bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human Cultures through the Scientific Lens
Authors: Boyer Pascal
Published: July 2021

This volume brings together a collection of seven articles previously published by the author, with a new introduction reframing the articles in the context of past and present questions in anthropology, psychology and human evolution. It promotes the perspective of ‘integrated’ social science, in which social science questions are addressed in a deliberately eclectic manner, combining results and models from evolutionary biology, experimental psychology, economics, anthropology and history. It thus constitutes a welcome contribution to a gradually emerging approach to social science based on E. O. Wilson’s concept of ‘consilience’.

Human Cultures through the Scientific Lens spans a wide range of topics, from an examination of ritual behaviour, integrating neuro-science, ethology and anthropology to explain why humans engage in ritual actions (both cultural and individual), to the motivation of conflicts between groups. As such, the collection gives readers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the applications of an evolutionary paradigm in the social sciences.

This volume will be a useful resource for scholars and students in the social sciences (particularly psychology, anthropology, evolutionary biology and the political sciences), as well as a general readership interested in the social sciences.
2. Institutions and Human Nature
Authors: Boyer Pascal
Published: July 2021

Most standard social science accounts only offer limited explanations of institutional design, i.e. why institutions have common features observed in many different human groups. Here we suggest that these features are best explained as the outcome of evolved human cognition, in such domains as mating, moral judgment and social exchange. As empirical illustrations, we show how this evolved psychology makes marriage systems, legal norms and commons management systems intuitively obvious and compelling, thereby ensuring their occurrence and cultural stability. We extend this to propose under what conditions institutions can become ‘natural’, compelling and legitimate, and outline probable paths for institutional change given human cognitive dispositions. Explaining institutions in terms of these exogenous factors also suggests that a general theory of institutions as such is neither necessary nor in fact possible. What are required are domain-specific accounts of institutional design in different domains of evolved cognition.
Global Oceanic Overturning Circulation Forced by the Competition between Greenhouse Gases and Continental Ice Sheets during the Last Deglaciation
Authors: Zhu Chenyu , Liu Zhengyu , Zhang Shaoqing , Wu Lixin
Published: July 2021

The deglacial change of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~21 ka) has been studied extensively in both reconstructions and model simulations. While reconstructions suggest a shoaling of AMOC at the LGM, the strength of glacial AMOC relative to the modern day remains highly uncertain in both reconstructions and models. Using transient simulations of climate evolution forced by individual deglacial forcings since the LGM, this study shows that the uncertainties in glacial AMOC intensity can be caused by a competition between the elevated glacial Northern Hemisphere (NH) ice sheets and the reduced glacial greenhouse gases, in which the former tend to strengthen the AMOC while the latter play an opposite role. In spite of the dramatic difference of climate between the LGM and the present, the cancellation between the impacts of the two forcings leaves the strength of the glacial AMOC not too different from the modern day (0.5 Sv stronger in our study; 1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1). Furthermore, consistent with theoretical analysis, the response of the AMOC return flow to either forcing is predominantly compensated by an interbasin exchange between the Indo-Pacific (including the Indo-Pacific sector of Southern Ocean) and Atlantic via the Agulhas Current.
The Life Cycle of a Stationary Cloud Cluster during the Indian Summer Monsoon: A Microphysical Investigation Using Polarimetric C-Band Radar
Authors: Samanta Soumya , Murugavel P. , Gurnule Dinesh , Rao Y. Jaya , Vivekanandan Jothiram , Prabha Thara V.
Published: July 2021

Multiplatform observations of the life cycle of a tropical continental mesoscale cloud cluster (CC) during the Indian summer monsoon, which contributed more than ~70 mm of rainfall over the arid peninsular Indian region, are presented in this study. The CC was characterized by a deep warm cloud layer with isolated convective cells in the initiation phase, merging of several deep cumulus clouds (~6 km) during the mature phase, growing up to ~15 km with mixed-phase and ice-phase cloud microphysical processes. Throughout the life cycle of the CC, polarimetric radar analyses revealed size sorting of falling raindrops, growth of dendritic particles, riming, aggregation, the occurrence of a saggy bright band, etc. The formation of big raindrops is observed during the initial convective rain, associated with the melting of hail. The stratiform counterpart is primarily associated with aggregates, ice crystals, and melting snow, resulting in surface rainfall. Aggregates are found to be the spatially dominant hydrometeor followed by ice crystals. The presence of vertically oriented ice crystals indicates active cloud electrification processes during the spatial aggregation of convective clouds. The dominant microphysical processes and precipitation pathways are illustrated. The study forms a benchmark case for model intercomparisons and evaluations.
Comparing and Combining Deterministic Surface Temperature Postprocessing Methods over the United States
Authors: Hamill Thomas M.
Published: July 2021

