bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the High-Speed Running and Sprinting Profiles of Elite Female Soccer Players During Competitive Matches Using an Optical Player Tracking System
Authors: Mara Jocelyn K. , Thompson Kevin G. , Pumpa Kate L. , Morgan Stuart
Published: September 2016

Mara, JK, Thompson, KG, Pumpa, KL, and Morgan, S. Quantifying the high-speed running and sprinting profiles of elite female soccer players during competitive matches using an optical player tracking system. J Strength Cond Res 31(6): 1500–1508, 2017—The aim of this study was to determine the high-speed running and sprinting profiles of elite female soccer players during competitive matches using a new Optical Player Tracking system. Eight stationary video cameras were positioned at vantage points surrounding the soccer field so that when each camera view was combined, the entire field could be viewed simultaneously. After each match, an optical player tracking system detected the coordinates (x, y) of each player for every video frame. Algorithms applied to the x and y coordinates were used to determine activity variables for 12 elite female players across 7 competitive matches. Players covered 9,220–10,581 m of total distance, 1,772–2,917 m of high-speed running (3.4–5.3 m·s−1) distance, and 417–850 m of sprinting (>5.4 m·s−1) distance, with variations between positional groups (p < 0.001; partial η
2 = 0.444–0.488). Similarly, the number of high-speed runs differed between positional groups (p = 0.002; partial η
2 = 0.342), and a large proportion of high-speed runs (81–84%) and sprints (71–78%) were performed over distances less than 10 m. Mean time between high-speed runs (13.9 ± 4.4 seconds) and sprints (86.5 ± 38.0 seconds) varied according to playing position (p < 0.001; partial η
2 = 0.409) and time of the match (p < 0.001; partial η
2 = 0.113–0.310). The results of this study can be used to design match-specific conditioning drills and shows that coaches should take an individualized approach to training load monitoring according to position.
Intrasession and Intersession Reliability of Quadriceps' and Hamstrings' Electromyography During a Standardized Hurdle Jump Test With Single Leg Landing
Authors: Cavanaugh Mark T. , Aboodarda Saied Jalal , Behm David G.
Published: September 2016

Cavanaugh, MT, Aboodarda, SJ, and Behm, DG. Intrasession and intersession reliability of quadriceps' and hamstrings' electromyography during a standardized hurdle jump test with single leg landing. J Strength Cond Res 31(6): 1601–1609, 2017—The objective of this study was to develop a standardized test to determine quadriceps and hamstrings muscle activation in a position emulating a noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury. We assessed the intrasession and intersession reliability of surface electromyography (EMG) of the dominant leg after single-leg landing from a standardized hurdle jump. Eighteen subjects (10 males, 8 females) participated in 4 repeated sessions. During each session, individuals performed 3 successful jumps over a hurdle set to 75% of their maximal countermovement jump height and landed on their dominant leg. A jump was only considered successful if the individual could maintain the landing position for longer than 2 seconds after initial ground contact. In one of the 4 sessions, subjects were tested again after a 4-minute rest. The activation of the vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), and biceps femoris (BF), were examined by quantifying the root mean squared (RMS) EMG for 2 seconds immediately after the initial contact. Data from all 3 successful jumps were used to generate intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), which were then used to determine intrasession and intersession reliability of surface EMG for each muscle. Intrasession reliability was excellent with ICC values of 0.96, 0.94, and 0.93 for the VL, VM, and BF, respectively. Additionally, intersession ICCs were 0.92 (VL), 0.95 (VM), and 0.94 (BF). The standardized hurdle jump with single-leg landing seemed to be a reliable technique for measuring muscle activation for 3 muscles that contribute to knee stabilization.
Do Neuromuscular Dentistry–Designed Mouthguards Enhance Dynamic Movement Ability in Competitive Athletes?
Authors: Cotter Joshua A. , Jamison Steve T. , Schloemer Sarah A. , Chaudhari Ajit M.W.
Published: September 2016

