bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The ‘Connecting Children and Nature Network’: Building a collaborative partnership for change
Authors: Kemp Nicola
Published: March 2015

This paper explores the current public and policy interest in ‘children and nature’ from the perspective of a Higher Education Institution. It offers a conceptualisation of concern based on two competing discourses: one of environmental crisis; the other a crisis of childhood. It goes on to argue that rather than being in conflict, the two discourses are actually mutually reinforcing. An implication is that this is an agenda that requires an inter-disciplinary approach requiring those whose primary interest is in the environment to come together with those whose starting point is the child. This conceptual understanding underpins the approach adopted by one UK University in the ‘Connecting Children and Nature Network’. This initiative is an example of how small-scale seed funding can generate significant impacts and is innovative because of its cross-disciplinary support. It is also an example of how Education for Sustainable Development can be embedded through a tripartite model of engagement, teaching and learning, research and knowledge exchange activity. Since its inception further funding has been secured to support the Network and to develop a range of collaborative activities. Although successful, the process of building a partnership has been complex, revealing competing perspectives and agendas. The paper ends with a discussion of some of the lessons learnt and reflects on managing the partnership-building process as an Higher Education Institution.
A comparison between the Static Balance Test and the Berg Balance Scale: validity, reliability, and comparative resource use
Authors: Pickenbrock Heidrun Maria , Diel Andrea , Zapf Antonia
Published: March 2015

Objective:

Within a sample of acute post-stroke patients, to compare the score on the Berg Balance Scale and the Static Balance Test for validity, inter-rater reliability, and the expenditure of time.

Design:

Prospective, intra-individual, cross-sectional evaluation study.

Setting:

Acute stroke unit of a university hospital in Germany.

Participants:

A total of 53 patients with acute stroke who did not have other pathology affecting their balance.

Main outcome measure:

For intra-individual comparisons of the Berg Balance Scale and the Static Balance Test, Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated. For inter-rater reliability, Bland Altman plots were drawn and the corresponding mean difference and limits of agreement were calculated.

Results:

The Static Balance Test took three to five minutes; the Berg Balance Scale 20–30 minutes. There was a high correlation between the scores on the Berg Balance Scale and the Static Balance Test (r = 0.91). For the Berg Balance Scale, the mean difference between the two raters was 0.13 and the limits of agreement were small (–0.25; 0.51). For the Static Balance Test, the mean difference between the two raters was −0.02 and also the limits of agreement (–0.06; 0.02) were even smaller than for the Berg Balance Scale. Both scales showed excellent inter-rater reliability.

Conclusion:

The Static Balance Test was compared with the Berg Balance Scale and turned out to be equally valid, more reliable, and takes much less time. For the moment, the scale can be recommended for the use in acute stroke care, especially for the daily routine therapy.
Dignity and patient-centred care for people with palliative care needs in the acute hospital setting: A systematic review
Authors: Pringle Jan , Johnston Bridget , Buchanan Deans
Published: March 2015

Background:

A core concept behind patient-centred approaches is the need to treat people with, and preserve, dignity in care settings. People receiving palliative care are one group who may have particularly sensitive needs in terms of their condition, symptoms and life expectancy. Dignity is more likely to be violated in hospital settings. Given the high percentage of people with palliative care needs who are admitted to hospital during their last year of life, the provision of dignity enhancing and preserving care in that setting is of vital importance.

Aim:

To examine international evidence relating to dignity and person-centred care for people with palliative care needs in the acute hospital setting.

Design:

A systematic literature review was conducted, incorporating data extraction, analysis and quality appraisal of included papers.

Data sources:

MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ASSIA, EMBASE, Cochrane Database and Web of Science. Inclusion dates: 1 January 2000–1 April 2014. Eligibility criteria: Adult palliative care, acute care setting, dignity or person-centred care.

Results:

In all, 33 papers met the inclusion criteria for the review. Papers highlighted the many and varied potential threats to dignity for people with palliative care needs in acute settings, including symptom control and existential distress, approaches and models in care provision and healthcare settings and design.

