bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Use of Health Information Technology in Publicly-Funded U. S. Substance Abuse Treatment Agencies
Authors: Wisdom Jennifer P. , Ford James H. , McCarty Dennis
Published: February 2015

Drug and alcohol treatment agencies are challenged to improve their infrastructure to meet growing technological and organizational demands. Health care reform and increased emphasis on performance monitoring in the United States are leading to improvements in health information technology. We assess literature to: (1) survey opportunities for health information technology for publicly-funded substance abuse treatment; (2) describe the use of electronic medical records in U.S. substance use treatment programs; (3) identify barriers and facilitators to implementing technology in substance abuse treatment programs; and (4) discuss applications of these concepts to private and international substance abuse treatment. Although these technologies hold promise to improve outcomes in the areas of cost-effectiveness, provider time savings, and quality improvement, substantial barriers exist to implementing health information technology in substance abuse treatment programs. Increased incentives, evidence, and implementation guidance can facilitate health information technology infrastructure improvement in substance abuse treatment to increase competitiveness in the U.S. health care market and improve the quality of care.
Small Scale Domestic Cannabis Cultivation: An Anonymous Web Survey among 659 Cannabis Cultivators in Belgium
Authors: Decorte Tom
Published: February 2015

The shift to (inter)regional production, trade, and domestic cultivation has become an irreversible international trend. Until now, the focus of most empirical work has been on large-scale, commercially-oriented and professionally-organized segments of the cannabis industry, often based on police data and on the perspective of law enforcement agencies. This article presents some significant findings from a large-scale study on a less visible and less studied segment of the market, i.e. small-scale cultivators, based on an anonymous web survey among 659 cannabis cultivators. The article discusses the patterns of cultivation, some technical aspects of growing operations, (dis)advantages of cannabis cultivation, and perceived quality and strength of homegrown cannabis. The author argues that small-scale or amateur home growers constitute a significant segment of the cannabis market, both in a quantitative and in a qualitative perspective, and points to important differences between this sample obtained online and those obtained through traditional methods in other studies.
Perception of Hepatitis C Risk among Injecting Drug Users Who Obtain Injecting Equipment from Pharmacies in Western Australia
Authors: Wilson Hannah , Bryant Joanne
Published: February 2015

This study describes perceptions of hepatitis C (HCV) risk among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Western Australia (WA), and seeks to determine the relationship between perceptions of risk and injecting equipment sharing practices. One hundred and forty five participants recruited from 30 high-distributing pharmacies throughout WA completed surveys during a two-week period. Respondents reported that they did not see themselves as highly susceptible to HCV and did not believe HCV was a severe condition. Forty-three percent of respondents reported sharing injecting equipment in the past month. In multivariate analysis, sharing injecting equipment was associated with lower self-efficacy for sterile equipment use, being unemployed, and being male. These findings suggest that high self-efficacy protects against sharing injecting equipment with others. Psychosocial factors warrant close scrutiny and attention in future research and HCV prevention programs for PWID.
Guilty or Angry? The Politics of Emotion in Accounts of Hepatitis C Transmission
Authors: Seear Kate , Fraser Suzanne , Lenton Emily
Published: February 2015

In accounts of hepatitis C, subtle distinctions are frequently made between “innocent” and “guilty” forms of transmission. Although such distinctions have been extensively critiqued, they continue to manifest in indirect ways, such as the articulation of emotions. We argue for a critical approach to the way in which emotions function in accounts of hepatitis C by analyzing textual accounts of hepatitis C, and interviews with people who have hepatitis C in Australia.

Drawing upon the work of theorist Sara Ahmed, we argue that emotions work to constitute subjects, objects, and collectivities, including some individuals and excluding others. In this regard, the articulation of emotion can contribute to the marginalization and stigmatization of people living with hepatitis C. We also explore ways people with hepatitis C negotiate frameworks of guilt/responsibility. We conclude by considering how health promotion and policy texts might better address emotional responses to diagnosis without reproducing stigmatizing assuptions.
Trends in Alcohol Consumption and Violence in the Nordic Countries 1960–2000: Exploring Some Puzzles
Authors: Österberg Esa , Karlsson Thomas
Published: February 2015

Patterns of drinking, especially drinking to intoxication, play an important role in violent offenses, and there are studies that indicate a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and violence. The strength of this relationship is, however, culturally dependent, and the amount of alcohol drunk and patterns of drinking are not the only factors affecting violence rates. This article examines if increases in alcohol consumption in the Nordic countries in the 1960–2000 period coincide with increases in violence. First alcohol consumption in the Nordic countries is described, after which trends in violence are examined using both deaths in violent crimes and assaults as indicators of violence. Next, indicators of violence are related to alcohol consumption. The article concludes that in the 1960–2000 period violence in the Nordic countries has increased at about the same pace as total alcohol consumption, but not faster than alcohol consumption, as the figures of assault known to the police indicate.
Whether Men or Women are Responsible for the Size of Gender Gap in Alcohol Consumption Depends on Alcohol Measure: A Study across the United States
Authors: Roberts Sarah C. M.
Published: February 2015

