bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Alternative Local Public Education Expenditure Functions: An Econometric Evaluation
Authors: Turnbull Geoffrey K.
Published: January 2017

This article presents a formal econometric evaluation of competing median voter public education demand specifications. The Cox specification test is used to determine the appropriate role for intergovernmental aid and the appropriate tax share definition in the empirical models. Tests of the aid specification yield support for the popular notion that allowing for different voter income and aid elasticities is superior to treating aid as a supplement to voter income. Tests of the tax share definition indicate that the partial tax exporting tax share is superior to the complete and zero exporting tax shares examined. The results also indicate that the present theoretical models need to be extended to provide a greater role for the mix of nonresidential property in determining community fiscal behavior.
Cost-Effective Redistribution: Implications of a Basic Needs Approach to Public Assistance
Authors: Misiolek Walter S. , Elder Harold W.
Published: January 2017

This study develops an alternative approach to the issue of transfer form, which uses the basic needs framework to produce a set of tools for evaluating the efficiency of redistribution programs. In contrast with the Pareto redistribution approach, we find that in-kind transfers are not always preferred over cash payments when donors are concerned only with the recipient's consumption of specific commodities. Furthermore, we find that justification of a mixed transfer system on efficiency grounds does not require the existence of both general and specific commodity externalities. The choice of transfer system is shown to be dependent on the recipient's spending propensities, the specific targets of public assistance, and the administrative costs of alternative programs.
The Effect of Various Intergovernmental aid Types on Local Own-Source Revenues: The Case of Property Taxes in Minnesota Cities
Authors: Bell Michael E. , Bowman John H.
Published: January 2017

Federal policy changes are promoting increased state-local revenue self-sufficiency. The local role as a service provider could be maintained through either increased own-source revenues or increased slate aid. Several state-local trends and features suggest that relatively more of the adjustment might come through state aids. General support aids would best preserve local discretion, but some argue such aids are too stimulative and cause a bloated public sector. Analyzing 174 Minnesota cities, this article explores possible implications of these federalism changes. Both local tax features—base size and ability to export local taxes—and intergovernmental aids are significant determinants of local taxes per capita. Federal aids (aggregate) and one of two state general support aids stimulate local taxes, but to differing degrees. Consistent with theoretical predictions, matching state aid is most stimulative, while modified lump-sum state aid exerts no influence on local taxes, providing possible discrimination between two views concerning the stimulative effect of a tax effort factor in a lump-sum aid distribution formula.
A Theory of Intergovernmental Grants and their Effect on Aggregate Grantor-Recipient Spending
Authors: Schwallie Daniel P.
Published: January 2017

The impact of intergovernmental grants on the expenditures of recipients has been the focus of considerable investigation, while their impact on the relative sizes of the public and private sectors has been given little more than brief discussion. No well-defined structure has emerged to explain how a system of intergovernmental grants might affect public sector size. This article is a first attempt at such a structure. It investigates the impact of intergovernmental grants by comparing public sector size in the presence of conditional lump-sum grants to public sector size in their absence for given grantor and recipient preferences on the allocation of financial resources between the private and public sectors. Implications are drawn from the model and comments are made pertaining to the empirical investigations of grant effects on recipient governments spending.
Tax Incentives and Charitable Giving: Evidence from New Survey Data
Authors: Brown Eleanor
Published: January 2017

A new survey data set is used to obtain estimates of the tax price elasticity of personal giving to tax-deductible charitable causes. Like other surveys, the data here yield a large elasticity estimate, roughly two and a half for a representative household when Tobit estimation is used. One hypothesis for the discrepancy between such large estimates and values close to unity found in tax data is that there is an “itemization effect” reflecting nonrandom selection in tax data; the Florida data do not support this hypothesis. Another explanation for the discrepancy between tax-file-based and survey-based estimates is that the standard use of OLS rather than Tobit biases the elasticity more in survey data, where many people report zero gifts. For the Florida data, using OLS increases the estimated elasticity by about 30%; while this effect cannot explain why the Florida data produce such large elasticities, it suggests that OLS estimates in earlier studies should be used with caution.
Option Demand Revisited
Authors: Krashinsky Michael
Published: January 2017

Weisbrod argues that private commodities for which demand is infrequent and uncertain and for which disinvestment is irrevocable may involve a market failure that he calls option demand. He has identified an important phenomenon, but his analysis is somewhat flawed. If entrepreneurs can price discriminate perfectly, as Weisbrod assumes, there can be no value in options to purchase. Nonetheless, the goods he describes do involve market failures: inability to price discriminate and the free rider problems associated with public goods. Thus option demand remains a useful concept.
IS Doctor Who Australian?
Authors: McKee Alan
Published: January 2017