Conclusion:

Acute hospital staff require adequate training, including symptom control, and the correct environment in which to deliver dignified and person-centred end-of-life care. Specific models/approaches to care can be beneficial, if adequate training regarding implementation is given. The needs of family members also require consideration, particularly following bereavement.
Change Leadership and Public Sector Organizational Change
Authors: van der Voet Joris
Published: March 2015

The implementation of organizational change is a considerable challenge for public organizations. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of leadership in change processes in public organizations, but limited empirical evidence exists. Moreover, the contribution of change leadership in organizational change is likely to be dependent on the particular characteristics of public organizations. This study concerns the relationship between direct supervisors’ change leadership and the commitment to change of change recipients, and examines to what extent this relationship is related to the bureaucratic features that often characterize public organizations. The findings indicate that change leadership contributes to change recipients’ commitment to change by providing high-quality change communication and stimulating employee participation in the implementation of change. However, the findings also indicate that red tape perceptions of change recipients and a low reliance on a transformational leadership style impede the potential of change leadership to bring about employee participation in the implementation of change.
The Power of Knowing the Rules
Authors: Heidelberg Roy L.
Published: March 2015

This article presents a case study of the Louisiana Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP). An initial consideration would portray the events described herein as a policy implementation failure, but the investigation revealed something more profound. Extensive interviews and investigation of official documents, including transcripts of meetings, revealed the ambiguity of failure and the invisibility of power in administrative contexts. Hendrik Wagenaar’s argument that administrative action is underlined by an administrator’s deep understanding of the rules is used here to show the important relationship between the visible aspects of legible rules and the invisible dimension of using the rules. The Louisiana BTOP grant highlights the important tension between closure through administrative rationality and the resistance to such closure through channels of contestation.
Integrative Governance
Authors: Stout Margaret , Love Jeannine M.
Published: March 2015

Public encounters, the micro-level relational process of face-to-face contact between public professionals and community members, are argued to have a meaningful effect on the outcomes of governance activities. In turn, the specific characteristics of these encounters are constrained by institutionalized macro-level structures, yet the variety of contexts and associated relational styles have not been carefully explored. Therefore, in this article, public encounters are considered in light of a particular governance typology to (a) clearly differentiate macro-level contexts, (b) clearly differentiate the associated styles of relating in each type of public encounter, (c) describe the ways in which these interactions hinder or foster productive processes and outcomes, and (d) identify a preferred approach for potentially more fruitful results. In this way, the article provides a theoretical platform for future analysis of empirical cases. This theoretical analysis reveals the pathological dynamics in public encounters produced by typical approaches to governance and offers an alternative approach that may produce more effective public encounters. Specifically, using the method of integration described by Progressive Era scholar Mary Follett, we argue fruitful public encounters entail a relational disposition, a cooperative style of relating, a collaborative mode of association, and a method for achieving integration that enables constructive conflict through disintegration of a priori positions; collaborative discovery of facts and values; revaluation of desires and methods through dialogue; creative and integrative determinations; collective responsibility; and experientially founded commitment.
Feasibility and efficacy of primary tractography during percutaneous catheter drainage
Authors: Hyun Dongho , Park Kwang Bo , Park Hong Suk , Shin Sung Wook , Cho Sung Ki , Do Young Soo , Lim Seong Joo
Published: March 2015

Background

The indication of percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) has expanded with the development of guiding modalities. Since serious complications still occur, efforts and new techniques have been continuously searched for safer PCD.

Purpose

To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of primary tractography for establishing a safe needle pathway during PCD.

Material and Methods

A total of 42 patients (20 men, 22 women; mean age, 50.7 years) who underwent primary tractography during PCD were prospectively enrolled between April 2009 and August 2013. The locations of fluid collection included sub-phrenic ( n = 8), between bowel loops ( n = 21), pelvic cavity ( n = 8), within solid organ ( n = 2), and others ( n = 3). The interposed anatomic structures were analyzed on the basis of primary tractography findings. Complications related to PCD or primary tractography were evaluated.

Results

Interposition of any significant anatomic structure was confirmed in 10 of 42 patients (23.8%). The entrapped anatomic structures were the omental vessel ( n = 4), bowel ( n = 2), pleura ( n = 2), bile duct ( n = 2), and a branch of the left inferior epigastric artery ( n = 1). In one patient, both the pleura and bile duct were interposed simultaneously. The technical and clinical success rates of PCD were 97.6% and 97.6%, respectively. No complications related to PCD or primary tractography occurred during the follow-up period.

Conclusion

Primary tractography is a simple and feasible method to evaluate the entrapment of normal anatomic structure during PCD. This method may aid in preventing possible serious PCD-related complications, such as bleeding and fistula.
Body Politics and Boundary Work
Authors: Purnell Kandida
Published: March 2015

Against a backdrop of overt biopolitical vitalism in the United States, in particular Joint Task Force Guantanamo’s practice of force-feeding hunger striking Camp Delta detainees, this article aims to reconsider the power/resistance relation as it investigates how bodies rendered nobodies might be able to disrupt a particular manifestation of power that is blind to personhood, aiming for control over life and death in equal measures. With a focus on boundary renegotiation and the dynamics of visibility/invisibility at play around the space of Camp Delta, analysis of the 2013–2015 hunger strike suggests that the embodied practices of even “nobodies” can work to engender a life-centered, alternative, and affirmative politics. Moreover, this article finds that the 2013–2015 hunger strike worked to contest the inhumane practice of force-feeding as well as the boundaries of the visible and the political in the contemporary US context, which are themselves found to be marked by the very bodies of Camp Delta’s detainees.
The Importance of Patient Sex in the Outcomes of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstructions
Authors: Tan Si Heng Sharon , Lau Bernard Puang Huh , Khin Lay Wai , Lingaraj Krishna
Published: March 2015

