bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constructing Relatedness
Authors: Culley Lorraine , Hudson Nicky
Published: February 2009

This article explores how conceptual frameworks around new reproductive technologies may be influenced by religious and cultural contexts. Using data derived from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project on the public perceptions of gamete donation in British South Asian communities, the article discusses women's narratives of third-party assisted conception in infertility treatment, as constructed in focus group discussions. The analysis suggests a strong contrast in perceptions of egg donation and sperm donation. Embodied motherhood had the effect of naturalizing the use of donated eggs for women. Fatherhood, however, was seen as constituted by genetic relatedness in a patrilineal cultural context. Using donated eggs, then, was considered less problematic than using donated sperm. However, the embodiment of motherhood, the attachment of women to their biological material and the emotional ties of even `detached' reproduction, meant that women simultaneously had difficulty in imagining themselves becoming egg donors.
Organizational Routines in Flux
Authors: Conley Sharon , Enomoto Ernestine K.
Published: February 2009

Using an organizational theory to study how people can actually change routines, this study examined alterations made to two aspects of a high school's attendance procedures over 5 years. The authors drew primarily from interviews and school documents to describe and analyze changes made by administrators, faculty, and staff. Organizing questions derived from Feldman's typology of change responses considered how individuals can elect to repair routines when problems occur, expand on new possibilities, and strive toward desired ideals despite routinized actions. The findings describe striving toward a faster, more efficient attendance system and shifting between teacher- and administrator-controlled tardy monitoring. Implications are drawn for school administrators seeking to understand and change school organizations.
Globalization and state-supported welfare
Authors: Tae Kuen Kim
Published: February 2009

English

We analyze the impact of globalization on the social welfare effort among 18 affluent countries, concentrating on the curve-linear hypothesis. This study provides new empirical evidence on the relationship between globalization and the welfare state by employing auto-regression analysis. Based on the findings, we discuss several issues regarding the relationship.

French

Cet article analyse l’impact de la mondialisation sur l’aide sociale dans 18 pays riches, en faisant appel à l’hypothèse de la courbe linéaire (courbe de Philips). Cette étude fournit de nouvelles preuves concrètes sur la relation entre la mondialisation et l’aide sociale étatique en employant une analyse de régression. À la lumière des résultats, plusieurs enjeux découlant de cette relation sont examinés.

Spanish

Analizamos el impacto de la globalización en los esfuerzos de bienestar social a través de 18 países ricos, centrándonos en una hipótesis de curva lineal. Este estudio provee nuevas evidencias empíricas sobre la relación entre globalización y el Estado del Bienestar mediante la utilización de un análisis de regresión. Con base en los hallazgos, discutimos algunas cuestiones relativas a esta relación.
Prevalence and predictors of burnout among Palestinian social workers
Authors: Abdallah Taisir
Published: February 2009

English

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and predictors of burnout among Palestinian social workers. A random sample of 180 social workers completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The most predictive factors associated with burnout among Palestinian social workers are identified.

French

Cette étude a pour objectif d’étudier la fréquence et les indicateurs de l’épuisement professionnel dans la population des travailleurs sociaux palestiniens. Un échantillon aléatoire de 180 travailleurs sociaux a rempli le questionnaire sur le syndrome d’épuisement professionnel de Maslach. Les résultats ont permis d’identifier les facteurs prédictifs les plus importants de l’épuisement professionnel chez les travailleurs sociaux Palestiniens.

Spanish

El propósito del presente estudio fue investigar la prevalencia y los predoctores de desgaste en los trabajadores sociales palestinos. Una muestra aleatoria de 180 trabajadores sociales completó el Inventario de Desgaste de Maslach. Se identificaron los factores de mayor predictibilidad, asociados con el desgaste de los trabajadores sociales Palestinos.
The Employment Disadvantage of Mothers: Evidence for Systemic Discrimination
Authors: Carney Tanya
Published: February 2009

When their need to provide care and their need for paid employment are equally important, mothers try to combine both roles, often through part time employment, or to stagger these competing needs by taking employment breaks. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia (HILDA) Survey1 this article analyses the resulting detriments to the ability of mothers to continue career paths across the occupational spectrum. Analysis of this data is used to argue that employment disadvantage is generated by mothers' inability to conform to `ideal worker' behaviour and therefore can be construed as `systemic discrimination'. Norms of `ideal' behaviour are shown to be stronger in occupations of high status and as a result mothers are at a greater risk of becoming excluded from employment within these occupations. Further, 26 percent of Australian working mothers will experience occupational exclusion, an event where further employment is secured only by moving down the occupational hierarchy to jobs of lower socio-economic status.
Confirming the Factor Structure of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in College Students Using Student and Parent Data
Authors: Proctor Briley E. , Prevatt Frances
Published: February 2009

