bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perioperative Systemic Inflammatory Response following Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Cystectomy vs. Open Mini-Laparotomy Cystectomy: A Prospective Study
Authors: Skjold Kingo Pernille , Palmfeldt Johan , Nørregaard Rikke , Borre Michael , Jensen Jørgen Bjerggaard
Published: June 2017

Introduction: Surgeries, such as radical cystectomy (RC), induce a systemic inflammatory response (SIR). SIR plays an important role in controlling the human immune system. This study aims at comparing the SIR in robot-assisted laparoscopic cystectomy (RALC) to open mini-laparotomy cystectomy (OMC) with a urinary diversion (UD). Comparison was based on immunologic markers of SIR, thus quantifying the degree of tissue trauma. Materials and Methods: Forty-two male patients underwent RC with an ileal conduit. Either OMC RC (OMC; n = 20), RALC with extracorporeal UD (RALC-EUD; n = 13), or RALC with intracorporeal UD (RALC-IUD; n = 9) was performed. Blood samples were obtained preoperatively (PREOP), immediately after surgery (POD0), 24 (POD1) and 48 h (POD2) postoperatively. Clinical parameters were collected from medical records. Results: Estimated blood loss and blood transfusion volume was higher in OMC (p's < 0.001). The operative time was longer in RALC groups (p < 0.001). On POD0, interleukin (IL)-6 showed significant lower level in RALC-IUD compared to OMC (p = 0.016). IL-10 level was higher at POD0 (p = 0.029) and POD1 (p = 0.038) in OMC vs. RALC-EUD. MCP-1 levels for RALC-IUD were significantly lower compared to RALC-EUD (p = 0.027). Conclusions: This study found that postoperative SIR was overall less pronounced in RALC, thus depicting reduced tissue trauma. No major clinical differences between RALC-IUD and -EUD were found.
"Niketche: uma história de poligamia" em leitura sob a perspectiva dos estudos culturais
Authors: Carvalho Carina de Lima
Published: June 2017

Este artigo propõe reflexões acerca da literatura moçambicana em relação aos estudos culturais, particularmente abordando a temática da poligamia no romance Niketche: uma história de poligamia, de Paulina Chiziane. Para isso, acolhemos as discussões levantadas por Jonathan Culler em seu trabalho sobre a literatura e os estudos culturais.
Comunicação, Educação e Arte - Interfaces para o enfrentamento do racismo
Authors: Malachias Rosangela
Published: June 2017

Apesar do racismo e da recusa ideológica em reconhecer a arte que produzem, os intelectuais e artistas brasileiros projetam discursos e representações sociais e estéticas que demonstram a contínua afirmação de sua humanidade.
Inner Mitochondrial Membrane Disruption Links Apoptotic and Agonist-Initiated Phosphatidylserine Externalization in Platelets
Authors: Choo Hyo-Jung , Kholmukhamedov Andaleb , Zhou ChengZing , Jobe Shawn
Published: June 2017

Objective—

Phosphatidylserine exposure mediates platelet procoagulant function and regulates platelet life span. Apoptotic, necrotic, and integrin-mediated mechanisms have been implicated as intracellular determinants of platelet phosphatidylserine exposure. Here, we investigate (1) the role of mitochondrial events in platelet phosphatidylserine exposure initiated by these distinct stimuli and (2) the cellular interactions of the procoagulant platelet in vitro and in vivo.

Approach and Results—

Key mitochondrial events were examined, including cytochrome c release and inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) disruption. In both ABT-737 (apoptotic) and agonist (necrotic)-treated platelets, phosphatidylserine externalization was temporally correlated with IMM disruption. Agonist stimulation resulted in rapid cyclophilin D–dependent IMM disruption that coincided with phosphatidylserine exposure. ABT-737 treatment caused rapid cytochrome c release, eventually followed by caspase-dependent IMM disruption that again closely coincided with phosphatidylserine exposure. A nonmitochondrial and integrin-mediated mechanism has been implicated in the formation of a novel phosphatidylserine-externalizing platelet subpopulation. Using image cytometry, this subpopulation is demonstrated to be the result of the interaction of an aggregatory platelet and a procoagulant platelet rather than indicative of a novel intracellular mechanism regulating platelet phosphatidylserine externalization. Using electron microscopy, similar interactions between aggregatory and procoagulant platelets are demonstrated in vitro and in vivo within a mesenteric vein hemostatic thrombus.

