bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dopamine Receptor Genes Modulate Associative Memory in Old Age
Authors: Papenberg Goran , Becker Nina , Ferencz Beata , Naveh-Benjamin Moshe , Laukka Erika J. , Bäckman Lars , Brehmer Yvonne
Published: September 2016

Previous research shows that associative memory declines more than item memory in aging. Although the underlying mechanisms of this selective impairment remain poorly understood, animal and human data suggest that dopaminergic modulation may be particularly relevant for associative binding. We investigated the influence of dopamine (DA) receptor genes on item and associative memory in a population-based sample of older adults (n = 525, aged 60 years), assessed with a face–scene item associative memory task. The effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of DA D1 (DRD1; rs4532), D2 (DRD2/ANKK1/Taq1A; rs1800497), and D3 (DRD3/Ser9Gly; rs6280) receptor genes were examined and combined into a single genetic score. Individuals carrying more beneficial alleles, presumably associated with higher DA receptor efficacy (DRD1 C allele; DRD2 A2 allele; DRD3 T allele), performed better on associative memory than persons with less beneficial genotypes. There were no effects of these genes on item memory or other cognitive measures, such as working memory, executive functioning, fluency, and perceptual speed, indicating a selective association between DA genes and associative memory. By contrast, genetic risk for Alzheimer disease (AD) was associated with worse item and associative memory, indicating adverse effects of APOE ε4 and a genetic risk score for AD (PICALM, BIN1, CLU) on episodic memory in general. Taken together, our results suggest that DA may be particularly important for associative memory, whereas AD-related genetic variations may influence overall episodic memory in older adults without dementia.
Poetry and Hedonic Error in Plato’s Republic
Authors: Shaw J. Clerk
Published: September 2016

This paper reads Republic 583b-608b as a single, continuous line of argument. First, Socrates distinguishes real from apparent pleasure and argues that justice is more pleasant than injustice. Next, he describes how pleasures nourish the soul. This line of argument continues into the second discussion of poetry: tragic pleasures are mixed pleasures in the soul that seem greater than they are; indulging them nourishes appetite and corrupts the soul. The paper argues that Plato has a novel account of the ‘paradox of tragedy’, and that the Republic and Philebus contain complementary discussions of tragic and comic pleasure.
Choice and Action in Aristotle
Authors: Price A. W.
Published: September 2016

There is a current debate about the grammar of intention: do I intend to φ (whose content is an act), or that I φ (whose content is quasi-propositional)? The equivalent question in Aristotle relates especially to choice (prohairesis). I argue that, in the context of practical reasoning, choice, as also wish (boulēsis), has as its object an act. I then explore the role that this plays within his account of the relation of thought to action. In particular, I discuss the relation of deliberation to the practical syllogism, and the thesis that the conclusion of the second is an action.
Epicurus on Truth and Falsehood
Authors: Bown Alexander
Published: September 2016

Sextus Empiricus ascribes to Epicurus a curious account of truth and falsehood, according to which these characteristics belong to things in the world about which one speaks, not to what one says about them. I propose an interpretation that takes this account seriously and explains the connection between truth and existence that the Epicureans also seem to recognise. I then examine a second Epicurean account of truth and falsehood and show how it is related to the first.
The Preservation of Prophecy in the Jewish Antiquities: Josephus’s Account of Elisha’s Prophecy during the Campaign against Moab
Authors: Briggs Will
Published: September 2016

This project builds on the observations of Begg and Feldman by examining how Josephus ensures prophetic accuracy in his account of 2 Kings 3 in Antiquities 9.3.29-44. It examines the questions of Josephus’s source material for this account and the significant issues in the biblical account Elisha’s prophecy of victory before tracing the steps that Josephus takes to ensure its accuracy in Antiquities for his audience. Josephus slightly alters his Hebrew source in order to allow for the campaign’s final retreat and strengthens the connection between 2 Kings 3 with 1 Kings 22:1-40 by adding the concepts of true and false prophecy and rendering Elisha’s address to Joram in 2 Kings 3:13 as sarcasm. These steps, designed to persuade his audience to believe his apologetic account of Jewish history, allow Josephus to preserve the connection between prophecy and history that he makes throughout Antiquities.
Amitiés Tiers-Monde (1961–1972)
Authors: Rajaonah Faranirina V.
Published: September 2016

Amitiés Tiers-Monde was founded in 1961 by some French protestant people. Its main aim was to support lay people who were witnessing as Christians in the Third World. ATM was first active in the former French colonies so, its links with the Ministry of Development Cooperation and the reservation shown by the Sociétés des missions évangéliques de Paris (SMEP) have hindered the influence of the association. However, new recruitment, thanks in particular to national service volunteers, and the militant third-worldism of some of its members gave some dynamism to ATM. The creation of a unit dedicated to laypeople within the SMEP, restructured in 1971, has been a success for ATM.
La vision politique d’ un animateur de l’ action sociale de l’ Église catholique à Madagascar dans les années 1950
Authors: Nicaise Stéphane
Published: September 2016

