bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multicultural Choral Music Pedagogy Based on the Facets Model
Authors: Yoo Hyesoo
Published: September 2017

Multicultural choral music has distinct characteristics in that indigenous folk elements are frequently incorporated into a Western European tonal system. Because of this, multicultural choral music is often taught using Western styles (e.g., bel canto) rather than through traditional singing techniques from their cultures of origin. One of the most important purposes of teaching multicultural music is to increase understanding of and acceptance toward different cultures and enrich musical experiences. This article details eight instructional strategies to help students learn multicultural choral music from alternative perspectives that enrich their musical skills, cultural understandings, and performances of multicultural music.
Teaching Materials and Strategies for the AP Music Theory Exam
Authors: Lively Michael T.
Published: September 2017

Each year, many students take the Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory Exam, and the majority of these students enroll in specialized AP music theory classes as part of the preparation process. For the teachers of these AP music theory classes, a number of challenges are presented by the difficulty and complexity of the exam subject material as well as by issues related to the mixed abilities and backgrounds of the students in any particular AP classroom. This article presents a variety of teaching strategies for both new and experienced AP music theory teachers and offers a brief overview of textbooks and other instructional materials that can be used when teaching the AP music theory course.
Changing Attitudes Toward Euthanasia and Suicide for Terminally Ill Persons, 1977 to 2016
Authors: Attell Brandon K.
Published: September 2017

Several longitudinal studies show that over time the American public has become more approving of euthanasia and suicide for terminally ill persons. Yet, these previous findings are limited because they derive from biased estimates of disaggregated hierarchical data. Using insights from life course sociological theory and cross-classified logistic regression models, I better account for this liberalization process by disentangling the age, period, and cohort effects that contribute to longitudinal changes in these attitudes. The results of the analysis point toward a continued liberalization of both attitudes over time, although the magnitude of change was greater for suicide compared with euthanasia. More fluctuation in the probability of supporting both measures was exhibited for the age and period effects over the cohort effects. In addition, age-based differences in supporting both measures were found between men and women and various religious affiliations.
Materially Constituting a Sustainable Food Transition: The Case of Vegan Eating Practice
Authors: Twine Richard
Published: September 2017

Informed by several intellectual turns and sub-areas of sociology this article explores veganism as a practice and argues that its nascent social normalisation can be partly explained by specific modes of material work with food performed by vegan practitioners. Based primarily on interview data with UK-based vegans the research identifies four modes of material constitution – material substitution, new food exploration, food creativity and taste transition – which are of particular importance in strengthening links between the elements of the practice. The article argues that these are significant for offering an explanation for the recent growth of vegan practitioners in UK society and that they are also of value to the broader endeavour of understanding sustainable food transitions and intervening for more sustainable food policies.
Planning centrality, market instruments: Governing Chinese urban transformation under state entrepreneurialism
Authors: Wu Fulong
Published: September 2017

This article defines the key parameters of ‘state entrepreneurialism’ as a governance form that combines planning centrality and market instruments, and interprets how these two seemingly contradictory tendencies are made coherent in the political economic structures of post-reform China. Through examining urban regeneration programmes (in particular ‘three olds regeneration’, sanjiu gaizao), the development of suburban new towns and the reconstruction of the countryside, the article details institutional configurations that make the Chinese case different from a neoliberal growth machine. The contradiction of these tendencies gives room to urban residents and migrants to develop their agencies and their own spaces, and creates informalities in Chinese urban transformation.
New Device for Intrinsic Hand Muscle Strength Measurement: An Alternative to Strain Gauge Handheld Dynamometer
Authors: Madhanagopal Jagannathan , Singh Om Prakash , Mohan Vikram , Sathasivam Kathiresan V. , Omar Abdul Hafidz , Abdul Kadir Mohammed Rafiq
Published: September 2017

An accurate measurement of intrinsic hand muscle strength (IHMS) is required by clinicians for effective clinical decision-making, diagnosis of certain diseases, and evaluation of the outcome of treatment. In practice, the clinicians use Intrins-o-meter and Rotterdam Intrinsic Hand Myometer for IHMS measurement. These are quite bulky, expensive, and possess poor interobserver reliability (37–52%) and sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to develop an alternative lightweight, accurate, cost-effective force measurement device with a simple electronic circuit and test its suitability for IHMS measurement. The device was constructed with ketjenblack/deproteinized natural rubber sensor, 1-MΩ potential divider, and Arduino Uno through the custom-written software. Then, the device was calibrated and tested for accuracy and repeatability within the force range of finger muscles (100 N). The 95% limit of agreement in accuracy from −1.95 N to 2.06 N for 10 to 100 N applied load and repeatability coefficient of ±1.91 N or 6.2% was achieved. Furthermore, the expenditure for the device construction was around US$ 53. For a practical demonstration, the device was tested among 16 participants for isometric strength measurement of the ulnar abductor and dorsal interossei. The results revealed that the performance of the device was suitable for IHMS measurement.
Surgical Treatment for Early Stage Glottic Carcinoma with Involvement of the Anterior Commissure
Authors: Wolber Philipp , Schwarz David , Stange Thoralf , Ortmann Magdalene , Balk Matthias , Anagiotos Andreas , Gostian Antoniu‐Oreste
Published: September 2017

