bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
5. Is China’s economy modern?
Authors: Mitter Rana
Published: April 2017

Is China’s status in the 21st century economic superpower that moves the world’s markets, impoverished developing country—or both? China’s economy has seen amazing growth in recent decades. In 2014, the IMF listed China as the world’s largest economy. ‘Is China's economy modern?’ defines the characteristics of a modern economy and relates them to China’s situation by looking at Chinese economic patterns during the last thousand years. If the characteristics are enthusiasm for growth, capital investment, and industrialization then the answer is ‘yes’. The greatest challenge for Chinese policy makers has been how to maintain the current growth rates without accelerating inflation. Environmental pollution is also a growing concern.
7. Brave new China?
Authors: Mitter Rana
Published: April 2017

Since the ascension to power of Xi Jinping, China has become less liberal at home and more assertive overseas. It is likely it will change further. ‘Brave new China?’ questions whether China today really is a ‘brave new world’ even though a glance at the Shanghai night cityscape may make it appear to be so. China has constantly had to engage in a balancing act between the state, the party, and the people. What do the Chinese people think? Are they allowed to be unhappy? Are they allowed to openly discuss their views without being infantilized by an over-protective state and party? The Chinese journey continues.
2. What is measurement?
Authors: Hand David J.
Published: April 2017

Measurement procedures can be placed on a continuum stretching from representational at one end to pragmatic at the other. Measurements in the physical sciences tend to have a heavier representational aspect, and those in the social and behavioural sciences more pragmatic. In many cases, measurement consists of a mixture of the two extremes. ‘What is measurement?’ introduces these two concepts of measurement and the properties of each perspective. Representational measurement defines a mapping from the real world to the numerical world, so that relationships between numbers represent relationships between the things being measured. Pragmatic measurement simultaneously defines an attribute and describes how to measure it.
3. Measurement in the physical sciences and engineering
Authors: Hand David J.
Published: April 2017

As new physical phenomena are discovered, new kinds of instruments have to be devised to measure them and old physical units are regularly redefined. It has also been necessary for measurement accuracy to increase as science and engineering has progressed. ‘Measurement in the physical sciences and engineering’ looks at the measurement of some important physical properties: length and distance; area and volume; mass, weight, and force; time; temperature; electrical and magnetic units such as electrical charge, current, potential, resistance, inductance, magnetic flux, and frequency; and measurement in quantum theory. In general, physical properties can be expressed as monomial combinations of six base attributes: charge, temperature, mass, length, time, and angle.
4. Measurement in the life sciences, medicine, and health
Authors: Hand David J.
Published: April 2017

Biological systems pose particularly challenging measurement issues. This is partly because the biological domain is characterized by complexity and diversity. As a consequence, the results of measuring biological organisms will often result in a distribution of values. A further complication in medicine is that much measurement is of attributes or characteristics relating to internal or subjective phenomena such as of pain, anxiety, and dizziness. ‘Measurement in the life sciences, medicine, and health’ considers the scope of medical measurement, how to measure patients, and how to measure the health of populations. In modern medicine, there are many different reasons for taking a measurement, and hence many different types of measurement.
6. Measurement in the social sciences, economics, business, and public policy
Authors: Hand David J.
Published: April 2017

Social measurement spans a vast range of topics. It underpins government, public policy, international relations, industrial relations, economics, academic social science research, aspects of business and commerce, and education, health, and transport systems. It is necessary for understanding our societies and how we live in them, for monitoring and indeed guiding change, to decide if things are working, and to provide accountability. ‘Measurement in the social sciences, economics, business, and public policy’ shows that, generally, social measures are aggregate measures summarizing many individual values. Statistical summaries might be based on data from every member of a population or a mere sample. It also discusses economic indicators and gaming.
The future
Authors: Passingham Richard
Published: April 2017

Now that we know so much about where there is activity in the brain while people perform cognitive tasks, ‘The future’ explains that the next stage is to find out how that activity makes cognition possible. To do this we need to study that activity with methods that are sensitive to the temporal pattern of neuronal activity, but neither PET nor fMRI is well suited for the purpose. Methods currently available include: magneto-encephalography, recording with electrode arrays, recording from single neurons, and biologically plausible computational models. Future models will need to take into account both the fine and gross architecture of the brain and be more flexible and more biologically plausible.
Nations under law
Authors: Lowe Vaughan
Published: April 2017

The most basic function of international law is to secure the coexistence of the world’s almost 200 sovereign States. ‘Nations under law’ explains the essential conditions of statehood under international law: having a permanent population; an effective government; a physical territory; the capacity to enter into relations with other States; and legitimacy as an independent State. International law provides for the security of States’ borders, and for their right to be free from invasion and coercion by neighbouring States. It underpins the right of each State to choose its political, economic, and social structures.
Implementing international law
Authors: Lowe Vaughan
Published: April 2017