Common methods for the postprocessing of deterministic 2-m temperature (T2m) forecasts over the United States were evaluated from +12- to +120-h lead. Forecast data were extracted from the Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) v12 reforecast dataset and thinned to a ½° grid. Analyzed data from the European Centre/Copernicus reanalysis (ERA5) were used for training and validation. Data from the 2000–18 period were used for training, and 2019 forecasts were validated. The postprocessing methods compared were the raw forecast guidance, a decaying-average bias correction (DAV), quantile mapping (QM), a univariate model output statistics (uMOS) algorithm, and a multivariate (mvMOS) algorithm. The mvMOS algorithm used the raw forecast temperature, the DAV adjustment, and the QM adjustment as predictors. Forecasts from all the postprocessing methods reduced the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and bias relative to the raw guidance. QM produced forecasts with slightly higher error than DAV. DAV estimates were the most consistent from day to day. The uMOS and mvMOS algorithms produced statistically significant lower RMSEs than DAV at forecast leads longer than 1 day, with mvMOS exhibiting the lowest error. Taylor diagrams showed that the MOS methods reduced the variability of the forecasts while improving forecast-analyzed correlations. QM and DAV modified the distribution of forecasts to more closely exhibit those of the analyzed data. A main conclusion is that the judicious statistical combination of guidance from multiple postprocessing methods is capable of producing forecasts with improved error statistics relative to any one individual technique. As each method applied here is algorithmically relatively simple, this suggests that operational deterministic postprocessing combining multiple correction methods could produce improved T2m guidance.
Tumor-Related and Patient-Related Variables Affecting Length of Hospital Stay Following Vestibular Schwannoma Microsurgery
Authors: Almosnino Galit , Sikora Matt J. , Farrokhi Farrokh R. , Schwartz Seth R. , Zeitler Daniel M.
Published: July 2021

Objective:

Review a single institution’s vestibular schwannoma (VS) microsurgery experience to determine (1) correlations between demographics, comorbidities, and/or surgical approach on hospital length of stay (LOS) and discharge disposition and (2) trends in surgical approach over time.

Methods:

Retrospective case series from a multidisciplinary skull base program at a tertiary care, academic hospital. All adult (>18 years) patients undergoing primary microsurgery for VS between 2008 and 2018 were included.

Results:

A total of 147 subjects were identified. Surgical approach was split between middle fossa (MF) (16%), retrosigmoid (RS) (35%), and translabyrinthine (TL) (49%) craniotomies. For the 8% of patients had other than routine (OTR) discharge. Mean LOS was significantly longer for patients undergoing RS than either MF or TL. Brainstem compression by the tumor was associated with longer LOS as were diagnoses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). For all discharges, the 40 to 50- and 50 to 60-year-old subgroups had significantly shorter LOS than the 70-years-and-older patients. For the 92% of patients routinely discharged, there was a significantly shorter LOS in the 40 to 50-year-olds compared to the 70-years-and-older patients. There was a significant shift in surgical approach from RS to TL over the study period.

Conclusion:

Over 90% of VS microsurgery patients were routinely discharged with a median hospital LOS of 3.2 days, both of which are consistent with published data. There is an inverse relationship between age and LOS with patients older than 70 years having significantly longer LOS. Brainstem compression, COPD, PVD, and the RS approach negatively affect LOS.

Level of Evidence

4
Uninterpretable cerebrospinal fluid absorbance scans caused by antibiotic therapy
Authors: Miller Jan
Published: July 2021

Background

The revised national guidelines for analysis of cerebrospinal fluid for bilirubin in suspected subarachnoid haemorrhage (UK) provide an objective means of assessing cerebrospinal fluid samples to determine the risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage. The guidelines are intended for general use, but samples rendered uninterpretable due to the presence of the antibiotic doxycycline have been described. Here, further cases of antibiotic-based interference, and their implications, are presented.

Methods

An archival search of cerebrospinal fluid spectra performed at Hallands County Hospital Halmstad was performed for the years 2011 and 2016–2019 in an attempt to locate instances of interference. Each case of suspected interference was further investigated with in vitro reproduction experiments as a means of confirmation and assessment of potential clinical impact.

Results

A total of 10 cases of cerebrospinal fluid curve interference were discovered: six due to doxycycline, three due to metronidazole and one due to tetracycline. Interference caused by the tetracycline class was revealed through in vitro experimentation to cause an apparent decrease in the sample’s net bilirubin absorbance; the presence of xanthochromia on visual inspection was, however, conserved.

Conclusions

The problem of cerebrospinal fluid absorbance curve interference might be more common than previously suspected. Due to the potential net bilirubin absorbance-lowering effect of tetracyclines, the author recommends visual examination of cerebrospinal fluid samples in every case.
Identifying mislabelled samples: Machine learning models exceed human performance
Authors: Farrell Christopher-John
Published: July 2021

Background

It is difficult for clinical laboratories to identify samples that are labelled with the details of an incorrect patient. Many laboratories screen for these errors with delta checks, with final decision-making based on manual review of results by laboratory staff. Machine learning models have been shown to outperform delta checks for identifying these errors. However, a comparison of machine learning models to human-level performance has not yet been made.

