bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Returns to Elite Degrees: The Case of American Lawyers
Authors: Oyer Paul , Schaefer Scott
Published: May 2018

The authors study the market for young attorneys. Using data from two surveys of attorneys who passed the bar exam in 2000, they find that attorneys who graduate from law schools ranked in the Top 10 nationally earn considerably more than those without such a qualification, even compared to attorneys who graduate from schools ranked 11–20. The premium to an elite education carries over to an attorney’s undergraduate institution as well, and the findings suggest that elite bachelor’s degrees and elite law degrees are close substitutes in terms of their relationships to salaries. The elite–law school premium is more robust to various methods for correcting for selection on ability than the widely studied premium to attending a selective undergraduate institution. The authors consider several reasons elite-school premiums may exist in this labor market.
A model-based approach for estimation of the crack depth on a massive metal structure
Authors: Cung Long Thanh , Dao Thinh Duc , Nguyen Phuong Cong , Bui Thanh Dang
Published: May 2018

This paper deals with the eddy current technique for nondestructive evaluation of the crack depth on a massive specimen used in aeronautical industry. A set of C-scan eddy current images is analyzed to reduce the noise and to select suitable features, which can be used to estimate the crack depth. Based on this study, a method relying on polynomial forward models of the relationship between crack depth and the maximum value of the sensor impedance is proposed. The least square and the non-negative least square techniques are applied to analyze the usability of proposed models. The error of obtained estimations is smaller than 10%, for almost used experimental data.
Microfinance participation and contraceptive use and intention in Bangladesh
Authors: Murshid Nadine Shaanta , Ely Gretchen E
Published: May 2018

This study assessed the association between microfinance participation and contraceptive use and intention among 46,639 women between the ages of 15 and 49 years from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHS) 2007, 2011, and 2014 using chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regression. The multivariate model revealed that the model explained 14 percent of the variance in contraceptive use and intention. Adjusted beta coefficients revealed that when microfinance participation increased by one unit, use of modern methods of contraception significantly increased by 0.32. The study findings suggest that women are more likely to use modern methods of contraception when they participate in microfinance.
Primary integration outcomes in a newly resettled Bhutanese refugee community
Authors: Griffiths Diane , Loy Christopher
Published: May 2018

This study explores primary integration outcomes among 270 Bhutanese refugees, including education, employment, income, and health variables. Findings confirm that Bhutanese refugees are at a distinct disadvantage due to lower education and employment levels compared with other refugee groups. Almost a third fewer refugees have a high school degree compared with a national study of Bhutanese refugees. Women are employed at a rate 40 percent lower than the US population, and poverty levels are dramatically higher. The findings point to a need to adopt a more nuanced approach to studying integration outcomes and move away from a one-size-fits-all model of resettling refugees.
Doing Time Wisely: The Social and Personal Benefits of Higher Education in Prison
Authors: Baranger Jillian , Rousseau Danielle , Mastrorilli Mary Ellen , Matesanz James
Published: May 2018

Much of the research on postsecondary education effects on incarcerated individuals has focused on men. However, given the increased rates of women’s imprisonment over the past 40 years, scholars should examine the impact of higher education in prison on women. In this qualitative study, the authors assess the social and personal benefits of participating in a college behind bars program delivered in a women’s prison. Data gathered with both program participants and faculty suggest that students in the program experienced a reduction in criminogenic attitudes and behaviors as well as positive changes in self-perception.
The Symbiosis of Philosophy and Theology in Blondel’s Supernatural Hypothesis
Authors: Doherty Cathal
Published: May 2018

Maurice Blondel’s philosophy makes strong claims about the theological enterprise. Namely, philosophy and theology achieve their fulfillment only in mutual dependence and both court superstition to the extent that they attempt self-sufficiency. This symbiotic relationship drives Blondel’s seminal work Action, which not only deduces a hypothetical necessity for the supernatural from a realist phenomenology but also establishes strictly philosophical exigencies with theological import: a true revelation in sensory signs, a historical Savior as Mediator, and a sacramental practice, a robust response to the Enlightenment critique of the Christian religion.
Living Indefinitely and Living Fully: Laudato Si’ and the Value of the Present in Christian, Stoic, and Transhumanist Temporalities
Authors: Scherz Paul
Published: May 2018

Transhumanism promises to overcome human finitude by indefinitely extending human life, enabling a vast increase in valuable experiences. Yet transhumanism depends on social processes of what Pope Francis calls rapidification and sociologists call social acceleration, which are causing people to experience a lack of time, driven by increasing speed of work and fears of missing out on opportunities for enjoyment. In contrast, Francis and the Stoics encourage people to confront finitude by flourishing through a qualitative transformation of character marked by a temporality focused on God’s providential presence and on serving the present needs of others.
Foreign in a domestic sense: Puerto Rico’s debt crisis and paradoxes in critical urban studies
Authors: Whiteside Heather
Published: May 2018

