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Migration is a major engine of demographic change for towns, regions, and whole countries. Traditionally, migrations have been divided into those caused by push or pull factors or classified by events that triggered them. In other words, push and pull factors are but one way to classify migration movements. This work distinguishes between life course and structural migrations. Life course migrations are linked to important events in people's lives such as graduation, marriage, having children, job promotions, discharge from the military, or retirement and the motivation comes from the migrant. Structural migrations are caused by changes in the economic, social, political, or natural environment and, therefore, externally motivated. This classification scheme is compatible with and complementary to existing classifications and particularly those based on push and pull factors. It yields some additional insights for policy making, empirical research, and migration modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the fading use of the economic-dynamic model, psychoanalysis failed to respond with a profound reformulation of the general theory and it preferred to promote psycho-evolutionary, psychodynamic and clinical generalizations to theory, renouncing a procedural theory which, in justifying clinical practice and the method, would promote psychoanalysis's research and development. Against the trend and in view of such a necessary general theory, the Author introduces the concept of emotionally marked link to indicate a fixed, stable and persistent bond in time between a somatic-value-based element and a symbolic-representative element which, by virtue of emotional markings, limits, directs or prescribes the possible actions of the subject. A crucial feature of the emotionally marked link is its continuous attractive activity, which according to a fixed and marked framework tends to model the elements of the flow of experienced life, which logically, analogically or metaphorically allow it to be traced back to the framework. Emotional marking triggers an anticipation of emotion and initiates the approach response, moving away or caution in any motivational field, placing itself as the elementary mechanism for the formation of motivations, and therefore, intentions. The concept of emotionally marked link also makes it possible to clarify the problem of meaning, by indicating the meaning bound to emotion, the only "meaning" that can be considered causative from the point of view of actual processes. The conjecture behind the definition of the concept of emotionally marked link is that which psychoanalysis has always understood as the "unconscious" and must and can be translated into the continuous, systematic, and generalized action of the hierarchical network of emotionally marked links. This network silently guides behaviour not through unfathomable mentalist intentions, but through the simple exercise of (relatively or radically) binding rules, which construct meanings, intentions and motives, according to a grammar and syntax, that instruct meanings and contexts driven by marked emotionally marked links rather than by causative intervention of a mental content or projection of an image exhumed from a distant, unverifiable past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a matter of contention whether or not a general explanatory framework for the biological sciences would be of scientific value, or whether it is even achievable. In this paper we suggest that both are the case, and we outline proposals for a framework capable of generating new scientific questions. Starting with one clear characteristic of biological systems—that they all have the potential to make mistakes—we aim to describe the nature of this potential and the common processes that lie behind it. Given that under most circumstances biological systems function effectively, an examination of different kinds of mistake-making provides pointers to mechanisms that must exist to make failure uncommon. This, in turn, informs a framework for systematic inquiry, which in this paper we apply to the hemostatic system, but we believe could be applied to any system across biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The criticism made by Friedrich A. Hayek to A Treatise on Money by John Maynard Keynes, and the subsequent controversy that followed with the involvement of members of the Cambridge Circus, sustained important elements to Keynes' abandonment of his earlier ideas and to his way to General Theory. The figure and position of Hayek operated to clarify the underlying differences and the new theoretical routes for Keynes, one that was more explicitly opposite to critical authors drawing from Knut Wicksell. To some degree, the road to General Theory was paved in the famous 1931 controversy - in particular the rejection of the Wicksell connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Intrinsic nature of catalysis is revealed with Polanyi and Bronsted relations. • Optimality in catalysis is a subtle balance of coordinated kinetic-related factors. • Analytical mathematics approach manifests essential key equations for kinetic studies Inherent nature of a heterogeneous catalytic reaction system represented by a correlation between kinetics and thermodynamics is revealed as harmonious coordination of the correlation parameter and the binding state of a key adsorbate when the system is at the optimum condition with maximum reaction rate. This interpretation comes from the newly obtained common results in different reaction settings and