bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ACQUISITION OF BONE MASS DURING EARLY ADULTHOOD: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY
Authors: Gökçe-Kutsal Yesim , Arslan Şule , Atalay Ayçe
Published: August 2006

Since most of our current knowledge about the concept of bone gain during adolescence or early adulthood comes from the cross-sectional studies, we aimed to evaluate natural course of changes in bone mineral density prospectively during early adulthood in a cohort. Twenty-two volunteers (15 female, 7 male) with the mean age of 20.0 ± 0.69 years were enrolled into the study. Subjects with any known secondary cause of osteoporosis were excluded from the study. Demographic variables, anthropometric measurements were recorded. Subjects underwent an interview about risk factors for osteoporosis. Physical activity level and calcium intake were evaluated by European Vertebral Osteoporosis Study questionnaire. Lumbar and femoral bone mineral densities were measured using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) at baseline and two years after. L1-4 BMD increased from 0.925 ± 0.099 g/cm2 to 0.957 ± 0.094 g/cm2(p = 0.002) and total femur BMD increased from 0.866 ± 0.113g/cm2 to 0.908 ± 0.108g/cm2(p = 0.0001). BMC of L1-4 increased significantly (p = 0.022), however there was no change in bone area measurements (p = 0.82). In case of femoral total measurements, both BMC and bone area demonstrated significant increase over the study period (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0001). There were significant positive differences in bone mineral densities for L3, L4 measurements in males and for L3 measurements in females (p = 0.028, p = 0.018 and p = 0.02 respectively). Different from the bone gain during adolescent years which is usually attributed to volumetric expansion of the bones; we were able to demonstrate that bone gain continues through early years of adulthood. It would be rational to extend preventive measures beyond adolescence, into early adulthood to optimize the bone mass.
LEG STRENGTH AND HIP FRACTURE MORBIDITY — RESULTS OF 4 SEPARATE CASE STUDIES
Authors: Marks Ray
Published: August 2006

The purpose is to examine the importance of ipsilateral leg strength in mediating hip fracture disability. Leg strength measures were recorded and analyzed for 4 separate data sets: (1) 35 patients hospitalized for acute hip fractures; (2) 72 hip replacement surgical candidates with prior hip fracture histories; (3) 30 hip fracture patients followed prospectively for six months after hospital discharge; (4) 23 hip fracture cases interviewed two years after hospital discharge. (1) 78% of patients with acute hip fracture exhibited leg weakness on the injured side, and 41% exhibited knee extensor muscle weakness on the injured side; (2) 79% of patients readmitted for hip surgery, had deficient muscle power of the previously fractured leg and 33% had specific evidence of knee extensor weakness; (3) Interlimb knee extensor strength differentials greater than 10%, more commonly due to strength deficits on the injured side than the uninjured side, were present in 80% of cases examined six months post surgery, and affected walking speed. (4) knee extensor strength of the affected leg predicted the subject's walking speed, as did leg strength two years post surgery. The conclusion is that knee extensor strength deficits of the affected leg are common features of hip fracture patients, and may contribute to, or perpetuate, functional disability.
RAYSET: A TAXONOMY FOR IMAGE-BASED RENDERING
Authors: GONG MINGLUN , YANG YEE-HONG
Published: August 2006

A new concept, referred to as rayset, is discussed in this paper. It is a parametric function consisting of two mapping relations. The first one maps from a parameter space to the ray space, while the second one maps from the parameter space to the attribute space. A taxonomy is proposed based on the rayset concept whereby scene representations and scene reconstruction techniques used in image-based rendering are individually classified. Existing image-based rendering techniques are surveyed under the proposed classification. The review shows that different image-based scene representations, such as multiple-center-of-projection image and concentric mosaics, can be cast as different kinds of raysets. Different scene reconstruction approaches can be regarded as attempts to render different raysets. The concepts of rayset warping and rayset editing are also formulated. Under the rayset taxonomy, both techniques try to alter one of the mapping relations defined by a rayset without changing the other one.
SEMI AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF PARTIALLY OVERLAPPED AERIAL IMAGES VIA PATTERN SEARCH METHOD
Authors: ZHOU HONG , SEYFARTH RAY
Published: August 2006

This paper presents a semi-automatic registration algorithm for partially overlapped aerial images which has been successfully tested with images of the Mississippi Delta area. In this algorithm, each individual aerial image is registered by employing a pattern search method. This pattern search method considers an affine transformation without shear as a 5-parameter vector and searches toward the gradient direction that results in higher similarity values between the reference and the sensed images. The registration of the first aerial image requires some initial manual work. After the registration of the first image, based on the overlap of the neighboring images and the existing transformation parameters for the first image, the search starting point of the second image can be automatically obtained for the registration of the second image. This process can be repeated for the remaining aerial images in a sequential order. Experimental results with 12 sample images demonstrate the success of this algorithm.
ONLINE SIGNATURE VERIFICATION BY COMBINING SHAPE CONTEXTS AND LOCAL FEATURES
Authors: LI BIN , ZHANG DAVID , WANG KUANQUAN
Published: August 2006

