1,498 research outputs found
"Asset Poverty in The United States: Its Persistence in an Expansionary Economy"
No full textFrom this paper's Preface, by Dr. Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, President: Economic growth and a rising stock market in the 1990s gave the impression that everyone was accumulating wealth and asset poverty rates were declining. The impression was supported by the official, income-based poverty measure, which exhibited a sharp decline. According to Senior Scholar Edward N. Wolff and Research Scholar Asena Caner, poverty measures should include wealth as well as income. Their study of asset poverty in the United States between 1984 and 1999 focuses on the lower end of the wealth distribution and shows that asset poverty rates did not decline during the period studied, and that the severity of poverty increased. It also shows that asset poverty is much more persistent than income poverty.
Tobias Wolff - b. 1945
No full textTobias Wolff has steadily earned distinction over the last two decades and more as the author of carefully crafted and highly nuanced short fiction whose lineage, as he indicates here, can be traced back through the work of Raymond Carver, Katherine Anne Porter, and Ernest Hemingway to the fiction of Anton Chekhov (His introduction to a collection of Chekhov stories [A Doctor's Visit, 1988] contains some of the most perceptive commentary available on Chekhov as a writer of short stories). He ..
Tobias Wolff - b. 1945
No full textTobias Wolff has steadily earned distinction over the last two decades and more as the author of carefully crafted and highly nuanced short fiction whose lineage, as he indicates here, can be traced back through the work of Raymond Carver, Katherine Anne Porter, and Ernest Hemingway to the fiction of Anton Chekhov (His introduction to a collection of Chekhov stories [A Doctor's Visit, 1988] contains some of the most perceptive commentary available on Chekhov as a writer of short stories). He ..
Metal, Money and the Prince - John Buridan and Nicholas Oresme after Thomas Aquinas
No full textThe monetary theories that stem from the works of Thomas Aquinas on the one hand, John Buridan and Nicholas Oresme on the other hand, share common roots: they appear as the result of careful commentaries upon Aristotle's moral and political works. Nonetheless, they differ on both the understanding of money as a measure of values, and on the conditions that allow the emergence of money from a stock of metals which could be, like natural wealth, allocated to different uses. Therefore, they illustrate respectively a “conventional” and a “metalist” theory of money. The question raised by Buridan's and Oresme's political representations is to make them consistent with monetary theories elaborated separately. In this respect, they supplied a composite picture in which the Prince is an essential character. Acting as the efficient cause of money, he is expected to achieve the adjustments required by the real changes affecting money. But the question of the debasements of money gave rise to different lines of answers. While Buridan concluded with an identification of the Prince and the common good, Oresme drew a Prince whose power is partly controlled through adequate institutions and incentives, partly limited by the consequences of his policy choices.Oresme; Buridan; Thomas Aquinas; Thomas d'Aquin; money; monnaie; conventional theory of money; théorie métalliste de la monnaie; metalist theory of money; théorie conventionnelle de la monnaie
The strength and timing of the mitochondrial bottleneck in salmon suggests a conserved mechanism in vertebrates
No full textIn most species mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited maternally in an apparently clonal fashion, although how this is achieved remains uncertain. Population genetic studies show not only that individuals can harbor more than one type of mtDNA (heteroplasmy) but that heteroplasmy is common and widespread across a diversity of taxa. Females harboring a mixture of mtDNAs may transmit varying proportions of each mtDNA type (haplotype) to their offspring. However, mtDNA variants are also observed to segregate rapidly between generations despite the high mtDNA copy number in the oocyte, which suggests a genetic bottleneck acts during mtDNA transmission. Understanding the size and timing of this bottleneck is important for interpreting population genetic relationships and for predicting the inheritance of mtDNA based disease, but despite its importance the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Empirical studies, restricted to mice, have shown that the mtDNA bottleneck could act either at embryogenesis, oogenesis or both. To investigate whether the size and timing of the mitochondrial bottleneck is conserved between distant vertebrates, we measured the genetic variance in mtDNA heteroplasmy at three developmental stages (female, ova and fry) in chinook salmon and applied a new mathematical model to estimate the number of segregating units (N(e)) of the mitochondrial bottleneck between each stage. Using these data we estimate values for mtDNA Ne of 88.3 for oogenesis, and 80.3 for embryogenesis. Our results confirm the presence of a mitochondrial bottleneck in fish, and show that segregation of mtDNA variation is effectively complete by the end of oogenesis. Considering the extensive differences in reproductive physiology between fish and mammals, our results suggest the mechanism underlying the mtDNA bottleneck is conserved in these distant vertebrates both in terms of it magnitude and timing. This finding may lead to improvements in our understanding of mitochondrial disorders and population interpretations using mtDNA data
