bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DANS LE FOR EXTÉRIEUR DE LA BOÎTE CRÂNIENNE: proses et pièces pour la télévision
Authors: Raynal-Zougari Mireille
Published: January 2016

In Beckett, text and image are never what they could have been. His experiments with media suggest an infinite chain of endless images and a regress of these very images toward the image that started it all. The world is formed in the skull. A Beckettian text reveals a mental coenaesthesis in which an infinity of points of view and objects and a space characterized by vast distances give rise to a virtuel universe. The Beckettian cranium presents the very conditions of representation, the adjustment of the apparatus before projection; it is an outer interiority, an enclosure bordering upon an opening.
BECKETT'S LEGACY IN THE WORK OF J. M. COETZEE
Authors: Tajiri Yoshiki
Published: January 2016

Beckett has been one of the most important authors for J. M. Coetzee and his influence is clearly felt in Coetzee's novels. In this paper, I aim to reconsider the relation between modernism and postcolonialism by examining how Beckett's (modernist) legacy is inherited by Coetzee's (postcolonial) novels.
"SA NAISSANCE FUT SA PERTE" ET LA PERTE SON APORIE: Heidegger / Beckett / Derrida
Authors: Hubard Gabriela García
Published: January 2016

From to , Beckett understood and undermined aporias that resonate with Heidegger's and Derrida's to the point that it is counterproductive to reflect on these aporias using the simple and classical negation of path. How does the writer keep the experience – passage and crossing – of the impossible from being a non-experience?
Le complexe de prométhée ou sous le signe du feu: Tyrannie et volonté de savoir chez Beckett
Authors: Moorjani Angela
Published: January 2016

In this essay I explore the Prometheus complex by crisscrossing from the notions derived from religion, mythology, and Heraclitus that connect fire with intelligence, power, and the divine to the modern thought of Bachelard, Bion, and Foucault that links sexuality and power with the will to knowledge. Beckett, on the contrary, taking his cue from the gnostics, reduces such fire idolatry to ashes. In , and (to cite only these), tyrannical agents are mocked as their fire is extinguished, their thunder stolen or stilled, sapping their 'directorial' powers.
Sinking in the mud: et le difficile retour à l'anglais
Authors: Montini Chiara
Published: January 2016

Was really abandoned? Or is it a new beginning from what had only temporarily been abandoned, the English language? If so, this new beginning would start from the mud, in which the narrator is sinking. Beckett wrote this short text in order to overcome the which follows . His going back to his "mother tongue" brings him back to what he had been able to escape by writing in French. His violence, which recalls the violence of those who were dominated by anger in Dante's hell, is the cause of his sinking in the mud and is the symptom of repression rising to the surface.
"The aesthetics of relinquishment": Natural and Social Contracts in Beckett's "The End"
Authors: Giles Jana María
Published: January 2016

This article explores the notion of Beckett as an ecocritical writer by considering Lawrence Buell's criteria for an environmentally-centered work in terms of Beckett's short prose piece "The End." As the nameless narrator moves from a monastic to a hermetic to a mendicant existence and then to death by suicide, he cycles between city and country, growing increasingly anonymous. Beckett casts doubt on the ethics of the "social contract," formed in human culture, and suggests that the "natural contract" between humans and their environment may be the viable one, although it may lead to relinquishment and death.
Le rôle et les métamorphoses des quatre éléments dans de sartre et de beckett
Authors: Tokarev Dimitri
Published: January 2016

This article presents a comparative analysis of the representation of the four elements in Sartre's novel and in – Beckett's first "French" novella, which was later renamed . The second part of the novella wasn't published in because of a misunderstanding; it seems that Beckett constructs the second part of his short story and especially its finale as a polemic remark to . We will see that in both texts the elements and especially water play a very important role.
Distinguishing the multiverse from an echo: Quantum Mechanics and
Authors: Spector Donald
Published: January 2016

can be understood as a play about the tension between two views of reality, embodied in the Copenhagen and Many Worlds Interpretations of quantum mechanics. To Didi and the audience, the second act seems to be an echo of the first, but an echo implies an original and a copy. In fact, the two acts are on an equal footing, representing parallel versions of the selfsame day. Ultimately, emerges as an exploration of the existential conflict that arises when an adherent of the Copenhagen Interpretation is confronted with a Many Worlds universe.
Les vestiges du corps dans le théâtre de samuel beckett
Authors: Lecossois Hélène
Published: January 2016

This article intends to study the main ways in which the body is materially presented in Samuel Beckett's dramatic work. Play after play, palpable signs of the body's presence are progressively reduced, and yet, paradoxically, the body is no less omnipresent. The positioning and the lighting of the body determine the emergence of the stage image and contribute to the development of the spatiotemporal structure. The body determines the contours of this structure and impresses its form upon it, as proven by the many bodily metaphors and 'borborygms' that can be heard in Beckett's plays.
The Uses of Enchantment: Beckett and the Fairy Tale
Authors: Pilling John
Published: January 2016