Most parameter-based online signature verification methods achieve correspondence between the points of two signatures by minimizing the accumulation of their local feature distances. The matching based on minimizing the local feature distances alone is not adequate since the point contains not only local features but the distribution of the remaining points relative to it. One useful way to get correspondences between points on two shapes and measure the similarity of the two shapes is to use the shape context, since this descriptor can be used to describe the distributive relationship between a reference point and the remaining points on a shape. In this paper, we introduce a shape context descriptor for describing an online signature point which contains both 2D spatial information and a time stamp. A common algorithm, dynamic time warp (DTW), is used for the elastic matching between two signatures. When combining shape contexts and local features, we achieve better results than when using only the local features. We evaluate the proposed method on a signature database from the First International Signature Verification Competition (SVC2004). Experimental results demonstrate that the shape context is a good feature and has available complementarity for describing the signature point. The best result by combining the shape contexts and the local features yields an Equal Error Rate (EER) of 6.77% for five references.
MTAR: A ROBUST 2D SHAPE REPRESENTATION
Authors: EL RUBÉ IBRAHIM , ALAJLAN NAIF , KAMEL MOHAMED S. , AHMED MAHER , FREEMAN GEORGE H.
Published: August 2006

In this paper, a new 2D shape Multiscale Triangle-Area Representation (MTAR) method is proposed. This representation utilizes a simple geometric principle, that is, the area of the triangles formed by the shape boundary points. The wavelet transform is used for smoothing and decomposing the shape boundaries into multiscale levels. At each scale level, a TAR image and the corresponding Maxima-Minima lines are obtained. The resulting MTAR is more robust to noise, less complex, and more selective than similar methods such as the curvature scale-space (CSS). Furthermore, the MTAR is invariant to the general affine transformations. The proposed MTAR is tested and compared to the CSS method using MPEG-7 CE-shape-1 part B and Columbia Object Image Library (COIL-20) datasets. The results show that the proposed MTAR outperforms the CSS method for the conducted tests.
FREEFORM SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION FROM SCATTERED POINTS USING A DEFORMABLE SPHERICAL MAP
Authors: KNOPF GEORGE K. , SANGOLE ARCHANA P.
Published: August 2006

Reconstruction of freeform surfaces from scattered coordinate data is a difficult problem encountered in many surface fitting and geometric modeling applications. Conventional tessellation and parametric surface fitting techniques are limited because they require prior knowledge about the connectivity between the sampled points. The method of surface reconstruction described in this paper exploits the learning capability of a self-organizing feature map (SOFM) to adaptively fit a deformable sphere to the unorganized 3D coordinate data. The learning algorithm automatically establishes the connectivity between the measured points by iteratively changing the topological relationships within the map. By incorporating additional constraints during the learning process it is possible to have the deformable map follow the shape of objects with surface holes and cavities. Several examples of freeform surfaces with varying levels of complexity are discussed in order to demonstrate the performance of the algorithm.
HAPTIC DEFORMATION SIMULATION WITH POISSON EQUATION
Authors: ZHONG YONGMIN , SHIRINZADEH BIJAN , ALICI GURSEL , SMITH JULIAN
Published: August 2006

This paper presents a new methodology for the deformation of soft objects by drawing an analogy between Poisson equation and elastic deformation. The potential energy stored in an elastic body as a result of a deformation caused by an external force is propagated among mass points by Poisson equation. An improved Poisson model is developed for propagating the energy generated by the external force in a natural manner. A cellular neural network (CNN) model is established to solve the Poisson model for the real-time requirement of soft object deformation. A haptic virtual reality system has been established for deformation simulation with force feedback. This proposed methodology not only deals with local and large-range deformations, but also accommodates isotropic, anisotropic and inhomogeneous materials by simply modifying constitutive coefficients, as well as predicts the mechanical behaviors of living tissues.
REINFORCED CONTRAST ADAPTATION
Authors: TIZHOOSH HAMID R. , TAYLOR GRAHAM W.
Published: August 2006

