Distinct Postures Research Articles

Comparative Assessment of Israel’s Foreign Policy Response to the ‘Arab Spring’

This article analyses Israel’s foreign policy response to the ‘Arab Spring’ in comparative perspective. Following the analytical framework shared by all contributions to this Special Issue, the article addresses four main dimensions in as many parts. Part I examines Israel’s initial reactions to the advent of the popular upheavals and regime changes in the Arab world in 2011–2014 and explores how those reactions have evolved over time. Part II identifies Israel’s main policy objectives in relation to events in the region and particularly its immediate neighbours: Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Part III examines the instruments which Israel has used, and eschewed, in pursuit of its policy objectives. Finally, part IV undertakes a theoretically informed analysis with the aim of explaining Israel’s distinctive strategic posture and policy responses to the events of the ‘Arab Spring’ thus far.

Scent‐Mark Identification and Scent‐Marking Behaviour in African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus)

AbstractScent‐marking is common in mammals, but where signals are carried by urine and faeces, distinguishing between scent‐marking and mere elimination is problematic. To do so, we documented behaviours and context variables associated with urination and defecation in free‐ranging endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) and tested whether these were related to the responses of other dogs to deposits. We found that distinct postures were almost uniquely associated with deposits by dominant wild dogs, were more common during urination than defecation, and increased the likelihood that these deposits would be investigated by other wild dogs. The likelihood of investigation depended on the sex and dominance status of the depositor, the type of deposit and the substrate. Urine from dominant females was more likely to be investigated by other wild dogs than any other deposits, and deposits placed on vegetation were more likely to be investigated than those on bare ground. The likelihood that a deposit would be overmarked was affected by the deposit type and the sex and dominance status of the last depositor. Collectively, these results suggest that dominant wild dog urine is of greatest interest to other dogs. Our results show that some deposits by African wild dogs are not scent‐marks and that detailed observations of behaviours and context variables during elimination events can be used to distinguish deposits that are likely to be of communication value.

Descriptive Analysis of the Posture and Movement in Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (P02.168)

Objective: To describe the head, trunk, and limb posture and movement of PNES. Background Video EEG monitoring is the gold standard study for the diagnosis of epileptic seizures (ES) from psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). It has been observed that PNES have distinct head, body, and limb posture or movement that are different from ES. There is a need to describe the semiology of PNES in order to help physicians to differentiate non-epileptic and epileptic motor seizures. Design/Methods: 148 video EEGs in 55 adult PNES patients were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed by the investigators. A minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 videos of a typical seizure per patient were analyzed. The head, body and limbs were described in terms of their posture, movement and synchronicity. Results: Seventy percent (70%) of the patients was female and were between 18-45 years of age. Bilateral flexion and adduction was a common upper limb posture. Open hand, claw or thumbs up formation were common hand postures (bilateral/unilateral). Bilateral or unilateral flexion-extension at the shoulder or elbow was the common movement seen. Bilateral extension and adduction at the hips and knees was the most common lower limb posture. Flexion-extension or adduction-abduction at the hip and knee occurring unilaterally or bilaterally were the common lower limb movements. PNES patients were frequently observed to have a supine posture with their eyes close and their head in midline position and moving side to side. Pelvic thrusting, rocking movement or side to side truncal movement was seen commonly in decreasing frequency. Asynchronous, irregular and waxing waning character of limb movement was a regular feature. Conclusions: PNES have distinct head, body and limb postures and movements. This will be useful in the diagnosis of PNES. Disclosure: Dr. Lardizabal has received personal compensation for activities with UCB Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Pharmaceutical as a speaker. Dr. Bahl has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lanigar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sahota has nothing to disclose.