conveys the essence of the catalytic reaction. Pioneering work by Michel Boudart in 1968 based on Polanyi and Bronsted relations was a key guidance to an extended development by the present author in 1988. And now further advancement has been made and it leads us to conclude that if the reaction system follows such a correlation, there is a systematic framework acting to orchestrate the best reaction performance. This framework is an intrinsic part of catalysis. In consequence, a new definition is suggested for the extended Sabatier's principle. The efficacy and profundity of analytical mathematics approach appear in the key equations as they disclose the fundamental nature of catalytic reactions. The optimum in catalysis is a delicately controlled state made possible by an essential balance between kinetics and thermodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental law is not a science merely related to the experimental sciences and engineering. Ideology and the way to describe ‘man’s relationship with the universe’ possess a fundamental role in policy-making for the environment. All possible measures towards the environment fall into three areas: values (policymaking principles), requirements (rights and duties), and methods (executive methods, technical engineering measures). Values and requirements are mainly discussed in Islamic environmental law. Methods are also explained in Islam to some extent; however, the nature of methods is the scientific and experimental measures. The present study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method with a library data collection procedure. Through examining the foundations of monotheistic ontology and relying on the principle of the substantive movement, this study investigated ideological bases, policy-making principles, and jurisprudential rules and regulations concerning the protection and exploitation of the environment. They constitute the three structural layers of the general theory of Islamic environmental law. According to the monotheistic worldview, man is a part of the creation system as well as God’s vicegerent on the earth. For the good of man’s succession, a coordinated and network-like set of rights and duties have been established. God has ordered the balance in the environment and the whole system of creation as a sign of His wisdom and blessing, and any action disturbing this balance is a violation of divine commands and the rights of other creatures and human beings. It is from this principle that one finds the obligation of maintaining environmental health and preventing its pollution. The principle of policy-making is the second layer of Islamic environmental law. It determines guidelines for developing regulations and executive guarantees of Islamic environmental law whose most important ones are the following: ‘the environment and natural resources are trusts at the disposal of human beings’, the entitlement of inhuman elements, the purposefulness of development based on the principle of human succession, environmental justice, sovereignty and universality of the environment, limitation of human power, the principle of environmental caution, and network priority. The third layer of Islamic law is the environment, rules, and regulations. The decrees of jurisprudence are those macro-rules that determine some do's and don'ts in environmental laws and possess a superstructure relationship with foundations and principles. The most important of them include forbiddance of extravagance, forbiddance of oppression over other creatures, observance of expediency, the obligation of environmental commanding to good and forbiddance of evil, and forbiddance of disrupting the social system in the whole system of creation. These rules form the indispensable laws. It is noteworthy that some of these rules or principles such as the principle of precaution or the rights of other creatures to a healthy environment are being planned in international environmental or human rights documents and treaties, such as the Rio or Stockholm Declaration, while these concepts are present in the bases of Islamic environmental laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to discuss the meanings of the term "general" used by John Maynard Keynes in his Magnum opus, entitled: The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, also known as "General Theory" (TG). The diversity of the concepts used in the exhibition, and the new method of approaching real life problems in the economic sphere, made TG a complex and controversial work, but very important. It is necessary to understand that Keynes' object of study is what he called the monetary economy of production, a kind of code name for capitalist mode of production. The main conclusion demonstrates, through necessary reflection, that, despite the difficulties and criticisms, TG has the necessary theoretical elements to understand the phenomena of unemployment, inflation and the economic cycle and, even, of state intervention aiming, precisely, to minimize the serious problems of capitalism: unemployment, inflation, poor income distribution and socioeconomic inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the counterexamples to the general theory related to the state-feedback IMC plants are given and investigated. It is shown, that the maximum-speed multivariable perfect control schemes do not necessitate the maximum-energy of the control input variables. In that way, the IMC peculiarities involving the nonzero perfect control closed-loop poles are indicated, which constitutes a solid counterweight to the well-known general system theory. A new geometric