bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of effective dose in medicine
Authors: Harrison J. , Lopez P.O.
Published: March 2015

This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The protection quantity ‘effective dose’ was developed by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for use in the radiological protection of workers and the public. In this context, it is used as a risk-adjusted dosimetric quantity to optimise protection, comparing received or planned doses with constraints, reference levels, and limits expressed in the same quantity. Considering exposures incurred during medical procedures, effective dose can be of practical value for comparing: doses from different diagnostic examinations and interventional procedures; the use of similar technologies and procedures in different hospitals and countries; and the use of different technologies for the same medical examination, provided that the representative patients or patient populations for which the effective doses are derived are similar with regard to age and sex. However, as stated in ICRP Publication 103, ‘… risk assessment for medical diagnosis and treatment… is best evaluated using appropriate risk values for the individual tissues at risk and for the age and sex distribution of the individuals undergoing the medical procedures’. This topic was explored in a session of the First ICRP Symposium with arguments for and against the use of a new quantity referred to as ‘effective risk’, and examination of variations in estimated risk for different diagnostic procedures according to the age and sex of the exposed individuals. This paper restates the primary purposes of effective dose, and summarises estimates of variation in individual risk from medical procedures. The authors support the judicious use of effective dose as an indicator of possible risk, but caution against the use of effective risk as compared with the calculation of scientific best estimates of risk with consideration of associated uncertainties.
The Microfoundations of Organizational Social Networks
Authors: Tasselli Stefano , Kilduff Martin , Menges Jochen I.
Published: March 2015

This paper focuses on an emergent debate about the microfoundations of organizational social networks. We consider three theoretical positions: an individual agency perspective suggesting that people, through their individual characteristics and cognitions, shape networks; a network patterning perspective suggesting that networks, through their structural configuration, form people; and a coevolution perspective suggesting that people, in their idiosyncrasies, and networks, in their differentiated structures, coevolve. We conclude that individual attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes cannot be fully understood without considering the structuring of organizational contexts in which people are embedded, and that social network structuring and change in organizations cannot be fully understood without considering the psychology of purposive individuals. To guide future research, we identify key questions from each of the three theoretical perspectives and, particularly, encourage more research on how individual actions and network structure coevolve in a dynamic process of reciprocal influence.
The Relationship Between Tenure and Outside Director Task Involvement: A Social Identity Perspective
Authors: Veltrop Dennis B. , Molleman Eric , Hooghiemstra Reggy , van Ees Hans
Published: March 2015

Drawing from corporate governance research and social identity theory, the authors argue that the relationship between outside directors’ time in office and outside director task involvement is more complex than generally anticipated. By using a unique multisource data set composed of peer ratings provided by fellow outside directors rating a focal director’s task involvement, this study analyzes director task involvement at the individual director level of analysis. The authors propose and empirically demonstrate that outside director tenure has an inverted U-shaped relationship with outside director task involvement that is moderated by a director’s social identification with the organization. As such, the authors demonstrate that social identification with the organization provides a critical contingency for the curvilinear relationship between outside director tenure and outside director task involvement. Findings suggest that outside directors who socially identify with the organization are more likely to grow “stale in the saddle” at lower levels of tenure. These findings provide support for the merit of analyzing outside directors at the individual level of analysis and suggest that a “one-size-fits-all” approach may not be most appropriate in assessing the effects of tenure on outside director functioning.
User production and law reform: a socio-legal critique of user creativity
Authors: Meese James
Published: March 2015

This article argues that recent scholarly attempts to prescribe creative agency to a user subject rarely consider how the user functions in a broader legal and cultural context. I suggest that the user is a complex subject defined by various cultural and legal discourses, following a critical body of scholarship that calls for a more nuanced approach to the issue of user production. I show how the user-a term often treated neutrally in the user production literature-is a subject that is already defined by extant legal discourses like copyright. This argument is developed in a detailed analysis of Canadian copyright law and the Copyright Modernization Act, a reform to Canadian copyright law, which attempted to address the phenomenon of user production. These examples show the user is embroiled in a broader set of creative politics where being defined as a user or an author can have commercial implications. I suggest greater specificity and qualification around the role and scope of the user is needed in future scholarship examining the phenomenon of user production.
Risky decision making in a laboratory driving task is associated with health risk behaviors during late adolescence but not adulthood
Authors: Kim-Spoon Jungmeen , Kahn Rachel , Deater-Deckard Kirby , Chiu Pearl , Steinberg Laurence , King-Casas Brooks
Published: March 2015

