Ecological perspectives and children’s use of the Internet: exploring micro to macro level analysis

Igivanad arutelud, milles käsitletakse laste kokkupuudet meediatehnoloogiaga, toovad kommunikatsiooni ja meediauuringute suunal esile erimeelsusi ja vaidlusi põhjustanud pikaajalise traditsiooni. Olgugi et meediatarbimise mõju lastele on uuritud juba ringhäälingu algusaegadest peale, on selle üle endiselt vähe teoretiseeritud ja seda on kirjanduses harva käsitletud, samuti on see meediapoliitika debattides pälvinud vaid vähest mõistmist. Laste ja internetiuuringute puhul on vanad vaidlused süvenenud. Lähtudes ühelt poolt hoiatavatest teadetest riskide, ülemäärase arvutikasutuse ja selle kahjuliku mõju kohta ning teiselt poolt kiidu laulust "digimaailma päriselanikele" ja tehnoloogia võimele muuta maailma, seadis EU Kids Online endale eesmärgiks koguda andmeid, mis aitavad luua terviklikumat pilti veebikeskkonnast, milles noored tegutsevad. Siinses artiklis paigutan selle valdkonna tööd ökoloogilisse raamistikku, lähtudes nii Bronfenbrenneri bioökoloogilisest käsitlusviisist, mis on olnud tähtsal kohal uutes lapsepõlve sotsioloogilistes käsitlustes, kui ka üldisemalt defineeritud meediaökoloogia teoreetilisest raamistikust. Viimast seostatakse peamiselt McLuhani ja hiljem Postmani töödega, kus kirjeldatakse meediakeskkonda kui keerulise vastastikuse mõjutamise süsteemi tehnoloogia ja ühiskonna vahel, kus mitmesugused suhtlusviisid ja vahendatud vastastikune mõjutamine kujundavad oluliselt inimkäitumist ja ühiskondlikku elu. Selline vaatenurk on mõningate põletavate probleemidega tegelemisel väga vajalik, kui kõne all on teadusuuringutel põhinev poliitikakujundamine, mis on seotud interneti haldamise ja reguleerimisega ning noorte kaitsmisega internetikeskkonnas.  Full tex

Practice Theory in Practice: Critical Anthropology in Galicia and Portugal in the 1970s

Quines són les connexions entre el lloc del treball de camp i els autors, textos i teories que inspiren l’etnògraf abans i després de la seva estada? Presentem aquí, en retrospectiva, la sinuosa trajectòria recorreguda en dues localitats estudiades durant la dècada dels 70 – les muntanyes de Caurel a l’est de Galícia i la regió de Trás-os-Montes al nordest de Portugal. Cap d’elles semblava encaixar dins l’antropologia britànica del Mediterrani dominant i en expansió al llarg de la dècada. Ambdós llogarets semblaven tot menys minúsculs i igualitaris paradisos rurals. Les estructures familiars duals, les dinàmiques domèstiques complexes, els intercanvis laborals asimètrics, les formes de matrimoni alternatives i l’elevat nombre de fills bastards que els caracteritzaven requerien una anàlisi radicalment diferent. La inspiració va venir de la mà de la sociologia comparativa de Goody sobre les estratègies hereditàries a Euràsia, i de la teoria de la pràctica de Bourdieu. La meva formació universitària prèvia en literatura realista i microanàlisi descriptiva va acabar per tenir – degut al treball de camp mateix – un ressò considerable. I l’esperit rebel i penetrantment hiper-crític de Goody i Bourdieu va servir d’inspiració. What links are there between fieldwork sites and the specific authors, texts, and theories which inspired the ethnographer before and after the stint? Here are some retrospective meanderings on two terrains studied in the 1970s – the Caurel mountains in eastern Galicia and north-eastern Trás-os-Montes in Portugal. Neither of these places seemed to fit anywhere within the expansive British anthropology of the Mediterranean dominant throughout that decade. These hamlets certainly looked nothing like minuscule, egalitarian rural paradises. Dual family structures, complex household dynamics, asymmetrical labour exchanges, alternative marriages, and rampant bastardy required a radically different analysis. Inspiration came from Goody’s comparative sociology of Eurasian inheritance strategies and Bourdieu’s practice theory. My earlier undergraduate work on realist literature and descriptive dissection now heard – following the fieldwork itself – a loud echo. Both Goody’s and Bourdieu’s rebel and pervasive hyper-critical spirits provided the spark.¿Cuáles son las conexiones entre el lugar del trabajo de campo y los autores, textos y teorías que inspiran al etnógrafo antes y después de su estancia? Se presentan aquí, en retrospectiva, la sinuosa trayectoria recorrida en dos lugares estudiados durante la década de 1970 – la sierra de Caurel en el este de Galicia, y la región de Trás-os-Montes en el nordeste de Portugal. Ninguno de ellos parecía encajar en la antropología británica del Mediterráneo dominante y en expansión a lo largo de la década. Ambas aldeas no parecían en absoluto minúsculos e igualitarios paraísos rurales. Las estructuras familiares duales, las dinámicas domésticas complejas, los intercambios laborales asimétricos, las formas de matrimonio alternativas y el ingente número de hijos bastardos que las caracterizaban requerían un análisis radicalmente distinto. La inspiración vino de la mano de la sociología comparativa de Goody sobre las estrategias hereditarias en Euroasia, y de la teoría de la práctica de Bourdieu. Mi formación universitaria previa en literatura realista y microanálisis descriptivo tuvo – debido al trabajo de campo mismo – un influjo considerable. Y el espíritu rebelde y penetrantemente hiper-crítico de Goody y Bourdieu sirvió de inspiración

