bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of an Emergency Department Observation Unit Management Algorithm for Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Bellew Shawna D. , Bremer Merri L. , Kopecky Stephen L. , Lohse Christine M. , Munger Thomas M. , Robelia Paul M. , Smars Peter A.
Published: February 2016

Background

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common, growing, and costly medical condition. We aimed to evaluate the impact of a management algorithm for symptomatic AF that used an emergency department observation unit on hospital admission rates and patient outcomes.

Methods and Results

This retrospective cohort study compared 563 patients who presented consecutively in the year after implementation of the algorithm, from July 2013 through June 2014 (intervention group), with 627 patients in a historical cohort (preintervention group) who presented consecutively from July 2011 through June 2012. All patients who consented to have their records used for chart review were included if they had a primary final emergency department diagnosis of
AF
. We observed no significant differences in age, sex, vital signs, body mass index, or
CHADS
2 (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes mellitus, and prior stroke or transient ischemic attack) score between the preintervention and intervention groups. The rate of inpatient admission was significantly lower in the intervention group (from 45% to 36%;
P
<0.001). The groups were not significantly different with regard to rates of return emergency department visits (19% versus 17%;
P
=0.48), hospitalization (18% versus 16%;
P
=0.22), or adverse events (2% versus 2%;
P
=0.95) within 30 days. Emergency department observation unit admissions were 40% (
P
<0.001) less costly than inpatient hospital admissions of ≤1 day's duration.

Conclusions

Implementation of an emergency department observation unit
AF
algorithm was associated with significantly decreased hospital admissions without increasing the rates of return emergency department visits, hospitalization, or adverse events within 30 days.
miR‐342‐5p Is a Notch Downstream Molecule and Regulates Multiple Angiogenic Pathways Including Notch, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Transforming Growth Factor β Signaling
Authors: Yan Xian‐Chun , Cao Jing , Liang Liang , Wang Li , Gao Fang , Yang Zi‐Yan , Duan Juan‐Li , Chang Tian‐Fang , Deng San‐Ming , Liu Yuan , Dou Guo‐Rui , Zhang Jian , Zheng Qi‐Jun , Zhang Ping , Han Hua
Published: February 2016

Background

Endothelial cells (
EC
s) form blood vessels through angiogenesis that is regulated by coordination of vascular endothelial growth factor (
VEGF
), Notch, transforming growth factor β, and other signals, but the detailed molecular mechanisms remain unclear.

Methods and Results

Small
RNA
sequencing initially identified miR‐342‐5p as a novel downstream molecule of Notch signaling in
EC
s. Reporter assay, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis indicated that miR‐342‐5p targeted endoglin and modulated transforming growth factor β signaling by repressing
SMAD
1/5 phosphorylation in
EC
s. Transfection of miR‐342‐5p inhibited
EC
proliferation and lumen formation and reduced angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo, as assayed by using a fibrin beads–based sprouting assay, mouse aortic ring culture, and intravitreal injection of miR‐342‐5p agomir in P3 pups. Moreover, miR‐342‐5p promoted the migration of
EC
s, accompanied by reduced endothelial markers and increased mesenchymal markers, indicative of increased endothelial–mesenchymal transition. Transfection of endoglin at least partially reversed endothelial–mesenchymal transition induced by miR‐342‐5p. The expression of miR‐342‐5p was upregulated by transforming growth factor β, and inhibition of miR‐342‐5p attenuated the inhibitory effects of transforming growth factor β on lumen formation and sprouting by
EC
s. In addition,
VEGF
repressed miR‐342‐5p expression, and transfection of miR‐342‐5p repressed
VEGFR
2 and
VEGFR
3 expression and
VEGF
‐triggered Akt phosphorylation in
EC
s. miR‐342‐5p repressed angiogenesis in a laser‐induced choroidal neovascularization model in mice, highlighting its clinical potential.

Conclusions

miR‐342‐5p acts as a multifunctional angiogenic repressor mediating the effects and interaction among angiogenic pathways.
Linking Teacher Quality, Student Attendance, and Student Achievement
Authors: Gershenson Seth
Published: February 2016

Research on the effectiveness of educational inputs, particularly research on teacher effectiveness, typically overlooks teachers’ potential impact on behavioral outcomes, such as student attendance. Using longitudinal data on teachers and students in North Carolina I estimate teacher effects on primary school student absences in a value-added framework. The analysis yields two main findings: First, teachers have arguably causal, statistically significant effects on student absences that persist over time. Second, teachers who improve test scores do not necessarily improve student attendance, suggesting that effective teaching is multidimensional and teachers who are effective in one domain are not necessarily effective in others.
Arrest Warrants at the International Criminal Court: Reasonable Suspicion or Reasonable Grounds to Believe?
Authors: Dash Amrutanshu , Sharma Dhruv
Published: February 2016