As part of an ARC Discovery project to write a history of Australian television from the point of view of audiences, I looked for Australian television fan communities. It transpired that the most productive communities exist around imported programming like the BBC's Doctor Who. This program is an Australian television institution, and I was therefore interested in finding out whether it should be included in an audience-centred history of Australian television. Research in archives of fan materials showed that the program has been made distinctively Australian through censorship and scheduling practices. There are uniquely Australian social practices built around it. Also, its very Britishness has become part of its being — in a sense — Australian. Through all of this, there is a clear awareness that this Australian institution originates somewhere else — that for these fans Australia is always secondary, relying on other countries to produce its myths for it, no matter how much it might reshape them.
Under Great Pressure, a Diamond is Being Formed: The SBS over Time
Authors: Cunningham Stuart
Published: January 2017

This article observes a paradox in the recent history of the Special Broadcasting Service. It is argued that, in contrast to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the role and general direction of SBS were not extensively debated as part of the ‘culture wars’ that occurred during the years of the Howard government. While that made SBS a less fraught space during that period, it may now be a factor in the comparative lack of support being given by the Rudd Labor government to SBS in comparison with the ABC, as some of the ‘special’ status of SBS has been blunted by its drift towards more mainstream programming and a mixed economy of commercial advertising, as well as government funding.
The Structure of the Advertising Industry in Japan: The Future of the Mega-Agencies
Authors: Kawashima Nobuko
Published: January 2017

One of the major issues related to the globalisation of advertising in Asia is the degree to which it is mediated by local realities. In Japan, the presence of the so-called global agencies is very limited, and very often global advertisers based in Japan, such as Sony and Toyota, work with Japan's mega-agencies for domestic advertising while relying on global agencies for most of the markets outside Japan. Why does such a division exist between the Japanese market and elsewhere? This article first addresses this question, and then proceeds to discuss recent changes in the behaviour of both the media and their audiences, and the challenges they pose to the advertising industry. Such changes are universal, but their threats to the advertising business are more acutely felt in Japan because of its peculiar business structure, as will be described. The article concludes with a discussion of the prospects for the Japanese advertising industry.
Comparative Communication Research: Australian and New Zealand Communication Research in an International Context
Authors: Flew Terry
Published: January 2017

This article raises the question of whether comparative national models of communications research can be developed along the lines of Hallin and Mancini's (2004) analysis of comparative media policy, or the work of Perraton and Clift (2004) on comparative national capitalisms. Taking communications research in Australia and New Zealand as its starting point, the article considers what might be the relevant variables in shaping an ‘intellectual milieu’ for communications research in these countries, compared with those of Europe, North America and Asia. Some possibly relevant variables include: type of media system (e.g. how significant is public service media?); political culture (e.g. are there significant left-of-centre political parties?); dominant intellectual traditions; level and types of research funding; the overall structure of the higher education system; and where communications sits within it. In considering whether such an exercise can or should be undertaken, we can also evaluate, as Hallin and Mancini do, the significance of potentially homogenising forces. These would include globalisation, new media technologies, and the rise of a global ‘audit culture’. The article raises these issues as questions that emerge when we consider, as Curran and Park (2000) and Thussu (2009) have proposed, what a ‘de-Westernized’ media and communications research paradigm may look like.
Contemporary Australian Film Theory and Criticism
Authors: Verevis Constantine , Williams Deane
Published: January 2017

The discipline of film studies has, since the late 1960s and early 1970s, been a burgeoning academic and intellectual field of inquiry. This article seeks to provide a map of the local and international flows of Australian film theory and criticism. By tracing some key critical positions, personnel and institutions, it provides an account of the state of contemporary Australian film studies. The article falls into three parts. The first reflects upon the establishment of academic film studies in Australia, beginning with the 1970s and 1980s importation of screen theory. The second attends to a late 1980s and early 1990s recognition of the historical and cultural specificity of film (and television), and the associated turn to historical film studies. The third part looks at the institutionalisation of the discipline, to attend to some of the intellectual and pragmatic considerations shaping Australian film studies through the 1990s and beyond.
The European Exception: Historical Evolution of Spanish Radio as a Cultural Industry
Authors: Bagant Montse Bonet , Arboledas Luis
Published: January 2017

The main aim of this article is to examine the history of radio in Spain using a cultural industries approach, in order to analyse how the social and economic context and the various communication policies (or lack of them) have contributed to making the Spanish radio system what it is today. Through this approach, a greater understanding will be reached of its past and present business model, the agents involved and the market structure supporting it. Spanish radio is highly regulated at the national level, which is why the study of communication policies is a fundamental – but not the only – pillar of the theoretical tradition under consideration.
‘A Makara-like Wave Came Crashing’: Sri Lankan Narratives of the Boxing Day Tsunami
Authors: Bourk Michael
Published: January 2017

The Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 brought widespread loss of life and destruction to most of the coastal communities of Sri Lanka. Communities attempting to make sense of the natural disaster and subsequent destruction struggle to describe such unusual and cataclysmic events, which can transform benign physical local environments into disaster zones. Natural disasters force people to rethink the relationship between culture and nature, often using the bricolage of available signs and concepts. This case study uses data from Sri Lankan English-language newspapers, in-depth interviews and a focus group to identify prominent themes in the recollections of the tsunami and its aftermath. Four themes are drawn primarily from oral narratives of a small coastal community near Galle in the south: monster and monsterisation of victims; metaphysical reciprocity; reconsideration of mythical events; and unique corporeality. Arguably, these themes resonate to varying degrees with descriptive and explanatory force to facilitate psychological recovery for those affected. The findings suggest that communities affected by natural disasters make sense of traumatic events through descriptions and narratives that give symbolic and/or ideological agency to events in an effort to rationalise them and restore order to people's lives and place in the universe.
The Digital Korean Wave: Local Online Gaming Goes Global
Authors: Jin Dal Yong
Published: January 2017

In the twenty-first century, the Korean wave has been expanding with the growth of digital culture, particularly online gaming. The rapid growth of the Korean online game industry and exports to Western markets have raised the fundamental question of whether digital culture has changed the Korean wave from a regionally focused cultural flow to a Western-focused contra-flow. This article discusses the Korean online gaming industry as an example of contra-flow. It also maps out the process by which local online games are appropriated for Western game users through content hybridisation and glocalisation. Finally, it questions whether this new trend can diminish asymmetrical cultural flows between the West and the East.
What's the Next Adventure for MIA?
Authors: Goggin Gerard
Published: January 2017

Gerard Goggin was MIA's editor from 2006–10, and continues to be an active member of the journal's editorial board.
Faith-Based Community Radio and Development in the South Pacific Islands
Authors: Austin Linda
Published: January 2017

Faith-based broadcasters comprise half of all community radio stations in the South Pacific islands. As such, they reflect the deep indigenisation of Christianity and its central role in Pacific cultural identity. But their position within the media environment is surprisingly contentious. For secular community media practitioners, Pacific faith-based media are seen to interject foreign voices and capital into island communities. For the international development sector, partnership with faith-based organisations around development agendas brings fears that aid funds will be used for evangelism. This article explores the role of faith-based community radio in the South Pacific, and argues that they have achieved levels of sustainability that have thus far eluded secular community media through application of culturally appropriate and self-defined development pathways.
On the Constituted Contexts of Public Communication: Early Policy Debates on the Press in India
Authors: Parthasarathi Vibodh
Published: January 2017

This article provides a pathway to engage with the enabling environment of public communication in India. It scrutinises debates around press policy in the first four decades after Independence (1950–90) to reveal the trajectory of contests between dominant strands of liberal and progressive standpoints. This will help unravel the constituted contexts of the public sphere of marketed print in pre-liberalisation India. The central interest in doing so is to illustrate how and argue why the value of media diversity, unlike those of media freedom and media autonomy, failed to become a core concern in debates on press policy. The ways in which this inheritance pre-determined the perimeters of policy options during media deregulation of the 1990s may be worth exploring further.
Piracy at the Frontier: Uneven Development and the Public Sphere
Authors: Athique Adrian
Published: January 2017

In the decades following Indian Independence, the exponential growth of urban populations, the encroachment of slums on all open lands, the expensive and exhaustive hurdles to commercial premises and the chronic shortage of leisure capacity in overcrowded Indian cities all contributed to a delivery mechanism that operated on the street. Even during the heady days of India's ‘liberalisation’ economy at the end of the millennium, India's media revolution – notwithstanding its global interface with content and technology – was essentially a street economy. Its commercial aesthetics were embedded within the particular spaces of video parlors, pavement stalls and the unique self-regulating confines of India's residential colonies. As such, the public encounter with media technologies was marked by appropriation, informality and opportunistic mobility, and it was firmly embedded in local relationships of exchange. Over the past decade, however, an emerging corporate leisure economy has sought to implement a very different social architecture. Its commercial strategy is overwhelmingly determined by the notion of an ‘aspirational’ middle class, ‘unfettered’ by liberalisation. Its public domain has been materialised in the new infrastructure of shopping malls and multiplexes designed to physically distance consumers from the ‘Third World’ media economy of the recent past. At the same time, the explicit alignment of this emerging corporate leisure economy with the ‘consuming classes' undermines its substitution for more inclusive localised domains served by the pirate public sphere. This article argues that attempts to relocate media consumption within the formal economy and the strictures of ‘international’ architecture necessarily illustrate the ongoing tensions between two distinctive and incompatible public spheres.
Cyber Buccaneers, Public and Pirate Spheres: The Phenomenon of Bittorrent Downloads in the Transforming Terrain of Indian Cinema
Authors: Devasundaram Ashvin
Published: January 2017

