bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Zonal-Mean Atmospheric Dynamics of Slowly Rotating Terrestrial Planets
Authors: Colyer G. J. , Vallis G. K.
Published: February 2019

The zonal-mean atmospheric flow of an idealized terrestrial planet is investigated using both numerical simulations and zonally symmetric theories, focusing largely on the limit of low planetary rotation rate. Two versions of a zonally symmetric theory are considered, the standard Held–Hou model, which features a discontinuous zonal wind at the edge of the Hadley cell, and a variant with continuous zonal wind but discontinuous temperature. The two models have different scalings for the boundary latitude and zonal wind. Numerical simulations are found to have smoother temperature profiles than either model, with no temperature or velocity discontinuities even in zonally symmetric simulations. Continuity is achieved in part by the presence of an overturning circulation poleward of the point of maximum zonal wind, which allows the zonal velocity profile to be smoother than the original theory without the temperature discontinuities of the variant theory. Zonally symmetric simulations generally fall between the two sets of theoretical scalings, and have a faster polar zonal flow than either set. Three-dimensional simulations, which allow for the eddy motion that is missing from both models, fall closer to the scalings of the variant model. At very low rotation rates the maximum zonal wind falls with falling planetary rotation rate, and is zero at zero rotation. The low-rotation limit of the overturning circulation, however, is strong enough to drive the temperature profile close to a state of nearly constant potential temperature.
Jet–Precipitation Relation and Future Change of the Mei-Yu–Baiu Rainband and Subtropical Jet in CMIP5 Coupled GCM Simulations
Authors: Horinouchi Takeshi , Matsumura Shinji , Ose Tomoaki , Takayabu Yukari N.
Published: February 2019

Through extensive modeling efforts, it has been established that the ongoing global warming will increase the overall precipitation associated with the East Asian summer monsoon, but the future change of its spatial distribution has not reached a consensus. In this study, meridional shifts of the mei-yu–baiu rainband are studied in association with the subtropical jet by using outputs from atmosphere–ocean coupled climate models provided by CMIP5. The models reproduce observed associations between the jet and precipitation over wide time scales from synoptic to interannual. The same relation is found in intermodel differences in simulated climatology, so that the meridional locations of the jet and baiu precipitation are positively correlated. The multimodel-mean projection suggests that the both are shifted southward by the late twenty-first century. This shift is not inconsistent with the projected tropical expansion, not only because the change is local but also because the projected tropical expansion occurs mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. No significant future change in the continental mei-yu precipitation location is identified, which might be because the jet change is weak there. For comparison, the summertime Atlantic jet position, which shifts northward, is investigated briefly. This study suggests that the future change of the subtropical jet is an important aspect to investigate possible future changes of the baiu rainband, and it prompts further studies including the role of the ocean.
Laboratory tests commonly used in complementary and alternative medicine: a review of the evidence
Authors: Jones Stuart L , Campbell Bruce , Hart Tanya
Published: February 2019

It is increasingly easy for the general public to access a wide range of laboratory tests. Tests can be ordered online with little or no input from a health professional. The complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) community promote and sell a wide range of tests, many of which are of dubious clinical significance. Many have little or no clinical utility and have been widely discredited, whilst others are established tests that are used for unvalidated purposes. They range from the highly complex, employing state of the art technology, e.g. heavy metal analysis using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, to the rudimentary, e.g. live blood cell analysis. Results of ‘CAM tests’ are often accompanied by extensive clinical interpretations which may recommend, or be used to justify, unnecessary or harmful treatments. There are now a small number of laboratories across the globe that specialize in CAM testing. Some CAM laboratories operate completely outside of any accreditation programme whilst others are fully accredited to the standard of established clinical laboratories. In this review, we explore CAM testing in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia with a focus on the common tests on offer, how they are reported, the evidence base for their clinical application and the regulations governing their use. We will also review proposed changed to in-vitro diagnostic device regulations and how these might impact on CAM testing.
Biological variation of intact fibroblast growth factor 23 measured on a fully automated chemiluminescent platform
Authors: Jabor Antonín , Kubíček Zdenek , Komrsková Jitka , Vacková Tereza , Vymětalík Jiří , Franeková Janka
Published: February 2019

Background

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), a potent regulator of phosphate and vitamin D metabolism, is a new biomarker of kidney, bone and cardiovascular disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the biological variation of intact fibroblast growth factor 23 (iFGF23).

Methods

The within-subject (CVI) and between-subject (CVG) biological variations were assessed in 14 healthy volunteers in a six-week protocol (seven samples). Imprecision (CVA) was assessed by duplicate measurements and the EP15-A2 protocol. Intact FGF23 was measured using a fully automated chemiluminescent assay (Liaison XL, DiaSorin S.p.A., Saluggia, Italy). Two methods with different sensitivities to non-Gaussian distribution were used to estimate the CVI, SD ANOVA and CV ANOVA methods. We calculated the index of individuality (II) and reference change values.

