bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Welcome in the machine: Human–machine relations and knowledge capture
Authors: Briken Kendra
Published: March 2020

This article discusses new technologies in regard to their potential to capture workers’ situated knowledge. Machines are said to substitute but also to contribute to the labour process in collaboration with human skill sets. ‘Industry 4.0’ became the policy-wide shorthand to describe the new quality of real-time interconnectedness and feedback loops, known as cyber-physical systems within industry and engineering sciences. Data flows generated in these systems are used to continuously improve work processes by extracting information down to the very micro-level of neuroergonomics. In this process, workers’ interactions with the system are extracted, fed back and processed for future use and improvement. The article argues that in addition to the potential for extraction of new (bodily) knowledge, shifting skill use and the potential for new forms of control, new technologies contain the potential to extract situated knowledge owned by the worker and crucial for resistance and collective struggles.
Reliability of Miniature Concrete Prism Test in Assessing Alkali-Silica Reactivity of Moderately Reactive Aggregates
Authors: Konduru Harish , Rangaraju Prasad , Amer Omar
Published: March 2020

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is one of the most significant durability issues in concrete structures. Although there are a number of standardized test procedures to evaluate the aggregate reactivity, each method has its own drawbacks. Two of the most common tests that are employed widely are the accelerated mortar bar test (AMBT) (ASTM C1260) and the concrete prism test (CPT) (ASTM C1293). The major issue with the AMBT test is the number of false-positive results from this test associated with high test temperature, rendering the test method unreliable. CPT is one of the most reliable tests for assessing the potential for ASR, but its major disadvantage is the duration of the test involved, which takes one to two years. In this research, a novel test method called the miniature concrete prism test (MCPT) was developed and the effectiveness and reliability of the results assessed when compared with CPT and AMBT. Samples of 26 coarse aggregates and 16 fine aggregates with various reactivity levels were employed for the testing. The test results were compared for MCPT versus CPT, in which 23 out of 26 coarse aggregates and eight out of 16 fine aggregates either passed or failed in both MCPT and CPT. For MCPT versus AMBT, 16 out of 26 coarse aggregates and 13 out of 16 fine aggregates either passed or failed in both MCPT and AMBT. The sensitivity of false-negative and false-positive aggregate sources is discussed and explained briefly.
Comparison of Tendon Lengthening With Traditional Versus Accelerated Rehabilitation After Achilles Tendon Repair: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Okoroha Kelechi R. , Ussef Najib , Jildeh Toufic R. , Khalil Lafi S. , Hasan Laith , Bench Carter , Zeni Ferras , Eller Erik , Moutzouros Vasilios
Published: March 2020

Background:

Early weightbearing protocols after Achilles tendon repair promote mobilization, yet little is known about their effect on tendon lengthening.

Purpose:

To evaluate tendon lengthening after Achilles tendon repair with accelerated rehabilitation.

Study Design:

Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.

Methods:

Patients undergoing primary repair for acute Achilles tendon ruptures consented to have tantalum beads placed within the tendon. Patients were randomized into either a traditional (weightbearing at 6 weeks) or accelerated (graduated weightbearing at 2 weeks) rehabilitation group. The primary outcome of the study was postoperative tendon elongation as measured by radiostereometric beads. Secondary outcomes included Achilles Tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Pain Interference Short Form (PROMIS PI-SF) score.

Results:

All 18 patients included in the final analysis were found to have significant tendon lengthening after surgery, with a mean lengthening of 15.9 mm. No significant differences were found in overall lengthening between the traditional and accelerated rehabilitation groups (15.3 ± 4.5 vs 16.4 ± 4.7 mm, respectively; P = .33) at final follow-up. The repair site in each group was found to lengthen more than the intratendinous site (traditional group, 13.2 vs 2.1 mm; accelerated group, 16.8 vs −0.4 mm); however, no difference in lengthening was seen between groups ( P = .82 and P = .31, respectively). The greatest amount of lengthening occurred between 2 and 6 weeks, and the least amount of lengthening occurred between 6 and 12 weeks, with no difference between the traditional and accelerated groups at these time points ( P = .84 and P = .38, respectively). No differences were noted in ankle range of motion (dorsiflexion, P = .16; plantarflexion, P = .08) or outcome scores (ATRS, P = .56; PROMIS PI-SF, P = .54).

Conclusion:

This study’s findings demonstrate that all patients undergoing operative repair of Achilles tendon ruptures had lengthening after surgery. No difference was found in tendon lengthening (repair site or intratendinous) at any time point between patients undergoing traditional versus accelerated rehabilitation postoperatively. The greatest amount of lengthening was found to occur between 2 and 6 weeks postoperatively, and tendon lengthening decreased significantly after 6 weeks.