This study used confirmatory factor analysis to compare one-, two-, and three-factor models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms to determine which model is the best fit for the data. Participants were 190 clinic-referred college students who had been evaluated for ADHD, 155 of whom had received a diagnosis. Data consisted of both self- and other (e.g., parent) ratings of both current and childhood symptoms. Symptoms came directly from the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. A three-factor model, consistent with the DSM-III, was superior for current and childhood symptoms, regardless of rater (i.e., self or parent). The primary implication for these findings is that there may be a viable Impulsive subtype of ADHD within the adult population. Further research might include a closer examination of the unique functional limitations associated with impulsivity, as well as the development of diagnostic items that maximize model fit.
Rhetoric and the Public Sphere
Authors: Chambers Simone
Published: February 2009

The pathologies of the democratic public sphere, first articulated by Plato in his attack on rhetoric, have pushed much of deliberative theory out of the mass public and into the study and design of small scale deliberative venues. The move away from the mass public can be seen in a growing split in deliberative theory between theories of democratic deliberation (on the ascendancy) which focus on discrete deliberative initiatives within democracies and theories of deliberative democracy (on the decline) that attempt to tackle the large questions of how the public, or civil society in general, relates to the state. Using rhetoric as the lens through which to view mass democracy, this essay argues that the key to understanding the deliberative potential of the mass public is in the distinction between deliberative and plebiscitary rhetoric.
A Hybrid Revolutionary Process
Authors: Ngo Thi Minh-Hoang
Published: February 2009

This case study of the cooperative movement in Dongfengren village, Xiyang county, Shanxi province, during 1944 shows that interactions between the state's voluntarist and idealistic policies and peasants' resistance grounded in their traditional values and practices produced the hybrid revolutionary processes that characterized the party-state's penetration into the village during the wartime period. Widespread peasant resistance compelled outside cadres to introduce various incentives similar to those applied in the 1950s to sustain the cooperative movement.
Magnitude of Type 1 Diabetes Self-management in Youth Health Care Needs Diabetes Educators
Authors: Coffen Ronald D. , Dahlquist Lynnda M.
Published: February 2009

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the complexity of the type 1 diabetes regimen and to highlight the essential role of the diabetes educator in safely training and implementing the myriad skills in a developmentally appropriate manner for children and adolescents. A review of literature and a task analysis were preformed and suggest that the complexity of the regimen is often not adequately addressed. Reviewed research assessed the regimen using measures with on average about 25 items while the task analysis contains over 600 tasks. The article discusses implications for clinical practice, including implications for measurement in research, targeting of interventions by diabetes educators, and the gradual transfer of regimen control to youth. It is argued that given the magnitude of the self-management task, education cannot be accomplished in the limited time that general practice physicians, pediatricians, or endocrinology specialists can spend with each patient. It is concluded that youth must be helped to internalize the importance of the regimen tasks and that transfer of these tasks to youth requires a developmentally sensitive approach to education. Diabetes educators serve an essential role in which they help young patients and their parents manage and master this overwhelming experience through promoting youth's involvement in tasks when full responsibility is not yet appropriate. The regimen is too complex for youth to undertake self-management without multidisciplinary support.
A Metacognitive Perspective on the Cognitive Deficits Experienced in Intellectually Threatening Environments
Authors: Schmader Toni , Forbes Chad E. , Shen Zhang  , Berry Mendes Wendy
Published: February 2009

Three studies tested the hypothesis that negative metacognitive interpretations of anxious arousal under stereotype threat create cognitive deficits in intellectually threatening environments. Study 1 showed that among minority and White undergraduates, anxiety about an intelligence test predicted lower working memory when participants were primed with doubt as compared to confidence. Study 2 replicated this pattern with women and showed it to be unique to intellectually threatening environments. Study 3 used emotional reappraisal as an individual difference measure of the tendency to metacognitively reinterpret negative emotions and found that when sympathetic activation was high (indexed by salivary alpha-amylase), women who tended to reappraise negative feelings performed better in math and felt less self-doubt than those low in reappraisal. Overall, findings highlight how metacognitive interpretations of affect can undermine cognitive efficiency under stereotype threat and offer implications for the situational and individual difference variables that buffer people from these effects.
Experts and Anecdotes
Authors: Moore Alfred , Stilgoe Jack
Published: February 2009

‘‘Anecdotal evidence’’ has become a central point of contention in two recent controversies over science and technology (We follow Nelkin (1992, 10) in referring to our cases as controversies over science and technology.) in the United Kingdom and a contact point between individuals, expert institutions, and policy decisions. We argue that the term is central to the management of the boundary between experts and nonexperts, with consequences for ideas of public engagement and participation. This article reports on two separate pieces of qualitative social research into recent UK public risk controversies with the aim of unfolding the processes by which anecdotal evidence comes to be defined. We do not define anecdotal evidence as an epistemic category that exists prior to the public controversies themselves; rather, we aim to show how the term is constructed and contested by expert and nonexpert actors. We find that anecdotal evidence comes to be accepted (albeit in different ways) by the main actors as an epistemic category, yet that it is multidimensional, open to interpretation as subjective reports, as an indicator of expert ignorance, as a source of novel hypotheses and as a set of political claims for recognition and inclusion. We conclude that the flexibility of anecdotal evidence at the boundary between science and its publics can offer opportunities for participation and engagement, as well as exclusion and alienation.
Clarifying the Foucault—Habermas debate
Authors: King Matthew
Published: February 2009

