bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Expression of Non-Epistemic Modal Categories
Authors: Narrog Heiko
Published: December 2014

This chapter gives an overview of the cross-linguistic expression of non-epistemic modality. Following the issue of morphological expression, including covert (implicit) expression, deviations from one-meaning–one-form, and biases in the expression of non-epistemic possibility and necessity are presented. Then morphosyntactic aspects of the expression of non-epistemic modality are discussed, especially non-canonical case marking associated with the use of non-epistemic modal expressions, and the question of order between modal expressions and expressions of other grammatical categories. The chapter ends with a brief subsection on modal concord and on the use of non-epistemic modal expressions in discourse.
The Expression of Epistemic Modality
Authors: Boye Kasper
Published: December 2014

This chapter provides an overview of how epistemic modal meanings are expressed in the languages of the world. It first presents a survey of different types of epistemic modal expressions. Then some examples of morphosyntactic systems of epistemic modality are given. Next comes a discussion of different types of combinations of epistemic modal expressions. The section that follows deals with scope properties and with cross-linguistic tendencies pertaining to the ordering of grammatical epistemic modal expressions relative to other kinds of grammatical expressions. The final section is concerned with distributional characteristics of epistemic modal expressions in independent and dependent clauses.
When Number Processing and Calculation is Not Your Cup of Tea
Authors: Noël Marie-Pascale
Published: December 2014

This section of this volume deals with the study of numerical impairment occurring either after brain damage (i.e., acquired acalculia) or during development without any known brain damage (i.e., dyscalculia). The chapters in this section will report the research aiming at characterizing those difficulties. The study of atypical number processing and calculation in acalculia has contributed importantly to the understanding of how our brain is structured to process number and to calculate. The study of dyscalculia has shed light on the numerical bases for arithmetic learning. This research has also helped us in determining how other cognitive functions such as working memory, visuospatial processing, or phonological awareness have an impact on numerical cognition. These relations between different cognitive domains could partly explain the co-morbidities that are often observed in developmental disorders. Finally, this section also reviews the few attempts that have been made to enhance those numerical capacities.
Dislocations and Information Structure
Authors: López Luis
Published: December 2014

Dislocations are constituents in the periphery of the clause—or, depending on the analysis, outside the structure of the clause proper. In the canonical cases, they are doubled by a functional bundle and they are separated from the core clause by an intonational phrase boundary. In many languages we find that dislocations come in two classes: a class of dislocations that are syntactically linked to a position in the core structure (D-type) and a second class of dislocations that are connected only in the process of interpretation (H-type). This grammatical distinction maps onto a difference in the information structure properties: D-type dislocations are given, H-type dislocations signal topic promotion. Some languages seem to have only H-type dislocations, which take over the functions of both D-type and H-type dislocations.
Nuclear Stress and Information Structure
Authors: Zubizarreta Maria Luisa
Published: December 2014

This chapter discusses and evaluates different approaches to the nuclear stress (NS) algorithm in light of the variability in stress pattern observed for certain constructions in German and English in wide focus contexts (‘unmarked’ stress patterns), in opposition to the rigid (right-most) nature of NS in Spanish/Italian. The chapter also briefly discusses the case of nuclear stress in narrow focus contexts (‘marked’ stress patterns), and points to recent research that suggests that ‘unmarked’ and ‘marked’ stress patterns originate through distinct mechanisms.
Information Structure in First Language Acquisition
Authors: Höhle Barbara , Berger Frauke , Sauermann Antje
Published: December 2014

So far, research on the acquisition of information structure (IS) is still relatively sparse compared to other areas of first language acquisition research. A growing interest in this area has emerged with an increasing number of results indicating an asymmetry of an early production but late comprehension of linguistic means related to IS—which contrasts common findings in other areas of acquisition with comprehension skills typically being in advance to production skills and thus provides a challenge for theories of language acquisition. This chapter will give a review on recent findings on the acquisition of linguistic means to mark IS in first language acquisition focusing on studies looking at the production and comprehension of accentuation and word order. A further part will look at children’s production and comprehension of sentences with focus particles.
Second Occurrence Focus
Authors: Baumann Stefan
Published: December 2014

A ‘Second Occurrence Focus’ (SOF) is the semantic focus of a focus sensitive operator (like only) which is contextually given. SOF has been claimed to be phonologically unmarked, which poses a problem for association with focus theories assuming a direct relation between focus and pitch accent. This chapter discusses the main semantic-pragmatic accounts of the SOF challenge but also empirical investigations which found that SOF actually is marked by secondary (i.e. non-nuclear) prosodic prominence, providing evidence in favour of association with focus theories. A similar prosodic pattern could be found in semantically and prosodically comparable structures such as cases of implicational bridging. Finally, an outlook on a possible unified approach of the phonological representation of second occurrence expressions is presented which is based on metrical stress.
The Economics of Non-Cognitive Skills
Authors: Camfield Laura
Published: December 2014

