political participation of citizens is an important political issue which affects the process of political development in each society. in the age of information revolution, information and communication technologies are penetrating all levels of societies and have catalyzed the process of development in every country and encourage many scholars to study how these technologies affect the social...

AIMS This paper discusses the representation of diagnostic criteria using categorical and dimensional statistical models. Conventional modeling using categorical or continuous latent variables in the form of latent class analysis and factor (IRT) analysis has limitations for the analysis of diagnostic criteria. METHODS New hybrid models are discussed which provide both categorical and dimensi...

This paper explores ways that open and social technologies relate to educational transformation, analysing three case studies of exemplar schoolbased projects. Schools in England have been asked to develop ‘educational transformation’. Although there is no single definition, aspects of community and social interactions and networking are intended, as is development of appropriate uses of digita...

For many patients, living donor liver transplantation represents their only hope of receiving a lifesaving graft. In certain (albeit rare) cases, a minor will be the only suitable donor. Living liver donation by minors has been reported in several countries. In the academic literature and professional guidelines, little attention is paid to the development of an ethical framework for this pract...

The present work rests and elaborates on the assumption that social technologies are increasingly turned into computer-mediated virtual settlements, thereby allowing the excavation of a variety of enacted cyber-phenomena such as ad hoc online ensembles, informal social networks and virtual communities, on the grounds of “digital” traces or remains. In this vein, the authors motivate and present...