States tend to comply with international law, but what happens if a State breaks a rule of international law? ‘Implementing international law’ considers the different ways in which international law is implemented—diplomatic protest through acts of retorsion, counter-measures, litigation, arbitration, and mediation. If litigation is necessary, most cases in which international law is applied arise in municipal courts and tribunals. Only a small proportion of cases that are decided by the application of rules of international law are taken to the International Court. Despite the increasing engagement between international law and individuals, the particular focus of international law remains fixed upon States and State responsibility.
Freedom from external interference
Authors: Lowe Vaughan
Published: April 2017

‘Freedom from external interference’ focuses on one aspect of the assurance of the sovereign equality and independence of States and the freedom that it entails for each of them: the freedom from external interference and from forcible coercion by other States. In what circumstances may force be used? What weapons and methods of waging war may be used? Who is entitled to use force? The rules of international law relating to war are traditionally divided into the jus in bello, which governs matters such as prohibitions on certain weapons and ways of waging war against other nations, and the jus ad bellum, which limits the circumstances on the right to go to war.
Sovereignty inside the State
Authors: Lowe Vaughan
Published: April 2017

Limitations on the right to use force are a key element among the principles by which international law secures the sovereign equality and independence of States against external threats. ‘Sovereignty inside the State’ examines the principles of international law that spell out in positive terms the content of that equality and independence. Each State has the sovereign right to decide upon its social and economic structures, and to lay down laws that will influence the national character of the State and of life within it. The legal concept of jurisdiction determines the reach and priority of those laws. That freedom is not unlimited: it is constrained by obligations of the State under international law.
Introduction
Authors: Ware Susan
Published: April 2017

The Introduction explains how this VSI highlights the diversity of American women's experiences as continually shaped by factors such as race, class, religion, geographical location, age, and sexual orientation. Without downplaying the historical constraints and barriers blocking women's advancement, the story emphasizes women as active agents rather than passive victims throughout U.S. history. It is neither possible nor desirable to write about women in isolation from men or separate from national events and trends. Instead women's stories link to larger themes at the same time they often challenge them. By fully integrating these stories into the broader national story, a richer understanding of U.S. history in all its complexity will be achieved.
Influenza
Authors: McMillen Christian W.
Published: April 2017

The influenza that swept across the globe in three waves in 1918–1919 was the worst pandemic in history since the Black Death. Pandemic influenza had erupted before—most recently and severely in 1889–1892. But none approached the impact of the post–World War I pandemic, which killed at least fifty million people. ‘Influenza’ explains that more young adults and females were affected. Influenza can jump from animals to humans and back because it changes rapidly and often via antigenic drift. There were further pandemics in 1957, 1968, and 2009, and there will be more in the future. There is still much to learn about influenza.
What causes military strategies to succeed or fail?
Authors: Echevarria Antulio J.
Published: April 2017

How can military strategists improve the odds of success while reducing the chances of failure? ‘What causes military strategies to succeed or fail?’ identifies four tasks are necessary for a successful strategy: a critical appraisal of the adversary’s strengths and weaknesses matched against one’s own; the net assessment should serve as a baseline for developing courses of action that weaken the foe enough to get what one wants; the head of state must select a suitable military commander to develop and implement the desired strategy; and sound war plans are needed to pull everything together. Military strategies often fail because the opposing party refuses to concede, even if continuing to fight is patently self-destructive.
6. Blood transfusion
Authors: Cooper Chris
Published: April 2017

‘Blood transfusion’ outlines the history of transfusing animal blood dating back to the 17th century. The 19th century saw the first successful human blood transfusion, but two major issues remained: the problems of clotting and blood group incompatibility. Albert Hustin and Luis Agote resolved the first issue in 1914 by using sodium citrate in transfusions to work as an anticoagulant. Richard Lewisohn calculated the correct levels of citrate needed to avoid poisoning the blood. Karl Landsteiner’s work in early 20th-century Vienna revealed the ABO blood type distinctions, solving the latter problem. The creation of blood banks and the potential for viral contamination of blood and blood products are also discussed.
What is a black hole?
Authors: Blundell Katherine
Published: April 2017

A black hole is a region of space where the force of gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can travel fast enough to escape from its interior. ‘What is a black hole?’ outlines how they were first conceived by theoretical physicists such as John Michell, Henry Cavendish, Pierre-Simon Laplace, and Albert Einstein, and explains the concepts of singularity, escape velocity, the event horizon, and spacetime. Black holes have now been identified in the Universe in their hundreds and accounted for in their millions. Although invisible, these objects interact with and influence their surroundings in different ways depending on proximity relative to the black hole.
Characterizing black holes
Authors: Blundell Katherine
Published: April 2017

