Numerical evaluation of the fields induced by body motion in or near high-field MRI scanners

In modern magnetic resonance imaging, both patients and health care workers are exposed to strong. non-uniform static magnetic fields inside and outside of the scanner. In which body movement may be able to induce electric currents in tissues which could be potentially harmful. This paper presents theoretical investigations into the spatial distribution of induced E-fields in a tissue-equivalent human model when moving at various positions around the magnet. The numerical calculations are based on an efficient. quasi-static, finite-difference scheme. Three-dimensional field profiles from an actively shielded 4 T magnet system are used and the body model projected through the field profile with normalized velocity. The simulation shows that it is possible to induce E-fields/currents near the level of physiological significance under some circumstances and provides insight into the spatial characteristics of the induced fields. The methodology presented herein can be extrapolated to very high field strengths for the evaluation of the effects of motion at a variety of field strengths and velocities. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Group-directed criticism in Indonesia: Role of message source and audience

Research in individualist cultures has shown that group members are more likely to agree with criticisms of their group when the criticisms are made by another ingroup member as opposed to an outgroup member (the intergroup sensitivity effect). However, evaluations of ingroup critics are often harsher when they take their comments to an outgroup audience. In light of research on facework and tolerance for dissent, it seems important to test whether these effects are generalizable to a collectivist culture. Indonesian Muslims (N = 191) received a criticism of their religion stemming either from another Muslim or a Christian, and published in either a Muslim or a Christian newspaper. Participants agreed with the comments more when they were made by an ingroup as opposed to an outgroup member. Furthermore, consistent with previous research in Australia, the effects of audience on agreement were moderated by levels of group identification. Results are discussed in relation to theory about the functional role internal critics can play in group life.

Evolutionary theory of history

Several attempts have been made recently to apply Darwinian evolutionary theory to the study of culture change and social history. The essential elements in such a theory are that variations occur in population, and that a process of selective retention operates during their replication and transmission. Location of such variable units in the semantic structure of cognition provides the individual psychological basis for an evolutionary theory of history. Selection operates on both the level of cognition and on its phenotypic expression in action in relation to individual preferred sources of psychological satisfaction. Social power comprises the principal selective forces within the unintended consequences of action and through the struggle of individuals and groups in pursuit of opposing interests. The implication for historiography are methodological in that evolutionary theory of history sharpens the focus of explanatory situational analysis, and interpretive in that it provides a paradigmatic metanarrative for the understanding of historical change.

Physical and MAC layer techniques for next generation satellite communications

In this thesis, we consider four different scenarios of interest in modern satellite communications. For each scenario, we will propose the use of advanced solutions aimed at increasing the spectral efficiency of the communication links. First, we will investigate the optimization of the current standard for digital video broadcasting. We will increase the symbol rate of the signal and determine the optimal signal bandwidth. We will apply the time packing technique and propose a specifically design constellation. We will then compare some receiver architectures with different performance and complexity. The second scenario still addresses broadcast transmissions, but in a network composed of two satellites. We will compare three alternative transceiver strategies, namely, signals completely overlapped in frequency, frequency division multiplexing, and the Alamouti space-time block code, and, for each technique, we will derive theoretical results on the achievable rates. We will also evaluate the performance of said techniques in three different channel models. The third scenario deals with the application of multiuser detection in multibeam satellite systems. We will analyze a case in which the users are near the edge of the coverage area and, hence, they experience a high level of interference from adjacent cells. Also in this case, three different approaches will be compared. A classical approach in which each beam carries information for a user, a cooperative solution based on time division multiplexing, and the Alamouti scheme. The information theoretical analysis will be followed by the study of practical coded schemes. We will show that the theoretical bounds can be approached by a properly designed code or bit mapping. Finally, we will consider an Earth observation scenario, in which data is generated on the satellite and then transmitted to the ground. We will study two channel models, taking into account one or two transmit antennas, and apply techniques such as time and frequency packing, signal predistortion, multiuser detection and the Alamouti scheme.