Adolescence is characterized by increasing incidence of health risk behaviors, including experimentation with drugs and alcohol. To fill the gap in our understanding of the associations between risky decision-making and health risk behaviors, we investigated associations between laboratory-based risky decision-making using the Stoplight task and self-reported health risk behaviors. Given that there has been no examination of potential age differences in the associations between risky decision-making and health risk behaviors, we also examined whether the association of risky decision-making with health risk behaviors is consistent across adolescence and adulthood using two-group structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated significant differences across the two age groups: adolescents (17–20 year olds) who took more risks on the Stoplight task reported greater frequency and earlier onset of substance use, whereas stoplight performance was not associated with substance use frequency or onset among adults (31–61 year olds). Our findings suggest that a laboratory-based measure of risky decision-making is significantly related to health risk behaviors among adolescents but not among adults.
Modelling trust formation in health information contexts
Authors: Johnson Frances , Rowley Jennifer , Sbaffi Laura
Published: March 2015

This study explores trust formation in the context of health information. Trust as an interpersonal notion, when formed in a vulnerable state, is a response or belief about how the trusted will behave towards the trustor. This study focuses on the process of assessing the trustworthiness of information, in a dependency state of information need, through the identification of the many factors influencing this assessment. A set of propositions are developed to suggest the criteria by which trustworthiness is assessed as well as the factors that influence these judgements. The proposed model is tested in a large-scale survey using a trust inventory with factor analysis to explore the constructs of trust formation. Structural equation modelling is used to explore the relationship among the identified criteria and their influencing factors. The resulting framework contributes to the understanding of trust formation in digital information contexts on the criteria of usefulness and credibility and further research into the influencing factors is recommended.
Law’s (Negative) aesthetic
Authors: Koskenniemi Martti
Published: March 2015

The article reviews Hauke Brunkhorst’s new book on the critical theory of revolutions.
Process Re-engineering and formal ontology
Authors: Rodick David W.
Published: March 2015

John Dewey viewed philosophy as an intelligent means of realizing change, emphasizing the ubiquity of process, context and relations. The revolution in Organizational Behavior known as Process Re-engineering (PR) is an approach to organizational thinking recognizing the importance of process, context and relations at all levels of organizational activity. Because Dewey’s philosophy affords primacy to process and change, context and relations, it is fundamentally aligned with PR. Compelling connections between PR and Dewey’s philosophy are established concerning primacy of process, importance of context, inquiry as experimental, value dimensions of outcomes, work as a means to self-realization, and increasing recognition of the future as an open possibility. While Dewey’s philosophy and PR stand as examples of intelligent understanding and reconstruction of process, recent developments in formal systems ontology point to dangerous consequences resulting from an eclipse of the material conditions of experience through the imposition of a formal architectonic.
Maternal Gatekeeping
Authors: Fagan Jay , Cherson Mollie
Published: March 2015

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 3,605), the present study examined two aspects of maternal gatekeeping in relation to low-income predominantly nonresidential fathers’ engagement with young children: facilitation and encouragement. The results showed that maternal encouragement when children were 3 years old was positively and longitudinally related to higher levels of paternal engagement with 5 year old children. However, maternal facilitation at age 3 was negatively associated with later levels of paternal engagement. Moreover, the coresidential status of mothers and fathers did not influence the relationship among facilitation, encouragement, and paternal engagement. Implications for future research and practice are discussed in this article.
Adoption of information and communication technology for development
Authors: Hoque Md. Rakibul , Saif Abu Naser Mohammad , AlBar Adnan Mustafa , Bao Yukun
Published: March 2015

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a key role in today’s business environment. ICTs also give small firms a competitive advantage in the new economy. However, little empirical research has addressed the issues of use, impact and adoption of ICTs in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially in rural areas of developing countries. The objective of this study is to identify the impact of ICTs and the factors that influence the adoption of ICTs in SMEs located in rural areas of Bangladesh. This article follows a qualitative and quantitative research approach based on a case study and structured questionnaires. The regression analysis showed that awareness of benefits, government support, top management support, and financial support are important determinants of the adoption of ICTs in rural SMEs in Bangladesh. This article also highlights the limitations that SMEs have in using ICTs and makes recommendations on how to overcome them.
“I Don’t Know” My Cancer Risk
Authors: Hay Jennifer L. , Orom Heather , Kiviniemi Marc T. , Waters Erika A.
Published: March 2015