Background:

One of the well-studied epidemiological phenomena of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is the 2- to 9-fold increase in the relative risk of ACL rupture in female athletes compared with male athletes. However, the influence of patient sex on the outcome after ACL reconstruction remains unclear, with some authors reporting inferior outcomes in females and others noting no significant difference.

Purpose:

To provide a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the possible association between patient sex and the subjective and objective outcomes after ACL reconstruction.

Methods:

This study was conducted according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. All studies that reported clinical outcomes after ACL reconstruction in males and females independently were included in the review. A quantitative random-effects meta-analysis was performed to compare outcomes between sexes. For outcomes with considerable heterogeneity, meta-regression was used to identify potential moderators. Articles were evaluated qualitatively when quantitative data were not reported.

Results:

A total of 135 publications were included in the review. Females had inferior outcomes in instrumented laxity (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.24; 95% CI, 0.11-0.37), revision rate (relative risk [RR], 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02-1.28), Lysholm score (SMD, −0.33; 95% CI, −0.55 to −0.11), Tegner activity scale (SMD, −0.37; 95% CI, −0.49 to −0.24), and incidence of not returning to sports (RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.21), all of which were statistically significant. Other outcomes were comparable between sexes, including anterior drawer test, Lachman test, pivot-shift test, timed single-legged hop test, single-legged hop test, quadriceps testing, hamstring testing, extension loss, flexion loss, development of cyclops lesion, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) knee examination score. Females and males were equally likely to develop anterior knee pain and osteoarthritis after ACL reconstruction. The graft rupture and graft failure rates did not differ significantly between sexes.

Conclusion:

There were comparable or inferior results for females compared with males in all outcomes analyzed. No statistically significant sex difference was identified in most of the objective parameters. However, subjective and functional outcomes, including Lysholm score, Tegner activity scale, and ability to return to sports, have been shown to be poorer in females.
Noosphere rising
Authors: Peters Michael A , Reveley James
Published: March 2015

Our article relocates the debate about creative labour to the terrain of peer-to-peer interneting as the paradigmatic form of nonmarket – social – production. From Yann Moulier Boutang we take the point that creative labour is immaterial; it is expressed through people connected by the internet. Drawing on two social systems thinkers, Francis Heylighen and Wolfgang Hofkirchner, we transpose this connectedness up to a conception of creative labour as a supra-individual collective intelligence. This intelligence, we argue, is one of the internet’s emergent properties. We then present a model of internet development that flags the potential of digitally-evoked collective intelligence to facilitate what the Marxist philosopher George Caffentzis calls ‘postcapitalist commoning’. Yoking together systems theorizing about the internet and socialist envisioning of social transformation, we identify two sets of internet tools for coordination that can assist with the convivial reconstruction of society along the lines of peer-based production.
Valorization of waste jute fibers in developing low-density polyethylene /poly lactic acid bio-based composites
Authors: Boubekeur Bahia , Belhaneche-Bensemra Naima , Massardier Valérie
Published: March 2015

This work deals with the valorization of waste jute fibers coming from carpet industries in the development of biocomposites based on blends of low-density polyethylene and poly lactic acid. First, low-density polyethylene /poly lactic acid blends of variable composition (100/0, 80/20, 50/50, 20/80, 0/100) were prepared. Their tensile properties and morphology were characterized. Tensile strength of the blends was lower compared to the pure poly lactic acid and the elongation decreased significantly with increasing poly lactic acid which is due to poor adhesion as evidenced by SEM analysis. These results indicated the incompatibility between low-density polyethylene and poly lactic acid. Thus, the aim of the second step was to find a relevant compatibilizer. For that purpose, five functionalized polyolefins were tested: poly(ethylene- co-glycidyl methacrylate) (8% glycidyl methacrylate) (PE-g-GMA), poly(propylene- co-ethylene-grafted maleic anhydride) (1.4% maleic anhydride) (PP-g-MA), poly(ethylene- co-acrylic-ester- co-glycidyl methacrylate) (E-AE-GMA) (8% glycidyl methacrylate, 24% methyl acrylate), polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) (high percentage maleic anhydride), poly(ethylene- co-butylacrylate- co-maleic anhydride) (E-BA-MAH) (6% butyl acrylate, 3% maleic anhydride). PE-g-GMA exhibited the best results in terms of tensile properties and morphology. Low-density polyethylene/poly lactic acid /PE-g-GMA (20/80/5) reinforced with 0–40 wt% jute fibers were prepared and characterized (tensile properties, charpy impact strength, morphology and thermal properties) in the last step. The results showed an improvement of tensile properties and a satisfactory interfacial adhesion between jute fibers and polymer blends. Furthermore, thermal stability was affected by the incorporation of 10% of jute fiber but varied very little with the increase in load.
Discharge Criteria and Follow-Up Support for Dementia Care Units
Authors: Mortenson W. Ben , Bishop Anne Marie
Published: March 2015