An examination of a subject not normally considered of very much interest to Beckett, and indeed never previously raised in the existing scholarship by commentators on him and his work, this essay takes for its focus his abortive attempt to write a fairy story in German, written before Beckett's winter journey into Germany of October 1936 – March 1937. The essay places the story in the context of his work as a whole across many different genres, and considers the implications of both the story fragment and the related materials elsewhere as pointers to Beckett's condition of spirit at different times in his life.
Beckett's Shades of the Color Gray
Authors: Brater Enoch
Published: January 2016

In Beckett's work gray becomes a serial motif that brings a number of tonal values to his writing for the stage. Gray supports spatial, visual, and narrative ambiguity, and its effects highlight the conditional states that characterize subject, object, and image. As his work develops, shades of the color gray become more nuanced, but their status as key players in his work can be observed as early as and . His experience as a writer for the mechanical media has a profound influence on the role shades of gray have on the concept and coordination of the new and profound images his late work brings to the stage.
“I Tell You Nothing is Known!” as Beckett's Parting with Joyce
Authors: Kosters Onno
Published: January 2016

Samuel Beckett's novel contains many echoes of works by his fellow Irishman James Joyce. Form, content and rewriting of his Joyce sources suggest that Beckett set out both to pay tribute to his recently deceased friend and to find his own voice by freeing himself from Joyce's influence.
André Gide Among the Parisian Ghosts in the “Anglo-Irish”
Authors: Moorjani Angela
Published: January 2016

In concert with the recent transnational turn in modernist studies, this essay surveys the Parisian intellectual and literary trends echoed in Beckett's “Anglo-Irish” fiction of the thirties. Probed in particular are the extensive role André Gide played in shaping Beckett's views and practice of the modern novel and the tension between the real and the “ideal real” in the two writers' work. What would Gide's stature be in Beckett studies, one wonders, if Beckett had completed the monograph he planned to write on Gide as he had on Proust?
“The Italianate Irishman”: The Role of Italian in Beckett's Intratextual Multilingualism
Authors: Lalor Doireann
Published: January 2016

This article outlines the Italian dimension to Beckett , focussing in particular on the fragments of Italian that appear in his works, and considering the changing role of these snippets of Italian throughout the course of his writing career. In the early works, Italian plays an integral – and overlooked – part in Beckett's construction of a modernist macaronic mode. In the post-war works, fragments of Italian appear much more infrequently, and often disappear completely during the process of self-translation. An analysis of these Italian fragments adds nuances to the current perception of Beckett as a model of multilingalism.
Beckett and Philosophy, 1928-1938
Authors: Feldman Matthew
Published: January 2016

This article argues that the direct relationship between 'Beckett and philosophy' – meaning Samuel Beckett's struggle with Western philosophy as it influenced his poetics and outlook – lasted only a decade, from 1928 to 1938. The methodology deployed in support of this account is established at the outset: falsifiability. Such a 'modified essentialism' allows for an empirically-grounded theorising that is of substantial assistance in tracing Beckett's intellectual 'debts.' The falsifiable position taken here, then, contends that Beckett's self-education in the European philosophical tradition can be divided into three stages which, in turn, closely correspond to Beckett's artistic and intellectual development in the later 1920s and 1930s.
Towards an Analysis of Geulincx and the Ur-
Authors: Tucker David
Published: January 2016

This paper begins by arguing that Beckett's changing uses of a single word between 1932 and 1945 can be read as a microcosm of broader changes in his work following his reading of Geulincx in 1936. Beckett had used the word pre-1936, yet his uses of it alter after that time; similarly, he had already been occupied with a number of the themes that would be foregrounded by Geulincx, but his treatment of them shifts in his work after this encounter. In particular, the Geulingian concept of 'autology,' or self-inspection, provides a clue to Beckett's creative process in the Ur-.
as : Beckett's Debt to a Baroque Genre
Authors: Lozier Claire
Published: January 2016

This essay explores Beckett's debt in (1969) to the seventeenth-century Dutch genre of painting known as the . It shows that the pictorial tradition of the informs the play's aesthetic, to the point where can be described as a transcription of the older genre. The play inflicts a postmodern ironical twist upon the moral of the and expressed by the tradition, and the essay also analyses this contradictory use of the in the stylistic features of the writing.
Beckett en Chine à Paris: Résonance beckettienne chez Gao Xingjian
Authors: Berne Marie
Published: January 2016

How to visit China with Beckett ? A contemporary artist may be our guide for this discovery and create a bridge between different realities, cultures and perspectives that are not so easy to compare. Gao Xingjian is, like Beckett, a Nobel Prize winner, in exile in Paris, a novelist, theater writer, film director and inventor of languages. The influence of Beckett with Gao has been evident when his piece Chezhan was performed in 1983 in Beijing. It seems that beckettian resonances have become even more apperent after Gao's departure from China. The Beckettian 'filiation' so throws its light on an even moving which, in stead of a visit to China, invites us to an exploration of an individuality.
Samuel Beckett Entre Abstraction et Figuration: Une critique (1990-2010)
Authors: Maxia Laura
Published: January 2016