approach results in counterexamples for both full and non-full rank plants, giving rise to the introduction of a complete analytical paradigm in the nearest future. Numerical examples confirm the intriguing issues covering the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some seriously misunderstood issues arise in three paragraphs in the last chapter of Keynes's General Theory concerning the relationship between his theory and orthodox theory. That these passages permit a form of theoretical reconciliation is a view shared by prominent commentators of opposing persuasions. Joan Robinson and John Eatwell strongly criticised Keynes for inconsistency and for opening the door to neoclassical elements that undermine his theorising, while Paul Samuelson made Keynes's comments the foundation of his textbook neoclassical synthesis. The reconciliation view, however, is based on hasty non-contextual readings and is mistaken. More careful analysis leads to three conclusions: neither internal inconsistency nor neoclassical appeasement exists; Keynes's paragraphs are aligned with the theoretical positions previously advanced in the General Theory; and what is actually deployed is a complementarity view relating his macro-theory to one particular part of orthodox micro-theory. Rejecting the dominant view, however, does not remove the issue of the absence in Keynes's work of an adequately exposited micro-theory to accompany his macro-theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its consistent association with a wide range of criminal and deviant outcomes, low self-control (LSC) has become among the most extensively measured concepts in criminology. Conversely, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most commonly diagnosed of mental illnesses in young people has not received similar attention despite what appears to be a close conceptual association with LSC. Using data from a sample of students at a medium-sized southwestern university, we analyze the association between LSC and ADHD in predicting a range of criminal and deviant behaviors. Findings indicate an association between the two concepts and that they predicted offending in similar ways, but that the precise nature of the relationship between LSC and ADHD remains uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passivity theory and the positive real lemma have been recognised as two of the cornerstones of modern systems and control theory. As digital control is pervasive in virtually all control applications, developing a general theory on the discrete‐time positive real lemma appears to be an important issue. While for minimal realisations the relations between passivity, positive‐realness and existence of solutions of the positive real lemma equations is very well understood, it seems fair to say that this is not the case in the discrete‐time case, especially when the realisation is non‐minimal and no conditions are assumed on left‐ and/or right‐invertibility of the transfer function. The purpose of this study is to present a necessary and sufficient condition for existence of solutions of the positive real equations under the only assumption that the state matrix A is asymptotically stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General theories (GT) are reductionist explications of apparently independent facts. Here, in reviewing the literature, I develop a GT to simplify the cluttered landscape of cancer therapy targets by revealing they cluster parsimoniously according to only a few underlying principles. The first principle is that targets can be only exploited by either or both of two fundamentally different approaches: causality-inhibition, and 'acausal' recognition of some marker or signature. Nonetheless, each approach must achieve both of two separate goals, efficacy (reduction in cancer burden) and selectivity (sparing of normal cells); if the mechanisms are known, this provides a definition of rational treatment. The second principle is target fragmentation, whereby the target may perform up to three categoric functions (cytoreduction, modulation, cytoprotection), potentially mediated by physically different target molecules, even on different cell types, or circulating freely. This GT remains incomplete until the minimal requirements for cure, or alternatively, proof that cure is impossible, become predictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a general field modulation theory for electrical machines by introducing magnetomotive force modulation operator to characterize the influence of short-circuited coil, variable reluctance, and flux guide on the primitive magnetizing magnetomotive force distribution established by field winding function multiplied by field current along the airgap peripheral. Magnetically anisotropic stator and rotor behave like modulators to produce a spectrum of field harmonics and the armature winding plays the role of a spatial filter to extract effective field harmonics to contribute the corresponding flux linkage and induce the electromotive force. The developed field modulation theory not only unifies the principle analysis of a large variety of electrical machines, including conventional dc machine, induction machine, and synchronous machine which are just special cases of the general field modulated machines, thus eliminating the problem of the machine theory fragmentation, but also provides a powerful guidance for inventing new machine topologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kerogen is irregularly connected by a variety of chemical bonds including C–C bond, C=C bond, C–O bond, C–N bond, C–H bond and C–S bond. It