Non-cognitive skills, defined as individual differences that are independent of cognitive ability, are used within economics and policy to understand and improve labor market outcomes and reduce anti-social behavior. These measures are now being used in sub-Saharan Africa to capture “softer” outcomes of interventions with young people in particular. Having first defined non-cognitive skills and described how they are measured, this chapter then presents critiques relating to their relative insensitivity to culture and class. This argument as to the context specificity of non-cognitive skills is supported with qualitative and quantitative data generated with young entrepreneurs from Uganda and South Africa.
Measuring Structural Economic Vulnerability in Africa
Authors: Guillaumont Patrick
Published: December 2014

This chapter examines the structural vulnerability of Africa’s economy and the methodological issues involved in measuring it. It begins by proposing a conceptual framework for measuring economic structural vulnerability that distinguishes it from general vulnerability, from physical vulnerability to climate change, and from state fragility. It then considers the main features and evolution of structural economic vulnerability in Africa using an economic vulnerability index. It suggests that structural economic vulnerability is higher in the continent than in other developing economies, reinforced by physical vulnerability to climate change. In addition, Africa has the highest proportion of fragile states among all continents. Finally, the chapter indicates that structural vulnerability, if adequately measured, may be useful as a criterion for the international allocation of official development assistance and of concessional resources.
Social Movements and the Institutionalization of Dissent in America
Authors: Meyer David S. , Laschever Eulalie
Published: December 2014

This chapter explores how social movements have influenced institutional politics—with particular reference to dissent—in America. The chapter looks at the process of political institutionalization offered by the American political system to various claimants. It considers how American politics helped perpetrate inclusion and influence, and how historic movements have responded to those opportunities. It then describes four distinct social movements in America: feminism and women’s rights, civil rights and abolition of slavery, labor movement, and environmentalism. It argues that these movements are not self-contained and insular, but interconnected in the way they affect one another, American political institutions, and other social movement challenges. It also discusses five interrelated ways through which the process of institutionalization takes place: individuals, ideas, laws, new bureaucratic institutions, and formal recognition as nongovernmental organizations. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the ongoing development of social movements as a recurrent feature in American politics.
Hume on Personal Identity
Authors: Strawson Galen
Published: December 2014

This paper considers Hume’s account of personal identity in his Treatise of Human Nature. It argues for three connected claims. (1) Hume does not endorse a “bundle theory” of mind, according to which the mind or self is simply a “bundle” of perceptions; he thinks that “the essence of the mind [is] unknown to us.” (2) Hume does not deny the existence of subjects of experience; he does not endorse a “no self” or “no ownership” view. (3) Hume does not claim that the subject of experience is not encountered in experience. The paper also examines Hume’s phenomenological account of self-experience—of what he comes across when he engages in mental self-examination by “entering intimately into what I call myself”—and his psychological account of how we come to believe in the existence of a persisting self as a result of the mind’s “sliding easily” along certain series of perceptions.
The Technology of Mining and Other Technical Innovations
Authors: Hecht Hartmut , Gottschalk Jürgen
Published: December 2014

This chapter examines the contribution of Leibniz to mining technology and other technical innovations. It explains that Leibniz’s earliest reflections on technical issues are contained in the paper De longitudinibus inveniendis, which was published between the end of 1668 and the beginning of 1669, and that his intensive preoccupation with technology is primarily associated with the commissions he received from Duke Johan Friedrich and his successor Ernst August for the improvement of the efficiency of mining in the Harz Mountains during the late 1600s. It also describes Leibniz’s works on how to determine longitude, the vacuum phenomena, the perpetuum mobile, automatic machines, and the machina deciphratoria or deciphering machine.
From Salsa to Salzonto
Authors: Carwile Christey
Published: December 2014

Since its emergence among Spanish-speaking immigrants in New York City in the 1960s, salsa dance (and music) has become a quintessential symbol of Latin identity in and outside of the United States. The worldwide adoption of the dance has opened up new possibilities for identity construction. Using field research from Accra, Ghana, this chapter explores the ways in which salsa dance has come to inform a pan-African identity, creating moments where local ethnicities become deemphasized. “Traditional” dances in Ghana have historically been viewed as reflecting local “tribal” and/or ethnic identities and later appropriated by national dance companies as a way to construct and display a Ghanaian “national culture.” However, the adoption of salsa dance in Ghana is what I call an “inventive dance tradition,” one not espoused by colonial administrators or postcolonial leaders, but pioneered by a new generation of urban youth with more global agendas.
The Ethics of Economic Decision Rules
Authors: Hansson Sven Ove
Published: December 2014