Conclusions—

Platelet phosphatidylserine externalization is closely associated with the mitochondrial event of IMM disruption identifying a common pathway in phosphatidylserine-externalizing platelets. The limited interaction of procoagulant platelets and integrin-active aggregatory platelets identifies a potential mechanism for procoagulant platelet retention within the hemostatic thrombus.
The Relationship Between Sound–Shape Matching and Cognitive Ability in Adults With Down Syndrome
Authors: Hamburg S. , Startin C. M. , Strydom A.
Published: June 2017

Down syndrome (DS), the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability, is characterised by a pattern of cognitive deficits hypothesised as relating to later developing neural systems. Multisensory integration (MSI) has been shown to benefit cognitive performance on numerous tasks in the typically developing population and is implicated in the early development of various cognitive processes. Given these developmental links of both MSI and DS it is important to determine the relationship between MSI and DS. This study aimed to characterise sound–shape matching performance in young adults with DS as an indicator of MSI (correct response rate around 90% in typically developing individuals). We further investigated the relationship between task performance and estimated cognitive ability (verbal and non-verbal) in addition to everyday adaptive behavior skills. Those answering correctly (72.5%) scored significantly higher across cognitive and adaptive behavior measures compared to those answering incorrectly. Furthermore, 57.1% of individuals with estimated cognitive ability scores below the median value answered correctly compared to 89.5% of individuals scoring above the median, with similar values found for adaptive behavior skills (57.9% vs. 94.4%). This preliminary finding suggests sound–shape matching deficits are relatively common in DS but may be restricted to individuals of lower ability as opposed to being a general characteristic of DS. Further studies investigating aspects of MSI across a range of modalities are necessary to fully characterise the nature of MSI in DS and to explore underlying neural correlates and mechanisms.
Simira colorata (Rubiaceae), a new species from western Ecuador
Authors: STÅHL BERTIL , PERSSON CLAES
Published: June 2017

Simira colorata from western Ecuador is described and illustrated. It is distinguished from other species of Simira by having rather small, glabrous leaves, with blades acute or obtuse at base, small non-calycophyllous, 4-merous flowers in rather large, pyramidal inflorescences, and small fruits. In vegetative features it resembles the Amazonian S. rubescens, which differs from S. colorata in its reproductive features. Although new to science, S. colorata, has been known and widely used in the Ecuadorian coast since the 18th century, and is nowadays endangered due to habitat loss.
Proactive or Reactive? An Empirical Assessment of IPR Policy Revisions in the Wake of Antitrust Actions
Authors: Layne-Farrar Anne
Published: June 2017

The debate over potential antitrust concerns for the use of protected intellectual property within standard setting often centers on the rules and regulations in place at standard setting organizations (SSOs). While the typical focus is on whether or not particular rules should be mandated for SSOs, this debate begs a broader question: What are SSOs doing, on their members' own volition, to address apparent antitrust gaps or weaknesses within their intellectual property rules? This article systematically assesses what SSOs have actually done (or failed to do) in relation to antitrust concerns, as those concerns emerge over time.
Optimum Uses of Psychobiological, Sensorimotor, and Performance Measurement Strategies
Authors: Alluisi Earl A.
Published: June 2017

The selection of a criterion, index, or output to measure, when an experiment is planned will influence not only the conduct of the study, but also the findings and the generalizations that can properly be made on the basis of the results. Guidelines for making such selections among psychobiological, sensorimotor, and performance measurement domains are presented, based on the summary findings of research in four areas: the behavioral effects of (1) occupational exposure to inorganic lead; (2) exposure to carbon monoxide; (3) sleep loss; and (4) infectious disease. Three dimensions that must be considered in order to optimize the selection are: (1) the purpose, immediate and distal, of the specific study; (2) the degree of specificity vs. generality of the organismic changes involved; and (3) the desired area(s) of generalization of the results or findings of the study.
Application of Fitts' Law to Foot-Pedal Design
Authors: Drury Colin G.
Published: June 2017

Two experiments on reciprocal foot tapping between pedals showed that a modified version of Fitts' Law can predict movement time for a variety of pedal sizes and separations. Using a relationship between times for reciprocal tapping and single movements found for hand movements, the present results predict closely the movement times obtained under specific conditions by earlier researchers. When pedals are at minimum safe separation it is concluded that pedal widths and direction of movement have only a slight effect on movement time.
Self-Interest or Altruism
Authors: Fitzgerald Bruce D.
Published: June 2017

It is shown that altruism is not, in general, sufficient to reduce the area of contention between two actors. Altruism can reduce or eliminate contention, leave it unchanged, or lead to a new form of contention, a contest in beneficence. Which result obtains is an empirical question. Several recent applications of the assumption of altruism are summarized.
Conflict and Trade
Authors: Polachek Solomon William
Published: June 2017

