bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multiculturalism and Attitudes Toward Immigrants: The Impact of Perceived Cultural Distance
Authors: Mahfud Yara , Badea Constantina , Verkuyten Maykel , Reynolds Kate
Published: September 2017

Multiculturalism can be construed in different ways with different effects on majority members’ attitudes toward immigrant-origin groups. Thinking about why the broad goals of multiculturalism are important for society might reduce feelings of outgroup threat and less prejudicial attitudes. In contrast, thinking about how exactly these goals can be accomplished might evoke feelings of threat that lead to prejudice. The aim of this experimental research conducted in France and the Netherlands was to examine the effect of these two construals of multiculturalism of attitudes toward immigrants and whether these effects depend on perceived cultural distance. The findings show that a focus on why multiculturalism is important for society is more beneficial for attitudes toward immigrant-origin groups for people perceiving relatively high cultural distance. In contrast, a focus on how the goals of multiculturalism can be accomplished has a more detrimental effect on attitudes for people perceiving relatively low cultural distance.
Bróderes in arms
Authors: Rodgers Dennis
Published: September 2017

Drawing on longitudinal ethnographic research that has been ongoing since 1996, this article explores the way that gangs socialize individuals into violent norms and practices in Nicaragua. It shows how different types of gang violence can be related to distinct socialization processes and mechanisms, tracing how these dynamically articulate individual agency, group dynamics and contextual circumstances, albeit in ways that change over time. As such, the article highlights how gang socialization is not only a variable multilayered process, but also a very volatile one, which suggests that the socialization of violence and its consequences are not necessarily enduring.
Insights on Prison Needle and Syringe Programs: Research With Former Prisoners in Canada
Authors: van der Meulen Emily , Watson Tara Marie , De Shalit Ann
Published: September 2017

Although injection drug use occurs inside Canadian federal prisons, the correctional service does not allow prisoners access to sterile injection equipment as a harm reduction measure. International evaluations have shown that prison-based needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) lead to many beneficial health and other outcomes, and contribute to safer environments for prisoners and staff. This article presents qualitative data from a community-driven study with 30 former prisoners in Ontario, Canada. Participants shared insights that are highly valuable for understanding the prison context in relation to the need for PNSPs, both in Canada and in other jurisdictions.
Religious Tastes and Styles as Markers of Class Belonging: A Bourdieuian Perspective on Pentecostalism in South America
Authors: Koehrsen Jens
Published: September 2017

Studies on the relationship between social class and religion tend to highlight the demographic dimension of class, but neglect its symbolic dimension. By addressing the symbolic dimensions through a Bourdieuian approach, this article contends that religious tastes and styles can be employed as class markers within the sphere of religion. A case study on Argentinean Pentecostalism and in-depth analysis of a lower and middle class church illustrate how symbolic class differences are cultivated in the form of distinctive religious styles. While the lower class church displays a style marked by emotional expressiveness and the search for life improvement through spiritual practices, the middle class church performs a sober and calm style of Pentecostalism. The study highlights the role of styles in the reproduction of class boundaries, while shedding a critical light on the importance of tastes.
Gender Differences in Context: The Impact of Track Position on Study Involvement in Flemish Secondary Education
Authors: Van Houtte Mieke
Published: September 2017

This study examines whether the influence of track position on study involvement is gendered and whether gender differences in study involvement according to track position are associated with school misconduct and rather poor future perspectives. Three-level analyses (HLM 6) of data gathered in 2004-2005 from 11,872 third- and fifth-grade students in 146 tracks in a representative sample of 85 secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium) confirmed the impact of tracking on boys’ as well as girls’ study involvement. Boys are, generally, less involved in studying than girls, and boys are more affected by track position than girls are, enlarging the gender gap in the lower tracks. In these tracks, boys are more prone to misconduct and rather poor future perspectives. Finally, girls in arts tracks are, on average, more involved in studying than girls in academic tracks, but because of their higher tendency for disruptive behavior in school, this does not show.
Investigating the challenges of measuring combination mechanics in textile fabrics
Authors: Yousef M Issam , Stylios George K
Published: September 2017

Measurements of the mechanical behavior of fabrics started during the Zeppelin era in the 1900s, where tensile, shear and biaxial behavior of the airship’s envelope fabric were measured. More measurement methods were developed later when there was a need to measure fabric handle and behavior. Although measurements of tensile, shear, buckling and bending have been established and are being used, their combinations, which represent a more realistic approach, are still being developed. However, these multi-axial measurements pose challenges not only in apparatus design but also in determining the measurement parameters. Here these challenges are being put forward and further research requirements are identified and discussed.
A simulation and video-based training program to address adverse childhood experiences
Authors: Wen Frances K , Miller-Cribbs Julie E , Coon Kim A , Jelley Martina J , Foulks-Rodriguez Kristin A
Published: September 2017