Traditional image enhancement algorithms do not account for the subjective evaluation of human operators. Every observer has a different opinion of an ideally enhanced image. Automated Techniques for obtaining a subjectively ideal image enhancement are desirable, but currently do not exist. In this paper, we demonstrate that Reinforcement Learning is a potential method for solving this problem. We have developed an agent that uses the Q-learning algorithm. The agent modifies the contrast of an image with a simple linear point transformation based on the histogram of the image and feedback it receives from human observers. The results of several testing sessions have indicated that the agent performs well within a limited number of iterations.
Emergency Powers
Authors: Scheuerman William E.
Published: August 2006

▪ Abstract  This review considers competing models of emergency legal regulation in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Drawing on research in political science and political sociology, it criticizes recent debates about emergency powers among legal and constitutional scholars for ignoring the institutional dynamics of modern executive power, especially in presidential regimes. Constitutional relativists (e.g., Harvey Mansfield, Michael Stokes Paulsen, John Yoo), defenders of the extralegal model of emergency action (Oren Gross, Mark Tushnet), and common lawyers (David Cole, David Dyzenhaus) are criticized for failing to consider the pathologies likely generated by their proposals in an institutional context in which the executive possesses incentives for declaring, perpetuating, and exploiting emergency situations. Only a legal formalist perspective on emergency government (e.g., Bruce Ackerman) pays sufficient attention to the institutional dynamics of the contemporary executive.
Philosophical Christology in the New Testament
Authors: Thyssen Henrik Pontoppidan
Published: August 2006

The idea of this article is to determine the sense of the Logos in the Prologue of John's gospel by making use of the subsequent Christian doctrinal tradition. As an introduction, the general influence of Hellenistic Judaism on early Christian speculative theology and exegesis is illustrated by examples from Philo and Justin. Justin's exegesis is evaluated in accordance with the principle of Wilhelm Bousset, that learned scriptural demonstration (Schriftgelehrsamkeit) is not the source of doctrine but a post-rationalisation of existing doctrines. Then, Justin's argument from Scripture for Logos-Christology (Dial. 61–62), which is based on Genesis 1:26 and Wisdom 8:22–30, is taken as the point of departure. This argument informs us about the philosophical ideas behind Justin's Logos-Christology, which according to Bousset's principle preceded it. Further, it is argued that Justin's scriptural argument shows that the traditional derivation of the Logos of the Prologue from the word of creation of Genesis 1 did not exist at that early stage, since if it did, that derivation ought to have appeared in Justin. Since no other derivation of a Logos in the cosmological sense from the Bible is possible, the presence of this idea in John can only be explained as the result of influence from the eclectic philosophy of Jewish Hellenism (Philo). This conclusion is confirmed by the demonstration that the idea of universal innate knowledge, familiar from Justin's doctrine of the Logos, also appears in the Prologue of John. The argument for this is that it cannot be fortuitous that the traditional translation of John 1:9 lends itself to this interpretation. As the idea of universal innate knowledge is an idea unique to Greek philosophy, this observation settles the matter definitively. The origin of the traditional interpretation of the Logos goes back to Tertullian's interest in producing an exegesis that complies with the Latin translation of John 1.
The Changing Epistemological Assumptions of Group Theory
Authors: Fambrough Mary J. , Comerford Susan A.
Published: August 2006

Recent world events have brought the need to better understand how to work and live in a heterogeneous world into relief. The origins of group dynamics and development theory are reviewed, arguing that although traditional group theory has proven useful in homogeneous groups, applying these theories to the heterogeneous groups common to organizations today counters efforts to honor and promote multiculturalism. The ways in which traditional theory, due to its epistemological origins in organicism, tacitly undermines efforts to promote the inclusion of multiple voices in groups is described. The authors demonstrate how a paradigmatic shift from organicism to contextualism provides a framework for generating more useful theories and practices of group dynamics and development that include heterogeneity and pluralism and acknowledge the role of power and privilege. Principles for a contextualist theory of group dynamics and process are developed, stressing the pragmatic values of utility and action.
The Strength of Weekly Ties: Relations of Material and Symbolic Exchange in the Conservative Movement
Authors: Medvetz Thomas
Published: August 2006

The current Republican ascendancy in American government has generated considerable scholarly interest in the conservative movement. Through an ethno-graphic study of the widely publicized but seldom-observed “Wednesday meeting” of conservative activists, this article inquires into the bases of the conservative movement’s internal cohesion and successful management of alliances with state officials. I argue that the meeting functions as both an instrument of material power and a ritual of symbolic maintenance by establishing relations of reciprocal exchange and sustaining a moral community of conservative activists and their allies. More broadly, the article examines the mutual conditioning and genetic linkage of two dimensions of social reality: relations of force and relations of meaning.
Hooking Up
Authors: Manning Wendy D. , Giordano Peggy C. , Longmore Monica A.
Published: August 2006

