bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Religious Belonging, Religious Agency, and Women's Autonomy in Mozambique
Authors: Agadjanian Victor , Yabiku Scott T.
Published: November 2015

Women's autonomy has frequently been linked with women's opportunities and investments, such as education, employment, and reproductive control. The association between women's autonomy and religion in the developing world, however, has received less attention, and the few existing studies make comparisons across major religious traditions. In this study, we focus on variations in levels of female decision‐making autonomy within a single religious tradition—Christianity. Using unique survey data from a predominantly Christian area in Mozambique, we devise an autonomy scale and apply it to compare women affiliated with different Christian denominations as well as unaffiliated women. In addition to affiliation, we examine the relationship between autonomy and women's religious agency both within and outside their churches. Multivariate analyses show that women belonging to more liberal religious traditions (such as Catholicism and mainline Protestantism) tend to have higher autonomy levels, regardless of other factors. These results are situated within the cross‐national scholarship on religion and women's empowerment and are interpreted in the context of gendered religious dynamics in Mozambique and similar developing settings.
A Pilot Study on Ultrasound Elastography for Evaluation of Mechanical Characteristics and Oral Strategy of Gels
Authors: Gao Zhihong , Nakao Satomi , Ishihara Sayaka , Funami Takahiro , Kohyama Kaoru
Published: November 2015

Ultrasound elastography as a simple and noninvasive method was used to evaluating the texture of gels. Three gellan gum gels with different mechanical characteristics and sonagel which has the similar elastic modulus to that of the human tongue were used. The combination of sonagel and gellan gels was lightly compressed and released cyclically with an ultrasound probe with 1–2 Hz. We obtained the strain for each cycle, and analyzed the results using the maximum values of strains. We found that the strain ratio between the gellan gel and the sonagel increased with the decrease of gellan gel fracture force. And also the oral strategy changes from teeth mastication to tongue–palate compression with the increase in the strain ratio. Strain obtained by ultrasound elastography is revealed as an important parameter that indicates the mechanical characteristics and even oral strategy of gels.

Practical Applications

Instrumental methods are often used for texture characterization. Normally, probes are made of metal or plastic materials that are much stiffer than foods and completely dissimilar to the tongue. As a noninvasive method, ultrasound tissue elasticity imaging has provided novel diagnostic information regarding tissue diseases. We suggest that ultrasound elastography can be used for food texture evaluation in the present study. It is possible to observe deformation behavior as the tongue–palate compression if the material whose mechanical characteristics is similar to the human tongue was used as an artificial tongue in the method.
How Distinctive Is Philosophers’ Intuition Talk?
Authors: Andow James
Published: November 2015

The word “intuition” is one frequently used in philosophy. It is often assumed that the way in which philosophers use the word, and others like it, is very distinctive. This claim has been subjected to little empirical scrutiny, however. This article presents the first steps in a qualitative analysis of the use of intuition talk in the academy. It presents the findings of two preliminary empirical studies. The first study examines the use of intuition talk in spoken academicEnglish. The second examines the use of intuition talk in written academicEnglish. It considers what these studies tell us about the distinctiveness of philosophical language and methods and considers some implications for evaluative and ameliorative methodology.
Video Feedback in Philosophy
Authors: Lamey Andy
Published: November 2015

Marginal comments on student essays are a near‐universal method of providing feedback in philosophy. Widespread as the practice is, however, it has well‐known drawbacks. Commenting on students' work in the form of a video has the potential to improve the feedback experience for both instructors and students. The advantages of video feedback can be seen by examining it from both the professor's and the student's perspective. In discussing the professor's perspective, this article shares observations based on the author's experience delivering feedback through video. Turning to the student's view, it discusses qualitative feedback solicited from students that indicates a clear preference for video feedback over written marginalia. In particular, students describe video feedback as more informative, more personal, better at suggesting improvements on future assignments, enhancing the professor's ability to communicate through tone of voice and gesture, and easier to understand compared to written feedback.
Obligations In Medical Crises: Treatment and Protocols
Authors: Duran Jane
Published: November 2015

This article adduces several lines of argument to try to analyze the need for certain sorts of interventions in medical crises. The recent Ebola crisis is taken as exemplary, and other similarly serious medical situations requiring intervention, such as the endemic presence of Valley fever in parts of California, are alluded to. The overall contention is that our duties in medical crises may be somewhat stronger than previously constructed by analysts. The work of Kuhse and Singer is cited, and the article concludes that there are special moral obligations to respond to international medical emergencies when they arise.
Philosophical Method and Intuitions as Assumptions
Authors: Tobia Kevin Patrick
Published: November 2015