Registration:

NCT04050748 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).
Air Toxics in the U.S.: Magnitude of the Problem and Strategy for Control
Authors: Berry D. Kent
Published: March 2020

Over the past several years, substantial concern has been expressed by some in Congress, environmental groups, and members of the public concerning the lack of progress in regulating toxic air pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As a result, a number of amendments to the Federal Clean Air Act have been introduced to require EPA to regulate in a relatively rapid timeframe, a large number of potentially toxic pollutants that are released to the ambient air. This paper discusses EPA's current understanding of the magnitude and nature of the air toxics problem in the U.S., and the pollutants and source categories that pose the most significant risk to the public. The focus of the discussion is on routine releases, as opposed to catastrophic, accidental releases such as the one in Bhopal, India. The paper then discusses the strategy that EPA has put in place to deal with the problem and presents the status of a number of regulatory and non-regulatory activities under way to better understand the problem and to mitigate it. The strategy involves important roles for: (1) EPA to regulate national problems using a variety of Federal authorities in addition to the Clean Air Act, and (2) States to develop their own air toxic control programs to deal with unique local problems involving high risk point sources and multipollutant, multisource problems in large urban or industrialized areas.
Industry's Voluntary Program: Community Awareness and Emergency Response Program and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
Authors: Cooper Josephine S.
Published: March 2020

This paper describes the chemical industry's Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER) Program, and voluntary and mandatory actions by the chemical industry to comply with the major environmental legislation.

The chemical industry started the voluntary CAER Program soon after the Bhopal Disaster in 1984; it is coordinated through the Chemical Manufacturer's Association. This program, which began in March 1985, is a long-term industry commitment to develop a community outreach program and to improve local emergency response planning.

The Congress of the United States began, in 1985, to consider proposals for mandatory programs. This led to enactment of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, known as SARA. A portion of this Act, entitled Title III is also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Although this legislation has many mandatory requirements, it should be emphasized that a significant degree of voluntary industrial participation is needed if the purposes of the statute are to be achieved.

Title III has created an intricate and still evolving system that ties together the EPA, industrial plant managers, state emergency response commissions, local emergency planning committees and fire departments with jurisdiction over the facility. Each of these groups has a different role and responsibilities but must work cooperatively with other participants.

Because of the intricate network of participants, the magnitude of the information flow, and the continuing evolution of the system, unique public relations problems exist in order to comply with Title III.

While understanding demands that we know the nature of the statutory system and how to deal with the basics of the system, in the last analysis the measure of that understanding is to be found in the realities of the daily operations of the plant and the on-going life of the community in which it is embedded. Actions that are responsible, unfamiliar and even costly are needed.

In some ways, the response to this legislation can be viewed as a test of whether the nation can find a way to assert collegiality through joint and voluntary efforts rather than becoming adversaries in courts or legislatures.
Air Emissions from the Incineration of Hazardous Waste
Authors: Oppelt E. Timothy
Published: March 2020

In the United States over the last ten years, concern over important disposal practices of the past has manifested itself in the passage of a series of federal and state-level hazardous waste cleanup and control statutes of unprecedented scope. The impact of these various statutes will be a significant modification of waste management practices. The more traditional and lowest cost methods of direct landfilling, storage in surface impoundments and deep-well injection will be replaced, in large measure, by waste minimization at the source of generation, waste reuse, physical/chemical/biological treatment, incinceration and chemical stabilization/solidification methods. Of all of the “terminal” treatment technologies, properly-designed incineration systems are capable of the highest overall degree of destruction and control for the broadest range of hazardous waste streams. Substantial design and operational experience exists and a wide variety of commercial systems are available. Consequently, significant growth is anticipated in the use of incineration and other thermal destruction methods. The objective of this paper is to examine the current state of knowledge regarding air emissions from hazardous waste incineration in an effort to put the associated technological and environmental issues into perspective.
Airborne Toxic Elements and Organic Substances (Ateos) Project: Overview
Authors: Lioy Paul J.
Published: March 2020

