Concept Of Paradox Research Articles

The paradox of collaboration: a moral continuum

ABSTRACTCollaboration is a modern mantra of the neoliberal university and part of a discourse allied to research performativity quantitatively measured via co-authorship. Yet, beyond the metrics and the positive rhetoric collaboration is a complex and paradoxical concept. Academic staff are exhorted to collaborate, particularly in respect to research activities, but their career and promotion prospects depend on evaluations of their individual achievements in developing an independent body of work and in obtaining research funding. This central paradox, among others, is explored through analysing collaboration as a moral continuum. At one end of this continuum are other-regarding interpretations of collaboration involving the free sharing of ideas for the common good of scientific advance (collaboration-as-intellectual generosity), nurturing the development of less experienced colleagues (collaboration-as-mentoring) and disseminating knowledge claims via a range of scholarly platforms (collaboration-as-communication). However, other forms of collaboration are essentially self-regarding illustrating the pressures of performativity via increased research output (collaboration-as-performativity), through practices that reinforce the power of established networks (collaboration-as-cronyism) and the exploitation of junior researchers by those in positions of power and seniority (collaboration-as-parasitism). Whilst collaboration has always been at the heart of academic labour its paradoxes illustrate how individual and collective goals can come into conflict through the measurement of academic performance and the way in which such audits have perverted the meaning of collaboration.

The impact of obesity on heart failure.

Obesity, a growing global health problem, contributes to the development of heart failure. However, increased BMI seems protective for those with established disease, a phenomenon known as the 'obesity paradox'. In this review, we outline the mechanism through which obesity can contribute to the development of heart failure, explore the concept of obesity paradox, and highlight the challenges that obesity presents for advanced heart failure therapy. Although the mechanism underlying the obesity paradox is complex, meta-analysis shows that intentional weight loss through bariatric surgery can indeed improve cardiac structure and function. With regard to ventricular assist device therapy in obese patients, recent studies demonstrate that while obesity was indeed associated with higher likelihood of complications, there were no statistically significant differences in terms of mortality or delisting from cardiac transplant waiting list. Obesity is strongly associated with the development of heart failure, through direct and indirect mechanisms. Although clear consensus regarding weight reduction in this patient population is lacking, there is mounting clinical evidence that intentional weight loss may be beneficial, in spite of the well-recognized obesity paradox, particularly as the presence of obesity presents unique challenges in the advanced therapy of heart failure patients.

A Challenge to Reproductive Futurism: Queer Families and Nonhuman Companionships in Ueda Sayuri's The Ocean Chronicles