Background: Perceived risk is a central theoretical construct in health behavior research. Participants’ “don’t know” responses to perceived-risk items (DKPR) are usually excluded from analyses. Yet those who provide such responses may have unique cancer information needs. Objective: The hypotheses that DKPR responding may be due to cancer knowledge deficits or behavioral, skill, and attitudinal antecedents to knowledge deficits (information seeking, numeracy, and self-efficacy, respectively) were explored. Methods: Data from the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS; N = 1789), a US population-based survey, and an urban, minority, primary care clinic survey ( N = 590) were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to examine knowledge deficit explanations for responding DKPR to colon cancer risk perception questions (adjusting for demographics and family colorectal cancer history). Measures: Comparative (HINTS) and absolute verbal perceived risk of colon cancer (HINTS, clinic survey), knowledge of colon cancer risks and screening, cancer/health information-seeking behavior and self-efficacy (HINTS), and numeracy (clinic survey). Results: Greater knowledge of colon cancer prevention and screening, cancer and health information seeking, and numeracy were each associated with lower odds of providing a DKPR response. Limitations: The study was cross-sectional, which limits the ability to infer causal direction. The use of existing data sets limited our variable choices. Other plausible hypotheses may also explain DKPR responding. Conclusions: People who report that they don’t know their colon cancer risk may have low cancer knowledge and reduced knowledge acquisition behaviors and skills. Health behavior research could benefit from including data concerning DKPR responses to risk perception questions, because individuals who respond in this way may require interventions to address potential cancer risk knowledge deficits.
Adapting Scott and Bruce’s General Decision-Making Style Inventory to Patient Decision Making in Provider Choice
Authors: Fischer Sophia , Soyez Katja , Gurtner Sebastian
Published: March 2015

Objective. Research testing the concept of decision-making styles in specific contexts such as health care–related choices is missing. Therefore, we examine the contextuality of Scott and Bruce’s (1995) General Decision-Making Style Inventory with respect to patient choice situations. Methods. Scott and Bruce’s scale was adapted for use as a patient decision-making style inventory. In total, 388 German patients who underwent elective joint surgery responded to a questionnaire about their provider choice. Confirmatory factor analyses within 2 independent samples assessed factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the scale. Results. The final 4-dimensional, 13-item patient decision-making style inventory showed satisfactory psychometric properties. Data analyses supported reliability and construct validity. Besides the intuitive, dependent, and avoidant style, a new subdimension, called “comparative” decision-making style, emerged that originated from the rational dimension of the general model. Conclusions. This research provides evidence for the contextuality of decision-making style to specific choice situations. Using a limited set of indicators, this report proposes the patient decision-making style inventory as valid and feasible tool to assess patients’ decision propensities.
A Gestaltist approach to contour-based object recognition: Combining bottom-up and top-down cues
Authors: Teo Ching L. , Fermüller Cornelia , Aloimonos Yiannis
Published: March 2015

This paper proposes a method for detecting generic classes of objects from their representative contours that can be used by a robot with vision to find objects in cluttered environments. The approach uses a mid-level image operator to group edges into contours which likely correspond to object boundaries. This mid-level operator is used in two ways, bottom-up on simple edges and top-down incorporating object shape information, thus acting as the intermediary between low-level and high-level information. First, the mid-level operator, called the image torque, is applied to simple edges to extract likely fixation locations of objects. Using the operator’s output, a novel contour-based descriptor is created that extends the shape context descriptor to include boundary ownership information and accounts for rotation. This descriptor is then used in a multi-scale matching approach to modulate the torque operator towards the target, so it indicates its location and size. Unlike other approaches that use edges directly to guide the independent edge grouping and matching processes for recognition, both of these steps are effectively combined using the proposed method. We evaluate the performance of our approach using four diverse datasets containing a variety of object categories in clutter, occlusion and viewpoint changes. Compared with current state-of-the-art approaches, our approach is able to detect the target with fewer false alarms in most object categories. The performance is further improved when we exploit depth information available from the Kinect RGB-Depth sensor by imposing depth consistency when applying the image torque.
Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Tears in the Setting of Multiligament Knee Injuries Rarely Cause Patellar Instability
Authors: Allen Benjamin J. , Krych Aaron J. , Engasser William , Levy Bruce A. , Stuart Michael J. , Collins Mark S. , Dahm Diane L.
Published: March 2015

Background:

Multiligament knee injuries (MLKIs) can also involve the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL), but there is a paucity of information regarding prevalence and relevance of MPFL involvement in this setting.

