bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Executive Personality, Capability Cues, and Risk Taking
Authors: Chatterjee Arijit , Hambrick Donald C.
Published: December 2011

We adopt an interactionist logic to study the determinants of risk taking by chief executive officers (CEOs). We introduce the concept of “capability cues”—contextual signals that decision makers might reasonably interpret as indicators of their current level of overall ability—arguing that positive cues will induce boldness, while negative cues will induce timidity. Then, drawing from prior theory about how narcissists react to stimuli, we hypothesize that highly narcissistic CEOs will be relatively unresponsive to objective indicators of their performance; in contrast, highly narcissistic CEOs will be exceptionally emboldened by social praise (in the forms of media praise and media awards). We test our theory in two distinct studies, one of risky outlays by CEOs of publicly owned U.S. companies from 1992 to 2006, and a second of acquisition premiums paid by CEOs of a sample of U.S. acquiring firms, 2001–2008. Our analyses show that capability cues generally influence executive risk taking, but highly narcissistic CEOs are much less responsive to recent objective performance than their less narcissistic peers; in contrast, highly narcissistic CEOs are especially bolstered by social praise.
How Product Order Affects Market Identity
Authors: Kim Bo Kyung , Jensen Michael
Published: December 2011

In this study, we view market identities as interfaces between organizations and their external audiences and examine how the perceived market appeal of organizations can be influenced by the order in which the products or product features that determine their market identities are offered. We theorize that when audiences have different product preferences, organizations may increase their perceived appeal to some or all audiences by making certain features more or less salient through different orderings without making substantive changes to their products or product portfolios. We find strong support for our arguments in statistical analyses of the market identities of U.S. opera companies from 1995 to 2005. When opera companies group unconventional operas together, their market appeal decreases among season-ticket holders, an audience for whom unconventional opera is less appealing, but increases among opera critics, an audience for whom unconventional opera is more appealing.
Rotating Leadership and Collaborative Innovation
Authors: Davis Jason P. , Eisenhardt Kathleen M.
Published: December 2011

Using a multiple-case, inductive study of eight technology collaborations between ten organizations in the global computing and communications industries between 2001 and 2006 this paper examines why some interorganizational relationships produce technological innovations while others do not. Comparisons of more and less innovative collaborations show that high-performing collaborative innovation involves more than possessing the appropriate structural antecedents (e.g., R&D capabilities, social embeddedness) suggested by prior alliance studies. Rather, it also involves dynamic organizational processes associated with collaboration partners’ leadership roles that solve critical innovation problems related to recombination across boundaries. While dominating and consensus leadership processes are associated with less innovation, a rotating leadership process is associated with more innovation. It involves alternating decision control that accesses the complementary capabilities of both partner organizations, zig-zagging objectives that engender deep and broad technological search for potential innovations, and fluctuating network cascades that mobilize different participants who bring variable inputs to recombination. The paper also discusses recombination mechanisms in the organization of collaborative innovation, variations in the performance of dynamic interorganizational ties, and how organizations develop symbiotic relationships that overcome the tendency of long-lived relationships toward inertia.
Constructing Accountability
Authors: Hellwig Timothy
Published: December 2011

A positive relationship between economic performance and support for incumbents is routinely taken as evidence that elections work for accountability. Recent investigations into this relationship have examined just how signals from the economy translate into popular support. However, neither selection models nor sanctioning models explicitly incorporate the actions of political elites. This article advances a strategic parties model of economic voting. Political incumbents have incentives to adjust their policy positions in response to economic conditions. When parties advocate distinct positions on economic issues, elections can be understood in terms of economic conditions. But when party positions converge, the quality of economic information declines. Incumbents can thus improve their chances of avoiding blame for a poor economy—or of claiming credit for a good one—by adjusting positions in policy space. Analyses of party positions, economic conditions, and election outcomes in 17 democracies over 35 years support this prediction.
Evaluation of porous membrane core elasticity and porous morphology for polypyrrole trilayer actuators
Authors: Price AD , Gillen T , Liu CC , O'Shaughnessy CA , Naguib HE
Published: December 2011