is difficult to identify selective bond breaking events using the existing experimental conditions. In this study, we predict dissociation tendencies of chemical bonds in various kerogen molecules by using 554 small molecular model compounds based on the density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations. Results from our DFT study indicate that the calculated various subtypes of bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) changing tendency is that C–S bond < C–N bond < C–O bond < C–C bond < C–H bond < C=C bond. However, for each bond type, the BDE value has a large range and overlaps each other, and the BDE mostly relies on the local environment (the functional groups and position) of chemical bonds and radical stability. For the C–C bond, a linear relationship (R= 0.85) between C–C bond distances and BDE has been achieved. Thus, the bond distance can serve as a good indicator of bond strength for C–C bond linkages. All results support that the BDE is a good choice to evaluate the dissociation tendencies of kerogen and this work provides an effective path to reveal the nature of chemical bonding for large-sized kerogen molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

General theory attributes criminal behavior primarily to low self-control, whereas evolutionary neuroandrogenic (ENA) theory envisions criminality as being a crude form of status-striving promoted by high brain exposure to androgens. General theory predicts that self-control will be negatively correlated with risk-taking, while ENA theory implies that these two variables should actually be positively correlated. According to ENA theory, traits such as pain tolerance and muscularity will be positively associated with risk-taking and criminality while general theory makes no predictions concerning these relationships. Data from Malaysia and the United States are used to test 10 hypotheses derived from one or both of these theories. As predicted by both theories, risk-taking was positively correlated with criminality in both countries. However, contrary to general theory and consistent with ENA theory, the correlation between self-control and risk-taking was positive in both countries. General theory's prediction of an inverse correlation between low self-control and criminality was largely supported by the U.S. data but only weakly supported by the Malaysian data. ENA theory's predictions of positive correlations between pain tolerance, muscularity, and offending were largely confirmed. For the 10 hypotheses tested, ENA theory surpassed general theory in predictive scope and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a general theory regarding the onset of ethnic war, starting with two analytic innovations: a mechanism-based approach toward social facts and an emphasis on dynamic interactions. I deploy two meta-mechanisms – the security dilemma/spiral model and intergroup-intragroup interactions – as meta-synthesizers. I then bring together the numerous factors and mechanisms scattered in the literature into a more integrative and dynamic theory of ethnic war by linking factors with immediate drivers of conflictual behavior via the two meta-mechanisms. The resulting theory not only integrates numerous factors and mechanisms identified within the existing literature, but it also reveals previously hidden or neglected factors, interactions, and mechanisms that point to fruitful directions for future inquires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following calls for greater theory development in software engineering, this paper formulates a process theory of software development practice. Sensemaking-Coevolution-Implementation Theory explains how complex software systems are created by cohesive software development teams in organizations. It posits that an independent agent (the development team) creates a software system by alternating between three categories of activities: making sense of an ambiguous context, mutually refining schemas of the context and design space, and manifesting their understanding of the design space in a technological artifact. This theory development paper defines, illustrates and conceptually evaluates Sensemaking-Coevolution-Implementation Theory. It grounds the theory's concepts and relationships in existing software engineering, information systems development and interdisciplinary design literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on archival material and previously unexplored texts, this article attempts to revise our understanding of the emergence of a new macroeconomic discourse in the Swedish 1930s. Firstly, it is argued that the Stockholm School played a secondary role in shaping Sweden's counter-cyclical policies during the depression. The Minister of Finance, Ernst Wigforss, possessed all the theoretical tools he needed before the academic economists had made their views on the crisis publicly known. Secondly, it will be argued that Wigforss was the one closest to anticipate theGeneral Theory, and that he had his theoretical system for a counter-cyclical fiscal policy worked out in 1931 already. He provides an important link in one of the most debated topics in the history of macroeconomic thought. In an allusion to Axel Leijonhufvud, this link is named the ‘Wigforss Connection’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Spatial data are often aggregated into spatial units and differences between spatial units can complicate the analysis of the data. One solution to this problem is spatial unit conversion, also called areal interpolation. Of the many areal interpolation methods proposed thus