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are 10 categories of childhood abuse and maltreatment, which have a dose–response relationship with common adult health concerns seen in primary care including health risk behaviors, chronic disease, and mental illness. Many of the ACEs-associated biopsychosocial risk factors are modifiable. However, physicians may not address these issues for fear of opening “Pandora’s Box”, that is, a source of extensive problems for which they are not sufficiently prepared with training, resources, or time. Residents need training in how to conduct trauma-focused conversations within the limited scope of an office visit. To address this need, a 4-hour simulation and video-based training program was developed for primary care residents about how to conduct brief interventions connecting their patients’ current health concerns with their experiences of ACEs. Resident participants have evaluated this program as preparatory for real-life encounters and as being designed to allow for educational mastery. This article describes a workshop presenting this training program which was given at the 37th Annual Behavioral Science Forum in Family Medicine. Five skills targeted in the program were presented and a demonstration was made of the components, that is, didactics, provider and patient videos, simulated patient encounters, trainee feedback, and facilitated discussion that encompasses targeted skills, clinical implementation, and self-care. Companion tools were shared, including the syllabus, evaluation rubric, and provider and patient resources. Participants practiced trainee feedback and discussed the challenges in implementation.
Living on the Construction Site: Paraguayan Construction Workers in Buenos Aires
Authors: del Águila Álvaro
Published: September 2017

Argentine enterprises subsume Paraguayan migrant workers into the construction industry in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, subordinating them to the demands of production by temporarily housing them on the construction sites themselves. Ethnographic fieldwork carried out on various construction sites between 2006 and 2015 shows how this practice overlaps with wider processes of global transformation in labor relations. The lodging of workers on construction sites is an increasingly widespread strategy for capitalist entrepreneurs to exploit the migrant workforce even further.

Las empresas argentinas han incorporado a los trabajadores migrantes paraguayos a la industria de la construcción en el área metropolitana de Buenos Aires y los han subordinado a las exigencias de la producción, alojándolos temporalmente en las obras mismas. Un trabajo de campo etnográfico realizado en varias obras entre 2006 y 2015 muestra cómo dicha práctica se entrelaza con procesos más amplios en la transformación de las relaciones laborales a nivel global. El alojamiento de los trabajadores en las obras es una estrategia cada vez más extendida para que los empresarios capitalistas puedan explotar la mano de obra migrante aún más de lo que ya hacen.
Comparative health system performance in six middle-income countries: cross-sectional analysis using World Health Organization study of global ageing and health
Authors: Alshamsan Riyadh , Lee John Tayu , Rana Sangeeta , Areabi Hasan , Millett Christopher
Published: September 2017

Objective

To assess and compare health system performance across six middle-income countries that are strengthening their health systems in pursuit of universal health coverage.

Design

Cross-sectional analysis from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health, collected between 2007 and 2010.

Setting

Six middle-income countries: China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa.

Participants

Nationally representative sample of adults aged 50 years and older.

Main outcome measures

We present achievement against key indicators of health system performance across effectiveness, cost, access, patient-centredness and equity domains.

Results

We found areas of poor performance in prevention and management of chronic conditions, such as hypertension control and cancer screening coverage. We also found that cost remains a barrier to healthcare access in spite of insurance schemes. Finally, we found evidence of disparities across many indicators, particularly in the effectiveness and patient centredness domains.

Conclusions

These findings identify important focus areas for action and shared learning as these countries move towards achieving universal health coverage.
A model-data integrated iterative learning controller for flexible tracking with application to a piezo nanopositioner
Authors: Feng Zhao , Ling Jie , Ming Min , Xiao Xiaohui
Published: September 2017

In precise motion systems, feedforward controller is a key component for significant performance enhancement. However, traditional iterative learning control (ILC) works efficiently under strictly repetitive reference input, and the performance of model-based feedforward controllers is limited by the non-minimum phase zeros and modeling uncertainties during executing tasks. In this paper, a model-data integrated ILC is proposed for flexible tracking, where the stable part of the identified model is utilized to compose the model-based part, and the modeling error and gain mismatch are compensated by the data-driven approach via constructing a parameterized finite impulse response filter. In order to diminish the effect of noise, an instrumental variable method is adopted in the cost criterion. The proposed controller has an analytic solution and retains stability during iterations, which is verified on a piezo nanopositioner. Comparative experimental results indicate that the proposed controller can realize flexible tracking in comparison with norm optimal ILC, and achieve the best performance compared with zero-phase-error tracking controller and polynomial basis functions feedforward controller.
Non-linear disturbance observer-based adaptive composite anti-disturbance control for non-linear systems with dynamic non-harmonic multisource disturbances
Authors: Wang Zheng , Yuan Jianping
Published: September 2017

