bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An automatic switching approach of robotic components for improving robot localization reliability in complicated environment
Authors: Wang Wenshan , Cao Qixin , Zhu Xiaoxiao , Adachi Masaru
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Robot localization technology has been widely studied for decades and a lot of remarkable approaches have been developed. However, in practice, this technology has hardly been applied to common day-to-day deployment scenarios. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel approach that focuses on improving the localization robustness in complicated environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– The localization robustness is improved by dynamically switching the localization components (such as the environmental camera, the laser range finder and the depth camera). As the components are highly heterogeneous, they are developed under the robotic technology component (RTC) framework. This simplifies the developing process by increasing the potential for reusability and future expansion. To realize this switching, the localization reliability for each component is modeled, and a configuration method for dynamically selecting dependable components at run-time is presented.

Findings

– The experimental results show that this approach significantly decreases robot lost situation in the complicated environment. The robustness is further enhanced through the cooperation of heterogeneous localization components.

Originality/value

– A multi-component automatic switching approach for robot localization system is developed and described in this paper. The reliability of this system is proved to be a substantial improvement over single-component localization techniques.
Analysis of the human arm gesture for optimizing cutting process in ham deboning with a redundant robotic cell
Authors: Subrin Kévin , Sabourin Laurent , Stephan Franck , Gogu Grigoré , Alric Matthieu , Mezouar Youcef
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The mechanization of the meat cutting companies has become essential due to the lack of skilled workers and to working conditions. This paper deals with the analysis of human gestures in order to improve the performance of a redundant robotic cell. The aim is to define optimization criteria linked to the process and the human gesture analysis to improve the cutting process with a redundant robotic cell.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper deals with an optimized path planning of complex tasks based on the human arm analysis. The first part details the operator's manual work. The robotized cutting strategy using bones as a guide associated with an industrial force control leads to the tasks redefinition. Thus, the analysis of the arm during the tasks is presented. With a robotic model, the authors evaluate the relevance of two criteria (kinematic and mechanical) that the operator naturally manages. These criteria are used to improve the robotized cutting process by using redundancy. Simulation work and experimentation are presented to show the enhanced performance.

Findings

– The paper explains how to define optimization criteria based on human arm analysis to realize cutting operations which require force or dexterity performance. It presents a study on the criteria weighting on a robotic arm model established through human arm analysis. The optimized cutting process clearly shows improvement.

Research limitations/implications

– The scalability of the ham implied the definition of iterative trajectories to follow the curvature of the bone. Due to the use of an industrial force control, no online optimization can be achieved. The off-line optimization implies that the boundary of the trajectory space is technically feasible. Nevertheless, more information has to be extracted from the deboning process such as vision data in order to improve cutting quality.

Practical implications

– This study was carried out within the framework of several national and European projects (FUI SRDViand, ANR ARMS, FP7 Echord Dexdeb) in collaboration with ADIV (Meat Institute Development Agency). The redundant robotic cell was developed and implemented at ADIV and used for feasibility studies in connection with SME/SMI French sector.

Originality/value

– The paper deals with the cutting of soft bodies such as meat and complex human gesture analysis, which constitute an innovative challenge for the coming years in order to help or replace humans in industrial meat companies with difficult working conditions.
A novel design of inspection robot for high-voltage power lines
Authors: Mostashfi A. , Fakhari A. , Ali Badri Mohammad
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– In this article, a detailed design of a novel power line inspection robot is studied. This robot can be used to move on ground wires for special purposes such as inspection and fault detection of electric power lines. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Designed active and passive mechanisms in the proposed robot enable it to move over various obstacles on ground wires, such as clamps, warning balls and mast tips. Indeed, this robot is the first designed robot with the capability of moving over all ground wire obstacles. The active mechanisms contain seven rubber-coated rollers (i.e. four vertical rollers and three horizontal rollers) as well as three mechanisms in order to make horizontal rollers move vertically. The passive mechanisms also include a set of spring-dampers installed in each joint of robot arms.

Findings

– The simulation results in the ADAMS software revealed a desirable stability of performance when moving on the ground wires with a maximum slope of 30-degree. Also, the robot showed a suitable performance when passing over the warning balls (with a maximum diameter of 700 mm), rectangular mast tips (170×170 mm) and mast tips with a 30-degree twist in the horizontal plane.

Practical implications

– The feasibility of these maneuvers is proved with a prototype implementation and successful test results. This robot is approximately 60 kg weight and can move in ground wires with maximum speed of 20 m/min.