The purpose of economic decision rules is to guide decision makers who have competing goals or are uncertain about how their goals can be fulfilled. This chapter discusses the assumptions underlying major decision rules such as expected utility maximization, discounting of future events, maximin, and various types of efficiency criteria including cost effectiveness and Pareto efficiency. All of these decision rules impose restrictions on the information to be taken into account, and since these restrictions are value laden, so are the decision rules. However, in the process of applying decision rules, the value assumptions are often put out of sight instead of being brought forward and discussed.
South Asia
Authors: Gargesh Ravinder , Sailaja Pingali
Published: December 2014

This chapter traces the history of English in the countries of South Asia, including the political, economic, educational, and social impact of the language on the region. The major debates and processes that led to the institutionalization of the language are highlighted. It then presents an outline of the typical linguistic features and also their variation across the region. Some of the consequences of the multilingual context and the need to communicate by a wide spectrum of groups led to the development of sub-varieties and widespread code-switching; the chapter discusses these phenomena as well. Some theoretical approaches that aim to explain some of the aspects of the linguistic features rather than merely describe the data are then presented.
On the Intonation of Tonal Varieties of English
Authors: Gussenhoven Carlos
Published: December 2014

Varieties of English with substrate tone languages are tone languages. Detailed descriptions of sentence-wide tone structures in Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Cantonese English show that British English words with initial stress have H-tone melodies, while other words have MH or LH melodies. These languages vary in the use of final intonational boundary tones and the extent to which phonological downstep on H-tones is triggered by non-overt (floating) low tones (Nigerian and Ghanaian English) or by overt tones only (Cantonese English). The analyses of Nigerian English and Cantonese English are supported by the results of production and perception experiments run on location with native speakers. While the structural differences deprive these languages of the many intonation contrasts that characterize British English, two structural contrasts that British English lacks are identified in the tonal varieties.
World Englishes and Language Ideologies
Authors: Bhatt Rakesh M.
Published: December 2014

This chapter analyzes language ideologies within the context of world Englishes, focusing mainly on language ideological debates that have shaped the field of the study of world Englishes. These debates highlight the importance of language ideological analysis for a proper understanding of the social stratification of English language variation; to answer, ultimately, the important sociolinguistic question: why does language vary in the ways that it does? The answer to this rather simple question is inextricably tied to the complicated notion of power, or how power works. Building on the work of J. Irvine and S. Gal’s ‘Language Ideology and Linguistic Differentiation’, this chapter shows how certain ideological strategies are continually manipulated to legitimize and rationalize the power of ‘standard’ (English) language.
The Experience of Meaning-Making
Authors: McNamara Barry Carolyn , Abo-Zena Mona M.
Published: December 2014

Emerging adults are on a journey of self-discovery. In a nation founded on religious liberty, it is not surprising that so many emerging adults in the United States are focused on self-exploration concerning their religiousness and spirituality. This chapter addresses how religiousness and spirituality develop over the third decade by noting similarities and differences from previous and coming decades, the nature of religious and spiritual beliefs, the intersection of religious and spiritual development with developmental domains, and the outcomes associated with religiousness and spirituality. The chapter goes on to discuss religious and spiritual socialization contexts of parents, peers, religious communities, universities, and the media, and it delineates the variations in religious and spiritual development concerning gender, sexuality, and culture, as well as the subgroup of nonreligious and atheist emerging adults. The authors note limitations and future research directions for the study of emerging adults’ religiousness and spirituality.
“Adulthood” by Whose Definition?
Authors: Nelson Larry J. , Luster Stephanie S.
Published: December 2014

The beginning of adulthood may well be the most nebulous transition of the life course. It is fair to say that no clear-cut universal marker indicates the beginning of adulthood, leading to widespread cultural and individual diversity in the beliefs of young people aged 18–29 regarding what it means to be an adult and how the transition into adulthood should occur. This chapter examines this complexity. The authors review the literature exploring the conceptions of adulthood of young people beginning at age 18 and continuing through the third decade; examine how these conceptions have been linked to beliefs, behaviors, and relationships during the third decade of life; (c) recommend numerous areas of inquiry needed to better understand factors related to young people’s conceptions of adulthood; and (d) provide some thoughts on the implications of the extant research for those who work with young people.
Stability and Change Within Groups
Authors: Hornsey Matthew J. , Jetten Jolanda
Published: December 2014