‘Characterizing black holes’ describes the two different types of black holes: Schwarzschild black holes that do not rotate and Kerr black holes that do. The only distinguishing characteristics of black holes are their mass and their spin. A remarkable feature of a spinning black hole is that the gravitational field pulls objects around the black hole’s axis of rotation, not merely in towards its centre—an effect called frame dragging. The static limit and ergosphere regions of black holes are also described. Einstein’s equations of General Relativity allow many different solutions describing alternative versions of curved spacetime. Could white holes and worm holes exist in our universe?
Falling into a black hole …
Authors: Blundell Katherine
Published: April 2017

‘Falling into a black hole … considers what happens near to a black hole and how close is too close to avoid an object being pulled into the black hole. Gravitational redshift arises where spacetime is stretched out or curved by the effect of a black hole and time dilation is the effect of time ‘running more slowly’ moving closer to a black hole. These effects are larger if the black hole mass is larger, and also become more extreme the closer you get to the event horizon. The effect of spin and spin direction on how close particles may encounter the black hole, dynamic spacetime, tidal forces, and particle orbits are also considered.
Entropy and thermodynamics of black holes
Authors: Blundell Katherine
Published: April 2017

‘Entropy and thermodynamics of black holes’ considers how the laws of thermodynamics and entropy can be applied to black holes. It discusses the work of Roger Penrose, James Bardeen, Brandon Carter, and Stephen Hawking, which, using quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, has enabled these scientists to propose likely behaviour in and around black holes. The concepts of black hole evaporation and Hawking radiation are explained to show how black holes lose mass and eventually disappear. It concludes with the black hole information paradox: can the information stored in the matter that fell into the black hole ever be recovered?
Eating more and growing bigger
Authors: Blundell Katherine
Published: April 2017

How do black holes grow? There is a lot of matter orbiting around a black hole and this matter can interact with itself, but must observe the laws of gravity and conservation of angular momentum. ‘Eating more and growing bigger’ explains that the accreting matter is very often in the form of a disc. It goes on to discuss what accretion discs look like, how hot they are, and how you measure how fast a black hole is spinning. How close matter is able to orbit before being swallowed by the black hole tells you how fast the black hole itself must be spinning.
Agents, networks, degree, and recirculation
Authors: Holland John H.
Published: April 2017

‘Agents, networks, degree, and recirculation’ explains that when studying complex adaptive systems (CAS) in a grammar-like way, agents serve as the ‘alphabet’. The hierarchical organization of CAS implies different kinds of agents at different levels, with correspondingly different grammars. The interactions of signal-processing agents at a point in time can be specified by a network—a snapshot of the agents’ performance capability. The combination of high fanout (the richness of an agent’s interactions) and hierarchical organization results in complex networks that include large numbers of sequences that form loops. More complex loops allow the CAS to ‘look ahead’, examining the effects of various action sequences without actually executing the actions.
what is environmental politics?
Authors: Dobson Andrew
Published: April 2017

The Introduction outlines the structure of this VSI. It begins by looking at the origins of environmental concern and asks why we should care about the environment at all. It considers the ideas that lie behind environmental politics and some of the disputes that take place within it. It then looks at the practice of environmental politics, the movement and the parties that enact it, and the policy tools that governments use. The history of the movement is also discussed, as well as the question of the different forms it takes, and how unified it is before concluding by looking to the future of environmental politics.
Origins
Authors: Dobson Andrew
Published: April 2017

Humans have been part of the Earth’s history for a very short time, but our impact on the world around us has been considerable. The two major moments of accelerations of human impact were the development of agriculture and the Industrial Revolution. ‘Origins’ explains how they laid the foundations for concern about the sustainability of ways of life. The 1970s saw a growing awareness that negative environmental impacts might be a result of a mistaken whole development path, rather than local and isolated difficulties. An environmental political movement coalescing around those problems offered an alternative political platform, which has made a dramatic impact on politics in many ways and at many levels.
Local and global, North and South
Authors: Dobson Andrew
Published: April 2017

Environmental problems have an international—even a global—character. Environmental politics is therefore, at least in part, an international politics. ‘Local and global, North and South’ considers how the national and international dimensions work—or not—together highlighting an apparently insurmountable faultline between the global North and the global South. Despite numerous obstacles, multilateral environmental agreements are possible. By comparing and contrasting two cases—the ozone layer and climate change—the factors and conditions that make for successful agreements are analysed. The local level, which is also crucial to environmental politics, is then considered because this is where environmental implications are felt most viscerally and its battles are fought most keenly.
Critical perspectives
Authors: Moon Jeremy
Published: April 2017

