bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bioethics and Public Policy
Authors: Fullam Lisa , O'Neill William R.
Published: March 2014

Part I of this note assesses recent developments in embryonic stem cell research and HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention in light of two recent magisterial texts: Dignitas personae on Certain Bioethical Questions of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, Caritas in veritate. Part II explores the implications of these developments for public policy in religiously pluralist societies.
A New Shade of Green? Nature, Freedom, and Sexual Difference in Caritas in Veritate
Authors: Ryan Maura A.
Published: March 2014

Caritas in veritate collapses distinctions in Catholic moral theology between “social issues” and “life issues.” This note examines Pope Benedict XVI's “pro-life environmentalism” and the underlying assumptions concerning the meaning of freedom, the contours of nature, and the significance of sexual differentiation on which the pope relies. While the encyclical powerfully critiques liberal Western preoccupation with rights as noninterference and expands the lens through which we view respect for the environment, the connections between “human ecology” and “physical ecology” are less than convincing. Moreover, the absence of a gender lens limits the encyclical's treatment of integral human development.
Interpreting Rahner's Metaphoric Logic
Authors: Masson Robert
Published: March 2014

Recent provocative reinterpretations of Karl Rahner's theology illustrate the hermeneutical challenge of retrieving his achievement for a new era. The spectrum of positions is exemplified by Karen Kilby, Patrick Burke, and Philip Endean. The essay proposes an alternative interpretive scheme attentive to Rahner's metaphoric logic.
Caritas in Veritate as a Social Encyclical: A Modest Challenge to Economic, Social, and Political Institutions
Authors: Laurent Bernard
Published: March 2014

While many elements of Benedict XVI's Caritas in veritate subscribe to the logic of earlier social encyclicals, the absence of a connection drawn between the social realities, the economic structures, and ideology sets this encyclical apart. Like its predecessors, however, it is marked with the seal of intransigence. In the face of modern culture (judged negatively by Benedict), the challenge is to restore Christian values to people's consciences. By framing the problem as he does, Benedict turns the Church's focus away from the interplay of structural forces and gives primacy, as never before, to individual responsibility.
Encountering the Religious Other: Challenges to Rahner's Transcendental Project
Authors: Crowley Paul G.
Published: March 2014

Fruitful interreligious encounter is the meeting of human beings, and calls for a metaphysics, a common humanum in order to proceed to dialogue. Rahner's transcendental method could serve as an important tool for entering into interreligious encounter. It offers a metaphysics that in its apophatic aspects has resonances with some forms of postmetaphysical thought, particularly the notion of gift. The author here pursues this idea but only after considering some critiques of Rahner's transcendental project.
Vatican II—Continuity or Discontinuity? Toward an Ontology of Meaning
Authors: Ormerod Neil
Published: March 2014

The article argues that the debate over continuity/discontinuity at Vatican II is hindered by the descriptive nature of the categories under consideration. To move beyond description and into explanation one must adopt an “ontology of meaning.” The nature of such a shift is illustrated with reference to the work of John Henry Newman, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Bernard Lonergan.
Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., among the Theologians: A Memorial Reflection
Authors: Carey Patrick W.
Published: March 2014

Avery Dulles' postconciliar theology must be placed historically in the broad context of what he called postcriticism. His models approach to theology, moreover, attempted to address the theological pluralism of the postconciliar era in a way that contributed to the unity of the faith. His nearly lifelong Ignatian commitment to thinking with the Church, his openness to development, his ecumenical stance, and his respect for diverse theological constructions made him a major representative of postconciliar currents in Catholic theology.
Reading the Universe Story Theologically: The Contribution of a Biblical Narrative Imagination
Authors: Ashley J. Matthew
Published: March 2014

The article assesses different ways of incorporating the results of the historical sciences of cosmology, geology, and evolutionary biology into theology. Appeal to biblical poetics and the philosophical and theological hermeneutics of narrative reveals serious flaws in the attempt to recast a history of origins as a “universe story.” Framing the results of science as a mosaic of petit narratives (such as provided by Aldo Leopold's classic Sand County Almanac) gives a more adequate correlation to Scripture and avoids problems common to all metanarratives.
Peter Canisius and the “Truly Catholic” Augustine
Authors: Pabel Hilmar M.
Published: March 2014

Arguably the most influential theologian in the Latin West, Augustine of Hippo conventionally figures as the greatest ally, after the Bible, of Protestantism in Reformation Europe. Roman Catholics, however, also laid claim to Augustine as their chief witness—as the works of Peter Canisius (1521–1597), the most prominent catechist in the early Society of Jesus, attest. His Large Catechism adduces the authority of Augustine as “the truly Catholic doctor,” an authority Canisius repeatedly invokes to assert Catholic orthodoxy.
Catholics and Pentecostals: Troubled History, New Initiatives
Authors: Rausch Thomas P.
Published: March 2014

