• Title/Summary/Keyword: Conundrum

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Southeast Asia and Southeast Asian Studies: Issues in Multidisciplinary Studies and Methodology

  • King, Victor T.
    • SUVANNABHUMI
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.13-57
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    • 2015
  • The paper brings together several strands of debate and deliberation in which I have been involved since the early 2000s on the definition of Southeast Asia and the rationale of Southeast Asian Studies. I refer to the relationship between area studies and methodologies as a conundrum (or puzzle), though I should state from the outset that I think it is much more of a conundrum for others than for me. I have not felt the need to pose the question of whether or not area studies generates a distinctive method or set of methods and research practices, because I operate from a disciplinary perspective; though that it is not to say that the question should not be posed. Indeed, as I have earned a reputation for "revisionism" and championing disciplinary approaches rather than regional ones, it might be anticipated already the position that I take in an examination of the relationships between methodologies and the practice of "area studies" (and in this case Southeast Asian [or Asian] Studies). Nevertheless, given the recent resurgence of interest in the possibilities provided by the adoption of regional perspectives and the grounding of data gathering and analysis within specified locations in the context of globalization, the issues raised for researchers working in Southeast Asia and within the field of Southeast Asian Studies require revisiting.

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Johnson's Naturalistic Ethics and the Size of Morality (존슨의 자연주의 윤리학과 도덕의 크기)

  • Noh, Yang-jin
    • Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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    • v.137
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    • pp.131-149
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    • 2016
  • The main purpose of this paper is to inquire into Johnson's defence of naturalistic ethics, and show how it could escape the intractable conundrum that has bothered moral philosophy ever since the early 20th century. Johnson shares the deconstructivist stance in claiming that moral theories are largely metaphorical constructs, and thus their claim to absoluteness is ungrounded. However, Johnson breaks with deconstructivist philosophers by offering a need for a constructive inquiry into "moral understanding." Then, Johnson's recent discussions are more concerned with moral fundamentalism in which he argues, is not only cognitively incorrect but immoral. It is incorrect in that it relies on the false assumptions on human cognition, and is immoral in that it shuts off any moral discussions. Instead, Johnson sees moral experience as a matter of moral deliberation in which we attempt "dramatic rehearsals" in Dewey's terms. Johnson's constructive offer in moral philosophy reminds us of "the size of moral theory," which fits human moral understanding as an embodied being, and this presents a third constructive way over the dichotomous conundrum of moral philosophy between traditional absolutism and nihilistic deconstructivism.

Diagnostic Conundrum: Fever and Pyuria Preceding Diagnosis of Kawasaki Disease in Children

  • Jiseon Park;Young June Choe;Seung Ah Choe;Jue Seong Lee;Hyung Eun Yim;Yun-Kyung Kim
    • Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.139-144
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    • 2023
  • Purpose: Children with incomplete Kawasaki disease (KD) and pyuria may be misdiagnosed with urinary tract infection (UTI) during the early phase of the prodrome. We investigated the percentage of UTI diagnoses preceding a KD diagnosis. Methods: Using the National Health Insurance data of South Korea, we assessed differences in UTI diagnoses made during the week preceding a KD diagnosis, according to demographic and geographic factors from November 2007-October 2019. Results: A total of 53,822 KD cases were identified, including 304 patients (0.56%) diagnosed with a UTI during the week preceding a KD diagnosis. The younger age group (0-11 months) showed the highest percentage of preceding UTI diagnoses (0.95%), with higher odds than 4-year-old children (3.12; 95% confidence interval, 2.05-4.77). Conclusions: These findings suggest a potentially misleading presentation of incomplete KD, a clinical conundrum requiring further investigation and validation, particularly in infants.