Smaller gender differences in alcohol consumption are often interpreted to mean something about women's drinking, for example, that women are increasing consumption to men's levels. However, prior research is unclear. This study sought to determine whether variation in size of gender differences in alcohol consumption across the United States was due to male or female consumption. Data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to test the hypothesis that variation in size of gender differences would be associated with women's, but not men's, consumption. Pearson's correlations examined associations between gender-specific values of, and gender differences in, consumption in each state. The size of gender difference was associated with proportion of female, but not male, drinkers. Conversely, size of gender difference was associated with male frequency, five-plus frequency, volume, and risky drinking, but not female frequency, five-plus frequency, volume, or risky drinking. These findings suggest that smaller gender differences in cross-sectional studies cannot be interpreted as due to women's alcohol consumption.
Implementation Effectiveness of an Alcohol-Screening and Intervention Project at Two Hospitals in Regional Victoria, Australia
Authors: Berends Lynda , Roberts Bridget
Published: February 2015

The evaluation examined the implementation effectiveness and sustainability of a screening, brief intervention (BI), and referral into treatment pilot project at two hospitals. Data included screening and BI records, stakeholder consultations (7), and a survey of nurses (142). Almost half the patients (22,810, 43%) in 2006–2009 completed an alcohol screen. Of 1,407 medium- or high-risk patients, 359 (36%) at medium and 194 (48%) at high risk received brief interventions (BIs). A third of those at high risk (133, 33%,) received referrals, and of the 56 who accepted a referral, 23 (41%) engaged in treatment. Nurses felt the project made progress against objectives; 17% reported an improved attitude to this work. Barriers included staff turnover, concern about providing BIs, policy shortcomings, and lack of time. Positive supports included staff capacity, training, support from senior staff, and project integration. Screening implementation was successful, but BI and referral provision less so. Dedicated resources and policy and workforce development would support implementation effectiveness.
College Alcohol-Control Policies and Students' Alcohol Consumption: A Matter of Exposure?
Authors: Demers Andrée , Beauregard Nancy , Gliksman Louis
Published: February 2015

The aims of this study were twofold: a) to investigate the impact of higher education institutional alcohol-control policies on students' drinking, and b) to determine whether a differential exposure to such policies based on students' place of residence (on/off campus) was a significant source of variability in their drinking practices and patterns. The data was drawn from the 2004 Canadian Campus Survey, a large epidemiological survey examining the social determinants of addiction and mental health among full-time undergraduates enrolled in Canadian universities (N = 4,358). Multilevel analyses performed on samples stratified by place of residence evaluated differences in explanatory factors for drinking practices (probability of drinking on campus) and patterns (usual drinking quantity). Overall, alcohol-control policies distinctively contributed to explain outcomes among campus residents and off-campus residents. Results suggest that the place of residence is an important determinant modulating students' drinking outcomes and interactions with higher education institutions.
Reducing Risk, Producing Order: The Surprisingly Disciplinary World of Needle Exchange
Authors: McLean Katherine
Published: February 2015

Emphasizing the reduction of risk over the cessation of drug use, needle exchange in the United States is often condemned for coddling its participants. Declining the punitive measures or unwavering teleology of criminal justice and drug treatment approaches, harm-reduction measures in general are faulted by naysayers for their refusal to establish clear normative boundaries for behavior modification. This article will seek to subvert such critiques by describing the ways in which disciplinary technologies suffused one needle exchange program in New York City. Drawing upon 1 year of participant observation at “Bronx Harm Reduction,” this article will consider how the “minor procedures” of disciplinary power first characterized by Foucault (1977) worked to shape and organize different user bodies in needle exchange; it will further employ the work of Mitchell Dean to reflect upon the connections between program-level “technologies of agency” and government-led “technologies of performance.” While conceding the overarching disciplinary transformation of late harm reduction, this article is specifically interested in the ramifications of this trajectory within one specific time and place. Namely, it postulates that attempts to “raise the bar” within a low-threshold program may serve to alienate or explicitly exclude certain service users.
Relationship Between Amino Acid and Energy Intake and Long‐Term Growth and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Very Low Birth Weight Infants
Authors: Yang Jinghui , Chang Serena Su Ying , Poon Woei Bing
Published: February 2015