Over the last twenty years, Francophone studies have redefined Beckett's style by copmparing it with modern arts models. Far from unanimous, this reception works on a graduated scale, ranging between two opposites: abstraction and figuration. The key issue in this divergence is 'representation,' a matter inherently effecting the conceptions of figurative and abstract arts as well as language. After arguing that language is inescapably figurative, I will opt for a flexible concept of figuration, with the capacity to mould itself on the traits of the 'undoing-doing' Beckettian style.
Beckett, tel Qu'en ses Lettres enfin Cambridge Nous le Révèle
Authors: Protin Matthieu
Published: January 2016

Faced with the scarcity of Samuel Beckett's theoretical writings, one has no choice but to look for them throughout his correspondence. In this prospect, the publication of Samuel Beckett's letters offers a great opportunity to find the fragments of a treaty on aesthetics Samuel Beckett never wrote. In many letters Samuel Beckett analyzes and ponders over his own works as well as those by other writers, painters and musicians. This paper analyzes what can be considered as 'aesthetics in progress,' aiming at understanding the categories and the concepts particularly relevant to study Samuel Beckett's works. provides an inner view upon Beckett's creative method and therefore offers an interesting counter point to Beckett's silence when it comes to comment his own works.
Beckett and Geulincx's Ethics: “...my Geulincx could only be a literary fantasia”
Authors: Frost Everett C.
Published: January 2016

This essay continues – and in part relies upon – my discussion of Beckett's dialogue with the early modern occasionalist Arnold Geulincx begun in “Beckett and Geulincx's Metaphysics” (appearing separately in this issue). It focuses on Beckett's reading of Geulincx's as reflected in his notes included in the collection of manuscripts. Analysing the meaning of Geulincx's maxim, “Ubi nihil vales ibi nihil velis” and its ethical implications, I discuss why Beckett considered it a key to his work. Since Emmanuel Levinas deliberately challenges the Cartesian foundationalist assumptions on which Geulincx's ethics rest, I examine Beckett in the light of this opposition.
Le roman des détritus
Authors: Nganang Patrice
Published: January 2016

For the last ten years, new and very exciting writers have been emerging in the landscape of African literature. Their books are redefining the boundaries of the novel, opening it up to the tumult of the present and to the new potentialities of the future. This essay looks at one particular type of fiction that can lay claim to a more important status among the novels published by African writers in the course of the decade – the novel of detritus. This is a particular form of novel that opens itself to the marvels of the city, as opposed to the village, and at the same time addresses the rampant destruction which, in the form of numerous civil wars, has established itself as an indisputable paradigm of contemporary Africa.
Nigeria and the Poetry of Travails: The Niger Delta in the Poetry of Uche Umez
Authors: Diala Isidore
Published: January 2016

Especially since the execution of the writer and Ogoni activist, Ken Saro–Wiwa, international attention has been drawn to the plight of the Niger Delta. Oil-rich but cynically plundered and exploited, the Niger Delta has become symbolic of the Nigerian nation itself, fabulously endowed yet, paradoxically, virtually a beggar nation. This accounts in part for the increasing fascination of a growing number of Nigerian poets, Deltans and non-Deltans alike, with the representative plight of the Niger Delta. In , the first published volume of the emergent Nigerian writer Uche Peter Umez, Nigeria's characteristic social ills are etched in memorable lines. But Umez's special focus is on the Niger Delta. Given his own position as a non-Deltan from a part of Igboland that has been the target of punitive cartography, this concern foregrounds the varied dimensions of Nigeria's oil politics.
“Breaking the Head of the Masquerade” Tracie Utoh–Ezeajugh's “Out of the Masks” and Theatre of Exclusion
Authors: Tembo Nick Mdika
Published: January 2016

In most African societies, traditional rituals are sometimes used as tools for cultural inferiorization of women and girls. Out of frustration, those at the receiving end of such rituals may resort to a variety of performative and subversive tactics aimed at debunking them in society. This essay seeks to examine Tracie Utoh–Ezeajugh's portrayal of women in “Out of the Masks.” The essay particularly seeks to examine how the dramatist responds to and represents the position and role of women in the traditional social context and in the context of changing social values in her play. Through a careful analysis of key episodes of five young women, the essay argues, an insurrection aimed at saving the female race “from further institutional molestation and humiliation” is successfully mounted in the play. In the end, female characters response to social, economic, political, and cultural oppression through their strategic planning and careful organization in the play.
Ayi Kwei Armah's Professional Correspondence Unveiling the Ordeals of a Gifted African Author
Authors: Ogede Ode S.
Published: January 2016

Drawing on Arma's frustrated, frustrating, frequently acrimonious, and explosively detailed correspondence with editorial and administrative officials at Heinemann Educational Books of London, his British publishers, the present article charts this distinguished writer's ordeal, between 1977 and 1992 , in dealing with metropolitan power. This ordeal centre on his confrontation with what he perceives to be issues of ownership, contract violation, intimidation, criminality, and corporate greed. Tacit in the resulting account is the fact of Arma's dignity, courage, and sense of justified self-worth: the 'subaltern speaks', and refuses to be subaltern.
War and Absurdity Viewing the Manifestations of Trauma in Uwem Akpan's “Luxurious Hearses”
Authors: Okolocha H. Oby
Published: January 2016