Multilayer electroactive polymer actuators consisting of polypyrrole films electropolymerized on a passive polymer membrane core have been harnessed as a source of simple actuation. As an integral component of the actuator, the membrane plays a vital role in the transport of ionic species and largely dictates the stiffness of the layered configuration, yet in past studies the specification of the membrane has remained largely arbitrary. In this investigation, we use quasi-static and dynamic mechanical analysis to investigate the impact of the mechanical properties of the membrane on the actuation response of polypyrrole-based trilayer bending actuators. Candidate materials with distinctly varied microcellular morphologies are identified and include polyvinylidene difluoride, nylon, and nitrocellulose. The quasi-static stress-strain response and the frequency-dependent viscoelastic nature of the candidates are then evaluated. On the basis of mechanical properties these results indicate that polyvinylidene difluoride membranes are superior to the other candidates for application as trilayer actuator cores. Bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide doped polypyrrole actuators with polyvinylidene difluoride cores and nylon cores are then fabricated under various synthesis conditions and their electromechanical actuation behavior is reported.
Structural and mechanical properties of flexible polyurethane foams cured under pressure
Authors: Rampf Markus , Speck Olga , Speck Thomas , Luchsinger Rolf H
Published: December 2011

Flexible two-component polyurethane foam was synthesized under various extents of overpressure up to 2 bar. The influence of the pressure conditions on shrinkage and basic foam properties such as the relative density, microstructure, and ratio of open to closed pores as well as the elastic mechanical properties were investigated. The relationship between the relative foam density and the applied overpressure is shown to be rather linear. An abrupt change of the mainly open pore structure to essentially closed-cell foam was found in the narrow range between 50% and 60% relative density. A way to control the shrinkage properties of closed-cell foam via the extent and duration of overpressure applied during the foam synthesis was found and a hypothetic qualitative model describing the basic underlying mechanisms is given. Closed-cell flexible foam showing no effective shrinkage was produced this way. The achieved foam properties display an interesting potential for the application as e.g. gasket material.
Effect of CO2 laser irradiation on the properties of cotton fabric
Authors: Chow YL Florence , Chan Allan , Kan Chi-wai
Published: December 2011

In this paper, a CO2 laser was used for treating cotton fabric. By controlling the laser process parameters, resolution (40, 50 and 60 dpi) and pixel time (100, 110 and 120 µs), the fabric properties changed accordingly. Fabric weight and strength decreased with increase of resolution and pixel time. However, yellowing was observed in laser treated cotton fabric but the extent of this yellowing was nearly the same under different laser process parameters. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the surface morphology of cotton fiber was modified and it was believed that the low stress mechanical properties of the fabric were also modified. The low stress mechanical properties were evaluated by the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabric (KES-F). The results were thoroughly evaluated and discussed. Dyeing performance of the laser treated fabric was evaluated in terms of dyeability, rate of exhaustion and color fastness. According to the reflectance curves, laser treatment reduced the amount of direct dye absorbed by the fabric and resulted in a higher reflectance. K/S values showed a decreased color strength when the resolution and pixel time were increased. The exhaustion curves indicated that laser treatment could cause color fading on cotton and a slight increase in the time of half dyeing (t½) compared with untreated sample. In terms of color fastness to washing, laser treated samples performed the same as the untreated sample, irrespective of the resolution and pixel time. Laser treated samples had relatively poor crocking results when compared with the untreated sample.
Context-Dependence in Searle’s Impossibility Argument
Authors: Weber Elijah
Published: December 2011

John Searle claims that social-scientific laws are impossible because social phenomena are physically open-ended. William Butchard and Robert D’Amico have recently argued that, by Searle’s own lights, money is a social phenomena that is physically closed. However, Butchard and D’Amico rely on a limited set of data in order to draw this conclusion, and fail to appreciate the implications of Searle’s theory of social ontology with regard to the physical open-endedness of money. Money is not physically open-ended in the strong sense that Butchard and D’Amico require, and their argument for the possibility of social-scientific laws fails as a result.
The Effect of Public Social Context on Self-Control
Authors: Uziel Liad , Baumeister Roy F.
Published: December 2011

The present study explores the role of personality in moderating the effect of public social context on self-control. The authors predicted that in public settings neuroticism would be associated with ego-depletion effects and individual differences in impression management (IM) would be associated with restoration effects. Three experiments supported the hypothesis. In Study 1 neuroticism was associated with impaired self-control and IM was associated with enhanced self-control following an initial phase of working on a simple task in public (vs. in private). Study 2 replicated and extended these results to other domains of self-control. Study 3 explored whether public social context can cancel out early depletion effects. In this study, depleted participants engaged in a task that required self-control either alone or in public. As expected, the public settings were associated with restored self-control resources mostly among high IM individuals. Implications for self-control, neuroticism, and IM are discussed.
Do Agreeableness and Neuroticism Explain Age Differences in the Tendency to Forgive Others?
Authors: Steiner Marianne , Allemand Mathias , McCullough Michael E.
Published: December 2011

