bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Political Legal Perspective: Evaluating Human Rights in Malaysia
Authors: Taya Shamsuddin L.
Published: June 2010

This study examines and analyses human rights issues in Malaysia. Its approach is primarily an eclectic, by concentrating on the strengths and weaknesses of the human rights regime as practiced by Malaysia. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part looks at the six fundamentals of human rights that include: Respect for the integrity of the person; respect for civil liberties; and respect for political rights, more specifically, the rights of citizens in Malaysia to change their government. The second part looks at the Malaysian government’s attitude regarding international and non-governmental investigation of alleged violations of human rights, such as discrimination based on religion, race, gender, disability, language or social status. The last part looks at worker’s rights. The data for this analysis comes from primary and secondary sources, namely newspapers, the Internet, books, magazines and journals. The study found that the records of human rights in Malaysia is relatively good when compared to some of her ASEAN neighbours. For instance, Malaysian experience demonstrates that parliamentary democracy has been well-maintained in that elections have been held regularly ever since independence in 1957. Indeed, Malaysia enjoys one of the fastest-growing economies and is one of the ‘Asian small tigers.’ It may have occasional political and religious arrests of some opposition leaders, but physical force is not exerted against opponents, in contrast to what Ferdinand E. Marcos did and what Gloria M. Arroyo has been doing in the Philippines at the time of this writing. Furthermore, there is nothing that resembles the violence that frequently erupts in the Philippines, Thailand and the continuing oppression in Myanmar committed by the military government against its people.
Occupations and the Structure of Wage Inequality in the United States, 1980s to 2000s
Authors: Mouw Ted , Kalleberg Arne L.
Published: June 2010

Occupations are central to the stratification systems of industrial countries, but they have played little role in empirical attempts to explain the well-documented increase in wage inequality that occurred in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. We address this deficiency by assessing occupation-level effects on wage inequality using data from the Current Population Survey for 1983 through 2008. We model the mean and variance of wages for each occupation, controlling for education and demographic factors at the individual level to test three competing explanations for the increase in wage inequality: (1) the growth of between-occupation polarization, (2) changes in education and labor force composition, and (3) residual inequality unaccounted for by occupations and demographic characteristics. After correcting for a problem with imputed data that biased Kim and Sakamoto’s (2008) results, we find that between-occupation changes explain 66 percent of the increase in wage inequality from 1992 to 2008, although 23 percent of this is due to the switch to the 2000 occupation codes in 2003. Sensitivity analysis reveals that 18 percent of the increase in inequality from 1983 to 2002 is due to changes in just three occupations: managers “not elsewhere classified,” secretaries, and computer systems analysts.
The Global Rise of Democracy
Authors: Torfason Magnus Thor , Ingram Paul
Published: June 2010

We examine the influence of an interstate network created by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) on the global diffusion of democracy. We propose that IGOs facilitate democracy’s diffusion by transmitting information between member states and by interpreting that information according to prevailing norms in the world society, where democracy is viewed as the legitimate form of government. We employ a network autocorrelation model to track changes in democracy among all of the world’s countries from 1815 to 2000. We find that democracy does diffuse through the IGO network and that the influence of democratic countries is stronger than that of undemocratic countries. Evidence indicates that the IGO network serves as a basis for normative diffusion. This is an important contribution to sociological accounts of globalization, which tend to emphasize diffusion divorced from network structure or diffusion dependent on the coercive influence of a small set of international organizations.
Chinese Popular Religion in Diaspora: A Case Study of Shrines in Toronto’s Chinatowns
Authors: Woo Terry Tak-Ling
Published: June 2010

This article examines spirit shrines in Toronto’s Chinatowns by drawing on two broad areas of existing scholarship: the study of Chinese popular religion in native communities by scholars like Adam Chau, Alessandro Dell’Orto, Randall Nadeau and Chang Hsun, and Donald Sutton; and the study of the religiosity of North American Chinese diasporic communities which concentrates primarily on Christianity and peripherally Buddhism by scholars like Rudy Busto, Kenneth Guest, Lien Pei-te, and Yang Fenggang. This paper aims to describe one aspect of folk, non-textual diasporic Chinese religiosity expressed in spirit shrines as a means through which to explore the apparent anomaly of the ‘‘non-religious’’ Chinese-Canadian.
Inheriting the Past: Peter Corris’s The Journal of Fletcher Christian and Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang
Authors: Fletcher Lisa , Mead Elizabeth
Published: June 2010

Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang and Peter Corris’s The Journal of Fletcher Christian are historical novels, which emerge from quite different Australian cultural fields (Literature and popular fiction), but reading them alongside each other reveals fundamental similarities in their politics of race, gender and sexuality. We argue that both novels use the symbolism of the male, colonizing body to grant legitimacy to their postcolonial settler audience. In both cases, this legitimacy takes the form of a fragment of “true and secret” history which opposes authorized accounts of famous historical lives and events (Australia’s most famous bushranger, the British Empire’s most famous mutineer). We focus, in particular, on the extent to which both novels imagine the voices of Kelly and Christian by exploiting the richly metaphorical relationship between the body as flesh and the body as text.
Exciting Tales of Exotic Dark India: Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger
Authors: Cristina Mendes Ana
Published: June 2010