The 2017 Puerto Rican debt crisis is as instructive as it is sad, reflective of the familiar pressures of late modern capitalism (namely neoliberalisation, financialisation, crisis, and austerity) as well as its own unique dynamics percolating through four hundred years of colonialism and a century of legal subjugation to Washington, DC. Neither one-off explanations of fiscal crisis nor casual conflation with other cases suffice to adequately account for this, or any other, public sector debt crises. Puerto Rico is both foreign and domestic, it is neither state nor municipality but its bonds are treated as such, it reflects larger trends and is circumscribed by its own unique history, subtle economic explanations are matched by bald, large-P politics. Analytical conundrums such as these are confounding and lead to perennial, potentially circular and irresolvable, debate in the critical urban studies literature. This paper explores whether the possibility of using the philosophical notion of paradox – a situation where sound reasoning leads to incomplete, unsatisfying, or unexpected results or consequences – and Zeno’s famous paradoxes in particular, can serve as allegorical heuristics capable of provoking new theories, expectations, or assumptions in urban studies.
Population Characteristics and Needs of Informal Caregivers Associated With the Risk of Perceiving a High Burden: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Prevo Lotte , Hajema KlaasJan , Linssen Evelyne , Kremers Stef , Crutzen Rik , Schneider Francine
Published: May 2018

This study explored the population characteristics and needs of informal caregivers reporting a low or high burden. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Netherlands to explore the associations between the characteristics and needs of informal caregivers and the burden they perceive and to assess the variance in perceived burdens that is explained by these variables. Three thousand sixty-seven adult informal caregivers and 1936 senior informal caregivers participated, almost 15% of whom perceived a high burden. Particularly caregivers in the 40 to 54 age group perceived a high burden, while caregivers with an intermediate educational level reported a low burden. Higher burden was also reported by caregivers who spent more time on the care provision tasks, had a high level of depressive symptoms, or reported loneliness. The explored variables seem to be important to explain caregiver burden. Longitudinal research is warranted to establish the causal directions of these associations.
Investigating Tourists’ Fun-Eliciting Process toward Tourism Destination Sites: An Application of Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Authors: Choi Hyeyoon , Choi Hwansuk Chris
Published: May 2018

Previous studies have shown that destinations must distinguish themselves from competitors and develop experiential offerings that deliver memorable value to consumers. More and more consumers want experiential service during their travel. Despite the gradual increase in research on experiential consumption in tourism, no consensus has yet emerged on what factors of experiential value lead to positive behavioral outcomes in consumer cognitive appraisals. This study used the cognitive appraisal theory (CAT) to investigate the determinants of consumer emotional responses, as well as how evoked emotions affect behavior in tourism. Study findings contribute to the existing body of literature on the ability of CAT to illustrate how the experiential value of “fun” influences on-the-spot behavior. This study also helps tourism destination marketers by providing a clear picture of how to elicit positive emotions among tourists for a tourism destination that leads to positive behavioral outcomes.
Neoliberalism, mass incarceration, and the US debt–criminal justice complex
Authors: Wamsley Dillon
Published: May 2018

While debtors’ prisons in the United States were outlawed in the early 19th century, recent reports indicate that a growing number of people across the US are currently imprisoned for debt. This process typically occurs in two ways: debtors are found in contempt of court for non-appearance after being pressured into repaying consumer debt, or offenders are incarcerated for unpaid legal financial obligations (LFOs) incurred in the criminal justice system. While numerous legal scholars have examined these practices, little scholarship has situated this phenomenon within the politico-economic landscape of neoliberalism. Seeking to chart the intersections between economic restructuring and the expansion of the carceral state over the past 40 years, this article situates the modern debt–criminal justice complex within the broader historical trajectories of debt, incarceration, and institutional racism within the US. Emphasizing the centrality of US state reforms implemented under neoliberalism, this article examines the transformation of the federal welfare system toward ‘workfare’, as well as bankruptcy reforms implemented in the context of rising consumer debt during the 1990s and early 2000s. I maintain that these overlapping transformations, alongside the expansion of the criminal justice apparatus, were central historical processes that shaped the modern debt–criminal justice complex in the US, which continues to criminalize low-income and racialized populations across the country.
Mercenarism, norms and market exchange: Reassembling the private military labour market
Authors: White Adam
Published: May 2018