Cotter, JA, Jamison, ST, Schloemer, SA, and Chaudhari, AMW. Do neuromuscular dentistry–designed mouthguards enhance dynamic movement ability in competitive athletes? J Strength Cond Res 31(6): 1627–1635, 2017—The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a neuromuscular dentistry–designed mouthguard (NMDD) on dynamic movement ability. Forty-two competitive athletes (8 women, 21.9 ± 2.9 years, 66.8 ± 18.8 kg, 1.68 ± 0.11 m; 34 men, 22.8 ± 4.8 years, 77.4 ± 12.7 kg, 1.78 ± 0.08 m) with greater than 2 years' experience in their designated sport were enrolled in the study. Participants completed the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), modified Star Excursion Balance Test (mSEBT), and a single-leg landing (SLL) task. Each subject was tested with 3 separate mouthguard conditions in random order: (a) no mouthguard (NO), (b) over-the-counter boil-and-bite mouthguard (BB; Shockdoctor Gravity, (c) and an NMDD (Pure Power Elite). Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance for each variable. There were no differences between mouthguard conditions in each of the 7 individual components or composite FMS score (p > 0.05). No differences were seen in the anterior, posteromedial, or posterolateral movements of the mSEBT; overall composite score; or time-to-contact measurements (p > 0.05). The BB condition (2.16 Nm·kg−1) exhibited higher peak knee valgus moments (pKVM) on the right leg only when compared with the NMDD condition (1.95 Nm·kg−1; p = 0.003) but not the NO condition (2.09 Nm·kg−1; p = 0.7262) during the SLL task. No differences in pKVM were seen on the left leg (p = 0.324). In conclusion, an NMDD was not effective at enhancing or diminishing measures of dynamic movement ability compared with BB or NO conditions.
Transcription factor ANAC032 modulates JA/SA signalling in response to Pseudomonas syringae infection
Authors: Allu Annapurna Devi , Brotman Yariv , Xue Gang‐Ping , Balazadeh Salma
Published: September 2016

Responses to pathogens, including host transcriptional reprogramming, require partially antagonistic signalling pathways dependent on the phytohormones salicylic (SA) and jasmonic (JA) acids. However, upstream factors modulating the interplay of these pathways are not well characterized. Here, we identify the transcription factor ANAC032 from Arabidopsis thaliana as one such regulator in response to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst). ANAC032 directly represses MYC2 activation upon Pst attack, resulting in blockage of coronatine‐mediated stomatal reopening which restricts entry of bacteria into plant tissue. Furthermore, ANAC032 activates SA signalling by repressing NIMIN1, a key negative regulator of SA‐dependent defence. Finally, ANAC032 reduces expression of JA‐responsive genes, including PDF1.2A. Thus, ANAC032 enhances resistance to Pst by generating an orchestrated transcriptional output towards key SA‐ and JA‐signalling genes coordinated through direct binding of ANAC032 to the MYC2, NIMIN1 and PDF1.2A promoters.
The androgen receptor gene CAG repeat  in relation to 4-year changes in  androgen-sensitive endpoints in  community-dwelling older European men
Authors: Eendebak Robert J A H , Huhtaniemi Ilpo T , Pye Stephen R , Ahern Tomas , O’Neill Terence W , Bartfai György , Casanueva Felipe F , Maggi Mario , Forti Gianni , Alston Robert D , Giwercman Aleksander , Han Thang S , Kula Krzysztof , Lean Michael E J , Punab Margus , Pendleton Neil , Keevil Brian G , Vanderschueren Dirk , Rutter Martin K , Tampubolon Gindo , Goodacre Royston , Wu Frederick C W , _ _
Published: September 2016

Context

The androgen receptor (AR) gene exon 1 CAG repeat length has been proposed to be a determinant of between-individual variations in androgen action in target tissues, which might regulate phenotypic differences of human ageing. However, findings on its phenotypic effects are inconclusive.

Objective

To assess whether the AR CAG repeat length is associated with longitudinal changes in endpoints that are influenced by testosterone (T) levels in middle-aged and elderly European men.

Design

Multinational European observational prospective cohort study.

Participants

A total of 1887 men (mean ± s.d. age: 63 ± 11 years; median follow up: 4.3 years) from centres of eight European countries comprised the analysis sample after exclusion of those with diagnosed diseases of the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular (HPT) axis.

Main outcome measures

Longitudinal associations between the AR CAG repeat and changes in androgen-sensitive endpoints (ASEs) and medical conditions were assessed using regression analysis adjusting for age and centre. The AR CAG repeat length was treated as both a continuous and a categorical (6–20; 21–23; 24–39 repeats) predictor. Additional analysis investigated whether results were independent of baseline T or oestradiol (E2) levels.

Results

The AR CAG repeat, when used as a continuous or a categorical predictor, was not associated with longitudinal changes in ASEs or medical conditions after adjustments. These results were independent of T and E2 levels.

Conclusion

Within a 4-year time frame, variations in the AR CAG repeat do not contribute to the rate of phenotypic ageing, over and above, which might be associated with the age-related decline in T levels.
An Introduction to the Special Issue on Education Policy
Authors: McLaughlin, Jr. Joseph P. , Atherton Michelle J.
Published: September 2016

“An Introduction to the Special Issue on Education Policy” offers some context for big education policy questions facing Pennsylvania. It also previews the individual articles in the special issue.
Higher Standards and Lower Achievement? An Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s Keystone Exams
Authors: McGlynn Adam
Published: September 2016