Originality/value

– The proposed robot is able to move on ground cable and pass over different kinds of obstacles like warning balls and mast tips (straight and angular) with maximum speed of 20 m/min.
Adaptive arm motion generation of humanoid robot operating in dynamic environments
Authors: Mohamed Zulkifli , Kitani Mitsuki , Capi Genci
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to compare the performance of the robot arm motion generated by neural controllers in simulated and real robot experiments.

Design/methodology/approach

– The arm motion generation is formulated as an optimization problem. The neural controllers generate the robot arm motion in dynamic environments optimizing three different objective functions; minimum execution time, minimum distance and minimum acceleration. In addition, the robot motion generation in the presence of obstacles is also considered.

Findings

– The robot is able to adapt its arm motion generation based on the specific task, reaching the goal position in simulated and experimental tests. The same neural controller can be employed to generate the robot motion for a wide range of initial and goal positions.

Research limitations/implications

– The motion generated yield good results in both simulation and experimental environments.

Practical implications

– The robot motion is generated based on three different objective functions that are simultaneously optimized. Therefore, the humanoid robot can perform a wide range of tasks in real-life environments, by selecting the appropriate motion.

Originality/value

– A new method for adaptive arm motion generation of a mobile humanoid robot operating in dynamic human and industrial environments.
HR strategy: optimizing risks, optimizing rewards
Authors: Cascio Wayne , Boudreau John
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to suggest that in the arena of human capital, risk-mitigation may overshadow risk-optimized decisions, and show how a more balanced approach can be achieved by understanding and applying frameworks from behavioral decision theory, as well as framing human capital risk using tools and frameworks that have a long history in other management arenas, such as finance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Review risk-optimization frameworks in human resource and general management, distill key connections, suggest ways to enhance risk optimization for human capital, and offer suggestions for future research and practice.

Findings

– For human capital, risk-mitigation may overshadow risk-optimization, a balanced approach can be achieved by applying behavioral decision theory and by using frameworks from other management arenas, such as finance.

Practical implications

– Organizations must acknowledge and skillfully manage the connections between human capital and competitive strategy in this emerging arena of human capital risk, or they will miss key strategic opportunities.

Originality/value

– Attention to human capital risk has largely emphasized minimizing or controlling unwanted outcomes, but the paper proposes that risk-optimization requires balanced attention to risk-taking as well.
No accident: health, well-being, performance … and danger
Authors: Campbell Quick James , McFadyen Ann , Lynn Nelson Debra
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a theory of preventive health management for high-risk employees, who are the 1-3 percent with a propensity to become dangerous.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reviews the literature and design a prevention model for high-risk employees that relies on primary, secondary, and tertiary surveillance indicators as well as prevention methods. The behaviors of these employees are often not accidental, even if not always intentional.

Findings

– Primary prevention through organizational socialization and supervision can reduce emergence of high-risk employees. Early identification through secondary surveillance then prevention of incivility and deviance can deter escalation to violent behavior. When high-risk employees become dangerous and violent, tertiary prevention calls for containment, caregiving, forgiveness, and resilience.

Practical implications

– The paper suggests that HR professionals can advance health, well-being, and performance while averting danger and violence by identifying and managing high-risk employees, anticipating their needs, and providing supportive resources and advising.

Originality/value

– The paper applies public health prevention to deviant and violent employees.
Waging a successful library funding campaign: a case study
Authors: S. Roberts Brent , L. Hoover Cheryl
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify common arguments and points of resistance to library development projects, and to outline effective political and communication strategies, which can be used by library administrators and supporters when pursuing funding campaigns.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study analyzed media messages from local newspaper and radio stations, including open comments posted in online discussion threads, over a one-year period. Interviews were also conducted with the library's director and foundation development officer.

Findings

– Analysis of media coverage drew out primary points of resistance, while the interviews provided strategies utilized to counteract anti-library rhetoric.

Research limitations/implications

– Further comparison with other library funding campaigns is needed. Particular areas to be studied include the relationship between the tone of online discussion forum posts and actual voting results; also, the impact of strongly opinionated posters on other participants.

Practical implications

– Library administrators seeking public support should strongly consider the following points which contributed to the success of the campaign analyzed in this article: The need to understand common public responses and points of resistance to proposed library projects. The importance of a supportive city council. The need to reduce uncertainty about potential physical locations. Understanding the distinction between political vs marketing campaigns. Identifying potential supporters, regardless of whether they were library users.