Objective

Assessment of the value of transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) compared with open surgery (OS) for early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx with special regard to involvement of the anterior commissure (AC).

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Tertiary care otolaryngology clinic.

Subjects and Methods

Review of clinicopathological data of all patients with previously untreated T1a, T1b, and T2 glottic squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx who were consecutively enrolled over a 10‐year period (January 1, 1992, to December 31, 2002).

Results

Local recurrence rate was 20.4% (10 of 49) for TLM and 10.7% (3 of 28) for OS. Comparison of the TLM and OS groups regarding local recurrence rates revealed a significant difference only for tumors invading the AC (P =. 046). Within the TLM group, tumors with involvement of the AC showed a significantly higher recurrence rate (38.1%; 8 of 21) compared with tumors without involvement of the AC (7.1%; 2 of 28; P =. 008). In the OS group, involvement of the AC revealed no significant difference (P =. 45). The overall survival in both groups was comparable in both groups (TLM, 93.9%; OS, 89.3%; P =. 47).

Conclusion

TLM and OS are equally effective surgical treatments for early stage glottic cancer without involvement of the AC, with selection of treatment based on pretreatment endoscopy. However, TLM is associated with less morbidity. In case of invasion of the AC, OS yields lower recurrence rates.
The influence of finiteness and lightness on verb placement in L2 German: Comparing child and adult learners
Authors: Schimke Sarah , Dimroth Christine
Published: September 2017

In this study, verb placement with respect to negation is investigated in elicited production and elicited sentence imitation data collected with child second language (L2) learners of German. These data are compared to published data from adult L2 learners, which were collected with the same elicitation materials and were re-analysed for the current study. Results show that similar developmental stages can be observed in child and adult learners. In particular, contrary to previous findings, child L2 learners who had not yet fully acquired finiteness (subject–verb agreement) showed a preference for placing lexical verbs to the right of negation, rather than in a raised position to the left of negation. This pattern was observed for nonfinite and finite lexical verbs, but not for finite auxiliaries, suggesting that children, like adults, may pass through a phase where lightness influences verb placement preferences more strongly than does finiteness.
Retraction of Complaints Among Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence Living in Poverty in Nicaragua
Authors: Vázquez José Juan , Rivas Esther , Suarez Alexia C. , Panadero Sonia
Published: September 2017

Retraction among female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who report their abuser is a major problem in all societies. This article describes a study of 136 female victims of physical IPV living in poverty in Nicaragua, one of the countries with the lowest levels of development in Central America. This article analyses the aspects that differentiate women living in poverty who retracted after reporting IPV from those who did not. The results show that retraction is widespread among female victims of IPV living in poverty in León (Nicaragua). Although it is difficult to predict the retraction behaviour of the respondents, some differences between the women who retracted their complaint and those who did not were observed. A combination of five variables (including personal circumstances and beliefs about the intimate partner relationship and family) was the best alternative for discriminating between women who had retracted and those who had not.
Shaping entrepreneurial subjects
Authors: Mulcahy Niamh
Published: September 2017

The notion of a ‘financial subjectivity’ is fast becoming an important way of understanding how people rationalize the need to take risks in daily life as crucial to personal success. This paper therefore traces the structural changes and institutional fixes – that is, the institutional stabilization of crisis tendencies in capitalism – to understand how individual strategies for making ends meet have been shaped by finance. In particular, I look at regulation theory’s depictions of the ‘ideology of shareholder value’ as partially responsible for the flourishing business sector in which competition and the threat of takeover led to the prioritization of corporate performance over job security and workers’ benefits. However, it is also necessary to understand the particular mechanisms that enable independence from the welfare state at the level of the household, in the form of expanded borrowing and financial services, which I explore further in this paper.
Technological Innovations in Large-Scale Teaching: Five Roots of Massive Open Online Courses
Authors: Sanchez-Gordon Sandra , Luján-Mora Sergio
Published: September 2017

