whether Wallace's manuscript-accompanying letter represented a reply to the Darwin letter that arrived in Ternate on 9 March; it is concluded that it very probably did not.

Healing the Wounds of War and More: An Integrative Approach to Peace--The Work of Adam Curle and Others with Mir i dobro in Zupanja, Croatia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchels, Barbara

2003-01-01

Examines practical implications of Curle's approach to psychological aspects of conflict and peacemaking as evidenced in the Mir i dobro project in Zupanja, taking into consideration some of the current debates concerning treatment of psychological trauma, including validity of the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and use of so-called…

Correlation-Induced Changes of Spectra

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

tances has been one of the central have been observed etperimental- other end of the frequency spec- issues of debate among astrono - ly could be...limited consideration by astrono - I mers. in the updated theory, described in the Nov. 13 PHYSICAL REVIEw LETTERS, Wolf outlines a more general - and...billions of light-years apart. Many astrono - mers-ncluding Christopher L. Carilli of Harvard University, who with two colleagues found the most recent

Urban Sprawl, Smart Growth, and Deliberative Democracy

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Urban sprawl is an increasingly common feature of the built environment in the United States and other industrialized nations. Although there is considerable evidence that urban sprawl has adverse affects on public health and the environment, policy frameworks designed to combat sprawl—such as smart growth—have proven to be controversial, making implementation difficult. Smart growth has generated considerable controversy because stakeholders affected by urban planning policies have conflicting interests and divergent moral and political viewpoints. In some of these situations, deliberative democracy—an approach to resolving controversial public-policy questions that emphasizes open, deliberative debate among the affected parties as an alternative to voting—would be a fair and effective way to resolve urban-planning issues. PMID:20724685

Urban sprawl, smart growth, and deliberative democracy.

PubMed

Resnik, David B

2010-10-01

Urban sprawl is an increasingly common feature of the built environment in the United States and other industrialized nations. Although there is considerable evidence that urban sprawl has adverse affects on public health and the environment, policy frameworks designed to combat sprawl-such as smart growth-have proven to be controversial, making implementation difficult. Smart growth has generated considerable controversy because stakeholders affected by urban planning policies have conflicting interests and divergent moral and political viewpoints. In some of these situations, deliberative democracy-an approach to resolving controversial public-policy questions that emphasizes open, deliberative debate among the affected parties as an alternative to voting-would be a fair and effective way to resolve urban-planning issues.

2016 CAPS ethics session/Ein debate: 1. Regionalization of pediatric surgical care 2. Ethical introduction of surgical innovation 3. Addressing stress in a surgical practice: resiliency, well-being, and burnout.

PubMed

Bagwell, Charles E; Chiu, Priscilla; Fecteau, Annie; Gow, Kenneth W; Mueller, Claudia M; Price, David; Zigman, Andrew F

2017-05-01

The following is the conference proceeding of the Second Ein Debate from the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons held in Vancouver, BC, from September 22 to 24, 2016. The three main topics for debate, as prepared by the members of the CAPS Ethics Committee, are: 1. Regionalization of care: pros and cons, 2. Innovation in clinical care: ethical considerations, and 3. Surgeon well-being: caring for the caregiver. The authors of this paper, as participants in the debate, were assigned their positions at random. Therefore, the opinions they express within this summary might not reflect their own viewpoints. In the first discussion, arguments for and against the regionalization of pediatric surgical care are discussed, primarily in the context of a case of BA. In the pro argument, the evidence and lessons learned from different European countries are explored as well as different models to provide the best BA care outside of large teaching centers. In the counterargument, the author explains how regionalization of care could be detrimental for the patient, the family, the regional center, and for the health care system in general. In the debate on surgical innovation the authors define surgical innovation. They review the pertinent ethical principles, explore a model for its implementation, and the role of the institution at which the innovation is proposed. In the third section, surgeon well-being is examined, and recent literature on surgeon resiliency and burnout both at the attending and resident level is reviewed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Considerations in the Use of Nonhuman Primate Models of Ebola Virus and Marburg Virus Infection.

PubMed

Geisbert, Thomas W; Strong, James E; Feldmann, Heinz

2015-10-01

The filoviruses, Ebola virus and Marburg virus, are zoonotic pathogens that cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates (NHPs), with case-fatality rates ranging from 23% to 90%. The current outbreak of Ebola virus infection in West Africa, with >26 000 cases, demonstrates the long-underestimated public health danger that filoviruses pose as natural human pathogens. Currently, there are no vaccines or treatments licensed for human use. Licensure of any medical countermeasure may require demonstration of efficacy in the gold standard cynomolgus or rhesus macaque models of filovirus infection. Substantial progress has been made over the last decade in characterizing the filovirus NHP models. However, there is considerable debate over a variety of experimental conditions, including differences among filovirus isolates used, routes and doses of exposure, and euthanasia criteria, all of which may contribute to variability of results among different laboratories. As an example of the importance of understanding these differences, recent data with Ebola virus shows that an addition of a single uridine residue in the glycoprotein gene at the editing site attenuates the virus. Here, we draw on decades of experience working with filovirus-infected NHPs to provide a perspective on the importance of various experimental conditions. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Revaluing unmanaged forests for climate change mitigation.

PubMed

Krug, Joachim; Koehl, Michael; Kownatzki, Dierk

2012-11-14

Unmanaged or old-growth forests are of paramount importance for carbon sequestration and thus for the mitigation of climate change among further implications, e.g. biodiversity aspects. Still, the importance of those forests for climate change mitigation compared to managed forests is under controversial debate. We evaluate the adequacy of referring to CO2 flux measurements alone and include external impacts on growth (nitrogen immissions, increasing temperatures, CO2 enrichment, changed precipitation patterns) for an evaluation of central European forests in this context. We deduce that the use of CO2 flux measurements alone does not allow conclusions on a superiority of unmanaged to managed forests for mitigation goals. This is based on the critical consideration of uncertainties and the application of system boundaries. Furthermore, the consideration of wood products for material and energetic substitution obviously overrules the mitigation potential of unmanaged forests. Moreover, impacts of nitrogen immissions, CO2 enrichment of the atmosphere, increasing temperatures and changed precipitation patterns obviously lead to a meaningful increase in growth, even in forests of higher age. An impact of unmanaged forests on climate change mitigation cannot be valued by CO2 flux measurements alone. Further research is needed on cause and effect relationships between management practices and carbon stocks in different compartments of forest ecosystems in order to account for human-induced changes. Unexpected growth rates in old-growth forests - managed or not - can obviously be related to external impacts and additionally to management impacts. This should lead to the reconsideration of forest management strategies.

Analysis of environmental communication and its implication for sustainable development in Ethiopia.

PubMed

Zikargae, Mekonnen Hailemariam

2018-09-01

Environmental issues have been causing debates around the globe. These issues have also got much attention in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has been adversely affected by the environmental crisis. Developing countries and the poor were depicted as unfortunate victims of climate change. The causes of climate change include deforestation, industries, mismanagement of the environment, and utilization of natural resources. One of the effects of climate change brought natural disaster what we call a drought. Drought affected many people, even recently, in Ethiopia. Concerning the environmental problems and issues in Ethiopia, there are beginnings at the policy level. However, the practical aspects of communicating and addressing these issues could not get much attention from the authority. The aim of the research is to analyze environmental communication of Amhara National Regional State-Environmental Protection Authority. Case study as a qualitative research method is used. The case design type is descriptive. The researcher selected two techniques of collecting data: in-depth interview and documents. The results show that the authority is unable to communicate environmental issues which were stated in the different conventions and policies. There are gaps that could be considered from the outcome of the research. The major gaps and challenges in addressing practical issues of environment are identified namely poor environmental information systems, lack of awareness creation through communications, and weak public dialogue and genuine participation consideration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chronic Broca's Aphasia Is Caused by Damage to Broca's and Wernicke's Areas.

PubMed

Fridriksson, Julius; Fillmore, Paul; Guo, Dazhou; Rorden, Chris

2015-12-01

Despite being perhaps the most studied form of aphasia, the critical lesion location for Broca's aphasia has long been debated, and in chronic patients, cortical damage often extends far beyond Broca's area. In a group of 70 patients, we examined brain damage associated with Broca's aphasia using voxel-wise lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM). We found that damage to the posterior portion of Broca's area, the pars opercularis, is associated with Broca's aphasia. However, several individuals with other aphasic patterns had considerable damage to pars opercularis, suggesting that involvement of this region is not sufficient to cause Broca's aphasia. When examining only individuals with pars opercularis damage, we found that patients with Broca's aphasia had greater damage in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG; roughly Wernicke's area) than those with other aphasia types. Using discriminant function analysis and logistic regression, based on proportional damage to the pars opercularis and Wernicke's area, to predict whether individuals had Broca's or another types of aphasia, over 95% were classified correctly. Our findings suggest that persons with Broca's aphasia have damage to both Broca's and Wernicke's areas, a conclusion that is incongruent with classical neuropsychology, which has rarely considered the effects of damage to both areas. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The legacy of 'normalisation': the role of classical and contemporary criminological theory in understanding young people's drug use.

PubMed

Measham, Fiona; Shiner, Michael

2009-11-01

Since it began in the mid-1990s, the debate surrounding the normalisation of adolescent recreational drug use has attracted considerable attention and has tended to polarise opinion within the field. In this article two of the main protagonists in the debate come together to discuss its legacy. Focusing on the twin themes of continuity and change the authors begin by considering the relevance of early developments in the sociology of drug use, noting that this earlier work anticipated much that has recently been written on the subject, including the emphasis on hedonism and consumption in leisure lifestyles. From here they go on to critically reflect on the role that structure and agency have played in the normalisation debate, suggesting that the original thesis underplayed the role of structural influences in favour of a rational action model of adolescent drug use. In their more recent work, both authors have come to emphasise how drug use is shaped by an interplay between social structure and human agency. While some areas of disagreement remain, they agree that normalisation is best understood as a contingent process negotiated by distinct social groups operating in bounded situations.

Does bad inference drive out good?

PubMed

Marozzi, Marco

2015-07-01

The (mis)use of statistics in practice is widely debated, and a field where the debate is particularly active is medicine. Many scholars emphasize that a large proportion of published medical research contains statistical errors. It has been noted that top class journals like Nature Medicine and The New England Journal of Medicine publish a considerable proportion of papers that contain statistical errors and poorly document the application of statistical methods. This paper joins the debate on the (mis)use of statistics in the medical literature. Even though the validation process of a statistical result may be quite elusive, a careful assessment of underlying assumptions is central in medicine as well as in other fields where a statistical method is applied. Unfortunately, a careful assessment of underlying assumptions is missing in many papers, including those published in top class journals. In this paper, it is shown that nonparametric methods are good alternatives to parametric methods when the assumptions for the latter ones are not satisfied. A key point to solve the problem of the misuse of statistics in the medical literature is that all journals have their own statisticians to review the statistical method/analysis section in each submitted paper. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Bibliography of forest water yields, flooding issues, and the hydrologic modeling of extreme flood events

Treesearch

Mark H. Eisenbies; M.B. Adams; W. Michael Aust; James A. Burger

2007-01-01

Floods continue to cause significant damage in the United States and elsewhere, and questions about the causes of flooding continue to be debated. A significant amount of research has been conducted on the relationship between forest management activities and water yield, peak flows, and flooding; somewhat less research has been conducted on the modeling of these...

Comparable Worth: Is It Anything More Than "The Latest" Discrimination Issue?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, John F.

The comparable worth issue has become heated in the 1980s and is especially important to minorities and women. The debate, explored in this eighth chapter of a book on school law, concerns the causes of and cures for the earning gap between employed men and women. One major cause of the gap is occupational segregation. Comparable worth advocates…

Should patients with self-inflicted illness receive lower priority in access to healthcare resources? Mapping out the debate.

PubMed

Sharkey, Kerith; Gillam, Lynn

2010-11-01

The distribution of scarce healthcare resources is an increasingly important issue due to factors such as expensive 'high tech' medicine, longer life expectancies and the rising prevalence of chronic illness. Furthermore, in the current healthcare context lifestyle-related factors such as high blood pressure, tobacco use and obesity are believed to contribute significantly to the global burden of disease. As such, this paper focuses on an ongoing debate in the academic literature regarding the role of responsibility for illness in healthcare resource allocation: should patients with self-caused illness receive lower priority in access to healthcare resources? This paper critically describes the lower priority debate's 12 key arguments and maps out their relationships. This analysis reveals that most arguments have been refuted and that the debate has stalled and remains unresolved. In conclusion, we suggest progression could be achieved by inviting multidisciplinary input from a range of stakeholders for the development of evidence-based critical evaluations of existing arguments and the development of novel arguments, including the outstanding rebuttals.

Antibiotic Resistance Gene Abundances Associated with Waste Discharges to the Almendares River near Havana, Cuba

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Considerable debate exists over the primary cause of increased antibiotic resistance (AR) worldwide. Evidence suggests increasing AR results from overuse of antibiotics in medicine and therapeutic and nontherapeutic applications in agriculture. However, pollution also can influence environmental AR, particularly associated with heavy metal, pharmaceutical, and other waste releases, although the relative scale of the “pollution” contribution is poorly defined, which restricts targeted mitigation efforts. The question is “where to study and quantify AR from pollution versus other causes to best understand the pollution effect”. One useful site is Cuba because industrial pollution broadly exists; antibiotics are used sparingly in medicine and agriculture; and multiresistant bacterial infections are increasing in clinical settings without explanation. Within this context, we quantified 13 antibiotic resistance genes (ARG; indicators of AR potential), 6 heavy metals, 3 antibiotics, and 17 other organic pollutants at 8 locations along the Almendares River in western Havana at sites bracketing known waste discharge points, including a large solid waste landfill and various pharmaceutical factories. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) were found between sediment ARG levels, especially for tetracyclines and β-lactams (e.g., tet(M), tet(O), tet(Q), tet(W), blaOXA), and sediment Cu and water column ampicillin levels in the river. Further, sediment ARG levels increased by up to 3 orders of magnitude downstream of the pharmaceutical factories and were highest where human population densities also were high. Although explicit links are not shown, results suggest that pollution has increased background AR levels in a setting where other causes of AR are less prevalent. PMID:21133405

The politics of Piketty: what political science can learn from, and contribute to, the debate on Capital in the twenty-first century.

PubMed

Hopkin, Jonathan

2014-12-01

Thomas Piketty's imposing volume has brought serious economics firmly into the mainstream of public debate on inequality, yet political science has been mostly absent from this debate. This article argues that political science has an essential contribution to make to this debate, and that Piketty's important and powerful book lacks a clear political theory. It develops this argument by first assessing and critiquing the changing nature of political science and its account of contemporary capitalism, and then suggesting how Piketty's thesis can be complemented, extended and challenged by focusing on the ways in which politics and collective action shape the economy and the distribution of income and wealth. Although Capital's principal message is that 'capital is back' and that without political interventions active political interventions will continue to grow, a political economy perspective would suggest another rather more fundamental critique: the very economic forces Piketty describes are embedded in institutional arrangements which can only be properly understood as political phenomena. In a sense capital itself - the central concept of the book - is almost meaningless without proper consideration of its political foundations. Even if the fact of capital accumulation may respond to an economic logic, the process is embedded in a very political logic. The examples of housing policy and the regulation, and failure to regulate, financial markets are used to illustrate these points. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.

The policy debate over public investment in comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Rich, Eugene C

2009-06-01

Policy makers across the political spectrum, as well as many clinicians and physician professional associations, have proposed that better information on comparative clinical effectiveness should be a key element of any solution to the US health-care cost crisis. This superficial consensus hides intense disagreements over critical issues essential to any new public effort to promote more comparative effectiveness research (CER). This article reviews the background for these disputes, summarizes the different perspectives represented by policy makers and advocates, and offers a framework to aid both practicing and academic internists in understanding the key elements of the emerging debate. Regarding the fundamental question of "what is CER," disagreements rage over whether value or cost effectiveness should be a consideration, and how specific patient perspectives should be reflected in the development and the use of such research. The question of how to pay for CER invokes controversies over the role of the market in producing such information and the private (e.g., insurers and employers) versus public responsibility for its production. The financing debate further highlights the high stakes of comparative effectiveness research, and the risks of stakeholder interests subverting any public process. Accordingly there are a range of proposals for the federal government's role in prioritization, development, and dissemination of CER. The internal medicine community, with its long history of commitment to scientific medical practice and its leadership in evidence-based medicine, should have a strong interest and play an active role in this debate.