The decolonisation process of Madagascar and the subsequent setting up of the first Malagasy Republic in the fifties submitted the Catholic Church, particularly the missionaries, to severe pressure. The Jesuit priest Jean de Puybaudet bearing the colonisers nationality while being engaged in social activities was exposed to such pressure more than others. His action towards improving human and social condition in the country set him in the midst of political forces. He was mistrustfully looked upon both by the colonial administrators and the new Malagasy leaders. He finally paid the high price of expulsion from Madagascar in 1962.
The ecotype paradigm: testing the concept in an ecologically divergent grasshopper
Authors: Raszick Tyler Jay , Song Hojun
Published: September 2016

Schistocerca lineatais a widely distributed species found throughout North America, which is known to be highly variable and displays high levels of local host plant association, with four known ecotypes. Here, we test the hypothesis that the ecotype designation corresponds to genetic differentiation using molecular and morphological data by studying eight populations representing all ecotypes. Three size-dependent measures and one size-independent measure of morphology were used to evaluate phenotypic differences between populations, but these traits varied too greatly within populations and ecotypes to determine a signal of divergence. A phylogeographic analysis was unable to detect a robust signal of population-level genetic divergence. We provide evidence for a single distinct ecotype with a unique feeding habit that is genetically differentiated from all other ecotypes, suggesting that the other ecotype designations may not represent true evolutionary trajectories. Our work illustrates the need for robust molecular data when attempting to define ecotypes.
Didymodon hengduanensis (Bryophyta, Pottiaceae), a new species from the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China
Authors: JIMÉNEZ JUAN A. , LONG DAVID G. , SHEVOCK JAMES R. , GUERRA JUAN
Published: September 2016

Didymodon hengduanensis is described as a new species from the Hengduan Mountains in the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, China. It is characterized mainly by its lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate and appressed-incurved leaves when dry, acute leaf apices, recurved to revolute margins, the yellowish color in KOH, percurrent to subpercurrent costa, and marginal basal cells forming a distinctly differentiated area of smooth and transversely thick-walled cells. Drawings and light microscope photographs of the new species are provided. The principal characters that separate it from the most similar species are discussed.
An annotated checklist of the Collembolan fauna of Thailand
Authors: JANTARIT SOPARK , BEDOS ANNE , DEHARVENG LOUIS
Published: September 2016

The current knowledge of the Collembolan fauna of Thailand is reported here, based on the checklist of Bedos (1994) completed by data on several taxa described since this date, with an update of the taxonomic status of the species. A total of 194 species from 53 genera and 14 families are listed, that were mostly discovered and described during the last three decades. The updated checklist illustrates a strong unevenness in sampling efforts across space and habitats, and in the degree of taxonomic coverage of the different families of the group. Geographically, only the Doi Inthanon massif can be considered as relatively well known, but even there the species in several major habitats and microhabitats have not been sampled. Data are lacking or much more limited for all other regions of the country. The species richness of Thailand is undoubtedly much more than observed number.
Baroclinic-to-Barotropic Pathway in El Niño–Southern Oscillation Teleconnections from the Viewpoint of a Barotropic Rossby Wave Source
Authors: Ji Xuan , Neelin J. David , Mechoso C. Roberto
Published: September 2016

The baroclinic-to-barotropic pathway in ENSO teleconnections is examined from the viewpoint of a barotropic Rossby wave source that results from decomposition into barotropic and baroclinic components. Diagnoses using the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis are supplemented by analysis of the response of a tropical atmospheric model of intermediate complexity to the NCEP–NCAR barotropic Rossby wave source. Among the three barotropic Rossby wave source contributions (shear advection, vertical advection, and surface drag), the leading contribution is from shear advection and, more specifically, the mean baroclinic zonal wind advecting the anomalous baroclinic zonal wind. Vertical advection is the smallest term, while surface drag tends to cancel and reinforce the shear advection in different regions through damping on the baroclinic mode, which spins up a barotropic response. There are also nontrivial impacts of transients in the barotropic wind response to ENSO. Both tropical and subtropical baroclinic vorticity advection contribute to the barotropic component of the Pacific subtropical jet near the coast of North America, where the resulting barotropic wind contribution approximately doubles the zonal jet anomaly at upper levels, relative to the baroclinic anomalies alone. In this view, the barotropic Rossby wave source in the subtropics simply arises from the basic-state baroclinic flow acting on the well-known baroclinic ENSO flow pattern that spreads from the deep tropics into the subtropics over a scale of equatorial radius of deformation. This is inseparably connected to the leading deep tropical Rossby wave source that arises from eastern Pacific climatological baroclinic winds advecting the tropical portion of the same ENSO flow pattern.
Direct-on-Filter α-Quartz Estimation in Respirable Coal Mine Dust Using Transmission Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry and Partial Least Squares Regression
Authors: Miller Arthur L. , Weakley Andrew Todd , Griffiths Peter R. , Cauda Emanuele G. , Bayman Sean
Published: September 2016