In this paper, an adaptive composite anti-disturbance control structure is constructed for a class of non-linear systems with dynamic non-harmonic multisource disturbances. The key point of this paper is that a kind of non-harmonic disturbance, which has non-linear internal dynamics and complex features, is involved. A non-linear exogenous system is employed to describe the dynamic non-harmonic disturbances and several useful assumptions are introduced. By introducing a non-linear damping term, a novel adaptive non-linear disturbance observer is constructed. Based on the disturbance/uncertainty estimation and attenuation (DUEA) schemes, a composite anti-disturbance control structure is synthesized. Meanwhile, a new sufficient condition is derived and the stability of the closed-loop system is proved. Several illustrative examples are employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Stepchildren Claiming Stepparents
Authors: Ganong Lawrence , Coleman Marilyn , Chapman Ashton , Jamison Tyler
Published: September 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the concept of stepchild claiming stepparents as parental figures or as kin. By examining the process of stepchildren claiming stepparents’ as kin, we sought to explore the properties of the concept of stepchild claiming. From in-depth interviews of 26 stepchildren, we proposed a conceptual analysis of stepchild claiming, identifying eight properties of stepchildren claiming stepparents as kin/parents: degree of claiming (identity conviction), degree of intentionality, timing in life, mindfulness/awareness of others, naming, seeking public recognition, using biological parents as benchmarks, and identifying with the stepparent. The results of this study contribute to an understanding of constructed kinship relationships in diverse families.
Stratifying the Risk of Developing Clinical Hypocalcemia after Thyroidectomy with Parathyroid Hormone
Authors: Castro Alejandro , del Rio Laura , Gavilan Javier
Published: September 2017

Objective

To identify the risk of clinical hypocalcemia in the first hours after thyroidectomy.

Study Design

Prospective observational study.

Setting

Single‐institution tertiary hospital in Madrid, Spain.

Subjects and Methods

A total of 123 patients who underwent total or completion thyroidectomy between June 2010 and March 2012 were included. Pre‐ and postoperative intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were obtained. Patients remain hospitalized a minimum of 48 hours until blood calcium stabilized. Calcium and/or vitamin D supplements were prescribed only when signs or symptoms of hypocalcemia developed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was employed to evaluate the postoperative iPTH level and the pre‐ to postoperative decrease in iPTH levels. Two cutoff values were determined to stratify the risk of developing clinical hypocalcemia into 3 groups.

Results

The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.991 for the postoperative iPTH and 0.998 for the decrease in iPTH. An iPTH decrease of 80% had 100% sensitivity to detect patients who developed clinical hypocalcemia, while a postoperative iPTH <3 pg/mL had 100% specificity. Thus, patients with an iPTH decrease ≤80% are at a very low risk of clinical hypocalcemia, and patients with a postoperative iPTH <3 pg/mL are at a very high risk. Patients with an iPTH decrease >80% and a postoperative iPTH ≥3 pg/mL are at intermediate risk. No significant correlation was found between the time when the sample was obtained and iPTH values.

Conclusion

This study stablishes a very accurate test to stratify the risk of clinical postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia based on pre‐ and postoperative iPTH levels.
Double-locus lymphoplasmacytic aortitis
Authors: Miskolczi Szabolcs , Sheppard Mary N , Bogáts Gábor , Göbölös Laszlo
Published: September 2017

Thoracic aortic aneurysm is an indication for major cardiovascular operative procedures. The etiology is usually hypertension and/or atherosclerotic disease; reaching a certain diameter often results in acute aortic syndrome. Immunoglobulin G4-related aortitis, characterized by lymphoplasmacytic vascular tunica media induration without well-defined underlying infectious or autoimmune systemic causes, is uncommon. Histological similarity to immunoglobulin G4 disease in other organs suggests that this aortitis might be a manifestation of systemic pathology. We describe a case of double-locus lymphoplasmacytic aortitis in a 72-year-old man who had the incidental finding of intramural hematoma on elective thoracic computed tomography as part of a respiratory work-up.
Connecting Theory With Practice: The Institutional Evolvement of U.S. Counties Functioning as Regional Service Providers
Authors: Farmer Jayce L.
Published: September 2017

This study extends the literature on county government structure by examining the three basic forms of county governments and their long-term effects on regional service spending. An examination of 1,532 U.S. counties between 1977 and 2012 reveals that those with the commission government form produce on average less regional service spending than those with reformed government structures. Examining the two major distinctions in reformed government types reveals that elected executive governments spend on average more than those with the commission-administrator form. However, the amount of increase for elected executive spending was very minor. The findings also reveal that the ability to establish home rule charters alters the effects of government structure for commission and commission-administrator counties. Meanwhile, charter-enabling laws matter little regarding the effects for elected executive counties. The analytical results lead to four major points for consideration regarding the link between county service provision and county institutional arrangements.
Symphony Lake Dataset
Authors: Griffith Shane , Chahine Georges , Pradalier Cédric
Published: September 2017