far, few method are based on spatial econometrics: a subset of econometrics which is concerned with the role of spatial autocorrelation (a general property of spatial data that implies that data in nearby locations are similar) in the regional economic model response. In this article, an areal interpolation method that considers both the spatial autocorrelation and the pycnophylactic property (a most basic premise of areal interpolation that the sum of the data given in a specific area must be constant) is proposed by combining a spatial econometric model and a linear regression-based areal interpolation method. Parameters of the proposed method are estimated using the expectation-maximization algorithm. The performance of the proposed method was examined through empirical analysis using real data and ratios on aging populations. The results indicate the importance of considering both the pycnophylactic property and the spatial autocorrelation in areal interpolation. The results also show the applicability of spatial econometrics to areal interpolation problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thrift used to mean necessary scrimping and saving in order to get by. But more recently, with growing prosperity coupled with a heightened sense of global social and environmental fragility, the meaning of thrift has shifted in advanced economies connecting with various practices geared towards reconfigured modes of consumption and lifestyles – ethical, conscientious or collaborative. Many scholars and commentators have noted this shift and at least as many explanations have been proposed. This provides us with an opportunity to develop a more general theory of thrift by proposing that all thrift behaviours and practices can be understood over three basic dimensions that we identify as: (1) ‘causes of thrift’; (2) ‘meaning of thrift’; and (3) ‘thrift capital/capabilities’. We show how existing but disparate definitions and empirical studies of thrift can be organized with respect to this framework and how this enables us to elucidate the nature of the shift that is currently occurring. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Let be a fixed integer and a random element of . We consider solutions of multivariate smoothing transforms, i.e. random variables satisfying where denotes equality in distribution, and are independent identically distributed -valued random variables, and independent of . We briefly review conditions for the existence of solutions, and then study their asymptotic behaviour. We show that under natural conditions, these solutions exhibit heavy tails. Our results also cover the case of complex valued weights . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Throughout his scholarly career, Andrew Isserman made bold calls for vision, storytelling, and narrative construction in regional science and planning. The necessity to plan and make infrastructure and development decisions with incomplete evidence often requires narratives—gists, insights, and ideas that are shorthand for an amalgam of reasoning, evidence, and feedback from practice. Narratives play a large role in planning practice and education, but their premises and implications must be subjected to evidence and compared with alternatives. From their respective work on the third sector, the authors explore a powerful narrative that bigger organizations are better: due to economies of scale, more professional personnel, more sustainable operations, and better measurement, they deliver superior services and greater public value for resources spent. The authors compare this with a competing narrative that smaller organizations generate superior social returns due to flexibility, innovativeness, and community-embeddedness. Using evidence on nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, the authors show that the superiority of large organizations is questionable and further, that the “bigger is better” narrative serves particular interests. In concluding, the authors underscore Isserman’s argument that planners and regional scientists must consciously and deliberately claim their roles in the creation of narratives that shape debate, planning process, and, ultimately, the future. In teaching and research, the authors must both acknowledge whose interests are served and harness evidence to compelling visions, explicit theories of causality, and story arcs—the tools that planners, regional scientists, designers, and social scientists use in defining, shaping, and imagining our regional worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study was to conduct an empirical investigation of the validity of Jacobs' (in J Gambl Behav 2:15-31, ) general theory of addictions in relation to gambling problems associated with electronic gaming machines (EGM). Regular EGM gamblers (n = 190) completed a series of standardised measures relating to psychological and physiological vulnerability, substance use, dissociative experiences, early childhood trauma and abuse and problem gambling (the Problem Gambling Severity Index). Statistical analysis using structural equation modelling revealed clear relationships between childhood trauma and life stressors and psychological vulnerability, dissociative-like experiences and problem gambling. These findings confirm and extend a previous model validated by Gupta and Derevensky (in J Gambl Stud 14: 17-49, using an adolescent population. The significance of these findings are discussed for existing pathway models of problem gambling, for Jacobs' theory, and for clinicians engaged in assessment and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the