Previous research has shown that age is positively related to a dispositional tendency to forgive others. The present investigation tested the hypothesis that agreeableness and neuroticism partially mediate the association between age and forgivingness. Data from two representative cross-sectional samples of adults were used to test this hypothesis. Results from Study 1 ( N = 962, age range: 19–84 years) support the hypothesis, indicating that agreeableness and neuroticism explained, in part, age differences in tendencies to forgive. Study 2 ( N = 451, age range: 20–83 years) replicated and extended the results by including transgression occurrences as a third mediator. The results showed that agreeableness and neuroticism explain the association between age and the tendency to forgive others over and above the effect of transgression occurrences.
Robot learning from demonstration by constructing skill trees
Authors: Konidaris George , Kuindersma Scott , Grupen Roderic , Barto Andrew
Published: December 2011

We describe CST, an online algorithm for constructing skill trees from demonstration trajectories. CST segments a demonstration trajectory into a chain of component skills, where each skill has a goal and is assigned a suitable abstraction from an abstraction library. These properties permit skills to be improved efficiently using a policy learning algorithm. Chains from multiple demonstration trajectories are merged into a skill tree. We show that CST can be used to acquire skills from human demonstration in a dynamic continuous domain, and from both expert demonstration and learned control sequences on the uBot-5 mobile manipulator.
Material strength knock-down resulting from multiple randomly positioned voids
Authors: McMillan Alison J.
Published: December 2011

To give a better understanding of the impact of manufacturing defects and porosity on the strength of composite components, the strength knock-down of a material containing multiple voids or flaws is characterized. The voids are modeled as elliptical holes with equal size but random position and orientation on a 2D square domain, and modeled using a semi-automated Finite Element approach. Edge traction forces apply a uniform nominal shear stress, and a relatively coarse mesh is chosen in order to average out highly localized stresses and reveal trends in stress intensity as porosity is increased. A Weibull analysis of the localized peak stresses for different levels of porosity is undertaken. It was found that although void shape and percentage porosity levels play a role in the strength reduction, the critical factor is the variation of distance between the voids. Void distributions which are more homogeneous exhibit ‘defender hole’ stress shielding characteristics and show significantly less strength reduction.
Use of Brief Intelligence Tests in the Identification of Giftedness
Authors: Pierson Eric E. , Kilmer Lydia M. , Rothlisberg Barbara A. , McIntosh David E.
Published: December 2011

Schools often administer brief intelligence tests as the first step in the identification of students who are cognitively gifted. However, brief measures are often used without consideration of underlying constructs or the psychometric properties of the measures and without regard to the links between screening decisions and educational programming. This article provides an overview of these issues and offers recommendations for using brief intelligence measures particularly when screening children who are cognitively gifted.
Identifying and Assessing Creativity as a Component of Giftedness
Authors: Kaufman James C. , Plucker Jonathan A. , Russell Christina M.
Published: December 2011

Most theories of giftedness include creativity as a central component. Creativity assessment has a key role, therefore, in measuring giftedness. This article reviews the state of the creativity assessment, from divergent thinking tests (including the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) to the consensual assessment technique to rating scales and self assessments. Despite the many flaws present in every type of creativity measurement, there are compelling reasons for including creativity as part of a gifted assessment battery.
To Die Laughing
Authors: Bradatan Costica
Published: December 2011

The article proposes an interdisciplinary introduction to the notion of the political world as farce. More exactly, it advances the argument that, despite experiencing the world as a joke of cosmic proportions, an individual can still create meaning even in the most meaningless conditions (concentration camps, totalitarian societies, etc.). The article traces the presence of the topic in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov and Primo Levi’s Se questo è un uomo and discusses the particular case of Milan Kundera, for whom the historical world appears as nothing but a cruel joke. The treatment of the topic is framed in relation to the theologia ludens tradition, the theatrical elements of Communism, as well as the process of meaning creation in conditions of meaninglessness.
Open Secrets and Knowing Smiles
Authors: Ledeneva Alena
Published: December 2011

Given the importance of informal ways of getting things done in postsocialist societies, research into the field of unwritten rules and informal practices has been slow to develop. In studying such rules and practices, the researcher often encounters skepticism or hostility stemming from the ways in which people relate to tacit agreements, or else she or he is greeted by an ambivalent smile of complicity—a knowing smile. This article draws a connection between knowing smiles and open secrets and argues that these notions illuminate a great deal about how the “grey areas” of social life function. It also suggests that such seemingly trivial aspects of everyday life can reveal profound features of social institutions and point in the direction of innovative research.
Going West
Authors: Zahra Tara
Published: December 2011

“Going West” explores the potential of integrating East European History into broader histories of Europe and the world. Placing the history of Eastern Europe in a European context, I argue, may enable us to challenge the tropes of backwardness, pathology, and violence that still dominate the field. I also suggest that historians explore the extent to which conceptions of minority rights, development, and humanitarianism first developed in Eastern Europe radiated beyond the region in the twentieth century.
Women Breaking the Silence
Authors: Sasson-Levy Orna , Levy Yagil , Lomsky-Feder Edna
Published: December 2011