Catholics and Pentecostals in their various expressions—classical, charismatic, and Neo-Pentecostal—constitute about 75 percent of the total number of Christians today. And Pentecostals continue to grow in number. While the relations between the two traditions have often been troubled and serious theological differences remain, particularly in the area of ecclesiology, Pentecostals are beginning to show a new interest in ecumenism, and new initiatives on both sides are promising.
The Difference Nothing Makes: Creatio Ex Nihilo, Resurrection, and Divine Gratuity
Authors: Robinette Brian D.
Published: March 2014

In response to recent charges that creatio ex nihilo imposes a dubious metaphysics upon biblical theologies of creation, with the result that divine power is valorized at the expense of a creation in process, the author argues that such criticisms misrepresent the doctrine's logic that illuminates those biblical theologies while making explicit in philosophical terms the gratuitous and noncontrastive relationship between God and creation. Issues of power, evil, and forgiveness are discussed as the author analyzes the doctrine's logic and historical development.
Can Christians Possess the Acquired Cardinal Virtues?
Authors: Mattison William C.
Published: March 2014

The article proposes, contrary to much of contemporary Thomistic scholarship, that according to Thomas Aquinas's categorizations of virtue, the person in a state of grace cannot possess the acquired cardinal virtues. Arguing from Aquinas's theory of virtue as to why this is the case, the article examines texts that are commonly interpreted to say otherwise, and addresses reasons that prompt contemporary moralists to posit the acquired cardinal virtues in the Christian.
Revisiting Vatican II's Theology of the People of God after Forty-Five Years of Catholic-Jewish Dialogue
Authors: Groppe Elizabeth T.
Published: March 2014

Lumen gentium described biblical Israel as a preparation and figure of the church, the new people of God. Jews do not belong to this people but are ordained to it. In light of Nostra aetate and the ensuing Catholic-Jewish dialogue, the article supplements Lumen gentium's typological account of biblical Israel as a prefiguration of the church with an eschatological theology of Christians and Jews as a broken people who nonetheless remain covenant partners in pilgrimage to the mountain of the Lord.
Trinitarian Spirit Christology: In Need of a New Metaphysics?
Authors: Bracken Joseph A.
Published: March 2014

Trinitarian Spirit Christology emphasizes in a new way the activity of the Holy Spirit both within the immanent Trinity and in salvation history. But, the auther argues, this shift in thinking about the Holy Spirit suggests a new metaphysics based on intersubjective relations and simultaneous mutual causality between the entities thus involved. Such an organismic approach to the God-world relationship, moreover, resonates with the new emphasis on systems-oriented thinking within the natural and social sciences
Threat of Imminent Death in Pregnancy: A Role for Double-Effect Reasoning
Authors: Magill Gerard
Published: March 2014

In the Phoenix case, pulmonary hypertension threatened the life of an eleven-week pregnant mother. Removal of the placenta as the organ threatening the mother's life necessarily included extracting the amniotic membranes containing the fetus. The author proposes this argument: the principle of double effect clarifies that causing the death of the fetus (destined to die, whatever transpired) while avoiding a direct physical assault on it constitutes an indirect and unintended (albeit foreseen) side effect, thereby justifying the intervention.
The Christology in Theodore of Mopsuestia's Commentary on the Gospel of John
Authors: McLeod Frederick G.
Published: March 2014

The article derives from Theodore of Mopsuestia's Commentary on the Gospel of John, wherein Theodore describes how he understood Christ's two natures being united in “one common prosōpon.” He regards prosōpon not as a synonym for hypostasis, as the Second Council of Constantinople did, but as the functional union of Christ's two natures acting as one “ego.” Theodore finds this understanding in the diverse ways John portrays Christ acting at times as one reality and at other times in clearly divine and human ways, with each presumed in the other.
Quaestio Disputata the Recovery of Aquinas's Action Theory: A Reply to William Murphy
Authors: Selling Joseph A.
Published: March 2014

The article addresses a recent claim regarding Aquinas's understanding of voluntary human action; namely, that moral species is determined by an object that functions as the proximate end of a chosen behavior. This reply examines the context of the argument, the text on which the argument is said to be based, and Aquinas's more specific texts in regard to formulating a moral intention to an end and choosing a way to accomplish that end.
“The Hermeneutic of Reform”: A Historical Analysis
Authors: O'Malley John W.
Published: March 2014

Few ideas have impacted the church more than reform, but in recent centuries it virtually disappeared from theological discourse. That changed on December 22, 2005, when Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the Roman Curia, introduced “hermeneutic of reform” as the proper category for interpreting Vatican II. John O'Malley here traces the history of the idea of reform, describes its meaning in different contexts, and shows how the problem of change is at its very core. He then shows how Vatican II dealt with the problem and concludes with an analysis of Benedict's address.
What Does the Catholic Church Teach about Mission to the Jewish People?
Authors: D'Costa Gavin G.
Published: March 2014

