Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Review of: “Social Constructionism in Housing Research”

Housing researchers are increasingly turning to wider ‘social science’ methodological traditions in their work; something which was advocated by Kemeny (1992). Social constructionism is just such a research tradition, it embraces a range of approaches – including discourse analysis – which is being used to frame housing studies. Despite this, there has not been a single text which brings together an analysis of social constructionism, as it relates to housing. The book aims to fill this gap, and it brings together a number of contributions which explain and analyse the range of theoretical approaches it sets out to help develop a future agenda for social constructionism in housing research. In the introduction to the book, the editors applaud the ‘return to theory’ in current housing research and they state that the best housing scholars have always embraced social research. It is also made clear that social constructionism goes beyond discourse analysis, indeed the editors state explicitly which influences have impacted on the debate; these are: ‘discourse theories, the sociology of social problems, symbolic interactionism and the sociology of power’. Each of these themes is discussed in detail throughout the collection of papers in the remainder of the book. Readers should be aware that the book does not aim to advance arguments in the criticism of social constructionism (that the theory denies the existence of an objective material world), the editors make clear that ‘Instead, the claim advanced is that our access to the material world is mediated through language and discourse’ (p. 3). The book is essentially split into two parts. The first deals with discussion and critical analysis of social constructionism itself, and chapters from Max Travers, Peter King and Jim Kemeny moot important critical points. The editors feel that these criticisms of the theory are not insurmountable, but they do not explicitly say why, at any point in the book. Travers briefly analyses both relativist and ethnomethodological criticisms of social constructionism and he emphasizes that while the majority of critique is on a philosophical level, there are issues on methodology too (for instance how are social labels actually applied and how are social problems recognised? ).
Cytotoxicity of Five Endodontic Sealers in NIH 3 T 3 Fibroblasts

The objective of this study is to assess the cytotoxic effects of substances leached from five endodontic sealers in time periods of 0 and 24 hours on NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. It was used a medium conditioned by the sealers, subdivided in six groups namely: Control (fresh cell culture medium); SimpliFill (Discus Dental, Culver City, Calif) : EndoREZ ® (Utradent Products, Inc); EPIPHANY® (Pentron Clinical Technologies, Wallingford, CT, USA); EPIPHANY® SE (Pentron Clinical Technology); AH Plus® ((Dentsply/Caulk, Petrópolis, RJ, Brazil) in intervals of 0 (freshly made) and 24 hours (set form). The obtained data were interpreted by the one-way ANOVA and Tukey test, respectively; with a level of significance of 5% (p≤0.05). The mean number of viable cells was 0.3208 for the control group, followed by freshly made SimplyFill (0.1818) and its set form (0.1800); freshly made EndoREZ (0.0899) and its set form (00.1465); freshly made Epiphany (0.2138) and its set form (0.1795); freshly made Epiphany SE (0.1505) and its set form (0.1463); and freshly made AH-Plus (0.2480) and its set form (0.2265). Statistical differences were found among the groups (p≤0.05), with the cell viability decreasing significantly with EndoREZ in its fresh form (p p≤0.01) and in its set form (p<0.05); followed by EndoREZ in both fresh and set forms (p p≤0.05), when compared to SimplyFill, Epiphany, AHplus and the control groups. EndoREZ was the most cytotoxic sealer of all tested. The observed differences among the cytotoxicity concluded that EndoREZ was the most cytotoxic sealer of the five tested in the experiment in time the time intervals of 0 and 24 hours.
Phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A activate hepatitis B virus in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 25 patients with chronic hepatitis B were tested for the presence of free monomeric hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA migrating as a single 3.2 Kb band by Southern blot analysis. The PBMC were cultured for 7 days in the presence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or concanavalin A (ConA) both of which yielded a proliferative response. By contrast, both bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interleukin 2 (IL2) failed to do so. Dot blot assays were used to monitor HBV DNA level increase within PBMC. Following mitogen exposure HBV DNA levels increased above pre‐stimulation levels in 19/25 PHA cultures, 6/15 ConA cultures, 1/15 LPS cultures, and 1/15 IL2 cultures.
The Role of the Factor V Leiden Mutation in Osteonecrosis of the Hip

