First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

With what view of consequences shall we equip an act-Utilitarianism? I distinguish a broad view of consequences, According to which a consequence is any subsequent future state of the world caused or brought about by an act, Whether by the act alone or by it together with other concurrent happenings, Including the acts of other agents, From a narrow view, According to which a future state of the world is a consequence of an act only if that state would occur (...) if the act were performed and would not occur if any alternative act were performed. I suggest that the narrow view leads to counterintuitive results. (shrink)

A simple model for the description of atomic and ionic species with spectra exhibiting a quantum defect is solved using the Lie algebra su(1, 1). The quantum defect of bound states is related to the phase shift of scattering states. The resonances are discussed in terms of the nonunitary representations of this algebra.

Ecological theory is built upon assumptions about the fundamental nature of organism-environment interactions. We argue that two mutually exclusive sets of such assumptions are available and that they have given rise to alternative approaches to studying ecology. The fundamentally different premises of these approaches render them irreconcilable with one another. In this paper, we present the first logical formalisation of these two paradigms.The more widely-accepted approach - which we label the demographic paradigm - includes both population ecology and community ecology (...) (synecology). Demographic ecology assumes that the environment is relatively stable and that biotic processes, governed predominantly by resource availability, are the most important of ecological and evolutionary influences. Moreover, ecological processes are assumed to translate into directional selection pressures that drive significant evolutionary change on a local scale through the process of optimisation. (shrink)

An embedded automaton is introduced to monitor the whole glycolysis process in pancreatic β-cell and it is a hybridization of both non-deterministic finite automaton and push-down automaton. The set of irreversible and reversible reactions in the glycolysis process are related to non-deterministic finite automaton and push-down automaton respectively. The embedded automaton is used to observe the glucose metabolism with the states of acceptance and rejection. The acceptance state of the embedded automaton depicts the normal level of glycolysis and insulin secretion. (...) The rejection state of this machine shows inhibition of glycolysis which obstructs the secretion of insulin. The subsequent low level of insulin leads to the high blood glucose level also known as hyperglycemia. In this study, the designed machine can be used to regulate the process of glycolysis through a group of regulatory glycolytic enzymes for the treatment of Diabetes mellitus at molecular level. (shrink)

This paper discusses the surprising resurgence in the fortunes of the British eugenics movement in the 1930s. It is argued that although mass unemployment may in the long run have discredited that version of eugenics in which social dependence and destitution were attributed to genetic defect, in the short run the Depression was often perceived as a vindication of the eugenical creed. In particular, the attempt to reduce the fertility of the unemployed by popularising birth control techniques, and the voluntary (...) sterilization campaign aimed at preventing the propagation of defectives from the so-called Social Problem Group, satisfied the urge felt by many conservative members from the professional classes to respond creatively to the country's crisis, without endangering existing social and economic institutions. It is also shown that not until 1938 did events in Germany cause substantial damage to the cause of eugenics in Britain. In fact, the ‘German experiment’ was actually greeted with approval by certain British eugenists of an authoritarian cast of mind. However, the Society as a whole never identified with these right-wing extremists, thanks in part to the moderating influence exercised by its General Secretary, Dr. C. P. Blacker, whose prime concern was with psycho-medical problems likely to concern people of all party persuasions. (shrink)

This paper seeks to advance ethical practice in business and integrate ethics with management curricula. It focuses on the ethical dimensions of incompany research conducted by human resource practitioners who are part time students on a postgraduate research degree award (M.Sc. in HRM). These dual roles of academic researcher in HRM and HR practitioner can become blurred and present particular ethical considerations. Beyond ethical perspectives of HRM, the paper investigates the ethics of in-company research in terms of conceptual and operational (...) factors. The main conclusion is that ethical guidelines need to be developed for M.Sc. in HRM students. Draft guidelines are offered as the basis for development. (shrink)

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by plaques of amyloid-beta peptide, cleaved from amyloid-beta protein precursor . Our hypothesis is that lifespan profiles of AD-associated mRNA and protein levels in monkeys would differ from mice and that differential lifespan expression profiles would be useful to understand human AD pathogenesis. We compared profiles of AbetaPP mRNA, AbetaPP protein, and Abeta levels in rodents and primates. We also tracked a transcriptional regulator of the AbetaPP gene, specificity protein 1 , and the beta amyloid precursor (...) cleaving enzyme . In mice, AbetaPP and SP1 mRNA and their protein products were elevated late in life; Abeta levels declined in old age. In monkeys, SP1, AbetaPP, and BACE1 mRNA declined in old age, while protein products and Abeta levels rose. Proteolytic processing in both species did not match production of Abeta. In primates, AbetaPP and SP1 mRNA levels coordinate, but an inverse relationship exists with corresponding protein products as well as Abeta levels. Comparison of human DNA and mRNA sequences to monkey and mouse counterparts revealed structural features that may explain differences in transcriptional and translational processing. These findings are important for selecting appropriate models for AD and other age-related diseases. (shrink)

The pair (A, Δ ), where A is a physical quantity (an observable) and Δ a subset of the reals, may be called an 'experimental question'. The set Q of experimental questions is, in classical mechanics, a Boolean algebra, and in quantum mechanics an orthomodular lattice (and also a transitive partial Boolean algebra). The question is raised: can we specify a priori what algebraic structure Q must have in any theory whatsoever? Several proposals suggesting that Q must be a lattice (...) are discussed, and rejected in favor of the weak claim that Q must be a Boolean atlas. (shrink)