Tagging of Biomedical Articles on CiteULike: A Comparison of User, Author and Professional Indexing
No full textThis paper examines the context of online indexing from the viewpoint of three different groups: users, authors, and professional indexers. User tags, author keywords and descriptors were collected from academic journal articles, which were both indexed in Pubmed and tagged on CiteULike, and analysed. Descriptive statistics, informetric measures, and thesaural term comparison shows that there are important differences in the use of keywords between the three groups in addition to similarities which can be used to enhance support for search and browse. While tags and author keywords were found that matched descriptors exactly, other terms which did not match but provided important expansion to the indexing lexicon were found. These additional terms could be used to enhance support for searching and browsing in article databases as well as to provide invaluable data for entry vocabulary and emergent terminology for regular updates to indexing systems. Additionally, the study suggests that tags support organisation by association to task, projects and subject while making important connections to traditional systems which classify into subject categories
The Cambridge handbook of African linguistics /
No full text"The Cambridge Handbook of African Linguistics: An in-depth and comprehensive state-of-the-art study of 'African languages' and 'language in Africa' since its beginnings as a 'colonial science' at the turn of the 20th century in Europe. Compiled by 56 internationally renowned scholars, this ground-breaking study looks at past and current research on 'African languages' and 'language in Africa' under the impact of paradigmatic changes from 'colonial' to 'postcolonial' perspectives. It addresses current trends in the study of the role and functions of language, African and other, in pre- and postcolonial African societies. Highlighting the central role that the 'language factor' plays in postcolonial transformation processes of sociocultural modernization and economic development, it also addresses more recent, particularly urban, patterns of communication, and outlines applied dimensions of digitalization and human language technology"--Includes bibliographical references and index."The Cambridge Handbook of African Linguistics: An in-depth and comprehensive state-of-the-art study of 'African languages' and 'language in Africa' since its beginnings as a 'colonial science' at the turn of the 20th century in Europe. Compiled by 56 internationally renowned scholars, this ground-breaking study looks at past and current research on 'African languages' and 'language in Africa' under the impact of paradigmatic changes from 'colonial' to 'postcolonial' perspectives. It addresses current trends in the study of the role and functions of language, African and other, in pre- and postcolonial African societies. Highlighting the central role that the 'language factor' plays in postcolonial transformation processes of sociocultural modernization and economic development, it also addresses more recent, particularly urban, patterns of communication, and outlines applied dimensions of digitalization and human language technology"--African linguistics : conceptions and scope / H. Ekkehard Wolff -- African linguistics in Europe / Arvi Hurskainen, Roland Kiessling, Nina Pawlak & Alexander Zheltov -- African linguistics in north and so-called francophone Africa / Abderrahman el Aissati & Yamina el Kirat el Allame, Philip Ngessimo Mathe Mutaka -- African linguistics in north-eastern and so-called anglophone Africa / Akinbiyi Akinlabi, Bruce Connell, Angelika Jakobi, Amani Lusekelo, Ronny Meyer, Marie-Claude Simeone-Senelle, Wolbert Smidt -- African linguistics in so-called lusophone and hispanophone Africa, and in southern Africa / Sonja Bosch & Inge Kosch, Anne-Maria Fehn -- African linguistics in the Americas, Asia, and Australia / G. Tucker Childs, Margarida Petter, Shigeki Kaji, John Hajek, Sun Xiaomeng, Yang Chul-Joon -- Comparative African linguistics / Gerrit J. Dimmendaal -- A typological and areal perspective on African languages / Bernd Heine --^Niger-Congo linguistic features and typology / Larry M. Hyman, with Nicholas Rolle, Hannah Sande, Emily Clem, Peter