Notion Of Stages Research Articles

Criminal legal characteristics of the stages of committing crime

This article analyses the notion of stages of commiting a crime, its criminal-legal characteristics and the retrospective development of norms that criminalise offences. 
 In this regard, it illustrates the development of a theory and legislation. After a careful examination it is argued that there isn’t a specific definition of stages of crime. Furthermore, it problematises the need for a precise notion of the stages of crime and its distinct character from inchoated crimes. Because there is no united approach on the stages of crime, as well as, its internal division it is hard to implement a single state policy in that respect. 
 Although there isn’t a specific definition, article argues, it is appropriate to identify a precise definition, make a distinction of stages of crime from inchoated crime. This is important to the extent of gravity of crime and the fact that some of them might be inchoated offences

The Metabolic Signature of Tumors as an Imaging Biomarker in Staging, Restaging and Therapy Response on FDG PET

18 F FDG PET has been ever growing over the past decade. CMS reimbursements have followed an increase in the evidence of its utility and superior sensitivity to other morphological exams. This has been greatly aided by the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR), which allowed us to evaluate its impact on clinical management. Beyond the static notion of staging [1,2], FDG PET was shown in an NOPR report to change predicted clinical management in 33% of cases [3], not an insignificant number of patients whose therapeutic interventions would have been impacted, as well as an influence on cost saving and morbidity sparing strategies in cases where surgery was no longer an option. This effect was mostly due to a change in staging, by either down staging or upstaging patients. However, other clinical management tools can be extracted from medical imaging and guide the selection of the initial therapeutic approach as well as subsequent treatment modulation. Additional initial staging and restaging FDG PET indications are appropriately being added to the clinical arsenal physicians can use. Imaging in general and FDG PET more specifically could have a great value as an imaging biomarker. For example, the initial therapeutic approach could be impacted by the cancer specific Metabolic Signature (MS) of tumors beyond the notion of simple staging. Tumors of apparent similar histology and staging but different MS as defined by a quantitative FDG measure (SUV, total lesion glycolysis or other) may have a different prognosis and may require a different clinical management. FDG has been shown to correlate with Ki67 a marker of tumor proliferation and tumor aggressiveness [4-6]. The value of FDG PET imaging in this instance is that it can assess this parameter not only in the biopsied lesion but may give us some insight on the global and specific tumor burden of individual lesions within the same patient. It should be noted that tumors have been shown to often exhibit heterogeneity of at least molecular expression but also grade, proliferation and differentiation between the primary lesion and its metastasis. We have also described an aspect of this paradigm in an esophageal cancer patient where the HER2 molecular expression was absent in a metastatic liver lesion that responded to treatment but was present in the primary tumor that did not respond [7]. We can see this concept extrapolated to many tumors and readout sessions whether in the initial staging or follow-up phases of treatment. Another frequent occurrence with PET imaging nowadays is the flare up of granulomatous disease seen in the post-chemotherapy phase. We see this on a regular basis in nodal stations, the lungs and even the bone marrow and should not be misread as progression [8]. Although this can be seen with any cancer, it is especially true in lymphoma patients where these findings may be more problematic to interpret. The metabolic signature of tumors can also add some insight into the decision of whether low-grade follicular lymphoma patients should be treated. The current paradigm is not to treat low volume or asymptomatic patients. However if the MS of an individual patient was high, could that be evidence enough of a possible therapeutic benefit. Or if an upward change in MS is noted on serial surveillance FDG PET scans, would that be evidence enough of a transformation and therefore encourage re-biopsy and treatment.

Conceptual Foundation for Specifying Processes

A process is typically defined as a sequence of operations that transforms input into output. Process specification is an important constituent of building projects. To define, describe, and analyze processes is a laborious and difficult task. Current methodologies of process specification have many shortcomings and lack a conceptual foundation that conveys the essence of the notion of process. This paper applies a new method for specifying processes based on the notion of stages of flow. The viability of the method is demonstrated by contrasting it with various methodologies of process diagramming.