Many philosophers claim to employ intuitions in their philosophical arguments. Others contest that no such intuitions are used frequently or at all in philosophy. This article suggests and defends a conception of intuitions as part of the philosophical method: intuitions are special types of philosophical assumptions to which we are invited to assent, often as premises in argument, that may serve an independent function in philosophical argument and that are not formed through a purely inferential process. A series of philosophical case studies shows that intuitions in these arguments contain the relevant features. The view has implications for philosophical method, offering a compromise between opponents on the divisive debate of the merits of experimental philosophy: experimental philosophy provides an especially useful role in philosophical assumption analysis.
Getting off the Wheel
Authors: Bondy Patrick , Olson Dustin
Published: November 2015

Roderick Chisholm argues that in giving an account of knowledge, we must either begin with an account of what knowledge is, and proceed on that basis to identify the particular things that we know, or else start with instances of knowledge, and proceed on that basis to formulate a definition of knowledge. Either approach begs the question against the other. This is the epistemic wheel. This article responds to Chisholm's challenge. It begins with cases of knowledge attribution and builds its account from there, identifying those features that we take to be present in the cases where we have attributed knowledge and those features that seem important when we want to withhold an attribution of knowledge. The proposal does not beg the question against either particularists or methodists; it takes the best features of each view, without beginning with either, and thereby removes us from the wheel.
Effects of 1α‐Calcidol (Alfacalcidol) on Microvascular Endothelial Function, Arterial Stiffness, and Blood Pressure in Type II Diabetic Nephropathy Patients
Authors: Munisamy Seetha , Daud Kamaliah M. , Mokhtar Siti S. , Rasool Aida H.G
Published: November 2015

Objectives

To determine the effects of six months alfacalcidol on microvascular endothelial function, arterial stiffness, and BP in DN patients.

Methods

Twenty‐eight DN patients on alfacalcidol, 0.25 μg daily for six months were compared to 32 controls on conventional treatment. Measurements of microvascular endothelial function, arterial stiffness [AIx and PWV], hsCRP, and BP were performed; differences between baseline and six months treatment were evaluated.

Results

No difference was seen in microvascular endothelial function for both groups after six months. Improvement in CSBP (p = 0.027) with trends of improvement in AIx (p = 0.063), PWV (p = 0.075), and systolic BP (p = 0.088) were seen in the alfacalcidol group with no changes observed in controls. Subgroup analysis of alfacalcidol group showed that vitamin D‐deficient patients had better response to treatment. hsCRP level remained unchanged in alfacalcidol group; significant increase was however seen in controls.

Conclusion

Alfacalcidol did not have an effect on microvascular endothelial function in DN patients. Alfacalcidol significantly improved CSBP with trends of improvement in arterial stiffness and peripheral BP. Alfacalcidol appears to be more beneficial in vitamin D‐deficient patients.
Comparative study of non‐parkinsonian and parkinsonian motor symptoms in view of brain activities monitored during thalamotomy
Authors: Miyashita Nobuo , Narabayashi Yohsuke , Oshima Tomokazu
Published: November 2015

Background

We treat non‐parkinsonian motor disorders by thalamotomy, assuming their pathophysiological similarity to Parkinson's disease (PD).

Aim

We compared the non‐parkinsonian and parkinsonian brain activities to clarify their similarity and difference.

Methods

We examined patients only with tremor of essential tremor and of unknown origin (NP‐I; n = 8), patients with tremor complicated by other deficits including rigidity and bradykinesia (NP‐II; n = 15), PD patients with rigidity, but no tremor (PD‐I; n = 10), and PD patients with tremor and rigidity (PD‐II; n = 10). Estimation of tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia followed the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. We recorded brain local field potentials, multiple unit spikes, and neck and limb electromyograms. Local field potentials were separately rated in bands of 3–7, 7–13, 13–27 and 27–80 Hz.

Results

Surgery alleviated tremor and rigidity. Thalamic 3‐7‐Hz (τ‐range) activities led to tremor in NP‐I as in PD‐II. The amounts of τ‐range activities in NP‐I and II were ranked between PD‐I and II. Thalamic 13‐27‐Hz (β‐band) activities led to rigidity in PDI and II, but were far less in NP‐I, and were ranked in NP‐II between NP‐I and PD groups.

Conclusion

Surgical alleviation of tremor in NP‐I and PD‐II implicates their common pathophysiology with τ‐range activities. Low β‐band activities in NP‐I assure that their amount is within the physiologically normal level, and suggest that their exaggeration causes parkinsonian rigidity. In all the groups, positive quantitative correlations were found between tremor and τ‐range activities, and between rigidity and β‐band activities.
Magnetic resonance imaging findings in Leigh syndrome with a novel compound heterozygous SURF1 gene mutation
Authors: Kim Younhee , Koide Reiji , Isozaki Eiji , Goto Yu‐ichi
Published: November 2015

Leigh syndrome is a severe neurodegenerative disorder that mainly arises in infancy or early childhood. In 1998, mutations in the nuclear SURF1 gene, which encodes a protein involved in the cytochrome c oxidase, were identified in patients with Leigh syndrome. We report here a patient with Leigh syndrome carrying a novel compound heterozygous mutation in the SURF1 gene, in whom symmetrical parieto‐occipital cortex and white matter lesions were observed by magnetic resonance imaging, in addition to the characteristic basal ganglia lesions in Leigh syndrome.
What you see is not necessarily what you perceive: Picture agnosia and Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Sugimoto‐Shiromaru Azusa , Mori Yukiko , Futamura Akinori , Midorikawa Akira , Koyama Shinichi , Kawamura Mitsuru
Published: November 2015

Background

Picture agnosia has become more significant as a symptom in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases. However, there is no standardized test for picture agnosia.

