bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“I Just Wanted to Die”
Authors: Dye Meredith Huey , Aday Ronald H.
Published: April 2013

For women serving life sentences, adjustments to prison are often marked by thoughts of suicide. Many enter prison with specific vulnerabilities that place them at risk for suicide. Using data on 214 female lifers, the authors examined the extent of suicide ideation prior to incarceration as well as current suicide ideation. The relationships between preprison abuse, mental health indicators, prison adjustment factors, prison and family supports, and time served along with sociodemographic variables were analyzed with respect to four categories of preprison and current suicide ideation. Multinomial logistic regression results indicated significant group differences in suicide ideation for abuse histories, depression, family and prison supports, and education level. Among the preprison ideation groups, current depression—not abuse history—distinguished between women with or without current ideation. That is, the way women coped with past abuse was a stronger predictor of current suicide ideation than abuse itself.
Constitutionalist Public Administration Paradigm
Authors: Anderson Lori
Published: April 2013

An essential question for American public administration scholarship is to what degree does (and should) our constitutional heritage influence our approach to administering the public sphere, and has this changed over time. Much scholarship addresses these questions from a normative theoretical perspective. This study investigates whether the normative claim made by the constitutionalist scholars, that the U.S. Constitution should guide public administrative practice, is actually born out of the practice. A longitudinal content analysis of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 from 1966 to 2003 provides evidence that the Constitutionalist Public Administration Paradigm is the predominant public administration paradigm in all the Circulars.
Audism
Authors: Eckert Richard Clark , Rowley Amy June
Published: April 2013

More than 30 years ago, Tom Humphries coined the term “audism” to describe audiocentric (based on hearing and speaking) assumptions and attitudes of supremacy. Only a handful of scholarly articles mention the concept of audism and not one of those is published outside of Deaf Cultural Studies. In this article, audism is broadly defined in the ideological contexts of individual, institutional, metaphysical, and laissez-faire prejudices. Audism is further explained in the context of overt, covert, and aversive practices of discrimination. Examples of the intersections of the theory and practice of audiocentric privilege are explored. Based on critical observations of audism as a stratifying system of oppression, four recommendations are made: increasing public awareness of Deaf American contributions to society (multiculturalism), infusing Deaf-centric curriculum content in education (equity), advocating intergroup dialogues as a transformative pedagogy that further exposes audism as a social injustice (intercultural responsibility), and promoting community service opportunities (ethical citizenship) for students to do volunteer work in the Deaf American Community.
Understanding the Transnational Diffusion of Social Movements
Authors: Shawki Noha
Published: April 2013

This article focuses on the transnational diffusion of social movement ideas. How do social movements in one country or region of the world diffuse to another country or region? How do social movement participants learn about other movements and ideas in faraway countries and mobilize around these same ideas? What are the channels and mechanisms of diffusion? These are the research questions the article addresses. I draw on the theoretical literature on social movements and recent research on diffusion to explore these questions. The discussion is applied to two recent cases of diffusion: The diffusion of the Transition movement from the United Kingdom to the United States and the diffusion of the solidarity economy movement from Latin America, France, and Canada to the United States. I argue that a combination of relational, nonrelational, and mediated diffusion explain the spread of the transition and solidarity economy movements. The article contributes to the literature on social movements in two ways. First, it contributes to the recent efforts to better understand the process of diffusion of social movements and their ideas. Second, it provides an account of two very recent social movements that have not been fully studied and documented yet.
Examining the effect of ‘entre-tainment’ as a cultural influence on entrepreneurial intentions
Authors: Swail Janine , Down Simon , Kautonen Teemu
Published: April 2013