In order to help reduce silicosis in miners, the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) is developing field-portable methods for measuring airborne respirable crystalline silica (RCS), specifically the polymorph α-quartz, in mine dusts. In this study we demonstrate the feasibility of end-of-shift measurement of α-quartz using a direct-on-filter (DoF) method to analyze coal mine dust samples deposited onto polyvinyl chloride filters. The DoF method is potentially amenable for on-site analyses, but deviates from the current regulatory determination of RCS for coal mines by eliminating two sample preparation steps: ashing the sampling filter and redepositing the ash prior to quantification by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry. In this study, the FT-IR spectra of 66 coal dust samples from active mines were used, and the RCS was quantified by using: (1) an ordinary least squares (OLS) calibration approach that utilizes standard silica material as done in the Mine Safety and Health Administration's P7 method; and (2) a partial least squares (PLS) regression approach. Both were capable of accounting for kaolinite, which can confound the IR analysis of silica. The OLS method utilized analytical standards for silica calibration and kaolin correction, resulting in a good linear correlation with P7 results and minimal bias but with the accuracy limited by the presence of kaolinite. The PLS approach also produced predictions well-correlated to the P7 method, as well as better accuracy in RCS prediction, and no bias due to variable kaolinite mass. Besides decreased sensitivity to mineral or substrate confounders, PLS has the advantage that the analyst is not required to correct for the presence of kaolinite or background interferences related to the substrate, making the method potentially viable for automated RCS prediction in the field. This study demonstrated the efficacy of FT-IR transmission spectrometry for silica determination in coal mine dusts, using both OLS and PLS analyses, when kaolinite was present.
A Household Is Not a Person: Consistency of Pro-Environmental Behavior in Adult Couples and the Accuracy of Proxy-Reports
Authors: Seebauer Sebastian , Fleiß Jürgen , Schweighart Markus
Published: September 2016

Studies on environmental behavior commonly assume single respondents to represent their entire household or employ proxy-reporting, where participants answer for other household members. It is contested whether these practices yield valid results. Therefore, we interviewed 84 couples, wherein both household members provided self- and proxy-reports for their partner. For use of electrical household appliances, consumption of hot water, space heating, everyday mobility, and environmental values, many variables fail to achieve criteria for validity. Consistency (agreement between self-reports of household members) is higher if behaviors are undertaken jointly or negotiated between partners. Accuracy (agreement of proxy-reports with corresponding self-reports) is higher for routine behaviors and for behaviors easily observable by the partner. Overall, indices perform better than items on single behaviors. We caution against employing individual responses in place of the entire household. Interventions for energy conservation should approach the specific person undertaking the target behavior.
The Development and Validation of the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS)
Authors: Phan Mikki H. , Keebler Joseph R. , Chaparro Barbara S.
Published: September 2016

Objective:

The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically validate a new instrument that comprehensively measures video game satisfaction based on key factors.

Background:

Playtesting is often conducted in the video game industry to help game developers build better games by providing insight into the players’ attitudes and preferences. However, quality feedback is difficult to obtain from playtesting sessions without a quality gaming assessment tool. There is a need for a psychometrically validated and comprehensive gaming scale that is appropriate for playtesting and game evaluation purposes.

Method:

The process of developing and validating this new scale followed current best practices of scale development and validation. As a result, a mixed-method design that consisted of item pool generation, expert review, questionnaire pilot study, exploratory factor analysis ( N = 629), and confirmatory factor analysis ( N = 729) was implemented.

Results:

A new instrument measuring video game satisfaction, called the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS), with nine subscales emerged. The GUESS was demonstrated to have content validity, internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validity.

Conclusion:

The GUESS was developed and validated based on the assessments of over 450 unique video game titles across many popular genres. Thus, it can be applied across many types of video games in the industry both as a way to assess what aspects of a game contribute to user satisfaction and as a tool to aid in debriefing users on their gaming experience.

Application:

The GUESS can be administered to evaluate user satisfaction of different types of video games by a variety of users.
Patients’ perceptions of barriers to self-managing bipolar disorder: A qualitative study
Authors: Blixen Carol , Perzynski Adam T , Bukach Ashley , Howland Molly , Sajatovic Martha
Published: September 2016

Background:

Self-management of bipolar disorder (BD) is challenging for many individuals.

Material:

Interviews were used to assess perceived barriers to disease self-management among 21 high-risk patients with BD. Content analysis, with an emphasis on dominant themes, was used to analyze the data.