The article outlines and critiques three important arguments advanced by those who hold that the Catholic magisterium teaches that there should be no mission to the Jewish people. The author raises two important background issues: invincible ignorance and the difference between supersessionism and fulfillment. He argues that the trajectory of magisterial teaching from Vatican II to the present day supports mission but advises prudential judgment regarding practice.
A Jewish Response to Gavin D'costa
Authors: Kessler Edward
Published: March 2014

The author suggests that Gavin D'Costa needs, first, to take seriously the history of the Christian contribution to Jewish suffering, which cannot be parenthesized as outside history, and, second, to reflect on the positive significance of the Jewish no to Jesus (Moltmann), since both Jews and Christians share the anticipation of the Messiah. The author calls for a “Jewish covenantal pluralism,” arguing that both Jews and Christians participate in God's revelation and that both participations are in different ways intended by God.
In Commemoration: Walter ONG and the State of Theology
Authors: Soukup Paul A.
Published: March 2014

The centenary of Walter Ong's birth offers an occasion to reflect on how his research into culture, language, orality and literacy, and communication practices can contribute to the work of those engaged in theological research and reflection. This article argues that his work helps us understand how shifting information handling (from classical rhetoric to writing to computer systems) influences what counts for knowledge and how each kind of information requires a particular hermeneutical approach.
In Purgatory We Shall All be Mystics
Authors: Egan Harvey D.
Published: March 2014

The average Christian who accepts or rejects purgatory usually views it as a demi-hell set up by divine justice between heaven and hell to punish those who have died without having made sufficient reparation for their sins. This article contends, however, that the purgatorial stage of the consciousness of the mystics, caused by their intense experience of the incompatibility of sin and divine Love, is a paradigm of postmortem purgatory and is confirmed by recent theological writing.
The Trinitarian Depths of Vatican II
Authors: Hunt Anne
Published: March 2014

Central to Vatican II's deliberations on the church was a fundamental rediscovery: the church's origin in the mystery of the Trinity. How this rediscovery permeates and shapes the council's ecclesial vision is what this article addresses. Four leitmotifs exemplify the expanded horizon for the council's understanding of the church that this rediscovery afforded: church as mystery, as communio, as mission to the world, and as community of dialogue.
The “Patient and Fraternal Dialogue” on Papal Infallibility: Contributions of a Free-Church Theologian
Authors: Powell Mark E.
Published: March 2014

Typically, critical evaluations of doctrines of infallibility seek to highlight errors and contradictions in papal and conciliar teachings. Powell takes a different approach and examines the limitations of papal infallibility as a proposal in religious epistemology, that is, a proposal for how Christians determine and secure their beliefs. In light of this analysis, he outlines a constructive vision for religious epistemology, ecclesial authority, and ecumenical unity. The article concludes by interacting with John Ford's earlier reviews of this constructive vision.
Family Ethics: Beyond Sex and Controversy
Authors: Rubio Julie Hanlon
Published: March 2014

Contemporary moral theologians address a wider scope of ethical issues pertaining to families than did theologians of previous generations. In addition to attending to questions about sexual morality, divorce, and remarriage, many are arguing for intentional family practices, asking what can be done to decrease domestic violence, treating children as moral actors in their own right, discerning the responsibilities of parental and domestic caregivers, and encouraging a new generation to embrace the challenge and beauty of marriage.
Vatican II and Theological Ethics
Authors: Keenan James F.
Published: March 2014

This note, extended into an article to commemorate Vatican II, argues that any study of the council and theological ethics must attend to World War II's devastating impact on the field. The war moved European ethicists to repudiate the three centuries of moral manuals and propose a theological ethics based on conscience acting out of charity. In Latin America and Africa, “suffering” emerges as the overarching concern, while in the United States, the language of Catholic social teaching enters the fields of fundamental moral theology, sexual ethics, and bioethics. Looking back on the council today, ethicists see that the agenda of Gaudium et spes has become theirs.
Revisiting Mission at Vatican II: Theology and Practice for Today's Missionary Church
Authors: Bevans Stephen B.
Published: March 2014

The author argues that a closer and fresh reading of the Vatican II documents with an eye to the theme of mission might suggest that it is closer to the heart of the council's original intention than a cursory and dated reading might indicate. Indeed the church's mission is more urgent today than ever, given the shift of Christianity's center of gravity to the Global South, massive migration to the Global North, and widespread secularism. Revisiting the council's documents can offer substantial help for developing a theology and practice for today's missionary church.
“After All, Africa is Largely a Nonliterate Continent”: The Reception of Vatican II in Africa
Authors: Orobator Agbonkhianmeghe E.
Published: March 2014

