bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Così Fan Tutte? Adoption and Rejection of Performance-Related Pay in Italian Municipalities: A Cross-Sector Test of Isomorphism
Authors: Bellé Nicola
Published: May 2010

Using data from Italian municipalities, nonprofits, and business firms, this article explores two sets of relationships. First, sectoral differences in the exposure to institutional forces triggering the adoption of performance-related pay are investigated. Second, this study estimates sectoral differences in the sensitivity to those isomorphic pressures. Coercive pressure is the strongest on municipalities and the weakest on for-profits. Exposition to mimetic pressure tends to be stronger for business establishments compared with both municipalities and nonprofits. For-profits generally face weaker normative forces relative to municipalities and nonprofits. Coercive pressure increases the probability that an organization adopts performance-related pay schemes more in business firms than in nonprofits and more in nonprofits than in municipalities. The effect of normative pressure on the probability of adoption is higher in both municipalities and nonprofits compared with for-profit establishments. Coercive pressure increases the percentage of performance-related pay more in business firms than in nonprofits and more in nonprofits than in municipalities.
Public Sector Volunteering: Committed Staff, Multiple Logics, and Contradictory Strategies
Authors: Dover Graham J.
Published: May 2010

Volunteers in government agencies are significant in the delivery of public services. The participation of these volunteers, however, is not straightforward and is restricted by conflicts between their needs and those of the agency. Although volunteer perspectives have been investigated, less is known about the experience of frontline staff. Using a qualitative study of a municipal ecology center in Canada, the author explores how a staff team committed to volunteers can develop and implement strategies that minimize volunteer involvement. Drawing on a central idea in institutional theory, institutional logics, the author identifies how the blending of elements from three main logics—professionalism, new public management, and community participation—-can create contradictions in the staff’s strategies toward volunteers. For those seeking greater participation of volunteers in public services, the findings suggest a need to recognize and assist frontline staff in navigating the institutional context that can shape volunteer—staff relationships.
Patronage in Illinois: The Political Subjugation of Public Administration
Authors: Hamilton David K.
Published: May 2010

A series of court cases banned patronage except for leadership and confidential positions. In Cook County and Chicago, the Shakman Decree required the establishment of an antipatronage staffing system to ensure that political considerations did not enter into staffing decisions. Despite the court prohibitions and the antipatronage staffing systems, patronage continued to flourish. A number of unethical and illegal violations included falsifying exam scores and interviews, demanding political contributions for jobs and contracts, and covering up wrongdoing. These patronage abuses led to successful criminal prosecution of a number of individuals. Political influence had a corrupting effect on the government bureaucracy. At a time when many public personnel systems are moving toward at-will employment systems to provide flexibility and responsiveness to the political leaders, this direction might not be in the public’s best interest.
Autoethnography in Vocational Psychology: Wearing Your Class on Your Sleeve
Authors: McIlveen Peter , Beccaria Gavin , du Preez Jan , Patton Wendy
Published: May 2010

This article addresses reflective practice in research and practice and takes the issue of consciousness of social class in vocational psychology as a working example. It is argued that the discipline’s appreciation of social class can be advanced through application of the qualitative research method autoethnography. Excerpts from an autoethnographic study are used to explore the method’s potential. This reflexive research method is presented as a potential vehicle to improve vocational psychologists’ own class consciousness and to concomitantly enhance their capacity to grasp social class within their own spheres of research and practice. It is recommended that autoethnography be used for research, training, and professional development for vocational psychologists.
Parental Attitudes Toward Preschoolers’ Career Education: A Mixed-Method Study
Authors: Cinamon Rachel Gali , Dan Orly
Published: May 2010

This mixed-method study examined a neglected area in career education: parents’ attitudes toward the relevance of early career development, parents’ attitudes toward the implementation of career education in preschools (including preferred subjects to be included in curricula), and the contribution of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and education to these attitudes. Fifteen parents were interviewed, and an additional 140 parents (47 men, 93 women; ages 24—55 years) with at least one preschooler (4—6 years old) completed two attitude questionnaires developed for the current study. Results indicated moderate positive agreement with the developmental approach and with preschool implementation of career education. Parents agreed that the curriculum in the preschool system should include some career education, but they wanted it introduced slowly, step-by-step. Almost all of them talked about the need to protect children from the complexity of work. Education and high SES correlated with positive attitudes. The study discusses practical implications for career education programs.
The Interactive Effects of Gender and Mentoring on Career Attainment: Making the Case for Female Lawyers
Authors: Ramaswami Aarti , Dreher George F. , Bretz Robert , Wiethoff Carolyn
Published: May 2010