The approach and conclusions of the ATEOS project will be examined with an emphasis on future design considerations and strategies to address and reduce exposures. The ATEOS was a five year project that conducted field sampling in the summer and winter for the years 1981 through 1983. Eighty-five outdoor air pollutants were measured including the composition of inhalable particulate mass, and volatile organic compounds. The particulate mass components measured were the non-polar through polar organic fractions, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, SO-24, trace elements and alkylating agents. From the numerous volatile organic compounds present in the atmosphere measurements were made of 10 chlorinated compounds, the automobile by products, e.g., benzene, o and p xylene, and 13 solvents. Other measurements included local meteorology. Besides the wealth of variables an important component of the study was the selection of the outdoor sites. The approach was to choose specific types of population — industrial-commercial locales with increasing (or decreasing) complexity. The sites were located in the New Jersey urban centers of Newark, Elizabeth and Camden, and a rural setting in Ringwood, N. J. The Newark site was the most complex industrial-commercial-residential interface followed in decreasing order by Elizabeth, Camden and Ring-wood. The manuscript will emphasize the characteristics of the measured variables in relation to the differences in the neighborhoods surrounding each site. Summary information on source — receptor modeling, pollution accumulation processes, episode analyses, and exposure assessment studies will be presented. These will be all evaluated with respect to future study design questions, including monitoring frequency, epidemiological exposure assessments and indoor air pollution.
Effects of Burnrate, Wood Species, Altitude, and Stove Type on Woodstove Emissions
Authors: McCrillis Robert C. , Burnet Paul G.
Published: March 2020

During the winter of 1986—87, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted an emission measurement program in Boise, ID, as part of the Integrated Air Cancer Project (IACP). This program was designed to identify the potential mutagenic impact of residential wood burning on ambient and indoor air. One facet of this field sampling effort involved obtaining emission samples from chimneys serving wood burning appliances in Boise. As a companion to the field source sampling, a parallel project was undertaken in an instrumented woodstove test laboratory to quantify woodstove emissions during operations typical of Boise usage.

Two woodstoves were operated in a test laboratory over a range of burnrates, burning either eastern oak or white pine from the Boise, ID, area. A conventional stove, manufactured in the Boise area, was tested at altitudes of 90 and 825 m. A catalytic stove was tested only at the high altitude facility. All emission tests were started with kindling a fire in a cold stove using black and white newsprint. Emissions were collected using the wood stove dilution sampling system (WSDSS) for a continuous period of about 8 hours, encompassing start-up and several wood additions. The results showed wide variability probably due primarily to the difficulty in duplicating conditions during start-up. Total WSDSS emissions showed the expected inverse correlations with burnrate for the conventional stove and nearly flat for the catalytic stove. While there appeared to be little or no correlation of total WSDSS emissions with altitude, the sum of the 16 poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) quantified showed an inverse correlation with altitude: higher PAH emissions at the lower altitude.
Assessing Future Trends in Indoor Air Quality
Authors: Van De Wiel H. J. , Lebret E. , Van Der Lingen W. K. , Eerens H. C. , Vaas L.H. , Leupen M. J.
Published: March 2020

Several national and international health organizations have derived concentration levels below which adverse effects on men are not expected or levels below which the excess risk for individuals is less than a specified value. For every priority pollutant indoor concentrations below this limit are considered “healthy.” The percentage of Dutch homes exceeding such a limit is taken as a measure of indoor air quality for that component. The present and future indoor air quality of the Dutch housing stock is described for fourteen air pollutants. The highest percentages are scored by radon, environmental tobacco smoke, nitrogen dioxide from unvented combustion, and the potential presence of housedust mite and mould allergen in damp houses. Although the trend for all priority pollutants is downward the most serious ones remain high in the coming decades if no additional measures will be instituted.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Assessment Guidelines
Authors: Jarabek Annie M. , Farland William H.
Published: March 2020

This paper has been reviewed by the Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

In 1983, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (U.S. NAS) proposed a framework for the processes of risk assessment and risk management in government agencies (U.S. NAS, 1983). Using the U.S. NAS scheme as an organizing principle, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) published guidelines pertaining to risk assessment in five areas: estimating exposures, chemical mixtures, mutagenicity, suspect developmental toxicity and carcinogenicity. These guidelines were developed to promote high technical quality and consistent practice of risk assessment Agencywide. This paper will discuss the historical development of the guidelines and their role in the work performed by the Agency. Each of the five (5) guidelines is outlined and anticipated revisions discussed. Related assessment activities and new subject areas are also presented.
Risk Assessment and Risk Management of Noncriteria Pollutants
Authors: Lee Si Duk
Published: March 2020