The article examines critical factors that determined the impact, reception, and implementation of Vatican II in Africa. Drawing on historical accounts, the author identifies and analyzes personalities, contexts, and issues that conditioned and shaped Africa's participation in the council. Looking back 50 years, he argues that while the continent's participation was negligible, shaped by a combination of events and attitudes that either facilitated or hampered reception, concrete examples abound of how the council generated impetus for growth, renewal, and reform in inculturation, interreligious dialogue, theological reflection, and ecclesial collaboration in Africa.
Reception of and Trajectories for Vatican II in Asia
Authors: Phan Peter C.
Published: March 2014

The article offers a historical analysis of the impact of Vatican II on the Asian Catholic churches. It places this reception of the council within the various contexts of Asia and Asian Christianity and argues that this reception includes an expansion of the council's trajectories insofar as Asian Catholicism, led by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, carries out the council's renewal agenda to respond to the internal and external challenges facing the Asian Catholic churches in the last five decades.
Vatican II: Relevance and Future
Authors: Routhier Gilles , Conley John J. , Kestermeier Charles T.
Published: March 2014

Vatican II has more than a simple historical interest. What truly counts is comprehending its contemporary relevance and bearing its heritage within ourselves today. If we focus on the council's governing ideas and adopt the Council Fathers' method of posing problems rather than limiting ourselves to commenting on the texts' conclusions, we can apply this heritage beyond what the council says to the questions that are ours today.
Scripture Reading Urged Vehementer (DV NO. 25): Background and Development
Authors: Wicks Jared
Published: March 2014

This article relates the itinerary of Vatican II's exhortation to Catholics to practice prayerful Scripture reading. In 1961 the Preparatory Theological Commission treated Bible reading in a cautionary and admonitory mode that highlighted guidance by the Magisterium. But the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity insisted that pastoral ministers should introduce the faithful to devout reading of Scripture leading to personal encounters with God. The conciliar encouragement of lectio divina deserves appreciation and further application as a pastoral consequence of Vatican II's Dei verbum.
Religious Experience, the Hermeneutics of Desire, and Interreligious Dialogue
Authors: Friday John R.
Published: March 2014

The article investigates religious experience in relation to the hermeneutics of desire and interreligious dialogue. After summarizing Schleiermacher's thought on religious experience, the article presents some ideas on religious experience in light of the insights of several contemporary thinkers. Robert Doran's proposal for a hermeneutics of desire is enlisted to help clarify the nature of religious experience. The article concludes by suggesting that further study of the notion of desire, especially as it relates to religious experience, holds out some promising possibilities for interreligious dialogue.
Vatican II and the Church of the Margins
Authors: Faggioli Massimo
Published: March 2014

The article focuses on the idea of the “margins” and “peripheries” of the Church, as recently referenced in the speeches of Pope Francis, and connects this idea with the ecclesiology of Vatican II's pastoral constitution, Gaudium et spes. A “rediscovery” of this constitution can inject new meaning into the sense of “marginality” of the Church in today's world. “Marginality” need not be a condition imposed from without, and should not be identified with irrelevance.
Creating Space for Catholic Theology? A Critical-Empathetic Reading of Theology Today
Authors: Boeve Lieven
Published: March 2014

The author asks whether the criteria for Catholic theology presented by the International Theological Commission's Theology Today (2011) are meant to constitute “walls” that seal out or “windows” that open to the rich reality of God's dialogue with humanity through creation and history. Careful exegesis leads the author to conclude that the document, while including restrictive paragraphs, intends to open up perspectives for a legitimate plurality of theologies within the living tradition of the Catholic Church. The article ends with a nuanced evaluation and highlighting of the document's strong and weak points.
The Challenge of Self-Giving Love
Authors: Bracken Joseph A.
Published: March 2014

Conventional wisdom sometimes holds that selfishness pays off and is even necessary for survival in a competitive world. Joseph Bracken here challenges that view, arguing instead that self-giving love for others is the mainspring of human life and even of the cosmic process as a whole. Basing his argument on texts from Scripture, church tradition, and philosophical reflection on the nature of I-Thou relations, he concludes that the goal of self-transcendence is paradoxically located not in the self but in the well-being of the other.
Provincial Councils and the Choosing of Priests for Appointment as Bishops
Authors: Sullivan Francis A.
Published: March 2014

At the Second Vatican Council the bishops expressed their “earnest desire” that provincial councils should again flourish with renewed strength. This article describes the role provincial councils have played since the fourth century in choosing priests for appointment as bishops—a role that they had here in the United States with Rome's approval from 1833 until 1916. An explanation is suggested for the fact that the bishops' desire that provincial councils flourish with renewed strength has not been satisfied.
James Baldwin's Challenge to Catholic Theologians and the Church
Authors: Nilson Jon
Published: March 2014