Pre-trial detention is not advance punishment and the deprivation of liberty should only occur if necessary in the interests of justice. Striving to achieve this objective, Article 58 of the Rome Statute dictates that an arrest warrant shall be issued if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the court. The Pre-Trial Chamber has over the years relied on the reasonable suspicion threshold sourced from the European Convention on Human Rights (echr) as an elucidation of the reasonable belief standard. It is argued that the reliance on echr is misplaced in the context of the evidentiary thresholds present in the Rome Statue. Textually, reasonable belief is a higher standard than reasonable suspicion. Instead, it is submitted that the Court should rely on the prima facie case jurisprudence from the icty to interpret the threshold for Article 58.
Whatʼs New about Renewal in Evangelii Gaudium?
Authors: Worthen Jeremy
Published: February 2016

Evangelii Gaudium sketches a vision of ecclesial renewal through deepening participation in evangelization. This vision is supported by a theology of renewal that holds together human and divine agency and distinguishes persons, practices and structures; a theology of the church that finds its identity in the dynamic of evangelization; and a theology of newness that focuses on the incarnation and the good news that proclaims it. While these foundations build on significant previous sources, there is something both creative and distinctive in how Pope Francis weaves them together. Although the parallels with recent WCC documents in related areas are not all that strong and the presentation of ecumenism itself in Evangelii Gaudium is rather marginal, there is an opportunity for reconnecting ecumenism to renewal through sharing its vision and the journey that might follow from it, as consideration of the Church of England’s recent Programme of Reform and Renewal indicates.
The Kimbundu Diaspora to Brazil
Authors: Domingues da Silva Daniel B.
Published: February 2016

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was a major slave trading port in the nineteenth century, with most of the slaves coming from Angola, in West Central Africa. The inland origins of these captives, however, are still largely ignored. This article traces the linguistic origins of slaves transported from Angola to Rio de Janeiro based on the names of Africans liberated from the slave ship Brilhante in 1838. It shows that a significant proportion of these Africans had Kimbundu names, indicating that they were originally captured in regions close to the coast through warfare, judicial proceedings, and self- enslavement. The names further indicate that these Africans came from rural societies divided by social class and who had a profound belief in god, the power of spirits, and in the afterlife.
Iamblichus, Ficino and Schleiermacher on the Sources of Religious Knowledge
Authors: Hankins James
Published: February 2016

In one of the Platonic schools of late antiquity Iamblichus developed a philosophical defence of religious experience, describing it as a precognitive awareness of humanity’s existential dependence on a divine principle of unity. The argument was directed against the high rationalism of Porphyry. Marsilio Ficino, the first student of Iamblichus in the Latin West since antiquity, made the argument a foundational one in his own philosophy, implicitly responding to sceptical themes in Renaissance scholasticism. The argument was revived a third time by Friedrich Schleiermacher in response to the scientific materialists of the Enlightenment and as a development of Rousseau’s religious thought.
Christianity’s Jewish Origins Rediscovered: The Roles of Comparison in Early Modern Ecclesiastical Scholarship
Authors: Grafton Anthony
Published: February 2016

The history of early Christianity began in comparison: comparison of Christian practices with what was known about the practices of ancient Roman priests, and with what was known — or thought to be known — about the practices of Jews in the Second Temple. These comparisons helped to inspire the larger enterprise of comparative study of religion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But they also helped to inspire ecclesiastical historians to look directly and seriously at the Jewish world in which Jesus lived and worked. As knowledge of rabbinical Judaism grew, comparison also led to a growing awareness that Christianity grew from Jewish roots, and that it had incorporated into its core practices many elements of Jewish worship.
Two new species of Ulmeritoides Traver (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae) from Southeastern Brazil
Authors: SOUTO PAULA MALAQUIAS , DA-SIL ELIDIOMAR RIBEIROVA , NESSIMIAN JORGE LUIZ , GONÇALVES INÊS CORRÊA
Published: February 2016

Two new species of Ulmeritoides Traver, 1959 are described from Southeastern Brazil based on male and female imagos. Ulmeritoides angelus sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in DZRJ: Minas Gerais State) differs from all other species of the genus by the following combination of characters: forewings hyaline, base dark brown and purplish; veins R1 light brown; dark brown spots on bullae of veins Sc and R2; apex of penis lobes somewhat rounded, each with one central spine. Ulmeritoides tamoio sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in DZRJ: São Paulo State) differs from all other species of the genus by the following combination of characters: wings hyaline; veins C, Sc and R1 brownish; brownish spots on bullae of veins Sc and R2; apex of penis lobes straight, ending in rather acute apical and mesal projections. An updated key to the genera Ulmeritoides Traver, 1956 and Ulmeritus Traver, 1956 is also given.
Taxonomic review of the Dichotomius (Luederwaldtinia) assifer (Eschscholtz) species-group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Authors: NUNES RAFAEL V. , CARVALHO MARCELA S. G. , VAZ-DE-MELLO Fernando z.
Published: February 2016