Staging Neurodegenerative Disorders: Structural, Regional, Biomarker, and Functional Progressions

The notion of staging in the neurodegenerative disorders is modulated by the constant and progressive loss of several aspects of brain structural integrity, circuitry, and neuronal processes. These destructive processes eventually remove individuals' abilities to perform at sufficient and necessary functional capacity at several levels of disease severity. The classification of (a) patients on the basis of diagnosis, risk prognosis, and intervention outcome, forms the basis of clinical staging, and (b) laboratory animals on the basis of animal model of brain disorder, extent of insult, and dysfunctional expression, provides the components for the clinical staging and preclinical staging, respectively, expressing associated epidemiological, biological, and genetic characteristics. The major focus of clinical staging in the present account stems from the fundamental notions of Braak staging as they describe the course and eventual prognosis for Alzheimer's disease, Lewy Body dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Mild cognitive impairment, which expresses the decline in episodic and semantic memory performance below the age-adjusted normal range without marked loss of global cognition or activities of daily living, and the applications of longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging, major instruments for the monitoring of either disease progression in dementia, present important challenges for staging concepts. Although Braak notions present the essential basis for further developments, current staging conceptualizations seem inadequate to comply with the massive influx of information dealing with neurodegenerative processes in brain, advanced both under clinical realities, and discoveries in the laboratory setting. The contributions of various biomarkers of disease progression, e.g., amyloid precursor protein, and neurotransmitter system imbalances, e.g., dopamine receptor supersensitivity and interactive propensities, await their incorporation into the existing staging models thereby underlining the ongoing, dynamic feature of the staging of brain disorders.

Presenting the Formal Theory of Hierarchical Complexity

The formal theory of the Model of Hierarchical Complexity is presented. Complexity theories generally exclude the concept of hierarchical complexity; Developmental Psychology has included it for over 20 years. It also applies to social systems and non-human systems. Formal axioms for the Model are outlined. The model assigns an order of hierarchical complexity to every task, using natural numbers, establishing a quantal notion of stage and stages of performance. This formalizes properties of stage theories in psychology. The formal theory of the model enables extending the concept of hierarchical complexity to any field where tasks and their performances exist.

Teaching Ethics and Mature Christian Thinking in Christian Schools

This article seeks to show how the teaching of ethics and moral thinking in Christian Schools will be more effective when it includes the insights of the processes by which pupils learn to think morally. The learning stages that pupils go through will be set out, following Kohlberg, Habermas and Gilligan. I will set out the advantage for pupil learning via discussing moral principles with them and helping them to learn to validate their moral arguments. Reference is made to a future article by the author that will explore the processes by which pupils may form an orientation to moral behaviour. Habermas' notion of Stage 6 moral thinking will be used to explore a possible cognate of mature Christian thinking.

Space, Time, and Dynamics Modeling in Historical GIS Databases: A Fuzzy Logic Approach

In this paper, a spatiotemporal interpolation approach for GIS modeling of urban growth dynamics is proposed. It is based on fuzzy logic theory using three different scenarios for temporal simulation, and two techniques for spatial simulation of urban change patterns. The notion of stages in the urban growth is taken into consideration as well as variables describing the speed and the mechanism of change. The simulation results are presented for three study sites from the north shore of the Montreal metropolitan area in Quebec, Canada, covering the period from 1956 to 1986. By comparing the simulation results with aerial photographs of the study area taken in 1958, 1971, 1975, and 1982, the proposed modeling approach is validated. The potential of this approach as a visualization technique is also discussed.

Atarashii no kuruma and other old friends – the acquisition of Japanese syntax

The following paper presents the first stages of acquisition in Japanese as a second language (JSL). After an explanation of the notion of stages of acquisition, the first four stages will be introduced. Examples of two typical kinds of learner errors will be explained in the light of these stages. It will be demonstrated that the notion of acquisitional stages contributes to the teaching of JSL, because it can explain the occurance of errors and suggest which grammatical errors are correctable, and which grammmatical structures are teachable, at which point in time. The findings presented here are based on data from a longitudinal study that is now in its third year. In that study, oral data from university students of Japanese are being collected.

