Current Posture Research Articles

American power: from ‘compellance’ to cosmopolitanism?

This article argues that the Bush strategy of ‘spectacle war’ is caught in an earlier Cold War paradigm primarily aimed at influencing American public opinion and that it fails to take into account the reality of the current global context, especially with regard to changes in the nature of sovereignty and in the role of military force. The United States, in its current posture, has the capability to be very destructive but is much less able to do ‘compellance’, that is to say, to impose its will on others. In particular, the current strategy cannot defeat terrorism. The article draws up a typology of different visions of how American power is, or should be, exercised based on different assumptions about sovereignty and military power. It concludes that American power can only be exercised constructively within a cosmopolitan framework. Such a framework is best suited to the containment, and possibly, the defeat of terrorism. It would contribute both to global economic growth and to American democracy.

Pediatric practice and education in the genomic/postgenomic era

Pediatric practice and education in the genomic/postgenomic era

US nuclear posture

The current US nuclear posture review (NPR) should answer key questions, such as how many of the 7,000 strategic nuclear warheads should be retired, against whom and what those remaining should be targeted, and how weapons cuts should be distributed amongst the 'triad' of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and long-range bombers. Factors to be studied include the present shape and future direction of the post-Cold War political environment; wider issues concerning nuclear deterrence, such as the number and types of weapon needed to facilitate deterrence; and, on a more theoretical level, the patterns of behaviour that can be deterred by nuclear weapons. There is considerable disagreement within the US defence community over the answers to each of these questions, just as there was during the Cold War.

A motion generator approach to translating human motion from video to animation

This paper proposes a motion generator approach to translating human motion from video image sequences to computer animations in real time. In this approach, a motion generator makes inferences about the current human motion and/or posture from the data obtained by processing the source video images, and then generates a set of joint angles for the target human body model. Compared with conventional motion capture methods, our approach is more robust, and tolerant of broader environmental and postural conditions. Experiments on a prototype system show that an animated virtual human can walk, sit, and lie as the real human performs without special illumination control. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pricing and positioning for the Single European Currency – the state of play among Northampton small and medium‐sized enterprises

Pricing and positioning strategies are of increasing strategic importance and are crucial to the long‐term competitiveness of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Following the introduction of the Single European Currency (referred to as the “Euro” throughout this paper), the paper suggests that there will be a major squeeze on price differentials between European Union (EU) member states, creating a danger that existing price‐based positioning strategies will be undermined. This “European pricing and positioning time bomb” will affect UK SMEs (as well as larger businesses) over their short‐term planning horizon, even if UK entry into the Euro is delayed indefinitely. Strategic responses to the Euro will be most effective if they are planned and implemented at the earliest possible time. This paper explores and analyses the findings from a small sample survey of export‐active, consumer goods manufacturing, Northampton SMEs, carried out in late 1997. The aim is to establish their existing pricing and positioning strategies for EU Europe, their preparedness at that time for the introduction of the Euro and the main forms which their pricing and positioning strategies for the Euro were then taking. The findings suggest that most of the SMEs surveyed were in the early stages of planning for the Euro, but that many had not yet fully grasped its strategic marketing significance. Three categories of current marketing postures are identified: price standardisation, price but not product differentiation, and price differentiation supported by product differentiation between EU markets. The paper concludes by evaluating the effectiveness of responses based on these three alternative categories to the new marketing environment in EU Europe that the Euro will create. A set of strategic recommendations is also made for SMEs’ pricing and positioning strategies in the Euro context.