Background: Inadequate nutrition may contribute to adverse neurodevelopmental and growth outcomes in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of infants born weighing <1250 g between 2009 and 2010 in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit. The aim was to investigate whether there was a correlation between the amount of amino acid and calories received in the first 4 weeks of life and neurodevelopment and growth at 2 years. Results: Parenteral amino acid intake in week 2 of life correlated with higher language and motor scores on the 2‐year Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition (Bayley III). Conversely, higher total amino acid intake during week 1 of life (≥1.5 g/kg/d) was associated with a shorter duration of hospitalization, shorter intensive care stay, fewer days receiving mechanical ventilation, fewer days receiving supplemental oxygen, and a lower incidence of chronic lung disease (CLD). Higher caloric intake in the first 4 weeks correlated strongly with shorter duration of hospitalization, shorter intensive care stay, fewer days on the ventilator, and fewer days receiving supplemental oxygen. In patients with CLD, week 1 and 2 parenteral and total amino acid intake correlated with higher cognitive and motor scores on the Bayley III at 2 years old. Weeks 1–4 amino acid and calorie intake correlated with fewer days on the ventilator, fewer days of supplemental oxygen, and fewer days of hospitalization. Conclusion: Amino acid intake within the first weeks of life correlated positively with neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years, and patients with CLD were found to be particularly at risk. Caloric intake may affect protein accretion.
Sharing the past and future among adolescents and their parents
Authors: Shirai Toshiaki , Higata Atsuko
Published: February 2015

This study explored how sharing past and future life events among late adolescents and their parents influenced the quality of their own time perspectives. Triads ( N =104) of female students and their parents described three important life events from their past and future. The results showed that adolescents who shared past and future life events predicted a positive impact on their time perspective, whereas parents displayed a more complex dynamism that included the impact of sharing the past on the future and vice versa. It is suggested that the impact of sharing past and future life events varies according to the age group.
Iranian Diaspora in Maritime Asia: A Study of Sixteenth Century Portuguese Sources
Authors: Thomaz Luís Filipe F.R.
Published: February 2015

In the preceding article,2 the data provided by the Portuguese sixteenth century sources on the Iranian presence in the Deccan sultanates has been analyzed. In a similar vein, the present article will look at other regions of India and on the countries around the Indian Ocean. The case of the shores of Persian Gulf will be left aside, as the Iranian presence there cannot be classified as diaspora. The case of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mogul Empire and other inland kingdoms will also be left aside, as virtually nothing is to be found in Portuguese sources about such states, with which the Portuguese seldom had interaction. In this article we will deal the Persian merchants in the ports of South Asia, undertake case studies of Gujarat and Bengal, and briefly look at the Iranians in Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Persian culture in the Indian Ocean.
Ethnic Separatism
Authors: Haokip Telsing Letkhosei
Published: February 2015

This article focuses on the Kuki-Chin ethnic groups that inhabit mainly the north-eastern states of India, Sylhet district and Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and parts of Burma/Myanmar. The historical context of deeply contested identity formation among and within these groups, also today, grounds ongoing struggles over sharing of resources, space and power. In the complex scenario of post-colonial states and multiple boundaries, and in light of changing geopolitical conditions, the article demonstrates how efforts to distil ethnic autonomy into statehood will always leave some ‘others’ dissatisfied. The continuing risk of renewed ethnic violence puts pressure particularly on state parties to come up with sustainable solutions, which presently remain elusive.
Muslim Men in Luton, UK
Authors: Hoque Ashraf
Published: February 2015

Particularly since the London bombings in July 2005, Muslim communities in Britain have faced extensive criticism for their alleged inability to assimilate to British cultural mainstream expectations. Various government schemes have attempted to tackle ‘Islamic radicalism’ and ‘violent extremism’, thought to emanate from within Britain’s long-standing Muslim communities. Based on extensive ethnographic research conducted among a sizable Muslim community, this article questions the thesis that British-born Muslims represent a threat to social cohesion and embody the failure of multiculturalism. Observation of their everyday lives, particularly in the realm of work and during leisure time, suggests that for Luton’s young Muslims, apart from working for the family, religion and strong community relations act as innovative means to strengthen bonds of nationality and citizenship, despite perceptions of widespread hostility and detachment from society beyond.
Plasma concentrations of copeptin, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin are positively correlated with APACHE II scores in patients with sepsis
Authors: Jiang Li , Feng Bing , Gao Dongna , Zhang Yu
Published: February 2015

Objective

To evaluate the correlation between Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score and plasma concentrations of copeptin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin in patients with sepsis.

Methods

Patients with sepsis were prospectively enrolled. APACHE II scores were determined during the first 24 h after admission to the intensive care unit. Plasma copeptin, CRP and procalcitonin were quantified at admission, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. Survival at 28 days after admission was recorded.

Results

APACHE II score was significantly positively correlated with plasma copeptin, CRP and procalcitonin concentrations. Survivors ( n = 15) had significantly lower APACHE II scores and copeptin, CRP and procalcitonin concentrations than nonsurvivors ( n = 26). APACHE II score, copeptin at 72 h, CRP at 48 h and procalcitonin at 24 h were independent risk factors for death.