Results

Depending on the statistical method used, the CVI and CVA were 14.2 and 3.7% (SD ANOVA) or 12.5 and 3.9% (CV ANOVA), respectively. The corresponding reference change values were 40.5 and 36.4%, respectively. The CVG was 13.4% (SD ANOVA was the only option), and the total imprecision (EP15-A2) was less than 7%.

Conclusions

The measurement of iFGF23 demonstrated a CVA less than 4% during the experimental estimation of biological variation. The total imprecision was less than 7% in the EP15-A2 experiment. The CVI values of iFGF23 in healthy persons were 14.2 (SD ANOVA) and 12.5% (CV ANOVA), respectively. The CVG was 13.4%, and the resulting index of individuality was 1.06. The reference change value was less than 41%. The availability of this automated assay for iFGF23 with well-characterized biological variation data delivers opportunities for improved availability and application of this assay clinically.
Primary Care Providers Welcome Smartphone Apps That Assist in Pediatric Weight Management
Authors: B. SanGiovanni Christine , Morella Kristen , Roberts James Russell
Published: February 2019

Primary care providers (PCPs) have few resources to manage their overweight/obese patients. The purpose of study was to determine if technological resources, such as smartphone apps, may be useful for weight management counseling. PCPs were surveyed about their current use of resources for obesity management and whether smartphone apps would be helpful. Seventy-four PCPs completed the survey. Only 15% currently referred patients to smartphone apps at least sometimes or more often. When asked about features of apps, 66% were not aware of apps with interactive healthy eating games, yet if aware, 45% reported they would refer patients. Providers reported a greater likelihood of being more effective using an app compared with their current ability to manage overweight/obesity, 3.19 versus 2.85, P < .01. The majority of pediatric providers surveyed do not provide technological resources for their overweight/obese patients; yet, they appear interested in using smartphone apps as a resource.
The Flexibility of Short-radius Pipe-bends
Authors: Gross Nicol , Ford Hugh
Published: February 2019

Experimental results are presented for the stresses and deflexions of typical pipe-bends of small bend radius and of thin wall section. The bends were subjected to external moments and, in one test, to a combination of an external moment and internal pressure.

It is shown that the calculation methods based on Kármán's assumptions and analysis are inadequate for predicting the stresses and flexibility of bends of this type, but the modification of Kármán's analysis, described in the companion paper, is shown to be satisfactory down to values of the pipe factor of 2 hR/r2 = 0·09, where 2 h is the thickness of pipe, r the mean radius and R the radius of curvature, and to values of R/r = 2·2.

The effect of superimposed internal pressure is to reduce the peak stresses arising from the externally applied moment, and, even when the pressure was raised to 2½ times the maximum working pressure, the bend was subjected to no more severe stress combination than in the pressureless state.

Consideration is given to the design of pipe-bends, and it is shown that a simple and reliable method of calculating safe working conditions can be derived.

The MS. of this paper was received at the Institution on 28th August 1952. For the report of the meeting in London, on 12th December 1952, at which this paper was presented, see Proc. I. Mech.E. (A) 1952, vol. 166, p. 406.
Can God be Enriched? On the Metaphysical Underpinnings of Von Balthasar’s Theology
Authors: O’Callaghan Paul
Published: February 2019

Hans Urs von Balthasar, in his work Theo-drama, on the basis of the profound, Christologically based bond between the Trinity and the created world, speaks of the possibility of God being ‘enriched’ by creatures. The study considers his explanation and justification of this position. It goes on to present the position of a variety of authors who favour Von Balthasar’s view on the basis of a more ample idea of ‘being’ that includes receptivity and donation. Others however point out that the ‘enrichment’ of God would place potency and change in the divinity, and thus should only be spoken of in metaphorical terms. Receptivity would only be a perfection in created being, not in God.
Beyond “a contradiction in terms”. Transport museums, research agendas, and public history
Authors: Betts Oliver
Published: February 2019

Both Transport History and Transport Museums stand at a critical point, this piece argues, with both their academic relevance and public interest and support in the balance. Drawing on recent debate in this journal about the future of Transport History given the recent turn towards mobility, this piece argues that museums and scholars would benefit greatly from the joined up thinking that would allow for new critical perspectives to develop. The challenges of audiences and interpretations, so key to the daily work of museums, fit perfectly with the new perspectives on transport in the past academics themselves are wrestling with, and present exciting opportunities for reflective collaboration.
Effect of Golden Ratio on the Beauty of Double Concentric Circles
Authors: Nakajima Yoshiaki , Ohta Hirohiko
Published: February 2019