As the requirement that students pass three Keystone Exams to graduate from high school was set to take effect, a new round of criticisms arose over the adoption of this assessment system. While the Keystone Exams better align with the new Pennsylvania Core Standards as compared to their predecessor, the Pennsylvania System of Student Achievement, low passage rates especially among low-income and minority students have been cited as a reason to delay implementation of the graduation requirement. This work uses OLS regression analysis to explain which factors are most predictive of school-level performance on the Algebra I, Biology, and Literature Keystone Exams. It finds that race, socioeconomic status, and a school’s English Language Learner and special education populations drive performance on the exams. The work concludes by discussing possible policy interventions for the Keystone Exam program going forward.
Special Education Funding in Pennsylvania: The Effects of a Policy of Neglect
Authors: Hartman William T.
Published: September 2016

The past 10 years have seen substantial changes in special education enrollments and funding in Pennsylvania. School district enrollments have been declining slightly, while the number of special education students in charter schools has been increasing. District expenditures for special education have steadily increased, while state subsidies for special education have stagnated for the past six years and the state share of support has declined. This state policy choice has resulted in an increase in districts’ costs of over $500 million to replace the lost state share. Along with the charter school enrollment increases have come substantial district tuition payments to charter schools, totaling over $1 billion from 2009–2010 through 2013–2014. Over half of these payments, $550 million, are in excess of the charter schools’ reported expenditures for special education, providing charter schools with a disguised subsidy for their general operations. The new special education funding formula from the legislature, while a step in the right direction, has not yet provided enough new money to make any substantial difference for district budgets.
The Education Policy Bookshelf: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Studies
Authors: Rubado Meghan E.
Published: September 2016

Meghan E. Rubado’s annotated bibliography provides an index to timely and relevant research on the subject of public education, some of which has clearly influenced the course of the policy debate in the Commonwealth. This resource includes the themes of public finance, fairness, governance, economic development, testing, and lessons from other nations.
The Pennsylvania Political Science Association
Authors: Staff Editorial
Published: September 2016

None
Interest Group Lobbying on a Morality Policy Issue: The Case of Physician-Assisted Suicide in Michigan
Authors: Strate John , Zalman Marvin
Published: September 2016

Interest group lobbying on morality policy issues differs from lobbying on other kinds of issues. In this paper we use insights from the literature on morality policy politics to examine the lobbying of interest groups in Michigan on the issue of physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Morality policy politics is marked by the greater involvement of citizens groups. Citizens groups advocating policies that are publicly popular engage in disproportionate outside lobbying, but their capacity in this regard may be curtailed because of limited resources. Inside lobbying on morality policy issues focuses especially on getting various kinds of help from sympathetic legislators but does not try to change their opinions.
Who are the "Deficit Hawks?": An Analysis of the Concord Coalition Congressional Vote Scores
Authors: Fisher Patrick
Published: September 2016

Which members of Congress are most likely to consistently support policies leading to balanced budgets? Who are the true “deficit hawks” in Congress? This paper analyzes the degree to which the nation’s representatives and senators support policies conducive toward balancing the budget and reducing the national debt, as measured by the annual Fiscal Responsibility scores from 1995-2000 given to members of the House and Senate by the Concord Coalition. An analysis of the Concord Coalition vote scores indicates that a legislator’s party tends to have an important effect on congressional votes on balanced budget priorities, though the direction of partisan influences is not consistent. Fiscal responsibility is related to party preference, but varies over time. That is, for some years being a Republican has a positive effect on scores by the Concord Coalition, in other years there is a positive relationship being a Democrat. The fact that the votes that the Concord Coalition find most relevant to deficit reduction cannot be placed consistently on the left or right of the American ideological spectrum differentiates it from most other interest groups from an ideological perspective.
Different Rules for Different Folks: The Effect of Primary Type on the 2000 Presidential Nomination Process
Authors: Southwell Priscilla L. , Manweller Mathew
Published: September 2016

This research examines both aggregate and individual-level data from the 2000 presidential primaries in order to test: (1) the effect of primary type on the distribution of votes across candidates and the eventual outcome of the state’s primary race; and (2) the extent of strategic voting in more open types of primaries. Multivariate analysis of aggregate primary results suggests that John McCain fared better in states with open or semi-closed primaries. A similar pattern is revealed in California’s “beauty contest” primary. Using ANES data, we also project various primary outcomes under open, semi-closed, and closed scenarios. In both “sincere” and “strategic” models, McCain, but not Bradley, gained in semi-closed and open primaries, but Bush was still the projected Republican winner in all types of primaries. Our analysis of general election behavior shows that independents were the most likely group to switch parties when their preferred primary candidate did not gain the nomination.
Introduction: The Citadel Symposium on Southern Politics
Authors: Kapeluck Branwell D. , Steed Robert P. , Moreland Laurence W.
Published: September 2016