Religião, redes sociais e capital social no Município de Rio Grande da Serra na Região do Grande ABC Paulista. Estudo das trocas materiais e simbólicas em contexto de periferia urbana

O município de Rio Grande da Serra está situado em uma região Grande ABC paulista reconhecida nacionalmente por seu desenvolvimento econômico e industrial e pelas lutas políticas e sindicais. Paradoxalmente, se configura, social e territorialmente falando, por uma região de periferia urbana. Resultado da forma como a urbanização, na sociedade moderna, conforma o espaço em regiões centrais e periféricas. Localizado no caminho que ligava Santos à Mogi das Cruzes (século XIX) povoado de Geribatiba decorrente das transformações urbanas ocorridas em toda a região, conquistaria, nos anos 1960, sua autonomia político-administrativa. Nas décadas seguintes testemunhou intenso crescimento populacional, resultado do processo migratório, principalmente de mineiros e nordestinos que tinham as cidades, e indústrias, de São Paulo e Grande ABC como destino. Esse deslocamento de pessoas, e as redes formadas em seu em torno, contribuiu para o desenvolvimento de seu campo religioso. Atualmente, com uma população, em torno, de 46 mil habitantes, possui aproximadamente 180 locais de cerimônias religiosas. Nesse contexto, a tese analisa a inserção regional socioeconômica e religiosa de Rio Grande da Serra, a partir de dados comparativos com os demais municípios, e discute como o regionalismo tem contribuído para seu desenvolvimento econômico. Realiza a caracterização das periferias urbanas, discutindo aspectos que lhes são inerentes, como segregação e vulnerabilidade social. Nesse sentido, a investigação possibilitou a identificação do perfil socioeconômico (renda e escolaridade) dos participantes dos grupos religiosos (católicos, evangélicos, kardecistas e umbandistas), permitindo, também, identificar desigualdades sociais no interior de seu território, constatando que determinados bairros são mais vulneráveis do que outros. Considerando que esse estudo examina a capacidade das redes sociais e religiosas, de aumentar o capital social de seus participantes, foi realizado o mapeamento e etnografia das diversas práticas associativas, mais ou menos formais e estruturadas, de forma a analisar os elementos materiais e simbólicos por elas produzidos. Constatou-se, apoiado na aplicação de questionários, entrevistas e observação participativa, que, a partir do habitus religioso de cada grupo, as redes possibilitam no âmbito econômico questões como emprego e renda ou auxílio em necessidades básicas de sobrevivência, através de campanhas e trabalhos sociais. No âmbito simbólico, as redes propiciam questões importantes à existência humana, como a crença na salvação ou evolução da alma, socialização, autoestima, prestígio ou ainda a expectativa de cura ou tratamento de dependência química. Pôde-se aferir que, a despeito das diferentes formas como cada grupo, e seus participantes, se apropriam do capital social, as redes sociais e religiosas, no município, funcionam como redes de proteção, especialmente à população em situação alta de vulnerabilidade social.

GESTÃO DO CONHECIMENTO: UM ESTUDO SOBRE A RELAÇÃO ENTRE A LIDERANÇA TRANSFORMACIONAL, A CONVERSÃO DO CONHECIMENTO E A EFICÁCIA ORGANIZACIONAL

