bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patellar Bone–Tendon–Bone Autografts versus Quadriceps Tendon Allograft with Synthetic Augmentation in a Canine Model
Authors: Smith Patrick A. , Stannard James P. , Bozynski Chantelle C. , Kuroki Keiichi , Cook Cristi R. , Cook James L.
Published: August 2019

Patellar bone–tendon–bone (pBTB) autografts are often considered the “gold standard” for complete anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and are also associated with significant complications and early-onset knee osteoarthritis (OA). A novel quadriceps tendon allograft with synthetic augmentation, or “internal brace” (QTIB), has been reported to have potential advantages for ACL reconstruction based on animal model data. In this preclinical canine comparison study, we hypothesized that QTIB allograft compared with pBTB autograft would provide superior durability for knee stability, function, and prevention of OA. Under approval from our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, adult purpose-bred research hounds (n = 10) underwent arthroscopic complete transection of the ACL followed by either an arthroscopic-assisted all-inside ACL reconstruction using the QTIB allograft (n = 5) or pBTB autograft (n = 5). Contralateral knees were used as nonoperated controls (n = 10). Radiographic and arthroscopic assessments were performed at 2 and 6 months, respectively, after surgery. Anterior drawer, internal rotation, lameness, kinetics, pain, effusion, and comfortable range of knee motion were measured at 2, 3, and 6 months. Biomechanical and histologic assessments were performed at 6 months. All reconstructed knees were stable and had intact ACL grafts 6 months after surgery. At 6 months, QTIB reconstructed knees had significantly less lameness, lower pain, less effusion, and increased range of motion when compared with BTB knees (p < 0.05). BTB knees had significantly higher radiographic OA scores than QTIB knees at 6 months (p < 0.05). Superior outcomes associated with QTIB allograft may be due to the lack of donor site morbidity, the use of a robust tendon graft, and/or protection of the graft from the synthetic augmentation. Robust tendon grafts combined with a synthetic internal brace and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) may allow for more rapid and robust tendon–bone healing and graft “ligamentization,” which protects the graft from early failure and rapid OA development that can plague commonly-used allografts.
A study on the surface morphology evolution of the GH4619 using warm laser shock peening
Authors: Lu Ying , Zhao Jibin , Qiao Hongchao , Hu Taiyou , Sun Boyu , Wu Jiajun
Published: August 2019

Compared with the laser shock peening, the warm laser shock peening has been demonstrated to get a stable compressive stress distribution under heating and cyclic loading, which is mainly due to warm laser shock peening combined with the advantages of laser shock peening and dynamic strain aging. The surface morphology evaluation of warm laser shock peening was investigated systematically in this work, the GH4169 nickel-base super-alloy is selected as the material with which to conduct experiments of laser shock peening and warm laser shock peening. It can be found that there are a lot of surface ripples appearing after the treatment of warm laser shock peening, which is different from the surface reliefs by the treatment of laser shock peening. Under high temperature and strain rate, δ phase transformed into γ″ phase. Simultaneously, compared with the δ phase of the larger grain size, the grain size of γ″ phase is much smaller, and is unable to form the surface relief. Warm laser shock peening produced a higher dislocation density and more stabilized dislocations that are pinned by the “Cottrell Clouds” formed by γ″ phase, which can inhibit the residual stress failure at the high temperature-alternating load.
Influences of screw dislocations on electroluminescence of AlGaN/AlN-based UVC LEDs
Authors: Liu Dong , Cho Sang June , Zhang Huilong , Carlos Corey R. , Kalapala Akhil R. K. , Park Jeongpil , Kim Jisoo , Dalmau Rafael , Gong Jiarui , Moody Baxter , Wang Xudong , Albrecht John D. , Zhou Weidong , Ma Zhenqiang
Published: August 2019

We investigated two types of threading dislocations in high Al-composition Al0.55Ga0.45N/AlN multiple quantum well (MQW) structures grown on AlN substrate for electrically injected deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The surface morphology and defects electrical characteristics of the MQW LED structures were examined via conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM). We found that the disparity between photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) spectra in terms of light emission output and wavelength shift are attributed to the existence of the surface hillocks, especially to the ones that have open-core dislocations. The open-core dislocations form current leakage paths through their defect states and the composition inhomogeneity (i.e., Ga rich) at the dislocation sites are responsible for the light emission at longer wavelengths.
Comparative 1D optoelectrical simulation of the perovskite solar cell
Authors: Haidari Gholamhosain
Published: August 2019