We examined the hypothesis that the factor V Leiden (FVL) and G20101A prothrombin gene mutations are commonly associated with hip osteonecrosis. We prospectively evaluated 244 consecutively referred adults with osteonecrosis (ON), 161 idiopathic and 83 secondary. Cases (n = 244) did not differ from 104 normal controls by race. Of the 244 patients, 23 (9.4%) were FVL heterozygotes versus 2 of 104 controls (1.9%), P = . 013, risk ratio (RR) = 4.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18 to 20.4. Of the 161 patients with idiopathic ON, 15 (9.3%) were FVL heterozygotes versus 2 of 104 normal controls (1.9%), P = . 017, RR = 4.84, 95% CI 1.13 to 20.8. Of the 83 patients with secondary ON, 8 (9.6%) FVL heterozygotes versus 2 of 104 normal controls (1.9%), P = . 024, RR = 5.01, 95% CI 1.09 to 23.0. Prothrombin gene heterozygosity in normal controls (2.9%) did not differ from ON cases (3.4%), P = 1.0. The thrombophilic FVL mutation is commonly associated with and may be pathoetiologic for hip osteonecrosis.
CREATIVITY IN ADULTHOOD AND OLD AGE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

The purpose of this study was to explore the creative process and creative products across the adult life span. The subjects were 61 women, ages 20 to 83 years, who were comparable in intelligence, education, and interest in writing. They completed a creative writing project and took three standardized creativity tests and two intelligence subtests. Both quantitative and qualitative differences were found favoring young adults. Predictive but not construct validity was demonstrated for the creativity tests with this population of young and old adults. Both methodological constraints and the ecological validity of these measures of creativity are discussed.
Regulatory Choice in Communications: The Case of Content-Rating Schemes in the Audiovisual Industry

This article addresses challenges confronting policy makers when considering self- and co-regulatory regimes for audiovisual content. It proposes a template for regulatory choice to assess the potential of such schemes by examining institutional designs, characteristics of the industries involved, and the regulatory environment. Subsequently, the template is used to compare performance, institutional success factors, and enabling contextual factors of selected content-rating schemes in the audiovisual industry. The results of this case study demonstrate the value of the analytical approach for research and policy-making. Findings suggest a combination of industry self-regulation and public oversight for the governance of content-rating schemes.
Examining the stress and coping process of mega‐event employees

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine specific stressors present in mega‐event work and the coping strategies used by long‐term mega‐event employees.Design/methodology/approach – Using a general inductive approach to analyze the data and identify themes, semi‐structured interviews with six employees from organizing committees of subsequent National Football League (NFL) Super Bowls, and four employees from the Special Olympics in Greece helped to assess the presence of specific stressors and the corresponding coping strategies.Findings – Patterns relating to the specific stressors (i.e. workload, time pressure, role stressors, job insecurity and work‐family conflict) and several themes emerged across all stressors including the selflessness of the participants in making personal sacrifices due to work demands. A sense of time and place emerged since the participants were cognizant of their role in a prestigious event. Time was also relevant as the end‐date approached which was simultaneously a.
Early One-Stage Closure in Patients with Abdominal Compartment Syndrome: Fascial Replacement with Human Acellular Dermis and Bipedicle Flaps

Decompressive celiotomy for the treatment of abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) often results in wounds that are difficult to close. These complicated wounds are frequently managed with a 3-staged surgical approach employing a planned ventral hernia. The authors describe an alternative closure with a single operation using a commercially available human acellular dermis (HACD) as a fascial substitute. Soft tissue coverage is obtained at the same operation by means of bilateral bipedicle flaps. The cohort consisted of 9 patients, ages 19 to 77 years old. On average patients were closed on the ninth postoperative day (range, 3 to 30 days) and were discharged from the trauma center on average 8 days (range, 5 to 29 days) after the abdominal closure. Complications developed in 3 (33%) patients. These complications included a flap hematoma, wound infection, and recurrent hernia. There were no postoperative fistulas. This procedure allows for early, single-staged closure of the abdomen after abdominal compartment syndrome. Once closed, patients were able to be discharged from the hospital early and without need for specialized wound care. Further investigation on the usefulness of this technique is required.
Influence of Bowel Preparation Before 18F-FDG PET/CT on Physiologic 18F-FDG Activity in the Intestine

Our objective was to investigate the use of bowel preparation before 18F-FDG PET/CT to reduce intestinal 18F-FDG uptake. Methods: Sixty-five patients with abdominal neoplasias were assigned either to a bowel-preparation group (n = 26) or to a native group (n = 39). 18F-FDG activity was measured in the small intestine and the colon. Results: In the 26 patients with bowel preparation, average maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was 3.5 in the small intestine and 4.4 in the colon. In the 39 patients without bowel preparation, average SUVmax was 2.6 in the small intestine and 2.7 in the colon. 18F-FDG activity impaired diagnosis in 6 patients (23%) in the bowel-preparation group and 11 patients (28%) in the native group (P = 0.5). SUVmax in the colon was significantly higher in the bowel-preparation group (P = 0.002), but SUVmax in the small intestine did not significantly differ between the 2 groups (P = 0.088). Conclusion: Bowel preparation increases 18F-FDG activity in the large intestine and is therefore not useful before PET/CT.
Energy Substitutability in Canadian Manufacturing Econometric Estimation with Bootstrap Confidence Intervals