The polemic circumscribing the rise and regulation of new independent Indian cinema is a compelling example of vicissitudes in India's public sphere. This article locates a growing access to new independent Indian films through pirate spheres, reflected in the burgeoning popularity of BitTorrent websites, particularly among young, urban Indians, disenchanted by inaccessibility due to regulations and multiplex cinemas' expensive ticket-pricing system. It precipitates deeper discourses of ‘migrating’ cinema audiences, an ambivalent state of film and internet regulation, and civil resistance, exemplified in the recent Madras High Court volte face, unblocking banned BitTorrent websites. This article invokes interviews with independent filmmakers also utilising the paradigm of independent Bengali film Gandu (2010) – purportedly denied a release for its graphic sexual content, and yet widely accessed via BitTorrent and YouTube. Ultimately, this study examines the discursive ramifications of new independent Indian cinema in a metamorphosing Indian cinema sphere.
The Public Sphere and the Telangana Movement
Authors: Shaw Padmaja
Published: January 2017

The 60-year-old demand for a separate state for the Telangana region was an instance in India's recent history when political turmoil resolved itself primarily through the force of argumentation and public discourse. News media and other information forums played a complex role in this process. The multi-pronged debate on Telangana helped revitalise the public sphere, setting in motion what Habermas calls ‘a critical process of public communication through the very organisations that mediatize it’. Live coverage of events on television news channels triggered intense debates on other forums, where inclusive, independent argumentation could take place. The intense television coverage was part of a continuum of political discourse on various platforms, transforming and being transformed in the context of a history of oppositional politics. This article argues that it is the availability of spaces for critical rational debate that is crucial for democratic practice.
The crisis of cultural journalism revisited: The space and place of culture in quality European newspapers from 1960 to 2010
Authors: Heikkilä Riie , Lauronen Tina , Purhonen Semi
Published: January 2017

The media is a key institution in producing, legitimizing and disseminating cultural classifications. From this perspective, newspapers and their sections devoted to culture are particularly interesting. This article examines how the structures of quality European newspapers have changed over time and in different socio-historical contexts, especially regarding the amount of space allocated to and the placement of articles related to culture. We draw on data from Helsingin Sanomat (Finland), Le Monde (France), ABC/El País (Spain), Dagens Nyheter (Sweden) and The Guardian (United Kingdom) – covering the time frame from 1960 to 2010. We use three types of data: individual articles about culture (N = 11,775), data on all the issues (N = 585) and full editions of the newspapers (N = 30). We show that the amount of space dedicated to culture has increased but that the placement of articles on culture has shifted slightly. We detect only weak signs of the assumed crisis of cultural journalism.
Tuning history in Latin America
Authors: Velázquez Albo Marco
Published: January 2017

This article analyses the development and achievements of the area of History in the Tuning-Latin America Project from its launch in 2004 to its completion in 2013. Through two phases and nine general meetings, academics from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, along with academics from Spain, Portugal and Italy, discussed the professional formation of future generations of historians. The debate centred on the concept of “competences” as the axis of training, a concept which generated innovative thinking and understanding but also friction due to specific historiographic traditions and regions. The Tuning-Latin America Project generated a significant body of documentation on the new challenges implicit in training historians in a globalized world. However, it has not received sufficient analysis from the Latin-American perspective. This article contributes to this by providing insight on the Tuning Project’s successes and limitations in Latin America, as well as evaluating its progress more than a decade after it was introduced.
We need to talk about managerialism: On the importance of values dialogue and renewal within Catholic schools
Authors: Donnelly Caitlin , McKevitt Jeanette
Published: January 2017

Whilst reports of value tensions between new managerialism and Catholic education have emerged as a key theme in the academic literature, there remains little empirical understanding of how teachers negotiate these complex terrains in Catholic schools. Drawing on qualitative data from teachers in two Catholic post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, this paper sought to explore how Catholic teachers developed a distinctively Catholic ethos against a culture of ‘creeping managerialism’. The paper has shown that despite the predominance of managerial practices, tensions between managerialist values and the ‘Catholic ethos’ did not emerge in either context: in one school managerialism permeated the school and the Catholic ethos was constructed within this context. In the other school a staff process of spiritual renewal had consolidated a commitment to the Catholic faith and social inclusion. It was argued that the dialogical engagement around Catholic values may help Catholic schools defend against the harsher manifestations of managerialism without compromising the pupils’ capacity to realise their academic potential.
Acceleration of Object Permanence with Severely and Profoundly Retarded Children
Authors: Kahn James V.
Published: January 2017

