Critical Stream Research Articles

Tête-À-Tête, Face-À-Face: Brodsky, Levinas, and the Ethics of Poetry

Two decades have passed since Joseph Brodsky used his Nobel address to advance the idea that “aesthetics is the mother of ethics.” Yet despite the increasing prominence of ethics in literary studies during this time, very little has been written to elucidate his claim. One thing the “turn to ethics” in literary studies has produced is a rise in popularity of Emmanuel Levinas among critics. The invocation of Levinasian responsibility, with its refusal to entertain a practical or normative ethics, demonstrates, among other things, how far some streams of ethical criticism have traveled from the politically inflected theory of earlier decades. In this article I place Levinas's writings alongside the critical prose of Brodsky, whose radical commitment to poetry—what Seamus Heaney called his “peremptory trust in words”—is set at a similar theoretical distance from the idea that the didactic, the deontological, or the political may be constitutive of ethics. To admit from the outset that Brodsky's maxim is inimical to Levinas's project—which is to establish ethics as the mother of philosophy, as it were—is to acknowledge that the rapprochement intended here cannot be in any sense final. Instead, in collocating Levinasian reflection on encounter, the originary, and the face-à-face with Brodsky's writings on poetry, I want to give philosophical substance to Brodsky's musings on the ethics of aesthetic encounter while simultaneously demonstrating one way Levinas can inform literary criticism.

The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia: Version III--The Final Common Pathway

The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia has been one of the most enduring ideas in psychiatry. Initially, the emphasis was on a role of hyperdopaminergia in the etiology of schizophrenia (version I), but it was subsequently reconceptualized to specify subcortical hyperdopaminergia with prefrontal hypodopaminergia (version II). However, these hypotheses focused too narrowly on dopamine itself, conflated psychosis and schizophrenia, and predated advances in the genetics, molecular biology, and imaging research in schizophrenia. Since version II, there have been over 6700 articles about dopamine and schizophrenia. We selectively review these data to provide an overview of the 5 critical streams of new evidence: neurochemical imaging studies, genetic evidence, findings on environmental risk factors, research into the extended phenotype, and animal studies. We synthesize this evidence into a new dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia-version III: the final common pathway. This hypothesis seeks to be comprehensive in providing a framework that links risk factors, including pregnancy and obstetric complications, stress and trauma, drug use, and genes, to increased presynaptic striatal dopaminergic function. It explains how a complex array of pathological, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other findings, such as frontotemporal structural and functional abnormalities and cognitive impairments, may converge neurochemically to cause psychosis through aberrant salience and lead to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The hypothesis has one major implication for treatment approaches. Current treatments are acting downstream of the critical neurotransmitter abnormality. Future drug development and research into etiopathogenesis should focus on identifying and manipulating the upstream factors that converge on the dopaminergic funnel point.

The emergence of a new international competitor in the commercial aircraft sector: The China syndrome

This paper examines China's emerging industrial and international trade potential within the commercial aerospace sector. Decades of industrial offset agreements between Western aerospace companies and Chinese subcontractors have endowed China with the technological fundamentals required to build commercial passenger jets. These offset agreements were designed to secure sales of Western-built aircraft to China, and often involved critical streams of knowledge transfer from prime contractors to Chinese suppliers. By now, China has acquired virtually all of the technological know-how to enter the commercial aircraft market on an internationally competitive basis. The implications for Western producers are presumably not bright, as China's unit costs are extraordinarily low. Further, it is clear that China's first regional jet has been designed to lead to a replacement for the Boeing 737. Looking to the future, I contend that China will challenge Airbus and Boeing in the market for medium-to-large passenger jets by the mid-2020s.