This paper analyzes how military service can be a source of women’s antiwar voices, using the Israeli case of “Women Breaking the Silence” (WBS). WBS is a collection of testimonies from Israeli women ex-soldiers who have served in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The WBS testimonies change the nature of women’s antiwar protest by offering a new, paradoxical source of symbolic legitimacy for women’s antiwar discourse from the gendered marginalized position of “outsiders within” the military. From this contradictory standpoint, the women soldiers offer a critical gendered voice, which focuses on criticism of the combat masculinity and gendered identification with the Palestinian “other.” While they reaffirm the republican ethos that grants political dominance to male soldiers, they also deconstruct the image of hegemonic masculinity as the emblem of the nation and undermine gendered militarized norms.
Breadwinning Wives and “Left-Behind” Husbands
Authors: Hoang Lan Anh , Yeoh Brenda S. A.
Published: December 2011

This article explores an aspect of women’s transnational labor migration that has been understudied in many labor-sending countries: how men experience shifts in the household labor division triggered by women’s migration. In so doing, we shed light on the diverse ways notions of masculinity and gender identities are being reworked and renegotiated in the transnational family. Drawing on qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews with carers of left-behind children in Northern Vietnam, we show how men are confronted with the need to take on child care duties, which have traditionally been ascribed to women, while at the same time being under considerable pressure to live up to locally accepted masculinity ideals. We provide interesting insights into the changing family structures and dynamics in Vietnamese society where patriarchal norms continue to exert significant influence on different facets of life.
Hoaxes and the Paradoxical Challenges of Restoring Legitimacy
Authors: Veil Shari R. , Sellnow Timothy L. , Petrun Elizabeth L.
Published: December 2011

This study addresses the paradoxical demands of a hoax perpetrated through social media that require an organization to make a substantial response to an unsubstantiated claim. Dominos’ response to its 2009 YouTube crisis is used as a case study to demonstrate how this paradoxical challenge can be resolved by publicly casting the crisis as a learning opportunity. Analysis reveals that learning manifests in observable actions that further emphasize a commitment to the values and norms the organization originally met to earn social legitimacy prior to the crisis. Also, responding to a hoax through the same medium by which it was distributed is imperative to counter the hoax message for the same audience that received it.
Dynamic model of a two-stroke glow engine from experimental data
Authors: Dias J N , Violato G O , Martins C A
Published: December 2011

The main objective of this study was to experimentally obtain the most representative linear dynamic model of a two-stroke piston engine for small unmanned aerial vehicle applications with low-cost sensors and a friendly interface based on laboratory virtual instrument engineering workbench (LabVIEW®). The engine was mounted on a test bed equipped to measure the thrust and rotational speed. The throttle lever was actuated by a standard hobby servo motor, which controlled the carburettor’s valve opening. Input command and data acquisition were performed in a two-layer approach: low-cost hardware, where a micro-controller unit managed the sensor’s readings, servo input, and external communications through serial protocol; and LabVIEW for command signal generation, serial port write/read, data processing, and other high-level tasks. The motor dynamics, represented by its transfer function, was obtained by minimizing the output error between the experimental responses to various types of input signal and that obtained by the simulation of a fixed-topology, fixed-order reference model that included the servo and engine models in series.
Slope estimation for informatively right censored longitudinal data modelling the number of observations using geometric and Poisson distributions: application to renal transplant cohort
Authors: Jaffa Miran A , Lipsitz Stuart , Woolson Robert F
Published: December 2011

Analysis of longitudinal data is often complicated by the presence of informative right censoring. This type of censoring should be accounted for in the analysis so that valid slope estimates are attained. In this study, we developed a new likelihood-based approach wherein the likelihood function is integrated over random effects to obtain a marginal likelihood function. Maximum likelihood estimates for the population slope were acquired by direct maximisation of the marginal likelihood function and empirical Bayes estimates for the individual slopes were generated using Gaussian quadrature. The performance of the model was assessed using the geometric and Poisson distributions to model the number of observations for every individual subject. Our model generated valid estimates for the slopes under both distributions with minimal bias and mean squared errors. Our sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the model to assumptions pertaining to the underlying distribution and demonstrated its insensitivity to normality assumptions. Moreover, superiority of the model in terms of accuracy of slope estimates was consistently shown across the different levels of censoring in comparison to the naïve and bootstrap approaches. This model was illustrated using the cohort of renal transplant patients and estimates of the slopes that are adjusted for informative right censoring were acquired.
Tuition Fees for International Students in Finland
Authors: Cai Yuzhuo , Kivistö Jussi
Published: December 2011