<span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Arial; color: #000000;" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"This issue of The American Review of Politics consists of six articles originally presented at the 2004 Citadel Symposium on Southern Politics, held in Charleston every two years since 1978. The two-day meeting attracted 79 paper presenters and discussants, and the program included over 40 paper presentations, grouped into thirteen panels. While the overriding theme of the conference was southern politics, the topics were quite diverse. Subjects included redistricting, political culture and religion, race and partisanship, the Confederate Flag and symbolic politics, state legislative behavior, southern representation in Congress, historical surveys of southern politics, demographic evolution of the region and public policy in the South."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":2111744,"11":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial,sans,sans-serif","16":10,"24":{"1":0,"2":3,"3":0,"4":3}}">This issue of The American Review of Politics consists of six articles originally presented at the 2004 Citadel Symposium on Southern Politics, held in Charleston every two years since 1978. The two-day meeting attracted 79 paper presenters and discussants, and the program included over 40 paper presentations, grouped into thirteen panels. While the overriding theme of the conference was southern politics, the topics were quite diverse. Subjects included redistricting, political culture and religion, race and partisanship, the Confederate Flag and symbolic politics, state legislative behavior, southern representation in Congress, historical surveys of southern politics, demographic evolution of the region and public policy in the South.
Strategic Political Support for Term Limits
Authors: Battista James Coleman
Published: September 2016

I create a simple formal model of support for term limits which predicts that respondents in districts represented by the other party should more strongly favor term limits. An additional layer of theory predicts that weak Democrats and strong Republicans should be most responsive to the incentives illustrated in the formal model. Using the 1992, 1994, and 1998 National Election Studies, I find support for both of these hypotheses.
Cultural Politics: Legislating Morality in the States
Authors: Stiles Elizabeth A.
Published: September 2016

We derive predictions from several social movement theories-grievance, resource mobilization, and political process-regarding social movement behavior with respect to bill introductions and bill progress in state legislatures. We test these predictions using an original dataset gathered in six states on legislation in issue areas important to the Christian Right. Results show some support for predictions generated by all three theories. In the introductions model, Christian Right strength in the Republican Party and Republican control of lawmaking in the state are positive predictors of the amount of socially conservative bill introductions. Liberal state ideologies are also, counter intuitively, associated with more conservative bill introductions. The dispositions model shows that liberal socio-moral bills are actually more likely to pass than conservative ones and that socio-moral bills (regardless of ideology) enjoy more legislative success in states with conservative political ideologies.
The Validity and Accuracy of Commonly Used Ideology Measures: A Consumer's Guide
Authors: Bishin Benjamin G.
Published: September 2016

Are measures of legislator ideology derived from behavior accurate and valid? Past research says yes. However, the benchmarks used to reach these conclusions are often also based on legislators’ public actions. Non-ideological factors that cause legislators to take specific issue positions may be highly related across measures and mistakenly lead scholars to believe that action-based estimates are valid. This question is important because scholars frequently wish to use action-based ideology estimates as explanatory variables. Without independent validation, it is unclear whether the results of these studies are valid or the product of measurement error. Applying an ideological benchmark that is not based on legislators actions, I evaluate the validity of several commonly used ideology measures. The results show that action-based ideology measures produce valid estimates of legislator ideology.
The Effects of Dramatized Political News on Public Opinion
Authors: Morris Jonathan S.
Published: September 2016

Today’s American political news environment is more fragmented than ever before. In order to attract a larger audience, many political news reporters, editors, and producers work to create a product that is not only informative, but also entertaining and compelling. A popular method of achieving this goal is to dramatize news coverage of politics. While the goal of dramatizing the news is to entertain, previous research has discussed a number of possible side effects. Empirical evidence on this subject, however, is seriously lacking. Using a controlled laboratory experiment, this article analyzes the effect of dramatically embellished news on public opinion. The results indicate that, although entertaining for some, dramatically embellished political news has some negative effects on larger political attitudes, including overall support for political leaders and trust in the news media.
Bomb Plans on the Internet: The Case for Constitutional Protection
Authors: Breslin Beau
Published: September 2016

This article addresses the central constitutional questions surrounding the debate over regulating speech that includes educational designs for bomb making. The aim of the article is to provide an additional, and in many ways, alternative justification for broad constitutional protection based on the core principles of free speech itself, and on the Court’s historical treatment of differing subject matter. I argue that in addition to the more traditional First Amendment rules of over breadth and vagueness, it is also important to consider the judiciary’s evaluation of the content of speech itself when drawing conclusions about the constitutionality of legislation suppressing designs for the construction of violent material. Unlike unprotected speech, expression that includes designs for constructing explosives warrants constitutional protection because it belongs most closely to a category of speech-namely, scientific speech-that has traditionally been afforded protection.
The Structure of Party Competition in the South: The Case of Florida
Authors: Knuckey Jonathan
Published: September 2016