Regulating the Internet

The Internet is one of the most remarkable products of the 20th century and not least among the remarkable things about it is that it is the only electronic medium not regulated. Yet. Despite a lot of rhetorical assurances of elected public officials and unelected bureaucrats, the unregulated character of the Net will change; it is just a matter of how and how soon. The focus of this brief essay is on classic forms of regulation. The Internet is now somewhere between two heavily regulated media--mass media and telecommunications media. However, it is a commonplace that these other media are converging, and it appears they are converging around the Internet technology and architecture. As this happens, as the Internet becomes both our telephone and our television, it naturally invites questions about whether and how traditional regulatory policies will be extended to Internet communications. The current posture of Internet exceptionalism in regard to regulatory policies does not appear to be sustainable. The pressures to regulate are particularly prominent in the economic area. Issues such as open access to broadband facilities (being pressed by independent ISPs) and local access charges (being pressed by local telephone companies) are creating a climate for regulation. In part this simply follows the old siren song of maintaining a level playing field between new and old media--a song that always seems to result in leveling up rather than leveling down the (regulated) playing field. If this happens again here (I predict it will), we will have lost one of the most important charms of the Internet--the chance to use it as an occasion for rethinking some of the old regulatory models.

Implementing a TQM Strategy Through Surveying Employee Attitudes and Perceptions

Competition and consumer demand for quality are driving companies toward a new view of quality as a vital strategy for success. A new business philosophy of Total Quality Management (TQM) is the direct outcome of these forces. Before implementing a TQM system the firm must first assess its current quality posture. Surveying employee attitudes and perceptions about quality and related issues is the first step in implementing a TQM system. Part One provides an overview of the design, administration, and analysis of the survey as well as implications of survey results for the firm's quality program. Part Two provides a detailed discussion of sampling procedures, sample size decisions, and analysis of the results of the survey. Part Two also includes a sample questionnaire which can be used in employee attitudes surveys.

Prevalence of kyphosis in a healthy sample of pre- and postmenopausal women.

Kyphosis, initially modest, progresses to the well recognized dowager's hump of the postmenopausal osteoporotic woman. Kyphosis is not only associated with relatively altered vertebral body shape (anterior wedging), but also with reduced bone density and fitness, as well as decreased muscle strength, and is associated with reduced survival. We found an unexpectedly high (35%) incidence of kyphosis in a healthy sample of well women 20 to 64 years of age. The correlation between normal postural index of kyphosis (I/K) and upright postural I/K was substantial (r = 0.799). Among the postmenopausal women, normal postural I/K was inversely correlated with age. Upright postural kyphosis was not related to age, nor was normal postural I/K in the premenopausal woman. There was no direct relationship demonstrated between current calcium consumption and I/K. Similarly, neither estrogen levels nor follicle-stimulating hormone levels were related to current posture. Women with satisfactory exercise habits had significantly lower I/K. Because the capacity to stand up straight was consistently higher than the normal postural score, yet closely correlated to it, there may be a role for postural kyphosis in changing the architecture of the vertebral column. As normal posture becomes kyphotic, an individual can no longer straighten the vertebral column. The surveyor's flexicurve, which we employed for this study, provided a simple and inexpensive method for assessing postural index. This measurement can be routinely included in the comprehensive health examination. Assessment of bone health in women should be made within the context of a fixed postural kyphosis.

Ready Reserve Fleet Activations: The View from the Deckplates

ABSTRACTThe 2 August 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and its subsequent political developments quickly led to the recognition that a “military solution” was at least a possibility. To support the large military logistics effort that would obviously be required, a mass activation of the nation's Ready Reserve Force commenced on 9 August 1990. By early 1991, over seventy ships had been designated for activation. This enormous effort severely strained the resources of the Ready Reserve program, as well as the commercial ship repair industry in the United States. It also overloaded the already limited resource pool of available mariners to man the ships. Although several foreign charters were initially necessary to meet the demand, within a short time the availability of successfully activated U. S. reserve fleet ships grew to fill the wartime need. This article reviews the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) and the current posture of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) activation program, provides several firsthand examples of how activations are played out on the deckplates, and presents a summary of lessons learned; all in search of improvements which might make the process even more successful when the RRF is needed again in the future.

Recreational Drugs: Societal and Professional Issues

Recreational drug use presents a challenge to society and, in particular, the profession of nursing. Recreational drug use must be appreciated for the implications it presents for the episodes of abuse and development of chronic health problems. The effects and recreational use of volatile substances, cannabis, opioids, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, cocaine, psychedelics, and designer drugs as well as alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine must be acknowledged and understood if options for change are to be considered. The resultant cost of recreational drug use as well as health care implications, public safety, and prevention are significant issues society is faced with today. These issues will continue to be significant unless the current posture toward recreational drug use and abuse is addressed. The profession of nursing continues to be faced with the problems associated with recreational drug use not only through caring for clients, but immediately by the effects of recreational drug use on individual professional nurses. To respond effectively, nursing education and nursing research must be challenged to create an emphasis on this focus. Only through this type of multifocal approach will long-term substantial change be affected for the betterment of future generations.

