bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do triclabendazole medicated molasses blocks have a role in control of Fasciola gigantica in smallholder cattle production in Lao PDR?
Authors: Windsor P. A. , Nampanya S. , Kinnavong B. , Phommasone P. , Bush R. D. , Khounsy S.
Published: May 2018

Smallholder cattle production in many developing tropical countries including Laos is compromised by widespread endoparasitism, with limited farmer knowledge of parasites and facilities for administration of therapeutics. We report a pilot study examining the potential for triclabendazole provided in medicated molasses blocks offered to control Fasciola gigantica in smallholder cattle production. This study involved 241 cattle allocated into three groups: (1) triclabendazole (as Fasinex®, Novartis Animal Health Australia, Pty Ltd) medicated molasses blocks (MMB) with each tonne of MMB containing 0.5 kg triclabendazole; (2) unmedicated molasses blocks; and (3) a Control group. Data and faecal samples were obtained at Weeks 1, 4, 8 and 12 for faecal egg counts (FEC) determination. Reductions in FEC in the MMB group of 90.48% and a mean FEC of 4 ± 17 eggs per gram of faeces at 12 weeks post-treatment was observed, with liveweight increasing from 174.60 (±3.35) kg to 191.50 (±3.69) kg in Weeks 1 and 12, respectively (P = 001) and an average daily weight gain of 201 g/day. Reduction in FEC in the unmedicated molasses blocks group was also observed, by 28.78% and 18.96%, with liveweight increasing from 179.50 (±3.35) kg to 189.90 (±6.05) kg in Weeks 1 and 12 respectively (P = 0.3), with an average daily gain of 124 g/day. This study suggests that productivity was enhanced when triclabendazole was added to the blocks, delivering parasite suppression or potentially therapeutic doses on ad libitum feeding of the MMB. Although further work is required to establish the therapeutic potential of MMB, the use of MMB may offer a parasite management and nutritional supplementation strategy for smallholder farmers, particularly in Laos and other countries where unmanaged Fasciola spp. infestations reduce ruminant productivity and facilities for animal restraint to enable delivery of oral anthelmintics, are largely non-existent.
Genetic selection for growth performance and thermal tolerance under high ambient temperature after two generations using heat shock protein 90 expression as an index
Authors: Radwan Lamiaa M. , Mahrous Mahmoud. Y.
Published: May 2018

Genetic selection for productive performance in high ambient temperatures was performed on two chicken strains, Rhode Island Red and Sinai, for two generations, and the heritable responses to tolerance were estimated using heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) gene expression. The results are summarised as follows: (1) heat stress negatively affected some economic traits, mainly bodyweight. This effect was more pronounced in the parent stock than in the first generation (F1) and second generation (F2). (2) This effect was modulated by the chicken strain, and the decreased bodyweight was more pronounced in RI strain than in the Sinai strain, indicating that the Sinai strain is more tolerant to high ambient temperature. (3) The offspring (F1 and F2) of both strains were more tolerant to high ambient temperature; this trend was also true for the parents of these two strains. (4) HSP90 mRNA expression was the same in both strains under normal conditions in all three generations. (5) Under high ambient temperature conditions, the Sinai strain (all generations) showed significantly increased HSP90 mRNA expression compared with the Rhode Island Red strain. These findings suggest that heat tolerance is passed from parents to offspring. We recommended that selection for heat-stress tolerance be applied to producing commercial strains reared in hot climate conditions.
Intensive annual crop production and root development in a tropical acid soil under long-term no-till and soil-amendment management
Authors: da Costa Claudio H. M. , Filho Antonio C. A. Carmeis , Crusciol Carlos A. C. , Soratto Rogério P. , Guimarães Tiara M.
Published: May 2018