This article applies microeconomic theory to illustrate the plausibility of a relationship between international trade and conflict. It is argued that the mutual dependence established between two trading partners (dyads) is sufficient to raise the costs of conflict, there-by diminishing levels of dyadic dispute. This hypothesis of a negative relationship between conflict and trade is tested using a ten-year thirty-country cross section merged from four separate data sources. It is found that ceteris paribus countries with the greatest levels of economic trade engage in the least amounts of hostility. In fact, a doubling of trade on average leads to a 20% diminution of belligerence. This relationship appears robust, holding even more strongly when statistical adjustments are made for causality.
The Effects of Self-and Externally-Imposed Schedules of Reinforcement on Oral Reading Performance
Authors: Billingsley Felix F.
Published: June 2017

The experimental analysis of behavior has frequently utilized single subjects to determine the impact of various rewards, schedules of rewards, situational variables, and other factors that might affect behavior. While these single subject designs have advanced in sophistication, many researchers remain concerned that the findings of such studies may not be broadly applicable. This particular study has two unique features. First, the issue of generality is addressed directly by having eight subjects undergo the experimental treatments. Second, the study investigates the impact of child perferences in either choosing or being assigned a reward schedule on their learning. The findings represent one of the few experimental examples that exists for the widely held notion that different treatment strategies may be more appropriate for some children than others, often termed the subject by treatment interaction.
What Parents of the Learning Disabled Really Want from Professionals
Authors: Dembinski Raymond J. , Mauser August J.
Published: June 2017

Teachers, psychologists, and physicians frequently discuss with parents the numerous concerns related to the learning disabled child. Seldom, however, are parents provided the opportunity to advise these professionals as to whether the information they receive is adequate. Consequently, the professionals seldom know what it is parents most want to know. This survey provides an answer for teachers, psychologists, and physicians as to what parents most want to know from each profession and includes suggestions for interacting more effectively with parents of learning disabled children.—G.M.S.
Effects of Delayed Visual Control on Writing, Drawing and Tracing
Authors: Kalmus H. , Fry D. B. , Denes P.
Published: June 2017

Writing, drawing to verbal instruction and tracing were recorded on a combination of a telescriber with a short-term information store resulting in visual delay. The resulting conflict of visual and kinaesthetic feed-back slowed down performance and resulted in errors such as overshooting, repetition and wrong spacing. Measurable effects such as the duration of writing and the error area in tracing could be shown over the observed range to increase with the amount of delay.

These results are compared with those of previous experiments in the visual and acoustic fields and certain similarities and differences are discussed.
The Production of Labial Occlusives in Young Hearing-Impaired Children
Authors: Monsen Randall B.
Published: June 2017

The production of the bilabial consonants /p/, /m/, and /b/ was examined auditorily and spectrographically in the speech production of 24 children (aged 3 to 6) who had severe to profound hearing impairment. The children were recorded imitating the teacher's production of nonsense words containing the bilabial consonants and the vowels /i—a—o/. For all subjects, /b/ was produced correctly in 91% of all tokens, /m/, 77%, and /p/ ( [ph] ), only 51%. This pattern appears to mirror the development of these sounds in normal-hearing children. The data are described with reference to the auditory-visual perception of the hearing-impaired child and with reference to the order of acquisition of the sounds in normal-hearing children.
Noun and Noun Phrase Stress: a Phonetic Study of English Supplemented With an Error Analysis Using Finnish Speaker-Hearers, II. Perception
Authors: Niemi Jussi
Published: June 2017

On the basis of the acoustical analysis of Part I, it is hypothesized that native English speaker-hearers would use both F0 and duration (DR) as perceptual cues for the English NP—N distinction. Moreover, it is expected that the two variables would also be perceptually difficult for the Finnish informants. The results confirm the observations previously made of the tonal character of English stress (see, e.g., Cushing, 1969). The Finnish listeners almost completely rely upon DR. This reflects the absence of linguistic contrasts based on an active use of the larynx in Standard Finnish stress and intonation.
Direction of Consonant Substitution in Preschool Children
Authors: Kim Kong-On , Rudegeair Robert E.
Published: June 2017

Two experiments were performed to investigate the direction of articulatory and perceptual substitution of 13 English consonants. In the first experiment, 51 preschool children, ranging in age from 3 years 11 months to 5 years 6 months, were each shown toys and asked to say the names of the toys, each of which began with a test consonant in the initial position. An analysis of the articulatory errors indicates that the direction of substitution can be accounted for by the shift in the specification mainly of four phonological features: [continuant], [coronal], [voice], and [anterior]. In the second experiment, in which the same children participated, the initial consonants in the same test words were systematically substituted in such a way that the original and substituted consonants differed only , in one of the four phonological features mentioned. Each of both the original words and the words with the substituted consonants was presented separately with an appropriate toy, and the child was asked to respond with "yes" or "no," depending upon the match between the word and the toy presented with the word. An analysis of the error data indicates that the direction of perceptual substitution could be also accounted for in terms of the same specification shift of the same features relevant to the articulatory substitution.
Influence of Postvocalic Consonants on Vowel Duration in Esophageal Speech
Authors: Gandour Jack , Weinberg Bernd , Rutkowski Diane
Published: June 2017

