bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigating causality in international air freight and business travel: The case of Australia
Authors: Tan David , Tsui Kan
Published: January 2016

Few studies have examined the link between air cargo and business travel, despite there being a generally accepted understanding that these two variables are inextricably related to each other. This paper examines the relationship between air cargo and business travel at the international level and analyses how these two variables are causally related. Moreover, we break down the sample into three major Australian states (New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria), as each possesses a distinct flavour in trade and commerce. Utilising Granger causality methods, we have found evidence that there is a direct causal relationship between business travel and air cargo in the short run, and a bi-directional relationship in periods of 12 months and longer. The nature of the Granger causality at the state-level substantially differs from state to state, suggesting that the economic landscape of Australia’s local economy has a significant impact on the air cargo and business travel relationship.
Effects of Living Alone on Social Capital and Health Among Older Adults in China
Authors: Xu Qingwen , Norstrand Julie A. , Du Yan
Published: January 2016

Social capital has been connected with positive health outcomes across countries, including China. Given the rise in the number of seniors living alone, there is a need to examine the health benefits of social capital, accounting for living arrangements. Data from the 2005 Chinese General Social Survey were used to test research hypotheses. Controlling for demographics, elders living alone possessed similar level of social capital compared with elders living with others. While bonding and linking social capital were significant factors in urban areas and linking social capital was a significant factor in rural areas, the relationship between living alone and health did not differ based on the level of social capital possession. When the traditional intergenerational living arrangement has not been a valid option for many older adults in China, seeking new way of family caring, and developing appropriate social and institutional structures to assist elders living alone, becomes critical.
Interdisciplinary reflections on the resilience of racial constructs
Authors: Lee Michael Hakmin
Published: January 2016

Why are racial constructs so resilient in the USA? This article proposes that the resilience of pernicious racial constructs in the Western world can be explained in part by people’s predilection for the bounded-set race schema and that any constructive attempt at addressing racism should acknowledge the reality that people are intrinsically category-makers. Part of the solution then involves encouraging greater awareness of category-building strategies, aided and informed by positive intergroup contact and experiences.
Military Service and the Civilian Labor Force
Authors: Brown Christian , Routon P. Wesley
Published: January 2016

The average American military enlistee is likely to differ from the average civilian in employment ambitions and prospects. Current research on veteran wages, however, only examines the effect of military service on average earnings. We employ quantile regression techniques to estimate the effect of military service for the above- and below-average earnings that veterans may experience. We draw data from two longitudinal surveys, one including veterans who served during 1980–1994 and the other including veterans of the early 21st-century wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. For the 21st-century cohort, we find that military service appears to increase wages at and below the median wage but decrease earnings at the high end of the distribution, although these benefits may take several years after service and entry into the civilian labor market to appear.
Implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programmes in Public Administration
Authors: Rubtcova Mariia , Kaisarova Valentina
Published: January 2016

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a pedagogic approach that has developed in response to the demand for integrating education in both school/university subjects and language skills. Our paper is devoted to the implementation of CLIL programmes in Public Administration within a particular sociolinguistic context: that of Russian universities. Using CLIL as a theoretically grounded framework and as an ideological platform of such an introduction, we have described Public Administration students’ and matriculants’ ideas on their current CLIL experience. Data comes from a survey of university students ( N = 141) and formalised interviews with St. Petersburg universities’ matriculants ( N = 43). We draw the conclusion that their social environment is mainly monolingual and they perform daily communication in Russian. This is one of the reasons to promote CLIL as a strong methodological conception in the practice of teaching Public Administration in English in Russian higher education institutions.
From system integration to social integration
Authors: Boyraz Cemil , Turan Ömer
Published: January 2016

The modern republican history of Turkey and its relation with the question of ethnic diversity could be understood via the tension between the processes of system integration and social integration. This article, based on Jürgen Habermas’ conceptual framework, draws the sources of such tension with reference to the Kurdish identity in Turkey since the early republican era. For this purpose, from the 1920s to the 2000s, policies and discourses of system integration aiming at a certain degree of ethnic homogenization to eliminate ‘possible threats’ to territorial integrity and national unity are discussed in detail. While system integration processes reflect an exclusionary and assimilative-securitist logic of state practices regarding the Kurdish question, this article argues that the Kurdish challenge to republicanism and to its system integration logic promises more for the dynamics of social integration. Especially since the 1990s, while processes of system integration are still in force; national, regional and diasporic achievements of Kurdish politics and its call for a democratic transformation of the republic based on decentralist, participatory and multiculturalist values have become much more visible. This new focus on democratic transformation demands more for social integration through internalization of roles as well as through promotion of an active communication between citizens by raising the claims of active participation to social and political spheres as well as by making identity visible in different aspects of socio-cultural life. Degree of social integration and its success vis-à-vis system integration will be decisive in the democratic transformation of Turkey in the future.
The republican ideal of freedom as non-domination and the Rojava experiment
Authors: Cemgil Can
Published: January 2016