In tropical conservation agricultural systems, crop yield is limited by soil acidity and root-growth inhibition, especially under intensive crop rotation. This study evaluated the effect of surface applications of lime and phosphogypsum in improving soil fertility and crop yield in a tropical region. Four treatments were evaluated: control (without soil amendment); and application phosphogypsum (2.1 + 2.1 + 2.1 Mg ha–1), lime (2.7 + 2.0 + 2.0 Mg ha–1), and a combination of lime and phosphogypsum at the given rates, applied in 2002, 2004 and 2010, respectively. We evaluated the soil chemical properties, root development, plant nutrition, yield components and grain yield of 10 crops over 4 years using five species: maize (Zea mays), crambe (Crambe abyssinica), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Our long-term results demonstrate the benefits of surface liming in alleviating subsoil acidity, reducing Al3+ toxicity, improving availability of Ca2+ and Mg2+, and increasing accumulation of soil organic matter in all soil profiles at depths up to 0.60 m. For maize and crambe, adding phosphogypsum increased development of plants and reproductive structures, which increased grain yield. Phosphogypsum exhibited synergistic effects in association with lime for maize and common bean. Phosphogypsum did not have an effect on cowpea and wheat, whereas surface liming was essential to improve plant nutrition, grain yield and wheat grain quality. The combination of both soil amendments is an important tool to reduce the soil acidification process, resulting in the highest levels of Ca2+ and Mg2+ and the highest base-saturation values in the topsoil layers (0–0.20 m) over time. Our long-term results showed the viability of surface liming plus phosphogypsum for improving tropical soil fertility, which can reflect an increase in grain yield and contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems under intensive land use in highly weathered areas.
Reproductive biology of captive female southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons). Part 2: oestrous behaviour
Authors: Swinbourne Alyce M. , Phillips Clive J. C. , Janssen Tina , Lisle Allan , Keeley Tamara , Johnston Stephen D.
Published: May 2018

The poor captive breeding success of southern hairy-nosed wombats (SHNWs; Lasiorhinus latifrons) has been attributed to the difficulty in accurately characterising oestrous behaviour and their relationship to circulating reproductive hormones. Over two wombat breeding seasons, the use of infrared cameras for 24-h remote behavioural monitoring and the analysis of urine samples collected from seven captive females, were investigated to determine the relationship between behaviour and changes in urinary progesterone metabolites (P4M). Urinary P4M was divided into two concentrations: (1) ≤ baseline P4M values and (2) > baseline P4M values and evaluated against urine volume (mL) and the duration (s) and frequency of 23 behaviours recorded for 8 days surrounding D0 of the luteal phase (D0: a sustained increase in P4M for three or more consecutive days). When P4M was ≤ baseline, the duration of urination and volume both decreased, whereas the duration and frequency of both pacing and rump bites by the female towards the male increased. These results suggest that there were detectable behavioural changes that can be mapped to the changes in the SHNW oestrous cycle, which may be used as behavioural indicators to identify the reproductive status of females.
When questioners count on recipients’ lack of knowledge
Authors: Ticca Anna Claudia , Traverso Véronique
Published: May 2018

This paper studies a type of question-answer sequences which accomplish what can be considered as a delicate activity due to its projected sequential development. In contrast with other formats of question-answer sequences with different functions (i.e. eliciting information, checking the questionee’s knowledge, etc.), here the studied format seems to count on the questionee’s lack of knowledge, consequently projecting the questioner’s own answer. This hypothesis is examined through a detailed analysis of video-recorded guided tours in French and Italian. The paper describes the different sequence trajectories occurring after the guide’s question, and the difficulties both participants may find in dealing with the procedure.
When routine calls for information become interpersonally sensitive
Authors: Orthaber Sara , Márquez Reiter Rosina
Published: May 2018