The durations of vowels preceding voiced-voiceless stops in utterances produced by three esophageal speakers and three normal speakers were measured. Vowels were significantly longer before voiced stops than before voiceless stops for both esophageal and normal speakers. For either postvocalic consonant environment, the average absolute durations of the vowels of the esophageal speakers were longer than those of the normal speakers. Speaker-group comparisons revealed no significant difference in vowel duration preceding voiceless stops; however, the average absolute duration of vowels preceding voiced stops was significantly longer for the esophageal group. Speaker-group comparisons revealed no significant differences in the relative differences in vowel duration preceding voiced-voiceless stops. The data were interpreted to support the view that the vowel length variation observed is a language-specific behavior governed by a phonological rule of the English language, rather than simply a language-universal behavior governed by inherent physiological characteristics of the speech-production mechanism. Moreover, it was suggested that this phonological rule is a lengthening rule, which lengthens vowels before voiced consonants, rather than a shortening rule, which shortens vowels before voiceless consonants.
Lexical Access for Phonetic Ambiguities
Authors: Spencer N.J. , Wollman Neil
Published: June 2017

Phonetic ambiguities, such as ice cream/I scream, have been described as perceptually indeterminate. These ambiguous forms have been used to illustrate the requirement of multiple levels of processing (analysis of surrounding syntax and semantics) in the determination of word perception. In examining that requirement, we found both in perception (31 listeners) and in generation (129 college students) that phonetically ambiguous pairs were not confusingly reversible. Listeners of clearly presented tokens were unable to identify pair members (89% failure) except when the alternatives were made explicit (67% and 69% success). Readers took over a minute to locate and identify the alternative segmentations to presented tokens, and language-context effects were negligible. The results support unitary rather than exhaustive processing, and the concepts of word frequency and listener expectations provided a more comprehensive interpretation than did top-down multiple levels of analysis.
A Perceptual Study of Sentence-Final Intonation
Authors: Berkovitz Rochele
Published: June 2017

The relationship between syntactic and prosodic cues to sentence boundaries was examined as a function of language dominance. Groups of English-dominant and Hebrew-dominant subjects were timed on their responses to tones at the ends of complete and incomplete sentences in both languages, and they identified each utterance as either “finished” or “unfinished”. The truncated sentences were lexically and syntactilly well-formed, through prosodically incomplete. Reaction time was also measured in a second experiment, in which explicit attention was not called to intonation. The results indicated that listeners perceive acoustic cues to sentence boundaries, though the tendency to reprocess these cues in terms of syntax increases at less attention is directed to prosodic features. In experiment II, both the subjects who were aware of the unfinished intonation and those who reported noticing unusual about the sentences responsed significantly more slowly to incomplete utterances. These findings indicate that post-sentence identification tasks may fail to detect that objective acoustic information is in fact initially perceived. The two dominance groups responded similarly to the same stimuli in Experiment I, producing no errors in identifying unfinished sentences in English and the largest number of incorrect responses on unfinished in Hebrew. These results provide support for perceptual effects of differences in segmental lenthening between English and Hebrew uncovered in an earlier study.
Comprehension Strategies and Lexical Priming
Authors: Norris Dennis
Published: June 2017

Bever (1970) has proposed a number of strategies which can be applied during comprehension. According to one of these strategies, noun—verb—noun sequences are assumed to correspond to "actor—action—object." Using a sentence classification task, Experiment 1 provides evidence that such a strategy is indeed employed by adults. The results of Experiment 1, in conjunction with the data from a lexical decision task using the same materials (Experiment 2), also provide evidence that even weak semantic relations can produce substantial lexical priming effects during comprehension.
Peak Intraoral Air Pressure in [p] as a Function of F0 in Chinese
Authors: Zee Eric
Published: June 2017

The study explores the differences in peak intraoral air pressure in voiceless unaspirated bilabial stop consonant [p] in a CV syllable in which V is produced with different tones. Native speakers of four Chinese languages that have different tonal systems participated in the investigation. The results show that there is a positive correlation between the peak intraoral air pressure in [p] and the onset Fo value of the tone that occurs on the following vocalic element. The results are discussed in terms of possible physiological explanations, such as the use of a higher subglottal pressure to produce a higher fundamental frequency.
Production and Perception of Dutch Foreign Vowel Duration in English Monosyllabic Words
Authors: Elsendoorn Ben A.G.
Published: June 2017