Recent Finnish policies have encouraged Finnish higher education institutions to develop a market-oriented approach to international higher education by implementing fee-based educational programmes for students from outside the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). From the Finnish government’s perspective, higher education is no longer merely a public service but it is also a private good, as the government is starting to consider international higher education as a means of generating extra revenue. Although the intention of the reforms in this area is apparent, concrete implementation strategies remain unclear. This article discusses what the Finnish government, higher education institutions, and other stakeholders should take into account when considering strategies for implementing tuition fee policies, based on international experience. It also provides a picture of one aspect of the recent reform of international higher education in Finland as well as other challenges related to the reform.
The Impact of Race on the Police Decision to Search During a Traffic Stop
Authors: Higgins George E. , Vito Gennaro F. , Grossi Elizabeth L.
Published: December 2011

Racial profiling is an important issue in contemporary policing. Research in this area, especially in the decision to search, has relied on an outcomes test and correlates that are largely devoid of theory. Thus, the research is unable to provide a clear understanding of police decision making during a traffic stop. The purpose of the present study was to examine this process. Using data from more than 36,000 traffic stops from Louisville, KY, the present study applies the focal concerns theory to this decision-making process. The research results indicate that blameworthiness is the primary reason that searches are performed for the entire sample of traffic stops as well as those for the Black and White subsamples.
Multiple Identification Theory
Authors: Williams Alexander J. , Williams Robert H.
Published: December 2011

Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of Multiple Identification Theory (MIT) in changing the attitudes and behaviors of participants in simulations. However, these studies did not employ control groups, and their evidence of real-life behavioral change was self-reported. The present investigation attempts to improve upon previous MIT research in these areas. Participants either played an MIT game about international conflict twice (full MIT treatment) or watched a documentary and played the game once (control/half MIT treatment). Their attitudes and behaviors regarding conflict were measured before, during, and after the experimental sessions. Statistical tests reveal that the attitudes and behaviors of full MIT treatment participants became significantly more cooperative than those of control/half MIT treatment participants. The authors discuss the implications of this research for attitude change in simulation and for international relations.
Methylphenidate
Authors: Prommer Eric
Published: December 2011

Methylphenidate is a psychostimulant originally used for the treatment of attention-deficit disorder. Methylphenidate inhibits neuronal neurotransmitter transporters involved in the uptake of dopamine and norepinephrine at the level of the synapse. Inhibition of these transmitter transporters leads to increased concentrations of dopamine and norepinephrine in the synapse, which results in increasing alertness. The stimulant effect of methylphenidate has been used for the treatment of major depression, poststroke depression, cognitive enhancement in patients with brain tumors, neurodegenerative disorders, HIV disease, fatigue, and as a treatment for delirium and sedation associated with opioid use. Other areas where methylphenidate has been evaluated include gait disorders in the elderly individuals and the treatment of apathy in dementia. Analgesic effects have been demonstrated in preclinical models but true analgesic effects remain to be proven in humans. This article reviews the current use of methylphenidate for symptom management with a critical look at the evidence base for its efficacy in the conditions described.
Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness During Teaching Episodes With Positive and Negative Feedback
Authors: MacLeod Rebecca B. , Napoles Jessica
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice teachers’ perceptions of teaching effectiveness when viewing teaching episodes with positive and negative feedback. A secondary purpose of the study was to examine several independent variables to determine whether they predicted perceptions of overall teacher effectiveness. Participants watched short teaching clips of eight experienced teachers in an applied teaching setting and rated them for overall teaching effectiveness, subject matter competence, modeling, appropriate feedback, teacher delivery, and teacher demeanor. Teacher videos included four high positive teaching episodes and four high negative teaching episodes and were counterbalanced for gender and instrument (trumpet, piano, voice, and violin). Participants rated positive teachers higher than negative teachers and females higher than males. Teacher delivery was the best predictor of perceptions of teaching effectiveness.
Primary Extragonadal Germinoma of the Medulla Oblongata
Authors: Nakatsuka Shin-ichi , Tateishi Akihiro , Nagano Teruaki , Kimura Hayato , Nakajo Kazuya , Takahashi Jun , Taki Takuyu
Published: December 2011