The metal-halide perovskite solar cell has risen to the vanguard of photovoltaic research and offers the potential to merge low-cost fabrication with high-power conversion efficiency. Certainly, simulation along with experimental studies will contribute to a better understanding of the operation mechanism of PSC and the need to further improve device performance. In this study, the combinations of the optical transfer matrix method and electrical method based on the solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS) were used for 1D optoelectrical modeling of the planar PSC. In order to investigate the capability of this simple model, most of the related options such as absorption coefficient, optical reflection, defects, and interface trap were set. The comparison of the optoelectrical simulated EQE and JV curve of the CH3NH3PbI3 planar solar cell with the experimental ones showed that compared to the most only-electrical 1D modeling, the results are more similar to the experimental ones. However, this 1D model is not fully capable of much matching between the simulation and experimental results. By comparing the experimental and simulated results, the comparable VOC and JSC, as well as a difference in FF and PCE, are observed. In addition to the dark saturation current and ideality factor, the resistance losses and ionic emigration, which are not presented in this optoelectrical model, were introduced as the main factors for describing the differences in the values of the compared parameters.
New insights and innovation from a million crystal structures in the Cambridge Structural Database
Authors: Cole Jason C. , Wiggin Seth , Stanzione Francesca
Published: August 2019

The Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) is the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of organic, organometallic, and metal-organic crystal structure information. Analyses using the data have wide impact across the chemical sciences in allowing understanding of structural preferences. In this short review, we illustrate the more common methods by which CSD data influence molecular design. We show how more data could lead to more refined insights into the future using a simple example of trifluoromethylphenyl fragments, highlighting how with sufficient data one can build a reasonable model of geometric change in a chemical fragment with torsional rotation, and show some recent examples where the CSD has been used in conjunction with other methods to provide design ideas and more computationally tractable workflows for derivation of useful insights into structural design.
Accurate single-shot measurement technique for the spectral distribution of GeV electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator
Authors: Hojbota C. I. , Kim Hyung Taek , Shin Jung Hun , Aniculaesei C. , Rao B. S. , Nam Chang Hee
Published: August 2019

We present a technique, based on a dipole magnet spectrometer containing multiple scintillation screens, to accurately characterize the spectral distribution of a GeV electron beam generated by laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). An optimization algorithm, along with a numerical code, was developed for trajectory tracking and reconstructing the electron beam angle, divergence, and energy spectrum with a single-shot measurement. The code was validated by comparing the results with the Monte-Carlo simulation of electron beam trajectories. We applied the method to analyze data obtained from laser wakefield acceleration experiments performed using a multi-Petawatt laser to accelerate electron beams to multi-GeV energy. Our technique offers a high degree of accuracy to faithfully characterize electron beams with the nonnegligible shot-to-shot beam pointing fluctuations, particularly in the state-of-the-art multi-GeV LWFA experiments performed to push the energy frontier.
Upregulation of miR-1306-5p decreases cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in vitro by targeting BIK
Authors: Chen Xuelin , Li Caixia , Li Jianghao , Sheng Luoping , Liu Xianglu
Published: August 2019

MiR-1306-5p is involved in the progression of acute heart failure, but its role in ischemic stroke remains unclear. Here, SH-SY5Y cells were exposed to oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) for 4, 8, and 12 h, respectively, and then reoxygenation for 12 h to construct OGD/R induced cell injury model. Cell viability, cell death, and cell apoptosis were assessed with CCK-8 assay, LDH assay, ﬂow cytometry, and caspase-3 activity assay. The target gene of miR-1306-5p was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. We found miR-1306-5p expression was significantly down-regulated in OGD/R-induced SH-SY5Y cell model. Moreover, miR-1306-5p protected SH-SY5Y cell against OGD/R-induced injury. Mechanistically, Bcl2-interacting killer (BIK) was the direct target gene of miR-1306-5p. Furthermore, BIK knockdown mimicked, while overexpression reversed the protective effects of miR-1306-5p against OGD/R induced injury. Our findings thus provide an experimental basis miR-1306-5p targeting BIK-based therapy for cerebral I/R injury.
Portable PSG for sleep stage monitoring in sports: Assessment of SOMNOwatch plus EEG
Authors: Hof Zum Berge Annika , Kellmann Michael , Kallweit Ulf , Mir Shakila , Gieselmann Annika , Meyer Tim , Ferrauti Alexander , Pfeiffer Mark , Kölling Sarah
Published: August 2019