research on the theory of elastic stability published at the end of the 19th century, with emphasis on the work by G. H. Bryan in Cambridge. The state of the studies on structural stability previous to Bryan is reviewed, and two lines of work are identified: one is a general stability of rigid bodies and the other is a collection of case studies of elastic stability. Bryan's theory is discussed next, presenting his arguments based on first energy principles, which led him to strong conclusions. The importance of the word "general" and the idea of having solved the problem in each case are explained. The impact of the contributions made by Bryan, together with the critiques that this generated, is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Music therapy is generally considered a discipline that utilizes music for promoting health, in which music is understood as a phenomenon inextricably tied to the medium of sound. Yet, alternatively, music therapy may also be considered a discipline that promotes human health both as and through music, in which music is understood as a temporal-aesthetic way of being transcending the concrete medium of sound, that manifests across all of the domains targeted in clinical music therapy goals. This explorative perspective potentially resolves certain critical dichotomies and dilemmas with which the music therapy field has had to contend, while meaningfully distinguishing music therapy''s indigenous expertise and unique value from those of related health disciplines. Moreover, it carries implications for the formulation of a general theory of music therapy, applicable across a plurality of specific music therapy models, methods, and practices. Likewise, it carries implications for general theories of other expressive arts therapies, based upon understanding their respective modalities as particular ways of being, transcending concrete media. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime has generated significant controversy and research, such that there now exists a large knowledge base regarding the importance of self-control in regulating antisocial behavior over the life-course. Reviews of this literature indicate that self-control is an important correlate of antisocial activity. Some research has evaluated programmatic efforts designed to examine the extent to which self-control is malleable, but little empirical research on this issue has been carried out within criminology, largely because the theorists have not paid much attention to policy proscriptions. This study evaluates the extant research on the effectiveness of programs designed to improve self-control up to age 10 among children and adolescents, and assesses the effects of these programs on self-control and delinquency/crime. Meta-analytic results indicate that (1) self-control programs improve a child/adolescent's self-control, (2) these interventions also reduce delinquency, and (3) the positive effects generally hold across a number of different moderator variables and groupings as well as by outcome source (parent-, teacher-, direct observer-, self-, and clinical report). Theoretical and policy implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, deviant action is analyzed on the basis of ideas derived from Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory. Presumedly, self-control in interaction with opportunities can explain deviant action. This assumption is elaborated using the concept of high- and low-cost situations from rational choice theory. From this point of view, the hypotheses are that self-control predicts deviant action in low-cost situations, whereas utility predicts deviant action in high-cost situations. Two test strategies are employed in an empirical examination of these hypotheses. A standardized questionnaire was presented to a sample of 494 German adults aged 18 to 80. The results of both test strategies show that the assumptions of an interaction effect between self-control and opportunities are fundamentally supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research on law enforcement and court system actions suggests that offender demeanor influences practitioner decision making. However, few studies have examined a key implication of this body of work—namely, criminogenic factors associated not only with offending but also with demeanor may result in a greater likelihood of contact with and formal processing by law enforcement and the courts. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we test the hypothesis that low self-control, which is associated with a range of characteristics that might influence practitioner perceptions of individual offenders' demeanors, will predict greater contact and formal processing. Briefly, we found that low self-control was consistently related to criminal justice system involvement as measured by police contacts, arrests, age at first police contact, and arrest onset. The implications of the findings for theory and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community ecology entered the 1970s with the belief that niche theory would supply a general theory of community structure. The lack of wide-spread empirical support for niche theory led to a focus on models specific to classes of communities such as lakes, intertidal communities, and forests. Today, the needs of conservation biology for metrics of “ecological health” that can be applied across types of communities prompts a renewed interest in the possibility of general theory for community ecology. Disputes about the existence of general patterns in community structure trace at least to the 1920s and