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Programs In The 21st Century

One of the most difficult challenges for an undergraduate supply chain management program at smaller universities is to create an environment of sustainability. Supply chain management is not at the tip of tongue for many graduating high school students and few undergraduate curriculums require a course in the content area. This research addresses undergraduate supply chain management programs, how best to develop a viable program (from a curriculum and operational perspective), and how to create a program that is sustainable with limited resources

A flow-through hydrothermal cell for in situ neutron diffraction studies of phase transformations

A flow-through hydrothermal cell for the in situ neutron diffraction study of crystallisation and phase transitions has been developed. It can be used for kinetic studies on materials that exhibit structural transformations under hydrothermal conditions. It is specifically designed for use on the medium-resolution powder diffractometer (MRPD) at ANSTO, Lucas Heights, Sydney. But it is planned to adapt the design for the Polaris beamline at ISIS and the new high-intensity powder diffractometer (Wombat) at the new Australian reactor Opal. The cell will operate in a flow-through mode over the temperature range from 25–300 1C and up to pressures of 100 bar. The first results of a successful transformation of pentlandite (Fe,Ni)9S8 to violarite (Fe,Ni)3S4 under mild conditions (pH4) at 120 1C and 3 bar using in situ neutron diffraction measurements are presented

Plant guttation water as a potential route for pesticide exposure in honey bees: a review of recent literature

International audienceAbstractBecause honey bees periodically collect water, guttation water from treated crops has been suggested as a potential exposure route to systemic pesticides. We reviewed studies that were published in the scientific literature since a previous review of the topic. We identified several studies that reported residue levels of pesticides in guttation water. However, few studies addressed guttation water as a potential exposure route to honey bees. In these studies, no significant effects on honey bee colony health or overwintering survival were observed when colonies were located within fields of treated crops during guttation periods. The previous and current review suggests that exposure to pesticides via guttation water alone is unlikely to negatively affect honey bee colonies. A better understanding of water foraging by honey bees would be needed to address whether guttation water could represent a relevant exposure route of honey bees to systemic pesticides

Os anos 70 em 3D: reflexões pessoais

A década de 1970 começou de facto para o autor em 1968, com os protestos e críticas antiguerra na Universidade de Columbia em Nova Iorque. Refletindo sobre o seu percurso nesse decénio, entreteceram-se três dimensões (a académica, a biográfica e a poética) na sua emigração para a Europa, e na sua passagem dos estudos literários às antropologias americana e britânica. As revelações críticas dos grandes autores realistas tiveram eco no título e no conteúdo da revista londrina Critique of Anthropology, tal como a crítica feroz de etnógrafos como Cutileiro e Bourdieu teve eco na monografia do autor sobre uma aldeia transmontana aparentemente “comunitária”, arquiteturada entre 1974 e 1982. A crítica tornou-se um modo de vida. Uma perceção tardia da sua própria identidade étnica dupla de hispânico e “branco assimilado” não descurou a possibilidade de se terem fundido subtilmente todas estas múltiplas dimensões. Podemos acumular duas, senão três, identidades?The 1970s began surprisingly for the author in 1968, amidst anti-war protests and critiques at Columbia University in New York. Pondering over his trajectory during that decade, three dimensions (academic, biographical, and poetic) interlaced as he emigrated to Europe, and as he passed from literary studies through American and later to British anthropology. The critical revelations of the great realists echoed within the title and contents of the London journal Critique of Anthropology, just as the ferocious critical tone of ethnographers such as Cutileiro and Bourdieu echoed within the author’s monograph of an apparently “communitarian” hamlet in Trás-os-Montes, composed between 1974 and 1982. Critique became a veritable life-style. Delayed consciousness of his own double ethnic identity as both a Hispanic and an “assimilated white” did not obscure the possibility of all these multiple dimensions having subtly fused together. Can we accumulate two, if not three, identities