Beastly Bondage: The Costs of Amplexus in Cane Toads (Bufo marinus)

Reproductive activities can impose fitness costs as well as benefits. In most anuran species, males clasp females for prolonged periods prior to gamete release, and intuition suggests that the male's presence may impair the female's ability to move about and to feed. We tested the prediction that female locomotion and feeding would be reduced during amplexus in laboratory experiments with Cane Toads, Bufo marinus. Amplexus reduced the female's locomotor (sprint and swim) performance, with the degree of locomotor impairment (speed and distance per hop) dependent upon the body size of the amplectant male for trials of terrestrial locomotion, but not for aquatic locomotion. Amplexus also reduced feeding rates in females; amplectant males did not feed at all. Overall, our data confirm that amplexus imposes locomotor and feeding costs to female Cane Toads, and suggest that this distinctive posture may generate sexual conflict in at least some anuran species.

Fighting kites: behaviour as a key to species identity in wall scenes

The species of an ambiguous pair of birds represented in the Saqqara tomb of nj-‘nhḫ-ẖnmw and ẖnmw-ḥtp has been determined by examination of the animals’ distinctive postures.

Inside the Fence but Outside the Walls

The primary focus of this article is the foreign and security policies adopted by Austria, Finland and Sweden during the first post-Cold War decade. The main aim is to examine the policy responses of these three countries in the 1989–99 interval, to the developments that occurred within the principal European security institutions. From a foreign policy standpoint, the argument is that the militarily non-allied states altered their pattern of international involvement. They did so by shifting from a historical logic of exclusion to one of inclusion directed at securing a greater measure of influence on the design of post-Cold War European security. Particularly characteristic of the latter was fully-fledged membership of the European Union, observer status in the Western European Union and the establishment of cooperative security and military relations with NATO. Yet, such a new logic of inclusion did not lead to a radical change of their security policies, since it translated exclusively into an involvement in security and military frameworks not calling for the surrender of military non-alliance. Hence the major strand of the argument revolves around the metaphor ‘inside the fence but outside the walls’ used to portray the distinctive posture of the Alpine and Nordic countries in the post-1989 European security building dynamics.

The clinical use of supine left lateral leg cycle ergometry for exercise electrocardiographic testing in women, as used in exercise echocardiography

Background Two-dimensional exercise echocardiography is commonly performed in the supine (SUP) left lateral posture (SLL) to optimize imaging quality. Objectives To assess the clinical use of SLL cycle ergometry, we determined the metabolic, cardiovascular, and hemodynamic responses during graded leg cycle ergometry in women, performed in SLL, commonly used during exercise echocardiography, and compared our findings with those obtained during upright (UP) and SUP leg cycle ergometry. Methods A total of 21 apparently healthy women performed leg cycle ergometry in 3 distinct postures (UP, SUP, and SLL). Results Peak oxygen consumption and peak achieved workload during SLL cycle ergometry were significantly lower compared with UP cycle ergometry, indicating that in SLL physical work capacity would be underestimated compared with that obtained for the UP and SUP postures. The peak heart rate was significantly lower in SLL and the peak systolic blood pressure higher, compared with UP. Maximal rate pressure product was not significantly different among the postures, indicating the equivalent value of SLL with regard to augmenting myocardial oxygen demand during exercise. Stroke volume (calculated from aortic Doppler flow integral) was higher at rest, and increased to a smaller extent during exercise, in the SUP posture and SLL compared with UP. Similar peak values were attained for the 3 postures. Conclusions SLL is not a suitable modality for the assessment of functional status or for the derivation of target heart rates for exercise training in UP posture. However, SLL leg cycle ergometry exercise provokes a comparable stimulus for the detection of coronary artery disease, as it will increase myocardial oxygen demand to the same extent as UP leg cycle exercise.

El ataque a las torres y el dramático inicio del siglo XXI

This article analyzes the terrorist attacks of September 11 in relation to the evolution of the international system. The author discusses the motivations behind the attacks, as well as evaluating their consequences and those of the international acions designed to counteract this threat, for the international system. The distinct postures adopted by the United States in light of the events of September 11, and the implications of shifts in U.S. foreign policy orientations for the foreign policies of other countries are also studied. Finally, the author highlights the onset of significant transformations in the role of the state, conceptions of security, international economic development and the globalization process, while identifying new opportunities for a more positive role on the part of the international community in modifying current sentiments of polarization and fear that charaderize the global crusade against terrorism.