Integrating Organizational and Individual Information Processing Perspectives on Choice

Existing information processing theories of strategic choice focus on either the organizational or individual level of analysis. This single level focus makes these theories incomplete representations of how strategic decisions are actually made in organizations. We believe an integration of these two levels is necessary for a comprehensive view of choice. This paper thus proposes a parallel process model of strategic decision making that integrates organizational and individual level information processing perspectives. The integrated, comprehensive view afforded by the proposed model enhances understanding of strategic decision making by identifying (1) multiple ways in which bias can enter into choices and (2) dual level influences on decision activities such as information gathering and alternative generation. The proposed model portrays strategic decision making as complex, multilevel information processing and choices as emergent outcomes of that processing. The model is developed as follows. First, the individual level of the model is generated by recognizing that people process information in stages. The notion of stages is used because it depicts the basic structure of information processing and is widely supported by empirical research. Second, the organizational level of the model is articulated by acknowledging organizations (1) process information in stages and (2) exhibit information processing activities analogous to those at the individual level. Third, a series of linking mechanisms connecting individual information processing stages to analogous organizational level ones is proposed. These linking mechanisms thus conceptually operationalize the integration of the two levels. Fourth, three contingency variables are presented to flesh out the model and formulate propositions. Contingency variables specifically acknowledge differences in information processing across organizations. A final section of the paper explains how key variables in the proposed model can be operationalized and outlines a test for the presence of multiple levels of information processing in a strategic choice context.

A Critical Note on the Conception of Preconventional Morality: The Case of Stage 2 in Kohlberg's Theory

In cross-cultural research the validity and universality of stages of preconventional reasoning in Kohlberg's theory of moral development has often been taken for granted, while in developmental research a growing bulk of evidence yields indications that the theoretical assumptions underlying preconventional morality may not be adequate to the data. In order to further clarify the problems raised by this research, data collected from Icelandic and German subjects about a Kohlberg dilemma were analysed. In order to probe the structure of stage 2 in particular, only those interview protocols were taken into account which were given stage 2 global scores in Kohlberg's Joe/Judy dilemma. Qualitative analyses of subjects' reasoning showed a substantial amount of arguments which could not be matched to criterion judgements in the standard scoring manual. Structurally these arguments could be interpreted in terms of stage 2 reasoning. With regard to content, however, they showed genuine normative and relationship concerns which do not fit the individualistic and instrumental exchange notion of stage 2. The findings evidence that there may be more variety in early moral reasoning than demonstrated by published research. An action-theoretical framework is proposed in order to achieve a reformulation of preconventional moral reasoning.

Reflections of American Science and Technology at the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1853

The New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was the first attempt to pursue the aims and imitate the success of the great London exhibition of 1851. The most remarkable thing about that event had been its setting, dubbed by Punch the “Crystal Palace.” Though a number of visitors from the United States had aired the notion of staging an American Crystal Palace exhibition, the first tangible plans were devised by Edward Riddle, who has served as U.S. Commissioner to the London Crystal Palace. Riddle was a Bostonian, but New York was clearly the place for such a venture, and early in 1852 the New York Board of Aldermen granted a concession on a tract just west of the Croton Reservoir (at Sixth Avenue between 40th and 42nd). Soon afterward, however, Riddle had to relinquish control of the enterprise to a new group of backers, all New Yorkers with close ties to Wall Street, Washington, and London. Included among them were August Belmont, Alexander Hamilton, Jr., William Cullen Bryant, Edward K. Collins, and members of such families as the Schuylers and the Livingstons. Their leader was Theodore Sedgwick, a well-connected lawyer with a reputation as an eminent student of judicial and political reform, and with ties to the world of letters through his friend Bryant and his aunt, the novelist Catherine Maria Sedgwick.