It is well known that vowel duration may differ across languages. In foreign language learning these differences may lead to incorrectly produced durations in the target language, since the speaker will be inhibited by his mother tongue. In this paper two experiments are reported. The first describes a production test, aimed at obtaining a systematic description of durations of comparable vowels in RP British English and Dutch, as well as English spoken by Dutch foreign learners. The data show considerable differences in vowel duration between native English, foreign English, and native Dutch. The differences found between native and foreign English were used in a second perception experiment to investigate the relevance of incorrectly produced vowel durations to the perception of a foreign accent. Results show that native listeners are more sensitive to changes in the spectral composition of the speech signal than to changes in vowel duration.
Interpreting Elliptical Verb Phrases at Different Times of Day: Effects of Plausibility and Antecedent Distance
Authors: Oakhill Jane , Garnham Alan
Published: June 2017

This paper reports an experiment that used the self-paced reading technique to explore subjects' on-line processing of short texts at two times of day (early morning and late afternoon). A previous experiment (Oakhill, 1986b) has shown that, when reading simple texts, subjects adopt a “less effortful” strategy in the morning; they delay processing until it is needed to answer a question. in the present experiment, we used a more difficult anaphor resolution task that resulted in more errors. Under these circumstances, the morning subjects increased their on-line processing effort. They needed to spend longer reading the more difficult texts in order to achieve the same level of accuracy as subjects tested in the afternoon.
Non-Obligatory Vowel Epenthesis in -Ed Pseudowords: Ambiguity in Syllabification Resolved by Syntax and Suffixation
Authors: Kawamoto Alan H. , Farrar William T.
Published: June 2017

In this study, we consider a number of factors that affect whether psuedowords ending with the suffix -ed are pronounced with an additional syllable. The additional syllable results if vowel epenthesis occurs. Because this process is optional unless -ed is preceded by a dental, an ambiguity in syllabification arises in many cases. in Experiment 1, we found that subjects do occasionally pronounce -ed pseudowords with an additional syllable, although vowel epenthesis for this class of words has been considered to be unproductive (Marchand, 1969). Moreover, as with actual English words, this process occurred when the pseudowords were used in sentences as adjectives, but did not occur when the same pseudo-words were used as verbs. in Experiment 2, we found that addition of the suffixes -ly and -ness increased the likelihood of vowel epenthesis despite the fact that these suffixes generally do not change the pronunciation of the root in Experiment 3, we showed that perceived grammatical category also affected vowel epenthesis; vowel epenthesis was more likely when the pseudowords were used in a preceding sentence with suffixes that adjectives normally take (-ly or -ness) compared to a condition in which the pseudowords were used in an inflectional form of a verb (-es or -ing instead of -ed). The final experiment was a control experiment showing that the results in Experiment 3 were not simply due to priming effects. The results of the experiments on the pronunciation of pseudowords reported here and elsewhere by other investigators suggest that grammatical category information must be included in any complete model of reading aloud. A parallel distributed processing approach that incorporates a grammatical category constraint is discussed.
Disambiguation of Segmental Dependencies by Extended Phonetic Context
Authors: Gordon Peter C. , Schaeffer Christopher P. , Kennison Shelia M.
Published: June 2017

This research investigated listeners' ability to recognize adjacent vowels and consonants that are conveyed in part by a common temporal cue – vowel duration. The stimuli consisted of a large sample of natural speech containing nonsense syllables made by combining four vowels that differed in inherent duration (/i/, /ε/, /i/, /e/) with two syllable-final consonants that differed in phonological voicing (/z/ and /s/), a distinction that is partially cued by vowel duration. Experiment 1 examined the effect of vowel identity, fricative identity, and contextual factors on vowel duration, voiced-frication duration, and voiceless-frication duration in speech production, and the potential effectiveness of these durational measures as classification cues. In Experiment 2, listeners identified the syllables after they had been excised from sentential context. Accuracy in recognizing /s/ varied with the inherent duration of the preceding vowel, with the number of errors increasing with inherent vowel duration. This suggests that listeners did not sufficiently account for the effect of vowel identity when interpreting vowel duration as a cue to syllable-final voicing. In Experiment 3, listeners heard the syllables in sentential context. Accuracy improved, and no relation was found between inherent vowel duration and accuracy in recognizing /s/. This indicated that the sentential context of a syllable conveys information that is useful to listeners in correctly determining the segmental basis of the internal temporal structure of a syllable.
The carpet weavers of Rajasthan : A socio-economic profile
Authors: Babel Sudha
Published: June 2017

Millions of people depend on carpet weaving for their livelihood, so there is a good reason to preserve and encourage the carpet weaving industry, not only in Rajasthan, which is its hub, but also, throughout the country. The situation of the weavers, this study shows, is pathetic; they are handicapped by illiteracy, inadequate finance, and marketing bottlenecks. Marketing and finance facilities should be provided to the artisans to save them from the clutches of contractors, and banks should be motivated to provide short-term loan to weavers on the basis of physical assets. Also, the government should undertake extensive and intensive promotional efforts for carpets by strengthening the Rajasthan Carpets and Woollen Product Development Society (RCWPDS).
Sustainable development, health and STDs: A study of tribal society of Rajasthan
Authors: Akram Mohammad
Published: June 2017

Sustainable development is a three-fold concept including economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability. Sustainable development belongs to the social and cultural avenues of life, too, and health is an indispensable component in it. Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development, and they are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. The goals of sustainable development can only be achieved in the absence of a high prevalence of debilitating diseases and proper management of health activities at the grassroots level.

