Digital Commons Network^™

Nonknowledge: The Bibliographical Organization Of Ignorance, Stupidity, Error, And Unreason: Part Two, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

Starting with the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom paradigm in information science it is possible to derive a model of the opposite of knowledge having hierarchical qualities. A range of counterpoints to concepts in the knowledge hierarchy can be identified and ascribed the overall term “nonknowledge.” This model creates a conceptual framework for understanding the connections between topics such as error, ignorance, stupidity, folly, popular misconceptions, and unreason by locating them as levels or phases of nonknowledge. The concept of nonknowledge links heretofore disconnected discourses on these individual topics by philosophers, psychologists, historians, sociologists, satirists, and others. Subject headings provide access to the categories …

Contexts Of Exit In The Migration Of Russian Speakers From The Baltic Countries To Ireland, Sofya Aptekar

Publications and Research

Recently, Ireland has become a major destination for migrants from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Many of these migrants are members of Russian-speaking minorities leaving a context of restrictive citizenship and language laws and varying degrees of ethnic tension. This paper draws on interviews collected in Ireland to examine the role played by the contexts of exit in decisions to migrate among Russian-speaking minorities from the Baltics. The results suggest that Russian speakers from Estonia migrate because of their experiences as minorities, while those from Latvia and Lithuania migrate to escape low wages and irregular employment. This is so despite equally …

Organizational Life And Political Incorporation Of Two Asian Immigrant Groups: A Case Study, Sofya Aptekar

Publications and Research

Civil society is the foundation of a healthy democracy but its immigrant element has received little attention. This paper is a case study of immigrant organizations of highly skilled Asian Indians and Chinese immigrants in a suburban town of Edison, New Jersey. I find that civic participation of Asian Indian immigrants spills over into political incorporation while Chinese immigrant organizations remain margin- alized. I argue that local processes of racialization are central in explaining differences in political incorporation of immigrants. In the local context, the Chinese are seen as successful but conformist model minorities and Asian Indians as invaders and …

Cooperative Social Clusters Are Not Destroyed By Dispersal In A Ciliate, Nicolas Schtickzelle, Else J. Fjerdingstad, Alexis Chaine, Jean Clobert

Publications and Research

Background The evolution of social cooperation is favored by aggregative behavior to facilitate stable social structure and proximity among kin. High dispersal rates reduce group stability and kin cohesion, so it is generally assumed that there is a fundamental trade-off between cooperation and dispersal. However, empirical tests of this relationship are rare. We tested this assumption experimentally using ten genetically isolated strains of a ciliate, Tetrahymena thermophila. Results The propensity for social aggregation was greater in strains with reduced cell quality and lower growth performance. While we found a trade-off between costly aggregation and local dispersal in phenotypic analyses, aggregative …

Harnessing Gene Expression To Identify The Genetic Basis Of Drug Resistance, Bo-Juen Chen, Helen C. Causton, Denesy Mancenido, Noel L. Goddard, Ethan O. Perlstein, Dana Pe'er

Publications and Research

The advent of cost-effective genotyping and sequencing methods have recently made it possible to ask questions that address the genetic basis of phenotypic diversity and how natural variants interact with the environment. We developed Camelot (CAusal Modelling with Expression Linkage for cOmplex Traits), a statistical method that integrates genotype, gene expression and phenotype data to automatically build models that both predict complex quantitative phenotypes and identify genes that actively influence these traits. Camelot integrates genotype and gene expression data, both generated under a reference condition, to predict the response to entirely different conditions. We systematically applied our algorithm to data …

Comparison Of Spatial Summation Properties Of Neurons In Macaque V1 And V2, S. Shushruth, Jennifer M. Ichida, Jonathan B. Levitt, Alessandra Angelucci

Publications and Research

In visual cortex, responses to stimulation of the receptive field (RF) are modulated by simultaneous stimulation of the RF surround. The mechanisms for surround modulation remain unidentified. We previously proposed that in the primary visual cortex (V1), near surround modulation is mediated by geniculocortical and horizontal connections and far surround modulation by interareal feedback connections. To understand spatial integration in the secondary visual cortex (V2) and its underlying circuitry, we have characterized spatial summation in different V2 layers and stripe compartments and compared it to that in V1. We used grating stimuli in circular and annular apertures of different sizes …

Untangling The Relationship Between Libraries, Young Adults And Web 2.0: The Necessity Of A Critical Perspective, Lucia Cedeira Serantes

Publications and Research

Purpose: This paper addresses a gap in the analysis of the dynamic and challenging relationship between libraries, Web 2.0 and young adults, suggesting the relevance of a critical approach.