Extragonadal germ cell tumors rarely arise from the brain stem. In this report, the authors present a rare case of germinoma developing in the medulla oblongata. A 31-year-old woman complained of intractable hiccups, hoarseness, and swallowing disturbance. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumor located on the dorsal part of the medulla oblongata without any abnormalities in the pineal body and suprasellar regions. Histological diagnosis of surgically resected tumor was germinoma. Tumor cells were positive for alkaline phosphatase, c-kit, octamer-binding transcription factor 3/4, cytokeratin, and epithelial membrane antigen in immunohistochemistry. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and irradiation to the residual tumor and cerebral ventricles. The patient is alive without recurrence 6 months after the surgery.
Audiologist-Driven Versus Patient-Driven Fine Tuning of Hearing Instruments
Authors: Boymans Monique , Dreschler Wouter A.
Published: December 2011

Two methods of fine tuning the initial settings of hearing aids were compared: An audiologist-driven approach––using real ear measurements and a patient-driven fine-tuning approach––using feedback from real-life situations. The patient-driven fine tuning was conducted by employing the Amplifit® II system using audiovideo clips. The audiologist-driven fine tuning was based on the NAL-NL1 prescription rule. Both settings were compared using the same hearing aids in two 6-week trial periods following a randomized blinded cross-over design. After each trial period, the settings were evaluated by insertion-gain measurements. Performance was evaluated by speech tests in quiet, in noise, and in time-reversed speech, presented at 0° and with spatially separated sound sources. Subjective results were evaluated using extensive questionnaires and audiovisual video clips. A total of 73 participants were included. On average, higher gain values were found for the audiologist-driven settings than for the patient-driven settings, especially at 1000 and 2000 Hz. Better objective performance was obtained for the audiologist-driven settings for speech perception in quiet and in time-reversed speech. This was supported by better scores on a number of subjective judgments and in the subjective ratings of video clips. The perception of loud sounds scored higher than when patient-driven, but the overall preference was in favor of the audiologist-driven settings for 67% of the participants.
Measuring thickness changes of edgewise compression loaded corrugated board panels using digital image correlation
Authors: Hägglund Rickard , Åslund Pär E. , Carlsson Leif A. , Isaksson Per
Published: December 2011

This study examines thickness changes in web-core sandwich panels under edgewise compressive loading. Both undamaged and damaged panels were examined. Three-dimensional full-field digital image correlation systems were used to determine deflections on both sides of loaded panels. The change in thickness at any given point in the panel was obtained as the difference between the two displacement fields. It was observed that the thickness was reduced in the post-buckling regime. Damage introduced into the corrugated core by lateral compression proved to significantly reduce the load-carrying capability panels and elevate the thickness reduction of the panels.
A new four-variable refined plate theory for thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates
Authors: Bourada Mohamed , Tounsi Abdelouahed , Houari Mohammed Sid Ahmed , Bedia El Abbes Adda
Published: December 2011

The novelty of this paper is the use of a new four-variable refined plate theory for thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates. Unlike any other theory, the present new theory is variationally consistent and gives four governing equations. The number of unknown functions involved is only four, as against five in case of other shear deformation theories. In addition, the theory, which has strong similarity with classical plate theory in many aspects, accounts for a quadratic variation of the transverse shear strains across the thickness and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. Material properties and thermal expansion coefficient of the sandwich plate faces are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The core layer is still homogeneous and made of an isotropic material. The thermal loads are assumed as uniform, linear, and nonlinear temperature rises across the thickness direction. The effects of aspect and thickness ratios, gradient index, loading type, and sandwich plate type on the critical buckling are all discussed.
Effects of pressure and temperature on the vibration behavior of sandwich cylindrical shells
Authors: Mohammadi Farough , Sedaghati Ramin
Published: December 2011

In this study, damping characteristics of viscoelastic sandwich cylindrical shell under internal/external pressure and internal temperature are investigated. By implementing finite difference method for irregular grids in the sandwich cylinder, the temperature distribution at each layer is determined. A non-linear model for displacement fields at the viscoelastic core layer is developed to describe the damping characteristics of sandwich cylinder with thin/thick core layer. The effect of dissipation in a pressurized cylinder under harmonic variation of the pressure is also investigated. As shown, deflection increases with time due to the dissipated energy and consequently loss factor is not unique even at a constant frequency.
Formaldehyde Removal Efficiency Using Nano-size Carbon Colloids
Authors: Kim Seon-Hong , Lee Ki-Hoon , Kim Do-Hyeon , Park Jong-Pill , Kim Ji-Hoon , Cho Seung-Yeon
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this study was to assess the removal efficiency of formaldehyde using nano-size carbon colloid (NCC), which was produced by a comparatively easy and cheap method. In this study, nano-size carbon colloid based on water was produced by an electro-chemical method. The particles which have mostly a spherical shape with a diameter of, what is called, “nano-size” were produced. Non-woven fabric filter, which is currently on the market as a medium filter, was used for the removal efficiency test. Known concentration (0.5 ppm) of formaldehyde standard gas was used as a pollutant. The overall results indicate that: (1) nano-size carbon colloid which has a stable dispersibility, and of which diameter is approximately 10 nm or less was produced; (2) filters treated with nano-size carbon colloids showed a higher removal efficiency, 44.47 µg of HCHO removed/g of carbon and 19.28 µg of HCHO removed/g of carbon when compared to the control experiment using a normal carbon filter. The normal carbon filter system could only achieve 1.45 µg of HCHO removed/g of carbon.
Ditching the pack: Digital media in the 2010 Brazilian congressional campaigns
Authors: Gilmore Jason
Published: December 2011