Aim

To design a picture test for picture agnosia and better understand related 3‐D visual perception.

Methods

A total of 10 Alzheimer's disease patients and 10 healthy older adults were recruited as participants. We designed a picture test consisting of real objects, colored photographs and line drawings, and compared response times.

Results

The average response time to drawings was significantly longer than for real objects and photographs (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

We believe the present results provide a foundation for designing a diagnostic picture test.
MEASURING PUBLIC LEADERSHIP: DEVELOPING SCALES FOR FOUR KEY PUBLIC LEADERSHIP ROLES
Authors: TUMMERS LARS , KNIES EVA
Published: November 2015

This article on public leadership contributes to the literature by focusing on the ‘public’ aspect of leadership and developing quantitative scales for measuring four public leadership roles. These roles all refer to the extent to which public leaders actively support their employees in dealing with public sector issues: (1) accountability leadership, (2) rule‐following leadership, (3) political loyalty leadership, and (4) network governance leadership. We tested the factor structure using exploratory and confirmatory analyses, with satisfactory results. Also, as expected, the scales for public leadership relate to transformational leadership and leadership effectiveness. The scales also correlate with organizational commitment, work engagement and turnover intention. These results indicate that our four scales of public leadership work adequately. We conclude with a future research agenda on how the scales can be used in survey and experimental research.
PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK, GOVERNMENT GOAL‐SETTING AND ASPIRATION LEVEL ADAPTATION: EVIDENCE FROM CHINESE PROVINCES
Authors: MA LIANG
Published: November 2015

Organizational goals shape performance feedback and have salient influences on strategic behaviours and outcomes. I develop a model of goal‐setting by combining performance gap and bureaucratic control theories. I predict that governments set goal levels historically in line with their past goal levels and attainment discrepancies, horizontally targeting the comparable peers' goal levels and performance gaps, and vertically aligning with the upper‐tier authorities' mandates. Using the data on annual economic growth of 31 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2012, the within‐between random‐effects model substantially supports these hypotheses.
Cherish the good times: Relational savoring in parents of infants and toddlers
Authors: BURKHART MARGARET L. , BORELLI JESSICA L. , RASMUSSEN HANNAH F. , SBARRA DAVID A.
Published: November 2015

Savoring, or prolonging emotions associated with positive events, improves emotion and life satisfaction; little work, however, focuses on the savoring of interpersonal experiences, termed relational savoring. In a sample of 435 parents, the authors evaluated the impact of relational savoring on emotion and parent–child relationship satisfaction compared to a personal savoring and neutral control condition. Two years later, the authors reassessed parents' feelings of closeness with their children in a subsample of the original participants (n = 64). Both savoring conditions resulted in higher positive emotion for all parents, whereas the effects on negative emotion, relationship satisfaction, and closeness were only present for those higher in attachment avoidance. This study opens new avenues of investigation in both relational savoring and parent–child relationships.
When Authoritarians Confront Prejudice. Differential Effects of SDO and RWA on Support for Hate‐Speech Prohibition
Authors: Bilewicz Michal , Soral Wiktor , Marchlewska Marta , Winiewski Mikołaj
Published: November 2015

Two nationwide representative studies (N = 653 adolescents; N = 1007 adults) investigated the psychological correlates of the intention to penalize public expressions of prejudice in the form of support for hate‐speech prohibition. We presented participants with preselected examples of hate speech from the Internet and other mass media and assessed their willingness to support the prohibition of public expressions of such remarks. Both studies found that social dominance orientation and right‐wing authoritarianism are positively correlated with outgroup prejudice, but they have differential effects on hate‐speech prohibition. Social dominance orientation was positively related to the acceptance of hate speech, whereas right‐wing authoritarianism was positively related to hate‐speech prohibition. In discussing this counterintuitive finding, we suggest that right‐wing authoritarians are particularly vigilant toward norm violations—and this makes them more punitive toward counternormative expressions of prejudice, such as hate speech.
Gravitropic response and circumnutation in pea (Pisum sativum) seedling roots
Authors: Kim Hye‐jeong , Kobayashi Akie , Fujii Nobuharu , Miyazawa Yutaka , Takahashi Hideyuki
Published: November 2015