This chapter examines the psychological tensions between protecting the status quo within groups and engaging in intragroup change. In the first section we review two research traditions that imply self-reinforcing cycles of stability and preservation of the status quo: (a) research on conformity and the punishment of deviance and (b) research examining biases toward shared knowledge in small decision-making groups. In the second section we provide the counterpoint to these theoretical traditions, exploring several reasons why, despite psychological pressures that appear to favor majority opinions and shared assumptions, intragroup change and reform is a robust reality of group life. In the third and final section of this chapter we move on to examine who within the group is most likely to push for change; who within the group is more effective at pushing for change; and what are the effective strategies for initiating change.
Congregational Singing, Orthodox Christianity, and the Making of Ecumenicity
Authors: Engelhardt Jeffers
Published: December 2014

This chapter offers an ethnographic and historical analysis of the many church-musical overlaps and exchanges between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Estonians. It traces several tunes through a broad variety of Estonian denominational hymnals and post-Soviet performance settings, showing a substantial historical overlap that happens in Estonian church musical practice across Lutheran, Orthodox, and other Protestant groups. This overlap creates musical commonalites in practice, “ecumenicities,” that speak to the “secular” backdrop of Estonian Christianity. In this chapter, “secularity” suggests a public culture and model of citizenship long constituted with relation to multiple Christianities (or multiple religions). That modern secularity is also a backdrop for the ethnomusicological study of world Christianities, Orthodox and otherwise.
Speaking of the I-Word
Authors: Treitler Leo
Published: December 2014

The chapter focuses on modern uses of “improvisation,” its derivatives (I-words), and its constitution with “composition” of a duality of opposites that—like many dualities—works as a hierarchy, valuing reason over impulse, order over entropy, coherence over incoherence, integration over disarticulation, organic wholeness over disjunction. It evaluates the effect of such a conception in accounts of music-making in the Middle Ages and the eighteenth century. It compares those accounts with language left by writers of the periods in view, finding contrariety by commission in the first and omission in the second. Regarding the power of language in shaping such portrayals, the chapter demonstrates the cloaking of eighteenth-century doctrine about what music is for and how it should be—expressive, moving, pleasing, free, unpredictable, original, in short, its aesthetic—that attends the simple act of transmuting “fantasy” to “improvisation” and fantasizing from that a “style” that is labeled “improvisatory.”
Role-Play, Improvisation, and Emergent Authorship
Authors: Pearce Celia
Published: December 2014

This essay explores the notion of role-playing as a form of “emergent authorship,” a bottom-up, procedural process leading to co-created, unexpected narrative outcomes. The essay begins with an overview of role-playing practices in the context of what might be termed the “participatory turn” in performance and culture, providing examples tabletop and live action role-playing games. Goffman’s concept of “engrossment” (from his writings on games) is compared to Csikszentmihalyi’s notion of “flow” as applied to role-playing and emergent authorship. The relationship of character to role-play is also explored through Schechners “not me, not not me” paradox, in which a character is seen as a hybrid between the performer and the fictional entity. Finally, drawing on Goffman and Fine, I outline a series of sociological “frames” that describe the functions within role-playing, and conclude with further discussion of role-playing as it fits into the larger participatory turn in performance and culture.
Vestibular Disorders following Concussion
Authors: Schneider Kathryn J.
Published: December 2014

Individuals with persistent symptoms following a sport-related concussion sometimes report dizziness and/or vertigo. These symptoms may occur secondary to vestibular dysfunction. A variety of vestibular conditions have been reported following head trauma and may result in persistent dizziness. Vestibular rehabilitation has demonstrated functional and symptomatic improvements in a variety of vestibular disorders and may be of benefit in individuals with persistent symptoms of dizziness following sport-related concussion. In the case of ongoing dizziness, further assessment to delineate the cause of the dizziness may reveal vestibular involvement. In this case, vestibular rehabilitation may be of benefit.
Carl Schmitt and the Weimar Constitution
Authors: Preuß Ulrich K.
Published: December 2014

This chapter explores Carl Schmitt’s response as a political, legal, and constitutional theorist to the permanent crisis of the Weimar Republic during its short-lived existence between 1919 and 1933. On the foundation of his conceptual edifice, it shows why Schmitt came to the conclusion that the Weimar Constitution did not provide an appropriate political system for the German people in their “natural” form. While the founders of Weimar sought to protect the polity’s diversity and contradictions, Schmitt regarded their constitution as inherently nondemocratic. A focal point of the analysis is Schmitt’s claim that democracy and dictatorship are by no means mutually exclusive. The chapter demonstrates why Schmitt’s faith in the constituent power of a homogenous German people invariably led to his preference for “democratic dictatorship” and a rejection of the Weimar constitution’s system of parliamentary democracy.
Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt
Authors: Paulson Stanley L.
Published: December 2014