The Dichotomius assifer species-group, a component of Dichotomius (Luederwaldtinia) is taxonomically revised. The group now contains five species: D. angeloi sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in CEMT: BRAZIL, Minas Gerais State, Vargem Bonita, Parque Nacional Serra da Canastra. Mata de Galeria, 28º18’39”S, 46º31’30”W. 865 m a.s.l., 02.XI.2011, MF Souza leg.), and D. louzadai sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in CEMT: BRAZIL, Minas Gerais State, Lima Duarte, Parque Estadual Ibitipoca, VI.2001, FZ Vaz-de-Mello leg.) are described; D. assifer and D. affinis are redescribed and lectotypes are designated. D. machadoi is diagnosed. Illustrations, distributional records, diagnosis and a key for identification of the species in the group are provided. Some aspects of the natural history and biogeography of species in the assifer group are also discussed.
Two new species of Chnoodes Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from Brazil
Authors: KRÜGER THAYSA C. , CASTRO-GUEDES CAMILA F. , ALMEIDA LÚCIA M.
Published: February 2016

Two new species of Chnoodes from Brazil are described: C. machadoi sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in DZUP: Mato Grosso State, Cáceres muncipality, 13.XI.1984, Buzzi, Mielke, Elias & Casagrande leg.) and C. unimaculata sp. nov. (Holotype female deposited in DZUP: Amapá State, Oiapoque municipality, V.1959, M. Alvarenga leg.). They can be distinguished from all previously described species mainly by the yellowish border of the elytra in C. machadoi sp. nov., and the large mid-dorsal pale spots in C. unimaculata sp. nov. Six species are redescribed: Chnoodes brasiliensis Korschefsky, C. chaudoiri Mulsant, C. discomaculata (Crotch), C. pentagona Crotch, C. pseudosanguinea Brèthes, and C. tarsalis Weise. A key to Brazilian species of Chnoodes and new records are also given.
Three new species of Helicopsyche von Siebold (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae) from Brazil
Authors: HOLZENTHAL RALPH W. , BLAHNIK ROGER J. , CALOR ADOLFO R.
Published: February 2016

Three new species of Helicopsyche subgenus Feropsyche (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae) from southern and southeastern Brazil are diagnosed, described, and illustrated: Helicopsyche angeloi sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in MZSP: Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo States), H. guara sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in MZSP: Minas Gerais and Santa Catarina States) and H. lazzariae sp. nov. (Holotype male in MZSP: Paraná State). The first two species are similar to H. cipoensis Johanson & Malm, 2006, and H. timbira Silva, Santos & Nessimian, 2014, in having similarly shaped inferior appendages. However, the new species differs in the morphology and distribution of setae on the inferior appendages and tergum X. Helicopsyche lazzariae sp. nov. is unlike any other described species in the subgenus Feropsyche because of its broad deltoid-shaped inferior appendage and absence of a basomesal process on the inferior appendage. Characters important for diagnosing and describing new species of Helicopsyche (Feropsyche) are discussed. Finally, an updated checklist of the 23 species recorded for Brazil is presented.
Psaironeura angeloi, a new species of damselfly (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) from Central and South America
Authors: TENNESSEN KENNETH J.
Published: February 2016

Psaironeura angeloi sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in FSCA: ECUADOR, Esmeraldas Province, small stream 5.6 km NW of Lita, 00.893°N 78.510°W, 4.II.1997, KJT leg.) is described and illustrated based on specimens from Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, bringing the total number of species in the genus to five. The new species is closely related to P. remissa (Calvert), a Mexican/northern Central American species with broad, foliate male cerci, but is distinct in that the long flagella of the genital ligula lack a small sharp spine unique to P. remissa, labrum and clypeus are orange-red, and the back of the head is mostly pale in both males and females. In life, the eyes of the new species are bright red in males versus green and black in P. remissa.
A taxonomic synopsis of South American Cyanogomphini Carle with description of Cyanogomphus angelomachadoi sp. nov. from the Cerrado of Brazil (Odonata: Gomphidae)
Authors: PINTO ÂNGELO PARISE , ALMEIDA MARCUS VINÍCIUS OLIVEIRA DE
Published: February 2016

A synopsis of Cyanogomphini Carle, 1986 (sensu Belle 1996), including all species currently under the genera Cyanogomphus Selys, 1873, and Tibiagomphus Belle, 1992, is provided. Cyanogomphus angelomachadoi sp. nov. (Holotype ♂ deposited in DZRJ: Brazil, Minas Gerais State, Jaboticatubas municipality, Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó, collecting site “Córrego das Pedras” 19°22’17”S, 43°36’03”W, 766 m a.s.l., 12.XII.2011, A.P.M. Santos & D.M. Takiya leg.) is described and illustrated based on four males and two females from Minas Gerais and São Paulo States, southeastern Brazil. The new species is most similar to C. waltheri Selys, 1873, from which it can be distinguished by its smaller size; larger pale areas on mesepisternum; pale dorsal surface of metathoracic tibia; larger distal concavity on epiproct, with laterodistal projection, in lateral view forefinger-shaped; and occurrence in Cerrado province. Five species are recognized in Cyanogomphini, and for each one a synonymy, diagnoses, identification key and maps of distribution are presented. The status of sibling taxa Tibiagomphus uncatus (Fraser, 1947) and T. noval (Rodrigues Capítulo, 1985), as well as the Agriogomphus-complex of genera are also discussed.
Nephtys bangladeshi n. sp., a new species of Nephtyidae (Annelida: Phyllodocida) from Bangladesh coastal waters
Authors: HOSSAIN M. BELAL , HUTCHINGS PAT
Published: February 2016