Conclusion

Plasma copeptin, CRP and procalcitonin concentrations were positively correlated with APACHE II score in patients with sepsis, and reflected disease severity.
Associations among music majors’ personality traits, empathy, and aptitude for ensemble performance
Authors: Kawase Satoshi
Published: February 2015

The present study aimed to investigate the associations between music performers’ personality and ensemble performance aptitude, and between music performers’ empathy and ensemble performance aptitude. We employed three types of questionnaires: the short form of the Japanese Big Five Scale, the Japanese multidimensional scale of empathy, and 15 items on the duration of daily music activities and the frequency of solo and ensemble performance in public. A total of 68 music majors participated in the study. The main findings are as follows: (1) positive correlations existed between ensemble aptitude and Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness, and between ensemble preference and Conscientiousness; (2) Extraversion was linked with daily musical activity with other performers; and (3) empathy was not associated with performers’ ensemble aptitude, whereas it was associated with solitary music activities.
Measuring Sprawl and Its Impacts
Authors: Hamidi Shima , Ewing Reid , Preuss Ilana , Dodds Alex
Published: February 2015

Across the nation, the debate over metropolitan sprawl and its impacts continues decade after decade. To elevate the debate, a decade ago, researchers developed compactness/sprawl indices for metropolitan areas and counties that have been widely used in health and other research. In this study, we develop refined compactness/sprawl indices based on definitions and procedures in earlier studies by Ewing and colleagues and validate them against transportation outcomes. The indices are being made available to researchers who wish to study the causes, costs and benefits, and solutions to sprawl and to practitioners who wish to check their community’s success in containing sprawl.
Reproductive toxicity in male mice after exposure to high molybdenum and low copper concentrations
Authors: Wang Hong-wei , Zhou Bian-hua , Zhang Sen , Guo Hong-wei , Zhang Ji-liang , Zhao Jing , Tian Er-jie
Published: February 2015

To evaluate the effects of dietary high molybdenum (HMo) and low copper (LCu) concentrations on reproductive toxicity of male mice, 80 mice were divided into 4 groups of 20. These groups were fed with the following: (1) normal control (NC) diet (NC group); (2) NC and HMo diets (HMo group); (3) LCu diet (LCu group); and (4) HMo and LCu diets (HMoLCu group). On the 50th and 100th day, superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were analyzed to determine oxidative stress states. Morphological changes in testicular tissue were evaluated with hematoxylin and eosin staining and ultrastructural changes were monitored by transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that administration of HMo, LCu, and HMoLCu not only decreased sperm density and motility but also increased the rate of teratosperm occurrence. A significant increase in MDA content and a decrease in SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC contents were observed in LCu, HMo, and HMoLCu groups. Testicular tissues and cells of mice were damaged by HMo and the damages were more serious in the case of Cu deficiency. Exposure to HMo adversely affected the reproductive system of male mice, and dietary LCu plays key roles in HMo-induced reproductive toxicity.
Mexico, the Construction of Enemies through Social Protest: Some Reflections
Authors: Vite Pérez Miguel Ángel
Published: February 2015

The goal of this reflection is to develop an explanation about how social actors who express their discontent in street protests have come to be considered enemies of the rule of law and social stability, thereby justifying the repressive measures that state authorities take against them. This dynamic traces its legitimacy to the existence of a social representation of crime that elicits thoughts of danger and fear for a variety of social groups. In the context of this reflection, we will analyze the social protest of 1 December 2012 that took place in Mexico City on the occasion of the presidential inauguration of Enrique Peña Nieto.
Effects analysis of processing factors on surface quality in optical grinding using ɛ-support vector regression
Authors: Zhang Dongxu , Yang Ping , Zhang Yanting , Bi Guo , Guo Yinbiao
Published: February 2015

The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze the effects of the processing factors on the surface quality in precision optical grinding. A novel identifying model which incorporates an effect factor is proposed based on ɛ-support vector regression ( ɛ-SVR). Experiments were designed and performed to investigate the effects of the processing factors comprising the technological parameters and processing condition factors on the surface quality, and the experimental data were used to train the ɛ-SVR. Subsequently, the values of effect factor were solved to quantify the effects of the respective processing factors on the surface quality. Further experiments were performed to verify the effectiveness of effect factor. ɛ-SVRs of which the input vectors were multiplied and not multiplied by effect factor were respectively used to predict the surface quality including the surface roughness and surface shape peak–valley value. The values calculated by ɛ-SVR using effect factor were found to be much more accurate than those calculated without using effect factor. The results confirmed the effectiveness of identifying model for precision optical grinding.
A refined theoretical model for mode I crack near the interface of strength and plasticity mismatched materials in K dominant regime
Authors: Bhat Sunil , Ukadgaonker Vijay G
Published: February 2015

