Sustainability ‘wars’ in a New England town

A research project into large group decision-making in a New England Town Meeting surprised us with the degree to which sustainability came to be the axis around which political debate revolved. We identified two very different yet overlapping conceptions of sustainability: one emphasized fiscal responsibility; the other asserted the merits of environmental stewardship. Each of the two conceptions had proponents, with strong views about what constituted good versus bad governing practices, each with a strong sense of what was good for the town. In this paper, we sort out those meanings. We seek to understand and expose the contours of sustainability, how the discourses around sustainability enter political processes, and to shed light on ongoing debates about the form of governance best suited for a democratically inclined New England town. Methods involved both quantitative and qualitative approaches, including data collection and analysis activities that comprised four levels: (1) participant observation of the Town Meeting; (2) quantitative analysis of voting behaviors; (3) interviews with 30 of the 240 members of the Town Meeting; and (4) thematic analysis, codebook development, and coding. Finally, in the spirit of contributing to the making of a future possible world, the authors ponder the courses forward for democratic processes and the future of a town caught in a ‘pitched battle’ over the terms and stakes of sustainability.     

Is Polaris a HOG? A Case Study*

The main usefulness of a general purpose financial statement centers on its comparability to the financials produced by an entity's competition. This case works for both undergraduate and graduate students because it offers comparisons between two well known recreation industry companies. Financial statement analysis is a lesson which serves as an appropriate capstone to financial accounting education. Analyzing the financial statements of competing entities explains “why” accountants must implement the intricate “how” which produces the statements and the resulting decision models such as ratios and common‐sized statements. Compared to previous generations, current students will be more responsible for managing their own retirement funds. This case can help students start to appreciate investment analysis by providing enough detail for any level student to conduct financial statement evaluations that make comparisons to find successful fundamental business strategies.     

Peanut exposure during pregnancy,breastfeeding and complementary feeding: perceptions of practices in four countries

Food allergy is an increasing problem worldwide. Allergy to peanuts is a particular concern, given that this is rarely outgrown and may be associated with life‐threatening anaphylaxis. However, it is unclear what factors are responsible for a perceived increase in prevalence rates. One matter on which scientists agree, however, is that exposure to peanuts early in life is significant – although whether early exposure protects or sensitizes to allergy is unclear. There is no significant research that currently records differences in early life exposure either within or between populations. This exploratory study makes a first step in this direction using focus groups conducted in four countries with disparate ‘peanut experiences’ to characterize early exposure in these. The ultimate aim is to help in the development of a survey instrument to attain nationally representative samples of consumers and hence to use the results from this to compare with allergy prevalence data collected in other parts of the European Union‐funded ‘EuroPrevall’ project. The results in this study not only reveal considerable similarities across countries (e.g. in terms of lack of knowledge of guidelines; lack of changes in feeding behaviour during/after pregnancy, feelings that diet variety in children is important) but also one or two interesting and potentially important differences, such as increased consumption in Bulgarian (and some Spanish) breastfeeding mothers because of the ability of peanuts to facilitate lactation. Study limitations and future study intentions are also discussed.     

Selection versus development assessment centers: an international survey of design,execution, and evaluation

No recent survey documents differences in assessment center (AC) practices for selection and development in organizations in diverse countries. We analyze the design, execution, and evaluation of AC selection programs compared to development programs in a sample of 144 organizations in 18 countries. Our comparison identifies similarities and differences in job analysis techniques, dimensions (job requirements), observer pools, methods of assessor training, exercises and psychometric testing procedures, information provided to participants, and areas of evaluation of the program by participants. Results show important differences between selection and developmental programs which may be explained by economical, legal, and social factors. We also point out features of ACs that should be designed differently to optimize objectives.     

C-reactive protein--a screening test for coronary disease?

C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of a number of substances termed "acute phase reactants," biologic substances that appear in the circulation when an active inflammatory process occurs. Although traditionally used to monitor or detect major infectious or inflammatory conditions, elevations of CRP levels within the conventional range of "normals" has been intensively studied as a marker for coronary disease and risk of future coronary events. Sensitive assays that can be performed on a high-volume, commercial basis are now available. CRP appears to be a valuable marker for the prediction of future events in individuals who have known coronary artery disease. CRP has been proposed as a coronary disease-screening test for healthy individuals; however, available data suggest that use of CRP in this context may be premature. This paper reviews published research concerning CRP and the prediction of cardiovascular and total mortality risk, then outlines the current "state of the art" for the application of CRP to the risk assessment process.     

Perron's stability theorem for non-linear mappings

Perron's theorem on positive matrices including its stability statement is extended to non-linear mappings which need neither additive nor homogeneous nor primitive. This generalizes known results and yields in particular a concave version of Perron's theorem. The theorem may be applied to balanced growth in non-linear systems and also to obtain a dynamic non-substitution theorem for general cost functions.     

Marfan syndrome: literature review of mortality studies

Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant heritable disorder of fibrous connective tissue due to mutation in the fibrillin-1 gene, located on chromosome 15. Early mortality from Marfan syndrome results from aortic dilatation. The medical literature contains long-term follow-up series of patients with Marfan syndrome accrued at major medical centers that address overall survival following surgical intervention, and prognosis in relation to certain risk factors such as family history and aortic root diameter. Mortality analyses based on these data are presented in this paper. Advances in surgical and medical therapy have improved mortality of affected individuals over the past 2-3 decades. However, significant mortality occurs, peaking in the third and fourth decades of life. Although surgery is successful treatment of aortic dissection, one cannot conclude that surgical repair confers a mortality advantage. Emergency surgery and history of aortic complications in first-degree relatives are associated with a higher mortality. Chronic beta-blocker therapy may slow the rate of aortic dilatation and may be associated with more favorable prognosis. Clinical research evaluating beta-blockade, echo assessment of the aortic root diameter progression, and gene mutation analysis may provide tools useful for future morality assessments.     

Gestiegene Einkommensungleichheit in Deutschland

Seit dem Jahr 2000 ist in Deutschland ein markanter Anstieg der Ungleichheit der Einkommen der privaten Haushalte zu beobachten. Damit verbunden haben sich auch die Armutsrisiken deutlich erh?ht. Welche Ursachen haben zu dem Anstieg der Einkommensungleichheit geführt? Welche Entwicklungen sind bei den individuellen Erwerbseinkommen der Personen im erwerbsf?higen Alter zu verzeichnen und welche Auswirkungen haben diese auf die Verteilung der Haushaltseinkommen in der Bev?lkerung insgesamt? Dr. Jan Goebel, 36, ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Sozio-oekonomischen Panel, DIW Berlin; Dr. Peter Krause, 51, ist dort wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter und Lehrbeauftragter am Institut für Soziologie der FU Berlin.