A revamped portrayal of a Dark India garnered an unparalleled visibility in 2008 with the award of the coveted Man Booker Prize for Fiction to Aravind Adiga’s debut novel The White Tiger.This article examines Adiga’s staging of a Dark India as a new-fangled object of exoticist discourses. It begins by considering The White Tiger as an ironic uncovering of the subsumption of a Dark India into the global literary marketplace at a time of a perceived shift in re-Orientalist representational practices and their western reception. Specifically, while taking the measure of the appraisal The White Tiger has received, this article questions the premises that underpin the most vehement critiques directed at the novel: on the one hand, that Adiga’s work offers a purportedly long-awaited creative departure from Salman Rushdie’s; on the other hand, that the characterization strategies followed by the novelist result in what critics have perceived as class ventriloquism and, accordingly, a re-Orientalized title character equipped with an “inauthentic” voice.
Foe: A Ghost Story
Authors: López María
Published: June 2010

This article argues that J.M. Coetzee’s Foe (1986) may be read as a ghost story, in which Coetzee writes back to Daniel Defoe’s “A True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs. Veal”. The ghostly character of Coetzee’s novel derives from the silences and secrets pervading the narrator Susan’s story, among which Friday’s mute and enigmatic presence is the most overwhelming, and from the presence of strange creatures that seem to come from various Defoe’s literary works. Hence Susan begins to doubt her own ontological status and to consider herself, and also Friday and Foe, as ghosts, a notion which is explored in relation to Freud’s analysis of the uncanny and the double. Foe, thus, highlights an intimate relation between literature and secrecy, an idea that is developed in relation to the thinking of Jacques Derrida, J. Hillis Miller and Frank Kermode, this secret and indecipherable dimension of the literary work demanding, in turn, a position of blindness and lack of authority from both writer and critic.
Analyzing Endodontic Infections by Deep Coverage Pyrosequencing
Authors: Li L. , Hsiao W.W.L. , Nandakumar R. , Barbuto S.M. , Mongodin E.F. , Paster B.J. , Fraser-Liggett C.M. , Fouad A.F.
Published: June 2010

Bacterial diversity in endodontic infections has not been sufficiently studied. The use of modern pyrosequencing technology should allow for more comprehensive analysis than traditional Sanger sequencing. This study investigated bacterial diversity in endodontic infections through taxonomic classification based on 16S rRNA gene sequences generated by 454 GS-FLX pyrosequencing and conventional Sanger capillary sequencing technologies. Sequencings were performed on 7 specimens from endodontic infections. On average, 47 vs. 28,590 sequences were obtained per sample for Sanger sequencing vs. pyrosequencing, representing a 600-fold difference in “depth-of-coverage”. Based on Ribosomal Database Project (RDP II) Classifier analysis, pyrosequencing identified 179 bacterial genera in 13 phyla, which was significantly more than Sanger sequencing. The phylum Bacteroidetes was the most prevalent bacterial phylum. These results indicate that bacterial communities in endodontic infections are more diverse than previously demonstrated. In addition, deep-coverage pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed low-abundance micro-organisms with potential clinical implications.
Examining the Terror Management Health Model: The Interactive Effect of Conscious Death Thought and Health-Coping Variables on Decisions in Potentially Fatal Health Domains
Authors: Cooper Douglas P. , Goldenberg Jamie L. , Arndt Jamie
Published: June 2010

From the perspective of the terror management health model (TMHM), expectancies as to whether a health behavior is likely to effectively protect one's health (i.e., response efficacy) and whether an individual is optimistic about the outcomes of his or her health risk assessment (i.e., health optimism) should have a more potent influence on health decisions when thoughts of death are conscious and the health risk domain is potentially fatal. Supporting this, health optimism and response efficacy were found to moderate skin cancer prevention intentions in response to conscious, but not nonconscious, reminders of death, whereas this same relationship was not found in the context of priming thoughts associated with uncertainty. Moreover, these effects were not observed in response to nonfatal dental care outcomes. Discussion focuses on the implications of TMHM for existing health models and health promotion.
Perceiving Your Group’s Future to Be in Jeopardy: Extinction Threat Induces Collective Angst and the Desire to Strengthen the Ingroup
Authors: Wohl Michael J. A. , Branscombe Nyla R. , Reysen Stephen
Published: June 2010