Originality/value

– This study is important because in seeking public support for major projects, administrators must be prepared to counter common anti-library messages. Strategies undertaken in this campaign may be generalized to libraries of other types.
Publication trends in library and information science
Authors: Singh K.P. , Chander Harish
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of the study is to explore the publication trends of the scholarly journal Library Management, and highlight its various important aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper presents results of bibliometric analysis of 336 articles which were published during the period 2006-2012, in the Library Management journal of Emerald.

Findings

– The results indicate that the majority of the contributions by single authors and most cited documents are journal articles. The study highlights the chronological distribution of articles, authorship pattern, geographical distribution of authors, institutions wise distribution, citation pattern and length of articles.

Originality/value

– As yet there have been no such studies conducted that investigate the various aspects of Library Management journal. It evaluates the publication trends of the journal and has important implications for scholars and researchers.
The role of influence in city and public library partnerships: an exploratory study
Authors: Stenstrom Cheryl , Roberts Ken , Haycock Ken
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to discuss whether interpersonal influence impacts the success of information technology support jointly managed by public libraries and their corresponding city departments. By exploring various management models of the information technology departments serving Canada's urban public libraries, the role of interpersonal influence in these partnerships is described.

Design/methodology/approach

– A two-part survey was administered to all Canadian urban libraries to explore which management models exist and to determine current issues. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with exemplary sites. The survey data were used to rank dependence levels of public libraries on their corresponding cities. Using Cialdini's framework of influence, a thematic analysis was conducted on the interview data to note the presence or absence of each principle.

Findings

– Most Canadian urban public libraries rely on their corresponding cities for a small number of IT-related services; 25 percent have somewhat or highly integrated departmental partnerships. Interpersonal influence, particularly the principles of “authority” and “liking” are important factors in these partnerships.

Research limitations/implications

– This study is limited to Canadian urban public libraries and explores a single service. It builds on previous studies exploring the role of influence and public libraries, and indicates the utility of further research of city and public library partnerships.

Practical implications

– The findings may help inform the development of Library Service Level Agreements and other shared policy documents.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to explore shared management models and the role of influence at the municipal level in Canadian public libraries.
Social technologies in public libraries: exploring best practice
Authors: Smeaton Kathleen , Davis Kate
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to report on a research project that explored social media best practice in the public library sector.

Design/methodology/approach

– The primary research approach for the project was case study. Two organisations participated in case studies that involved interviews, document analysis, and social media observation.

Findings

– The two case study organisations use social media effectively to facilitate participatory networks, however, there have been challenges surrounding its implementation in both organisations. Challenges include negotiating requirements of governing bodies and broader organisational environments, and managing staff reluctance around the implementations. As social media use continues to grow and libraries continue to take up new platforms, social media must be considered to be another service point of the virtual branch, and indeed, for the library service as a whole. This acceptance of social media as being core business is critical to the successful implementation of social media based activities.

Practical implications

– The article provides an empirically grounded discussion of best practice and the conditions that support it. The findings are relevant for information organisations across all sectors and could inform the development of policy and practice in other organisations. This paper contributes to the broader dialogue around best practice in participatory service delivery and social media use in library and information organisations.

Originality/value

– Research around social media has focused on the usage of tools rather than the conditions that allow staff to use social media to reach users effectively. This research fills the gap by exploring the organisational culture that allows staff to use social media in order to develop a participatory library service.
Factors influencing the shaping of shared services business models
Authors: Joha Anton , Janssen Marijn
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– Shared services are often viewed as a single type of business model but in reality, shared services can be organized in different ways. The goal of this research is to understand the factors influencing the shaping of shared services business models.

Design/methodology/approach

– Inductive case oriented research is conducted by investigating three different types of shared services arrangements using Al-Debei and Avison's unified framework for business models.

Findings

– A total of 12 different factors were identified that influence the shape of shared services business models including the path dependency, legal/regulatory driver, customer orientation, target segment, strategic importance, ICT/business orientation, IT governance structure, change strategy, degree of outsourcing, integration potential, economic rationale and the business value.

Research limitations/implications

– The level of customization and standardization can influence the potential benefits that can be gained from bundling services and it is important to understand the factors that influence this dimension.

Practical implications

– The appropriate configuration of these factors can be helpful to design shared services arrangements with a balanced degree of standardization and customization. The choices regarding the configuration of these factors could result in a more or less effective functioning business model and could influence the governance processes and mechanisms that need to be put in place.