Griscelli syndrome type 2: a novel mutation in RAB27A gene with different clinical features in 2 siblings - a diagnostic conundrum

  • Mishra, Kirtisudha;Singla, Shilpy;Sharma, Suvasini;Saxena, Renu;Batra, Vineeta Vijay
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.57 no.2
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    • pp.91-95
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    • 2014
  • Griscelli syndrome type 2 (GS2) is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the RAB27A gene. It is characterized by cutaneous hypopigmentation, immunodeficiency, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. We describe 2 brothers who had GS2 with clinically diverse manifestations. The elder brother presented with a purely neurological picture, whereas the younger one presented with fever, pancytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, and erythema nodosum. Considering that cutaneous hypopigmentation was a common feature between the brothers, genetic analysis for Griscelli syndrome was performed. As the elder sibling had died, mutation analysis was only performed on the younger sibling, which revealed a novel homozygous mutation in the RAB27A gene on chromosome 15 showing a single-base substitution (c.136T>A p.F46I). Both parents were heterozygous for the same mutation. This confirmed the diagnosis of GS2 in the accelerated phase in both siblings. The atypical features of GS2 in these cases are a novel mutation, isolated neurological involvement in one sibling, association with erythema nodosum, and 2 distinct clinical presentations in siblings with the same genetic mutation.

Autophagy Is Pro-Senescence When Seen in Close-Up, but Anti-Senescence in Long-Shot

  • Kwon, Yoojin;Kim, Ji Wook;Jeoung, Jo Ae;Kim, Mi-Sung;Kang, Chanhee
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.40 no.9
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    • pp.607-612
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    • 2017
  • When mammalian cells and animals face a variety of internal or external stresses, they need to make homeostatic changes so as to cope with various stresses. To this end, mammalian cells are equipped with two critical stress responses, autophagy and cellular senescence. Autophagy and cellular senescence share a number of stimuli including telomere shortening, DNA damage, oncogenic stress and oxidative stress, suggesting their intimate relationship. Autophagy is originally thought to suppress cellular senescence by removing damaged macromolecules or organelles, yet recent studies also indicated that autophagy promotes cellular senescence by facilitating the synthesis of senescence-associated secretory proteins. These seemingly opposite roles of autophagy may reflect a complex picture of autophagic regulation on cellular senescence, including different types of autophagy or a unique spatiotemporal activation of autophagy. Thus, a better understanding of autophagy process will lead us to not only elucidate the conundrum how autophagy plays dual roles in the regulation of cellular senescence but also helps the development of new therapeutic strategies for many human diseases associated with cellular senescence. We address the pro-senescence and anti-senescence roles of autophagy while focusing on the potential mechanistic aspects of this complex relationship between autophagy and cellular senescence.

From Information to Knowledge: The Information Literacy Conundrum

  • Todd, Ross J.
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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    • v.44 no.4
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    • pp.131-153
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    • 2010
  • The fusion of learning, information, and technology presents dynamic challenges for all librarians, educators and students in 21st century libraries and schools. At the heart of this fusion is the growth of a pervasive, integrated information environment characterized by vast quantities of digital content, open choice, collaborative and participatory digital spaces, and the transition of the web environments from consumption of information to creation of information. This environment heralds important opportunities for librarians and teachers to rethink, re-imagine and recreate a dynamic approaches to information literacy instruction. Drawing on an extensive body of research undertaken through the Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries (CISSL), and published research on both information literacy and constructivist learning, this paper provides a critical examination of the current status of information literacy: its multiple conceptualizations, competing models, viewpoints, and its operationalizations in educational and library environments. The paper will challenge information literacy practices which center on simplistic, reductionist approaches to information literacy development, and the separation of information process and knowledge content. In particular it will address apparent contradictions in espoused conceptions of information literacy which revolve around "knowledge": knowledge construction, critical thinking, problem solving and the development of knowledgeable people; and information literacy practices which revolve around "information": a predominant focus on skills of access and evaluation of resources and with less attention given to engaging with found information to develop deep knowledge and understanding. The paper will present a series of challenges for moving forward with information literacy agendas in libraries and schools.