Racism/white supremacy is seemingly ineradicable, despite its contradictions to the gospel and American ideals. James Baldwin perceived the reason: whites' fears of their own mortality. He did not demonstrate the truth of his claim, but Terror Management Theory (TMT) provides empirical confirmation for it. The Church has declared reconciliation to be the heart of its mission. So TMT must shape its new, effective strategies, like the processes that produced the two influential pastoral letters in the early 1980's.
Quantum Anthropology: Reimaging the Human Person as Body/Spirit
Authors: Russell Heidi Ann
Published: March 2014

Quantum anthropology looks to the image of particle/wave complementarity within the field of quantum mechanics as an analogy for body/spirit in Christian anthropology. Drawing on Karl Rahner's concept of human spirit and on quantum mechanics' concept of wave as probability, the author recasts the body/spirit relationship in terms of the self-actualization of infinite human potential, but a potential that is shaped by probability due to one's context, relationships, and history. Integral to this discussion are the concepts of freedom, choice, death, and resurrection.
Bringing Secrecy into the Open: Towards a Theorization of the Social Processes of Organizational Secrecy
Authors: Costas Jana , Grey Christopher
Published: March 2014

This paper brings into focus the concept of organizational secrecy, defined as the ongoing formal and informal social processes of intentional concealment of information from actors by actors in organizations. It is argued that existing literature on the topic is fragmented and predominantly focused on informational rather than social aspects of secrecy. The paper distinguishes between formal and informal secrecy and theorizes the social processes of these in terms of identity and control. It is proposed that organizational secrecy be added to the analytical repertoire of organization studies.
From Intrapsychic Moral Awareness to the Role of Social Disruptions, Labeling, and Actions in the Emergence of Moral Issues
Authors: Parmar Bidhan
Published: March 2014

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate and extend a sensemaking view of how ethics issues emerge in and around organizations. Current research in ethical decision making relies predominantly on a definition of ethics that distinguishes moral decision-making processes from amoral or non-moral decision-making processes through the intrapsychic use of explicit moral concepts. I recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the current approach and propose a model which builds on previous empirical work to explain how morality emerges in organizations through social interaction. This sensemaking model illustrates the role of disruptions, labeling, and action in the emergence of moral issues, and recasts the emergence of ethical issues, not as the individual recognition of objective moral content, but as more or less reliable interrelating. The model developed in this paper contributes to theory about ethical decision making by: (1) moving beyond the categorization of construals as moral or amoral to examining the similarities and differences across construals and the effects of this overlap for joint action; (2) reinstating the role of action and its interpretation in the story of how moral issues emerge; (3) redescribing ethics as more or less reliable interrelating, which broadens the toolkit for improving organizational conduct; and finally, (4) highlighting how every decision frame has the potential to create a moral issue in interaction.
The Takadimi system reconsidered: Its psychological foundations and some proposals for improvement
Authors: Cha Jee-Weon
Published: March 2014

The Takadimi system of rhythm pedagogy codified by Hoffman, Pelto, and White is supposedly an effective means to teach both dictation and reading. This article evaluates the potential of Takadimi as a method for rhythm dictation and rhythm reading, considering its strengths and weaknesses in light of psychology, music theory, and music theory pedagogy. Takadimi’s main forte is that it is based on the psychologically and neurobiologically valid notion of the beat; most of Takadimi’s shortcomings arise from its apathy towards implicit beats. After exploring the psychological reality of the implicit beat, this study considers how an awareness of the implicit beat can make the Takadimi system a more consistent and accurate rhythm solmization method than it currently is.
The Effect of NSAID Prophylaxis and Operative Variables on Heterotopic Ossification After Hip Arthroscopy
Authors: Beckmann James T. , Wylie James D. , Kapron Ashley L. , Hanson Joey A. , Maak Travis G. , Aoki Stephen K.
Published: March 2014

Background:

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a known complication of hip arthroscopy. Little is known about the factors that lead to HO after hip arthroscopy.

Purpose:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other operative variables on the development of HO.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A total of 357 consecutive cases of hip arthroscopy were retrospectively reviewed over a 3-year period. Routine NSAID prophylaxis was not performed for the first 117 cases. Prophylaxis with naproxen for 3 weeks was then routinely prescribed for the remaining 240 cases. Complete follow-up was available for 288 of the original 357 cases. The presence of HO and its characteristics were recorded for each patient, along with baseline demographic and surgical variables. Odds ratios and logistic regression were used to identify causal factors for HO.

Results:

The incidence of HO in cases in which the patient did not receive NSAID prophylaxis was 25.0% (23/92) versus 5.6% (11/196) of cases in which the patient received NSAIDs. Patients who received no NSAID prophylaxis were 13.6 times more likely to develop HO postoperatively (95% confidence interval, 2.44-75.5; P = .003). Comparing just mixed-type femoroacetabular impingement resections, patients who received no NSAID prophylaxis were 16.6 times more likely to develop HO postoperatively (95% confidence interval, 2.2-126.0; P = .006). Multivariate logistic regression identified the performance of a mixed-type femoroacetabular impingement resection ( P = .011) and the absence of NSAID prophylaxis ( P = .003) as predictors of HO development. The majority of HO cases (29/34) occurred in patients with mixed-type femoroacetabular impingement who had both osteochondroplasty and acetabuloplasty. Complications of NSAID therapy in this study population included acute renal failure, hematochezia from acute colitis, and gastritis.