This article problematizes the republican reliance on contemporary ‘states as they are’ as protectors and guarantors of the republican notion of freedom as non-domination. While the principle of freedom as non-domination constitutes an advance over the liberal principle of freedom as non-interference, its reliance on the national, territorial, legal-technical and extra-economic contemporary state prevents the theoretical uncovering of its full potential. The article argues that to make the most of the principle of freedom as non-domination, a strong Athenian element is required. The democratic confederalist project that is being experimented with by Syrian Kurds in the cantons of Rojava, it is maintained, can contribute theoretically and practically to this republican ideal through its democratic and participatory mechanisms, despite fundamental challenges it has to face.
Assessing and Strengthening Evidence-Based Program Registries’ Usefulness for Social Service Program Replication and Adaptation
Authors: Horne Christopher S.
Published: January 2016

Background:

Government and private funders increasingly require social service providers to adopt program models deemed “evidence based,” particularly as defined by evidence-based program registries, such as What Works Clearinghouse and National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. These registries summarize the evidence about programs’ effectiveness, giving near-exclusive priority to evidence from experimental-design evaluations. The registries’ goal is to aid decision making about program replication, but critics suspect the emphasis on evidence from experimental-design evaluations, while ensuring strong internal validity, may inadvertently undermine that goal, which requires strong external validity as well.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to determine the extent to which the registries’ reports provide information about context-specific program implementation factors that affect program outcomes and would thus support decision making about program replication and adaptation.

Method:

A research-derived rubric was used to rate the extent of context-specific reporting in the population of seven major registries’ evidence summaries ( N = 55) for youth development programs.

Findings:

Nearly all (91%) of the reports provide context-specific information about program participants, but far fewer provide context-specific information about implementation fidelity and other variations in program implementation (55%), the program’s environment (37%), costs (27%), quality assurance measures (22%), implementing agencies (19%), or staff (15%).

Conclusion:

Evidence-based program registries provide insufficient information to guide context-sensitive decision making about program replication and adaptation. Registries should supplement their evidence base with nonexperimental evaluations and revise their methodological screens and synthesis-writing protocols to prioritize reporting—by both evaluators and the registries themselves—of context-specific implementation factors that affect program outcomes.
Percutaneous approach to the treatment of a totally occluded abdominal aortic stent graft
Authors: Tatli Ersan , Tokatli Alptug , Vatan M Bulent , Aksoy Murat , Can Yusuf , Pabuccu M Turker , Agac M Tarik
Published: January 2016

Aorto femoral bypass is usually the recommended therapy for diffuse disease involving the aorta and iliac arteries. In this case report, a case involving a chronic endovascular abdominal aortic stent graft occlusion in which percutaneous angioplasty was performed via a transbrachial and transfemoral approach is presented. This case emphasized that occlusion of an endovascular abdominal aortic stent graft can also be treated, primarily, with an endovascular technique.
Inclusive local tourism development in South Africa: Evidence from Dullstroom
Authors: Butler Gareth , Rogerson Christian M
Published: January 2016

Growing international debates surround the notion of inclusive tourism development. The objective in this paper is to examine the issues around inclusive tourism development in South Africa through a locality study. The analysis focuses on the small town of Dullstroom which has experienced considerable tourism growth over the past decades as a consequence of its rich tourism products of fly-fishing, agritourism and second homes tourism. Findings are reported from qualitative interviews with black (African) employees of tourism establishments in Dullstroom. The results reveal tourism development in Dullstroom provides a range of positive economic and social benefits for local residents and that this small town exhibits evidence of an inclusive trajectory of tourism development.
The co-evolution of Saldanha Bay (town and hinterland) and its Port
Authors: Welman Lesley , Ferreira Sanette LA
Published: January 2016