‘Critical perspectives’ presents two systemic critiques of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which argue that CSR is fundamentally undesirable or impossible. Firstly, there is the view associated with Milton Friedman that sees CSR as contrary to the core purpose of business, as unaccountable management excess at the expense of shareholders, and as undermining of democratic accountability for public affairs. Secondly, there is the anti-corporate perspective, usually associated with critics of capitalism more generally. This view sees CSR as an extension of the underlying problems of capitalism and of corporations therein. CSR advocates generally sit between the two views, rejecting both sets of deductive logics and their respective implications for the sociability and accountability of markets.
Appetite, fat, and obesity
Authors: Luck Martin
Published: April 2017

‘Appetite, fat, and obesity’ considers the role of insulin in the body’s fat storage process. In the condition diabetes mellitus, the sugar level in the blood rises uncontrollably so the kidneys cannot stop it leaking into the urine. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s immune system attacks the insulin-secreting β-cells of the pancreas. The only effective treatment is to inject the missing insulin. Type 2 diabetes is considered more of a lifestyle disease. But what exactly is the connection between obesity and poorly regulated blood glucose? The body has more hormones capable of responding to energy shortage than to energy abundance, which may be why keeping control of body weight can be difficult. The hormones affecting appetite are also discussed.
Genes as DNA
Authors: Slack Jonathan
Published: April 2017

After 1944, a remarkable set of discoveries established the overall shape of modern molecular biology and most famous of all was the discovery of the three dimensional structure of DNA: the famous double helix, which explained how the substance could act as the genetic material. ‘Genes as DNA’ describes the complex structure of genes and explains the terms ‘genome’ and ‘genomics’. In the 1980s and 1990s the complex mechanisms by which genes control embryonic development were discovered. The complete sequencing of a typical human genome was started in the late 1990s and achieved in 2003. It showed that the genome of human beings contains about three billion base pairs of DNA.
Mutations and gene variants
Authors: Slack Jonathan
Published: April 2017

All gene variants originate as mutations. Most variants in the genome of any given individual are not new mutations but have been inherited from previous generations. ‘Mutations and gene variants’ shows that mutations can occur in any cell of the body, but in order to be inherited they must occur in the DNA of the reproductive cells. There are numerous genetic diseases caused by a single mutation in one gene, and the examples considered here are cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, achondroplasia, and Holt-Oram Syndrome. In such cases, the inheritance of the abnormal gene variant follows simple Mendelian rules. The origin of cancer is explained as a combination of mutations occurring in a single cell of the body. Inherited gene variants predisposing to cancer do so because they reduce the number of new mutations required.
Genes in evolution
Authors: Slack Jonathan
Published: April 2017

‘Genes in evolution’ illustrates that a great deal of change in the primary sequence of DNA was not adaptive at all. It was not natural selection, but ‘neutral evolution’, consisting of an accumulation of mutations of no selective consequence that spread through the population by the effects of random sampling of variants from one generation to the next. In natural selection, generally what is good for the organism is good for the propagation of the gene variants it carries. But sometimes, as for sex and altruism, maximizing inheritance of gene variants that bring them about seems at first sight to be of advantage to the group, but of disadvantage for the individual.
Microbes in agriculture and biotechnology
Authors: Money Nicholas P.
Published: April 2017

‘Microbes in agriculture and biotechnology’ considers the applied microbiological research to improve soil fertility and combat plant diseases, as well as the development of genetically modified (GM) food, which may help to reduce the cost of modern agricultural practices and their contribution to climate change. Natural mechanisms that control soil fertility are inadequate to the task of supporting modern intensive agriculture and a human population that may exceed nine billion in 2050. Intensive grazing of cattle on deforested land is similarly unsustainable. Even in areas where soils are exceedingly rich, crop productivity falls without soil amendment with organic matter and inorganic fertilizers.
Over-nutrition: problems of overweight and obesity
Authors: Bender David A.
Published: April 2017

‘Over-nutrition: problems of overweight and obesity’ shows that Western society’s attitude to obesity has changed, and obesity is now considered to be undesirable. A desirable body weight and body mass index (BMI) in the range of 20 to 25 kg/m2 is associated with optimal life expectancy. The health risks of obesity are wide-ranging—including a major cause of early death from cancer, coronary heart disease, and type II diabetes—and it is placing a considerable financial strain on health services. Obesity is the result of increased availability and consumption of food, coupled with decreased physical activity. The various ways in which overweight people can be helped to lose weight are considered.
Microbial and planktonic engines of the reef
Authors: Sheppard Charles
Published: April 2017

Symbiotic algae are a crucial source of fuel for the reef, via corals and others, but how is the food and energy from the corals transferred to other parts of the ecosystem to support the huge abundance and diversity seen there? ‘Microbial and planktonic engines of the reef’ describes the filter feeding—extracting particles from the water—of the large proportion of reef animals. These particles consist of plankton, microbes, bacteria, viruses, and zooplankton. Sponges also display microbial symbiotic connections with algae and cyanobacteria that is a key component of material and energy transfer. The productivity from seaweeds on which numerous species of herbivorous fish and sea urchins graze is also important.
Reef fish and other major predators
Authors: Sheppard Charles
Published: April 2017