Although Florida has evolved from a one-party system into an intensely competitive two-party system, many studies of the state’s partisan and electoral politics continue to stress the importance of candidate-centered voting and weak party attachments, characteristics of a dealigned party system. This paper argues that such conclusions, based primarily on studies that employ individual-level data, are misleading. The paper examines the structure of the party vote across different political offices utilizing aggregate-level election returns at the county level through principal components factor analysis. Findings indicate that the New Deal vote alignment was disrupted at the presidential level in the 1960s, and a new stable alignment emerged in 1972. Consistent with the notion of a “top-down” or “creeping” realignment, the Post-New Deal alignment penetrated elections for U.S. Senate and governor from 1986 onwards, but came to structure cabinet office elections more gradually, with a culmination of this realignment in the 1990s. Overall, the paper argues that studies relying exclusively on individual-level data to examine Florida’s partisan and electoral politics have overlooked a great deal of structure and stability underlying the vote in this politically important state.
Race and the Ideological Transformation of the Democratic Party: Evidence from the Bayou State
Authors: Hood M. V.
Published: September 2016

There is little doubt that the Democratic Party in the South has become decidedly more liberal over the last several decades. Not as much is known, however, about the extent of this ideological shift (measured in some quantifiable metric), nor the exact causes of this phenomenon. Many have credited the noted ideological sea change with the en masse re-enfranchisement of blacks in the region. In order to test the validity of this claim, aggregate-level data from Louisiana were combined with individual-level survey data to create an ideological profile for the Democratic Party in the Bayou State. Decomposing the transformation by racial groups leads to a counterintuitive finding: over time, blacks have actually served as a moderating force within the party structure. In addition, the white contingent of the Democratic Party has become increasingly more liberal as the proportion of blacks within the party structure has increased.
Victim or Victor of the 'Culture War?' How Cultural Issues Affect Support for George W. Bush in Rural America
Authors: Francia Peter L. , Baumgartner Jody
Published: September 2016

Several studies have challenged the conclusions of Fiorina et al., that there is no ”culture war” that divides America. A recent book by Thomas Frank, however, argues that cultural divisions not only exist, but are critical to understanding Republican success. This study contributes to this literature by examining how individual positions on cultural issues affect support for George W. Bush in rural America. Using both county-level data and individual-level data, our results demonstrate that there are significant differences between rural and urban residents, and that George W. Bush’s success in rural communities during the 2004 election was at least partly a function of his socially conservative position on the issue of gay marriage.
The Paradox of Multiple Elections and Divided Government
Authors: Lowenthal Diane
Published: September 2016

In this paper, I identify a relationship between the paradox of multiple elections (PME) (Brams, Kilgour, and Zwicker 1997, 1998) and divided government. PME occurs when voters who face several elections may not know the results of one election before they vote in another. Often the winning combination (the set of winners of each individual election) is not a combination that most voters prefer. ANES data shows that when elections result in divided government PME emerges; when elections result in one party rule, PME is not present. While the 2000 elections break a pattern found in the 12 previous presidential elections, a new definition explains the anomaly. This study concludes that elections reflect majority preferences when they exist, but otherwise tend to be some-hat arbitrary.
Reinvesting Government: Financing Options for Military Base Redevelopment
Authors: Hansen Kenneth N. , Stumm Theodore J.
Published: September 2016

This paper explores the issues of “privatization in place” versus public enterprise with regard to military base redevelopment. Three case studies are used to examine three research proposals having to do with public involvement, market solutions and policy outcomes. We find that while politically popular, privatization provides little in the way of civilian job creation and income replacement at former military bases. Instead, the case of Alexandria, Louisiana, supports the idea that public enterprise authorities can and do provide economic recovery for their communities. The federal government seems to agree given that privatization was not an option for base conversions in the 2005 closure round.
Introduction: The 2004 Presidential Election and Southern Politics
Authors: Moreland Laurence W. , Steed Robert P.
Published: September 2016

We are pleased to serve as guest editors of this special double issue of The American Review of Politics. The articles, which follow all, relate to how the 2004 presidential election played out in the eleven states of the Old Confederacy and, at least by implication, to how partisan change in these states has impacted national politics. This series of articles largely reflects the concept and format of the series of five volumes, all published by Praeger Publishers, which we began with the 1984 presidential election. The first three of these volumes were coedited by us together with our friend and colleague, the late Tod A. Baker, with the last two volumes edited by us after Tod’s retirement.1 In all five volumes in the series, our contributors sought to place southern politics in the context of national politics, and they worked to provide insights into a politically increasingly important region of the country where partisan change since the 1960s has been pervasive across the region and where it has had powerful implications for the Republican Party and, in turn, our nation’s politics.
South Carolina: Republican Success, Democratic Decline
Authors: Moreland Laurence W. , Steed Robert P.
Published: September 2016