Current sport‐scientific studies mostly neglect the assessment of sleep architecture, although the distribution of different sleep stages is considered an essential component influencing an athlete's recovery and performance capabilities. A mobile, self‐applied tool like the SOMNOwatch plus EEG might serve as an economical and time‐friendly alternative to activity‐based devices. However, self‐application of SOMNOwatch plus EEG has not been validated against conventional polysomnography (PSG) yet. For evaluation purposes, 25 participants (15 female, 10 male; M age = 22.92 ± 2.03 years) slept in a sleep laboratory on two consecutive nights wearing both, conventional PSG and SOMNOwatch plus EEG electrodes. Sleep parameters and sleep stages were compared using paired t‐tests and Bland–Altman plots. No significant differences were found between the recordings for Sleep Onset Latency, stages N1 to N3 as well as Rapid Eye Movement stage. Significant differences (Bias [95%‐confidence interval]) were present between Total Sleep Time (9.95 min [−29.18, 49.08], d = 0.14), Total Wake Time (−13.12 min [−47.25, 23.85], d = −0.28), Wake after Sleep Onset (−11.70 min [−47.25, 23.85], d = −0.34) and Sleep Efficiency (2.18% [−7.98, 12.34], d = 0.02) with small effect sizes. Overall, SOMNOwatch plus EEG can be considered a valid and practical self‐applied method for the examination of sleep. In sport‐scientific research, it is a promising tool to assess sleep architecture in athletes; nonetheless, it cannot replace in‐lab PSG for all clinical or scientific purposes.
Tígueres and Tígueras in Dominican National and Diasporic Culture
Authors: Brown Jacob C.
Published: August 2019

This article explores evolving representations of the Dominican colloquialism and concept tíguere in academic scholarship and Dominican national and diasporic culture. Phonetically, the word tíguere is a “Dominicanized” pronunciation—with one extra syllable added in the middle—of tigre, the Spanish word for tiger. Instead of purporting an exhaustive analysis of every utterance of tíguere in the vast archives of Dominican culture (a Quixotic affair for a single encyclopedia entry), this article observes how scholarship in the last forty years has approached the “tíguere” as a Dominican cultural expression. While academic books and articles on Dominican culture vary insofar as their discussions of the origins of the term and to whom it applies (whether they be men or women; “straight” or queer; black, white, or mixed), they also show continuity in reinforcing the basic characteristics of tigueraje (wit, grit, and resourcefulness; cunning, confidence, and showmanship; stoicism, style, and fierce determination) as expressions of dominicanidad, or Dominican-ness. This article does not pretend to be an exhaustive study but rather shows some of the ways in which authors and academics have spotted and studied tígueres in the milieu of Dominican cultural production. While the growing fields of contemporary Dominican scholarship, media, and literature have gradually deconstructed and adapted the tíguere within critical, queer, gender-inclusive, racially conscious, and transatlantic methodologies, in doing so it has also played a role in reinscribing the tíguere’s place in Dominican culture, both at home on the island and across oceans.
Early Japanese American Literature, 1815–1900
Authors: Leong Andrew Way
Published: August 2019

Early Japanese American literature is not just the sum total of literary works written by the first persons of Japanese descent in the United States. Nor is it just a set of texts where two pre-existing categories of “Japanese” and “American” national literature happened to overlap. Early Japanese American literature is best understood as an ideological terrain, an arena where later, taken-for-granted ideas about the boundaries of identities and literatures known as “Japanese” and “Japanese American” were first constructed.

Due to the enduring legacies of single-nation and monolingual approaches to the study of modern literatures, only a handful of scholars have devoted serious comparative attention to the long history and formal breadth of literary production by persons of Japanese descent who traveled to or resided within the continental United States. In linguistic terms, early Japanese American literary production includes works written in Japanese, English, and other languages, such as classical Chinese, German, and Russian. In historical terms, the emergence of early Japanese American literature extends from travel narratives produced by castaways in the 1820s to the publication of full-fledged literary magazines and newspaper sections in the 1890s. In formal terms, early Japanese American literature includes literary forms that readers more familiar with European contexts might associate with early modernity, such as phrasebooks, essays on education, spiritual autobiographies, and diplomatic guides.
Managing Conflict for Effective Leadership and Organizations
Authors: Tjosvold Dean , Wong Alfred S. H. , Chen Nancy Yi Feng
Published: August 2019

Leaders and employees deal with conflict as they collaborate in the everyday life of organizations and as they confront crises. Depending how they manage conflict, they can frustrate employees and provoke customer complaints but also stimulate their relationships and decision-making. The possibilities of constructive conflict are significant and documented, but the challenges to making conflict constructive are significant too. The practice of defining conflict as a win-lose battle has obscured ways of managing conflict constructively. Fortunately, researchers have developed concepts and findings that can help managers and employees manage conflict. A first step is developing a useful, unconfounded definition of conflict. Deutsch proposed that conflict occurs when there are incompatible activities. Team members are in conflict as they argue for different options for a decision.