Performance Measurement Systems: Putting Organizational Effectiveness Ahead

In the last decade a plethora of studies have been carried out in the area of new multidimensional performance measurement systems (MPMS). Notable efforts were focused on PMS design issues related for example to the proper dimensions to be considered, new area of measurement(competencies, networks and supply chain), or their role in the strategy formulation. More recently new streams of research were addressed to the critical analysis of claimed effectiveness with specific regard to the linkage with business performance, or with the management control system (MCS). This paper extends the critical stream of research on MPMS to the organizational linkages of performance and presents a new framework based on the measurement of the relations between formal organizational units as units of analysis. Specifically, this framework introduces a new dimension in the designing of MPMS because it focuses on the measurement of the relationships and not on pre-codified indicators even if systematically organized (tableau de bord, balanced scorecard, ...). In this perspective, the approach enables MPMS to be aligned with the organizational structure of MCS and increases the effectiveness of the appraisal because they are based on a shared view of the organizational functioning. The framework is supported by a case study conducted in an Italian top luxury car firm.

Toxicity Evaluation of the Process Effluent Streams of a Petrochemical Industry

The physico-chemical characteristics and the acute toxicity of several wastewater streams, generated in the industrial production of synthetic rubber, were determined. The acute toxicity was evaluated in bioassays using different organisms: Danio rerio (fish), Lactuca sativa (lettuce) and Brachionus calyciflorus (rotifer). The removal of toxicity attained in the industrial wastewater treatment plant was also determined upstream and downstream of the activated sludge process. The results obtained indicate that the critical streams in terms of acute toxicity are the effluents from the liquid polymer unit and the spent caustic butadiene washing stage. The biological treatment was able to partially remove the toxicity of the industrial wastewater. However, a residual toxicity level persisted in the biotreated wastewater. The results obtained with Lactuca sativa showed a high degree of reproducibility, using root length or germination index as evaluation parameters. The effect of volatile pollutants on the toxicity results obtained with lettuce seeds was assessed, using ethanol as a model compound. Modifications on the assay procedure were proposed. A strong correlation between the toxic responses of Lactuca sativa and Danio rerio was observed for most industrial effluent streams.

Habitat mapping and conservation analysis to identify critical streams for Arizona's native fish

Abstract Arizona's native fish species are among the most imperilled fauna in North America. Knowing the current distribution of native fish and their habitat is critical to their management and conservation, but the last detailed mapping effort was more than 30 years ago and pre‐dated computer mapping techniques. Current distribution of 34 native fish species was modelled by identifying perennial stream segments for which species presence had been documented. A composite of these single‐species maps displays a pattern of species richness that can inform conservation, especially when overlaid with maps of management status or invasive species. The map overlays suggest that conservation priorities should include Eagle Creek, the Verde River and its tributaries, Aravaipa Canyon, the Virgin River and Black Draw, which together hold 63% of native fish species. Of the 32 streams that support five or more native species, 28 have at least one non‐native fish species, indicating that a more aggressive programme of removing non‐natives may be critical to maintaining those native populations. The U.S. Forest Service and Native American tribes administer the majority of occupied stream habitat (30% and 27%, respectively). While private lands hold the third‐highest amount of occupied habitat (19%), they control streams occupied by the greatest total number of native species (30). Conservationists should work more with private land owners, while also coordinating efforts with the U.S. Forest Service and North American tribes. These data are publicly available (on the Internet, URL: www.azconservation.org) to encourage refinement and use. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multiobjective Waste Management under Uncertainty Considering Waste Mixing

We present a new methodology to evaluate, under uncertainty, the waste treatment options for a new product in an existing facility, considering economic and environmental objectives. The methodology highlights potential treatment problems, forecasts the required operations, and estimates costs and environmental impact. The new procedure includes a rigorous evaluation of secondary streams. The uncertainty of the waste stream composition, cost factors, and separation efficiencies are taken into consideration. The new procedure accounts for possible interaction and synergy between several waste streams. The option of stream mixing is considered to increase the efficiency of central recovery operations or to achieve dilution of critical streams in the final treatment operations, e.g., the sewage treatment plant, and, hence, to reduce the need for expensive pretreatments such as stripping. The most-efficient treatment paths for an original waste stream might be composed of complex combinations of the aforementioned options; e.g., some part of a stream is recovered directly in the production building, while the remainder is mixed with another stream for recovery in a central distillation, before being sent along with two additional streams to incineration. For each waste stream, a list of such combinations and the resulting economic and environmental assessments is obtained.

