Troubling children's families: who's troubled and why? Approaches to inter-cultural dialogue

This article draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives to consider the need and the possibilities for inter-cultural dialogue concerning families that may be seen by some to be ‘troubling’. Starting from the premise that ‘troubles’ are a ‘normal’ part of children’s family lives, we consider the boundary between ‘normal’ troubles and troubles that are troubling (whether to family members or others). Such troubling families potentially indicate an intervention to prevent harm to less powerful family members (notably children). On what basis can such decisions be made in children’s family lives, how can this question be answered across diverse cultural contexts, and are all answers inevitably subject to uncertainty? Such questions arguably re-frame and broaden existing debates about ‘child maltreatment’ across diverse cultural contexts. Beyond recognizing power dynamics, material inequalities, and historical and contemporary colonialism, we argue that attempts to answer the question on an empirical basis risk a form of neo-colonialism, since values inevitably permeate research and knowledge claims. We briefly exemplify such difficulties, examining psychological studies of childrearing in China, and the application of neuroscience to early childhood interventions in the UK. Turning to issues of values and moral relativism, we also question the possibility of an objective moral standard that avoids cultural imperialism, but ask whether cultural relativism is the only alternative position available. Here we briefly explore other possibilities in the space between ‘facile’ universalism and ‘lazy’ relativism (Jullien, 2008/2014). Such approaches bring into focus core philosophical and cultural questions about the possibilities for ‘happiness’, and for what it means to be a ‘person’, living in the social world. Throughout, we centralize theoretical and conceptual issues, drawing on the work of Jullien (2008/2014) to recognize the immense complexities inter-cultural dialogue entails in terms of language and communication

Numerical and flight simulator test of the flight deterioration concept

Manned flight simulator response to theoretical wind shear profiles was studied in an effort to calibrate fixed-stick and pilot-in-the-loop numerical models of jet transport aircraft on approach to landing. Results of the study indicate that both fixed-stick and pilot-in-the-loop models overpredict the deleterious effects of aircraft approaches when compared to pilot performance in the manned simulator. Although the pilot-in-the-loop model does a better job than does the fixed-stick model, the study suggests that the pilot-in-the-loop model is suitable for use in meteorological predictions of adverse low-level wind shear along approach and departure courses to identify situations in which pilots may find difficulty. The model should not be used to predict the success or failure of a specific aircraft. It is suggested that the pilot model be used as part of a ground-based Doppler radar low-level wind shear detection and warning system

Cognitive and affective components of challenge and threat states

We explored the cognitive and affective components of the Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) using a cross-sectional design. One hundred and seventy-seven collegiate athletes indicated how they typically approached an important competition on measures of self-efficacy, perceived control, achievement goals, emotional states and interpretation of emotional states. Participants also indicated to what extent they typically perceived the important competition as a challenge and/or a threat. The results suggest that a perception of challenge was not predicted by any of the cognitive components. A perception of threat was positively predicted by avoidance goals and negatively predicted by self-efficacy and approach goals. Both challenge and threat had a positive relationship with anxiety. Practical implications of this study are that an avoidance orientation appeared to be related to potentially negative constructs such as anxiety, threat and dejection. The findings may suggest that practitioners and researchers should focus on reducing an avoidance orientation, however the results should be treated with caution in applied settings, as this study did not examine how the combination of constructs exactly influences sport performance. The results provided partial support for the TCTSA with stronger support for proposed relationships with threat rather than challenge states

Making Sense of Family Deaths in Urban Senegal: Diversities, Contexts, and Comparisons

Despite calls for cross-cultural research, Minority world perspectives still dominate death and bereavement studies, emphasizing individualized emotions and neglecting contextual diversities. In research concerned with contemporary African societies, on the other hand, death and loss are generally subsumed within concerns about AIDS or poverty, with little attention paid to the emotional and personal significance of a death. Here, we draw on interactionist sociology to present major themes from a qualitative study of family deaths in urban Senegal, theoretically framed through the duality of meanings-in-context. Such themes included family and community as support and motivation; religious beliefs and practices as frameworks for solace and (regulatory) meaning; and material circumstances as these are intrinsically bound up with emotions. Although we identify the experience of (embodied, emotional) pain as a common response across Minority and Majority worlds, we also explore significant divergencies, varying according to localized contexts and broader power dynamics

Web 2.0: Is the enterprise ready for the adventure?