Little is known about the effect that cultural media has in influencing attitudes and behaviours towards entrepreneurship. In addressing this research gap this article employs a neologism – ‘entre-tainment’ – briefly defined as televisual media that stage and perform entrepreneurship for entertainment purposes. This study surveyed university students to test three hypotheses which examine the relationship between perceptions of ‘entre-tainment’ and entrepreneurial intent (multiple regression model using ordinary least squares). The findings conclude that there is a positive relationship between the skills that students believe they ascertain when they watch ‘entre-tainment’, and entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, the social legitimacy that they attach to this cultural media has a similar positive effect. Finally, the greater the social legitimacy attached to ‘entre-tainment’, the stronger the relationship between perceived skills and entrepreneurial intention. The analysis focuses on the broader implications of these findings of potential effects of entre-tainment in transmitting narrow messages of what it means to behave entrepreneurially.
Entrepreneur start-up versus persistence decisions: A critical evaluation of expectancy and value
Authors: Holland Daniel V. , Garrett Robert P.
Published: April 2013

Research suggests that entrepreneurs tend to seek to maximize utility when considering whether to pursue a new venture opportunity. However, when choosing whether to persist with their current venture or not, utility maximization may not be of primary importance. Using a conjoint experiment, this article examines the difference between policies in start-up decisions versus persistence decisions. The analysis of the decisions of 135 entrepreneurs indicates that the manner in which entrepreneurs use expectancy and value in persistence decision policies is significantly different to the way that they use expectancy and value in general opportunity pursuit decision policies. The results offer novel insights into the entrepreneurial decision-making process.
Tax lien sales as local neoliberal governance strategy: The case of Waterbury, Connecticut
Authors: Botein Hilary , Heidkamp C Patrick
Published: April 2013

This article examines bulk sales of municipal property tax liens in the formerly industrial city of Waterbury, Connecticut, USA, in the 1990s, in order to explore the limits and contradictions of neoliberal local governance strategies. In the USA, cities and states create property tax liens by reducing delinquent real estate taxes to a judgment that creates a legal claim against the property at issue. We argue that Waterbury's efforts to resolve its fiscal stress by enhancing short-term revenues ultimately further constrained its revenue base, the tax lien sales reflected a spatial selectivity that created barriers to revitalization when neither the city nor tax lien purchasers had incentives to foreclose on distressed properties in struggling neighborhoods, and the tax lien sales' failure to resolve the city's budget crisis set in motion new efforts at tax base enhancement through real estate-led development in the central business district that also were unsuccessful.
Non-participation in Anti-consumption
Authors: Yuksel Ulku
Published: April 2013

How society affects public welfare and businesses via boycotts has become increasingly important in a connected world. Yet, research on the topic remains scant and focuses mostly on why consumers boycott. This study moves beyond motivations of why consumers participate in boycotts, and examines instead, why individuals are not willing to boycott. This is important because the accounts for non-participation may not be the exact opposite of the reasons to participate. Informants’ reasons for not boycotting were classified into three broad themes: “out of sight, out of mind,” “urge for freedom and self-defence,” and “counterarguments – scepticism or accounts.” The hermeneutic analysis provides a framework for understanding boycott failures.
Journal of Macromarketing Special Issue
Authors: Lee Michael S. W. , Cherrier Hélène , Belk Russell
Published: April 2013

In this introductory editorial we briefly discuss anti-consumption research and society, the focus of this special issue of the Journal of Macromarketing. We then introduce the four peer reviewed articles and two invited commentaries that comprise the special issue, and conclude with future research opportunities.
Dynamic contact force/torque observer: Sensor fusion for improved interaction control
Authors: Bätz Georg , Weber Bernhard , Scheint Michael , Wollherr Dirk , Buss Martin
Published: April 2013