The moderating effects of biological gender on the relationships between mentoring and career attainment were explored among legal professionals. Research results indicated that male and female lawyers were equally likely to have senior male mentors. However, senior male mentors were associated with higher career attainment only for female lawyers. Compared to male lawyers with senior male mentors, female lawyers with senior male mentors had higher compensation, higher career progress satisfaction, and were more likely to be partners or senior executives. The authors highlight the importance of simultaneously considering mentor gender and position, when studying the role of mentoring and gender in career attainment, contributing to the literature on the career development of women in the legal profession and in male-dominated professions, in general.
Multicultural Issues in Graduate Advising Relationships
Authors: Schlosser Lewis Z. , Talleyrand Regine M. , Lyons Heather Z. , Kim Bryan S. K. , Johnson W. Brad
Published: May 2010

Although advisor—advisee relationships are ubiquitous to graduate training, there is relatively little scholarship bearing on advising relationships. Not surprisingly, the intersection between multiculturalism and advising relationships is also sparse. Given the potential increase in the numbers of People of Color entering graduate training due to the changing demographics in the United States and the influence of advising relationships on advisees’ personal and professional development, it is imperative to address the role of culture in the advising relationship—in this article, we will address race, sex, and sexual orientation. Hence, in this article, we address the potential impact of racial and cultural socialization processes on the advising relationship and organizational contexts.
Applying Visual Metaphors to Career Transitions
Authors: Barner Robert William
Published: May 2010

This article makes use of a case study involving two career professionals to show how visual metaphors can be used as an important part of a constructivist approach to career counseling. It discusses how visual metaphors can serve as an effective methodology for encouraging adults to engage in the self-review of career transitions, discusses comparative approaches to the use of visual metaphors, and explores potential applications of this methodology to career counseling.
Effects of Demographic Variables, Perceived Spousal Support, and Gender Role Attitudes on Taiwanese Women’s Employability
Authors: Lu Luo
Published: May 2010

The aim of this research was to explore demographic, familial, and attitudinal correlates of Taiwanese women’s employment status. Using data from a representative nationwide sample of female workers aged 21 and above (N = 1,047), the author found that (a) the employment rate of females decreased steadily with age, with no sign of reentry into the labor market in middle adulthood; (b) the more educated women had higher employment likelihood throughout the early and middle adulthood than their less educated counterparts, whereas this trend reversed after the age of 60; (c) multivariate analysis confirmed that age, education, personal health, and family income were significant predictors of female employment. In a fast changing society, more concerted research is needed to inform public policies and human resource practices to ameliorate the challenges faced by female workers, to promote social justice and female labor participation.
The Physician Values in Practice Scale-Short Form: Development and Initial Validation
Authors: Rogers Mary E. , Creed Peter A. , Searle Judy , Hartung Paul J.
Published: May 2010

The authors conducted two studies to develop and test a short form of the 60-item Physician Values in Practice Scale (PVIPS). The PVIPS, which draws on the theory of work adjustment for its theoretical base, measures personal values specific to medical occupations. In Study 1, 217 first- and final-year medical students completed a Web-based survey. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis reduced the original PVIPS 60 items to 30. Validity was tested by examining the interfactor correlations among and between the 60-item and 30-item subscales and by examining bivariate correlations with gender and personality. In Study 2, a second sample of 316 first-year medical students responded to the 30-item shortened form. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed 6 subscales measuring the same core values of prestige, service, autonomy, lifestyle, management, and scholarly pursuits that were assessed by the original 60-item version.
The “Patient Patient”: The Trauma of Waiting and the Power of Resistance for People Living With Cancer
Authors: Mulcahy Caitlin M. , Parry Diana C. , Glover Troy D.
Published: May 2010

In Canada’s health care system today, cancer patients are expected to endure long, often painful wait times. In this study we explored whether Gilda’s Club (an organization that supports people affected by cancer) might increase opportunities to resist the role of the “patient patient,” consequently providing a better understanding of how cancer patients cope with the long wait times in Canada’s time-crunched health care system. The research presented here provides examples of the painful waiting experience for cancer patients. Yet, this research also provides examples of patients refusing to be patient. We argue that organizations like Gilda’s Club can provide a space that facilitates resistance and allows patients to become more informed and more participatory in decision-making processes. We conclude that these findings reflect a gap in cancer care in Canada that might be addressed through integrating organizations like Gilda’s Club into standard medical practice for cancer patients.
Reflexivity and Minimization of the Impact of Age-Cohort Differences Between Researcher and Research Participants
Authors: Underwood Mair , Satterthwait Leonn D. , Bartlett Helen P.
Published: May 2010