The November 1988 Palestine national council resolutions in Algiers and their aftermath

Although Arafat's 14 December 1988 statement in Geneva was described by PLO spokesmen as an accurate interpretation of the resolutions adopted in Algiers on 15 November by the PLO's Palestine National Council, the disparity between the two statements calls for a detailed examination of the PNC resolutions to determine the current posture and intentions of the PLO. At the Algiers session, a Palestinian Declaration of Independence and a Political were approved. This study examines the PNC resolutions included in those documents in light of Arafat's Geneva Statement and other pronouncements made by top PLO leaders subsequently to the Algiers session. Despite claims to the contrary, nowhere in the PNC resolutions themselves is there any explicit recognition of Israel. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, which may be construed as implying recognition of Israel's to exist, were accepted by the PNC only tangentially as a basis for an conference. And that oblique acceptance was further eroded by additional preconditions: acceptance of the Palestinians' right to self‐determination--i. e., an independent state--and of all relevant UN resolutions--some of which contradict 242/338. It has been argued that by partially basing its Declaration of Independence on UN Resolution 181 of 1947, which partitioned Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish the PNC implicitly accepted Israel's to exist. But the PNC referred to 181 exclusively as a source of international legitimacy for the Palestinian not the Jewish state. Nowhere in its resolutions did the PNC define the borders of the Palestinian state it declared, which by implication would have also defined the borders of Israel it was ready to accept. Subsequent statements by PLO leaders suggest that the PNC may still intend to revitalize its 1974 phase program for the liberation of all Palestinian soil. Furthermore, the PNC rejected direct negotiations with Israel, derogated Israel's sovereign to determine admission and exclusion of would‐be immigrants by insisting on the Palestinians' right of return to all of Palestine, described Israel as a fascist, racist, colonialist state, and took no steps to amend its 1968 Palestine National Covenant, which calls for Israel's destruction. And other than Arafat's Stockholm and Geneva statements to the Western press, virtually all subsequent pronouncements by top PLO leaders--particularly in Arabic--further aggravate the doubts that the PNC genuinely intended to recognize Israel. Just five days after clearly and unambiguously renouncing terrorism in Geneva, Arafat stated that he had meant to condemn, not renounce, terrorism and essentially only to repeat the PNC resolutions on that issue. The PNC had predicated its rejection of terrorism in all its forms on the reaffirmation of several previous formulations, each of which leaves the PLO with complete freedom to conduct terrorist attacks. Language: en

ROYAL NAVY OIL SPILL RESPONSE POSTURE—DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE MID 1970s1

ABSTRACT Parameters for the Royal Navy's current spill response postures and the associated required equipment are given, followed by discussion of ballast water problems resulting from the development of the modern warship. Equipment development is traced over the past decade in the three areas of dispersal, containment, and recovery: this is followed by detail of Royal Navy oil spill equipment, current holdings, and performance. The factors which have influenced oil spill response postures and equipment development during the past decade, are reviewed with indications given for the way ahead.

Alternative defence: answer to NATO's Central Front problems?