This study reveals that a good proportion of the tribal population is suffering from problems of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). These STDs are causing severe damage to them, not only physiologically but also socially and economically. The consequences related to STDs are endless. The HIV/AIDS phenomenon has made it more dreadful. The situation is more horrible in the tribal context because of their comparative unawareness about health and related activities. Findings reveal that a complete treatment of such STDs among the tribal persons is not a regular phenomenon; hence, an untreated STD not only keeps on multiplying the symptoms and the complications within the carrier but also results in spreading the disease fast within the community. Thus, the relation between disease and health is simple-when disease sustains, health suffers. Sustainable development aims at just the opposite situation, in which health sustains and disease suffers (gets eradicated).
Shifting pattern of agricultural space: evolution of contract farming in Punjab
Authors: Singh Mahesh Pratap
Published: June 2017

A conscious policy shift relying heavily on private sector participation for a boost to agriculture through contract farming has failed to produce the desired results on the ground. There is now a move to reverse the trend and check the harm suffered by the farming sector in Punjab.
Assessing the social parameters of elementary education: A case study in Jammu city
Authors: Kumar Naresh
Published: June 2017

This paper attempts to assess the functioning of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a government-initiated programme of ‘Education for AH’. The main objective of SSA is to achieve Universal Elementary Education (UEE) for the children in the age group of 6-14 years by the year 2010. The functioning of SSA in this paper has been understood by analysing its social parameters like access, enrolment, retention and equity through a case study conducted in Jammu city.
Gender bias and economic development in India: A case study of Haryana
Authors: Hassan Mohammad Izhar , Daspattanayak Pritirekha , Rath Padarabinda
Published: June 2017

The present study examines the gender bias in India with particular reference to Haryana in terms of select social and demographic indicators. Despite a rapid economic transformation, Haryana lags far behind in the field of social change. The society is governed by a patriarchal structure that subjugates women in all possible ways. An abnormally large deficit of females in the population is a manifestation of this phenomenon. A general neglect of girl children and the resultant sex differentials in mortality along with a widespread practice of female foeticide in the wake of strong son-preference are indicators of persisting gender bias in the society. On the basis of correlates between the child sex ratio and select indicators, the study indicates that gender bias does not necessarily decline with improvement even in the material well-being of women. It, therefore, argues for some more radical and rapid social progress that can effectively make inroads into the pernicious effects of patriarchy.
Economic infrastructure and agricultural development in Himachal Pradesh: A district level analysis
Authors: Tiwari A. K.
Published: June 2017

Economic Infrastructure and Agricultural Development in Himachal Pradesh brings out an assessment of the progress made during 1981-2001 in Himachal Pradesh. In this paper, two major components of development, viz. the agriculture and economic infrastructure sector have been analysed at district level in the State of Himachal Pradesh. It is a factorial analysis based on 23 indicators and helps to identify the lagging districts. Based on this evaluation, plan formulation could be made for the different physiographic districts of the State based on their resource potentials, levels of development, and the objectives of socio-economic equity and regional balance. Strategies have been suggested under decentralised multilevel planning process with stress on spatial organisation and corporate management. Agricultural development strategies focus attention on regional potentialities and maximisation of production. These strategies would pave the way for a more balanced regional development of Himachal Pradesh, if and when properly implemented.
Rural income diversification and inequality: A decomposition analysis by source income
Authors: Sujithkumar P. S.
Published: June 2017

This article uses survey data collected from three villages of K.V. Kuppam Block in Yellore district of Tamil Nadu. Gini Decomposition technique has been used to analyse the effects of rural income diversification in income inequality. Results show that the agricultural income contributes the highest share in the overall income inequality of the region followed by non- agricultural income and transfer income. The same trend is not seen in all the villages. It has been found that in the region both agricultural and transfer income are inequality increasing sources of income while non-agricultural income source is inequality decreasing. But village level data shows that in Maliyapattu, a village with traditional subsistence agriculture non-agricultural income is an inequality increasing source of income. It is observed that no uniform policy prescription for reducing income inequality based on source income would emerge. Policy interventions have to be tailored to the local conditions if success across the board is desired.
Poverty and disability in India
Authors: Rao Ambati Nageswara
Published: June 2017