The Use of Mirrors during an Assembly Task: A Study of Ergonomics and Productivity

Assembly jobs often require sustained, awkward neck and/or shoulder postures. It has been shown in previous studies that these postures increase musculoskeletal discomfort and can impact long-term productivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ergonomic interventions designed to eliminate these awkward postures. Subjects used a cordless screwdriver to drive screws into a pre-tapped aluminum block, simulating a simple assembly task. Four distinct assembly postures were tested: standard industry (in-line screwdriver, work at elbow height, no visual aid), pistol grip (pistol grip screwdriver, work at shoulder height, no visual aid), mirror (in-line screwdriver, work at elbow height, single mirror visual aid) and periscope (in-line screwdriver, work at elbow height, two mirror visual aids). Each was performed for fifteen minutes. Muscular activity, discomfort, postural deviation from neutral, productivity, and operator subjective assessment were recorded to determine the effects of the interventions. Both interventions (mirror and periscope) resulted in lower muscle activity, smaller postural deviations from neutral and lower subjective discomfort levels. Productivity, however, was highest in the standard industry posture followed by the pistol grip (9% lower), the periscope (13% lower) and the mirror posture (23% lower).

Debris removal by head-pushing in A. florea Fabr. honeybees.

The nest of the dwarf honeybee A. florea Fabr. consists of a single comb attached to a tree branch. Recruitment dances take place on the upper surface of the comb that must therefore be kept clear of debris. We report here, for the first time, a behaviour that serves for removing leaves and other foreign objects from the surface of the comb. Individual workers crawl under the object and lift it with their heads, pushing it towards the rim where it eventually slides off the comb. Objects that are heavier or fixed at one end such as leaves are nevertheless lifted and kept away from the surface for up to several minutes. This "head-pushing" is frequently performed without the aid of mandibles, and individuals performing it maintain a distinctive posture, holding the forelegs at an angle without touching the object. Repeated involvement of particular individuals indicate that head-pushers might form a distinct task group.

Surrealism's Praying Mantis and Castrating Woman

insects (Orthopteran), relatives of the grasshopper, cricket, and locust.1 The word is derived from Greek and means soothsayer, diviner, or magician ordained with spiritual qualities. The scientific term Mantis religiosa is Mante or Prie Dieux in French, Gottesanbeterin in German, and Praying Mantis in English. These terms indicate a trans-linguistic connection between the mantis and prophecy, sanctity, and prayer. The term was apparently given to the mantis because of the insect's distinctive posture while awaiting its prey: holding its front legs together before its chest. The visual association with praying is enhanced by its habit of swaying back and forth, like a leaf in the wind, in order to mislead its victim. The mythologies that have evolved around the mantis in various cultures all feature a distinct ambivalence. It is simultaneously magical and holy as well as demonic and destructive. Since the mystical powers of the mantis (positive and negative) are always associated with the female, the insect will be referred to henceforth as she. The most characteristic idiosyncrasy of the female mantis is her devouring of the male during or directly after the sexual act. Sometimes she decapitates the male at its start, his body performing his duty automatically, like a sex-machine.2 Because of this brutal custom, it has been argued that the mantis should be called preying rather than praying.3 Some scientists claim that the beheading of the male results in reflexive and convulsive spasms that ensure successful fertilization, while others maintain that the female eats the male because copulation demands extra nourishment.4 In fact, this phenomenon is not as common as might be thought. Under natural conditions, many males escape, as cannibalism of the male is more frequent in the close confines of a small cage. Indeed, some scientists claim that the decapitation of the male is not a natural phenomenon at all and takes place only in captivity.5 Thus, while the mantis's bad reputation may be undeserved, the Surrealists, unaware of the scientific evidence, reinforced the myth to such an extent that the Praying Mantis is universally associated with the female. The French sociologist and avantgarde writer, Roger Caillois, contributed greatly to the mantis myth in his two essays published in the Surrealist journal Minotaure, La Mante religieuse (1934) and Mimetisme et psychastenie l6gendaire (1935). Both impressed the Surrealists.'