Saldanha Bay Port is located 110 km north-west of Cape Town. The port is one of the best natural harbours on the south-western coastline of the African continent. Historically, the establishment of the town of Saldanha Bay and the development of the greater Saldanha Bay region (its hinterland) were linked to the port and its functions. In July 2014 the South African government launched the ‘Phakisa’ strategy to unlock the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans – stylised as the ‘blue economy’ – with Saldanha Bay Port as part of the strategic plan to create jobs and alleviate poverty in the West Coast region. This paper examines the role Saldanha Bay Port has played in the establishment of the town of Saldanha Bay, the transport network in the region, as well as the ongoing evolution and development (socio-economic transformation) of its hinterland. First, an overview is presented of appropriate literature on evolutionary economic geography and on the role of port cities in regional development. Second, the Phakisa strategy for unlocking the economic potential of South Africa’s ocean areas and harbours is introduced. Third, a case study is reported of the co-evolution of Saldanha Bay Port and its hinterland. Finally, conclusions are drawn on port–town and port–region relationships and some suggestions are made for research.
A role for housing in development: Using housing as a catalyst for development in South Africa
Authors: Gunter Ashley , Manuel Kenneth
Published: January 2016

In many parts of the world, housing is as an economic commodity, with the property acting as an asset that accumulates passive wealth for the owner. This trend stems from housing markets in the Global North, yet many formal housing markets in the Global South demonstrate similar characteristics. However, in the Global South, there is a prolific shortage of housing at every level; this has pushed many individuals to seek shelter in the informal housing sector. This situation has meant that the informal housing sector and any associated economic activities are lost to the official development agenda, and housing does not contribute fully to local economic development. This article explores the role of housing in development in South Africa and how a ‘developmental state’, with a housing-driven development strategy, can accelerate development at the local level.
Climate change, tourism and local economic development in South Africa
Authors: Rogerson Christian M
Published: January 2016

Climate change is a major factor impacting upon local economic development futures. South Africa is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world in terms of projected climate change. This article examines issues around climate change impacts for South Africa’s tourism sector and in particular implications for local economic development. It is argued that, whilst tourism represents one of the main drivers of local economic development in small towns and peripheral areas, as a result of capacity and financial constraints municipalities often struggle to undertake effective tourism planning. Accordingly, capacity building for tourism practitioners and policy makers around climate change must become an essential component of the roll out of government tourism support programming to enable South African local governments to manage and sustain partnerships with the private sector, to ensure a deeper understanding of how municipalities can manage the tourism assets within their areas, and to maximise the opportunities of tourism for local economic development.
Neuronal HIF-1α and HIF-2α deficiency improves neuronal survival and sensorimotor function in the early acute phase after ischemic stroke
Authors: Barteczek Philipp , Li Lexiao , Ernst Anne-Sophie , Böhler Laura-Inés , Marti Hugo H , Kunze Reiner
Published: January 2016

Hypoxia-inducible factors mediate adaptive responses to ischemia, among others, by induction of anti- and pro-survival genes. Thus, the impact of HIF on neuronal survival upon stroke is controversial. Therefore, neuron-specific knockout mice deficient for Hif1a and Hif2a were exposed to inspiratory hypoxia or ischemia–reperfusion injury. Both Hif1a- and Hif2a-deficient mice showed no altered infarct and edema size, suggesting that both HIF-α subunits might compensate for each other. Accordingly, hypoxic HIF-target gene regulation was marginally affected with exception of anti-survival Bnip3 and pro-survival erythropoietin. In the early acute stage upon stroke, Hif1a/Hif2a double knockout mice exhibited significantly reduced expression of the anti-survival Bnip3, Bnip3L, and Pmaip1. Accordingly, global cell death and edema were significantly reduced upon 24 h but not 72 h reperfusion. Behavioral assessment indicated that Hif1a/Hif2a-deficient mice initially performed better, but became significantly more impaired after 72 h accompanied by increased apoptosis and reduced angiogenesis. Our findings suggest that in neurons HIF-1 and HIF-2 have redundant functions for cellular survival under ischemic conditions. By contrast, lack of anti-survival factors in Hif1a/Hif2a-deficient mice might protect from early acute neuronal cell death and neurological impairment, indicating a benefit of HIF-pathway inhibition in neurons in the very acute phase after ischemic stroke.
Validation of Models Used to Inform Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines
Authors: Rutter Carolyn M. , Knudsen Amy B. , Marsh Tracey L. , Doria-Rose V. Paul , Johnson Eric , Pabiniak Chester , Kuntz Karen M. , van Ballegooijen Marjolein , Zauber Ann G. , Lansdorp-Vogelaar Iris
Published: January 2016