Originality/value

– There is no prior research that addresses the shared services business model from a holistic perspective and this research provides a first conceptual model for shared services business models.
Designing living environments with adults with autism
Authors: Lowe C. , Gaudion K. , McGinley C. , Kew Alex
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore how a people-centred, design-led approach to the different needs and aspirations of adults with autism could help inform the design of space, objects and activities for individuals in their own homes to enhance everyday life experiences. There are dozens of studies that have reported the health benefits associated with good design and the Kingwood Trust set out to research what that might mean for the adults with autism it supports.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper describes three projects: Housing Design, Garden Design and Exploring Sensory Preferences whose design interventions were realised through a process of design ethnography, to include and work with the people that Kingwood support who have limited verbal speech and learning disabilities. Participatory observation, co-design workshops, interviews, visual probes and mapping tools were created to gather insights about how a person perceives and engages with the physical environment, with a particular focus on their sensory sensitivities and special interests.

Findings

– The outcome of the project is a holistic, design-led approach to identifying the sensory preferences and special interests of adults with autism to inform the design of residential accommodation. A second project will be published at a later date, which will test and evaluate the effectiveness of the design interventions described in this paper as part of a PhD by practice supported by Kingwood Trust.

Originality/value

– Autistic adults with limited verbal speech and additional learning disabilities, are often excluded from design research. This paper bridges this gap by selecting and adapting design methods that invite the people that Kingwood support to be active participants within the design process. The revised DSM-5 is an important milestone that puts the sensory environment back onto the roadmap within autism research, however the relationship between people with autism and the physical environment is a relatively under-researched area. This paper bridges this gap in research and illustrates how an autistic person's interaction and reaction to their home environment, can create understanding, tangible insights and clues to inform the design and adaptation of environments to reduce triggers of anxiety, making them more comfortable, enjoyable and meaningful for that person.
Is childhood a disability? Using Mental Capacity Tribunals and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards to shield children's capacity to consent to and refuse medical treatment
Authors: Mackenzie Robin , Watts John
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the common and statutory law governing children's capacity or competence to consent to and to refuse medical treatment is unsatisfactory and to suggest solutions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Critical legal analysis of the law on assessing minors’ decision-making capacity in relation to legal recognition of their consent to and refusal of medical treatment.

Findings

– Without legal mechanisms which protect both children and their rights, all children and young people are effectively disabled from exercising age and capacity-related autonomy and participation in decisions affecting their lives. Yet in English law, inconsistencies between legal and clinical measures of decision-making capacity, situations where compulsory medical or mental health treatment is lawful, and tensions between rights and duties associated with human rights, autonomy, best interests and protections for the vulnerable create difficulties for clinicians, lawyers and patients.

Research limitations/implications

– As the paper acknowledges in its recommendations, the views of stakeholders are needed to enrich and inform legal reforms in this area.

Originality/value

– The paper makes suggestions to amend the law and clinical practice which are original and far reaching. The paper suggests that in order to observe children's rights while protecting them appropriately, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivations of Liberty Safeguards should be applied to minors. The paper recommends the establishment of Mental Capacity Tribunals, similar in nature and purpose to Mental Health Tribunals, to provide legal safeguards and mechanisms to foster the supported decision-making envisaged in recent United Nations Conventions.
Overcoming challenges in diagnosing and treating cancers in people with intellectual disability: a case analysis
Authors: Kiani Reza , Vahabzadeh Arshya , Hepplewhite E.A. , Abbas Mizrab , Finnamore Tracey , Bhaumik Sabyasachi , Satge Daniel
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The diagnosis and management of cancer in people with intellectual disabilities (PWIDs) are fraught with difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study to highlight these difficulties.

Design/methodology/approach

– The present case analysis describes the presentation of a 56-year-old man with a profound intellectual disability, who developed recurrent chest infections and died as a result of obstructive pneumonitis.

Findings

– Despite a presentation over several years and numerous chest X-rays demonstrating a consistent lung abnormality, it was only on postmortem examination that a right-sided lung carcinoma was detected.

Originality/value

– The papers have provided an update on the topic in light of recent legislations and management strategies which need to be applied to clinical practice if any improvement is to happen in the care of PWID.
Evaluation of the impact of supervisory support on staff experiences of training
Authors: Koski Katja , Martikainen Kaisa , Burakoff Katja , Vesala Hannu , Launonen Kaisa
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to evaluate the role of the supervisor's support on the effectiveness of a communication training program targeted at staff members who work with individuals who have profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The aim was to explore which aspects of supervisory support influenced the staff members to participate in the programme and the results for the on-going effects of the training.