A new species of nephtyid polychaete, Nephtys bangladeshi n. sp., from the intertidal zone of Bangladesh is described. It is characterized by having a pharynx with 9 pairs of bifid terminal and 14 rows of subterminal papillae, each subterminal row with 5–7 papillae, as well as the presence of branchiae from chaetiger 7 to 27. The new species is compared with other species from the Indo-Pacific. This is the first report of a new polychaete species from Bangladesh coastal waters.
The genus Brechmorhoga Kirby, 1894, in the West Indies, with a proposed new status for Brechmorhoga archboldi (Donnelly) (Odonata; Libellulidae)
Authors: Meurgey FRANÇOIS
Published: February 2016

A revision of the species of Brechmorhoga from the Lesser Antilles includes Brechmorhoga archboldi (Donnelly, 1970) and Brechmorhoga praecox grenadensis Kirby, 1894. New distribution records are provided. Brechmorhoga archboldi is synonymized with B. praecox grenadensis. Figures, morphological characters of both sexes and the description of the female of B. p. grenadensis are given.
Re-description of Margarinotus (Paralister) longus (Bickhardt, 1910) with a key to the species of the subgenus Paralister of the genus Margarinotus from the Balkans (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Histerinae)
Authors: LACKNER TOMÁŠ
Published: February 2016

The holotype of Margarinotus (Paralister) longus (Bickhardt, 1910) is re-described and figured. A key to the species of the subgenus Paralister Bickhardt, 1917 of the genus Margarinotus Marseul, 1853 from the Balkans is given.
Redescription of the South African millipede Cylichnogaster lawrencei Verhoeff, 1937 and notes on the family Siphonotidae (Diplopoda, Polyzoniida)
Authors: SHEAR WILLIAM A.
Published: February 2016

The unusual millipede Cylichnogaster lawrencei Verhoeff, 1937 (Diplopoda, Polyzoniida, Siphonotidae) is redescribed from newly collected specimens. Species of Cylichnogaster are the only known colobognathan millipedes capable of volvation, and are also distinguished by their small size and low segment number. Taxonomic notes are provided on the poorly known family Siphonotidae.
A new species of Pseudochydorus Fryer, 1968 (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Chydoridae) from South-East Asia
Authors: SINEV ARTEM Y. , GARIBIAN PETR G. , GU YANGLIANG
Published: February 2016

A new species of genus Pseudochydorus Fryer, 1968 (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Chydoridae) is described from South-East Asia. P. bopingi sp. nov. differs from Palearctic P. globosus (Baird, 1843) by a smaller size, well-developed flattened flange along the posterior margin of the valves, shorter rostrum, smaller ocellus, and details of antenna and thoracic limb II morphology. P. bopingi sp. nov. is known from South China and South Vietnam, but probably has a wider distribution. Our results suggest that populations from outside of Palearctic may belong to separate species as well.
A Review of Merged High-Resolution Satellite Precipitation Product Accuracy during the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Era
Authors: Maggioni Viviana , Meyers Patrick C. , Robinson Monique D.
Published: February 2016

A great deal of expertise in satellite precipitation estimation has been developed during the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) era (1998–2015). The quantification of errors associated with satellite precipitation products (SPPs) is crucial for a correct use of these datasets in hydrological applications, climate studies, and water resources management. This study presents a review of previous work that focused on validating SPPs for liquid precipitation during the TRMM era through comparisons with surface observations, both in terms of mean errors and detection capabilities across different regions of the world. Several SPPs have been considered: TMPA 3B42 (research and real-time products), CPC morphing technique (CMORPH), Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP; both the near-real-time and the Motion Vector Kalman filter products), PERSIANN, and PERSIANN–Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS). Topography, seasonality, and climatology were shown to play a role in the SPP’s performance, especially in terms of detection probability and bias. Regions with complex terrain exhibited poor rain detection and magnitude-dependent mean errors; low probability of detection was reported in semiarid areas. Winter seasons, usually associated with lighter rain events, snow, and mixed-phase precipitation, showed larger biases.
Convection-Permitting Regional Weather Modeling with COSMO-EULAG: Compressible and Anelastic Solutions for a Typical Westerly Flow over the Alps
Authors: Kurowski Marcin J. , Wojcik Damian K. , Ziemianski Michal Z. , Rosa Bogdan , Piotrowski Zbigniew P.
Published: February 2016

A comparison between anelastic and compressible convection-permitting weather forecasts for the Alpine region is presented. This involves mesoscale simulation of a typical westerly flow accompanied by a passage of frontal systems as well as intense airmass convection and orographic convection. The limited-area model employing a 2.2-km horizontal grid length is driven by time-dependent boundary conditions from a coarse-resolution model. The results obtained with the anelastic and the compressible model versions show good agreement. Validations of the 10-m wind, 2-m temperature, 2-m dewpoint temperature, total cloud cover, and surface precipitation against observations for a seven-member forecast ensemble reveal only minor differences between the two configurations. The sensitivity study demonstrates only a small impact of realistic pressure perturbations (about a reference profile) on the solutions. Overall, anelastic approximation proves remarkably accurate in simulating moist mesoscale dynamics.