The article analyses how the norm against mercenarism shapes the legitimate parameters of exchange in the market for military outsourcing. The dominant interpretation of this dynamic is that neoliberal states and private military companies (PMCs) have come to restrict their transactions to non-combat functions in order to circumvent contemporary articulations of this norm. The article, by contrast, contends that even within these narrowed parameters of exchange, neoliberal states and PMCs have been required to work through the norm against mercenarism. Using the ‘global security assemblages’ approach, and drawing upon new data relating to the UK case, it explores how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and PMCs have sought to appropriate symbolic capital from a domestic private security licensing regime so as to distance their non-combat transactions from the norm against mercenarism. In so doing, it facilitates a reappraisal of the regulatory potential of this norm within today’s pluralised military landscape.
Lumbar spondylolisthesis is a risk factor for osteoporotic vertebral fractures: a case–control study
Authors: Wang Peng , Wang Feng , Gao Yan-Long , Li Jia-qi , Zhang Jing-tao , Miao De-chao , Shen Yong
Published: May 2018

Objective

This study aimed to identify the risk factors for vertebral compression fractures in patients with osteoporosis.

Methods

A total of 864 patients with osteoporosis were enrolled in a retrospective study from February 2010 to June 2016. Patients with diseases, such as pathological fractures, high-energy direct injury to the thoracic or lumbar vertebrae, and severe spinal deformity, were excluded. The patients were divided into two groups: those with vertebral compression fractures (288) and those with no vertebral compression fractures (576). Information on the patients’ age, sex, lumbar bone mineral density (BMD), trauma, body mass index, previous history of vertebral compression fractures, and spondylolisthesis was recorded. Logistic regression analysis and the chi-square test were applied for comparisons.

Results

Univariate logistic regression analysis and chi-square test results showed no significant differences in age, sex, body mass index, type 2 diabetes, previous history of vertebral fracture, and trivial trauma between the groups. Multivariate analysis showed significant associations between spondylolisthesis and BMD. Logistic regression analysis showed that spondylolisthesis and BMD were risk factors for vertebral compression fractures.

Conclusions

Lumbar spondylolisthesis is an independent risk factor for vertebral compression fractures in patients with osteoporosis. Therefore, patients with osteoporosis and lumbar spondylolisthesis require more attention.
Septic Arthritis/Osteomyelitis May Lead to Osteochondrosis-Like Lesions in Foals
Authors: Wormstrand Bjørn , Østevik Liv , Ekman Stina , Olstad Kristin
Published: May 2018

Failure of the cartilage canal blood supply leads to ischemic chondronecrosis which causes osteochondrosis, and osteochondral lesions. Osteochondrosis is a disease with a heritable component and usually occurs under aseptic conditions. Because bacteria can bind to growth cartilage and disrupt the blood supply in pigs and chickens, we considered whether this might play a role in development of equine osteochondrosis. The aim of this study was to examine whether bacteria are present in canals in the growth cartilage of foals with septic arthritis/osteomyelitis, and whether this is associated with osteochondrosis. The material consisted of 7 foals aged 9-117 days euthanized because of septic arthritis/osteomyelitis. The 7 cases had 16 lesions in growth cartilage that were evaluated histologically. Bacteria were present in cartilage canals in foals with septic arthritis/osteomyelitis. Portions of necrotic canals adjacent to bacteria frequently contained neutrophils, termed acute septic canals; or granulation tissue with neutrophils, termed chronic septic canals. Acute and chronic septic canals were associated with ischemic chondronecrosis in the articular-epiphyseal cartilage complex (AECC) of 5 cases and in the physis of 2 cases, and ossification was focally delayed in 5 of those 7 cases. Lesions occurred with and without adjacent osteomyelitis. Bacteria were present in cartilage canals and were associated with focal chondronecrosis in both the AECC and the physis. This establishes sepsis as a plausible cause of some osteochondral lesions in horses. It is recommended that horses with sepsis-related osteochondral lesions may be used for breeding without increasing the prevalence of OCD-predisposing genes in the population.
Unfinished sympathies: Influence of individual temporal orientation on music preferences
Authors: Nowack Kati
Published: May 2018

Temporal aspects have been studied extensively within the context of music perception but insufficiently within the context of music preference. In this online questionnaire study, I investigated the impact of chronotype (morningness, eveningness) and time perspective (present, future) on music preferences. Participants ( n = 258) completed the Short Test of Music Preferences for 26 music genres, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire. Principal component analysis replicated a six-component structure of music preference. Whilst preference scores were highest for intense music for all participants, I found significant effects of chronotype and time perspective on music preferences. In particular, present-oriented evening types and future-oriented morning types differed in their preferences for various music genres. Consistent with a matching hypothesis, present-oriented evening types (fast life histories) showed greater preferences for contemporary (i.e., high rhythmic complexity), sophisticated (i.e., high complexity) and electronic music (i.e., fast tempo) compared to future-oriented morning types (slow life histories; greater difficulties with temporal irregularities). Consistent with a self-regulation hypothesis, present-oriented evening types showed greater preferences than future-oriented morning types for campestral music (i.e., slow tempo and low complexity).
Hyaluronan enhancement of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene cardiovascular grafts
Authors: Bui Hieu T , Friederich Aidan RW , Li Emily , Prawel David A , James Susan P
Published: May 2018

Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States. The demand for cardiovascular bypass procedures increases annually. Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is a popular material for replacement implants, but it does have drawbacks such as high thrombogenicity and low patency, particularly in small diameter grafts. Hyaluronan, a naturally occurring polysaccharide in the human body, is known for its wound healing and anticoagulant properties. In this work, we demonstrate that treating the luminal surface of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts with hyaluronan improves hemocompatibility without notably changing its mechanical properties and without significant cytotoxic effects. Surface characterization such as ATR-FTIR and contact angle goniometry demonstrates that hyaluronan treatment successfully changes the surface chemistry and increases hydrophilicity. Tensile properties such as elastic modulus, tensile strength, yield stress and ultimate strain are unchanged by hyaluronan enhancement. Durability data from flow loop studies demonstrate that hyaluronan is durable on the expanded polytetrafluoroethylene inner lumen. Hemocompatibility tests reveal that hyaluronan-treated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene reduces blood clotting and platelet activation. Together our results indicate that hyaluronan-enhanced expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is a promising candidate material for cardiovascular grafts.
Conceptualizing the Personal Touch: Experiential Knowledge and Gendered Strategies in Community Supervision Work
Authors: Welsh Megan
Published: May 2018

Tasked with a fractured institutional mandate of ensuring public safety while facilitating the rehabilitation of their criminalized clients, community supervision workers exercise a considerable amount of discretion in how to achieve these goals. Yet much remains unknown about these workers’ strategies for doing so, which are informed by experiential knowledge and social identities—what I call the “personal touch.” Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with California state parole agents and county probation officers as part of a larger ethnographic inquiry of prisoner reentry, I apply a feminist lens to analyze how workers leverage personal aspects of themselves that they value to manage the impossibilities of their work. My findings show how workers employ a personal touch to connect with clients in meaningful ways, but also how these approaches are built on normative assumptions about gender.
The Heterogeneity of Disability Trajectories in Later Life: Dynamics of Activities of Daily Living Performance Among Nursing Home Residents
Authors: Bolano Danilo , Berchtold André , Bürge Elisabeth
Published: May 2018

Objective: This study investigated the variability in activities of daily living (ADL) trajectories among 6,155 nursing home residents using unique and rich observational data. Method: The impairment in ADL performance was considered as a dynamic process in a multi-state framework. Using an innovative mixture model, such states were not defined a priori but inferred from the data. Results: The process of change in functional health differed among residents. We identified four latent regimes: stability or slight deterioration, relevant change, variability, and recovery. Impaired body functions and poor physical performance were main risk factors associated with degradation in functional health. Discussion: The evolution of disability in later life is not completely gradual or homogeneous. Steep deterioration in functional health can be followed by periods of stability or even recovery. The current condition can be used to successfully predict the evolution of ADL allowing to set and target different care priorities and practices.
An experimental and numerical investigation on the process efficiency of the focused-tungsten inert gas welding of Inconel 718 thick plates
Authors: Salerno Gervasio , Bennett Chris , Sun Wei , Becker Adib
Published: May 2018

A combined experimental and numerical approach was adopted to investigate the focused-tungsten inert gas welding process by producing bead-on-plate welds in Inconel 718 plates. Experimental investigations were carried out by means of thermocouple measurements and optical macrographs of the weld cross-section. Three-dimensional finite element simulations were conducted using the commercial specialized finite element software Sysweld in order to predict the thermal field induced by the process in the plates. The work presents an approach to investigate the process efficiency and calibrate the heat source model in order to produce a full thermal characterization of the plasmatron welding apparatus.
Emerging medical and engineering strategies for the prevention of long-term indwelling catheter blockage
Authors: Milo Scarlet , Nzakizwanayo Jonathan , Hathaway Hollie J , Jones Brian V , Jenkins A Toby A
Published: May 2018

Urinary catheters have been used on an intermittent or indwelling basis for centuries, in order to relieve urinary retention and incontinence. Nevertheless, the use of urinary catheters in the clinical setting is fraught with complication, the most common of which is the development of nosocomial urinary tract infections, known as catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Infections of this nature are not only significant owing to their high incidence rate and subsequent economic burden but also to the severe medical consecutions that result. A range of techniques have been employed in recent years, utilising various technologies in attempts to counteract the perilous medical cascade following catheter blockage. This review will focus on the current advancement (within the last 10 years) in prevention of encrustation and blockage of long-term indwelling catheters both from engineering and medical perspectives, with particular emphasis on the importance of stimuli-responsive systems.
Universal or commodified healthcare? Linking out-of-pocket payments to income-related inequalities in unmet health needs in Europe
Authors: Kaminska Monika Ewa , Wulfgramm Melike
Published: May 2018

