Space: Irrealis objects in technology policy and their role in a new political economy

In this article, I show how new spaces are being prefigured for colonization in new economy policy discourses. Drawing on a corpus of 1.3 million words collected from legislatures throughout the world, I show the role of policy language in creating the foundations of an emergent form of political economy: The analysis is informed by principles from critical discourse analysis (CDA), classical political economy and critical media studies. It foregrounds a functional aspect of language called process metaphor to show how aspects of human activity are prefigured for mass commodification by the manipulation of realis and irrealis spaces. I also show how the fundamental element of any new political economy, the property element, is being largely ignored. Current moves to create a privately owned global space, which is as concrete as landed property - namely, the electromagnetic spectrum - has significant ramifications for the future of social relations in any global knowledge economy.

Colourful objects through animal eyes

To understand how bees, birds, and fish may use colour vision for food selection and mate choice, we reconstructed views of biologically important objects taking into account the receptor spectral sensitivities. Reflectance spectra a of flowers, bird plumage, and fish skin were used to calculate receptor quantum catches. The quantum catches were then coded by red, green, and blue of a computer monitor; and powers, birds, and fish were visualized in animal colours. Calculations were performed for different illumination conditions. To simulate colour constancy, we used a von Kries algorithm, i.e., the receptor quantum catches were scaled so that the colour of illumination remained invariant. We show that on land this algorithm compensates reasonably well for changes of object appearance caused by natural changes of illumination, while in water failures of von Kries colour constancy are prominent. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Domestic objects and the taste epiphany - A resource for consumption methodology

The presentation of an aesthetic identity involves the accomplishment of a coherent, plausible narrative which links one's choices to desired characteristics of the self. As symbolic evidence of a person's taste, material culture is a vital component of a successful narrative. Via case studies of pivotal household objects, this paper uses face-to-face interview data as a way of investigating processes of aesthetic choice. Household objects are interpreted as material elements imbricated in the presentation of a socially plausible and internally consistent aesthetic self. Narrative analysis, and the concept of the epiphany-object, are proposed as useful ways of accounting for tastes in domestic material culture. Methodological questions of truth-telling and authenticity in the face-to-face context are considered, and the sociological problem of taste is scrutinized in light of ideas about social accountability and textual identity.

Conversational influences on young children's responses to misleading questions

The present study investigated the degree to which young children's suggestible responses were related to their pragmatic language ability. In Experiment 1, forty-seven 5- and 6-year-olds were read a short picture story followed the next day by a postevent synopsis that included both consistent and misleading details about the original story. Six days later, a suggestibility effect was evident with responses to questions about the details that had been misled being less accurate than to those about details not misled. Although age significantly correlated with this effect, the relationship was not significant after controlling for the children's pragmatic language ability. The procedure in Experiment 2 was identical with the exception that the thirty-nine 5- and 6-year-olds were questioned in a format that made explicit the intended reference point of the interrogation. A suggestibility effect was now not evident nor was accuracy related to age. Taken together, these results support the position that young children's suggestibility requires a consideration not only in terms of suggestible memories but also in terms of suggestible responses that can result from incorrectly interpreting the intended message of an experimenter's questions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Dieting and health in young Australian women

This paper examines the prevalence of dieting behaviours and correlates with physical and mental health in young Australian women who are participants in the Australian Longitudinal Stud of Women's Health. A total of 14 686 women aged 18-23 years, randomly selected from the National Medicare database, with over-sampling from rural and remote areas, responded to a questionnaire seeking dieting and health information. The results showed that 66.5 percent of the women had a BMI within the healthy weight range (18- < 25 kg/m(2)). However only 21.6 percent of these women were happy with their weight and almost half (46 percent) had dieted to lose weight in the last year (also one in five who had a BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2)). High frequency of dieting (rather than dieting per se) and earlier dieting onset were associated with poorer physical and mental health (including depression), more disordered eating (bingeing and purging), extreme weight and shape dissatisfaction and more frequent general health problems. The results suggest that there is a need for programmes that will enhance self esteem and weight/shape acceptance and promote more appropriate strategies for maintenance of healthy weight. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Perceived constraints and social support for active leisure among mothers with young children