The study has been conducted using a newly developed hybrid limited-area nonhydrostatic version of the Consortium for Small-Scale Modeling (COSMO) model. This version facilitates the use of two alternative dynamical cores: compressible (original) and anelastic (new). The new dynamical core, which is based on the Euler–Lagrangian (EULAG) solver, aims at integrating atmospheric flow equations at resolutions higher than O(1) km for steep orography. A coupler has been developed to merge the EULAG dynamical core with the COSMO numerical weather prediction framework.
The Emancipation of Antitrust from Market-Share-Based Approaches
Authors: Zimmer Daniel
Published: February 2016

The conventional method in determining the market position of undertakings—defining the relevant market, ascertaining the market shares, “qualitative” analysis—has had to face more and more competition in the past decades. For some issues, there exist more suitable methods of analysis today than the antiquated market-share approach. In an age in which product differentiation represents the norm, approaches that base an analysis of competition on market shares can seem more and more to be behind the times. In its assessment of mergers between manufacturers of differentiated products, the European Commission has made a remarkably clean break with the outmoded market-share-based analysis. For such a modernization of competition law application, the general framework of European law offers better conditions than the American system. The European Commission has a freer choice of methods than its American counterparts, the antitrust agencies, because the Commission itself—without invoking a court—is competent to issue decisions, while those addressed can have the Commission’s prohibition decisions reviewed by a court. Also, the courts of the European Union, when they have been involved in merger cases, have themselves contributed to modernizing the decision-making practice.
Ahead of His Time
Authors: Brennan Timothy J.
Published: February 2016

Prof. Markovits has been a prescient commenter on antitrust. His early and insightful characterization of the harm from merger as the loss to consumers from being able to trade off their two top choices can be seen in the use of diversion ratios in unilateral effects merger cases. So too does the change in assessing unilateral effects mergers from market concentration to direct measurement of competitive effects match his skepticism of market definition. I share Prof. Markovits’s view that prior dominance should not be a prerequisite for monopolization cases, at least those involving exclusionary practices. I am skeptical that intent should play a role in monopolization, other than as a source of expert evidence that a practice will be harmful. Whether antitrust should be about maximizing consumer welfare or punishing powerful actors with bad intent may be a fundamental divide in perspective in the antitrust community.
Economics and the Interpretation and Application of U.S. and E.U. Antitrust Law
Authors: Markovits Richard S.
Published: February 2016

Part 1 (1) articulates and explains (A) the specific-anticompetitive-intent test of illegality that the study claims is promulgated by the Sherman Act, the object-branch of the test of illegality promulgated by Article 101(1) of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the exclusionary-abuse branch of the test of illegality promulgated by Article 102 of the Treaty of Lisbon; and (B) the lessening-competition test of illegality that the study claims is promulgated by the Clayton Act, the effect-branch of the test of illegality promulgated by Article 101(1) of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the European Merger Control Regulation; and (2) attempts to justify the study’s claims that its operationalizations of those tests of illegality are correct as a matter of law. Part 2 (1) articulates the study’s definition of the concept of “the impact of a choice on economic efficiency,” (2) defines three categories of organizational allocative (economic) efficiencies the study distinguishes and explains why the fact that conduct generates any of these categories of organizational economic efficiency favors its legality under U.S. or E.U. antitrust law, and (3) defines the other categories of economic inefficiency the study identifies and explains why the impact of business conduct on the magnitudes of these categories of economic inefficiency in the society in question is irrelevant to its legality under U.S. or E.U. antitrust law. Part 3 then (1) summarizes the study’s argument for its conclusion that definitions of both classical economic markets and antitrust markets are inevitably arbitrary not just at their periphery but at their core, (2) summarizes the study’s discussion of the concept of a firm’s dominance or economic (market) power and its explanation of why a firm’s economic power could not be inferred from its market share even if markets could be defined nonarbitrarily, (3) outlines the conceptual systems the study develops and uses to analyze the competitiveness of prices and the impact of conduct on the intensity of price competition respectively in individualized-pricing and across-the-board-pricing contexts, and (4) articulates the study’s definitions of (A) the concept of quality-or-variety-increasing-investment competition and (B) the concepts it uses to analyze the impact of conduct on such competition. Part 4 outlines the most salient points the study makes about (1) coordinated conduct and oligopolistic pricing, (2) predatory pricing and predatory investments, (3) horizontal mergers and acquisitions, (4) conglomerate mergers, and (5) various pricing-techniques, contract-clause and sales-policy surrogates for vertical integration, and vertical mergers and acquisitions. The Conclusion describes an important part of the policy-sequel to this antitrust-law study that I have contracted to publish. In particular, the Conclusion outlines the protocol that that sequel will use to analyze the economic efficiency of any exemplar of any category of antitrust-law-covered conduct or of any policy-responses to such conduct.
The Economics of Antitrust Law
Authors: Markovits Richard S.
Published: February 2016