Habermas charges that Foucault's work `cannot account for its normative foundations'. Responses to Habermas have consisted mostly of, on one hand, attempts to identify foundational normative assumptions implicit in Foucault's work, and, on the other hand, attempts to show that Foucault's work discredits the very idea of normative foundations. These attempts have suffered from a lack of clarity about Habermas' notion of normative foundations. In this article I clarify the terms of the debate by considering Habermas' critique of Foucault in light of his moral philosophy. I examine three representative responses to Habermas on Foucault's behalf, which attempt to identify normative foundations in Foucault's work, and I show why none of them meets Habermas' requirements. Finally, I argue that while Foucault's political judgments cannot have normative foundations, Foucault does adhere to the principles of Habermas' discourse ethics, and his doing so does not conflict with his genealogical approach.
Tibial Fixation in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction with Bone–Patellar Tendon–Bone and Semitendinosus-Gracilis Autografts
Authors: Volpi Piero , Marinoni Luca , Bait Corrado , Galli Marco , de Girolamo Laura
Published: February 2009

Background

Knee instability after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction rarely manifests with activities of daily living, but it may occur in high-level sports performance, resulting in secondary injuries. Faced with these circumstances, sports orthopaedists have continued to improve on the results obtained with surgical techniques for treating knee joint injuries.

Hypothesis

Transverse tibial fixation with bioabsorbable cross pins is a valid technique for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with both the patellar tendon (bone—patellar tendon—bone) and semitendinosus and gracilis tendon.

Study Design

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods

The study population was 120 patients operated on by the same surgeon and subdivided into 4 subgroups of 30 subjects each. Patients were chosen and assigned to each group consecutively. Patients in group 1 (bone—patellar tendon—bone) were implanted with bioabsorbable interference screws, group 2 (bone—patellar tendon—bone) received 2 bioabsorbable cross pins, group 3 (semitendinosus and gracilis tendon) received a bioabsorbable interference screw, and group 4 (semitendinosus and gracilis tendon) received 2 bioabsorbable cross pins. Patients were assessed at 5-year follow-up for International Knee Documentation Committee Knee Ligament Standard Evaluation Form, Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, Lysholm-Tegner Activity Scale, and KT-1000 arthrometer testing.

Results

The results at 5 years after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction were similar across all 4 groups. No significant differences have been observed between groups.

Conclusion

The results suggest that transverse tibial fixation with bioabsorbable cross pins is a safe and reliable procedure, yielding clinical results that are comparable with those of the more widely used bioabsorbable interference screws.
Experimental Investigation of Recron3s Fiber-reinforced Hybrid Ferrocement Hollow Slabs
Authors: Shoba Rajkumar D. , Sundararajan R.
Published: February 2009

The limit state of serviceability of deflection and cracking is verified for recron3s fiber-reinforced ferrocement hollow slabs with mesh and skeletal reinforcements. About nine slabs are considered for the investigation. The slabs were subjected to one-way cyclic loading by applying two line loads at one-third span. A theoretical model is developed for the deflection of recron3s fiber-reinforced ferrocement hollow slabs and it is validated by the experimental data. The experimental results are very close to the analytical values, especially at the service load, and it is established that such slabs satisfy the serviceability requirements of deflection and crack width as specified by the Ferrocement Model Code.
Properties of Facesheet-reinforced 3-D Spacer Fabric Composites and the Integral Multi-facesheet Structures
Authors: Shaokai Wang  , Min Li  , Zuoguang Zhang  , Boming Wu
Published: February 2009

3-D spacer fabric is a new sandwich structure textile developed by integrally woven technique. Mono-spacer fabric composite made by 3-D spacer fabric has super-high specific strength and specific stiffness. However, its mechanical properties cannot meet the demand of structural applications. In this article, facesheet-reinforced 3-D spacer fabric composites were investigated by laminating additional glass weave at the skin sheets. Mechanical behavior of this facesheet-reinforced 3-D spacer fabric composite was studied experimentally. Effects of various factors on the mechanical properties were also discussed, such as the additional layer number, the type of glass weave, and the lay-up type. Furthermore, an innovative integral multi-facesheet structure composite was developed by directly weaving three uniformly spaced facesheets in one construction. The mechanical performance was compared with bonded multi-facesheet spacer fabric composite and mono-spacer fabric composite under the same conditions. The results indicated that additional weaves could strengthen the composite facesheets greatly, and the multi-facesheet structure could improve the properties correlated with the piles effectively.
Shamanism and Its Emancipatory Power for Korean Women
Authors: Lee Jonghyun
Published: February 2009

