Iranian hospitality : from caravanserai to bazaar to reporting symbolic experience

This paper reports case studies seeking to address one of the great problems of social science: namely, the extent to which is it possible or desirable accurately to report conscious experience (Hulburt & Scwitzgebel 2007). An interpretive ethnographic approach is used to address this problem. Caravanserais and bazaars in Iran have always offered multi-sensual experiences and represented aspects of symbolic interaction, as well as facilitating physical exchange, between travellers and locals. This is true in their origins, in their nineteenth and twentieth century usage, and in their contemporary roles which increasingly include heritage tourism accommodation or heritage retailing. Using two case studies the paper explores the role that hospitality has played and shows that it has been fundamental to their evolution and remains so, particularly for the commercial caravanserais and tea houses which now exist as refurbished heritage accommodation and restaurants

The Transition Zone in Balmer-Dominated Shocks

We examine the structure of the post-shock region in supernova remnants (SNRs). The ``shock transition zone'' is set up by charge transfer and ionization events between atoms and ions, and has a width $\sim 10^{15}$ cm$^{-2}$ $n^{-1}_0$, where $n_0$ is the total pre-shock density (including both atoms and ions). For Balmer-dominated SNRs with shock velocity $v_s \gtrsim 1000$ km s$^{-1}$, the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions for ion velocity and temperature are obeyed instantly, leaving the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the broad H$\alpha$ line versus $v_s$ relation intact. However, the spatial variation in the post-shock densities is relevant to the problem of Ly$\alpha$ resonant scattering in young, core-collapse SNRs. Both two- (pre-shock atoms and ions) and three-component (pre-shock atoms, broad neutrals and ions) models are considered. We compute the spatial emissivities of the broad ($\xi_b$) and narrow ($\xi_n$) H$\alpha$ lines; a calculation of these emissivities in SN 1006 is in general agreement with the computed ones of Raymond et al. (2007). The (dimensionless) spatial shift, $\Theta_{\rm{shift}}$, between the centroids of $\xi_b$ and $\xi_n$ is unique for a given shock velocity and $f_{\rm{ion}}$, the pre-shock ion fraction. Measurements of $\Theta_{\rm{shift}}$ can be used to constrain $n_0$.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures. Accepted by Astrophysical Journa

Validation of empirical measures of welfare change: comment

In an excellent article from a recent issue of this journal, Sellar, Stoll and Chavas (1985) make a technical error which causes them to misstate their closed-ended estimates of willingness to pay. Truncation of the estimated cummulative distribution function must we made explicit in compution of willingness to pay.nonmarket valuation; contingent valuation; stated preferences; welfare evaluation; willingness to pay

The Value of Carcass Characteristic EPDs in Bred Heifer Price

This study used hedonic modeling to assess the marginal implicit value of bred heifer characteristics and of carcass characteristic expected progeny differences of bred heifer calves. Using data for 692 pens of Show-Me Replacement Heifers Inc. heifers marketed over the 2001 through 2004 period, we find heavier heifers are priced higher than lighter heifers, artificially inseminated heifer pens were premium priced, Angus animals received a premium, pens that are expected to calve at optimal period of the year and within a 30-day window received premiums, calf performance EPD birth weight was positive, only marbling carcass characteristic EPD was positive and significant, buyers prefer larger lots to smaller lots, buyers pay the highest price for lots sold during the mid-point of the sale, and buyers pay a higher price for a pen bred to the same sire. It may be that certain post-weaning carcass characteristics are not of value to buyers because they either sell at weaning or due to the co-mingling of cattle certain expected production capabilities are of little value.Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

Regulation of neuronal excitability through pumilio-dependent control of a sodium channel gene

Dynamic changes in synaptic connectivity and strength, which occur during both embryonic development and learning, have the tendency to destabilize neural circuits. To overcome this, neurons have developed a diversity of homeostatic mechanisms to maintain firing within physiologically defined limits. In this study, we show that activity-dependent control of mRNA for a specific voltage-gated Na+ channel [encoded by paralytic (para)] contributes to the regulation of membrane excitability in Drosophila motoneurons. Quantification of para mRNA, by real-time reverse-transcription PCR, shows that levels are significantly decreased in CNSs in which synaptic excitation is elevated, whereas, conversely, they are significantly increased when synaptic vesicle release is blocked. Quantification of mRNA encoding the translational repressor pumilio (pum) reveals a reciprocal regulation to that seen for para. Pumilio is sufficient to influence para mRNA. Thus, para mRNA is significantly elevated in a loss-of-function allele of pum (pumbemused), whereas expression of a full-length pum transgene is sufficient to reduce para mRNA. In the absence of pum, increased synaptic excitation fails to reduce para mRNA, showing that Pum is also necessary for activity-dependent regulation of para mRNA. Analysis of voltage-gated Na+ current (INa) mediated by para in two identified motoneurons (termed aCC and RP2) reveals that removal of pum is sufficient to increase one of two separable INa components (persistent INa), whereas overexpression of a pum transgene is sufficient to suppress both components (transient and persistent). We show, through use of anemone toxin (ATX II), that alteration in persistent INa is sufficient to regulate membrane excitability in these two motoneurons