Purpose:

(1) To identify the prevalence of MPFL injury in MLKIs, (2) to determine whether an MPFL tear results in symptomatic patellar instability, and (3) to report clinical and functional outcomes of patients with and without MPFL tears after MLKI surgical reconstruction.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

The records of all patients who underwent surgical reconstruction of MLKI (defined as a grade 3 injury of ≥2 ligaments) at a single institution from 2007 to 2010 were reviewed. Age, sex, knee dislocation classification (according to Schenck), and MRI findings were documented. All preoperative MRI scans were reviewed by an experienced musculoskeletal radiologist to determine the presence or absence of MPFL involvement. If an MPFL tear was present, its anatomic location and severity as well as the presence of patellar or lateral femoral condyle bone bruises were documented. Inclusion criteria included (1) MLKI treated at a single institution, (2) presence of MPFL tear on preoperative MRI, and (3) minimum 2-year clinical follow-up. Patellar instability symptoms were assessed with the Kujala Knee Questionnaire. Functional outcomes were measured using the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score. IKDC scores were compared between patients who sustained MLKIs with and without MPFL tears. There were 21 patients in each group.

Results:

Over the 4-year study period, 30 of 51 patients (59%) treated surgically for a MLKI had MRI evidence of an MPFL tear. Nine were lost to follow-up, leaving 21 patients for review. There were 13 complete (62%), 5 high-grade partial (24%), and 3 partial (14%) MPFL tears. Sixteen of 21 tears (76%) occurred at the proximal third, with the remainder exhibiting diffuse signal abnormality consistent with tearing throughout the length of the MPFL. The superficial medial collateral ligament was involved in all patients. In no case was the MPFL repaired or reconstructed. At mean follow-up of 3.6 years (range, 2.0-5.7 years), only 1 of 21 patients (5%) complained of patellofemoral instability symptoms whereas 20 of 21 patients (95%) did not experience patellar subluxation or dislocation. No significant difference was found when IKDC scores were compared between patients with and without an MPFL tear (mean ± SD, 65.5 ± 22.9 vs 79.4 ± 16.1; P = .07).

Conclusion:

MPFL tears occur frequently in patients with MLKI but rarely cause instability. In the majority of cases, MPFL tears do not need to be addressed at the time of surgery.
Encounters on the Social Web
Authors: Beneito-Montagut Roser
Published: March 2015

Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this study examines focused encounters on the social web. It starts from the premise that online interaction can be analyzed through the conceptual lens of a Goffmanian “encounter” but argues that this concept needs to be extended to take into account the online facets of people’s social interactions in everyday life. The article explores how frequent participants in social web applications interact with others and manage emotions during these encounters. It achieves this by analyzing the different elements of online encounters: a single visual and cognitive focus of attention, a mutual and preferential openness to verbal communication, a heightened mutual relevance of acts, and an eye-to-eye ecological huddle. The article thus reconceptualizes copresence in online settings. It concludes that the Goffmanian concept of “encounter” needs to be extended in the context of the social web to capture the specific set of strategies and rules that emerge in online encounters.
Understanding Associations between Religious Beliefs and White Privilege Attitudes
Authors: Todd Nathan R. , Suffrin Rachael L. , McConnell Elizabeth A. , Odahl-Ruan Charlynn A.
Published: March 2015

Scholars have grappled with how religion in the United States shapes attitudes toward racial inequality, often by focusing on racial inequality as out-group disadvantage. The current study extends this research by moving beyond racial inequality as out-group disadvantage to examine how religious conservatism and sanctification of social justice (i.e., attributing spiritual or religious significance to working for social justice) are associated with attitudes toward racial in-group advantage: white privilege. Using canonical correlation analysis with 475 white Catholic and Protestant students, results showed religious beliefs and white privilege attitudes were connected in two ways: (1) sanctification of social justice was positively associated with a dimension defined by greater willingness to confront white privilege and greater white privilege remorse and awareness and (2) religious conservatism was negatively associated with a dimension defined by greater awareness of white privilege. This shows how religion may facilitate or inhibit awareness and action related to white privilege.
Construction of Status Equality in Friendships between Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students and Straight Students in College
Authors: Ueno Koji , Gentile Haley
Published: March 2015

Focusing on public and formal settings, symbolic interactionists have demonstrated how people produce and reproduce status inequality in social interactions. However, little is known about how people sustain a sense of equality in personal relationships, where people have strong motivations to do so. This study seeks to extend the literature by focusing on friendships between gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) college students and straight college students and by examining how they manage a potential risk of inequality in these friendships—their sexual orientation difference. Analysis of in-depth interviews revealed that although both GLB and straight students generally viewed their friendships as equal, GLB students reported their straight friends’ potentially discriminatory behaviors. GLB students sustained a sense of equality by rationalizing these behaviors and by emphasizing other behaviors that signaled straight students’ acceptance of same-sex sexuality. These attempts to maintain equality created a greater burden on GLB students.
“I Did Not Do It My Way”
Authors: Soller Brian
Published: March 2015

