Japanese Conceptions of Privacy: An Intercultural Perspective

This paper deals with intercultural aspects of privacy, particularly with regard to important differences between Japanese and the Western views. This paper is based on our discussions with Rafael Capurro – a dialogue now represented by two separate but closely interrelated articles. The companion paper is broadly focused on the cultural and historical backgrounds of the concepts of privacy and individualism in “Western” worlds; our main theme focuses on different concepts of privacy in Japan and their sources in related aspects of Japanese culture. The interrelationship between our two papers is apparent in our taking up identical or similar topics in each paper. Reading our two papers in conjunction with each other will bring about deeper and broader insights into the diverse values and worldviews of Japan and Western cultures that underlie concepts of privacy that at a surface level appear to be similar     

Information visualisation: a holistic tool to discover knowledge. Case study – what video-telephone care? What elderly?

Today all parties within the health-care system demand more information and evidence to take more efficient and pinpointed management decisions. Their goal is a better patient and patient-care management. This paper presents an information visualisation approach to discover knowledge for the management of tele-home care for the elderly using the video-telephone: what type of elderly need what type of video-telephone interventions? This document focuses on the synthesis aspects of data mining with a view to knowledge discovery: the global, holistic, synthesis approach. More specifically, it summarises visually the relationships among the types of video-telephony care, among the segments of elderly, and between the types of interventions and the segments of elderly simultaneously. The graphical display allows delineating areas that group elderly with a similar/dissimilar video-telephony care profile. Information visualisation is a promising approach to provide insight into large multidimensional data sets. It fosters knowledge discovery.     

Defining'science-based targets'

The 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below 2℃above pre-industrial levels and aim towards limiting warming to 1.5℃marked a wa-tershed in planetar...     

Evaluation of retrieval effectiveness with incomplete relevance data: Theoretical and experimental comparison of three measures

This paper investigates two relatively new measures of retrieval effectiveness in relation to the problem of incomplete relevance data. The measures, Bpref and RankEff, which do not take into account documents that have not been relevance judged, are compared theoretically and experimentally. The experimental comparisons involve a third measure, the well-known mean uninterpolated average precision. The results indicate that RankEff is the most stable of the three measures when the amount of relevance data is reduced, with respect to system ranking and absolute values. In addition, RankEff has the lowest error-rate.     

Aidan Chambers’ <Emphasis Type="Italic">Breaktime</Emphasis>: Class Conflict and Anxiety in the Work of a Scholarship-Boy Writer

Aidan Chambers’ Breaktime (1978) is famous for its unique narrative style and sexual content. This focus has obscured another significant aspect of the novel: the role of social class in Breaktime and Chambers’ working-class background have rarely been explored. Chambers was an example of what Richard Hoggart calls “the scholarship boy,” a working-class boy educated in a grammar school in mid-twentieth-century Britain. In this article, Haru Takiuchi argues that Chambers’ scholarship-boy experiences are crucial for understanding Breaktime. For his analysis of the cultural and psychological aspects of class that concern representations of scholarship boys in British children’s literature of the 1960s and 1970s, he draws on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of class habitus, more focused studies of class in Britain and research into the experiences of scholarship boys. Using material from the author’s archive supplemented with interviews, Haru Takiuchi highlights Chambers’ unique representation of the scholarship boy and social class in the book.     

A tale of Wootz steel

The extraordinary romance and thrilling adventure associated with the tale of wootz steel shows how Indian metallurgists were the world leaders in antiquity in the manufacture of this legendary high-grade steel. In many ways this material was brought to global attention by the writings of Cyril Stanley Smith. Modern metallurgy and materials science rest on the foundation built by the study of this steel during the past three centuries.     

Spelling deficits in dyslexia: evaluation of an orthographic spelling training

Orthographic spelling is a major difficulty in German-speaking children with dyslexia. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an orthographic spelling training in spelling-disabled students (grade 5 and 6). In study 1, ten children (treatment group) received 15 individually administered weekly intervention sessions (60 min each). A control group (n = 4) did not receive any intervention. In study 2, orthographic spelling training was provided to a larger sample consisting of a treatment group (n = 13) and a delayed treatment control group (n = 14). The main criterion of spelling improvement was analyzed using an integrated dataset from both studies. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed that gains in spelling were significantly greater in the treatment group than in the control group. Statistical analyses also showed significant improvements in reading (study 1) and in a measure of participants’ knowledge of orthographic spelling rules (study 2). The findings indicate that an orthographic spelling training enhances reading and spelling ability as well as orthographic knowledge in spelling-disabled children learning to spell a transparent language like German.     

There’s something about Mary: The moral value of things <Emphasis Type="Italic">qua</Emphasis> information objects

Luciano Floridi argues that every existing entity is deserving of at least minimal moral respect in virtue of having intrinsic value qua information object. In this essay, I attempt a comprehensive assessment of this important view as well as the arguments Floridi offers in support of it. I conclude both that the arguments are insufficient and that the thesis itself is substantively implausible from the standpoint of ordinary intuitions.     

Efficient sample preparation in immuno-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using acoustic trapping

Acoustic trapping of minute bead amounts against fluid flow allows for easy automation of multiple assay steps, using a convenient aspirate/dispense format. Here, a method based on acoustic trapping that allows sample preparation for immuno-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using only half a million 2.8 μm antibody covered beads is presented. The acoustic trapping is done in 200 × 2000 μm² glass capillaries and provides highly efficient binding and washing conditions, as shown by complete removal of detergents and sample processing times of 5-10 min. The versatility of the method is demonstrated using an antibody against Angiotensin I (Ang I), a peptide hormone involved in hypotension. Using this model system, the acoustic trapping was efficient in enriching Angiotensin at 400 pM spiked in plasma samples.     

70-year old female patient with mismatch between hematocrit and hemoglobin values: the effects of cold agglutinin on complete blood count

Introduction:

There are a number of pre-analytical and analytical factors, which cause false results in the complete blood count. The present case identifies cold agglutinins as the cause for the mismatch between hematocrit and hemoglobin values.

Materials and methods:

70-year old female patient had a history of cerebrovascular diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. During routine laboratory examination, the patient had normal leukocyte and platelet counts; however, the hemoglobin (Hb: 105 g/L) and hematocrit (HCT: 0.214 L/L) results were discordant. Hemolysis, lipemia and cold agglutinin were evaluated as possible reasons for the mismatch between hematocrit and hemoglobin values.

Results:

First blood sample was slightly hemolysed. Redrawn sample without hemolysis or lipemia was analyzed but the mismatch became even more distinct (Hb: 104 g/L and HCT: 0.08 L/L). In this sample, the titration of the cold agglutinin was determined and found to be positive at 1:64 dilution ratios. After an incubation of the sample at 37°C for 2 hours, reversibility of agglutination was observed.

Conclusion:

We conclude that cold agglutinins may interfere with the analysis of erythrocyte and erythrocyte-related parameters (HCT, MCV, MCH and MCHC); however, Hb, leukocyte and platelet counts are not affected.