The potential areas of application for robots have gradually extended beyond the classical industrial settings in large-scale enterprizes: nowadays, the integration of robots into daily life has become a central development in robotics. Here, one major challenge is the physical interaction with unknown and/or changing environments. Such an interaction requires knowledge of the exchanged contact forces and torques. To this end, robotic systems are typically equipped with force/torque sensors at the wrist. By using force control schemes that rely on measurements from these sensors, conventional manipulation tasks are successfully executed. In particular, for dynamic manipulation tasks, however, the problem arises that the inertial forces/torques of the end effector have a non-negligible effect on the measurements of the wrist sensor. This degrades the performance of the interaction control and constitutes a safety risk since the actual interaction forces/torques deviate from the desired values. As a solution to this problem, the paper discusses four contact force/torque observer designs: two approaches are based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and two approaches are based on the unscented Kalman filter (UKF). For both types, EKF and UKF, two different measurement vectors are considered: the first one only uses pose and force/torque measurements, whereas the second one also uses acceleration measurements to determine the contact forces and torques. The four observer designs are evaluated in simulation and experiment for six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) tasks.
Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnoses in the Criminal Justice System
Authors: Kopak Albert M. , Metze Amanda V. , Hoffmann Norman G.
Published: April 2013

This study explored the compatibility between the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR) diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse and dependence with the initial ( DSM-5.0) and most recent ( DSM-5.1) proposed diagnostic criteria. Data drawn from a structured clinical interview used in the assessment of 6,871 male and 801 female state prison inmates were analyzed according to the existing and proposed diagnostic formulations. The greatest congruence was observed in cases that received no diagnosis according to the DSM-IV-TR because these also received no diagnosis in the DSM-5.1. Most cases with a current dependence diagnosis received a severe designation according to the proposed criteria. However, those with an abuse diagnosis were divided across various DSM-5.1 severity levels. Some diagnostic criteria were nearly universally endorsed among those classified with the highest severity levels, which indicated that some criteria may serve as cardinal indicators of a severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD). Additional diagnostic criteria not yet suggested for inclusion in the DSM (i.e., preoccupation with alcohol use and alcohol use to relieve emotional distress) were also evaluated. Evidence demonstrated these two criteria served as functional indicators of alcohol use disorder (AUD). This assessment approach can be used to establish appropriate treatment objectives based on the severity of diagnosed AUDs. Meeting these treatment objectives, especially in a correctional population, may have important implications for future offending. Recommendations are made for prospective research in this area.
Adopting ‘imaginaries’: international adoption in the Spanish press
Authors: Anzil Verónica
Published: April 2013

During the last century, mass media joined the institutions which had traditionally provided the elements for shaping perceptions of reality. As a result, they became central to the process of constructing social reality and to the functioning of modern societies. Among these media, the press is especially significant in delineating dominant cultural patterns and social values and through its use of language, building collective ‘imaginaries’ that influence public opinion. Between 1997 and 2010, 46,638 children adopted from abroad came to live in Spain1 and of those, 11,459 (24.5%) went to families in Catalonia. They came from 36 different countries, mostly included in the category of ‘Global South’. Thus, they carry phenotypes that are different from those prevailing in Catalonia but are similar to those of many immigrants living in the region. As media portrayals will affect the (re)construction and transmission of collective ‘imaginaries’ on adoption, adopters, adoptees and the originating and receiving countries, an analysis of the language used in 796 articles referring to intercountry adoption, published between 1997 and 2011 in two of the major newspapers in Catalonia, was undertaken.2
Exploring the influence of international governmental organisations on domestic child welfare policy and practice
Authors: Axford Nick
Published: April 2013

The influence of international governmental organisations (IGOs) on child welfare policy and practice in individual sovereign states is little explored. This article sets out the nature of these bodies’ main work with children. It then considers the mechanisms through which they seek to influence national child welfare policy and practice and the extent to which they can make nation states comply. ‘Soft’ mechanisms, such as awareness-raising, compiling statistical data and demonstration projects are contrasted with ‘hard’ mechanisms, such as making law and financial intervention. The article then reviews the effects of this activity and the factors explaining the varied pattern. It concludes that child welfare policy and practice are increasingly subject to supranational influence and that this has important implications for those seeking to influence this field.1
Delivering the Incredible Years parent programme to foster carers in Wales: reflections from group leader supervision
Authors: Hutchings Judy , Bywater Tracey
Published: April 2013