The links between culture, social networks, and adolescent romantic relationships are not well understood. This article integrates cultural sociology and network perspectives to explain how cultural features of adolescent peer groups influence adolescent romantic relationship inauthenticity—the extent of incongruence between one’s thoughts/feelings and actions within romantic contexts. Using National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data, I apply sequence analysis and linear regression models to test whether adolescents experience greater romantic relationship inauthenticity when the ordering of events within ideal romantic relationship scripts (e.g., holding hands, saying “I love you,” having sexual intercourse) diverges from ideal romantic relationship scripts of fellow peer-group members. Results indicate romantic relationship inauthenticity increases as one’s ideal script diverges from fellow peer-group members’ scripts. Importantly, heterogeneity in relationship scripts at the peer-group level was not associated with relationship inauthenticity. This study highlights the roles cultural reinforcement and social network processes play in the link between culture and action.
Marketizing Social Change
Authors: King Leslie , Gish Elisabeth
Published: March 2015

This article examines social shareholder advocacy and socially responsible investing (SRI) to better understand the marketization of activism and the intersection of business and social justice. We use archival, interview, and participant observation data to explore how social shareholder activism has increasingly come to be practiced for profit. We show how the movement’s history in social justice activism of the 1960s and 1970s continues to shape the practice today, even while it is increasingly commodified, marketized, and shaped by the ideals and practices of business and finance. Shareholder activists and other SRI advocates have created a new market and a hybrid form of investing that melds social and environmental concerns with financial profit. However, as the fundamental principles of capital accumulation remain unaltered, these practitioners find themselves pulled and pushed between the competing logics of activist ideals and investment finance.
Introducing the Categorically Disaggregated Conflict (CDC) dataset
Authors: Bartusevičius Henrikas
Published: March 2015

Conflict researchers have increasingly stressed the importance of distinguishing between different categories of civil conflict, such as ethnic vs non-ethnic. However, the data on conflict categories has remained limited. This paper introduces the Categorically Disaggregated Conflict (CDC) dataset, which categorizes conflicts based on the two most commonly used distinctions, ethnic-vs-non-ethnic and governmental-vs-territorial, resulting in four conflict categories: ethnic governmental, ethnic territorial, non-ethnic governmental and non-ethnic territorial. While not the first of its kind, the CDC contains a number of novel features. Aside from its unique conceptualization of ethnic conflict, the CDC provides coding of the key component variables (language, religion and “race”), allowing users to re-code ethnic/non-ethnic conflicts into several alternative lists (e.g. religious/non-religious). Furthermore, the CDC provides detailed descriptions documenting coding choices for every single conflict, allowing users to track individual coding decisions. To demonstrate the value of the CDC, this paper replicates a recent study by Cederman, Gelditsch and Buhaug, based on the ACD2EPR—the only extant alternative to the CDC. The findings of the replication analysis challenge some of the key conclusions of the original study, substantiating the need for alternative categorically disaggregated datasets.
United Nations peacekeeping dynamics and the duration of post-civil conflict peace
Authors: Hultman Lisa , Kathman Jacob D. , Shannon Megan
Published: March 2015

How do the qualities of United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKOs) influence the duration of peace after civil wars? Recent work shows that UN peacekeeping extends the duration of peace. However, this work has only been able to assess whether the presence or absence of UN missions affects post-conflict peace processes. Such analyses offer little in the way of policy prescriptions for planning and structuring PKOs to effectively pursue their goals. By employing fine-grained data on the personnel composition of PKOs, and generating expectations from rationalist bargaining models of civil war, we argue that the number and type of personnel deployed to a PKO influence the UN’s ability guarantee peace by addressing the information and commitment problems that so often lead to the collapse of post-conflict peace. We analyze how the composition of missions influences the duration of peace, finding that, as the number of UN military troops deployed increases, the chance of civil war recurring decreases. However, other personnel types do not have the same effect. We conclude that the effectiveness of post-conflict peacekeeping lies in the ability of PKOs to alleviate commitment problems through the deployment of military troops that are able to defend the peace.
Moments in time: Temporal patterns in the effect of democracy and trade on conflict
Authors: Nieman Mark David
Published: March 2015