This paper describes Symphony Lake Dataset, 121 visual surveys of an approximately 1.3 km lake shore in Metz, France. Different from roadway datasets, it adds breadth to the data space at a time when larger and more diverse datasets are desired. Over five million images from an unmanned surface vehicle captured the natural environment as it evolved over three years. Variation in appearance across weeks, seasons, and years is significant. Success on Symphony Lake Dataset could demonstrate advancements in perception, simultaneous localization and mapping, and environment monitoring.
Nuclear G protein-coupled oestrogen receptor (GPR30) predicts poor survival in patients with ovarian cancer
Authors: Zhu Cai-xia , Xiong Wei , Wang Ma-lie , Yang Juan , Shi Hui-juan , Chen Han-qing , Niu Gang
Published: September 2017

Objective

To demonstrate the correlation between nuclear and cytoplasmic G protein-coupled oestrogen receptor (GPR30) expression and clinicopathological features and outcome in patients with ovarian cancer.

Methods

Nuclear and cytoplasmic GPR30 expressions were determined using immunohistochemistry to identify the intracellular location in tissues from patients with ovarian cancer. Data were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes.

Results

Tissue samples were obtained from 110 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer between 2005 and 2010. Nuclear GPR30 was significantly more frequent in the group of patients with recurrence. The presence of nuclear GPR30 predicted lower overall survival) and 5-year progression-free survival in all patients with ovarian cancer and overall survival in patients with high grade ovarian cancer. Cytoplasmic GPR30 was observed significantly more often in advanced ovarian cancer and did not predict survival.

Conclusion

This study showed that nuclear GPR30 is an independent negative prognostic indicator in patients with ovarian cancer, especially in those with a high grade malignancy.
Undergraduate students’ strategies for negotiating emerging performer and teacher identities
Authors: Fernández González Manuel Joaquín
Published: September 2017

Nowadays, instrumental undergraduate students must often negotiate their emerging performer and teacher identities, and the results of this process affect the way they later balance their professional and personal life and their ability to sustain lifelong involvement in music. Drawing from recent sociological studies on bicultural identity integration, this study addresses two research questions: What strategies do undergraduate students adopt for negotiating both professional identities? And what are the characteristics of each strategy?

One hundred and twenty-one undergraduate performance students participated in this study. Using cluster analysis, a typology of eight strategies for negotiating performer and teacher identities was developed: moratorium, diffusion, dichotomy, involvement with narrow vision, performers who happen to teach, assimilation or unwilling teacher dominance, quasi-integration and integration. These categories are characterized by students’ level of personal commitment, involvement, perceived freedom, breadth and accuracy of the professional image, and personal and social professional recognition.

The strategies unfolded and described in this study could be useful for students who want to reflect on new ways of negotiating multiple professional identities and for researchers involved in musicians’ identity-building research.
Delinquency Among Members of Hong Kong Youth Street Gangs: The Role of the Organizational Structures of Gangs and Triad Affiliations
Authors: Chui Wing Hong , Khiatani Paul Vinod
Published: September 2017

This study explores the importance of organizational structures and formal affiliations with the Hong Kong triads to delinquency among youth street gang members in Hong Kong. More specifically, this study examines the relative importance of the number of organizational structures and triad affiliation to patterns of delinquency in a sample of active members of youth street gangs ( N = 201). With the aid of outreach social workers, a convenience sampling method was used to recruit a gender-balanced sample of at-risk youths. Logistic regression analysis of the survey data that was gathered indicated that formal affiliation to Hong Kong triads and the presence of organizational structures significantly increased the odds of delinquency (independently of each other). Suggestions for future research on gang membership and delinquency, with particular reference to the Asian context, are provided.
Recovery of Offenders Formerly Labeled as Not Criminally Responsible: Uncovering the Ambiguity From First-Person Narratives
Authors: Aga Natalie , Laenen Freya Vander , Vandevelde Stijn , Vermeersch Elke , Vanderplasschen Wouter
Published: September 2017