Deutsch also theorized that how people believe their goals are related very much affects their interaction, specifically their conflict management. They can conclude that their goals are cooperative (positively related), competitive (negatively related), or independent. People with cooperative goals believe that as one of them moves toward attaining goals, that helps others achieve their goals. In competition, people conclude that their goals are negatively related and only one can succeed in the interaction. In independence, one person ‘s success neither benefits nor harms the others’ success. Researchers have found that the nature of the cooperative or competitive relationship between protagonists has a profound impact on their mutual motivation to discuss conflicts constructively. Cooperative and competitive methods of handling conflict have consistent, powerful effects on constructive conflict. Team members with cooperative goals engage in open-minded discussions where they develop and express their opposing positions, including the ideas, reasons, and knowledge they use to support their positions. They also work to understand each other’s perspectives. They are then in a position to combine the best of each other’s ideas and create effective resolutions of conflict that they are both committed to implement. Teams that rely on cooperative, mutual benefit interaction ways of managing conflict and avoid competitive, win-lose ways been found to use conflict to promote high quality decisions, to stimulate learning, and to strengthen their work relationships. What has an impact on constructive conflict is not so much the occurrence, amount, or type of conflict but how leaders and employees approach and handle their conflicts, specifically, the extent to which their discussions are cooperative and open-minded.
Israel and the European Union
Authors: Pardo Sharon
Published: August 2019

Israeli-European Union (EU) relations have consisted of a number of conflicting trends that have resulted in the emergence of a highly problematic and volatile relationship: one characterized by a strong and ever-increasing network of economic, cultural, and personal ties, yet marked, at the political level, by disappointment, bitterness, and anger. On the one hand, Israel has displayed a genuine desire to strengthen its ties with the EU and to be included as part of the European integration project. On the other hand, Israelis are deeply suspicious of the Union’s policies and are untrusting of the Union’s intentions toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the Middle East as a whole. As a result, Israel has been determined to minimize the EU’s role in the Middle East peace process (MEPP), and to deny it any direct involvement in the negotiations with the Palestinians. The article summarizes some key developments in Israeli-European Community (EC)/EU relations since 1957: the Israeli (re)turn to Europe in the late 1950s; EC–Israeli economic and trade relations; the 1980 Venice Declaration and the EC/EU involvement in the MEPP; EU–Israeli relations in a regional/Mediterranean context; the question of Israeli settlements’ products entering free of duty to the European Common Market; EU–Israeli relations in the age of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP); the failed attempt to upgrade EU–Israeli relations between the years 2007 and 2014; and the Union’s prohibition on EU funding to Israeli entities beyond the 1967 borders. By discussing the history of this uneasy relationship, the article further offers insights into how the EU is actually judged as a global-normative actor by Israelis.
Political Contempt and Religion
Authors: Walker Nathan C.
Published: August 2019

A society’s political and legal treatment of religion is a distinct indicator of the health of a democracy. Consequently, high levels of political and legal contempt for religion in the United States can be an indicator that partners in American democracy may be going through a divorce. By drawing upon studies that measure voter attitudes and behaviors, as well as research that tracks the levels of social hostilities and violence toward religion, students of democracy see into two of society’s most revealing mirrors: political rhetoric and the nation’s laws. These reflections can unveil powerful questions about the true character of a nation: will democracy rule from a place of contempt for the religious other, or from a state of passive political tolerance, or from a constitutional commitment to actively protect the rights of those with whom we disagree? Theories of political tolerance and psychological studies of contempt prove helpful in examining contemporary levels of religious animosity in politics and law. The Religious Contempt Scale, as introduced in this essay, gauges a society’s willingness to tolerate the religious other. When special attention is given to the frequency and degrees of severity of expressions of contempt, it becomes clear that contempt has political utility: to motivate the intolerant to gain access to power and, in turn, to motivate those who are intolerant of intolerance to remove them.
The Evolution of Same-Sex Marriage Policy in the United States
Authors: Poggione Sarah
Published: August 2019

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that same-sex couples have the right to marry, and newspapers across the country declared that gay couples could now exercise this right in all 50 states. While the Obergefell decision was an important moment in history and a significant victory for the LGBT movement, it was not an immediate and complete change in policy. Rather, the change emerged slowly over decades from numerous complex interactions among federal, state, and local governmental actors. These same actors continue to influence marriage equality even after the Supreme Court’s historic ruling.