Plant circumnutation is a helical movement of growing organs such as shoots and roots. Gravitropic response is hypothesized to act as an external oscillator in shoot circumnutation, although this is subject to debate. The relationship between circumnutational movement and gravitropic response in roots remains unknown. In this study, we analyzed circumnutation of agravitropic roots using the ageotropum pea (Pisum sativum) mutant, and compared it with that of wild‐type (cv. Alaska) pea roots. We further examined the relationship of gravitropic response to circumnutation of Alaska seedling roots by removing the gravisensing tissue (the root cap) and by treating the roots with auxin transport inhibitors. Alaska roots displayed circumnutational movements with a period of approximately 150 min, whereas ageotropum roots did not exhibit distinct circumnutational movement. Removal of the root cap in Alaska roots reduced gravitropic response and circumnutational movements. Treatment of Alaska roots with auxin transport inhibitors, 2,3,5‐triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) and N‐(1‐naphthyl)phthalamic acid (NPA), dramatically reduced gravitropic response and circumnutational movements. These results suggest that a gravity‐regulated auxin transport is involved in circumnutation of pea seedling roots.
Identification of microRNAs and their corresponding targets involved in the susceptibility interaction of wheat response to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici
Authors: Feng Hao , Wang Ting , Feng Chuanxin , Zhang Qiong , Zhang Xinmei , Huang Lili , Wang Xiaojie , Kang Zhensheng
Published: November 2015

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play very important roles in plant defense responses. However, little is known about their roles in the susceptibility interaction between wheat and Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst). In this study, two miRNA libraries were constructed from the leaves of the cultivar Xingzi 9104 inoculated with the virulent Pst race CYR32 and sterile water, respectively. A total of 1316 miRNA candidates, including 173 known miRNAs that were generated from 98 pre‐miRNAs, were obtained. The remaining 1143 miRNA candidates included 145 conserved and 998 wheat‐specific miRNAs that were generated from 87 and 1088 pre‐miRNAs, respectively. The 173 known and 145 conserved miRNAs were sub‐classified into 63 miRNA families. The target genes of wheat miRNAs were also confirmed using degradome sequencing technology. Most of the annotated target genes were related to signal transduction or energy metabolism. Additionally, we found that miRNAs and their target genes form complicated regulation networks. The expression profiles of miRNAs and their corresponding target genes were further analyzed by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR), and the results indicate that some miRNAs are involved in the compatible wheat‐Pst susceptibility interaction. Importantly, tae‐miR1432 was highly expressed when wheat was challenged with CYR32, and the corresponding target gene, predicted to be a calcium ion‐binding protein, also exhibited upregulated expression but a divergent expression trend. PC‐3P‐7484, a specific wheat miRNA, was highly expressed in the wheat response to Pst infection, while the expression of the corresponding target gene ubiquillin was dramatically downregulated. These data provide the foundation for evaluating the important regulatory roles of miRNAs in wheat‐Pst susceptibility interaction.
Idiopathic non‐specific interstitial pneumonia
Authors: Belloli Elizabeth A. , Beckford Rosemarie , Hadley Ryan , Flaherty Kevin R.
Published: November 2015

Non‐specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) is an interstitial lung disease that may be idiopathic or secondary to connective tissue disease, toxins or numerous other causes. Idiopathic NSIP is a rare diagnosis and requires exclusion of these other possible causes. Patients typically present in mid‐adulthood with dyspnoea, cough and often constitutional symptoms including fever and fatigue. The disease has a female predominance, and more than 50% of patients have never smoked. Physical exam features mild hypoxaemia and inspiratory rales. Pulmonary function tests demonstrate restriction and a low diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. High‐resolution computed tomography abnormalities include predominantly lower lobe subpleural reticular changes, traction bronchiectasis and ground‐glass opacities; honeycombing is rarely seen. An evaluation of the underlying pathology is necessary for a firm diagnosis. Histologically, alveolar and interstitial mononuclear cell inflammation and fibrosis are seen in a temporally uniform pattern with preserved underlying alveolar architecture. NSIP must be differentiated from other parenchymal lung diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. A thorough exposure history and assessment for underlying connective tissue diseases are highly important, as positive findings in these categories would likely denote a case of secondary NSIP. A multi‐disciplinary discussion that includes pulmonologist(s), radiologist(s) and pathologist(s) assists in reaching a consensus diagnosis and improves diagnostic accuracy. Treatment of idiopathic NSIP, although not well proven, is generally instituted in the form of immunosuppression. Prognosis is favourable compared with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, although the diagnosis still carries an attributable mortality. Herein we will summarize the clinical characteristics and management of idiopathic NSIP.
Global Liquidity and Commodity Prices
Authors: Kang Hyunju , Yu Bok‐Keun , Yu Jongmin
Published: November 2015

While monetary easing and increasing participation of financial institutions in commodity trading have enhanced the financialization of commodity markets, this paper investigates empirically whether the impact of global liquidity on commodity prices has grown since the crisis. For each commodity group, this paper uses a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) model to address the short‐run relationship between global liquidity and commodity prices. The key finding is that the effect of global liquidity on commodity prices becomes more salient since the global financial crisis. This paper also suggests a price‐based liquidity indicator has a greater explanatory power for the commodity price dynamics than monetary aggregates.
The relationships among gratitude, self‐esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation among undergraduate students
Authors: Lin Chih‐Che
Published: November 2015