This chapter traces the intellectual relationship between Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt. It is well known that the two legal thinkers had sharply contrasting views on sovereignty, democracy, and the role of unity in the law and in politics. Less well known is Schmitt’s proximity, in his very early work, to Kelsen on certain issues, such as the “is”-“ought” distinction and “points of imputation.” This proximity was short-lived, and the discord between their views increased over time, culminating in the Weimar period in their diametrically opposed views on the “guardian” of the constitution. This chapter reconstructs the evolution of this intellectual antagonism, exploring Schmitt’s arguments under four rubrics: subsumption, the narrow interpretation of “material facts,” the political dimension of the judicial decision, and the neutrality of the Reich president. The thrust of Kelsen’s replies is captured in the idea that Schmitt is engaged in political ideology.
The Multifaceted Concept of Transparency
Authors: Forssbæck Jens , Oxelheim Lars
Published: December 2014

The Oxford Handbook of Economic and Institutional Transparency studies transparency in three main economic areas: policy analysis, the corporate sector, and the institutional and regulatory structures surrounding the markets. Chapters present a conceptual framework to unify prominent notions of transparency in the literature and their link through an economy's capital formation process to investment for economic growth. The conceptual framework builds from basic notions of evaluating cost of capital and exchange efficiency to launch discussion on the costs of and gains from transparency. It also introduces the link between maximum efficiency and optimal transparency. The Handbook addresses transparency as a condition for economic efficiency in general, with an emphasis on the significance of transparency for finance and investment decisions. The basic underlying hypothesis is that increased transparency increases the efficiency of resource allocation and raises the level of potential growth. Although there are various studies of the causes and effects of structural economic differences in specific areas such as corporate governance and labor markets, this reference work will be among the first to present transparency as an overarching theme.
Constitutional Transparency
Authors: Sweeney Richard J.
Published: December 2014

For economics, finance, and business purposes, constitutional transparency largely means predictability. Decisions to change a constitution can result in type I errors—accepting changes that do not improve welfare—or type II errors—rejecting a change that would improve welfare. Virtually all written constitutions can change formally through amendments or implicitly through high court interpretations. Evidence shows the two-stage US amendment process is less likely to make type I and type II errors than Supreme Court interpretations. Elites propose European Union (EU) constitutional changes and much the same elites accept them; the procedure appears two-stage but is close to single-stage. Supreme Court, EU, and UK constitutional changes are essentially single-stage procedures, relying on elites. Of the 24 countries and the European Union discussed here, 11 use a two-stage procedure. A wisdom-of-crowds argument supports multistage processes.
Transparency of Innovation Policy
Authors: Carlsson Bo
Published: December 2014

This chapter focuses on transparency in innovation policy, with emphasis on the science and technology policy arena. It begins by presenting the broader innovation systems policy domain and analyzing the nature of innovation and innovation processes as well as the rationale for innovation policy including the goals, instruments, and actors involved in such a policy. It then considers policy instruments and “soft” institutions that influence the outcomes of science and technology policy, including the protection of intellectual property rights. The chapter concludes by assessing the benefits of transparency in the innovation policy arena.
Labor Market Transparency
Authors: Wadensjö Eskil
Published: December 2014

This chapter explores different aspects of information and transparency in the labor market. It begins by providing an overview of labor supply, labor demand, and labor remuneration and the reasons for the lack of transparency in the labor market. It then discusses the complications regarding transparency in the context of international migration, the conditions for migrant workers, and public policy. Finally, the chapter highlights serious problems that arise from a lack of transparency in the labor market.
Transparency of Corporate Risk Management and Performance
Authors: MacKay Peter
Published: December 2014

This chapter examines transparency in corporate risk management. It begins with an overview of transparency and the related notion of disclosure, and how these concepts apply to corporate risk management. It then considers accounting disclosure and transparency requirements over the last decades and reviews the literature addressing the link between corporate performance and usage of financial derivatives. It also looks at the various strategies used to measure hedging activity, including financial statements and extended market models. The chapter concludes by discussing new opportunities for research brought about by recent changes in disclosure requirements for derivatives used for hedging (versus non-hedging) purposes.
Archaeology of the Eastern Caroline Islands, Micronesia
Authors: Athens J. Stephen
Published: December 2014

A great deal of archaeology has been conducted in the Eastern Caroline Islands during the last thirty-five years. This chapter provides an overview of these investigations and accomplishments. The discussion is framed in terms of the ethnographic present (what is known about traditional societies) to contextualize the archaeological findings. The focus is primarily on the two high islands of Pohnpei and Kosrae, though other islands/archipelagos are touched upon as relevant. Major themes are initial settlement of the islands, cultural florescence as represented by megalithic architecture, and the so-called breadfruit revolution. Review of these topics touches upon many aspects of prehistoric studies, including the paleoenvironment, linguistics, artifacts, subsistence, sourcing of basalt, oral history, botany, and others.
How the Media Got Secularism—With a Little Help from the New Atheists
Authors: Cimino Richard P. , Smith Christopher
Published: December 2014