In the early 1980s, intense controversy over the deployment of new American intermediate-range nuclear missiles brought insistent questioning in Western Europe of the existing NATO defence posture and its dependence on nuclear weapons, along with a steady stream of proposals calling for its radical reorganization. These ideas have been most numerous in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), where the bulk of NATO ground forces face the main Warsaw Pact standing forces, and where opposition to missile deployment has been most intense. The resultant debate between the proponents of new approaches and the supporters of the current NATO force posture has had two main themes: the possibility of a defence based on a drastic cutback of NATO nuclear weapons, and discussion of the merits of static defence (based on high-technology microelectronics-sensors, and rocket-launchers using precision-guided munitions) versus mobile defence (based on tanks and other armoured platforms). In the context of a possible agreement on intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) between the United States and the Soviet Union, Western military experts and diplomats are anxiously looking for new ways to improve NATO conventional defences-and also for a productive negotiating position for the new NATO-Warsaw Pact 'Atlantic to the Urals' negotiations scheduled to open in the spring of 1988. Proponents of these new approaches claim to have answers to both needs. This article examines the contentions of those supporting the new proposals that their adoption would sharply reduce the dangers of the formidable force concentration in central Europe and, even if implemented unilaterally by NATO, would contribute to building down that confrontation. There is no widely accepted standard designation for these suggestions for reorienting NATO's defence posture. In the analysis that follows, they will be called proposals for alternative defence. But before turning to a detailed analysis of alternative defence proposals, it may be useful to place them in context against the overall setting of developments in NATO thought and criticisms of the NATO posture since the early 1980s.

Review Essay : Getting Rid of Nuclear Weapons: A Review of a Few Proposals for a Conventional Defense of Europe

The review of proposals for a conventionalization of the defense of Europe confronts basic conclusions suggested by the ESECS-team (namely enriching the structure of traditional mechanized forces by enhanced options for deep strikes) with three West German concepts (Afheldt, Hannig, Löser) that advocate a gradual change towards a pattern of 'pure' defensivity. Finally, the British report 'Defence without the Bomb' is discussed in a broader political perspective. A cautious evaluation of these proposals indicates that a 'defensive defense' promises pay-offs in terms of crisis stability and prevention of escalation. Moreover, there seem to be respectable arguments that alternative structures might be more in accordance with our increasingly limited resources than a continuation or high-tech version of the current posture.

What China Expects—and Plans For

It is, of course, a matter of judgment whether or not one believes the current international situation is, as the Chinese put it, one characterized by a great disorder on earth—“the wind sweeping through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountains.” But the general trends seem to be quite clear: a disintegration of the cold war coalitions, the emergence of nonsecurity issues as die essence of international politics, and a change toward new power configurations. In such a transitional context the current Chinese posture in international politics seems to be based on one of self-assured “providential statesmanship” exploiting all the possibilities in the “great disorder under heaven.”

Gas Prices and Gas Volumes The Current Posture

By 1990, the U.S. demand for gas could fall short of the supply by as much as 8 trillion cubic feet. Given proper governmental regulation, this supply could be met by importing liquefied natural gas or by gasifying coal, lignite and oil shade. Introduction Natural gas has become the single most important fuel produced in the U.S., and the use of it in other parts produced in the U.S., and the use of it in other parts of the world is increasing rapidly. This form of energy is the subject of far-reaching decisions in business, financial and governmental circles, and the continuation of its importance among fuels rests upon the supply available. Supply, in turn, resolves into a physical availability component (how much is there?) and a market incentive component (how much will users be allowed to pay?). It is the burden of this paper to show (1) that many people want - and will pay for - comfort in forms people want - and will pay for - comfort in forms that can be satisfied only by increasing quantities of gas; (2) that adequate supplies of gas can be made available to meet this demand from sources domestic and foreign, natural and synthetic; and, (3) that the major question as to satisfying these wants is whether the governmental authorities will break with those past practices that have produced today's impasse in past practices that have produced today's impasse in world affairs and foreign trade and, instead, follow policies that will permit the necessary formation of policies that will permit the necessary formation of capital and freedom of commerce. Demand All authorities agree that there is a substantially increasing demand for gas in the U. S. Estimates of future gas consumption are shown in Table 1, which shows gas use increasing at the compound rate of 2.8 to 4.2 percent/year between 1965 and 1985. The estimates are made by highly experienced people who have taken into account oil reasonably measurable influences. With few exceptions each estimate assumes a continuation of past trends in birth rates, increasing efficiency of utilization, growth in GNP and relative prices of competitive fuels, with an adjustment for the prices of competitive fuels, with an adjustment for the inroads of nuclear power. But it is also assumed that communism will be contained without war, that the rich nations will continue to grow richer relative to the poor nations, that waste disposal (including that of nuclear power plants) will not become a limitation, and that air pollution control will not materially affect gas usage. One can only pause and remember the estimates of future whale oil use that undoubtedly were being made in 1859 as Colonel Drake spudded his well in Pennsylvania, or estimates of gas for lighting use that were being made in New Jersey when the local gas company threatened Thomas Alva Edison about his delinquent bill an action in part responsible for the electric light bulb. JPT P. 563