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among gratitude, self‐esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation. In total, 814 undergraduate participants (259 males and 555 females with mean age of 20.13 years) completed four inventories measuring the variables of interest. Analyses of structural equation modeling found that gratitude had direct effects on individuals' self‐esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation. In addition, gratitude had indirect effects on individuals' suicidal ideation via self‐esteem and depression, and self‐esteem had direct effects on individuals' depression. These results support the proposed model of suicidal ideation and contribute to the understanding of how gratitude influences individuals' suicidal ideation via psychological and physical variables.
Expression of Concern: Women's hairstyle and men's behavior: A field experiment
Authors: Guéguen Nicolas
Published: November 2015

Little research has examined the effect of women's hairstyles on people's behavior. In a field study, male and female passersby, walking alone in the street, were observed while walking behind a female‐confederate who dropped a glove and apparently was unaware of her loss. The confederate had long dark hair arranged in three different hairstyles: one with her hair falling naturally on her shoulders and her back, one with her hair tied in a ponytail, and one with her hair twisted in a bun. Results reported that the hairstyle had no effect on female passersby's helping behavior. However, it was found that the hairstyle influenced male passersby with men helping the confederate more readily when her hair fell naturally on her neck, shoulders and upper back.
Modified CBT using visualization for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), anxiety and avoidance behavior – a quasi‐experimental open pilot study
Authors: Ekman Elizabeth , Hiltunen Arto J.
Published: November 2015

In recent studies it has been suggested that Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is beneficial to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but that the method needs to be modified in relation to their cognitive profile. The aim of this study is to measure the effect of modified CBT, that is, using visualized language throughout the entire session for clients with ASD and anxiety and avoidance behavior. The modification of CBT in this study consists of focusing on CBT protocols for anxiety disorders and depression, while visualizing and systematizing “the invisible” in the conversation, in order for the clients to understand the social, cognitive and emotional context of self and others and how they should interact to avoid misunderstandings. ASD clients may need help to detect the invisible code of social interaction and communication. The level of anxiety and the frequency of target behavior were measured. Four assessments were made, two at the pre‐assessment, and one in mid‐therapy and end of therapy respectively. Generally, results suggest no improvement during pre‐treatment period but a significant improvement during treatment. The values of the clients' psychological, social and occupational ability to function improved on the Global Function Rating scale. The preliminary conclusion of this pilot study indicates that the use of visualized language throughout the CBT therapy sessions is a promising modification of current CBT protocols for individuals with ASD. After manualization, larger studies with randomized controlled study designs can replicate or challenge these results.
Stability and predictors of psychopathic traits from mid‐adolescence through early adulthood
Authors: Hemphälä Malin , Kosson David , Westerman Johan , Hodgins Sheilagh
Published: November 2015

High levels of psychopathic traits in youth are associated with multiple negative outcomes including substance misuse, aggressive behavior, and criminality. Evidence regarding stability of psychopathic traits is contradictory. No previous study has examined long‐term stability of psychopathic traits assessed with validated clinical measures. The present study examined the stability of psychopathic traits from mid‐adolescence to early adulthood and explored adolescent factors that predicted psychopathic traits five years later. The sample included 99 women and 81 men who had consulted a clinic for substance misuse in adolescence. At an average age of 16.8 years, the adolescents were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) and five years later using the PCL‐Revised (PCL‐R). Additionally, extensive clinical assessments of the adolescents and their parents were completed in mid‐adolescence. Among both females and males, moderate to high rank‐order stability was observed for total PCL and facet scores. Among both females and males, there was a decrease in the mean total PCL score, interpersonal facet score, affective facet score, and lifestyle facet score. However, the great majority of females and males showed no change in psychopathy scores over the five‐year period as indicated by the Reliable Change Index. Despite the measures of multiple family and individual factors in adolescence, only aggressive behavior and male sex predicted PCL‐R total scores in early adulthood after taking account of PCL:YV scores. Taken together, these results from a sample who engaged in antisocial behavior in adolescence suggest that factors promoting high psychopathy scores act early in life.
Switzerland's Regulatory European Integration: Between Tacit Consensus and Noisy Dissensus
Authors: Jenni Sabine
Published: November 2015

Switzerland's relationship with the EU is closely related to some of the transformations of domestic politics during the last decades. This contribution analyses the development of Switzerland's legal integration measures over time and explores their correlation with indicators of domestic political change, namely party positions and the salience of European integration in the electorate. It suggests that party positions and issue salience of European integration did not prevent the rather dynamic development of Switzerland's legal integration measures for two reasons: On the one hand, parties were generally in favour of the ‘bilateral way’ and related policies and European integration lost salience over the twenty years under study. On the other hand, a considerable share of legal integration measures was conducted by the government and the federal administration following mechanisms foreseen in the sectoral agreements. These measures as well as domestic rule transpositions proved not to be related to indicators of domestic political change, whereas legal integration measures in need of approval by parliament were correlated to party positions and issue salience. The analysis builds on an empirical dataset including all sectoral agreements and all federal laws transposing EU rules in the period 1990 – 2010. The results are based on descriptive analyses and Poisson regression estimates.
Exploring the Determinants of Local Service Termination*
Authors: Lamothe Meeyoung , Lamothe Scott
Published: November 2015

