The natural jurisprudence of Jean Barbeyrac: translation as an art of political adjustment

The article makes the case for redescribing Jean Barbeyrac [1674-1744], the great French translator and influential glossator of seventeenth-century Latin natural-law texts, as something quite other than a neutral mediator of Samuel Pufendorf. To consider the specific religious and political charge of his strategies as translator is to recognize the independence of Barbeyrac's Huguenot stance on natura; jurisprudence. This stance is provoked by the profound challenge that Pufendorf's radical post-Wespthalian secularizing of civil authority posed for a Huguenot: how to grant that the state had legitimate authority to regulate all external conduct, but at the same time preserve an inviolable moral space for the exercise of individual conscience. The argument--pointing to Barbeyrac's construction of a 'Lockeanized' Pufendorf--rests both on his famous presentation of Leibniz's critique of Pufendorf's De officio hominis et civis and on more neglected elements of Barbeyrac's corpus.

An evolutionary economic perspective on technical change and adjustment in cane harvesting systems in the Australian sugar industry

Australian sugar-producing regions have differed in terms of the extent and rate of incorporation of new technology into harvesting systems. The Mackay sugar industry has lagged behind most other sugar-producing regions in this regard. The reasons for this are addressed by invoking an evolutionary economics perspective. The development of harvesting systems, and the role of technology in shaping them, is mapped and interpreted using the concept of path dependency. Key events in the evolution of harvesting systems are identified, which show how the past has shaped the regional development of harvesting systems. From an evolutionary economics perspective, the outcomes observed are the end result of a specific history.

Prospective study of men's psychological and decision-related adjustment after treatment for localized prostate cancer

Objectives. To undertake a prospective longitudinal study to assess psychological and decision-related distress after the diagnosis of localized prostate cancer. Methods. A total of I 11 men (93% response rate) with localized prostate cancer were recruited from outpatient urology clinics and urologists' private practices. More than one half (56%) elected to undergo radical prostatectomy, 19% underwent external beam radiotherapy, and 25% chose watchful waiting. Men completed self-report measures before treatment and 2 and 12 months after treatment. The measures used included the University of California, Los Angeles, Prostate Cancer Index, International Prostate Symptom Score, Impact of Events Scale, Constructed Meaning Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Health Care Orientation subscale, and Decisional Conflict Scale. Results. No statistically significant differences were found by medical treatment group in the psychological and decision-related adjustment at baseline or with time. Men who were undecided about their treatment choice had greater decisional conflict and a more negative healthcare orientation, but were not more psychologically distressed, compared with men who had decided. At diagnosis, 63% of men had high decision-related distress, and this persisted for 42% of men 12 months after treatment, despite high satisfaction with their treatment choice. At diagnosis, low-to-moderate psychological distress was most common, with distress decreasing after treatment. The overall quality of life was similar to community norms. Conclusions. The results of our study indicated that men who were undecided about what treatment to receive experienced greater decision-related distress. The final treatment choice was not related to psychological distress about prostate cancer. Psychological and decision-related distress decreased with time, independent of treatment modality. Interventions should target decision-related distress for all men and in-depth psychological support for those who experience ongoing difficulties. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc.

A standard weight descriptor for dose adjustment in the obese patient

Objective: To develop a standard weight descriptor that can be used for estimation of patient size for obese patients. Patients and methods: Data were available from 3849 patients: 2839 from oncology patients (index data set) and 1010 from general medical patients (validation data set). The patients had a wide range of age (16-100 years), weight (25-165kg) and body mass index (BMI) [12-52 kg/m(2)] in both data sets. From the normal-weight patients in the oncology data set, an equation for male and female patients was developed to predict their normal weight as the sum of the lean body mass and normal fat body mass. The equations were evaluated by predicting the weight of patients in the general medical data set who had a normal BMI (30 kg/m(2)).

Cannabis use and psychotic disorders: an update

This paper evaluates three hypotheses about the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis in the light of recent evidence from prospective epidemiological studies. These are that: ( 1) cannabis use causes a psychotic disorder that would not have occurred in the absence of cannabis use; ( 2) that cannabis use may precipitate schizophrenia or exacerbate its symptoms; and ( 3) that cannabis use may exacerbate the symptoms of psychosis. There is limited support for the first hypothesis. As a consequence of recent prospective studies, there is now stronger support for the second hypothesis. Four recent prospective studies in three countries have found relationships between the frequency with which cannabis had been used and the risk of receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia or of reporting psychotic symptoms. These relationships are stronger in people with a history of psychotic symptoms and they have persisted after adjustment for potentially confounding variables. The absence of any change in the incidence of schizophrenia during the three decades in which cannabis use in Australia has increased makes it unlikely that cannabis use can produce psychoses that would not have occurred in its absence. It seems more likely that cannabis use can precipitate schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals. There is also reasonable evidence for the third hypothesis that cannabis use exacerbates psychosis.

The role of psychological climate in facilitating employee adjustment during organizational change

The current research tested a theoretical model of employee adjustment during organizational change based on Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) cognitive-phenomenological framework. The model hypothesized that psychological climate variables would act as coping resources and predict improved adjustment during change. Two variations of this model were tested using survey data from two different organizational samples: 779 public hospital employees and 877 public sector employees. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation analyses were conducted in order to evaluate the models. Results showed that employees whose perceptions of the organization and environment in which they were working (that is, psychological climate) were more positive, were more likely to appraise change favourably and report better adjustment in terms of higher job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and organizational commitment, and lower absenteeism and turnover intentions.

Optimal Paths and Costs of Adjustment in Dynamic DEA Models: With Application to Chilean Department Stores

In this paper we propose a range of dynamic data envelopment analysis (DEA) models which allow information on costs of adjustment to be incorporated into the DEA framework. We first specify a basic dynamic DEA model predicated on a number or simplifying assumptions. We then outline a number of extensions to this model to accommodate asymmetric adjustment costs, non-static output quantities, non-static input prices, and non-static costs of adjustment, technological change, quasi-fixed inputs and investment budget constraints. The new dynamic DEA models provide valuable extra information relative to the standard static DEA models-they identify an optimal path of adjustment for the input quantities, and provide a measure of the potential cost savings that result from recognising the costs of adjusting input quantities towards the optimal point. The new models are illustrated using data relating to a chain of 35 retail department stores in Chile. The empirical results illustrate the wealth of information that can be derived from these models, and clearly show that static models overstate potential cost savings when adjustment costs are non-zero.

Adjustment in mothers of children with Asperger syndrome: An application of the double ABCX model of family adjustment

The present study examined the applicability of the double ABCX model of family adjustment in explaining maternal adjustment to caring for a child diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Forty-seven mothers completed questionnaires at a university clinic while their children were participating in an anxiety intervention. The children were aged between 10 and 12 years. Results of correlations showed that each of the model components was related to one or more domains of maternal adjustment in the direction predicted, with the exception of problem-focused coping. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that, after controlling for the effects of relevant demographics, stressor severity, pile-up of demands and coping were related to adjustment. Findings indicate the utility of the double ABCX model in guiding research into parental adjustment when caring for a child with Asperger syndrome. Limitations of the study and clinical implications are discussed.