A careful consideration of the path of marriage equality demonstrates the importance of federalism in the evolution of policy in the U.S. context. Not only does the extent of federal involvement influence state decision-making, but state policies also respond to the policymaking processes in other states. Examining the progression of marriage rights for same-sex couples also illustrates how variation in state government institutions shape policy outcomes in the U.S. system. For example, aspects of state courts such as judicial capacity influence the nature of state policy responses on the issue of gay marriage. Finally, focusing on marriage equality provides an opportunity to consider how institutions of government and political actors strategically interact to influence the policymaking process. For example, advocacy coalitions make strategic choices to focus on levels and institutions of government that are more responsive to their interests. Overall, same-sex marriage policy and the scholarship that investigates it highlight the complex and sometimes convoluted development that characterizes the policymaking process on many important issues in American politics and society.
The Resource Curse in Latin America
Authors: Papyrakis Elissaios , Pellegrini Lorenzo
Published: August 2019

The resource curse hypothesis suggests that countries that are rich in natural resources are more likely to experience poor economic growth and other developmental problems. Latin American countries show a mixed picture, confirming the idea that the resource curse is not a deterministic phenomenon and that dependence on, rather than abundance of, natural resources is associated with developmental failures. When looking beyond the nation state, local communities may benefit from royalties accruing to regional governments, often, though, at the expense of other socioeconomic liabilities (as in the case of negative environmental externalities). The case of Ecuador is in many ways exemplary of the resource curse in Latin America and the failure of policies to overcome the curse. While the country was always a commodity exporter, the intensification of extractive activities and the expansion of the extractive frontier (over the last five decades) intensified the severity of boom-and-bust cycles and compromised socio-environmental values in the vicinity of extractive activity.
Social Complexity, Crisis, and Management
Authors: Roe Emery
Published: August 2019

Because social complexity is rarely defined beforehand, social science discussions often default to natural language concepts and synonyms. Assert a large sociotechnical system is complex or increasingly complex, and notions are triggered of many unknowns, out-of-sight causal processes, and a system difficult to comprehend fully. These terms intimate the potential for, if not actuality of, catastrophes and their unmanageability in the sociotechnical systems. It is not uncommon to find increasing social complexity credited for the generation or exacerbation of major crises, such as nuclear reactor accidents and global climate change, and the need to manage them better, albeit the crises are said to be far more difficult to manage because of the complexity.

The costs of leaving discussions of “complexity, crisis, and management” to natural language are compared here to the considerable benefits that accrue to analysis from one of the few definitions of social complexity developed and used during the past 40 years, that of political scientist Todd R. La Porte. Understanding that a large sociotechnical system is more or less complex depending on the number of its components, the different functions each component has, and the interconnections (including interdependencies) among functions and components highlights key issues that are often missed within the theory and practice of large sociotechnical systems, including society’s critical infrastructures. Over-complexifying the problems and issues of already complex systems, in particular, is just as questionable as oversimplifying that complexity for policy and management purposes.
The Political Economy of NAFTA/USMCA
Authors: Flores-Macías Gustavo A. , Sánchez-Talanquer Mariano
Published: August 2019

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force on January 1st, 1994, it created the largest free trade area in the world, and the one with the largest gaps in development between member countries. It has since served as a framework for trilateral commercial exchange and investment between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. NAFTA’s consequences have been mixed. On the positive side, the total value of trade in the region reached $1.1 trillion in 2016, more than three times the amount in 1994, and total foreign direct investment among member countries also grew significantly. However, the distribution of benefits has been very uneven, with exposure to international competition reducing economic opportunity and increasing insecurity for certain sectors in all three countries.

Twenty-four years later, the three countries renegotiated the terms of NAFTA and renamed it the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). The negotiation responded in part to the need to modernize the agreement, but mostly to President Donald Trump’s concerns about NAFTA’s effect on the U.S. economy and the fairness of its terms. Although the revised agreement incorporated rules that modernize certain aspects of the institutional framework, some new provisions also make trade and investment relations in North America more uncertain.
Financial Globalization and Domestic Policy Autonomy in Latin America
Authors: Datz Giselle
Published: August 2019

Despite theoretical assumptions about the potential for financial liberalization in Latin America to foster economic growth, empirical developments revealed a different story. With financial liberalization came greater macroeconomic instability, exposing countries to financial crises even when domestic economic fundamentals were mostly in order. At the policy front, capital account liberalization posed crucial challenges to macroeconomic governance. Indeed, international political economy literature on financial globalization has highlighted that developing countries’ governments who chose to implement policies that contradicted financial markets’ expectations could be “disciplined” or “punished” by the threat of capital outflows. Yet, capital flows to emerging economies are not determined solely by domestic (push) factors. Even in the most extreme case of noncompliance with investors’ (creditors’) preferences—i.e., sovereign default—evidence shows that market re-access and the cost of new debt are a function of credit cycles rather than solely determined by investors’ decisions to “punish” defaulters. In addition, to the extent that the “market” can indeed be considered as a single analytical category, industry-specific incentives shape portfolio investors’ bets. Caveats also apply to how market reforms differed in nature and degree, even in Latin American countries subjected to similar external pressures. The same is true for policy responses to the 2008 financial crisis. These dynamics add necessary nuance to broad depictions of financial liberalization as a deterministic process unequivocally constraining domestic policy autonomy in predictable ways.
Populist Politics in Africa
Authors: Resnick Danielle
Published: August 2019