The paper investigates a cracked bi-material, comprising elastic-plastic materials that are elastically identical but strength and plasticity mismatched, under the action of monotonic and uniform far field tension in small scale yielding (SSY) or K dominant regime. A through, mode I, edge crack in weaker material is assumed to advance perpendicularly toward the interface of stronger material. The interface between the materials is considered to be thin, strong and perfect. A theoretical model is developed with the help of basic mathematical principles to account for the influence of non-linearity in plastic behavior of constituent materials during estimation of plastic energy transfer toward stronger interface material when the crack tip is near the interface. The criterion of the onset of yielding of interface material is included in the model. Energy transfer is represented by the component of energy release rate of the crack due to inhomogeneity caused by property mismatched interface. Shielding effect over the crack is quantified by energy release rate and stress intensity parameter at the crack tip. Two elastically similar steels with different yield strengths and plasticity properties are chosen for computational purpose under plane stress condition. Differences between fracture results of the proposed model and those of an available model based on Dugdale’s criterion that ignores material non-linearity and is valid for elastic-perfectly plastic materials are presented. The proposed model is validated.
Lung Adenocarcinoma Metastasizing Into a Renal Angiomyolipoma
Authors: Wu Pao-Shu , Pan Chin-Chen
Published: February 2015

Tumor-to-tumor metastasis is a very rare phenomenon. The most common donor and recipient of tumor-to-tumor metastasis are carcinomas of lung and renal cell carcinoma, respectively. We report a case of primary lung adenocarcinoma that metastasized into a renal angiomyolipoma 9 years after the resection of primary lung tumor. Comparisons in morphology, immunohistochemical profiles, and genetic mutations indicate that the tumor metastasizing into angiomyolipoma originated from the same clone of previous lung adenocarcinoma. Albeit rare, pathologists should be aware of the possibility of tumor-to-tumor metastasis when confronting a neoplasm exhibiting 2 distinct morphological features.
Family Caregivers Define and Manage the Nursing Home Placement Process
Authors: Koplow Sarah M. , Gallo Agatha M. , Knafl Kathleen A. , Vincent Catherine , Paun Olimpia , Gruss Valerie
Published: February 2015

The nursing home placement process is complex and difficult for family caregivers. This qualitative descriptive study examines the experiences of caregivers involved in the management of care and placement of an older family member using the Family Management Style Framework. Ten caregivers were recruited from four nursing homes in the Midwest. The caregivers were interviewed shortly after placement and again 3 months post-placement. Results provide a unique understanding of care management and the nursing home placement process from the perspective of the primary family caregiver. Overall, there were similarities across the same types of caregiving dyads, for example, spousal and adult-children caregivers. Caregivers expressed the need to maintain the identity of their older family member, a familial responsibility for caregiving, and change in their family relationship over time. Appreciating caregivers’ challenges and needs gives health care professionals a better understanding for how to provide assistance for a smoother nursing home transition.
Anisotropic fractional diffusion tensor imaging
Authors: Meerschaert Mark M , Magin Richard L , Ye Allen Q
Published: February 2015

Traditional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) maps brain structure by fitting a diffusion model to the magnitude of the electrical signal acquired in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fractional DTI employs anomalous diffusion models to obtain a better fit to real MRI data, which can exhibit anomalous diffusion in both time and space. In this paper, we describe the challenge of developing and employing anisotropic fractional diffusion models for DTI. Since anisotropy is clearly present in the three-dimensional MRI signal response, such models hold great promise for improving brain imaging. We then propose some candidate models, based on stochastic theory.
Qualitative Inquiry and Arranged Marriage
Authors: Allen Mitch
Published: February 2015

Academic marriages are often arranged by publishers for developing multidisciplinary projects with scholars of differing but complementary perspectives. This article documents the arranged marriage by SAGE of two qualitative researchers, Norman Denzin and Yvonna Lincoln, to produce the first Handbook of Qualitative Research and subsequently to edit the journal Qualitative Inquiry. It includes both participants’ reminiscences of the process of deciding to work together on these projects.
Reconceptualizing Bias in Teaching Qualitative Research Methods
Authors: Roulston Kathryn , Shelton Stephanie Anne
Published: February 2015

Researchers who have been prepared in positivist traditions to social research frequently equate “subjectivity” with “bias,” which is viewed as both a problem to be managed and a threat to the credibility of a study. Teachers of qualitative research methods are familiar with questions about “subjectivity” that invoke “bias” from newcomers to qualitative research. This article revisits the methodological literature to examine how bias has been understood in qualitative inquiry. We argue for an approach to teaching qualitative research methods that assists students to make sense of long-standing and new debates related to “bias” and reconceptualize it in relation to their work. We provide recommendations for how teachers of qualitative inquiry might do this and illustrate these strategies with examples drawn from methodological reflections completed by a graduate student taking qualitative coursework.
Drawing the Threat
Authors: Murumaa-Mengel Maria
Published: February 2015