Results:

Three major domains of barriers emerged: individual barriers (psychological, knowledge, behavioral and physical health); family/community-level barriers (lack of support and resources); and provider/healthcare system (inadequate communication and access to care).

Conclusion:

Care approaches providing social and peer support, optimizing communication with providers and integrating medical and psychiatric care may improve self-management of BD in this vulnerable population.
Personal suffering and social criticism in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and A. Ginsberg’s Howl: Implications for social psychiatry
Authors: Wigand Moritz E , Wiegand Hauke F , Rüsch Nicolas , Becker Thomas
Published: September 2016

Background:

T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and A. Ginsberg’s Howl are two landmark poems of the 20th century which have a unique way of dealing with emotional suffering.

Aims:

(a) To explore the interplay between emotional suffering, conflicting relationships and societal perceptions; (b) to show the therapeutic effect of the writing process; (c) to analyse the portrayal of ‘madness’; and (d) to discuss, in contemporary psychiatric terms, the ‘solutions’ offered by the poets.

Method:

Qualitative research with a narrative, hermeneutic approach.

Results:

Against the background of wartime/genocide and postwar disillusionment, close relationships are projected onto societal perceptions. Concepts of (self-)control, compassion, empowerment and self-efficacy are offered as solutions to overcome feelings of despair.

Conclusion:

In a time of perceived societal and environmental crises, both poems help us understand people’s fears and how to counteract them. Besides biological approaches, the narrative approach to the suffering human being has not lost its significance.
‘As an undergrad, I don’t have the right to an opinion’: Reconstructing Students as Creative Meaning-makers in the Applied English Language Classroom
Authors: Oostendorp Marcelyn
Published: September 2016

The transformation of higher education has been a pressing concern for policy makers and practitioners. This article provides examples of the transformative potential of assessments designed within the framework of a multi-literacies and heteroglossic pedagogy in an Applied English Language course at a South African university. These assessments, which used multiple semiotic resources and created spaces for contesting voices, allowed students to bring their own expertise into the learning experience. This, it is argued, ultimately led to enhanced student voice and agency, two crucial components in transformative practices.
Generalizing the Network Scale-up Method
Authors: Feehan Dennis M. , Salganik Matthew J.
Published: September 2016

The network scale-up method enables researchers to estimate the sizes of hidden populations, such as drug injectors and sex workers, using sampled social network data. The basic scale-up estimator offers advantages over other size estimation techniques, but it depends on problematic modeling assumptions. The authors propose a new generalized scale-up estimator that can be used in settings with nonrandom social mixing and imperfect awareness about membership in the hidden population. In addition, the new estimator can be used when data are collected via complex sample designs and from incomplete sampling frames. However, the generalized scale-up estimator also requires data from two samples: one from the frame population and one from the hidden population. In some situations these data from the hidden population can be collected by adding a small number of questions to already planned studies. For other situations, the authors develop interpretable adjustment factors that can be applied to the basic scale-up estimator. The authors conclude with practical recommendations for the design and analysis of future studies.
A narrative investigation of adult music engagement
Authors: Rohwer Debbie
Published: September 2016

The purpose of the current study was to describe the musical life experiences of an active, adult community musician through a narrative investigation. Jon is a musically-engaged retired instrumentalist who shares a trust and respect relationship with the researcher. Through data sources of observations, interviews, emails, journals, and pictures, the story of Jon’s musical past and present was portrayed. Jon has a past as a developing musician who had an extensive family background and support system in music; his present represents a dedicated musician who takes on varied roles across ensembles, and who collaborates with others in musical relationships. This story of an engaged musician in the community may have implications for community musicians and teachers.
The role of music participation in positive health and wellbeing outcomes for migrant populations: A systematic review
Authors: Henderson Saras , Cain Melissa , Istvandity Lauren , Lakhani Ali
Published: September 2016

The aim of this review was to identify possible positive health and wellbeing outcomes of participatory music activities for culturally and linguistically diverse people who could be described as vulnerable or “at risk” in particular migrant populations. Nine databases were searched spanning 10 years (2002–2013). The search returned 977 results with 45 articles reviewed. Seven articles met the inclusion criteria with most studies involving adolescents. Despite the reported health outcomes the review identified a scarcity of generalisable quantitative research ( n = 2) and credible qualitative research ( n = 5) indicating a distinct need for robust future investigation in this pertinent area of research.
The Many in the One: Multiple Self States in Combined Psychotherapy
Authors: Levin Uri
Published: September 2016

According to some relational approaches, mental health is expressed by the ability to move between various self-states while maintaining the adequate presence of the illusion that the self is continuous in time and space. Patients undergoing combined therapy are granted with the inimitable space existing between the two forms of therapy—individual and group therapy. Within the combined therapy patients, as well as therapists, are challenged by the multiplicity of self-states arising in light of this complex situation as part of a mutual intersubjective process. The article analyses the advantages of the combined therapy in light of the theories dealing with multiple self states. A clinical vignette will be presented to illustrate the theoretical notions.
Office-Based Assessment of At-Risk Driving in Older Adults With and Without Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Stern Robert A. , Abularach Linda M. , Seichepine Daniel R. , Alosco Michael L. , Gavett Brandon E. , Tripodis Yorghos
Published: September 2016

Background:

A multitest approach is optimal for the identification of at-risk driving among older adults. This study examined the predictive validity of a combination of office-based screening tests for on-road driving performance in older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia.