Background. Microsimulation models synthesize evidence about disease processes and interventions, providing a method for predicting long-term benefits and harms of prevention, screening, and treatment strategies. Because models often require assumptions about unobservable processes, assessing a model’s predictive accuracy is important. Methods. We validated 3 colorectal cancer (CRC) microsimulation models against outcomes from the United Kingdom Flexible Sigmoidoscopy Screening (UKFSS) Trial, a randomized controlled trial that examined the effectiveness of one-time flexible sigmoidoscopy screening to reduce CRC mortality. The models incorporate different assumptions about the time from adenoma initiation to development of preclinical and symptomatic CRC. Analyses compare model predictions to study estimates across a range of outcomes to provide insight into the accuracy of model assumptions. Results. All 3 models accurately predicted the relative reduction in CRC mortality 10 years after screening (predicted hazard ratios, with 95% percentile intervals: 0.56 [0.44, 0.71], 0.63 [0.51, 0.75], 0.68 [0.53, 0.83]; estimated with 95% confidence interval: 0.56 [0.45, 0.69]). Two models with longer average preclinical duration accurately predicted the relative reduction in 10-year CRC incidence. Two models with longer mean sojourn time accurately predicted the number of screen-detected cancers. All 3 models predicted too many proximal adenomas among patients referred to colonoscopy. Conclusion. Model accuracy can only be established through external validation. Analyses such as these are therefore essential for any decision model. Results supported the assumptions that the average time from adenoma initiation to development of preclinical cancer is long (up to 25 years), and mean sojourn time is close to 4 years, suggesting the window for early detection and intervention by screening is relatively long. Variation in dwell time remains uncertain and could have important clinical and policy implications.
Thou Shall Not? The Influence of Religion on Beliefs of Stewardship and Dominion, Sustainable Behaviors, and Marketing Systems
Authors: Leary R. Bret , Minton Elizabeth A. , Mittelstaedt John D.
Published: January 2016

This research explores the macro-level influences of religion on the marketplace by showing how religion influences beliefs of dominion and stewardship, which subsequently influence marketplace attitudes and sustainable behavior. A survey of 1,101 adults was conducted, with results showing religious individuals express greater beliefs of dominion while non-religious individuals express greater beliefs of stewardship. Stewardship beliefs in turn positively influence one’s tendency to engage in sustainable behavior, while dominion does not. These beliefs also mediate the relationship between religiosity and behavior, though the effects of dominion are negative and weaker than those of stewardship. We also provide insight into whom consumers hold responsible for solving sustainability issues, with the non-religious placing responsibility on consumers and the religious placing responsibility on producers. We build off value-belief-norm and attribution theories to discuss how our findings contribute to sustainability in marketing systems and provide greater understanding of the intersection between religion and sustainability.
Effects of Modality and Pace on Achievement, Mental Effort, and Positive Affect in Multimedia Learning Environments
Authors: Izmirli Serkan , Kurt Adile Askim
Published: January 2016

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of instruction given with different multimedia modalities (written text + animation or narration + animation) on the academic achievement, cognitive load, and positive affect in different paces (learner-paced or system-paced); 97 freshmen university students divided into four groups taught in different modalities and paces. These groups are written text + animation and learner-paced (WA + L), written text + animation and system-paced (WA + S), narration + animation and learner-paced (NA + L), and narration +animation and system-paced (NA + S). The findings did not reveal any significant difference between the achievements of the groups. Within the context of cognitive load, modality principle in learner-paced groups was confirmed. Instruction conducted with different multimedia modalities in different paces did not cause any difference between the positive affects of the groups. However, in contrast with the other three groups, the positive affects of the students studying with the NA + L software increased in the posttest when compared with those in the pretest.
Measurement Invariance of the Digital Natives Assessment Scale Across Gender in a Sample of Turkish University Students
Authors: Ursavaş Ömer Faruk , Kabakçı Yurdakul Işıl , Türk Mesut , Mcilroy David
Published: January 2016

With reference to the digital natives’ debate, there is a gap on digital natives’ characteristics. To fill this gap, the Digital Natives Assessment Scale was developed to measure students’ assessment of the degree to which they perceived themselves to possess the attributes of digital natives. The scale was developed within the Turkish language and requires further validation in cross-cultural adaptation processes. Moreover, to ensure scale validity, empirical investigation to test for invariance across different subgroups is required to engender confidence in the generalizability of the measure. This study aimed to provide initial validation of the Turkish Digital Natives Assessment Scale as a current measure for preservice teachers and to examine scale invariance across gender given that gender has been identified as an important contextual factor when studying digital natives’ characteristics and use of digital technology. Confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance analyses across gender for cross-validation were performed. The confirmatory factor analysis results showed that a four-factor structure was confirmed for female and male preservice teachers together and female and male preservice teachers separately. In relation to measurement invariance, the results of the current study indicated support for configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance by gender.
Use of a Cumulative Risk Scale to Predict Poor Intellectual and Academic Outcomes in Childhood Epilepsy
Authors: Kavanaugh Brian C. , Scarborough Vanessa Ramos , Salorio Cynthia F.
Published: January 2016