Methodology/Approach: This paper represents an exploratory literature review with the objective of identifying a possible gap in the way the LIS community is addressing the concept of Web 2.0.

Findings: Findings indicate that the research produced in other fields, such as Communication or Computer Science; the way young adults interrelate with new technologies; and the need for collaboration between practitioners and researchers justify and support the use of a critical perspective …

Contributing Factors To Pointcut Fragility, Phil Greenwood, Awais Rashid, Raffi Khatchadourian

Publications and Research

Pointcut fragility is a well-documented problem of Aspect-Oriented Programming with changes to the base-code causing join points to incorrectly fall in or out of scope. In order to combat this problem a tool was developed that provides mechanical assistance to pointcut maintenance. This tool relied on the deep structural commonalities between program elements to detect when pointcut fragility occurs. During the assessment of this tool a number of common practices were uncovered that were employed both in the aspect and base-code that contributed to or prevented pointcut fragility. This paper documents the practices uncovered and describes how they can affect …

Three-Dimensional Structure Of The Enveloped Bacteriophage Φ12: An Incomplete T = 13 Lattice Is Superposed On An Enclosed T = 1 Shell, Hui Wei, R. Holland Cheng, John Berriman, William J. Rice, David L. Stokes, A. Katz, David Gene Morgan, Paul Gottlieb

Publications and Research

Background Bacteriophage φ12 is a member of the Cystoviridae, a unique group of lipid containing membrane enveloped bacteriophages that infect the bacterial plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola. The genomes of the virus species contain three double-stranded (dsRNA) segments, and the virus capsid itself is organized in multiple protein shells. The segmented dsRNA genome, the multi-layered arrangement of the capsid and the overall viral replication scheme make the Cystoviridae similar to the Reoviridae. Methodology/Principal Findings We present structural studies of cystovirus φ12 obtained using cryo-electron microscopy and image processing techniques. We have collected images of isolated φ12 virions and generated …

The Evaluation Of Use Of Electronic Resources And Services In Academic Libraries: A Study Of E-Metrics And Related Methods For Measurement And Assessment, Kanu A. Nagra

Publications and Research

This paper presents a review of literature for the evaluation of use of electronic resources and services in Academic libraries. E-metrics and similar methods for evaluation are discussed in detail. The paper highlights how some libraries approached e-metrics to start useful evaluations and dealt with technicalities to achieve better decision making for e-collection, services and infrastructure for their library users. The evaluation of use of e-resources and services is discussed in five parts explaining application of e-metrics, different methods to capture usage data in different settings, types of data requirement by libraries, complexities and technicalities involved in measurement of usage …

Securing An Effective Voice For Citizens In Intergovernmental Administrative Decision Making, Maria J. D'Agostino

Publications and Research

Intergovernmental administrative arrangements, often obscured from public view, are responsible for public decisions and their consequences. After European Union citizens expressed dissatisfaction with the disconnected administrative decision-making process by rejecting the European Constitution, the European Commission called for a period of reflection to develop tools and processes in order to involve citizens in the decision-making process.

This article examines collaborative efforts by the European Union to involve citizens in the shaping of national priorities. In-depth interviews were conducted with the heads of nonprofit organizations and staffers at nonprofits involved with organizing the European Citizens’ Consultations (ECC). All the organizations are …

Journals Not Included In Biosis Have A Notable Impact In Biology, Philip Barnett, Claudia Lascar

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Cloaked Websites: Propaganda, Cyber-Racism And Epistemology In The Digital Era, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

This article analyzes cloaked websites, which are sites published by individuals or groups who conceal authorship in order to disguise deliberately a hidden political agenda. Drawing on the insights of critical theory and the Frankfurt School, this article examines the way in which cloaked websites conceal a variety of political agendas from a range of perspectives. Of particular interest here are cloaked white supremacist sites that disguise cyber-racism. The use of cloaked websites to further political ends raises important questions about knowledge production and epistemology in the digital era. These cloaked sites emerge within a social and political context in …