This study investigates the outcomes out-of-pocket payments (OOPP) produce in terms of income-related disparities in unmet health needs (UHN) due to inability to pay and highlights the commodifying effect of OOPP in European healthcare systems. It merges micro data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey (EU-SILC) for 2005–2012, with macro data from the World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Health Organization (WHO). Our results show that, first, across all European countries and years under study, income determines whether a person reports an occasion within the last year where she needed medical treatment or examination but did not receive it due to inability to pay. Second, the more a country relies on OOPP as a means of healthcare financing, the higher the proportion of respondents who report UHN. Third, the share of OOPP amplifies the effect of income considerably. While the poorest decile has a 2 percentage points higher predicted probability of suffering from financially determined UHN than the richest decile in a country with relatively low OOPP (11% of total health expenditure), this difference soars up to 10 percentage points in a country with relatively high OOPP (25%).
“I see my section scar like a battle scar”: The ongoing embodied subjectivity of maternity
Authors: Johnson Sally
Published: May 2018

Though many women may be dissatisfied with their bodies, maternity represents a period when the body deviates significantly from Western beauty ideals. However, the developing corpus of literature is contradictory and there is limited knowledge about the longer-term implications of maternity. Further, much of the early postpartum literature focuses on body image, precluding consideration of broader embodiment and other potential issues. Taking account of recent feminist critiques about acknowledging women’s reproductive capacities, the study reported here explores the embodied subjectivity of longer-term bodily changes resulting from pregnancy, childbirth and early mothering. The data explored are from three focus groups. Mothers were recruited from two universities in the North of England, UK. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically and discursively using a feminist and poststructuralist approach, while also taking account of where language was elusive. A number of contradictory, yet interrelated embodied constructions were identified including the aesthetic, the maternal, the suffering/sentient, the strong and the embarrassing body. New insights are offered, in that, not only are the postpartum body and the “work of mothering” inextricably linked, but also that maternal embodied identities are in continuous process across the life course and may have implications for health and well-being.
Further studies on robust H∞ control for a class of Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy time-delay systems with application to continuously stirred tank reactor problems
Authors: Wang Xin , Ding Shuang , Zhang Xian , Fan Xiaofei
Published: May 2018

This article is concerned with the problem of robust [Formula: see text] control for a class of Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy systems with parameter uncertainties and time-varying delays. By constructing a novel Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and utilizing some integral inequalities, a new bounded real lemma is proposed in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Also, the robust [Formula: see text] state feedback control design conditions are obtained on the basis of the cone complementarity linearization algorithm. Moreover, The controller guarantees the robust asymptotic stability of the closed-loop fuzzy system and the [Formula: see text] performance of the system from the exogenous signals to the measurement output below a prescribed level. Finally, as an illustrative example, a continuously stirred tank reactor is employed to show the effectiveness of the theoretical results.
Antecedents Determining Quality of Management Education in Punjab: A Student’s Outlook
Authors: Nagrath Gitika , Sidhu Amarjit S.
Published: May 2018

In the present study, factors responsible for the determination of quality of management education have been identified. The viewpoint of management students of second year/fourth semester at master’s level has been discussed on quality of professional management education. A sample of 590 management students from 28 management institutes affiliated to Punjab Technical University (PTU) in the state of Punjab has been taken. Data recorded are analysed with the help of factor analysis, weighted mean scores, and chi-square. The results indicated five factors which influence the quality of management education which includes student’s readiness and orientation, teaching quality, advancement opportunities, satisfaction with the system, and level of discipline. The study revealed high level of teaching quality, sufficient advancement opportunities, satisfaction with the system, and discipline maintenance but low student’s readiness and orientation. It may be because of the less exposure and awareness about the processes and methodologies that are adopted by top-notch management institutes and data also support that about 80 per cent of the students belong to and study in management institutes of Punjab state. In addition to this, significant association has been found out between student’s readiness and orientation with the socio-economic profile of the students.
Leadership in Southern Africa: A Regional Afrocentric Hierarchical Taxonomy
Authors: Grobler A. , Singh Mala
Published: May 2018