A Challenge to Reproductive Futurism:Queer Families and Nonhuman Companionships in Ueda Sayuri's The Ocean Chronicles Kazue Harada (bio) Introduction and Methodology Science fiction novels typically create elaborate, multilayered worlds that often, and sometimes literally, turn our own world upside down. In her series The Ocean Chronicles (Ōshan kuronikuru shirīzu), Ueda Sayuri (b. 1964) depicts a post-apocalyptic world that discourages human reproduction and anticipates the extinction of the human race. I argue that she does so to challenge the notion of "reproductive futurism," to borrow a term coined by Lee Edelman (2004, 2) to describe the belief that having children will ensure the future that underlies many policies in Japan and other nations. In No Future: Queer Theories and the Death Drive, Edelman (2004) discusses how reproductive futurism is deeply embedded in the ideological and political discourse of heteronormativity. Using psychoanalysis, he argues that "queerness" is at the opposite end of the spectrum—"the place of the social order's death drive"—which resists reproductive futurism (Edelman 2004, 2-3). The concept of futurism is also limited by the fact that we do not know what the future will bring. It is, inherently, human speculation or imagination of the present. However, the belief that humans must reproduce to ensure a future is expected and prevalent as a norm. While Edelman is concerned with LGBT activism, I apply his explanation of queerness and how it is a critique of heteronormativity to the [End Page 46] study of Ueda's science fiction to see how her stories offer resistance to human-centered and heteronormative reproduction, which is central to Japanese government policies that aim to raise birthrates to ensure the future of the nation. Also integral to my argument is Donna Haraway's (2003) notion of "queer families" in her work on cyborg feminism and the interconnectedness of humans and non-humans to the critique of reproductive futurism. In her Companion Species Manifesto, Haraway states, "I have come to see cyborgs as junior siblings in the much bigger, queer family of companion species" (11). She emphasizes that all entities are "companion species" that impact one another and evolve co-constitutively; in other words, they engage in "co-evolution." As a significant aspect of co-evolution, these companion relationships are "permanently in progress, in principle" (3). The companion species concept can be used, along with the notion of queer families, to investigate the interconnection between humans and nonhumans, as well as with a wide range of continually changing relationships among various species. As I will explain, Ueda's The Ocean Chronicles depicts a variety of queer families to challenge the normativity of patriarchal families by highlighting "queer futurity" instead of heteronormative reproductive futurity. I draw from feminist and queer theories, in addition to those by Edelman and Haraway, that use ideas from environmentalism and science to understand the interconnectedness of humans and nonhumans. Many of these theories focus on the reconceptualization of the human body, nonhuman entities/elements, and normative sexuality. Particularly, the nonhuman turn in material feminisms led by Haraway and quantum physics feminist Karen Barad offer a new approach to redefining gender through physical attributes and limitations of the body, through the enmeshment of humans and nonhumans, and through the blurred boundaries between subjects and objects. In addition, ecocriticism scholar Timothy Morton (2011) stresses the concept of "mesh"—the entire interconnected system of all life forms is an "open form without center or edge" in the ecological system (22). In other words, this paradoxical concept is necessary. While each life form has a distinctive identity, it has a flexible form (22). While Haraway's focus is on the relationship between humans and animals (especially dogs), Barad (2003) includes human relationships to non-living elements. Barad reconsiders material agents (including human subjects) and argues that they (things) do not exist without relations to other entities, a concept she calls "intra-activity." Barad states, "Agency is a matter of intra-acting; it is an enactment, not something that someone or something has… Agency is not an attribute whatsoever—it is 'doing'/'being' in its intra-activity" (826). Barad denies the presumed distinction of things and beings as basic and fixed...

Pseudo paradox in minimum cost network flow problem

In this paper, an attempt to introduce the concept of pseudo paradox in minimum cost network flow problems is made. The conditions that govern the existence of pseudo paradox are identified and illustrated with the help of numerical examples.

Pseudo paradox in minimum cost network flow problem

In this paper, an attempt to introduce the concept of pseudo paradox in minimum cost network flow problems is made. The conditions that govern the existence of pseudo paradox are identified and illustrated with the help of numerical examples.

De dosering van de staat : Ricoeurs politieke paradox herbekeken

While the original statement of Ricoeur’s concept of the ‘political paradox’ is disappointingly banal at first sight, this article focuses on his further elaboration of this concept in the final decades of his career. The first restatement focuses on the tension between the constitutional form and the inevitable dimension of force in politics. The second restatement concerns the intersection of the vertical relationship of domination and the horizontal relationship of the will to live together. Finally, the third and last restatement describes the tension between a bounded and a bounding role of the state. These restatements eventually show the richness of the concept of the political paradox as an instrument to understand the political existence of mankind. Remarkably, we find that this richness implies that the third restatement radically shifts the historical perspective and the practical consequence of the original paradox.

Functional paradox of leptin and adiponectin in diabetes patients and controls in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana

Aim: To investigate the concept of obesity paradox in diabetes patients and nondiabetic control in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. Materials and Methods: Levels of leptin, adiponectin, total antioxidant power (TAP), lipid peroxides, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed in 115 diabetics and an equal number of control respondents. Furthermore, various anthropometric indices and blood pressure were measured using standard methods. Levels of biomarkers were compared between groups based on body mass index or blood pressure classifications. Results: Control respondents exhibited higher (P 0.05) mean levels of the various biomarkers, except TAP level which was higher (P 0.05) levels of the other biomarkers between diabetes patients and their control counterpart. Irrespective of diabetes, obesity, or hypertensive status, leptin associated positively with various measures of adiposity. Adiponectin correlated positively with leptin (R > 0.38; P< 0.05) only in the control respondents, suggesting a possible functional paradox of the adipocytokines in this group of respondents. Conclusion: Overweight/obese respondents appear metabolically healthier than their normal-weight counterparts. However, further studies are needed for proper understanding of this concept in the Ghanaian context.

