Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper investigates the extent to which the Iowa supreme court attempted to deal with doctrinal conflict in custody disputes between biological and nonbiological parents by either remaining consistent to the notion that law is an autonomous system, by remaining consistent to the notion that law is not autonomous, or by striking a balance between these two extremes. Specifically, it examines how conflict between the best interests doctrine and the parental rights doctrine was handled in the state of Iowa. Iowa proves to be an interesting case study because neither an autonomy of law perspective nor a nonautonomy of law perspective can explain the doctrinal use patterns that emerged among Iowa supreme court justices over time. In short, Iowa is a theoretical anomaly. Coming to understand why this is the case means coming to recognize that Iowa’s own unique legal, political, and cultural history contributed to the ways in which doctrinal conflicts were dealt with. And, more importantly, an examination of Iowa offers great insights into the autonomy of law debate.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Abstract
This analysis investigates the existence of universal principles in technological systems. Principles are grounded in space, culture and time, which Internet may obliterate and/or obfuscate. What is the effect of that in a multimedia environment without physical and linear dimensions? Do principles metamorphose in tact in cyberspace (which is no space at all) or do they falter? Discussion focuses on unexplored nuances of theory in virtual environments with recommendations for applications and future study.

Key words: Principles, technology, Ellul, Negroponte, digital ethics

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Since the fall of the Soviet Union fifteen years ago, Moldova has not been able to recover culturally, economically, or politically. It lacks a unified national identity, which could elect and support a government ready to separate from its Soviet past. The Moldovan economy is stagnant, rendering the country the poorest in Europe. Also, on the political level, Moldova is tied to Russia and is unable to procure international support and cooperation from other states or organizations. This paper discusses how these three factors ? culture, economy and politics ? affect Moldovan development and hinder its prospects as an autonomous and independent state.

Publication Type: Individual Poster
Abstract: Background and aims
HPV (Heart period variability) is a quantitative measure of the ANS (autonomic nervous system) control of the heart. PSA (Power spectral analysis) has been used extensively to investigate maturity of the ANS because of its ability separate the parasympathetic from the sympathetic influence on heart periods. The reliability of this method, however, has recently been brought into question by studies indicating that the parasympathetic influence on HPV may not be limited to the high frequency range. In addition, PSA assumes linearity. A nonlinear analysis that has potential to overcome these problems is the PDM (principal dynamic mode).[1] In this study, we compared results obtained by PSA to those obtained by PDM in an attempt to gain quantitative insights into maturation of the ANS in premature infants undergoing a learning task or daily exposure to maternal recitation of a rhyme.
Methods
The low-risk premature infants were recruited at 27-28 weeks’ post-conceptional age and randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 began exposure to a maternal recording of a nursery rhyme at 28 weeks and Group 2 at 32 weeks. Data was acquired during seven weekly test sessions while the infant was in a ‘quiet’ state. Learning was confirmed by detection of a cardiac orienting response (small heart-rate deceleration) to an unfamiliar female reciting the same rhyme. After confirming the emergence of learning, the power integrals of the parasympathetic inputs were parameterized using PSA and PDM and a longitudinal comparison of these parameters was performed.
Key results
Detection of a COR was present in Group 1 by 34 weeks of age, but not in Group 2; indicating that the infants in Group 1 had learned the rhyme. PSA was used to verify the learning in the frequency domain as well, giving us the rationale for the corresponding ANS maturation. Parasympathetic power increases for Group 1. However the power increase using PSA was not very consistent. Possible reasons are PSA’s sensitiveness to the imperfections in QRS detection and other physiological interferences.
Conclusions
The emergence of learning was evident. PDM revealed more consistent increase in the parasympathetic or high frequency range than PSA. Our results, however, are preliminary and more subjects are to be analyzed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Recently, civil society has become an attractive research field in political science. The main reason for this is that civil society, which consists of civic voluntary activities, is an arena of social interaction to foster civic empowerment and recognized as the basis for democracy. For feminists, however, “civil society” does not necessarily have an optimistic connotation. Feminist scholars criticize it mainly for three reasons. First, the realm of civil society is derived from the dichotomy between the public and the private. This dichotomy has confined women to the private sphere ideologically and practically. Second, because civic voluntary organizations are often exempted from state’s regulations, sexual inequality and discrimination against women that occur in these organizations will be left as they are. Civil society appears to be more dangerous for women than the state because their rights and lives are left unprotected. Third, “post-welfare states” that have been prevalent since the 1980s encourage people to maintain welfare services through voluntary activities in order to supplement reduced public services with them. Women not only suffer a loss from an insufficiency of publicly provided social services, but they are also expected to engage in unpaid welfare services.

Such negative effects notwithstanding, the civil society has potential for women’s political empowerment. Civil society is situated between the private sphere and the political sphere, and it provides citizens with a space to be involved in voluntary activities. I identify civil society as an intermediary arena that ties women’s everyday lives with politics. Although the line-up of civic voluntary organizations is diverse ranging from social movements, non-governmental and non-profit organizations to charity groups, social movements stand out as the crucial actors in terms of their nature of politicization. Specifically, women’s movements channel women’s consciousness and expectations into politics. In this regard, civil society plays an important role in enhancement of women’s influence on politics so long as women are excluded from elite political community.

The paper will focus on the relationship between women’s everyday life, civil society and politics. My purpose is to elucidate how women’s autonomous organizations function as active agents to change the political status quo and to reform social policies to be more women-friendly. Based on my own comparative research in Japan, Britain, and Scandinavian countries, I will demonstrate that women’s organizations perform four functions. First, the organizations transform women’s private concerns into public issues. Second, they gather and share the knowledge and information useful for problem-solving. Third, they give women an opportunity to get involved in political activities. Finally, they create alternative channels to infiltrate women’s demands into public policies. In doing so, I will argue that women’s collective activities based in civil society have contributed not only to improving their socio-political conditions but also to strengthening democracy socially and politically. Proposing an analytical framework of interaction between the private sphere, civil society and the political sphere, this paper attempts to reconcile feminists’ criticism with the significance of civil society on feminist politics.