The effect of golden ratio for the aesthetic preference of double concentric circles was investigated. 124 Japanese college students were asked to choose one concentric circle in each 36 pairs combined among nine kinds of concentric circles. Analysis showed that the beauty of circles was the highest at stimulus No. 4 and two possible interpretations were indicated.
Temporal Lobes Signs and Jungian Dimensions of Personality
Authors: Huot B. , Makarec K. , Persinger M. A.
Published: February 2019

Phenomenological experiences that suggest temporal lobe lability were correlated with Jungian personality (Myers-Briggs) indicators. People with frequent temporal lobe indicators were more intuitive than sensing and more perceiving than judging; in the more general population temporal lobe indicators were also weakly associated with feeling rather than thinking. Students who were actively engaged in a drama class also displayed more frequent temporal lobe signs than psychology students. The data arc commensurate with the hypothesis that the relationship between belief in psi phenomena, psi experiences, and specific cognitive styles is derived from a temporal lobe lability factor.
Physical Self-Efficacy Levels in Japanese and American University Students
Authors: Cusumano Jerome A. , Robinson Sharon E. , Morooka Fumio
Published: February 2019

Ryckman has developed a reliable and valid scale to assess physical self-efficacy. This study reports the translation and use of this scale for a Japanese population. Analysis showed that the Japanese sample scored significantly lower than the American normative group. The Japanese phenomenon of taijin kyofusho (anthropophobia) is hypothesized as a reason for the difference.
Training Design and Personnel Evaluation of a Training Program
Authors: Waldkoetter Raymond O. , Modjeski Richard B. , Curran Thomas
Published: February 2019

Complex issues in training design can occur when a new training program must integrate device/equipment and personnel skills. The Firefinder Simulator, Artillery-Locating Radar System, and Course were analyzed in a specially devised approach to assure training effectiveness. Using qualified personnel for evaluation of course design and performance, a task-oriented questionnaire was given in an interview survey of 53 test-player subjects following a training effectiveness test. Selected results were significantly related to total group analysis reflecting the hypothesized design features and training effectiveness. Training efficiency was augmented so critical tasks and evaluative procedures were emphasized to verify and enhance course content. As a model personnel test and survey approach specific suggestions were produced for training development and improvement for instructors’ and students’ proficiency.
Critical Flicker Frequency, Personality and Sex of Subjects,
Authors: Amir Taha , Ali M. R.
Published: February 2019

This study was designed to investigate differences in personality type and sex of subjects on critical flicker frequency (CFF) of normal and problem-children from two secondary schools. Students, 20 problem-children and 20 normal children, were tested on critical flicker frequency. Both sexes were equally represented in the two groups. An Arabic version of Lanyon's Psychological Screening Inventory was given. Individuals in the problem group were antisocial in their behaviours and attitudes, extraverted, maladjusted, and had a lot in common with psychiatric patients. A 2-way analysis of variance showed that both sex of subject and type of personality were significantly related to CFF. Boys obtained significantly lower mean CFF than girls and problem-children obtained significantly lower mean CFF than normal children. An interaction of sex of subjects and type of personality with CFF was also found. The results were not as hypothesized and contrary to prior reported findings.
Perceptual Ranks of College Students’ Ethical Beliefs and Behaviors
Authors: Pratt Cornelius B. , Mclaughlin Gerald W.
Published: February 2019

26 five-point statements are used to examine perceptual differences among beliefs and behaviors in five primary ethical situations for 323 undergraduate communication students in two mid-Atlantic public universities. Analyses indicate significant differences among means over the five situations. Also, there are significant agreements among ranks for the students’, professors’, and peers’ beliefs, as perceived by the students, and between the self-reported behaviors of the students and their perceptions of the behaviors of their peers. Factor analysis establishes the basic structure of these five ethical situations in a two-dimensional space.
Response to Kirton
Authors: Robertson E. , Fournet G. , Zelhart Paul , Estes Robert
Published: February 2019

Further comment and analyses of data from 103 alcoholics indicate less internal consistency in alcoholics’ responding than in normals, no tendency for innovative alcoholics to engage in more hostile/aggressive behaviors than adaptor alcoholics, and a likelihood that more than three factors for alcoholics would be required to account for variance comparable to that for nonalcoholic persons.
Effect of Competitive Outcome on State Anxiety
Authors: Abadie Ben R.
Published: February 2019

Two teams ( ns = 9 and 10) were given Spielberger, et al.'s State Anxiety Inventory before and after they played a 25-min. game of volleyball. Winners showed reduced anxiety posttest, but not the losers, who showed some tendency toward higher scores.
Psychometric Properties of Two Brief Versions of Cognitive, Insomnia-Specific Measures: The Anxiety and Preoccupation About Sleep Questionnaire and the Sleep-Associated Monitoring Index
Authors: Jansson-Fröjmark Markus , Sunnhed Rikard
Published: February 2019

Aim

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of two brief versions of previously validated cognitive process measures in insomnia: the Anxiety and Preoccupation about Sleep Questionnaire and the Sleep-Associated Monitoring Index.