Although widely used in reference to the Americas and Europe, the concept of populism has been less frequently applied to political dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa. Populism is variously viewed as a political strategy aimed at fostering direct links between a leader and the masses, an ideational concept that relies on discourses that conjure a corrupt elite and the pure people, and a set of socio-cultural performances characterized by a leader’s charisma, theatrics, and transgression of accepted norms. A cumulative approach that combines all three perspectives allows for identifying episodes of populism in Africa. These include historical cases of populist regimes in the 1980s as well as more contemporary examples of party leaders in the region’s democracies who use populism in their electoral campaigns to mobilize subaltern groups, especially those living in urban areas. As found in other regions of the world, those African leaders who have ascended to the presidency on the back of populism typically exert anti-democratic practices once in office. This reaffirms that populism can allow for greater representation of the poor and marginalized in the electoral process, but that populists’ celebration of popular will and supposedly unmediated ties to the people become convenient justifications for bypassing established institutions and undermining the rule of law.
Religious Regulation in the United States
Authors: McGraw Barbara A. , Richardson James T.
Published: August 2019

Although the United States Constitution presumably was designed to avoid “regulation” of religion, there is an interplay between religious individuals and private organizations, on the one hand, and the state, on the other hand, which has a regulatory effect on religion in some areas of public life. The First Amendment’s “Religious Clauses” prohibit an establishment of religion and preserve the right to free exercise of religion. An important area of contention and development in legislation and Supreme Court jurisprudence involves free exercise accommodations or exemptions to laws and rules that generally apply to everyone. These are particularly at issue in the workplace, in correctional institutions, and in the military. The latter two give rise to establishment issues, which have been resolved in favor of free exercise, as government support of religion has been held to be necessary to preserve the free exercise rights of inmates and service personnel. The enactment of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) have led to a much greater deference to religious rights, resulting in accommodations that would not have been required under preexisting legislation and judicial interpretation. Another such area involves religious organizations themselves, in particular issues regarding tax-exempt status, land use, and faith-based initiatives. A provision in the tax code known as the Johnson Amendment, which restrains religious (and other tax-exempt organizations) from certain political activities, has been challenged recently as a limitation on free speech, however without success so far. Issues involving local government limitations on religious organizations’ land use through zoning restrictions are now being addressed more favorably for religious organizations through the land-use provisions of RLUIPA, although not without controversy. Faith-based initiatives have promoted religious organizations, or faith-based organizations (FBOs), as important government partners, which are eligible to receive public funds for the delivery of social services.

Since the late 20th century, there has been a gradual, but significant shift toward greater respect for individuals’ and groups’ religious rights, especially reflected in recent legislation and Supreme Court decisions. Such trends suggest that, although religion has come into conflict with legal-policy developments in other areas, such as those involving gay marriage and contraception coverage, the right to practice one’s religion and participate in public endeavors alongside nonreligious individuals and groups, is likely to continue to expand for the foreseeable future.
Insomnia and Clinical Sleep Disturbance in Later Life
Authors: Smith Simon
Published: August 2019

Sleep health is understood as a key factor in lifelong health and for social participation, function, and satisfaction. In later life, insomnia and other sleep disturbances are common. Insomnia is experienced as poor, disrupted, or insufficient sleep associated with significant daytime impairments including increased fatigue or reduced energy, impaired cognitive function, and increased mood disturbance. Poor sleep is associated with negative outcomes across a range of dimensions that impair quality of life, increases risk for other diseases, and may interact negatively with the progression and treatment of other disorders. Evidence for effective psychological interventions to improve sleep in later life, specifically cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, is robust and well described. Good sleep should be understood as a substrate for psychological health and a reasonable expectation in later life.
Lethal Violence: A Global View on Homicide
Authors: Oberwittler Dietrich
Published: August 2019

