Dissimilar Approaches Research Articles

Who is the Real Owner? Or How a Simple Pepsi-Cola Story Can Help Students Build Critical Thinking Skills

Besides language competence, international students must develop a systematic approach to processing information and follow up with co-construction of the knowledge acquired. Critical thinking is a crucial principle commonly required in North American universities for evaluating academic texts. This practice may present certain difficulties for English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) students, as they may be influenced by cultural norms accepted in the academic environment of their home country or by dissimilar approaches to evaluating academic texts. This article discusses our classroom experience with assisting EAL students, predominantly from China and Saudi Arabia, in developing critical thinking skills; however, the operational model offered may also be useful with students from other cultural backgrounds.

Insights into current practices in auditing environmental matters

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate insights into current practices in auditing “environmental matters” in accordance with Audit Guidance Statement 1010: The Consideration of Environmental Matters in the Audit of Financial Reports, which was introduced by the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2001.Design/methodology/approachThe approach to gathering evidence for this study is qualitative semi‐structured in‐depth personal interviews with 27 auditors: 18 financial auditors (FAs) in chartered accounting practice and nine public sector auditors (PSAs) from the office of the Auditor‐General.FindingsThe interview findings confirmed that the auditors respond to isomorphic pressures that affect them, either by employing acquiesce or compromise strategies and that institutional theory fits best as an appropriate theory to frame the research. Environmental matters are only considered in the planning of a company audit when it is significant and relevant to financial reporting. However, evidence showed that FAs are influenced by mimetic isomorphism by adopting the perspective of company management. On the other hand, PSAs are driven by the legislative mandate imposed by the Local Government Act 2002 to search out and verify the validity, accuracy and completeness of information on environmental matters. FAs auditing both companies in the private sector and public sector organisations are able to maintain two dissimilar approaches and attitudes, depending on the type of entities they are auditing.Research limitations/implicationsAs with all qualitative interviews, there are some limitations associated with individuals' responses to the semi‐structured open‐ended interview questions.Practical implicationsTo prioritise the consideration of environmental matters in the audit practices of FAs for company audits will require both coercive and normative pressures in their organizational sphere.Originality/valueThis study assists in understanding an audit phenomenon not widely known. It would also add a geographical variation to existing literature.

A decision support tool to prioritize risk management options for contaminated sites

The decisions on risk management (RM) of contaminated sites in Finland have typically been driven by practical factors such as time and money. However, RM is a multifaceted task that generally involves several additional determinants, e.g. performance and environmental effects of remediation methods, psychological and social factors. Therefore, we adopted a multi-criteria decision analysis approach and developed a decision support tool (DST) that is viable in decision-making in such a complex situation. The basic components of the DST are based on the Dutch REC system. However, our DST is more case-specific and allows the consideration of the type, magnitude and scale of contamination, land use, environmental conditions and socio-cultural aspects (e.g. loss of cultural heritage, image aspects). The construction of the DST was started by structuring the decision problem using a value tree. Based on this work we adopted the Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) for data aggregation. The final DST was demonstrated by two model sites for which the RM alternatives and site-specific data were created on the basis of factual remediation projects and by interviewing experts. The demonstration of the DST was carried out in a workshop where representatives of different stakeholders were requested to rank and weight the decision criteria involved. To get information on the consistency of the ranking of the RM alternatives, we used different weighting techniques (ratio estimation and pair-wise weighting) and alternative ways to treat individual respondents' weights in calculating the preference scores for each RM alternative. These dissimilar approaches resulted in some differences in the preference order of the RM alternatives. The demonstration showed that attention has to be paid to the proper description of the site, the principles of the procedure and the decision criteria. Nevertheless, the procedure proved to enable efficient communication between different stakeholders and the identification of the preferred RM option.