There are millions of people worldwide—of all ages, conditions, backgrounds, and motivations—with significant learning needs. Unfortunately, traditional education is not efficient enough to meet these needs. That is, the available educational resources are not fully exploited to help cover the demand. There is an increasing need for large-scale access to cost-effective and high-quality education. The use of technological innovations for large-scale teaching might be part of the solution. In this context, the goals of this study were to identify technological innovations that can be considered historical milestones in large-scale teaching, to systematize experts’ opinions about the topic, and to propose strategies for the successful implementation of massive open online courses (MOOCs). The researchers identified and analyzed a documentary corpus and found that, in the use of technologies for large-scale teaching, there has been a parallel evolution that have led to the emergence of MOOCs and includes five roots: distance education and online learning, testing or teaching machines and computer-assisted instruction, learning management systems, open education and open educational resources, and online massive teaching. The researchers propose three strategies for the successful implementation of MOOCs: careful consideration of the c/x MOOC pedagogical spectrum characteristics, selection of an appropriate MOOC model, and management of implementation challenges.
Don’t get mad: The disconnect between religious discrimination and individual perceptions of government
Authors: Fox Jonathan , Bader Chris , McClure Jennifer M.
Published: September 2017

This study examines whether objective discrimination against religious minorities causes individual members of a minority to form grievances and engage in political activity against the government using data from the World Values Survey and Religion and State-Minorities datasets. We find that higher levels of objective discrimination do not predict more grievances and organizing activity. This contradicts predictions made by relative deprivation theory but is consistent with a social psychology literature which finds a “personal/group discrimination discrepancy.” That is, objective discrimination often has little influence on grievances expressed by individuals. Taking these findings, along with the failure of the empirical literature to support relative deprivation theory, the relative success of the grievances-based literature, the arguments of the mobilization literature, and a brief case study we argue that the key factor explaining collective action is the effort of group leaders to mobilize the grievances of group members.
Dangerous neighborhoods: State behavior and the spread of ethnic conflict
Authors: Konaev Margarita , Brathwaite Kirstin J.H.
Published: September 2017

This article argues that the spread of ethnic conflict across international borders is a result of purposive repressive state action combined with political opportunity which allows the ethnic group to mobilize in response. We test our argument using a bivariate probit model to simultaneously estimate the risk of repression escalation and the spread of ethnic conflict (1976–2009), and find that the likelihood of both increases in the presence of relatively large, territorially concentrated transnational ethnic groups, and that nationalist governments are more likely to escalate repression amidst nearby ethnic violence. Political crises also exacerbate the risk of ethnic conflict spread.
National identity, religious tolerance, and group conflict: Insights from a survey experiment in Pakistan
Authors: Kalin Michael , Siddiqui Niloufer
Published: September 2017

Can highlighting the national contributions of a religiously marginalized group increase tolerance toward that group, even when its presence in the national identity is disputed? Research shows that prejudice can be overcome by emphasizing a superordinate identity to which members of different groups belong. Our paper investigates whether the provision of information about a religious minority group’s contribution to the nation—and in the process, reiterating to citizens the broader identity to which they all belong—can increase tolerance toward members of that group. We test the effect of randomly exposing survey respondents to factual information about Pakistan’s first Nobel Prize winner, a member of the widely ostracized Ahmadi minority sect, on support for pro-Ahmadi policies. We find that respondents overall are more willing to express tolerant views toward Ahmadis, but that this effect is attenuated (and in some cases, reversed) among respondents potentially alienated from the national identity.
Intervention and Revision: Expertise and Interaction in Text Mediation
Authors: Luo Na , Hyland Ken
Published: September 2017

Many EAL (English as an Additional Language) scholars enlist text mediators’ support when faced with the challenges of writing for international publication. However, the contributions these individuals are able to make in improving scientific manuscripts remains unclear, especially when language professionals such as English teachers do this work. In this article, we explore this topic by examining how three mediators employed their very different expertise and brought different processes to bear on the same discussion section of a medical manuscript written by a novice scholar in China. We find that successfully mediated texts are often the result of an interplay between the mediator’s expertise and the relationship between the participants. Our findings contradict those of previous studies that question the role of English teachers in this process and have the potential to inform both text mediation practices and revision studies.
Anxiety and Depression in Cyberbullied College Students: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Jenaro Cristina , Flores Noelia , Frías Cinthia Patricia
Published: September 2017