Postures of Judging: An Exploration of Judicial Decisionmaking

This article pits Ronald Dworkin against Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The article critiques Ronald Dworkin's answer to the question of fit: how judges reconcile general legal rules with particular situations. Dworkin's heavy focus on legal principles under-emphasizes the importance of facts in judicial decisionmaking. Exploring how judges approach the question of fit from a more literary perspective, the article examines the posture of a judge - a judge's physical and temporal position in relation to the cases she adjudicates, a position which affects the level of generality with which a judge perceives the facts of a case and directly influences a judge's toleration of imprecision in fit between general propositions and concrete cases. Postures provide a descriptive account of aspects of our legal experience that Dworkin's principled jurisprudence cannot explain. The article focuses on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov to illustrate how a multiplicity of similar yet distinct postures are shaped and how they relate to each other. An examination of Dostoyevsky's novel demonstrates deficiencies in Dworkin's theories and illustrates how literature can answer questions that Dworkin's jurisprudence cannot.

Postures of Judging: An Exploration of Judicial Decisionmaking

This Article critiques Ronald Dworkin’s answer to the question of fit: how judges reconcile general legal rules with particular situations. Dworkin’s heavy focus on legal principles under-emphasizes the importance of facts in judicial decisionmaking. Exploring how judges approach the question of fit from a more literary perspective, the Article examines the posture of a judge — a judge’s physical and temporal position in relation to the cases she adjudicates, a position which affects the level of generality with which a judge perceives the facts of a case and directly influences a judge’s toleration of imprecision in fit between general propositions and concrete cases. Postures provide a descriptive account of aspects of our legal experience that Dworkin’s principled jurisprudence cannot explain. The Article focuses on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov to illustrate how a multiplicity of similar yet distinct postures are shaped and how they relate to each other. Through a comparison of law and literature, the Article describes how literature grapples with similar questions as law, and how literature can instruct us about the successes and failures of certain postures. ____________________________ No elaboration of statute law can forestall variant cases and the need of interpretation ad hoc. Moral and legal schemes that attempt the impossible in the way of definite formulation compensate for explicit strictness in some lines by implicit looseness in others. The only truly severe code is the one that forgoes codification, throwing responsibility for judging each case upon the agents concerned, imposing upon them the burden of discovery and adaptation.

Executive Characteristics, Strategic Choices and Small Firm Development: A Three-country Study of Small Textiles and Clothing Firms

MARTYN PITT LECTURES IN THE School of Management at Bath University, England; Anna Bull and Joseph Szarka are lecturers in the School of Modern Languages at Bath University. This paper describes the results of recent three-country comparative research into the value-chain and networking structures in localised textiles communities. It links structures with firms' strategies and the managerial roles/styles of individual entrepreneurs. There are detailed comparisons of these communities and one conclusion is that each manifests a characteristic and probably unique development path. Community structures arise from (and now condition) a limited number of distinct success recipes or postures which individual firms can pursue. It is suggested that the overarching characteristic of a strong industrial community is the recognition and implementation of a genuine mutuality of self-interest among firms, based on complementarity of these recipes. In sum the postures of firms in Lyons, France, and Como, Italy, exhibit coherence as seen from the community perspective; in Leicester, England, this is less obviously true. Nonetheless there are sufficient similarities among individual firms and executives to suppose that productive managerial styles and approaches may be transferable, even though the development path of a community itself may be unique. The paper reviews the nature of these styles and concludes that further systematic research in this area offers a real prospect of advancing small firm policies and practices in the post 1992 European Community.