Human health risk assessment of endosulfan. Part IV: Occupational reentry and public non-dietary exposure and risk

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released revised draft risk assessments for the pesticidal active ingredient, endosulfan, just 2 months apart, in November 2007 and January 2008. The exposure estimates, critical to risk assessment, were calculated by each agency using dissimilar approaches in certain aspects. The scenarios for which exposures and risks were estimated also varied somewhat between the two agencies, although there were substantial overlaps that allowed specific comparisons of exposure and risk estimates. Reasons underlying major differences in estimates of exposure for field workers working in treated crops (reentry exposure) are discussed in this paper. Differences in dislodgeable foliar residue levels calculated by CDPR and USEPA, reflecting endosulfan residues encountered by field workers entering treated orchards and fields, contributed the most to discrepancies in reentry exposure estimates between the two agencies. Additionally, because of differences in legal mandates CDPR estimated exposures for members of the public exposed to endosulfan in ambient air and when swimming, whereas USEPA did not. Exposures calculated for bystanders adjacent to a pesticide application suggest a potential health concern, but estimated swimmer exposures did not.

Regional anesthesia and pre-existing neurological disease —I

To the Editor: Dhir et aL ~ should be congratulated for successfully administering regional anesthesia to a small series of patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. In reading the aforementioned case reports, it not only becomes apparent that dissimilar approaches to the brachial plexus were utilized but also that different local anesthetic solutions and volumes were employed. 1 Universally absent from these local anesthetic solutions was epinephrine. 1 Epinephrine possesses a complex pharmacodynamic profile and exerts dose dependent changes in peripheral nerve blood flow. 2 For example, a 1:200,000 concentration of epinephrine has been demonstrated to decrease peripheral nerve blood flow. 2 Unsurprisingly, this reduction in regional blood flow is well tolerated in patients without vascular compromise or peripheral nervous system disorders. 2 However, patients afflicted with peripheral nervous system disorders, including Charcot-Marie-To oth disease, may be more susceptible to nerve damage following periods of diminished blood supply. Maintaining blood flow to a partially demyelinated nerve may eliminate one etiology involved in the double-crush phenomenon) Remote from these vascular properties, epinephrine may also enhance local anesthetic induced nerve toxicity. 2 Given the possible injurious consequences of epinephrine, the authors x should be applauded for omitting this vasoconstrictor from their local anesthetic solutions. Given the equivocal patient responses to nerve stimulation, ultrasound guidance allowed these practitioners to strategically place local anesthetic circumferentially around the brachial plexus) The authors do not mention in their article whether the epineurium was violated or if the local anesthetic was placed outside the epineural barrier and allowed to diffuse inward.1 When placed underneath the epineurium, local anesthetics may diminish peripheral nerve blood supply secondary to edema or a mass effect. 4 By not breeching the epineurim and allowing the local anesthetic solution to diffuse inward, it is possible that nerve fascicles in the endoneurium are exposed to a lower concentration of local anesthetic. In general, higher concentrations of local anesthetics produce increased cytotoxic effects. 5 These cytotoxic effects are typically proportionate to duration of exposure to local anesthetic, s It is worth mentioning that Dhir et al. 1 did not incorporate bupivacaine into any of their local anesthetic solutions.