Cyberbullying is a worldwide phenomenon and its effects can be severe. To better understand the personal and situational factors in cyberbullying, we approach it from the perspective of the general aggression model. More specifically, we analyze the medium and long-term impact of past experiences of cyberbullying on university students. We also compare their psychological adjustment with peers who have not been cyberbullied by examining the recall of cyberbullying while attending secondary school of 1,593 university students. Participants from a Spanish University ( N = 680) and a Bolivian University ( N = 913) were invited to participate by filling in an online survey. It included the School Violence Questionnaire-Revised, CUVE-R, to assess school and classroom climate in relation to bullying and cyberbullying, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results show that among the participants, 5.1% reported having suffered cyberbullying and 19.3% reported having been a bystander of cyberbullying, with similar percentages between universities. Canonical correlation suggests that variables related to school climate best explain the variability among participants who have and have not been cyberbullied. Those who have been cyberbullied scored significantly higher on anxiety and depression symptoms as well. Being a bystander of cyberbullying was not associated to significant differences on psychological adjustment (i.e., anxiety and depression). Results indicated that experiencing cyberbullying in secondary school is associated to lower psychological adjustment years later as university students. School climate variables contribute more strongly to identifying victims of cyberbullying. These results support the need for psychosocial interventions from a broader perspective, addressing the different dimensions of this phenomenon and its impact on victims.
Business model framework applications in health care: A systematic review
Authors: Fredriksson Jens Jacob , Mazzocato Pamela , Muhammed Rafiq , Savage Carl
Published: September 2017

It has proven to be a challenge for health care organizations to achieve the Triple Aim. In the business literature, business model frameworks have been used to understand how organizations are aligned to achieve their goals. We conducted a systematic literature review with an explanatory synthesis approach to understand how business model frameworks have been applied in health care. We found a large increase in applications of business model frameworks during the last decade. E-health was the most common context of application. We identified six applications of business model frameworks: business model description, financial assessment, classification based on pre-defined typologies, business model analysis, development, and evaluation. Our synthesis suggests that the choice of business model framework and constituent elements should be informed by the intent and context of application. We see a need for harmonization in the choice of elements in order to increase generalizability, simplify application, and help organizations realize the Triple Aim.
Development of a new method for ATFCM based on trajectory-based operations
Authors: Gatsinzi Dany , Saez Nieto Francisco J , Madani Irfan
Published: September 2017

This paper discusses a possibility to evolve the current Air Traffic Flow and Capacity Management towards a more proactive approach. This new method focuses on reducing the expected probability of air traffic control intervention based on “hot spot” identification and mitigation at strategic level by applying subliminal changes on the times of arrival at the crossing or merging points (junctions). The concept is fully aligned with the trajectory-based operation principles. The approach assumes that the changes on the times of arrival only demand small speed changes from the involved aircraft. In this study, the hot spots are defined as clusters of aircraft expected to arrive to the junctions. Two aircraft are said to be in the same cluster if their proximity and closure rate are below a given threshold. Some exercises are proposed and solved by applying this method. The obtained results show its ability to remove the potential conflicts by applying simple linear programming. This approach seeks to change the current capacity limiting factor, established by the number of aircraft occupying simultaneously each sector, to another parameter where the level of traffic complexity, flowing towards junctions, is identified and mitigated at strategic level. The speed changes, used as the control variable and computed before or during the flight, are designed to provide an adjustment on aircraft’s required time of arrival at the junctions in order to have a de-randomised and well-behaved (conflict free) traffic. This will enable improvements in airspace capacity/ safety binomial. It is recognised that this measure alone is unable to produce a conflict free airspace, and then other collaborative and coordinated actions, such as adjusting and swapping departing times at the departing airports (before the aircraft are taking off), offsetting some flights from nominal route, and allowing multi-agent separation management (while they are in flight) should be applied together with this method.
Pregnancy planning preferences among people and couples affected by human immunodeficiency virus: Piloting a discrete choice experiment
Authors: Loutfy Mona , Kennedy V Logan , Sanandaji Morvarid , Barry Fatimatou , Ongoiba Fanta , Muchenje Marvelous , Tharao Wangari , Regier Dean A
Published: September 2017