This article examines the increased coverage of atheism by newspapers, especially elite newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post. It also looks at the role of the culture wars and church–state controversies in the coverage of atheism by analyzing the reporting and themes found in more conservative media coverage. The role played by the Internet in the atheist movement and its relationship with the mainstream press are discussed, along with the competition and cooperation between the print and electronic media in creating a public image for atheism. Textual analysis of the Times’ coverage of atheism in the 1960s and the 2000s and of the Washington Post from 1989 to 2013 reveals several trends in the media treatment of atheism. Finally, the article considers the atheists’ use of social media to create an alternative ethos and discourse by studying secularist websites, blogs, and YouTube sites.
Reframing Care in End-of-Life Care Helpful Themes from a Catholic-Christian Understanding of Death
Authors: McCarthy Michael , Kuczewski Mark G.
Published: December 2014

This article proposes an alternative approach to caring for dying persons at the end of life based on three aspects of care—embodied, compassionate, and communal—that have strong roots in the Catholic-Christian theological tradition. Before explaining the theological rationale for an embodied, compassionate, and communal focus in end-of-life care, it considers a number of key concepts in Catholicism-Christianity that provide an important supplement or corrective to the current overemphasis on patient autonomy, which almost exclusively centers on preference or choice. It then discusses the advantages of adopting themes from a Catholic-Christian understanding of death, particularly in the context of palliative care. The article goes on to examine embodiment as the basis of compassionate care within the community and makes the case for compassion as a fundamental element of a spiritual approach to patient care at the end of life.
Continuous Sedation at the End of Life
Authors: Sterckx Sigrid , Raus Kasper
Published: December 2014

This chapter examines continuous sedation as a way to relieve unbearable suffering in patients at the end of life. After considering consensus and guidelines on continuous sedation, it looks at the debate over terminology and definition. It then discusses the practice of continuous sedation in various countries and how it is performed, along with the importance of patient consent and autonomy in all sedation guidelines. The chapter goes on to analyze some of the commonly invoked justifications for continuous sedation, including the doctrine of double effect, last resort and refractory suffering, autonomy and patient consent, and proportionality. It also reviews contentious issues raised by continuous sedation, such as whether it should be restricted to patients with a very short life expectancy, artificial nutrition and hydration, and existential or psychological suffering.
Ethical Issues in Prognosis and Prognostication
Authors: Smith Alexander K. , Glare Paul
Published: December 2014

This article examines ethical issues in disease prognosis and prognostication in palliative care from a clinical perspective. After providing a brief historical overview on diagnosis, treatment or therapy, and prognosis, it describes the decline in the importance of prognosis in medicine that has occurred over time. It then discusses the role of prognosis in palliative, hospice, and end-of-life care, focusing on the ethics underlying prognosis, as well as the need to estimate prognosis as accurately as possible despite the uncertainty. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of communicating prognosis with patients and discussing different ways prognostic information should be used.
Large‐scale solidarity? Effects of welfare state institutions on the admission of forced migrants
Authors: Boräng Frida
Published: December 2014

The variation among countries when it comes to the admittance of forced migrants – refugees and asylum seekers – is substantial. This article explains part of this variation by developing and testing an institutional explanation to the admission of forced migrants; more precisely, it investigates the impact of domestic welfare state institutions on admission. Building on comparative welfare state research, it is hypothesised that comprehensive welfare state institutions will have a positive effect on the admission of forced migrants to a country. There are three features of comprehensive welfare state institutions that could steer policies towards forced migrants in a more open direction. First, these institutions have been shown to impact on the boundaries of social solidarity. Second, they enhance generalised trust. And third, they can impact on the citizens’ view of what the state should and can do in terms of protecting individuals. The argument is tested using a broad comparative dataset of patterns of forced migration, covering 17 OECD countries between 1980 and 2003. This analysis shows that comprehensive welfare state institutions have a significant positive effect on the admission of forced migrants, under control for a number of factors often highlighted in migration research.
Breast conservation treatment for multifocal and multicentric breast cancers in women with small‐volume breast tissue
Authors: Tan Mona P. , Sitoh Nadya Y. , Sim Amanda S.
Published: December 2014

Background

Breast conservation treatment (BCT) is an established option in the treatment of early breast cancer, but women with small breast volume (SVB) are considered poor candidates for BCT. Multifocal and multicentric breast cancers (MFMCBC) are conventionally considered a relative contraindication to BCT. These arguments form the basis of limited eligibility for BCT for a woman with SVB and MFMCBC. This study was performed to investigate this syllogism.