Methods:

Forty-four normal control, 20 participants with MCI, and 20 participants with dementia completed a battery of office-based assessments. On-road driving evaluation classified participants as not at-risk (n = 65) or at-risk drivers (n = 19).

Results:

Logistic regression revealed age and 2 tests of visual attention abilities (Useful Field of View [UFOV] Divided Attention and Neuropsychological Assessment Battery [NAB] Driving Scenes) best predicted at-risk drivers ( C statistic = 0.90); no cutoff score had both sensitivity and specificity >80%.

Conclusions:

Future research on larger and more clinically representative neurological samples will improve understanding of the utility of the UFOV Divided Attention and NAB Driving Scenes in detecting at-risk older adult drivers in the clinic.
Risk Factors for Cognitive Impairment in Fragile X-Associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome
Authors: Seritan Andreea L. , Kim Kyoungmi , Benjamin Ian , Seritan Ioana , Hagerman Randi J.
Published: September 2016

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease with motor, psychiatric, and cognitive manifestations that occurs in carriers of the fragile X mental retardation 1 ( FMR1) gene premutations. This was a retrospective chart review of 196 individuals (127 men and 69 women) with FXTAS. Forty-six (23%) participants were cognitively impaired, of whom 19 (10%) had dementia. Risk factors for dementia were examined (CGG repeat size; alcohol, benzodiazepine, and opioid use; diabetes; hyperlipidemia; hypertension; hypothyroidism; obesity; sleep apnea; surgeries with general anesthesia; depression; family history of dementia). Thirteen individuals with FXTAS and dementia were then compared to 13 cognitively intact individuals matched on age, gender, and FXTAS stage. CGG repeat size was significantly higher (mean = 98.5, standard deviation [SD] = 22.2) in the dementia group, compared to the cognitively intact group (mean = 81.6, SD = 11.5; P = .0256). These results show that CGG repeat size is a risk factor for FXTAS dementia.
Preoperative Cognitive Performance Dominates Risk for Delirium Among Older Adults
Authors: Jones Richard N. , Marcantonio Edward R. , Saczynski Jane S. , Tommet Douglas , Gross Alden L. , Travison Thomas G. , Alsop David C. , Schmitt Eva M. , Fong Tamara G. , Cizginer Sevdenur , Shafi Mouhsin M. , Pascual-Leone Alvaro , Inouye Sharon K.
Published: September 2016

Background:

Cognitive impairment is a well-recognized risk factor for delirium. Our goal was to determine whether the level of cognitive performance across the nondemented cognitive ability spectrum is correlated with delirium risk and to gauge the importance of cognition relative to other known risk factors for delirium.

Methods:

The Successful Aging after Elective Surgery study enrolled 566 adults aged ≥70 years scheduled for major surgery. Patients were assessed preoperatively and daily during hospitalization for the occurrence of delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method. Cognitive function was assessed preoperatively with an 11-test neuropsychological battery combined into a composite score for general cognitive performance (GCP). We examined the risk for delirium attributable to GCP, as well as demographic factors, vocabulary ability, and informant-rated cognitive decline, and compared the strength of association with risk factors identified in a previously published delirium prediction rule for delirium.

Results:

Delirium occurred in 135 (24%) patients. Lower GCP score was strongly and linearly predictive of delirium risk (relative risk = 2.0 per each half standard deviation difference in GCP score, 95% confidence interval, 1.5-2.5). This effect was not attenuated by statistical adjustment for demographics, vocabulary ability, and informant-rated cognitive decline. The effect was stronger than, and largely independent from, both standard delirium risk factors and comorbidity.