continue today almost unchanged in concept, although now expressed through mathematical modeling. Yet, a new framework emerged in the 1980s from findings that community composition and structure depend as much on the processes that bring species to the boundaries of a community as by processes internal to a community, such as species interactions and co-evolution. This perspective, termed “supply-side ecology”, argued that community ecology was to be viewed as an “organic earth science” more than as a biological science. The absence of a general theory of the earth would then imply a corresponding absence of any general theory for the communities on the earth, and imply that the logical structure of theoretical community ecology would consist of an atlas of models special to place and geologic time. Nonetheless, a general theory of community ecology is possible similar in form to the general theory for evolution if the processes that bring species to the boundary of a community are analogized to mutation, and the processes that act on the species that arrive at a community are analogized to selection. All communities then share some version of this common narrative, permitting general theorems to be developed pertaining to all ecological communities. Still, the desirability of a general theory of community ecology is debatable because the existence of a general theory suppresses diversity of thought even as it allows generalizations to be derived. The pros and cons of a general theory need further discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basically, new quantitative hierarchic theory of matter general for liquids and solids is developed. This theory proves to be more advanced than well known models of Einstein and Debye. In this new approach the condensed matter is considered as a system of three-dimensional (3D) superposition of standing waves of the following types: the most probable de Broglie waves, related to molecules translation and librations in composition of condensed matter; the acoustic waves (thermal phonons); and the electromagnetic waves - IR photons, related to librations and translations. Strongly interrelated collective excitations (quasiparticles), named the effectons, convertons, transitons and deformons and their different combinations, are introduced. The effectons are formed by 3D superposition of standing de Broglie waves of molecules or atoms, related to their translations (tr) and librations (lb). Each of two modes: the in-phase (acoustic, a) or counterphase (optic, b) anharmonic oscillations in the volume of effectons are coherent. All possible combinations of the above four basic excitations lead to hierarchical system of 4!=24 quasiparticles, describing virtually all physical properties of condensed matter. The following four input experimental parameters of matter at the same temperature and pressure are necessary for calculation of these properties, using created computer program: comprehensive analyser of matter properties (pCAMP): sound velocity; density; refraction index; positions of translational and librational bands in oscillatory spectra. It is important to note, that the same formulae work for both liquid and solid phase. The demonstrational version of pCAMP on examples of water and ice can be downloaded from the front page of author's site: http://web.petrsu.ru/∼alexk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A possibility of generation of the outer membrane potential in mitochondria has been suggested earlier in the literature, but the potential has not been directly measured yet. Even its nature, metabolic impact and a possible range of magnitudes are not clear, and require further theoretical and experimental analysis. Here, using simple mathematical model, we evaluated a possible contribution of the Donnan and metabolically derived potentials to the outer membrane potential, concluding that the superposition of both is most probable; exclusively Donnan origin of the potential is doubtful because unrealistically high concentrations of charged macromolecules are needed for maintaining its relatively high levels. Regardless of the mechanism(s) of generation, the maximal possible potential seems to be less than 30 mV because significant osmotic gradients, created at higher values, increase the probability of the outer membrane rupture. New experimental approaches for direct or indirect determination of true value of the outer membrane potential are suggested here to avoid a possible interference of the surface electrical potential of the inner membrane, which may change as a result of the extrusion of matrix protons under energization of mitochondria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critiques the idea that by establishing a general framework within which research must be conducted, philosophical argument can `take the lead' in relation to research. It develops Holmwood's work in this area by examining the ontological arguments put forward by critical realists, which attempt to establish the fundamental characteristics of the social realm prior to the production of empirically successful research in that realm. The article draws on a contrast with ontological argument in the natural sciences to demonstrate the illegitimacy of this manoeuvre, showing that ontological claims can be given some justification, but only when they are derived from research that is widely held to be empirically successful. Realist ontological claims in the social sciences do not have this basis, and it is argued that Bhaskar's alternative mode of justification for these claims is unconvincing. Archer's view is also