The recovery paradigm is a widely accepted strength-based approach in general mental health care. Particular challenges arise when applying this paradigm in a forensic context. To address these issues, the present study examined recovery based on first-person narratives of offenders formerly labeled as not criminally responsible of whom the judicial measure was abrogated. Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain information on lived experiences and recovery resources of this hard-to-reach and understudied population. The interviews focused on recovery and elements that indicated a sense of progress in life. Key themes were derived from the collected data. Descriptions of recovery resources followed recurrent themes, including clinical, functional, social, and personal resources. Participants also reported ambiguous experiences related to features of the judicial trajectory. This was defined as forensic recovery and can be seen as an additional mechanism, besides more established recovery dimensions, that is unique to mentally ill offenders.
Evaluation of two different alternatives of energy recovery from municipal solid waste in Brazil
Authors: Medina Jimenez Ana Carolina , Nordi Guilherme Henrique , Palacios Bereche Milagros Cecilia , Bereche Reynaldo Palacios , Gallego Antonio Garrido , Nebra Silvia Azucena
Published: September 2017

Brazil has a large population with a high waste generation. The municipal solid waste (MSW) generated is deposited mainly in landfills. However, a considerable fraction of the waste is still improperly disposed of in dumpsters. In order to overcome this inadequate deposition, it is necessary to seek alternative routes. Between these alternatives, it is possible to quote gasification and incineration. The objective of this study is to compare, from an energetic and economic point of view, these technologies, aiming at their possible implementation in Brazilian cities. A total of two configurations were evaluated: (i) waste incineration with energy recovery and electricity production in a steam cycle; and (ii) waste gasification, where the syngas produced is used as fuel in a boiler of a steam cycle for electricity production. Simulations were performed assuming the same amount of available waste for both configurations, with a composition corresponding to the MSW from Santo André, Brazil. The thermal efficiencies of the gasification and incineration configurations were 19.3% and 25.1%, respectively. The difference in the efficiencies was caused by the irreversibilities associated with the gasification process, and the additional electricity consumption in the waste treatment step. The economic analysis presented a cost of electrical energy produced of 0.113 (US$ kWh−1) and 0.139 (US$ kWh−1) for the incineration and gasification plants respectively.
Connecting Genres and Languages in Online Scholarly Communication: An Analysis of Research Group Blogs
Authors: Luzón María José
Published: September 2017

Blogs provide an open space for scholars to share information, communicate about their research, and reach a diversified audience. Posts in academic blogs are usually hybrid texts where various genres are connected and recontextualized; yet little research has examined how these genres function together to support scholars’ activity. The purpose of this article is to analyze how the affordances of new media enable the integration of different genres and different languages in research group blogs written by multilingual scholars and to explore how various genres are coordinated in these blogs to accomplish specific tasks. The study reported in this article shows that the functionalities of the digital medium allow research groups to incorporate myriad genres into their genre ecology and interconnect these genres in opportunistic ways to accomplish complex objectives: specifically, to publicize the group’s research and activities, make the work of the group members available to the disciplinary community, strengthen social links within their community and connect with the interested public, and raise social awareness. Findings from this study provide insights into the ways in which scholars write networked, multimedia, multigenre texts to support the group’s social and work activity.
Erythrosine B and quinoline yellow dyes regulate DNA repair gene expression in human HepG2 cells
Authors: Chequer Farah MD , Venancio Vinicius P , Almeida Mara R , Aissa Alexandre F , Bianchi Maria Lourdes P , Antunes Lusânia MG
Published: September 2017

Erythrosine B (ErB) is a cherry pink food colorant and is widely used in foods, drugs, and cosmetics. Quinoline yellow (QY) is a chinophthalon derivative used in cosmetic compositions for application to the skin, lips, and/or body surface. Previously, ErB and QY synthetic dyes were found to induce DNA damage in HepG2 cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular basis underlying the genotoxicity attributed to ErB and QY using the RT2 Profiler polymerase chain reaction array and by analyzing the expression profile of 84 genes involved in cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and DNA repair in HepG2 cells. ErB (70 mg/L) significantly decreased the expression of two genes ( FEN1 and REV1) related to DNA base repair. One gene ( LIG1) was downregulated and 20 genes related to ATR/ATM signaling ( ATR, RBBP8, RAD1, CHEK1, CHEK2, TOPB1), nucleotide excision repair ( ERCC1, XPA), base excision repair ( FEN1, MBD4), mismatch repair ( MLH1, MSH3, TP73), double strand break repair ( BLM), other DNA repair genes ( BRIP1, FANCA, GADD45A, REV1), and apoptosis ( BAX, PPP1R15A) were significantly increased after treatment with QY (20 mg/L). In conclusion, our data suggest that the genotoxic mechanism of ErB and QY dyes involves the modulation of genes related to the DNA repair system and cell cycle.
Quality of Sibling Relationships in Maltreated Youth Residing in Out-of-Home-Care
Authors: Milojevich Helen M. , Quas Jodi A. , Adams Britni L.
Published: September 2017