This study was an attempt to train severely and profoundly retarded children to improve their level of functioning on a measure of object permanence. The subjects were eight children living in a residential facility for severely and profoundly retarded children. The subjects were matched for age, etiology, and level of cognitive functioning and then randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The findings indicated large improvements on the object permanence measure for all four experimental subjects, with smaller improvements by all four of these subjects in other areas of sensorimotor intelligence. Long-term retention of these improvements was also evidenced. Only one control subject demonstrated any improvement, and it was considered negligible. The results are discussed, and possible practical implications are suggested.
Self-Stimulatory Behavior as a Basis for Devising Reinforcers
Authors: Wolery Mark R.
Published: January 2017

A trainer delivered sensory stimulation, similar to that received during self-stimulation, to one autistic and one multihandicapped child contingent upon correct response to a manipulative task. The use of an ABAB research design demonstrated the reinforcement effect of the contingent sensory stimulation. The use of this technique in applied settings is discussed, and the hypothesis that self-stimulation is a reinforcing behavior is supported.
Early Intervention for Young Severely and Profoundly Handicapped Children: The Preschool Imperative
Authors: Allen K. Eileen
Published: January 2017

This article examines the need for early intervention with severely and profoundly handicapped infants and young children. The importance of providing infant and preschool programs for these children is defended against the somewhat discouraging review of the literature on early intervention with poverty preschool children. It is pointed out that for early intervention to be effective with severely involved children, the program must include a variety of components. These include a developmental-behavioral approach, a strong parent partnership, an interdisciplinary collaboration, a view of the preschool as a respite facility, a focus on the special training and skills necessary for the teacher of infants and preschoolers, a knowledge of prosthetic and independence-promoting devices, and the inclusion of play activities. Emphasis throughout is on a tripartite endeavor: parents, teachers, and clinicians working together, learning from each other, but learning also from the child, who must be the major determinant of whether a program is worthwhile or not. The preschool setting and the preschool staff are the pivotal elements in successful intervention.
Curriculum/Training Guides: A Survey of Content and Evaluation Procedures
Authors: Billingsley Felix F. , Neafsey Shonagh S.
Published: January 2017

Twenty-six curriculum/training guides relevant to instructional programs for the severely and profoundly handicapped are described. Descriptive comments address both the content of guides and recommended evaluation procedures.
Preliminary Validation of the Juvenile First Offender Risk Assessment Index
Authors: Risler Edwin A. , Sutphen Richard , Shields John
Published: January 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of the First Offender Risk Assessment Index (FORAI) in predicting delinquent behavior. The measure comprises seven predictor variables: family's history of criminal involvement, school functioning, substance abuse, peer group associations, parental supervision, age at first court referral, and seriousness of the referring offense. Method: Longitudinal data on rates of recidivism were collected for 181 first offenders who, along with their parents, were previously administered the FORAI. Results: The data analysis indicated that the FORAI correctly classified the recidivism of more than 70% of the study sample and that four of the seven predictor variables in the measure were found statistically significant. Conclusions: The results suggest that the FORAI, as a composite measure, could provide a meaningful approach to the early identification of at-risk youth and is a valid predictor of recidivism among a first-offender population. Implications for social work practice are also discussed.
Hermeneutics of Self as a Research Approach
Authors: Fleck Kenneth , Smythe Elizabeth Ann , Hitchen John M.
Published: January 2017

Circumstances shaped the decision to engage in a hermeneutics of self. In contrast to a common research approach, the researcher became the participant. The purpose of the research was to reveal interpretive meaning of that experience toward the view of becoming a global coworker. Philosophical insights informing the methodological approach and the analysis were drawn from Heidegger, Gadamer, and theological authors. Twelve people drawn from a variety of backgrounds were invited to interview the researcher following a 3-week field visit to explore HIV/AIDs in Malawi. Interviews were transcribed and analysis achieved through THREADs: Thinking Hermeneutically and Reflecting through the Experience, Asking questions while Dwelling in the everyday. For the researcher the experience was at times painful but deeply rewarding. The insights that emerged provide a mirror through which intending global coworkers can consider their own assumptions, values, and motivations. Such an approach is worthy of adding to the research repertoire.
Progressing through the Haze in Science and Mathematics Education Research: Contemporary Use of Spradley's Qualitative Inquiry in Two Case Studies
Authors: Lee Jean S. , Nargund-Joshi Vanashri , Dennis Barbara
Published: January 2017