This article presents a historical and feminist analysis of the role of shamanism in the lives of Korean women. Using critical feminist theory, it examines the concerns of Korean women and their lives in terms of the sociocultural and political environment that has made shamanism a women-dominant spiritual practice even while treating it with contempt. Fundamental to social work is the need to understand human beings in the context of their distinctive environments. This article attempts to increase social work knowledge and awareness about the lives of Korean women and their indigenous spiritual practice of shamanism.
Do Microfinance Programmes Really Serve the Poor? Evidence from Rural Southeast Nepal
Authors: Dulal Hari Bansha , Gingrich Chris D , Stough Roger R
Published: February 2009

During the past 25 years development organisations worldwide have increasingly relied on microfinance programmes to help alleviate poverty and achieve various development objectives. These programmes typically aim to provide financial services to poor households that otherwise cannot access formal financial markets. One such example programme is the Grameen Bikas Bank (GBB) in rural southeast Nepal. While GBB targets poor households, the evidence reveals that the vast majority of GBB clients are relatively wealthy, as measured by land ownership and other socioeconomic indicators. In addition, GBB’s poor clients also feel less satisfied with its services than do wealthy clients, suggesting that GBB has not adequately tailored its products to the needs of the poor. Possible reasons for GBB’s shortcomings include Nepal’s caste system, rigid loan repayment schedules, and below-market interest rates on loans. Remedies to improve GBB’s outreach to the poor include flexible repayment schedules, higher interest rates, and increased staffing to recruit poor households and monitor their loans.
Performance of Multi-TMD in the Towers of Suspension Bridges
Authors: Casciati F. , Giuliano F.
Published: February 2009

The convenience of Tuned Mass Dampers for the reduction of the gust response is investigated for the case of the towers of suspension bridges. For this special typology the design must pursue effectiveness, robustness and redundancy performance. Suitable solutions are multi-device provisions (MTMD), with distributed mass, frequency and damping. Increasing the robustness of MTMD against mistuning beyond the optimal configuration produces a loss of efficiency: as a result the final choice is determined only at the end of the constructive process. A brief discussion is reported on the weak performance to seismic excitation.
Damage Identification in Elastic Suspended Cables through Frequency Measurement
Authors: Lepidi Marco , Gattulli Vincenzo , Vestroni Fabrizio
Published: February 2009

Structural cables in cable-stayed systems are subject to potential damage, mainly due to fatigue phenomena and galvanic corrosion. The paper analyzes how the dynamical behavior of cables is affected by diffuse damage, and investigates whether the damage can be identified through information selected from the dynamical response. A continuous monodimensional model of a damaged cable is used for this purpose. Damage is described as a reduction of the cable cross section, and defined in terms of its intensity, extent and position. The major effects of these different damage parameters on the cable static response and spectral properties are evidenced and discussed to verify the observability of the damage. The frequencies of the dominant transversal motion of the cable are chosen as damage indicators, since they are sufficiently sensitive to the damage intensity and extent, while the damage position requires additional information. The damage identification problem is formulated by defining an objective error function between the measured and the model frequencies, to be minimized in the space of the damage parameters. Pseudo-experimental data are initially used to test the effectiveness and resolution of the procedure. The results confirm the uniqueness of the problem solution and its correctness. The robustness of the solution is discussed while considering the presence of random errors of increasing amplitude. The procedure is also positively verified with experimental measures from a prototype model of an artificially damaged spiral strand.
the scholar dances
Authors: Prendergast Monica
Published: February 2009

This poem was written in response to the speech given by Donald Blumenfeld-Jones in his role as Vice-President of Division B [Curriculum Studies] at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association meeting in April of 2006. Like many creative acts, it has required a long gestation and I have revisited it from time to time over the past 2 years. Creative researchers may struggle as do some artists with the process of letting-go; it is time to let this poem go and to wish that it communicates some small part of the powerfully visceral, intellectual and emotional response I had to Donald’s dance and speech that day. As a fragment of arts-based inquiry, I intend for it to reveal the sometimes hidden intersections between the scholarly and personal, often found in the overlapping landscapes of experience and memory (which also happens to be the landscape of poetry).
Old Gay Men’s Bodies and Masculinities
Authors: Slevin Kathleen F. , Linneman Thomas J.
Published: February 2009