Regional anesthesia and pre-existing neurological disease — II

To the Editor: Dhir et aL ~ should be congratulated for successfully administering regional anesthesia to a small series of patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. In reading the aforementioned case reports, it not only becomes apparent that dissimilar approaches to the brachial plexus were utilized but also that different local anesthetic solutions and volumes were employed. 1 Universally absent from these local anesthetic solutions was epinephrine. 1 Epinephrine possesses a complex pharmacodynamic profile and exerts dose dependent changes in peripheral nerve blood flow. 2 For example, a 1:200,000 concentration of epinephrine has been demonstrated to decrease peripheral nerve blood flow. 2 Unsurprisingly, this reduction in regional blood flow is well tolerated in patients without vascular compromise or peripheral nervous system disorders. 2 However, patients afflicted with peripheral nervous system disorders, including Charcot-Marie-To oth disease, may be more susceptible to nerve damage following periods of diminished blood supply. Maintaining blood flow to a partially demyelinated nerve may eliminate one etiology involved in the "double-crush phenomenon") Remote from these vascular properties, epinephrine may also enhance local anesthetic induced nerve toxicity. 2 Given the possible injurious consequences of epinephrine, the authors x should be applauded for omitting this vasoconstrictor from their local anesthetic solutions. Given the equivocal patient responses to nerve stimulation, ultrasound guidance allowed these practitioners to strategically place local anesthetic circumferentially around the brachial plexus) The authors do not mention in their article whether the epineurium was violated or if the local anesthetic was placed outside the epineural barrier and allowed to diffuse inward.1 When placed underneath the epineurium, local anesthetics may diminish peripheral nerve blood supply secondary to edema or a mass effect. 4 By not breeching the epineurim and allowing the local anesthetic solution to diffuse inward, it is possible that nerve fascicles in the endoneurium are exposed to a lower concentration of local anesthetic. In general, higher concentrations of local anesthetics produce increased cytotoxic effects. 5 These cytotoxic effects are typically proportionate to duration of exposure to local anesthetic, s It is worth mentioning that Dhir et al. 1 did not incorporate bupivacaine into any of their local anesthetic solutions.

La mortalité différentielle mesurée en termes de dissemblance

"Under some conditions, the comparison of life expectancies may lead to a much more accurate measure, in terms of dissimilarity between the empirical distributions of the number of years expected to live at each age. This paper analyses these conditions and applies the dissimilarity approach to the data of the Italian life tables of the 20th century." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)

A Meta-Analysis of Studies on the Determinants of Standardization and Localization of International Marketing and Advertising Strategies

We performed a systematic quantitative meta-analysis of international marketing/advertising research with regard to standardization versus localization or similar versus dissimilar marketing approach across national markets. The analysis used nine estimated moderators from 1268 statistical models in 152 studies published in 10 major marketing, advertising, and international business journals during the period 1960-2004. The study was framed in an extended conceptual model which utilized 10 advertising and marketing moderators. The study findings provided support for standardization approaches with regard to marketing mix (e.g., product, price distribution, promotion) and organization factors. There was slight or little support for localization approaches with target market, market position, environmental factors, and information ad appeals. The conceptual advertising moderators, which include sender (agency/company), affective ad appeals and ad executions, and receiver (attitudes toward advertising and beliefs, values/custom/psychographics) are strongly influenced by the localization approach. Regional differences are also analyzed.

How do Scores of DIT and MJT Differ? A Critical Assessment of the Use of Alternative Moral Development Scales in Studies of Business Ethics

The construct of Cognitive Moral Development (CMD) has drawn much attention in the study of business ethics for over two decades. The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has made a significant contribution to the literature as an easy-to-administer CMD instrument, and the Moral Judgment Test (MJT), an alternative scale, has also been used widely especially in Europe. The two scales differ in their approaches to measuring CMD, focusing on stage preference (DIT) and stage consistency (MJT), yet empirical comparisons have been scarce. The present research empirically compares the two scales in terms of their correspondence with ethical ideology as a reference scale, and it demonstrates a clear distinction between the DIT and the MJT. Although they both aim to measure CMD, their dissimilar approaches lead to distinctly different implications.

A Twenty-fifth Anniversary Study of Rehearsal and Performance Practice in the 1980 Royal Court Hamlet and the Old Vic Macbeth: An Actor's View

2005 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of two famous Shakespeare productions on the London stage: Peter O'Toole's Macbeth and Jonathan Pryce's Hamlet. Comparison of differing techniques for rehearsal and textual assimilation, combined with markedly dissimilar approaches by their respective directors, situate these productions in the historical context of British theatre of the early 1980s. From the viewpoint of an actor in both productions, this survey represents a primary resource in the study of twentieth-century drama. It exposes the opposing forces of “old” and “new” acting and directorial styles, the significance of changing attitudes to set and costume design, and the ultimate importance and limitations of performance space and venue. Most importantly, it demonstrates how both audience and critical reception might impact on the developing strategy of Shakespeare performance.