When children are removed from their parents’s custody because of substantiated maltreatment and placed in out-of-home placements, they may be placed separately from siblings, potentially leading to even higher levels of stress in children. This possibility emerges insofar as siblings serve as a source of support during the uncertain times that accompany maltreatment and subsequent removal. We explored these issues in the present study, focusing on whether sibling relationship quality was related to post-removal behavioral functioning in maltreated children and adolescents. A total of 102 six- to seventeen-year-olds residing in a residential facility completed questionnaires about their sibling relationship quality and behavioral functioning. With age, sibling relationships became more hostile; although in girls, sibling affection also increased with age, at least when their sibling was a girl. Sibling hostility was related to increases in aggression and behavioral problems. Surprisingly, greater sibling affection was associated with increased problems, particularly when children had little contact with their sibling. Results provide insight into perceptions of sibling relationships in maltreated children and have implications for placement decisions.
Older African American Homeless-Experienced Smokers’ Attitudes Toward Tobacco Control Policies—Results from the HOPE HOME Study
Authors: Vijayaraghavan Maya , Olsen Pamela , Weeks John , McKelvey Karma , Ponath Claudia , Kushel Margot
Published: September 2017

Purpose:

To examine attitudes toward tobacco control policies among older African American homeless-experienced smokers.

Approach:

A qualitative study.

Setting:

Oakland, California.

Participants:

Twenty-two African American older homeless-experienced smokers who were part of a longitudinal study on health and health-related outcomes (Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle Age Study).

Method:

We conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with each participant to explore beliefs and attitudes toward tobacco use and cessation, barriers to smoking cessation, and attitudes toward current tobacco control strategies including raising cigarette prices, smoke-free policies, and graphic warning labels. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the transcripts.

Results:

Community social norms supportive of cigarette smoking and co-use of tobacco with other illicit substances were strong motivators of initiation and maintenance of tobacco use. Self-reported barriers to cessation included nicotine dependence, the experience of being homeless, fatalistic attitudes toward smoking cessation, substance use, and exposure to tobacco industry marketing. While participants were cognizant of current tobacco control policies and interventions for cessation, they felt that they were not specific enough for African Americans experiencing homelessness. Participants expressed strong support for strategies that de-normalized tobacco use and advertised the harmful effects of tobacco.

Conclusion:

Older African American homeless-experienced smokers face significant barriers to smoking cessation. Interventions that advertise the harmful effects of tobacco may be effective in stimulating smoking cessation among this population.
Pulsation attenuation in a reciprocating compressor piping system using a volume-perforated pipe-volume suppressor
Authors: Ma Quyang , Wu Zhenhuan , Li Mengjun , Yang Guoan
Published: September 2017

A volume-perforated pipe-volume suppressor is introduced to study its performance in attenuating pressure pulsations. On the basis of plane wave theory, the work developed a mathematical model to predict the distribution of pressure pulsations in a reciprocating compressor piping system with the proposed suppressor. The theoretical predictions were verified through experiments and three-dimensional fluid dynamics transient simulations, and good agreements were attained. Results proved that the pressure pulsations were attenuated significantly when the suppressor was used. In the frequency domain, the amplitude at the first pulsation frequency was decreased considerably. Both the perforation and cross-sectional areas of the perforated pipe could influence the attenuating capacity. Given a fixed ratio of perforation area to cross-sectional area, the best damping performance could be obtained by increasing the number of perforated holes and reducing the hole diameter. The geometric recommendations produced in this work are useful to control pulsations and vibrations under different functioning conditions.
Soft computing techniques to model and optimize magnetic field-assisted finishing process and characterization of the finished surface
Authors: Barman Anwesa , Das Manas
Published: September 2017

In magnetic field-assisted finishing process, magnetorheological polishing fluid is used for precision polishing of freeform surfaces in the nanometer range. An efficient model is derived to accurately relate the input and output process parameters for better prediction of finishing performance. In this study, the relationship between the input and output process parameters of magnetic field-assisted finishing process is established using back-propagation neural network technique. Also, a close comparison between the regression analysis and neural network model has been carried out. The simulation results from neural network model better matches with the experimental data. Hence, this particular neural network model can be utilized to predict the response variables. A further optimization study using genetic algorithm and simulated annealing techniques is carried out to optimize the input process parameters for achieving maximum finishing performance. It is found that the results obtained from the genetic algorithm is more accurate and matches with the experimental results than the simulated annealing. Further, a characterization study of the finished workpiece surface is carried out which shows that MFAF process can achieve surface finish in the nanometer range having a minimum surface roughness value of 70 nm.
Comparative analyses of bicyclists and motorcyclists in vehicle collisions focusing on head impact responses
Authors: Wang Xinghua , Peng Yong , Yi Shengen
Published: September 2017

