A FORMAL CONCEPT OF CULTURE IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF ALFRED L. KROEBER AND CLYDE KLUCKHOHN

The objective of this article is to analyse definitions of culture gathered by Alfred L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn and published in Culture. A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions in 1952. This article emphasizes a possibility of re-analysing the material collected by these researchers (Kroeber–Kluckhohn Culture Classification, hereinafter referred to as KKCC). The article shows that the KKCC material constitutes a coherent conceptual and theoretical paradigm. This paradigm was subject to contextual, frequential and conceptual (Formal Conceptual Analysis, hereinafter referred to as FCA) analyses. The obtained research results enabled the author to develop a formal concept of culture of KKCC, which could be used as a model for further analysis. The final conclusions are as follows: (1) the notion of "culture" is definable only within the frameworks of a conceptually coherent paradigm; (2) determination of a paradigm requires material repository (resp. text corpus); (3) contextual and frequential analyses enable one to index that kind of repository in order to determine general categories which will be used to develop a formal concept; (4) the formal concept of culture of KKCC constitutes the framework of all possible theoretical analyses concerning the meaning of the notion of "culture" in anthropology; (5) KKCC constitutes a representation of one theory of culture

Understanding nuclear "pasta": current status and future prospects

In cores of supernovae and crusts of neutron stars, nuclei can adopt interesting shapes, such as rods or slabs, etc., which are referred to as nuclear "pasta." In recent years, we have studied the pasta phases focusing on their dynamical aspects with a quantum molecular dynamic (QMD) approach. In this article, we review these works. We also focus on the treatment of the Coulomb interaction.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the Tours Symposium on Nuclear Physics VI (TOURS 2006

Theory of Orbital Magnetization in Solids

In this review article, we survey the relatively new theory of orbital magnetization in solids-often referred to as the "modern theory of orbital magnetization"-and its applications. Surprisingly, while the calculation of the orbital magnetization in finite systems such as atoms and molecules is straight forward, in extended systems or solids it has long eluded calculations owing to the fact that the position operator is ill-defined in such a context. Approaches that overcome this problem were first developed in 2005 and in the first part of this review we present the main ideas reaching from a Wannier function approach to semi-classical and finite-temperature formalisms. In the second part, we describe practical aspects of calculating the orbital magnetization, such as taking k-space derivatives, a formalism for pseudopotentials, a single k-point derivation, a Wannier interpolation scheme, and DFT specific aspects. We then show results of recent calculations on Fe, Co, and Ni. In the last part of this review, we focus on direct applications of the orbital magnetization. In particular, we will review how properties such as the nuclear magnetic resonance shielding tensor and the electron paramagnetic resonance g-tensor can elegantly be calculated in terms of a derivative of the orbital magnetization

Gravitational Decoherence

We discuss effects of loss of coherence in low energy quantum systems caused by or related to gravitation, referred to as gravitational decoherence. These effects, resulting from random metric fluctuations, for instance, promise to be accessible by relatively inexpensive table-top experiments, way before the scales where true quantum gravity effects become important. Therefore, they can provide a first experimental view on gravity in the quantum regime. We will survey models of decoherence induced both by classical and quantum gravitational fluctuations; it will be manifest that a clear understanding of gravitational decoherence is still lacking. Next we will review models where quantum theory is modified, under the assumption that gravity causes the collapse of the wave functions, when systems are large enough. These models challenge the quantum-gravity interplay, and can be tested experimentally. In the last part we have a look at the state of the art of experimental research. We will review efforts aiming at more and more accurate measurements of gravity (G and g) and ideas for measuring conventional and unconventional gravity effects on nonrelativistic quantum systems.Comment: Invited topical review article for Classical and Quantum Gravity, 78 page

Consolidation of the polish electricity sector. The merger law perspective

This article deals first of all with the most important characteristics, in terms of volume and quality, of all of those decisions issued by the Polish competition authority that were the basis for vertical consolidation of the Polish electricity sector, for which the authority gave unconditional or special approval between 2003 and 2007. This article also deals to a limited extent with the decision issued by the Polish competition authority prohibiting unconditionally the concentration of PGE and ENERGA, and which was referred for judicial review. This article attempts to verify the theory that the legal institution of special (exceptional) approval of a concentration, in the form in which it is created in Polish merger legislation (i.e. based mostly on the public interest test, but issued by the competition authority), is not the best formula for assessing whether there are legitimate grounds for consolidation, in particular consolidation of the Polish electricity sector.Polish electricity sector; concentrations between electricity undertakings; vertical consolidation; preventive concentration control; special approval

Resource Allocation in Wireless Networks with RF Energy Harvesting and Transfer

Radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting and transfer techniques have recently become alternative methods to power the next generation of wireless networks. As this emerging technology enables proactive replenishment of wireless devices, it is advantageous in supporting applications with quality-of-service (QoS) requirement. This article focuses on the resource allocation issues in wireless networks with RF energy harvesting capability, referred to as RF energy harvesting networks (RF-EHNs). First, we present an overview of the RF-EHNs, followed by a review of a variety of issues regarding resource allocation. Then, we present a case study of designing in the receiver operation policy, which is of paramount importance in the RF-EHNs. We focus on QoS support and service differentiation, which have not been addressed by previous literatures. Furthermore, we outline some open research directions.Comment: To appear in IEEE Networ

Forensic Science for Cambodian Justice

Cambodia is universally associated with its killing fields – a horrific inheritance from the Khmer Rouge era. Whilst mass grave evidence from that era is referred to in history and social science publications on Cambodia, it has not featured in a legal context to date. The establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) creates an opportunity for a review of this evidence 30 years after the events. Those alleged to be accountable for Cambodia’s killing fields are finally being brought to justice. The question is whether this will occur with or without forensic science evidence from the mass graves. This article explores the reasons for using forensic science in the Cambodian context and outlines its potential for legal proceedings. Drawing on relevant literature in the forensic and legal areas, the article provides a brief outline of the legal context created by the ECCC and examines various projects that have recorded evidence relating to the mass graves. Employing an analysis of semistructured, in-depth interviews with forensic and legal experts as well as representatives from the ECCC and the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), the article explores the value of forensic science for the ECCC, including its impact on humanitarian issues in Cambodia

The Clinical Assessment in the Legal Field: An Empirical Study of Bias and Limitations in Forensic Expertise

According to the literature, psychological assessment in forensic contexts is one of the most controversial application areas for clinical psychology. This paper presents a review of systematic judgment errors in the forensic field. Forty-six psychological reports written by psychologists, court consultants, have been analyzed with content analysis to identify typical judgment errors related to the following areas: (a) distortions in the attribution of causality, (b) inferential errors, and (c) epistemological inconsistencies. Results indicated that systematic errors of judgment, usually referred also as "the man in the street," are widely present in the forensic evaluations of specialist consultants. Clinical and practical implications are taken into account. This article could lead to significant benefits for clinical psychologists who want to deal with this sensitive issue and are interested in improving the quality of their contribution to the justice system