Este estudo teve como objetivo principal analisar a relação entre a Liderança Transformacional, a Conversão do Conhecimento e a Eficácia Organizacional. Foram considerados como pressupostos teóricos conceitos consolidados sobre os temas desta relação, além de recentes pesquisas já realizadas em outros países e contextos organizacionais. Com base nisto identificou-se potencial estudo de um modelo que relacionasse estes três conceitos. Para tal considera-se que as organizações que buscam atingir Vantagem Competitiva e incorporam a Knowledge-Based View possam conquistar diferenciação frente a seus concorrentes. Nesse contexto o conhecimento ganha maior destaque e papel protagonista nestas organizações. Dessa forma criar conhecimento através de seus colaboradores, passa a ser um dos desafios dessas organizações ao passo que sugere melhoria de seus indicadores Econômicos, Sociais, Sistêmicos e Políticos, o que se define por Eficácia Organizacional. Portanto os modos de conversão do conhecimento nas organizações, demonstram relevância, uma vez que se cria e se converte conhecimentos através da interação entre o conhecimento existente de seus colaboradores. Essa conversão do conhecimento ou modelo SECI possui quatro modos que são a Socialização, Externalização, Combinação e Internalização. Nessa perspectiva a liderança nas organizações apresenta-se como um elemento capaz de influenciar seus colaboradores, propiciando maior dinâmica ao modelo SECI de conversão do conhecimento. Se identifica então na liderança do tipo Transformacional, características que possam influenciar colaboradores e entende-se que esta relação entre a Liderança Transformacional e a Conversão do Conhecimento possa ter influência positiva nos indicadores da Eficácia Organizacional. Dessa forma esta pesquisa buscou analisar um modelo que explorasse essa relação entre a liderança do tipo Transformacional, a Conversão do Conhecimento (SECI) e a Eficácia Organizacional. Esta pesquisa teve o caráter quantitativo com coleta de dados através do método survey, obtendo um total de 230 respondentes válidos de diferentes organizações. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi composto por afirmativas relativas ao modelo de relação pesquisado com um total de 44 itens. O perfil de respondentes concentrou-se entre 30 e 39 anos de idade, com a predominância de organizações privadas e de departamentos de TI/Telecom, Docência e Recursos Humanos respectivamente. O tratamento dos dados foi através da Análise Fatorial Exploratória e Modelagem de Equações Estruturais via Partial Least Square Path Modeling (PLS-PM). Como resultado da análise desta pesquisa, as hipóteses puderam ser confirmadas, concluindo que a Liderança Transformacional apresenta influência positiva nos modos de Conversão do Conhecimento e que; a Conversão do Conhecimento influencia positivamente na Eficácia Organizacional. Ainda, concluiu-se que a percepção entre os respondentes não apresenta resultado diferente sobre o modelo desta pesquisa entre quem possui ou não função de liderança.

The authority of complexity

The assertion about the unique 'complexity' or the peculiarly intricate character of social phenomena has, at least within sociology, a long, venerable and virtually uncontested tradition. At the turn of the last century, classical social theorists, for example, Georg Simmel and Emile Durkheim, made prominent and repeated reference to this attribute of the subject matter of sociology and the degree to which it complicates, even inhibits the development and application of social scientific knowledge. Our paper explores the origins, the basis and the consequences of this assertion and asks in particular whether the classic complexity assertion still deserves to be invoked in analyses that ask about the production and the utilization of social scientific knowledge in modern society. We present John Maynard Keynes' economic theory and its practical applications as an illustration. We conclude that the practical value of social scientific knowledge is not dependent on a faithful, in the sense of complete, representation of social reality. Instead, social scientific knowledge that wants to optimize its practicality has to attend and attach itself to elements of social situations that can be altered or are actionable.

The unique complexity of social phenomena and the uses of social science knowledge

The assertion about the peculiarly intricate and complex character of social phenomena has, in much of social discourse, a virtually uncontested tradition. A significant part of the premise about the complexity of social phenomena is the conviction that it complicates, perhaps even inhibits the development and application of social scientific knowledge. Our paper explores the origins, the basis and the consequences of this assertion and asks in particular whether the classic complexity assertion still deserves to be invoked in analyses that ask about the production and the utilization of social scientific knowledge in modern society. We refer to one of the most prominent and politically influential social scientific theories, John Maynard Keynes' economic theory as an illustration. We conclude that, the practical value of social scientific knowledge is not necessarily dependent on a faithful, in the sense of complete, representation of (complex) social reality. Practical knowledge is context sensitive if not project bound. Social scientific knowledge that wants to optimize its practicality has to attend and attach itself to elements of practical social situations that can be altered or are actionable by relevant actors. This chapter represents an effort to re-examine the relation between social reality, social scientific knowledge and its practical application. There is a widely accepted view about the potential social utility of social scientific knowledge that invokes the peculiar complexity of social reality as an impediment to good theoretical comprehension and hence to its applicability.