Conclusion:

Risk of delirium is linearly and strongly related to presurgical cognitive performance level even at levels above the population median, which would be considered unimpaired.
Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Luxury Industry
Authors: Wong Jia Yun , Dhanesh Ganga S.
Published: September 2016

The mass marketization of the luxury industry obligates the industry to be mindful of the social and environmental consciousness of nouveau luxury consumers. To meet complex stakeholder expectations, luxury brands have to manage the dual goals of maintaining their elite branding while staying socially and environmentally responsible. These oppositional endeavors unleash uneasy tensions encapsulated in the notion of the corporate social responsibility (CSR)–luxury paradox. Using theoretical frameworks in paradox management and CSR communication, this study examined how luxury brands discursively navigated the CSR–luxury paradox on their websites. Qualitative content analysis conducted across 43 luxury brand websites revealed two discursive strategies used to manage CSR–luxury tensions: (a) harmonious coexistence of paradoxes and (b) convergence of paradoxes. These active, both-and strategies and corresponding substrategies show specific ways in which CSR–luxury tensions are managed and sustained. The findings are instructive not only for the luxury sector but also for organizations faced with oppositional goals in general.
‘I was just gobsmacked’: Care workers’ responses to BBC Panorama’s ‘Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed’; invoking mental states as a means of distancing from abusive practices
Authors: Patterson Anne , Fyson Rachel
Published: September 2016

This article draws upon discourse analytic techniques and discursive psychology to examine how care workers build accounts of viewing the BBC Panorama programme ‘Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed’, which graphically documented the abuse of people with learning disabilities in a residential care setting. A total of 56 interviews were conducted as part of a project concerning adult safeguarding. The analysis considers how care workers report their reactions and the interactional strategies they use to construct themselves as shocked and disbelieving, and thus as oppositional to the extreme practices in the programme. Their role as care workers, and therefore as ‘insiders’ of the industry that allowed such abuse to happen, makes matters of stake and agency live issues for this particular group; and constructions of ‘shock’ and ‘disbelief’ are potential ways for participants to distance themselves from the abuse shown in the programme. More broadly, these data show how the invocation of mental states contributes to the management of other discursive business, namely, that of fending off any association with the aforementioned extreme practices.
Selling science 2.0: What scientific projects receive crowdfunding online?
Authors: Schäfer Mike S. , Metag Julia , Feustle Jessica , Herzog Livia
Published: September 2016

Crowdfunding has emerged as an additional source for financing research in recent years. The study at hand identifies and tests explanatory factors influencing the success of scientific crowdfunding projects by drawing on news value theory, the “reputation signaling” approach, and economic theories of online payment. A standardized content analysis of 371 projects on English- and German-language platforms reveals that each theory provides factors influencing crowdfunding success. It shows that projects presented on science-only crowdfunding platforms have a higher success rate. At the same time, projects are more likely to be successful if their presentation includes visualizations and humor, the lower their targeted funding is, the less personal data potential donors have to relinquish and the more interaction between researchers and donors is possible. This suggests that after donors decide to visit a scientific crowdfunding platform, factors unrelated to science matter more for subsequent funding decisions, raising questions about the potential and implications of crowdfunding science.
Promoting First Relationships®
Authors: Oxford Monica L. , Spieker Susan J. , Lohr Mary Jane , Fleming Charles B.
Published: September 2016

We conducted a community-based randomized control trial with intent-to-treat analysis on Promoting First Relationships® (PFR), a 10-week home visiting program. The study included 247 families with 10- to 24-month-old children who had a recent, open child protective services investigation of child maltreatment. Families were randomly assigned to receive either the 10-week home visiting PFR service or a telephone-based, three-call resource and referral (R&R) service. Across postintervention time points, parents in the PFR condition scored higher than families in the R&R condition in parent understanding of toddlers’ social emotional needs ( d = .35) and observed parental sensitivity ( d = .20). Children in the PFR condition scored lower than children in the comparison condition on an observational measure of atypical affective communication ( d = .19) and were less likely than children in the comparison group to be placed into foster care through 1-year postintervention (6% vs. 13%, p = .042). No significant differences were found on measures of parenting stress or child social–emotional competence, behavior problems, or secure base behavior. Overall, the results show support for the promise of PFR as an intervention for enhancing parent sensitivity and preventing child removals for families in the child welfare system.
Prevalence of Celiac Disease Is Not Increased in ADHD Sample
Authors: Kumperscak Hojka G. , Rebec Ziva K. , Sobocan Sanja , Fras Valerija T. , Dolinsek Jernej
Published: September 2016

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in children and adolescents with ADHD. Method: In all, 102 participants between 4 and 18 years of age diagnosed with ADHD participated in the study ( M = 12.8 years; 84 boys and 18 girls). CD was diagnosed according to the adapted guidelines of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPHGAN). Results: Among 102 tested children and teenagers with ADHD, we did not find anyone with suspected CD, so further diagnostic procedures for CD were not indicated. Conclusion: In our sample of children and teenagers with ADHD, the prevalence of CD was not higher than in the general population. On the basis of the obtained results and the results of similar studies, we conclude that there are not enough data to support screening for CD and the introduction of a gluten-free diet in children with ADHD unless there are additional indications.
Personal Income Tax Revenue Growth and Volatility
Authors: Cornia Gary C. , Johnson R. Bruce , Nelson Ray D.
Published: September 2016