This study provides estimates of the price and Morishima substitution elasticities between energy and non-energy inputs in two Canadian energy-intensive manufacturing industries: Primary Metal and Cement. The elasticities are estimated using annual industry-level KLEM data (1961- 2003) and relying on two flexible functional forms: the Translog and the Symmetric Generalized McFadden (SGM) cost functions. In addition to the point estimates, the confidence intervals of the elasticities are computed using single- and double-bootstrap resampling techniques. For both industries, the estimation results suggest that capital, labour, material and energy are pairwise substitutes and that energy is the most substitutable input. However, the low magnitudes of the estimated elasticities do not seem to offer great flexibility to these industries to adapt to high increases in energy prices.
Preparing for National Monitoring in Poland

Like many of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Poland is currently in the throes of a major educational reform. The systems of primary and secondary schooling have been restructured, much of the responsibility for education is in the process of decentralisation, new curricula are being introduced into schools and a new school leaving certificate, the Nowa Matura, is to be implemented, along with a new examination infrastructure. A national monitoring programme could play a crucially important role in this context, providing a useful tool for medium to long-term evaluation of the effects of the reform in terms of pupil achievement. To this end, and within the support framework of the EU SMART initiative, pilot pupil performance surveys were carried out on a national scale in Poland in both the primary and secondary sectors. This paper outlines some of the main features of the reform, considers the potential value of a national monitoring programme for reform evaluation, offers some salient results from the pilot monitoring surveys and highlights some important implications of the experience for future programme design and use.
Integrating market chain assessments with zoonoses risk analysis in two cross-border pig value chains in Lao PDR

Objective Lao PDR’s recent accession to the World Trade Organization necessitates a greater understanding of the patterns and risk of livestock production in order to better align national policy with the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. This eco-health study was conducted to improve understanding of the interrelations between market chains and zoonotic infection risks at two strategic cross border points between Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. Methods Information gained from smallholder farmer/trader interviews was integrated with serological surveys for pig-associated zoonoses—including hepatitis E virus (HEV), Taenia solium (T. solium) and trichinella—to identify potential linkages between disease risk and pig production and slaughter in low input systems common across the country. Results Trichinella and HEV exposure was high in both humans and pigs in both study areas, significantly associated with pig slaughter and the subsequent consumption and handling of raw pork products. T. solium demonstrated a strong geographical and ethnic association with the northern study area bordering Vietnam. With the right knowledge and accessible, affordable inputs, the majority of smallholder farmers indicated a willingness to invest more in pig production, which could simultaneously improve livelihoods and decrease exposure to HEV, Trichinella, and T. solium through increased access to formal markets and an improved slaughter processes. Conclusion The linkages identified when assessing disease risk in the context of potential economic and cultural drivers of transmission highlight the importance of a systems-based approach for the detection and control of zoonotic disease, and contributes to an improved understanding of the Lao PDR livestock sector.
The use of prediction data in understanding delinquency

Predicting delinquency is valuable for understanding the course of crime, factors that influence its course, and the identification of markers that signal deviant processes. In addition, prediction data are relevant for judicial and clinical decision making. This article summarizes research findings on the prediction of delinquency. In the realm of early childhood behaviors, there is consensus that aggression (especially in conjunction with hyperactivity), drug use, truancy, lying, stealing, general problem behaviors, and poor educational achievement all predict later delinquency, albeit to varying degrees, with composite prediction scales yielding the highest degree of accuracy. In addition, studies show a reasonable consensus that the following family factors also predict delinquency: poor supervision, lack of involvement by parents, poor discipline, rejection by a parent, parental criminality and aggressiveness, marital problems, parental absence, and poor parental health. Variables reflecting socialization processes predicted later delinquency as well as children's early behavior. Although studied less frequently, youngsters' association with deviant peers is also predictive of delinquency.
Span, CRUNCH, and Beyond: Working Memory Capacity and the Aging Brain

Neuroimaging data emphasize that older adults often show greater extent of brain activation than younger adults for similar objective levels of difficulty. A possible interpretation of this finding is that older adults need to recruit neuronal resources at lower loads than younger adults, leaving no resources for higher loads, and thus leading to performance decrements [Compensation-Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis; e.g., Reuter-Lorenz, P. A. , & Cappell, K. A. Neurocognitive aging and the compensation hypothesis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 177–182, 2008]. The Compensation-Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis leads to the prediction that activation differences between younger and older adults should disappear when task difficulty is made subjectively comparable. In a Sternberg memory search task, this can be achieved by assessing brain activity as a function of load relative to the individual's memory span, which declines with age. Specifically, we hypothesized a nonlinear relationship between load and both performance and brain activity and predicted that asymptotes in the brain activation function should correlate with performance asymptotes (corresponding to working memory span). The results suggest that age differences in brain activation can be largely attributed to individual variations in working memory span. Interestingly, the brain activation data show a sigmoid relationship with load. Results are discussed in terms of Cowan's [Cowan, N. The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 87–114, 2001] model of working memory and theories of impaired inhibitory processes in aging.
Decision-Maker Mindfulness in IT Adoption: The Role of Informed Culture and Individual Personality