A Water Quality Monitoring Network Design Methodology for the Selection of Critical Sampling Points: Part I

The principal instrument to temporally and spatially manage water resources is a water quality monitoring network. However, to date in most cases, there is a clear absence of a concise strategy or methodology for designing monitoring networks, especially when deciding upon the placement of sampling stations. Since water quality monitoring networks can be quite costly, it is very important to properly design the monitoring network so that maximum information extraction can be accomplished, which in turn is vital when informing decision-makers. This paper presents the development of a methodology for identifying the critical sampling locations within a watershed. Hence, it embodies the spatial component in the design of a water quality monitoring network by designating the critical stream locations that should ideally be sampled. For illustration purposes, the methodology focuses on a single contaminant, namely total phosphorus, and is applicable to small, upland, predominantly agricultural-forested watersheds. It takes a number of hydrologic, topographic, soils, vegetative, and land use factors into account. In addition, it includes an economic as well as logistical component in order to approximate the number of sampling points required for a given budget and to only consider the logistically accessible stream reaches in the analysis, respectively. The methodology utilizes a geographic information system (GIS), hydrologic simulation model, and fuzzy logic.

Ética e técnica? Dialogando com Marx, Spengler, Jünger, Heidegger e Jonas

O século XIX entendeu a técnica como um elemento central do progresso histórico, mudando nas primeiras décadas do século XX essa perspectiva. mas a crítica à técnica formulada entre as duas guerras mundiais nos vieses da crítica à cultura e, de forma emblemática, presente na obra de Oswald Spengler, ainda não coloca a técnica em relação à ética. Neste tempo do interludium bellicum (1918-1939),articula-se uma compreensão da técnica emancipada de qualquer dimensão metafísica e artística, por um lado e, por outro lado, vê-se um recarregamento da técnica com uma promessa salvacionista, utópica ou heróica, não obstante, totalmente absorvida por uma concepção materialista do mundo, concebido enquanto campo de batalha (Ernst Jünger). Martin Heidegger elaborou, no final dos anos trinta e em meados dos anos quarenta, em um movimento de distanciamento intelectual da sua época, as bases de uma filosofia da técnica com grandes repercussões. Um dos seus alunos, Hans Jonas, tenta de forma original, mas não livre de equívocos, apresentar uma ética válida para a civilização tecnológica. Segundo Jonas, a situação do homem e o contexto de qualquer propósito ético estariam hoje fundamentalmente mudados; uma ética tradicional não estaria mais à sua altura. A técnica moderna introduziu novos objetos e processos, com conseqüências até então desconhecidas, na sociedade humana, de uma maneira que exigiria uma adaptação da ética (e conseqüentemente da ação humana) aos desafios tecnológicos. A "ética do próximo" teria validez, ainda, nas "proximidades"; o futuro da humanidade no seu habitat planetário exigiria, todavia, uma "ética da responsabilidade".

O discurso evolucionista e a prática involutiva: um estudo empírico sobre o impacto de mudanças tecnológicas sobre o desenho do trabalho em call centers