In order to reduce the volatility of the personal income tax in Utah, review and reform efforts recommended a simple flat tax that disallowed all deductions or exemptions. Among the reasons for the recommended flat tax was the argument that it would result in a more stable year-over-year tax revenue stream. This was especially important for education financing. The tax system that was finally adopted retained exemptions and deductions through a tax credit. Using a series of simulations based on twenty-one years of tax returns, we establish that by retaining exemptions and deductions, tax reform efforts failed to appreciably reduce the volatility of personal income tax revenues. These simulations also show that the initially proposed flat income tax with no exemptions or deductions would have decreased volatility at the cost of reducing the growth rate. This study contributes insights, caveats, methodology, and potential alternatives for future individual income tax reforms by focusing on the growth and volatility of three different tax systems.
Training Paraprofessionals to Target Socialization in Students With ASD
Authors: Kim Sunny , Koegel Robert L. , Koegel Lynn K.
Published: September 2016

Although the literature suggests that it is feasible to train paraprofessionals to effectively implement social interventions for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), there is a paucity of research that addresses the social validity of these programs. The present study replicated and extended previous research on paraprofessional training, as well as assessed social validity. Our results suggest that (a) paraprofessionals can be trained to fidelity using a package consisting of lecture and performance feedback, (b) there are collateral gains for paraprofessionals following the training, (c) the social interactions between students with ASD and typically developing peers improve following paraprofessional training, and (d) there is strong social validity in regard to acceptability of the training program. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Insights from analysing tourist expenditure using quantile regression
Authors: Almeida António , Garrod Brian
Published: September 2016

Mature tourism destinations are increasingly needing to diversify their products and markets. To be successful, such strategies require a very detailed understanding of potential tourists’ levels and patterns of spending. Empirical studies of tourist expenditure have tended to employ ordinary least squares regression for this purpose. There are, however, a number of important limitations to this technique, chief among which is its inability to distinguish between tourists who have higher- and lower-than-average levels of spending. As such, some researchers recommend the use of an alternative estimation technique, known as quantile regression, which does allow such distinctions to be made. This study uses a single data set, collected among rural tourists in Madeira, to analyse the determinants of tourist expenditure using both techniques. This enables direct comparison to be made and illustrates the additional insights to be gained using quantile regression.
Fibre-reinforced polymer strengthening of substandard lap-spliced reinforced concrete members: A comprehensive survey
Authors: Garcia Reyes , Guadagnini Maurizio , Pilakoutas Kypros , Pech Poot Luis A
Published: September 2016

Externally bonded Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) confinement is extensively used to improve the bond strength of substandard lap spliced steel bars embedded in reinforced concrete (RC) components. However, the test results from bond tests on such bond-deficient components are not fully conclusive, which is reflected in the few design guidelines available for FRP strengthening. For the first time, this article presents a comprehensive survey on FRP strengthening of substandard lap-spliced RC members, with emphasis on the adopted experimental methodologies and analytical approaches developed to assess the effectiveness of FRP in controlling bond-splitting failures. The main findings and shortcomings of previous investigations are critically discussed and further research needs are identified. This review contributes towards the harmonisation of testing procedures so as to facilitate the development of more accurate predictive models, thus leading to more cost-effective strengthening interventions.
Emotional states recognition, implementing a low computational complexity strategy
Authors: Aguiñaga Adrian Rodriguez , Ramirez Miguel Angel Lopez
Published: September 2016

This article describes a methodology to recognize emotional states through an electroencephalography signals analysis, developed with the premise of reducing the computational burden that is associated with it, implementing a strategy that reduces the amount of data that must be processed by establishing a relationship between electrodes and Brodmann regions, so as to discard electrodes that do not provide relevant information to the identification process. Also some design suggestions to carry out a pattern recognition process by low computational complexity neural networks and support vector machines are presented, which obtain up to a 90.2% mean recognition rate.
The organizational pervasiveness of entrepreneurial orientation across hierarchical levels
Authors: Fellnhofer Katharina
Published: September 2016

This contribution dedicated to entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is centered on the homogeneity of EO across hierarchical levels within organizations. According to the resource-based view of the firm, a path analysis through multiple regression models aims at highlighting significant differences between the perceptions of two hierarchical groups—work group leaders and work group members. Through reports from 301 individuals in four companies, the attention is drawn to the organizational homogeneity of EO, which has not so far been empirically tested. Contrasting the perceived EO and the multiple relationships between two different hierarchical levels reveals no significant differences between work group leaders and work group members. Thus, we can continue to rely on the organizational homogenous pervasiveness of EO. However, as one of the first studies in this sphere, this contribution has its limitations.
The influence of patents on science
Authors: Trerise Jonathan
Published: September 2016