Ambidextrous Idea Generation—Antecedents and Outcomes*

Ambidexterity, defined as the capability to develop both incremental and radical innovations, is an important driver of firm success. Idea generation is an essential starting point for both types of innovation. Therefore, this study investigates whether ambidextrous idea generation, defined as the capability to actively generate both incremental and radical ideas, affects new product development (NPD) success. Analyses on the Comparative Performance Assessment Study (CPAS) data, which includes data from 453 companies distributed over 24 countries, demonstrate that ambidextrous idea generation does indeed affect NPD program success. Consequently, this study also investigates which antecedents foster ambidextrous idea generation. The innovation paradox concept predicts that achieving ambidexterity requires overcoming paradoxical antecedents. Therefore, we tested whether combinations of financial and breakthrough orientations (the paradox of strategic emphasis), a formal innovation process and an innovation culture (the paradox of innovation drivers), tight and loose customer coupling (the paradox of customer orientation), and internal development and external collaboration (the paradox of openness) affects ambidextrous idea generation. The results show that only customer orientation and openness have the expected inverted u‐shaped effect. These finding are in line with construal level theory, which predicts that the organizational characteristics that influence idea‐generation activity must be at the same construal level to have the desired effect. The contribution of this study is twofold. First, the analyses indicate that ambidextrous idea generation has significant repercussions for the entire NPD program. Second, the results show that resolving innovation paradoxes only has an effect if the construal level of the paradox and the activity match. This finding indicates an important boundary condition for the innovation paradox concept.

Cigarette Smoking Does Not Enhance Clopidogrel Responsiveness After Adjusting VerifyNow P2Y12 Reaction Unit for the Influence of Hemoglobin Level.

The authors performed this analysis to examine whether the enhanced clopidogrel responsiveness in current smokers is maintained after adjusting the influence of hemoglobin on VerifyNow P2Y12 reaction unit (PRU). PRU is consistently reported to be lower in current smokers. However, PRU has a significant inverse relationship with hemoglobin level, and smokers have higher hemoglobin levels. Because the association between PRU and hemoglobin is likely to be an invitro phenomenon, we hypothesized that the observed difference in PRU between nonsmokers and current smokers is the result of confounding effect of hemoglobin rather than true difference in platelet reactivity. Three cohorts were combined for the analysis (SNUBH [Seoul National University Bundang Hospital], n=459; CILON-T [influence of CILostazol-based triple antiplatelet therapy ON ischemic complication after drug-eluting stenT implantation], n= 715; HOST-ASSURE [Harmonizing Optimal Strategy for Treatment of coronary artery stenosis - sAfety & effectiveneSS of drug-elUting stents & antiplatelet REgimen], n= 1,357). The final combined cohort consisted of 1,314 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and had VerifyNow P2Y12 assay results. General linear model (analysis of covariance) was used to control the effect of hemoglobin on PRU. A significant inverse correlation was observed between PRU and hemoglobin (r= -0.389; p< 0.001). Current smokers showed a significantly higher hemoglobin level (13.5 ± 1.6 vs. 14.4 ± 1.5; p< 0.001) but lower PRU level (230.1± 90.7 vs. 212.2 ± 83.6; p< 0.001). After adjusting the influence of hemoglobin on PRU, there was no difference in PRU between nonsmokers and current smokers (224.1 [95% confidence interval: 218.7 to 229.5] vs. 225.3 [95%confidence interval: 217.2 to 233.3]; p= 0.813). The observed difference in PRU between nonsmokers and current smokers is largely attributable to the difference in hemoglobin level. Enhanced clopidogrel responsiveness in cigarette smokers is not confirmed in this studyand the concept of the smokers' paradox needs further validation.