Public participation in environmental impact assessment: why, who and how?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glucker, Anne N., E-mail: anne.glucker@gmx.de; Driessen, Peter P.J., E-mail: p.driessen@uu.nl; Kolhoff, Arend, E-mail: akolhoff@eia.nl

2013-11-15

Even a cursory glance at the literature on environmental impact assessment (EIA) reveals that public participation is being considered as an integral part of the assessment procedure. Public participation in EIA is commonly deemed to foster democratic policy-making and to render EIA more effective. Yet a closer look at the literature unveils that, beyond this general assertion, opinions of the precise meaning, objectives and adequate representation of public participation in EIA considerably diverge. Against this background, in this article we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the academic debate on public participation in EIA concerning its meaning, objectives andmore » adequate level of inclusiveness. In so doing, we hope to stimulate a more focused debate on the subject, which is key to advancing the research agenda. Furthermore, this paper may serve as a starting point for practitioners involved in defining the role of public participation in EIA practice. -- Highlights: • There is little reflection on the meaning, objectives and adequate level of inclusiveness of public participation in EIA. • We provide a comprehensive overview of the academic debate on public participation in EIA concerning the meaning, objectives and adequate level of inclusiveness. • Theoretical claims put forth by scholars are contrasted with empirical evidence. • Overview shall stimulate a more focused debate on the subject. • This paper may serve as a starting point for practitioners involved in defining the role of public participation in EIA.« less

U.S. Experience with the Draft: Learning the Wrong Lessons

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

W. Laws United States Army Reserve 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND...MSSA) to require the registration and possible conscription of women.15 Considerable public debate took place before Congress decided women would not...concluded “[i]n that event, the hypothetical draft the Court relied on to sustain the MSSA’s gender -based classification would presumably be of little

Mini-conference on helicon plasma sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scime, E. E.; Keesee, A. M.; Boswell, R. W.

2008-05-15

The first two sessions of this mini-conference focused attention on two areas of helicon source research: The conditions for optimal helicon source performance and the origins of energetic electrons and ions in helicon source plasmas. The final mini-conference session reviewed novel applications of helicon sources, such as mixed plasma source systems and toroidal helicon sources. The session format was designed to stimulate debate and discussion, with considerable time available for extended discussion.

CCIR for Complex and Uncertain Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-01

these purposes. Doctrine gives such a wide variety of reasons for using CCIR that the concept seems unfocused, giving the commander no true criteria...complex. The true effect that these issues have on CCIR is open to a considerable amount of debate. Every commander has the freedom to develop his...operations. He set a precedent that seems to have held true through the entire history of intelligence requirements – every step in the development

[Technology development as social process: prospects and frontiers of social scientific elucidation of technological advancement].

PubMed

Dierkes, M

1990-05-01

This article provides an overview of the new developments in social scientific technology research which have changed considerably as a result of public debate and reactions to the importance of advancements in technology. The shift in emphasis, away from the effects of technology to its shaping, is described and certain hypotheses and concepts of advancement in the study of the social conditions underlying technical development processes are presented.

No place called home: the causes and social consequences of the UK housing 'bubble'.

PubMed

Bone, John; O'Reilly, Karen

2010-06-01

This paper examines the key causes and social consequences of the much debated UK 'housing bubble' and its aftermath from a multidimensional sociological approach, as opposed to the economic perspective of many popular discussions. This is a phenomenon that has affected numerous economies in the first decade of the new millennium. The discussion is based on a comprehensive study that includes exhaustive analysis of secondary data, content and debate in the mass media and academia, primary data gathered from the monitoring of weblogs and forums debating housing issues, and case histories of individuals experiencing housing difficulties during this period. This paper is intended to provide a broad overview of the key findings and preliminary analysis of this ongoing study, and is informed by a perspective which considers secure and affordable housing to be an essential foundation of stable and cohesive societies, with its absence contributing to a range of social ills that negatively impact on both individual and collective well being. Overall, it is argued that we must return to viewing decent, affordable housing as an essential social resource, that provides the bedrock of stable individual, family and community life, while recognizing that its increasing treatment as a purely economic asset is a key contributor to our so-called 'broken society'.

Get-the-lead-out guru challenged

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Palca, J.

There's no question that high lead levels can cause brain damage - it's only at low levels of exposure that there is still a debate about what amount of lead in the blood can cause detectable behavioral and medical problems. And that debate has been tainted by a 10-year-old dispute over the credibility of data published by Herbert Needleman of the University of Pittsburgh, a world-renowned research on lead toxicity and leading adviser to the government on lead issues. Now, in the wake of a government lawsuit against the owners of a lead smelter in which Needleman was to havemore » testified - but never did because the case was settled out court - his critics have filed a complaint with federal investigators alleging that Needleman engaged in scientific misconduct a decade ago. They accuse the government of helping cover up the flaws in his research in order to deflect criticism of its policy decisions.« less

Environmental impact assessment: Retrospect and prospect

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jay, Stephen; Jones, Carys; Slinn, Paul

2007-05-15

The widespread experience of environmental impact assessment (EIA) as an anticipatory environmental management tool has generated a considerable debate over the extent to which it is achieving its purposes. This has been measured in terms of EIA 'effectiveness', especially as discussion has moved away from issues of procedural implementation, to the more substantive goals of EIA and its place within broader decision-making contexts. Empirical studies have revealed the relatively weak degree of influence on planning decisions that is being exerted by EIA, which is increasingly being attributed to its rationalist beginnings. This article seeks to direct this debate towards themore » founding political purposes of EIA which, it is argued, provide a neglected, yet strong, basis for EIA reform. A number of illustrative suggestions are made as a result of this redirection, to enable EIA to adopt a more determinative role in decision making and to contribute to more sustainable patterns of development planning.« less

A code of ethics for health care ethics consultants: journey to the present and implications for the field.

PubMed

Tarzian, Anita J; Wocial, Lucia D

2015-01-01

For decades a debate has played out in the literature about who bioethicists are, what they do, whether they can be considered professionals qua bioethicists, and, if so, what professional responsibilities they are called to uphold. Health care ethics consultants are bioethicists who work in health care settings. They have been seeking guidance documents that speak to their special relationships/duties toward those they serve. By approving a Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities for Health Care Ethics Consultants, the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) has moved the professionalization debate forward in a significant way. This first code of ethics focuses on individuals who provide health care ethics consultation (HCEC) in clinical settings. The evolution of the code's development, implications for the field of HCEC and bioethics, and considerations for future directions are presented here.

[I. P. Pavlov and K. Lorenz].

PubMed

Gorokhovskaia, E A

2000-01-01

In the thirtieth, the founder of ethology Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz put forward the new theory of behavior, which was met with considerable resistance of the dominant views on the mechanisms of behavior, including Pavlov's concept. From his first theoretical works and later on Lorenz debated with Pavlov. However, these debates were not reduced to a disagreement. He appreciated greatly the scientific contribution of Pavlov, and the ideas of the Russian physiologist were often the starting point of his own speculations. His polemics with Pavlov differed very much from his uncompromising controversies with behaviorists. When Lorenz compared Pavlov's views with behaviorism, he often preferred Pavlov's ideas. Lorenz also draw some parallels between the Pavlov's understanding of behavior and the ethological approach. Lorenz's discussion with Pavlov about the nature of conditioned reflex is of particular interest, since it stimulated Lorenz to develop the theory of this phenomenon.

The ontogenetic origins of mirror neurons: evidence from 'tool-use' and 'audiovisual' mirror neurons.

PubMed

Cook, Richard

2012-10-23

Since their discovery, mirror neurons--units in the macaque brain that discharge both during action observation and execution--have attracted considerable interest. Whether mirror neurons are an innate endowment or acquire their sensorimotor matching properties ontogenetically has been the subject of intense debate. It is widely believed that these units are an innate trait; that we are born with a set of mature mirror neurons because their matching properties conveyed upon our ancestors an evolutionary advantage. However, an alternative view is that mirror neurons acquire their matching properties during ontogeny, through correlated experience of observing and performing actions. The present article re-examines frequently overlooked neurophysiological reports of 'tool-use' and 'audiovisual' mirror neurons within the context of this debate. It is argued that these findings represent compelling evidence that mirror neurons are a product of sensorimotor experience, and not an innate endowment.

Bioethical considerations in translational research: primate stroke.

PubMed

Sughrue, Michael E; Mocco, J; Mack, Willam J; Ducruet, Andrew F; Komotar, Ricardo J; Fischbach, Ruth L; Martin, Thomas E; Connolly, E Sander

2009-05-01

Controversy and activism have long been linked to the subject of primate research. Even in the midst of raging ethical debates surrounding fertility treatments, genetically modified foods and stem-cell research, there has been no reduction in the campaigns of activists worldwide. Playing their trade of intimidation aimed at ending biomedical experimentation in all animals, they have succeeded in creating an environment where research institutions, often painted as guilty until proven innocent, have avoided addressing the issue for fear of becoming targets. One area of intense debate is the use of primates in stroke research. Despite the fact that stroke kills more people each year than AIDS and malaria, and less than 5% of patients are candidates for current therapies, there is significant opposition to primate stroke research. A balanced examination of the ethics of primate stroke research is thus of broad interest to all areas of biomedical research.

Public-private health partnerships: a strategy for WHO.

PubMed Central

Buse, K.; Waxman, A.

2001-01-01

Following early success with a number of high-profile partnerships, WHO is increasingly working with the private for-profit sector. In so doing, the organization finds itself in the maelstrom of a vibrant debate on the roles of public, civic, and commercial entities in society and on the appropriate modes of interaction among them. This paper examines WHO's involvement with the commercial sector, particularly in partnerships. WHO's approach to this sector is outlined and the criticisms levelled at public-private partnerships are reviewed. An indication is given of the steps recently taken by WHO to confront the concerns that have been expressed. The paper argues that partnership between WHO and the commercial sector is inevitable and that it presents considerable opportunities, but also significant risks, for the organization and for public health. A strategy is proposed for directing the debate on issues critical to WHO and its role in the promotion and protection of public health. PMID:11545332

The charisma and deception of reparative therapies: when medical science beds religion.

PubMed

Grace, André P

2008-01-01

In this article, I examine the history and resurgence of interest in sexual reorientation or reparative therapies. I begin with a critique of the contemporary "ex-gay" movement, interrogating Exodus as the prototype of a politico-religious transformational ministry that works to "cure" homosexuals, and examine how Exodus utilizes ex-gay testimony to deceive harried homosexuals looking for escape from the effects of internalized and cultural homophobia. Next, I investigate how reparative therapies function as orthodox treatments that charismatically meld conservative religious perspectives with medical science to produce a pseudoscience promising to treat homosexuality effectively. In this regard, I assess the ongoing debate regarding gay-affirming versus reparative therapies by first looking at the history of medicalizing homosexuality and then surveying the debate spurred by Robert L. Spitzer's research. I conclude with a consideration of research needed to measure whether efficacious change in sexual orientation is possible.

Continuity and change in local immigrant policies in times of austerity.

PubMed

Schiller, Maria; Hackett, Sarah

2018-01-01

European cities are increasingly being recognised for the role they play in devising and implementing their own migration, integration and diversity policies. Yet very little is known about the local dimension of immigrant policymaking in crisis contexts. This introductory piece offers a rationale for analysing city-level immigrant policies in times of crisis and the salience of using crisis as a metaphor for the state of things, and outlines key scholarly works, debates, concepts and theories. It provides a range of historical and contemporary examples and considerations, and introduces an empirical city case study that is published as part of this mini-symposium. It argues that a crisis lens leads to a systematic understanding of local-level immigrant policymaking in recent and contemporary Western Europe. The mini-symposium's focus and findings should be relevant to both on-going academic and policy debates.

The place of care in ethical theory.

PubMed

Veatch, R M

1998-04-01

The concept of care and a related ethical theory of care have emerged as increasingly important in biomedical ethics. This essay outlines a series of questions about the conceptualization of care and its place in ethical theory. First, it considers the possibility that care should be conceptualized as an alternative principle of right action; then as a virtue, a cluster of virtues, or as a synonym for virtue theory. The implications for various interpretations of the debate of the relation of care and justice are then explored, suggesting three possible meanings for that contrast. Next, the possibility that care theorists are taking up the debate over the relation between principles and cases is considered. Finally, it is suggested that care theorists may be pressing for consideration of an entirely new question in moral theory: the assessment of the normative appropriateness of relationships. Issues needing to be addressed in an ethic of relationships are suggested.

Global Warming - Myth or Reality?, The Erring Ways of Climatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leroux, Marcel

In the global-warming debate, definitive answers to questions about ultimate causes and effects remain elusive. In Global Warming: Myth or Reality? Marcel Leroux seeks to separate fact from fiction in this critical debate from a climatological perspective. Beginning with a review of the dire hypotheses for climate trends, the author describes the history of the 1998 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many subsequent conferences. He discusses the main conclusions of the three IPCC reports and the predicted impact on global temperatures, rainfall, weather and climate, while highlighting the mounting confusion and sensationalism of reports in the media.

Factors controlling plasticity of leaf morphology in Robinia pseudoacacia L. II: the impact of water stress on leaf morphology of seedlings grown in a controlled environment chamber

Treesearch

M.T. Tyree

2012-01-01

Context. The cause of morphological plasticity of leaves within the crowns of tall trees still debated. Whether it is driven by irradiance or hydraulic constraints is inconclusive. In a previous study, we hypothesized that water stress caused between-site and within-tree morphological variability in mature Robinia trees.

Unique dielectric dipole and hopping ion dipole relaxation in disordered systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Govindaraj, G.

2018-04-01

Dielectric or ac conductivity measurements of dielectric and ion conducting glass and crystalline systems provide considerable insight into the nature of the dipolar and ionic motions in disordered solids. However, interpreting the dielectric or ac conductivity has been a matter of considerable debate based on the existing models and empirical formalism, particularly in regards to how best to represent the relaxation process that is the result of a transition from correlated to uncorrelated dipolar and ionic motions. A unique dipole interaction process has been proposed for the (a) dielectric dipole process (b) the hopping ion conducting dipole process and the (c) combination (a) and (b) for the description of dielectric spectra and ac conductivityspectra and results are reported.

The mountain-lowland debate: deforestation and sediment transport in the upper Ganga catchment.

PubMed

Wasson, R J; Juyal, N; Jaiswal, M; McCulloch, M; Sarin, M M; Jain, V; Srivastava, P; Singhvi, A K

2008-07-01

The Himalaya-Gangetic Plain region is the iconic example of the debate about the impact on lowlands of upland land-use change. Some of the scientific aspects of this debate are revisited by using new techniques to examine the role of deforestation in erosion and river sediment transport. The approach is whole-of-catchment, combining a history of deforestation with a history of sediment sources from well before deforestation. It is shown that deforestation had some effect on one very large erosional event in 1970, in the Alaknanda subcatchment of the Upper Ganga catchment, but that both deforestation and its effects on erosion and sediment transport are far from uniform in the Himalaya. Large magnitude erosional events occur for purely natural reasons. The impact on the Gangetic Plain of erosion caused by natural events and land cover change remains uncertain.

The role of financial wellbeing, sociopolitical attitude, self-interest, and lifestyle in one's attitude toward social health insurance.

PubMed

Schnusenberg, Oliver; Loh, Chung-Ping A; Nihalani, Katrin

2013-08-01

There has been continuous debate in the United States, Germany, and China about their respective healthcare systems. While these three countries are dealing with their own unique problems, the question of how social a healthcare system should be is a topic in this debate. This study examined how strongly college students' attitudes toward a social healthcare system relate to ideological orientation and self-interest. We used samples of college students in the People's Republic of China, Germany, and the US, and extracted factors measuring "financial wellbeing," "sociopolitical attitude," "self-interest," and "lifestyle" to explain the "attitude toward social health insurance" (ASHI) construct developed in recent literature (Loh et al. in Eur J Health Econ 13:707-722). The results of regression analysis showed that sociopolitical attitude/progressivism is positively related to the ASHI, but the degree of association varies considerably from country to country. We also found that a self-interest factor, measured by health status, seems to be inversely related to an individual's ASHI in the US, but not in China or Germany. Individuals with relatively healthy lifestyle choices were less likely to have a favorable ASHI in Germany, but no such relationship was found in China and the US. These results indicate that while some commonalities exist, there are also considerable differences in the structure of ASHI across these three countries. Ultimately, the results reported here could help to develop a predictive model that can be utilized to forecast a country's ASHI. Such a predictive model could be used by politicians to gauge the popularity of a healthcare plan that is under consideration in a particular country.

Evolving minimum standards in responsible international sperm donor offspring quota.

PubMed

Janssens, Pim M W; Thorn, Petra; Castilla, Jose A; Frith, Lucy; Crawshaw, Marilyn; Mochtar, Monique; Bjorndahl, Lars; Kvist, Ulrik; Kirkman-Brown, Jackson C

2015-06-01

An international working group was established with the aim of making recommendations on the number of offspring for a sperm donor that should be allowable in cases of international use of his sperm. Considerations from genetic, psychosocial, operational and ethical points of view were debated. For these considerations, it was assumed that current developments in genetic testing and Internet possibilities mean that, now, all donors are potentially identifiable by their offspring, so no distinction was made between anonymous and non-anonymous donation. Genetic considerations did not lead to restrictive limits (indicating that up to 200 offspring or more per donor may be acceptable except in isolated social-minority situations). Psychosocial considerations on the other hand led to proposals of rather restrictive limits (10 families per donor or less). Operational and ethical considerations did not lead to more or less concrete limits per donor, but seemed to lie in-between those resulting from the aforementioned ways of viewing the issue. In the end, no unifying agreed figure could be reached; however the consensus was that the number should never exceed 100 families. The conclusions of the group are summarized in three recommendations. Copyright © 2015 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Note: Is it symmetric or not?

PubMed

Stanton, John F

2013-07-28

The reasons by which a molecule might distort from an idealized high symmetry configuration (for example, D3h for the nitrate radical) in a quantum-chemical computation are well-known, but briefly reviewed here in light of considerable recent debate on the BNB molecule. The role of the pseudo-Jahn-Teller effect in such cases is emphasized, as is the ultimate relevance and proper interpretation of the title question in cases where the adiabatic potential energy surface is extremely flat.