Entropy minimization and spectral dissimilarity curve resolution technique applied to nuclear magnetic resonance data sets

The use of entropy minimization and spectral dissimilarity is applied to three nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data sets. The data sets contain 2, 2, and 3 observables each. It was found that without any a priori information the sets of pure component spectra underlying the NMR spectroscopic observations could be extracted. These successful spectral resolutions suggest that a combined entropy minimization and spectral dissimilarity approach can be further developed for even larger NMR data sets containing a larger number of observables. Brief comparison to DECRA and PMF curve resolution results is also presented.

Natural and cultural heritage

We receive communal legacies from two sources—the natural environment and the creations of human beings. To be sure, these inheritances everywhere commingle; no aspect of nature is unimpacted by human agency, no artefact devoid of environmental impress. Yet we have traditionally dealt quite differently with these two kinds of legacy. Though management of both heritages has many features in common, and both realms often share similar, if not the same, leaders and spokesmen, relations between the two are marked less by cooperative amity than by envy and rivalry. This essay discusses the reasons for our dissimilar approaches to nature and culture, and shows how they bear on the campaigns to protect and preserve each. In some important ways, the history, politics, and rhetoric of conservation and destruction are shown to have converged, in others to have diverged, over the last half century.

Evolutionary ecology of the prezygotic stage.

The life cycles of sexually reproducing animals and flowering plants begin with male and female gametes and their fusion to form a zygote. Selection at this earliest stage is crucial for offspring quality and raises similar evolutionary issues, yet zoology and botany use dissimilar approaches. There are striking parallels in the role of prezygotic competition for sexual selection on males, cryptic female choice, sexual conflict, and against selfish genetic elements and genetic incompatibility. In both groups, understanding the evolution of sex-specific and reproductive traits will require an appreciation of the effects of prezygotic competition on fitness.

Urban Insurgency

Urban insurgency has generally been presented by analysts and security force personnel as a distinct variant. In contrast, insurgents themselves have often recognized the particular requirements of two dissimilar but related approaches of operation, the urban and rural. Hence they have sought to field approaches and doctrine that exploited the specifics of each. In some cases, simply debating such has led to internal fractures that could not be overcome. More often there has been a deadly rural-urban synthesis that has increasingly challenged security forces.

Law and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Europe: The Case of Catalonia in Comparative Perspective

By the close of the nineteenth century, most continental Europeans tacitly accepted, if they thought about it at all, the notion that a civil code governed multiple personal and familial relationships in their daily lives. Like so many legislative structures, intellectual suppositions, and cultural artifacts, what was once regarded as a novel or even a major break with the past came to be understood as one of the many requisites of modernity. Contemporary historians have adopted a similarly indifferent posture, their curiosity only piqued when encountering specific provisions entangled with other political issues. In a strikingly dissimilar approach to that adopted toward penal law, they have been disinclined to explore the relationship between civil legal endeavor and political culture or the history of ideas. Only with respect to Germany have scholars considered these topics worthy of in-depth analysis; in so doing, they have demonstrated that understanding juridical culture is fundamental to appreciating the textures and peculiarities of the liberal nation state.

Variability of igneous rocks and its significance

The types of specimens and chemical data used and needed for establishing the nature, variability and genesis of igneous (particularly granitic) rocks are examined. Specialization (by professionals and amateurs) within subdisciplines and the explosion in acquisition and statistical analysis of petrological data have led to lack of the necessary integration between dissimilar approaches. Some significant topics stemming from mathematical geology that are relevant to petrology are reviewed briefly (e.g. genetic process-response models, relevant sample populations and sample-data variance, classification and partitioning, and various methods of avoiding inherent difficulties in use of percentage data). An example of using compositional data to test quantitatively a genetic hypothesis for a granitoid suite is given.