Growing numbers of children in the UK enter the care system with significant emotional and behavioural problems. The recent increase in numbers of children and the reduction in residential children’s homes have contributed to a growth in foster carer provision. As a result, carers are looking after more vulnerable children. Challenging child behaviours and carers’ lack of skill in dealing with them are the two most common reasons for placement breakdown and foster carers need comprehensive support and additional training to avoid this happening. This article describes carer-specific issues discussed during group leader supervision during a small platform trial of the Incredible Years (IY) parent programme delivered to foster carers in three local authorities in Wales (Bywater et al, 2010). The positive trial results, which are summarised, included reductions in children’s challenging behaviour and carer depression. Issues related to the specific challenges of looking after a fostered child, which were discussed by leaders in preparing for groups and raised by the carers attending, were explored and are presented here. The beneficial effects of the programme on child behaviour and carer mental health, coupled with carer and leader feedback, confirmed the relevance and effectiveness of the IY parent programme for dedicated foster carer groups.
The impact of raising a child with FASD upon carers: findings from a mixed methodology study in the UK
Authors: Mukherjee Raja , Wray Elizabeth , Commers Matthew , Hollins Sheila , Curfs Leopold
Published: April 2013

Research suggests that caring for a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) creates unique challenges for carers. To investigate this, three focus groups and education sessions, attended by 66 people, were held in the UK. Knowledge about FASD and its impact on families was evaluated using the focus groups, the Parental Stress Index and knowledge questionnaire. Eight broad themes were identified from thematic analysis of the focus groups. The findings suggest more support is needed for carers of children with FASD, especially as carers grow older. The implication for current practice should be further evaluated in this group.
The life and work of John Triseliotis
Authors: Parker Roy , Hill Malcolm , Feast Julia
Published: April 2013

John Triseliotis died on 29 September 2012, aged 83. He was a pioneering figure in the field of adoption and fostering whose work and policy influence will benefit social workers, researchers and others involved in adoption and child welfare for many years to come. In addition to his wider influence, John regularly reviewed books for this journal and was always very willing to comment on submissions, most recently a study of illegal practices in the Greek domestic adoption system (Nanou, 2011), a topic close to his heart. Following individual tributes from three of John's colleagues and friends, and to mark his contribution, we are reprinting extracts from his influential book In Search of Origins: The experiences of adopted people (1973).1 The study on which it is based led to the reforms made later that decade, giving adopted people the right to seek information about their backgrounds and the circumstances surrounding their adoption.
Ireland and the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857
Authors: Urquhart Diane
Published: April 2013

This article examines the reasons for and impact of Ireland’s exclusion from the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857. From the eighteenth century, Irish citizens brought private divorce bills to the Irish parliament and to Westminster. The Act of Union in 1800 restricted Irish bills for divorce to Westminster but with the creation of a London divorce court as a result of the 1857 act, the parliamentary basis of divorce was restricted to Ireland and other areas of the empire, such as Canada and India. However, Canada and India’s divorce laws were reformed in 1867 and 1869, respectively, and thereafter Ireland’s Westminster basis of divorce was unique.
Magnetic Resonance Angiography Evidence of Vasospasm in Children With Suspected Acute Hemiplegic Migraine
Authors: Safier Robert , Cleves-Bayon Catalina , Vaisleib Inna , Siddiqui Ali , Zuccoli Giulio
Published: April 2013