Healthy reefs provide a habitat for an immense number of fish that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours. No other natural habitat in the ocean shows this diversity and abundance. About a quarter of all marine species may be found on coral reefs even though this habitat occupies only one or two per cent of the area of the earth. ‘Reef fish and other major predators’ describes the diverse feeding ecology of reef fishes; coral reef predators such as the colourful crown of thorns starfish, Acanthaster plancii; symbiotic relationships between different species of fish or with different invertebrates; and the dangers of overfishing in reef communities.
Climate change and reefs
Authors: Sheppard Charles
Published: April 2017

Reefs are more affected by the damaging consequences of climate change than any other ecosystem. ‘Climate change and reefs’ illustrates how the impacts of climate change add on to, and synergistically multiply, the harmful effects of local disease and pollution. Warming of the seas and an increase of intense light overload the photosynthetic mechanism and symbiotic algae die. When these are expelled, the coral appears bleached and may die if conditions continue. The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also leads to acidification of the oceans, which reduces the amount of carbonate available to corals for limestone deposition. Severely damaged or destroyed reefs will erode, which means they can no longer act as breakwaters for island communities.
The international evolution of accounting
Authors: Nobes Christopher
Published: April 2017

What are the purposes of accounting? How do these purposes affect how accounting works? What is double-entry bookkeeping? ‘The international evolution of accounting’ considers these questions and outlines some examples of how different countries have contributed to the development of accounting. Double-entry bookkeeping, conceived in thirteenth-century Italy, balances the debits and credits. It enables the calculation of profit and the presentation of a business's financial position. Publication of accounting information is required to protect shareholders and creditors from potential malpractice by company directors. The globalization of world business has resulted in International Financial Reporting Standards, now used by around 90 countries. The US use their Financial Accounting Standards Board's ‘generally accepted accounting principles’.
Digital: after the deluge
Authors: Hargreaves Ian
Published: April 2017

What is journalism’s future? ‘Digital: after the deluge’ considers the ‘new media’ services—blogs, Google, Twitter, Facebook—that have transformed the way that people gather, edit, access, and consume news, but that also have had severe consequences for the news industry. The argument was that this new information ecology, or ‘fifth estate’, would inform people reliably, promote debate, and hold power to account. Journalism can only do this if it is trusted, and it will only be trusted if it embraces a discipline of verification. The activities of Matt Drudge, the American West Coast blogger, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, and the secret service leaker, Edward Snowden, are also discussed.
What is a fungus?
Authors: Money Nicholas P.
Published: April 2017

‘What is a fungus?’ explores the evolutionary origins of fungi and how they differ from plants and animals. The fungi are united by three principal characteristics: they are eukaryotes, which feed by absorption, and reproduce by forming spores. Fungi are more closely related to animals than they are to plants; fungi and animals both belong to the Opisthokonta taxonomic supergroup. The emergence of the fungi as a distinctive group of organisms is estimated to have happened between 760 million years ago and one billion years ago. The structure, growth, and physiology of the fungal cell are also described.
Fungal genetics and life cycles
Authors: Money Nicholas P.
Published: April 2017

All of the structures produced by fungi, from simple budding yeast cells to long-lived bracket mushrooms, are encoded in genes. The genome of the fungus is a blueprint for its organization and operation. ‘Fungal genetics and life cycles’ explores the sequencing of genomes and progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms that link gene expression to fungal growth and development. Genetic experiments on yeast have led to major advances in our understanding of cell division and cancer. Filamentous fungi are also important research subjects for geneticists. The life cycles of mushrooms are complex and some species have thousands of mating types, or sexes.
Fungi in animal health and disease
Authors: Money Nicholas P.
Published: April 2017

‘Fungi in animal health and disease’ considers the fungi that populate the healthy human microbiome and the nature of superficial and systemic fungal infections in humans and other animals. Most of our associations with fungi are harmless and some of them support our well-being. Fungal diseases or ‘mycoses’ can develop, however, when our immune defences are weakened. The resulting opportunistic infections can be difficult to treat. Infections can also develop when the skin is damaged by a severe burn or if fungi contaminate tissues exposed during surgery. Fungal spores carry allergens and are a significant cause of asthma. A small number of mushroom species produce hallucinogens and others contain poisons.
Looking ahead
Authors: Wayne Marta L. , Bolker Benjamin M.
Published: April 2017