Findings

– Staff members reported a need for more supervisory support to maintain the results of the training and to disseminate the new practices to non-trained staff.

Originality/value

– Although supervisory support seems to benefit staff members during their participation in training programmes, even careful planning and execution of this support cannot ensure its continuation after the training is finished.
SMEs’ switching behavior in the natural gas market
Authors: Vigolo Vania , Cassia Fabio
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore loyalty and switching behavior among corporate energy customers in Italy. Thanks to the recent liberalization process, firms have now the opportunity to evaluate alternative energy providers and try to reduce their energy expenses. Nonetheless their switching rate in Italy is currently as low as 6.3 percent.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is based on a cross-sectional analysis of the switching behavior of a sample of 110 Italian small and medium firms that purchase natural gas from a middle-sized natural gas supplier.

Findings

– The analysis emphasizes the role of price convenience (but not of dissatisfaction with the service provision) as a driver of the intention to switch to a new supplier. The negative impact of procedural and relational switching costs on the intention to switch emerges, as well.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample size was quite limited. Moreover participants were all customers of one natural gas supplier only.

Practical implications

– The findings highlight the need for gas service providers to focus on customer orientation and loyalty to stimulate customer loyalty and not just customer repurchases.

Originality/value

– Whilst a few studies have explored switching behavior and loyalty among private energy customers, this study investigates this issue among corporate energy customers.
A five-senses perspective to quality in hospitals
Authors: Maria Ugolini Marta , Rossato Chiara , Baccarani Claudio
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report on research on the sensory perceptions that patients and bystanders experience during hospitalisation. Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch influence both clinical outcomes and satisfaction. The paper offers suggestions to hospital management on ways to improve receivers’ sensory perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Considering services as social interactions, a subjectivist view of reality is adopted and, accordingly, a qualitative research approach implemented. Data are collected through participant observation. Desk activity includes reasoned literature review, categorisation and model adaptation.

Findings

– A simplified system model for service provision in the hospital ward is proposed. A management tool is provided in the form of a check list that the ward management can employ to assess its service-provision system from a five-senses perspective.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper is affected by judgements subject to cultural biases. The validity of the management tool is still to be tested.

Practical implications

– Once up and running, the model and the check list will be able to guide health managers towards improvements of satisfaction, clinical outcomes and working environment.

Originality/value

– The paper represents an original effort to adapt tools already used in the commercial field to influence health service receivers’ perceptions positively. While the positive results of improvements to a single sensory perception have been well documented, an integrated approach has not been put forward previously in the health industry.
Efficiency levels of sub-national governments: a comparison of SFA and DEA estimations
Authors: Pevcin Primož
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– By utilizing the two most commonly used approaches to generate “best practice frontier” to estimate efficiency of observed units, the purpose of this research paper is to estimate technical efficiency for total population of 200 Slovenian municipalities for the 2011 fiscal year.

Design/methodology/approach

– Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods are used to estimate technical efficiency levels. Namely, the majority of studies have utilized these two “traditional” approaches. Since the advantages of one method often represent the disadvantages of the other method, the two methods have been selected to compare the results obtained on the technical efficiency levels.

Findings

– The results suggest that mean technical inefficiency should be approximately 22-25 percent (SFA method), whereas DEA method suggests the inefficiency in the range 12-18 percent. The DEA approach also suggests that the paper has many more technically efficient units compared to the SFA estimates. Nevertheless, the SFA assessment has revealed that, although on average the inefficiency should be larger compared to the DEA assessment, more than one-third of municipalities should exhibit relatively low levels of inefficiency (less than 5 percent).

Originality/value

– This study utilizes both parametric as well as non-parametric approaches to assess the technical efficiency, which is not very common in the empirical literature. Besides, it focusses on the local government efficiency in a post-socialist country.
Strategic planning and benchmarking organizational routines of universities in the Western Balkans
Authors: Papadimitriou Antigoni
Published: March 2014

Purpose

– There is currently limited knowledge of the strategic organizational routines such as strategic planning and benchmarking of universities in the Western Balkans (WB). Thus the purpose of this paper is to map perceptions and concerns of institutional leadership about these routines within the public and private universities in the region.

Design/methodology/approach

– An online survey targeting all public and private universities in the WB was sent to the rector's and president's office. The survey data were analyzed with descriptive statistical methods, calculating frequencies, and means.