Call centers estão de maneira crescente atraindo a atenção de profissionais e acadêmicos que estudam o desenho e o processo de trabalho. Enquanto muitos dos primeiros tendem a descrever tais centros como organizações orgânicas de alta tecnologia, muitos acadêmicos - sobretudo aqueles da vertente organizacional crítica - revelam uma condição diferente, marcada por desenho mecanicista. Este artigo segue caminho de pesquisa mais crítico, utilizando dados de estudo comparativo de quatro casos, para entender as mudanças do desenho do trabalho ocasionadas pela tecnologia em call centers. Os resultados mostram que o discurso evolucionista é limitado: em geral, a implantação de novas tecnologias em centrais de atendimento tem tornado estas organizações mais mecanicistas. No entanto, em uma das centrais, a nova tecnologia foi utilizada para transformar o trabalho na direção oposta, criando uma estrutura mais orgânica, sugerindo que não apenas o componente tecnológico, mas também a concepção do trabalho por parte da gerência e a forma de implementação do aparato tecnológico, determinam a evolução ou involução do desenho do trabalho em call centers.

An Ecologically Based Approach to Identifying Restoration Priorities in an Acid‐Impacted Watershed

Abstract The extent of impairment to some Appalachian watersheds from acid precipitation is so extreme that watershed scale analytical tools are needed to help guide cost‐effective management decisions. The objective of this study was to develop a measure of the functional value of streams as potential areas for juvenile Brook trout recruitment. This measure, which we term “weighted potential recruitment area” (WPRA), is a function of the expected Brook trout spawning intensity and juvenile survivorship. Estimates of WPRA for each stream segment were then used to identify restoration priorities and optimal restoration programs in the upper Shavers Fork watershed in West Virginia, U.S.A. Using this approach, we determined that the watershed has lost nearly 80% of its historic juvenile recruitment potential as a result of acid precipitation. We also determined that of the 145 stream segments in the watershed, eight critical stream segments account for nearly 20% of the loss. The costs and ecological benefits of a series of five alternative restoration programs were then assessed using an ArcGIS model (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, CA, U.S.A.). This approach identified two “optimal” alternatives: (1) a low‐cost, moderate‐benefit approach that would use existing rail access to treat acidification in three critical headwater locations and (2) a high‐cost, high‐benefit approach that would use aerial limestone application to treat numerous acidic tributaries near their source. The measure of stream ecological value that we developed was effective in identifying critical restoration priorities and optimal restoration strategies in this watershed. A similar procedure could be used to guide watershed restoration decisions throughout the Appalachian region.

Estimating critical stream power for bedload transport calculations in gravel-bed rivers

The physical basis of Bagnold's equation for critical stream power is examined. Although the general approach is well founded, the original equation can be criticised for (1) failing to distinguish between the grain size in transport and the grain size that represents bed roughness; (2) requiring a knowledge of critical flow depth in addition to gross channel properties; (3) failing to allow for hiding and protrusion effects on the mobility of mixed-size stream beds. More general equations are presented which overcome these limitations. They require a knowledge of channel slope, but not depth. The analysis suggests that the presence of form resistance in addition to grain roughness does not affect the calculation of critical power. Critical power is expected to depend more sensitively on grain size between reaches than within reaches.

The Shape of the Signifier: 1967 to the End of History (review)