‘Looking ahead’ shows how our understanding of disease ecology and evolution has revolutionized disease management. By developing transmission control strategies to close the encounter filter and vaccines and treatments to close the compatibility filter, we have reduced the misery caused by infectious disease. But what is the outlook for the future control of infectious diseases? We cannot eradicate infectious disease. Living things have parasitized one another since the beginning of life itself. New zoonotic diseases will continue to emerge, and existing diseases will continually evolve to escape our methods of control. Despite this stark reality, we can minimize the impact of disease even if we can never fully conquer it.
2. Nature
Authors: Robertson Ritchie
Published: April 2017

For Goethe, humanity formed part of a greater unity, that of Nature. Nature was also something to be experienced in the most direct, immediate way. ‘Nature’ looks closely at the poem Auf dem See, to appreciate how Goethe’s language expresses his sensuous apprehension of Nature. Goethe saw Nature as a sensuous maternal presence, but above all, dynamic—constantly in motion, both creative and destructive. Goethe was fascinated by anatomy, botany, mineralogy, and geology and devoted as much or more time to studying the natural world as he did to literature. Despite his problematic scientific method, Goethe’s empirical studies of botany, colour perception, and other subjects provided much valuable material for later generations.
1. What is psychotherapy and who is it for?
Authors: Burns Tom , Burns‐Lundgren Eva
Published: April 2017

Psychotherapy involves using an agreed relationship between a trained practitioner and a patient to obtain relief from emotional suffering. Most Western psychotherapies are based on talking and discussion that aim for a very personal understanding of the origins and meaning of problems in order to remove symptoms and obtain relief. ‘What is psychotherapy and who is it for?’ explains that present-day psychotherapy is available to a wide range of individuals in many settings. Different therapies include counselling, cognitive behaviour therapy, group and family therapies, and interactive therapies such as music and art therapy. It also shows that psychotherapy is not risk free; good psychotherapists carefully assess patients’ character strengths and their problems before embarking on treatment.
7. Family, group, and interactive therapies
Authors: Burns Tom , Burns‐Lundgren Eva
Published: April 2017

‘Family, group, and interactive therapies’ considers and describes the widely established practice of systemic family therapy, couples therapy, and group therapy, and also introduces psychodrama, art therapy, and music therapy, which are interactive therapies. Family therapy is often used when the referred patient is a child or adolescent. When families are struggling to find a healthy balance, systemic family therapy offers them an opportunity to take a step back and think together. Group therapy is traditionally composed of individuals with a range of problems—anxiety, depression, phobias, relationship difficulties. This range of problems and individuals makes the group a microcosm of ordinary life.
2. People and their life-styles
Authors: Rubin Miri
Published: April 2017

‘People and their life styles’ explores the routines of family and community life in rural settlements and urban centres, in private, and in public. It shows that the people of the ‘Middle Ages’ were not so different from us. Social status and gender were highly consequential. Some activities were associated with kinship, others with the search for protection. People sometimes joined others in their efforts—in a trade guild or a religious fraternity—but they also sought out patronage and guidance, from individuals who were stronger, richer, or more expert than themselves. The habit of association was strong in the European tradition.
4. Kingship, lordship, and government
Authors: Rubin Miri
Published: April 2017

‘Kingship, lordship, and government’ describes the development of ruling concepts and practices. Sacred kingship was born of a pact between dynastic rulers and the church. Rulers were expected to preserve Christian identity, protect the church, and promote justice and peace. Men who held public offices were often rewarded with entitlement to tax income from land. The system of lords, fiefs, and fealty formed the basis upon which long-term reorganization of land, wealth, and power took place. As kingdoms became larger, the burden of military defence and domestic administration became more onerous, and demanded central organization and record keeping, resulting in the development of parliaments.
1. The view from Cahokia
Authors: Aron Stephen
Published: April 2017

‘The view from Cahokia’ describes a dynamic and diverse “prehistory” defined by peoples in motion, societies in flux, cultures entangling, powers competing, and realms shifting—all with important implications for the colonial trajectories that followed. Some 120 great earthen mounds at Cahokia in the Mississippi valley, spread across five square miles, had been built by ad 1100. Between ten and twenty thousand people lived in Cahokia at its peak in the twelfth century. Cahokians drew their subsistence from a combination of hunting, fishing, gathering, and the cultivation of maize, beans, and squash. The rise and fall of Cahokia is explained and the precolonial history of the migratory Indians described.
2. Empires and enclaves
Authors: Aron Stephen
Published: April 2017

Columbus discovered an Old World in 1492. Steep population declines reduced Indian numbers by more than 90 percent in the following four centuries. European maps of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries claimed to have carved up most of North America, but ‘Empires and enclaves’ shows that control over North American lands remained hotly contested during this time. Well into the eighteenth century, the vast majority of North American Indians had not become the subordinates of European colonizers and in most places there were no European settlements yet. The first contacts between European and Indians are described along with seventeenth-century English settlements in New England, the Spanish conquest in New Mexico, and the alternative approaches of the French.
5. The whitening of the West
Authors: Aron Stephen
Published: April 2017