Strategic Analysis of the War on Drugs

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-09

of the 1960s the drug culture had expanded considerably in the arts and entertainment industries, to college campuses, and to the young in general...At that time, the principal drug of choice was marihuana and to a lesser degree cocaine. 3 Debate over the benign nature of cocaine again surfaced in...widespread use. At least as strong a case could be made for legalizing it as for legalizing marihuana . Short acting--about 15 minutes--not physically

Rights

PubMed Central

Paul, Moli

2007-01-01

This article provides an overview of different types of rights to aid consideration of, and debate about, children and young people's rights in the context of paediatrics and child health. It demonstrates how children's rights may or may not differ from adult rights and the implications for practice. It shows that applying a children's rights framework can be more helpful in pursuing a public child health agenda than in reducing ethical or legal conflicts when interacting with child patients and their families. PMID:17642486

Abolish the Office of the Secretary of Defense?

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

should he go, the debate should have been whether we even need the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). It is perhaps time to admit that the great...source is the office itself. Simply put, the Secretary of Defense and his supporting staff are too powerful. The wisdom of the creation and relevance of...the original organization are what need to be reconsidered. The following recommendations are offered for consideration. First, abolish the Office of

Autism beyond pediatrics: why bioethicists ought to rethink consent in light of chronicity and genetic identity.

PubMed

Perry, Alexandra

2012-06-01

Autism is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder that presents unique challenges to bioethicists. In particular, bioethicists ought to reconsider pediatric consent in light of disparity between beliefs that are held about the disorder by parents and adults with autism. The neurodiverse community ought to be given some consideration in this debate, and, as such, there may be a role for autistic narratives in clarifying this problem. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The origins of species: the debate between August Weismann and Moritz Wagner.

PubMed

Weissman, Charlotte

2010-01-01

Weismann's ideas on species transmutation were first expressed in his famous debate with Moritz Wagner on the mechanism of speciation. Wagner suggested that the isolation of a colony from its original source is a preliminary and necessary factor for speciation. Weismann accepted a secondary, facilitating role for isolation, but argued that natural and sexual selection are the primary driving forces of species transmutation, and are always necessary and often sufficient causes for its occurrence. The debate with Wagner, which occurred between 1868 and 1872 within the framework of Darwin's discussions of geographical distribution, was Weismann's first public battle over the mechanism of evolution. This paper, which offers the first comprehensive analysis of this debate, extends previous analyses and throws light on the underlying beliefs and motivations of these early evolutionists, focusing mainly on Weismann's views and showing his commitment to what he later called "the all sufficiency of Natural Selection." It led to the crystallization of his ideas on the central and essential role of selection, both natural and sexual, in all processes of evolution, and, already at this early stage in his theoretical thinking, was coupled with sophisticated and nuanced approach to biological organization. The paper also discusses Ernst Mayr's analysis of the debate and highlights aspects of Weismann's views that were overlooked by Mayr and were peripheral to the discussions of other historians of biology.

The radioactive waste debate in the United States and nuclear technology for peaceful purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tehan, Terrence Norbert

Many ethical, cultural, and economic concerns have accompanied the rapid growth of Western technology. Nuclear technology in particular has experienced considerable opposition because of its perceived dangers, especially disposal of atomic waste. While this field of science remains in its infancy, many legal, political and ecological groups oppose any further application of nuclear technology--including the significant medical, environmental, and economic benefits possible from a safe and responsible application of nuclear energy. Complete and objective knowledge of this technology is needed to balance a healthy respect for the danger of atomic power with its many advantages. This study focuses on one aspect of nuclear technology that has particularly aroused political and social controversy: nuclear waste. Finding ways of disposing safely of nuclear waste has become an extremely volatile issue because of the popular misconception that there is no permanent solution to this problem. This investigation will demonstrate that the supposedly enduring waste problem has been resolved in several industrial countries that now outstrip the United States in safe commercial applications of nuclear science. This dissertation offers a reasoned and objective contribution to the continuing national debate on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. This debate becomes more crucial as the nation seeks a dependable substitute for the non-renewable sources of energy now rapidly being exhausted.

What is a mental disorder? A perspective from cognitive-affective science.

PubMed

Stein, Dan J

2013-12-01

Defining disease and disorder remains a key conceptual question in philosophy of medicine and psychiatry, and is currently a very practical matter for psychiatric nosology, given the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, and the upcoming International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision. There have been advances in the cognitive-affective science of human categorization, and it is timely to consider implications for our understanding of the category of psychiatric disorder. The category of mental disorder has graded boundaries, and conditions within this category can be conceptualized using MEDICAL or MORAL metaphors. One key set of constructs used in MEDICAL metaphors relates to the notion of dysfunction, and it may, in turn, be useful to conceptualize such dysfunction in evolutionary terms. For typical disorders, it is relatively easy to agree that dysfunction is present. However, for atypical disorders, there may be considerable debate about the presence and extent of dysfunction. Rational arguments can be brought to bear to help decide whether particular entities should be included in our nosologies, and, if so, what their boundaries should be. However, it is appropriate that there should be ongoing debate on diagnostic validity, clinical utility, and other relevant facts and values, for cases that are difficult to decide. The perspective here can be illustrated using many nosological debates within the anxiety disorders and the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, including the question of delineating normal from abnormal anxiety, of deciding whether anxiety is psychiatric or medical, and the debate about the optimal meta-structure for anxiety disorders.

Cost-effectiveness of early detection of breast cancer in Catalonia (Spain)

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Breast cancer (BC) causes more deaths than any other cancer among women in Catalonia. Early detection has contributed to the observed decline in BC mortality. However, there is debate on the optimal screening strategy. We performed an economic evaluation of 20 screening strategies taking into account the cost over time of screening and subsequent medical costs, including diagnostic confirmation, initial treatment, follow-up and advanced care. Methods We used a probabilistic model to estimate the effect and costs over time of each scenario. The effect was measured as years of life (YL), quality-adjusted life years (QALY), and lives extended (LE). Costs of screening and treatment were obtained from the Early Detection Program and hospital databases of the IMAS-Hospital del Mar in Barcelona. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was used to compare the relative costs and outcomes of different scenarios. Results Strategies that start at ages 40 or 45 and end at 69 predominate when the effect is measured as YL or QALYs. Biennial strategies 50-69, 45-69 or annual 45-69, 40-69 and 40-74 were selected as cost-effective for both effect measures (YL or QALYs). The ICER increases considerably when moving from biennial to annual scenarios. Moving from no screening to biennial 50-69 years represented an ICER of 4,469€ per QALY. Conclusions A reduced number of screening strategies have been selected for consideration by researchers, decision makers and policy planners. Mathematical models are useful to assess the impact and costs of BC screening in a specific geographical area. PMID:21605383

Space Geodesy and the New Madrid Seismic Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smalley, Robert; Ellis, Michael A.

2008-07-01

One of the most contentious issues related to earthquake hazards in the United States centers on the midcontinent and the origin, magnitudes, and likely recurrence intervals of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes that occurred there. The stakeholder groups in the debate (local and state governments, reinsurance companies, American businesses, and the scientific community) are similar to the stakeholder groups in regions more famous for large earthquakes. However, debate about New Madrid seismic hazard has been fiercer because of the lack of two fundamental components of seismic hazard estimation: an explanatory model for large, midplate earthquakes; and sufficient or sufficiently precise data about the causes, effects, and histories of such earthquakes.

Impact of antibiotic use in adult dairy cows on antimicrobial resistance of veterinary and human pathogens: a comprehensive review.

PubMed

Oliver, Stephen P; Murinda, Shelton E; Jayarao, Bhushan M

2011-03-01

Antibiotics have saved millions of human lives, and their use has contributed significantly to improving human and animal health and well-being. Use of antibiotics in food-producing animals has resulted in healthier, more productive animals; lower disease incidence and reduced morbidity and mortality in humans and animals; and production of abundant quantities of nutritious, high-quality, and low-cost food for human consumption. In spite of these benefits, there is considerable concern from public health, food safety, and regulatory perspectives about the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals. Over the last two decades, development of antimicrobial resistance resulting from agricultural use of antibiotics that could impact treatment of diseases affecting the human population that require antibiotic intervention has become a significant global public health concern. In the present review, we focus on antibiotic use in lactating and nonlactating cows in U.S. dairy herds, and address four key questions: (1) Are science-based data available to demonstrate antimicrobial resistance in veterinary pathogens that cause disease in dairy cows associated with use of antibiotics in adult dairy cows? (2) Are science-based data available to demonstrate that antimicrobial resistance in veterinary pathogens that cause disease in adult dairy cows impacts pathogens that cause disease in humans? (3) Does antimicrobial resistance impact the outcome of therapy? (4) Are antibiotics used prudently in the dairy industry? On the basis of this review, we conclude that scientific evidence does not support widespread, emerging resistance among pathogens isolated from dairy cows to antibacterial drugs even though many of these antibiotics have been used in the dairy industry for treatment and prevention of disease for several decades. However, it is clear that use of antibiotics in adult dairy cows and other food-producing animals does contribute to increased antimicrobial resistance. Although antimicrobial resistance does occur, we are of the opinion that the advantages of using antibiotics in adult dairy cows far outweigh the disadvantages. Last, as this debate continues, we need to consider the consequences of "what would happen if antibiotics are banned for use in the dairy industry and in other food-producing animals?" The implications of this question are far reaching and include such aspects as animal welfare, health, and well-being, and impacts on food quantity, quality, and food costs, among others. This question should be an important aspect in this ongoing and controversial debate.

Delaney Anti-Cancer Clause: Scientists Debate on Article of Faith

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wade, Nicholas

1972-01-01

Reviews past and present arguments for and against the Delaney Clause'' of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The clause prohibits use, in food, of any amount of any substance that has caused cancer in man or animals. (AL)

The effect of articulatory suppression on implicit and explicit false memory in the DRM paradigm.

PubMed

Van Damme, Ilse; Menten, Jan; d'Ydewalle, Gery

2010-11-01

Several studies have shown that reliable implicit false memory can be obtained in the DRM paradigm. There has been considerable debate, however, about whether or not conscious activation of critical lures during study is a necessary condition for this. Recent findings have revealed that articulatory suppression prevents subsequent false priming in an anagram task (Lovden & Johansson, 2003). The present experiment sought to replicate and extend these findings to an implicit word stem completion task, and to additionally investigate the effect of articulatory suppression on explicit false memory. Results showed an inhibitory effect of articulatory suppression on veridical memory, as well as on implicit false memory, whereas the level of explicit false memory was heightened. This suggests that articulatory suppression did not merely eliminate conscious lure activation, but had a more general capacity-delimiting effect. The drop in veridical memory can be attributed to diminished encoding of item-specific information. Superficial encoding also limited the spreading of semantic activation during study, which inhibited later false priming. In addition, the lack of item-specific and phenomenological details caused impaired source monitoring at test, resulting in heightened explicit false memory.

Integrating Journalism Into Health Promotion: Creating and Disseminating Community Narratives.

PubMed

Brown, Louis D; Berryhill, Joseph C; Jones, Eric C

2018-06-01

Media coverage of mental health and other social issues often relies on episodic narratives that suggest individualistic causes and solutions, while reinforcing negative stereotypes. Community narratives can provide empowering alternatives, serving as media advocacy tools used to shape the policy debate on a social issue. This article provides health promotion researchers and practitioners with guidance on how to develop and disseminate community narratives to broaden awareness of social issues and build support for particular programs and policy solutions. To exemplify the community narrative development process and highlight important considerations, this article examines a narrative from a mental health consumer-run organization. In the narrative, people with mental health problems help one another while operating a nonprofit organization, thereby countering stigmatizing media portrayals of people with mental illness as dangerous and incompetent. The community narrative frame supports the use of consumer-run organizations, which are not well-known and receive little funding despite evidence of effectiveness. The article concludes by reviewing challenges to disseminating community narratives, such as creating a product of interest to media outlets, and potential solutions, such as engaging media representatives through community health partnerships and using social media to draw attention to the narratives.

The Neurobiology of Sexual Partner Preferences in Rams

PubMed Central

Roselli, Charles E.; Stormshak, Fred

2009-01-01

The question of what causes a male animal to seek out and choose a female as opposed to another male mating partner is unresolved and remains an issue of considerable debate. The most developed biologic theory is the perinatal organizational hypothesis, which states that perinatal hormone exposure mediates sexual differentiation of the brain. Numerous animal experiments have assessed the contribution of perinatal testosterone and/or estradiol exposure to the development of a male-typical mate preference, but almost all have used hormonally manipulated animals. In contrast, variations in sexual partner preferences occur spontaneously in domestic rams, with as many as 8% of the population exhibiting a preference for same-sex mating partners (male-oriented rams). Thus, the domestic ram is an excellent experimental model to study possible links between fetal neuroendocrine programming of neural mechanisms and adult sexual partner preferences. In this review, we present an overview of sexual differentiation in relation to sexual partner preferences. We then summarize results that test the relevance of the organizational hypothesis to expression of same-sex sexual partner preferences in rams. Finally, we demonstrate that the sexual differentiation of brain and behavior in sheep do not depend critically on aromatization of testosterone to estradiol. PMID:19446078

The neurobiology of sexual partner preferences in rams.

PubMed

Roselli, Charles E; Stormshak, Fred

2009-05-01

The question of what causes a male animal to seek out and choose a female as opposed to another male mating partner is unresolved and remains an issue of considerable debate. The most developed biologic theory is the perinatal organizational hypothesis, which states that perinatal hormone exposure mediates sexual differentiation of the brain. Numerous animal experiments have assessed the contribution of perinatal testosterone and/or estradiol exposure to the development of a male-typical mate preference, but almost all have used hormonally manipulated animals. In contrast, variations in sexual partner preferences occur spontaneously in domestic rams, with as many as 8% of the population exhibiting a preference for same-sex mating partners (male-oriented rams). Thus, the domestic ram is an excellent experimental model to study possible links between fetal neuroendocrine programming of neural mechanisms and adult sexual partner preferences. In this review, we present an overview of sexual differentiation in relation to sexual partner preferences. We then summarize results that test the relevance of the organizational hypothesis to expression of same-sex sexual partner preferences in rams. Finally, we demonstrate that the sexual differentiation of brain and behavior in sheep does not depend critically on aromatization of testosterone to estradiol.

Cooperative autoinhibition and multi-level activation mechanisms of calcineurin

PubMed Central

Li, Sheng-Jie; Wang, Jue; Ma, Lei; Lu, Chang; Wang, Jie; Wu, Jia-Wei; Wang, Zhi-Xin

2016-01-01

The Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin (CN), a heterodimer composed of a catalytic subunit A and an essential regulatory subunit B, plays critical functions in various cellular processes such as cardiac hypertrophy and T cell activation. It is the target of the most widely used immunosuppressants for transplantation, tacrolimus (FK506) and cyclosporin A. However, the structure of a large part of the CNA regulatory region remains to be determined, and there has been considerable debate concerning the regulation of CN activity. Here, we report the crystal structure of full-length CN (β isoform), which revealed a novel autoinhibitory segment (AIS) in addition to the well-known autoinhibitory domain (AID). The AIS nestles in a hydrophobic intersubunit groove, which overlaps the recognition site for substrates and immunosuppressant-immunophilin complexes. Indeed, disruption of this AIS interaction results in partial stimulation of CN activity. More importantly, our biochemical studies demonstrate that calmodulin does not remove AID from the active site, but only regulates the orientation of AID with respect to the catalytic core, causing incomplete activation of CN. Our findings challenge the current model for CN activation, and provide a better understanding of molecular mechanisms of CN activity regulation. PMID:26794871

Lidar observed seasonal variation of vertical canopy structure in the Amazon evergreen forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, H.; Dubayah, R.

2017-12-01

Both light and water are important environmental factors governing tree growth. Responses of tropical forests to their changes are complicated and can vary substantially across different spatial and temporal scales. Of particular interest is the dry-season greening-up of Amazon forests, a phenomenon undergoing considerable debates whether it is real or a "light illusion" caused by artifacts of passive optical remote sensing techniques. Here we analyze seasonal dynamic patterns of vertical canopy structure in the Amazon forests using lidar observations from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). We found that the net greening of canopy layer coincides with the wet-to-dry transition period, and its net browning occurs mostly at the late dry season. The understory also shows a seasonal cycle, but with an opposite variation to canopy and minimal correlation to seasonal variations in rainfall or radiation. Our results further suggest a potential interaction between canopy layers in the light regime that can optimize the growth of Amazon forests during the dry season. This light regime variability that exists in both spatial and temporal domains can better reveal the dry-season greening-up phenomenon, which appears less obvious when treating the Amazon forests as a whole.