Exercise tolerance can explain the obesity paradox in patients with systolic heart failure: data from the MECKI Score Research Group

Obesity has been found to be protective in heart failure (HF), a finding leading to the concept of an obesity paradox. We hypothesized that a preserved cardiorespiratory fitness in obese HF patients may affect the relationship between survival and body mass index (BMI) and explain the obesity paradox in HF. A total of 4623 systolic HF patients (LVEF 31.5 ± 9.5%, BMI 26.2 ± 3.6 kg/m(2) ) were recruited and prospectively followed in 24 Italian HF centres belonging to the MECKI Score Research Group. Besides full clinical examination, patients underwent maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test at study enrolment. Median follow-up was 1113 (553-1803) days. The study population was divided according to BMI (<25, 25-30, >30 to ≤35 kg/m(2) ) and predicted peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2 , <50%, 50-80%, >80%). Study endpoints were all-cause and cardiovascular deaths including urgent cardiac transplant. All-cause and cardiovascular deaths occurred in 951 (28.6%, 57.4 per person-years) and 802 cases (17.4%, 48.4 per 1000 person-years), respectively. In the high BMI groups, several prognostic parameters presented better values [LVEF, peak VO2 , ventilation/carbon dioxide slope, renal function, and haemoglobin (P < 0.01)] compared with the lower BMI groups. Both BMI and peak VO2 were significant positive predictors of longer survival: both higher BMI and peak VO2 groups showed lower mortality (P < 0.001). At multivariable analysis and using a matching procedure (age, gender, LVEF, and peak VO2 ), the protective role of BMI disappeared. Exercise tolerance affects the relationship between BMI and survival. Cardiorespiratory fitness mitigates the obesity paradox observed in HF patients.

The Economic–Social Performance Relationships of Ports: Roles of Stakeholders and Organizational Tension

AbstractThis study examines the mechanisms that shape relationships between port economic and social performance. Based on the concepts of organizational paradox and stakeholder heterogeneity, the study develops a paradox–stakeholder combination matrix to explain context‐ and issue‐specific economic–social performance relationships. Differing economic–social performance links may vary with different stakeholders' roles in relation to ports' sustainable development issues. The empirical evidence from US ports provides crucial implications for quasi‐public organizations, which face complex organizational identities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Decision making and paradox: Why study China?

Decision making has been studied from various angles and perspectives. Despite much progress, the role of paradox and the ways it reveals itself in decision making has received little attention. Perhaps, part of the reason is that paradox has been studied in the West based on the analysis of Western managers’ activities while neglecting the fact that in the East, and especially in China, paradox has always been integral to managerial decision making. This “viewpoint” article seeks to highlight China as an important research setting that could add impetus to the study of paradox and decision making. It sheds light on questions such as: What do we know about paradox today and how do Western scholars treat this notion? What does research say about decision making in China? Is there a potential to get a better understanding of the concepts of paradox if study it in decision making in China?.

From descriptive customer data to need definition: a formalised approach

Need is a major concern when designing a new product and, consequently, need analysis is a key task during the front end of innovative projects. However, need remains a paradoxical concept, something that everyone feels, accepts and understands, but is difficult to model. This research contributes to the theoretical and methodological aspect of need. To elaborate a need analysis methodology adapted to the first steps of innovative projects, a literature review highlights the main characteristics of this concept and collects definitions within a large scope of disciplines. Based on these theoretical elements and on a systemic approach, a model is suggested to describe the needs of targeted stakeholders. This model aims at the treatment of descriptive data concerning the functioning modes of customers and other involved stakeholders in order to define individual needs. An example of application of the method is detailed among a large panel of experimental innovative projects.