This essay examines the circumstances of Jubril, Chief Ukongo, and Colonel Usenetok, three casualties of shari'ah war fleeing to safety in Uwem Akpan's novella “Luxurious Hearses.” Particularly identified is the loss of personhood that afflicts these individuals as a result of war – a loss of self that manifests itself in absurdity. The focus is not on the war but on the absurd manifestations of trauma in the personalities of these characters. Akpan paints poignant and convincing pictures of the horrors of war, the physical and mental dislocation of individuals in a martial situation. This essay also seeks to analyse the meaning of life for the individual in a situation of war and to demonstrate that, for those caught up in the throes of war or conflict, life has one basic meaning – physical survival. All other associated meanings of life such as ambition, hope, aspiration, and desire are non-existent for the characters portrayed in Akpan's narrative.
Situational Variables in Chimamanda Adichie's and Chinua Achebe's
Authors: Ibhawaegbele Faith O. , Edokpayi J.N.
Published: January 2016

The use of the English language for literary creation has been the bane of Nigerian literature. Nigeria has a very complex linguistic system; as a result, its citizens communicate either in their indigenous languages or in English, depending on the situation in which they find themselves. The use of English in Nigerian literature in general and prose fiction in particular is influenced by both linguistic and extralinguistic factors. In their attempt to offer solutions to the problems of language in literary expression, Nigerian novelists adapt English to varying linguistic and socio-cultural contexts. This has resulted in experimentation and the employment of various creative-stylistic strategies and devices in prose fiction. Our focus in this essay is on the conditioning influences of situational variables on the language and styles of Nigerian novelists, with Chimamanda Adichie and Chinua Achebe as a case study. We shall examine and explicate how situational variables influence and impose constraints on the language and styles of novelists, and how they adapt English, which is in contact with the various indigenous languages, to the varying local Nigerian situations and experiences.
Dialectics of African Feminism A Study of the Women's Group in Awka (the Land of Blacksmiths)
Authors: Nwanna Clifford
Published: January 2016

There appears to be a lack of interest from researchers on African art, on feminist related issues. Their researches are devoted to other aspects of African art. This situation has created a gap in both African art and African gender studies. The present essay interrogates the socio-economic and political position of women in Africa from a feminist theoretical viewpoint. Here, the formation and the activities of the women group in Awka was used as a case study, to foreground the fact that feminism is not alien to Africa; rather it has existed in Africa since the ancient times. The women group stands out as true African patriots and protagonists of the African feminist struggle.
Taxonomic revision of Wissadula (Malvoideae, Malvaceae) in Brazil
Authors: Bovini Massimo Giuseppe , BAUMGRATZ JOSÉ FERNANDO A.
Published: January 2016

A comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus Wissadula (Malvoideae, Malvaceae) in Brazil is presented. Through field surveys, examination of the specimens maintained in 39 herbaria, and a review of the literature, 19 Wissadula species are recognized. The main diagnostic characteristics used to distinguish amonth species are leaf shape, trichome type on branches and leaves, and the shape and number of mericarps. Wissadula mainly differs from the other genera in Malvoideae in having a mericarp constriction. A diagnostic key, detailed descriptions, illustrations, and geographic data are provided. Three species (W. boliviana, W. wissadifolia, and W. setifera) are recorded for the first time in Brazil. New synonyms and the typification of some names are also proposed, including for the Wissadula section Wissadula. Seven species are illustrated for the first time. Phytogeographic data suggest a neotropical distribution for this genus, with high species diversity in Paraguay, northern Argentina, eastern Bolivia, and western Brazil.
Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network
Authors: Moen Phyllis , Kelly Erin L. , Fan Wen , Lee Shi-Rong , Almeida David , Kossek Ellen Ernst , Buxton Orfeu M.
Published: January 2016

This study tests a central theoretical assumption of stress process and job strain models, namely that increases in employees’ control and support at work should promote well-being. To do so, we use a group-randomized field trial with longitudinal data from 867 information technology (IT) workers to investigate the well-being effects of STAR, an organizational intervention designed to promote greater employee control over work time and greater supervisor support for workers’ personal lives. We also offer a unique analysis of an unexpected field effect—a company merger—among workers surveyed earlier versus later in the study period, before or after the merger announcement. We find few STAR effects for the latter group, but over 12 months, STAR reduced burnout, perceived stress, and psychological distress, and increased job satisfaction, for the early survey group. STAR effects are partially mediated by increases in schedule control and declines in family-to-work conflict and burnout (an outcome and mediator) by six months. Moderating effects show that STAR benefits women in reducing psychological distress and perceived stress, and increases non-supervisory employees’ job satisfaction. This study demonstrates, with a rigorous design, that organizational-level initiatives can promote employee well-being.
Low Rates of Revascularization and High In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With Ischemic Lower Limb Amputation
Authors: Malyar Nasser M. , Freisinger Eva , Meyborg Matthias , Lüders Florian , Fürstenberg Torsten , Kröger Knut , Torsello Giovanni , Reinecke Holger
Published: January 2016

Background:

To assess the nationwide contemporary burden of cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, and in-hospital mortality in patients with lower limb amputation (LLA) due to peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia (CLI) in Germany.