The current popularity of social networking is starting to infiltrate the corporate space. Web 2.0 applications, such as blogs and wikis, are increasingly being utilized as ways for businesses to collaborate and share information with employees, customers, partners, and suppliers. Organizations have adopted enterprise architecture approaches to enable them to more quickly react to new technologies. Are organizations ready for Web 2.0? We explain the fundamental concepts in Web 2.0, examine ways it is being utilized in the enterprise, and then analyze if the E2AF enterprise architecture framework is equipped to meet the challenge of Web 2.0

Improvement of oral reports through the students' use of audio-visual aids

Author misnumbered thesis. Please note that there are TWO page 108s, but the continuity is the same. Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Estimation of mean sea surfaces in the north Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean using GEOS-3 altimeter data

The mean surfaces of several regions of the world's oceans were estimated using GEOS-3 altimeter data. The northwest Atlantic, the northeast Pacific off the coast of California, the Indian Ocean, the southwest Pacific, and the Phillipine Sea are included. These surfaces have been oriented with respect to a common earth center-of-mass system by constraining the separate solutions to conform to precisely determined laser reference control orbits. The same reference orbits were used for all regions assuring continuity of the separate solutions. Radial accuracies of the control orbits were in the order of one meter. The altimeter measured sea surface height crossover differences were minimized by the adjustment of tilt and bias parameters for each pass with the exception of laser reference control passes. The tilt and bias adjustments removed long wavelength errors which were primarily due to orbit error. Ocean tides were evaluated. The resolution of the estimated sea surfaces varied from 0.25 degrees off the east coast of the United States to about 2 degrees in part of the Indian Ocean near Australia. The rms crossover discrepancy after adjustment varied from 30 cm to 70 cm depending upon geographic location. Comparisons of the altimeter derived mean sea surface in the North Atlantic with the 5 feet x 5 feet GEM-8 detailed gravimetric geoid indicated a relative consistency of better than a meter

The relationship of resveratrol production to infection of grapevine leaves by Botrytis cinerea

The stilbene resveratrol is one of the stress metabolites produced by grapevine (7, 8). The distribution of resveratrol in spreading lesions caused by Botrytis cinerea on detached grapevine leaves has been examined. Both the highest absolute amounts and the highest concentrations of resveratrol were found in the apparently healthy zone of tissue up to 5 mm in advance of the visibly rotted area. The distribution of resveratrol corresponded with the distribution of blue fluorescence observable macroscopically under long wavelength (366 nm) UV irradiation. The relationship between the concentration of resveratrol around B. cinerea lesions on grapevine leaves and susceptibility of those leaves to infection was investigated. Susceptibility decreased with age of the leaf and varied between the varieties of grapevine studied. In both cases, there was an inverse relationship between the concentration of resveratrol around the lesion and susceptibility. The probable role of resveratrol as the precursor of antifungal stress metabolites, the viniferins, in the disease resistance of grapevine is discussed. Die Beziehungen zwischen der Bildung von Resveratrol und dem Befall von Rebenblättern durch Botrytis cinerea Das Stilben Resveratrol gehört zu den Stoffwechselprodukten, die von der Rebe unter Streßbedingungen gebildet werden. An isolierten Blättern von Vitis vinifera wurde die Verteilung von Resveratrol in den sich ausbreitenden Läsionen, die durch Botrytis cinerea verursacht werden, geprüft. In einer bis zu 5 mm breiten scheinbar gesunden Gewebezone, die den visuell geschädigten Blattbezirk umgibt, wurden sowohl die höchsten Absolutmengen als auch die höchsten Konzentrationen von Resveratrol gefunden. Die Verteilung von Resveratrol entsprach dem Auftreten einer Blaufluoreszenz, die bei langwelliger UV-Bestrahlung (366 nm) makroskopisch beobachtet werden kann. Die Beziehung zwischen der Resveratrolkonzentration, die im Umkreis der Botrytis-Läsionen an Rebenblättern vorliegt, und der Anfälligkeit dieser Blätter für die Pilzinfektion wurde untersucht. Die Pilzanfälligkeit nahm mit dem Alter der Blätter ab und variierte zwischen den untersuchten Rebsorten. In beiden Fällen stand die Resveratrolkonzentration im Umkreis der Läsion im umgekehrten Verhältnis zum Anfälligkeitsgrad. Die Rolle, die Resveratrol als Präcursor pilzfeindlicher Streßmetabolite, der Viniferine, bei der Krankheitsresistenz der Rebe spielen dürfte, wird diskutiert

Evaluation of Ethical Issues in the Knowledge Age: An Exploratory Study

Unethical information technology (IT) conduct is estimated to cost billions of dollars in deficits for enterprises. Included in this unethical behavior are issues associated with the knowledge age. Many IT ethics concerns do not have guidelines that are well recognized or broadly accepted. This study will explore the ethical perception of a diverse group of knowledge workers. It will also examine the effects of deterrents, individual factors and external variables to determine if there are noted differences in ethical perceptions that can be explained by these variables