Methods

Two samples (168 students and 219 patients with insomnia disorder) completed original and brief versions of the two measures (Anxiety and Preoccupation about Sleep Questionnaire-Brief version and Sleep-Associated Monitoring Index-Brief version). Also, they filled out sociodemographic questions, sleep items, and the Insomnia Severity Index.

Results

In both samples, the internal consistencies of the two brief versions were acceptable at α = .70 to.72. The correlations between the original and brief versions were significant at .79 to .82. The two brief versions were also significantly associated with insomnia severity and nighttime symptomatology. In the student sample, those with likely insomnia disorder (14.9% of the sample) scored significantly higher on the two brief versions, relative to those without insomnia.

Conclusion

The two brief versions, Anxiety and Preoccupation about Sleep Questionnaire-Brief version and Sleep-Associated Monitoring Index-Brief version, displayed acceptable psychometric properties. This implies that the two brief versions might be viable alternatives for use in clinical and research settings.
Intimate entanglements in the animal house: Caring for and about mice
Authors: Friese Carrie
Published: February 2019

This article presents two vignettes from ethnographic research conducted in a ‘biological services unit’ or mouse house at a life sciences research institute in the UK. I focus on the ‘intimate knowledge’ two animal technicians demonstrated as crucial to care for the mice, where affective knowledge operated alongside scientific knowledge of animal welfare and administrative knowledge of keeping laboratory animals. I then show how caring for and about laboratory mice entailed caring about various other things, things that could help improve the lives of the mice. I thematize how the animal technicians ‘care about’ mice, using Astrid Schrader’s twin conceptions of compassion and ‘abyssal intimacy’. However, unlike Schrader and much of the literature focusing on the centrality of ‘sacrifice’ in scientific research involving laboratory animals, I contend that compassion is not centrally informed by death as the abyss here. Rather, the violent relatedness of being replaceable forms the abyss that makes compassion possible. It was the fact of caring about those with whom one becomes so intimately entangled, within the context of paid labour where one is replaceable, that formed the basis for compassion between animal technicians, mice and myself.
Data intimacies: Building infrastructures for intensified embodied encounters with air pollution
Authors: Calvillo Nerea , Garnett Emma
Published: February 2019

The air is, in many urban contexts, polluted. Governments and institutions monitor particles and gas concentrations to better understand how they perform in the light of air quality guidance and legislation, and to make predictions in terms of future environmental health targets. The visibility of these data is considered crucial for citizens to manage their own health, and a proliferation of new informational forms and apps have been created to achieve this. And yet, beyond everyday decisions (when to use a mask or when to do sports outdoors), it is not clear whether current methods of engaging citizens produce behavioural change or stronger citizen engagement with air pollution. Drawing on the design, construction and ethnography of an urban infrastructure to measure, make visible and remediate particulate matter (PM2.5) through a water vapour cloud that we installed at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017, we examined the effects and affects of producing a public space that allows for physical interaction with data. In Yellow Dust, data from PM2.5 were translated into mist, the density of which was responsive to the number of particles suspended in the air. Data were made sense/ible by the changing conditions of the air surrounding the infrastructure, which can be experienced in embodied, collective and relational ways: what we call ‘molecular intimacies’. By reflecting on how the infrastructure facilitated new modes of sensing data, we consider how ‘data intimacies’ can re-specify action by producing different forms of engagement with air pollution.
Technologies of friendship: Accessibility politics in the ‘how to’ mode
Authors: Criado Tomás Sánchez
Published: February 2019

This text is an ethnographic account of a singular, Barcelona-based activist endeavour called En torno a la silla (ETS): a do-it-yourself and open design and making collective engaging in a very peculiar form of accessibility politics beyond a ‘disability rights’ framework. In it, I entangle intimately with ETS’s relational interventions, in the form of making and documentation processes. What animates me is a political engagement with the practice of ‘re-description’, paying attention to the singularity of what relational vocabularies and practices bring to the fore. In describing the context of its appearance, as well as several of the collective’s endeavours, I address ETS’s relational register. Rather than being a clear-cut activist group with the aim of materialising the ‘inclusion’ of ‘disabled people’ through ‘technical aids’, ETS engaged in producing what they called ‘technologies of friendship’: frail and careful material explorations opening up interstitial relational spaces of ‘mutual access’ between bodily diverse people. Through circulating tutorials, poetic accounts, digitally and in workshops and presentations, ETS’s technologies of friendship became also ways of addressing how relations can be materialised and reflexively described, making available in its wake ways to re-enact them. Thus it produced an inspiring ‘how to’ accessibility politics: a material-political concern with the speculative opening up and materialisation of conditions for the very happening of relations, relating at the hinges of unrelatability.
Hispanic neighbourhood satisfaction in new and established metropolitan destinations
Authors: Brazil Noli
Published: February 2019