Discrete risk factors for poor outcomes in childhood epilepsy have been identified, but it is unclear whether the combined effect of several risk factors better predicts outcome. The Epilepsy Cumulative Risk Scale was developed to quantify cumulative risk for poor outcomes in childhood epilepsy. Participants included 156 clinic-referred children with epilepsy. The Epilepsy Cumulative Risk Scale was developed using variables previously associated with functional outcomes. Scale utility was examined through its association with intellectual and academic functioning. All Epilepsy Cumulative Risk Scale variables were significantly associated with functioning. The Total Score (ie, cumulative effect) was most strongly correlated with cognition and academic skills. A Total Score ≥ 5 had the best sensitivity and specificity for differentiating those at high risk for poor outcomes. The Epilepsy Cumulative Risk Scale shows promise as a practical, data-driven tool for quantification of cumulative risk for poor outcomes in childhood epilepsy and may be helpful in detecting those needing referral for additional services.
Prepregnancy Obesity Class Is a Risk Factor for Failure to Exclusively Breastfeed at Hospital Discharge among Latinas
Authors: Martinez Josefa L. , Chapman Donna J. , Pérez-Escamilla Rafael
Published: January 2016

Background:

Suboptimal infant feeding practices, including the failure to exclusively breastfeed, are modifiable risk factors that affect multiple maternal and child health outcomes. Women who are overweight or obese prenatally are more likely to fail to exclusively breastfeed. In the United States, Latinas represent a high-risk population with respect to overweight, obesity, and suboptimal infant feeding practices.

Objectives:

Examine whether exclusive breastfeeding status at hospital discharge among overweight and obese Latinas was associated with (1) prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain and (2) sociodemographic, psychosocial, and maternal/infant biomedical factors.

Methods:

An electronic medical records review was conducted to determine exclusive breastfeeding status at hospital discharge among Latinas who gave birth at Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut, USA (N = 480). Eligible participants were ≥ 16 years, Latina, overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2) and delivered a healthy full-term (≥ 37 weeks) singleton.

Results:

In the multivariable model, obese class II (BMI, 35.0-39.9 kg/m2) women had increased odds of failing to exclusively breastfeed at hospital discharge compared with overweight women. Planned formula use/partial breastfeeding was the single strongest predictor of nonexclusive breastfeeding status. Other risk factors included Puerto Rican ethnicity and parity.

Conclusion:

Maternal prepregnancy obesity class is an important predictor of exclusive breastfeeding status at hospital discharge among overweight and obese Latinas. Future research should examine why in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding behaviors differ by obesity class to subsequently inform the design of breastfeeding promotion and support interventions tailored to the needs of Latinas by obesity class. Culturally appropriate prenatal breastfeeding promotion interventions emphasizing action and coping planning should be considered.
Adapting Safety Rules in a High Reliability Context
Authors: Jahn Jody L. S.
Published: January 2016

Safety rules are unavoidable in hazardous work and are often codified insights from accidents and fatalities. Safety rules research predominantly focuses on factors that influence compliance and violation of rules (a rationalist view), but rarely examines how members draw from safety rules to take action and gain experience. This study draws from and extends an adaptation view of safety rules, which considers how members use safety rules as “tools” to inform action. The study compares how two wildland firefighting workgroups incorporate safety rules into communication practices, and specifically, how they ventriloquize them. From a communication perspective, ventriloquization directs attention to ways safety rules enable members to make sense of hazards, navigate authority, and develop experience. The findings contribute an explanatory workgroup model for how members adapt safety rules into action according to workgroup norms, complementary relationships, and practices, which extends our understanding of adaptive action and learning in hazardous work organizations.
Supervised Event Coding From Text Written in Spanish
Authors: Osorio Javier , Reyes Alejandro
Published: January 2016

Recent innovations in conflict and computer research favor generating massive event data using automated coding protocols. Unfortunately, these approaches almost exclusively rely on English-language sources, thus causing problems of coverage bias and misleading inferences. In an effort to attenuate Anglocentrism in event data, we introduce Eventus ID, new software for supervised event coding from text written in Spanish. Drawing on real news reports, the application generates daily georeferenced data on how the military fights organized criminals in Mexico. Performance metrics show that Eventus ID is almost as accurate as humans for coding event data.
Organizational Characteristics and Volunteering in Age-Friendly Supportive Service Initiatives
Authors: Greenfield Emily A. , Scharlach Andrew E. , Davitt Joan K.
Published: January 2016