More than one half of sexually active teens have had sexual partners they are not dating. However, remarkably little is known about the nature of these sexual relationships. Using survey and qualitative data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study the authors contrast the qualities of dating sexual relationships and sexual relationships that occur out-side the dating context. They find that adolescents having sex outside of the dating context are choosing partners who are friends or ex-girlfriends and/or boyfriends. Moreover, one third of these nondating sexual partnerships are associated with hopes or expectations that the relationship will lead to more conventional dating relationships. Boys and girls who experience sex outside of conventional dating relationships often share similar orientations toward their relationship. Results suggest that a more nuanced view is key to understanding adolescent sexual behavior.
Parenting and Adolescent Identity
Authors: Sapru Saloni
Published: August 2006

This article examines the ancestral and acculturated cultural meanings in immigrant Indian parenting and adolescent identity using the independence-interdependence dimension as the focus. Forty Indian parents and their adolescents in Delhi, India, and Geneva, Switzerland, were interviewed using open-ended questions and scenarios. Adolescents also completed a contextual version of the Twenty Statements Test. Results showed beliefs and practices to be similar for the two groups of parents except that immigrant parents in Geneva placed greater emphasis on traditional Indian culture at home. Self-other constructions of identity measures showed Geneva adolescents to have fewer attributes of interdependence compared to their counterparts in Delhi. Case study analysis further demonstrated how immigrant adolescents construct their self-other relations to synthesize the ancestral and acculturated values of their parents and the host society.
Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain
Authors: Terry Robert D.
Published: August 2006

The frequencies of each of the several types of dementia are enumerated, showing that Alzheimer’s disease is present in about 80% of cases. Cerebral changes associated with cognitively normal aging include shrinkage of large cortical neurons but not a significant loss of total neuronal number. Nevertheless, the population density of synapses measured by confocal microscopy does decline significantly in normal aging. The classical lesions of Alzheimer’s disease are neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, and their frequency correlates with declining cognitive measures. Although amyloid is prominent in plaques, it is probably not the agent of destruction. That role seems to be held by Aβ oligomers. The strongest structural correlate with cognitive tests is synapse loss, which is probably caused by Aβ oligopeptides in the terminal axons and dendrites. ( J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2006;19:125-128)
Neuropsychological Testing in the Diagnosis of Dementia
Authors: Sano Mary
Published: August 2006

Neuropsychological testing can play a major role in the diagnosis of dementia by documenting cognitive deficits, the key criteria for the diagnosis. Because the most common dementia diagnosis, Alzheimer’s disease, focuses on memory impairment, tests to assess this domain and to detect and characterize memory deficit are well established with recognized predictive value. Other neuropsychological domains are less well characterized and there are fewer tools to assess them. One domain that has been characterized as important in a number of other dementias is executive function. Improved neuropsychological assessment and characterization of other domains, such as executive function and attention, may assist in better identifying the pathophysiology of deficits in these areas, perhaps in combination with new technologies such as functional imaging. Finally, improved assessment tools for specific cognitive domains should assist in identifying a broad range of cognitive deficits at earlier stages and ultimately lead to more effective interventions for a wider range of cognitive deficits. ( J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2006;19:155-159)
Research Agenda for DSM-V: Diagnostic Categories and Criteria for Neuropsychiatric Syndromes in Dementia
Authors: Jeste Dilip V. , Meeks Thomas W. , Kim Daniel S. , Zubenko George S.
Published: August 2006

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia represent a major health burden for older adults. These symptoms are often more distressing, impairing, and costly than cognitive symptoms in dementia, yet they have been less coherently categorized in the various versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The preponderance of literature on psychiatric symptoms in dementia has been in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Diagnostic criteria have been proposed for psychosis, depression, and sleep disturbance in Alzheimer’s disease. “Agitation” also appears to be a clinically important behavioral complication of dementia that warrants further study. Beginning with further validation of these proposed diagnostic criteria, future research can guide a more clinically meaningful description of these syndromes in DSM-V. Advancing biotechnology offers promise for discoveries related to the etiology and treatment of these syndromes. New research in this field should encompass diverse populations and different types of dementia. The high emotional and economic costs of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia implore diagnostic refinement to facilitate improved treatment. ( J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2006; 19:160-171)
Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease: Are We Ready?
Authors: Sunderland Trey , Hampel Harald , Takeda Masatoshi , Putnam Karen T. , Cohen Robert M.
Published: August 2006