Methods

Deidentified data for current and previous (within seven days) electrolytes, urea and creatinine results was used in the computer simulation of mislabelled samples. Eight different machine learning models were developed on 127,256 sets of results using different algorithms: artificial neural network, extreme gradient boosting, support vector machine, random forest, logistic regression, k-nearest neighbours and two decision trees (one complex and one simple). A separate test data-set ( n = 14,140) was used to evaluate the performance of these models as well as laboratory staff volunteers, who manually reviewed a random subset of this data ( n = 500).

Results

The best performing machine learning model was the artificial neural network (92.1% accuracy), with the simple decision tree demonstrating the poorest accuracy (86.5%). The accuracy of laboratory staff for identifying mislabelled samples was 77.8%.

Conclusions

The results of this preliminary investigation suggest that even relatively simple machine learning models can exceed human performance for identifying mislabelled samples. Machine learning techniques should be considered for implementation in clinical laboratories to assist with error identification.
Just like in a library: A posthumous novel by Carlo Sgorlon
Authors: Venier Matteo
Published: July 2021

This contribution examines the latest novel by Carlo Sgorlon, completed on June 24, 2008, but published posthumously, ten years after the author’s death: L’isola di Brendano ( Brendano’s Island). The book introduces character types dear to the Italian writer: Brendano Mac Finnegan, a hard-working and creative architect of Irish origin, who comes from abroad to Vallorsaria, an imaginary town in the Alps, where he falls in love with Antonia, a local woman; Antonia’s young daughter, Jole, who gives birth to a boy endowed with extraordinary powers: Bindo; an Afghan baby sitter, called Fatma, who joins the three above mentioned characters, forming with them a strange but happy family; Brendano’s friend, Amos, who represents a man incapable of positive attitude towards life and destined for a tragic end. With L’isola di Brendano, Sgorlon paid homage to a literary tradition he considered the most genuine, close and familiar to him. In the novel it is possible to identify many references, both explicit and implicit, to various writers, including Samuel Beckett, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Elsa Morante. In this way, L’isola di Brendano resembles the mirror of a small but well-chosen library.
The culture of erosion: Settler colonialism, geological agency, and New Zealand literature, 1930s–1950s
Authors: Steer Philip
Published: July 2021

The Pākehā (settler) writing that flourished in New Zealand in the middle decades of the twentieth century is often seen as an attempt to ground settler culture in the precolonial earth. Produced at a time when erosion was seen as a pressing national and global environmental crisis, however, this essay argues New Zealand literary culture in fact was suffused with awareness of settlement’s profoundly damaged landscape. Returning to prominent critical statements, prose, and poetry from this period — notably by Allen Curnow, Charles Brasch, Monte Holcroft, and Frank Sargeson — reveals that imagery of erosion was central to imagining the nature and impact of settlement in geological terms. In contrast to the antagonistic relationship with nature plotted in these texts, writers such as Ursula Bethell and Herbert Guthrie-Smith offered alternative possibilities for environmental thought through models of geological understanding that drew on religious vocabularies and Māori thought. At the broadest level, focusing on settler literature produced in a moment of environmental crisis framed in geological terms has the potential to illuminate critical responses to the challenges posed by the Anthropocene.
Refined acquisition of high-resolution chest CTs in macaques by free breathing
Authors: Tölgyesi Botond , Bakker Jaco , Nagy Kálmán , Meijer Lisette , van Geest Leo , Stammes Marieke A.
Published: July 2021

The use of medical imaging as a non-invasive or minimally invasive method to assess disease or treatment response continues to grow. A similar trend is observed in pre-clinical research, in general, and more specifically in macaques, enabling longitudinal assessment of disease in individual animals. Computed tomography (CT) is such an imaging technique used to obtain clinically applicable data. To acquire a chest CT using a cone beam tomography system, some kind of respiration control is needed. A commonly used technique for this is endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. However, although routinely performed this can increase the risk of impact on welfare in comparison with non-invasive imaging. Therefore, we studied the option of retrospectively gated CTs: acquiring high resolution chest CTs in freely breathing macaques. For this, we compared 748 CTs obtained during free breathing with 881 CTs obtained with mechanical ventilation in combination with a breath-hold procedure predominantly on the appearance of misregistration artifacts. The scans were obtained during different stages of multiple experimentally induced respiratory diseases. The comparison shows that although there are still streaking artifacts present in the retrospective gated scans, the amount of shading artifacts is reduced to such a level that it possibly dominates underlying lesions, causing misdiagnosis. Our data reveal that the use of retrospective gating in high resolution CTs for macaques can be successfully applied. With the use of this technique, artifacts due to free breathing are reduced to a diagnostically appropriate level. Most importantly, this technique makes chest CTs with this instrumentation a non-invasive modality.
Progress in Latin America: Farewell to Modernity?
Authors: da Silva Sidney Reinaldo
Published: July 2021

Progress marks a way of understanding Latin America in terms of what it lacks, what it should be yearning for and seeking. Historically, the idea of progress served to legitimate the region’s submission to a world order marked by colonial capitalist and imperialist rule. Comparison of the modern ideal of progress with developmentalism, particularly as defined by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and criticism of “progress” as legitimation arising out of the intersection of postdevelopmentalist thought with the ideology of Good Living shows that the idea continues to haunt the postcolonial pursuit of a free Latin America.