Reflexivity in research can be defined as (a) the acknowledgment and identification of one’s place and presence in the research, and (b) the process of using these insights to critically examine the entire research process. Many authors implore qualitative researchers to be reflexive. Very few, however, specify how to do this in practice. Furthermore, in discussions of the presence and place of the researcher, the tendency has been to focus on such factors as gender and race or ethnicity with very little attention being given to age or cohort. In this article we seek to redress this deficiency by examining how reflexivity was practiced in a context in which there was a marked difference in age and cohort membership between researcher and research participants. Specifically, we describe the methodological challenges faced by a younger researcher conducting research with older study participants on the lived experience of the body, and how reflexivity was used to adapt the methodology employed so it became more appropriate and productive within this context.
Learning Task Effectiveness and Social Interdependence Through the Mediating Mechanisms of Sharing and Helping: A Survey of Online Knowledge Workers
Authors: Lin Chieh-Peng
Published: May 2010

This study proposes a model by postulating antecedents and mediators related to interemployee linkages as the key drivers of task effectiveness, in which task effectiveness is affected indirectly by expressiveness, outcome, and task interdependence through the mediation of knowledge sharing and interemployee helping. This study conducts empirical testing of the proposed model by investigating online knowledge workers from business organizations in Taiwan and confirms the applicability of interemployee linkages in understanding task effectiveness. This study contributes to the literature related to job effectiveness by validating idiosyncratic drivers of interemployee helping and by performing an operationalization of social interdependence. Lastly, managerial implications and limitations of the research are provided.
Key Components of a School-Located Vaccination Clinic: Lessons Learned From Fall 2009
Authors: Herl Jenlink Carolyn , Kuehnert Paul , Mazyck Donna
Published: May 2010

The 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus vaccination campaign focused on use of school-located vaccination (SLV) clinics because of the ability of SLV to reach targeted populations. Large numbers of children are found in schools, and schools are conveniently located throughout communities. Communities are generally familiar with and trust schools, and school facilities can generally accommodate mass vaccination clinics. School nurses are familiar with the health of individual students and may be available to assist in vaccination activities. In addition, schools have access to parental contact information, which can facilitate communications. Challenges faced by local health departments (LHDs) and schools in implementing 2009 H1N1 SLV clinics, including disruption of educational activities, locating adequate staff, tailoring immunization activities to meet the needs of each school district, and transportation and administration of vaccine, are explored.
Cochlear Implantation in the Very Young Child: Issues Unique to the Under-1 Population
Authors: Cosetti Maura , Roland J. Thomas
Published: May 2010

Since the advent of cochlear implantation, candidacy criteria have slowly broadened to include increasingly younger patients. Spurred by evidence demonstrating both perioperative safety and significantly increased speech and language benefit with early auditory intervention, children younger than 12 months of age are now being successfully implanted at many centers. This review highlights the unique challenges involved in cochlear implantation in the very young child, specifically diagnosis and certainty of testing, anesthetic risk, surgical technique, intraoperative testing and postoperative programming, long-term safety, development of receptive and expressive language, and outcomes of speech perception. Overall, the current body of literature indicates that cochlear implantation prior to 1 year of age is both safe and efficacious.
Health-related quality of life predicts long-term survival in patients with peripheral artery disease
Authors: Issa Samson M , Hoeks Sanne E , Scholte op Reimer Wilma JM , Van Gestel Yvette RBM , Lenzen Mattie J , Verhagen Hence JM , Pedersen Susanne S , Poldermans Don
Published: May 2010

We examined whether health-related quality of life (HRQoL) predicts long-term survival in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) independent of established prognostic risk factors. In 2004, data on 711 consecutive patients with PAD undergoing vascular surgery were collected from 11 hospitals in The Netherlands. After 1 year, patients were contacted to complete the EuroQol Questionnaire (EQ-5D), of which 503 complied. HRQoL assessed by the EQ-5D was divided into tertiles (i.e. poor, intermediate and good HRQoL). Mortality was subsequently assessed 3 years after surgery. Of the 503 patients, 55 (11%) patients died during follow-up. Mortality was 21% in patients with poor HRQoL, 8% in patients with intermediate HRQoL, and 5% in patients with good HRQoL. Patients with poor HRQoL (HR = 5.4; 95% CI 2.3—12.5) had a worse survival compared to patients with a good HRQoL, after adjusting for established prognostic factors. In conclusion, the study indicates that poor HRQoL predicts long-term survival in patients with PAD, and provides prognostic value above established risk factors.
From noted ‘phenomenon’ to ‘missing person’: A case of the historical construction of the unter-journalist
Authors: Bromley Michael
Published: May 2010