Reviewed by: The Shape of the Signifier: 1967 to the End of History Henry Staten The Shape of the Signifier: 1967 to the End of History. Walter Benn Michaels. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. Pp. 224. $24.95 (cloth). Michaels's absorbing new book swims against the critical stream with a brilliance and originality unmatched this side of Slavoj Žižek. Michaels weaves a dizzyingly intricate argument around a wide variety of texts and topics: science fiction, historicism, deconstruction, modernist and minimalist art, formalism, the end of ideology, cultural identity. He claims that both the privileging of the "object" in modernism and the post-structuralist notion of the "materiality of the sign" covertly privilege subjective experience and hence these movements are logically linked to identity politics (157). The "materiality of the sign," argues Michaels, is really a reduction of language to a physical mark with only the perceptual characteristics of any physical object, such as "shape." This turns "a meaning that might be understood into an object that will be [End Page 362] experienced" (176); "[o]nce . . . the text is turned into an object of perception, it is made literally uninterpretable but also literally inexhaustible, since how it is perceived—not only what it looks like but what it makes you feel like, what it makes you think of—must be a function not only of what it is but of who you are" (113). But interpretation doesn't become endless, it ceases to be possible, since perceptual experience cannot be wrong, only "different" from someone else's experience. Since people in different subject positions "can without disagreement give the same mark different meanings," the "deconstructive commitment to the materiality of the sign is linked in principle to a valorization of the subject position that makes the question of identity primary" (66).The concern with identity and difference is a concern with what we are rather than with the truth or falsity of the beliefs and opinions we hold; meaning, we could say, dissolves into being. This tendency in recent thought culminates in Hardt and Negri's attempt to dissolve the political into the ontological (173). Michaels believes that this turn to identity not only destroys interpretation but obfuscates the ideal of justice. Jews and Blacks who stress their history and identity miss the point that "the question of past injustice has no bearing on the question of present injustice" (157–8). A blameless nine-year old who is disadvantaged today and whose ancestors were slaves "would be just as blameless if her great-great grandfather had been Simon Legree. Every nine-year-old is blameless; what a just society owes them is not reparations for bad things that were done to their ancestors but an opportunity equal to that of all other nine-year-olds. . . . What we owe the victims of injustice is justice, not a causal account of how they came to be victimized" (166–7). The latter argument is important and will no doubt cause controversy; in the space I have, however, I will restrict myself to three criticisms of Michaels's foundational arguments regarding "the shape of the signifier." 1. Michaels has still not given a rigorous account of his own theory of intention; he says we need to believe in intention if we are not to fall into grave error, and writes a blank check on it that he fills in for any amount as needed. As near as I can make out, he holds the standard idealist, mentalist, essentially miraculist notion of intention as a magical something that can accomplish what definable worldly phenomena like formal combinatories cannot: provide a transcendent anchor for an otherwise unanchored human practice. 2. Michaels fails to so much as note the conflict between his claim that the Derridean signifier is a physical object and the fact that the concept of différance was developed as a radicalization of Saussure's denial that in language there are any "positive terms." This is a crucial issue because the physical object is the very archetype of positivity and of that "presence" that was the target of deconstruction. Michaels can make Derrida out to be a "matterist" (here I invoke a...

Use of Nonhuman Primates in Entertainment in Southeast Asia

The modern zoo has its origins in the royal menageries of ages past, where animals were kept for purposes of exhibition and entertainment for the privileged few (Bennett, 1829). What demarcates modern zoos from the animal menageries? Zoos no longer treat animals as display items solely for public enjoyment. Besides the fundamental objective of providing entertainment to the public, modern zoos also play a part as educators and conservationists (Hutchins & Weise, 1991). Yet zoos face a constant stream of criticism. Debate continues over their role in conservation, keeping large animals such as carnivores, and whether zoos should even exist (Clubb & Mason, 2003; Jamieson, 1986; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 2004). An important component of the zoo experience still involves animal shows and photography featuring a whole array of species. As public attitudes toward animal welfare and ethics have changed markedly in many parts of the world in recent decades, charismatic species such as dolphins, elephants, and nonhuman primates have received increasing amounts of scrutiny for their use in entertainment (Kirkwood, 2003). The most contentious ethical issues facing modern zoos are the JOURNAL OF APPLIED ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE, 8(2), 141–149 Copyright © 2005, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Journalism studies: The need to think about journalists' thinking