In the hierarchy of masculinities, old men and gay men are clearly subordinated. Many assume, therefore, that old gay men are doubly stigmatized; however, we argue that the picture is decidedly more complex. In this article, we explore the bodily experiences of aging through analysis of intensive interviews with 10 gay men who are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. We focus on the interpretations and strategies these gay men use to make sense of their aging bodies. We identify several themes relating to how these men think about their own bodies, the bodies of other gay men, and their place within gay communities. Their aging corporeal experiences allow us to examine ageist notions about aging and being old and to explore how this thinking, which valorizes youthfulness, shapes their aging experiences.
Emotions and Redefining Black Masculinity
Authors: White Aaronette M. , Peretz Tal
Published: February 2009

Using an intersectional analysis of Black masculinities, we explored how 2 African American men’s personal emotions regarding violence against women and their perceptions of masculinity became politicized by experiences that led to their participation in the founding of 2 separate profeminist men’s organizations. Through the public use of their personal narratives, the men used organizational activities to foster new raced-gendered feeling rules regarding emotion that challenge hegemonic masculinity generally and Black hegemonic masculinities, in particular. Narrative themes indicating reconceptualization of Black masculinity and feeling rules for men included (a) ‘‘becoming aware’’ of an injustice to a woman that generated negative emotions, and (b) ‘‘becoming active’’ in the profeminist men’s movement that allowed the transformation of negative emotions into positive ones. We make recommendations for future research that pays particular attention to how depictions of Black masculinity stigmatize Black men’s emotionality in ways that exacerbate differences in emotion norms between men and women and among different racially constructed groups of men.
Participation, citizenship, and well-being
Authors: Barber Terry
Published: February 2009

Theories relating to youth participation are, in the main, ill-defined and contested. It is often assumed that citizenship and a sense of well-being are the outcomes of active forms of youth participation. This paper presents a critical comparative review of each before offering a new model which seeks to explain the top-down and bottom-up influences on the positive engagement of young people.
Commentary: We Don't Share! The Social Representation Approach, Enactivism and the Fundamental Incompatibilities between the Two
Authors: Chryssides Alison , Dashtipour Parisa , Keshet Shira , Righi Celine , Sammut Gordon , Sartawi Mohammad
Published: February 2009

Underlying all theories are philosophical presuppositions that lend themselves to different epistemological approaches, which need to be unfurled when comparing theories and offering alternative explanations. Contrary to Verheggen and Baerveldt's (2007) promulgation that `enactivism' may be an adequate alternative for Wagner's social representation approach, this commentary outlines how this may be a misguided position. Enactivism, following an outward trajectory from nervous systems, to minds, to `(inter)action', to social enactivism, is incompatible with the dialogical epistemology underpinning social representations theory. Social representations are not reducible to individual minds, and dialogical interaction is not reducible to operationally closed `systems' in (inter)action. The difference between the two approaches lies in the fundamental paradigmatic distinction between molar and molecular explanatory frameworks. Offering one as an alternative to the other overlooks the epistemological differences between the two and fails to appreciate the discrepancies between different levels of analysis, explanatory frameworks and the very phenomena that theories problematize.
Moving Experience: Dialogues between Personal Cultural Positions
Authors: König Jutta
Published: February 2009

The main purpose of this article is to study the dialogical dynamics of people with multicultural experiences, a response to the call voiced by Hermans (2001a) to explore the self on the contact zones of culture. Using the theory of the dialogical self as a starting point, I explore in my empirical research the hypothesis that a dialogue between personal cultural positions allows new meanings to arise in the personal meaning system. Acculturation can thus be seen as a continuing process of self-innovation propelled by dialogues between personal cultural positions. Thirteen multicultural individuals (global nomads) were asked if they could identify personal cultural positions and conduct a dialogue between them. Each step in the dialogue was rated on a five-point scale measuring novelty, importance and authenticity. Results show that in the majority of cases novelty ratings increased, confirming the hypothesis. Stable novelty ratings occurred when initial statements were rated high on importance and/or authenticity, indicating that acculturation occurs within the field of tension created by the desire to maintain personal continuity, on the one hand, and self-innovation to facilitate integration into a new environment, on the other. This research is aimed at devising a suitable methodology for assessment and coaching of multicultural individuals.
Party Matters
Authors: Hopkin Jonathan
Published: February 2009

This article addresses the relationship between political decentralization and the organization of political parties in Great Britain and Spain, focusing on the Labour Party and the Socialist Party, respectively. It assesses two rival accounts of this relationship: Caramani's `nationalization of politics' thesis and Chhibber and Kollman's rational choice institutionalist account in their book The Formation of National Party Systems. It argues that both accounts are seriously incomplete, and on occasion misleading, because of their unwillingness to consider the autonomous role of political parties as advocates of institutional change and as organizational entities. The article develops this argument by studying the role of the British Labour Party and the Spanish Socialists in proposing devolution reforms, and their organizational and strategic responses to them. It concludes that the reductive theories cited above fail to capture the real picture, because parties cannot only mitigate the effects of institutional change, they are also the architects of these changes and shape institutions to suit their strategic ends.
The management of autonomy in adolescent diabetes: a case study of triadic medical interaction
Authors: Buchbinder Mara
Published: February 2009