Objectives

In the past, research focusing on local service decisions was dominated by the exploration of make‐or‐buy choices (i.e., how to produce services). In this article, we extend this venue of research to explore service termination (i.e., whether to provide). In doing so, we adopt four theoretical strands developed in the fields of public policy and management to guide our research: policy termination, political economy, make‐or‐buy, and policy diffusion.

Methods

We utilize multiple International City/County Management Association surveys for our analysis. We supplement these data with information gleaned from a variety of other sources, including Census data, to construct a binary logistic regression model examining the determinants of service termination.

Results

We find that local governments are likely to terminate their services when they were previously outsourced to third‐party contractors rather than produced by their own employees. Further, our results indicate that locales tend to drop services more often when they are not commonly provided by peer jurisdictions, supporting the idea of diffusion.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that, despite a dearth of research undertaken, service termination is surprisingly common and widespread across service areas.
Community Attachment and Voting for School Vouchers*
Authors: Burbank Matthew J. , Levin Daniel
Published: November 2015

Objective

The analysis of public support for school voucher programs has focused on economic self‐interest and has paid little attention to the role of community. We propose a model of support for school vouchers that focuses on community attachment. We theorize that areas with growing residential populations will have less community attachment and be more supportive of school voucher programs while areas with long‐established residents will have stronger attachments to their community institutions and be less supportive of voucher programs.

Method

We test this community attachment model using data from a 2007 Utah referendum on school vouchers combined with demographic data.

Result

The data show support for the community attachment model after controlling for the effects of partisanship and socioeconomic factors.

Conclusion

Our analysis suggests that the nature of community life is an important consideration for understanding the appeal of public school voucher programs.
Did Perception of the Economy Affect Attitudes to Immigration at the 2010 British General Election?*
Authors: Johnson Craig , Rodger Sunil
Published: November 2015

Objective

Immigration and the economy were the most salient issues in British politics at the 2010 general election, yet the relationship between them remains unclear. This article questions whether perception of the economic situation influenced hostility to immigration to Britain during the 2010 general election campaign.

Method

This article employs a logistic regression model using the 2010 British Election Study to test the effect of economic perception and other previously identified factors on hostility to immigration.

Results

The results show that perception of the economy did have an effect on hostility to immigration at the 2010 British general election. However, the effect is negligible.

Conclusion

The findings highlight the influence of other factors in predicting hostility to immigration, particularly identity and culture, party identification, and policy‐based factors. The prominence of analyzing the effect of economic concerns in determining attitudes to immigration appears misplaced.
Americans’ Value Preferences Pre‐ and Post‐9/11*
Authors: Ciuk David J.
Published: November 2015

Objective

This article examines the short‐ and long‐term effects of the attacks of 9/11 on Americans’ value preferences.

Method

Using data from 1994, 2002, and 2005, I estimate a rank‐ordered logit model where the dependent variable is respondents’ rank‐ordered preferences on four values central to American political culture.

Results

The short‐term effects of 9/11 are significant: Americans’ were willing to “trade” equality and economic security for social order. In the long term, these effects fade and value preferences swing back to pre‐9/11 levels.

Conclusion

These findings align nicely with a body of literature that suggests that traumatic public events induce feelings of panic and anxiety, thereby causing people to reorder their fundamental political cognitions. As these feelings fade, however, individuals’ fundamental political cognitions revert back toward normal.
Description of two new HLA‐A alleles, HLA‐A*02:572 and HLA‐A*03:225
Authors: Balas A. , García‐Sánchez F. , Vicario J. L.
Published: November 2015

Characterization of two new human‐leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐A alleles, A*02:572 and HLA‐A*03:225.
Production Network Knowledge as A Foundation for Resistance ‐ Workers Influence on A Chinese Acquisition in Germany
Authors: Bollhorn Kai , Franz Martin
Published: November 2015

This paper analyses how workers in Germany's automotive industry developed power in the process of a transnational carve out – namely the carve‐out of the rubber and plastics department of the German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG to the Chinese based Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Ltd. in 2013. The worker's actions were successful because they used their production network knowledge and decided against a strategy of pure co‐operative co‐determination but implemented a strategy of resistance. They concentrated their resistance on the weak points within the value creation processes of the automotive production network. On the basis of this, the authors argue that production network knowledge can be used to develop collective power within organisations. The study is based on qualitative interviews with ZF observing participation of workers events and a press analyses on the particular acquisition.
Effects of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity of donors in HBsAg(+) renal transplant recipients: comparison of outcomes with HBsAg(+) and HBsAg(−) donors
Authors: Yilmaz V.T. , Aliosmanoglu İ. , Erbis H. , Ulger B.V. , Cetinkaya R. , Suleymanlar G. , Kocak H.
Published: November 2015

Aim

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity of the donors on graft survival and liver complications in HBsAg(+) renal transplant recipients.