Journalism trainers and educators (with the emphasis on education) should take the criticism against journalism seriously, including the deep-rooted mistrust of journalism, and use it as a point of departure in their curriculum development. This article paraphrases the early criticism against journalism, after which the two main streams of contemporary criticism, namely critical political economy and professional criticism are briefly discussed. Pierre Bourdieu's views about the structural limitations of journalism and the fact that these limitations are not questioned by journalists, as well as Kenneth Minogue's views about journalistic ideology and how it has become transparent and forms the basis of the public's mistrust of the media, are emphasised. Against this background, it is argued that, to raise the quality of journalism, journalism studies should adopt a more fundamental approach to the understanding of journalism and the journalist's work. Instead of focussing predominantly on professional skills, there is a need for journalism studies, also in terms of raising its own status as an academic discipline, to focus more on intellectual skills such as reasoning, argumentation, persuasion (rhetoric), contextualisation, the skills of historical thinking, description, interpretation and evaluation. Apart from this, it is argued that South African journalism studies should also focus on the development of an African epistemology for the practice and evaluation of journalism in South Africa.

The Effect of Dispersal Patterns on Stream Populations

Individuals in streams are constantly subject to predominantly unidirectional flow. The question of how these populations can persist in upper stream reaches is known as the drift paradox. We employ a general mechanistic movement-model framework and derive dispersal kernels for this situation. We derive thin- as well as fat-tailed kernels. We then introduce population dynamics and analyze the resulting integrodifferential equation. In particular, we study how the critical domain size and the invasion speed depend on the velocity of the stream flow. We give exact conditions under which a population can persist in a finite domain in the presence of stream flow, as well as conditions under which a population can spread against the direction of the flow. We find a critical stream velocity above which a population cannot persist in an arbitrarily large domain. At exactly the same stream velocity, the invasion speed against the flow becomes zero; for larger velocities, the population retreats with the flow.

The Effect of Dispersal Patterns on Stream Populations

Individuals in streams are constantly subject to predominantly unidirectional flow. The question of how these populations can persist in upper stream reaches is known as the "drift paradox." We employ a general mechanistic movement-model framework and derive dispersal kernels for this situation. We derive thin- as well as fat-tailed kernels. We then introduce population dynamics and analyze the resulting integrodifferential equation. In particular, we study how the critical domain size and the invasion speed depend on the velocity of the stream flow. We give exact conditions under which a population can persist in a finite domain in the presence of stream flow, as well as conditions under which a population can spread against the direction of the flow. We find a critical stream velocity above which a population cannot persist in an arbitrarily large domain. At exactly the same stream velocity, the invasion speed against the flow becomes zero; for larger velocities, the population retreats with the flow.

Hydro-geomorphic hazards and impact of man-made structures during the catastrophic flood of June 2000 in the Upper Guil catchment (Queyras, Southern French Alps)

The Guil River Valley (Queyras, Southern French Alps) is prone to catastrophic floods, as the long historical archives and Holocene sedimentary records demonstrate. In June 2000, the upper part of this valley was affected by a “30-year” recurrence interval (R.I.) flood. Although of lower magnitude and somewhat different nature from that of 1957 (>100-year R.I. flood), the 2000 event induced serious damage to infrastructure and buildings on the valley floor. Use of methods including high-resolution aerial photography, multi-date mapping, hydraulic calculations and field observations made possible the characterisation of the geomorphic impacts on the Guil River and its tributaries. The total rainfall (260 mm in four days) and maximum hourly intensity (17.3 mm h −1), aggravated by pre-existing saturated soils, explain the immediate response of the fluvial system and the subsequent destabilisation of slopes. Abundant water and sediment supply (landsliding, bank erosion), particularly from small catchment basins cut into slaty, schist bedrock, resulted in destructive pulses of debris flow and hyperconcentrated flows. The specific stream power of the Guil and its tributaries was greater than the critical stream power, thus explaining the abundant sediment transport. The Guil discharge was estimated as 180 m 3 s −1 at Aiguilles, compared to the annual mean discharge of 6 m 3 s −1 and a June mean discharge of 18 m 3 s −1. The impacts on the Guil valley floor (flooding, aggradation, generalised bank erosion and changes in the river pattern) were widespread and locally influenced by variations in the floodplain slope and/or channel geometry. The stream partially reoccupied former channels abandoned or modified in their geometry by various structures built during the last four decades, as exemplified by the Aiguilles case study, where the worst damage took place. A comparative study of the geomorphic consequences of both the 1957 and 2000 floods shows that, despite their poor maintenance, the flood control structures built after the 1957 event were relatively efficient, in contrast to unprotected places. The comparison also demonstrates the role of land-use changes (conversion from traditional agro-pastoral life to a ski/hiking-based economy, construction of various structures) in reducing the Guil channel capacity and, more generally, in increasing the vulnerability of the human installations. The efficiency of the measures taken after the 2000 flood (narrowing and digging out of the channel) is also assessed. Final evaluation suggests that, in such high mountainous environments, there is a need to keep most of the 1957 flooded zone clear of buildings and other structures (aside from the existing villages and structures of particular economic interest), in order to enable the river to migrate freely and to adjust to exceptional hydro-geomorphic conditions without causing major damage.