O progresso baliza uma forma de abordagem da América Latina pela falta, pelo o que ela deve ansiar e buscar. Historicamente, a ideia de progresso passou a legitimar a submissão da região a uma ordem mundial marcada pelo domínio capitalista colonial e imperialista. Frente ao ideário moderno de progresso, as formas tomadas pelo desenvolvimentismo, marcadamente no âmbito das orientaçãoes da Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe, e as críticas ao progresso como legitimação surgidas no bojo do entrecruzamento do pensamento pós-desenvolvimentista com o ideário do Bem Viver mostram que a ideia de progresso se mantém como um fantasma perante abordagens pós-coloniais das possibilidades de livre desabrochamento latino-americano.
Application of Single-Case Research Designs in Undergraduate Student Reports: An Example From Wellbeing Science
Authors: Kemp Andrew H. , Fisher Zoe
Published: July 2021

Introduction:

Psychological science is undergoing a period of change and transformation.

Statement of the Problem:

The crisis in confidence over psychological science has led to an emphasis on larger and larger sample sizes, sustaining an unfortunate neglect of single-subject research designs in undergraduate education.

Literature Review:

We identified several excellent articles advocating for the benefits of single-subject and small N designs over group-based research designs, yet single-case designs are seldom taught at undergraduate level.

Teaching Implications:

Teachers of psychology are provided with resources for implementing training in single-case research designs at undergraduate level, enabling students to draw objective conclusions in an N-of-1 research report. We do this using an example from a recently developed module on wellbeing science.

Conclusion:

Embedding an underused methodological approach for determining objective change in single individuals into undergraduate psychology curricula will help to develop practical skills applicable to many roles in the discipline of psychology, the healthcare sector and the quantified-self community.
The Effect of True Self-Attributions on the Endorsement of Retributive and Restorative Justice
Authors: Maffly-Kipp Joseph , Rivera Grace N. , Schlegel Rebecca J. , Vess Matthew
Published: July 2021

We examined how the attribution of criminal behavior to an individual’s “true” self influences justice preferences. In Study 1 ( N = 521), the extent to which undergraduates attributed a crime to a target’s true self positively predicted their endorsement of a retributive form of punishment and negatively predicted their endorsement of a restorative form of punishment. Study 2 ( N = 404) was preregistered and replicated these associations, even when controlling for other perceived causes (e.g., personality, environment). In Study 3 ( N = 282), undergraduates rated retributive punishment more favorably and restorative punishment less favorably when induced to think that the crime was (vs. was not) reflective of the target’s true self. Study 4 ( N = 935) was preregistered and replicated these experimental effects across different types of crime vignettes in an online sample. These results highlight the ways that intuitions about “true” selves shape punishment preferences.
COVID-19 and Parental Burnout: Parents Locked Down but Not More Exhausted
Authors: Le Vigouroux Sarah , Lebert-Charron Astrid , Wendland Jaqueline , Boujut Emilie , Scola Céline , Dorard Géraldine
Published: July 2021

Lockdowns put in place in response to the COVID-19 health crisis have changed daily functioning for families and potentially the emotional experience of individuals in their parenting role. Our study aimed to highlight the importance of the environmental consequences associated with lockdowns on parental burnout. We compared data on parental burnout levels from two French samples: the first collected in 2018 ( N = 1332) and the second collected during the last month of lockdown ( N = 522). Our results show that parents included during the lockdown period reported significantly, but slightly, higher saturation (a dimension of the parental burnout construct) than parents included 2 years earlier. However, the number of children per age group, maintaining employment, and having to provide schooling at home are not variables that explain differences in the level of parental burnout between our two samples. Our results are discussed with regard to the risk factors identified and the French context.
Why Do People Live or Die? A Retrospective Study from a Crisis Intervention Clinic in North India
Authors: Beniwal Ram Pratap , Shrivastava Manohar Kant , Gupta Varsha , Sharma Vikas , Sharma Satyam , Kumari Sunita , Bhatia Triptish , Deshpande Smita N.
Published: July 2021

Background:

Suicide results from complex interactions of various risk factors—reasons for dying (RFD)—and protective factors—reasons for living (RFL). Suicide is not necessarily a wish to die but may be an appeal for help. We analyzed RFD and RFL in persons who had attempted suicide, through their clinical records at a Crisis Intervention Clinic (CIC).