Although clinical manifestations of cognitive dysfunction and impairments of activities of daily living are the current standard measures for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, biomarkers are receiving increasing attention in research centers as possible early diagnostic measures or as surrogate measures of the ongoing pathology. In preparation for the upcoming development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed; DSM-V) nosology, the American Psychiatric Association has sponsored an effort to reassess the current approaches to diagnosis in dementia in general and Alzheimer’s disease in particular. This article focuses on the potential use of biomarkers in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, in the monitoring of mild cognitive impairment, and as possible prognostic markers in normal controls at risk for dementia. Most advanced information is available with the biomarkers found in the cerebrospinal fluid, but there are many other potential biomarkers using blood, brain imaging, or a combination. The current biomarker approaches to diagnosis are reviewed along with a special emphasis on near-term recommendations and further research directions. ( J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2006;19:172-179)
Genetics and Dementia Nosology
Authors: Blacker Deborah , Lovestone Simon
Published: August 2006

In preparation for the development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed), the American Psychiatric Association convened workshops reviewing scientific evidence relevant to diagnosis of dementia. One of the domains covered was genetics, which is reviewed here. The following areas are reviewed: genetic data on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias; the impact of nosology on genetic research in terms of its potential to improve diagnostic sensitivity and specificity and to decrease heterogeneity; the impact of genetic research findings on nosology, specific diagnostic criteria, and subtypes; and recommendations and future directions. The focus is on Alzheimer’s disease, where more genetic data are available, and other dementias are reviewed more briefly. In addition, a separate section reviews the relationship of genetic findings and mild cognitive impairment, a boundary zone between normal aging and dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. ( J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2006;19:186-191)
TV Characters at Work
Authors: Hoffner Cynthia A. , Levine Kenneth J. , Sullivan Quintin E. , Crowell Dennis , Pedrick Laura , Berndt Patricia
Published: August 2006

Television regularly depicts work-related activities of fictional characters and is one of several important sources of occupational information for young people. However, no research appears to have examined the influence of televised occupational portrayals on economically disadvantaged youths, although television may be an especially important source of work-related information for this group. In telephone interviews, 132 economically disadvantaged young people named their favorite television character and the character’s job and rated their perceptions of this career and their wishful identification with the character. They also identified the job they would most like to have. Results show that the income and education levels of respondents’dream jobs are positively correlated with these attributes of the characters’ jobs. Wishful identification is higher for characters whose jobs had higher income, required more education, were seen as more realistic, and were perceived as having greater extrinsic values (e.g., benefits, respect).
Predictors of Career Indecision in Three Racial/Ethnic Groups of College Women
Authors: Lopez Frederick G. , Ann-Yi Sujin
Published: August 2006

This study examines the contributions of career-related barrier and social support perceptions, barrier-related coping beliefs, and career decision-making self-efficacy beliefs to the prediction of career indecision in three racial/ethnic groups of college women. Results indicate that although there are no racial/ethnic differences across scores on most of the key measures, African American women perceive significantly greater career barriers than do either White or Hispanic women. Separate within-racial/ethnic group regressions of career indecision scores indicate that the full model collectively accounted for substantial amounts of criterion variance (range of R2 = .31 to .47), although the pattern of predictor contributions varies somewhat across the three groups.
Causal Relationship Between Career Indecision and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy
Authors: Creed Peter , Patton Wendy , Prideaux Lee-Ann
Published: August 2006

This study surved 166 students when they were in Grade 8 of high school and then again when they were in Grade 10, using measures of career indecision and career decision-making self-efficacy. Consistent with social-cognitive theories, the authors hypothesized that changes in self-efficacy over time would be causally associated with changes in career indecision over time. Using latent variable analyses, the authors estimated a two-wave, longitudinal, cross-lagged panel design and find that contrary to expectations, changes in career decision-making self-efficacy did not result in changes in career indecision, despite significant contemporaneous associations at both times. Theoretical and applied implications are highlighted.
Career Awareness, Career Planning, and Career Transition Needs Among Sports Coaches
Authors: Lavallee David
Published: August 2006

This study is conducted with 56 recently retired full-time sports coaches to examine the importance of career awareness, postsport career planning, and career transition needs. Results indicate that the individuals do not have a high level of career awareness, have done relatively little postsport career planning during their coaching careers, and moderately appreciate their career transition needs. However, a positive relationship is found between support systems for coaches and career awareness, career planning, and career transition needs. Results are discussed with regard to career transition theory, as well as previous research on career transitions among sports coaches and athletes. Recommendations for future research, as well as suggestions for career counseling practice, are suggested.
Consider the Source
Authors: Desimone Laura M.
Published: August 2006