Over the past decade Brazil has become well known for its open embrace of new media technologies. In tandem, an increasing number of Brazilian candidates have begun to use web and social media sites as an integral part of their overall campaign efforts. The present study is the first effort at large-scale modeling of these relationships in an emerging Latin American democracy. To explore the relationship between using digital media in a candidate’s political campaign strategy and voter support, I built an original dataset of the 2010 elections for the lower house of the Brazilian Congress. I investigate factors such as a candidate’s use of web and social networking sites in conjunction with other traditional influences such as candidate gender, age, incumbency, party affiliation, coalition membership and campaign spending. I demonstrate that having a robust web presence and using social media, holding other factors constant, can be a significant contribution to the popularity of a candidate on election day in an open-list proportional representation electoral system such as that in Brazil. Additionally, I demonstrate how this digital media campaign tactic might be specifically beneficial to traditionally disadvantaged candidates in bridging the gap of their under-representation in Brazilian politics.
Leadership Development for Women in New Zealand Universities
Authors: Harris Candice A. , Leberman Sarah I.
Published: December 2011

The Problem.

Women continue to be underrepresented in senior academic and general staff positions in universities internationally, and New Zealand universities are no different. In addition, there is limited empirical research on leadership development programs for women.

The Solution.

This article adds to knowledge in the area by describing and discussing the outcomes of the national New Zealand Women in Leadership (NZWIL) program, which is now in its 5th year of operation. A longitudinal case study approach has been adopted including surveys, phone interviews, and an independent evaluation. The findings suggest that the program has been successful on both an individual and organizational level. Individually, participants have increased their self-confidence and networking skills, enabling them, for example, to apply for promotion and gain it.

The Stakeholders.

Postsecondary leaders, human resource development (HRD), and leadership development professionals can learn from the findings of this program and adapt them to their context.
Enhancing the Capacity to Facilitate Physical Activity in Home-Based Child Care Settings
Authors: Naylor Patti-Jean , Temple Viviene A.
Published: December 2011

Healthy Opportunities for Preschoolers (HOP) is a physical activity and movement skill intervention that was developed to address the unique needs of home-based child care providers. The authors used a train-the-trainer approach to enhance local uptake and implementation of HOP and examined the impact on the trainers’ (workshop leaders’) perceived knowledge, confidence, and intention to implement community workshops and subsequently on the knowledge, confidence, and intentions of workshop participants. This study also assessed feasibility: reach, satisfaction, and facilitators and barriers to workshop implementation. Overall, 92% and 89.5% of the leaders were very or extremely satisfied with the workshop content and delivery, respectively. Training significantly increased their self-reported knowledge ( p < .001) and confidence ( p < .001). Subsequently, 73% of workshop participants (48 workshops, n = 321) took part in the evaluation; intention to use what they learned after the workshop was high (86%) and perceived knowledge, confidence, and attitude all increased significantly ( p < .001). The HOP train-the-trainer approach was feasible and enhanced knowledge, confidence, and readiness to change among home-based child care providers. This approach should be considered as a component of an overall strategy to enhance the promotion of physical activity and movement skills in home-based child care settings.
Treating Vocal Stereotypy With Environmental Enrichment and Response Cost
Authors: Watkins Nicholas , Paananen Lisa , Rudrud Eric , Rapp John T.
Published: December 2011

The authors describe the assessment and treatment of vocal stereotypy in two children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Both the case studies evaluated the effectiveness of response cost (RC). The RC interventions quickly reduced and eventually eliminated the vocal stereotypy in one participant and reduced it to near-zero levels in the second. Postintervention probes for one participant confirmed the continued reduction of vocal stereotypy 1 month after treatment and its elimination 8 months after treatment. Directions for future research are also discussed.
Antimetastatic Potentials of Phyllanthus urinaria L on A549 and Lewis Lung Carcinoma Cells via Repression of Matrix-Degrading Proteases
Authors: Tseng Hsu-Hung , Chen Pei-Ni , Kuo Wu-Hsien , Wang Jhih-Wei , Chu Shu-Chen , Hsieh Yih-Shou
Published: December 2011