Leadership and leadership research should be viewed in a particular context. The contextual lens is largely neglected when Afrocentric leadership in organisations is framed. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the qualitative assertions that there are distinctive characteristics that underpin Afrocentric leadership in organisations can be authenticated by an empirical study conducted in Southern Africa. The aim is to determine and validate a leadership behaviour taxonomy within the regional context using an empirical paradigm in a cross-sectional design. The sample was drawn from 30 organisations in Southern Africa: South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, consisting of 1,676 participants from all sectors. The original conceptualisation of leadership in terms of a Westernised leadership behaviour taxonomy was statistically confirmed, in a unique permutation. This literature as well as the empirical findings revealed that while some leadership behaviours are generic, there are unique behaviours in an Afrocentric leadership taxonomy. This context specific taxonomy includes the following meta-categories: task, relations, a combined category change and external, and an additional unique African meta-category, which has a participatory, democratic and communalistic focus. As this is a first empirical study of this nature and magnitude, it could serve as a reference for further conceptualisation of Afrocentric leadership. The reconfigured meta-category taxonomy has been positively examined for structural validity as well as an assessment of convergent and discriminant validity. Recommendations are made about further research in testing the universal application of this leadership taxonomy in Africa.

Recommendations were made for future research and the application of the findings to leadership in Africa.
Elaborating on Team-Member Disagreement: Examining Patterned Dispersion in Team-Level Constructs
Authors: Loignon Andrew C. , Woehr David J. , Loughry Misty L. , Ohland Matthew W.
Published: May 2018

Emergent states are team-level attributes that reflect team members’ collective attitudes, values, cognitions, and motivations and influence team effectiveness. When measuring emergent states (e.g., cohesion, conflict, satisfaction), researchers frequently collect ratings from individual group members and aggregate them to the team level. After aggregating to the team level, researchers typically focus on mean differences across teams and ignore variability within teams. Rather than focusing on the mean level of emergent states, this study draws on recent advances in multilevel theory and describes an approach for examining the specific patterns of dispersion (i.e., disagreement) across five emergent states. Our findings suggest that teams reliably demonstrate different patterns of rating dispersion that are consistent with existing theoretical frameworks and typologies of dispersion, yet have not previously been empirically demonstrated. We also present evidence that the different patterns of dispersion in emergent states are significantly related to key team outcomes, even after controlling for the mean levels of those emergent states. These findings underscore the importance of exploring additional forms of team-level constructs and highlight ways of extending our understanding of group-level phenomena.
Framing Climate Change: Exploring the Role of Emotion in Generating Advocacy Behavior
Authors: Nabi Robin L. , Gustafson Abel , Jensen Risa
Published: May 2018

Substantial research examines the cognitive factors underlying proenviron-mental message effectiveness. In contrast, this study investigates the role of emotion, fear and hope specifically, in the gain/loss framing of environmental policy initiatives. The 2 (threat vs. no threat) × 2 (gain- vs. loss-framed efficacy) experiment revealed emotion, especially hope, as a key mediator between gain-framed messages and desired climate change policy attitudes and advocacy. Results further supported the value of sequencing emotional experiences to enhance persuasive effect. This research offers an inaugural test of emotional flow theorizing and highlights the need for additional research on emotional processes in environmental communication.
Public Housing Participation in Superstorm Sandy Recovery: Living in a Differentiated State in Rockaway, Queens
Authors: Graham Leigh
Published: May 2018

Recovery experiences of public housing residents in the Rockaways, Queens (New York City (NYC)), after Superstorm Sandy suggest that living in NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) properties creates circumscribed opportunities for local political participation, what I call a “differentiated state.” This differentiated state is constructed from four interconnected sociospatial features: (1) tenants’ stigmatized identities, (2) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, (3) NYCHA’s “para-governmental” status, and (4) spatial concentration of the developments. I empirically demonstrate this “differentiated state” based on a grounded case study of disparities in disaster recovery participation in Rockaway. This analysis offers a new spatial lens to the scholarship on policy feedbacks and delivers a new synthesis of the limits to tenants’ political participation in conventional public housing developments in the United States, home to more than two million people.
The intrinsic theory of linearly elastic plates
Authors: Ciarlet Philippe G. , Mardare Cristinel
Published: May 2018

In an intrinsic approach to a problem in elasticity, the only unknown is a tensor field representing an appropriate ‘measure of strain’, instead of the displacement vector field in the classical approach. The objective of this paper is to study the displacement traction problem in the special case where the elastic body is a linearly elastic plate of constant thickness, clamped over a portion of its lateral face. In this respect, we first explicitly compute the intrinsic three-dimensional boundary condition of place in terms of the Cartesian components of the linearized strain tensor field, thus avoiding the recourse to covariant components in curvilinear coordinates and providing an interesting example of actual computation of an intrinsic boundary condition of place in three-dimensional elasticity. Second, we perform a rigorous asymptotic analysis of the three-dimensional equations as the thickness of the plate, considered as a parameter, approaches zero. As a result, we identify the intrinsic two-dimensional equations of a linearly elastic plate modelled by the Kirchhoff–Love theory, with the linearized change of metric and change of curvature tensor fields of the middle surface of the plate as the new unknowns, instead of the displacement field of the middle surface in the classical approach.
Fossil Fuel Divestment Strategies: Financial and Carbon-Related Consequences
Authors: Hunt Chelsie , Weber Olaf
Published: May 2018