Findings

– Data revealed that the majority of both public and private universities have implemented strategic planning. Analysis of strategic planning between private and public universities indicated that averages scores were slightly higher in the private rather than the public universities. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis was among the statements that received higher scores (perceptions about implementation) from both types of universities. The relatively low scores from both types of institutions concerning perceived implementation and importance of benchmarking might imply that WB universities achieve their goals in a less competitive environment.

Originality/value

– The significance of the paper lies in the fact that no existing studies have investigated strategic planning and benchmarking in the WB universities. To be able to build a potential baseline for further research, including the possibility for more comparative research both within and beyond the region, the selection of routines was taken from the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence in Education. This study contributes to the body of research for literature about strategic organizational routines and strategy-as-practice.
V‐antigen homologs in pathogenic gram‐negative bacteria
Authors: Sawa Teiji , Katoh Hideya , Yasumoto Hiroaki
Published: March 2014

Gram‐negative bacteria cause many types of infections in animals from fish and shrimps to humans. Bacteria use Type III secretion systems (TTSSs) to translocate their toxins directly into eukaryotic cells. The V‐antigen is a multifunctional protein required for the TTSS in Yersinia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. V‐antigen vaccines and anti‐V‐antigen antisera confer protection against Yersinia or P. aeruginosa infections in animal models. The V‐antigen forms a pentameric cap structure at the tip of the Type III secretory needle; this structure, which has evolved from the bacterial flagellar cap structure, is indispensable for toxin translocation. Various pathogenic gram‐negative bacteria such as Photorhabdus luminescens, Vibrio spp., and Aeromonas spp. encode homologs of the V‐antigen. Because the V‐antigens of pathogenic gram‐negative bacteria play a key role in toxin translocation, they are potential therapeutic targets for combatting bacterial virulence. In the USA and Europe, these vaccines and specific antibodies against V‐antigens are in clinical trials investigating the treatment of Yersinia or P. aeruginosa infections. Pathogenic gram‐negative bacteria are of great interest because of their ability to infect fish and shrimp farms, their potential for exploitation in biological terrorism attacks, and their ability to cause opportunistic infections in humans. Thus, elucidation of the roles of the V‐antigen in the TTSS and mechanisms by which these functions can be blocked is critical to facilitating the development of improved anti‐V‐antigen strategies.
Geo-Politics and the Disaster of the Anthropocene
Authors: Clark Nigel
Published: March 2014

Recently, earth scientists have been discussing the idea of the ‘Anthropocene’ – a new geologic epoch defined by human geological agency. In its concern with the crossing of thresholds in Earth systems and the shift into whole new systemic states, the Anthropocene thesis might be viewed as the positing of a disaster to end all disasters. As well as looking at some of the motivations behind the Anthropocene concept, this article explores possible responses to the idea from critical social thought. It is suggested that the current problematization of planetary ‘boundary conditions’ might be taken as indicative of the emergence of a new kind of ‘geologic politics’ that is as concerned with the temporal dynamics and changes of state in Earth systems as it is with more conventional political issues revolving around territories and nation state boundaries: a geo-politics that also raises questions about practical experimentation with Earth processes.
Disasters as Meshworks: Migratory Birds and the Enlivening of Doñana's Toxic Spill
Authors: Rodríguez-Giralt Israel , Tirado Francisco , Tironi Manuel
Published: March 2014

The aim of this article is to revisit disasters as materially enlivened events. The sociology of disasters has usually rested upon two assumptions. First, that disasters are phenomena circumscribed in time and space. They are geographically situated and time-specific, thus their effects can be controlled and compared. And second, that the main actors involved in disasters are humans and institutions, the basic units of sociological research and theory. These principles, taken together, help in converting disaster into objects for cultural inquiry, but at the expense of diluting their material surplus. Based on the work of Tim Ingold, and drawing on the case of the Aznalcóllar ecological disaster in Doñana, one of the most damaging environmental disasters in the history of Spain, we propose to define disasters as meshworks in order to fully grasp the vibrant ontology of disasters. More specifically, by focusing on the role played by migratory birds in the enacting of the disaster, we argue that disasters are dynamic realities, difficult to localize and always distributed along disparate scales and actors. Moreover, disasters have a dual reality, unfolding actually and virtually at once – and therefore comprising a form of cosmopolitics rather than conforming to classical political imaginations. Finally, our larger point is to take disasters as opportunities to rethink our ways of living together.
Misrecognizing Tsunamis: Ontological Politics and Cosmopolitical Challenges in Early Warning Systems
Authors: Farías Ignacio
Published: March 2014