Specialized dementia care units (DCUs) house individuals whose behaviors cannot be managed in other settings. To ensure environmental fit, admission/discharge criteria are recommended for DCUs; however, there is no consensus about what criteria should be used. This study aimed to describe, in a random sample of DCUs, the current admission criteria, current/recommended discharge criteria, and services to support discharge. Usable surveys were returned by 23 of 30 facilities. Residents were most frequently admitted because they had a diagnosis of dementia and exhibited cognitive/behavioral problems. The four most common discharge criteria in place/recommended were resident ability to manage in a non-specialized long-term care environment, lack of socially inappropriate behaviors, dependency in activities of daily living, and inability to participate in dementia care activities. These findings suggest that discharge from DCUs is relatively ad hoc. The study lays the groundwork for future research to evaluate the use/appropriateness of these criteria.
The Contribution of Community Singing Groups to the Well-Being of Older People
Authors: Skingley Ann , Martin Anne , Clift Stephen
Published: March 2015

Current evidence suggests that participatory arts activities, and particularly group singing, may contribute to the well-being of older people. However, there is currently a paucity of prospective research from the participant perspective. This qualitative study nested within a randomized controlled trial aimed to assess participants’ perspectives of the acceptability and effect on health and well-being of a community singing program for older people. Volunteers recruited to the intervention arm ( n = 131) were invited to write comments on their experiences over three data collection points of a 14-week singing program. A subsample ( n = 19) participated in a retrospective semi-structured interview. Data were subjected to content and thematic analysis. Comments and interviews from 128 individuals suggested that the singing groups led to specific, incremental benefits to physical, psychological, social, and community well-being. Benefits tended to tail off after the program ended. Suggestions were made for the future running of such groups.
Relationship Between the Types of Insurance Coverage and Outpatient Mental Health Treatment Use Among Older Adults
Authors: Choi Namkee G. , DiNitto Diana M. , Marti C. Nathan
Published: March 2015

Using the public use data files of the 2008 to 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this study examined (a) the payment sources for mental health treatment among those aged 50 to 64 years and those aged 65+ years and (b) the relationship between outpatient mental health treatment use and different types of insurance coverage among members of these two age groups. The results show that 16% of the 50 to 64 age group and 10% of the 65+ age group used inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment in the preceding year. Logistic regression analyses showed that mental health problem severity and public insurance programs (Medicare, Medicaid, and Department of Veterans Affairs [VA]/military insurance) significantly increased the odds of receiving outpatient treatment. Private insurance was not a significant factor for either age group. Older adults with mental health problems must be encouraged to seek treatment and need to be informed about mental health coverage included in their insurance(s).
Corporate Environmental Crime and Environmental Justice
Authors: Greife Matthew , Stretesky Paul B. , Shelley Tara O’Connor , Pogrebin Mark
Published: March 2015

Executive Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. § 4321 [2000]) mandates that federal agencies in the United States make it their purpose to achieve environmental justice. As a result, agencies often rely on empirical studies to provide crucial information that can be used to implement policies to combat inequality. Although numerous studies now examine the distribution of environmental burdens and benefits, there are no systematic empirical studies that examine inequality in criminal penalties. This study corrects that omission by presenting findings on the relationship between community demographics and monetary penalties against corporations for 121 criminal violations of federal environmental law that were adjudicated between the years 2005 and 2010. Our results suggest that monetary penalties are not correlated with the demographics of residents living near the crime. That is, corporations that committed their environmental crimes in minority and poor areas did not receive lower monetary penalties as a result. Thus, environmental justice concerns appear to be satisfied with respect to federal criminal prosecutions.
Justifying Aesthetic Labor
Authors: Holla Sylvia
Published: March 2015