criticized that critical realist arguments should be given a strong regulatory role in relation to research, illustrating the problems with this by critiquing Cruickshank's ontologically driven analysis of unemployment and the underclass. The article concludes that social scientific research should be conducted without philosophical legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In my 1983 book, Macroeconomics after Keynes , I claimed that much that was original in Keynes was to be found not at the level of theory but in his method. Shortly afterwards, Sheila Dow's book Macroeconomic Thought (1985) introduced those of us who are not specialist methodologists to what she called the 'mode of thought'. In that book, and subsequently, it has become clear that differences in approach between those who take their inspiration from Keynes and Kalecki and those I shall loosely describe as neoclassicists lie at the level of mode of thought. Almost all post-Keynesians say that Keynes's General Theory is founded on a concern with time, uncertainty and organicism - features of Keynes's mode of thought. Yet, as far as I know, no one has shown precisely what the relationships are between the identifiable aspects of Keynes's mode of thought and his method and theory. This is the task that this paper sets itself. I identify four key theoretical contributions and their corollaries, and show how they are related to the deeper levels of method and mode of thought. This exercise is contrasted with the three-level structure of typical neoclassical macroeconomic theory. The underlying purpose is to help modern theory develop in a fruitful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This was a five-year follow-up study of recidivism of 572 male graduates of the only boot camp for adults in a southern state. The purpose was to examine competing theories in predicting recidivism among these adult males. Elements of social learning and general theoretical models were tested to determine their relative prediction of return to Department of Correction (DOC) in a 5-year follow-up study. Using a proportional hazard rate analysis, the findings indicated that, contrary to well-accepted general theories, elements of social learning theory are among the strongest predictors of recidivism, which also include early experiences such as sexual and physical abuse and personality traits like immaturity and social maladjustment. In fact, differential peer association and normative definitions are the two top predictors. Implications of these findings for revisions of theory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an effective tool to unify discrete and continuous analysis, time scale calculus have been widely applied to study dynamic systems in both theoretical and practical aspects. In addition to such a classical role of unification, the dynamic equations on time scales have their own unique features which the difference and differential equations do not possess and these advantages have been highlighted in describing some complicated dynamical behavior in the hybrid time process. In this review article, we conduct a survey of abstract analysis and applied dynamic equations on hybrid time scales, some recent main results and the related developments on hybrid time scales will be reported and the future research related to this research field is discussed. The results presented in this article can be extended and generalized to study both pure mathematical analysis and real applications such as mathematical physics, biological dynamical models and neural networks, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to demonstrate that Keynes's practical writings on the crisis in the Lancashire cotton spinning industry in the 1920s were consistent with the 1930s theoretical conceptualisation of user costs in the General Theory. It is suggested that the key (common) link between these analyses is Keynes's concern with how uncertainty is distributed, in specific historical circumstances, between institutions at the levels of the firm, industry, the industry-financial institution interface, and the local and global economies. It is this concern which still has important, if not more, research and policy relevance today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although rational choice theory has made considerable advances in other social sciences, its progress in sociology has been limited. Some sociologists' reservations about rational choice arise from a misunderstanding of the theory. The first part of this essay therefore introduces rational choice as a general theoretical perspective, or family of theories, which explains social outcomes by constructing models of individual action and social context. "Thin" models of individual action are mute about actors' motivations, while "thick" models specify them ex ante. Other sociologists' reservations, however, stem from doubts about the empirical adequacy of rational choice explanations. To this end, the bulk of the essay reviews a sample of recent studies that provide empirical support for particular rational choice explanations in a broad spectrum of substantive areas in sociology. Particular attention is paid to studies on the family, gender, and religion, for these subareas often are considered least amenable to understanding in terms of rational choice logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this note, we show the existence of a global positive solution for a class of first-order delay differential equations: In this study, we allow and to be of oscillating nature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]