Noncriteria air pollutants are synonymous with hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), air toxics or toxic air pollutants (TAPs). The term noncriteria pollutants refers to all air pollutants except for the criteria pollutants (SOx, PM, NOx, CO, O3, and Pb). Air toxics are pervasive in our environment worldwide in varying degrees. Uses of these chemicals are varied and numerous; their emissions are ubiquitous, and they include organic compounds such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, dioxins, aldehydes, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals such as chromium, nickel, cadmium, and mercury. There are more than 70,000 chemicals that are in use commercially in the United States, and we know relatively little about their ambient concentrations, persistence, transport and transformation as well as their effects on health and the environment, many of which take decades to emerge. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, under the authority of Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, is mandated to regulate any air pollutant which, in the Administrator's judgment, “causes, or contributes to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to result in an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness.” For such regulatory decision-making, EPA's Office of Health and Environmental Assessment (OHEA) provides scientific assessment of health effects for potentially hazardous air pollutants. In accordance with risk assessment guidelines developed by OHEA over the years, Health Assessment Documents (HADs) containing risk assessment information were prepared and were subjected to critical review and careful revision to produce Final Draft HADs which serve as scientific databases for regulatory decision-making by the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) in its risk management process. EPA developed databases such as the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) and the National Air Toxics Information Clearinghouse (NATICH) and a technical assistance response system called the Air Risk Information Support Center (AIR RISC), in addition, to help in implementation of the National Air Toxics Program by state and local regulators.
Epa's Control Technology Approach to Assisting States and Regions with Air Toxics Problems: Five Case Studies
Authors: Nolen Sharon L. , Dimmick W. Fred
Published: March 2020

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in June 1985 a new strategy to reduce public exposure to toxic air pollutants in the ambient air. Over the next 5–8 years, the strategy called for State and Local authorities to take on more of the lead regulatory role, with the Agency providing technical and financial assistance to their efforts. The shift in emphasis and responsibility from the Federal level to State and Local air toxics programs and the need to transfer expertise from the Federal level to the appropriate State or Local level prompted EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) and EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) to develop and implement an innovative technical assistance program. This program is called the Control Technology Center (CTC). It has since been expanded to include technical assistance in the area of control of air toxics, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs); emission measurements; and other areas where expertise is available to ORD and OAQPS.

During the CTC's first year of operation, operating guidelines were developed and three categories of technical assistance were established. These categories are telephone HOTLINE calls, direct engineering assistance, and technical guidance projects. The CTC HOTLINE is a special telephone number which State and Local Agencies can call for easy access to EPA personnel who can provide prompt assistance in a variety of ways including discussions, references to pertinent literature, and referrals to other EPA personnel. In some cases, a HOTLINE call will require more in-depth engineering analysis indicating a need for direct engineering assistance. These projects tend to be short-term (2 to 3 months) and specific in nature. In some cases, several agencies may indicate a need for information on the same source, or a group of Agencies may make a joint request. In these cases, the CTC Steering Committee, a group who advises the CTC managers, may decide that a technical guidance project is indicated. Technical guidance projects are longer-term and are intended to be of broad interest, useful to many agencies.

This paper discusses the development of the CTC, experience to date with its operation, and future plans. In addition, five CTC projects are discussed to illustrate the assistance provided.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Inhalation Rfd Methodology: Risk Assessment for Air Toxics
Authors: Jarabek Annie M. , Menache Margaret G. , Overton John H. , Dourson Michael L. , Miller Frederick J.
Published: March 2020

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has advocated the establishment of general and scientific guidelines for the evaluation of toxicological data and their use in deriving benchmark values to protect exposed populations from adverse health effects. The Agency's reference dose (RfD) methodology for deriving benchmark values for noncancer toxicity originally addressed risk assessment of oral exposures. This paper presents a brief background on the development of the inhalation reference dose (RfDi) methodology, including concepts and issues related to addressing the dynamics of the respiratory system as the portal of entry. Different dosimetric adjustments are described that were incorporated into the methodology to account for the nature of the inhaled agent (particle or gas) and the site of the observed toxic effects (respiratory or extrarespiratory). Impacts of these adjustments on the extrapolation of toxicity data of inhaled agents for human health risk assessment and future research directions are also discussed.
Between Europeanisation and Local Legacies: Holocaust Memory and Contemporary Anti-Semitism in Romania
Authors: Cârstocea Raul
Published: March 2020

This article addresses the persistence of anti-Semitism in Romania, placed in the context of some recent debates concerning the memory of the Holocaust in the country, as well as in the area of Central and Eastern Europe more broadly. It argues that, despite significant improvements in terms of legislation, the memory of the Holocaust remains a highly contested issue in contemporary Romania, torn between the attempts to join in the European memory of the Holocaust and local legacies that on the one hand focus primarily on the suffering of Romanians under the communist regime, and on the other perform a symbolic “denationalisation” of the Jewish minority in the country, whose own suffering is thus excised from national memory. It does so by focusing in particular on the debates surrounding the adoption of Law 217/2015, meant to clarify earlier legislation on Holocaust denial, and comparing them with those prompted by the Ukrainian “memory laws” passed in the same year. Taking into account both the national and international reactions to these very different pieces of legislation, the article shows the still-persisting discrepancy between a (mostly Western) “European” memory of the legacy of the twentieth century and local memory topoi characteristic of the countries that were part of the former socialist bloc.
Foucault’s Folie et déraison: its influence and its contemporary relevance
Authors: Scull Andrew
Published: March 2020