Collective angst reflects concern about the ingroup’s future vitality. In four studies, the authors examined the impact of ingroup extinction threat on the experience of collective angst. In Study 1, collective angst was elicited in response to a physical or symbolic ingroup extinction threat compared to a no-threat control group. In Study 2, the extent to which French Canadians expressed collective angst because of the perceived extinction threat posed by English Canada predicted desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. In Studies 3 and 4, the impact of a historical extinction threat was assessed. The extent to which Jewish people expressed thinking about (Study 3) or were reminded of the Holocaust (Study 4) resulted in an increased desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. Collective angst acted as a mediator of these effects. Implications of extinction threat for both intragroup and intergroup behavior are discussed.
The Cognitive Representation of Self-Stereotyping
Authors: Latrofa Marcella , Vaes Jeroen , Cadinu Mara , Carnaghi Andrea
Published: June 2010

The present work looks at the self-stereotyping process and reveals its underlying cognitive structure. When this process occurs, it is necessarily the result of an overlap between the representation of the ingroup and that of the self. Two studies measured this overlap and showed that it was higher on stereotype-relevant than on stereotype-irrelevant traits, it involved both positive and negative stereotypical traits, and it implied a deduction-to-the-self process of ingroup stereotypical dimensions. Moreover, the status of one’s social group was found to be a key variable in this process, showing that self-stereotyping is limited to low-status group members. Indeed, results of Study 2 showed that the overlap between the self and the ingroup for high-status group members was the result of an induction-to-the-ingroup process of personal characteristics. Implications for research on people’s self-construal are discussed.
How Do Fields Change? The Interrelations of Institutions, Networks, and Cognition in the Dynamics of Markets
Authors: Beckert Jens
Published: June 2010

Sociological approaches to the economy identify three types of social structures relevant for the explanation of economic outcomes: social networks, institutions, and cognitive frames. This article contributes to the development of a framework which aims at an integrated perspective on the social structuring of markets and their dynamics. Based on the field concept, the article discusses the interrelations between the three types of structures as a source of the dynamics of markets. Bringing the complex and possibly contradictory character of the different social structures to the center of attention highlights spaces for innovation which are anchored in the social organization of markets but remain obscure in approaches that focus on only one of the structures. The simultaneous inclusion of social networks, institutions, and cognitive frames makes it possible to address how actors employ resources gained from one of these structures in the field to reconfigure other parts of the social structure in a way favorable to their goals.
Resisting a corporate code of ethics and the reinforcement of management control
Authors: Helin Sven , Sandström Johan
Published: June 2010

This study is about how a corporate code of ethics travels into a multinational corporation’s subsidiary, focusing on how members of the subsidiary recontextualize, relabel and explain the code (to themselves and others). What emerges is the story of a code that is disliked by its receivers, but yet signed by them all, avowing that they have ‘read, understood and accepted’ it, thereby reinforcing the parent’s control system. We argue that this seeming contradiction can be explained in terms of the receivers resisting the code by distancing themselves from it through the devaluation of (i) social referents, (ii) the code’s core ethical content and (iii) the expected outcome of implementing the code. These distancing practices enable the receivers to position themselves as outside of power, which, in turn, enable them to sign the code.
Developing a Tuberculosis Transmission Model That Accounts for Changes in Population Health
Authors: Oxlade Olivia , Schwartzman Kevin , Benedetti Andrea , Pai Madhukar , Heymann Jody , Menzies Dick
Published: June 2010

Background. Simulation models are useful in policy planning for tuberculosis (TB) control. To accurately assess interventions, important modifiers of the epidemic should be accounted for in evaluative models. Improvements in population health were associated with the declining TB epidemic in the pre–antibiotic era and may be relevant today. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a TB transmission model that accounted for changes in population health. Methods. We developed a deterministic TB transmission model, using reported data from the pre–antibiotic era in England. Change in adjusted life expectancy, used as a proxy for general health, was used to determine the rate of change of key epidemiological parameters. Predicted outcomes included risk of TB infection and TB mortality. The model was validated in the setting of the Netherlands and then applied to modern Peru. Results. The model, developed in the setting of England, predicted TB trends in the Netherlands very accurately. The R2 value for correlation between observed and predicted data was 0.97 and 0.95 for TB infection and mortality, respectively. In Peru, the predicted decline in incidence prior to the expansion of “Directly Observed Treatment Short Course” (The DOTS strategy) was 3.7% per year (observed = 3.9% per year). After DOTS expansion, the predicted decline was very similar to the observed decline of 5.8% per year. Conclusions. We successfully developed and validated a TB model, which uses a proxy for population health to estimate changes in key epidemiology parameters. Population health contributed significantly to improvement in TB outcomes observed in Peru. Changing population health should be incorporated into evaluative models for global TB control.
Perceptual organization can affect performance on rhythmic tasks
Authors: Mclaughlin Pat , Boals Adriel
Published: June 2010

The current study explored whether perceptual organization can influence performance in a rhythm task. To test this possibility we had experienced drummers play two identical rhythmic passages by different groupings. The pulse of the rhythmic passage was manipulated to create a fast task and a slow task. All 27 participants performed the rhythmic passage more accurately when they were under the influence of the slower pulse. In addition, for all 27 participants, the fastest tempo for which they were able to perform the rhythm task to criterion was faster when in the slower pulse condition. These results demonstrate that perceptual organization can affect musical performance.
Interpreting ‭ד א‬ in Genesis 2.5-6: Neglected Rabbinic and Intertextual Evidence
Authors: Rogland Max
Published: June 2010