This paper is a critique of the current US patent system along general consequentialist lines. I present a pro tanto case against it because of its effects on scientific inquiry. The patent system is often thought to be justified (or necessary) because it provides incentives to innovate. I challenge this concern. Economists and legal scholars have spent a good portion of time analyzing particular aspects of the patent system. I here synthesize their work, showing how it amounts to a pro tanto moral case against patents. This is the case even though patents are said to incentivize innovation, its disclosure, and its transfer to interested parties. I explore all of these possibilities, finding them to only weakly (at best) support the institution of patent rights. Juxtaposing this weak case for patents along with various problems that patents cause for science, we find a pro tanto case against our current patent system. To my knowledge, no one has tried to synthesize the various concerns I raise, with particular attention to not only the patent’s system purported ability to incentivize innovation, but also to disclose and transfer technology.
Vortex shedding noise from a beveled trailing edge
Authors: Pröbsting Stefan , Zamponi Martina , Ronconi Stefano , Guan Yaoyi , Morris Scott C , Scarano Fulvio
Published: September 2016

Coherent vortex shedding from blunt and beveled trailing edges generates tonal noise, which is usually undesired. To obtain a better understanding of the noise generation under such conditions, the flow field around a beveled trailing edge was characterized for Reynolds numbers based on the bluntness ranging from 2.5 × 104 to 5.1 × 104. Flow field statistics were obtained by means of planar high-speed two-component and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry measurements. The development of the shear layers and vortex roll-up is described in the present study. Related length scales, the vortex formation length, and wake thickness parameter were derived from the measurements. Noise emission due to vortex shedding was predicted from an analytic solution, derived from diffraction theory and the reversed Sears’ problem, and compared to acoustic phased array measurements. This approach has previously been shown to provide accurate results for sharply truncated edges, but questions with regard to the applicability with different trailing edge geometries remained open. The prediction required the auto-spectral density, correlation length, and convective velocity of the upwash velocity component in the vortex formation region. Direct application with data obtained from particle image velocimetry measurements showed an overestimation of about 20 dB when compared to the acoustic measurements. The results thus showed that the prediction of vortex shedding noise based on the simplified wake model and diffraction theory is not generally applicable.
Strengthening Positive Parenting in the Context of Intimate Partner Abuse
Authors: Maríñez-Lora Ané M. , Cruz Marta L.
Published: September 2016

Intimate partner violence has been associated with long-term negative effects on mothers’ mental health status, use of positive parenting practices, and their children’s externalizing behavioral difficulties. Especially strong is the association between concurrent experiences of partner violence and maternal parenting. In this case study, we examined the impact of behavioral parent training on parenting and outcomes for a 6-year-old Latino diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The family was participating in a larger study examining the implementation and cultural adaptations of an evidence-based parent training program, Helping the Noncompliant Child. Mother reported a history of domestic violence and ongoing abusive behavior from her intimate partner but only wanted services focused on addressing child’s behavioral difficulties and improving the quality of parent–child interactions. Adaptations included but were not limited to the translation of all intervention materials, extending the number of sessions focused on each parenting strategy, flexibility with regard to the location and time of therapy sessions, negotiating safe times for the family to participate in treatment, and case management. Parent reports of child behavior and parenting stress moved from the clinical range to the normal range from pre- to post-test. Mother also reported increased use of positive parenting practices. These data, along with closing semi-structured interviews, suggest that within the context of ongoing partner abuse, a mother’s parenting and her child’s behavior can be positively affected by parent training that is adapted and responsive to the context of their family’s situation.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the Treatment of Fontaine Stage IV Thromboangiitis Obliterans
Authors: Hemsinli Dogus , Kaplan Safiye Tuba , Kaplan Sahin , Yildirim Furkan
Published: September 2016

Ischemic wounds unresponsive to standard treatment in thromboangiitis obliterans are associated with amputation, morbidity, and mortality. In this study, hyperbaric oxygen therapy was added to standard treatment of 36 patients with thromboangiitis obliterans with ischemic ulcerated wounds in the extremities. Full recovery was observed in 52.7% of cases (25% at discharge, 27.7% during follow-up). Resting pain after treatment decreased significantly compared to pretreatment levels based on visual analog scale scores (7.1 ± 1.7 vs 2.2 ± 3.0, P = .0001). Mean wound area also decreased significantly after treatment (22.6 ± 17.5 vs 13.02 ± 16.5, P = .0001). The number of patients requiring no assistance during routine daily activities increased significantly (25% vs 55.5%, P = .001). All patients were at Fontaine stage IV before hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The number of patients at stage IIB increased significantly after treatment, while that of patients at stage IV decreased significantly (0% vs 47.2%, P = .0001, and 100% vs 47.2%, P = .0001, respectively). None of our patients was able to walk without pain before treatment; however, walking distance was significantly extended in 16 patients who were capable of walking (0 vs 190.6 ± 129.4 meters, P = .0001). In addition, 11.1% of patients underwent major amputation during follow-up.