In 2004 South Carolina continued to play an increasingly familiar role: a critical battleground state in the presidential nomination process but a minor, generally ignored player in the general election. South Carolina has become such a reliable source of eight electoral votes for Republican presidential candidates that the state no longer figures in presidential campaign strategies. Republican presidential candidates assume that the state will be a nearly fail-safe “red state” with little or no effort, and Democratic presidential candidates assume with a high degree of certainty that the state will once again be a Republican stronghold, regard-less of what happens elsewhere. In the 2004 presidential election these assumptions quickly turned into hard facts early on in the election cycle. Indeed, beginning with the 1964 presidential election, Republican presidential candidates have carried the state in ten of the eleven presidential contests to date, with only 1976 standing as the lone exception (when Georgia neighbor Jimmy Carter carried the state).
Virginia: The Triumph of Experience Over Hope
Authors: McGlennon John J.
Published: September 2016

Each fall, the nation’s newspapers’ Sunday comic sections include a classic representation of unfailing optimism confronting harsh reality. Lucy Van Pelt, the crabby protagonist of “Peanuts” fame, once again offers the eternally hopeful Charlie Brown the opportunity to relish the thrill of place-kicking a football into the crisp autumn air. Though he knows he’s been cruelly tricked before, each year Charlie Brown finally succumbs to the possibility that this will finally be his year. As he races toward the ball, Lucy once again snatches it off the ground, leaving our hero flat on his back, ruing his gullibility. Every four years, Virginia’s Democrats approach the Presidential election with much the same script. With varying degrees of encouragement from presidential candidates and national party leaders, the only question confronting them seems to be how close they can get to the ball before it is snatched away. In 2004, the ball stayed on the ground longer than usual, but ultimately Virginia once again cast its electoral votes for the Republican ticket in the national election. President George W. Bush defeated Senator John F. Kerry by a margin of 53 to 45 percent, almost identical to the 2000 election results despite a significant expenditure of resources on behalf of Kerry.
White Voters, Black Representatives, and Candidates of Choice
Authors: Bullock Charles S. , Gaddie Ronald Keith , Smith Ben
Published: September 2016

The challenge of minority representation is an important area of public policy that relies heavily on the work of political scientists. Minority voting rights in the United States encompasses not just access to the ballot, but also guarantees that the ballot has meaning in areas with historic discrimination. In this paper we explore the nomination and election of African-American congressional representatives, with an emphasis on the unsuccessful primary re-nomination fight of Cynthia McKinney. Relying on both precinct level racial participation data and also unique, voter-level information on the partisanship of all white primary participants, we ascertain the extent to which the African-American incumbent’s loss to an African-American challenger was a product of strategic voting by white Republicans under Georgia’s open primary law. We also draw conclusions about the implications of such strategic white voting for the election of African-American candidates of choice, and discuss the implications of those conclusions for the interpretation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Partisan Appraisals of Party Defectors: Looking Back at the Reagan Democrats
Authors: Borquez Julio
Published: September 2016

Using data from the 1980-1992 National Election Studies, this paper compares the policy and partisan views of three sets of voters: (1) “loyal” Democrats who voted for their party’s presidential candidates; (2)“defecting” Democrats who voted for Ronald Reagan or George Bush; (3) loyal Republicans. During the 1980s, the defectors were commonly labeled “Reagan Democrats,” and the conventional wisdom at the time was that Reagan Democrats were disenchanted with the liberal tilt of the “national” Democratic Party, especially on issues related to race and redistribution. The analysis shows that defecting Democrats were indeed strikingly conservative on racial policy questions, and in some cases were statistically indistinguishable from Republicans. At the same time, Reagan Democrats expressed preferences on “safety net” issues like Social Security that put them squarely within the Democratic Party mainstream. In response to open-ended questions asking what they liked or disliked about the two major parties, Reagan Democrats offered generally favorable appraisals of their party.
Georgia: The GOP Tightens Its Grip
Authors: Bullock Charles S.
Published: September 2016

The presidential election season came to an early end in Georgia. Because the state was universally acknowledged as being safe for President Bush, the parties did not contest its Electoral College votes. The focus of the 2004 election cycle in Georgia came further down the ballot. The election marked the first time that Georgia elected a second Republican senator. The state had one of only three instances in which a House incumbent whose congressional seat had not been redistricted lost. Even more dramatically, Republicans took control of both chambers of the state legislature for the first time in more than 130 years.
Economies and Politics: Egocentric or Sociotropic?
Authors: Lockerbie Brad
Published: September 2016