This article seeks to clarify the semantics of Hebrew ‭ד א‬ by drawing attention to two factors: specifically, the usage of the word in Rabbinic Hebrew and the phenomenon of biblical intertextuality. A number of Rabbinic passages are examined which indicate that the word ‭ד א‬ was understood as a cloud of some kind. This understanding of ‭ד א‬ is also observable in intertextual references to Gen. 2.5-6 in Ps. 135.7 and Jer. 10.13. Such evidence confirms the Targumic tradition, which renders Hebrew ‭ד א‬ as ‘cloud’. The article concludes with exegetical and grammatical remarks on Gen. 2.5-6 in light of this understanding of ‭ד א‬.
Three-Way Intertextuality: Some Reflections of Abimelech’s Death at Thebez in Biblical Narrative
Authors: Shalom-Guy Hava
Published: June 2010

Through examination of intertextuality in biblical narrative, this article investigates how the stories of the campaign at Rabbah (2 Sam. 11.20-21) and of the siege of Abel Bethmaacah (2 Sam. 20.14-22) reflect the story of the death of Abimelech at Thebez (Judg. 9.52-53). It first considers the shared characteristics of these stories: each involves a siege situation in which women play a vital role. It is, however, close consideration of the differences between these stories and how their authors adapted the details of the Abimelech story to the needs of the new contexts that enables determination of which story is the source and which the reflection and what motivated their use of the Thebez narrative.
The digiti quinti sign in hemiplegic migraine
Authors: Vincent Maurice B , Carvalho-e-Silva Fernanda ML , Luiz Ronir R
Published: June 2010

The digiti quinti sign (DQS), described originally as a clinical indication of subtle motor deficit, consists of a relatively greater abduction of the fifth finger on the affected side when both arms are extended forwards. This sign was previously observed interictally in three consecutive hemiplegic migraine (HM) patients.

Patients and methods: To verify whether the DQS specifically discriminates HM from non-hemiplegic migraine (nHM), the angle between the fourth and fifth fingers (ANG) was measured interictally in 10 HM patients, 44 migraine with aura and migraine without aura patients, and 45 healthy controls.

Results: The ANG was significantly wider at the symptomatic side in HM as compared with nHM and controls. The differences between the symptomatic and non-symptomatic (for HM) or between the right and left sides (absolute values for nHM and controls) were, respectively, 10.10° ± 9.58°, 4.15° ± 3.95° and 5.37° ± 4.74° ( p = .007). The optimal cutoff point for ANG was 15° at the symptomatic side (sensitivity and specificity of 80.0% and 72.2%, respectively), 10.5° at the non-symptomatic side (sensitivity and specificity of 60.0% and 52.3%), and 3° for the difference between sides (sensitivity and specificity of 90.0% and 79.5%).

Conclusion: Data show that the DQS discriminates HM from nHM and controls.
Prevalence and impact of migrainous vertigo in mid-life women: A community-based study
Authors: Hsu Li-Chi , Wang Shuu-Jiun , Fuh Jong-Ling
Published: June 2010

We surveyed 1436 women aged 40–54 years in the community. Of these, 278 (19.4%) were diagnosed with migraine or probable migraine based on the International Classification of Headache Disorder criteria. The diagnoses of migrainous vertigo (MV) were modified from Neuhauser’s criteria. Of the 278 women, 238 (85.6%) underwent an interview and 72 (30.3%) of those with migraine or probable migraine had MV. The 1-year prevalence of MV among mid-life women was 5.0% (95% CI, 4.0–6.3%). The MV subjects had a higher proportion of aura (23.6% vs 9.6%; OR, 2.9), nausea (76.4% vs 55.8%; OR, 2.6) and photophobia (61.1% vs 41.7%; OR, 2.2) compared with the migraine subjects without MV. The migrainous subjects with and without MV had similar Short-Form 36 (SF-36) scores. Our study showed that MV was common in mid-life women. Their health-related quality of life was similar in migrainous subjects with MV and those without MV.
Genomic expression patterns in medication overuse headaches
Authors: Hershey Andrew D , Burdine Danny , Kabbouche Marielle A , Powers Scott W
Published: June 2010

Background: Chronic daily headache (CDH) and chronic migraine (CM) are one of the most frequent problems encountered in neurology, are often difficult to treat, and frequently complicated by medication-overuse headache (MOH). Proper recognition of MOH may alter treatment outcome and prevent long term disability.

Objective: This study identifies the unique genomic expression pattern MOH that respond to cessation of the overused medication.