Tumor metastasis is the most important cause of cancer death and various treatment strategies have targeted at preventing the occurrence of metastasis. Phyllanthus urinaria L is a popular folk medicine and has several proven biological properties, including antioxidant, antihypertension, and anti-inflammatory. This study provides molecular evidence associated with the antimetastatic effects of P urinaria L extracts (PUE), which contained polyphenols including gallic acid, methyl gallate, epicatechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, gallocatechin-3-gallate, rutin, epicatechin-3-gallate, and naringin, by showing a marked inhibition on the invasion ( P < .001) and migration ( P < .001) of highly metastatic A549 and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. To further investigate the precise involvement of PUE in tumor metastasis, A549 and LLC cells were treated with PUE at various concentrations and results from zymography and Western blotting showed that a PUE treatment may decrease the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2; P < .001), MMP-9 ( P < .001), urokinase plasminogen activator ( P < .001), and their endogenous inhibitors, that is, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, in a concentration-dependent manner. Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and MMP-2 promoter luciferase analysis ( P < .001) revealed that PUE inhibits the transcription of MMP-2 mRNA. PUE also exerted an inhibitory effect on the DNA-binding activity and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB and AP-1. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of PUE on the metastasis and growth of LLC cells in vivo were proven. These results indicate that PUE could be applied to be a potential antimetastatic agent.
Tunnel Vision
Authors: Fein Michael R.
Published: December 2011

While most analyses of late-twentieth-century highway policy suggest a shift toward open system design, bottom-up federalism, and the devolution of transportation governance, the history of Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel project, informally known as the “Big Dig,” runs counter to this trend. Though the project emerged in the 1970s during a time of unprecedented citizen activism in transportation planning, ultimately the privatization of political power proved to be the Big Dig’s most important legacy for twenty-first-century urban highway projects.
Precursors to Planning
Authors: Ehrenfeucht Renia
Published: December 2011

From the 1880s to the 1910s, the Los Angeles city council actively regulated street activities and fulfilled requests for street improvements. These divergent but related public interventions were significant planning precursors. The city council categorized, delineated, and regulated street activities and helped to make the rapidly changing city legible. The city had limited interest in the specific activities however. In contrast, travel became the explicit purpose of municipal action, and municipal professionals, most notably engineers, took responsibility for the streets. This article examines the relationship between the efforts in Los Angeles, California to regulate street life and the ways that the streets were created as distinct spaces of mobility.
Animation on Trial
Authors: Beckman Karen
Published: December 2011

This article first considers Kota Ezawa’s video installation, The Simpson Verdict within the broader context of the rising interest in animation on the contemporary art landscape. After exploring three trends within this proliferation of artists’ animation – works that animate moments from film history, works that animate ‘reality’, and works that use popular media such as cartoons, television and video games as source material, this article examines the difference between Ezawa’s work, which re-draws already overexposed live footage, and those documentaries that use animation as a supplementary visual tool when live footage does not and/or could not exist.
Issue Emergence, Evolution of Controversy, and Implications for Competitive Framing
Authors: Fowler Erika Franklin , Gollust Sarah E. , Dempsey Amanda F. , Lantz Paula M. , Ubel Peter A.
Published: December 2011

Although scholarship on competitive framing acknowledges that framing is a dynamic process in which the early stages may matter most, very little research has focused on the dynamics of issue emergence. In this article, we draw on several literatures to develop theories for how controversy related to new issues will emerge and expand in news coverage. Through a comprehensive content analysis of 101 local newspapers across the fifty U.S. states, we explore the dynamic and evolving process wherein a new issue—the HPV vaccine—emerged into public discourse and a legislative debate over school requirements for vaccination began. We find that coverage of controversy is a function of proximity, driven primarily by events within a state, although external events also influence local coverage. We also find that the legislative discussion in the media did not necessarily start out as controversial, but as the issue evolved, we observe a large increase in the proliferation of both actors taking positions and the types of arguments made to influence debate. The findings yield important insight into issue emergence with implications for how future research might test competing frames to better understand how the presentation of controversy in the mass media affects public opinion.
Parochial Libraries in Kent
Authors: Shaw David
Published: December 2011

Collections of books existed in parish churches before the Reformation, as is shown by the Kentish examples of St Mildred's, Tenterden, and St Dunstan's, Canterbury. Michael Perkin's Directory records thirty post-Reformation parochial libraries for Kent, of which seventeen survive today; of these, nine are simple desk libraries. Thomas Bray's name is associated with many of these collections; he was active in Kent even before leaving for New England. A group of east Kent libraries is looked at in greater detail: Crundale, Doddington, Elham, Maidstone, and Preston, as well as two non-parochial libraries in Canterbury.