Tim Hewat was celebrated during his tenure at Granada Television as one of the most influential journalists working in Britain in the second half of the 20th century, but then largely forgotten for 30 years.This is explained as a function of the specific historicization of journalists, reflecting both academic prejudices and occupational values.The history of journalism is largely devoid of the lived experiences of the majority of its practitioners. Hewat’s case indicates that journalists disappear from history when they step outside the domains of valorized media institutions and journalism hierarchies that contribute to notions such as the Fourth Estate. Mobilizing Paul Thompson’s category of ‘underclasses’, this article argues that this reductionism has largely rendered the majority of journalists historically invisible and classified them as unter-journalists , a kind of sub-category which does not comply with a priori norms.
Between partisanship and cynicism: Italian journalism in a state of flux
Authors: Poletti Monica , Brants Kees
Published: May 2010

The performance of political reporters in liberal democracies is often criticized for its near anti-political stance, an observation shared by politicians, scholars and even journalists themselves. The notion of journalistic cynicism vis-a-vis politics, however, is ambiguous and the picture emerging from research is flawed by its often originating in the USA. Here, a multidimensional conceptualization is proposed — focusing on mistrust, negative tone, irony or sarcasm, and scandal orientation — and tested in a study of newspapers in Italy, a country characterized by a strong partisan tradition but demonstrating recent signs of commercial media logic. Contrary to much of the US findings, however, the media in Italy show a decrease of cynicism in three out of four of the dimensions.
Protecting victims’ identities in press coverage of child victimization
Authors: Jones Lisa M , Finkelhor David , Beckwith Jessica
Published: May 2010

When the names of child victims and other identifying information appear in the media it can exacerbate trauma, complicate recovery, discourage future disclosures and inhibit cooperation with authorities for the children involved. In this study, we evaluated the amount of identifying information available in a systematic sample of 561 newspaper articles about non-fatal child victimizations published from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2004. Identifying information about the victim (e.g. name of the child’s street, school or a family member’s full name) was published in 51 percent of articles covering child victimizations. For cases of sexual assault, victim identifiers were most likely to be included when the alleged offender was related to the victim or was a high-profile community member. Based on these findings, we examine the arguments for and against more restrictive policies regarding identifying information, and suggest some guidelines that would provide additional protections for child victims.
Black-Latino Political Relationships: Policy Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives
Authors: Hero Rodney E. , Preuhs Robert R.
Published: May 2010

Political relations between racial/ethnic groups in America have (a) been commonly examined in terms of the degree of “cooperation” or “conflict” and (b) have most frequently been studied in the arena of urban politics; this has been especially so in the case of Hispanics/Latinos and African Americans. This article represents the first effort to pose and to systematically assess the question of inter—minority group relations in Congress by examining roll call behavior in the U.S. House of Representatives. Using Black and Latino interest group ratings and associated roll call votes from the 104th to 108th Congresses as indicators of Black and Latino interests, we show that Black representatives have voting records very supportive of the most salient concerns of Latinos and that Latino representatives have voting records at least modestly supportive of the most salient concerns of Blacks. At minimum, the findings suggest that Black and Latino representatives support the “other” group at the same level (or higher) than party affiliation alone would suggest and also indicate an absence of conflict that is found in local-level studies.
Money and State Legislative Elections: The Conditional Impact of Political Context
Authors: Seabrook Nicholas R.
Published: May 2010

This study builds on existing literature demonstrating the conditional effects of contextual and conversion factors on the relationship between money and votes in state legislative elections. A conditional theory of the impact of spending in state legislative campaigns is developed, emphasizing that the effectiveness of expenditures should vary according to the number of “up for grabs” voters in a district, candidate quality, and strategic decisions about when to enter a race. Using an original data set of elections to state legislatures in nine states, the analysis provides evidence that the political and institutional context of a race has a significant impact on the effectiveness of campaign spending. Specifically, the percentage of registered independents in a district, the presence or absence of term limits on legislators, and the level of professionalism of a legislature each significantly condition the impact of money.
Diabetic Foot Ulcer Calluses Show Histological Similarities to HPV Infection Without Evidence of HPV Involvement by Nested PCR
Authors: Li Lucy , Iwamoto Satori , Jisun Cha  , Falanga Vincent
Published: May 2010

