190 research outputs found
The world, the text, and the author: Coetzee and untranslatability
No full textThis essay analyses Coetzee’s success as a world literary author, from two distinct angles. The first stems from his non-European ‘southern’ position (and self-positioning) as a South African and then Australian writer with South American links, and his subscription to an ‘imaginary of the South’. The second looks beyond the colonial indebtedness to Europe, focusing instead on some of the ‘minor’ European cultures to which the oeuvre refers, and then on the ways in which it evokes Asia. As will be seen, Coetzee’s work from the very start acknowledges the pivotal role of Asia in the formation of Western identity
Marxism, Science, and Science Studies: History and Prospects
No full textFrom the beginning, Marxism took science extremely seriously, not only for its economic promise in building a socialist society, but also for its revelatory power in understanding the world. The article analyzes the contribution of Marxism to science, traces the trajectory of Marxist ideas in the field of philosophy of science and science studies. It describes some key historical episodes, such as the arrival of a Soviet delegation to the Second International Congress on the History of Science and Technology, which was held in London in 1931, as well as the subsequent interaction between Marxists and exponents of other intellectual traditions. According to the author, Marxism combines attention to the advancing results of the empirical sciences with the development of a philosophical framework capable of integrating expanding knowledge and an awareness of the sociohistorical context of it all. It is a way of seeing the world in terms of a complex pattern of interconnecting processes, a way of revealing how economic structures, political institutions, legal codes, moral norms, cultural trends, scientific theories, philosophical perspectives are all products of a pattern of historical development shaped by a mode of production. There is evidence of a gradual revival of interest in Marxist philosophy ofscience now. The reasons have more to do with the current planetary emergency, particularly the looming climate catastrophe and the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. It is concluded that Marxism is still the unsurpassed philosophy of our time
Impact of photovoltaic technology and feeder voltage level on the efficiency of façade building-integrated photovoltaic systems
No full textsponsorship: This project receives the support of the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund ERDF, Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Province of Limburg. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 751159. Special thanks goes to C. Sheehan from Bourns for providing the required inductor specifications. Patrizio Manganiello was previously with IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, Leuven, Belgium. (European Union, European Regional Development Fund ERDF, Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Province of Limburg, European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie|751159, Marie Curie Actions (MSCA)|751159)status: Published onlin
Did female prisoners with mental disorders receive psychiatric treatment before imprisonment?
No full text© 2015 Mundt et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain
Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article,
unless otherwise stated.BackgroundThroughout the world, high prevalence rates of mental disorders have been found in prison populations, especially in females. It has been suggested that these populations do not access psychiatric treatment. The aim of this study was to establish rates of psychiatric in- and outpatient treatments prior to imprisonment in female prisoners and to explore reasons for discontinuation of such treatments.Methods150 consecutively admitted female prisoners were interviewed in Berlin, Germany. Socio-demographic characteristics, mental disorders, and previous psychiatric in- and outpatient treatments were assessed by trained researchers. Open questions were used to explore reasons for ending previous psychiatric treatment.ResultsA vast majority of 99 prisoners (66%; 95% CI: 58¿73) of the total sample reported that they had previously been in psychiatric treatment, 80 (53%; 95 CI: 45¿61) in inpatient treatment, 62 (41%; 95 CI: 34¿49) in outpatient treatment and 42 (29%; 21¿39) in both in- and outpatient treatments. All prisoners with psychosis and 72% of the ones with any lifetime mental health disorder had been in previous treatment. The number of inpatient treatments and imprisonments were positively correlated (rho¿=¿0.27; p¿<¿0.01). Inpatient treatment was described as successfully completed by 56% (N¿=¿41) of those having given reasons for ending such treatment, whilst various reasons were reported for prematurely ending outpatient treatments.ConclusionThe data do not support the notion of a general `mental health treatment gap¿ in female prisoners. Although inpatient care is often successfully completed, repeated inpatient treatments are not linked with fewer imprisonments. Improved transition from inpatient to outpatient treatment and services that engage female prisoners to sustained outpatient treatments are needed
Comment on "Wandering minds: The default network and stimulus-independent thought"
No full textMason et al. (Reports, 19 January 2007, p. 393) attributed activity in certain regions of the "resting" brain to the occurrence of mind-wandering. However, previous research has demonstrated the difficulty of distinguishing this type of stimulus-independent thought from stimulus-oriented thought (e.g., watchfulness). Consideration of both possibilities is required to resolve this ambiguity
Reducing alcohol-related driving on china’s roads : Traffic police officers’ perceptions and practice