Decision-making related to pregnancy planning is complex and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may further complicate the process. With increasing rates of pregnancy among individuals affected by HIV, the need to understand decision-making is imperative. The primary objectives of this pilot study were to confirm the feasibility of using discrete choice experimentation (DCE) to elicit an understanding of this process and to determine the acceptability of the choice factors that were included in two novel DCEs, while gathering a preliminary understanding of preference. The choice attributes were risk of vertical HIV transmission, risk of horizontal HIV transmission, cost, probability of conception, method of conception, and travel time. Thirteen respondents completed a DCE for serodiscordant couples in which the female partner was HIV-positive, and 12 respondents completed a DCE for seroconcordant couples. All respondents’ utility for an increased chance of a successful pregnancy was positive and statistically significant. In the serodiscordant dyads, the attributes of risk of horizontal transmission, risk of vertical transmission, a 5-h travel time to clinic, and cost were significantly associated with decreased utility. In the seroconcordant dyads, only the attributes of chance of risk of vertical transmission and cost were significantly associated with decreased utility. The serodiscordant dyads preferred home insemination with a syringe and the seroconcordant couples preferred conception methods within fertility clinics, over condomless sex with timed ovulation. On average, participants were willing to pay more for greater chance of conception and less willing to pay for increased risk of transmission. Couples affected by HIV are willing to participate in a DCE and the attributes that were included all seem relevant except risk of vertical transmission. There are various real-life trade-offs that are made during pregnancy planning with HIV and better understanding of these can be useful for clinicians during preconception counseling.
Modelling Credit Default in Microfinance—An Indian Case Study
Authors: Viswanathan P. K. , Shanthi S. K.
Published: September 2017

Credit score models have been successfully applied in a traditional credit card industry and by mortgage firms to determine defaulting customer from the non-defaulting customer. In the light of growing competition in the microfinance industry, over-indebtedness and other factors, the industry has come under increased regulatory supervision. Our study provides evidence from a large microfinance institutions (MFI) in India, and we have applied both the credit scoring method and neural network (NN) method and compared the results. In this article, we demonstrate the capability of credit scoring models for an Indian-based microfinance firm in terms of predicting default probability as well the relative importance of each of its associated drivers. A logistic regression model and NN have been used as the predictive analytic tools for sifting the key drivers of default.
The Dynamics of Catastrophic and Impoverishing Health Spending in Indonesia: How Well Does the Indonesian Health Care Financing System Perform?
Authors: Aji Budi , Mohammed Shafiu , Haque Md Aminul , Allegri Manuela De
Published: September 2017

Our study examines the incidence and intensity of catastrophic and impoverishing health spending in Indonesia. A panel data set was used from 4 waves of the Indonesian Family Life Surveys 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2007. Catastrophic health expenditure was measured by calculating the ratio of out-of-pocket payments to household income. Then, we calculated poverty indicators as a measure of impoverishing spending in the health care financing system. Head count, overshoot, and mean positive overshoot for each given threshold in 2000 were lower than other surveyed periods; otherwise, fraction headcount in 2007 of households were the higher. Between 1993 and 2007, the percentage of households in poverty decreased, both in gross and net of health payments. However, in each year, the percentages of households in poverty using net health payments were higher than the gross. The estimates of poverty gap, normalized poverty gap, and normalized mean positive gap decreased across the survey periods. The health care financing system performance has shown positive evidence for financial protection offerings. A sound relationship between improvements of health care financing performance and the existing health reform demonstrated a mutual reinforcement, which should be maintained to promote equity and fairness in health care financing in Indonesia.
Anticholinergic burden in older inpatients on psychotropic medication: do we care?
Authors: Lee Mei Shiang , Kisely Steve , Zolotarev Boris , Warren Andrew , Henderson Jack , George Manoj
Published: September 2017

Objectives:

This quality activity explored the prescribing patterns in an Older Persons Mental Health Inpatient Unit in order to establish whether the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale (ACB Scale) score on admission was reviewed to minimise anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) while maintaining therapeutic effects.

Methods:

A retrospective electronic chart review of 50 discharged patients for any documented ACB review by the treating team, as well as the ACB Scale scores on admission and discharge.

Findings:

ACB was rarely considered. On average, the total ACB Scale scores on admission and discharge were high. At the time of discharge, the proportion of patients on at least one anticholinergic medication had significantly increased, and only 10% of patients were on no anticholinergic medication. Approximately 50% of patients had an increased ACB Scale score by discharge as opposed to only 8% who had reduced scores.