Direct Intra-Tumoral Injection Of Zinc-Acetate Halts Tumor Growth In A Xenograft Model Of Prostate Cancer, Maulik R. Shah, Christopher L. Kriedt, Nathan H. Lents, Mary K. Hoyer, Nimah Jamaluddin, Claudette Klein, Joseph Baldassare

Publications and Research

Intracellular levels of zinc have shown a strong inverse correlation to growth and malignancy of prostate cancer. To date, studies of zinc supplementation in prostate cancer have been equivocal and have not accounted for bioavailability of zinc. Therefore, we hypothesized that direct intra-tumoral injection of zinc could impact prostate cancer growth. In this study, we evaluated the cytotoxic properties of the pH neutral salt zinc acetate on the prostate cancer cell lines PC3, DU145 and LNCaP. Zinc acetate killed prostate cancer cell lines in vitro, independent of androgen sensitivity, in a dose-dependent manner in a range between 200 and 600 …

Conformational Changes In A Pore-Forming Region Underlie Voltage-Dependent “Loop Gating” Of An Unapposed Connexin Hemichannel, Qingxiu Tang, Terry L. Dowd, Vytas K. Verselis, Thaddeus A. Bargiello

Publications and Research

The structure of the pore is critical to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying selective permeation and voltage-dependent gating of channels formed by the connexin gene family. Here, we describe a portion of the pore structure of unapposed hemichannels formed by a Cx32 chimera, Cx32*Cx43E1, in which the first extracellular loop (E1) of Cx32 is replaced with the E1 of Cx43. Cysteine substitutions of two residues, V38 and G45, located in the vicinity of the border of the first transmembrane (TM) domain (TM1) and E1 are shown to react with the thiol modification reagent, MTSEA–biotin-X, when the channel resides in the …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Widely Available 3-D Visualization Tools In Support Of Public Participation, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Jennifer L. Weeks, Tim Case

Publications and Research

There is a persistent need for improved tools and techniques to facilitate public involvement in transportation decision making. Despite continuous improvements in increasing public involvement at all phases of transportation decision making, transportation agencies are still seeking more affordable, accessible, and effective means of communicating with a wide range of stakeholders. The report documents a survey of a wide variety of transportation agencies on their use of interactive 3-D visualization for public involvement using an electronic survey. Supplemental qualitative data was generated through telephone interviews with selected survey participants. It concludes with three case studies illustrating applications of interactive 3-D …

Latin America Translated (Again): Roberto BolañO'S The Savage Detectives In The United States, Sarah S. Pollack

Publications and Research

This essay addresses the cultural and political agendas that influence the selection of Latin American novels to be translated by U.S. publishers and the reception of these novels by U.S. readers. Focusing on two Latin American writers who have had enormous success in the U.S., the author traces the shift from the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, to the gritty realism of Roberto Bolaño, and asks what these different paradigms can tell us about stereotypical U.S. notions of Latin American cultural and political realities. Although Bolaño's work ostensibly realigns the coordinates of the …

Testis-Expressed Profilins 3 And 4 Show Distinct Functional Characteristics And Localize In The Acroplaxome-Manchette Complex In Spermatids, Martina Behnen, Kai Murk, Petri Kursula, Heike Cappallo-Obermann, Martin Rothkegel, Abraham L. Kierszenbaum, Christiane Kirchhoff

Publications and Research

Background Multiple profilin isoforms exist in mammals; at least four are expressed in the mammalian testis. The testis-specific isoforms profilin-3 (PFN3) and profilin-4 (PFN4) may have specialized roles in spermatogenic cells which are distinct from known functions fulfilled by the "somatic" profilins, profilin-1 (PFN1) and profilin-2 (PFN2). Results Ligand interactions and spatial distributions of PFN3 and PFN4 were compared by biochemical, molecular and immunological methods; PFN1 and PFN2 were employed as controls. β-actin, phosphoinositides, poly-L-proline and mDia3, but not VASP, were confirmed as in vitro interaction partners of PFN3. In parallel experiments, PFN4 bound to selected phosphoinositides but not to …

Follower Is The New Leader, Or Leading From Anywhere, Jean Amaral

Publications and Research

This invited lecture calls on librarians and others to explore and embrace servant leadership and leading from anywhere in the organization as a model for contributing to the success of communities. "I am a follower, therefore I must lead. It’s up to all of us to make our libraries and communities better places, just places . . . ."