The failure of the Chilean tsunami warning system on the night of 27 February, 2010, opens up the question of the ontological politics of inquiry processes at the two national centres of recognition and civic protection involved. Focusing on approximately two hours of intense activity and communication, I identify three critical features of how non-human phenomena are enacted by these agencies and show how these features shaped the process of misrecognizing the ongoing tsunami. They involved, first, the problem of information and the tension between local and global assessments; second, the problem of interpretation and the tension between scientific evidence and political intervention; and, third, the problem of conclusions and the tension between certainty and uncertainty. The ensuing public and legal controversy about responsible actors of this fatal failure also offers an opportunity to reflect upon the precautionary principle as a model for action in uncertain situations. I suggest here that the failure of the tsunami warning system reveals the need of associating precaution to a cosmopolitical duty of recognition of non-human entities and forces.
Producing Space, Tracing Authority: Mapping the 2007 San Diego Wildfires
Authors: Petersen Katrina
Published: March 2014

This article explores the materiality of disaster politics through the practice of mapping during the 2007 wildfires in Southern California. It examines the process of production of two different maps, the maps produced by San Diego County and a popular Google My Map created by local media and academic institutions, in order to explore how an unfolding disaster comes to be understood. This article argues that the interplay between different technological and human entities to produce each map in turn produced different spaces of disaster in ways that challenged priorities of disaster preparedness and response. Specifically, the different mapping practices in 2007 produced different relationships to temporality, boundaries and responsibility, making different aspects of the disaster visible while constructing different threats and definitions of danger. They juxtaposed representational and relational knowledge as well as the value of prevention and demonstration. This article draws on data collected through textual analysis of government and scientific documents as well as interviews and observations of key actors, their mapping practices, and socio-technological networks.
Atmospheres of Indagation: Disasters and the Politics of Excessiveness
Authors: Tironi Manuel
Published: March 2014

This article examines how specific political arrangements are articulated to govern disasters. I suggest that disasters give rise to political experiments in which uncertainties are sensed, ordered and managed. I argue, however, that when the world is uncanny and indeterminacies are excessive and radically vital, the search for stability is messier than experimental politics might assume. Drawing on the cases of PRE Talca and Talca con Tod@s, two post-disaster participatory experiments that unfolded in Talca, Chile, I call atmospheres of indagation the expanded and enhanced political experimentalism unearthed by disasters. Of indagation because the inquiry was meticulous, open and agonically needed. And atmosphere because this indagation unfolded under the form of an overarching, multiform and ambiguous ambience in which everything could be explored, scrutinized and contested – including the experiments themselves. More concretely, I describe how these two experiments, via different participatory technologies, enacted different versions of Talca. But I attempt to show, as well, how PRE Talca and Talca con Tod@s were configured by openly contesting the principles and assumptions of each other. The result was a highly complex topological arrangement in which political publicness was expanded and re-articulated, thus defying conventional understandings on political experiments.
Concrete Governmentality: Shelters and the Transformations of Preparedness
Authors: Deville Joe , Guggenheim Michael , Hrdličková Zuzana
Published: March 2014

This article analyzes how shelters act as a form of concrete governmentality. Shelters, like other forms of preparedness, are political acts in the absence of a disaster. They are materializations and visualizations of risk calculations. Shelters as a type of concrete governmentality pose the question of how to build something that lasts and resists, and remains relevant both when the object that is being resisted keeps changing and when the very act of building intervenes so publicly in the life of the restless surrounding population. Comparing shelters in India, Switzerland and the UK, we highlight three transformations of preparedness that shelters trigger. First we analyse how shelters compose preparedness by changing the relationship between the state and its citizens. Rather than simply limiting risk or introducing ‘safety’, the building of shelters poses questions about who needs protection and why and, as we will show, this can generate controversy. Second, we analyse how shelters decompose preparedness by falling out of use. Third, we focus on struggles to recompose preparedness: Changing ideas about disasters thus lead to shelters being suddenly out of place, or needing to adapt.
Renegotiating inter‐professional boundaries in maternity care: implementing a clinical pathway for normal labour
Authors: Hunter Billie , Segrott Jeremy
Published: March 2014

