Johannes Bakker

This is an examination of the significance of Gandhi's social philosophy for development. It is argued that, when seen in light of Gandhi's social philosophy, the concepts of appropriate technology and basic needs take on new meaning. The Gandhian approach can be identified with theoriginal "basic needs" strategy for international development. Gandhi's approach helps to provide greater equity, or "distributive justice," by promoting technology that is appropriate to "basic needs". Gandhi's social philosophy has been neglected by most development specialists, with only a few exceptions. This analysis attempts to draw out some aspects of M.K. Gandhi's background and his thinking aboutswadeshi andswaraj. Gandhi's ideas, which emerged out of an "Indic" meta-cultural background, are based on an emphasis on equity. Gandhi's syncretic Indic background includes a belief in what Bateson, writing about Bali, Indonesia, has called the "steady state." Development activities should be carried out in a phased manner that does not disturb the beneficial aspects of dynamic equilibrium, but that does promote "positive development." A.T. is particularly useful within the context of a basic needs approach to international development because use of A.T. is probably more likely to lead to equitable growth. The "economic growth" strategy, utilizing "advanced technology" exclusively, has caused unemployment and has not led to effective "trickle down," much less "high mass consumption." In many developing countries the poorest 20% of the population are worse off in 1990 than they were in 1980. By making use of the "advantage of backwardness" and viewing development in terms of long-term impacts, a basic needs approach using A.T. is more likely to lead to a positive impact on third world food systems than a pure "economic growth" strategy

IRBs and REBs use specialized language. A process of definition and re-definition of the situation occurs. That process of interpretation can usefully be considered from the perspective of interpretive social science models involving Symbolic Interaction, Semiotics and Hermeneutics. Seven examples are provided to flesh out the nuances of contextual decision making and the “casuistic” aspects of a balanced approach to complex problems. While many decisions are relatively unproblematic and can follow a template, it is not possible simply to apply a fixed and mechanical approach. Hence, a socialization process occurs in which committee members must learn the actual application of the rules as opposed to the formal requirements. A “tightrope” between overly rigid and overly lax interpretations must be crossed and the more we understand the process of semiosis and the semiotic context the more likely it will be that truly ethical decisions will be “accomplished.” The lack of adequate survey data makes it all the more important to have good theoretical understanding of process

This is an examination of the significance of Gandhi's social philosophy for development. It is argued that, when seen in light of Gandhi's social philosophy, the concepts of appropriate technology and basic needs take on new meaning. The Gandhian approach can be identified with theoriginal "basic needs" strategy for international development. Gandhi's approach helps to provide greater equity, or "distributive justice," by promoting technology that is appropriate to "basic needs". Gandhi's social philosophy has been neglected by most development specialists, with only a few exceptions. This analysis attempts to draw out some aspects of M.K. Gandhi's background and his thinking aboutswadeshi andswaraj. Gandhi's ideas, which emerged out of an "Indic" meta-cultural background, are based on an emphasis on equity. Gandhi's syncretic Indic background includes a belief in what Bateson, writing about Bali, Indonesia, has called the "steady state." Development activities should be carried out in a phased manner that does not disturb the beneficial aspects of dynamic equilibrium, but that does promote "positive development." A.T. is particularly useful within the context of a basic needs approach to international development because use of A.T. is probably more likely to lead to equitable growth. The "economic growth" strategy, utilizing "advanced technology" exclusively, has caused unemployment and has not led to effective "trickle down," much less "high mass consumption." In many developing countries the poorest 20% of the population are worse off in 1990 than they were in 1980. By making use of the "advantage of backwardness" and viewing development in terms of long-term impacts, a basic needs approach using A.T. is more likely to lead to a positive impact on third world food systems than a pure "economic growth" strategy.

This collection of original chapters, written by prominent social scientists, elucidates the theory and practice of contemporary rural sociology. The book applies lessons from the careers of sociologists and their field research endeavors, covering a wide range of topics: agricultural production, processing, and marketing; international food security and rural development; degradation of the bio-physical environment across borders; and the study of community, family, health, and many other issues in an increasingly globalized world. The authors candid accounts provide insight into possibilities for enhancing opportunity and equality and serving basic human needs."

Background We have previously demonstrated that severity of obstructive sleep apnea as measured by the apnea-hypopnea index is a significant independent predictor of readily-computed time-domain metrics of short-term heart rate variability. Methods We aimed to assess time-domain HRV measured over 5-min while awake in a trial of obese subjects undergoing one of two OSA therapies: weight-loss surgery for BMI 43.7 [42.0, 51.4] kg/m2, and AHI 18.1 [16.3, 67.5] events/h) or continuous positive airway pressure. Polysomnography was followed by electrocardiography during wakefulness; measurements were repeated at 6 and 12-18 months post-intervention. Results Despite similar measurements at baseline, subjects who underwent surgery exhibited greater improvement in short-term HRV than those who underwent CPAP. Conclusions Our data suggest a possible divergence in autonomic function between the effects of weight loss resulting from bariatric surgery, and the amelioration of obstructive respiratory events resulting from CPAP treatment. Randomized studies are necessary before clinical recommendations can be made. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 by the American Thoracic Society. Rationale: A low respiratory arousal threshold is one of several traits involved in obstructive sleep apnea pathogenesis and may be a therapeutic target; however, there is no simple way to identify patients without invasive measurements. Objectives: To determine the physiologic determinates of the ArTH and develop a clinical tool that can identify patients with low ArTH. Methods: Anthropometric data were collected in 146 participants who underwent overnight polysomnography with an epiglottic catheter to measure the ArTH. The ArTH was measured from up to 20 non-REM and REM respiratory events selected randomly. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the independent predictors of the ArTH. Logistic regression was used to develop a clinical scoring system. Measurements and Main Results: Nadir oxygen saturation as measured by pulse oximetry, apnea-hypopnea index, and the fraction of events that were hypopneas were independent predictors of the ArTH 1. A score of 2 or above correctly predicted a low arousal threshold in 84.1% of participants with a sensitivity of 80.4% and a specificity of 88.0%, a finding that was confirmed using leave-one-out cross-validation analysis. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that individuals with a low ArTH can be identified from standard, clinically available variables. This finding could facilitate larger interventional studies targeting the ArTH.