A number of studies have reported an association between callus formation and the development of foot ulcers in diabetic patients. However, it has been noted that calluses may continue to form in spite of bed rest and, presumably, excellent patient compliance with offloading. Additionally, the authors have noted that, histologically, calluses in the diabetic foot often resemble lesions induced by human papillomavirus (HPV). As diabetes is associated with immune depression, the authors hypothesized that HPV may play at least a partial role in the pathogenesis of calluses in diabetic patients. The objective of the reported study was to determine whether calluses around diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers are associated with HPV infection. The authors carried out biopsies on 11 independent calluses from 6 patients with diabetic foot ulcers and analyzed each sample by histology and by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), screening for the presence of DNA from HPV-1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -10, -11, -16, -18, -27, -28, -29, -31, -41, -50, -57, -60, -63, -65, and -77. The callus biopsy specimens showed histological evidence of koilocytes, papillary hyperplasia, hypergranulosis, and hyperkeratosis, a picture very similar to HPV cutaneous infection. However, nested PCR using positive and negative controls did not show detectable levels of HPV DNA. The authors therefore conclude that HPV infection is unlikely to play a significant role in diabetic foot callus pathogenesis, in spite of histological findings similar to those seen with verruca vulgaris.
Review Paper: Basic Concepts to Novel Therapies: A Review of the Diabetic Foot
Authors: O'Loughlin Aonghus , McIntosh Caroline , Dinneen Sean F. , O'Brien Timothy
Published: May 2010

Diabetes mellitus is a global epidemic. Peripheral neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease are complications of diabetes mellitus and the primary causative factors for foot ulceration. Foot ulceration is the leading cause of hospitalization in people with diabetes mellitus. The burden of foot ulceration on health care systems and individual patients is immense. Despite conventional treatment, there persists a high incidence of amputation. A multidisciplinary approach is required to prevent ulcers. This review describes the etiology and risk factors for diabetic foot ulceration and a system for evaluating the diabetic foot. The assessment of neuropathy and the grading of foot ulcers are critically examined. This is important to allow for standardization in clinical trials. The management of diabetic foot syndrome is reviewed. The treatments to ensure vascular supply to the lower limb and control of infection as well as novel therapies, which are becoming available to treat nonhealing, “no-option” diabetic ulcers, are discussed.
The Relationship Between University Student Commitment Profiles and Behavior: Exploring the Nature of Context Effects
Authors: McNally Jeffrey J. , Irving P. Gregory
Published: May 2010

Theoretical concepts from the organizational behavior literature, including commitment, are rarely used to help explain university student behavior. The benefits of doing so might include the development of a synthesis of knowledge about the behavior of students in an organizational setting. Such a synthesis is important because it will help extend organizational commitment literature to student samples and will help explain student behavior as a result of their commitment. As such, the purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to test theoretical propositions advanced by Meyer and Herscovitch concerning the interactive effects of affective, normative, and continuance commitment on students’ focal and discretionary behaviors and (b) to provide an exploratory examination of the notion of a commitment profile “context effect” for normative commitment for students in a university setting. Study measures were gathered from a sample of 287 undergraduate business students. Results showed support for interactive effects of the three components of commitment for both focal and discretionary behavior. Results also showed support for commitment profile differences and for the existence of a normative commitment context effect.
Measuring the Effects of Learning Styles: Is a Little Knowledge Dangerous for Excellence in Management Education?
Authors: Azevedo Ross E. , Akdere Mesut
Published: May 2010

This is an experimental group/control group inquiry into the use of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory as a learning tool as well as a diagnostic tool. The idea is to assess whether it is possible to alter the perception of learners on the divergence of learning styles through an appropriate conditioning process so as to improve learning. One group was conditioned through tying the nature and objective of classroom learning exercises to the four-stage learning cycle of Kolb as a way of using the Kolb Learning Style Inventory experience as a strategy to improve learning; the other was not. Postexercise testing revealed results contrary to expectations. Furthermore, implications for teaching and learning are discussed.
Gendered Narratives: Women’s Subjective Accounts of Their Use of Violence and Alternative Aggression(s) Within Their Marital Relationships
Authors: Banwell Stacy
Published: May 2010

There has been a tendency within discourses of women’s violence to adopt an either/ or binary approach to women’s use of violence in intimate relationships. Women are either portrayed as blameless victims or culpable agents. To dichotomize women’s violence in this way is reductionist. Using in-depth life-story interviews of three women, this research examined women’s use of violence and aggression within the context of their agency, their victimization, and the choices available to them to illustrate how and why this binary approach limits the understanding of women’s violence in intimate relationships.
Dance Ponnaya, Dance! Police Abuses Against Transgender Sex Workers in Sri Lanka
Authors: Nichols Andrea
Published: May 2010

Feminist theory and research are limited in their focus on intersections of gender and sexual orientation in the victimization of sex workers. Through inductive analysis of 24 in-depth interviews and 3 focus groups with male-to-female transgender sex workers in Sri Lanka, police mistreatment was examined to show how the abuses sex workers experience reflect the intersectional nature of gendered victimization. Findings indicate they experience victimization by police simultaneously targeting their feminine gender expression and homosexuality. These abuses include verbal, physical, and sexual abuse as well as inequality in the police response to both their victimization and criminality.
Pathways of Arab/ Palestinian Women in Israel to Crime and Imprisonment: An Intersectional Approach
Authors: Erez Edna , Berko Anat
Published: May 2010