Conclusion:

Routine NSAID prophylaxis reduces but does not eliminate the incidence of HO in patients undergoing hip arthroscopy. Heterotopic ossification was more likely to develop in patients undergoing acetabuloplasty along with osteochondroplasty and in those who did not receive prophylactic postoperative NSAIDs. Side effects from the investigated NSAID regimen can be serious and should be weighed against the potential benefits in preventing the formation of HO.
Cytokines, Chemokines, and Growth Factors in Banked Human Donor Milk for Preterm Infants
Authors: Groer Maureen , Duffy Allyson , Morse Shannon , Kane Bradley , Zaritt Judy , Roberts Shari , Ashmeade Terri
Published: March 2014

Background:

There has been a recent increase in availability of banked donor milk for feeding of preterm infants. This milk is pooled from donations to milk banks from carefully screened lactating women. The milk is then pasteurized by the Holder method to remove all microbes. The processed milk is frozen, banked, and sold to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The nutrient bioavailability of banked donor milk has been described, but little is known about preservation of immune components such as cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors (CCGF).

Objective:

The objective was to compare CCGF in banked donor milk with mother’s own milk (MOM).

Methods:

Aliquots (0.5 mL) were collected daily from MOM pumped by 45 mothers of NICU-admitted infants weighing < 1500 grams at birth. All daily aliquots of each mother’s milk were pooled each week during 6 weeks of an infant’s NICU stay or for as long as the mother provided MOM. The weekly pooled milk was measured for a panel of CCGF through multiplexing using magnetic beads and a MAGPIX instrument. Banked donor milk samples (n = 25) were handled and measured in the same way as MOM.

Results:

Multiplex analysis revealed that there were levels of CCGF in banked donor milk samples comparable to values obtained from MOM after 6 weeks of lactation.

Conclusion:

These data suggest that many important CCGF are not destroyed by Holder pasteurization.
Examining the Relationship Between E-Social Networks and the Communication Behaviors of Generation 2000 (Millennials) in Turkey
Authors: Latif Hasan , Uçkun C. Gazi , Demir Barış
Published: March 2014

The information revolution has shaped a new generation. Our study focused on the relation between the social networks that benefit from the opportunities arising from information technologies and the communication behaviors of Generation 2000 university students. According to the findings of this research, in Turkey, university students’ use of mobile Internet and social networks is increasing and becoming widespread when compared to that observed in the previous years. For both Generation 2000 and others in Turkey, Facebook is the preferred network. In contrast to the expectations, our study showed that members of Generation 2000 in Turkey do not exhibit difficulty in using electronic communication. These technologies prevent face-to-face communication, determine social networks to a certain degree, and remove the above-mentioned contradiction. We found that Generation 2000 in Turkey is aware of information technology and the possible negative effects of electronic social networks. Finally, we noted that Generation 2000 in Turkey is addicted neither to the Internet nor to electronic social networks.
Using Sentiment Analysis to Monitor Electoral Campaigns
Authors: Ceron Andrea , Curini Luigi , Iacus Stefano M.
Published: March 2014

In recent years, there has been an increasing attention in the literature on the possibility of analyzing social media as a useful complement to traditional off-line polls to monitor an electoral campaign. Some scholars claim that by doing so, we can also produce a forecast of the result. Relying on a proper methodology for sentiment analysis remains a crucial issue in this respect. In this work, we apply the supervised method proposed by Hopkins and King to analyze the voting intention of Twitter users in the United States (for the 2012 Presidential election) and Italy (for the two rounds of the centre-left 2012 primaries). This methodology presents two crucial advantages compared to traditionally employed alternatives: a better interpretation of the texts and more reliable aggregate results. Our analysis shows a remarkable ability of Twitter to “nowcast” as well as to forecast electoral results.
Best Practices in Social Media at Public, Nonprofit, Education, and Health Care Organizations
Authors: Khan Gohar Feroz , Hoffman Mark C. , Misztur Tomasz
Published: March 2014

Interaction facilitated by social media is becoming an integral part of life in contemporary society, tweaking the human psyche's deep need to connect. Having changed the creation, sharing, and consumption of information, it must be inevitably integrated into the operation of most human organizations. While some organizations readily adapt themselves to social media, the majority have struggled. This special issue of the Social Science Computer Review investigates different aspects of social media use in government, nonprofit, education, and health care organizations.
#universitycrisis
Authors: Snoeijers Erik M. , Poels Karolien , Nicolay Colombine
Published: March 2014