This article presents findings from a study of a clinical pathway for normal labour (Normal Labour Pathway) implemented in Wales, UK. The study was conducted between 2004 and 2006. The pathway aimed to support normal childbirth and reduce unnecessary childbirth interventions by promoting midwife‐led care. This article focuses on how the pathway influenced the inter‐professional relationships and boundaries between midwives and doctors. Data are drawn from semi‐participant observation, focus groups and semi‐structured interviews with 41 midwives, and semi‐structured interviews with five midwifery managers and six doctors, working in two research sites. Whereas some studies have shown how clinical pathways may act as ‘boundary objects’, dissolving professional boundaries, promoting interdisciplinary care and de‐differentiating professional identities, the ‘normal labour pathway’ was employed by midwives as an object of demarcation, which legitimised a midwifery model of care, clarified professional boundaries and accentuated differences in professional identities and approaches to childbirth. The pathway represented key characteristics of a professional project: achieving occupational autonomy and closure. Stricter delineation of the boundary between midwifery and obstetric work increased the confidence and professional visibility of midwives but left doctors feeling excluded and undervalued, and paradoxically reduced the scope of midwifery practice through redefining what counted as normal.
An examination of the potential of seaweed extracts as functional ingredients in milk
Authors: O'Sullivan Anthoney M , O'Callaghan Yvonne C , O'Grady Michael N , Waldron David S , Smyth Thomas J , O'Brien Nora M , Kerry Joseph P
Published: March 2014

Novel dairy products were produced by the addition of seaweed extracts to milk. Ascophyllum nodosum 100% water (AN100) or 80% ethanol (AN80e) and Fucus vesiculosus 60% ethanol (FV60e) extracts were prepared. AN80e and FV60e (0.25 and 0.5%) milk had higher (P < 0.05) ‘−a*’ and ‘b*’ values. FV60e (0.25%) and phloroglucinol (Phl) (0.5%) milk had lower (P < 0.05) lipid oxidation. Control and AN100 milk were accepted by sensory panellists. Seaweed extracts were stable (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl, DPPH) in milk. Milk and digestates exhibited DPPH and ferrous‐ion‐chelating activities and did not affect cellular antioxidant activity or protect against DNA damage.
Exploring risk, resistance and the power of myths among coastal fishing communities in Kerala, India
Authors: Santha Sunil D. , P. Gahana , S. Aswin V.
Published: March 2014

This paper attempts to capture the socially constructed nature of risk by analyzing the discourses embedded in community beliefs, myths and experiential narratives regarding coastal hazards and fishworkers' livelihoods. This paper draws insights from the works of James Scott on power and resistance in the everyday life of marginalized populations. Qualitative data for the study was collected using semi‐structured interview schedules, in‐depth group interviews, oral histories and storytelling across twenty marine fishing villages in Kerala. A significant finding of the study is that the communal discourse of coastal hazards or kolu is an integral part of fishworkers' resistance against formal authority and scientific knowledge systems in coastal management. The myths and beliefs of fishworkers are expressions of their concerns about present forms of development and coastal resource management.
Relationship between adiponectin, leptin, IGF‐1 and total lipid peroxides plasma concentrations in patients with systemic sclerosis: possible role in disease development
Authors: Winsz‐Szczotka Katarzyna , Kuźnik‐Trocha Kornelia , Komosińska‐Vassev Katarzyna , Kucharz Eugeniusz , Kotulska Anna , Olczyk Krystyna
Published: March 2014

Aim

The relationship between adiponectin, leptin, insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) and total lipid peroxide (TLP) concentrations, and its possible role in the development of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc), were evaluated in this study.

Methods, results

Plasma adipokines and IGF‐1 levels were determined using the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay method, whereas TLP levels were determined using a photometric test, in 36 dcSSc patients and 40 healthy controls matched by age, sex and body mass index (BMI). Plasma levels of adipokines were significantly lowered, while TLP and IGF‐1 were increased in dcSSc patients compared to controls. Adiponectin correlated significantly with leptin (r = 0.44), TLP (r = −0.54), CRP (r = −0.47), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (r = −0.40) and duration of disease (r = −0.44). A significant relationship was found between leptinemia and IGF‐1 (r = −0.40), TLP (r = 0.44), duration of disease (r = −0.38) and BMI (r = 0.65). TLP correlated with IGF‐1 (r = −0.43), C‐reactive protein (r = 0.47), ESR (r = 0.49) and duration of disease (r = 0.46), while IGF‐1 correlated with ESR (r = −0.40).

Conclusions

Adipose tissue may play a complex role in the development of dcSSc, affecting both the metabolic state of the organism, as well as free radical‐induced connective tissue degradation. Although, leptin seems to exert a pro‐oxidative effect and both adiponectin and IGF‐1 appear to prevent free radical damage, confirmation of the above effects requires further research.