Based on ethnographic and interview data collected in the modeling industries of Amsterdam, Paris, and Warsaw, this article shows that the relation between work, body, and self is particularly fraught for fashion models, as they work in a “greedy” industry that demands intensive forms of aesthetic labor. Such aesthetic labor requires models to continuously reinvent and negotiate their selves in different contexts. Fashion models make great effort to justify and maintain a coherent self, through enacting different forms of “good modelhood”—natural, healthy, and pragmatic modelhood, which are interpreted as modes of justification. These forms of modelhood all relate differently to the dominant aesthetic logic of fashion modeling and, consequently, bear different degrees of legitimacy within the field. By focusing on fashion models’ subjective experiences of aesthetic labor in relation to their selves, this article contributes to existing sociological perspectives on the body, showing how the body connects to morality and selfhood in European cultural and institutional contexts.
Psychological Factors Associated with Weight Loss Maintenance
Authors: Valek Rebecca M. , Greenwald Beverly J. , Lewis Carolyn C.
Published: March 2015

The authors discuss the psychological factors associated with weight loss maintenance and the use of Pender’s health promotion model as a guide for the construction of clinical interventions to address these factors. The psychological factors include internal drive for weight maintenance, ongoing self-monitoring, long-term flexibility, positive mood and emotions, appropriate goals, and management of external stimuli. Nurse practitioners can help combat obesity trends through caring for patients in a holistic manner. Periodic psychological needs-assessments for patients who desire to maintain weight loss may further promote long-term success in weight management.
Invisible Nursing Research
Authors: Fawcett Jacqueline
Published: March 2015

In this this essay, the author addresses the close connection between mixed methods research and nursing practice. If the assertion that research and practice are parallel processes is accepted, then nursing practice may be considered “invisible mixed methods research,” in that almost every encounter between a nurse and a patient involves collection and integration of qualitative (word) and quantitative (number) information that actually is single-case mixed methods research.
Politically Charged Issues in Nursing’s Teaching-Learning Environments
Authors: Condon Barbara Backer
Published: March 2015

Many people, depending on different times of the year, become exhausted hearing about politics. Yet, politics can no more be avoided than traffic on a freeway. It always exists. Nursing education then is also infused with politically-driven ideas and trends which can influence program success and quality. The author focuses on and explores some of the ever-present politically charged issues involving degree requirements for nurses, general political issues for nursing programs, and promotion and tenure. The author concludes with a discussion on Parse’s teaching-learning model as a means for nurse educators to transcend political turmoil.
Ethics and the Politics of Advancing Nursing Knowledge
Authors: Milton Constance L.
Published: March 2015

The politics of academia involve intricate human relationships that are political in nature as nurse leaders and scholars struggle to advance nursing science with complex leading-following situations. This article begins a dialogue of considering potential meanings for what it means to be political within competing interest groups in academia, and within the discipline of nursing. What is most important in the struggle for identity and what possibilities surface when potential competing interests in academia collide? The ethical tenets of humanbecoming and the leading-following model are used to illustrate issues surrounding academic integrity and possibilities for the advancement of nursing scholarship in future generations.
Meta-Theory in Nursing
Authors: Clarke Pamela N.
Published: March 2015

The author argues that the ever-growing body of nursing science should be the basis for both research and practice. Understanding the philosophical and scientific base of the discipline would ideally be required for both advanced practice and research.
The Conundrum
Authors: Florczak Kristine L.
Published: March 2015

The conundrum of using data pertinent to a study that were gathered after an official interview ceased is considered in this column. First, details of a proposed study on losing a partner will be provided followed by a snippet of a dialogue with one participant. Then the conundrum of whether or not to use the data is explored and a conclusion reached through consideration of standards for qualitative research.
How Family, Business, and Community Logics Shape Family Firm Behavior and “Rules of the Game” in an Organizational Field
Authors: Reay Trish , Jaskiewicz Peter , Hinings C. R. (Bob)
Published: March 2015

The relationships between family firms and their institutional contexts are critical to family firm legitimacy and sustainability. However, we still know little about how these relationships influence firm behavior. We draw on the institutional literature—institutional logics in particular—to investigate the behavior of different types of wineries within the Okanagan region in Western Canada. We analyze how family, business, and community logics guide firm behavior, and how different combinations of logics lead firms to take action that modifies the field to support their own legitimacy and sustainability.
Population-genetic trees, maps, and narratives of the great human diasporas
Authors: Sommer Marianne
Published: March 2015