To investigate the differences of the head impact responses between bicyclists and motorcyclists in vehicle collisions. A series of vehicle–bicycle and vehicle–motorcycle lateral impact simulations on four vehicle types at seven vehicle speeds (30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 km/h) and three two-wheeler moving speeds (5, 7.5 and 10 km/h for bicycle, 10, 12.5 and 15 km/h for motorcycle) were established based on PC-Crash software. To further comprehensively explore the differences, additional impact scenes with other initial conditions, such as impact angle (0, π/3, 2π/3 and π) and impact position (left, middle and right part of vehicle front-end), also were supplemented. And then, extensive comparisons were accomplished with regard to average head peak linear acceleration, average head impact speed, average head peak angular acceleration, average head peak angular speed and head injury severity. The results showed there were prominent differences of kinematics and body postures for bicyclists and motorcyclists even under same impact conditions. The variations of bicyclist head impact responses with the changing of impact conditions were a far cry from that of motorcyclists. The average head peak linear acceleration, average head impact speed and average head peak angular acceleration values were higher for motorcyclists than for bicyclists in most cases, while the bicyclists received greater average head peak angular speed values. And the head injuries of motorcyclists worsened faster with increased vehicle speed. The results may provide even deeper understanding of two-wheeler safety and contribute to improve the public health affected by road traffic accidents.
Humanitarian consortia approaches: evidence from Eastern India
Authors: Krishnan Sneha
Published: September 2017

Humanitarian agencies are increasingly forming consortia to improve collaborative efforts to deliver aid to disaster-affected populations. However, there is little evidence on the effectiveness of consortia as a coordination mechanism. This paper describes the consortia efforts, actions and approaches used during the 2012 Assam floods and 2013’s Cyclone Phailin in Odisha. The data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with key informants from agencies involved in Assam and Odisha response programmes. They indicate that the consortium approach was useful as a space for learning, collaboration, and increasing outreach and funding. This paper makes the case for better roles for local NGOs in furthering these partnerships and reflecting dynamic community needs and aspirations during recovery. Consortia approaches can be improved through preparation and collaboration for quick and effective response. Further evidence on agency motivations, mutual interests and organizational capacities is required for advancing consortia as an effective coordination mechanism.
A fascist warfare? Italian fascism and war experience in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39)
Authors: Rodrigo Javier
Published: September 2017

Initiated as an armament, strategic and diplomatic assistance, the fascist intervention in the Spanish Civil War soon made Italy a belligerent country in the conflict. Once the initial coup d’état plan had failed, the Corpo Truppe Volontarie (CTV) was created to help Franco, and also as a tool to build fascist Spain and, indeed, fascist Europe. This paper examines a crucial part of the Italian intervention in Spain, far from irrelevance or trivialization: a multi-faced combat and war experience.
Intersex children: Who are we really treating?
Authors: Horowicz Edmund M.
Published: September 2017

Surgery to align an infant child’s genitals to a medically assigned sex is controversial because it is irreversible and therefore may potentially be detrimental to the child as they develop into a gender identity. I argue that the significant issue for genital-normalizing surgery is decision-making and that English law does not promote or protect the best interests of the intersex child or the inherent human rights that are protected by both domestic and international law. Using a doctrinal and socio-legal methodology along with a close analysis of bioethical arguments, I argue that the interpretation of the best interests of infant intersex children is manipulated to support the lack of social, legal and medical acceptance of intersex as an ‘abnormality’ that must be corrected, in order to conform to the accepted normality of binary male and female sex. In acknowledgment of this legal and professional standards deficit, I will propose a shared-decision-making approach to support the welfare of the child, which, at its core, places the child as the primary decision maker.
Book Review: Peter Sutoris, Visions of Development: Films Division of India and the Imagination of Progress, 1948–75
Authors: Hariharan Veena
Published: September 2017

Peter Sutoris, Visions of Development: Films Division of India and the Imagination of Progress, 1948–75. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2016, 318 pp., ₹995, ISBN-13:978-0-19-947210-9, ISBN-10:0-19-947210-6
Visions of Post-independence India in Arne Sucksdorff’s Documentaries
Authors: Stjernholm Emil
Published: September 2017

This article studies two post-war documentary films set in India, Indian Village (1951) and The Wind and the River (1953), directed by the celebrated Swedish filmmaker Arne Sucksdorff. While many scholars have studied these films in relation to Sucksdorff’s biography and Swedish national cinema, less emphasis has been placed on these Indian documentaries in relation to other international documentary work that took place in India during the post-independence period. The excursion to India took place on commission from the Swedish Cooperative Union and Wholesale Society and therefore the films are studied in relation to Charles R. Acland and Haidee Wasson’s notion of “useful cinema.” In doing so, this article emphasizes the didactic ideas behind the production of sponsored film and the way in which ideas of the welfare state were projected onto post-independence India. Reading these documentaries against the grain, this article also addresses the question of how these films affected the authorial discourse surrounding Arne Sucksdorff and conversely what impact his films had among critics and filmmakers in India.
The Trace Beneath: The Photographic Residue in the Early Twentieth-century Paintings of the “Bombay School”
Authors: Sawant Shukla
Published: September 2017