Patients and method

A group of 55 patients who underwent renal transplantation (RTx) in our hospital between 2001 and 2012 were included in the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 (n = 50) consisted of HBsAg(+) renal transplant recipients (RTR) whose donors were HBsAg(−). In Group 2 (n = 5), RTR and donors were both HBsAg(+). Lymphocyte cross matches, number of mismatches, donor types, renal replacement treatment modalities, drugs of induction treatment, and preoperative hepatitis B virus DNA titers of the groups were similar. In Group 1, 42 patients were taking lamivudine, 3 patients were taking entecavir, and 5 patients were taking tenofovir. All of the patients in Group 2 were taking lamivudine. Patient and graft survival rates, graft functions, acute hepatitis rates, acute rejection rates, and other clinical outcomes of the groups were compared.

Results

Demographic data of the groups were similar. Acute rejection rates (P = 0.458), graft survival rates (P = 0.515), and patient survival rates (P = 0.803) were also similar. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of acute hepatitis rate (P = 0.511), glomerular filtration rate (calculated by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula) in the last follow‐up (P = 0.988), alanine aminotransferase levels (P = 0.069), or delayed graft function rate (P = 0.973). Rates of chronic allograft dysfunction and new onset diabetes mellitus after transplantation were similar.

Conclusion

Our study revealed that, RTx from HBsAg(+) donors to HBsAg(+) recipients is safe with antiviral treatment.
Inhibition of fucosylation of cell wall components by 2‐fluoro 2‐deoxy‐l‐fucose induces defects in root cell elongation
Authors: Dumont Marie , Lehner Arnaud , Bardor Muriel , Burel Carole , Vauzeilles Boris , Lerouxel Olivier , Anderson Charles T. , Mollet Jean‐Claude , Lerouge Patrice
Published: November 2015

Screening of commercially available fluoro monosaccharides as putative growth inhibitors in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that 2‐fluoro 2‐l‐fucose (2F‐Fuc) reduces root growth at micromolar concentrations. The inability of 2F‐Fuc to affect an Atfkgp mutant that is defective in the fucose salvage pathway indicates that 2F‐Fuc must be converted to its cognate GDP nucleotide sugar in order to inhibit root growth. Chemical analysis of cell wall polysaccharides and glycoproteins demonstrated that fucosylation of xyloglucans and of N‐linked glycans is fully inhibited by 10 μm 2F‐Fuc in Arabidopsis seedling roots, but genetic evidence indicates that these alterations are not responsible for the inhibition of root development by 2F‐Fuc. Inhibition of fucosylation of cell wall polysaccharides also affected pectic rhamnogalacturonan‐II (RG‐II). At low concentrations, 2F‐Fuc induced a decrease in RG‐II dimerization. Both RG‐II dimerization and root growth were partially restored in 2F‐Fuc‐treated seedlings by addition of boric acid, suggesting that the growth phenotype caused by 2F‐Fuc was due to a deficiency of RG‐II dimerization. Closer investigation of the 2F‐Fuc‐induced growth phenotype demonstrated that cell division is not affected by 2F‐Fuc treatments. In contrast, the inhibitor suppressed elongation of root cells and promoted the emergence of adventitious roots. This study further emphasizes the importance of RG‐II in cell elongation and the utility of glycosyltransferase inhibitors as new tools for studying the functions of cell wall polysaccharides in plant development. Moreover, supplementation experiments with borate suggest that the function of boron in plants might not be restricted to RG‐II cross‐linking, but that it might also be a signal molecule in the cell wall integrity‐sensing mechanism.
ISLAM AND SCIENCE: THE NEXT PHASE OF DEBATES
Authors: Guessoum Nidhal
Published: November 2015

This article reviews the new developments that have occurred in the past ten to fifteen years in the field of Islam and science: (1) the emergence of a “new generation” of thinkers, Muslim scientists who accept modern science's fundamental methodology, theories, and results, and try to find ways to “harmonize” it with Islam; and (2) the exponential increase in the popularity of theI‘jaz ‘Ilmiy“theory,” the “miraculous scientific content of the Qur'an” (and, some say, the Hadith) as well as the continuation of the traditionalist school (Iqbal and others, following Nasr) among a section of the Muslim intelligentsia. The author then focuses on the next phase of issues, that is the “challenges” that this “new generation” must address, including the integration of methodological naturalism and evolution (biological and human) in the Islamic worldview, and positions to adopt regarding divine action and miracles. The author also mentions “educational and social issues” where Islam and science interface, and concludes with “the way forward.”
A HEURISTIC SCIENCE‐BASED NATURALISM AS A PARTNER FOR THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE NATURAL WORLD
Authors: D'Ambrosio Paolo
Published: November 2015