Drawing on intersectionality theory, the article presents pathways of Arab/Palestinian in Israel to crime and imprisonment.The data base comprises of in-depth interviews of three groups: Arab/Palestinian women incarcerated in Israeli prisons for conventional offenses, law enforcement and corrections personnel, and Arab/Palestinian community leaders. Court and prison records were used to validate the interviews of the female offenders (N=10).The study identifies three pathways that lead Arab/Palestinian women to crime and imprisonment. They include: abusive homes and women’s attempts to resist gender oppression, association with criminal men or forbidden potential mates, and managing family-honor expectations. The interviewed Arab/Palestinian women offenders also emphasized how distinct and morally superior they are compared to their sisters who perpetrate security offenses or acts of terrorism. The implications of the study for theory and policy are drawn and discussed.
The Negotiation of Meanings in the Evening News
Authors: Lobo Paula , Cabecinhas Rosa
Published: May 2010

This article discusses the importance of examining gender barriers in the deliberative processes of the public sphere. A participatory democracy is not feasible without the equal inclusion of women’s voices under similar conditions to their male peers. In the past, various studies have shown that women in the media are either rendered invisible or described according to stereotyped characteristics, which results in their ‘symbolic annihilation’. Arguing that television remains an important mass medium in the delivery of news to the general public, a qualitative study was conducted which aimed at understanding how gender meanings in the evening news are negotiated by television viewers. Within this context, a series of focus group discussions was organized in order to examine several gender perceptions of the news which contribute to the development of a critical perspective on media structures and content.
Investigating Evolving Discourses On Human Rights in the Digital Age
Authors: Padovani Claudia , Musiani Francesca , Pavan Elena
Published: May 2010

This article investigates how human rights in the digital age can be considered as an overall frame accommodating fundamental rights and freedoms that relate to communication processes, and related challenges, in societies worldwide. The article brings together different disciplinary backgrounds (communication studies, linguistics and sociology of networks) and complementary empirical analyses of the content, structure and relevance of evolving discourses concerning human rights in the digital age. In doing so, the article defines and adopts a constructivist and communicative approach to the study of world politics, and details its relevance in order to assess the evolution of normative standards concerning communication as a human right in the transnational context.
From a Medical To a Human Rights Perspective
Authors: von Krogh Torbjörn
Published: May 2010

Studies from the US and Western Europe show that persons with disabilities were predominantly portrayed from a medical perspective in the media during the 20th century; that is, with the disability itself in focus, framed as a problem of the individual. Since the 1980s, the United Nations and disability organizations have tried to establish a human rights perspective: where persons with disabilities are seen as persons that do not yet enjoy equal rights, which is a problem that society has to resolve. What can disability organizations do to promote a human rights perspective in the mainstream media? This is a question raised in this case study of the efforts made by the Swedish Disability Federation to influence the public broadcaster Swedish Television. By using media accountability strategies, the federation managed to influence the corporation’s policy documents, diversity strategies, in-house education of producers and reporters, journalistic debates and, in some cases, journalistic output.
The Skilled Social Voice
Authors: Podkalicka Aneta , Thomas Julian
Published: May 2010

Recent approaches to human rights and communication have emphasized the move beyond traditional politics of recognition and self-representation towards the ‘right to be understood’. But how might we better understand the scope and content of such a right and its practical application? This article suggests that the right to be understood has a useful application in interventions aimed at promoting social inclusion and economic participation, and is therefore an important concept beyond its immediate domain of communication policy reform. As an example, the study focuses on YouthWorx, a collaborative youth media project that combines the creative, distributive and social service capabilities of Melbourne youth community broadcaster Student Youth Network, the Salvation Army and the Centre for Creative Industries and Innovation. Drawing on ethnographic research at the YouthWorx site, this article explores the content and practical possibilities of the notional ‘right to be understood’, in the context of a targeted community initiative for ‘youth at risk’.
Language, Cultural and Communication Rights of Ethnic Minorities in South Africa
Authors: Moyo Last
Published: May 2010

This article focuses on ethnic and linguistic minorities and radio broadcasting in South Africa. It examines the country’s language, cultural and broadcasting policies and their potential impact on the participation of ethnic minorities in radio broadcasting. In particular, special focus is given to community and public radio. The study is broadly theoretical and exploratory, and examines how such policies influenced institutional changes in broadcasting and the communication rights of ethnic minorities. The critique of policy is done within the broader context of international human rights law which the South African government has ratified. Some of these treaties clearly put an obligation on state parties to support the rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities. These obligations are not only discussed within a rights framework, but also the country’s specific social and historical context.
Emotion and Motivation: Toward Consensus Definitions and a Common Research Purpose
Authors: Lang Peter J.
Published: May 2010