Universities have every reason to avoid damaging their reputations through mismanaged crises. Moreover, universities have the moral duty to protect their students from harm by effective communication in a time of crisis. Social media have evolved into the fastest and most direct means to communicate with student populations. In this study, we experimentally tested the use of Twitter and Facebook as crisis communication media at a university. We further observed the effects of the communication source (university or dean) and the crisis information (instructing or adapting) on secondary communication by the students (e.g., sharing the message and leaving a reaction). The role of the dean as an information source seemed to incite action by students. We also found some counterintuitive effects, particularly with regard to the type of crisis information communicated on Facebook or Twitter, by the dean or the university.
SurveySignal
Authors: Hofmann Wilhelm , Patel Paresh V.
Published: March 2014

Experience sampling or ecological momentary assessment offers unique insights into how people think, feel, and behave in their natural environments. Because the method is able to capture situational variation as it happens in “real time,” experience sampling has become an increasingly popular method in social and personality, psychology, and beyond. With the ubiquity of smartphone ownership and the recent technical advances, conducting experience sampling studies on participants’ own devices has become increasingly easy to do. Here, we present one reliable, user-friendly, highly customizable, and cost-effective solution. The web-based application, SurveySignal, integrates the idea of using short message service (SMS) messages as signals and reminders, according to fixed or random schedules and of linking these signals to mobile surveys designed with common online survey software. We describe the method and customizable parameters and then present evaluation results from nine social–psychological studies conducted with SurveySignal (overall N = 1,852). Mean response rates averaged 77% and the median response delay to signals was 8 min. An experimental manipulation of the reminder signal in one study showed that installing a reminder SMS led to a 10% increase in response rates. Next to advantages and limitations of the SMS approach, we discuss how ecologically valid research methods such as smartphone experience sampling can enrich psychological research.
The Employment of Dialogic Principles in Website, Facebook, and Twitter Platforms of Environmental Nonprofit Organizations
Authors: Kim Daejoong , Chun Heasun , Kwak Youngsun , Nam Yoonjae
Published: March 2014

The present study conducts cross comparisons among nonprofits’ leading Internet platforms regarding use of dialogic principles and investigates relationships between this use and financial capacity. A content analysis was conducted of three Internet platforms (website, Facebook, and Twitter) of 60 U.S.-based environmental nonprofit organizations. The results reveal that (1) 85% of the organizations use either Facebook or Twitter, (2) the overall extent of dialogic principle employment is the highest for the website, followed by Facebook and Twitter, (3) positive correlations are found only between the website and Twitter in the dialogic principles of the dialogic loop and the usefulness of information to the public, and (4) organizational financial capacity is positively correlated only with Twitter in the overall dialogic principle employment. The results indicate that, although nonprofits operate multiple Internet platforms for relation building with the public, they substantially rely on their websites and use Facebook and Twitter to supplement particular dialogic features that are limited on websites.
Infomediary Business Models for Connecting Open Data Providers and Users
Authors: Janssen Marijn , Zuiderwijk Anneke
Published: March 2014

Many public organizations are opening their data to the general public and embracing social media in order to stimulate innovation. These developments have resulted in the rise of new, infomediary business models, positioned between open data providers and users. Yet the variation among types of infomediary business models is little understood. The aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding of the diversity of existing infomediary business models that are driven by open data and social media. Cases presenting different modes of open data utilization in the Netherlands are investigated and compared. Six types of business models are identified: single-purpose apps, interactive apps, information aggregators, comparison models, open data repositories, and service platforms. The investigated cases differ in their levels of access to raw data and in how much they stimulate dialogue between different stakeholders involved in open data publication and use. Apps often are easy to use and provide predefined views on data, whereas service platforms provide comprehensive functionality but are more difficult to use. In the various business models, social media is sometimes used for rating and discussion purposes, but it is rarely used for stimulating dialogue or as input to policy making. Hybrid business models were identified in which both public and private organizations contribute to value creation. Distinguishing between different types of open data users was found to be critical in explaining different business models.
Mortality From Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Dementias in France and Italy
Authors: Désesquelles Aline , Demuru Elena , Salvatore Michele Antonio , Pappagallo Marilena , Frova Luisa , Meslé France , Egidi Viviana
Published: March 2014

Objective: We perform an in-depth analysis of all death certificates collected in France and Italy with an entry of Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), or another dementia. Method: Data are for 2008. We measure how frequently these conditions are the underlying cause of death. We then examine what other causes are reported on the certificates. Results: In both countries, AD is the underlying cause for about 6 in 10 certificates with an AD entry. The proportion is lower for PD and dementia, but higher in France than in Italy. Many contributing causes reflect the circumstances surrounding the end of life in AD, PD, and dementia, often characterized by bed confinement and frailty. Discussion: Our research highlights several consequences of the conditions under study that could be targeted by public health policy. It also speaks to the existence of differences in diagnosis/certification practices that may explain differences in mortality levels.
Sequence stratigraphic significance of tidal channel systems in a shallow lagoon (Venice, Italy)
Authors: Zecchin Massimo , Tosi Luigi , Caffau Mauro , Baradello Luca , Donnici Sandra
Published: March 2014