Conclusions:

Anticholinergic polypharmacy should be minimised when prescribing to the elderly population to reduce potential anticholinergic burden.
Characterization of volatile compounds produced by Lactobacillus helveticus strains in a hard cheese model
Authors: Cuffia Facundo , Bergamini Carina V , Wolf Irma V , Hynes Erica R , Perotti María C
Published: September 2017

Starter cultures of Lactobacillus helveticus used in hard cooked cheeses play an important role in flavor development. In this work, we studied the capacity of three strains of L. helveticus, two autochthonous (Lh138 and Lh209) and one commercial (LhB02), to grow and to produce volatile compounds in a hard cheese extract. Bacterial counts, pH, profiles of organic acids, carbohydrates, and volatile compounds were analyzed during incubation of extracts for 14 days at 37 ℃. Lactobacilli populations were maintained at 106 CFU ml−1 for Lh138, while decreases of approx. 2 log orders were found for LhB02 and Lh209. Both Lh209 and LhB02 slightly increased the acetic acid content whereas mild increase in lactic acid was produced by Lh138. The patterns of volatiles were dependent on the strain which reflect their distinct enzymatic machineries: LhB02 and Lh209 produced a greater diversity of compounds, while Lh138 was the least producer strain. Extracts inoculated with LhB02 and Lh 209 were characterized by ketones, esters, alcohols, aldehydes, and acids, whereas in the extracts with Lh138 the main compounds belonged to aromatic, aldehydes, and ketones groups. Therefore, Lh209 and LhB02 could represent the best cheese starters to improve and intensify the flavor, and even a starter composed by combinations of LhB02 or Lh209 with Lh138 could also be a strategy to diversify cheese flavor.
A Case of a Very Elongated Styloid Process
Authors: Liu YaLi , Yang Huaian , Cui Xiangguo
Published: September 2017

Eagle syndrome is characterized by recurrent pain in the oropharynx and face due to an elongated styloid process or calcified stylohyoid ligament. In this article, we experienced a case of an elongated styloid process which is very rare in size and detailed treatment process. The patient was a 53-year-old Chinese woman with a chief complaint of frequent episodes of radiating pain in left preauricular region for 2 years. An intraoral approach was chosen to shorten part of her styloid process, and the chief complaint disappeared immediately after the operation.
Diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders in Germany: Time trends in administrative prevalence and diagnostic stability
Authors: Bachmann Christian J , Gerste Bettina , Hoffmann Falk
Published: September 2017

For Germany, no data on trends in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses are available. The primary aim of this study was to establish the time trends in the administrative prevalence of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The second aim was to assess the stability of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses over time. We analysed administrative outpatient data (2006–2012) from a nationwide health insurance fund and calculated the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses for each year, stratified by age and sex. Additionally, we studied a cohort with a first-time diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in 2007 through 2012, investigating the percentage of retained autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. From 2006 to 2012, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses in 0- to 24-year-olds increased from 0.22% to 0.38%. In insurees with a first-time autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in 2007, this diagnosis was carried on in all years through 2012 in 33.0% (The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision diagnoses: F84.0/F84.1/F84.5) and 11.2% (F84.8/F84.9), respectively. In Germany, like in other countries, there has been an increase in the administrative prevalence of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. Yet, prevalences are still lower than in some other Western countries. The marked percentage of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses which were not retained could indicate a significant portion of autism spectrum disorder misdiagnoses, which might contribute to rising autism spectrum disorder prevalences.
Support for adults with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment: Systematic review
Authors: Lorenc Theo , Rodgers Mark , Marshall David , Melton Hollie , Rees Rebecca , Wright Kath , Sowden Amanda
Published: September 2017

Adults with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment may benefit from a range of support services. This article presents the results of a systematic review assessing the effectiveness of supportive interventions for adults with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment. A total of 32 studies were included; most focused on younger male participants. Although evidence was lacking for most types of intervention, employment programmes and social skills training were found to be effective for more proximal outcomes such as social skills. Evidence that any intervention improves mental health or well-being was very limited. Most interventions focused on mitigating specific deficits, rather than on providing broader support. Further research is needed on the effectiveness of supportive interventions such as advocacy and mentoring.
The effect of being imitated on empathy for pain in adults with high-functioning autism: Disturbed self–other distinction leads to altered empathic responding
Authors: De Coster Lize , Wiersema Jan R , Deschrijver Eliane , Brass Marcel
Published: September 2017

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is associated with problems in empathy. Recent research suggests that impaired control over self–other overlap based on motor representations in individuals with autism spectrum disorder might underlie these difficulties. In order to investigate the relationship of self–other distinction and empathy for pain in high-functioning autism and matched controls, we manipulated self–other distinction by using a paradigm in which participants are either imitated or not by a hand on a computer screen. A strong pain stimulus is then inflicted on the observed hand. Behavioral and physiological results in this study showed that overall affective responses while watching pain movies were the same in adults with high-functioning autism as in controls. Furthermore, controls showed higher affective responding after being imitated during the whole experiment, replicating previous studies. Adults with high-functioning autism, however, showed increased empathic responses over time after being imitated. Further exploratory analyses suggested that while affective responding was initially lower after being imitated compared to not being imitated, affective responding in the latter part of the experiment was higher after being imitated. These results shed new light on empathic abilities in high-functioning autism and on the role of control over self–other representational sharing.
Change detection of meaningful objects in real-world scenes in adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Vanmarcke Steven , Noens Ilse , Steyaert Jean , Wagemans Johan
Published: September 2017