Fabrication and Characterization of Electro-photonic Performance of Nanopatterned Organic Optoelectronics

  • Nil, Ri-Swi;Han, Ji-Yeong;Gwon, Hyeon-Geun;Lee, Gyu-Tae;Go, Du-Hyeon
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2014.02a
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    • pp.134.2-134.2
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    • 2014
  • Photonic crystal solar cells have the potential for addressing the disparate length scales in polymer photovoltaic materials, thereby confronting the major challenge in solar cell technology: efficiency. One must achieve simultaneously an efficient absorption of photons with effective carrier extraction. Unfortunately the two processes have opposing requirements. Efficient absorption of light calls for thicker PV active layers whereas carrier transport always benefits from thinner ones, and this dichotomy is at the heart of an efficiency/cost conundrum that has kept solar energy expensive relative to fossil fuels. This dichotomy persists over the entire solar spectrum but increasingly so near a semiconductor's band edge where absorption is weak. We report a 2-D, photonic crystal morphology that enhances the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells relative to conventional planar cells. The morphology is developed by patterning an organic photoactive bulk heterojunction blend of Poly(3-(2-methyl-2-hexylcarboxylate) thiophene-co-thiophene) and PCBM via PRINT, a nano-embossing method that lends itself to large area fabrication of nanostructures. The photonic crystal cell morphology increases photocurrents generally, and particularly through the excitation of resonant modes near the band edge of the organic PV material. The device performance of the photonic crystal cell showed a nearly doubled increase in efficiency relative to conventional planar cell designs. Photonic crystals can also enhance performance of other optoelectronic devices including organic laser.

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A Case of Neonatal Osteomyelitis of Thoracic Vertebrae due to MRSA (흉추에 생긴 MRSA에 의한 신생아 골수염 1례)

  • Park, Eun Sook;Shin, Seon Hee;Kim, Sung Goo;Yoon, Hae Sun
    • Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.236-240
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    • 2002
  • Vertebral osteomyelitis represents only 1% to 2% of osteomyelitis and may pose a diagnostic conundrum, with disastrous consequences if diagnosis and therapy are delayed. We report a neonate with the unique association of vertebral osteomyelitis and MRSA infection. A 1-month-old boy was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of high fever and decreased oral intake. He was born at 34 wks, and his birth weight was 1.6 kg. We founded MRSA on his blood culture. Magnetic resonance imaging study showed findings of T7-T8 vertebral osteomyelitis. With 8 weeks of intravenous vancomycin treatment, the patient improved clinically and radiologically.

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Is 'Dry Changma' a Case of Contradictio In Adjecto?: Changma and Natural Kinds ('마른 장마'는 진정 형용모순인가?: 장마와 자연종)

'Knowing' with AI in construction - An empirical insight

  • Ramalingham, Shobha;Mossman, Alan
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2022.06a
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    • pp.686-693
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    • 2022
  • Construction is a collaborative endeavor. The complexity in delivering construction projects successfully is impacted by the effective collaboration needs of a multitude of stakeholders throughout the project life-cycle. Technologies such as Building Information Modelling and relational project delivery approaches such as Alliancing and Integrated Project Delivery have developed to address this conundrum. However, with the onset of the pandemic, the digital economy has surged world-wide and advances in technology such as in the areas of machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have grown deep roots across specializations and domains to the point of matching its capabilities to the human mind. Several recent studies have both explored the role of AI in the construction process and highlighted its benefits. In contrast, literature in the organization studies field has highlighted the fear that tasks currently done by humans will be done by AI in future. Motivated by these insights and with the understanding that construction is a labour intensive sector where knowledge is both fragmented and predominantly tacit in nature, this paper explores the integration of AI in construction processes across project phases from planning, scheduling, execution and maintenance operations using literary evidence and experiential insights. The findings show that AI can complement human skills rather than provide a substitute for them. This preliminary study is expected to be a stepping stone for further research and implementation in practice.

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