We examined organizational characteristics as predictors of volunteering in two age-friendly supportive service initiatives—Villages and Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) Supportive Service Programs. NORC programs and Villages are similar in their aim to promote aging in place, as well as in their emphasis on engaging older adults as both recipients of support and contributors to the initiatives. Guided by a conceptual framework on barriers and facilitators to volunteering, our analysis considered both organizational “nature” factors, which are relatively stable over time and difficult to change (e.g., budget size), as well as organizational “nurture” factors, which are more open to managerial influence (e.g., staff receptivity to volunteers). Based on data from a 2012 national organizational survey, results indicated that organizational characteristics in terms of resources and capacity, as well as value placed on volunteers, were associated with volunteering in Villages and NORC programs. The pattern of predictors, however, differed for volunteers who were also older adult participants in comparison with other community members. For example, we found that having a larger staff was associated with lower levels of volunteer involvement among older adult participants but was not associated with volunteerism among members. Implications for theory and research are discussed, with an emphasis on understanding how correlates of volunteering are conditioned on volunteers’ broader roles within organizations.
Evolution in Board Chair–CEO Relationships
Authors: Cornforth Chris , Macmillan Rob
Published: January 2016

The relationship between chairs and chief executive officers (CEOs) has been largely neglected in research on nonprofit governance. Yet, a growing body of research on corporate governance in the private and public sectors suggests that this relationship is crucial both to the effective functioning of the board and the leadership of the organization. Much of the research on chair–CEO relationships has used cross-sectional research designs ignoring the fact that these relationships will evolve over time. This article responds to some of these challenges. It presents the results from longitudinal research examining the relationship between the chair and chief executive in a nonprofit organization. It shows how this relationship is “negotiated” and develops over time in response to contextual changes.
Experimental study and numerical simulation of clapboard lead damper
Authors: Cheng SL , Du SY , Yan XS , Guo Q , Xin YJ
Published: January 2016

Two types of clapboard-type lead dampers were designed based on plastic energy absorption of lead metal. The hysteretic curves and energy dissipation properties were studied through low cyclic loading test. Also, the typical restoring load model was extracted. The finite-element numerical model of type-A damper was build according to the characteristics and principle of clapboard-type lead dampers. And the damping effect of high-structural Benchmark model installed with type-A damper was analyzed. The results show that the structure of clapboard-type lead dampers is simple, hysteretic curves are plump, hysteretic properties are steady and yield displacement is small, and thus its energy dissipation ability is excellent. The models of finite element and restoring load of dampers are in good agreement with the results of tests, so they have good applicability. The seismic system installed with type-A dampers has an excellent vibration reduction effect. The top-floor acceleration and displacement control effects are 26.7% and 37.4%, respectively.
Evaluation of dynamic and impact wheel load factors and their application in design processes
Authors: Van Dyk Brandon J , Edwards J Riley , Dersch Marcus S , Ruppert Conrad J , Barkan Christopher PL
Published: January 2016

A sustained increase in heavy axle loads and cumulative freight tonnages, coupled with increased development of high-speed passenger rail, is placing an increasing demand on railway infrastructures. Some of the most-critical areas of the infrastructure in need of further research are track components used in high-speed passenger, heavy haul and shared infrastructure applications. In North America, many design guidelines for these systems use historical wheel loads and design factors that may not necessarily be representative of the loading currently experienced on rail networks. Without a clear understanding of the nature of these loads and how design processes reflect them, it is impossible to adequately evaluate the superstructure in order to make design improvements. Therefore, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are conducting research to lay the groundwork for an improved and thorough understanding of the loading environment imparted into the track structure using wheel loads captured by wheel impact load detectors. This paper identifies several design factors that have been developed internationally, and evaluates their effectiveness based on wheel loads using several existing and new evaluative metrics. New design factors are also developed to represent the wheel-loading environment in a different manner. An evaluative approach to historical and innovative design methodologies will provide improvements to designs, based on actual loading experienced on today’s rail networks.
Discourses of Victimization in Sri Lanka’s Civil War
Authors: Seoighe Rachel
Published: January 2016