No full textA national law was introduced in China in 2011 to criminalize drunk driving, and impose serious penalties including jail for driving with a blood alcohol level of above 80mg/100ml. This pilot study, undertaken a year after introduction of the law, sought traffic police officers’ perceptions of drink driving and the practice of breath alcohol testing (BAT) in a large city in Guangdong Province, southern China. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were used to gain an in-depth understanding of issues relevant to alcohol-related driving. Fifty-five traffic police officers were recruited for the survey and six traffic police officers with a variety of working experience including roadside alcohol breath testing, traffic crash investigation and police resourcing were interviewed individually. The officers were recruited by the first author with the assistance of the staff from Guangdong Institute of Public Health, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Interview participants reported three primary reasons why people drink and drive: being prepared to take the chance of not being apprehended by police the strong traditional Chinese drinking culture insufficient public awareness about the harmfulness of drink driving Problems associated with the process of breath alcohol testing (BAT) were described and fit broadly into two categories: resourcing and avoiding detection. It was reported that there were insufficient traffic police officers to conduct routine traffic policing, including alcohol testing. Police BAT equipment was considered sufficient for routine traffic situations but not highway traffic operations. Local media and posters are used by the Public Security Bureau which is responsible for education about safe driving but participants thought that the education campaigns are limited in scope. Participants also described detection avoidance strategies used by drivers including: changing route; ignoring a police instruction to stop; staying inside the vehicle with windows and doors locked to avoid being tested; intentionally not performing breath tests correctly; and arguing with officers
A New Analytical Method for Measuring Hydrogen Isotopes Using GC-IRMS: Applications to Hydrous Minerals
No full textabstract: A new analytical method is proposed for measuring the deuterium to hydrogen ratio (D/H) of non-stoichiometric water in hydrous minerals via pyrolysis facilitated gas-chromatography - isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS). Previously published analytical methods have reported a poorly understood nonlinear dependence of D/H on sample size, for which any accurate correction is difficult. This sample size effect been variously attributed to kinetic isotope fractionation within the mass spectrometer and peripheral instruments, ion source linearity issues, and an unstable H_3^+-factor or incorrect H_3^+-factor calculations. The cause of the sample size effect is here identified by examinations of individual chromatograms as well as bulk data from chromatographic peaks. It is here determined that it is primarily an artifact of the calculations employed by the manufacturer's computer program, used to both monitor the functions of the mass spectrometer and to collect data. Ancillary causes of the sample size effect include a combination of persistent background interferences and chromatographic separation of the isotopologues of molecular hydrogen. Previously published methods are evaluated in light of these findings. A new method of H_3^+-factor and D/H calculation is proposed which makes portions of the Isodat software as well as other published calculation methods unnecessary. Using this new method, D/H is measured in non-stoichiometric water in chert from the Cretaceous Edwards Group, Texas, as well as the Precambrian Kromberg Formation, South Africa, to assess hydrological conditions as well as to estimate the maximum average surface temperature during precipitation of the chert. Data from Cretaceous chert are consistent with previously published data and interpretations, based upon conventional analyses of large samples. Data from Precambrian chert are consistent with maximum average surface temperatures approaching 65°C during the Archean, instead of the much lower temperatures derived from erroneous methods of sample preparation and analysis. D/H is likewise measured in non-stoichiometric water in silicified basalt from the Precambrian Hooggenoeg Complex, South Africa. Data are shown to be consistent with D/H of the Archean ocean similar to present day values.Dissertation/ThesisM.S. Geological Sciences 201
Pollution control in a decentralized economy : which level of government should subsidize what in Brazil
No full textSubsidies in Brazil essentially serve three purposes: (i) if assigned to the right level of government, they could reinforce the effectiveness of pollution taxes in reducing pollution; (ii) they offer an opportunity foradditional combinations of instruments and hence more flexibility in dealing with specific institutional characteristics of every state; and (iii) they can serve a purely"public relations"affect by showing that the federal government does not always rely on"sticks"but can also provide"carrots."The authors have four main messages of relevance to the Brazilian economy. First, carrots will not work without a stick. Subsidies of any type will not work without a coexisting pollution tax. Second, some carrots are better than others at achieving the government's objectives. In general, a state abatement subsidy is the more effective instrument to combine with a pollution tax. But when federal or state inspection capabilities are limited, monitoring subsidies may be an effective substitute. Third, increasing abatement subsidy rates can be counterproductive - tending to increase firm investment more than necessary and hence reduce the pollution tax base, while increasing subsidy costs. This can worsen the monitoring and inspection efforts and fiscal revenue. Finally, it is more effective to keep subsidy rates low if they are to be effective and sustainable and at the same time get the endorsement needed from state and federal fiscal administrations.Environmental Economics&Policies,Water and Industry,Pollution Management&Control,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Taxation&Subsidies
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