Methods:

We retrospectively analyzed demographic and clinical data, and classified RFD and RFL, among patients with either ideas or attempt of suicide registered at our CIC ( N = 83). Using two open-ended questions from the clinical history data, we derived their RFD or RFL; ( n = 53) completed these questions regarding RFD-RFL.

Results:

In the total sample, males and females were equally represented and educated, but males were significantly older. Most common diagnosis was nonpsychotic mood disorder. Commonest mode of suicide attempt was hanging. Family conflict vs. family responsibility, hope vs. hopelessness, stressful life events, and negative cognitions about the self and the world were important RFD. RFL included feeling responsible, love for family and for self, hope, career success, and religious beliefs,

Conclusion:

RFD and RFL could both be grouped in similar categories related to family, career, hope, etc.
Impact of Increasing Social Resources on Work Engagement and Affective Organizational Commitment: The Mediating Role of Person–Job Fit
Authors: Moulik Mimi , Giri V. N.
Published: July 2021

The association between job crafting and work engagement (WE) has not been much explored in the Indian context. To address this, the current study was undertaken on a group of knowledge workforce from Indian industries. Data were collected from 297 respondents that included junior-, mid- and senior-level employees. It was found that seeking social resources predicts WE as well as organizational commitment amongst the Indian knowledge workers via person–job fit. The study contributes to the literature by exploring the relationship between proactively seeking social resources that shape relationships at work and achieves WE, furthering organizational commitment. It helps reaffirm the independent nature of the job crafting dimension in a collectivistic society. Supervisors can cultivate proactive crafting in establishments to boost and promote an engaged workforce. Bearing in mind the inferences Human Resource Development (HRD) managers ought to make optimum use of human assets by nurturing constructive psychological states and leveraging individual proactivity at work. Limitations and future directions have been discussed.
Relationship dissolution in the friendships of emerging adults: How, when, and why?
Authors: Khullar Thomas H. , Kirmayer Miriam H. , Dirks Melanie A.
Published: July 2021

Maintaining high-quality friendships is a key predictor of well-being during emerging adulthood, yet factors leading to friendship dissolution—defined here as actions that may decrease friendship quality or end the relationship completely—are poorly understood. Using an open-ended interview paradigm, we elicited 179 emerging adults’ (55.9% female; Mage = 20.42, SD = 1.54; 95.0% full-time university students) description of their behavioral responses to 53 hypothetical vignettes involving challenging situations with same-gender friends. We systematically coded participants’ 9,487 verbatim responses, identifying three types of friendship dissolution behaviors: completely ending the friendship, distancing from the friend, or compartmentalizing aspects of the friendship. Examining the occurrence of each response across different types of challenging situations, we found that transgressions by friends were more likely to elicit reported use of distancing and ending strategies. We also began to investigate associations between interpersonal goals and dissolution strategies, finding that stronger endorsement of the goal of asserting oneself was linked to greater odds of reporting ending the friendship, whereas the more participants reported that they would be trying to stay friends, the lower the odds of reporting either ending the relationship or distancing from the friend. Implications for future research on interpersonal processes in friendships are discussed.
The influence of ICT diffusion and globalization on the quality of governance: A study using panel data from ASEAN countries
Authors: Darusalam  , Omar Normah , Janssen Marijn , Said Jamaliah , Sohag Kazi
Published: July 2021

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) supports the sharing of information to improve the Quality of Governance (QoG). Many studies found a relationship between ICT diffusion and globalization and between ICT diffusion and the Quality of Governance. This study investigates the influence of both ICT diffusion and globalization in explaining the country level QoG while incorporating gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, human capital, and government expenditure in the context of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) region. To this end, we used Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) to analyze panel data from 1984 to 2017. In contrast to research conducted in other countries, our research shows that the impact of ICT diffusion on QoG is not significant in the ASEAN region. The findings can be explained by a lack of coherent ICT-strategy among the countries and a lack of institutional mechanisms to ensure ICT efforts’ effectiveness. However, the relationship between globalization and QoG is positive and significant.
Use of three-dimensional–printed custom-made prosthesis to treat unicondylar femoral defect secondary to pathological fracture caused by giant cell tumor
Authors: Ji Yuqing , Wu Yuxian , Li Jianmin
Published: July 2021

Objective

To evaluate the short-term effectiveness of using a three-dimensional (3D)-printed custom-made prosthesis to repair unicondylar femoral defects.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 26 patients with a primary pathological fracture of the distal femur caused by a giant cell tumor. All patients had unicondylar defects involving the articular surface. Twelve patients were treated with a 3D-printed custom-made prosthesis to repair the unicondylar defect (3D-printed group). The other 14 patients were treated with total knee replacement (TKR group). The operation time, blood loss, Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score, range of motion, local recurrence, and complications were statistically compared.

Results

The operation time was significantly shorter and the blood loss was significantly less in the 3D-printed group than in the TKR group. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society scores were significantly higher in the 3D-printed group than in the TKR group from 3 to 24 months postoperatively. The range of motion was significantly better in the 3D-printed group than in the TKR group at 6 and 9 months postoperatively.