VALIDATING CONTINGENT VALUATION WITH SURVEYS OF EXPERTS

Contingent-valuation estimates for white-water boating passengers are compared with Likert ratings by river guides. The approach involves asking whether passengers and their guides ordinally rank alternative flows the same. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Contingent Valuation Panel (1993) suggested "one might want to compare its (contingent-valuation's) outcome with that provided by a panel of experts." River guides constitute a counterfactual panel of "experts." For commercial trips, optimum flows are 34,000 cfs and 31,000 cfs for passengers and guides, and the comparable figures for private trips are 28,000 cfs and 29,000 cfs. In the NOAA Panel framework, passengers can evaluate the consequences of various river flows and translate this into contingent-valuation responses.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Ashcroft Sends Signal of Support for ADR in Justice Dept.

In his first public comments on the issue, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft signaled his support for the Justice Department\u27s longstanding commitment to the use of alternative dispute resolution options

Architecture of the Short External Rotator Muscles of the Hip.

BackgroundMuscle architecture, or the arrangement of sarcomeres and fibers within muscles, defines functional capacity. There are limited data that provide an understanding of hip short external rotator muscle architecture. The purpose of this study was thus to characterize the architecture of these small hip muscles.MethodsEight muscles from 10 independent human cadaver hips were used in this study (n = 80 muscles). Architectural measurements were made on pectineus, piriformis, gemelli, obturators, quadratus femoris, and gluteus minimus. Muscle mass, fiber length, sarcomere length, and pennation angle were used to calculate the normalized muscle fiber length, which defines excursion, and physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), which defines force-producing capacity.ResultsGluteus minimus had the largest PCSA (8.29 cm2) followed by obturator externus (4.54 cm2), whereas superior gemellus had the smallest PCSA (0.68 cm2). Fiber lengths clustered into long (pectineus - 10.38 cm and gluteus minimus - 10.30 cm), moderate (obturator internus - 8.77 cm and externus - 8.04 cm), or short (inferior gemellus - 5.64 and superior gemellus - 4.85). There were no significant differences among muscles in pennation angle which were all nearly zero. When the gemelli and obturators were considered as a single functional unit, their collective PCSA (10.00 cm2) exceeded that of gluteus minimus as a substantial force-producing group.ConclusionsThe key findings are that these muscles have relatively small individual PCSAs, short fiber lengths, and low pennation angles. The large collective PCSA and short fiber lengths of the gemelli and obturators suggest that they primarily play a stabilizing role rather than a joint rotating role

Time-Domain Isolated Phoneme Classification Using Reconstructed Phase Spaces

This paper introduces a novel time-domain approach to modeling and classifying speech phoneme waveforms. The approach is based on statistical models of reconstructed phase spaces, which offer significant theoretical benefits as representations that are known to be topologically equivalent to the state dynamics of the underlying production system. The lag and dimension parameters of the reconstruction process for speech are examined in detail, comparing common estimation heuristics for these parameters with corresponding maximum likelihood recognition accuracy over the TIMIT data set. Overall accuracies are compared with a Mel-frequency cepstral baseline system across five different phonetic classes within TIMIT, and a composite classifier using both cepstral and phase space features is developed. Results indicate that although the accuracy of the phase space approach by itself is still currently below that of baseline cepstral methods, a combined approach is capable of increasing speaker independent phoneme accuracy

Iranian hospitality : embodiment, experience and representation

This paper seeks to triangulate methods to locate the essence of Iranian hospitality within heritage settings. It uses caravanserais, hostels for travellers and their trains of animals, and bazaars, covered markets, as its foci. These buildings have always offered multi-sensual experiences and represented aspects of symbolic interaction, as well as facilitating physical exchange, between travellers and locals. Hospitality has been fundamental to their evolution and remains so, particularly for the commercial caravanserais and tea houses which now exist as refurbished heritage accommodation and restaurants. There has always been a strong tradition of hospitality in the Islamic world, and Islamic practice emulates Ibrahim in the Koran. The first method used is to interpret physical structures, and in particular to show how the physical form of caravanserais traditionally embodied dimensions of expectation and behaviour that have characterised hospitality since it was first codified. The second method recognises the importance of personal sensing and reflection as a method, articulating personal experiences between individuals to come to a group experience. Bazaars are the focus of this second method. These were communities within communities, and had commonly caravanserais, tea houses, houses, workshops, baths, mosques and madrasas sited within them. Their architecture is commonly geometrical and enclosed. Personal sensing is used as a means of representing the felt experiences of authenticity and sincerity which these buildings and their communities and users facilitate, and the role of hospitality within this. The third method used is a content analysis of the representations of utilitarian, experiential and symbolic selling points collated from Iranian tourism and hospitality knowledgeables. The third method operationalises the Prentice-O'Gorman Destination Appraisal Matrix methodology, as a means of understanding the experiential and symbolic products offered by contemporary Iranian hospitality. Particular attention is paid to authenticity and sincerity within the hospitality and wider tourism offering of Iran