This paper investigates the individual, organizational and innovation characteristics that determine decision-maker mindfulness in the adoption of IT innovations. Mindfulness has been defined as both trait-like, i.e., relatively stable and permanent, and state-like, i.e., situation or context specific. Based on a trait-like view of mindfulness, we identify the personality factors – openness to experience and conscientiousness as its determinants. Based on a state-like view, organizational culture, more specifically informed culture is identified as a determinant of decision-maker mindfulness. The moderating role of innovation radicalness is also investigated. The hypothesized relationships are validated using survey research and the findings indicate that decision-maker personality, as well as an informed culture within the organization are important in determining mindfulness, particularly when decision-makers are faced with deciding on the adoption of radical innovations.
Quantum Brownian motion in a bath of parametric oscillators: A model for system-field interactions.

The quantum Brownian motion paradigm provides a unified framework where one can see the interconnection of some basic quantum statistical processes such as decoherence, dissipation, particle creation, noise, and fluctuation. The present paper continues the investigation begun in earlier papers on the quantum Brownian motion in a general environment via the influence functional formalism. Here, the Brownian particle is coupled linearly to a bath of the most general time-dependent quadratic oscillators. This bath of parametric oscillators minics a scalar field, while the motion of the Brownian particle modeled by a single oscillator could be used to depict the behavior of a particle detector, a quantum field mode, or the scale factor of the Universe. An important result of this paper is the derivation of the influence functional encompassing the noise and dissipation kernels in terms of the Bogolubov coefficients, thus setting the stage for the influence functional formalism treatment of problems in quantum field theory in curved spacetime. This method enables one to trace the source of statistical processes such as decoherence and dissipation to vacuum fluctuations and particle creation, and in turn impart a statistical mechanical interpretation of quantum field processes. With this result we discuss the statistical mechanicalmore » origin of quantum noise and thermal radiance from black holes and from uniformly accelerated observers in Minkowski space as well as from the de Sitter universe discovered by Hawking, Unruh, and Gibbons and Hawking. We also derive the exact evolution operator and master equation for the reduced density matrix of the system interacting with a parametric oscillator bath in an initial squeezed thermal state. These results are useful for decoherence and back reaction studies for systems and processes of interest in semiclassical cosmology and gravity. Our model and results are also expected to be useful for related problems in quantum optics. « less
Deaf Children with Complex Needs: Parental Experience of Access to Cochlear Implants and Ongoing Support

Abstract This paper discusses the experiences of parents of deaf children with additional complex needs (ACN) in accessing cochlear implant (CI) services and achieving ongoing support. Of a total study group of fifty-one children with ACN, twelve had been fitted with a CI. The parental accounts provide a rich and varied picture of service access. For some families accessing audiological assessment for CI was problematic, for others expectations, access to a qualified teacher of the deaf to FM amplification were problematic. Where services were similar in quality and quantity to typically developing deaf children who had received a CI there were high levels of satisfaction. For all the children implantation was delayed, the level of communication skills prior to implantation was very low, and expectations were uncertain and unclear. Deaf children with ACN require at least the same access to services as typically developing children. It can be argued that this group requires a higher level of input from qualified specialists, yet findings from this study suggest some children are likely to be receiving substantially less input, and in some cases no specialist input. Recommendations for audiological and educational management are also made.
Assessing awareness in early-stage Alzheimer's disease: Development and piloting of the Memory Awareness Rating Scale

There are indications that awareness may have an important impact on functioning and response to rehabilitative interventions in early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet studies have so far produced few clear findings, and a comprehensive explanatory model is needed together with a reliable assessment method. A theory-driven approach to assessing awareness in early-stage Alzheimer's disease was used to develop the Memory Awareness Rating Scale (MARS), a measure that addresses key methodological limitations of the assessment methods adopted in existing studies. The MARS was piloted with 12 couples where one partner had a diagnosis of AD. This demonstrated that the MARS has satisfactory psychometric properties, and suggested some refinements to the scale that may improve its usefulness. Results obtained with the MARS allow further consideration of theoretical and methodological issues that arise in attempting to understand and assess awareness. The development of this rigorous method of assessing awareness of memory difficulties in early-stage AD provides a basis for further investigation of the relationship between awareness of memory difficulties and outcome of neuropsychological rehabilitation in early-stage AD.