After a few general observations on scientific activity, the author briefly comments on different versions of naturalism. Subsequently, he suggests that the birth of evolutionary biology and its successive developments may show how the natural world comes to be differently conceived as scientific advancements are accomplished. Then the main thesis is outlined by introducing the principles of a heuristic science‐based naturalism not conclusively defining the real and the knowable. From the epistemological perspective, heuristic naturalism is meant to be framed in critical realism, whereas from the ontological standpoint it may be framed in emergent monism, given that the latter can also underpin recent trends in investigation addressing human specificity. Finally, attention is turned to some implications of heuristically guided scientific activity with regard to the issues of divine action and ofimago Dei.
RELIGION AS A LANGUAGE: EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE PATHS IN CONVERSATION WITH POSTREDUCTIONIST ANTHROPOLOGIES
Authors: Oviedo Lluis
Published: November 2015

New scientific approaches to religion have delivered a considerable number of theories aimed at explaining it, despite its cognitive and adaptive oddities. These efforts were built on available theoretical frameworks, including those from cognitive science, biology, and anthropology. Many voices have raised criticism against several aspects in the cognitive and evolutionist program, even if recognizing their legitimacy and the fruits collected to date. A pressing issue is whether the problem with the new scientific study of religion is related, to some extent, to the use of outdated views on human evolution, mind, and behavior. If this is the case, then a deep revision concerning current models is required. The new direction proposed should account for more complex aspects of human nature following multilevel models, and a specific human feature—language—that could better explain religion as a meaning system. Understanding religion as a language might open an alternative path inside cognitive studies that is closer to how it is lived by believers.
STORYTELLING AND WICKED PROBLEMS: MYTHS OF THE ABSOLUTE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Authors: Stenmark Lisa L.
Published: November 2015

This article examines the emphasis on facts and data in public discourse, and the belief that they provide a certainty necessary for public judgment and collective action. The heart of this belief is what I call the “myth of the Absolute,” which is the belief that by basing our judgment and actions on an Absolute we can avoid errors and mistakes. Myths of the Absolute can help us deal with wicked problems such as climate change, but they also have a downside. This article explores the experience behind these myths, to better understand how they describe and mediate our experiences of uncertainty, then relates these myths to debates about climate change. I conclude by describing how to engage these myths in a way that promotes better public discourse—and thus better public judgment and collective action—by telling these stories in such a way that we poke and prod wherever the story is not.
GALILEO IN THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CONTEXT: HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY, AND SCIENCE
Authors: Obolevitch Teresa
Published: November 2015

The trial of Galileo remains a representative example of the alleged incompatibility between science and religion as well as a suggestive case study of the relationship between them from the Western historical and methodological perspective. However, the Eastern Christian view has not been explored to a significant extent. In this article, the author considers relevant aspects of the reception of the teaching of Copernicus and Galileo in Russian culture, especially in the works of scientists. Whereas in prerevolutionary Russia Galileo was considered a symbol of the unity of science and religion, in the Soviet period his name and especially his trial was largely used for atheistic propaganda purposes. The author discusses the most recent debate in the Russian Orthodox milieu. The second part is dedicated to the presence of Galileo in Russian religious philosophy, especially in the thought of Gregory Skovoroda, Ivan Kireyevsky, and Sergey Glagolev. Finally, the relation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the teaching of Galileo is considered.
CAN SCIENCE AND RELIGION RESPOND TO CLIMATE CHANGE?
Authors: Tucker Mary Evelyn
Published: November 2015

With the challenge of communicating climate science in the United States and making progress in international negotiations on climate change there is a need for other approaches. The moral issues of ecological degradation and climate justice need to be integrated into social consciousness, political legislation, and climate treaties. Both science and religion can contribute to this integration with differentiated language but shared purpose. Recognizing the limits of both science and religion is critical to finding a way forward for addressing the critical challenges of climate change. How we value nature and human–Earth relations is crucial to this. We need a broader environmental ethics in dialogue with the science of climate change.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CLASH OF WORLDVIEWS: AN EXPLORATION OF HOW TO MOVE FORWARD IN A POLARIZED DEBATE
Authors: de Witt Annick
Published: November 2015

The current gridlock around climate change and how to address our global sustainability issues can be understood as resulting from clashes in worldviews. This article summarizes some of the research on worldviews in the contemporary West, showing that these (ideal‐typical) worldviews have different, and frequently complementary, potentials, as well as different pitfalls, with respect to addressing climate change. Simultaneously, the overview shows that, because of their innate reflexivity and their capacity to appreciate and synthesize multiple perspectives, individuals inhabiting integrative worldviews may have particular potentials with respect to addressing climate change. In the conclusion I argue that the policy challenge is to develop strategies that inspire the different worldview groups to actualize their potentials while mitigating their pitfalls, as well as to unite and mobilize them around a single vision that speaks to them all.