Methods:

German nationwide data for 2005 and 2009 were analyzed regarding in-hospital rates of major and minor ischemic LLA, risk factors, comorbidities, surgical and endovascular revascularizations, and in-hospital mortality.

Results:

In 2005, a total of 22 479 major (7.8%) and 28 262 minor (9.8%) LLAs were performed with a relative decrease of −21.8% in major LLA, yet with a relative increase of +2% in minor LLA rate in 2009. The overall revascularization rate before amputation was 46% in 2005 and 57% in 2009. In-hospital mortality for non-CLI, minor, and major amputees was 3.3%, 4.6%, and 19.8%, respectively ( P < .001 for major vs minor LLA and non-CLI).

Conclusion:

The total number of ischemic LLA and amputation-related in-hospital mortality remains high in Germany in the 21st century. The poor outcome of patients with CLI might in part be due to underuse of revascularizations prior to amputation.
How common is bipolar disorder in general primary care attendees? A systematic review and meta-analysis investigating prevalence determined according to structured clinical assessments
Authors: Stubbs Brendon , Vancampfort Davy , Solmi Marco , Veronese Nicola , Fornaro Michele
Published: January 2016

Objective:

There are mounting calls for bipolar disorder to be managed in primary care, yet the exact prevalence remains unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the prevalence of bipolar disorder in general primary care attendees without other comorbid psychiatric diagnosis.

Method:

We systematically searched major electronic databases from inception till 03/2015. Articles were included that reported the prevalence of bipolar disorder determined in line with structured clinical assessment in primary care settings. Two independent authors conducted searches, completed methodological appraisal and extracted data. A random effects meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed.

Results:

Sixteen studies were included accounting for 425,691 participants (mean age = 41.1 years [standard deviation = 7.2 years] 33.3% males). Overall, the global prevalence of bipolar disorder was 1.9% (95% confidence interval = [0.6, 5.4]). The prevalence of bipolar disorder in studies recording a current diagnosis was 3.7% (95% confidence interval = [1.9, 6.0]) and 0.7% (95% confidence interval = [0.2, 1.5]) in studies considering a 12-month period. A diagnosis of bipolar disorder appeared higher in North America (3.7%, 95% confidence interval = [0.9, 8.1]) compared to Europe (0.8%, 95% confidence interval = [0.3, 1.5]). Meta-regression suggests that a more recent publication date (co-efficient = 0.089, 95% confidence interval = [0.0173, 0.1654], z = 2.19, p = 0.01, R2 = 0.21) and younger age of participants (co-efficient −0.0851, 95% confidence interval = [−0.1696, 0.005], z = −1.97, p = 0.04, R2 = 0.24) moderated a higher prevalence of bipolar disorder.

Conclusion:

The global prevalence of bipolar disorder in primary care is 1.9%, with potentially higher prevalence rates in North America compared to Europe. A more recent study publication date is a significant predictor of higher prevalence of bipolar disorder. Potential reasons/drivers of this are considered within the text.
Networked CSR Governance: A Whole Network Approach to Meta-Governance
Authors: Albareda Laura , Waddock Sandra
Published: January 2016

Meta-governance is Earth system governance for dealing with the global commons. This article develops a whole network approach to meta-governance to explore the potential for collective action for sustainable development by a loosely coupled network of networks. Networked corporate social responsibility (CSR) governance has emerged around corporate sustainability and responsibility in the first years of the 21st century. Growing agreements and interactions among CSR initiatives suggest the development, structure, and governance of networked CSR governance as a network that can analytically be viewed as a whole and as a platform for learning about systemic change. Using the evolution of CSR initiatives from about 1990 to 2014, the authors differentiate four developmental stages: independent and fragmented multistakeholder networks as CSR governance, collaborative CSR governance, networked CSR governance, and integrated networked CSR governance. The authors then present a framework to analyze networked CSR governance as a whole network experimenting with meta-governance.
Comparing Associations Between the Built Environment and Walking in Rural Small Towns and a Large Metropolitan Area
Authors: Stewart Orion T. , Vernez Moudon Anne , Saelens Brian E. , Lee Chanam , Kang Bumjoon , Doescher Mark P.
Published: January 2016