Fossil fuel divestment is discussed controversially with regard to its financial consequences and its effect on decarbonizing the economy. Theory and empirical studies suggest arguments for both financial underperformance and outperformance of divestment. Therefore, our first research objective is to understand the financial effect of divestment. The second objective is to analyze the influence of divestment strategies on the carbon intensity of portfolios. Empirically, our analysis is based on the Canadian stock index TSX 260 for the time between 2011 and 2015. The results of the study suggest higher risk-adjusted returns and lower carbon intensity of the divestment strategies compared with the benchmark. We conclude that divestment is not only an ethical investment approach but also that it is able to address financial risks caused by climate change and, at the same time, is able to reduce the carbon exposure of investment portfolios.
Effects of the impactor geometrical shape on the non-linear low-velocity impact response of sandwich plate with CNTRC face sheets
Authors: Khalkhali A , Geran Malek N , Bozorgi Nejad M
Published: May 2018

In this study, non-linear low-velocity impact response of a simply supported sandwich plate with CNTRC face sheets subjected to the impactors with different geometrical shapes is investigated. It has been assumed that the sandwich plate is made up of two face sheets reinforced with CNTs graded along their thickness as X profile and a homogeneous core. In CNT-reinforced layers, a micromechanical model has been used to obtain the effective material properties and the analysis is performed in the framework of the Reddy's higher order shear deformation theory with regard to thermal effects. An analytical model is proposed to capture the response performance of the three-layer sandwich plates under different thermal environments. Through the proposed analytical study, in order to characterize the contact force between the sandwich plate and the impactors, the modified Hertz contact law is utilized. Rayleigh-Ritz method is applied to the Hamilton principle in order to find the set of equations of motion for the impactor as well as the CNTRC sandwich plate. Afterwards, the solution in the time domain is obtained based on Newmark's numerical time integration scheme. After validating the proposed approach, in order to examine the influences of various involved parameters, different parametric studies are conducted. It has been demonstrated that the variation of the initial kinetic energy as one of the parameters under study has a significant effect on the central displacement, contact force, and indentation in both conical and cylindrical impactors and the change in the radius of the cylinder has an insignificant effect on the central displacement. As well, in the case of equal masses, the cylindrical impactor causes more amount of indentation with respect to conical.
Early radiological and functional outcomes for a cementless press-fit design modular femoral stem revision system
Authors: Hancock Douglas S , Sharplin Paul K , Larsen Peter D , Phillips Fredrick TS
Published: May 2018

Aim:

To assess early radiological and functional outcomes of revision hip surgery with a cementless press-fit design femoral stem.

Patients and methods:

A retrospective review of 48 consecutive revision total hip replacements using the RECLAIM revision hip system, between October 2012 and August 2015. Radiographic assessment was undertaken with serial anteroposterior (AP) X-rays of the pelvis. Risk factors for subsidence were evaluated. Prospective clinical follow up was performed on 21 patients to assess functional outcomes.

Results:

Mean stem subsidence was 1.1 mm (95% confidence interval[CI]: 0.63–1.57). Median follow up of 12 months. An inverse relationship was observed between level of subsidence and femoral stem diameter r = −0.45, p = 0.001. Subsidence at the time of follow-up assessment was correlated with initial subsidence (correlation coefficient rho 0.69, p = 0.001). The mean Merle d’Aubigne score at the latest follow up was 14.2 (range 8–17). The mean OHS was 34.1 (range 15–48).

Conclusion:

Early radiological and functional outcomes for the RECLAIM revision system showed very low levels of subsidence and good functional outcomes. There was an association with smaller diameter femoral stems and greater levels of subsidence.
Shear strength of steel–concrete–steel sandwich deep beams: A simplified approach
Authors: Leng Yubing , Song Xiaobing
Published: May 2018

Steel–concrete–steel composite structure comprises a concrete core sandwiched between the outer steel plates. It combines the advantages of both steel and reinforced concrete structures. In thick steel–concrete–steel structural members, the shear performance becomes rather critical. Experimental works have been carried out to study the failure mode and shear strength of steel–concrete–steel deep beams, and an analytical model has been proposed. In this article, parametric studies are carried out on the original analytical model to discuss the influence of each geometric and material variable on the shear strength, and a simplified strength predicting method is developed. Different shear failure modes, identified as “top+bottom triangular area damage” or “bottom triangular area damage+horizontal cracking,” can be predicted with the method. The simplified approach shows good correlation with the experimental results, regarding to shear resisting pattern and failure modes. Through the simplified formulas, the upper and lower bounds of the shear resistance are obtained. The requirement on stud spacing to maintain full composite behavior in the top and bottom triangular areas and the requirement on concrete strength are proposed.
An online monitoring technology of tower foundation deformation of transmission lines
Authors: Huang Xinbo , Zhao Long , Chen Ziliang , Liu Cheng
Published: May 2018