Conclusions

3D-printed custom-made prostheses provide better short-term functional results than does TKR.
‘Locked in the Rat Race’: Variegated financial subjectivities in the United Kingdom
Authors: Agunsoye Ariane
Published: July 2021

In the past four decades, the UK welfare state has been continuously reduced while asset ownership has gained in importance. Rather than relying on publicly funded welfare when not working, individuals are expected to mitigate future risks such as ill health, unemployment or old-age poverty through accumulating assets. Previous research employing a Foucauldian governmentality framework has explored how these norms of asset accumulation come into being through institutional changes and discourses. Documenting the narratives and practices of 60 UK individuals and bringing in an understanding of resistance being immanent in power technologies, the author sets out two key contributions to the everyday financialisation literature. First, this paper is the first study to conceptualise differential financial discourses and practices as distinct subject positions within the realms of financialisation. Due to feeling ‘trapped’ in having to provide financial security themselves, governable subjects amend asset norms to their own needs. Five subject positions emerged from the complex interplay between norms of conduct and counter-conduct. Second, these variegated financial subjectivities and practices are, it is argued, not only deviating from a theorised investor subject but are also necessary for everyday financialisation to take place. Counter-conduct helps to smoothen ambiguities inherent in norms of conduct, enabling asset accumulation and reinforcing a welfare system based on individual responsibility.
Combined use of environmental and spectral variables with vegetation archives for large-scale modeling of grassland habitats
Authors: Rapinel Sébastien , Panhelleux Léa , Lalanne Arnault , Hubert-Moy Laurence
Published: July 2021

Grassland habitats provide many ecosystem services but are threatened by agricultural intensification and urbanization. While the lack of accurate and comprehensive inventories at the national scale makes them difficult to manage, advances in spatial modeling using open remote sensing data and open-source software, as well as the increasing use of ecological archives, provide new perspectives for mapping natural habitats. In this context, this study evaluated the contribution of spectral and environmental variables to discriminate and then map grassland habitats throughout France. To this end, 92 spectral variables derived from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer data, 19 bioclimatic variables derived from WorldClim data, 4 topographic variables derived from the European Union Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and 8 soil variables derived from SoilGrids data were combined at a spatial resolution of 250 m. Reference plots that characterized 6 and 21 grassland ecosystems at European Nature Information System (EUNIS) levels 2 (broad habitats) and 3 (habitats), respectively, were collected from vegetation archives. We first performed descriptive analysis that included habitat description, ordination, and pairwise separability. We then performed predictive analysis of grassland habitats using a cross-validated random forest model that included a spatial constraint. While environmental and spectral variables characterized most grassland habitats well and consistently, some confusion occurred between habitats with similar abiotic conditions. The main grassland habitat types were correctly mapped at EUNIS level 2 ( F1 score = 0.68), but not at EUNIS level 3 ( F1 score = 0.52). In addition, the two variables that contributed most to the model were the near-infrared spectral band in spring and the minimum temperature of the coldest month. The model’s prediction at EUNIS level 2 for mainland France provides the map of grassland habitats at a new spatial scale.
Investigating the Sensitivity of Electric Vehicle Out-of-Home Charging Demand to Changes in Light-Duty Vehicle Fleet Makeup and Usage: A Case Study for California 2030
Authors: Davis Adam Wilkinson , Tal Gil
Published: July 2021

Accurately predicting the spatial distribution and charging demand of future electric vehicles (EVs) is vital to directing investment in charging infrastructure and planning policy interventions. To date, this expansion has been heavily concentrated in wealthy cities and suburbs, among commuters, and among households able to charge their vehicles at home. The expansion of EV ownership will include both changes in where the vehicles are owned and how they are used and charged. This paper demonstrates methods to predict where the expansion of EV ownership is most likely to occur under current market characteristics and allows for testing of scenarios of future characteristics. These methods are demonstrated with an analysis of California, U.S., using a scenario of 4 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), to match the state’s goal of 5 million zero-emission vehicles by 2030. These projections are combined with a model for charging behavior to generate scenarios of demand for charging away from home under various fleet characteristics and identify areas of the state with the greatest need for infrastructure investment.
Effect of the Employed Material Model on the Predicted Behaviour of Corrugated Metal Pipes
Authors: El Naggar Hany , Campbell Alex , Ezzeldin Islam
Published: July 2021