“What is the true significance of the word ‘white’?” asked Pablo de la Guerra, a delegate to the convention charged with writing a constitution for a new state of California, in 1849. The shifting definitions of who was white and what that meant affected not only the privileges of citizenship, but also where individuals lived and worked, what they were paid, and with whom they associated. ‘The whitening of the West’ shows how the reconstruction of this West as American entailed the remaking of race relations, the establishment of the federal government's supremacy, and the consolidation of an industrial capitalist order. The whitening of the West incited intense debate, fierce resistance, and bloody combat.
Introduction. Five theses on the history of Hollywood
Authors: Decherney Peter
Published: April 2017

The main focus of this VSI is on the big picture: the adoption of new technologies, responses to competition from independent filmmakers, and the impact of the political and cultural tumult of Hollywood’s first century. The ‘Introduction’ outlines five key observations about how and why Hollywood has developed: Hollywood is not a natural thing—it has been shaped by historical, cultural, economic, and political forces; making movies is a risky business; Hollywood has always been a global business; movies have always been one medium in a chain of “transmedia” storytelling and consumption; and Hollywood is in a state of constant change and perpetual crisis, but has become more powerful.
4. Hollywood at war
Authors: Decherney Peter
Published: April 2017

Once the U.S. entered World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Bureau of Motion Pictures and a number of additional offices and agencies designed to leverage Hollywood as part of the war effort. ‘Hollywood at war’ describes how the film studios signed on to help fight the war. Even beyond direct government work, Hollywood contributed to the larger war effort by making patriotic films, raising money for war bonds, and entertaining troops. It has been estimated that as much as one-third of Hollywood production during the war directly bolstered America’s wartime activities, and, not coincidentally, it was also one of the most profitable stretches in Hollywood’s history.
7. Home video and Indiewood
Authors: Decherney Peter
Published: April 2017

‘Home video and Indiewood’ describes how in the 1970s and 1980s home video took Hollywood by surprise. The industry took time adjusting to the changes wrought by the new medium, but in the end, home video opened up new aesthetic possibilities for filmmakers, it gave viewers more options, and it increased Hollywood’s profits. Hollywood has consistently been challenged by independent film movements. By the mid-1990s, the independent film movement had developed into a mirror of the studio system, with its own auteurs, storytelling formulas, and marketing techniques. The lines between Hollywood and the indie world began to blur, creating what some have called Indiewood. Once again, Hollywood successfully absorbed its competition.
2. The peopling of the earth
Authors: Weaver Stewart A.
Published: April 2017

When did exploration begin and who were the first explorers? ‘The peopling of the earth ’ shows that the deep origins of exploration are inseparable from the long process of the peopling of the earth that began between one and two million years ago, with the migration of Homo erectus out of the East Africa rift valleys. It considers the Polynesian seafaring people whose remarkable exploratory oceanic migration resulted in settlements and cultural exchange around and across the Pacific Ocean. The maritime exploration of the Norse reached Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. The global circle of humanity closed, and the first of history's two big stories, that of human divergence, ended, and the second, that of human convergence, began.
3. First forays
Authors: Weaver Stewart A.
Published: April 2017

‘First forays ’ considers several notable figures in the history of exploration including: Harkhuf, who in 2270 bce explored the Nile River; Pytheas of Massalia, who around 325 bce sailed out north of the Bay of Biscay and circumnavigated the British Isles; Alexander the Great who introduced the Greeks to Arabia and India; Zhang Qian, in 139 bce, who provided the geographical stimulus to the further opening of the Silk Road; Ptolemy, whose second-century treatise Geographia encouraged exploratory ambitions for centuries to come; thirteenth-century Friar William of Rubruck; the traveller Marco Polo; and the accidental explorers Zheng He, who lead maritime expeditions through the Indian Ocean, between 1405 and 1433, and Moroccan pilgrim Abu 'Abdallah ibn Battúta.
Epilogue: Final frontiers?
Authors: Weaver Stewart A.
Published: April 2017

‘Epilogue: Final frontiers?’ considers undersea and space exploration. Jacques-Yves Cousteau claimed the oceans were the last frontier of our planet. The Cold War race to the moon took exploration into space. Are these the final frontiers? For all the different forms it takes in different historical periods, for all the worthy and unworthy motives that lie behind it, exploration—travel for the sake of discovery and adventure—seems to be a human compulsion, a human obsession even; it is a defining element of a distinctly human identity, and it will never rest at any frontier, whether terrestrial or extraterrestrial.
Evaluating the interaction of the invasive tunicate Didemnum vexillum with the Atlantic sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus on open and closed fishing grounds of Georges Bank
Authors: Kaplan Katherine A , Hart Deborah R , Hopkins Karen , Gallager Scott , York Amber , Taylor Richard , Sullivan Patrick J
Published: April 2017