This study explores the relationship between poverty and disability in India and it argues that disabled people are not only among the poorest of the poor in the country, but that they remain poor for very long periods of time, from generation to generation. Articles were scrutinized to find out what sources were used in these publications to conclude that there was evidence for a strong relationship between disability and poverty. This study deals firstly, summarize the current state of knowledge about disability and poverty. Secondly, discusses the relationship between disability and poverty. And thirdly it explains the reason behind the lack of reliable information on disability and its impact. And finally it describes the efforts that are presently being made to shaping the policies to end the miseries of disabled people. Evidence from the study confirms that disability as a cause and consequence of poverty now needs to be brought to centre stage and the development community needs to reorder its priorities to put disability in the mainstream. No poverty programme can be effective if it ignores its poorest minority and no disability programme will be successful if it ignores the conditions faced by most disabled people.
The Love of Money, Pay Satisfaction and Academic Tenure: Professors in a Public Institution of Higher Education
Authors: Tang Thomas Li-Ping , Tang Theresa Li-Na
Published: June 2017

This study tests a model of pay satisfaction using a sample of 207 American professors, treats academic tenure as a moderator, and investigates the model across tenured ( n = 126) and non-tenured (n = 77) professors simultaneously. The direct path examines the relationship between income and pay satisfaction, whereas the indirect path consists of income, the love of money, pay comparison, and pay satisfaction. For the whole sample, results supported the direct path in that income led to pay satisfaction. When both the direct and indirect paths were examined simultaneously, income led to low pay satisfaction. Income enhanced the love of money that was used to frame referent pay comparison that had an impact on pay satisfaction. For tenured professors, the indirect path was significant and the direct path approached significance. For non-tenured professors, the referent comparison to pay satisfaction path was significant. Our research contributes to our new insights and understanding of pay satisfaction among tenured and non-tenured professors in a public institution of higher education.
Early language development and the emergence of a theory of mind
Authors: Farrar M. Jeffrey , Maag Lisa
Published: June 2017

The current study examined the relation between children's language development at 2 years of age and their theory of mind performance at 4 years of age. Twenty toddlers were initially tested when they were 2 years old. Measures of both lexical and grammatical development were obtained from: (1) parental completion of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI), and (2) a naturalistic play session between mother and child. The children returned at 4 years and were given four standard theory of mind tasks to assess understanding of: (a) false belief, (b) representational change, and (c) appearance-reality. In addition, in order to control for general language and cognitive development, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the Woodcock-Johnson Memory for Sentences Test were also given. Strong associations were found between early language development and later theory of mind performance. These relationships may reflect similar social cognitive processes that govern the development of both language and theory of mind.
Positive and Negative Affect, Signal Sensitivity, and Pay Satisfaction
Authors: Shaw Jason D. , Duffy Michelle K. , Jenkins G. Douglas , Gupta Nina
Published: June 2017

This study examines the relationship of two dispositional factors, positive and negative affect (PA and NA), with multi-dimensional pay satisfaction. Among a sample of 194 full- and part-time employees in two southern states, PA explained significant variance in pay satisfaction after controlling for actual salary levels, overall job satisfaction, and other individual characteristics. More importantly the data show that PA interacts with actual salary level in explaining certain dimensions of pay satisfaction. By contrast, results confirm the hypothesis that NA is unrelated to pay satisfaction. Implications of these results are discussed and directions for future research identified.
National Assistive Technology Research Institute
Authors: Lahm Elizabeth A. , Bausch Margaret E. , Hasselbring Ted S. , Blackhurst A. Edward
Published: June 2017

The Office of Special Education Programs, U. S. Department of Education, provided four years of funding to establish a National Assistive Technology Research Institute (NATRI) at the University of Kentucky. The primary goals of NATRI are to examine factors related to the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of assistive technology (AT) services in schools, and to disseminate the findings in ways that will assist school personnel to develop or improve AT policies and practices for students with disabilities.

Seven areas of research will be addressed: (a) status of AT use in schools, (b) policies, procedures, and resources that school districts use, (c) AT decisions made by individualized education programs (IEP) teams, (d) training and technical support needed by service providers, (e) integration of AT into learning environments, (f) effectiveness of AT on the academic, social, and functional performance of students, and (g) preparation of professionals in AT.