In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) finite element modeling (FEM) has been used to explore how the structural integrity of a corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culvert is affected by simulation of its constituent components (i.e., the pipe metal, surrounding soil, or both). However, under various conditions, the nature of the problem is three-dimensional (3D) and 2D simulations may fall short of producing reasonable predictions. In this paper, the effect of various loading types on the structural response of round CMP culverts is investigated using 3D finite element (FE) models. The validity of the model was assessed by comparing the model output with previously published results from full-scale laboratory testing. The mechanical behaviour of real soil involves a significant degree of non-linearity. In soil-structure interaction problems such as the one considered here, it seems reasonable to expect that the non-linear behaviour of the soil, together with that of the soil-structure interface, would have a significant effect on the response of the structure. Furthermore, 2D models are limited in their ability to account for certain aspects of the actual, 3D problem. Such aspects include surface live load spreading through the cover soil and the structural behaviour of a corrugated pipe. This paper details the development of a comprehensive, 3D, non-linear FE model capable of simulating the behaviour of intact CMP culverts under backfilling and live loading. The analysis showed that the hyperbolic strain hardening model produced predicted response of the culvert that is very close to the obtained experimental data. However, the numerical results obtained using the Mohr-Coulomb or the linear elastic soil models were of less accuracy.
Changes in Nutritional Status and Morbidities Among Children Having Severe Acute Malnutrition Attending a Nutrition Follow-Up Unit in Bangladesh Who Did Not Receive Any Food Supplementation
Authors: Hossain Md Iqbal , Huq Sayeeda , Ahmed Tahmeed
Published: July 2021

Background:

The problem of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) among < 5 years old (U-5) children in Bangladesh is awful with higher risk of death or morbidities. However, there is no nationwide program where these children are managed with take-home therapeutic/supplementary food as recommended by World Health Organization.

Objective:

This study aimed to identify the changes in nutritional status and morbidities over 3 months of U-5 children having severe wasting (ie, SAM) whose parents refused to admit their children in the residential nutrition rehabilitation unit of the Dhaka Hospital of icddr, b (an international health research Institute based in Dhaka, Bangladesh), and instead attended the nutrition follow-up unit (NFU), and thus did not receive any food supplementation during nutritional rehabilitation.

Methods:

At the NFU, these SAM children on every visit (fortnightly to monthly) received health and nutrition education, multivitamins, zinc and iron supplements, and treatment of illnesses if any.

Results:

During the study period, a total 180 U-5 SAM children came regularly for NFU visit for at least 3 months, and they comprised our study sample. Their age at first NFU visit (baseline) was 13.4 ± 7.8 months and 46% were female. Over these 3 month follow-up period, the rate of weight gain was 2.2 ± 1.9 g/kg/d, change in mid upper arm circumference was from 105 to 115 mm, and change in weight-for-length or weight-for-height z-score was from −2.70 ± 0.94 to −1.95 ± 1.00. During the prior 14 days to the 4 NFU follow-up visit, 13.6% to 22.8% had common cold and/or cough, and 12.2% to 15.1% had pneumonia.

Conclusion:

Because the rate of weight gain was far below the expected ∼5 g/kg/d, the NFU visits without food supplementation are insufficient in terms of catchup growth. Thus, additional efforts are required to improve the management of these SAM children for their catchup growth.
Is China Imperialist? Economy, State, and Insertion in the Global System
Authors: Li Zhongjin , Kotz David M.
Published: July 2021

According to Marxist theory, imperialism is not a policy pursued by certain states, but rather a structural relation emerging from the dynamics of some modes of production. In the capitalist era the profit and accumulation drive underlies the establishment of imperialist relations. This paper applies historical materialism to analyze the political-economic system in China today to determine the forces that have shaped China’s insertion into the global system. We present evidence that China’s role in other parts of the world does not fit the Marxist concept of imperialism. We argue that the nonimperialist character of China’s external relations stems from China’s particular political economy.

JEL Classification: F54, O53, P52
Castoriadis on the being of human: An elucidation of creation ex nihilo
Authors: Heap Jodie Lee
Published: July 2021

Taking inspiration from the vast breadth of Castoriadis’ oeuvre, this article provides an ongoing elucidation of the being of human as creation ex nihilo. It does so by engaging with Castoriadis’ reflections on the vis formandi pertaining to the human condition and his tentative introduction to the concept of the ‘ human Nonconscious’. Across many of his essays, Castoriadis refers to the vis formandi of the being of human as an ‘a-causal’ and as a corporeal power of formation and of creation. Associated with the defunctionalized and the corporeal dimensions of the radical imagination, these two domains of formation and of creation are, for Castoriadis, fundamental to the ontology of the being of human. By exploring Castoriadis’ theoretical and practical reflections on the vis formandi of the being of human and the role he accords the two dimensions of the radical imagination, this article offers a new mode of thinking about the being of human as creation ex nihilo – one that addresses the mind body divide by proposing that the human Nonconscious can be envisaged as the dominion of the embodied imagination.
Measuring Stressors Among Adolescents: Validation of the Positive and Negative Adolescent Life Experiences Scale
Authors: Núñez-Regueiro Fernando , Archambault Isabelle , Bressoux Pascal , Nurra Cécile
Published: July 2021