Michel Foucault remains one of the most influential intellectuals in the early twenty-first century world. This paper examines the origins and impact of his first major work, Folie et déraison, on the history of psychiatry, particularly though not exclusively in the world of Anglo-American scholarship. The impact and limits of Foucault’s work on the author’s own contributions to the history of psychiatry are examined, as is the larger influence of Madness and Civilization (as it is known to most Anglophones) on the nascent social history of psychiatry. The paper concludes with an assessment of the sources of the appeal of Foucault’s work among some scholars, and notes his declining influence on contemporary scholars working on the history of psychiatry.
Comparing two counterfactual-outcome approaches in causal mediation analysis of a multicategorical exposure: An application for the estimation of the effect of maternal intake of inhaled corticosteroids doses on birthweight
Authors: Samoilenko Mariia , Arrouf Nadia , Blais Lucie , Lefebvre Geneviève
Published: March 2020

Although medical research frequently involves an exposure variable with three or more discrete levels, detailed presentations of mediation techniques for dealing with multicategorical (multilevel) exposures are sparse. In this paper, we study two causal mediation approaches applicable to such a type of exposure for continuous mediator and outcome: the closed-form regression-based approach of Valeri and VanderWeele, and the marginal structural model-based approach of Lange, Vansteelandt, and Bekaert. While the consideration of multicategorical exposures is found explicitly addressed in the literature for the latter approach, this is, to our knowledge, not yet the case for the former. We first illustrate the application of the two aforementioned approaches to assess the dose–response relationship between maternal intake of inhaled corticosteroids and birthweight, where this relationship is potentially mediated by gestational age. More specifically, we provide a precise roadmap for the application of the regression-based approach and of the marginal structural model-based approach on our cohort of pregnancies. Expressions for the natural direct and indirect effects associated with our categorical exposure are provided and, for the regression-based approach, analytic formulas for standard error calculation using the delta method are presented for these effects. Second, a simulation study which mimics our data is presented to add to current knowledge on these causal mediation techniques. Results from this study highlight the relevance to assess robustness of mediation results obtained from multicategorical exposures, most notably for the least prevalent of exposure categories.
Correlation models for monitoring fetal growth
Authors: Feng Yuan , Xiao Luo , Li Cai , Chen Stephanie T , Ohuma Eric O
Published: March 2020

Ultrasound growth measurements are monitored to evaluate if a fetus is growing normally compared with a defined standard chart at a specified gestational age. Using data from the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st project, we have modelled the longitudinal dependence of fetal head circumference, biparietal diameter, occipito-frontal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length using a two-stage approach. The first stage involved finding a suitable transformation of the raw fetal measurements (as the marginal distributions of ultrasound measurements were non-normal) to standardized deviations (Z-scores). In the second stage, a correlation model for a Gaussian process is fitted, yielding a correlation for any pair of observations made between 14 and 40 weeks. The correlation structure of the fetal Z-score can be used to assess whether the growth, for example, between successive measurements is satisfactory. The paper is accompanied by a Shiny application, see https://lxiao5.shinyapps.io/shinycalculator/ .
Risk Analysis in Renewable Energy System (RES) Investment for a Developing Country: A Case Study in Pakistan
Authors: Gul Izzet Alp , Kayakutlu Gülgün , Kayalica M. Özgür
Published: March 2020

Technological improvements allow changing a significant part of the electricity generation investments to renewable energies. Especially in emerging markets and energy import-dependent countries, shift to renewable energy generation became more important to break the links of dependency. Pakistan relies on imported fossil fuels; however, the country’s experience and ambition about the renewable energy transition gain prominence in recent years. Considering the long-term life cycle of energy infrastructure investments, possible risk factors and their dynamic nature must be analysed before the financial decisions are taken. This article aims to propose a system dynamics model for the risk analysis of investment life cycle. In this study, possible risk factors are detected and discussed in different categories. The casual loop diagram of possible risk factors and risk assessment model are designed, and the impacts are analysed. Case study of the proposed model in Pakistan highlighted the importance of commercial risks. The results achieved through this study will guide investors, sector participants and policymakers to develop stable strategies for promoting renewable energy in the country.