What May the Sheep safely know?

The relationship of knowledge and liberties in modern societies presents a multitude of fascinating issues that deserve to be explored more systematically. The production of knowledge is dynamic, and the conditions and practice of freedom is undergoing transformation. These changes ensure that the linkages between liberty and knowledge are always subject to changes. In the past, the connection between scientific knowledge, democracy, and emancipation seemed self-evident. More recently, the close linkage between democracy and knowledge has been viewed with skepticism. This volume explores the relationship between knowledge and democracy, Do they support each other, do they mutually depend on each other, or are they perhaps even in conflict with each other? Does knowledge increase the freedom to act? If additional knowledge contributes to individual and social well being, does it also enhance freedoms? Knowledge and Democracy focuses on the interpenetration of knowledge, freedom and democracy, and does so from various perspectives, theoretical as well as practical. Modern societies are transforming themselves into knowledge societies. This has a fundamental impact on political systems and the relationship of citizens to large social institutions. The contributors to this book systemically explore whether, and in what ways, these modern-day changes and developments are connected to expansion of the capacities of individual citizens to act. They focus on the interrelation of democracy and knowledge, and the role of democratic institutions, as well as on the knowledge and social conduct of actors within democratic institutions. In the process of investigation, they arrive at a newplatform for future research and theory, one that is sensitive to present-day societal conflicts, cleavages, and transformations generated by new knowledge.

Doing which work? A practice approach to institutional pluralism

This chapter takes a social theory of practice approach to examining institutional work; that is, how institutions are created, maintained, and disrupted through the actions, interactions, and negotiations of multiple actors. We examine alternative approaches that organizations use to deal with institutional pluralism based on a longitudinal real-time case study of a utility company grappling with opposing market and regulatory logics over time. These two logics required the firm to both mitigate its significant market power and also maintain its commercially competitive focus and responsiveness to shareholders. Institutional theorists have long acknowledged that institutions have a central logic (Friedland & Alford, 1991) or rationality (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983; Scott, 1995/2001; Townley, 2002), comprising a set of material and symbolic practices and organizing principles that provide logics of action for organizations and individuals, who then reproduce the institutions through their actions (Glynn & Lounsbury, 2005; Suddaby & Greenwood, 2005). Despite a monolithic feel to much institutional theory, in which a dominant institutional logic appears to prevail, institutional theorists also acknowledge the plurality of institutions (e.g. Friedland & Alford, 1991; Kraatz & Block, 2008; Lounsbury, 2007; Meyer & Rowan, 1977; Whittington, 1992). While these pluralistic institutions may be interdependent, they are not considered to coexist in harmony; “There is no question but that many competing and inconsistent logics exist in modern society” (Scott, 1995: 130).

Babies, bodies and entitlement: gendered aspects of access to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland

Since the mid-1990s, automatic citizenship for children born in the Republic has been a source of growing debate against a backdrop of increasing immigration and the peace process. In June 2004, the debate culminated in a referendum, opening the way to a constitutional amendment that attaches residence qualifications to the hitherto unfettered entitlement to citizenship available through ius soli. Arguments for the amendment were couched in terms of a threat posed by Third World women having babies in Ireland to obtain residence, and a putative obligation to the EU to harmonise citizenship laws. This article explores how pregnant foreign women’s bodies became a site of perplexity about the borders of the twenty-first century Irish nation. It is therefore suggested that neither the ‘racial state’ theories nor feminist theories of the nation-state account fully for this. On closer inspection, the seemingly sui generis case of the Irish referendum is therefore fruitful in that it demands further reflection in terms of bridging gaps in the existing theory.