The transfer of responsibility for diabetes management from parent to child has been seen as a central challenge for the clinical care of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. Research is needed to better understand how clinicians, patients, and families handle the delicate balance between parental involvement and adolescent responsibility for diabetes management. The aim of this study is to investigate the interactional processes by which an adolescent's autonomy is facilitated and constrained in a clinical interaction between a nurse practitioner (NP), a 13-year-old diabetes patient, and the patient's mother. Integrating psychological perspectives on adolescent autonomy and responsibility with conversation analytic approaches to participation, I examine participation frameworks and shifting alignments to illuminate the negotiation of adolescent autonomy within a single clinical encounter. The analysis demonstrates that the patient's autonomy is emphasized while identifying problems, yet restricted when considering solutions. Clinical implications are discussed.
Liberal multiculturalism group membership and distribution of cultural policies
Authors: Vitikainen Annamari
Published: February 2009

A B S T RA C T Among liberal multiculturalists, there is a relative consensus about cultural membership as the relevant criterion for distributing cultural policies. This article argues that membership in a cultural group cannot be defined in terms of the sharing of cultural content, but that politically relevant membership is better understood by the recognition of the larger political community. Due to the discrepancies in recognition, as well as reasons for recognition, cultural policies should not be distributed along the lines of membership in a cultural group. This has to do with the discrepancy between cultural policies as advancing certain conceptions of cultural content, and the aim of these policies as accommodating people's cultural differences.
Modelling transport mode decisions using hierarchical logistic regression models with spatial and cluster effects
Authors: Czado Claudia , Prokopenko Sergij
Published: February 2009

This work is motivated by a mobility study conducted in the city of Munich, Germany. The variable of interest is a binary response, which indicates whether public transport has been utilized or not. One of the central questions is to identify areas of low/high utilization of public transport after adjusting for explanatory factors such as trip, individual and household attributes. For the spatial effects a modification of a class of Markov random fields (MRF) models with proper joint distributions introduced by Pettitt et al. (2002) is developed. It contains the intrinsic MRF in the limit and allows for efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms. Further cluster effects using group and individual approaches are taken into consideration. The first one models heterogeneity between clusters, while the second one models heterogeneity within clusters. A naive approach to include individual cluster effects results in an unidentifiable model. It is shown how a re-parametrization gives identifiable parameters. This provides a new approach for modeling heterogeneity within clusters. Finally, the proposed model classes are applied to the mobility study.
The Field Site as a Network: A Strategy for Locating Ethnographic Research
Authors: Burrell Jenna
Published: February 2009

Through the work of constructing a field site, researchers define the objects and subjects of their research. This article explores a variety of strategies devised by researchers to map social research onto spatial terrain. Virtual networked field sites are among the recent approaches that are challenging conventional thinking about field-based research. The benefits and consequences of one particular configuration, the field site as a network that incorporates physical, virtual, and imagined spaces, will be explored in detail through a case study. The author focuses in particular on the logistical issues involved and practical steps to constructing such a field site. This article includes suggestions for ways of studying social phenomena that take place on a vast terrain from a stationary position.
Respondent Debriefings Conducted by Experts: A Technique for Questionnaire Evaluation
Authors: Nichols Elizabeth , Hunter Childs Jennifer
Published: February 2009

This article explores the use of expert respondent debriefings to evaluate the quality of survey data. In this case study, subject matter experts observed 169 interviews and conducted qualitative respondent debriefings on select cases in a field test of a census coverage survey. By comparing “true” residence status for each person as determined by the debriefing against the residence status obtained by the questionnaire alone, the authors determined whether the questionnaire was collecting accurate information. For the 473 people for whom survey data was available, the questionnaire failed only five times to assign the correct residence status code in a way that would have detrimentally affected coverage estimates. The respondent debriefing technique helped pinpoint specific problems in the questionnaire, as well as confirm that the questionnaire performed adequately in most cases. This article describes the expert respondent debriefing methodology that was used in a face-to-face interview setting and discusses how it could be adapted to telephone interviewing.
Asking questions about participation
Authors: Davies Ian , Flanagan Bernie , Hogarth Sylvia , Mountford Paula , Philpott Jenny
Published: February 2009

We raise questions about young people's participation in light of findings from a project (`Democracy through Citizenship') funded by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Limited, and managed by the Institute for Citizenship. Following a six-month feasibility study the project took place over a three-year period in one local authority in the north of England, finishing in 2005. We sketch the context relevant to the development, generally, of citizenship education in England and, more particularly, the precise approach to the teaching and learning of democracy desired by key personnel within the project. We outline the research methods that were used to collect and analyse data during the project. By drawing from case studies of project activities we ask questions about young people and participation within and beyond schools.
Internal Business Organisation in the Private Garment Industry in Vietnam: The Roles of Ethnicity, Origin and Location
Authors: Thomsen Lotte
Published: February 2009