Methods: Baseline occurrence of MOH and typical pattern of response to medication cessation were measured from a large database. Whole blood samples from patients with CM with or without MOH were obtained and their genomic profile was assessed. Affymetrix human U133 plus2 arrays were used to examine the genomic expression patterns prior to treatment and 6–12 weeks later. Headache characterisation and response to treatment based on headache frequency and disability were compared.

Results: Of 1311 patients reporting daily or continuous headaches, 513 (39.1%) reported overusing analgesic medication. At follow-up, 44.5% had a 50% or greater reduction in headache frequency, while 41.6% had no change. Blood genomic expression patterns were obtained on 33 patients with 19 (57.6%) overusing analgesic medication with a unique genomic expression pattern in MOH that responded to cessation of analgesics. Gene ontology of these samples indicated a significant number were involved with brain and immunological tissues, including multiple signalling pathways and apoptosis.

Conclusions: Blood genomic patterns can accurately identify MOH patients that respond to medication cessation. These results suggest that MOH involves a unique molecular biology pathway that can be identified with a specific biomarker.
Lovers and Friends: ‘Radical Utopias’ of Intimacy?
Authors: Markus Maria R.
Published: June 2010

The dynamic differentiation of various social spheres in modernity has not been matched by any similarly dynamic development of new forms of trust which would help to maintain the connection between the impersonal/ systemic forms and the personal ones. Instead, we face today an increasing gap between the forms of trust related to the proliferating ‘abstract systems’ and the personal forms of trust. It is, above all, in this context that the topic of friendship became reintroduced into theoretical debates in search for a model of human relationships which might bridge this gap. It is argued that such transformation of friendship into a ‘radical utopia’ is only the latest phase in the long series of historical transformations it has undergone in the context of changing social articulation of the relation between privacy and publicness.
Decency in Anglo-American Financial Centres?
Authors: Pixley Jocelyn
Published: June 2010

How can a partial, revisable utopia of ‘decent society’ be used as a yardstick for assessing today’s impersonal forms of social integration? In economic life — this essay’s focus — Polanyi’s hopes that the ‘economic system’ might cease ‘to lay down the law to society’ is a start. Recently, financial firms sold commodified promises and obligations on the allure of democratizing credit and providing financial ‘choice’ to millions. Yet these ‘civilities’ exploited people’s hopes for a dignified life. Any new, partial utopia (as Keynes’s was too — to remove the egregious, humiliating features of ‘the society in which we live’) is yet to be devised. Maria Markus’s concept is useful to ask whether the instrumental-ism of macro-economic concepts is a distortion of the institutions of money or intrinsic to them. Could solidaristic compromises through civil society minimize disrespectful relationships embedded in money to create decent institutions?
The Struggles of Public Intellectuals in Australia: What Do They Tell Us About Contemporary Australia and the Australian ‘Political Public Sphere’?
Authors: Pusey Michael
Published: June 2010

In the light of Markus’s notion of the decent society, this contribution examines the challenges facing public intellectuals in Australia’s contemporary political public sphere. It observes, firstly, that Australia has a distinctly Benthamite political culture that listens more to bureaucratic solutions than to metaphysics, history and arguments grounded in human rights. It explains, secondly, how public opinion gives voice to underlying norms and should thus be treated as the starting point for intellectual activism. Thirdly, the article looks into confusion on the criteria for political deliberation in contemporary Australia. Consideration is then given to the growing constraints imposed on public intellectuals through various new forms of censorship and closure. The conclusion uses the gathering debates on adjustment to climate change to illustrate how public intellectual activism can break new ground.
Towards Decent Society: the Demands of Justice and the Demands of Civility
Authors: Tazreiter Claudia
Published: June 2010

This essay outlines an argument for fostering the conditions for civil society to emerge in conflict or post-conflict situations. Only where a ‘civil’ society and ‘decent’ society exist together can democratic engagement flourish in the long term. The essay explores the possibilities for decency in social and political conduct where conflict and rupture have been the norm. In establishing decency in social relations and in institutions, trust must be generated where distrust has prevailed as a result of the recent past and memories of a longer past. Common in the contemporary period have been the interventions of humanitarian organizations — such as international and local human rights organizations. How can we assess this activity in relation to the establishment or re-establishment of a civil society and to practices and institutions that reflect decency? What occurs in ‘transitional’ times to foster social relations and institutions that reflect decency in actions between people? The essay looks briefly at the example of the Palestinian West Bank in this context.
Tuberculous Meningitis-Related Optic Neuritis: Recovery of Vision With Thalidomide in 4 Consecutive Cases
Authors: Schoeman Johan F. , Andronikou Savvas , Stefan D. Christina , Freeman Nicola , van Toorn Ronald
Published: June 2010