Successful Downstaging of High Rectal and Recto-Sigmoid Cancer by Neo-Adjuvant Chemo-Radiotherapy

© 2008 Libertas Academica Ltd. All rights reserved.Purpose: The benefit of neoadjuvant therapy for tumours above the peritoneal reflection is not clear. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility and downstaging of treating locally advanced tumours from high rectum to distal sigmoid with preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT).Methods and Materials: Seventeen patients with high rectal, rectosigmoid or distal sigmoid tumours above the peritoneal reflection received neoadjuvant CRT, selected on MRI findings indicating T4 disease or threatened circumferential resection margin. All patients were administered neoadjuvant chemotherapy, with Oxaliplatin or Mitomycin C and a Fluoropyrimidine. The pelvis received long-course CT-planned conformal RT, 45 Gy in 25 fractions, with a boost of 5.4–9 Gy in 3–5 fractions. Thirteen patients were treated with concomitant oral or intravenous Fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy.Results: Median follow-up was 37 months. Overall survival was 82.35% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 54.7–93.9) and disease free survival 81.25% (95% CI 52.5–93.5). Only 1 patient suffered loco-regional relapse. Chemotherapy regimens were well tolerated, though some patients required dose reductions. Nine patients (52.9%) lowered pathologic disease AJCC stage, i.e. ‘downstaged’. Six patients (35.3%) achieved complete pathological response. Clear margins were attained in all but 1 patient. Three patients were converted from cT4 to ypT3. No patient required a gap during CRT. One patient suffered a grade III acute toxicity, but no grade IV (RTOG). There were 3 grade III and 3 grade IV late toxicities (LENT-SOMA).Conclusions: Locally advanced high rectal and recto-sigmoid tumours may be treated with pre-operative CRT with acceptable toxicity, impressive down-staging, and clear surgical margins

Statistical Downscaling with Spatial Misalignment: Application to Wildland Fire PM2.5 Concentration Forecasting

Fine particulate matter, PM2.5, has been documented to have adverse health effects, and wildland fires are a major contributor to PM2.5 air pollution in the USA. Forecasters use numerical models to predict PM2.5 concentrations to warn the public of impending health risk. Statistical methods are needed to calibrate the numerical model forecast using monitor data to reduce bias and quantify uncertainty. Typical model calibration techniques do not allow for errors due to misalignment of geographic locations. We propose a spatiotemporal downscaling methodology that uses image registration techniques to identify the spatial misalignment and accounts for and corrects the bias produced by such warping. Our model is fitted in a Bayesian framework to provide uncertainty quantification of the misalignment and other sources of error. We apply this method to different simulated data sets and show enhanced performance of the method in presence of spatial misalignment. Finally, we apply the method to a large fire in Washington state and show that the proposed method provides more realistic uncertainty quantification than standard methods

RNAi-mediated abrogation of trehalase expression does not affect trehalase activity in sugarcane

To engineer trehalose metabolism in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) two transgenes were introduced to the genome: trehalose-6-phosphate synthase- phosphatase (TPSP), to increase trehalose biosynthesis and an RNAi transgene specific for trehalase, to abrogate trehalose catabolism. In RNAi-expressing lines trehalase expression was abrogated in many plants however no decrease in trehalase activity was observed. In TPSP lines trehalase activity was significantly higher. No events of co-integration of TPSP and RNAi transgenes were observed. We suggest trehalase activity is essential to mitigate embryonic lethal effects of trehalose metabolism and discuss the implications for engineering trehalose metabolism