Building on economic norms theory, I argue that the causes of international conflict may be contextual rather than constant over time. I explore the temporal patterns in the predictors of conflict in data on European conflict between 1870 and 2001, using an endogenous Markov chain Monte Carlo Poisson change-point model. I find that the period can be divided into two time periods, different in terms of the direction of the effect of the main conflict predictors. While democracy has a positive effect on conflict in the period between 1870 and 1938, it has a negative effect from 1938 to 2001. Likewise, trade initially has no impact on conflict, but later exerts a pacifying effect. Post-estimation analyses suggest that such patterns are best explained by the externalization of contractual norms, which is consistent with economic norms theory.
Exposure to Spousal Violence in the Family, Attitudes and Dating Violence Perpetration Among High School Students in Port-au-Prince
Authors: Gage Anastasia J.
Published: March 2015

This study examined the associations of exposure to spousal violence in the family and personal and peer attitudes with dating violence (DV) perpetration among high school students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Participants were 342 high school students in Grades 10 to 12 who stated that they had ever been on a date. Multiple linear regression methods were used to examine correlates of the scale of DV perpetration. Findings showed that personal acceptance of DV mediated the association between exposure to wife-perpetrated and husband-perpetrated spousal violence in the family and DV perpetration for girls. Boys who were exposed to husband-perpetrated spousal violence in the family had significantly higher levels of psychological DV perpetration than those who were not. Contrary to expectations, exposure to wife-perpetrated spousal violence in the family was negatively associated with psychological and physical/sexual DV perpetration by boys, after controlling for other factors. Overall, perceived peer tolerance of DV was more strongly associated with DV perpetration than personal tolerance of DV, and was the only significant correlate of psychological DV perpetration for girls. Perceived peer attitudes also moderated the association between boys’ exposure to spousal violence in the family and DV perpetration. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.
Apathy in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Authors: Cummings Jeffrey , Friedman Joseph H. , Garibaldi George , Jones Martin , Macfadden Wayne , Marsh Laura , Robert Philippe H.
Published: March 2015

Apathy is a common feature of neurodegenerative disorders but is difficult to study in a clinical trial setting due to practical and conceptual barriers. Principal challenges include a paucity of data regarding apathy in these disorders, an absence of established diagnostic criteria, the presence of confounding factors (eg, coexisting depression), use of concomitant medications, and an absence of a gold-standard apathy assessment scale. Based on a literature search and ongoing collaboration among the authors, we present recommendations for the design of future clinical trials of apathy, suggesting Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease as models with relevance across a wider array of neuropsychiatric disorders. Recommendations address clarification of the targeted study population (apathy diagnosis and severity at baseline), confounding factors (mood/cognition, behavior, and treatment), outcome measures, study duration, use of comparators and considerations around environment, and the role of the caregiver and patient assent. This review contributes to the search for an optimal approach to study treatment of apathy in neuropsychiatric disorders.
Creep modelling and unloading evaluation of the rubber suspensions of rail vehicles
Authors: Luo Robert Keqi
Published: March 2015

An engineering approach to the evaluation of the creep response and unloading behaviour of the rubber suspension systems used on rail vehicles is presented. A damage function is introduced that links the creep in the rubber to a structural change that leads to a degradation of the material over time. Hence, a hyper-elastic model is not only related to the loading condition, but also it is a function of the elapsed time; thus, a creep evaluation can be performed at the design stage using existing models that are widely used in the rail industry. A typical rubber suspension component, a Metacone spring mount, was selected to validate the proposed approach. It has been shown that the predictions offered by the proposed model are consistent with the creep history found in experiments. In addition, mechanical unloading modelling using a rebound energy approach is also presented and the results, when compared with experimental data, indicate that the main characteristics of the unloading are captured. It is suggested that the proposed methods may be used in the design of rubber suspensions.
Social Influence on Risk Perception During Adolescence
Authors: Knoll Lisa J. , Magis-Weinberg Lucía , Speekenbrink Maarten , Blakemore Sarah-Jayne
Published: March 2015

Adolescence is a period of life in which peer relationships become increasingly important. Adolescents have a greater likelihood of taking risks when they are with peers rather than alone. In this study, we investigated the development of social influence on risk perception from late childhood through adulthood. Five hundred and sixty-three participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations and were then informed about the ratings of a social-influence group (teenagers or adults) before rating each situation again. All age groups showed a significant social-influence effect, changing their risk ratings in the direction of the provided ratings; this social-influence effect decreased with age. Most age groups adjusted their ratings more to conform to the ratings of the adult social-influence group than to the ratings of the teenager social-influence group. Only young adolescents were more strongly influenced by the teenager social-influence group than they were by the adult social-influence group, which suggests that to early adolescents, the opinions of other teenagers about risk matter more than the opinions of adults.
The place of class: Considerations for psychology
Authors: Hodgetts Darrin , Griffin Christine
Published: March 2015