Evidence suggests that women who are mothers of young children have lower levels of physical activity than women of similar age who do not have children (Brown, Lee, Mishra, & Bauman, 2000). The purposes of this study were to explore the factors that constrain mothers of young children from being more physically active, and the relationship between physical activity and levels of social support available to the women. The empirical basis for this examination was provided through a study of activity levels and barriers to physical activity experienced by a sample of 543 mothers of young children from differing socioeconomic backgrounds. The data indicate that: (a) more than two-thirds of the mothers were inadequately active in their leisure time for health benefit; (b) while the vast majority of mothers expressed a desire to be more active, they were inhibited in their ability to act out their leisure preferences by a combination of structural (e.g., lack of time, money, energy) and ideological influences (e.g., sense of commitment to others); (c) access to social support (from partners, family, and friends) was seen to place some women in a better position than others to negotiate constraints that inhibit leisure participation; and (d) within groups of varying socioeconomic status (SES) there was wide variation in the amount of time spent each week in active leisure.

Measurement of energy expenditure of daily tasks among mothers of young children

There is currently some debate about whether the energy expenditure of domestic tasks is sufficient to confer health benefits. The aim of this study was therefore to measure the energy cost of five activities commonly undertaken by mothers of young children. Seven women with at least one child younger than five years of age spent 15 minutes in each of the following activities: sitting quietly, vacuum cleaning, washing windows, walking at moderate pace (approx 5km/hour), walking with a stroller and grocery shopping in a super-market. Each of the six 'trials' was completed on the same day, in random order. A carefully calibrated portable gas analyser was used to measure oxygen uptake during each activity, and data were converted to units of energy expenditure (METS). Vacuum cleaning, washing windows and walking with and without a stroller were found to be 'moderate intensity activities' (3 to 6 METs), but supermarket shopping did not reach this criterion. The MET values for these activities were similar to those reported in the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al., 2000). However, the energy expenditures of walking, both with and without a stroller, were higher than those reported in the Compendium. The findings suggest that some of the tasks associated with domestic caring duties are conducted at an intensity which is sufficient to confer some health benefit. Such benefits will only accrue however if the daily duration of these activities is sufficient to meet current guidelines.

SAR imaging of buried objects from MoM modelled scattered field

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of resonant buried objects are modelled in the presence of ground surface clutter. The method of moments (MoM) is used to model scattered fields from a resonant buried conductor and clutter is modelled as a bivariant Gaussian distribution. A diffraction stack SAR imaging technique is applied to the ultra-wideband waveforms to give a bipolar signal image. A number of examples have been computed to illustrate the combined effects of SAR processing with resonant targets and clutter. SAR images of different targets show differences which may facilitate target identification. To maximise the peak signal-to-clutter ratio, an image correlation technique is applied and the results are shown.

Complex natural resonances of conducting planar objects buried in a dielectric half-space

A scheme is presented to incorporate a mixed potential integral equation (MPIE) using Michalski's formulation C with the method of moments (MoM) for analyzing the scattering of a plane wave from conducting planar objects buried in a dielectric half-space. The robust complex image method with a two-level approximation is used for the calculation of the Green's functions for the half-space. To further speed up the computation, an interpolation technique for filling the matrix is employed. While the induced current distributions on the object's surface are obtained in the frequency domain, the corresponding time domain responses are calculated via the inverse fast Fourier transform (FFT), The complex natural resonances of targets are then extracted from the late time response using the generalized pencil-of-function (GPOF) method. We investigate the pole trajectories as we vary the distance between strips and the depth and orientation of single, buried strips, The variation from the pole position of a single strip in a homogeneous dielectric medium was only a few percent for most of these parameter variations.