Jump Horse Safety: Reconciling Public Debate and Australian Thoroughbred Jump Racing Data, 2012–2014

PubMed Central

Ruse, Karen; Davison, Aidan; Bridle, Kerry

2015-01-01

Simple Summary This paper documents the dynamics of Australian thoroughbred jump racing in the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons with the aim of informing debate about risks to horses and the future of this activity. We conclude that the safety of Australian jump racing has improved in recent years but that steeplechases are considerably riskier for horses than hurdle races. Abstract Thoroughbred jump racing sits in the spotlight of contemporary welfare and ethical debates about horse racing. In Australia, jump racing comprises hurdle and steeplechase races and has ceased in all but two states, Victoria and South Australia. This paper documents the size, geography, composition, and dynamics of Australian jump racing for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons with a focus on debate about risks to horses. We found that the majority of Australian jump racing is regional, based in Victoria, and involves a small group of experienced trainers and jockeys. Australian jump horses are on average 6.4 years of age. The jump career of the majority of horses involves participating in three or less hurdle races and over one season. Almost one quarter of Australian jump horses race only once. There were ten horse fatalities in races over the study period, with an overall fatality rate of 5.1 fatalities per 1000 horses starting in a jump race (0.51%). There was significant disparity between the fatality rate for hurdles, 0.75 fatalities per 1000 starts (0.075%) and steeplechases, 14 fatalities per 1000 starts (1.4%). Safety initiatives introduced by regulators in 2010 appear to have significantly decreased risks to horses in hurdles but have had little or no effect in steeplechases. Our discussion considers these data in light of public controversy, political debate, and industry regulation related to jump horse safety. PMID:26506396

[Medical research-ethics applied to social sciences: relevance, limits, issues and necessary adjustments].

PubMed

Desclaux, A

2008-04-01

Social sciences are concretely concerned by the ethics of medical research when they deal with topics related to health, since they are subjected to clearance procedures specific to this field. This raises at least three questions: - Are principles and practices of medical research ethics and social science research compatible? - Are "research subjects" protected by medical research ethics when they participate in social science research projects? - What can social sciences provide to on-going debates and reflexion in this field? The analysis of the comments coming from ethics committees about social science research projects, and of the experience of implementation of these projects, shows that the application of international ethics standards by institutional review boards or ethics committees raises many problems in particular for researches in ethnology anthropology and sociology. These problems may produce an impoverishment of research, pervert its meaning, even hinder any research. They are not only related to different norms, but also to epistemological divergences. Moreover, in the case of studies in social sciences, the immediate and differed risks, the costs, as well as the benefits for subjects, are very different from those related to medical research. These considerations are presently a matter of debates in several countries such as Canada, Brasil, and USA. From another hand, ethics committees seem to have developed without resorting in any manner to the reflexion carried out within social sciences and more particularly in anthropology Still, the stakes of the ethical debates in anthropology show that many important and relevant issues have been discussed. Considering this debate would provide openings for the reflexion in ethics of health research. Ethnographic studies of medical research ethics principles and practices in various sociocultural contexts may also contribute to the advancement of medical ethics. A "mutual adjustment" between ethics of medical research and social sciences is presently necessary: it raises new questions open for debate.

Tempest in a tea pot: How did the public conversation on genetically modified crops drift so far from the facts?

PubMed

Goldstein, Daniel A

2014-06-01

The debate over genetically modified (GM) crops has raged in Europe since 1996, but had barely risen above a whisper in the USA until recent labeling debates raised public attention. This article will explain GM crops and traits discuss safety assessment provide a view on safety from authoritative organizations discuss selected issues of current debate, and provide the author's perspective as to why the public debate has drifted so far from scientific reality. The economic and environmental benefits of GM crops are beyond scope, but references are provided. GM food and feed undergo comprehensive assessments using recognized approaches to assure they are as safe as the conventional congener. Issues of food safety and nutrition, unrelated to the GM process, may arise when GM foods display novel components or composition. Unanticipated genetic effects in GM crops appear to be limited in contrast to existing variations among conventional varieties resulting from breeding, mutation, and natural mobile genetic elements. Allergenic potential is assessed when selecting genes for introduction into GM crops and remains a theoretical risk to date. Emerging weed and insect resistance is not unique to GM technology and will require the use of integrated pest management/best practices for pest control. Gene flow from GM crops to wild relatives is limited by existing biological barriers but can at time be a relevant consideration in gene selection and planting practices. Insect-resistant GM crops have significantly reduced use of chemical insecticides and appear to have reduced the incidence of pesticide poisoning in areas where small scale farming and hand application are common. Changes in herbicide patterns are more complex and are evolving over time in response to weed resistance management needs. Recent public debate is driven by a combination of unfounded allegations about the technology and purveyors, pseudoscience, and attempts to apply a strict precautionary principle.

[Chakrabarty today: 30 years after the United States Supreme Court Resolution].

PubMed

Bergel, Salvador Darío

2010-01-01

The decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Chakrabarty case marked the beginning of a far reaching process, the development of which considerably extended the field of patentabiltiy of humans, their body parts and genetic information. The author believes that a period of three decades is sufficient to draw conclusions. A critical point has been reached from a debatable decision, which had more economic support than legal, which requires serious recapitulation of the scope and the purpose of industrial property rights.

What price glory: paid/volunteer? Managers debate the problem.

PubMed

Rosenfeld, J

1983-09-01

There are many ways of being "paid" for a job well done. Money, however, is acknowledged by our society as the primary, and in many cases only, appropriate form of compensation. Yet many hospital gift shop managers are not paid wages, though they may be producing hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales each year. It's a retailing phenomenon, and worthy of the discussion which follows between managers who are paid with money and those who choose to accept other considerations as payment in full.

Do relatives have a right to witness resuscitation?

PubMed

Walker, W M

1999-11-01

A relative's right to witness resuscitation is the subject of considerable discussion and debate. This paper explores the presence of relatives in the resuscitation room from a moral and ethical perspective. The focus of discussion is essentially upon the principle of respect for autonomy vs. what appears to be the counter-argument, benevolent paternalism. It is concluded that recognition of a relative's right to witness resuscitation is dependent upon health care professionals' willingness to promote the principle of respect for autonomy.

Clinical considerations on the posology of direct oral anticoagulants.

PubMed

Sáez-Peñataro, J; Avendaño-Solá, C; González-Juanatey, J R

2016-10-01

The efficacy of dicoumarin anticoagulants has been shown in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. However, they have drawbacks such as the need to adjust the dosage and the interaction with drugs and food. Direct oral anticoagulants are an effective and safe alternative and have a less complicated clinical management. There is considerable debate on the selection criteria for the posology regimens of direct oral anticoagulants. The differences among them and their administration regimens have raised questions about the clinical, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic selection criteria that support the posology. This review critically analyses the available evidence and its impact on the final selection of the dosage regimen. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna (SEMI). All rights reserved.

Health lifestyle theory and the convergence of agency and structure.

PubMed

Cockerham, William C

2005-03-01

This article utilizes the agency-structure debate as a framework for constructing a health lifestyle theory. No such theory currently exists, yet the need for one is underscored by the fact that many daily lifestyle practices involve considerations of health outcomes. An individualist paradigm has influenced concepts of health lifestyles in several disciplines, but this approach neglects the structural dimensions of such lifestyles and has limited applicability to the empirical world. The direction of this article is to present a theory of health lifestyles that includes considerations of both agency and structure, with an emphasis upon restoring structure to its appropriate position. The article begins by defining agency and structure, followed by presentation of a health lifestyle model and the theoretical and empirical studies that support it.

When theory and observation collide: Can non-ionizing radiation cause cancer?

PubMed

Havas, Magda

2017-02-01

This paper attempts to resolve the debate about whether non-ionizing radiation (NIR) can cause cancer-a debate that has been ongoing for decades. The rationale, put forward mostly by physicists and accepted by many health agencies, is that, "since NIR does not have enough energy to dislodge electrons, it is unable to cause cancer." This argument is based on a flawed assumption and uses the model of ionizing radiation (IR) to explain NIR, which is inappropriate. Evidence of free-radical damage has been repeatedly documented among humans, animals, plants and microorganisms for both extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) and for radio frequency (RF) radiation, neither of which is ionizing. While IR directly damages DNA, NIR interferes with the oxidative repair mechanisms resulting in oxidative stress, damage to cellular components including DNA, and damage to cellular processes leading to cancer. Furthermore, free-radical damage explains the increased cancer risks associated with mobile phone use, occupational exposure to NIR (ELF EMF and RFR), and residential exposure to power lines and RF transmitters including mobile phones, cell phone base stations, broadcast antennas, and radar installations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kids Who Can't Sit Still.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Susan

1992-01-01

Little advanced research exists on the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of hyperactivity disorders in children. This article debates the pros and cons of ritalin and other medical treatments and defines the principal's role in studying recent research on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, examining current identification policies,…

Working Memory Capacity as a Dynamic Process

PubMed Central

Simmering, Vanessa R.; Perone, Sammy

2013-01-01

A well-known characteristic of working memory (WM) is its limited capacity. The source of such limitations, however, is a continued point of debate. Developmental research is positioned to address this debate by jointly identifying the source(s) of limitations and the mechanism(s) underlying capacity increases. Here we provide a cross-domain survey of studies and theories of WM capacity development, which reveals a complex picture: dozens of studies from 50 papers show nearly universal increases in capacity estimates with age, but marked variation across studies, tasks, and domains. We argue that the full pattern of performance cannot be captured through traditional approaches emphasizing single causes, or even multiple separable causes, underlying capacity development. Rather, we consider WM capacity as a dynamic process that emerges from a unified cognitive system flexibly adapting to the context and demands of each task. We conclude by enumerating specific challenges for researchers and theorists that will need to be met in order to move our understanding forward. PMID:23335902

Childhood cancers near German nuclear power stations: the ongoing debate.

PubMed

Fairlie, Ian

2009-01-01

In late 2007, the significant KiKK study (Kinderkrebs in der Umgebung von KernKraftwerken = Childhood Cancer in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants) in Germany reported a 1.6-fold increase in all cancers and a 2.2-fold increase in leukaemias, among children living within 5 km of all German nuclear power stations. The KiKK study by Kaatsch et al. was extensively described in a recent edition of Medicine Conflict and Survival. It has triggered much discussion as to the cause(s) of these increased cancers. This article reports on recent developments on the KiKK study, including responses by German radiation agencies, and recent epidemiological studies near United Kingdom and French nuclear installations. It reflects the current debate and concludes with advice to policy-makers on radiation risks on the relative merits of the KiKK study. An accompanying article outlines a possible explanation for the increased cancers and makes recommendations for future research.

Uncertainty as Impetus for Climate Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewandowsky, S.; Oreskes, N.; Risbey, J.

2015-12-01

For decades, the scientific community has called for actions to be taken to mitigate the adverse consequences of climate change. To date, those calls have found little substantial traction, and politicians and the general public are instead engaged in a debate about the causes and effects of climate change that bears little resemblance to the state of scientific knowledge. Uncertainty plays a pivotal role in that public debate, and arguments against mitigation are frequently couched in terms of uncertainty. We show that the rhetorical uses of scientific uncertainty in public debate by some actors (often with vested interests or political agendas) contrast with the mathematical result that greater uncertainty about the extent of warming is virtually always associated with an increased risk: The expected damage costs increase as a function of uncertainty about future warming. We suggest ways in which the actual implications of scientific uncertainty can be better communicated and how scientific uncertainty should be understood as an impetus, rather than a barrier, for climate mitigation.

The mis-measurement of extreme global poverty: A case study in the Pacific Islands

PubMed Central

Gubhaju, Bina

2015-01-01

Debate over the measurement of global poverty in low- and middle-income countries continues unabated. There is considerable controversy surrounding the ‘dollar a day’ measure used to monitor progress against the Millennium Development Goals. This article shines fresh light on the debate with new empirical analyses of poverty (including child poverty), inequality and deprivation levels in the Pacific island state of Vanuatu. The study focuses not only on economic and monetary metrics and measures, but also the measures of deprivation derived from sociology in relation to shelter, sanitation, water, information, nutrition, health and education. Until recently, there had been few, if any, attempts to study poverty and deprivation disparities among children in this part of the world. Different measures yield strikingly different estimates of poverty. The article, therefore, attempts to situate the study findings in the broader international context of poverty measurement and discusses their implications for future research and the post-2015 development agenda. PMID:26336359

Definition of the rectum and level of the peritoneal reflection - still a matter of debate?

PubMed

Kenig, Jakub; Richter, Piotr

2013-09-01

Pathological lesions of the rectum are common and their management requires detailed knowledge of pelvic anatomy. There has been considerable debate as to the definition of the rectum and the variability of the level of the peritoneal reflection. The lack of a clear consensus was proven in the research by McCullen et al. regarding the current pattern of practice for the investigation of primary rectal cancer by general surgeons. To carry out bibliographic research on the definition of the rectum and level of the peritoneal reflection. A web-based published literature search of PubMed, Ovid Medline, Science Direct and Springer was made. The paper presents the current definitions of proximal and distal margin of the rectum and level of peritoneal reflection based not only on the results of tests on cadavers but also on living humans. The results of tests on living humans allow more accurate qualification of patients for local excision, which is particularly important for patients with colorectal cancer.

Attitudes of oncologists toward euthanasia in Turkey.

PubMed

Mayda, Atilla Senih; Ozkara, Erdem; Corapçioğlu, Funda

2005-09-01

There have been intensive debates about euthanasia and attempts to change laws on euthanasia in all countries. What doctors and particularly oncologists think about euthanasia must be taken into consideration, as their voices are crucial in this dialogue. The aim of this study was to find out how Turkish doctors approach euthanasia in the context of cancer. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 85 oncologists out of a total 800 in active oncology practice. Of the oncologists surveyed, 43.8% did not object to euthanasia. Some 33.7% had been asked to perform euthanasia and 41.5% believed that euthanasia was performed secretly although it is against the law in Turkey. Forty-two doctors (50.6%) noted that they had withdrawn treatment in patients. Doctors who encounter terminally ill patients with cancer should update their knowledge about patients' rights and euthanasia. Doctors, who are often asked to perform euthanasia, especially in the cancer setting, can help to illuminate the debates about euthanasia.

MOVING TO INEQUALITY: NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECTS AND EXPERIMENTS MEET STRUCTURE1

PubMed Central

Sampson, Robert J.

2014-01-01

The Moving to Opportunity (MTO) housing experiment has proven to be an important intervention not just in the lives of the poor, but in social science theories of neighborhood effects. Competing causal claims have been the subject of considerable disagreement, culminating in the debate between Clampet-Lundquist and Massey (2008) and Ludwig et al. (2008). This paper assesses the debate by clarifying analytically distinct questions posed by neighborhood-level theories, reconceptualizing selection bias as a fundamental social process worthy of study in its own right rather than as a statistical nuisance, and reconsidering the scientific method of experimentation, and hence causality, in the social world of the city. I also analyze MTO and independent survey data from Chicago to examine trajectories of residential attainment. Although MTO provides crucial leverage for estimating neighborhood effects on individuals, as proponents rightly claim, I demonstrate the implications imposed by a stratified urban structure and how MTO simultaneously provides a new window on the social reproduction of concentrated inequality. PMID:25360053

Balancing liberation and protection: a moderate approach to adolescent health care decision-making.

PubMed

Piker, Andy

2011-05-01

In this paper I examine the debate between 'protectionists' and 'liberationists' concerning the appropriate role of minors in decision-making about their health care, focusing particularly on disagreements between the two sides regarding adolescents. Protectionists advocate a more traditional, paternalistic approach in which minors have relatively little input into the healthcare decision-making process, and decisions are made for them by parents or other adults, guided by a commitment to the patient's best interests. Liberationists, on the other hand, argue in favour of expanded participation by minors in treatment decisions, and decision-making authority for at least some adolescents. My examination of the debate includes discussion of liberationist shifts that have taken place in the medical community as well as in legal policy and practice, and consideration of recent research on adolescent development. In the final section of the paper, I propose a moderate position that addresses both liberationist and protectionist concerns. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Inevitability of Assessing Reasons in Debates about Conscientious Objection in Medicine.

PubMed

Card, Robert F

2017-01-01

This article first critically reviews the major philosophical positions in the literature on conscientious objection and finds that they possess significant flaws. A substantial number of these problems stem from the fact that these views fail to assess the reasons offered by medical professionals in support of their objections. This observation is used to motivate the reasonability view, one part of which states: A practitioner who lodges a conscientious refusal must publicly state his or her objection as well as the reasoned basis for the objection and have these subjected to critical evaluation before a conscientious exemption can be granted (the reason-giving requirement). It is then argued that when defenders of the other philosophical views attempt to avoid granting an accommodation to spurious objections based on discrimination, empirically mistaken beliefs, or other unjustified biases, they are implicitly committed to the reason-giving requirement. This article concludes that based on these considerations, a reason-giving position such as the reasonability view possesses a decisive advantage in this debate.

Harm reduction at the crossroads: the case of e-cigarettes.

PubMed

Maziak, Wasim

2014-10-01

The recent popularity of electronic (e)-cigarettes and their rapid uptake by youth has ignited the debate about their role as a harm-reduction strategy. Harm reduction in the context of tobacco control contends that in societies that have achieved considerable success in curbing smoking, leaving the remaining hard-to-quit smokers with an abstinence-only option is unfair, especially when less-harmful choices are available. On one side of the debate are those who call for caution in endorsing such products until critical pieces of evidence about their safety and potential become available, whereas the other side argues that waiting until all questions about e-cigarettes are answered is dogma driven. In this piece, I try to discuss the unresolvable contention between harm-reduction goals of offering safer options to smokers, and those of e-cigarette makers of being commercially viable and profitable. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unpacking Constructs: A Network Approach for Studying War Exposure, Daily Stressors and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PubMed Central

De Schryver, Maarten; Vindevogel, Sofie; Rasmussen, Andrew E.; Cramer, Angélique O. J.