Observations on the behaviour of the Cape girdled lizardCordylus cordylus(Reptilia: Cordylidae)

Cape girdled lizards Cordylus cordylus are social and territorial. Behaviour observed in captivity revealed at least 24 distinct postures and displays. Thermoregulatory behaviour was the most frequent of all behaviours observed (66·7%). Of the social behaviours, aggression was observed most frequently (72·1%). Six behavioural postures are not known to have been described before. This species has no bright colours or contrasting markings to use in displays to conspecifics.

Conditioned responses to a taste conditioned stimulus paired with lithium chloride administration.

The present experiments examined whether behavioral conditioned responses (CRs) develop to lithium chloride (LiCl)-paired tastes and whether these CRs are similar to the behaviors that follow administration of the drug. Rats were exposed to a saccharin solution via intraoral infusions before being injected with either LiCl or saline. CRs were assessed after conditioning when the saccharin conditioned stimulus was delivered alone. The unconditioned response to LiCl delivery is a very distinctive posture that has been termed "lying-on-belly." The present study indicates that this behavior pattern also occurs after the delivery of a LiCl-paired taste solution. The similarity between these unconditioned and conditioned behaviors is consistent with the hypothesis that responses are conditioned during taste aversion acquisition and that CRs are similar to those that are generated by the drugs used in conditioning.

Drift postures of nemourid stonefly larvae (Insecta, Plecoptera)

Larva drifting behaviour of eight Nemourid stonefly species was studied in the laboratory. These aquatic insects demonstrated three distinct body postures, with a species‐specific preference for different poses. The effect of posture on drift dynamics is discussed.

Temperature Regulation in Great Frigate Birds Fregata minor

Great frigate birds are large black tropical seabirds. Those breeding on Midway Atoll absorb more than 90% of the incoming solar radiation and yet can remain on their nest exposed to intense solar radiation for up to 16 days. Despite experiencing air temperatures as high as 33.3 C and environmental temperatures ($T_{e}'s$, an index of total heat load) up to 51.7 C, the birds maintained body temperature within relatively narrow limits, averaging 39.3 ± 0.5 C. They reduce overheating by using gular fluttering and by assuming three distinct postures, which were used sequentially as $T_{e}$ increased. The most common posture was erected feathers, followed by open wing and droop wing. Despite sexual dimorphism in size and plumage, there were no sexual differences in posturing, dorsal absorptivity to solar radiation, or response to $T_{e}$. The postures evidently contribute to water conservation in the hot breeding habitat of frigate birds, as the birds appear to have low rates of water loss.

An ethological analysis of the influence of perinatally-administered diazepam on murine behaviour

1. A number of studies have found that the perinatal exposure of rodents to various tranquillizing agents alters their adult behaviour. 2. Given the known anti-aggressive influence of acute doses of diazepam it was hypothesized that, when administered during pregnancy, this drug would change the adult social behaviour. 3. The social interactions of adult male mice whose mothers were treated with diazepam or appropriate controls during pregnancy were video-taped and subjected to an ethological analysis that involved counting the incidences of 43 distinct postures. 4. Prenatal but not postnatal diazepam treatment was associated with a large increase in the incidence of the sideways offensive posture. No significant differences resulted, however, in the case of other postures; in general exposure to prenatal diazepam produced few changes in adult social behaviour.

The interpretation of posture through an alternative methodology to role play.

The purpose of this experiment was to develop a methodology to investigate the postural expression of different emotions and attitudes using a technique which avoided the artificiality implicit in the use of a role play design. Subjects were asked to categorize tape-recorded extracts as either funny, sad, interesting or boring and to rate them in order of intensity. The posture displayed when listening to the recordings were then analysed according to these ratings, the whole interview being recorded on videotape without the subject's knowledge. Results showed distinctive postures for all four categories, such as dropping the head for sadness and leaning the head on one hand for boredom, thus providing empirical support for the utility of this methodology as a way of obtaining observations of non-verbal cues under controlled conditions without inducing any artificial self-consciousness in the subjects.