The primary research questions and methodologies being used to conduct research in the seven areas are described. An overview of dissemination procedures also is provided and ways that people can, participate in NATRI research activities are explained.
The Impact of PBL Technology on the Preparation of Teachers of English Language Learners
Authors: Ochoa Theresa A. , Kelly Mary L. , Stuart Shannon , Rogers-Adkinson Diana
Published: June 2017

This article presents qualitative results of the instructional usefulness of a Web-based multimedia problem-based learning module designed to simulate the special education referral process. The multicultural special education (MUSE) module uses three interactive phases to highlight the complexity of determining the nature of academic difficulties when a student has English language limitations. Interviews with instructors and pre-service teachers indicated that the multimedia components of the module created a realistic portrayal of the special education referral process. Furthermore, the group work within the module provided a unique opportunity for pre-service teachers to begin to collaborate with a team to make educational decisions for students they will likely encounter in their future professions.
Internet-Based Multimedia Tests and Surveys for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Stock Steven E. , Davies Daniel K. , Wehmeyer Michael L.
Published: June 2017

Students and adults with intellectual disabilities face multiple obstacles when taking tests, assessments, evaluations, questionnaires, and surveys. Significant impairments in literacy can make common formats for soliciting objective and subjective feedback—such as written questions and answers—inaccessible to many people with intellectual disabilities. This brief report provides results of a pilot test of an Internet-based multimedia testing and assessment system employing audio, video, and picture supports to enable individuals with intellectual disabilities to more independently complete online tests and assessments. Twenty-two adolescents and adults participated in the study. Participants needed an average of 7.5 prompts to complete a traditional written test, while those same individuals required only 2.2 prompts to complete the online version of the test. These results suggest the feasibility of utilizing a self-directed, multimedia software approach for creating an independent and potentially integrated test-taking format for individuals with intellectual disabilities or literacy challenges.
Computer-Based Reading Instruction for Young Children with Disabilities
Authors: Lee Yeunjoo , Vail Cynthia O.
Published: June 2017

This investigation examined the effectiveness of a computer program in teaching sight word recognition to four young children with developmental disabilities. The intervention program was developed through a formative evaluation process. It embedded a constant-time-delay procedure and involved sounds, video, text, and animations. Dependent measures were the percentage of correct responses during full and daily probe conditions. A multiple probe design across four word sets, replicated by four participants, was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Findings indicate that all children acquired the target words. They also learned incidental information (i.e., word definition) presented in an antecedent event and generalized sight word recognition across modes and materials.
Developing a Statewide System for Providing and Assessing Outcomes of Assistive Technology
Authors: Fennema-Jansen Sally , Edyburn Dave L. , Smith Roger O. , Wilson Susan , Binion Mary
Published: June 2017

The Assistive Technology Infusion Project (ATIP) was developed to distribute $9.3 million dollars of assistive technology to students with disabilities in Ohio schools and to measure the outcomes. This article describes the 2-year start-up period of the project and highlights key procedural aspects of the program's implementation. The project developed several Web-based protocols, including announcing the availability of funding, managing electronically submitted grant proposals, conducting a peer review process, and managing the provision of awards. Lessons learned in the process of implementing the ATIP are summarized to assist others in replicating the procedures on either a larger or a smaller scale.
A Comparison of Video Modeling Perspectives for Students with Autism
Authors: Ayres Kevin M. , Langone John
Published: June 2017

This study evaluated the relative effectiveness of two types of video models for teaching four elementary-aged students with autism to put away groceries. The types of video differed in their perspective: first-person versus third-person perspective. The goal of the study was to identify which type of video model led to faster acquisition and better generalization with the fewest errors. The results do not clearly indicate superiority of one type of video model over another. The outcome is discussed in terms of how teachers and practitioners may adopt video as a supplement to their other classroom instruction and, more importantly, how researchers might progress with comparative evaluations using single-subject research designs.
Speech Technology and its Potential for Special Education
Authors: Zhao Yong
Published: June 2017

Speech technology typically refers to technology that enables machines to receive and accept human oral language as input and respond with human or human-like oral language as output. Speech technology has recently become increasingly mature and available to the general public. At the same time, there has been an increase in the interest in using speech technology to support learning for students with disabilities. This article surveys the current capacities of speech technology, reviews its existing and potential uses in education in general and special education in particular, and recommends research and development actions and strategies for realizing the potential of speech technology for learners with disabilities.
Going beyond AT Devices: Are AT Services Being Considered?
Authors: Bausch Margaret E. , Ault Melinda Jones , Evmenova Anna S. , Behrmann Michael M.
Published: June 2017

While efforts have been made in the last two decades to educate professionals about the nature of assistive technology (AT) devices, successful implementation of technology is impossible without the support and provision of appropriate AT services. The current investigation, designed and conducted by the National Assistive Technology Research Institute, examined the status of AT services delivery for students with disabilities across the nation. Professionals serving students who use AT were asked to report the AT services received by their students. Survey responses from 14 states and 60 school districts revealed three themes: federally defined AT services (40.2%), unclassifiable AT services (19.6%), and services that were not AT services (40.2%). Data were also gathered on the professionals providing AT services, the top three services provided by each professional, and the degree to which school systems were seeking AT services from contracted professionals outside the school system. Findings suggest the need for training and increased awareness of AT services among teachers and other professionals working with students with disabilities.