Blindness is an uncommon but devastating complication of tuberculosis meningitis. The main causes are chronically raised intracranial pressure (hydrocephalus and/or tuberculomas) or direct involvement of the optic chiasm or optic nerves by the basal arachnoiditis (inflammation and/or compression). Antituberculosis therapy combined with corticosteroids and control of intracranial pressure constitutes the mainstay of therapy for tuberculous meningitis. Despite these treatment measures, some patients develop blindness, mainly as a result of progressive optochiasmatic arachnoiditis. This led us to explore the role of adjuvant thalidomide therapy, and we describe the dramatic recovery of vision in 4 consecutive cases. Clinical recovery was accompanied by marked radiological improvement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain.
Study of Beta-Thalassemia Biomarkers and Their Relationship to Cognition Among Children
Authors: Shehata Ghaydaa A. , Elsayh Khaled I. , Rafet Nafisa H. , Mohamed Amany O. , Rageh Tarek A.
Published: June 2010

The current study is to detect some biomarkers of beta-thalassemia (ferritin, serum transferrin receptors, and nitric oxide levels) and to examine the relation between these markers and cognition in children with beta-thalassemia. Thirty children with beta-thalassemia were selected from the Pediatric Department at Assiut University hospital. Another 40 healthy children of the same age, sex, years of schooling, body mass index (BMI), and social scale were chosen as the control group. Assessment of clinical, laboratory, cognitive functions, and event related potential was done for patients and control groups. Significantly higher levels of ferritin and serum transferrin receptors with decreased nitric oxide were detected among children with beta-thalassemia. There were significant correlations between serum transferrin receptors and nitric oxide levels with event related potential latencies and with some cognitive function tests and P300-N2 amplitude. Frequent blood transfusion was associated with increased serum transferrin receptors and decreased nitric oxide levels.
Benign Convulsions With Mild Gastroenteritis: Is It Associated With Sodium Channel Gene SCN1A Mutation?
Authors: Weng Wen-Chin , Hirose Shinichi , Lee Wang-Tso
Published: June 2010

Benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis were afebrile seizures associated with gastroenteritis in previously healthy infants or young children. It has been thought to be a continual spectrum of benign infantile convulsions because of overlapping clinical pictures. Recently, molecular genetic studies have suggested a channelopathy in benign infantile convulsions. The authors prospectively studied the clinical features of benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis in Taiwanese children and clarified the relationship between neuronal sodium channel alpha 1 subunit (SCN1A) gene and benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis. The clinical pictures in their patients were similar to those of previous studies except for the low rate of positive rotavirus antigen in the stool, which may indicate a season-related viral infection. No mutations in the SCN1A gene were identified in all patients. This study suggested that SCN1A mutations are probably not associated with benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis. Other possible pathogenic mechanisms need to be researched in the future.
Read-Through Strategies for Suppression of Nonsense Mutations in Duchenne/ Becker Muscular Dystrophy: Aminoglycosides and Ataluren (PTC124)
Authors: Finkel Richard S.
Published: June 2010

Nucleotide changes within an exon can alter the trinucleotide normally encoding a particular amino acid, such that a new ‘‘stop’’ signal is transcribed into the mRNA open reading frame. This causes the ribosome to prematurely terminate its reading of the mRNA, leading to nonsense-mediated decay of the transcript and lack of production of a normal full-length protein. Such premature termination codon mutations occur in an estimated 10% to 15% of many genetically based disorders, including Duchenne/ Becker muscular dystrophy. Therapeutic strategies have been developed to induce ribosomal read-through of nonsense mutations in mRNA and allow production of a full-length functional protein. Small-molecule drugs (aminoglycosides and ataluren [PTC124]) have been developed and are in clinical testing in patients with nonsense mutations within the dystrophin gene. Use of nonsense mutation suppression in Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy may offer the prospect of targeting the specific mutation causing the disease and correcting the fundamental pathophysiology.
Accounting for Victimization: Male Professors’ Ideological Positioning in Stories of Sexual Harassment
Authors: Scarduzio Jennifer A. , Geist-Martin Patricia
Published: June 2010

Ideologies constrain and shape the sense that people make of sexual harassment experiences in the workplace. Victims, harassers, and witnesses are all influenced by the discourse that informs the decisions they make in relation to sexual harassment in the workplace. This research examined the implications of ideologies and discourses surrounding sexual harassment through interviews with four male professors from a large, southwestern U.S. university, who describe their experience as victims of sexual harassment.The men’s accounts revealed shifts back and forth between several ideological positions as a way to make sense of their experiences, highlighting the impact of hegemonic masculinity, the complicated process of consent, and the contrast between the experiences of male and female victims.
Mission Mirroring: Understanding Conflict in Nonprofit Organizations
Authors: Allyn David
Published: June 2010

This article argues that nonprofit organizations frequently suffer from a type of conflict that is unique to the sector. The author calls this tension mission mirroring and defines it as the phenomenon that occurs when an organization becomes enmeshed internally in the same conflicts it was founded to deal with externally. The author’s aim in this article is to illustrate how mission mirroring occurs, how it is often misunderstood and misinterpreted, and how the failure to recognize it for what it is only aggravates the problem. His ultimate hope is that this article will allow nonprofit leaders to view internal conflicts of individual organizations from a broader, sectorwide perspective.
Optimal geographic scales for local spatial statistics
Authors: Rogerson Peter A
Published: June 2010