Suicide Associated With Military Service, Margo R. Genderson, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Mark S. Kaplan, Michael J. Lyons

Publications and Research

Suicide rates among soldiers and veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) have been steadily growing since 2004, with sharp increases observed more recently. Suicides in the Army are a growing concern on Capitol Hill and in the media. Last month, the Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings on the growing incidence of suicides across the armed forces (Federal city digest, 2009, March 18). The Associated Press (AP) underlined the increasing suicide rates among Army personnel (Army reports sharp rise in suicides in January, 2009, Feb. 5). According to the AP, there were 64 suicides in 2004, and …

Analog To Digital: Conversion Of The Image Libraries At The City College Of New York, Ching-Jung Chen

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Trials And Tribulations Of Two Historians: Adjudicating Responsibility For Pollution And Personal Harm, David Rosner, Gerald Markowitz

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Nonknowledge: The Bibliographical Organization Of Ignorance, Stupidity, Error, And Unreason: Part One, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

Starting with the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom paradigm in information science it is possible to derive a model of the opposite of knowledge having hierarchical qualities. A range of counterpoints to concepts in the knowledge hierarchy can be identified and ascribed the overall term “nonknowledge.” This model creates a conceptual framework for understanding the connections between topics such as error, ignorance, stupidity, folly, popular misconceptions, and unreason by locating them as levels or phases of nonknowledge. The concept of nonknowledge links heretofore disconnected discourses on these individual topics by philosophers, psychologists, historians, sociologists, satirists, and others. Subject headings provide access to the categories …

The Strategic Targeting Of Females By Transnational Tobacco Companies In South Korea Following Trade Liberalisation, Kelley Lee, Carrie Carpenter, Chaitanya Challa, Sungkyu Lee, Gregory N. Connolly, Howard K. Koh

Publications and Research

Background In 1988 South Korea opened its cigarette market to foreign companies under the threat of US trade sanctions. Despite strong social stigma against female smoking in South Korea, and restrictions on tobacco marketing to women and children, smoking rates among young Korean females increased from 1.6% in 1988 to 13% in 1998. Previous analyses describe how Asian countries have been targeted by transnational tobacco companies for new markets, with Asian females offering substantial future growth potential. An understanding of the strategies used by TTCs to increase smoking among Korean females is critical to public health efforts to adopt a …

Mercury From Chlor-Alkali Plants: Measured Concentrations In Food Product Sugar, Renee Dufault, Blaise Leblanc, Roseanne Schnoll, Charles Cornett, Laura Schweitzer, David Wallinga, Jane Hightower, Lyn Patrick, Walter J. Lukiw

Publications and Research

Mercury cell chlor-alkali products are used to produce thousands of other products including food ingredients such as citric acid, sodium benzoate, and high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is used in food products to enhance shelf life. A pilot study was conducted to determine if high fructose corn syrup contains mercury, a toxic metal historically used as an anti-microbial. High fructose corn syrup samples were collected from three different manufacturers and analyzed for total mercury. The samples were found to contain levels of mercury ranging from below a detection limit of 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms mercury per gram …

Holding Legislatures Constitutionally Accountable Through Facial Challenges, Caitlin Borgmann

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Reconsidering Domestic Violence Services And Advocacy, Julie Goldscheid

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Biotechnology, Sustainability And Trust, Rebecca Bratspies

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Potential Of Twitter As A Research Tool, Steven Ovadia

Publications and Research

The article reviews the web site Twitter, and discusses its research applications, including the concept of hashtags as subject headings to organize Twitter content.

A Reflective Teaching Journal: An Instructional Improvement Tool For Academic Librarians, Elizabeth K. Tompkins

Publications and Research

This paper explores the practice of keeping a reflective teaching journal to improve classroom instruction. Reflective practice and journaling have a rich tradition in the teacher education field. Accordingly, the teacher education literature provides the starting point for this case study of keeping a reflective teaching journal for library sessions given to first semester freshmen enrolled in a learning community. The journaling process proved useful by helping to improve instruction while also providing a mechanism to link theory with practice.