This article analyzes Estonian high school students’ (N = 10) perceptions of the online pervert. To get a multimodal and thorough understanding of this phenomenon, 12th graders were first asked to make drawings of online perverts and, later, follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted. A combination of visual and verbal methods helped to reveal that the young did not see themselves sharing any noticeable characteristics with the pervert and tended to construct this ‘otherness’ mainly through psyche, age, nationality and appearance. The definition of a pervert, however, was very ambiguous, as the interviewees perceived the pervert to be, on the one hand, harmful, violent, obscene and insidious, and, on the other hand, a sad, lonely voyeur or a rather ordinary person.
Networked Identity
Authors: Prinsen Fleur , Haan Mariëtte de , Leander Kevin M.
Published: February 2015

In recent years, practices of online social networking and their implications for migrant youth identity development have been heavily debated. The nature of access to resources for identification is changing, and by using a social network perspective, this research conceptualizes identity as a networked phenomenon in which resources are understood as specific kinds of social formations: identity networks. Social network interviews were conducted with Dutch-Moroccan inner-city teenagers, probing their online and offline identity practices as related to their actual social networks. Social network analysis was applied, assuming that structural properties of networks affect behaviour; they can limit or shape, but do not fully determine the actions that individuals can engage in. By combining numeric, discursive and visual data, we aim to understand how structural and compositional aspects of networks are related to the ways in which youth create opportunities for identity development. Four network types, with associated (online) identity practices, are presented.
Homophily in Adolescence
Authors: Berten Hans , Van Rossem Ronan
Published: February 2015

This study asks to what extent similarity in status characteristics (gender and ethnicity) is linked with similarity in anti-school behaviour. We argue that the social forces responsible for homophily-based selection are also at work with regard to homophily-based influence. We use data from the Flemish Educational Assessment Study, which collected complete network data from a representative sample of Flemish secondary school adolescents (N = 11,872). Results indicate that similarity on gender and ethnicity is linked with similarity on behavioural characteristics. Furthermore, the association between status homophily and behavioural homophily is stronger for boys than girls. For minorities, status heterophily on ethnicity is associated with behavioural heterophily, which may be an indication that minority students distance themselves from their majority-group friends.
Effect of Acupuncture for Radioactive-Iodine-Induced Anorexia in Thyroid Cancer Patients
Authors: Jeon Ju-Hyun , Yoon Jeungwon , Cho Chong-Kwan , Jung In-Chul , Kim Sungchul , Lee Suk-Hoon , Yoo Hwa-Seung
Published: February 2015

Objective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for radioactive iodine (RAI)–induced anorexia in thyroid cancer patients. Methods. Fourteen thyroid cancer patients with RAI-induced anorexia were randomized to a true acupuncture or sham acupuncture group. Both groups were given 6 true or sham acupuncture treatments in 2 weeks. Outcome measures included the change of the Functional Assessment of Anorexia and Cachexia Treatment (FAACT; Anorexia/Cachexia Subscale [ACS], Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General [FACT-G]), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), weight, body mass index (BMI), ACTH, and cortisol levels. Results. The mean FAACT ACS scores of the true and sham acupuncture groups increased from baseline to exit in intention-to-treat (ITT) and per protocol (PP) analyses; the true acupuncture group showed higher increase but with no statistical significance. Between groups, from baseline to the last treatment, statistically significant differences were found in ITT analysis of the Table of Index (TOI) score ( P = .034) and in PP analysis of the TOI ( P = .016), FACT-G ( P = .045), FAACT ( P = .037) scores. There was no significant difference in VAS, weight, BMI, ACTH, and cortisol level changes between groups. Conclusion. Although the current study is based on a small sample of participants, our findings support the safety and potential use of acupuncture for RAI-induced anorexia and quality of life in thyroid cancer patients.
Utilizing the One-Minute Preceptor for Patient Education
Authors: Vaughan Elizabeth M. , Moreno Jennette P. , Johnston Craig A.
Published: February 2015

Providing thorough responses to patient questions is an important part of the provider–patient relationship and key to good communication. Failure to do so puts patients at risk of looking for alternative and possibly harmful answers. Mindfulness is a popular topic, but due to its vague definition and variable outcomes, it may be difficult for health care providers to know how to answer patient questions or to identify patient needs. Using the One-Minute Preceptor model as a template provides health care providers a thorough yet organized and time-efficient method while also giving patients answers to their questions.
Asian students’ conceptions of future civic engagement: Comparing clusters using person-centered analysis
Authors: Chow Joseph Kui Foon , Kennedy Kerry J.
Published: February 2015