Local spatial statistics are used to test for spatial association in some variable of interest, and to test for clustering around predefined locations. Such statistics require that a neighbourhood be defined around the location of interest. This is done by specifying weights for surrounding regions, and this is tantamount to specification of the scale at which the local dependence or clustering is tested. In practice, weights are usually assigned exogenously, with little thought given to their definition. Most common is the definition of binary adjacency — weights are set equal to one if the region is adjacent to the focal region and to zero otherwise. But this implies a spatial scale that may or may not be the best one to evaluate the variable under study — the actual scale of dependence or clustering is one that is smaller or larger. An alternative strategy is to try different sets of weights corresponding to different spatial scales. The purpose of this article is to provide statistical tests that allow for examination of several local statistics across multiple spatial scales, and yet avoid the need for simulation. Application of these tests leads to a choice of spatial scale through the weights, as well as an assessment of statistical significance. The approach is illustrated using data on leukemia from central New York State.
Modeling of Composite Laminated Plates with Interfacial Damage Evolution
Authors: Yanping Tian  , Yiming Fu
Published: June 2010

A displacement field distribution model, which includes the effects of geometrical nonlinearity, high-order transverse shear deformation, and transverse normal deformation, is presented for composite laminated plates with interfacial damage evolution. Using the proposed model and variational principle, the nonlinear equilibrium differential equations are established. And these equations are solved by adopting the finite difference method and iteration method. Then, the analysis of interlaminar displacement distribution for cross-ply laminated plates with interfacial damage evolution under the action of transverse loads is presented. Numerical results show that the transverse normal deformation should not be neglected, and the deformation of the plate becomes larger and the displacements discontinuity occur at interfaces due to the interfacial damage. Also, the delamination phenomenon is obvious when the plate is excited by the transverse pulling loads, but the shear slip is dominant when excited by the transverse pushing loads.
An Item Response Theory Analysis of Harter’s Self-Perception Profile for Children or Why Strong Clinical Scales Should be Distrusted
Authors: Egberink Iris J. L. , Meijer Rob R.
Published: June 2010

The authors investigated the psychometric properties of the subscales of the Self-Perception Profile for Children with item response theory (IRT) models using a sample of 611 children. Results from a nonparametric Mokken analysis and a parametric IRT approach for boys ( n = 268) and girls ( n = 343) were compared. The authors found that most scales formed weak scales and that measurement precision was relatively low and only present for latent trait values indicating low self-perception. The subscales Physical Appearance and Global Self-Worth formed one strong scale. Children seem to interpret Global Self-Worth items as if they measure Physical Appearance. Furthermore, the authors found that strong Mokken scales (such as Global Self-Worth) consisted mostly of items that repeat the same item content. They conclude that researchers should be very careful in interpreting the total scores on the different Self-Perception Profile for Children scales. Finally, implications for further research are discussed.
Comparison of WAIS-III Short Forms for Measuring Index and Full-Scale Scores
Authors: Girard Todd A. , Axelrod Bradley N. , Wilkins Leanne K.
Published: June 2010

This investigation assessed the ability of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Third Edition (WAIS-III) short forms to estimate both index and IQ scores in a large, mixed clinical sample ( N = 809). More specifically, a commonly used modification of Ward’s seven-subtest short form (SF7-A), a recently proposed index-based SF7-C and eight-subtest short form (SF8) were evaluated. All three SFs proved adequate for estimating verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, and full-scale intelligence within considerably less time relative to an SF11 that provides full measurement of WAIS index scores. The SF7-A provided the best combination overall in terms of psychometric performance and estimated time savings. However, SF8 best represents all four factors and allows measurement of processing speed. The SF7-C was most hampered by inclusion of the Block Design subtest in the current assessment, but may prove advantageous in future extensions to the WAIS-IV.
What Have We Learned From the Application of Stochastic Frontier Analysis to U.S. Hospitals?
Authors: Rosko Michael D. , Mutter Ryan L.
Published: June 2010

This article focuses on the lessons learned from stochastic frontier analysis studies of U.S. hospitals, of which at least 27 have been published. A brief discussion of frontier techniques is provided, but a technical review of the literature is not included because overviews of estimation issues have been published recently. The primary focus is on the correlates of hospital inefficiency. In addition to examining the association of market pressures and hospital inefficiency, the authors also examined the relationship between inefficiency and hospital behavior (e.g., hospital exits) and inefficiency and other measures of hospital performance (e.g., outcome measures of quality). The authors found that consensus is emerging on the relationship of some factors to hospital efficiency; however, further research is needed to better understand others. The application of stochastic frontier analysis to specific policy issues is in its infancy; however, the methodology holds promise for being useful in certain contexts.
Methodological Urban Legends: The Misuse of Statistical Control Variables
Authors: Spector Paul E. , Brannick Michael T.
Published: June 2010