Hemiplegic migraine is a rare subtype of migraine that is differentiated by motor weakness in the aura phase. The purpose of this case series was to examine the magnetic resonance angiogram findings of patients suffering from suspected acute hemiplegic migraine. This was a retrospective institutional board review protocol study of 8 patients. All patients received full brain magnetic resonance imaging under a 1.5-T magnet. The scans were subsequently evaluated by a neuroradiologist and 2 neurologists who were blinded to the study. The magnetic resonance angiogram findings of this study showed the presence of vasospasm within the intracranial vasculature during suspected acute hemiplegic migraine. This case series suggests that routine use of magnetic resonance angiography might be beneficial in both managing patients with acute hemiplegic migraine and helping to further understand the pathophysiology of this complicated disease process.
Electroencephalography in the Pediatric Emergency Department
Authors: Fernández Iván Sánchez , Loddenkemper Tobias , Datta Anita , Kothare Sanjeev , Riviello James J. , Rotenberg Alexander
Published: April 2013

This study aimed to identify the indications in which electroencephalography in the pediatric emergency department is most useful. We retrospectively reviewed the influence that the results of the emergent electroencephalogram had on the eventual disposition of patients at our pediatric emergency department. Sixty-eight children (mean age, 7.3 years; 32 males) underwent 70 emergent electroencephalograms. Fifty-seven emergent electroencephalograms were performed for the suspicion of ongoing seizures or status epilepticus. Thirteen of the 22 children (59.1%) discharged from the emergency department were sent home mainly based on the results of the emergent electroencephalogram, which prevented an admission. In particular, 11 of 38 children with frequent and recurrent paroxysmal events concerning for seizures and 2 of 19 children with suspected ongoing status epilepticus were discharged after excluding an epileptic disturbance. The emergent electroencephalogram provided meaningful clinical information that influenced disposition, especially in patients with ongoing events in which the clinical picture was clarified by a rapidly acquired electroencephalogram.
Rhabdomyolysis Associated With Human Parvovirus B19 Infection in a Patient With Fukuyama-Type Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
Authors: Ishikawa Aki , Yoto Yuko , Ohya Kazuhiro , Tsugawa Takeshi , Tsutsumi Hiroyuki
Published: April 2013

Patients with Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy sometimes experience transient exacerbations of muscle weakness. We took care of a 9-year-old boy with Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy who presented with acute respiratory failure and decreased exercise ability with marked elevation of serum creatine kinase indicating rhabdomyolysis. At that time, his younger sister suffered from erythema infectiosum. Although he had no particular symptoms, he was tested and proven to have acute human parvovirus B19 infection based on detection of anti-B19 IgM and parvovirus B19 DNA in his serum. His acute rhabdomyolysis was possibly triggered by human parvovirus B19 infection.
Novel porous Al2O3-SiO2-TiO2 bone grafting materials: Formation and characterization
Authors: Naga Salma M , El-Kady Abeer M , El-Maghraby Hesham F , Awaad Mohamed , Detsch Rainer , Boccaccini Aldo R
Published: April 2013

The present article deals with the development of 3D porous scaffolds for bone grafting. They were prepared based on rapid fluid infiltration of Al2O3-SiO2 sol into a polyethylene non-woven fabric template structure. Titanium dioxide in concentration equal to 5 wt% was added to the Al2O3-SiO2 mixture to produce Al2O3-SiO2-TiO2 composite scaffolds. The prepared scaffolds are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and three-point bending test techniques. The bioactivity of the produced bodies is discussed, including the in vitro and in vivo assessments. The produced scaffolds exhibit mean total porosity of 66.0% and three-point bending strength of 7.1 MPa. In vitro studies showed that MG-63 osteoblast-like cells attach and spread on the scaffolds surfaces. Furthermore, cells grew through the scaffolds and start to produce extra-cellular matrix. Additionally, in vivo studies revealed the ability of the porous scaffolds to regenerate bone tissue in femur defects of albino rats 5 months post surgery. Histological analysis showed that the defect is almost entirely filled with new bone. The formed bone is characterized as a mature bone. The produced bone grafts are intended to be used as bone substitute or bone filler as their degradation products caused no inflammatory effects.
Novel keratin (KeraStat™) and polyurethane (Nanosan®-Sorb) biomaterials are hemostatic in a porcine lethal extremity hemorrhage model
Authors: Burnett Luke R , Richter Jillian G , Rahmany Maria B , Soler Roberto , Steen Julie A , Orlando Giuseppe , Abouswareb Tamer , Van Dyke Mark E
Published: April 2013

Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death in people aged 44 or less in the US. It is also estimated that 82% of deaths from battlefield hemorrhage may be survivable with better treatment options. In this study, two biomaterial hemostats having disparate mechanisms were evaluated in a large animal lethal hemorrhage model and compared to a commercial product and standard cotton gauze. We hypothesized that the biomaterial with a biologically active mechanism, as opposed to a mechanical mechanism, would be the most effective in this model. Using a published study protocol, the femoral artery in swine was punctured and treated. KeraStat™ (KeraNetics) and Nanosan®-Sorb (SNS Nano) hemostats were compared to a commercial chitosan dressing (second generation Hemcon®) and cotton gauze. Both KeraStat and Nanosan increased survival, significantly increased mean arterial pressure (MAP), and significantly decreased shock index compared to both controls. The Hemcon dressing was no different than gauze. Platelet adhesion assays suggested that the KeraStat mechanism of action involves β1 integrin mediated platelet adhesion while Nanosan-Sorb operates similar to one reported mechanism for Hemcon, absorbing fluid and concentrating clotting components. The Nanosan also swelled considerably and created pressure within the wound site even after direct pressure was removed.
Religion, polygenism and the early science of human origins
Authors: Keel Terence D.
Published: April 2013

American polygenism was a provocative scientific movement whose controversial claim that humankind did not share a common ancestor caused a firestorm among naturalists and the lay public beginning in the 1830s. This article gives specific attention to the largely overlooked religious ideas marshaled by American polygenists in their effort to construct race as a unit of analysis. I focus specifically on the thought of the American polygenist and renowned surgeon Dr Josiah Clark Nott (1804–73) of Mobile, Alabama. Scholars have claimed that in his effort to establish a properly modern scientific view of race Nott was one of the first American naturalists to publicly denounce the notion of common human descent (monogenesis) as proclaimed in the Bible. I argue that despite his rejection of monogenesis, Nott’s racial theory remained squarely within the tradition of Christian ideas about the natural world. American polygenism provides an example of how scientific and religious ideas worked together in the minds of American antebellum thinkers in the development of novel theories about race and human origins.
Adam Smith’s economic and ethical consideration of animals
Authors: Wolloch Nathaniel
Published: April 2013

This article examines Adam Smith’s views on animals, centering on the singularity of his economic perspective in the context of the general early ethical debate about animals. Particular emphasis is placed on his discussions of animals as property. The article highlights the tension between Smith’s moral sensitivity to animal suffering on the one hand, and his emphasis on the constitutive role that the utilization of animals played in the progress of civilization on the other. This tension is depicted as a precursor of problematic aspects of the modern environmental crisis.
India, FDI and Infrastructure
Authors: Satyanand Premila Nazareth
Published: April 2013

As India’s FDI experience shows, a 100% open FDI regime can be meaningless if the underlying operating environment is politically and economically unviable. More FDI has gone into Indian telecom despite a continuing FDI cap, than to 100% open sectors such as power, ports and roads. Not only are sectoral reform and robust regulation key to attracting more FDI in infrastructure, they, most importantly, strengthen domestic firms, which tie-up with foreign players to radically improve infrastructure quality and managerial talent. India’s unique political and regulatory environment also appears to be prompting infrastructure multinationals to employ market entry and operating strategies distinct from those used in other developing countries.This is fueling the global integration and competitiveness of Indian infrastructure firms. Finally, the Indian government needs to invest more in public consultation, communication and transparency to facilitate greater inflows of FDI in infrastructure.
Role of FDI in Multi-brand Retail Trade in India and its Implications
Authors: Singh Sukhpal
Published: April 2013