Since at least the late 1970s, we have had to grapple with the question of how economics influences politics. Before scholars made use of extensive survey research, most observers, noting the relationship between the state of the economy and election outcomes, argued that individual voters were driven by their own financial concerns. Using survey data, scholars found that individual economic concerns were not strongly related to vote choice. The work of Kinder and Kiewiet (1979, 1981) further upset this consensus by showing that voters were more concerned with the collective than their own concerns. The research presented here, making use of the rather unique 1992 ANES, argues that voters are concerned with both. The apparent non-existent relationship between egocentric economic evaluations and political evaluations is the result of question wording. When appropriately worded egocentric and sociotropic economic survey items are put in equations predicting political phenomena, both are important.
Race, Party, and Representation: Health Care Attitudes in a Modern Southern State
Authors: Breaux David A. , Goodman Doug , Patrick Barbara , Shaffer Stephen D.
Published: September 2016

The quality of representation is assessed on the important issue of health care and in an historically traditionalistic southern state. Comparing surveys of Mississippi residents and state legislators, we find that representation has been promoted by the enfranchisement of African Americans and the rise of competitive political parties. Policy opinions on this single domestic issue are multidimensional, as proactive, provider, and services dimensions exist. Lawmakers serve as trustees on the proactive and provider dimensions, being more supportive of these programs than the public with Democrats particularly enthusiastic with proactive programs and Republicans particularly favoring the provider dimension. The parties diverge on services, where Democrats are more supportive and Republicans less supportive than average citizens.
A Novel Minimally Invasive Technique of Using Tooth-Borne Hyrax Expansion Screw for Distraction Osteogenesis of Large Alveolar Cleft Defects (HYDIS-TB)
Authors: Neha  , Tripathi Tulika , Mohanty Sujata , Rai Priyank
Published: September 2016

Because of the high failure rates, large alveolar cleft defects cannot be successfully closed with bone grafting. Vega introduced the use of the hyrax screw for the closure of such defects by distraction osteogenesis. However, his technique was more invasive with a difficult adaptation of the appliance at the surgical table. To overcome these limitations, a completely tooth-borne trifocal distraction appliance was devised and placed after osteotomy in a 22-year-old repaired group 3 cleft patient who had a 15-mm alveolar defect on the right side. The tooth-borne trifocal distraction appliance was successful in the controlled closure of a large alveolar cleft with minimal invasiveness and low costs making this procedure feasible for a greater number of patients.
Balancing polyelectrolyte diffusion and clay deposition for high gas barrier
Authors: Hagen David A. , Song Yixuan , Saucier Lauren , Milhorn Aaron , Stevens Bart , Grunlan Jaime C.
Published: September 2016

The use of clay nanoplatelets in layer-by-layer assembled thin films (50–200 nm thick) has been shown to reduce the oxygen transmission rates of polymer thick film substrates (>12 µm) by many orders of magnitude. In an effort to reduce the thickness and number of deposited layers required to achieve high gas barrier, the pH of the montmorillonite (MMT) clay aqueous suspension was reduced. Growth of a repeating sequence of polyethylenimine (PEI)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)/PEI/MMT was reduced when the MMT pH was lowered from 10 to 6. This reduced pH causes the preceding PEI layer to be more charged, which causes more clay to be deposited per layer. Just three PEI/PAA/PEI/MMT quad layers (44 nm thick) exhibit an undetectable oxygen transmission rate (<0·005 cm3/(m2 d atm)) on a 179 µm thick poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate. As the clay deposition pH is altered, there is a compromise between high polymer diffusion (at pH 10) and high clay deposition that increases with decreasing pH. Clay at pH 6 provides the best compromise of dense packing and adequate spacing between layers. The three-quad layer film on PET exhibits an oxygen permeability orders of magnitude below silicon oxide (SiOx) and metal thin films (<5 × 10−22 cm3 cm/(cm2 s Pa)).
Motivations of young people to study landscape architecture
Authors: Lawson Gillian M. , Flanders Cushing Debra , Taborda Claudia
Published: September 2016

Landscape architecture is a field of interdisciplinary education in the built environment that struggles to recruit young people. This project seeks to understand the possible reasons for this through an exploration of first year student expectations, sources of motivations and career aspirations at an Australian university. The findings have shown that student motivations were often linked to their love of the environment in their daily lives. Expectations of university study were part-time, low-cost, ‘on-the-job’ training based on earlier life experiences. Aspirations focused on improving the built environment through working in a commercial design practice. This research concludes that recruitment practices need to invite school teachers, vocational educators and community group leaders in the arts and environmental sciences to experience landscape architectural practice. Further work is needed to identify the best ways to connect these key people to practising landscape architects to aid in understanding the career possibilities of this interdisciplinary field.
Assessment of social sustainability: a comparative analysis
Authors: Abed Amal R.
Published: September 2016

