The prototypicality of gender: Contemporary notions of masculine and feminine

Femininity and masculinity, as abstract, nonbiological concepts, are very difficult to define. Culturally and socially induced, they are subject to drastic change over time. This article presents prototypical notions of feminine and masculine, as they appeared from a categorisation test performed by Dutch students. The interdisciplinary combination of feminist theory and cognitive linguistics enabled a consideration of various interrelated questions, and their implications for feminist criticism. Can we speak of possibly significant changes in contemporary views from the traditional, well-known views of masculine and feminine?     

"Out With The Old, In With The New": The New Federalism, Intergovernmental Coordination, and Executive Order 12372

An important New Federalism initiative of the Reagan administrationhas been the effort to ease the burdens of intergovernmentalregulation, and in particular to alter the system of intergovernmentalcoordination. The issuance in 1982 of Executive Order 12372,to replace OMB Circular A-95, triggered spirited controversyand intensive negotiations among major institutional actorsin intergovernmental coordination. The year 1983 ended withseveral key issues largely settled, but with other questions(e.g., the continuing role of OMB, and a number of proceduralconcerns) still unresolved.     

Engines need transmission belts: the importance of people in technology transfer offices

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Over the last 20 years, universities and Public Research Organizations have increased their efforts to transfer their research results towards...     

Who owns the right to food? Interlegality and competing interests in agricultural modernisation in Papua,Indonesia

Economic globalisation has transformed the politics of realising the right to food. This article aims to discuss the extent to which competing as well as conjoined interests in agricultural modernisation reconfigure the right to food as actors, norms and practices change. Drawing upon the concept of interlegality, which considers dynamic perspectives of plural legal orders, the discussion focuses on, first, existing norms linked to the wider understanding of the right to food and, second, the interplay of interests supported by the state, corporations and civil society organisations. The Indonesian agricultural modernisation project in Papua is used as a case study.     

Territorial upscaling of local governments: a variable-oriented approach to explaining variance among Western European countries

Local government systems change at varying speeds. While some countries have dramatically reduced the number of local governments during a short period of time, other countries have seen only incremental change or relative inertia. A number of explanations for structural change have been put forward in the comparative local government literature, but these explanations have to a small extent been tested empirically. This article uses statistical indicators to analyse changes in the local government systems in 17 Western European countries between 2004 and 2014. Some often-cited explanations for what drives structural change receive little support. Still, the article demonstrates that changes tend to occur in situations marked by different combinations of decentralisation, urbanisation, fiscal stress and a recent history of territorial upscaling.     

Market-Oriented Urban Planning – Constraining Citizen Participation

Urban planning in Norway can be characterised as market oriented, with responsibilities for the formulation of planning largely delegated to private developers. Even though the principle of citizen participation has a strong and longstanding tradition in Norway, the market-oriented practices challenge the ability of citizens to influence their spatial surroundings. Based on broad surveys and qualitative case studies, this article maps the attitudes of developers, councillors and planners towards citizen participation and studies the strategies of local community associations. Our analysis shows that developers value citizen participation to a much lesser degree than councillors and planners, which can explain the lack of participatory channels in early phases. Official avenues for participation occur later, primarily through hearings. Local associations find this to be too late, characterising urban planning as a path dependent process; as a consequence, local associations attempt to influence planning processes in a more informal way by contacting councillors directly.     

Association of autoimmune type atrophic corpus gastritis with Helicobacter pylori infection

AIM:To study the association between Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection and autoimmune type atrophic gastritis. METHODS:Twenty-three patients with different grades of atrophic gastritis were analysed using enzyme immunoassay-based serology,immunoblot-based serology,and histology to reveal a past or a present H.pylori infection.In addition,serum markers for gastric atrophy(pepsinogenⅠ,pepsinogenⅠ/Ⅱand gastrin)and autoimmunity[parietal cell antibodies(PCA), and intrinsic factor(IF),antibodies]were determi...     

‘Whatever It Takes'Despite European leaders’ efforts to address fears over the euro, there is no quick solution to the crisis

While most of Europe goes on holiday or sits glued to the London Oympics,the euro sovereign debt crisis continues to preoccupy policymakers.In the last week of July,it appeared as if the crisis had reached Olympian proportions as the Spanish Government looked set to follow its banks and seek a bailout from the EU.Dealing with Greece is one problem.Dealing with Spain,and potentially Italy,are problems of a vastly different dimension.As rumors grew of a Spanish bailout request,markets fell and the euro dipped against the dollar.