The Indian food supply chains are changing fast due to many policy and practice changes. There has been presence of domestic food supermarkets in the sector for many years now and their performance varies across states and chains. But, for the past few years, there has been plenty of debate and discussion about the potential role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, including food. This article tries to understand the role of FDI in multi-brand retail in improving the efficiency of food supply chains in India and its implications for various stakeholders in the chain. It uses empirical evidence from the experience of Indian domestic retail supermarkets and wholesale cash ‘n’ carry supermarkets and from other developing countries to examine the role FDI can play. The article also examines various mechanisms which could be used to leverage the presence of FDI in supermarkets and explores the role of policy and regulation to promote the small farmer and the traditional retail interests in such chains. It examines the role and implications of FDI supermarkets for food inflation, farmer income enhancement and employment generation.
Targeted delivery of acoustic energy for self-healing
Authors: Fehrman Brian C , Korde Umesh A
Published: April 2013

Self-healing materials capable of autonomic crack healing are potentially important in terrestrial and space applications. Where damage-causing forces and healing forces compete, it is of interest to consider ways to increase the healing rate. This article investigates the use of acoustic energy for this purpose. As a means for targeted acoustic energy delivery to the crack site, we study time-reversal mirrors (iterative time reversal and playback) for stress wave focusing at a discontinuity. The article begins with a discussion of the key analytical results. Both pulse propagation and eigenfrequency vibrations are analyzed, and it is argued that if sufficient time is allowed between successive time-reversed playbacks, the focused pulse amplitude grows faster than the eigenfrequency vibrations. Experimental implementations of iterative time-reversed playback on solid circular steel and nylon rods with artificially introduced discontinuities show that even in the one-dimensional propagation studies here, time-reversal mirrors produce satisfactory focusing for a multitone pulse. Based on the significant amplification seen in the steel rods and the more dispersive and dissipative nylon rods, it appears that acoustic energy could be delivered in a targeted manner to a crack using iterative time-reversal mirrors.
Digital Piracy Justification
Authors: Yu Szde
Published: April 2013

The literature has shown that digital piracy is more rampant in Asia and Asians are often found to have a more favorable attitude toward digital piracy in research. This study examines the attitude toward justifying digital piracy in light of the techniques of neutralization. A comparison is made between Asian international students and American students. The result shows Asian international students are significantly more likely to justify digital piracy, but their general morality is not significantly different from American students. This finding supports neutralization theory in that people do not need to change their moral belief to favor criminal behavior as long as they can apply the techniques of neutralization to justify it. Moreover, Asian Americans, among all racial groups in the American sample, are the only group that does not show significant difference in their digital piracy justification, compared to the Asian international students. Considering that Asian Americans and Asian international students rarely share the same social environment in their upbringing, this finding further suggests there is something about being Asian, rather than social factors, that endorses digital piracy justification.
Integrating Normal and Pathological Personality
Authors: Watson David , Stasik Sara M. , Ro Eunyoe , Clark Lee Anna
Published: April 2013

The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) assesses traits relevant for diagnosing personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition ( DSM-5). We examined the PID-5 in relation to the Big-Three and Big-Five personality traits in outpatient and community adult samples. Domain-level analyses revealed that PID-5 Negative Affectivity correlated strongly with Neuroticism, and PID-5 Antagonism and Disinhibition correlated strongly negatively with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, respectively; Antagonism and Disinhibition also were both linked strongly to Big-Three trait Disinhibition. PID-5 Detachment related strongly to personality, including Extraversion/Positive Temperament, but did not show its expected specificity to this factor. Finally, PID-5 Psychoticism correlated only modestly with Openness. Facet-level analyses indicated that some PID-5 scales demonstrated replicable deviations from their DSM-5 model placements. We discuss implications of these data for the DSM-5 model of personality disorder, and for integrating it with well-established structures of normal personality.
Synchronization of a class of fractional-order and integer order hyperchaotic systems
Authors: Wu Yanping , Wang Guodong
Published: April 2013