An invasive colonial tunicate (Didemnum vexillum) was initially observed on Georges Bank in 1998, and it has since spread in benthic environments on fishing grounds and areas closed to bottom-fishing. It can form dense mats on gravel substrates that are also a preferred habitat for the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus), which supports one of the most valuable commercial fisheries in the United States. We used HabCam, a vessel-towed underwater imaging system, to investigate the spatial distributions of P. magellanicus and D. vexillum in a region that includes fishing grounds and an area protected from bottom-fishing. We found a negative relationship between P. magellanicus and D. vexillum, even after controlling for substrate and management status, suggesting that D. vexillum competes for habitat with P. magellanicus. We also applied the geostatistical method of universal kriging to interpolate the distribution of D. vexllium based on the covariables gravel, depth and area. Our results indicate that D. vexillum is more common in areas open to fishing than in the areas closed to fishing, even taking bottom substrate effects into account. Didemnum vexillum appears to have spread over portions of the northern edge of Georges Bank. This research evaluates potential fish and invertebrate habitat degradation caused by an invasive species.
A RANDOMIZED DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROL PILOT STUDY OF EPLERENONE FOR THE TREATMENT OF CENTRAL SEROUS CHORIORETINOPATHY (ECSELSIOR)
Authors: Rahimy Ehsan , Pitcher John D. , Hsu Jason , Adam Murtaza K. , Shahlaee Abtin , Samara Wasim A. , Vander James F. , Kaiser Richard S. , Chiang Allen , Spirn Marc J. , Fineman Mitchell S.
Published: April 2017

Purpose:

To evaluate the safety and effects of oral eplerenone in chronic central serous chorioretinopathy.

Methods:

Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-control study at a tertiary referral academic private practice. For a diagnosis of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy, patients must have had at least 3 months clinical follow-up demonstrating persistent symptoms, subfoveal fluid on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, and <50% reduction in fluid thickness. Patients were randomized 2:1 (treatment:placebo) to receive eplerenone (25 mg daily for 1 week, then up to 50 mg daily for 8 weeks) or placebo once daily.

Results:

Fifteen patients completed the study. Ten patients (15 eyes) were randomized into the eplerenone treatment arm, while the remaining 5 patients (6 eyes) received placebo. After 9 weeks of eplerenone therapy, mean logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution visual acuity improved from 0.394 (Snellen equivalent: 20/50) to 0.330 (20/43, P = 0.04). In the placebo group, the mean logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution visual acuity slightly decreased from 0.313 (20/41) to 0.342 (20/44) during the same period (P = 0.21). With respect to anatomic changes, mean maximal subretinal fluid height in the eplerenone group improved from 139.3 μm at baseline to 51.8 μm (P = 0.02), mean subfoveal fluid height improved from 121.4 μm to 29.4 μm (P = 0.01), and mean central subfield thickness improved from 366.2 μm to 283.7 μm (P = 0.02). In comparison with the placebo group, mean maximal subretinal fluid height worsened from 135.9 μm to 172.3 μm (P = 0.32), mean subfoveal fluid height worsened from 92.1 μm to 134.0 μm (P = 0.54), and mean central subfield thickness worsened from 345.0 μm to 380.0 μm (P = 0.37). No patients in either group experienced serious adverse events to result in treatment discontinuation.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that oral eplerenone therapy is safe and potentially effective in the treatment of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy with persistent subretinal fluid.
Lineage: Visualizing Multivariate Clinical Data in Genealogy Graphs
Authors: Nobre Carolina , Gehlenborg Nils , Coon Hilary , Lex Alexander
Published: April 2017

The majority of diseases that are a significant challenge for public and individual heath are caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors. In this paper we introduce Lineage, a novel visual analysis tool designed to support domain experts who study such multifactorial diseases in the context of genealogies. Incorporating familial relationships between cases with other data can provide insights into shared genomic variants and shared environmental exposures that may be implicated in such diseases. We introduce a data and task abstraction, and argue that the problem of analyzing such diseases based on genealogical, clinical, and genetic data can be mapped to a multivariate graph visualization problem. The main contribution of our design study is a novel visual representation for tree-like, multivariate graphs, which we apply to genealogies and clinical data about the individuals in these families. We introduce data-driven aggregation methods to scale to multiple families. By designing the genealogy graph layout to align with a tabular view, we are able to incorporate extensive, multivariate attributes in the analysis of the genealogy without cluttering the graph. We validate our designs by conducting case studies with our domain collaborators.