An incision wave in the geologic record, Alpujarran Corridor, southern Spain (Almerı́a)

The term “incision wave” was coined in the 1990s to describe wave-like patterns of stream incision propagating through numerically modeled bedrock-channel river systems. An incision wave consists of a crest where available stream power is greatest, and where vertical incision is most rapid. The crest is flanked by limbs where there is less available stream power and where vertical incision rates are slower. Farther away from the crest, available stream power is less and incision rates are slower than in the limbs. Modeling results suggest tectonically induced base-level fall triggers incision waves that propagate upstream through bedrock-stream networks. However, it has recently been postulated that the equation underpinning incision-wave models cannot realistically simulate river systems. This paper provides field-geological evidence supporting the hypothesis that tectonically induced base-level fall triggers incision waves that propagate through bedrock-stream networks for tens of kilometers. Mid and late Pleistocene alluvial morphostratigraphy in the Rı́o Andarax drainage basin, southeast Spain is interpreted to indicate that patterns of paleo stream power were controlled by an incision wave. In the conceptual model proposed in this paper, the signature of an incision wave in the Rı́o Andarax drainage network is recorded by the contrasting morphostratigraphy of oxygen isotope stage 8 (“OIS8”) time landforms. At the crest of the incision wave during OIS8, there is no record of a paleoalluvial level because available stream power exceeded critical stream power and streams were incising vertically. The crestal area is flanked by OIS8-time strath terraces, which record the position of the two limbs of the incision wave. Farther upstream, OIS8-time alluvial fills mark an area unaffected by the incision wave. During oxygen isotope Stage 2 (“OIS2”) and/or oxygen isotope Stage 1 (“OIS1”), sediment availability in the Rı́o Andarax catchment was low, and the pattern of relative stream power was threshold-like rather than wave-like. Differences in the manifestation of the incision wave during OIS8 vs. during OIS2 and/or OIS1 indicate that climate and sediment availability can control how incision waves propagate through fluvial systems.

In Search of the Subject: Researching Employee Reactions to Human Resource Management

Far too little is known about how employees, as the subject of Human Resource Management (HRM), react to its practice. Both the performance-focused and critical streams of writing on HRM perceive the employee in instrumental terms, while neither stream provides a satisfactory means of accommodating competing conceptions of HRM itself. An emerging stream of employee-focused literature makes a credible attempt to assess employee reactions but it too is affected by conceptual and methodological limitations. With a view to addressing these shortcomings, this article employs a discursive framework of analysis which distinguishes between concepts (HRM ideas), objects (idealised human resources) and subjects (thinking and acting employees on whom HRM is practised). It argues that a meaningful evaluation of the discursive concept of HRM only becomes possible by analysing the primary discursive object of HRM (the employee) as a discursive subject. Drawing on the most promising insights offered in the employee-focused literature, including the notions of the psychological contract and organisational justice, the article proposes a series of research questions designed to assist researchers to be more methodical and reflexive in their efforts to recentre the employee as the primary subject of HRM.