As one of the more important recent population shifts in the USA, the migration of Hispanics into new immigrant metropolitan gateways has received significant scholarly attention. Much of this attention has been paid to understanding how Hispanic residential experiences and environmental characteristics differ between new and traditional destinations. This study contributes to this literature by using 2013 American Housing Survey data to examine differences in the levels and determinants of Hispanic neighbourhood satisfaction by Hispanic destination type. The study pays specific attention to the role of neighbourhood social capital and explores differences between native- and foreign-born Hispanics. Findings reveal that Hispanics report higher neighbourhood satisfaction levels in new destinations compared with new destination white residents and Hispanics living in established destinations. The effects of social cohesion, social control and physical disorder on neighbourhood satisfaction are similar across destination type and nativity. However, the influence of metropolitan area characteristics varies by destination type and is specific to foreign-born Hispanics. Whereas low-skilled employment and Hispanic isolation affect the neighbourhood satisfaction of Hispanic immigrants in established areas, foreign-born segregation influences satisfaction levels in new destinations. The study provides evidence of Hispanic residential adaptation in new destinations with differential determinants across destination type and nativity.
Stratified and defensive planning democracy: Hearings on objections to plans in nine Israeli cities
Authors: Margalit Talia , Kemp Adriana
Published: February 2019

This article contributes to the debate on inclusion and democracy in planning by comparing the answers given by five Israeli district committees to objections to planning proposals in nine cities, and by analysing their discourse in terms of socio-spatial inequality. We investigate how the committees’ answers to various professionals and civil actors, and how the type and degree of effort they invest in justifying their decisions, reflect their views of existing social divisions. We consider current theses on compromises to planning democracy. First, we follow urban regime theorists and compare the planners’ answers to objections submitted by their professional and development peers, and by ordinary people. Second, we follow theories on identity and class-related biases, and compare the committees’ answers to objectors along Israeli socio-spatial and ethnic disparities. Third, we trace planners’ post-political methods to simultaneously protect and legitimate their decisions. We demonstrate evidence of a combination of a positive bias towards the most powerful actors, a negative bias towards the least powerful ones, and many less obvious and neutral answers to those in the middle. We argue that with this array of answers and justifications, Israeli committees preserve a superficial display of inclusion and legitimation.
Towards an icon model of gentrification: Global capitalism, policing, and the struggle for iconic spaces in Mexico City
Authors: McDermott Joshua
Published: February 2019

This paper expands upon Leslie Sklair’s concept of ‘iconicity’ to understand gentrification as a ‘glocal’ process wherein elites attempt to brand cities and exclude undesirable populations to attract capital investment. By focusing on the creation, commercialisation, and maintenance (via punitive policing) of iconic architectural and cultural spaces, I attempt to shed light on the economic, cultural, and political practices that have emerged in response to the ripening contradiction between increasing transnational investment in cities and worsening inequality/displacement in urban areas throughout the globe. Utilising this ‘icon model of gentrification’ to investigate ongoing gentrification within Mexico City, I illustrate the usefulness of the model.
Distress tolerance moderates the relationship between anger experience and elevated blood pressure
Authors: Onyedibe Maria Chidi C , Ibeagha Peace N , Onyishi Ike E
Published: February 2019

Previous studies have linked anger to elevated blood pressure. However, the nature of the association between anger and elevated blood pressure is unclear. This study is aimed at investigating the moderating effect of distress tolerance on the relationship between anger experience and elevated blood pressure. A total of 310 patients drawn from a university teaching hospital in southeast Nigeria participated in this study. They comprised 156 men and 154 women who were aged between 20 and 80 years (mean age = 50.45). Participants responded to the measures of distress tolerance and Novaco Anger Inventory—Short Form. The blood pressures of the participants were obtained with sphygmomanometer and stethoscope. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that anger experience significantly predicted both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The results also showed that distress tolerance was a significant predictor of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Distress tolerance moderated the relationship between anger experience and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The relationships between anger and systolic and diastolic pressure were stronger for patients with low distress tolerance compared to patients with high distress tolerance. It is recommended that psychological interventions aimed at increasing people’s level of distress tolerance are emphasized in the management of elevated blood pressure.
Finite-time sensor fault diagnosis observer design for attitude control systems of satellite based on sampled-data descriptor systems
Authors: Liang Tiantian , Wang Mao , Huang Cheng
Published: February 2019