This paper pinpoints important differences within the private sector in Vietnam. It shows that the country's private sector is much more heterogeneous than is often suggested, and attempts to reveal some of the causal mechanisms that cause this diversification. Theoretically, the paper draws on business system theory, particularly on that aspect of it that deals with internal business organisation, in order to examine the nature of and trends in relation to firm-level management and control. On this background, the paper uncovers a Vietnamese-owned segment in Hanoi, two different Vietnamese-owned segments in Ho Chi Minh City distinguished by the origins of their owners, and a Vietnamese Chinese-owned segment in Ho Chi Minh City.
The role of IGF-1 as a major growth factor for myeloma cell lines and the prognostic relevance of the expression of its receptor
Authors: Sprynski Anne Catherine , Hose Dirk , Caillot Laurent , Réme Thierry , Shaughnessy John D. , Barlogie Bart , Seckinger Anja , Moreaux Jérôme , Hundemer Michael , Jourdan Michel , Meißner Tobias , Jauch Anna , Mahtouk Karène , Kassambara Alboukadel , Bertsch Uta , Rossi Jean François , Goldschmidt Hartmut , Klein Bernard
Published: February 2009

A plethora of myeloma growth factors (MGFs) has been identified, but their relative importance and cooperation have not been determined. We investigated 5 MGFs (interleukin-6 [IL-6], insulin-like growth factor type 1 [IGF-1], hepatocyte growth factor [HGF], HB–epidermal growth factor [HB-EGF], and a proliferation-inducing ligand [APRIL]) in serum-free cultures of human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs). In CD45− HMCLs, an autocrine IGF-1 loop promoted autonomous survival whereas CD45+ HMCLs could not survive without addition of MGFs, mainly IGF-1 and IL-6. IGF-1 was the major one: its activity was abrogated by an IGF-1R inhibitor only, whereas IL-6, HGF, or HB-EGF activity was inhibited by both IGF-1R– and receptor-specific inhibition. APRIL activity was inhibited by its specific inhibitor only. Of the investigated MGFs and their receptors, only expressions of IGF-1R and IL-6R in multiple myeloma cells (MMCs) of patients delineate a group with adverse prognosis. This is mainly explained by a strong association of IGF-1R and IL-6R expression and t(4;14) translocation, but IGF-1R expression without t(4;14) can also have a poor prognosis. Thus, IGF-1–targeted therapy, eventually in combination with anti–IL-6 therapy, could be promising in a subset of patients with MMCs expressing IGF-1R.
The effect of three environmental conditions on the fitness of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase-mediated permethrin resistance in Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus
Authors: Hardstone Melissa C , Lazzaro Brian P , Scott Jeffrey G
Published: February 2009

Background

The evolution of insecticide resistance and persistence of resistance phenotypes are influenced by the fitness of resistance alleles in the absence of insecticide pressure. Experimental determination of fitness is difficult, but fitness can be inferred by measuring changes in allele frequencies in appropriate environments. We conducted allele competition experiments by crossing two highly related strains of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. One strain (ISOP450) was permethrin resistant (due to P450-mediated detoxification) and one was a susceptible strain. Allele and genotype frequencies were examined for 12 generations under three environmental conditions: standard laboratory, temephos exposure (an insecticide to which the P450 detoxification mechanism in ISOP450 confers no resistance and which is commonly used in mosquito control programs) and cold temperature stress (mimics the colder temperatures within the habitat of this mosquito).

Results

A fitness cost was inferred for the P450 mechanism in the standard laboratory environment. A greater cost was associated with the temephos exposed environment, suggesting the temephos placed an additional stress on the P450 resistant mosquitoes. No observed cost was associated with the P450 resistance locus in the cold temperature environment, but there was a significant heterozygote advantage. In all environments the fitness of the resistant homozygotes was the lowest.

Conclusion

The cytochrome P450-mediated permethrin detoxification resistance in Cx. p. quinquefasciatus can have an associated fitness cost in the absence of permethrin, relative to a susceptible allele. The strength of the cost varies depending on the environmental conditions. P450-mediated resistance is expected to decrease over time if the permethrin application is relaxed and to decrease at an even faster rate if permethrin is replaced with temephos. Additionally, these results indicate that a P450 resistance allele can persist (especially in heterozygotes) in colder temperatures and could potentially be carried into the Culex pipiens hybrid zone.
Correlations of mutations in katG, oxyR-ahpC and inhA genes and in vitro susceptibility in Mycobacterium tuberculosisclinical strains segregated by spoligotype families from tuberculosis prevalent countries in South America
Authors: Dalla Costa Elis R , Ribeiro Marta O , Silva Márcia SN , Arnold Liane S , Rostirolla Diana C , Cafrune Patricia I , Espinoza Roger C , Palaci Moises , Telles Maria A , Ritacco Viviana , Suffys Philip N , Lopes Maria L , Campelo Creuza L , Miranda Silvana S , Kremer Kristin , da Silva Pedro E Almeida , Fonseca Leila de Souza , Ho John L , Kritski Afrânio L , Rossetti Maria LR
Published: February 2009