Researchers in comparative education have suggested different ways in which their field of study can be enhanced by considering units of analysis at different levels rather than focusing on a single level such as the nation-state (Bray and Thomas, 1995; Torney-Purta and Barber, 2011). The study reported here seeks to contribute to this area of interest to comparative researchers. It does so by identifying groups for comparison that are not predefined in advance of any analysis but which emerge during the analytic process itself. Drawing on data from ICCS 2009 (Schulz et al., 2010), the intentions of 14-year-old students in five Asian societies to participate in future civic related activities are analyzed with a focus on the students’ responses to specific questions. The results show that there is considerable variation within each of these societies when it comes to type of future civic engagement. At one end of the spectrum are groups of students who are classified as “Radical Participators” while at the other there are the “Minimal Participators” and there are other clusters of students in between. Groups such as these exist in each society, although not in the same proportions. The implications of these results are discussed, especially with reference to how comparative research can be enhanced by identifying groups through person-centered analytic techniques.
Children’s national identity in multicultural classrooms in Costa Rica and the United States
Authors: Solano-Campos Ana
Published: February 2015

The development of healthy national identifications in children and youth has important implications for the construction of democratic citizenries in culturally and linguistically diverse societies. In this comparative qualitative case study of two multicultural public schools—one in the United States and one in Costa Rica—I examined children’s understandings of national identity formation. I conducted individual and focus group interviews and ethnographic observations for 12 weeks in each school. I found that children conceptualized national identity using both concrete and abstract elements. In addition, children in each school deployed particular types of narratives to talk about national identifications. Although children in both schools reported ideas of “civic nationality,” children in the US school were more likely to express ideas of “ethnic nationality” (Hoyos et al., 2004). Further, children in the US school reported more cosmopolitan perspectives toward national identity than the children in the Costa Rican School. Based on the findings, I suggest expanding research to study the “national identity maps” of children in multicultural contexts.
Public relations as humane conversation: Richard Rorty, stakeholder theory, and public relations practice
Authors: Maier Craig T
Published: February 2015

While R Edward Freeman’s stakeholder theory has become one of the most generative contemporary management theories and has shaped the public relations lexicon, its influence on public relations theory and practice has been muted. In this essay, I use the work of the American pragmatist philosopher Richard Rorty to resituate Freeman’s theory and offer a vision of public relations practice that is grounded in what can be called humane conversation. After describing both the promise and limitations of stakeholder theory, I provide an overview of Rorty’s philosophical project and describe potential points of contact with Freeman’s theory. Then, I suggest how this encounter can frame a new understanding of public relations grounded in Rorty’s notions of contingency, irony, and solidarity, in which scholars, professionals, and students learn to see themselves as humane intellectuals in the fullest sense of the term.
The paradoxes of organizational power and public relations ethics: Insights from a feminist discourse analysis
Authors: Tilley Elspeth
Published: February 2015

A qualitative thematic analysis of data from a 13-organization research study focusing on public relations ethics identified five main themes: first, that ethical dilemmas were frequent, widespread, and often handled in ways that practitioners themselves were uncomfortable with; second, labels and stereotypes about public relations practitioners as unscrupulous exacerbated the problem; third, hierarchies and silos of power in relationships within organizations, between organizations, and with clients contributed to the problem; fourth, there were barriers to, and inadequate channels or opportunities for, candid and forthright discussion about these hierarchies and silos, this lack typically manifesting as senior staff self-censoring or parroting optimistic organizational orthodoxy about ethics and junior staff feeling unsafe to criticize organizational processes; and fifth, practitioners used multiple coping strategies to deal with their sense of powerlessness including blaming others (particularly journalists), fatalism, reductive framing, and intentional blocking of awareness and evaluation of ethical issues. While it is possible these themes could be interpreted as evidence of public relations practitioners’ individual moral inadequacy, a broader analytical lens, taking into account the organizational and global power structures the practitioners described, suggests otherwise. Taking its cue from the power-attuned approach of feminist poststructuralists, this article argues that the data should be read as symptomatic, not causal, and that it is to the overarching operating power structures of global capitalism that public relations ethicists could most productively turn their attention if they want to identify loci for change.
Is Project Management Still an Accidental Profession? A Qualitative Study of Career Trajectory
Authors: Richardson Tracey M. , Earnhardt Matthew P. , Marion Jim W.
Published: February 2015

In this study, the authors used qualitative techniques to look for reoccurring themes related to 87 project managers’ responses to interview questions associated with entry into the field of project management and career progression. The study found that despite the efforts of higher education, professional associations, and their professional development and certifications, the project management remains a destination by accident. Professional project managers do not intend to be project managers but “fall into” the profession. This study provides a conceptual framework for project manager career trajectory that has implications for project management training and mentoring and contributes to the growing literature on the accidental profession.
Synthesis of Thin Titania Photoanodes with Large Mesopores for Electricity-generating Windows
Authors: Suzuki Norihiro , Jiang Xiangfen , Malgras Victor , Yamauchi Yusuke , Islam Ashraful , Han Liyuan
Published: February 2015