This article explores the availability of discourses of victimhood to political actors who aim to justify violence and mass atrocity in the name of those victims. Arguing that the label of the ‘victim’ is equally available for distortion and political capitalization as the label of the ‘criminal’ or the ‘terrorist’, this article reflects on the role of the victim in violence and processes of criminalization. Examining the rhetorical tendencies and strategies of both the state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the Sri Lankan civil war, this article describes how the victim was categorized by both sides. This article argues that these categorizations, which simultaneously draw on respective collective memories of victimization are crucial to the manner in which the state’s purported process of post-war ‘reconciliation’ is created and politicized and how victims are included in such a process. Interrogating the post-war landscape of militarization and repression in the country’s Tamil-dominated Northeast, this article also examines new configurations of Tamil victim discourses and their potential as a tool of political agency.
The Legal Question of Morality
Authors: Sellheim Nikolas P
Published: January 2016

The commercial seal hunt has faced significant opposition through campaigns and public opinion. Based on this opposition, the European Union (EU) adopted a regime in 2009, effectively shutting down the EU market for commercial seal products. This ban appears to be based on a European moral standard relating to the welfare of animals, and the EU has successfully defended this claim under the Dispute Settlement Process of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article critically examines whether such a moral standard exists or whether it is merely an opinion without deeper moral contexts. It further discusses the problems relating to drawing moral conclusions based on ‘public opinion’ and responses to a possible accompanying ‘moral standard’. The article delves into the legal dimension of a ‘European morality’ and discusses in how far moral concerns have been dealt with under the WTO and before EU Courts. It becomes evident that whilst arguing for a European moral standard under the WTO, the EU has shown in European case law that the determination of moral standards rests with the nation states.
How walls do work: Security barriers as devices of interruption and data capture
Authors: Pallister-Wilkins Polly
Published: January 2016

What do security barriers do beyond blockading or demarcating territory? This article argues for an understanding of security barriers as sociotechnical devices. It argues for a rearticulation of security barriers as more than territorial technologies or the products and producers of sovereign power. It advances the discussion of security barriers beyond what can be thought of as a ‘geopolitics of security’, where the referent object is territory, and asks that we also consider how they work with mobility as productive devices to govern people in a variety of ways. The article empirically analyses the fences of Ceuta and Melilla, the barriers of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinians, and the US counterinsurgency fence in Falluja. Building on these illustrative cases, the article argues that security barriers should be understood as products of particular modes of government and producers of particular populations through their ability to perform interruptions and capture data.
Locating financialization in a less-developed economy: Micro responses to liberalization and volatility in Pakistan
Authors: Settle Antonia C
Published: January 2016

Drawing on fieldwork findings in homes and marketplaces in Pakistan, the article identifies processes of financialization in a small, open, low-income and fragile state. The article locates empirical responses to financialization in the creation of new speculative asset markets and in new forms of financialized behavior, reflecting new forms of financialized risk. In establishing links between the volatility that arises with liberalization in a context of financialized globalization and the financialization of everyday economic strategies and of certain markets, the analysis pivots around the relationship between risk and money. The article thereby contributes to the financialization literature, taking as a starting point the volatility that the financialization of global markets instills in prices as domestic money itself takes on the volatile pricing patterns of a financialized market. Financialization here plays itself out not in terms of the financial norms of advanced economies but in terms of the specific institutional context of a low-income economy.
Within-Group Effect-Size Benchmarks for Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Children and Adolescents
Authors: Rubin Allen , Washburn Micki , Schieszler Christine
Published: January 2016

Purpose:

This article provides benchmark data on within-group effect sizes from published randomized clinical trials (RCTs) supporting the efficacy of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for traumatized children.

Methods:

Within-group effect-size benchmarks for symptoms of trauma, anxiety, and depression were calculated via the Glass approach and adjusted for sample size using Hedges’ g.

Results:

Overall TF-CBT and control group benchmarks are presented, as well as specific benchmarks for sexual abuse and mixed trauma, and whether included studies utilized intent-to-treat analysis.

Discussion:

Community practitioners can use these benchmarks as a comparison tool to evaluate whether the way they are adopting or adapting the TF-CBT intervention is satisfactory, needs to be modified, or should be replaced by a different intervention approach. These benchmarks also have potential utility for future implementation research on TF-CBT assessing which service provision conditions are associated with effect sizes approximating benchmarks provided in this article.
Adult Relationships in Multiple Contexts and Associations With Adolescent Mental Health
Authors: Capp Gordon , Berkowitz Ruth , Sullivan Kathrine , Astor Ron Avi , De Pedro Kris , Gilreath Tamika D. , Benbenishty Rami , Rice Eric
Published: January 2016

Purpose:

Adult relationships provide critical support for adolescents because of their potential to foster positive development and provide protective influences. Few studies examine multiple ecological layers of adult relationships in connection with well-being and depression. This study examines the influence of relationships from multiple contexts for adolescents and their mental health.