From the 1960s, mathematical and computational tools have been developed to arrive at human population trees from various kinds of serological and molecular data. Focusing on the work of the Italian-born population geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, I follow the practices of tree-building and mapping from the early blood-group studies to the current genetic admixture research. I argue that the visual language of the tree is paralleled in the narrative of the human diasporas, and I show how the tree was actually mapped onto the surface of the earth. This visual and textual structure is mirrored in the liberal discourse of unity in diversity that has been criticized as running counter to the socio-political effects of human population genetics. From this perspective, one may ask how far the phylogenetic diagram in its various forms is a manifestation of the physics of power that according to Michel Foucault consists in mechanisms that analyse distributions, movements, series, combinations, and that uses instruments to render visible, to register, to differentiate and to compare. It is one among other disciplinary technologies that ensure the ordering of human diversity. In the case of intra-human phylogenetic trees, population samples and labels are one issue. Another is that the separated branches seem to show groups of people, who have in reality been interacting and converging, as isolated. Often based on so-called isolated peoples, molecular tree diagrams freeze a hierarchical kinship system that is meant to represent a state before the great historical population movements.
A dead-band model and its online detection for the pilot stage of a two-stage directional flow control valve
Authors: Xu Bing , Su Qi , Zhang Junhui , Lu Zhenyu
Published: March 2015

The dead-band in the electro-hydraulic proportional control valve is one of the main factors that affect its dynamic performance. Especially in the pilot stages of two-stage directional flow control valves, the insistent dead-band will result in a conservative valve controller design. In this paper, a detailed dead-band model describing the relationship between pilot valve spool and the flow rate of the pilot control valve is proposed. And an improved dead-band description involved with the housing clearance of the valve spool is developed to prove the dead-band uncertainty for a single valve system. Then a simple and effective method is proposed to detect the varying dead-band values in the pilot stage. This method is specially designed with a limited main spool displacement and short time interval so that it can be used for online detection without affecting the hydraulic system where the two-stage valve is involved. With the regular dead-band inverse function, comparative experimental results show that this method is effective to attenuate the large trajectory tracking error caused by the varying dead-band. This dead-band detection also can be applied to other electro-hydraulic proportional valve-controlled position control systems with unknown dead-bands.
Effect of heat transfer on the reduction of the detailed chemical kinetics mechanism in a homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion engine
Authors: Bahlouli Keyvan , Saray R Khoshbakhti , Atikol Ugur
Published: March 2015

In homogeneous charge compression ignition engines, the ignition takes place in the absence of any external source, initiated by the autoignition of the well-mixed in-cylinder charge. The heat loss from the hot combustion gases to the surroundings causes the thermal conditions in the cylinder to deteriorate. These conditions are governed by the interaction of the chemical processes with the temperature and pressure changes in the cylinder. As a result, the heat release rate and the heat transfer inside the combustion chamber play significant roles in the homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion mode. The use of detailed chemical kinetics mechanisms in predictive combustion models increases the simulation time, which makes the utilization of these mechanisms questionable. As a result, reduced mechanisms of smaller sizes are required. However, in developing a reduced chemical kinetics mechanism from the detailed chemical kinetics mechanism, it is not common to consider the role of heat transfer, and this is needed to focus on only the kinetics aspects of homogeneous charge compression ignition. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of heat transfer (through the boundaries of the combustion chamber) on the development of the reduced mechanisms from the detailed mechanisms. A single-zone combustion model is used to simulate the homogeneous charge compression ignition engine. Insignificant species and reactions of the detailed GRI-Mech 3.0 mechanism are eliminated by employing a two-stage reduction process based on a directed relation graph with error propagation and principal-component analysis methods respectively. Several different operating conditions are considered. The results demonstrate that the reduction process based on the directed relation graph with error propagation is hardly affected by considering the heat transfer. However, taking into account the heat transfer slightly influences the reduction process based on the principal-component analysis. Simulation outcomes from the generated mechanisms under adiabatic conditions and non-adiabatic conditions agree closely with the results obtained from the detailed mechanism. The differences in the crank angle when 50% of heat is released, the peak pressure and the maximum heat release between the original mechanisms and the reduced mechanisms are less than 1° crank angle, 1% and 1% respectively. Therefore, for a chemical mechanism reduction strategy, considering the heat transfer component will lead to only a minor effect on the generated reduced mechanism.
Modelling and analysis of the synchronization process for a wet dual-clutch transmission
Authors: Li Hongkui , Lu Tongli , Zhang Jianwu , Hao Hongtao
Published: March 2015

This paper focuses on the detailed modelling of the synchronization process for a wet dual-clutch transmission. The working phases and principles of the synchronizer are investigated. Some parameters which affect the synchronizer process significantly are discussed and considered to improve the accuracy of the model. The simulations and experimental results have demonstrated that the synchronizer model has sufficient validity and accuracy. The model is applied to analyse some of the special dynamic behaviours. The results indicated that the model provides a practical simulation platform for further study of the synchronizer.
A study of a thermoelectric generator applied to a diesel engine
Authors: In Byung Deok , Lee Ki Hyung
Published: March 2015