Previous research suggested that adolescents with autism spectrum disorder are better than typically developing children in detecting local, non-social details within complex visual scenes. To better understand these differences, we used the image database by Sareen et al., containing the size and on-screen location information of all changes in the images, in a change blindness paradigm. In this task, an original and a modified real-world scene, separated by a gray blank, alternate repeatedly until observers detect the change. Our results indicated that participants with and without autism spectrum disorder performed similarly when scenes were presented upright, but that only the performance of the typically developing adolescents became worse in the inverted scene condition. In this condition, the correlation between performance and both image difficulty and change predictability was significantly weaker in autism spectrum disorder than in typically developing participants. We suggest that these findings result from a more locally biased search strategy in people with autism spectrum disorder, compared to typically developing participants, in tasks in which the rapid processing of global information does not help to improve change detection performance. Finally, although we found change location, change size, and age to influence participant performance, none of these was directly linked to the observed group-level differences.
Perspective-taking is two-sided: Misunderstandings between people with Asperger’s syndrome and their family members
Authors: Heasman Brett , Gillespie Alex
Published: September 2017

Misunderstandings are social in nature, always having two sides. Yet the misunderstandings experienced by people with Asperger’s syndrome are usually studied in terms of the individual with a diagnosis, with less emphasis on social relations. We use a two-sided methodology to map out misunderstandings within 22 dyads (n = 44) consisting of people with Asperger’s syndrome and their family members. Both sides of the relationship were asked about 12 topics in terms of one’s rating of Self, one’s rating of Other and one’s predicted rating by Other. The findings show that people with Asperger’s are able to predict lower scores from family members, despite disagreeing with their view, and that family members often over-estimate the extent to which their relatives with Asperger’s syndrome are egocentrically anchored in their own perspective. The research demonstrates that a two-sided methodology is viable, and it uses it to identify how representations of Asperger’s syndrome can both support and hinder social understanding within relationships affected by Asperger’s.
‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts
Authors: Mutibwa Daniel H
Published: September 2017

Widely known to promote broader involvement in the processes which define the arts and culture, community engagement work in the performing arts – despite employing a set of commonly recognised norms – has tended to be conceptualised differently both historically and contemporarily. Drawing on ethnographic research – particularly semi-structured qualitative interview accounts of numerous British practitioners with a track record of work in the sector, this article explores these different conceptualisations. This article finds that it is the actual ‘work that matters’ and not what it is named, and that the diversity of understandings and definitions among sectoral practitioners is reflective of evolving thinking, values and practice, something that may be destabilising for better or worse.
Engineering a platform: The construction of interfaces, users, organizational roles, and the division of labor
Authors: Kelkar Shreeharsh
Published: September 2017

Internet “platforms” like Facebook and YouTube often avoid accountability and regulation by claiming that they are mere software infrastructures with little oversight over their users. Scholars in media and communication studies have shown that these platform companies’ control over interface and algorithm design gives them a disproportionately large power, compared to their users, to fundamentally reshape politically salient categories like the “social” or the “innovative.” This article argues that this power of platforms stems from their ability to shape organizational roles and the division of labor. Based on an ethnographic study of the edX organization, I describe how the architects at edX transformed it from an educational company into a platform by building digital interfaces and formatting multiple organizational roles (their own, those of their “users”) to engineer a dichotomy between “software” and “education.” I suggest that platform studies should expand its concept of governance to include the socio-technical-discursive work of engineering organizational roles and the division of labor.
The influence of pilot injection on high-temperature ignition processes and early flame structure in a high-speed direct injection diesel engine
Authors: Park Cheolwoong , Busch Stephen
Published: September 2017

