Final Stance Research Articles

Max Weber and the Legitimate Order Theory

Abstract: The Weberian theory of legitimacy is a topic that scholars have widely discussed, often arguing how contradictory it might be. One of the main problems concerns the formal mismatch between the two typologies of legitimacy presented in Soziologische Grundbegriffe and the one elaborated in Die Typen der Herrschaft , two texts composed by Weber towards the end of his life, between 1919 and 1920. This article examines Weber’s position on legitimacy as articulated in these texts, focusing in particular on the intertwining of order and legitimacy. In this respect, the article makes two points: firstly, Weber characterises the legitimate order as being, to some extent, connected to the representation of values. Secondly, Weber conceives the legitimacy of rulership as a prestige that cannot exist independently from a legitimate order. The centrality of the concept of order accounts for the coherence and unity of Weber’s final stance on the issue of legitimacy.

Diplomasi Indonesia Dalam Perdagangan Kayu Ke Uni Eropa

Indonesia is the first country that has successfully issued FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) license, a market based international regulation system initiated by European Union to encourage sustainable forest management particularly in developing countries. This success story is considered as the achievement of Indonesia's economic diplomacy despite of the fact that Indonesia had previously postponed its policy to join the FLEGT mechanism during the negotiation process with European Union from 2015 to 2016. This article aims to analyze the factors contributing to Indonesia's changing position during the negotiation process by applying the qualitative research approach and single case study method. The theory of Economic Diplomacy from Stephen Woolcock (2016) is used as the analytical framework. This article argues that there are systemic, domestic and ideational factors affecting Indonesia's policy changes to respond to FLEGT license mechanism. The research finds that the factors consist of the asymmetric relation between Indonesia and the European Union in the implementation of FLEGT, the policy incoherence between Indonesia’s national agencies involved, and the distinguished perception between actors involved in the process. This study concludes that in the case of Indonesia, the three factors outlined by the Woolcock’s theory have concertedly contributed, however the critical linkages between interest and institution variables related to the decision-making process at domestic level have proven to significantly shape the final stance of Indonesia in economy diplomacy.

Via Olympica: A Comprehensive View on the Origin and Development of Climbing Competitions

Competition climbing was born in the years immediately after World War II in the former Soviet Union to revitalize the climbing community in this war-ravaged country. In a short time, it gained great popularity among climbers, and finding support from the authorities, it expanded the organizational structures and training system, becoming a sport discipline in the literal sense of the word. In the 1970s, the idea of competition based on rock climbing was introduced to the wider international community, initiating a process with its temporary culmination in the introduction of sport climbing to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. The title ‘via’ means ‘route’ which, in climbing slang, describes the line that the climber takes from the wall’s base to the crowning point, which is the top of the climbing wall or the belay/descent stance. Remaining in this symbolism, the debut of climbing to the most important sporting event in the world is the culmination of a particular process. Time will tell whether it is a ‘final stance’ (i.e. permanent presence in the Olympic programme) or just an episode in the relatively short but dynamic history of sport climbing.

Schmitt’s democratic dialectic: On the limits of democracy as a value

In this essay, I attempt to measure various prevailing democratic theories against an argument that Carl Schmitt advances in the first chapter of his ‘Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy’. In practice, he claims there, democratic politics is compelled to introduce a distinction between ‘the will of the people’ and the behaviour of the empirical people, thus justifying the bracketing and unlimited suspension of the latter in the name of the former, even to the point of dictatorship. I argue that no contemporary approach to democracy as a fundamental value is able to mount a compelling response to this critique and that we should therefore reconsider the status of democracy as a normative commitment. I proceed by carefully and closely reading Schmitt’s chapter and then by juxtaposing various currents of democratic theory (including liberal, deliberative, epistemic and various hybrids thereof) with the trajectory of Schmitt’s argument. This essay is therefore less of a contribution to Schmitt scholarship, in the sense that it does not take a panoramic view of his corpus to determine his final stance on democracy, and more of an intervention into contemporary democratic theory using Schmitt’s argument as a kind of lever.

Making Sense of Stem Cells and Fat Grafting in Plastic Surgery: The Hype, Evidence, and Evolving U.S. Food and Drug Administration Regulations.

Autologous fat grafting and adipose-derived stem cells are two distinct entities with two different risk profiles, and should be regulated as such. Autologous fat grafting prepared with the additional step of stromal vascular fraction isolation is considered a form of "stem cell therapy" given the high concentration of stem cells found in stromal vascular fraction. Much ambiguity existed in the distinction between autologous fat grafting and stromal vascular fraction initially, in terms of both their biological properties and how they should be regulated. The market has capitalized on this in the past decade to sell unproven "stem cell" therapies to unknowing consumers while exploiting the regulatory liberties of traditional fat grafting. This led to a Draft Guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 proposing stricter regulations on fat grafting in general, which in turn elicited a response from plastic surgeons, who have safely used autologous fat grafting in the clinical setting for over a century. After a series of discussions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its Final Guidance in November of 2017, which established clear distinctions between autologous fat grafting and stromal vascular fraction and their separate regulations. By educating ourselves on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final stance on fat grafting and stem cell therapy, we can learn how to navigate the regulatory waters for the two entities and implement their clinical use in a responsible and informed manner.