Spradley's developmental research sequence (DRS) has been used primarily for ethnographic studies. However, this ethnographic tool has been employed in case studies without an examination of the merits of its modification. In this article the authors discuss how adapting analytical steps of DRS to case studies can be methodologically advantageous. They found that transforming Spradley's ethnographic approach rendered it useful for articulating implicit conceptualizations in case studies, one from science education and the other from mathematics education. Investigating this issue will necessarily involve looking closely at the substantive aspects of the case studies themselves. Findings from the case studies and results from the methodological investigation are reported along with suggestions for future research.
A/r/tographic Collaboration as Radical Relatedness
Authors: Bickel Barbara , Springgay Stephanie , Beer Ruth , Irwin Rita L. , Grauer Kit , Xiong Gu
Published: January 2017

In this paper the authors examine a/r/tographical collaboration in a community-engaged research study investigating immigrant understandings of home and place. The study, The City of Richgate, involves a complex collaboration between community members, community organizations, educational institutions, and a research team comprising artist-educators. The study crosses border zones of cultural, ethnic, geographic, institutional, public, private, and disciplinary boundaries, reflecting the ever-changing character of postmodern reality. In this paper the authors reflect critically and theoretically on the lived experience of radical relatedness found within the complex collaboration, particularly within the a/r/tographic research team. This offers a qualitative methodology of radical collaboration applicable to many fields of inquiry in the academy, art world, and community.
Adaptive fuzzy tracking control for a constrained flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle based on actuator compensation
Authors: Wang Peng Fei , Wang Jie , Bu Xiang Wei , Jia Ying Jie
Published: January 2017

The design of an adaptive fuzzy tracking control for a flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle with actuator constraints is discussed. Based on functional decomposition methodology, velocity and altitude controllers are designed. Fuzzy logic systems are applied to approximate the lumped uncertainty of each subsystem of air-breathing hypersonic vehicle model. Every controllers contain only one adaptive parameter that needs to be updated online with a minimal-learning-parameter scheme. The back-stepping design is not demanded by converting the altitude subsystem into the normal output-feedback formulation, which predigests the design of a controller. The special contribution is that novel auxiliary systems are developed to compensate both the tracking errors and desired control laws, based on which the explored controller can still provide effective tracking of velocity and altitude commands when the inputs are saturated. Finally, reference trajectory tracking simulation shows the effectiveness of the proposed method in its application to air-breathing hypersonic vehicle control.
An approach to improve the care of mid-life women through the implementation of a Women’s Health Assessment Tool/Clinical Decision Support toolkit
Authors: Silvestrin Terry M , Steenrod Anna W , Coyne Karin S , Gross David E , Esinduy Canan B , Kodsi Angela B , Slifka Gayle J , Abraham Lucy , Araiza Anna L , Bushmakin Andrew G , Luo Xuemei
Published: January 2017

The objectives of this study are to describe the implementation process of the Women’s Health Assessment Tool/Clinical Decision Support toolkit and summarize patients’ and clinicians’ perceptions of the toolkit. The Women’s Health Assessment Tool/Clinical Decision Support toolkit was piloted at three clinical sites over a 4-month period in Washington State to evaluate health outcomes among mid-life women. The implementation involved a multistep process and engagement of multiple stakeholders over 18 months. Two-thirds of patients (n = 76/110) and clinicians (n = 8/12) participating in pilot completed feedback surveys; five clinicians participated in qualitative interviews. Most patients felt more prepared for their annual visit (69.7%) and that quality of care improved (68.4%) while clinicians reported streamlined patient visits and improved communication with patients. The Women’s Health Assessment Tool/Clinical Decision Support toolkit offers a unique approach to introduce and address some of the key health issues that affect mid-life women.
Ovarian cancer screening effectiveness: A realization from the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening
Authors: Pavlik Edward J
Published: January 2017

Effects on survival in the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) was reported in The Lancet, and demonstrate that reductions in disease-specific mortality in this randomized control trial (RCT) indicate that ovarian cancer screening works. The UKCTOCS was large enough for sufficient accrual and follow-up, using two intervention arms: MMS (a multimodal strategy using the biomarker Ca125 combined with ultrasound as a secondary test) and USS (ultrasound alone) compared against a no-screen control group. MMS and USS performed similarly, showing a statistically significant reduction in mortality that increased with follow-up surveillance (8% reduction in years 0–7 vs 28% in years 7–14). The data led to the estimate that 641 screens are needed to prevent one ovarian cancer death.
Liquid journalism and journalistic professionalism in the era of social media: A case study of an online outlet’s coverage of the Oriental Star accident
Authors: Lu Ye , Zhou Ruiming
Published: January 2017