JEL: Q42, P48, O13
Reading Comprehension Strategies for Students With Learning Disabilities Who Are Emergent Bilingual
Authors: Sarisahin Suheyla
Published: March 2020

Teachers of students with learning disabilities (LD) who also are emergent bilingual (EB) are tasked with meeting students’ individual learning needs and developing academic language. Teachers require specialized knowledge in second-language acquisition and the specific learning strategies to support students’ learning disabilities. Reading comprehension skills are the foundational skills that students with LD who are EB most often need to improve. When working with students, research-based reading strategies to support their reading comprehension skills are critical, but must also support students’ developing English proficiency. This article identifies research-based reading comprehension strategies supportive of developing English proficiency that may be implemented for students with LD who are EB in the elementary grade levels. A self-evaluation tool is provided to guide teachers in helping their students to improve their reading comprehension skills while supporting their language development.
Eliciting Students’ Perspectives About Their Co-Teaching Experiences
Authors: Johnson Todd M. , King-Sears Margaret E.
Published: March 2020

This column explores the value of eliciting perspectives from students with and without disabilities about their experiences in co-taught settings. Research focused on co-teaching and eliciting feedback from co-taught students is identified. Interviews, surveys, and exit slips are described as ways co-teachers can acquire feedback from students, which can also promote students’ reflective skills. Attention is given to the important link between co-teachers acquiring and using students’ feedback to enact meaningful changes in co-taught instruction.
Five Threats to Phenomenology’s Distinctiveness
Authors: Freeman Melissa
Published: March 2020

Phenomenology is a distinct philosophical approach that attends to the ways our experiencing bodies participate in the constitution of meaning. Its description, however, in qualitative research texts is often reduced to its association with first-person accounts of lived experience in ways that mislead and threaten its distinctive contributions as a research approach. By examining five common misperceptions in more detail, I demonstrate phenomenology’s continued relevance for qualitative researchers interested in a critical examination of the constitution and circulation of meaning.
Recovery from ischemic monomelic neuropathy after delayed ligation of dialysis access
Authors: Kim Cheolsu , Yoon Sam-Youl , Lee Hyung Seok
Published: March 2020

Ischemic monomelic neuropathy is characterized by acute painful muscle weakness shortly after access creation and neuronal axon loss without adjacent tissue necrosis, thus, differentiating ischemic monomelic neuropathy from the steal syndrome. Immediate ligation of vascular access is emphasized in current guidelines. We present two cases of recovery from ischemic monomelic neuropathy despite delayed ligation for over 20 days after ischemic monomelic neuropathy development. The gradual change in serial nerve conduction studies over the 15-month follow-up after surgical ligation was noted along with clinical recovery. Our report indicates that the clinical course and prognosis of ischemic monomelic neuropathy may be more diverse than previously known.
A virtual orchestra to qualify the acoustics of historical opera houses
Authors: D’Orazio Dario , Fratoni Giulia , Rovigatti Anna , Garai Massimo
Published: March 2020

Italian Historical Opera Houses are private or public spaces built around a cavea, with tiers of boxes on the surrounding walls. At the early age – from 16th to 18th century – boxes were private properties of the richest class, typically the financial responsible of the whole building. The stalls hosted the middle class, that gradually increased its social position and for this reason the wooden seats were progressively replaced by chairs. The gallery was reserved to lower classes. Does this social division correspond to a different acoustic comfort? The present work tries to answer this question using subjective preference models provided by scholars. With this aim, the room criteria defined by different authors and in distinct times are lined up with the ISO 3382 standards and analysed depending on the acoustic peculiarities of an Italian Historical Opera House selected as case study. Calibrated impulse responses were handled through the numerical simulations of a whole orchestra of virtual sound sources in the pit.
Conversion of diffusely abnormal white matter to focal lesions is linked to progression in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Dadar Mahsa , Narayanan Sridar , Arnold Douglas L , Collins D Louis , Maranzano Josefina
Published: March 2020

Background:

Diffusely abnormal white matter (DAWM) regions are observed in magnetic resonance images of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients. However, their role in clinical progression is still not established.

Objectives:

To characterize the longitudinal volumetric and intensity evolution of DAWM and focal white matter lesions (FWML) and assess their associations with clinical outcomes and progression in SPMS.

Methods:

Data include 589 SPMS participants followed up for 3 years (3951 time points). FWML and DAWM were automatically segmented. Screening DAWM volumes that transformed into FWML at the last visit (DAWM-to-FWML) and normalized T1-weighted intensities (indicating severity of damage) in those voxels were calculated.

Results:

FWML volume increased and DAWM volume decreased with an increase in disease duration ( p < 0.001). The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) was positively associated with FWML volumes ( p = 0.002), but not with DAWM. DAWM-to-FWML volume was higher in patients who progressed (2.75 cm3 vs. 1.70 cm3; p < 0.0001). Normalized T1-weighted intensity of DAWM-to-FWML was negatively associated with progression ( p < 0.00001).