S.E. Jenks, Florian Lionnet, John Merrill, Nicholas Baier -- Afroasiatic linguistic features and typologies / Ronny Meyer & H. Ekkehard Wolff -- Linguistic features and typologies in languages commonly referred to as 'Nilo-Saharan' / Gerrit J. Dimmendaal, with Colleen Ahland, Angelika Jakobi, Constance Kutsch Lojenga -- Linguistic features and typologies in languages commonly referred to as 'Khoisan' / Alena Witzlack-Makarevich & Hirosi Nakagawa -- Sociocultural and political settings of language in Africa / Alamin Mazrui -- In and out of Africa : the sociolinguistics of European and Asian languages in Africa and of the African diaspora / Rajend Mesthrie -- Language endangerment and language documentation in Africa / Friederike Lüpke -- Situated language use in Africa / Sigurd D'hondt --^Special-purpose registers of language in Africa / Alice Mitchell & Ayu'nwi N. Neba -- African languages in urban contexts / Andrea Hollington & Nico Nassenstein -- African languages and mobile communication : between constraint and creativity / Ana Deumert, with Ivan Panović, Dorothy Agyepong, David Barasa -- Multilingualism and education in Africa / Kathleen Heugh -- Intellectualisation of African languages : past, present and future / Russell H. Kaschula & Dion Nkomo -- African languages and human language technologies / Justus C. Roux & H. Steve Ndinga-Koumba-Binza
Recht op voorrang; onderzoek naar de opzet van een voorkeursrecht voor VINEX-uitbreidingslokaties
No full textAI geruime tijd wordt er op aangedrongen de toepassingsmogelijkheden van het wettelijk geregelde voorkeursrecht inzake de verwerving van onroerend goed te verruimen. Tot nu toe kan dit instrument alleen door gemeenten worden gebruikt voor stadsvernieuwingsdoeleinden. Op basis van een verkennend onderzoek naar de mogelijkheden van baatbelasting en voorkeursrecht voor een aantal VINEX-Iokaties is door de minister besloten dat vervolgonderzoek naar de vormgeving van een voorkeursrecht voor VINEXlokaties moestplaatsvinden. Dit onderzoek moest- in het licht van een toezegging van de minister aan de Tweede Kamer - in een korte periode worden uitgevoerd. Door de bereidwillige medewerking van een groot aantalmensen - voorkeursrecht voor VINEX-lokaties blijkt een onderwerp te zijn dat lééft! - is het inderdaad gelukt het onderzoek in korte tijd af te ronden. Een woord van dank is hierbij ook op zijn plaats voor het Kadaster, dat ons actuele gegevens over gevestigde voorkeursrechten heeft geleverd. Het onderzoek is verricht in opdracht van de Rijksplanologische Dienst door de sectie Planologische en Juridische Geodesie van de Faculteit Geodesie van de TU Delft. Vanuit de sectie hebben ir. H. W. de Wolff en prof.mr. J. de Jong aan het onderzoek gewerkt. Hiernaast is door een student-assistente, Y. Pluijmers, een belangrijke bijdrage aan het onderzoek geleverd.Civil Engineering and Geoscience
"Short Time to Stay": Comments on Time, Literature, and Oral Performance
No full textDiscusses the concept of oral literature as performance, rather than as permanent text. Argues that the performance of oral literature should be seen as an event in time rather than existing in a spatial dimension as text. The author uses examples from Sierra Leone and other parts of West Africa to illustrate her argument
Determinants of the diurnal course of salivary alpha-amylase
No full textObjective: Previous data from our group and others have shown that salivary alpha-amylase activity increases in response to stress. It has been suggested that salivary alpha-amylase may be a marker for adrenergic activity. Less is known about other determinants of salivary alpha-amylase activation. The objective of the current study was to describe the diurnal pattern of salivary amylase and its determinants.Methods: Saliva samples were collected immediately after waking-up, 30 and 60 min later, and each full hour between 0900 and 2000 h by 76 healthy volunteers (44 women, 32 men). Compliance was controlled by electronic monitors. In order to control factors which might influence the diurnal profile of salivary alpha-amylase (such as momentary stress, mood, food, or body activity), at each sampling time point the subjects filled out a diary examining the activities they had carried out during the previous hour.Results: Salivary alpha-amylase activity shows a distinct diurnal profile pattern with a pronounced decrease within 60 min after awakening and a steady increase of activity during the course of the day. Mixed models showed a relative independence of diurnal salivary alpha-amylase from momentary stress and other factors, but significant associations with chronic stress and mood.Conclusions: Our results suggest that diurnal profiles of salivary alpha-amylase are relatively robust against momentary influences and therefore may prove useful in the assessment of sympathetic nervous system activity. The findings underscore the need to control for time of day in studies using salivary alpha-amylase as a dependent variable
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