Highly transparent mesoporous titania photoanodes with large mesopores and crystallized framework are synthesized by surfactant-assisted sol–gel method. The conversion efficiency of DSC with rare-metal-free dye (MK-2) reaches 2.6%, though the film thickness of photoanode is of sub-micron order (around 445 nm). The thinness of the photoanodes and the red-light transmission of the dye maintain the high transmittance of the dye-adsorbed photoanodes (around 80% for 700-nm light), demonstrates that obtained photoanodes are promising for electricity-generating windows.
Changes in hepatitis C therapy
Authors: Linzey Dean
Published: February 2015

New medications offer the potential for eradication, but specialist nurses are still needed says Dean Linzey
Looking forward to spring
Authors: Clarke Jenni
Published: February 2015

If it feels as if it has been a long winter, turn your thoughts to spring and follow Jenni Clarke's seasonal activities which will stimulate curiosity about numbers and encourage categorisation of objects.
How does spreading depression spread? Physiology and modeling
Authors: Zandt Bas-Jan , ten Haken Bennie , van Putten Michel J.A.M. , Dahlem Markus A.
Published: February 2015

Spreading depression (SD) is a wave phenomenon in gray matter tissue. Locally, it is characterized by massive redistribution of ions across cell membranes. As a consequence, there is sustained membrane depolarization and tissue polarization that depress any normal electrical activity. Despite these dramatic events, SD remains difficult to observe in humans noninvasively, which, for long, has slowed advances in this field. The growing appreciation of its clinical importance in migraine and stroke is therefore consistent with an increasing need for computational methods that tackle the complexity of the problem at multiple levels. In this review, we focus on mathematical tools to investigate the question of spread and its two complementary aspects: What are the physiological mechanisms and what is the spatial extent of SD in the cortex? This review discusses two types of models used to study these two questions, namely, Hodgkin-Huxley type and generic activator-inhibitor models, and the recent advances in techniques to link them.
Induced Smectic Phases I. Polymorphism in Binary Mixtures of Alkyloxybenzylidene-alkylanilines with Alkyl- and Alkyloxy- cyanobiphenyls
Authors: Schneider F. , Sharma N. K.
Published: February 2015

The diagrams of state of mixtures of 4-n-alkyloxybenzylidene-4'-n-butylanilines with 4-n- alkyl- and 4-n-alkyloxy-4'-cyanobiphenyls are studied. The mixtures form induced smectic phases of type SA, SB and SE. In all three smectic phases the thickness of the smectic layers agrees with the mean values of the molecular lengths. In most cases the induced SA phases do not show uninterrupted miscibility with the SA phases of the pure components. For instance, the system 40 • 4/8 CBP exhibits three separate SA phase areas. The maximum transition temperatures of the induced smectic phases increase with increasing chain length of the azomethines, but remain constant in case of the SA and SB phases or even decrease in case of the SE phases with increasing chain length of the cyanobiphenyls
Study of Sulfur-Sulfur Nonbonded Interactions in Substituted Diphosphine Disulfides by Gas-Phase UV Photoelectron Spectroscopy
Authors: Alagna Lucilla , Cauletti Carla , Andreocci Marco , Furlani Claudio , Hagele Gerhard
Published: February 2015

Ultraviolet photoelectron spectra (UPS) of tetrasubstituted diphosphine disulfides RR'P(S)- P(S)RR' exhibit peculiar 1:2:1 splitting patterns in the region 7.5-9.5 eV for which a throughbond coupling mechanism between the sulfur lone pairs lying in the PPS planes is proposed. Further bond orbitals are related to bands at higher I. E. in the UP spectra
Quenching of the Yt-Base Fluorescence by Heavy-Atom Induced Intermoleeular Singlet-Triplet Energy Transfer
Authors: Gryczyński I. , Kawski A. , Paszyc S. , Skowyra T.
Published: February 2015

Quenching of the Yt-base fluorescence by a series of halogen derivatives of benzene and naphthalene was measured in dioxane. For the naphthalene derivatives, the presence of the heavy atom in the acceptor molecule was found to affect strongly the fluorescence quenching rate constant, whereas no such effect was observed for the benzene derivatives. The fact is explained with the assumption of a singlet-triplet energy transfer from the Yt- base molecules to the naphthalene derivatives
Strong Collision Induced Spin-Lattice Relaxation for Tunneling NH4-ion Systems in the Rotating Frame
Authors: Morimoto Kunihiko
Published: February 2015

In order to calculate the rotating frame spin-lattice relaxation time T1ρ for tunneling NH4-ion systems at low temperature, a model of relaxation, which is available when γHL τr⪢1, is proposed, where HL is the local dipolar field and τr the correlation time. The present model is useful especially in two cases: (1) when the NH4-ion is relatively magnetically isolated and the assumption of a common spin temperature cannot be used. (2) when the level crossing of the NH4-ion occurs in the rotating frame. In case (1), non-single exponential relaxation is predicted. In case (2), T1ρ is shown to be proportional to τr, while the prediction of the weak collision theory is T1ρ ∞cc τr-1. The present model is compared with the strong collision theory of Slichter and Ailion.