This Comment on the other contributions to this symposium addresses their authors’ and my positions on (1) the definability of markets and various approaches to defining markets, (2) the definition and legal relevance of market (economic) power, (3) the economic functions and legality of vertical practices (correctly analyzed as a matter of law), (4) the legality of unsuccessful attempts to commit acts whose successful completion would be illegal, (5) so-called “objective intent,” so-called “subjective intent,” and “specific anticompetitive intent,” (6) the relevance of the economic efficiency of conduct or its prohibition to its legality, (7) the defensible goals of antitrust policy, (8) the appropriateness of courts’ using decision-rules that minimize the losses generated by the Type I and Type II errors they will make when those rules recommend decisions that would not find defendants liable in a civil case if and only if the preponderance of evidence implies that the defendants violated the law and guilty in a criminal case if and only if the evidence establishes their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and (9) the extent to which my “conception” (in one contributor’s terms)— i.e., my novel conceptual systems, economic theories, and legal conclusions—in his words “has ended up faring very well”— i.e., has been progressively and now largely accepted by antitrust scholars, antitrust enforcement-agencies, and courts.
The State of Research on Africa in Business and Management: Insights From a Systematic Review of Key International Journals
Authors: Kolk Ans , Rivera-Santos Miguel
Published: February 2016

Aiming at a better understanding of the extent to which Africa-focused research has helped develop context-bound, context-specific, and context-free knowledge, the authors present the findings from a literature review of journal articles with an African context. A systematic search resulted in 271 articles with African data and 139 Africa-focused articles published in 63 top business journals and related (sub)disciplines from 2010 onwards. The sample included all journals belonging to the University of Texas (UT) Dallas and Financial Times research rankings, as well as the main international business, and business and society outlets. An in-depth analysis of the 139 Africa-focused articles shows an important imbalance in terms of publication patterns, topics covered, theoretical groundings, types of contributions, approaches to the African contexts, and empirics. Building on this exhaustive literature review, the authors provide specific suggestions regarding potential data sources and empirical strategies in African contexts, propose avenues for future research, and introduce four recent studies included in the special issue.
Disguised Collective Action in China
Authors: Fu Diana
Published: February 2016

How does civil society mobilize citizens in an authoritarian state that forbids organizations from coordinating collective contention? Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in underground labor organizations in China, this article theorizes a tactical innovation—disguised collective action—that lowers the cost of organizing contention under repression. Instead of forming organizations to facilitate collective action, organizations enable citizens to better contend as individuals. Departing from processes captured by the “dynamics of contention” framework, organizations act as unconventional mobilizing structures by coaching aggrieved citizens to make individual rights claims without engaging in perilous collective protests. Through a hidden pedagogical process, claimants are coached to deploy a repertoire of atomized actions that targets the bureaucratic mandate to maintain social stability and also appeals to officials’ moral authority. When effective, disguised collective action can secure concessions for participants while allowing activists to strike a middle ground between challenging authorities and organizational survival.
Timing Is Everything
Authors: Cramsey Sarah A. , Wittenberg Jason
Published: February 2016

There is broad agreement that states seeking to nationalize their minority populations require both capacity and intent. We argue that political opportunity is also important through a focus on Poland’s policy toward its Ukrainian minority during the first half of the twentieth century. The shift from international norms protecting minority group rights in the interwar period to the defense of individual human rights during the immediate postwar era gave Polish state elites new and devastating tools with which to create a Polish nation-state. Through forced expulsions, internal deportation, and the cultural homogenization of the public sphere, all practices that had been unfeasible during the interwar group rights era, Polish state elites denied Ukrainians sufficient means to perpetuate their culture. The postwar process was relatively quick and almost always brutal.
Still Searching for the Value-Added
Authors: Paine Jack
Published: February 2016

What novel leverage for understanding the social world do set-theoretic comparative methods (STCM) offer? I have argued that although important methodological ideas underlie this method, many STCM techniques converge with existing quantitative tools of statistical modeling. Unfortunately, STCM scholars have often obscured this crucial point by instead emphasizing stark differences from quantitative tools. Here, I further develop two key arguments about these convergences by addressing the astute commentaries offered by Thiem et al. and Schneider: (a) Regarding necessary and sufficient conditions, STCM’s procedures for incorporating cases from a 2 × 2 table may yield erroneous conclusions that can easily be avoided by using more conventional techniques. (b) Regarding causal complexity, STCM and statistical interaction terms often provide the same information. These arguments demonstrate that STCM scholars have yet to establish distinctive advantages of their methods over statistical modeling. Furthermore, alternative qualitative tools offer considerably more promise than does STCM.
Misconceptions of Measurement Equivalence
Authors: Welzel Christian , Inglehart Ronald F.
Published: February 2016