In this paper, a finite-time robust sensor fault diagnosis observer with non-singular structure is proposed for Attitude Control Systems of satellite based on Lipschitz non-linear sampled-data descriptor systems with state time-varying delay. Firstly, an Attitude Control Systems model based on sampled-data descriptor system with time-varying delay is proposed and transformed into a discrete-time non-singular one. Then, a sensor fault diagnosis observer is designed upon on the state estimation error and the measurement residual. The finite-time stability and robustness of the augmented error dynamic model is analyzed, the H infinity performance index in finite-time is satisfied. As the confining matrices of the observer parameters do not meet the Linear Matrix Inequality, a cone complementary linearization iteration algorithm is proposed to solve this problem. Residual evaluation function and the threshold are introduced for judging if the faults occur. At the end, simulation examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of this method.
The Academic Performance of Undocumented Students in Higher Education in the United States
Authors: Hsin Amy , Reed Holly E.
Published: February 2019

Our understanding of the sources of educational inequality for the estimated 250,000 undocumented immigrant college students in the United States is limited by poor data. We use student administrative data from a large public university, which accurately identify legal status and include pre-enrollment characteristics, to determine the effect of legal status on GPA and graduation. We find that undocumented students are hyper-selected relative to peers; failing to account for this difference underestimates the effect of legal status on academic outcomes. Our findings also highlight the ways legal status interacts with institutional settings and race/ethnicity to affect educational outcomes.
What's Observed in a Rating? Rankings as Orientation in the Face of Uncertainty
Authors: Esposito Elena , Stark David
Published: February 2019

Ratings and rankings are criticized for being simplistic, obscurantist, inaccurate, and subjective, yet they are becoming an increasingly influential social form. We elaborate the criticisms of ratings and rankings in various fields but go on to argue that analysis should shift its target. The problem that ratings deal with is not observation of an independent world. Instead, the challenge they face is the circularity of second-order observation in which observations must take into account the observations of others. To this purpose they function well enough not because they mirror how things are but because they offer a highly visible reference point to which others are attentive and thereby provide an orientation to navigate uncertainty. The concluding section places the problem of ratings and rankings in a broader historical perspective, contrasting the ranked society to the society of rankings. Responding to uncertainty, ratings and rankings perpetuates rather than eliminates anxiety.
Patterns of variation in the interplay of language ability and general reading comprehension ability in L2 reading
Authors: Löwenadler John
Published: February 2019

This study aims to investigate patterns of variation in the interplay of L2 language ability and general reading comprehension skills in L2 reading, by comparing item-level effects of test-takers’ results on L1 and L2 reading comprehension tests. The material comes from more than 500,000 people tested on L1 (Swedish) and L2 (English) in the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test (2010–16). The statistical analysis found no significant correlations between degree of L2 language focus and text length or sentence length, nor could any significant differences be found with regard to the language focus in main point, inference or retrieval items. However, a statistically significant difference was found between the rational deletion gap test and the two sections based on content questions on long and short texts, in the sense that the former to a greater degree measures language ability. Moreover, even though the gap test consists of semantic deletion only, specifically aiming to test higher-order skills, the effect size by different measures was consistently large (Cohen’s d around 0.8). Finally, an additional, more exploratory, qualitative study supported the connection between the distribution of the operationalized language focus value and an item’s relative focus on higher- or lower-level reading skills. Furthermore, it gave some indication that strongly language-focused content question items may be characterized by intra-sentential complexity relating to syntactic parsing and semantic-proposition encoding more than to unfamiliar vocabulary. However, with regard to the results of the qualitative section, more research is clearly needed before it is possible to draw any general conclusions.
Does sociology need decolonizing?
Authors: Izharuddin Alicia
Published: February 2019

This essay reviews three books that investigate the intellectual significance of decentering Eurocentric models in sociology. Each takes a different approach: Syed Farid Alatas and Vineeta Sinha’s Sociological Theory Beyond the Canon employs the comparative biographical study of ‘canonical’ and less well known non-Western social theorists. Julian Go and George Lawson’s edited volume, Global Historical Sociology, develops a robust paradigm that departs from the ‘methodological nationalism’ that defines and limits contemporary sociology and related disciplines. The third book in this review, James V Spickard’s Alternative Sociologies of Religion: Through Non-Western Eyes, turns traditional sociology of religion on its head by examining contemporary Christianity and Islam using concepts developed in ancient China and 14th-century Tunisia. The three books share a similar aim: to shed light on the limits and oversight of Eurocentric sociology that emphasizes the stable sovereign nation and the individual but fails to provide due recognition to the interrelationships and mutual dependence that propel social identities in motion across time and space.
Recreational use of psychedelics is associated with elevated personality trait openness: Exploration of associations with brain serotonin markers
Authors: Erritzoe David , Smith James , Fisher Patrick M , Carhart-Harris Robin , Frokjaer Vibe G , Knudsen Gitte M
Published: February 2019

Background:

Recent studies have suggested therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for a variety of mental health conditions. The understanding of how single psychedelic administrations can induce long-lasting effects are, in large, still lacking. However, recent studies in both healthy and clinical populations suggest a role for personality changes.