Age-related alterations in the activation of trunk and lower limb muscles during walking.

Walking is a complex motor task that requires an integrated coordination of the trunk, lower limb, and upper limb movements. Previously, few studies have investigated the activation pattern of trunk muscles during walking. However, the mechanisms by how aging affects the recruitment of trunk muscles during walking remain unclear. The present study aimed to compare the activation of trunk and lower limb muscles during walking in younger and older women. Fifteen younger women between 18 and 30 yr and 19 older women between 60-82 yr walked on the treadmill at a self-selected speed, while 1-min surface electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded from the multifidus, internal oblique, gluteus maximus, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius lateralis. EMG signals were processed and a linear envelope was calculated at an initial stance (50 ms after heel contact) and final stance (50 ms before toe-off). Compared with younger women, older women had 52.32% lower activation of the internal oblique (p = 0.027) and 39.95% lower activation of the rectus femoris (p = 0.003) at initial stance. Results of this study demonstrated that older women had lower activation of trunk and knee muscles during the initial stance, which may have resulted from weakness and balance impairments caused by aging.

Kinematic Adaptations of Forward And Backward Walking on Land and in Water.

The aim of this study was to compare sagittal plane lower limb kinematics during walking on land and submerged to the hip in water. Eight healthy adults (age 22.1 ± 1.1 years, body height 174.8 ± 7.1 cm, body mass 63.4 ± 6.2 kg) were asked to cover a distance of 10 m at comfortable speed with controlled step frequency, walking forward or backward. Sagittal plane lower limb kinematics were obtained from three dimensional video analysis to compare spatiotemporal gait parameters and joint angles at selected events using two-way repeated measures ANOVA. Key findings were a reduced walking speed, stride length, step length and a support phase in water, and step length asymmetry was higher compared to the land condition (p<0.05). At initial contact, knees and hips were more flexed during walking forward in water, whilst, ankles were more dorsiflexed during walking backward in water. At final stance, knees and ankles were more flexed during forward walking, whilst the hip was more flexed during backward walking. These results show how walking in water differs from walking on land, and provide valuable insights into the development and prescription of rehabilitation and training programs.

Biomechanical characteristics of adults walking forward and backward in water at different stride frequencies

The aim of this study was to examine spatiotemporal characteristics and joint angles during forward and backward walking in water at low and high stride frequency. Eight healthy adults (22.1 ± 1.1 years) walked forward and backward underwater at low (50 pulses) and high frequency (80 pulses) at the xiphoid process level with arms crossed at the chest. The main differences observed were that the participants presented a greater speed (0.58 vs. 0.85 m/s) and more asymmetry of the step length (1.24 vs. 1.48) at high frequency whilst the stride and step length (0.84 vs. 0.7 m and 0.43 vs. 0.35 m, respectively) were lower compared to low frequency (P < 0.05). Support phase duration was higher at forward walking than backward walking (61.2 vs. 59.0%). At initial contact, we showed that during forward walking, the ankle and hip presented more flexion than during backward walking (ankle: 84.0 vs. 91.8º and hip: 22.8 vs. 8.0º; P < 0.001). At final stance, the knee and hip were more flexed at low frequency than at high frequency (knee: 150.0 vs. 157.0º and hip: −12.2 vs. –14.5º; P < 0.001). The knee angle showed more flexion at forward walking (134.0º) than backward walking (173.1º) (P < 0.001). In conclusion, these results show how forward and backward walking in water at different frequencies differ and contribute to a better understanding of this activity in training and rehabilitation.

Kant and Cosmopolitanism. The Philosophical Ideal of World Citizenship. By PaulineKleingeld. (Cambridge UP, 2012, Pp. xvi + 215. Price £55.00.)

Among Kleingeld's most striking conclusions in this excellent book is that Kant ‘changed his mind’ (p. 179) in relation to several aspects of his cosmopolitan thinking. In current philosophical circles, one revises one's earlier position, concedes a point here and adds a qualifying amendment there, all the while seeking to maintain an impression of steady continuity in thought and unfaltering consistency in argument between earlier and later versions of one's philosophical self. One certainly does not simply change one's mind. Yet according to Kleingeld, Kant changed his mind on the desirability of a world state, on the beneficial effects of war upon peace, on the idea of a cosmopolitan community and, perhaps most importantly, on the question of race. The most enduringly debated of these is Kant's – arguably permanently unsettled – view on the question, ‘free league or coercive federation?’ at the level of international right. Kant scholars have spilled much ink over what he should or could have said, whether his later position is consistent with his earlier view, and whether his final stance (whatever one takes it to be) is systematically justifiable. Kleingeld, too, has contributed to this particular debate, and does so again in her book (cf. 40–71).

Forefoot deformation during stance: Does the forefoot collapse during loading?