The association between the built environment (BE) and walking has been studied extensively in urban areas, yet little is known whether the same associations hold for smaller, rural towns. This analysis examined objective measures of the BE around participants’ residence and their utilitarian and recreational walking from two studies, one in the urban Seattle area ( n = 464) and the other in nine small U.S. towns ( n = 299). After adjusting for sociodemographics, small town residents walked less for utilitarian purposes but more for recreational purposes. These differences were largely explained by differential associations of the BE on walking in the two settings. In Seattle, the number of neighborhood restaurants was positively associated with utilitarian walking, but in small towns, the association was negative. In small towns, perception of slow traffic on nearby streets was positively associated with recreational walking, but not in Seattle. These observations suggest that urban–rural context matters when planning BE interventions to support walking.
A Contextual Look at Safe Routes to School Implementation in Texas
Authors: Atteberry Heather , Dowdy Diane , Oluyomi Abiodun , Nichols Donna , Ory Marcia G. , Hoelscher Deanna M.
Published: January 2016

In an effort to understand factors influencing the implementation and outcomes of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program in Texas, interviews were conducted in 2014 with 34 community- and state-level stakeholders involved in the 2007 SRTS grant program. Participants were asked a series of multiple-choice and open-ended questions about SRTS program planning, implementation, and sustainability. Transcribed responses were organized and grouped according to thematic elements using standard qualitative methods. Results indicate the SRTS program was perceived as beneficial by providing funds for both infrastructure and education projects. Although most community representatives reported accomplishments toward planned goals (improved infrastructure and perceived increase in active commuting), many had significant challenges including lack of communication and up-front funding, and difficulty navigating the regulatory process. Future SRTS programs should be structured to be more compatible with community-based needs and limitations, provide adequate underlying infrastructure and resources, and include at least partial funding up-front.
The Paradox of Parks in Low-Income Areas
Authors: Cohen Deborah A. , Han Bing , Derose Kathryn P. , Williamson Stephanie , Marsh Terry , Raaen Laura , McKenzie Thomas L.
Published: January 2016

Concerns about safety and perceived threats have been considered responsible for lower use of parks in high-poverty neighborhoods. To quantify the role of perceived threats on park use, we systematically observed 48 parks and surveyed park users and household residents in low-income neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles. Across all parks, the majority of both park users and local residents perceived parks as safe or very safe. We noted apparently homeless individuals during nearly half of all observations, but very few instances of fighting, intimidating groups, smoking, and intoxication. The presence of homeless individuals was associated with higher numbers of park users while the presence of intoxicated persons was associated with lower numbers. Overall, the strongest predictors of increased park use were the presence of organized and supervised activities. Therefore, to increase park use, focusing resources on programming may be more fruitful than targeting perceived threats.
If You Build It Will They Come? Does Involving Community Groups in Playground Renovations Affect Park Utilization and Physical Activity?
Authors: Slater Sandy , Pugach Oksana , Lin Wanting , Bontu Anita
Published: January 2016

In a sample of racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods, using a quasi-experimental, prospective, longitudinal study design, we examined whether involvement of community groups in playground design selection, installation, and ongoing maintenance influences park utilization and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) post-playground renovations ( N = 78 matched parks, 39 intervention/39control). Parks were matched on size, proximity, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. In summer/fall 2013 and 2014, baseline and 12-month follow-up data were collected on park utilization and physical activity, presence and condition of park features, incivilities, programming, and safety. Analyses were conducted using Poisson mixed-effects regression models. Significant increases between baseline and 12-month follow-up were found for park utilization and the number of people engaged in MVPA at the .05 significance level. Study results can provide communities with evidence to inform future policy decisions on how to increase park utilization in diverse neighborhoods.
Disentangling Associations of Neighborhood Street Scale Elements With Physical Activity in Mexican School Children
Authors: Lee Rebecca E. , Soltero Erica G. , Jáuregui Alejandra , Mama Scherezade K. , Barquera Simón , Jauregui Edtna , Lopez y Taylor Juan , Ortiz-Hernández Luis , Lévesque Lucie
Published: January 2016

Promoting outdoor play and participation in sports and organized physical activities in children may depend on neighborhood characteristics. This study investigated associations between neighborhood streets and physical activities among Mexican children ( N = 1,509, 6-11 years). Child sociodemographic characteristics and physical activity were measured in schools in Guadalajara ( n = 10), Mexico City ( n = 13), and Puerto Vallarta ( n = 3), Mexico, in 2012. Street segments within an 800 m radius around each school were measured using the Pedestrian Environment Data Scan. Most (75.8%) played outdoors; 47.4% participated in sports and 40% in organized physical activities. Fewer path obstructions and more pedestrian amenities were associated positively with outdoor play. Greater street cleanliness, more pedestrian amenities, and more path obstructions were associated with less participation in sports or organized activities. Walkability was negatively associated with all physical activities. Fostering safe and appealing streets may help promote outdoor play time, but not sports participation, for Mexican children.
Cultural Influences in Women-Friendly Labor-Saving Hand Tool Designs
Authors: Kisaalita William S. , Katimbo Abia , Sempiira Edison J. , Mugisa Dana J.
Published: January 2016

Objective:

The aim of this study was to highlight the importance of culture in sustainable, labor-saving solutions design for women in low-resource settings.

Background:

One of the reasons behind the gender asset gap among Sub-Saharan African women is the higher labor burden these women face, making it difficult for them to produce for the home and markets. Hand tools are the simplest form and therefore the best first step to address this problem. But designing women-friendly (sustainable) hand tools calls for better understanding of the low-resource settings where these women reside.