Productivity change in the water industry in England and Wales:application of the meta-Malmquist Index

This paper uses a meta-Malmquist index for measuring productivity change of the water industry in England and Wales and compares this to the traditional Malmquist index. The meta-Malmquist index computes productivity change with reference to a meta-frontier, it is computationally simpler and it is circular. The analysis covers all 22 UK water companies in existence in 2007, using data over the period 1993–2007. We focus on operating expenditure in line with assessments in this field, which treat operating and capital expenditure as lacking substitutability. We find important improvements in productivity between 1993 and 2005, most of which were due to frontier shifts rather than catch up to the frontier by companies. After 2005, the productivity shows a declining trend. We further use the meta-Malmquist index to compare the productivities of companies at the same and at different points in time. This shows some interesting results relating to the productivity of each company relative to that of other companies over time, and also how the performance of each company relative to itself over 1993–2007 has evolved. The paper is grounded in the broad theory of methods for measuring productivity change, and more specifically on the use of circular Malmquist indices for that purpose. In this context, the contribution of the paper is methodological and applied. From the methodology perspective, the paper demonstrates the use of circular meta-Malmquist indices in a comparative context not only across companies but also within company across time. This type of within-company assessment using Malmquist indices has not been applied extensively and to the authors’ knowledge not to the UK water industry. From the application perspective, the paper throws light on the performance of UK water companies and assesses the potential impact of regulation on their performance. In this context, it updates the relevant literature using more recent data.

Non sexist-translation and/in social change: gender issues in translation

Following centuries of feminist struggle, centuries which have born witness to the close relationship between linguistic discrimination and social reality, there is a growing tendency in modern society to acknowledge the vital role played by language in overcoming gender discrimination. Political institutions are currently compensating by instituting the use of non-sexist language through legislative guidelines, and this makes an important contribution to social reform for equality between the sexes. Seeing that translation is so important for the creation of the collective identities on which modern global society depends, it is clear that non-sexist translation is crucial if there is to be non-sexist language. In this article I examine the potential of non-sexist translation in the struggle for gender equality from a both a theoretical and a practical viewpoint, and I end with a critical evaluation of non-sexist translation methods.

The impact of brand owner on consumers' brand perceptions : a development of Heider's Balance Theory

Studies have shown that the brand “owner” is very influential in positioning the brand and when the brand “owner” ceases his or her active role the brand will be perceived differently by the consumers. Balance Theory (HBT), a cognitive psychological theory, studies the triadic relationships between two persons and an entity and predicts that when a person’s original perception of the relationship is disturbed, the person restructures to a new balanced perception. Consequently, this research was undertaken to: conceptualize the brand owner’s impact on consumer’s brand perception; test the applicability of both the static and dynamic predictions of the Heider’s Balance Theory in brand owner-consumer-brand relation (OCB); construct and test a model of brand owner-consumer-brand relation; and examine if personality has an influence on OCB. A discovery-oriented approach was taken to understand the selected market segment, the ready-to-wear and diffusion lines of international designer labels. Chinese Brand Personality Scale, fashion proneness and hedonic and utilitarian shopping scales were developed, and validated. 51 customers were surveyed. Both traditional and extended methods used in the Balance Theory were employed in this study. Responses to liked brand have been used to test and develop the model, while those for disliked brand were used for test and confirmation. A “what if’ experimental approach was employed to test the applicability of dynamic HBT theory in OCB Model. The hypothesized OCB Model has been tested and validated. Consumers have been found to have separate views on the brand and the brand owner; and their responses to contrasting ethical and non-ethical news of the brand owner are different. Personality has been found to have an influence and two personality adapted models have been tested and validated. The actual results go beyond the prediction of the Balance Theory. Dominant triple positive balance mode, dominant negative balance mode, and mode of extreme antipathy have been found. It has been found that not all balanced modes are good for the brand. Contrary to Heider’s findings, simply liking may not necessarily lead to unit relation in the OCB Model.