Structural equation modelers judge multi-item constructs against three requirements: (a) multiple items converge in a single dimension; (b) individual-level patterns of item convergence are invariant across countries; (c) aggregate-level patterns of item convergence replicate those at the individual level. This approach involves two premises: Measurement validity hinges solely on a construct’s internal convergence, and convergence patterns at the individual level have priority over those at the aggregate level. We question both premises (a) because convergence patterns at the aggregate-level exist in their own right and (b) because only a construct’s external linkages reveal its reality outreach. In support of these claims, we use the example of “emancipative values” to show that constructs can entirely lack convergence at the individual level and nevertheless exhibit powerful and important linkages at the aggregate level. Consequently, we advocate a paradigm shift from internal convergence toward external linkage as the prime criterion of validity.
Disproportionate Minority Contact Among Juveniles Adjudicated for Sexual, Violent, and General Offending
Authors: Fix Rebecca L. , Fix Spencer T. , Wienke Totura Christine M. , Burkhart Barry R.
Published: February 2016

The present study tested whether differences in violence exposure and parent and peer attachment help explain why disproportionate minority contact is lower among adolescents adjudicated for sexual offending than among adolescents adjudicated for other offenses. The 1,109 male juvenile offenders recruited from a juvenile detention center were interviewed, completed self-report measures, and legal documentation of prior offenses was obtained. Using a hierarchical multinomial logistic regression, a unique constellation of factors were found to predict sexual and violent offending relative to general offending. Moreover, the influence of race/ethnicity was diminished in the final model, suggesting disproportionate minority contact is partially explained by contextual factors.
A Qualitative Study of the Black Mother-Daughter Relationship
Authors: Everet alt Joyce E. , Marks Laverne D. , Clarke-Mitchell Jean F.
Published: February 2016

The mother-daughter bond is a complex, diverse, lifelong, intimate connection that significantly affects development. While studies of intergenerational relations during old age have increased, as have those examining the mother-daughter relationship during adolescence, particularly those among Black and Latina pairs, only a few have examined adult mother-daughter relationships among African Americans. Only a few studies have examined the influence Black mothers have on their daughters’ development. Using Black feminist thought as a theoret alical model, this article reports findings from a qualitative study that explored Black adult daughters’ perceptions of the impact their mothers had on the development of their self-worth/self-esteem, resilience, and coping strategies. Seventeen Black mothers and daughters described the lessons they learned and the forms in which these lessons were conveyed from their mothers. Implications of the findings for future research are drawn.
An accidental decapitation resulting from head protruding out of bus
Authors: Parchake Manoj Bhausaheb , Tumram Nilesh K , Umbare Rahul , Kachare RV , Dode CR
Published: February 2016

Decapitation is the separation of the head from the neck. Accidental decapitation is rare, and very few cases are cited in the literature. In this case, the victim was asleep during an overnight trip with her head sticking out of the window, and she was decapitated by a truck travelling in the opposite direction. Lack of security grilles on windows, high-speed driving, narrow roads and night travel were contributing factors. This case is presented for its rarity and pattern of injuries during the fatal mishap and to consider possible preventive measures.
Bear-inflicted injuries – a report from Nepal
Authors: Atreya Alok , Kanchan Tanuj , Nepal Samata , Acharya Jenash
Published: February 2016

Upper Mustang in the Northern Himalayan range of Nepal is the home of brown bears ( Ursusarctos). Low-plant biomass as a result of scanty rainfall in Upper Mustang is a reason for habitat overlap of humans and wild animals. Humans who enter into the wild to collect firewood and graze cattle are liable to wild animal attacks. Such attacks, especially by brown bears, are readily identified by the type of injuries. These are more commonly confined to head and neck regions. Cutting, gnawing and tearing by sharp teeth and claws produces specific pattern of injuries, which are devastating but seldom fatal. This article reports a rare case of brown bear injury inflicted upon a man from the Upper Mustang region in Nepal.
The Contradictory Logics of Financialization
Authors: Block Fred
Published: February 2016

This introduction explains the logic of bringing together the perspectives of Hyman Minsky and Karl Polanyi to analyze processes of financialization. Although Minsky and Polanyi have very different intellectual trajectories, there are important complementarities in their approaches. The introduction also explains the focus of the three papers in this special section written by Kurtuluş Gemici, Lucas Kirkpatrick, and David Woodruff.
Beyond the Minsky and Polanyi Moments
Authors: Gemici Kurtuluş
Published: February 2016

The period of very high foreclosure rates sets the 2007–8 financial meltdown apart from similar banking crises fueled by asset price booms. Why did the 2007–8 meltdown lead to a prolonged foreclosure crisis? Through a theoretical perspective built on Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis, Polanyi’s ideas about adverse consequences of commodity fiction, financialization of homes, and institutional coupling, I argue that commodifying houses as financial assets exposed mortgage loan holders to price fluctuations originating in capital markets and elevated their risk of default. I show how increased exposure to price fluctuations followed from the tight coupling between U.S. housing and capital markets, a coupling that resulted directly from the rising preponderance of securitization in U.S. housing finance. I provide further evidence from countries where housing finance was tightly coupled with capital markets (Iceland and Ireland) to countries where housing finance did not rely dominantly on capital markets (Canada and the Netherlands).
The New Urban Fiscal Crisis
Authors: Kirkpatrick L. Owen
Published: February 2016