Method:

A milk churner was redesigned using a human-centered (participatory) approach with groups of women from two dominant ethnolinguistic groups of Bantu and Nilotic of Uganda, and its usability was tested.

Results:

The churner reduced labor up to eightfold and has potential to expand the range of uses to include children and husbands due to its simplicity. Also, the churner significantly reduced undesirable health effects, like pain in knee joints. Based on the experience with the churner, a six-item “survival guide” is proposed to complement human-centered design guiding principles for facilitating the generation of solutions in low-resource settings.

Conclusion:

By paying great attention to culture in relation to human factors, a labor-reducing churner has been successfully introduced among Ugandan women. The ultimate goal is to make the churner available to female smallholder dairy-farming households throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

Applications:

This study provides a survival guide for generating solutions to problems from low-resource settings.
Do Employer Preferences Contribute to Sticky Floors?
Authors: Baert Stijn , De Pauw Ann-Sophie , Deschacht Nick
Published: January 2016

The authors investigate the importance of employer preferences in explaining sticky floors, the pattern in which women are less likely, as compared to men, to start to climb the job ladder. The authors perform a randomized field experiment in the Belgian labor market and test whether hiring discrimination based on gender is heterogeneous by whether jobs imply a promotion (compared to the applicants’ current position). The findings show that women receive 33% fewer interview invitations when they apply for jobs that imply a first promotion at the functional level. By contrast, the results show that their hiring chances are not significantly affected by the authority level of the job.
Mail-order Demagogues: The NSDAP School for Speakers, 1928–34
Authors: O Broin Turlach
Published: January 2016

Between 1928 and 1933 Fritz Reinhardt trained 6000 propaganda speakers for the Nazi Party. He made it cheaper for the Party to train a speaker than to print a poster. Reinhardt allowed the NSDAP to project an image of strength, organization and coherence that no other political party in the Weimar Republic could match. Reinhardt’s promises were heard by more members of the electorate than those of any other Nazi, even Hitler. The speakers’ training course was taught by post. The material of the course beginning February 1931 has lain untouched in the archives since. Historians (such as Dietrich Orlow and Joachim Fest) who have made reference to the existence of the school, have dismissed it as ‘primitive’ and entailing only the learning by rote of stock phrases. This is not the case. Reinhardt expressly forbade his students from learning by rote. Rather they were required to learn Reinhardt’s line of reasoning and rephrase it in their own dialect using local issues to illustrate their points. This made the Nazis the most effective propagandists in the fractured polity of the Weimar Republic. This article shows how the speakers school taught and what it taught, in order to illustrate an, as of yet, un-described facet of Nazi electoral propaganda.
Effect of Aging on Periodontal Inflammation, Microbial Colonization, and Disease Susceptibility
Authors: Wu Y. , Dong G. , Xiao W. , Xiao E. , Miao F. , Syverson A. , Missaghian N. , Vafa R. , Cabrera-Ortega A.A. , Rossa C. , Graves D.T.
Published: January 2016

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease induced by a biofilm that forms on the tooth surface. Increased periodontal disease is associated with aging. We investigated the effect of aging on challenge by oral pathogens, examining the host response, colonization, and osteoclast numbers in aged versus young mice. We also compared the results with mice with lineage-specific deletion of the transcription factor FOXO1, which reduces dendritic cell (DC) function. Periodontitis was induced by oral inoculation of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum in young (4 to 5 mo) and aged (14 to 15 mo) mice. Aged mice as well as mice with reduced DC function had decreased numbers of DCs in lymph nodes, indicative of a diminished host response. In vitro studies suggest that reduced DC numbers in lymph nodes of aged mice may involve the effect of advanced glycation end products on DC migration. Surprisingly, aged mice but not mice with genetically altered DC function had greater production of antibody to P. gingivalis, greater IL-12 expression, and more plasma cells in lymph nodes following oral inoculation as compared with young mice. The greater adaptive immune response in aged versus young mice was linked to enhanced levels of P. gingivalis and reduced bacterial diversity. Thus, reduced bacterial diversity in aged mice may contribute to increased P. gingivalis colonization following inoculation and increased periodontal disease susceptibility, reflected by higher TNF levels and osteoclast numbers in the periodontium of aged versus young mice.
Medical Marijuana and Crime
Authors: Shepard Edward M. , Blackley Paul R.
Published: January 2016

State medical marijuana programs have proliferated in the United States in recent years. Marijuana sales are now estimated in billions of dollars per year with over two million patients, yet it remains unlawful under Federal law, and there is limited and conflicting evidence about potential effects on society. We present new evidence about potential effects on crime by estimating an economic crime model following the general approach developed by Becker. Data from 11 states in the Western United States are used to estimate the model and test hypotheses about potential effects on rates of violent and property crime. Fixed effects methods are applied to control for state-specific factors, with adjustments for first-order autocorrelation and cross-section heteroskedasticity. There is no evidence of negative spillover effects from medical marijuana laws (MMLs) on violent or property crime. Instead, we find significant drops in rates of violent crime associated with state MMLs.
Femoral and sciatic nerve blockades and incision site infiltration in rabbits undergoing stifle joint arthrotomy
Authors: Kluge K , Larenza Menzies M P , Kloeppel H , Pearce S G , Bettschart-Wolfensberger R , Kutter A P N
Published: January 2016

