The World Social Forum: the paradoxical quest for strength in plurality

ABSTRACT

In this reflexive essay, I explore how the present and the future of the World Social Forum are intimately related to the ability of its actors to acknowledge and actively address the inherent tensions of open spaces. The former must compose themselves articulating seemingly opposites: ideals shared within the World Social Forum vs. some practices not in accordance with its principles (enhanced in contexts of urgency); claimed horizontality vs. dynamic power relations; internal plurality vs. the need to act in unity to achieve systemic global change, amongst others. I will propose perspectives on how the strength of the WSF can be seen as its capacity to continue building radical hope for a positive shift of paradigm within progressive civil society: from divergences to resilient complementarities.     

Charitable Giving as a Luxury Good and the Philanthropic Sphere of Influence

Using regression analysis, 41 years of charitable giving and income data was evaluated to determine if charitable giving is a luxury, normal, or inferior good, and to determine the income elasticity for separate nonprofit sectors. Total Giving to the nonprofit subsector as well as most nonprofit sectors (Religion, Education, Human Services, and Environment) is a normal good, while Arts and International giving are likely luxury goods. However, evidence suggests that Health and Public Benefit are likely inferior goods. This research makes three contributions. First, it offers quantitative data as evidence in the supply-side and demand-side debates. Second, owing to income elasticities, researchers propose the Philanthropic Sphere of Influence and postulate that as incomes rise, donors are more likely to give to causes from which they are less likely to personally benefit. Third, by evaluating charitable giving as a whole and then by each subsector, the research demonstrates that each nonprofit subsector responds uniquely to changes in income. Therefore, nonprofit sectors should be evaluated separately.     

Impacts of urbanization on palustrine (depressional freshwater) wetlands—research and management in the Puget Sound region

This paper summarizes the results of the Puget Sound Wetlands and Stormwater Management Research Program, which examined the impacts of urban stormwater on wetlands. Results are presented for data collected between 1988 and 1995 for 19 wetlands, showing changes in wetland hydrology resulting from urban conversion and the subsequent impacts on plant and amphibian communities. The amount of watershed imperviousness, the forested area, and the degree of outlet constriction were found to be the most significant factors affecting wetland hydroperiods. As hydroperiods changed, plant communities shifted towards communities adaptable to the new hydrograph. Wetlands with water level fluctuation above 20 cm resulted in lower plant richness in the emergent and scrub-shrub zones. Similarly, wetlands with water level fluctuation greater than 20 cm were significantly more likely to have low amphibian richness of three or fewer species. A primary goal of the research program was to employ the results to improve the management of both wetlands and stormwater in urban areas. Hydrologic guidelines were applied to King County's basin planning and master drainage planning efforts. Controls that focused on minimizing impervious surfaces and maximizing forest retention in the wetland watershed proved to be the most widely usable strategy.     

Use of Partial Stimulus Information by Cochlear Implant Users and Listeners with Normal Hearing in Identifying Spoken Words: Some Preliminary Analyses

An error analysis of the word recognition responses of cochlear implant users and listeners with normal hearing was conducted to determine the types of partial information used by these two populations when they identified spoken words under auditory-alone and audiovisual conditions. The results revealed that the two groups used different types of partial information in identifying spoken words under auditory-alone or audiovisual presentation. Different types of partial information were also used in identifying words with different lexical properties. In our study, however, there were no significant interactions with hearing status, indicating that cochlear implant users and listeners with normal hearing identify spoken words in a similar manner. The information available to users with cochlear implants preserves much of the partial information necessary for accurate spoken word recognition.     

Detecting bliss synergy in in vivo combination studies with a tumor kinetic model

Linear models are generally reliable methods for analyzing tumor growth in vivo, with drug effectiveness being represented by the steepness of the regression slope. With immunotherapy, however, not all tumor growth follows a linear pattern, even after log transformation. Tumor kinetics models are mechanistic models that describe tumor proliferation and tumor killing macroscopically, through a set of differential equations. In drug combination studies, although an additional drug‐drug interaction term can be added to such models, however, the drug interactions suggested by tumor kinetics models cannot be translated directly into synergistic effects. We have developed a novel statistical approach that simultaneously models tumor growth in control, monotherapy, and combination therapy groups. This approach makes it possible to test for synergistic effects directly and to compare such effects among different studies.