As the most serious crime, homicide is both relevant and suitable for cross-national comparisons. The global homicide rate of ca. 6 per 100,000 people is an average of hugely diverging national rates ranging from 0.25 in Singapore to ca. 100 in El Salvador. The validity of global homicide statistics suffers from various differences in definitions as well as reporting and registration processes. Both criminal justice and causes of death statistics are used by the World Health Organization to construct rates, yet these are available only for a minority of countries. An overview on homicide in history and non-state societies shows that violence levels were considerably higher compared to those in today’s developed world and have dropped dramatically in Europe and North America during the early modern period. The rates first increased and then declined between ca.1960 and today in most developed nations in a synchronized manner, hinting at common influences. In recent years, homicide trends have shown a polarizing pattern, with increasing rates in Latin America and decreasing rates in most other world regions, especially East Asia and the Pacific, where rates have fallen below the European average concurrent with rising scores on the Human Development Index. Except in Eastern Europe, the frequency of homicide is strongly linked to the use of firearms, which account for 44% of homicide cases worldwide.

Longitudinal studies have produced robust evidence for the pivotal role of deprivation and inequality in fostering lethal violence and of social welfare policies in reducing it. Although the transition to democratic political systems seems to increase homicide rates temporarily, the legitimacy of state institutions and the suppression of corruption are connected to lower homicide rates. Because of conceptual and methodological problems, questions concerning the generalizability of effects across space and time remain. Nevertheless, the research findings are sufficiently robust to draw important conclusions for violence prevention: reductions in poverty and income inequality, investments in welfare policies and gender equality, and improvements in the legitimacy of state institutions will help to bring homicide rates down.
Disparity in Capital Sentencing
Authors: Williams Marian R.
Published: August 2019

The death penalty has long been a source of debate and is perhaps the most litigated sentence in the United States. Arguments for the use of the death penalty point to “just deserts” or retribution, while arguments against its use point to its implementation, including how the death penalty is administered (e.g., via electrocution, lethal injection), the types of offenses that are eligible for the death penalty (e.g., murder, rape, treason), and the offenders who are sentenced to death (e.g., males, minorities). This latter concern is the subject of much research, to the extent that a number of U.S. Supreme Court cases have addressed this research, especially in the cases Furman v. Georgia (1972) and McCleskey v. Kemp (1987). Research has indicated that those who are sentenced to death share common characteristics, including gender, minority status, social class, geography, and victim similarities. Overwhelmingly, research has noted that, in general, those who kill White victims are the most likely to receive a death sentence, particularly Black offenders who kill White victims. Also, males are more likely to receive a death sentence than females, low-income individuals are more likely to receive a death sentence than higher income individuals, and committing a capital offense in a handful of counties in the United States increases the likelihood of a death sentence.

It is difficult to determine in most cases the reasons for this disparity. Outright discrimination by prosecutors, judges, and/or juries is a possibility, but the court system has made it extremely difficult for offenders to prove discrimination in their individual cases. Some researchers argue that the criminal justice system is stacked against minorities and the poor, by enforcing laws more forcefully in their neighborhoods and requiring financial resources to defend oneself (e.g., bail, defense attorneys). Regardless of the reason for disparate treatment in individual cases, the fact that disparate treatment exists is concerning in a country whose constitution emphasizes due process and equal protection under the law.
What is a Sequence? The Neural Mechanisms of Perceptual, Motor, and Task Sequences Across Species and Their Interaction with Addiction
Authors: Desrochers Theresa M. , McKim Theresa H.
Published: August 2019

Sequences permeate daily life. They can be defined as a discrete series of items or states that occur in a specific order with a beginning and end. The brain supports the perception and execution of sequences. Perceptual sequences involve tracking regularities in incoming stimuli, such as the series of sounds that make up a word in language. Executed sequences range from the series of muscle activations used by a frog to catch a fly to a chess master mapping her next moves. How the brain controls sequences must therefore scale to multiple levels of control. Investigating how the brain functions to accomplish this task spans from the study of individual cells in the brain to human cognition. Understanding the neural systems that underlie sequential control is necessary to approach the mechanistic underpinnings of complex conditions such as addiction, which may be rooted in difficult-to-extinguish sequential behaviors. Current research focuses on studies in both animal and human models and spans the levels of complexity of sequential control and the brain systems that support it.
Drama and Learning
Authors: Franks Anton
Published: August 2019

