The history and value of the elephant in Sri Lankan society

Reviews the literature to provide an overview of the historical significance of the elephant in Sri Lankan society, an association which dates back more than 4,000 years. The present status of this relationship assessed on the basis of the findings of a recent study undertaken on the total economic value of elephants in Sri Lanka. This paper, first briefly outlines the history, evolution, nature and their distribution of the Asian elephant while providing some insights on the status of the elephant (Elephas maxima maxima) in Sri Lanka. Next, it reviews the literature in order to assess the historical affiliation that the elephant has maintained with the Sri Lankan society, its culture, history, mythology and religion. The empirical evidence on the economic value of conservation of the remaining elephant population in Sri Lanka is reviewed and the Sri Lankan people’s attitudes towards conserving this species of wildlife. Literature reviewed and analysis undertaken indicates that the elephant in Sri Lanka, still, as in the past has a special place in Sri Lankan society, particularly, in its culture, religion and value system. Thus, there is a strong case for ensuring the survival of wild elephant population in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, it also suggests that the community as a whole will experience a net benefit from ensuring the survival of wild elephants in Sri Lanka.

Three-point boundary value problems for second-order, ordinary, differential equations

We establish existence results for solutions to three-point boundary value problems for nonlinear, second-order, ordinary differential equations with nonlinear boundary conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topological methods for some boundary value problems

We establish existence of solutions for a finite difference approximation to y = f(x, y, y ') on [0, 1], subject to nonlinear two-point Sturm-Liouville boundary conditions of the form g(i)(y(i),y ' (i)) = 0, i = 0, 1, assuming S satisfies one-sided growth bounds with respect to y '. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adolescents' perceptions of social status: Development and evaluation of a new indicator

Objective. Eliminating health disparities, including those that are a result of socioeconomic status (SES), is one of the overarching goals of Healthy People 2010. This article reports on the development of a new, adolescent-specific measure of subjective social status (SSS) and on initial exploratory analyses of the relationship of SSS to adolescents' physical and psychological health. Methods. A cross-sectional study of 10 843 adolescents and a subsample of 166 paired adolescent/mother dyads who participated in the Growing Up Today Study was conducted. The newly developed MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status (10-point scale) was used to measure SSS. Paternal education was the measure of SES. Indicators of psychological and physical health included depressive symptoms and obesity, respectively. Linear regression analyses determined the association of SSS to depressive symptoms, and logistic regression determined the association of SSS to overweight and obesity, controlling for sociodemographic factors and SES. Results. Mean society ladder ranking, a subjective measure of SES, was 7.2 ± 1.3. Mean community ladder ranking, a measure of perceived placement in the school community, was 7.6 ± 1.7. Reliability of the instrument was excellent: the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.73 for the society ladder and 0.79 for the community ladder. Adolescents had higher society ladder rankings than their mothers (µteen = 7.2 ± 1.3 vs µmom = 6.8 ± 1.2; P = .002). Older adolescents' perceptions of familial placement in society were more closely correlated with maternal subjective perceptions of placement than those of younger adolescents (Spearman's rhoteens

Communication and health beliefs - Mass and interpersonal influences on perceptions of risk to self and others

This study investigated the impact of media coverage of a health issue (skin cancer) on judgements of risk to self and others and the role of related communication processes. Consistent with predictions derived from the impersonal impact hypothesis, the effects of mass communication were more evident in perceptions of risk to others rather than in perceptions of personal risk. Perceptions of personal risk were more strongly correlated with interpersonal communication. However, as suggested by media system dependency theory, the relationship between mass communication and beliefs was complex. The impact of mass communication on both personal and impersonal perceptions was bound to be moderated by self-reported dependence on mass mediated information. The effect of this two-way interaction 071 perceptions of personal risk was partially mediated through interpersonal communication. Results point to the interdependence of mass and interpersonal communication as sources of social influence and the role of media dependency in shaping media impact.

The English-only movement: A communication analysis of changing perceptions of language vitality

This paper reexamines the potential impact of the English-only movement on linguistic minorities and Anglos' perceptions of their own and minority groups' language vitality. Of particular interest is the Hispanic population-the fastest growing minority in the U.S. Communication scholars have paid only scant attention to the English-only movement and how it affects the social and communication climate for Latinos. However, literature reviews prepared for the American Psychological Association and for the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (in 1991 and 1995, respectively) concluded that English-only initiatives have negative consequences for limited-English proficiency groups. Revisiting this still-growing issue in the light of more recent studies across disciplines and media reports, we examine how Anglo support for English-only policies limits the use, promotion, and salience of minority languages like Spanish in institutional settings and in the linguistic landscape and suggest directions for future research.

Application of Petrov-Galerkin methods to transient boundary value problems in chemical engineering: adsorption with steep gradients in bidisperse solids

Petrov-Galerkin methods are known to be versatile techniques for the solution of a wide variety of convection-dispersion transport problems, including those involving steep gradients. but have hitherto received little attention by chemical engineers. We illustrate the technique by means of the well-known problem of simultaneous diffusion and adsorption in a spherical sorbent pellet comprised of spherical, non-overlapping microparticles of uniform size and investigate the uptake dynamics. Solutions to adsorption problems exhibit steep gradients when macropore diffusion controls or micropore diffusion controls, and the application of classical numerical methods to such problems can present difficulties. In this paper, a semi-discrete Petrov-Galerkin finite element method for numerically solving adsorption problems with steep gradients in bidisperse solids is presented. The numerical solution was found to match the analytical solution when the adsorption isotherm is linear and the diffusivities are constant. Computed results for the Langmuir isotherm and non-constant diffusivity in microparticle are numerically evaluated for comparison with results of a fitted-mesh collocation method, which was proposed by Liu and Bhatia (Comput. Chem. Engng. 23 (1999) 933-943). The new method is simple, highly efficient, and well-suited to a variety of adsorption and desorption problems involving steep gradients. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Asian perceptions of BMD: Defence or disequilibrium?

As geopolitical competition between the United States and China intensifies, East Asian policy-makers are apprehensive about the Bush Administration's plans to develop ballistic missle defence (BMD). Missile defence threatens to undermine other fundamental assumptions aout nuclear weapons politics and arms control.