The Holocene succession located in the central part of the Venice Lagoon has been investigated by means of high-resolution seismic and core data, which document a full back-barrier depositional environment developed during the last 6 kyr. The studied succession, 4.5–23 m thick, consists of three seismic units bounded at the base by stratal surfaces marked by deep tidal channel incisions, recording main changes in the lagoon hydrodynamics as well as reorganizations of the tidal channel network. The recognized depositional and erosional phases in the lagoon deposits can be linked to both large-scale factors related to the Holocene sea-level rise and local factors in part due to the human impact. In particular, the lower unit is interpreted as the transgressive systems tracts of the Holocene sequence, initially characterized by the accumulation within small estuarine channels incised during the previous phase of subaerial exposure, whereas the upper units are interpreted as the highstand systems tracts, typified by the persistence of the lagoonal environment. The higher stratal surface records a hydrodynamic change related to a local transgression affecting a deltaic area placed just to the south, probably at least in part aided by human interventions. The Holocene succession accumulated in the central part of the Venice Lagoon testifies that the development of stratal surfaces in back-barrier settings, persisting during both transgressive and highstand conditions, may exhibit differences with respect to that predicted by current sequence stratigraphic models, and therefore, it is useful to improve the knowledge of these systems.
The field of border control in Mauritania
Authors: Frowd Philippe M.
Published: March 2014

Recent work on borders has tended to overlook border control actors, practices and rationalities in West Africa. States in this region are considered origin and transit countries for irregular migration, and the Sahel region that they straddle is widely seen as an emerging haven of terrorist activity. This article discusses one response to these migration and terrorism threats by the Islamic Republic of Mauritania: a programmme to build new border posts with help from global partners that include the European Union and the International Organization for Migration. The article builds on Bourdieusian approaches in critical security studies, but draws on concepts from actor-network theory to account for the heterogeneity of border control actors and the mobility of different knowledges about how to control borders. Drawing on ethnographic research in Mauritania, the article discusses four ‘actants’ of border security: the border posts, the landscape, the biometric entry–exit system and training practices. Throughout, the article highlights field dynamics of competition, cooperation and pedagogy, also emphasizing the role of non-human agency. The article concludes with a reflection on the link between border control and statebuilding, suggesting that this fusion is a broader paradigm of security provision in the global South.
Drug-Induced Thrombocytopenia in the Critically Ill
Authors: Williamson David R. , Lesur Olivier , Tétrault Jean-Pierre , Pilon Danielle
Published: March 2014

Background:Drugs are suspected when obvious causes of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired thrombocytopenia have been excluded. It has been estimated that 10% to 25% of cases may be drug induced. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the risk of thrombocytopenia associated with drug classes commonly used in the ICU. Methods: Data concerning patients admitted for more than 48 hours between 1997 and 2011 were extracted from a research-purpose database. Patients with thrombocytopenia within the first 72 hours of admission and with diagnoses or interventions considered strongly associated with thrombocytopenia were excluded. Drug exposures were compared and adjusted for confounders using conditional logistic regression. Results: A total of 238 cases were identified after exclusions. Each case was matched according to sex, age, admission year, and admission unit with 1 control. In univariate analysis, quinolones (odds ratio [OR] = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.01-2.40) and extended spectrum β-lactams (OR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.00-2.93) were significantly associated with an increased risk of thrombocytopenia. After adjusting for confounders, exposure to quinolones was the only drug class with a statistically significant increase in risk of thrombocytopenia (OR = 1.697; 95% CI = 1.002-2.873; P = 0.049). Conclusion: In this study of ICU-acquired thrombocytopenia, we found no association between the exposures to several antibiotic classes, anticonvulsants, antiplatelet agents, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and heparins and thrombocytopenia. As linezolid was not studied, no conclusions can be drawn concerning this agent. The statistically significant association between quinolones and thrombocytopenia warrants further investigation.
Where Are the Women? The Presence of Female Columnists in U.S. Opinion Pages
Authors: Harp Dustin , Bachmann Ingrid , Loke Jaime
Published: March 2014

Empirical and anecdotal evidence shows that the news media are male-dominated. This study updates the extant literature on women’s representation in the op-ed pages of ten U.S. newspapers. A content analysis showed that female authors are moving beyond topics traditionally linked to females and are writing columns on topics such as politics and economy. However, they remain a minority, and, thus, women’s voices have yet to gain more visibility in the world of opinion writing in U.S. journalism.