Conclusion:

DAWM transformed into FWML over time, and this transformation was associated with clinical progression. DAWM-to-FWML voxels had greater normalized T1-weighted intensity decrease over time, in keeping with relatively greater tissue damage. Evaluation of DAWM in progressive multiple sclerosis provides a useful measure for therapies aiming to protect this at-risk tissue with the potential to slow progression.
Exposure to passive smoking during adolescence is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis
Authors: Oturai Ditte Bang , Bach Søndergaard Helle , Koch-Henriksen Nils , Andersen Christina , Laursen Julie Hejgaard , Gustavsen Stefan , Kristensen Joachim Tilsted , Magyari Melinda , Sørensen Per Soelberg , Sellebjerg Finn , Thørner Lise Wegner , Ullum Henrik , Oturai Annette Bang
Published: March 2020

Background:

Environmental factors are associated with acquiring multiple sclerosis (MS) particularly in adolescence.

Objective:

To test for association between MS and exposure to passive smoking at the age of 10–19.

Methods:

A total of 919 patients from the Danish MS Registry and Biobank and 3419 healthy blood donors who had not smoked before the age of 19 were targeted. We analyzed separately for each sex and for those never-smokers (cohort 1) and active smokers above the age of 19 (cohort 2). All participants completed standardized questionnaires about smoking and lifestyle. We matched cases and controls in the ratio of 1:2 by propensity scores discarding unmatchable individuals and used logistic regression adjusted for all covariates and interactions.

Results:

After matching, we included 110/213 male cases/controls and 232/377 female case/controls in cohort 1. In cohort 2, the numbers were 160/320 and 417/760, respectively. Among women in cohort 1, the odds ratio (OR) for MS by passive smoking at the age of 10–19 was 1.432 ( p = 0.037) but in men it was 1.232 ( p = 0.39). Among men in cohort 2, OR was 1.593 ( p = 0.022) but among women it was only 1.102 ( p = 0.44).

Conclusion:

Among never smokers, female MS cases were more often than female controls reported with passive smoking between the age of 10 and 19, and among smokers above the age of 19, male MS patients were more often than male controls reported with passive smoking.
Grammatical gender-marking ability of multilingual children in French immersion
Authors: Krenca Klaudia , Hipfner-Boucher Kathleen , Chen Xi
Published: March 2020

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions:

We explored the advantage of bilingualism and the effect of linguistic proximity on the acquisition of determiner-noun agreement, an aspect of inflectional morphology, in a French immersion setting. To our knowledge, third language acquisition literature has yet to provide evidence of a bilingual advantage in learning a particular feature of morphology in an additional language among young children.

Design/methodology/approach:

We compared accuracy in determiner-noun agreement on a narrative task in three groups of grade 1 and 2 students ( n = 15 in each group): a group of third language French learners whose first language marked gender, a group of third language French learners whose first language did not mark gender, and a group of English learners learning French as a second language.

Data and analysis:

If the determiner and the noun agreed in gender, gender on the determiner was considered correct. A repeated measures factorial ANCOVA was carried out to compare the performance among the three language groups on the proportion of correctly marked masculine and feminine nouns.

Findings/conclusions:

All of the children achieved high levels of accuracy on masculine nouns with no difference among the three language groups on the proportion of correctly marked masculine nouns. There was a significant difference in the proportion of correctly marked feminine nouns in favour of the group whose first language marks gender compared to the other two groups.

Originality:

The current study supports transfer in the domain of morphology among primary-school-aged children (who are first language speakers of diverse minority languages) in the early stages of third-language French acquisition.

Significance/implications:

This finding provides preliminary evidence of a bilingual advantage in the domain of morphology among young, emergent trilinguals whose first language and third language share gender marking as a linguistic feature, supporting the linguistic proximity model.
Vicarious Learning From Innovative Women Entrepreneurs in Thailand
Authors: Sritanyarat Dawisa , Sakdiyakorn Malinvisa
Published: March 2020

The Problem

The number of Thai women entrepreneurs has increased to nearly half of all Thai entrepreneurs over the past years with 80% of them reported to have entered into opportunity-driven entrepreneurship. This growing social phenomenon, however, remains underexplored by limited numbers of academic studies on Thai women entrepreneurship. Extending the understanding of opportunity-driven women entrepreneurs in the changing Thai context is therefore significant for developing national human resources.

The Solution

This study highlights the opportunity-driven category of women entrepreneurs defined by Cromie and Hayes as Innovators. Taking the phenomenological approach as a research method, in-depth interviews from 13 innovative women business owners in Thailand were analyzed to understand their motivations, challenges, and success factors, as well as the contemporary worldview of the Thai culture and values concerning gender roles and social norms.