How is journalism practiced in the social media era? What are the values and significance of journalistic professionalism in the changed situation? This article addresses these issues through a case study. It takes The Paper, an online news outlet in Shanghai, as a case and analyzes its coverage of the capsizing accident of the cruise, The Oriental Star, on Yangtze River in June 2015. This case shows that news production in the social media era is taking the form of dynamic interactions that involve both professional journalists and the public; media organizations are no longer the primary authoritative interpreter of news events; the values and significance of news are constantly reconstructed with public’s participation; the accelerated pace of news production and circulation subverts the institutionalized news production procedures and routines; and there is an intense tension between journalists who value professional control and the general public who cherish instant participation. Drawing inspiration from Bauman’s work, the authors strive to not only characterize the changes in journalism as “liquid journalism” but also explore the contemporary significance of the ideas and discursive practices of journalistic professionalism.
Is ultrasonography useful for population studies on schistosomiasis mansoni? An evaluation based on a survey on a population from Kome Island, Tanzania
Authors: Asztely Mats SL , Eriksson Bo , Gabone Reverianus M , Nilsson Lars-Åke
Published: January 2017

Background

Observation of characteristic alterations at liver ultrasonography in clinical schistosomiasis mansoni cases has initiated utilization of this examination method in population surveys in areas where this disease is endemic.

Purpose

To present results of liver ultrasonography and their relation to epidemiological data of a population in an area endemic for S. mansoni, to estimate the precision of classification of periportal anatomy changes known as periportal fibrosis (PPF), and to evaluate the relevance of ultrasonography in epidemiological studies on S. mansoni.

Material and Methods

A total of 459 inhabitants on Kome Island, Lake Victoria, Tanzania were examined by ultrasound with image documentation by locally trained personnel. A subsample of this population, 116 individuals, was subject to ultrasonography by two examiners independently. Separately, the images were classified for PPF according to the Managil protocol, twice for the subsample.

Results

PPF could be classified for 458 individuals; 64% and 36% were classified as I or II, respectively; none was classified as 0; only one as III. Results were similar for the subsample examined twice. Comparing the two separate classifications of all 232 sets of images of the subsample gave a Kappa (K) value of 0.50. When comparing the classifications of each of the two different examinations of the same individuals of the subsample, K values of 0.29 and 0.34 for the first and second classification, respectively, were obtained.

Conclusion

Ultrasonography does not appear to correlate well with disease stage. Presently, it should not be utilized for staging of schistosoma mansoni-related liver damage in population surveys.
Exploring the Dynamics of Social Composition and Recruitment Procedures of Madras Army, 1807–61
Authors: Dutta Manas
Published: January 2017

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of research on the history of the colonial armies in South Asia in general and the Madras Presidency in particular. This has been further accentuated with the emergence of the new military history that explicates the social composition and the diverse recruitment procedures of the Madras Army, hitherto unexplored under the East India Company around the first half of the nineteenth century in India. In fact, the very concept of raising an army battalion in the subcontinent underwent change to meet the potential challenges of the other European authorities, which existed during that time. The very composition of the Madras Army and its diverse recruiting policies made the presidency army capable of handling the emerging threat and maintaining the trading interests in the subcontinent of the East India Company. The Madras Army looked upon the epitome of disciplined military tradition since its inception. This article argues how the social composition and recruiting procedures came to be conglomerated to form a distinct military establishment in south India under the company rule.
Billionaire Wealth, Firm Performance and Financial Crisis: An Empirical Analysis for India
Authors: Ghosh Saibal
Published: January 2017

Employing data for 2001–2012, the article analyzes the factors impacting the wealth of Indian billionaires and the performance and innovative activity of firms which these billionaires represent. The analysis indicates that billionaires in rent-thick sectors have higher wealth levels, on average. As well, the evidence also supports lower wealth for self-made and entrepreneurial billionaires. The findings also reveal that self-interested actions by billionaires tend to raise agency costs, which, in turn, dampens profitability and firm value. Finally, there is evidence which suggests a tendency on the part of billionaires to block innovative activity.

JEL Classification: D31, N35, P52
Taxable Capacity, Tax Efforts and Structural Break: Do the Child States Follow Their Respective Parents?
Authors: Maurya Nagendra Kumar , Singh Sapana , Khare Shagun
Published: January 2017

The present article makes an attempt to test the hypothesis whether smaller states have better fiscal efficiency in terms of own tax revenue collections or not. This has been tested by taking the case of three states Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar with their child states Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, respectively. For this purpose tax buoyancy, tax capacity and efforts, and structural break models—Chow test (with known break points) and Quandt likelihood ratio (QLR) test (with unknown break points), to see the impact of value added tax (VAT) on own tax revenue (OTR)—have been estimated. Log-log regression model was adopted for both calculating tax buoyancies and taxable capacity of each parent and child state. However, we did not find any conclusive evidence that child states have better tax buoyancy or tax efforts. On the basis of our observations, we concluded that the size of the state is not a major determinant affecting revenue efficiency of the state. Other supplementary policies like efficient tax administration, developed industrial sector, reduced exemptions and concessions, broad-based and effective tax rates are equally important.