In this paper, we bring attention to synchronization between a fractional-order chaotic system and an integer order chaotic system, which is very challenging because it can form a bridge between a fractional-order chaotic system and an integer order chaotic system. More specifically, we present a general form of a class of chaotic system, which can be synchronized between a fractional-order chaotic system and an integer order chaotic system. Furthermore, an example is carried out to verify and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. Simultaneously, our work is supported by logical theorems and intuitive numerical simulation.
Enhancement of Impact-synchronous Modal Analysis with number of averages
Authors: Rahman AGA , Ismail Z , Noroozi S , Ong ZC
Published: April 2013

A new method, namely Impact-synchronous Modal Analysis (ISMA), utilizing the modal extraction technique commonly used in Experimental Modal Analysis performed in the presence of the ambient forces, is proposed. In ISMA, the extraction is performed while the machine is running, utilized Impact-synchronous Time Averaging prior to performing the Fast Fourier Transform. The number of averages had a very important effect when applying ISMA on structures with dominant periodic responses of cyclic loads and ambient excitation. With a sufficient number of impacts, all the unaccounted forces were diminished, leaving only the response due to the impacts. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of averages taken in the determination of dynamic characteristics of a machine while in different rotating speeds. At low operating speeds that coincided with the lower natural modes, ISMA with a high number of impacts determined the dynamic characteristics of the system successfully. Meanwhile, at operating speeds that were away from any natural modes, ISMA with a moderate number of averages taken was sufficient to extract the modal parameters. Finally for high-speed machines, ISMA with a high number of impacts taken has limitations in extracting natural modes close to the operating speed.
Increased incidence of multiple sclerosis in the Veneto region, Italy
Authors: Puthenparampil M , Seppi D , Rinaldi F , Federle L , Calabrese M , Perini P , Gallo P ,   on behalf of the Multiple Sclerosis Epidemiology Veneto Study Group (MuSEV**)
Published: April 2013

Background:

To what extent the progressive increase in the incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) observed in the province of Padova over the period 1970–1999 was an expression of a real increased risk of developing MS remained unclear.

Objective:

The objective of this paper is to update the epidemiological figures of MS and probe whether the risk of having MS has increased in the province of Padova during the decade 2000–2009.

Methods:

All patients born in Italy and having a diagnosis of MS or possible MS identified through analysis of all available sources of information were included in the study. The incidence and prevalence rates between 2000 and 2009 were obtained and compared with our previously published data.

Results:

On 31 December 2009, the overall prevalence was 139.5/100,000, 192.0±9.5 for females and 83.9±6.3 for males. During the decade 2000–2009, the overall incidence rate of MS was 5.5±0.5, 7.4±0.8 for females and 3.5±0.6 for males. The onset-diagnosis delay, the female/male ratio and the mean age at onset did not significantly change compared to the prior period of observation.

Conclusion:

Our findings support the hypothesis of a real increased risk of developing MS in the province of Padova. Moreover, the actual prevalence of 1.4/1000 makes our region a high-risk geographical area for MS. The role played by exogenous factors in determining susceptibility to MS needs to be thoroughly investigated.
Friendship’s freedom and gendered limits
Authors: Blatterer Harry
Published: April 2013

This article elaborates the interactional freedom of friendship and its limits. It shows that friendship is marked by a normative freedom that makes it relatively resistant to reification, especially when compared to erotic love. It argues further, however, that due to friendship’s embeddedness in the contemporary gender order, this freedom is limited. Having first outlined the freedom hypothesis, the article goes on to argue that friendship’s normative freedom is made possible by its weak ‘institutional connectivity’. To clarify that point, the article illustrates friendship’s resistance to the reifying tendencies of therapy culture and then draws the gendered boundary of friendship’s freedom with reference to the position of heterosexual cross-sex friendship in the heteronormative social imaginary. The article concludes by way of argument for a differentiated approach to friendship and suggests that the analysis of its freedom provides significant clues concerning the work that remains to be done towards equal gender relations.