2nd IWA Leading-Edge on Sustainability in Water-Limited Environments

This book represents the outcome of the Second IWA Leading-Edge Conference held in Sydney, Australia in November 2004. Sustainability is a paradoxical concept. We know we want to protect the environment from human-induced change, yet ecosystems are dynamic, constantly changing and adapting in response to a multitude of factors, the combined effect and subtleties of which are probably well beyond human calculation. Furthermore, our conscious desire to protect the environment - which forces us to think of humans as sitting outside ecosystems - conflicts with the unavoidable fact that we are an unconscious actor within those ecosystems. We must also recognise that the goal of ‘protecting the environment’ is not a clear-cut objective. Perhaps, because of its complexity and propensity to change, we cannot know what the fully protected environment would look like. Individual preferences too make the conceptualisation of an ideal state impossible; do we strive for an ecosystem in which we play a minor part - barely influencing natural outcomes - or one that is more actively managed and provides for our needs or wants? Neither this volume, nor the conference from which it draws, resolve the paradoxes described above. The papers presented here do, however, provide insight into the innovative thinking and practical projects undertaken across the globe that move us from patently unsustainable conditions to those in which our economic activity, impact on ecosystems and desire for positive social outcomes are in better balance. This title belongs to Water and Environmental Management Series (WEMS) ISBN: 9781843395072 (Print) ISBN: 9781780402871 (eBook)

ORACLE Stroke Study: Opinion Regarding Acceptable Outcome Following Decompressive Hemicraniectomy for Ischemic Stroke.

There continues to be considerable interest in the use of decompressive hemicraniectomy in the management of malignant cerebral artery infarction; however, concerns remain about long-term outcome. To assess opinion on consent and acceptable outcome among a wide range of healthcare workers. Seven hundred seventy-three healthcare workers at the 2 major public neurosurgical centers in Western Australia participated. Participants were asked to record their opinion on consent and acceptable outcome based on the modified Rankin Score (mRS). The evidence for clinical efficacy of the procedure was presented, and participants were then asked to reconsider their initial responses. Of the 773 participants included in the study, 407 (52.7%) initially felt that they would provide consent for a decompressive craniectomy as a lifesaving procedure, but only a minority of them considered an mRS score of 4 or 5 an acceptable outcome (for mRS score ≤4, n = 67, 8.7%; for mRS score = 4, n = 57, 7.4%). After the introduction of the concept of the disability paradox and the evidence for the clinical efficacy of decompressive craniectomy, more participants were unwilling to accept decompressive craniectomy (18.1% vs 37.8%), but at the same time, more were willing to accept an mRS score ≤4 as an acceptable outcome (for mRS score ≤4, n = 92, 11.9%; for mRS score = 4, n = 79, 10.2%). Most participants felt survival with dependency to be unacceptable. However, many would be willing to provide consent for surgery in the hopes that they may survive with some degree of independence. DESTINY, Decompressive Surgery for the Treatment of Malignant Infarction of the Middle Cerebral ArterymRS, modified Rankin Scale.

Communication and the Coping Paradox: The Case of Army Spouses and Wartime Deployment

This study explores the concept of the coping paradox within the context of military families and wartime deployment. A coping paradox occurs when the sending or receiving of a message meant to cope with stress leads to outcomes that are contrary to expectations. Based on interviews with 40 military wives whose husbands deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, we identified six paradoxical pairings of particular stressors and coping strategies. By understanding that these paradoxes are context and time dependent, family members may recognize the paradox is not indicative of a problem with the relationship; instead, it is an outcome of the situation and, thus, may not reoccur when the family is out of the stressful situation.

Serum acidosis prior to reperfusion facilitates hemodynamic recovery following liver transplantation.

Reperfusion is the most critical event during liver transplantation, and sustained leakage of acidic preservation solution from the liver graft contributes to marked hemodynamic instability. Recent laboratory studies with hepatocyte cultures have revealed that low pH may protect hepatocyte mitochondria against ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), the so-called "pH paradox." However, the clinical significance of this pH paradox theory remains largely unknown. In this study, we sought to determine whether there is an association between serum pH immediately prior to reperfusion and hemodynamic recovery after reperfusion and graft survival. We analyzed retrospective data from 527 patients who underwent Orthotopic liver transplantation between 2003 and 2008. All patients were allocated to one of two groups: pH≤7.32 or pH>7.32, as measured 5min before reperfusion. Case-control matching was performed using the propensity score to adjust for background differences between the two groups. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test and the χ (2) test. There were 85 patients in the pH≤7.32 group and 385 patients in the pH>7.32 group. The recovery of mean arterial pressure after hepatic artery reperfusion was significantly faster in the pH≤7.32 group (slope of recovery: 0.0004% vs. 0.0002%/min, p=0.041). Other parameters studied, including vasopressor dosage after reperfusion, did not show any statistically significant difference between groups. Our findings suggest that less aggressive treatment of acidosis with a slower rate of normalization of serum pH (from low to normal) after reperfusion promotes faster hemodynamic stabilization. These findings provide evidence to support the concept of the pH paradox, and may also substantiate the argument against the usage of alkalizing agents before reperfusion unless acidosis becomes clinically significant.