The Stakeholders

National policymakers, educators, human resource development professionals, and parents can craft policies and practices that align with key learnings from the lived experiences of women entrepreneurs. Aspiring women entrepreneurs can also vicariously learn from the study participants who serve as role models.
Get With the (Developmental) Program
Authors: Maguire Jamie L.
Published: March 2020

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Design and analysis of a novel long-distance double tendon-sheath transmission device for breast intervention robots under MRI field
Authors: Jia Xiaohong , Zhang Yongde , Jiang Jingang , Du Haiyan , Yu Yan
Published: March 2020

Cancer represents a major threat to human health. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides superior performance to other imaging-based examination methods in the detection of tumors and offers distinct advantages in biopsy and seed implantation. However, because of the MRI environment, the material requirements for actuating devices for the medical robots used in MRI are incredibly demanding. This paper describes a novel double tendon-sheath transmission device for use in MRI applications. LeBus grooves are used in the original transmission wheels, thus enabling the system to realize long-distance and large-stroke transmission with improved accuracy. The friction model of the transmission system and the transmission characteristics model of the novel tendon-sheath structure are then established. To address the problem that tension sensors cannot be installed in large-stroke transmission systems, a three-point force measurement method is used to measure and set an appropriate preload in the novel tendon-sheath transmission system. Additionally, experiments are conducted to verify the accuracy of the theoretical model and multiple groups of tests are performed to explore the transmission characteristics. Finally, the novel tendon-sheath transmission system is compensated to improve its accuracy and the experimental results acquired after compensation show that the system satisfies the design requirements.
“Men Buy Their Slaves, Women Buy Their Masters”: Theories of Liberty in Thomas Middleton’s City Tragedy
Authors: Suzelis Natalie
Published: March 2020

This paper provides a feminist critique of theories of liberty in two of Thomas Middleton’s city tragedies. Expanding on the neo-Roman theories of liberty presented by Quentin Skinner in Liberty Before Liberalism, I connect Middleton’s city tragedies to feminist critiques from Mary Nyquist and Ellen Mieksins Wood. Close readings of Women Beware Women and The Revenger’s Tragedy reveal connections between Middleton’s radical critiques of tyranny in later theories of liberty of the English Civil War. Because Middleton’s critiques are explored through both the state and marriage relations, I argue that Middleton exposes the same contradictions of liberty in the institution of the family, providing insight into notions of slavery, servitude, and coercion under the public rule of the sovereign and in the privacy of the home. Reading such contradictions back through Middleton, can, I argue, allow for a better understanding of feminist critiques of such theories of liberty.
Animating Management: Nonlinear Simulation and Management Theory at Pixar
Authors: Gowanlock Jordan
Published: March 2020

Existing scholarship finds that early industrialized animation studios sought to emphasize the unpredictable liveliness of creativity at their studios, while also demonstrating their ability to control and manage production through industrial management techniques that promoted regulation and efficiency. This article examines how this dynamic between unpredictability and control has been negotiated by digital animation studios since the early 1980s, with a focus on the way Pixar Animation Studios represents its management theory through popular books, business journal articles, DVD extras, and behind-the-scenes promotional material.

This article highlights how computational principles for creating and managing unpredictability via nonlinear simulation inform Pixar’s promoted management theory. The principles of simulated unpredictability ground many of Pixar’s key technological advances, especially for animating fluids and materials (water, smoke, fur, and cloth), but they also ground concepts within the field of management science such as industrial dynamics and organizational resilience. This epistemic frame leads Pixar to represent creativity as the unpredictable product of carefully controlled conditions and parameters and this collapse of technology, animation, and management helps to sculpt Pixar’s own corporate image as both an animation studio and technology company. The research in this article offers contributions to the study of both post-Fordism in animation industries and algorithmic control.
How Do Millennial Managers Lead Older Employees? The Philippine Workplace Experience
Authors: Gabriel Arneil G. , Alcantara Gloria M. , Alvarez Josephina D. G.
Published: March 2020

As millennial workers enter and dominate the global workforce by 2025, understanding their leadership styles is vital to bring about higher level of performance and productivity in the workplace. The Millennials, the next generation of leaders, are entering the workforce and assuming leadership positions in a relatively short period. More often, they found themselves leading employees that are older than themselves and yet their leadership traits and styles are not fully understood. The study explores factors affecting leadership styles of millennial managers and how they are manifested and applied in managing and resolving conflict involving older subordinates. Using a qualitative approach, it employs interviews, participant observation, and prolonged engagement with four millennial managers from the National Food Authority in the Philippines as they lead, manage, and interact with their older staff. Data collected were triangulated by document analysis and interview of the millennial managers’ subordinates themselves. The results of the study show that the participants’ leadership competencies are in the early stages of development. The participants consider building good impression and rapport highlighting the importance of soft skills in leadership, strong sense of respect, reverse mentoring, delegation of tasks, and the ability to handle expectations and performance as factors in managing older employees. This study draws the attention to examining the leadership attributes and potentials of Filipino millennial managers in the context of Philippine workplace culture using insights from Public Administration, Social Sciences, and Psychology.