2015-01-01

Conflict-affected populations are exposed to stressful events during and after war, and it is well established that both take a substantial toll on individuals’ mental health. Exactly how exposure to events during and after war affect mental health is a topic of considerable debate. Various hypotheses have been put forward on the relation between stressful war exposure (SWE), daily stressors (DS) and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This paper seeks to contribute to this debate by critically reflecting upon conventional modeling approaches and by advancing an alternative model to studying interrelationships between SWE, DS, and PTSD variables. The network model is proposed as an innovative and comprehensive modeling approach in the field of mental health in the context of war. It involves a conceptualization and representation of variables and relationships that better approach reality, hence improving methodological rigor. It also promises utility in programming and delivering mental health support for war-affected populations. PMID:26733901

Transport for language south of the Sylvian fissure: The routes and history of the main tracts and stations in the ventral language network.

PubMed

Bajada, Claude J; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A; Cloutman, Lauren L

2015-08-01

It is now ten years since a 'ventral language pathway' was demonstrated in vivo in the human brain. In the intervening decade, this result has been replicated and expanded to include multiple possible pathways and functions. Despite this considerable level of research interest, age-old debates regarding the origin, course, termination and, indeed, the very existence of the tracts identified still remain. The current review examines four major tracts associated with the ventral 'semantic' language network, with the aim of elucidating and clarifying their structural and functional roles. Historical and modern conceptualisations of the tracts' neuroanatomical origins and terminations will be discussed, and key discrepancies and debates examined. It is argued that much of the controversy regarding the language pathways has resulted from inconsistencies in terminology, and the lack of a white matter 'lingua franca'. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

How state and federal policies as well as advances in genome science contribute to the high cost of cancer drugs.

PubMed

Ramsey, Scott D

2015-04-01

During a time when cancer drug prices are increasing at an unprecedented rate, a debate has emerged as to whether these drugs continue to provide good value. In this article I argue that this debate is irrelevant because under today's highly distorted market, prices will not be set with value considerations in mind. As an alternative, I suggest considering the "value" of three policy changes—Medicare's "average sales price plus 6 percent" payment program, laws that require insurance coverage of all new cancer drugs, and the Affordable Care Act—that are fueling manufacturers' willingness to set higher prices. More important than these issues, however, is the revolution that is occurring in molecular biology and its impact on scientists' ability to detect changes in the cancer genome. The lowered cost of discovery is driving more competitors into the market, which under distorted pricing paradoxically encourages drug makers to charge ever higher prices for their products. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Working towards an international consensus on criteria for assessing internet gaming disorder: a critical commentary on Petry et al. (2014)

PubMed Central

GRIFFITHS, MARK D.; VAN ROOIJ, ANTONIUS J.; KARDEFELT-WINTHER, DANIEL; STARCEVIC, VLADAN; KIRÁLY, ORSOLYA; PALLESEN, STÅLE; MÜLLER, KAI; DREIER, MICHAEL; CARRAS, MICHELLE; PRAUSE, NICOLE; KING, DANIEL L.; ABOUJAOUDE, ELLIAS; KUSS, DARIA J.; PONTES, HALLEY M.; FERNANDEZ, OLATZ LOPEZ; NAGYGYORGY, KATALIN; ACHAB, SOPHIA; BILLIEUX, JOËL; QUANDT, THORSTEN; CARBONELL, XAVIER; FERGUSON, CHRISTOPHER J.; HOFF, RANI A.; DEREVENSKY, JEFFREY; HAAGSMA, MARIA C.; DELFABBRO, PAUL; COULSON, MARK; HUSSAIN, ZAHEER; DEMETROVICS, ZSOLT

2017-01-01

This commentary paper critically discusses the recent debate paper by Petry et al. (2014) that argued there was now an international consensus for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Our collective opinions vary considerably regarding many different aspects of online gaming. However, we contend that the paper by Petry and colleagues does not provide a true and representative international community of researchers in this area. This paper critically discusses and provides commentary on (i) the representativeness of the international group that wrote the ‘consensus’ paper, and (ii) each of the IGD criteria. The paper also includes a brief discussion on initiatives that could be taken to move the field towards consensus. It is hoped that this paper will foster debate in the IGD field and lead to improved theory, better methodologically designed studies, and more robust empirical evidence as regards problematic gaming and its psychosocial consequences and impact. PMID:26669530

The research imperative revisited: considerations for advancing the debate surrounding medical research as moral imperative.

PubMed

Wayne, Katherine; Glass, Kathleen Cranley

2010-01-01

Medical research is frequently regarded as not only laudable, but even obligatory. However, the moral foundation for such an obligation is far from clear. Lively debate concerning the viability of an obligation to conduct and support medical research is transpiring among a small number of scholars speaking from a variety of backgrounds, yet the current discussion is predominantly situated within several discrete academic and professional circles, allowing only sporadic engagement within and between scholarly disciplines and the medical realm. We aim to lay the groundwork for a focused critique of the "research imperative" by examining (1) its commitments within ideologies of science, medicine, and progress: and (2) its normative theoretical underpinnings. Our analysis finds no solid grounding for the research imperative and exposes problems in the attitudes and arguments supporting it. We believe these concerns present compelling reasons for devoting greater critical attention to the research imperative and to the morality of the medical research enterprise as a whole.

Biased but in Doubt: Conflict and Decision Confidence

PubMed Central

De Neys, Wim; Cromheeke, Sofie; Osman, Magda

2011-01-01

Human reasoning is often biased by intuitive heuristics. A central question is whether the bias results from a failure to detect that the intuitions conflict with traditional normative considerations or from a failure to discard the tempting intuitions. The present study addressed this unresolved debate by using people's decision confidence as a nonverbal index of conflict detection. Participants were asked to indicate how confident they were after solving classic base-rate (Experiment 1) and conjunction fallacy (Experiment 2) problems in which a cued intuitive response could be inconsistent or consistent with the traditional correct response. Results indicated that reasoners showed a clear confidence decrease when they gave an intuitive response that conflicted with the normative response. Contrary to popular belief, this establishes that people seem to acknowledge that their intuitive answers are not fully warranted. Experiment 3 established that younger reasoners did not yet show the confidence decrease, which points to the role of improved bias awareness in our reasoning development. Implications for the long standing debate on human rationality are discussed. PMID:21283574

Scientific method discourses in the construction of 'EMF' science: interests, resources and rhetoric in submissions to a public inquiry.

PubMed

Mercer, David

2002-04-01

Since the late 1970s, there has been considerable debate surrounding the question of whether or not exposures to non-ionizing radiation and electric and magnetic fields (EMF), produced by powerlines and electrical and telecommunications technologies, are harmful to health. Whilst there has been some recent evidence of regulatory fatigue, and attempts to enforce closure, the EMF debate nevertheless still continues. This paper will explore the rôle played by competing images of scientific method in the argumentative strategies used by two of the main protagonists in an Australian public inquiry (held in 1990-91) which investigated the EMF issue: 'Inquiry into Community Needs and High Voltage (132kv and above) Transmission Line Development', the so-called Gibbs Inquiry. Apart from documenting some of the epistemologically intricate features of the EMF controversy, the following discussion will also consider the way scientific method discourses can contribute to enhancing the durability of knowledge claims in legal and regulatory settings.

Assessing causality in drug policy analyses: How useful are the Bradford Hill criteria in analysing take-home naloxone programs?

PubMed

Olsen, Anna; McDonald, David; Lenton, Simon; Dietze, Paul M

2018-05-01

The Bradford Hill criteria for assessing causality are useful in assembling evidence, including within complex policy analyses. In this paper, we argue that the implementation of take-home naloxone (THN) programs in Australia and elsewhere reflects sensible, evidence-based public health policy, despite the absence of randomised controlled trials. However, we also acknowledge that the debate around expanding access to THN would benefit from a careful consideration of causal inference and health policy impact of THN program implementation. Given the continued debate around expanding access to THN, and the relatively recent access to new data from implementation studies, two research groups independently conducted Bradford Hill analyses in order to carefully consider causal inference and health policy impact. Hill's criteria offer a useful analytical tool for interpreting current evidence on THN programs and making decisions about the (un)certainty of THN program safety and effectiveness. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Blocked urinary catheters: solutions are not the only solution.

PubMed

Williams, Cath; Tonkin, Sharon

2003-07-01

The use of catheter maintenance solutions to manage clients whose catheters block has long been a subject for debate. An understanding of the causes of blockage, and awareness of appropriate management may reduce frequency of blockage and reduce unnecessary interruptions to a closed urinary drainage system.

Radioactive Waste...The Problem and Some Possible Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olivier, Jean-Pierre

1977-01-01

Nuclear safety is a highly technical and controversial subject that has caused much heated debate and political concern. This article examines the problems involved in managing radioactive wastes and the techniques now used. Potential solutions are suggested and the need for international cooperation is stressed. (Author/MA)

Industry Studies of Wage Inequality. Extra Issue.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 2001

2001-01-01

The seven papers use data from particular industries to examine the nature and causes of recent changes in earnings equality in the United States. They provide perspectives from banking, telecommunications, semiconductors, steel, grocery, truck driving, apparel, and imaging industries on recent debates regarding the influence that technological…

The cultural moral right to a basic minimum of accessible health care.

PubMed

Menzel, Paul T

2011-03-01

(1) The conception of a cultural moral right is useful in capturing the social-moral realities that underlie debate about universal health care. In asserting such rights, individuals make claims above and beyond their legal rights, but those claims are based on the society's existing commitments and moral culture. In the United States such a right to accessible basic health care is generated by various empirical social facts, primarily the conjunction of the legal requirement of access to emergency care with widely held principles about unfair free riding and just sharing of costs between well and ill. The right can get expressed in social policy through either single-payer or mandated insurance. (2) The same elements that generate this right provide modest assistance in determining its content, the structure and scope of a basic minimum of care. They justify limits on patient cost sharing, require comparative effectiveness, and make cost considerations relevant. They shed light on the status of expensive, marginally life extending, last-chance therapies, as well as life support for PVS patients. They are of less assistance in settling contentious debates about screening for breast and prostate cancer and treatments for infertility and erectile dysfunction, but even there they establish a useful framework for discussion. Scarcity of resources need not be a leading conceptual consideration in discerning a basic minimum. More important are the societal elements that generate the cultural moral right to a basic minimum.

[External and internal financing in health care].

PubMed

Henke, Klaus-Dirk

2007-05-15

The objective of this contribution is to characterize the functional and institutional features of the German health-care system. This takes place after a short introduction and examination of the ongoing debate on health care in Germany. External funding describes the form of revenue generation. Regarding external funding of the German health care system, one of the favored alternatives in the current debate is the possibility of introducing per capita payments. After a short introduction to the capitation option, focus is on the so-called health fund that is currently debated on and being made ready for implementation in Germany, actually a mixed system of capitation and contributions based on income. On the other hand, internal funding is the method of how different health-care services are purchased or reimbursed. This becomes a rather hot topic in light of new trends for integrated and networked care to patients and different types of budgeting. Another dominating question in the German health-care system is the liberalization of the contractual law, with its "joint and uniform" regulations that have to be loosened for competition gains. After a discussion of the consequences of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) in Germany, the article is concluded by a note on the political rationality of the current health-care reform for increased competition within the Statutory Health Insurance and its players as exemplified by the health fund. To sum up, it has to be said that the complexity and specific features of how the German system is financed seem to require ongoing reform considerations even after realization of the currently debated health-care reform law which, unfortunately, is dominated by political rationalities rather than objective thoughts.

The challenges of caring in a technological environment: critical care nurses' experiences.

PubMed

McGrath, Mary

2008-04-01

This paper presents and discusses the findings from a phenomenological study which illuminated the lived experiences of experienced critical care nurses caring within a technological environment. While nursing practice is interwoven with technology, much of the literature in this area is speculative. Moreover, there is a debate as to whether and how 'high tech' and 'high touch' are reconcilable; this orientation is referred to as the optimism vs. pessimism debate. On a personal level, the motivation for this study came from the author's 13 years' experience in the critical care area. Following ethical approval, 10 experienced nurses from two cardiothoracic critical care units in Ireland participated in the study. A Heideggerian phenomenological methodology was used. Data collection consisted of unstructured interviews. A method of data analysis described by Walters was used. The findings provide research-based evidence to illuminate further the optimistic/pessimistic debate on technology in nursing. While the study demonstrates that the debate is far from resolved, it reveals a new finding: life-saving technology that supports the lives of critically ill patients can bring experienced nurses very close to their patients/families. The three main themes that emerged: 'alien environment', 'pulling together' and 'sharing the journey' were linked by a common thread of caring. Experienced critical care nurses are able to transcend the obtrusive nature of technology to deliver expert caring to their patients. However, the journey to proficiency in technology is very demanding and novice nurses have difficulty in caring with technology. Relevance to clinical practice. It is recommended that more emphasis be placed on supporting, assisting and educating inexperienced nurses in the critical care area and that the use of technology in nursing be given serious consideration.

Conventional nuclear strategy and the American doctrine of counterforce

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David, C.P.

Debate over nuclear weapons still lingers and one cause of this trend, as suggested by this thesis, is the rise of conventional nuclear strategy or, in other words, the attempt by the US government to apply through the counterforce doctrine a conventional weapons strategy in an age of nuclear weapons. That debate is analyzed, as well as the thinking underlining conventional nuclear strategy, and explains why conventionalization has become popular in US nuclear weapons policies. A feature of the American nuclear debate has been the unresolved tension between two approaches to nuclear strategy, namely: the apocalyptic approach and the conventionalmore » approach. The confrontation between these camps has resulted over the years in a gradual but steady erosion of the strategic consensus to the point where, under the Reagan administration, the conventional camp appears to have emerged as a clear winner from the nuclear debate. The attractiveness of conventional nuclear strategy can be attributed to the influence and working of an American style of nuclear strategy, i.e., a specific approach to the phenomena of nuclear weapons. The author concludes that the conventional and official strategic view that nuclear problems can be solved by technological progress may, in fact, contribute to worsen rather than improve the thermonuclear condition of the world.« less

The use of methylphenidate among students: the future of enhancement?

PubMed

Outram, Simon M

2010-04-01

During the past few years considerable debate has arisen within academic journals with respect to the use of smart drugs or cognitive enhancement pharmaceuticals. The following paper seeks to examine the foundations of this cognitive enhancement debate using the example of methylphenidate use among college students. The argument taken is that much of the enhancement debate rests upon inflated assumptions about the ability of such drugs to enhance and over-estimations of either the size of the current market for such drugs or the rise in popularity as drugs for enhancing cognitive abilities. This article provides an overview of the empirical evidence that methylphenidate has the ability to significantly improve cognitive abilities in healthy individuals, and examines whether the presumed uptake of the drug is either as socially significant as implied or growing to the extent that it requires urgent regulatory attention. In addition, it reviews the evidence of side-effects for the use of methylphenidate which may be an influential factor in whether an individual decides to use such drugs. The primary conclusions are that neither drug efficacy, nor the benefit-to-risk balance, nor indicators of current or growing demand provide sufficient evidence that methylphenidate is a suitable example of a cognitive enhancer with mass appeal. In light of these empirically based conclusions, the article discusses why methylphenidate might have become seen as a smart drug or cognitive enhancer.

Junior doctors' working hours: perspectives on the reforms.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Carol

2008-06-01

The European Working Time Directive for junior doctors came into force in Britain in August 2004. The reforms themselves have been a long time in development and implementation since the inception and debates regarding the New Deal, to the current formations under health and safety legislation. This study, undertaken within a hospital trust setting in England, provides an insight into the perspectives of doctors, nurses and human resources managers in relation to the European Working Time Directive. Critical consideration is given to the impact of the reforms upon the National Health Service and more specifically to daily working relationships at the point of implementation. The results demonstrate some ambivalence towards the reforms because of the major shift in culture for the professions per se, but also for the future of health-care delivery where there are considerable tensions.

The expression of long-term potentiation: reconciling the preists and the postivists

PubMed Central

MacDougall, Matthew J.; Fine, Alan

2014-01-01

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synaptic transmission in the hippocampus has been investigated in great detail over the past 40 years. Where and how LTP is actually expressed, however, remain controversial issues. Considerable evidence has been offered to support both pre- and postsynaptic contributions to LTP expression. Though it is widely held that postsynaptic expression mechanisms are the primary contributors to LTP expression, evidence for that conclusion is amenable to alternative explanations. Here, we briefly review some key contributions to the ‘locus’ debate and describe data that support a dominant role for presynaptic mechanisms. Recognition of the state-dependency of expression mechanisms, and consideration of the consequences of the spatial relationship between postsynaptic glutamate receptors and presynaptic vesicular release sites, lead to a model that may reconcile views from both sides of the synapse. PMID:24298138

Two Mechanisms of Constructive Recollection: Perceptual Recombination and Conceptual Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doss, Manoj K.; Bluestone, Maximilian R.; Gallo, David A.