Methods

Consecutive patients with breast malignancies treated from 2009 to 2011 were included. Patients were deemed to have successful BCT if they had pathologically clear margins and had completed all recommended adjuvant treatment. Those who had MFMCBC based on clinical, imaging and pathological data were selected for detailed evaluation. Comparisons were made with unifocal breast cancer.

Results

Data from a total of 160 patients who underwent treatment during the study period were analysed. The mean age was 48.8 years. One hundred and six patients (66.3%) were of Chinese ethnicity, 36 (22.5%) were of other Asian ethnicity and 18 were Caucasian (11.2%). Forty‐one (25.6%) patients had clinical evidence of MFMCBC. Of these patients, 35 (85.4%) underwent BCT. After a mean follow‐up of 45 months, none of the patients with MFMCBC developed a local recurrence. Two patients with MFMCBC, one who underwent mastectomy and one with BCT, succumbed to cancer from distant disease.

Conclusion

BCT is feasible in women with MFMCBC in a predominantly Chinese community where majority are expected to have SVB. Further investigation is warranted to confirm the findings.
A dynamic‐efficiency rationale for public investment in the health of the young
Authors: Andersen Torben M. , Bhattacharya Joydeep
Published: December 2014

In this paper we assume away standard distributional and static‐efficiency arguments for public health and instead seek a dynamic efficiency rationale. We study a lifecycle model wherein young agents make health investments to reduce mortality risk. We identify a welfare rationale for public health under dynamic efficiency and exogenous mortality even when private and public investments are perfect substitutes. If health investment reduces mortality risk but individuals do not internalize its effect on the life‐annuity interest rate, the “Philipson‐Becker effect” emerges; when the young are net borrowers, this works together with dynamic efficiency to support a role for public health.
Granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells inversely correlate with plasma arginine and overall survival in critically ill patients
Authors: Gey A , Tadie J-M , Caumont-Prim A , Hauw-Berlemont C , Cynober L , Fagon J-Y , Terme M , Diehl J-L , Delclaux C , Tartour E
Published: December 2014

Critically ill patients display a state of immunosuppression that has been attributed in part to decreased plasma arginine concentrations. However, we and other authors have failed to demonstrate a clinical benefit of L-arginine supplementation. We hypothesize that, in these critically ill patients, these low plasma arginine levels may be secondary to the presence of granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (gMDSC), which express arginase known to convert arginine into nitric oxide (NO) and citrulline. Indeed, in a series of 28 non-surgical critically ill patients, we showed a dramatic increase in gMDSC compared to healthy subjects (P = 0·0002). A significant inverse correlation was observed between arginine levels and gMDSC (P = 0·01). As expected, gMDSC expressed arginase preferentially in these patients. Patients with high gMDSC levels on admission to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) presented an increased risk of death at day 7 after admission (P = 0·02). In contrast, neither plasma arginine levels, monocytic MDSC levels nor neutrophil levels were associated with overall survival at day 7. No relationship was found between body mass index (BMI) or simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score or gMDSC levels, eliminating a possible bias concerning the direct prognostic role of these cells. As gMDSC exert their immunosuppressive activity via multiple mechanisms [production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin (IL)-10, arginase, etc.], it may be more relevant to target these cells, rather than simply supplementing with L-arginine to improve immunosuppression and its clinical consequences observed in critically ill patients.
Traumatic Brain Injury Induces Rapid Enhancement of Cortical Excitability in Juvenile Rats
Authors: Nichols Joshua , Perez Roxy , Wu Chen , Adelson P. David , Anderson Trent
Published: December 2014

Aims

Following a traumatic brain injury (TBI), 5–50% of patients will develop posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) with children being particularly susceptible. Currently, PTE cannot be prevented and there is limited understanding of the underlying epileptogenic mechanisms. We hypothesize that early after TBI the brain undergoes distinct cellular and synaptic reorganization that facilitates cortical excitability and promotes the development of epilepsy.

Methods

To examine the effect of pediatric TBI on cortical excitability, we performed controlled cortical impact (CCI) on juvenile rats (postnatal day 17). Following CCI, animals were monitored for the presence of epileptiform activity by continuous in vivo electroencephalography (EEG) and/or sacrificed for in vitro whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings.