This essay examines the interface between the indexical and the gestural, through the practice of early twentieth-century painters active in the Bombay Presidency and adjoining princely states such as Kolhapur and Aundh. It draws upon archival materials such as biographies, memoirs, and photographs documenting artists at work in the studio, as well as remains of posed photographs that were produced as aide-mémoire for paintings. It throws light on the fraught place of photography as aesthetic practice in the art academy, its association with colonial protocols of scientific accuracy, capture and control, and its use to construct suggestive representational hybrids of the anatomical and the painterly outside the academy. The article explores patterns of patronage and of the use of photography in the practices of art production, publication, and exhibition, looking, in particular, at the role of the photographic basis of the portrait painting, and how photography became a supplement to “life-study” or the practice of drawing from nude models. The gendered politics of this interface, between artist, technology, and female model is a recurrent thread of analysis, drawing on critical debates that were published in Marathi periodicals of the time. The article explores the braiding of technologies in artistic practice in different sites, from the academy and the artist’s studio through to publication and exhibition in galleries, and illustrated magazines. While the essay considers a number of artists, including Ravi Varma, Durandhar, and Thakur Singh, it focuses, in particular, on Baburao Painter for his engagement with photography and painting in a career which traversed theater, painting, photography, and film production.
Documentary Photography, Decolonization, and the Making of “Secular Icons”: Reading Sunil Janah’s Photographs from the 1940s through the 1950s
Authors: Roychoudhuri Ranu
Published: September 2017

Through historicizing photographs made by celebrated Indian photographer Sunil Janah (1918–2012), this paper will elucidate the ways in which Janah created “secular icons” of historical moments during India’s passage from the colonial to the postcolonial. I will primarily focus on two sets of Janah’s photographs: the first set is from the 1940s, and centers on the Bengal Famine of 1943, communal violence, and the displacement of population before and after the partition of 1947, while the second set is from the 1950s, and emphasizes in particular photo-documentations of independent India’s industrial growth during the first two five-year plans. Contrast between these two sets will focus on two distinct ways of becoming iconic, while also highlighting the politics of revival/retrospection and the ways in which particular genres of photographs are memorialized, while others remain relatively unknown. Later day viewers of Janah’s photographs have seen only the political import of his pre-independence photographs of the Bengal Famine (1943) and the post-Partition mass exodus, while I argue for a seamless continuity between Janah’s pre-Independence social-documentation and post-independence industrial photography. I further contend that Janah’s photographs were material traces of an indubitable reality that embodied and at the same time exceeded their ideological message.
The Missing Link in the Chain
Authors: Khan Younus , Caldwell Elizabeth , Halsall Jamie P.
Published: September 2017

As the migrant workers of the 1960s and 1970s age in place, many countries are facing caring for increasing numbers of older migrants, many of whom have complex health and social care needs. By applying a qualitative case study approach, of a grassroots disability resource center that works with older migrants, this article critically explores the social policy debates that are focused on older migrants in the Black and Minority Ethnic community. A number of themes have emerged, including the impact of changing family structure, difficulties with accessing services, and increased isolation. In addition, there are also examples of older migrants activtly engaged in building communities and supporting others, defying the stereotypes of vulnerable older migrants being a burden on the state. This article argues for politicians and social policy makers to refocus on the new challenges that are emerging in the older migrants of the Black and Minority Ethnic community.
Therapeutic Engagement With Partner-Abusive Fathers
Authors: Laracuente M. S.
Published: September 2017

Excluding partner-abusive fathers from an intimate partner violence (IPV)-exposed child’s mental health treatment without exercising due diligence may be contraindicated. It is known that fathers with antisocial characteristics can be detrimental to a child’s development; however, research also shows that fathers are as important as mothers to the healthy development of children. Due to this dichotomy, working with IPV-exposed children and their families deserves an idiographic approach. By using a case vignette, steps are delineated and recommendations offered to develop a model for the safe engagement of partner-abusive fathers into an IPV-exposed child’s treatment.
An Autoethnography About Recovering Awareness Following Brain Injury: Is My Truth Valid?
Authors: Shankar Sneha
Published: September 2017

This autoethnography confronts the assumptions and treatment of patients who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI may be followed by deficits that can impact a person’s self-awareness, and I describe my experience with this symptom. In this personal poetic narrative, I provide a glimpse into how I experienced typical symptoms of brain injury and illustrate the complexity of recovery. I suggest patient voices are too often discredited, which goes against the medical framework of patient-centeredness. I provide a voice to the lived experience of brain injury and illuminate the dehumanizing nature of being a patient of this injury.