2016-01-01

Recollection is constructive and prone to distortion, but the mechanisms through which recollections can become embellished with rich yet illusory details are still debated. According to the conceptual fluency hypothesis, abstract semantic or conceptual activation increases the familiarity of a nonstudied event, causing one to falsely attribute…

Exercise Training and Parkinson's Disease: Placebo or Essential Treatment?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reuter, Iris; Engelhardt, Martin

2002-01-01

Exercise training is often recommended for people with Parkinson's disease, though there is debate about the pathophysiologic cause of impaired movement in Parkinsonism which makes it difficult to develop a specific exercise treatment for symptoms that include hypokinesia, tremor, and muscular rigidity. Most published studies show a benefit of…

Examining School Psychologists' Perspectives about Specific Learning Disabilities: Implications for Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cottrell, Joseph M.; Barrett, Courtenay A.

2017-01-01

Debate regarding the causes of specific learning disabilities (SLDs), precise definitions of SLDs, and the most effective identification methods has persisted for over 50 years. Two prominent schools of thought regarding SLDs exist: (1) biological perspectives and (2) environmental perspectives. Three identification methods are outlined in the…

Colleges Grappling with Incivility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilroy, Marilyn

2008-01-01

When do interactions on campus involving strong words or questionable conduct reach the point of incivility? What is the line between legitimate freedom of speech and lively debate versus that which causes classroom disruption? What constitutes unacceptable behavior? Although there might not be universal agreement on what standard to use to define…

Does Size Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, David

2014-01-01

In this article, David Watson debates the pros and cons of leadership skills in both a small and large university. Watson relates his own experiences regarding the changing atmosphere of leadership. He states that his experiences have caused him to reflect on what is genuinely generic about individual capacities for institutional leadership: that…

Selected Contemporary Work Force Reports: A Synthesis and Critique. Information Series No. 354.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, James M.

Demographic and social changes, increasing economic interdependence, and educational reform movements are causing major changes in vocational education. Essential work force skills and the standards to account for their achievement are being debated. The 1980s'"Excellence Movement" focused on strengthening academic requirements,…

Vocational Education in the Third World: Revisiting the Debate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrokwa, Clemente K.

1995-01-01

Since the 1960s, the goals of vocational education in developing countries have not been achieved. Present economic conditions and lack of public sector jobs are causing students to reevaluate occupational aspirations. Vocational education needs to be redefined to suit the current socioeconomic context and student needs. (SK)

Wading through Quicksand: Making Sense of Minority Disproportionality in Identification of Emotional Disturbance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Amanda L.

2017-01-01

The debate surrounding disproportionality in the identification of culturally and linguistically diverse students for special education, and in the category of emotional disturbance in particular, remains highly contentious, particularly as scholars grapple with the meaning and causes of disproportionality. In this article, I discuss assumptions…

Environmental Myopia: The Case for Bifocals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

North, Chris; Hutson, Garrett

2011-01-01

Domestic and international tourists have major impacts on Aotearoa/New Zealand, both positive and negative. In 2010, tourism was the biggest export earner and continues to grow. Environmental consequences of tourism are also growing. Ways of addressing the environmental impacts caused by a mobile society continue to be debated from a variety of…

Bighorn sheep pneumonia: Sorting out the cause of a polymicrobial disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Pneumonia of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a dramatic disease of high morbidity and mortality first described more than 80 years ago. The etiology of the disease has been debated since its initial discovery, and at various times lungworms, Mannheimia haemolytica and other Pasteurellaceae, and M...

REMEDIAL DREDGING AND EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: EXAMPLES FROM THE NEW BEDFORD HARBOR, MA SUPERFUND SITE

EPA Science Inventory

Currently, there is an on-going national debate questioning whether remedial dredging can be conducted without causing environmental harm. Two common assertions are that: 1) dredging contaminated sediment will do more harm than good, and 2) natural processes will eventually mitig...

Unforgivable Blackness: Visual Rhetoric, Reader Response, and Critical Racial Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Roberta Price

2017-01-01

Perceptions of black representations in literature and other visual mediums as positive or negative continuously cause consternation and debate (Fleetwood, 2011). Because African American children are literacy participants and consumers, they are not immune from experiencing this tension. This essay considers the effects and affective threads of…

"If You Cannot Say It, Point to It"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crews, Sarah

2014-01-01

Practice as research and performance as research are methods that have developed significantly over the past decade and have subsequently caused debate within the creative arts industry and in university culture. During a research seminar at Goldsmiths University in 2011, Professor Dan Rebellato proposed the question: "What if there is no…

Winning in the Past: The Implications Today

DTIC Science & Technology

1966-04-08

against further atrocities. Accordingly, Germany instructed her U-boat commanders that no ocean liner was to be sunk without warning or provisions made...remainder of the war. Debate in the United States over the sinking of the Lusitania was bitter, and caused Secretary of State Bryan to resign. Congres

Cheilitis, perioral dermatitis and contact allergy.

PubMed

Collet, Evelyne; Jeudy, Géraldine; Dalac, Sophie

2013-01-01

Cheilitis is a superficial inflammatory condition of the lip. It can occur either alone or be associated with stomatitis or perioral eczema. Contact hypersensitivity reactions are a frequent cause of cheilitis. Cosmetic and hygiene products are the most usual causes. Less frequently, allergic cheilitis is caused by contact with musical instruments, topical medicines or food allergens. Cases of cheilitis induced by dental material are rare and debated. The diagnosis relies on patch tests, which start with the European baseline series and the patient's personal cosmetic and topical products. This investigation will then be completed by the ingredients in the topical products and specific test series.

Measuring Bedload Sediment Flux in Large Rivers: New Data from the Mekong River and Its Applications in Assessing Geomorphic Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Best, J.; Hackney, C. R.; Parsons, D. R.; Darby, S. E.; Leyland, J.; Aalto, R. E.; Nicholas, A. P.

2014-12-01

Many large rivers are undergoing renewed and increasing anthropogenic-induced change as water diversions, new dams and greater water demands place enhanced stresses on these river basins. Examples of rivers undergoing significant change include the Amazon, Madeira, Nile, Yangtze and Mekong, with considerable ongoing debate raging as to the long-term geomorphic and ecological effects of major anthropogenic interventions. Assessing the effects of such change in large rivers is demanding, one reason being that sediment transport is often exceedingly difficult to measure, and thus data needed to inform the debate on the impact of anthropogenic change is frequently lacking. Here, we report on one aspect of research being undertaken as part of STELAR-S2S - Sediment Transfer and Erosion on Large Alluvial Rivers - that is seeking to better understand the relationship between climate, anthropogenic impacts and sediment transport in some of the world's largest rivers. We are using the Lower Mekong River as our study site, with the Mekong delta being one of only three in the world classified by the IPCC as 'extremely vulnerable' to future changes in climate. Herein, we describe details of bedload sediment flux estimation using repeated high-resolution multibeam echo sounder (MBES) bathymetric mapping along the Lower Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers in Cambodia. We are using MBES to quantify the spatial variation in sediment transport both along and also across the river at 11 sites in the study area. Predicted increases in the extraction of sediment from the river through sand dredging are thought likely to cause a significant decrease in downstream sediment flux, and future dam construction along the Mekong main channel potentially offers another source of significant change. These field results will be set in the light of these anthropogenic drivers on sediment flux in the Mekong River and their possible future effects on bar formation and channel migration.

Matching response to context in complex political emergencies: 'relief', 'development', 'peace-building' or something in-between?

PubMed

White, P; Cliffe, L

2000-12-01

There is an ongoing debate over the value and pitfalls of the policy and practice of 'linking relief and development' or 'developmental relief' in aid responses to complex political emergencies (CPEs). Driven by concerns about relief creating dependence, sometimes doing harm and failing to address root causes of emergencies despite its high cost, pursuit of both relief and development has become a dominant paradigm among international aid agencies in CPEs as in 'natural' disasters. In CPEs a third objective of 'peace-building' has emerged, along with the logic that development can itself help prevent or resolve conflict and sustain peace. However, this broadening of relief objectives in ongoing CPEs has recently been criticised on a number of counts, central concerns being that it leads to a dilution of commitment to core humanitarian principles and is overly optimistic. This paper addresses these issues in the light of two of the CPEs studied by the COPE project: Eritrea and Somalia/Somaliland. It is argued that the debate has so far suffered from lack of clarity about what we mean by 'relief', 'development' and, for that matter, 'rehabilitation' and 'peace-building'. The wide spectrum of possible aid outcomes does not divide neatly into these categories. The relief-development divide is not always as clear-cut, technically or politically, as the critics claim. Moreover such distinctions, constructed from the point of view of aid programmers, are often of little relevance to the concerns of intended beneficiaries. Second, there has been insufficient attention to context: rather than attempting to generalise within and across CPE cases, a more productive approach would be to examine more closely the conditions under which forms of aid other than basic life support can fruitfully be pursued. This leads to consideration of collective agency capacity to respond effectively to diverse needs in different and changing circumstances.

Critical role of ethics in clinical management and public health response to the West Africa Ebola epidemic.

PubMed

Folayan, Morenike O; Haire, Bridget G; Brown, Brandon

2016-01-01

The devastation caused by the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa has brought to the fore a number of important ethical debates about how best to respond to a health crisis. These debates include issues related to prevention and containment, management of the health care workforce, clinical care, and research design, all of which are situated within the overarching moral problem of severe transnational disadvantage, which has very real and specific impacts upon the ability of citizens of EVD-affected countries to respond to a disease outbreak. Ethical issues related to prevention and containment include the appropriateness and scope of quarantine and isolation within and outside affected countries. The possibility of infection in health care workers impelled consideration of whether there is an obligation to provide health services where personal protection equipment is inadequate, alongside the issue of whether the health care workforce should have special access to experimental treatment and care interventions under development. In clinical care, ethical issues include the standards of care owed to people who comply with quarantine and isolation restrictions. Ethical issues in research include appropriate study design related to experimental vaccines and treatment interventions, and the sharing of data and biospecimens between research groups. The compassionate use of experimental drugs intersects both with research ethics and clinical care. The role of developed countries also came under scrutiny, and we concluded that developed countries have an obligation to contribute to the containment of EVD infection by contributing to the strengthening of local health care systems and infrastructure in an effort to provide fair benefits to communities engaged in research, ensuring that affected countries have ready and affordable access to any therapeutic or preventative interventions developed, and supporting affected countries on their way to recovery from the impact of EVD on their social and economic lives.

Everything you always wanted to hear about rate making but were afraid to ask

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cady, W.A.

1983-08-04

Rate making is a complicated and time-consuming procedure. That it could benefit from judiciously chosen reforms is beyond question. This article covers several major areas of contention within the regulatory arena, all of which have been the subject of considerable debate in recent years. In an effort to find a compromise position between extremes, the author makes three specific suggestions that, if adopted, could enable parties involved to devote their time and resources to more fundamental questions regarding the regulated utility industries. 3 references.

Drones--ethical considerations and medical implications.

PubMed

Pepper, Tom

2012-01-01

Drones enhance military capability and form a potent element of force protection, allowing humans to be removed from hazardous environments and tedious jobs. However, there are moral, legal, and political dangers associated with their use. Although a time may come when it is possible to develop a drone that is able to autonomously and ethically engage a legitimate target with greater reliability than a human, until then military drones demand a crawl-walk-run development methodology, consent by military personnel for weapon use, and continued debate about the complex issues surrounding their deployment.

An argument for human exploration of the moon and Mars.

PubMed

Spudis, P D

1992-01-01

A debate of the merits of human space travel as opposed to robots is presented. While robotic space travel would be considerably less expensive, the author takes the position that there are certain skills and research abilities that only humans possess. Human contributions to past lunar exploration are considered, along with a discussion of the interaction of humans with robotics or other artificial intelligence or computer driven technologies. The author concludes that while robots and machines are tools which should be incorporated into space travel, they are not adequate substitutes for people.

A Meditation in Which Consideration Is Given to the Past and Future Engagement of Social Science Generally and Critical Physical Education and Sports Scholarship in Particular with Various Scientific Debates, Including the So-Called "Obesity Epidemic" and Contemporary Manifestations of Biological Determinism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gard, Michael

2011-01-01

My purpose in this paper is to consider the relationship between, on the one hand, critical social science and, on the other hand, existing and emerging sciences of the body. Taking my lead from the sociologist, Steve Fuller, I discuss the ways in which some social scientists, both within and outside physical education and sport, have engaged with…

[Ethical considerations about research with women in situations of violence].

PubMed

Rafael, Ricardo de Mattos Russo; Soares de Moura, Anna Tereza Miranda

2013-01-01

This essay aims at reflecting on the ethical and methodological principles involved in research with women in situation of violence. The text raises the discussion of the application of the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence during researches involving this issue, pointing to recommendations towards privacy, autonomy and immediate contributions for volunteers. Then, taking as theoretical reference the principles of justice and equity, the authors propose a debate on methodological aspects involved in protection of respondents, with a view at improving the quality of the data obtained and possible social contributions.

Considerations Regarding Embryo Culture Conditions: From Media to Epigenetics.

PubMed

Simopoulou, Mara; Sfakianoudis, Konstantinos; Rapani, Anna; Giannelou, Polina; Anifandis, George; Bolaris, Stamatis; Pantou, Agni; Lambropoulou, Maria; Pappas, Athanasios; Deligeoroglou, Efthimios; Pantos, Konstantinos; Koutsilieris, Michael

2018-01-01

There are numerous reports on embryo culture media and conditions in the laboratory, as the subject is multifaceted and complex, reflecting the variation in practice. In this scoping review, we attempt to approach the topic of culture media and conditions from the practitioners' perspective aiming to highlight, in a comprehensive fashion, important aspects regarding the options available, introduce points of debate and controversy, while maintaining the viewpoint of the practicing embryologist's concerns. Copyright© 2018, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

Alterations in brain temperatures as a possible cause of migraine headache.

PubMed

Horváth, Csilla

2014-05-01

Migraine is a debilitating disease with a recurring generally unilateral headache and concomitant symptoms of nausea, vomiting and photo- and/or phonophobia that affects some 11-18% of the population. Most of the mechanisms previously put forward to explain the attacks have been questioned or give an explanation only some of the symptoms. Moreover, the best drugs for treatment are still the 20-year-old triptans, which have serious limitations as regards both efficacy and tolerability. As the dura and some cranial vessels are the only intracranial structures capable of pain sensations, a vascular theory of migraine emerged, but has been debated. Recent theories identified the hyperexcitability of structures involved in pain transmission, such as the trigeminal system or the cortex, or an abnormal modulatory function of the brainstem. However, there is ongoing scientific debate concerning these theories, neither of which is fully capable of explaining the occurrence of a migraine attack. The present article puts forward a hypothesis of the possibility of abnormal temperature regulation in certain regions or the overall brain in migraineurs, the attack being a defense mechanism to prevent neuronal damage. Few examinations have been made of temperature regulation in the human brain. It lacks the carotid rete, a vascular heat exchanger that serves in many animals to provide constant brain temperature. The human brain contains a high density of neurons with a considerable energy demand that is converted to heat. The human brain has a higher temperature than other parts of the body and needs continuous cooling. Recent studies revealed unexpectedly great variations in temperature of various structures of the brain and considerable changes in response to functional activation. There is various evidence in support of the hypothesis that accumulated heat in some structure or the overall brain may be behind the symptoms observed, such as a platelet abnormality, a decreased serotonin content, and dural "inflammation" including vasodilation and brainstem activation. The hypothesis postulates that a migraine attack serves to restore the brain temperature. Abnormally low temperatures in the brain can also result in headache. Surprisingly, no systematic examination of brain temperature changes in migraineurs has been published. Certain case reports support the present hypothesis. Various noninvasive technologies (e.g. MR) capable of monitoring brain temperature are available. If a systematic examination of local brain temperature revealed abnormalities in structures presumed to be involved in migraine, that would increase our understanding of the disease and trigger the development of improved treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bioethical issues on the role of contemporary gynecologists concerning HPV vaccination.

PubMed

Koumousidis, A D; Sofoudis, C I; Paltoglou, G A; Iavazzo, C R; Kalampokas, T E; Tzoumas, N; Salakos, N V

2013-01-01

Debate is heating up whether or not to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a leading cause of cervical cancer (CC). Prolepsis against this plague is mainly focused on early detection with Pap test (screening) and recently with administrating HPV vaccines in youths. To discuss the increased bioethical role of contemporary gynecologist in the young population, with the aim to contribute to the decrease of this malignancy. The authors searched the web (data-warehouse: articles, forums, etc., and data-mining: sequence analysis and classification) for HPV vaccination and related bioethical issues. HPV vaccines have already caused debates on whether they must be mandatory and on whether they cause a pseudo-safeness mental state, making youths "forget" necessary annual Pap tests or even worse, urging them in promiscuity, resulting in an increased occurrence of CC. Greece, in order to appropriately apply the Constitutional Law 5 Section 5 (All persons have the right to the protection of their health...), needs to train contemporary gynecologists in adequate youth consultation and proper family approaches regarding HPV vaccination issues. Enhancing the gynecologist's role, vaccination's effectiveness (sensitivity and specificity) will be increased and on the other hand, a rule of social law will be established in the country.

Dietary modulation of experimental neoplastic development: role of fat and fiber content and calorie intake.