This study presents a specific description of forefoot deformation during the stance phase of normal human walking based on the combined analysis of pressure and three-dimensional optoelectronic measurements. Forefoot deformation is measured in forty healthy subjects using (1) a six-camera motion capture system (sampled at 250Hz) tracking five reflective skin markers attached to the forefoot, (2) a pressure platform (sampled at 500Hz) and (3) a forceplate (sampled at 1250Hz). Forefoot deformation is characterized by the forefoot width, the mediolateral metatarsal arch height and the plantar pressure under the metatarsal heads. Using this setup, a typical pattern of forefoot motion is described during stance phase: From a flexible, compliant configuration at the beginning of stance phase, characterized by a decrease in mediolateral metatarsal arch height and a controlled increase in forefoot width, the forefoot turns into a stable configuration during midstance. Subsequently, the increase in mediolateral arch height and the decrease in forefoot width describe the transformation into a tight configuration during final stance. This transfer from a compliant into a rigid configuration through stance phase rejects the idea of the forefoot as a collapsing structure under increased loading.

Crouched posture maximizes ground reaction forces generated by muscles

Crouch gait decreases walking efficiency due to the increased knee and hip flexion during the stance phase of gait. Crouch gait is generally considered to be disadvantageous for children with cerebral palsy; however, a crouched posture may allow biomechanical advantages that lead some children to adopt a crouch gait. To investigate one possible advantage of crouch gait, a musculoskeletal model created in OpenSim was placed in 15 different postures from upright to severe crouch during initial, middle, and final stance of the gait cycle for a total of 45 different postures. A series of optimizations was performed for each posture to maximize transverse plane ground reaction forces in the eight compass directions by modifying muscle forces acting on the model. We compared the force profile areas across all postures. Larger force profile areas were allowed by postures from mild crouch (for initial stance) to crouch (for final stance). The overall ability to generate larger ground reaction force profiles represents a mechanical advantage of a crouched posture. This increase in muscle capacity while in a crouched posture may allow a patient to generate new movements to compensate for impairments associated with cerebral palsy, such as motor control deficits.

Forefoot deformation during the stance phase of normal gait

Background During human walking the ankle-foot complex executes seemingly contradictory functions: (1) stabilization of the human body at initial contact, (2) shock absorption during early stance [1-3], (3) Storing elastic energy during midstance and (4) providing a strong lever for push of during final stance [1]. This quadrupled function inevitably demands a transfer from a flexible and compliant foot towards a rigid lever [1]. Despite the viable role of the forefoot in this transfer, knowledge concerning the deformation of the forefoot is limited. The aim of this study is to provide a more detailed description of deformation occurring at the level of the forefoot during the stance phase of normal human walking. Materials and methods Using a seven-camera motion capture system (250Hz), a pressure platform (500Hz) and a forceplate (1250Hz), we measured forefoot deformation through kinematic and pressure related outcome measures in 60 healthy subjects.

Vertical reaction forces and kinematics of backward walking underwater

The aim of this study was to compare the first and second peaks of the vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) and kinematics at initial contact (IC) and final stance (FS) during walking in one of two directions (forward×backward) and two environments (on land×underwater). Twenty-two adults (24.6±2.6 years) walking forward (FW) and backward (BW) on a 7.5m walkway with a central force plate. Underwater immersion was at the height of the Xiphoid process. Ten trials were performed for each condition giving a total of 40 trials where the VGRF and kinematic data were recorded. Two-way repeated measures analysis of covariance was used with a combination of environment and direction of walking: FW on land, FW underwater, BW on land and BW underwater (entered as between-subjects factor) and repeated measures of VGRF peaks (first and second) or angles (at IC and FS). Walking velocity was included as a covariate. Both VGRF peaks were reduced when participants walked underwater compared to on land (p<.001). For BW, in both environments, the second peak was lower than the first (p<.001; for both). During BW at IC the ankle is more dorsiflexed and the knee is more flexed, both on land and underwater. At FS, there was no difference between the ankle angle for FW and BW in both environments. At IC, in FW and BW the knee and hip are more flexed underwater. BW underwater involves a lower VGRF and more knee and hip flexion than BW on land.

Negotiating medications: patient perceptions of long-term medication use.

To investigate how adults with one of several chronic illnesses (bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, or systemic lupus erythematosus) perceive their need to take medications during the course of their illness. Eighty-three adults, aged 18-64 years, all members of a health maintenance organization, were interviewed. Each participant completed an ethnographic interview that was transcribed verbatim and analysed using grounded theory techniques. Participants described two forms of ongoing efforts to negotiate their need for medications, internal and external. The former category includes struggles over self-identify (e.g. worries about becoming dependent on drugs, feeling like a 'guinea pig'). The latter includes negotiations with health care providers over the type, route, and frequency of medication use. Dimensions of both negotiation types include acceptance and resistance. Specifically, patients with chronic illness must manage not only drug regimens, but also renegotiate their self-identities as formerly well persons. During this dynamic process, patients may accept and/or resist taking prescribed medications. Practitioners should recognize that patients experience not only physical, but emotional side effects of medications, and that resistance might be part of a negotiation process rather than a final stance.