This study was designed to determine whether perineural injections of local anaesthetics decreases intraoperative nociception and improves postoperative analgesia in New Zealand White rabbits undergoing experimental stifle arthrotomy. All animals were anaesthetized using isoflurane and received morphine intramuscularly. The sciatic and femoral nerves of the leg to be operated on were located using a nerve stimulator (1 Hz, 0.5 mA). Rabbits were assigned to a treatment group (LB; n = 12) or a placebo group (P; n = 12) in a randomized blinded fashion. Group LB received lidocaine 2% (1 mg/kg) combined with bupivacaine 0.5% (0.25 mg/kg) injections around the sciatic and femoral nerves (0.1 mL/kg total volume per site) and subcutaneous infiltration of the incision site with lidocaine 1% (1.25 mg/kg). Group P received the same volume of 0.9% NaCl. Rabbits in group P required higher doses of intraoperative fentanyl and propofol to reduce heart rate and suppress increase in systolic blood pressure, and maintain an adequate anaesthetic plane. Interventional analgesia (buprenorphine and carprofen) was required significantly earlier in rabbits in group P (2 and 6 h after the first nerve blockade, respectively) based on assessment of their pain-related behaviour and range of motion. Using a visual analogue scale (0 mm= no pain to 100 mm= maximal possible pain), rabbits in group LB were judged to show significantly less pain compared with rabbits in group P (14 ± 10 mm and 37 ± 25 mm, respectively) 2 h after nerve blockade. In conclusion, this technique of perineural analgesia combined with incision site infiltration reduced intraoperative fentanyl requirements and improved postoperative analgesia in rabbits.
Normal ultrasonographic images of reproductive organs of female Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica): a laboratory animal model
Authors: Hosseini Farzaneh , Mehraei Hamzekolaei Mohammad Hasan , Zamani Moghaddam Abdol Karim , Arabha Hajar , Tohidifar Seyyed Sattar
Published: January 2016

Certain special biological characteristics of Japanese quails ( Coturnix coturnix japonica) could enable quicker and less expensive laboratory experiments than similar studies using mice or chickens. Moreover, due to some physiological similarities with humans, quails have been recognized as an ideal laboratory model for experiments in some fields such as immunology, endocrinology, and reproductive biology. The aim of this study was to acquire normal ultrasonographic images of reproductive organs of female Japanese quails in order to facilitate laboratory experiments on reproductive biology and to determine a non-invasive in-life alternative to carcass analysis. Thirty female Japanese quails of different ages were used for ultrasound scanning of ovaries, follicles, ova, oviducts and eggs. In addition, five quails were euthanized for experiments using a direct standoff imaging technique. It was possible to identify different sizes of follicles ranging from small white follicles (0.14 cm) to large yellow follicles (2.57 cm), post-ovulatory follicles (POFs), ova at various stages of development, oviducts, and also eggs within the oviducts. These findings demonstrate that ultrasound scanning of female Japanese quail reproductive organs might be a beneficial diagnostic tool for applications such as studying reproductive physiology, anticipating the beginning or the end of the breeding season, detecting any pathological disorders easily, and identifying non-productive females which could lead to more cost-efficient laboratory procedures.
New directions in eschatology: The Day of the Lord in time and space
Authors: Lloyd John B.
Published: January 2016

This paper draws attention to a substantial gap in the new Christian eschatology pioneered by Bishop Tom Wright and supported by many other theologians, some with solid scientific credentials. This eschatology sees a substantial degree of continuity between the present earth and a future earth-heaven to be inaugurated by the parousia of Jesus Christ. Lacking is a clear exploration of Christian expectations for the future of human and terrestrial history. This is a matter of urgent apologetic and pastoral concern.
Difficult texts: Mark 16.18 and James 5.15 – Receiving an unwelcome diagnosis
Authors: Clammer Tom , Wilkinson Simon
Published: January 2016

The diagnosis of a life-changing illness tests the faith of even the most committed Christian. In this paper two Anglican clergy who have both received life-changing diagnoses reflect theologically upon their experience and draw conclusions about the relationship between sickness, sin, evil and the goodness of God.
Voices of Aspiring Teachers of Color: Unraveling the Double Bind in Teacher Education
Authors: Gist Conra D.
Published: January 2016

This article centers and investigates the voices of teacher candidates of color to examine how double binds influence their teaching and learning experiences in teacher education programs. Interview and focus group data from teacher candidates of color at two teacher education programs are analyzed to unpack the types of personal and systemic ties they experience as well as the strategies they utilize to escape them. Implications for eliminating the double bind in teacher education programs through the tailoring of transformative and critical preparation experiences for teacher candidates of color are explored.