Numerous U.S. cities suffered immense fiscal strain following the subprime mortgage crisis and financial crash of 2007–8. Diminished revenues, tightened credit, and speculative financing that went bad in the aftermath fueled widespread fiscal distress on the local scale. Although the current moment resembles fiscal crises that crested in cities in the 1970s–90s, two factors distinguish the current period. First, municipal affairs have become thoroughly financialized—dominated by speculative securities and volatile debt arrangements—such that local crisis can no longer be understood apart from financial market instability. Second, local fiscal politics have become increasingly removed from democratic oversight and control. This de-democratization hinders the capacity of political communities to reregulate markets and rebuild urban communities. An analytic model derived from the work of Hyman Minsky and Karl Polanyi emphasizes how cities become ensnared in a “financial instability” cycle and how communities seek to protect themselves by way of the “double movement.”
Governing by Panic
Authors: Woodruff David M.
Published: February 2016

The Eurozone’s reaction to the crisis beginning in late 2008 involved not only efforts to mitigate the arbitrarily destructive effects of markets but also vigorous pursuit of policies aimed at austerity and deflation. To explain this paradoxical outcome, I build on Karl Polanyi’s account of a similar deadlock in the 1930s. Polanyi argued that a society-protecting response to malfunctioning markets was limited under the gold standard by the prospect of currency panic, which bankers used to push for austerity, deflationary policies, and labor’s political marginalization. I reconstruct Polanyi’s “governing by panic” theory to explain Eurozone policy during three key episodes of sovereign bond market panic in 2010–12. By threatening to allow financial panics to continue, the European Central Bank promoted policies and institutional changes aimed at austerity and deflation, limiting the protective response. Germany’s Ordoliberalism, and its weight in European affairs, contributed to the credibility of this threat.
Institutions and Inequality in Liberalizing Markets
Authors: Benassi Chiara , Doellgast Virginia , Sarmiento-Mirwaldt Katja
Published: February 2016

This paper examines cross-national differences in the development of sectoral collective bargaining in the European telecommunications industry following comparable changes in market regulations. The authors seek to explain why centralized, coordinated bargaining institutions were established in Austria and Sweden, both within incumbent telecommunications firms and at the sector level, while Germany and Denmark experienced decentralization and disorganization of bargaining at both levels. The authors argue that these outcomes resulted from differences in institutional loopholes employers were able to exploit to avoid centralized bargaining and past union structures that influenced patterns of interunion cooperation. These two explanatory factors were interrelated: the presence or absence of institutional loopholes affected the basis for cooperation between unions, while labor cooperation was an important power resource unions could draw on to close emerging loopholes. Findings demonstrate the importance of sector-level political dynamics for the construction or erosion of solidaristic bargaining structures under pressure from market liberalization.
Between Collective Action and Individual Appropriation
Authors: Montambeault Françoise , Goirand Camille
Published: February 2016

Examining the concept of clientelism in analysis of participatory processes, we investigate how collective and individual action are articulated in practices in the case of participatory budgeting (PB) in Recife, Brazil. We use ethnographic work to look how collective actors mobilize within the PB process in Recife and show that PB’s territorial and redistributive nature provides fertile ground for informal exchanges to be entrenched in institutional processes at the micro level. Microsocial interactions between political entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and ordinary participants in Recife participatory practice are shaped by two processes: individualization of political loyalties and territorialization of politics. These, we argue, allow informal exchanges to coexist with institutionalized forms of collective action. PB presupposes that participants engage in local struggles and introduces competition and inequalities among them, as access to resources is conditioned by their ability to mobilize and enter into informal interactions that underlie political exchanges within PB.
The Connection of Probation/Parole Officer Actions to Women Offenders’ Recidivism
Authors: Morash Merry , Kashy Deborah A. , Smith Sandi W. , Cobbina Jennifer E.
Published: February 2016

Because women offenders often have limited social networks and unique needs, the actions of probation/parole officers providing community supervision may be particularly relevant to outcomes. The present study examined the effects of probation/parole officer relationship style, attention to criminogenic needs, and intensity of supervision on women offenders’ arrests and convictions within a 24-month period. Contrary to findings from other studies, the measured elements of officer actions had no direct effects on recidivism for a sample of 226 women. However, the analysis revealed an indirect effect in which a non-supportive, punitive relationship was related to reactance and anxiety, which in turn were related to high recidivism. The discussion focuses on theoretical and methodological explanations for the null findings regarding direct effects. Moreover, it draws on the literature in psychology and communication to suggest approaches to reducing the reactance that can promote recidivism and to suggest related future research directions.