JEL Classification: H11, H21, H71, R50
Book Review: Sanjay Ruparelia, Divided We Govern: Coalition Politics in Modern India
Authors: Mehta Mona G.
Published: January 2017

Sanjay Ruparelia, Divided We Govern: Coalition Politics in Modern India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2016. 520 pages. ₹995
Suture-Only Repair Versus Suture Anchor–Augmented Repair for Achilles Tendon Ruptures With a Short Distal Stump
Authors: Boin Michael A. , Dorweiler Matthew A. , McMellen Christopher J. , Gould Gregory C. , Laughlin Richard T.
Published: January 2017

Background:

Chronic noninsertional Achilles tendinosis can result in an acute Achilles tendon rupture with a short distal stump. In such tendon ruptures, there is a limited amount of adequate tissue that can hold suture, thus presenting a challenge for surgeons who elect to treat the rupture operatively.

Hypothesis:

Adding suture anchors to the repair construct may result in biomechanically stronger repairs compared with a suture-only technique.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Nine paired Achilles-calcaneus complexes were harvested from cadavers. An artificial Achilles rupture was created 2 cm proximal to the insertion on the calcaneus. One specimen from each cadaver was assigned to a suture-only or a suture anchor–augmented repair. The contralateral specimen of the same cadaver received the opposing repair. Cyclic testing was then performed at 10 to 100 N for 2000 cycles, and load-to-failure testing was performed at 0.2 mm/s. This was followed by analysis of repair displacement, gapping at repair site, peak load to failure, and failure mode.

Results:

The suture anchor–augmented repair exhibited a 116% lower displacement compared with the suture-only repair (mean ± SD, 1.54 ± 1.13 vs 3.33 ± 1.47 mm, respectively; P < .03). The suture anchor–augmented repair also exhibited a 45% greater load to failure compared with the suture-only repair (303.50 ± 102.81 vs 209.09 ± 48.12 N, respectively; P < .04).

Conclusion:

Suture anchor–augmented repairs performed on acute Achilles tendon ruptures with a short distal stump are biomechanically stronger than suture-only repairs.

Clinical Relevance:

Our results support the use of suture anchor–augmented repairs for a biomechanically stronger construct in Achilles tendon ruptures with a short distal stump. Biomechanically stronger repairs may lead to less tendon repair gapping and failure, increasing the ability to start early active rehabilitation protocols and thus improving patient outcomes.
Social work education in a changing socio-political and economic dispensation: Perspectives from South Africa
Authors: Mamphiswana Dovhani , Noyoo Ndangwa
Published: January 2017

This article explores and examines the relevance and efficacy of social work education in a transforming South Africa which has embraced the ethos of equality and social justice. It argues for a more developmentally oriented social work education and training so as to enhance and enrich practice.
Innovative Design Process and Information Technology for Electromechanical Product Development
Authors: Ohtomi Koichi , Ozawa Masanori
Published: January 2017

The business segment of Japanese companies such as Toshiba changed drastically for the last several years. This means that companies should change their culture and need new product development process applying information technologies. This paper presents examples of design technologies that realize the innovative product development process in Toshiba focused on an electromechanical product development.
Using Mobile Agents to Schedule a Manufacturing Chain on the Internet
Authors: Zhou Guanghui , Jiang Pingyu , Fukuda Shuichi
Published: January 2017

This paper is mainly concerned with putting forward a novel manufacturing chain model and a new scheduling model for manufacturing chains in networked manufacturing systems. The manufacturing chain model is formed by adopting extensive activity-network-diagram workflow technique. The scheduling model is built upon mobile agent technologies, e.g. aglets. It includes two different scheduling levels. One is defined as the process scheduling which implements the scheduling logic for distributive manufacturing sites or manufacturing cells based on a specific manufacturing task. The other is the node scheduling which realizes the scheduling logic for manufacturing equipments based on specific working procedures or working paces. High-level scheduling aglet templates are created to support the operations at the levels of manufacturing sites or manufacturing cells. To complement, low-level scheduling aglet templates are created to support the operations such as working procedures or working paces over manufacturing equipments. As a result, the model is able to deal with dynamic manufacturing chains and their scheduling.