Automotive engines have a thermal efficiency of approximately 30%, and the rest is lost as heat in the exhaust and the coolant. Therefore, recycling technology for the waste energy is desirable in order to improve the thermal efficiency of engines. An increase in the thermal efficiency also leads to a reduction in the carbon dioxide emissions. A co-generation system has attracted attention as a promising technology to cope with the stringent emission regulations and the energy depletion. A thermoelectric generator could be suitable for producing electricity from the waste heat; however, its low conversion efficiency must be improved. In addition to improving the efficiency of the thermoelectric generator itself, it is necessary to maximize the heat transfer from the waste heat sources to the thermoelectric generator. With that goal in mind, this study provides valuable information about optimization of the heat transfer, including optimization of the system layout, and about design of the exhaust manifold.
Application of Monte Carlo techniques with delay-time analysis to assess maintenance and inspection policies for marine systems
Authors: McNamara D , Cunningham A , Riahi R , Jenkinson I , Wang J
Published: March 2015

This paper presents a novel methodology applying Monte Carlo methods with delay-time analysis to test the effects of scheduled maintenance and inspection actions on factors affecting the operational efficiency of a marine system which is subject to degradation. The aim is to demonstrate how a Monte Carlo model incorporated into delay-time analysis can be used to predict the transition behaviour of a system under analysis. The model presented in this paper focuses on the effects on system failure probability and downtime of various maintenance and inspection policies. The impact on spare part requirements is also investigated.
Effects of inlet and outlet boundary conditions on the flow field of synthetic jets
Authors: Bazdidi-Tehrani Farzad , Hatami Mohammad , Abouata Ahmad
Published: March 2015

The present work provides the computations of unsteady 3D synthetic jet ejected into a quiescent ambient. The [Formula: see text] turbulence model is employed for numerical simulations of flow field and the problem is considered under incompressible and axisymmetric assumptions. The pressure-implicit with splitting of operators algorithm is used for coupling of continuity and momentum equations. In order to accurately simulate the synthetic jet actuator, the dynamic mesh method is employed to model the flow field. In different simulations, pressure inlet, pressure outlet and wall boundary conditions at the orifice outlet of the synthetic jet are investigated. Changes in the boundary conditions at the orifice outlet affect the flow field such that mean velocity magnitude is higher for unconfined synthetic jets than confined ones. Moreover, form of vortex rings is dissimilar for confined and unconfined jets. Also, the actuator is modelled with two types of inlet boundary conditions, namely, moving piston and moving diaphragm boundaries. Results show that they have no significant difference and can be used interchangeably.
Pseudospectral control for 6-DOF electromagnetic formation flying
Authors: Yue Xiaokui , Chen Jing , Dai Honghua , Yuan Jianping , Hou Jianwen
Published: March 2015

Electromagnetic formation is a novel method of propellantless formation, which enables synchronous control of both relative translation and rotation in the array. To fully utilize the inherent electromagnetic coupling effects, an integrated relative dynamic model is established. Considering the reconfiguration of electromagnetic formation as an optimal control problem with regard to relative translation and angular momentum management, it is transformed into a constrained non-linear programming problem through the Legendre pseudospectral method. Facing the system’s strong nonlinearity and coupling, a novel high-precision numerical computation method is developed. Feasible trajectories for a specific planar transformation and a more general case of reconfiguration are generated to verify the proposed dynamic model and optimization algorithm.
“Weekend” as a symbolic sign in motivational counseling sessions in the probation service with substance abusers
Authors: Sarpavaara Harri
Published: March 2015

This study explores the meanings that substance-abusing clients attach to weekend during motivational counseling sessions in Finnish Probation Service. By applying Peirce's semiotic theory of signs, this article studies “weekend” as a symbolic sign, and analyzes: (a) What kind of meanings the clients attach to it? (b) What does weekend mean to the clients' motivation to change? The analyses are based on videotaped and transcribed data consisting of 98 motivational counseling sessions. The results of the study display that the general meaning of weekend is constructed as an obstacle to change. Weekend stands for an excuse to drink, a need to drink, a desire to drink and incapability to change in the clients' talk. The results show that by applying the semiotic approach new and significant meaning constellations can be found in the client's change relevant talk during motivational counseling.
Iranian women and care providers’ perceptions of equitable prenatal care
Authors: Gheibizadeh Mahin , Abedi Heidar Ali , Mohammadi Easa , Abedi Parvin
Published: March 2015

Background:

Equity as a basic human right builds the foundation of all areas of primary healthcare, especially prenatal care. However, it is unclear how pregnant women and their care providers perceive the equitable prenatal care.