PubMed

Roberfroid, M B

1991-01-01

Cancer is still one of the major causes of death in the industrialized countries but locally prevailing lifestyles may dictate the kinds of cancer seen among populations of different geographical areas. Dietary habits and, in particular, the nature and/or the amount of fat, calorie and/or vegetable fiber which are consumed in these countries are among the most frequently quoted etiological factors which may account for this situation. Epidemiological and experimental evidence has accumulated which, even though it can be used to support these conclusions, is still a matter of considerable debate. Modulation of neoplastic development is a concept which has been elaborated to overcome the fact that many experimental observations are not really taken into consideration by the classical 2-step theory of carcinogenesis. It is defined as the effect of any treatment which given before, during or after the initiation of a full carcinogenic process modifies the pattern of neoplastic development as evaluated by the kinetics of appearance, the incidence and/or the yield of histologically characterized malignant tumors. It is said to be positive or negative depending on whether it accelerates or slows down the process and increases or decreases the yield of malignant tumors respectively. From a review of the available experimental data, it is concluded that fat per se has, most probably, no modulating effect but that unbalanced diets rich in lipids could act as a positive modulator of chemically induced carcinogenesis by virtue of their capacity to cause a break in metabolic and proliferative homeostasis; that vegetable fibers as well as restriction in calorie intake could act as negative modulators of the same process because they could restore or help restore this homeostasis. It is thus proposed that to maintain dietary balance either by increasing fiber and/or by reducing total calorie intake is the most effective way to negatively modulate chemically induced carcinogenesis in experimental animals. To make the same recommendation to humans could most probably help preventing major cancers like breast and colon cancers.

Prophages and Growth Dynamics Confound Experimental Results with Antibiotic-Tolerant Persister Cells

PubMed Central

Fino, Cinzia; Sørensen, Michael A.; Semsey, Szabolcs

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Bacterial persisters are phenotypic variants that survive antibiotic treatment in a dormant state and can be formed by multiple pathways. We recently proposed that the second messenger (p)ppGpp drives Escherichia coli persister formation through protease Lon and activation of toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules. This model found considerable support among researchers studying persisters but also generated controversy as part of recent debates in the field. In this study, we therefore used our previous work as a model to critically examine common experimental procedures to understand and overcome the inconsistencies often observed between results of different laboratories. Our results show that seemingly simple antibiotic killing assays are very sensitive to variations in culture conditions and bacterial growth phase. Additionally, we found that some assay conditions cause the killing of antibiotic-tolerant persisters via induction of cryptic prophages. Similarly, the inadvertent infection of mutant strains with bacteriophage ϕ80, a notorious laboratory contaminant, apparently caused several of the phenotypes that we reported in our previous studies. We therefore reconstructed all infected mutants and probed the validity of our model of persister formation in a refined assay setup that uses robust culture conditions and unravels the dynamics of persister cells through all bacterial growth stages. Our results confirm the importance of (p)ppGpp and Lon but no longer support a role of TA modules in E. coli persister formation under unstressed conditions. We anticipate that the results and approaches reported in our study will lay the ground for future work in the field. PMID:29233898

Immunization and children at risk for autism

PubMed Central

Roberts, Wendy; Harford, Mary

2002-01-01

Possible connections between immunization and developmental disorders, most notably autistic disorders, have been the subject of a great deal of debate and have caused much concern for parents who want to make the safest choices for their children. Anxiety has risen steadily since the mid-1990s, when a medical investigative team led by A Wakefield postulated that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine may be a causative factor in the development of autism spectrum disorder. Since this initial publication, immunization remains controversial for some parents and the uptake of the MMR vaccine has fallen in some countries, despite much discussion regarding the safety of MMR, a lack of evidence for an association between MMR and autism, and the risks of insufficient protection against wild measles virus infection. The Canadian uptake of MMR in 1998 was 95%, but data do not exist to document any change in Canada since that time. Many clinicians are concerned that the uptake in younger siblings of children with autism is considerably lower. Further anxiety for parents has been caused by the suggested association between developmental disorders and mercury toxicity due to thimerosal, which is used as a preservative in some vaccines. Many Canadian parents, while continuing to seek chelation therapy in response to this suggestion, are not aware that, in Canada, thimerosal has never been added to MMR, and has not been present in diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus-poliomyelitis or pentavalent vaccines since 1992. It is found in only Hepatitis B vaccine in some provinces. The present article is intended to be a guide for physicians as they counsel parents. PMID:20046442

[Trauma and psychosis in german psychiatry - a historical analysis].

PubMed

Kloocke, Ruth; Schmiedebach, Heinz-Peter; Priebe, Stefan

2010-04-01

The paper reports an historical analysis of the debate on trauma and psychosis in German psychiatry. Content analysis of five leading German psychiatric journals between 1889 and 2005. A substantial number of publications until the late 1960s addressed different aspects of potential links between trauma and subsequent psychosis. Papers exclusively focused on traumatic experience in adulthood. Most papers showed a negative attitude towards the idea of traumatic experiences causing psychosis. The debate on psychological trauma and psychosis refers to a long tradition in German psychiatry. Whilst the discussion contributed significantly to concepts and classifications of psychotic illnesses, it did not generate a coherent model for the potential association of trauma and subsequent psychotic disorder. Copyright Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart . New York.

Gaia's view of the λ Boo star puzzle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Simon J.; Paunzen, Ernst

2017-04-01

The evolutionary status of the chemically peculiar class of λ Boo stars has been intensely debated. It is now agreed that the λ Boo phenomenon affects A stars of all ages, from star formation to the terminal age main sequence, but the cause of the chemical peculiarity is still a puzzle. We revisit the debate of their ages and temperatures in order to shed light on the phenomenon, using the new parallaxes in Gaia Data Release 1 with existing Hipparcos parallaxes and multicolour photometry. We find that no single formation mechanism is able to explain all the observations, and suggest that there are multiple channels producing λ Boo spectra. The relative importance of these channels varies with age, temperature and environment.

Philosophocal and legislation aspects of surrogacy.

PubMed

Zakariadze, A

2011-06-01

Among current bioethical issues one of the most dilemmatic is an issue of surrogacy. It causes great moral, ethical and legal debate. The article aims to show philosophical and legislation aspects of surrogacy. The meaning of "motherhood", "kinship", "liberty" in connection with surrogacy is analyzed. The article provides an overview of Georgian Orthodox Church on surrogate motherhood.

Evaluating the Differential Treatment of Emotional Disturbance and Social Maladjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Theodore, Lea A.; Akin-Little, Angeleque; Little, Steven G.

2004-01-01

The vague and incomplete federal definition of emotional disturbance has caused a great deal of controversy and debate since the inception of Public Law 94-142. The lack of resolution among professionals attempting to elucidate the distinction between emotional disturbance and social maladjustment has resulted in continued conflict. Included in…

Inclusive Education and Students without Special Educational Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruijs, Nienke M.; Van der Veen, Ineke; Peetsma, Thea T. D.

2010-01-01

Background: In the debate on inclusive education, students without special educational needs (SEN) are an important topic. However, there is a lot unknown about differences between these typical students in inclusive and non-inclusive classes. For example, the neutral results that are often found in earlier research could be caused by positive…

Conceptualizing and Communicating SoTL: A Framework for the Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller-Young, Janice; Yeo, Michelle

2015-01-01

The emerging field of SoTL is an inherently interdisciplinary endeavor which requires embracing a diverse range of research methods and disciplinary differences in world views. This diversity has caused a lack of coherence in its conceptualization and communication, which can be confusing for new scholars. Ongoing debates in the community concern…

The Causes of Poverty: Thinking Critically about a Key Economic Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otlin, Josh

2008-01-01

Economics is a central part of civic education. Students need to know about the Constitution and the party system, but active citizenship in the twenty-first century requires much more than the standard civics courses offer. Economic issues dominate public policy debates ranging from Social Security to immigration to international security. If…

Phylogenomic analysis of ants, bees and stinging wasps: Improved taxon sampling enhances understanding of hymenopteran evolution

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The importance of taxon sampling in phylogenetic accuracy is a topic of active debate. We investigated the role of taxon sampling in causing incongruent results between two recent phylogenomic studies of stinging wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata), a diverse lineage that includes ants, bees and the major...

The Need for Courage in American Schools: Cases and Causes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Jack L.

2010-01-01

Academic freedom is the freedom to inquire--to study, learn, teach, express, and debate ideas. Academic freedom is essential to education in a democracy, a professional responsibility of teachers, and the fundamental purpose for social education. These ideas occur in the traditional education literature. Academic freedom is not just a professional…

Central City White Flight: Racial and Nonracial Causes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frey, William H.

The cumulative adverse impact of residential white flight from large central cities on the residual population has led policy makers to be wary of instituting programs which will further exacerbate the process. Recent policy debates have evolved over the question of whether white city-to-suburb movement is affected more significantly by…

Legalized or Not? Poor Public Communication Causes Confusion over the New Cannabis Policy in Belgium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gelders, Dave; Van Mierlo, Jan

2004-01-01

During the last three years, the newly announced drug policy, specifically cannabis, has been the subject of debate between the Government and the opposition parties within the Belgian Federal Government. Public communication by the Federal Government and the competent ministers was incomplete, untimely, inconsistent, tendentious and polemical.…

Finding the Right Balance.

PubMed

Price, Sean

2017-04-01

Since the 1980s, concerns about resident fatigue have caused lawmakers and medical policymakers to pull back on resident duty hours. In 2003 and again in 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) shortened resident hours. In March, ACGME modified those hours again. The latest rule change has reignited a long-running debate among physicians.

Refugee Children in the UK. Education in an Urbanised Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutter, Jill

2006-01-01

Asylum migration causes intense media and political debate. However, little attention has been paid to how forced migrants can rebuild their lives in the UK or elsewhere. This timely book analyzes the social policies that impact on refugee children's education, and: (1) Provides the background to the migration of refugees; (2) Explores how…

Educational Sciences, Morality and Politics: International Educational Congresses in the Early Twentieth Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuchs, Eckhardt

2004-01-01

Internationalism became one of the keywords in the international intellectual and political debates at the end of the nineteenth century. As a political, cultural and social movement it also included science and education. The desire for international cooperation and global understanding was caused by the growing economic interdependence in the…

What's yours, mine, and ours : overcoming intellectual property rights issues : a cross-cutting study : facilitating private-sector participation and expediting deployment

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-08-01

Debate over the ownership and use of intellectual property developed jointly by the public and private sectors has caused delays in ITS deployment projects. While a fundamental business incentive of the private sector for investing in research and de...

Confusion in the Ranks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, Adrian R.; Botting, Jack H.

1997-01-01

States that the ethics of using animals in science should be debated; however, the history of medicine is so clear on the contribution of animal usage to our understanding of the causes, preventions, and cures of diseases that only the untutored or those with a hidden agenda could argue that animal research has not been fundamental to medical…

Teaching Patriotism--with Conviction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn, Chester E., Jr.

2006-01-01

Americans will debate for many years to come the causes and implications of the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as the foiled attack that led to the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field. Between the first and second "anniversaries" of 9/11, another development deepened their…

Inequality--"Wicked Problems", Labour Market Outcomes and the Search for Silver Bullets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keep, Ewart; Mayhew, Ken

2014-01-01

In recent years concerns about inequality have been growing in prominence within UK policy debates. The many causes of inequality of earnings and income are complex in their interactions and their tendency to reinforce one another. This makes inequality an intractable or "wicked" policy problem, particularly within a contemporary context…

Does Cultural Capital Matter?: Cultural Divide and Quality of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Seoyong; Kim, Hyesun

2009-01-01

Since the remarkable work of Pierre Bourdieu, the concept of cultural capital has gained wide popularity along with theoretical and conceptual debates. This trend represents the social-structural change from materialism to postmaterialism. However, there are few empirical studies which find the cause and effect of cultural capital. Based on…

Diversifying the Academy: How Conservative Academics Can Thrive in Liberal Academia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maranto, Robert; Woessner, Matthew

2012-01-01

Researchers have long recognized that higher education is dominated by professors whose politics are well to the left of the American political center. The cause and implications of this ideological imbalance have been intensely debated since the 1960s. Although critics of higher education, such as David Horowitz, argue that the political…

Eudaimonia and Creativity: The Art of Human Flourishing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Peter R.; Pascoe, Robin

2015-01-01

In times of rapid change the Arts have been shown to contribute through an array of processes to a range of outcomes that improve social and emotional health. While this observation has caused debates in the field such as, intrinsic versus instrumental value, individuality versus sociality, skill development focus versus broader aesthetic…

Importance of resolving fungal nomenclature: the case of multiple pathogenic species in the Cryptococcus genus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cryptococcosis is a major fungal disease caused by members of the Cryptococcus gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans species complexes. After more than 15 years of molecular genetic and phenotypic studies and much debate, a proposal for a taxonomic revision was made. The two varieties within C. neoform...

"Getting on" Rather than "Getting by": Ethnicity, Class and "Success against the Odds"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shain, Farzana

2012-01-01

The disturbances that took place across English towns and cities in 2011 raised significant debate and discussion about their causes and the motivations of the "rioters". Media and official explanations citing criminality and opportunism, repeated the now familiar narratives of cultural deficit, blaming absent fathers, poor parenting and…

Poverty and the American Family: A Decade in Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edin, Kathryn; Kissane, Rebecca Joyce

2010-01-01

Because of dramatic levels of economic volatility and massive changes in welfare policies, scholars in this decade worried anew about whether our official poverty measure, adopted in the 1960s, is adequate. Poverty's causes continued to be debated, with demographic factors often pitted against policy and maternal employment changes. Some scholars…

Organic Carbon Mobilisation Mechanisms: Evidence from Globally Distributed Stalagmite Records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldini, J. U. L.; Fairchild, I. J.; Wynn, P.; Bourdin, C.; Muller, W.; Hartland, A.; Perrette, Y.; Worrall, F.; Bartlett, R.

2017-12-01

Identifying the cause of widespread increases in surface water dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in recent years is the subject of a contentious debate. Although DOC trends may partially reflect climate change, in many catchments they may also result from increased soil carbon solubility associated with decreases in acid rain due to lower atmospheric sulphur emissions. However, the lack of long-term DOC records hampers constraining climate's role in modulating DOC trends versus that of recovery from acidification. Here we help clarify the causes of recent DOC increases by using a combination of laboratory soil experiments and new stalagmite geochemical data. Laboratory experiments with soils sampled from above several key caves simulate the effect of acidity, temperature, and soil microbial processes on DOC release. These experiments are used to inform records of DOC encoded within several stalagmites from currently acidified, previously acidified, and unacidified sites, and which collectively yield insights into the timing of DOC change in the past. These records of stalagmite DOC concentration and composition are discussed within the context of the ongoing debate regarding the mechanism responsible for DOC release.

Ted (G.J.) Kloosterman: on intrauterine growth. The significance of prenatal care. Studies on birth weight, placental weight and placental index.

PubMed

Bleker, O P; Buimer, M; van der Post, J A M; van der Veen, F

2006-01-01

In the last century, there was a heated debate on whether fetal growth retardation is caused by a small placenta or whether a placenta is small because the baby is small. One of the active participants in this debate was Kloosterman who studied 80,000 birth weights, and 30,000 placental weights, in relation to gestational age at birth, fetal sex, maternal parity, and perinatal mortality. He found that pregnancies related to heavier placentas last longer. He also found that, from about 32 weeks of gestation onwards, children from primiparous women as compared to those from multiparous women, like twin children as compared to singleton children, are relatively growth retarded, most likely related to prior relatively poor placental growth. He concluded that poor fetal growth is not the cause, but the result of poor placental growth. The clinical implication of all these is that future early detection of poor placental growth may prospect poor fetal growth, and may even allow for early interventions to improve fetal outcome.

Expanding the framework of the holism/reductionism debate in neo-Darwinism: the case of Theodosius Dobzhansky and Bernhard Rensch.

PubMed

Delisle, Richard G

2008-01-01

The holism/reductionism debate in evolutionary biology has often been analysed as involving two main phenomenological levels within neo-Darwinism: genetic and organismic. This analytical framework assumes that explanation in evolution is either found in the field of genetics or the field of organismic biology. It is argued here that this framework is far too restrictive to incorporate what at least some founding members of neo-Darwinism had in mind in their search for the ultimate cause of evolution. Dobzhansky's "super-holism" locates this drive in the highest possible entity imaginable--an ontologically unified evolutionary cosmos--while Rensch's ontological "super-reductionism," on the other hand, places it at the lowest possible entity of microphysics, that is, at the level of an energetic field of protopsychical nature. Not only it is suggested that a much-expanded framework is required for analysing the holism/reductionism debate in neo-Darwinism, but also that this new framework may have implications for the conceptualization of the neo-Darwinian movement itself.

The SDI and European security interests

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deschamps, L.

1987-01-01

This paper examines Europe's reactions to President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). On the one hand, the American proposals have inspired forceful European opposition of a kind potentially damaging to Alliance solidarity. On the other, paradoxically, the debate occurred in a period of rare Alliance harmony, when the deployment of cruise and Pershing II missiles was satisfactorily completed despite Soviet hostility. Yet the nature of the discussion and the compromises reached between Europe and the United States on the SDI have meant that a true strategic debate has not yet begun. Although the SDI is largely an American response tomore » an American strategic problem, Europeans are intimately affected by many of its implications. The author argues that if the SDI program is not to cause great difficulties in the future a more sophisticated discussion of the purposes of strategic defense must now be undertaken. Contents. Introduction; defense in the nuclear age; defense or deterrence: The limits of western consensus; the Euro-American debate on the SDI; European concerns and American responses; and conclusion.« less

Framing a 'social problem': Emotion in anti-abortion activists' depiction of the abortion debate.