Simultaneous high-speed natural luminosity and OH* chemiluminescence imaging is used to characterize high-temperature ignition processes in conventional diesel combustion with a pilot-main injection strategy in a single-cylinder, light-duty optical diesel engine. High-speed imaging provides temporally and spatially resolved information in terms of high-temperature ignition processes and flame structure during the combustion. Using these imaging measurements, the high-temperature inflammation and the diffusion flame development processes are analyzed. The chemiluminescence signal shows a hot, reactive mixture, which gradually decreases after the peak release of the pilot combustion and lasts long after the apparent heat release has ended. Therefore, when the reactive pilot mixture exists near the main injection jets, the high-temperature ignition of the main injection is apparently initiated through interactions with the reactive pilot mixture. High-temperature autoignition, another process by which ignition of the main injection occurs, is observed in main injection plumes where the chemiluminescence signal of the reactive pilot mixture becomes very weak or is absent at the start of main injection. As the reaction of the main injection continues, the non-premixed main injection jet structure is developed and the high-temperature reacting region expands throughout the jet.
Consumption and teleoaffective formations: Consumer culture and commercial communications
Authors: Welch Daniel
Published: September 2017

This article considers the potential of a novel practice theoretical concept – teleoaffective formation – for the study of consumption. The concept builds on Schatzki’s social ontology of practice. Teleoaffective formations are configurations across multiple practices that enjoin those practices to common ends, ordering their affective engagements and offering general understandings through which participants make sense of the projects they pursue. This article argues that the approach affords consideration of large-scale configurations of practice and discourse and, therefore, enables re-engagement, from a practice theory perspective, with an earlier generation of concerns with consumer culture – including issues of cultural intermediation, consumption norms and the motivational structures of consumption. The distinctive features of the approach are illustrated through three successive teleoaffective formations that link the field of commercial communications (advertising, marketing, public relations, etc.) with consumer culture. The first – ‘consumer sovereignty’ – originates in the 1920s and 1930s and finds its fullest expression in the mid-20th century. The second – ‘emancipatory consumerism’ – emerged in the late 1960s and came to characterise late 20th-century consumer culture. These are briefly sketched. The third, which I propose to call ‘promotional sustainable consumption’, is a nascent formation of discourse and practice relating brands, sustainability and consumption. This formation is explored in more depth. The periodisation should not be understood in terms of epochal shifts but as an ongoing, recombinatory process. The three formations represent reconfigurations between heterogeneous elements, inter alia: general understandings, teleological orientations and affective engagements. Each successive formation informs novel understandings of the consumer and provides cultural resources for transformations in consumption norms. Each also provides resources for capitalist legitimation. The article concludes with a brief discussion of some theoretical and methodological implications of the approach.
Bayesian quantile regression analysis for continuous data with a discrete component at zero
Authors: Santos Bruno , Bolfarine Heleno
Published: September 2017

In this work, we propose a Bayesian quantile regression method to response variables with mixed discrete-continuous distribution with a point mass at zero, where these observations are believed to be left censored or true zeros. We combine the information provided by the quantile regression analysis to present a more complete description of the probability of being censored given that the observed value is equal to zero, while also studying the conditional quantiles of the continuous part. We build up a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method from related models in the literature to obtain samples from the posterior distribution. We demonstrate the suitability of the model to analyse this censoring probability with a simulated example and two applications with real data. The first is a well-known dataset from the econometrics literature about women labour in Britain, and the second considers the statistical analysis of expenditures with durable goods, considering information from Brazil.
The Prevalence and Correlates of Partner Violence Used and Experienced by Adults With Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Call to Action
Authors: Bowen Erica , Swift Charlotte
Published: September 2017

It has been suggested that individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are at increased risk of violence perpetration and victimization. A systematic review was undertaken to identify and critically evaluate the existing empirical research concerning the use and experience of partner violence by adults with IDs. In total, six poor-quality articles were identified: five of which adopted qualitative methods and one of which adopted a mixed-methods approach, comprising a total of 93 participants (48 women, 45 men: 1 perpetrator, 92 victims). The qualitative data were extracted from the studies and synthesized. A partner violence victimization rate of 60% was identified in one nonrepresentative sample. Two superordinate themes emerged from the qualitative data: nature of partner violence experience and help seeking. Children were the cross-cutting theme within the two superordinate themes. Participants reported experiencing a range of physical, emotional, and sexual violence leading to serious injury and psychological consequences. Participants reported experiences of positive and negative help-seeking reactions from professionals and specific requirements of services for victims with IDs. Children were identified as involved in the experience of abuse, the impact of abuse, and decisions to seek help. The findings indicate that training of clinical staff to detect partner violence is needed. In addition, adults with IDs need education concerning healthy relationships. Research is needed to better understand the difference between “challenging behavior” that is behavior displayed by an individual which challenges services, family members, and carers. Such behavior is more common in individuals with a severe ID for whom it would not be appropriate to be dealt with through the criminal justice system, and partner violence, in order to develop appropriate interventions for victims and perpetrators with ID.