Historically, the hypothesis driving emotion research has been that emotion’s data-base—in language, physiology, and behavior— is organized around specific mental states, as reflected in evaluative language. It is suggested that this approach has not greatly advanced a natural science of emotion and that the developing motivational model of emotion defines a better path: emotion is an evolved trait founded on motivational neural circuitry shared by mammalian species, primitively prompting heightened perceptual processing and reflex mobilization for action to appetitive or threatening survival cues. As the field moves forward with increasingly sophisticated measurement technology and assessing more complex affective functioning, scientific understanding of human emotion will proceed best within the framework of this mammalian brain model.
Saudi Mothers’ Expected Intentions and Attitudes Toward Breast-Feeding
Authors: Al-Madani Maha , Vydelingum Vasso , Lawrence Judy
Published: May 2010

This article reports the findings of a study that explored pregnant mothers’ attitudes toward infant feeding using an adaptation of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS). A longitudinal study was conducted to examine the attitudes of Saudi pregnant women toward breast-feeding, conducted in 2 stages: during pregnancy and after delivery. When asked during pregnancy, 90% (N = 160) of Saudi women said they intended to breast-feed exclusively. In the follow-up phase, the trend was away from exclusive breast-feeding, particularly among educated and working women, regardless of their awareness of the importance of breast-feeding. The practice of combined feeding became the norm (52%). Maternal breast-feeding intention (the type of feeding the mother planned for the new baby during pregnancy) was not a predictor of attitude toward infant feeding before delivery but was a predictor for breast-feeding 4 months postpartum. It is concluded that religious and cultural factors positively influence breast-feeding intention and attitudes (measured using the modified IIFAS), but other factors resulted in relatively low breast-feeding behavior. The IIFAS was useful in predicting breast-feeding behavior only at 4 months of infant age.
Initiating and Maintaining the Ketogenic Diet in Breastfed Infants
Authors: Cole Nancy W. , Pfeifer Heidi H. , Thiele Elizabeth A.
Published: May 2010

The ketogenic diet has been used as an effective treatment for intractable epilepsy since 1921. Its efficacy in the treatment of epilepsy in infants has been reported to be similar to that in older children. However, there have been no reports in the literature addressing the possibility of continuing breastfeeding during treatment with the ketogenic diet. The authors performed a retrospective chart review of the patients initiated on the ketogenic diet and identified 5 infants who continued to receive breast milk while on the ketogenic diet treatment. All 5 experienced a >90% reduction of seizures during the first month on the ketogenic diet treatment with continued breastfeeding. Four of the 5 were able to maintain >90% reduction of seizures for the duration of their time receiving breast milk while on the ketogenic diet treatment. Traditionally, infants have discontinued breastfeeding prior to diet initiation because of the concern that the carbohydrates in the breast milk will prevent attaining adequate levels of ketosis. It is the authors’ experience with these 5 patients that infants can continue to breastfeed while successfully using the ketogenic diet for seizure treatment.
Elbow Joint Active Replication in College Pitchers Following Simulated Game Throwing
Authors: Manske Robert , Stovak Mark , Cox Kara , Smith Barbara
Published: May 2010

Background:

Elbow injuries are common in college baseball players. Pitching creates stress and fatigue in and around the elbow. Lack of joint proprioception can contribute to nonphysiological joint loading and injury.

Hypothesis:

There will be no difference in elbow joint active reproduction sense following a simulated 3-inning pitching sequence.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional study.

Methods:

Seventeen collegiate pitchers participated. Each pitcher was bilaterally tested for active elbow range of motion using goniometric technique. Percentages of motion determined positions for further study of elbow joint active replication sense (20%, 35%, 50%, 80%). The elbow was passively taken to a position and held for 10 seconds, then returned to full extension. Pitchers were asked to actively reproduce the angle. The opposite elbow was tested in the same manner. One week later, prethrowing joint position reproduction was tested; then a simulated 3-inning game was thrown. Immediately afterward, elbow joint active replication testing was performed. A repeated-measures analysis of variance analyzed differences.

Results:

No change in active joint reproduction occurred in the nondominant elbow at any angle tested. Dominant elbows demonstrated significant losses of active joint reproduction following throwing. Significant differences occurred at the 35% and 80% angles ( P < .05).

Conclusion:

Active elbow joint replication sense may be compromised following 3 innings of throwing. Because joint proprioception is thought to be an important component of joint stabilization, an alteration in joint position sense may increase the risk of elbow injury during throwing.