This study extends previous work on survey validity and reliability by examining how different groups of respondents vary in their answers to survey questions about the policy system. The study uses state-representative data from a five-state study of standard-based reform in mathematics to test how predictive teacher, principal, and district administrator survey responses are of each other when respondents are asked the exact same questions about their policy environment. The analyses and discussion call attention to the importance of considering the source of information—who is responding to the survey—when relying on survey data to describe the implementation and effects of education policy. Results show that responses of teachers, principals, and district administrators tend to be similar on questions about power and barriers to implementation but are unrelated or inversely related on questions about specificity, authority, and the consequences of policy. Implications for survey design and analysis are discussed.
Why the Affirmative Action Debate Persists
Authors: Moses Michele S.
Published: August 2006

This article concerns an issue that often remains implicit within the public debate about affirmative action and related race-conscious education policies: What role do contested moral ideals play in the disagreement about affirmative action? As background, the article first outlines what a moral disagreement is and then goes on to examine the roots of the disagreement about affirmative action. A case is made for the importance of illuminating and understanding the moral disagreement about affirmative action to inform the public deliberation about related race-conscious education policies, especially given that affirmative action policies are being challenged once again in the public political arena.
What Does It Mean to Be Globally Competent?
Authors: Hunter Bill , White George P. , Godbey Galen C.
Published: August 2006

To contribute to the valuable and ongoing debate regarding the definition of global citizenship and global competency, this study proposes a definition developed through the use of a Delphi Technique involving human resource managers at top transnational corporations, senior international educators, United Nations officials, inter-cultural trainers, and foreign government officers. This definition is used as the foundation for the development of a survey to determine the knowledge, skills, and attitudes and experiences necessary to be considered globally competent. The survey was sent to 133 representatives from universities that self-nominated for recognition in the “Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities—Internationalizing the Campus 2003” (NAFSA: Association of International Educators publication) and the transnational corporation human resource officials serving as members of the National Foreign Trade Council’s Expatriate Management Committee and Global Mobility Roundtable. Results are reported and discussed, and a proposed curricular plan is presented based on the findings.
Identification and Assessment of Intercultural Competence as a Student Outcome of Internationalization
Authors: Deardorff Darla K.
Published: August 2006

This study seeks to determine a definition and appropriate assessment methods of inter-cultural competence as agreed on by a panel of internationally known intercultural scholars. This information is validated by a sample of higher education administrators and can be used by administrators in identifying and assessing intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization efforts. Conclusions made from this study include identified elements of intercultural competence and assessment methods on which both the intercultural scholars and administrators agreed, resulting in the first study to document consensus on intercultural competence. Both groups agree that it is possible to assess degrees of intercultural competence and in so doing, that it is best to use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to assess intercultural competence, including interviews, observation, and judgment by self and others. Two models of inter-cultural competence are presented based on the findings of the study.
British Universities: The “Coal Exporters” of the 21st Century
Authors: Asteris Michael
Published: August 2006

There are surprising parallels between the once substantial coal export trade of the United Kingdom and present-day international student recruitment to its higher education sector. This article uses the history of the coal trade to highlight two points. The first is that onshore international education has a particularly favourable impact on the U.K. balance of payments. The second is that the global education market is characterised by a number of features that could ultimately prove highly detrimental to the growth in U.K. inward student migration. Recent attempts to reinforce Britain’s market position by means of a more coordinated trade strategy are thus timely. Even so, the article concludes that long-run forecasts of foreign demand for U.K. university places should be treated with caution.
Incremental Validity Analyses of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version in a Civil Psychiatric Sample
Authors: Edens John F. , Skeem Jennifer L. , Douglas Kevin S.
Published: August 2006

This study compares two instruments frequently used to assess risk for violence, the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV), in a large sample of civil psychiatric patients. Despite a strong bivariate relationship with community violence, the VRAG could not improve on the predictive validity of the PCL:SV alone, even though the VRAG includes several ostensible violence risk factors other than psychopathy. Moreover, incremental validity analyses indicated that the remaining VRAG items accounted for little or no variance in violent outcomes once psychopathy scores were controlled. Conversely, the PCL:SV continued to account for considerable variance after controlling for the VRAG. These results reflect the limited validity of the VRAG items in civil psychiatric samples beyond the variance that is explained by the PCL:SV alone.
The Short-Form Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ-SF)
Authors: Diamond Pamela M. , Magaletta Philip R.
Published: August 2006