Literature and Religion

LITERATURE AND RELIGION A. WiLBER Stevens At a Conference on Literature and Theology held at Emory University in November of last year, Professor Nathan Scott, Jr. made some interesting points in a paper entitled "The Conscience of the New Literature, or, Between Antioch and Alexandria." Dr. Scott mentioned that Joyce, Eliot, and other moderns in previous years had attempted to give form to formlessness. Their contribution was invaluable. He then went on to speak of a position which has situated the contemporary writer of today between Antioch (the culture which might be called Aristotelian, historical and realistic) and Alexandria (which might be represented by the philosophy of Philo and which could be termed Hellenic, Platonic, Mystical and Mythical). Scott sees the modern writer as embracing neither side—rather, the writer is in a kind of moral stalemate, in a mood of black humor and anti-teleological bias. He described the literature of today, then, as being in what he termed a "post-modern" phase. There is no serious attempt to compete with reality. (He used as examples the work of Robert Musil and Robbe-Grillet.) In these writers, there L· no metaphysical transcendence, no character as we used to understand it, and incidents do not have relationships with character. There is also a termination of a relation between literature and art, a kind of ruthless purism. Dr. Scott asked whether or not there is any solution to this dilemma, and introduced Kafka's admonishment: It is not necessary that you leave the house. Stay at your desk and listen. Don't even listen—only wait. Don't even wait, just be absolutely still and alone. The world will offer itself to you to be unmasked; it cannot do anything else— ecstatically will it whirl before you. Scott drew a connection between post-modernism and the "God is Dead" theologians who have attempted to convert perplexity to dogma. Indeed, he made it patently clear that literature and theology are both postmodern and are in the same situation. I hazard the opinion that Professor Scott spoke eloquently to that more and more enforced literary tactic and condition in which we find ourselves presently at rest. Possibly, to wait for the unfolding is our proper stewardship . If we do this, if we wait, we have nothing to lose but ourselves, and, at the same time, nothing to discover but ourselves. Surely, our current posture, while it has become increasingly fey and well informed, continues to be busy in its careful disregard for the humble access to random mysteries. The dimensions of this plenary session, in terms of time, aesthetic and scope are such that I find myself inevitably and immediately brought to my knees in fear of over-generalizing, and, if I may use the term, over-committing . In whatever realm of literary criticism one may be working, he is on the edge of a precipice when he comes to the subject of literature and Literature and Religion169 religion, and, in the words of our Executive Secretary, "the relevance of literature to other areas." I should point out, however, that in the last twenty years, particularly in the last eight or ten years, the relationship of literature to religion has been intensively explored and re-explored. I speak not only of vast amounts of published material and increasing numbers of meetings (represented by such organizations as the Conference on Christianity and Literature or by the conference held last year on Theology and Literature at Emory University ), but also in the areas of curricular innovation on many campuses. I would be amiss if I did not hasten to mention the splendid Bibliography of Literature and Religion compiled by Professor Emest G. Griffin of the University of Alberta, published in March 1967 and supplemented by a selected list of new tides dated August 1968. This bibliography lists books only. Dr. Griffin promises us a revised bibliography of literature and religion in the near future. At any rate, his present collection seems standard and basic to me. Incidentally, Professor Griffin's office would be glad to furnish anyone interested with the present Bibliography. The strategy (and I will be using this word again in a less...

POSTURE AND THE LUMBAR REGION OF THE SPINE

Medical Journal of AustraliaVolume 2, Issue 11 p. 423-424 Current Comment POSTURE AND THE LUMBAR REGION OF THE SPINE First published: 01 September 1956 https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1956.tb56835.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume2, Issue11September 1956Pages 423-424 RelatedInformation