This article develops and validates the Positive and Negative Adolescent Life Experiences (PANALE) scale, a 11-item tool that enables researchers to measure adolescent stressors in a more valid and efficient manner than existing adolescent stressors scales. The PANALE presents good psychometric qualities, in terms of construct validity (factorial structure, measurement invariance, and composite reliability) and concurrent validity with regard to eustress and distress symptoms in a French sample of high school adolescents ( N = 1513). Overall, the PANALE provides a viable alternative to existing methods for conducting quantitative research on adolescent stress processes, notably those related to school disengagement and dropout processes.
Greenness and the Potential Resilience to Sexual Violence: “Your Neighborhood Is Being Neglected Because People Don’t Care. People With Power Don’t Care”
Authors: Mancus Gibran C. , Cimino Andrea N. , Hasan Md Zabir , Campbell Jacquelyn C. , Sharps Phyllis , Winch Peter J. , Tsuyuki Kiyomi , Stockman Jamila K.
Published: July 2021

There is increasing evidence that green space in communities reduces the risk of aggression and violence, and increases wellbeing. Positive associations between green space and resilience have been found among children, older adults and university students in the United States, China and Bulgaria. Little is known about these associations among predominately Black communities with structural disadvantage. This study explored the potential community resilience in predominately Black neighborhoods with elevated violent crime and different amounts of green space. This embedded mixed-methods study started with quantitative analysis of women who self-identified as “Black and/or African American.” We found inequality in environments, including the amount of green space, traffic density, vacant property, and violent crime. This led to 10 indepth interviews representing communities with elevated crime and different amounts of green space. Emergent coding of the first 3 interviews, a subset of the 98 in the quantitative analysis, led to a priori coding of barriers and facilitators to potential green space supported community resilience applied to the final 7 interview data. Barriers were a combination of the physical and social environment, including traffic patterns, vacant property, and crime. Facilitators included subjective qualities of green space. Green spaces drew people in through community building and promoting feelings of calmness. The transformation of vacant lots into green spaces by community members affords space for people to come together and build community. Green spaces, a modifiable factor, may serve to increase community resilience and decrease the risk of violence.
Police-involved Deaths and the Impact on Homicide Rates in the Post-Ferguson Era: A Study of 44 U.S. Cities
Authors: Lane Tyler J
Published: July 2021

This study investigated whether homicides increased after protested police-involved deaths, focusing on the period after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson in August 2014. It also tests for effects of legal cynicism by comparing effects in homicide and aggravated assault on the assumption that reporting of the latter is discretionary and police abuses may make communities reluctant to notify police. Using FBI data from 44 U.S. cities, homicide and assault rates from 2011 to 2019 were analyzed using an interrupted time series design and combined in a meta-analysis to calculate pooled effects. A meta-regression tested effect moderators including external investigations and city/county sociodemographic characteristics. With a conservative threshold of p ≤ .01, 21 of the 44 cities experienced a significant increase and one had a significant decrease. The pooled effect was a 26.1% increase in the homicide (99% CI: 15.3% to 36.8%). Aggravated assaults increased above baseline, though the effect was 15.2 percentage points smaller (99% CI: –26.7 to –3.6) than the effect in homicides. When outcomes were measured as percent change, there were no significant effect moderators, but when measured as absolute change, homicides increased to a greater extent when the death was subject to external investigation and in cities with higher Black populations, poverty rates, and baseline homicide rates. The findings suggest that protested police-involved deaths led to an increase in homicides and other violence due to the distrust fomented within the very communities whom police are meant to protect.
Clinical Application of Social Cognitive Theory: A Novel Personality Assessment Procedure and a Case Study of Personality Coherence
Authors: Scott Walter D. , Paup Stephen , Kirchhoff Cornelia
Published: July 2021

We present a novel personality assessment method that applies social cognitive personality theory, and more specifically, the Knowledge and Appraisal Personality Architecture model (KAPA; Cervone, 2004 ; 2021 ; see Scott & Cervone, 2016 ). Our assessment method generates descriptions of how personality structures, including temperament, beliefs, goals, and evaluative standards, are activated in “functionally equivalent” situations to generate if–then personality signatures ( Mischel, 2004 ). These descriptions represent models of personality coherence, which we characterize as strong attractor states. We define personality incoherence as nonexistent or perturbed attractor states, in which the situational “if” does not consistently produce a coherent “then” pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving. We provide a step-by-step description of our personality assessment method, and include lists of measures that can be used to assess temperament, beliefs, goals, and standards. To illustrate our personality assessment method, we present a case study of a man in his forties who met criteria for persistent depressive disorder, with intermittent major depressive episodes, with current episode and generalized anxiety disorder. For this client, we describe two “attractor states,” one maladaptive and one adaptive, each providing an example of personality coherence. We conclude by discussing potential future directions and limitations of our personality assessment method.
Robotics: Considerations for Practice
Authors: Carroll Karen
Published: July 2021

The term robotics traditionally refers to the utilization of machines to perform a mechanized task or series of tasks automatically. The author in this article traces some ethical precepts from the literature and proposes that future developments include nursing theory. This would provide the opportunity for bringing forth person-centered utilization of technologies within any healthcare context.