Aim:

To test support for some of these plausible mechanisms we evaluated (cross-sectional) associations between recreational use of psychedelics and 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and (a) personality measures and (b) key markers of cerebral serotonergic signalling (serotonin transporter and serotonin-2A-receptor binding).

Methods:

In 10 psychedelic-preferring recreational users, 14 MDMA-preferring users and 21 non-using controls, personality was assessed using the ‘big five‘ instrument Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). Frontal serotonin transporter and serotonin-2A-receptor binding potentials were quantified using [11C]DASB and [18F]altanserin positron emission tomography, respectively.

Results:

Of the five NEO-PI-R traits, only openness to experience scores differed between the three groups; psychedelic-preferring recreational users showing higher openness to experience scores when compared with both MDMA-preferring users and controls. Openness to experience scores were positively associated with lifetime number of psychedelic exposures, and among all MDMA-preferring user/psychedelic-preferring recreational user individuals, frontal serotonin transporter binding – but not frontal serotonin-2A-receptor binding – was positively associated with openness to experience.

Conclusion:

Our findings from this cross-sectional study support increasing evidence of a positive association between psychedelic experiences and openness to experience, and (a) expands this to the context of ‘recreational’ psychedelics use, and (b) links serotonergic neurotransmission to openness to experience. A modulation of personality induced by psychedelic experiences may have important therapeutic implications via its impact on peoples’ value systems, cognitive flexibility, and individual and social behaviour.
Community-level impacts of the third sector: Does the local distribution of voluntary organizations influence the likelihood of volunteering?
Authors: Mohan John , Bennett Matthew R.
Published: February 2019

Scholars have attributed various beneficial outcomes to the presence and density of the voluntary, third or non-profit sector in communities. One way in which the distribution of such organizations may benefit communities is through providing opportunities for volunteering. We hypothesize that the distribution of third-sector organizations has an influence, after controlling for relevant individual and area characteristics, on the likelihood of engaging in formal volunteering (defined as unpaid help given through, and to, third-sector organizations, rather than directly to individuals). Using administrative data from the Charity Commission, we classify organizations in terms of their geographical scale of operation. We then construct indicators of the distribution of charities, and their expenditures, for local authorities in England. We obtain data on volunteering by individuals from the Citizenship Survey and link this to administrative data contained in the Charity Commission register on the distribution of charities. We find that there is a positive relationship between the numbers of charities operating locally and the likelihood of volunteering. Other measures, however, including the distribution of charities operating either regionally or nationally, have no statistically significant effects. We find no relationship between a measure of the size of charities (the median expenditures of charities within local authorities) and the likelihood of volunteering. These findings are relevant beyond the UK to debates about the understanding of variations in voluntary action, and to discussions about the impact of the third sector upon communities.
The Missing Link between Place and Productivity? The Impact of Transit-Oriented Development on the Knowledge and Creative Economy
Authors: Zandiatashbar Ahoura , Hamidi Shima , Foster Nicole , Park Keunhyun
Published: February 2019

Emerging research suggests that planners and policy makers should explore the expanded role Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) plays in promoting innovation and economic growth. TOD station characteristics including accessibility, walkability, density, and mixed uses may create environments beneficial for creative and knowledge industries. However, the evidence linking place to productivity, as measured by firm sales volume is lacking. Using cluster analysis and Propensity Score Matching for national-level data, this research tests these relationships. Findings indicate that firms located in dense, mixed use, and walkable TODs with higher levels of activity experience increased sales. Hence, TOD and knowledge-based economic development strategies should be planned in tandem to maximize outcomes.
“Producing Human Capital”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
Authors: Shin Jaran , Ging Liz
Published: February 2019

Historical and legislative evolutions of education policy have repurposed federally funded adult education programs in the United States. The 2014 passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) has considerable repercussions for everyone involved in the field because it controls the funding, assessment, and structure of these programs. Using critical discourse analysis, this study examines the public law and a Program Memorandum from the federal government. It demonstrates how the language used in the documents characterizes Title II of WIOA (the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act), the goals of adult education, eligible adult learners, and the process by which programs are held accountable for federal funding. The findings show the ways in which Title II tactically legitimizes the U.S. government’s neoliberal capitalist desire within a democratic society: The idealistic language of opportunity acts as a camouflage for the further infiltration of market-oriented practices into the public sector.
How People Forgive: A Systematic Review of Nurse-Authored Qualitative Research
Authors: Recine Ann Gentry , Recine Louis , Paldon Tenzin
Published: February 2019