The 12-item short form of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ-SF) was originally developed by Bryant and Smith (2001) and modified and confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis with mentally ill offenders by Diamond, Wang, and Buffington-Vollum (2005). In the current study, construct validity of the BPAQ-SF was assessed with a sample of 1,181 male and 435 female general population federal offenders. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure. Tests confirmed factorial invariance across gender for all loadings and covariances. Reliabilities were found to be adequate and comparable to those found in the studies cited above. Concurrent validity was supported by high correlations between the subscales of the BPAQ-SF and several relevant subscales on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). In addition, those offenders with prior history of violence, head injuries, childhood abuse, residential treatment, custody, or foster care as a child had higher scores on the BPAQ subscales.
Actuarial Models for Assessing Prison Violence Risk
Authors: Cunningham Mark D. , Sorensen Jon R.
Published: August 2006

An investigation and extension of the Risk Assessment Scale for Prison (RASP-Potosi), an actuarially derived scale for the assessment of prison violence, was undertaken through a retrospective review of the disciplinary records of the first 12 months of confinement of a cohort of inmates entering the Florida Department of Corrections in 2002 and remaining throughout 2003 (N = 14,088). A near replication of the RASP-Potosi and additional analyses based on other weighted logistic regression models were performed on an inmate subsample for whom all information categories were available (n = 13,341). Younger age and shorter sentences were associated with increased violent misconduct. Older age, drug conviction, and higher educational attainment were associated with reduced violent misconduct. Regardless of whether the original RASP-Potosi or its progeny were utilized, or the custody level of the inmate sample, the models were modestly successful in predicting prison violence, with the area under the curve (AUC) ranging from .645 to .707.
Harm, Intent, and the Nature of Aggressive Behavior
Authors: Graham Kathryn , Tremblay Paul F. , Wells Samantha , Pernanen Kai , Purcell John , Jelley Jennifer
Published: August 2006

The research goals were to use the constructs of harm and intent to quantify the severity of aggression in the real-world setting of the bar/club, to describe the range of aggressive behaviors and their relationship to harm and intent, and to examine gender differences in the form and severity of aggression. Systematic observations were conducted by trained observers on 1,334 nights in 118 bars/clubs. Observers documented a range of aggressive acts by 1,754 patrons in 1,052 incidents, with many forms of aggression occurring at more than one harm and intent level. Women used different forms of aggression, inflicted less harm, and were more likely to have defensive intent compared with men. Implications of the findings for research and measurement of aggression and applications to preventing aggression and violence are discussed.
The Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START)
Authors: Nicholls Tonia L. , Brink Johann , Desmarais Sarah L. , Webster Christopher D. , Martin Mary-Lou
Published: August 2006

A new assessment scheme-the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START)- presents a workable method for assessing risks to self and others encountered in mentally and personality disordered clients. This study aimed to demonstrate (a) prevalence and severity of risk behaviors measured by the START, (b) psychometric properties of START, (c) similarities and differences in START scores across different mental health professionals, and (d) concurrent validity of START with diverse negative outcomes. Treatment team members completed the 20-item, dynamically focused START for 137 forensic psychiatric inpatients. Prevalence and severity of START risk domains were measured for 51 patients detained in the hospital for 1 year. Results revealed high rates of generally low-level adverse events. With some exceptions, START scores were meaningfully associated with outcomes measured by a modified Overt Aggression Scale.
The Perils of Partialling
Authors: Lynam Donald R. , Hoyle Rick H. , Newman Joseph P.
Published: August 2006

Although a powerful technique, the partialling of independent variables from one another in the context of multiple regression analysis poses certain perils. The present article argues that the most important and underappreciated peril is the difficulty in knowing what construct an independent variable represents once the variance shared with other independent variables is removed. The present article presents illustrative analyses in a large sample of inmates (n = 696) using three measures from the psychopathy and aggression fields. Results indicate that in terms of relations among items on a single scale and relations between scales, the raw and residualized scores bore little resemblance to one another. It is argued that researchers must decide to which construct—the one represented by the original scale or the one represented by the residualized scale—conclusions are meant to apply. Difficulties in applying the conclusions to the residualized scale are highlighted and best practices suggested.
An Assessment of the Extent of Child Maltreatment Using Administrative Databases
Authors: Yampolskaya Svetlana , Banks Steven M.
Published: August 2006

This study examined the extent of violence toward children and factors associated with child maltreatment in Florida using a cohort of children (N = 499,330) who were adjudged to be victims of maltreatment between July 1, 1996, and June 30, 2003. To assess the extent of maltreatment, five indicators were proposed and examined. Multivariate analyses found that prior referral, having more than one type of maltreatment during an initial incident, and caregiver absence best predicted the recurrence of maltreatment. Caregivers’ alcohol and substance use were strong predictors of neglect and threatened harm but not of abuse. Finally, multilevel analyses found that older, nonminority girls with histories of prior referrals were significantly (psuedo-z s > 2.00) more likely to experience high degrees of incident severity. Caregivers’ substance use, excluding alcohol, also was significantly linked to incident severity. Implications of the findings are discussed.
CFD modelling of friction stir welding of thick plate 7449 aluminium alloy
Authors: Colegrove P. A. , Shercliff H. R.
Published: August 2006