Clinical Relevance:

Pitching may cause a loss of active elbow joint replication.
Supernatant of stored platelets causes lung inflammation and coagulopathy in a novel in vivo transfusion model
Authors: Vlaar Alexander P. J. , Hofstra Jorrit J. , Kulik Wim , van Lenthe Henk , Nieuwland Rienk , Schultz Marcus J. , Levi Marcel M. , Roelofs Joris J. T. H. , Tool Anton T. J. , de Korte Dirk , Juffermans Nicole P.
Published: May 2010

Transfusion-related acute lung injury is suggested to be a “2-hit” event resulting from priming and activation of pulmonary neutrophils. Activation may result from infusion of lysophosphatidylcholines (LysoPCs), which accumulate during storage of blood products. In the present study, we developed a syngeneic in vivo transfusion model to test whether storage of platelet concentrates (PLTs) results in lung injury in healthy rats as well as in a “2-hit” model using lipopolysaccharide-pretreated rats. In addition, the effect of washing of platelets was studied. In healthy rats, transfusion of aged PLTs caused mild lung inflammation. In LPS-pretreated rats, transfusion of aged PLTs, but not fresh PLTs, augmented pulmonary systemic coagulopathy. When PLTs components were transfused separately, supernatant of aged PLTs, but not washed aged platelets, induced pulmonary injury in the “2-hit” model. Supernatants of aged PLTs contained increased concentrations of LysoPCs compared with fresh PLTs, which enhanced neutrophil priming activity in vitro. We conclude that transfusion of aged PLTs induces lung inflammation in healthy rats. In a “2-hit” model, aged PLTs contribute to pulmonary and systemic coagulopathy, which may be mediated by LysoPCs, which accumulate in the supernatant of PLTs during storage.
Concept-based query expansion for retrieving gene related publications from MEDLINE
Authors: Matos Sérgio , Arrais Joel P , Maia-Rodrigues João , Oliveira José Luis
Published: May 2010

Background

Advances in biotechnology and in high-throughput methods for gene analysis have contributed to an exponential increase in the number of scientific publications in these fields of study. While much of the data and results described in these articles are entered and annotated in the various existing biomedical databases, the scientific literature is still the major source of information. There is, therefore, a growing need for text mining and information retrieval tools to help researchers find the relevant articles for their study. To tackle this, several tools have been proposed to provide alternative solutions for specific user requests.

Results

This paper presents QuExT, a new PubMed-based document retrieval and prioritization tool that, from a given list of genes, searches for the most relevant results from the literature. QuExT follows a concept-oriented query expansion methodology to find documents containing concepts related to the genes in the user input, such as protein and pathway names. The retrieved documents are ranked according to user-definable weights assigned to each concept class. By changing these weights, users can modify the ranking of the results in order to focus on documents dealing with a specific concept. The method's performance was evaluated using data from the 2004 TREC genomics track, producing a mean average precision of 0.425, with an average of 4.8 and 31.3 relevant documents within the top 10 and 100 retrieved abstracts, respectively.

Conclusions

QuExT implements a concept-based query expansion scheme that leverages gene-related information available on a variety of biological resources. The main advantage of the system is to give the user control over the ranking of the results by means of a simple weighting scheme. Using this approach, researchers can effortlessly explore the literature regarding a group of genes and focus on the different aspects relating to these genes.
Chem2Bio2RDF: a semantic framework for linking and data mining chemogenomic and systems chemical biology data
Authors: Chen Bin , Dong Xiao , Jiao Dazhi , Wang Huijun , Zhu Qian , Ding Ying , Wild David J
Published: May 2010

Background

Recently there has been an explosion of new data sources about genes, proteins, genetic variations, chemical compounds, diseases and drugs. Integration of these data sources and the identification of patterns that go across them is of critical interest. Initiatives such as Bio2RDF and LODD have tackled the problem of linking biological data and drug data respectively using RDF. Thus far, the inclusion of chemogenomic and systems chemical biology information that crosses the domains of chemistry and biology has been very limited

Results

We have created a single repository called Chem2Bio2RDF by aggregating data from multiple chemogenomics repositories that is cross-linked into Bio2RDF and LODD. We have also created a linked-path generation tool to facilitate SPARQL query generation, and have created extended SPARQL functions to address specific chemical/biological search needs. We demonstrate the utility of Chem2Bio2RDF in investigating polypharmacology, identification of potential multiple pathway inhibitors, and the association of pathways with adverse drug reactions.

Conclusions

We have created a new semantic systems chemical biology resource, and have demonstrated its potential usefulness in specific examples of polypharmacology, multiple pathway inhibition and adverse drug reaction - pathway mapping. We have also demonstrated the usefulness of extending SPARQL with cheminformatics and bioinformatics functionality.