Partner selection in co-opetition: a three step model

Purpose– This paper aims to contribute towards a better understanding of the partner selection process, which anticipates a successful co-opetition partnership. Co-opetition partnerships refer to developing cooperation efforts between competitors. The scarcity of studies conducted in this field to date provides limited contribution for the understanding of the partner selection process in this, particularly, paradoxical concept.Design/methodology/approach– This study follows a methodology based on systematic combining for the qualitative analysis of four cases of domestic co-opetition in Portugal. A sample range of eight companies was selected for a series of semi-structured interviews. Testimonials were transcribed and data coded for content analysis.Findings– Results indicate that prior personal relationships between decision-makers are facilitators for the implementation of cooperation partnerships with competitors. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a three-step model to explain the process of partner selection for co-opetition partnerships. According to this model, after opting to commence a new coopetitive business alliance, the manager undergoes a first unconscious selection based on his/her own prior personal relationships, followed by a conscious and judicious selection based on specific criteria related to partner’s operational skills, resources, effectiveness and trust.Research limitations/implications– Given that the sample is entirely formed by companies from one single country, further research would benefit from the inclusion of other countries expressing different business contexts and cultural environments.Originality/value– The value of paper derives from the comprehensive realization of partner selection for domestic co-opetition as fundamentally a network-related process.

The paradoxes of Enlightenment. A rhetorical and anthropological approach to Kant's Beantwortung

This paper consists of two parts. In the first part (section 1), I shall expound the kantian concept of paradox and its three different senses, the anthropological, the rhetorical and the metaphysical. In the second part (sections 2-6), I shall examine the presence of these senses of paradox in Kant's texts about Enlightenment (with special attention on the Beantwortung). The paradox of immaturity consists of the fact that we are responsible, as human beings, and non-responsible, as subjects of a State, of the exit from it. Another formulation of the same paradox, but in dynamical and metaphysical terms (which will specifically occupy section 3), is that of heautocracy, the paradox of self-constraint, which implies that the subject is at the same time active and passive. Finally, the opposition between public and private use of reason also seems paradoxical, since private use seems to be a prejudiced use (and it is not, actually) while public use seems to be free and reasonable as such (although the freedom implied in Enlightenment is only methodical and is subject to rules).

Obesity induced by high fat diet attenuates postinfarct myocardial remodeling and dysfunction in adult B6D2F1 mice

Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, some studies suggest that among patients with established cardiovascular disease, obesity is associated with better prognosis, a phenomenon described as the obesity paradox. In this study we tested the hypothesis that obesity with hyperinsulinemia and without hyperglycemia attenuates the impact of transient coronary occlusion on left ventricular remodeling and function. B6D2F1 mice from both genders fed with a high fat diet (HFD) or control diet for 6months were subjected to 45min of coronary occlusion and 28days of reperfusion. Left ventricular dimensions and function were assessed by serial echocardiography, and infarct size was determined by Picrosirius red staining. HFD mice developed obesity with hypercholesterolemia and hyperinsulinemia in the absence of hyperglycemia or hypertension. During the period of feeding, no changes were observed in ventricular mass, volume or function, or in vascular reactivity. HFD attenuated the consequences of transient coronary occlusion as shown by a marked reduction in infarct size (51%, P=0.021) and cardiac dilation, as well as improved left ventricular function as compared to control diet animals. These effects were associated with enhanced reperfusion injury salvage kinases (RISK) pathway function in HFD hearts shown as increased Akt and GSK3β phosphorylation. These results demonstrate that dietary obesity without hyperglycemia or hypertension attenuates the impact of ischemia/reperfusion injury in association with increased insulin signaling and RISK activation. This study provides experimental support to the controversial concept of the obesity paradox in humans.