An exploratory study of gendered differences in young tourists perception of danger within London

This paper studies young tourists' perception of danger within the urban holiday environment of London, England. The study of perceived danger is important not only in its own right, but also because of the influence it may have on use of leisure spaces and times. This research assesses gender and group composition differences in perception of danger, addressing the relatively neglected issues of men's perception and the relationship between the genders. For the purpose of this paper 'danger' was assessed by studying how safe, relaxed, vulnerable, threatened, and at risk people felt while in London. The study found a number of similarities and differences between the men and women studied, in terms of how they perceived danger and their group composition during the day and nigh-time. These results indicate that gender may not be the only influence on perception and behaviour, and that men and women should not be regarded as-homogenous cohorts. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nonword repetition and young children's receptive vocabulary: A longitudinal study

A longitudinal study investigated the claim that phonological memory contributes to vocabulary acquisition in young children. In the first phase, children were given tests of receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, nonword repetition, phonological sensitivity (or awareness), and performance IQ. In the second phase, children were given the nonword repetition and receptive vocabulary tests. In Session 1, both nonword repetition and phonological sensitivity accounted for variation in receptive vocabulary and grammar after performance IQ effects were controlled. When phonological sensitivity was also controlled, nonword repetition did not account for significant additional variation in receptive vocabulary and grammar, When performance IQ and autoregression effects were controlled, all Session I verbal ability measures predicted Session 2 vocabulary, but only Session 1 vocabulary predicted Session 2 nonword repetition. When phonological sensitivity was also controlled. Session 1 nonword repetition (leniently scored) predicted Session 2 vocabulary. Overall, these findings show qualified support for the claim that the capacity component of nonword repetition contributes directly to vocabulary in young children. They suggest that the association between nonword repetition and vocabulary in young children may, to a substantial extent, reflect a latent phonological processing ability that is also manifest in phonological sensitivity.

The effects of stress management on symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, secretory immunoglobulin A, and mood in young adults

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of a stress management programme on symptoms of colds and influenza in 27 university students before and after the examination period. Method: The incidence of symptoms, levels of negative affect, and secretion rate of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) were recorded for 5 weeks before treatment, for the 4 weeks of treatment, and for 8 weeks after treatment in treated subjects and in 25 others who did not participate in stress management. Results: Symptoms decreased in treated subjects but not in controls during and after the examination period. Although sIgA secretion rate increased significantly after individual sessions of relaxation, resting secretion rate of sIgA did not increase over the course of the study. Negative affect decreased after examinations in both groups, but was not affected by treatment. Conclusion: Stress management reduced days of illness independently of negative affect and sIgA secretion rate. Although the component of treatment responsible for this effect has yet to be identified, psychological interventions may have a role in reducing symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender stereotypes and drinking cognitions as indicators of moderate and high risk drinking among young women and men

The study examined differences in gender stereotypes, restrained drinking and self-efficacy for alcohol refusal between moderate and high risk drinkers among a university sample of 301 women and 118 men. Both female and male high risk drinkers displayed a response conflict, typified by high scores on restrained drinking but low scores on self-efficacy. This pattern of response conflict was more pronounced for high risk drinking women, who also identified poorly with feminine trails (e.g. 'nurturing', 'love children', 'appreciative'). The findings are discussed in relation to society's double standard that accepts intoxication in men but condemns it in women. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Theoretical Underpinnings of Community-based Sentences and Custody for Young Offenders in Hong Kong

Much has been written about youth crime, justice and corrections in Hong Kong in the past three decades, in particular, about the historical roots of the youth justice system, causes of juvenile delinquency, and the outcomes of different rehabilitative programmes for young offenders. However, little is known in theory, practice and policy about how community-based and custodial sentences can achieve the goals of rehabilitation and correction for young offenders. In this paper, the author analyses the purposes of penal measures with reference to the classical theories of punishment, rather than empirical data or statistics. The author argues that a community-based sentence, in many respects, performs as or more effectively than a custodial programme in achieving the various sentencing aims.