Sustainable development is a widely used term, which has been discussed thoroughly at environmental, economic and social levels. While prior researches were dominated initially by environmental issues and economic aspects, social dimension had less chance of study. Therefore, the goal of this study is to understand the physical and non-physical aspects of social sustainability and to assess its application in housing developments. In this research, a mixed method approach was used to assess social sustainability in different typologies of housing development. Two residential compounds and its surroundings were investigated. Morphological analysis for the research setting was conducted along with statistical analysis for the collected data from households. As a result, there was a salient difference between compound and its surroundings. This can be seen clearly in the case of serious trial to improve social sustainability represented by providing vital open spaces associated with a well-designed facility. This helps to create various forms of social interaction and boosts a sense of belonging which will affect positively on social sustainability. Meanwhile, poor design creates negative energy due to the absence of social sustainability parameters. So, there is a need to consider the role of social infrastructure in designing and planning residential development.
Editorial: Augmenting Learning Analytics with Multimodal Sensory Data​
Authors: Ochoa Xavier , Worsley Marcelo
Published: September 2016

The goal of Learning Analytics is to understand and improve learning.  However, learning does not always occur through or mediated by a technological system that can collect digital traces.  To be able to study learning in non-technology centered environments, several signals, such as video and audio, should be captured, processed and analyzed to produce traces of the actions and interactions of the actors of the learning process. The use and integration of the different modalities present in those signals is known as Multimodal Learning Analytics.  This editorial presents a brief introduction to this new variation of Learning Analytics and summarizes the four representative articles included in this special issue.  The editorial closes with a small discussion about the current opportunities and challenges in multimodal learning analytics.
Editorial: Datasets for Learning Analytics
Authors: Dietze Stefan , Siemens George , Taibi Davide , Drachsler Hendrik
Published: September 2016

The European LinkedUp and LACE (Learning Analytics Community Exchange) project have been responsible for setting up a series of data challenges at the LAK conferences 2013 and 2014 around the LAK dataset. The LAK datasets consists of a rich collection of full text publications in the domain of Learning Analytics and Educational Data Mining. The LAK dataset offers publicly available, machine-readable versions of research articles from the Learning Analytics and Educational Data Mining communities in various formats, where the main goal is to facilitate research, analysis, and smart explorative applications. Based on the insights gained from these data challenges, the idea was born to make more Learning Analytics data sets publicly available for researchers to get to a more open access data-driven research community within Learning Analytics. With this special section, we publish four data sets that answered the call for data sets by the journal. It is our vision to collect more data sets like these in this initial collection and reward their creators through citing the datasets and connecting new research outcomes to them.
Adaptive Geography Practice Data Set
Authors: Papoušek Jan , Pelánek Radek , Stanislav Vít
Published: September 2016

We present a data set on student learning of geography facts in an open online system slepemapy.cz. The data set has simple format with intuitive interpretation. At the same time it offers rich possibilities for modelling and analysis, for example of prior knowledge, forgetting or response times.
Peer Assessment Dataset
Authors: Vozniuk Andrii , Holzer Adrian , Gillet Denis
Published: September 2016

Peer assessment is seen as a powerful supporting tool to achieve scalability in the evaluation of complex assignments in large courses, possibly virtual ones, as in the context of massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, the adoption of peer assessment is slow due in part to the lack of ready-to-use systems. Furthermore, the validity of peer assessment is still under discussion. In this paper, in order to tackle some of these issues, we present a dataset containing assessment of student submissions by peer students and by instructors during our Social Media course with 60 master's level university students. The dataset allows to train and test algorithms predicting grades of instructors based on grades of peer students.
Analytics for Knowledge Creation: Towards Epistemic Agency and Design-Mode Thinking
Authors: Chen Bodong , Zhang Jianwei
Published: September 2016

Innovation and knowledge creation call for high-level epistemic agency and design-mode thinking, two competencies beyond the traditional scopes of schooling. In this paper, we discuss the need for learning analytics to support these two competencies, and more broadly, the demand for education for innovation. We ground these arguments on a distinctive Knowledge Building pedagogy that treats education as a knowledge-creation enterprise. By critiquing current learning analytics for their focus on static-state knowledge and skills, we argue for agency-driven, choice-based analytics more attuned to higher order competencies in innovation. We further describe ongoing learning analytics initiatives that attend to these elements of design. Prospects and challenges are discussed, as well as broader issues regarding analytics for higher order competencies.
NICU Culture of Care for Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Focused Ethnography
Authors: Nelson Monica Marie
Published: September 2016

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this focused ethnography was to describe the culture of care and nonpharmacologic nursing interventions performed by NICU nurses for infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).

Method: Roper and Shapira’s1 framework for the analysis included participant observation, individual interviews, and examination of existing documents.

Sample: Twelve full-time nurses were observed and interviewed.

Results: Results described the culture of care provided to infants with NAS by NICU nurses as evidenced by six themes: learn the baby (routine care, comfort care, environment, adequate rest and sleep, feeding), core team relationships (support, interpersonal relationships), role satisfaction (nurturer/comforter, becoming an expert), grief, making a difference (wonderful insanity, critical to them), and education and care of the mother.