Results

Following a short latent period, all animals subjected to CCI developed spontaneous recurrent epileptiform activity within 14 days. Whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings of layer V pyramidal neurons showed no changes in intrinsic excitability or spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) properties. However, the decay of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) was significantly increased. In addition, CCI induced over a 300% increase in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic bursting. Synaptic bursting was prevented by blockade of Na+‐dependent action potentials or select antagonism of glutamate or GABA‐A receptors, respectively.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that CCI in juvenile rats rapidly induces epileptiform activity and enhanced cortical synaptic bursting. Detection of epileptiform activity early after injury suggests it may be an important pathophysiological component and potential indicator of developing PTE.
Tracking a century of change in trophic structure and dynamics in a floodplain wetland: integrating palaeoecological and palaeoisotopic evidence
Authors: Kattel Giri , Gell Peter , Perga Marie‐Elodie , Jeppesen Erik , Grundell Rosie , Weller Sandra , Zawadzki Atun , Barry Linda
Published: December 2014

The palaeoecological assessment, and the use of stable isotopes of carbon in subfossils of herbivores and omnivores, represents a novel approach to understand transitions in past food‐web structure and the dynamics of lake ecosystems in response to natural perturbations and human impacts. Combined with records of subfossil assemblages of cladocerans and chironomids, it may be possible to decipher whether changes are attributable to external forces or internally derived system shifts.

A sediment record taken from the shallow (2.3 m depth) Kings Billabong in the River Murray floodplain (Australia) was analysed to explore changes in trophic dynamics over the past century.

The palaeoecological assessment revealed that littoral assemblages of cladocerans and benthic diatoms were gradually replaced by planktonic (planktonic and facultative planktonic) assemblages after river regulation in the 1920s.

The stable isotopic composition of carbon (δ13C), derived from chironomid head capsules, was relatively constant down‐core, ranging between −26.1‰ and −24.0‰, and coincided largely with the δ13C of bulk sediment samples (−25.6‰ to −22.0‰). The δ13C values of pelagic (Daphnia) and ubiquitous (Bosmina, Alona) cladocerans, however, varied markedly, with that for Daphnia between −29.8‰ (10–20 cm) and −23.2‰ (60–70 cm), and for ubiquitous cladocerans, between −29.4‰ (20–30 cm) and −24.5‰ (80–70 cm).

The temporal changes in the δ13C values of cladocerans also suggest a gradual transition from a macrophyte‐dominated state to a phytoplankton‐dominated state after river regulation and further indicate changes in the horizontal migration behaviour of Daphnia depending on macrophyte abundance and predation risk.

Our study demonstrates the potential of reconstructing, more precisely, the trophic dynamics of large river floodplain lakes and their ecological resilience by combining subfossil analyses with stable isotope analyses of selected subfossil groups.
Consensus guidelines for optimising antifungal drug delivery and monitoring to avoid toxicity and improve outcomes in patients with haematological malignancy, 2014
Authors: Chau M. M. , Kong D. C. M. , van Hal S. J. , Urbancic K. , Trubiano J. A. , Cassumbhoy M. , Wilkes J. , Cooper C. M. , Roberts J. A. , Marriott D. J. E. , Worth L. J.
Published: December 2014

Antifungal agents may be associated with significant toxicity or drug interactions leading to sub‐therapeutic antifungal drug concentrations and poorer clinical outcomes for patients with haematological malignancy. These risks may be minimised by clinical assessment, laboratory monitoring, avoidance of particular drug combinations and dose modification. Specific measures, such as the optimal timing of oral drug administration in relation to meals, use of pre‐hydration and electrolyte supplementation may also be required. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antifungal agents is warranted, especially where non‐compliance, non‐linear pharmacokinetics, inadequate absorption, a narrow therapeutic window, suspected drug interaction or unexpected toxicity are encountered. Recommended indications for voriconazole and posaconazole TDM in the clinical management of haematology patients are provided. With emerging knowledge regarding the impact of pharmacogenomics upon metabolism of azole agents (particularly voriconazole), potential applications of pharmacogenomic evaluation to clinical practice are proposed.
Stop talking and type: comparing virtual and face‐to‐face mentoring in an epistemic game
Authors: Bagley E.A. , Shaffer D.W.
Published: December 2014

Research has shown that computer games and other virtual environments can support significant learning gains because they allow young people to explore complex concepts in simulated form. However, in complex problem‐solving domains, complex thinking is learned not only by taking action, but also with the aid of mentors who provide guidance in the form of questions, instructions, advice, feedback and encouragement. In this study, we examine one context of such mentoring to understand the impact of replacing face‐to‐face interactions between mentors and students with virtual, chat‐based interactions. We use pre‐ and post‐measures of learning and a post‐measure of engagement, as well as epistemic network analysis (ENA), a novel quantitative method, to examine student and mentor discourse. Our results suggest that mentoring via online chat can be as effective as mentoring face‐to‐face in appropriately structured contexts more generally – and that ENA may be a useful tool for assessing student and mentor discourse in the context of learning interactions.