Background

Mutations associated with resistance to rifampin or streptomycin have been reported for W/Beijing and Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) strain families of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A few studies with limited sample sizes have separately evaluated mutations in katG, ahpC and inhA genes that are associated with isoniazid (INH) resistance. Increasing prevalence of INH resistance, especially in high tuberculosis (TB) prevalent countries is worsening the burden of TB control programs, since similar transmission rates are noted for INH susceptible and resistant M. tuberculosis strains.

Results

We, therefore, conducted a comprehensive evaluation of INH resistant M. tuberculosis strains (n = 224) from three South American countries with high burden of drug resistant TB to characterize mutations in katG, ahpC and inhA gene loci and correlate with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) levels and spoligotype strain family. Mutations in katG were observed in 181 (80.8%) of the isolates of which 178 (98.3%) was contributed by the katG S315T mutation. Additional mutations seen included oxyR-ahpC; inhA regulatory region and inhA structural gene. The S315T katG mutation was significantly more likely to be associated with MIC for INH ≥2 μg/mL. The S315T katG mutation was also more frequent in Haarlem family strains than LAM (n = 81) and T strain families.

Conclusion

Our data suggests that genetic screening for the S315T katG mutation may provide rapid information for anti-TB regimen selection, epidemiological monitoring of INH resistance and, possibly, to track transmission of INH resistant strains.
Noninvasive technique for measurement of heartbeat regularity in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos
Authors: Chan Po Kwok , Lin Chun Chi , Cheng Shuk Han
Published: February 2009

Background

Zebrafish (Danio rerio), due to its optical accessibility and similarity to human, has emerged as model organism for cardiac research. Although various methods have been developed to assess cardiac functions in zebrafish embryos, there lacks a method to assess heartbeat regularity in blood vessels. Heartbeat regularity is an important parameter for cardiac function and is associated with cardiotoxicity in human being. Using stereomicroscope and digital video camera, we have developed a simple, noninvasive method to measure the heart rate and heartbeat regularity in peripheral blood vessels. Anesthetized embryos were mounted laterally in agarose on a slide and the caudal blood circulation of zebrafish embryo was video-recorded under stereomicroscope and the data was analyzed by custom-made software. The heart rate was determined by digital motion analysis and power spectral analysis through extraction of frequency characteristics of the cardiac rhythm. The heartbeat regularity, defined as the rhythmicity index, was determined by short-time Fourier Transform analysis.

Results

The heart rate measured by this noninvasive method in zebrafish embryos at 52 hour post-fertilization was similar to that determined by direct visual counting of ventricle beating (p > 0.05). In addition, the method was validated by a known cardiotoxic drug, terfenadine, which affects heartbeat regularity in humans and induces bradycardia and atrioventricular blockage in zebrafish. A significant decrease in heart rate was found by our method in treated embryos (p < 0.01). Moreover, there was a significant increase of the rhythmicity index (p < 0.01), which was supported by an increase in beat-to-beat interval variability (p < 0.01) of treated embryos as shown by Poincare plot.

Conclusion

The data support and validate this rapid, simple, noninvasive method, which includes video image analysis and frequency analysis. This method is capable of measuring the heart rate and heartbeat regularity simultaneously via the analysis of caudal blood flow in zebrafish embryos. With the advantages of rapid sample preparation procedures, automatic image analysis and data analysis, this method can potentially be applied to cardiotoxicity screening assay.
Centrosome-associated regulators of the G2/M checkpoint as targets for cancer therapy
Authors: Wang Yingmei , Ji Ping , Liu Jinsong , Broaddus Russell R , Xue Fengxia , Zhang Wei
Published: February 2009

In eukaryotic cells, control mechanisms have developed that restrain cell-cycle transitions in response to stress. These regulatory pathways are termed cell-cycle checkpoints. The G2/M checkpoint prevents cells from entering mitosis when DNA is damaged in order to afford these cells an opportunity to repair the damaged DNA before propagating genetic defects to the daughter cells. If the damage is irreparable, checkpoint signaling might activate pathways that lead to apoptosis. Since alteration of cell-cycle control is a hallmark of tumorigenesis, cell-cycle regulators represent potential targets for therapy. The centrosome has recently come into focus as a critical cellular organelle that integrates G2/M checkpoint control and repairs signals in response to DNA damage. A growing number of G2/M checkpoint regulators have been found in the centrosome, suggesting that centrosome has an important role in G2/M checkpoint function. In this review, we discuss centrosome-associated regulators of the G2/M checkpoint, the dysregulation of this checkpoint in cancer, and potential candidate targets for cancer therapy.