PubMed

Ntontis, Evangelos; Hopkins, Nick

2018-02-27

Social psychological research on activism typically focuses on individuals' social identifications. We complement such research through exploring how activists frame an issue as a social problem. Specifically, we explore anti-abortion activists' representation of abortion and the abortion debate's protagonists so as to recruit support for the anti-abortion cause. Using interview data obtained with UK-based anti-abortion activists (N = 15), we consider how activists characterized women having abortions, pro-abortion campaigners, and anti-abortion campaigners. In particular, we consider the varied ways in which emotion featured in the representation of these social actors. Emotion featured in different ways. Sometimes, it was depicted as constituting embodied testament to the nature of reality. Sometimes, it was depicted as blocking the rational appraisal of reality. Our analysis considers how such varied meanings of emotion shaped the characterization of abortion and the abortion debate's protagonists such that anti-abortion activists were construed as speaking for women and their interests. We discuss how our analysis of the framing of issues as social problems complements and extends social psychological analyses of activism. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Achieving universal health care coverage: Current debates in Ghana on covering those outside the formal sector

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Globally, extending financial protection and equitable access to health services to those outside the formal sector employment is a major challenge for achieving universal coverage. While some favour contributory schemes, others have embraced tax-funded health service cover for those outside the formal sector. This paper critically examines the issue of how to cover those outside the formal sector through the lens of stakeholder views on the proposed one-time premium payment (OTPP) policy in Ghana. Discussion Ghana in 2004 implemented a National Health Insurance Scheme, based on a contributory model where service benefits are restricted to those who contribute (with some groups exempted from contributing), as the policy direction for moving towards universal coverage. In 2008, the OTPP system was proposed as an alternative way of ensuring coverage for those outside formal sector employment. There are divergent stakeholder views with regard to the meaning of the one-time premium and how it will be financed and sustained. Our stakeholder interviews indicate that the underlying issue being debated is whether the current contributory NHIS model for those outside the formal employment sector should be maintained or whether services for this group should be tax funded. However, the advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives are not being explored in an explicit or systematic way and are obscured by the considerable confusion about the likely design of the OTPP policy. We attempt to contribute to the broader debate about how best to fund coverage for those outside the formal sector by unpacking some of these issues and pointing to the empirical evidence needed to shed even further light on appropriate funding mechanisms for universal health systems. Summary The Ghanaian debate on OTPP is related to one of the most important challenges facing low- and middle-income countries seeking to achieve a universal health care system. It is critical that there is more extensive debate on the advantages and disadvantages of alternative funding mechanisms, supported by a solid evidence base, and with the policy objective of universal coverage providing the guiding light. PMID:23102454

Debate on the legalization of abortion in Zimbabwe.

PubMed

1994-01-01

In Zimbabwe, where over 70,000 illegal abortions are performed each year and complications from clandestine abortion are a leading cause of maternal mortality, the abortion law debate has been re-opened. Under the present law, abortion is legal only to save the life of the mother and women who undergo illegal abortion face strict criminal sanctions. Timothy Stamps, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, has stated, "The first rights of a child are to be desired, to be wanted, and to be planned." Dr. Illiff, of the University of Zimbabwe's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has noted, "We cannot stop abortion. The choice is how safe it is." Illiff pointed out that urban Zimbabwe women run a 262 times greater risk of dying of abortion complications than their counterparts in the UK where abortion is legal. As the Women's Action Group has observed, men have dominated the current debate on abortion. The group has issued an appeal to women to enter into this debate that concerns their bodies to ensure that another law is not imposed on them. The group's appeal for action states: "We as Women's Action Group believe that every woman should decide what's right and what's wrong in her life. She and only she should be the master of her destiny. Her voice should be heard louder than anyone else's."

Light-driven growth in Amazon evergreen forests explained by seasonal variations of vertical canopy structure.

PubMed

Tang, Hao; Dubayah, Ralph

2017-03-07

Light-regime variability is an important limiting factor constraining tree growth in tropical forests. However, there is considerable debate about whether radiation-induced green-up during the dry season is real, or an apparent artifact of the remote-sensing techniques used to infer seasonal changes in canopy leaf area. Direct and widespread observations of vertical canopy structures that drive radiation regimes have been largely absent. Here we analyze seasonal dynamic patterns between the canopy and understory layers in Amazon evergreen forests using observations of vertical canopy structure from a spaceborne lidar. We discovered that net leaf flushing of the canopy layer mainly occurs in early dry season, and is followed by net abscission in late dry season that coincides with increasing leaf area of the understory layer. Our observations of understory development from lidar either weakly respond to or are not correlated to seasonal variations in precipitation or insolation, but are strongly related to the seasonal structural dynamics of the canopy layer. We hypothesize that understory growth is driven by increased light gaps caused by seasonal variations of the canopy. This light-regime variability that exists in both spatial and temporal domains can better reveal the drought-induced green-up phenomenon, which appears less obvious when treating the Amazon forests as a whole.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators and risk for coronary heart disease.

PubMed

Cano, A; Hermenegildo, C; Oviedo, P; Tarín, J J

2007-04-01

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in women in most countries. Atherosclerosis is the main biological process determining CHD. Clinical data support the notion that CHD is sensitive to estrogens, but debate exists concerning the effects of the hormone on atherosclerosis and its complications. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are compounds capable of binding the estrogen receptor to induce a functional profile distinct from estrogens. The possibility that SERMs may shift the estrogenic balance on cardiovascular risk towards a more beneficial profile has generated interest in recent years. There is considerable information on the effects of SERMs on distinct areas that are crucial in atherogenesis. The complexity derived from the diversity of variables affecting their mechanism of action plus the differences between compounds make it difficult to delineate one uniform trend for SERMs. The present picture, nonetheless, is one where SERMs seem less powerful than estrogens in atherosclerosis protection, but more gentle with advanced forms of the disease. The recent publication of the Raloxifene Use for The Heart (RUTH) study has confirmed a neutral effect for raloxifene. Prothrombotic states may favor occlusive thrombi at sites occupied by atheromatous plaques. Platelet activation has received attention as an important determinant of arterial thrombogenesis. Although still sparse, available evidence globally suggests neutral or beneficial effects for SERMs.

Active volcanism beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet and implications for ice-sheet stability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blankenship, D.D.; Bell, R.E.; Hodge, S.M.; Brozena, J.M.; Behrendt, John C.; Finn, C.A.

1993-01-01

IT is widely understood that the collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) would cause a global sea level rise of 6 m, yet there continues to be considerable debate about the detailed response of this ice sheet to climate change1-3. Because its bed is grounded well below sea level, the stability of the WAIS may depend on geologically controlled conditions at the base which are independent of climate. In particular, heat supplied to the base of the ice sheet could increase basal melting and thereby trigger ice streaming, by providing the water for a lubricating basal layer of till on which ice streams are thought to slide4,5. Ice streams act to protect the reservoir of slowly moving inland ice from exposure to oceanic degradation, thus enhancing ice-sheet stability. Here we present aerogeophysical evidence for active volcanism and associated elevated heat flow beneath the WAIS near the critical region where ice streaming begins. If this heat flow is indeed controlling ice-stream formation, then penetration of ocean waters inland of the thin hot crust of the active portion of the West Antarctic rift system could lead to the disappearance of ice streams, and possibly trigger a collapse of the inland ice reservoir.

Toxic red tides and harmful algal blooms: A practical challenge in coastal oceanography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Donald M.

1995-07-01

The debate over the relative value of practical or applied versus fundamental research has heated up considerably in recent years, and oceanography has not been spared this re-evaluation of science funding policy. Some federal agencies with marine interests have always focused their resources on practical problems, but those with a traditional commitment to basic research such as the National Science Foundation have increasingly had to fight to maintain their freedom to fund quality science without regard to practical or commercial applications. Within this context, it is instructive to highlight the extent to which certain scientific programs can satisfy both sides of this policy dilemma—i.e. address important societal issues through advances in fundamental or basic research. One clear oceanographic example of such a program involves the phenomena called "red tides" or "harmful algal blooms". This paper describes the nature and extent of the problems caused by these outbreaks, emphasizing the alarming expansion in their incidence and their impacts in recent years, both in the U.S. and worldwide. The objective is to highlight fundamental physical, biological, and chemical oceanographic question that must be addressed if we are to achieve the practical goal of scientifically based management of fisheries resources, public health, and ecosystem health in regions threatened by toxic and harmful algae.

A new model for the characterization of infection risk in gunshot injuries:Technology, principal consideration and clinical implementation

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Introduction The extent of wound contamination in gunshot injuries is still a topic of controversial debate. The purpose of the present study is to develop a model that illustrates the contamination of wounds with exogenous particles along the bullet path. Material and methods To simulate bacteria, radio-opaque barium titanate (3-6 μm in diameter) was atomized in a dust chamber. Full metal jacket or soft point bullets caliber .222 (n = 12, v0 = 1096 m/s) were fired through the chamber into a gelatin block directly behind it. After that, the gelatin block underwent multi-slice CT in order to analyze the permanent and temporary wound cavity. Results The permanent cavity caused by both types of projectiles showed deposits of barium titanate distributed over the entire bullet path. Full metal jacket bullets left only few traces of barium titanate in the temporary cavity. In contrast, the soft point bullets disintegrated completely, and barium titanate covered the entire wound cavity. Discussion Deep penetration of potential exogenous bacteria can be simulated easily and reproducibly with barium titanate particles shot into a gelatin block. Additionally, this procedure permits conclusions to be drawn about the distribution of possible contaminants and thus can yield essential findings in terms of necessary therapeutic procedures. PMID:22032229

Wernicke's aphasia reflects a combination of acoustic-phonological and semantic control deficits: a case-series comparison of Wernicke's aphasia, semantic dementia and semantic aphasia.

PubMed

Robson, Holly; Sage, Karen; Ralph, Matthew A Lambon

2012-01-01

Wernicke's aphasia (WA) is the classical neurological model of comprehension impairment and, as a result, the posterior temporal lobe is assumed to be critical to semantic cognition. This conclusion is potentially confused by (a) the existence of patient groups with semantic impairment following damage to other brain regions (semantic dementia and semantic aphasia) and (b) an ongoing debate about the underlying causes of comprehension impairment in WA. By directly comparing these three patient groups for the first time, we demonstrate that the comprehension impairment in Wernicke's aphasia is best accounted for by dual deficits in acoustic-phonological analysis (associated with pSTG) and semantic cognition (associated with pMTG and angular gyrus). The WA group were impaired on both nonverbal and verbal comprehension assessments consistent with a generalised semantic impairment. This semantic deficit was most similar in nature to that of the semantic aphasia group suggestive of a disruption to semantic control processes. In addition, only the WA group showed a strong effect of input modality on comprehension, with accuracy decreasing considerably as acoustic-phonological requirements increased. These results deviate from traditional accounts which emphasise a single impairment and, instead, implicate two deficits underlying the comprehension disorder in WA. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The heart and underwater diving].

PubMed

Lafay, V

2006-11-01

Cardiovascular examination of a certain number of candidates for underwater diving raises justifiable questions of aptitude. An indicative list of contraindications has been proposed by the French Federation of Underwater Studies and Sports but a physiopathological basis gives a better understanding of what is involved. During diving, the haemodynamic changes due not only to the exercise but also to cold immersion, hyperoxaemia and decompression impose the absence of any symptomatic cardiac disease. Moreover, the vasoconstriction caused by the cold and hyperoxaemia should incite great caution in both coronary and hypertensive patients. The contraindication related to betablocker therapy is controversial and the debate has not been settled in France. The danger of drowning makes underwater diving hazardous in all pathologies carrying a risk of syncope. Pacemaker patients should be carefully assessed and the depth of diving limited. Finally, the presence of right-to-left intracardiac shunts increases the risk of complications during decompressionand contraindicates underwater diving. Patent foramen ovale is a special case but no special investigation is required for its detection. The cardiologist examining candidates for underwater diving should take all these factors into consideration because, although underwater diving is a sport associated with an increased risk, each year there are more and more people, with differing degrees of aptitude, who wish to practice it.

Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment.

PubMed

Tilman, David; Reich, Peter B; Knops, Johannes M H

2006-06-01

Human-driven ecosystem simplification has highlighted questions about how the number of species in an ecosystem influences its functioning. Although biodiversity is now known to affect ecosystem productivity, its effects on stability are debated. Here we present a long-term experimental field test of the diversity-stability hypothesis. During a decade of data collection in an experiment that directly controlled the number of perennial prairie species, growing-season climate varied considerably, causing year-to-year variation in abundances of plant species and in ecosystem productivity. We found that greater numbers of plant species led to greater temporal stability of ecosystem annual aboveground plant production. In particular, the decadal temporal stability of the ecosystem, whether measured with intervals of two, five or ten years, was significantly greater at higher plant diversity and tended to increase as plots matured. Ecosystem stability was also positively dependent on root mass, which is a measure of perenniating biomass. Temporal stability of the ecosystem increased with diversity, despite a lower temporal stability of individual species, because of both portfolio (statistical averaging) and overyielding effects. However, we found no evidence of a covariance effect. Our results indicate that the reliable, efficient and sustainable supply of some foods (for example, livestock fodder), biofuels and ecosystem services can be enhanced by the use of biodiversity.

An interdisciplinary framework to evaluate bioshield plantations: Insights from peninsular India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Nibedita; Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid; Koedam, Nico; Shanker, Kartik

2015-02-01

Bioshields or coastal vegetation structures are currently amongst the most important coastal habitat modification activities in south-east Asia, particularly after the December 2004 tsunami. Coastal plantations have been promoted at a large scale as protection against severe natural disasters despite considerable debate over their efficacy as protection measures. In this paper, we provide an interdisciplinary framework for evaluating and monitoring coastal plantations. We then use this framework in a case study in peninsular India. We conducted a socio-ecological questionnaire-based survey on government and non-government organizations directly involved in coastal plantation efforts in three 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami affected states in mainland India. We found that though coastal protection was stated to be the primary cause, socio-economic factors like providing rural employment were strong drivers of plantation activities. Local communities were engaged primarily as daily wage labour for plantation rather than in the planning or monitoring phases. Application of ecological criteria has been undermined during the establishment and maintenance of plantations and there was a general lack of awareness about conservation laws relating to coastal forests. While ample flow of international aid has fuelled the plantation of exotics in the study area particularly after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the long term ecological consequences need further evaluation and rigorous monitoring in the future.

What killed the dinosaurs?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glen, W.

1990-01-01

Out of a number of earlier attempts to explain mass extinctions, only the volcanism alternative to the impact hypothesis remains under serious consideration. The evidence for an impact is reviewed, and the mechanisms which might have brought about the apocalyptic series of extinctions at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary are reviewed, referring to Alvarez's and other research teams working on the problem. As suggested by the patterns of extinctions and the periodicity of this and other mass extinctions, the "volcanist alternative' is introduced. This would produce a series of selective extinctions spread over a considerable length of time, and which is similar to what the fossil record shows, and could account for the iridium anomaly at the K-T boundary. More support for this theory comes from models put forward by volcanist exponents, but it is concluded that the debate is far from ended. -J.W.Cooper

The dream in contemporary psychiatry.

PubMed

Reiser, M F

2001-03-01

This article offers selective reviews of cogent sectors of research regarding the dream in contemporary psychiatry. First, the author discusses relatively recent research (1953-1999) on the neurobiology and clinical psychophysiology of dreaming sleep; second, he reviews experimental cognitive neuroscientific studies of perception, emotion, and memory and the putative interrelationships among them in generating dream imagery; and third, he interprets psychoanalytic studies (1900-1999) on related aspects of dreams and the dream process. Exploration for interrelationships among information from these three areas entails discussion of the mind/brain problem. These considerations illuminate some of the logical and interpretive dilemmas that enter into debates about Freud's theory of the dream. The author proposes a preliminary psychobiologic concept of the dream process and discusses, in light of the foregoing considerations, the importance of collaborative research for developing a realistic perspective concerning the proper place of the dream in contemporary psychiatry.

Hand preferences for coordinated bimanual actions in 777 great apes: implications for the evolution of handedness in hominins.

PubMed

Hopkins, William D; Phillips, Kimberley A; Bania, Amanda; Calcutt, Sarah E; Gardner, Molly; Russell, Jamie; Schaeffer, Jennifer; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V; Ross, Stephen R; Schapiro, Steven J

2011-05-01

Whether or not nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable scientific debate. Here, we examined handedness for coordinated bimanual actions in a sample of 777 great apes including chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. We found population-level right-handedness in chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas, but left-handedness in orangutans. Directional biases in handedness were consistent across independent samples of apes within each genus. We suggest that, contrary to previous claims, population-level handedness is evident in great apes but differs among species as a result of ecological adaptations associated with posture and locomotion. We further suggest that historical views of nonhuman primate handedness have been too anthropocentric, and we advocate for a larger evolutionary framework for the consideration of handedness and other aspects of hemispheric specialization among primates. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.