The concept of social class has not featured as prominently in psychology as it has in the broader social sciences. This editorial provides an overview of the concept of social class and its relevance to contemporary psychology. Although far from exhaustive, the editorial considers key developments in class theory and research, paying particular attention to scholarly advances within psychology. An introduction to the five articles contained within this collection is also provided.
A high-precision age estimate of the Holocene Plinian eruption of Mount Mazama, Oregon, USA
Authors: Egan Joanne , Staff Richard , Blackford Jeff
Published: March 2015

The climactic eruption of Mount Mazama in Oregon, North America, resulted in the deposition of the most widespread Holocene tephra deposit in the conterminous United States and south-western Canada. The tephra forms an isochronous marker horizon for palaeoenvironmental, sedimentary and archaeological reconstructions, despite the current lack of a precise age estimate for the source eruption. Previous radiocarbon age estimates for the eruption have varied, and Greenland ice-core ages are in disagreement. For the Mazama tephra to be fully utilised in tephrochronology and palaeoenvironmental research, a refined (precise and accurate) age for the eruption is required. Here, we apply a meta-analysis of all previously published radiocarbon age estimations ( n = 81), and perform Bayesian statistical modelling to this data set, to provide a refined age of 7682–7584 cal. yr BP (95.4% probability range). Although the depositional histories of the published ages vary, this estimate is consistent with that estimated from the GISP2 ice-core of 7627 ± 150 yr BP (Zdanowicz et al., 1999).
The role of time perspective in social cognitive career theory of interests
Authors: Imbellone Alfredo , Laghi Fiorenzo
Published: March 2015

Although social cognitive career theory has been tested in relation to Holland’s RIASEC types, few studies have examined the role of time perspective across RIASEC themes. Four hundred and thirty-five students participated in this study. Data were collected on the time perspective dimensions, learning experiences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interests across each of the RIASEC areas identified by Holland. The findings, besides a substantial confirmation of SCCT foreknown causal relationships, indicated a significant role of present-hedonistic and future temporal perspectives in Investigative and Social areas. The results evidenced the role of time perspective among persons’ inputs influencing self-efficacy and outcome expectations in the social cognitive framework of interests’ formation.
Regulatory Foresight
Authors: Bichler Gisela , Bush Stacy , Malm Aili
Published: March 2015

Illicit markets capitalize on the vulnerabilities of trade systems. When these weaknesses involve mechanisms common to several aspects of transnational commerce, the effect of illicit behavior, and conversely of anti-crime policy, can be magnified. This study introduces a script-network method to estimate the impact of targeting illicit behavior within the context of an entire market system. Using the high-value art and antiquities market as a case study, we anticipate the effects of two anti-crime policy directives—movement control and monitoring financial transactions. In addition to advancing a new method, two original metrics are presented—one measures the complexity of sectors in a trade system ( complexity) and the other anticipates the incentive to work around crime control efforts ( transformity). In consideration of these system characteristics, our results suggest that maximum decoupling of illicit\legal trade is more likely with the introduction of safeguards targeting central trade functions that are associated with valuing and gifting objects. Network-oriented research could help the prevailing market reduction approach (MRA) to be more effective in reducing transnational illicit trade because network analytics are specially crafted for dealing with the statistical challenges that are inherent to studying transnational illicit market systems.
Colloidal, electrorheological, and viscoelastic properties of polypyrrole-graft-chitosan biodegradable copolymer
Authors: Cabuk Mehmet , Yavuz Mustafa , Unal Halil Ibrahim
Published: March 2015

In this study, colloidal, electrorheological, and viscoelastic properties of conducting polypyrrole, biodegradable chitosan, and polypyrrole- graft-chitosan copolymer were investigated. Some physical properties such as particle size, apparent density, conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, and elemental analysis of the materials were determined. Electrokinetic properties of the materials were investigated by means of zeta (ζ)-potential measurements in aqueous and non-aqueous (silicone oil) media. The effects of time, pH, various electrolytes, surfactants, and temperature onto ζ-potentials of the dispersions prepared in aqueous media were examined. It was concluded that the positive ζ-potential of polypyrrole shifted to more positive regions, and the isoelectric point of the polypyrrole concomitantly shifted to higher pH values after interaction with polycationic chitosan matrix. Polypyrrole- graft-chitosan/silicone oil suspensions were observed to be electrorheological active when subjected to external electric field strength. Creep and creep–recovery tests were applied to the suspensions and a relationship was established between viscoelastic response and ζ-potential of the materials. Furthermore, polypyrrole- graft-chitosan-based smart electrorheological fluid was observed to behave as a viscoelastic material and exhibited a reversible nonlinear viscoelastic deformation under externally applied electric field strength.
Shame and Gender Differences in Paths to Youth Suicide
Authors: Werbart Törnblom Annelie , Werbart Andrzej , Rydelius Per-Anders
Published: March 2015