CFD modelling of friction stir welding has been conducted to understand and optimise the welding of thick, 7449 aluminium alloy for aerospace applications. The aim is to produce high strength, defect free welds that do not break the tool. The models compared different pin profiles and rotation speeds and were undertaken in two stages. The first stage involved creating a thermal model to better understand the generation and flow of heat. The second stage involved analysing the flow near the tool with a two-dimensional model. The traversing force results from the two-dimensional planar models compared favourably with experimental findings. The pressure distribution and deformation region size were compared for the different models. Novel maps of the deformation conditions experienced in each weld were produced. The analysis suggested reasons why some pin profiles and rotation speeds are preferable to others and explained the difference in the traversing force measurements.
Expulsion monitoring in spot welded advanced high strength automotive steels
Authors: Ma C. , Bhole S. D. , Chen D. L. , Lee A. , Biro E. , Boudreau G.
Published: August 2006

Although there have been a number of investigations on monitoring and controlling the resistance spot welding (RSW) of low carbon galvanised steels, those of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) are limited. A data acquisition system was designed for monitoring weld expulsion via the measurement of voltage, current, electrode force and displacement and the calculation of resistance. The dynamic resistance, electrode force and tip displacement were characterised and correlated with the phenomenon of expulsion during RSW of dual phase (DP) steel using an ac welder. Two control strategies for DP600 spot welding were proposed on the basis of the rate of change in the dynamic resistance and the electrode force.
Weld brazing of copper thick plates
Authors: Yan J. C. , Li G. M. , Han R. T. , Liu D. B. , Zhang Y. , Yu H. C. , Wang F. P. , Yang S. Q.
Published: August 2006

The weld brazing of 6 mm thick copper plates without preheating was investigated. The weld metal of weld brazing is composed of α-Cu solid solution and Cu–Ag–P eutectic structure, and the α-Cu solid solution in the weld metal of weld brazing is larger than that in the brazing weld. The average hardness values within the weld are 60 HV (50 g) lower for weld brazing than for brazing. In all weld brazing specimens tested, the failure was located in the heat affected zone with a tensile strength slightly lower than the base metal but similar to the arc welding joints.
Experimental study on welding characteristics of CO2 laser TIG hybrid welding process
Authors: Chen Y. B. , Lei Z. L. , Li L. Q. , Wu L.
Published: August 2006

The experiments of CO2 laser TIG paraxial hybrid welding with 4 mm thick AISI 321 stainless steel sheet have been performed. The arc images and welding characteristics have been investigated with different energy ratios between laser and arc. The experimental results indicate that the hybrid welding is similar to laser welding and has also two welding mechanisms: deep penetration welding and heat conduction welding. Because of the effect of keyhole induced by laser, the arc root can be stabilised and compressed, and the current density and the penetration depth are all increased significantly, which show the characteristics of deep penetration welding. However, when the current is increased to a critical value, the laser induced keyhole disappears and the arc expands obviously, which decreases the penetration depth, so that the welding mechanism has been changed from deep penetration welding to heat conduction welding. Furthermore, the effects of distance between laser beam and electrode, pulsed laser and hybrid manners on hybrid welding characteristics have also been studied.
Impact of smoke-free workplace legislation on exposures and health: possibilities for prevention
Authors: Jaakkola M. S. , Jaakkola J. J. K.
Published: August 2006

The aims of this study were to review experiences with national or statewide smoke-free workplace legislation and data on the occurrence of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure at work, to present the best estimates for health effects related to workplace ETS exposure, and to calculate corresponding population attributable fractions (PAFs) for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases for 14 European countries and the USA.

Systematic searches of the Medline database were carried out, with a cut-off date of November 2005. PAFs for the main outcomes were calculated from the best disease-specific effect estimates and country-specific prevalences of work ETS exposure.

Significant numbers of workers are exposed to ETS at work,i.e.∼7.5 million workers in 15 European Union countries and 24.6 million in the USA. Workplace ETS exposure is causally linked to lung cancer and coronary heart disease, and is related to an increased risk of asthma in adults and reduced birthweight in newborns. Relatively strong evidence links ETS exposure to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and stroke. PAFs in Europe and the USA showed that, at current workplace ETS exposure prevalences, the public health impact is substantial.

Experience of national and statewide smoke-free workplace legislation from different countries shows that such legislation leads to significant reductions in employees' environmental tobacco smoke exposure at work, as well as improvements in respiratory and cardiac health.