As ways of making meaning in drama strongly resemble the ways that meanings are made in everyday social life, forms of drama learn from everyday life and, at a societal level, people in everyday life learn from drama. Through history, from the emergence of drama in Western culture, the learning that results at a societal level from the interactions of everyday social life and drama have been noted by scholars. In contemporary culture, electronic and digitized forms of mediation and communication have diversified its content and massively expanded its audiences. Although there are reciprocal relations between everyday life and drama, aspects of everyday life are selected and shaped into the various cultural forms of drama. Processes of selection and shaping crystallize significant aspects of everyday social relations, allowing audiences of and participants in drama to learn and to reflect critically on particular facets of social life. In the 20th century, psychological theories of learning have been developed, taking note of the sociocultural relationships between drama, play, and learning. Learning in and through drama is seen as being socially organized, whole person learning that mobilizes and integrates the bodies and minds of learners. Making signs and meanings through various forms of drama, it is interactive, experiential learning that is semiotically mediated via physical activity. Alongside the various forms of drama that circulate in wider culture, sociocultural theories of learning have also influenced drama pedagogies in schools. In the later part of the 20th century and into the 21st century, drama practices have diversified and been applied as a means of learning in a range of community- and theater-based contexts outside of schooling. Practices in drama education and applied drama and theater, particularly since the late 20th century and into the early 21st century, have been increasingly supported by research employing a range of methods, qualitative, quantitative, and experimental.
Critical Discourse Analysis and Information and Communication Technology in Education
Authors: Brown Cheryl
Published: August 2019

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is a cross-disciplinary methodological and theoretical approach. At its core CDA explores the intersections between discourse, critique, power, and ideology which hold particular values for those teaching in developing contexts. CDA has emerged as a valuable methodological approach in cultural and media studies and has increased in prominence since the 2010s in education research where it is drawn on to explore educational policy, literacy education, and identity. This research has intersected with the field of information systems which has explored the dominant discourses and discursive practice of how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are viewed in policy and the contradictions between rhetoric and reality. It has also been drawn on in research in developing contexts to critique the role of ICTs in education. A brief historical background to CDA and overview of the key components of the approach will be provided. How CDA has been drawn on in educational studies will be examined and research on CDA will be highlighted to explore discursive practices of students and the influence of students’ digital identities on their engagement with and experience of online learning. By focusing on four key constructs of CDA—namely meaning, context, identity, and power—the potential of CDA to critically investigate how students’ are constructing their technological identity in an increasingly digital world will be demonstrated, particularly as examples of research emanating from developing contexts will be drawn.
China’s Imperial Institution
Authors: Pines Yuri
Published: August 2019

Emperors were the symbolic and administrative pivot of the Chinese empire ever since its establishment in 221 bce. They were arguably the most powerful human beings on earth. Their nominal authority was limitless, and it encompassed the administrative, military, economic, social, religious, and intellectual spheres to mention only a few. Moreover, the emperors’ semi-sacral status added superhuman dimensions to the imperial position. And yet, only very few emperors were able to impose their will in full. The combination of limitless institutional authority and limited personal power is the major paradox of China’s emperorship.

The contradiction between the emperor’s nominal omnipotence and his limited ability to impose his personal will on his subjects was imbued into the imperial institution from its very inception. Chinese thinkers of pre-imperial age (pre-221 bce) sought peace and stability in their realm and came to the conclusion that these are attainable only under the omnipotent universal sovereign. Yet being aware of the dangers of the ruler’s potential mediocrity, these thinkers tried to create a system in which the ruler reigns but not rules, and the effective power rests with the ministers of proven intellectual and moral abilities. Although the system they envisioned never worked perfectly and allowed periodic recurrences of the emperors’ abuse of power, overall their goal was achieved. The imperial literati were more often than not able to moderate the emperor’s whims and create a viable mode of rule in which the hereditary monarchy at the top was maintained by the meritocratic bureaucracy below. Despite persistent tensions, the system was flexible enough to ensure the empire’s exceptional political durability.
Heterogeneity in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Authors: Kohli-Lynch Ciaran N. , Briggs Andrew H.
Published: August 2019

Cost-effectiveness analysis is conducted with the aim of maximizing population-level health outcomes given an exogenously determined budget constraint. Considerable health economic benefits can be achieved by reflecting heterogeneity in cost-effectiveness studies and implementing interventions based on this analysis. The following article describes forms of subgroup and heterogeneity in patient populations. It further discusses traditional decision rules employed in cost-effectiveness analysis and shows how these can be adapted to account for heterogeneity.

This article discusses the theoretical basis for reflecting heterogeneity in cost-effectiveness analysis and methodology that can be employed to conduct such analysis. Reflecting heterogeneity in cost-effectiveness analysis allows decision-makers to define limited use criteria for treatments with a fixed price. This ensures that only those patients who are cost-effective to treat receive an intervention. Moreover, when price is not fixed, reflecting heterogeneity in cost-effectiveness analysis allows decision-makers to signal demand for healthcare interventions and ensure that payers achieve welfare gains when investing in health.