Method:

Data from the 2011 California Healthy Kids Survey was used for this analysis; a sample of 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students ( N = 14,931) was drawn from 6 school districts in Southern California.

Results:

Regression analyses revealed that parent, teacher, and community adult support were all significantly positively associated with well-being and significantly negatively associated with depression.

Discussion:

Social support explained more variance in well-being than in depression, indicating that adult support may be more important for supporting well-being. This study supports the belief that individual categories and combinations of adult support are important.
ICU Deaths in Patients With Advanced Cancer
Authors: Nasir Syed Sameer , Muthiah Muthiah , Ryder Kathryn , Clark Karen , Niell Harvey , Weir Alva
Published: January 2016

Background:

A significant number of advanced cancer admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) are inappropriate in that they do not result in prolonged survival. No clear consensus criteria for reasonable admissions of advanced cancer patients have been developed.

Method:

We established four criteria for reasonable admissions to ICU in patients who suffered from advanced, incurable cancer: post procedure complication, recent notification of cancer, ECOG performance status of 0-1, and life expectancy of more than 6 months. Based on these criteria, we reviewed the charts of all patients who died in the ICU at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) affiliated Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center between 10/2005 and 10/2010. We identified patients with advanced, incurable cancer and performed an in depth review of their charts.

Results:

In the 421 charts of patients who died in our ICU between October 2005 and October 2010 we identified 52 patients admitted to the ICU with advanced, incurable cancer. 14 patients were diagnosed with cancer one month or less prior to admission. 21 patients had ECOG performance status of 0-1. 14 patients had life expectancy of more than 6 months and 8 patients were admitted for post procedure complication. 47% of patients who did not satisfy any of our reasonable admission criteria had APDs.

Conclusions:

Incorporating proposed admission criteria in ICU admission guidelines may prevent 37% of inappropriate, advanced cancer admissions to the ICU. A simple increase in numbers of APDs would not likely change significantly the numbers of inappropriate ICU admissions.
An Observational Study to Explore the Feasibility of Assessing Bereaved Relatives’ Experiences Before and After a Quality Improvement Project to Improve Care of Dying Medical Inpatients
Authors: Clark Katherine , Willis Abby , Byfieldt Naomi
Published: January 2016

Although hospitals are the most likely place of death, the quality of care received by dying inpatients remains variable. This is concerning for both the dying person and their relatives, with poorer bereavement outcomes likely for those who perceived their family member suffered unduly. There is a real need to consider how this situation can be improved. This work was conducted with the aim of exploring the feasibility of including bereaved relatives’ experiences as part of a larger project exploring the use of a care bundle to improve care of the dying inpatients. Fifty relatives of inpatients who had died previously in hospital were contacted by letter with a request for interview before the implementation of a care bundle for the dying, with a care bundle being a collection of care processes that are implemented together. After this project had been in place for 6 months, a further 50 families were contacted who had died on the bundle. Ten families responded initially to the first request and 10 the second, with the interviews based on the Quality of Dying and Death (QODD) tool and a final open-ended question. Although all families who agree to be interviewed completed the session, with regard to the QODD, some families indicated that they would rather talk than provide numeric scores. No major differences in the prescores and postscores were noted. When invited to share their experiences, without prompting, families spoke of consistent concerns that included communication, place of death, and symptom control. This work confirms that it is highly feasible to incorporate assessments of bereaved family members’ opinions as part of the wider assessment of research into end-of-life care.
Violence and Epistemology
Authors: Klausen Jimmy Casas
Published: January 2016

Although some of his most important writings date to the period immediately after the Indian Revolt of 1857, J. S. Mill seemed unable to recognize that British violence might substantively contradict British people’s “civilized” character. Likewise, he could not view Indian actions, including recent insurgent violence, as political but rather only as expressions of “barbarian” character, nor could he consider the occasional reforming native leader effective in producing lasting political change. What enabled Mill to ignore evidence that contradicted his firm generalizations about essentially “barbarian” Indians and “civilized” Britons? Arguing that Mill wrote during an important shift in the order of European knowledge, this article explores two epistemological devices by which Mill consistently reconciled apparent outliers from a class to the rest of the class in question—his characterization of human differences as either “essential” or “accidental” and his reliance on a concept of the “norm” that is ambiguous between normative (ideal) and normal (typical) human character. Analyzing how Mill diminished both violence by the civilized and capacity for political change by barbarians as merely accidental, we can understand how epistemic and physical violence are linked and, more generally, how essentialism functions in the characterization of complex political phenomena.