In this article, an online monitoring technology applied to transmission line towers is proposed to overcome the problems that the foundation deformation is difficult to find in the mining area, river, hillside, and other special areas. The measurement of the stress or the strain caused by the tower foundation deformation are rarely issued, though the tower status can be possibly assessed by the stress or the strain. A new online monitoring technology of tower foundation deformation of transmission lines is developed which consists of three parts. In the first part, the stress or the strain of the key elements is effectively analyzed under the different deformations such as foundation settlement, inclination, and side-slip with the tower finite element model built and the wind load and ice load applied on the tower. In the second part, the experimental platform of tower stress tests is set up, and the internal relations between the stress variation and the tower foundation deformation are determined. In the third part, the online monitoring technology of tower foundation deformation of transmission lines is developed based on fiber Bragg grating stress sensor and successfully applied in Jibei power grid in China. The results show that all the monitored stresses fluctuating with the wind speed are small in case that the condition of tower foundation is normal; on the contrary, the corresponding stresses will change greatly.
Application of seismic tomography for assessment of the railway substructure condition
Authors: Lazarević Luka , Vučković Dejan , Vilotijević Milica , Popović Zdenka
Published: May 2018

This article presents results obtained in the research conducted on railway infrastructure in Serbia, which aimed at prediction of substructure condition based on the analysis of track quality. It presents the results of seismic tomography application as non-destructive procedure for assessment of railway substructure condition. Track geometry quality was assessed according to analysis of longitudinal level data, which was recorded during regular track geometry inspections. Track section for application of seismic tomography was chosen on the basis of analysed track geometry data recorded during the regular track geometry inspections in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Tomographic imaging of railway platform on Test Section enabled the creation of two-dimensional finite element model, which was used for determination of propagation speed of seismic P-waves. Seismic tomography on Test Section, which is the part of the international railway line Belgrade–Vrbnica, was performed in 2014. Obtained tomographic image was discussed and compared to track geometry data recorded during the regular track geometry inspections.
Parenting Practices and Gender Roles in the Modern Chinese Family: Interculturalism in Where Are We Going, Dad?
Authors: Jiang Xinxin
Published: May 2018

This article employs textual analysis to identify intercultural tensions in terms of parenting practices and gender roles in the reality TV series Where Are We Going, Dad? (2013–present, season 3). This article particularly explores authoritarian and authoritative parenting practices, parenting practices in interracial marriages, and new fatherhood and gender roles in modern Chinese families. I argue that the series is an ideal cultural site to witness the discourse of the changing parenting practices and gender roles in contemporary China and the broadcasting of it helps Chinese audiences understand both the merits and the weaknesses of traditional parenting practices as well as the importance of the father’s role in child-rearing and family construction.
Characterization of Areva javanica fiber – A possible replacement for synthetic acrylic fiber in the disc brake pad
Authors: Ahmed Md Javeed , Balaji MA Sai , Saravanakumar SS , Sanjay MR , Senthamaraikannan P
Published: May 2018

Areva javanica (AJ), a natural cotton flowers fiber of Amaranthaceae family was taken up for the study of its possible utilization in a friction composite. The chemical composition of Areva javanica fiber (AJF) such as cellulose, lignin, ash, moisture, wax content, and density was evaluated. In addition to these, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) tests were performed. The surface roughness of AJ fiber was estimated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the statistical analysis using Weibull distribution was carried out to identify the diameter of AJ fiber. TGA studies revealed its moderate thermal resistance upto 219℃, and a density of 1.4005 g/cc was estimated of AJF. An attempt was made to make use of the AJF as a potential reinforcement material for acrylic fibers in an organic disc brake pad formulation. Upon fibrization, AJ fibrillates and forms a dense structure, a vital property required for the production of a brake pad. The role of AJ fiber in brake pad was studied by investigating the behavior of fibers from the mixing stage to the cured brake pad. Results revealed that the developed brake pad had a density of 2.01 g/cc, hardness HRS 91, Loss on ignition 21.68%, and cold and hot shear strengths of 44 and 27 kg/cm2, respectively. These values were very close to that of an Acrylic fiber based brake pad. The wear test using Friction Assessment and Screening test (FAST) gave the wear percentage of 0.0187 in3/Hp-h which was found to be 16% higher than AJF (0.0159 in3/Hp-hr) based brake pad.