The automatic or blind inclusion of control variables in multiple regression and other analyses, intended to purify observed relationships among variables of interest, is widespread and can be considered an example of practice based on a methodological urban legend. Inclusion of such variables in most cases implicitly assumes that the control variables are somehow either contaminating the measurement of the variables of interest or affecting the underlying constructs, thus distorting observed relationships among them. There are, however, a number of alternative mechanisms that would produce the same statistical results, thus throwing into question whether inclusion of control variables has led to more or less accurate interpretation of results. The authors propose that researchers should be explicit rather than implicit regarding the role of control variables and match hypotheses precisely to both the choice of variables and the choice of analyses. The authors further propose that researchers avoid testing models in which demographic variables serve as proxies for variables that are of real theoretical interest in their data.
Unproctored Internet Test Verification
Authors: Makransky Guido , Glas Cees. A. W.
Published: June 2010

Unproctored Internet testing (UIT) is commonly used in employment test administration. When the test is high stakes, the International Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing recommend to follow up the results with a confirmation test in a controlled setting. This article proposes and compares two methods for detecting whether a test taker’s original UIT responses are consistent with the responses from a follow-up confirmation test. The first method is a fixed length adaptive confirmation test using the likelihood ratio (LR) test to evaluate cheating and the second method is a variable length adaptive confirmation test using an extension of the stochastic curtailed truncated sequential probability ratio test (SCTSPRT) to evaluate cheating. Simulation studies indicated that the adaptive confirmation test using the SCTSPRT was almost four times shorter while maintaining the same detection power. The study also demonstrated that cheating can have a detrimental effect on the validity of a selection procedure and illustrated that the use of a confirmation test can remedy the negative effect of cheating on validity.
Quien Es El Mas Macho?: A Comparison of Day Laborers and Chicano Men
Authors: Mirandé Alfredo , Pitones Juan M. , Díaz Jesse
Published: June 2010

This study examined whether the ideology of machismo is essentially a class-based structural phenomenon found primarily among poor and uneducated, working-class immigrant Latino men or an endemic cultural trait and value. We compared the responses on the Mirandé Sex Role Inventory (MSRI), a measure of traditional gender roles, of a sample of Day Laborer (DLG), immigrant men (N = 37) who work in the secondary labor market in menial, low-wage jobs with those of more educated, largely nonimmigrant, men (N = 105)1who are part of the primary labor market group (PLG) and have higher-wage stable jobs. DLG consistently scored higher on the Traditionalism items on the MSRI than the PLG sample and endorsed traditional beliefs that restrict women’s behavior and/or activities and reinforce the double sexual standard but results of separate factor analyses conducted with two or three components revealed considerable overlap and consistency in the two samples on the various components of the MSRI, particularly the Traditionalism Factor. The diversity of responses between the two samples suggests that there is not one but a wide range and variety of Latino masculinities.
How Pacifist Were the Founding Fathers?: War and Violence in Classical Sociology
Authors: Malešević Siniša
Published: June 2010

Most commentators agree that the study of war and collective violence remains the Achilles heel of sociology. However, this apparent neglect is often wrongly attributed to the classics of social thought. This article contests such a view by arguing: (1) that many classics were preoccupied with the study of war and violence and have devised complex concepts and models to detect and analyse its social manifestations; and (2) most of the classical social thought was in fact sympathetic to the ‘militarist’ understanding of social life. In many respects, classical social thought shared the analytical, epistemological and even moral universe that understood war and violence as the key mechanisms of social change. The structural neglect of this rich and versatile theoretical tradition is linked to the hegemony of the normative ‘pacifist’ re-interpretation of the classics in the aftermath of two total wars of the twentieth century. The author argues that the contemporary sociology of war and violence can gain much by revisiting the key concepts and ideas of the classics.
From Zoēpolitics to Biopolitics: Citizenship and the Construction of ‘Society’
Authors: Schinkel Willem
Published: June 2010

Giorgio Agamben’s work on biopower thematizes the biopolitical distinction between what the 1789 Declaration distinguishes as citoyen and homme. In this contribution, Foucault’s and Agamben’s views on biopolitics are critically discussed. It argues that a crucial distinction exists between what can be called zoēpolitics and biopolitics. Whereas the former takes the biological body as its object and is only indirectly geared towards the social body, the latter more directly has the social body as its object. Citizenship can be regarded a crucial form of population control that is both zoēpolitical and biopolitical in scope. It is zoēpolitical in that it distinguishes citizens from non-citizens. It is biopolitical in that it separates the life of ‘society’ from what is today, for instance, in discourse on immigrant integration, discursively articulated as the ‘outside society’. It is thus crucial to take seriously a discourse on what ‘society’ is, who belongs to it, and who resides ‘outside of society’, instead of taking the sovereign position of defining ‘society’ as a social body existing prior to its biopolitical articulation.