Risk factors, suicidal behavior, and help-seeking patterns differ between young women and men. We constructed a generic conceptual model of the processes underlying youth suicide, grounded in 78 interviews with parents in 52 consecutive cases of suicide (19 women, 33 men) identified at forensic medical autopsy and compared by sex. We found different forms of shame hidden behind gender-specific masks, as well as gender differences in their paths to suicide. Several interacting factors formed negative feedback loops. Finding no way out, the young persons looked for an “emergency exit.” Signs and preparations could be observed at different times but recognized only in retrospect. Typically, the young persons and their parents asked for professional help but did not receive the help they needed. We discuss parents’ experiences from the theoretical perspective on gender identity and developmental breakdown. Giving voice to the parents’ tacit knowledge can contribute to better prevention and treatment.
Maximizing Theoretical Contributions of Participant Observation While Managing Challenges
Authors: Dahlke Sherry , Hall Wendy , Phinney Alison
Published: March 2015

Participant observation (PO) is an important method of data collection used in a variety of research methodologies. PO can inform theory development by providing understanding of participants’ behaviors and the contexts that influence their behaviors. Because theory development is important in grounded theory studies, we emphasize theoretical contributions of PO while interrogating the challenges of using PO, in particular, attending to informed consent. We use the exemplar of a mid-range theory about nursing practice with hospitalized older adults to highlight contributions of PO to category development. While acknowledging theoretical contributions, we explore challenges entailed in observations where consenting participants interact with vulnerable patients and a changing cast of health care professionals in dynamic contexts. Reflexivity about interactions with vulnerable individuals, as well as other actions to avoid compromising voluntary consent, enhances contributions of PO.
Between My Body and My “Dead Body”
Authors: Meoded Danon Limor
Published: March 2015

This article is based on narrative research that focuses on corporeal experience during coma and during the rehabilitation process. Seventeen participants from different areas of Israel who had been in various kinds of coma states reveal what the corporeal experience of coma is. The participants are divided into three types of narrative protagonists—“dead-alive,” “rational,” and “emissaries.” Each of the participants redefined the boundaries of the body, especially in cases when they spoke of experiences they did not understand as corporeal, for example, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, or experiences of being between the earthly and unearthly. Their struggle to find suitable words to tell their coma stories emphasizes these boundaries between experiencing and telling, which crossed the normative discursive border of the medical establishment and illustrates the ambiguous nature of human existence.
Resection Arthroplasty for Resistant Ulcers Underlying the Hallux in Insensate Diabetics
Authors: Tamir Eran , Tamir Jeremy , Beer Yiftah , Kosashvili Yona , Finestone Aharon S.
Published: March 2015

Background:

Foot ulcers carry considerable morbidity in patients with peripheral neuropathy and frequently lead to foot amputation. The purpose of this study was to present our experience treating recalcitrant ulcers underlying the hallux interphalangeal joint in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM)–related neuropathy with a first metatarsophalangeal (MTPJ1) resection arthroplasty.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed the computerized medical files of patients with diabetic neuropathy treated with a MTPJ1 resection arthroplasty. We performed 28 arthroplasties on 20 patients with a mean age of 59 years. The patients had a diagnosis of DM for a mean of 10.7 years. Of the ulcers, 26 were grade 1A ulcers, and 2 were grade 2A ulcers (University of Texas score); the ulcer’s mean age was 5.4 months. The mean dorsiflexion of the hallux before surgery was 46 degrees.

Results:

The primary ulcer recovered in a mean of 3.1 weeks. Major complications (wound dehiscence and infection) occurred in 6 of 28 operations. Patients returned to normal activity 4 weeks after all procedures except in the 6 patients with dehiscence. In a subgroup of patients with follow-up longer than a year, the ulcer recurred after 4 of 18 arthroplasties (22%) between 3 and 12 months due to postoperative hallux rigidus. In the remaining 14 of 18 arthroplasties (78%), there was no recurrence during a mean follow-up of 26 months.

Conclusion:

MTPJ1 resection arthroplasty may be considered in a patient with resistant plantar hallux ulcerations, even in the absence of hallux rigidus. As with all operations on neuropathic feet in patients with DM, the surgeon and the patient should be aware that there is a significant likelihood of complications, but most are treatable.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, case series.