Objective:

This study aimed to explore Iranian women’s and care providers’ perceptions of equitable prenatal care.

Research design:

In this study, a qualitative approach was used. Individual in-depth unstructured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of pregnant women and their care providers. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis method.

Participants and research context:

A total of 10 pregnant women and 10 prenatal care providers recruited from six urban health centers across Ahvaz, a south western city in Iran, were participated in the study.

Ethical considerations:

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. The ethical principles of voluntary participation, confidentiality, and anonymity were considered.

Findings:

Analysis of participants’ interviews resulted in seven themes: guideline-based care, time-saving care, nondiscriminatory care, privacy-respecting care, affordable comprehensive care, effective client–provider relationships, and caregivers’ competency.

Conclusion:

The findings explain the broader and less discussed dimensions of equitable care that are valuable information for the realization of equity in care. Understanding and focusing on these dimensions will help health policy-makers in designing more equitable healthcare services for pregnant women.
Does NTPC Have a Dominant Position? A Critical Analysis
Authors: Gangakhedkar Rajesh , Mishra R.K.
Published: March 2015

The past two decades have witnessed huge changes in the electricity sector. The changes in this sector at a rapid pace world over have resulted in competition in some segments of the sector, such as, generation and in some cases in distribution. India is no exception to the reforms that are being undertaken. The provisions of Open Access, power trading, competitive bidding, mentioned in the Electricity Act of 2003 are expected to give a spurt to competition. The favourable impact of all these factors includes wide choice of electricity suppliers for consumers and electricity at cheaper rates, which is in fact one of the cherished goals of reforms in the sector. However, it is not necessary that competitive markets would produce competitive results. There could be significant distortions in the form of anti-competitive behaviour, which would get manifested in the form of collusions, abuse of dominant position, etc. Experiences of some countries reveal that anti-competitive behaviour of various players in the power sector is not very uncommon. In India also there are controversies regarding the provision of Open Access, which are pointer towards an anti-competitive conduct. There are also apprehensions regarding abuse of dominant position by some companies. The primary objective of this article is to examine whether NTPC Ltd., which is the largest power generating company in India, has a dominant position in the power sector. The article also discusses the possible ways in which a dominant power-generating company could abuse its position. The study is conceptual in nature and draws heavily from the secondary sources of information. The study uses two tools: Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) and Residual Supply Index (RSI).
Effect of the Political Environment on Public Private Partnership Projects
Authors: Vadali Nandita , Tiwari Anand Prakash , Rajan A. Thillai
Published: March 2015

Infrastructure plays an important role in economic growth and development. Increasingly, infrastructure projects are being developed with investment from private sector. In recent years, India has implemented a large number of roads under public private partnership (PPP) projects. This study is an empirical analysis of the impact of political environment on various project outcomes. The data set for the study comprised 62 completed national highway PPP projects. Our results showed that project technical characteristics influenced project performance more than political factors. Among the different political factors, the factors pertaining to state government were prominent in influencing performance as compared to those of Central Government. The change in state government during the project development phase resulted in higher time overruns. Interestingly, different political parties in the state and Central Government need not necessarily impact the project negatively. Projects developed in states where the state and Central Government are different had lower unit time and lower time overrun. For private investors, our results imply that in a country with strong political and legal systems, project development performance is more dependent on the project technical characteristics and operating environment variables as compared to political factors.
A Research Note on the Public–Private Partnership of India’s Infrastructure Development
Authors: Nagesha G.  , Gayithri K.
Published: March 2015

To clip infrastructure inadequacy both in India and rest of the World Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) emerged as an alternative to the traditional mode of infrastructure provisions of governments. The article analyses trends and patterns of various infrastructure sectors and regional distribution of PPPs at India’s national and sub-national levels to identify to what extent this has been able to curb infrastructure deficit. The growth empirics reveal that there has been a sharp increase in the number of PPP projects. This has been contributing to enhanced regional and sectoral infrastructure availability. In addition, the article has observed that PPP projects under the national highway category are time and cost efficient as compared to the non-PPP projects. However, these projects have tended to concentrate in certain sector and regions, thus being the case both in the global and Indian context. This is despite the incentives available for the purpose. The present article explores the possible reasons for this uneven growth in India to be due to differences in the political will among the national and sub-national governments in promotion of the infrastructure PPP policies, effective functioning of governments’ various infrastructure executive departments including PPP nodal agencies for identifying, executing, coordinating various departments and in promotion of projects for hassle-free quick implementation and to redress the various differences. Financial assurances to the concessionaires on their investments, availability of land and other incentives like tax incentives, capital grant (viability gap funding), and coordination by users and nature of project risks, and the degree of private sector risk management capacity are some the important factors explaining the differences.