Purpose: The aim of this systematic review of qualitative forgiveness studies by nurse authors is to contribute to the body of holistic nursing knowledge by discovering answers to the following research questions: (a) where/how does a person get the power to forgive? and (b) what are the people who forgive like? Method: We conducted a systematic search of the English language, peer-reviewed literature for nurse-authored, primary qualitative research that answered our research questions. A total of 188 potential studies were found, and 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: Study participants used interpersonal, intrapersonal, and transpersonal sources of power to forgive, including prayer, meditation, and support from family, friends, and nurses. The findings also revealed the cognitive, emotional, and spiritual traits of forgiving people, including being faith oriented, empathetic, and understanding the meaning of forgiveness as letting go of negative emotions. The findings confirm activities listed under “Forgiveness Facilitation” (2018) in Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) and suggest additions. Conclusion: This literature review adds to nursing knowledge by synthesizing the findings of the review in a way that provides guidance to nurses to help facilitate forgiveness with patients who want that.
A reproducible robust likelihood approach to inference about marginal characteristics of binary data in paired settings
Authors: Tsou Tsung-Shan
Published: February 2019

We introduce a robust likelihood approach to inference about marginal distributional characteristics for paired data without modeling correlation/joint probabilities. This method is reproducible in that it is applicable to paired settings with various sizes. The virtue of the new strategy is elucidated via testing marginal homogeneity in paired triplet scenario. We use simulations and real data analysis to demonstrate the merit of our robust likelihood methodology.
Parental Alienation: The Blossoming of a Field of Study
Authors: Harman Jennifer J. , Bernet William , Harman Joseph
Published: February 2019

Parental alienation has been an unacknowledged and poorly understood form of family violence. Research on parental alienation and the behaviors that cause it has evolved out of decades of legal and clinical work documenting this phenomenon, leading to what could be considered a “greening,” or growth, of the field. Today, there is consensus among researchers as to what parental alienating behaviors are and how they affect children and the family system. We review the literature to detail what parental alienation is, how it is different from other parent–child problems such as estrangement and loyalty conflicts, and how it is perpetuated within and across different social systems. We conclude by highlighting research areas that need further investigation to develop and test effective solutions for ameliorating the devastating effects of parental alienation that, we posit, should be considered and understood not only as abusive to the child but also as a form of family violence directed toward both the child and the alienated parent.
NADPH oxidase 4 expression in the normal endometrium and in endometrial cancer
Authors: Degasper Christine , Brunner Andrea , Sampson Natalie , Tsibulak Irina , Wieser Verena , Welponer Hannah , Marth Christian , Fiegl Heidi , Zeimet Alain Gustave
Published: February 2019

The aim of this study was to explore the role of NOX4 in the biology of the normal endometrium and endometrial cancer. NOX4 plays a key role in other adenocarcinomas and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes and obesity, which are important risk factors for endometrial cancer. NOX4 expression was assessed in 239 endometrial cancer and 25 normal endometrium samples by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. DNA methylation of the NOX4 promoter was determined by means of MethyLight PCR. Data were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and analyzed in the context of diabetes and body mass index. In the normal endometrium, NOX4 microRNA expression was significantly higher in the secretory transformed compared with proliferative endometrium ( p = 0.008). In endometrial cancer specimens, NOX4 expression did not differ between diabetic and non-diabetic patients, but was the highest in patients with a body mass index ≤ 26 ( p = 0.037). The lowest NOX4 expression was found in carcinosarcomas ( p = 0.007). High NOX4 expression predicted poorer clinical outcome with regard to overall survival, especially in non-diabetic patients and those with a body mass index > 20. Independent prognostic significance of NOX4 transcripts was retained in type I endometrial cancer and was the most meaningful in patients with a body mass index > 20. No prognostic impact was shown for NOX4 promoter methylation in endometrial cancer. For the first time, we demonstrate that NOX4 plays a considerable role in the cycle-dependent changes in the normal endometrium and in the biology of endometrial cancer.
How and When Investment Horizons Determine Venture Capital Firms’ Attention Breadth to Portfolio Companies
Authors: Bacon-Gerasymenko Violetta , Arthurs Jonathan D. , Cho Sam Y.
Published: February 2019

This study develops and tests a theory about the antecedents of venture capital firms’ (VCs’) attention breadth to their portfolio companies (PFCs). We find that VCs expand their attention breadth but only up to a certain level of expected investment horizons for each PFC, after which attention breadth narrows. We also find that this inverted U-shaped relationship is contingent upon the VC investment horizon dispersion and the number of co-investors in a given PFC. Our research advances the entrepreneurship and venture capital literature and provides novel insight into the broader literature on investment horizons and strategic alliances.