Bridging the gap between single‐ and multibubble sonoluminescence

Sonoluminescence from a single bubble (SBSL) is related to sonoluminescence from a cavitation field (MBSL) by a commonality of cause (acoustic cavitation) and effect (light emission). However, questions remain as to the extent of this association. Furthermore, detailed comparisons are difficult due to the dissimilar approaches used in generating, and conditions amenable to, sonoluminescence from a single bubble versus a cavitation field. Previous comparisons of the spectral and temporal characteristics of the light emission have been limited by the sparse quantity of available data [T. J. Matula and R. A. Roy, ‘‘Comparisons of sonoluminescence from single‐bubbles and cavitation fields: Bridging the gap,’’ Ultrasonics Sonochemistry 4, 61–64 (1996)]. Further comparison studies are currently underway in order to establish whether or not a more direct relationship exists between MBSL and SBSL. These studies include a near‐IR spectral comparison, a comparison of the effects of doping with small quantities of impurities, and a comparison of the effects of an overpressure on the light intensity. An increased understanding of the relationship between these two phenomena should be extremely useful to sonochemistry researchers. [Work supported by DOE‐EM.]

The Differential Effects of Two Systematic Reading Comprehension Approaches with Students with Learning Disabilities

This study compared two highly dissimilar approaches for teaching students to determine character motive when reading three types of narrative text. The three text types used were textually explicit, textually implicit, and scriptually implicit. The two approaches were an explicit rule-based instruction approach and a basal-reader activity-based approach. Forty students with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to either the explicit rule-based or the basal-reader activity-based instructional group. Daily instructional sessions lasted 45 minutes and were conducted for 2 weeks. The groups were evaluated on four comprehension measures: (a) daily retells of stories, (b) unit tests, (c) a transfer measure, and (d) a maintenance measure. The results suggest that rule-based instruction is superior to an activity-based approach when teaching students with learning disabilities to determine character motives irrespective of text type on short-term measures. However, there were no significant differences between the two instructional groups on the maintenance and transfer tests.

COMPARISON OF THREE STATISTICAL TESTS FOR EVALUATING SINGLE SUBJECT BIOMECHANICAL DATA

714 Statistical methodology for evaluating subject group differences is well established. Standard parametric tests like ANOVA are common when comparing the behaviour of two or more groups. However, clinically a need often exists for evaluating the performance of a single subject (SS) across time and interventions. The most appropriate statistical test to use in this situation is less clear. Both group and specially designed SS tests have been recommended for analyzing SS data. The purpose of this study was to descriptively compare the statistical outcomes of ANOVA, Model Statistic, and Randomization Test procedures for evaluating SS data. Ground reaction force information was collected from 20 subjects each performing 10 trials from three heights onto a force platform (1000 Hz; right foot). Individuals were evaluated for impact force magnitude and temporal differences across landing heights using the three statistical tests. A total of 360 pairwise comparisons were made for all subjects. ANOVA results revealed that 96 of 120 height comparisons were significant (p ≤ 0.05). Model Statistic and Randomization Test procedures showed significance for 101 and 100 of 120 height comparisons, respectively. Results suggest similar outcomes for the three dissimilar approaches. However, the Model Statistic and Randomization Test procedures may have been more sensitive for detecting differences using SS data. In conclusion, opponents of ANOVA for analyzing SS data may wish to consider using either the Model Statistic or Randomization Test procedures.

On Generic Vibration Criteria for Advanced Technology Facilities: with a Tutorial on Vibration Data Representation

The design of vibration-sensitive advanced technology facilities generally involves considerable attention to structural and mechanical aspects. In most cases, the vibration control measures contribute significantly to a facility's cost. The selection of a vibration criterion for use in design is an important step in the design process. Many process equipment manufacturers have provided tool-specific criteria, and the literature contains several forms of "generic" criteria. Unfortunately, there is no standardization in either tool-specific or generic criteria, and considerable confusion can arise, often due to the forms of data representation used. This paper first reviews some of the relevant fundamentals of signal processing, then uses experimental data to develop a tool-specific vibration criterion for an optical microscope. Two dissimilar approaches to generic criteria are discussed, and their signal-processing requirements are examined. They are compared with a manufacturer's published vibration criteria for a projection aligner. Recommendations are given for future development of tool-specific criteria.