This paper examines interpersonally sensitive exchanges in two calls for information to the call centre of a public transport company. In order to provide relevant information and facilitate sequence progressivity, the agents need to go through specific steps. Although this is typical of institutional settings, customers may not necessarily be aware of them. The excerpts examined in this paper show how the customers’ lack of knowledge of the institutional steps the agents have to go through to attend to their requests and customers’ claims to product knowledge, coupled with the agents’ labour intensive work at the call centre, provide fertile ground for the agents’ verbal outbursts which are oriented to as interpersonally sensitive by the customers in so far as they are interpreted as inappropriate and potentially impolite. The analysis draws on the notion of face and incorporates a variety of concepts from pragmatics and Conversation Analysis.
The development of a tournament preparation framework for competitive golf: A Delphi study
Authors: Pilgrim Jarred , Kremer Peter , Robertson Samuel
Published: May 2018

Tournament preparation in golf is used by players to increase course knowledge, develop strategy, optimise playing conditions and facilitate self‐regulation. It is not known whether specific behaviours in tournament preparation should be given priority in education and practice at different stages of competition. This study aimed to achieve consensus on the importance of specific tournament preparation behaviours or “items” to players of five competitive levels. A two‐round Delphi study was used, including an expert panel of 36 coaches, high‐performance staff, players and academics. Participants were asked to score the relative importance of 48 items to players using a 5‐point Likert‐type scale. For an item to achieve consensus, 67% agreement was required in two adjacent score categories. Consensus was reached for 46 items and these were used to develop a ranked framework for each competitive level. The developed framework provides consensus‐based guidelines of the behaviours that are perceived as important in tournament preparation. This framework could be used by national sport organisations to guide the development of more comprehensive learning environments for players and coaches. It could also direct future studies examining the critical behaviours for golfers across different competitive levels.
Histidine168 is crucial for ΔpH-dependent gating of the human voltage-gated proton channel, hHV1
Authors: Cherny Vladimir V. , Morgan Deri , Thomas Sarah , Smith Susan M.E. , DeCoursey Thomas E.
Published: May 2018

We recently identified a voltage-gated proton channel gene in the snail Helisoma trivolvis, HtHV1, and determined its electrophysiological properties. Consistent with early studies of proton currents in snail neurons, HtHV1 opens rapidly, but it unexpectedly exhibits uniquely defective sensitivity to intracellular pH (pHi). The H+ conductance (gH)-V relationship in the voltage-gated proton channel (HV1) from other species shifts 40 mV when either pHi or pHo (extracellular pH) is changed by 1 unit. This property, called ΔpH-dependent gating, is crucial to the functions of HV1 in many species and in numerous human tissues. The HtHV1 channel exhibits normal pHo dependence but anomalously weak pHi dependence. In this study, we show that a single point mutation in human hHV1—changing His168 to Gln168, the corresponding residue in HtHV1—compromises the pHi dependence of gating in the human channel so that it recapitulates the HtHV1 response. This location was previously identified as a contributor to the rapid gating kinetics of HV1 in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. His168 mutation in human HV1 accelerates activation but accounts for only a fraction of the species difference. H168Q, H168S, or H168T mutants exhibit normal pHo dependence, but changing pHi shifts the gH-V relationship on average by <20 mV/unit. Thus, His168 is critical to pHi sensing in hHV1. His168, located at the inner end of the pore on the S3 transmembrane helix, is the first residue identified in HV1 that significantly impairs pH sensing when mutated. Because pHo dependence remains intact, the selective erosion of pHi dependence supports the idea that there are distinct internal and external pH sensors. Although His168 may itself be a pHi sensor, the converse mutation, Q229H, does not normalize the pHi sensitivity of the HtHV1 channel. We hypothesize that the imidazole group of His168 interacts with nearby Phe165 or other parts of hHV1 to transduce pHi into shifts of voltage-dependent gating.
Actin-dependent regulation of cilia length by the inverted formin FHDC1
Authors: Copeland Sarah J. , McRae Andrea , Guarguaglini Giulia , Trinkle-Mulcahy Laura , Copeland John W.
Published: May 2018

A primary cilium is found on most mammalian cells, where it acts as a cellular antenna for the reception of both mechanical and chemical signals. A variety of diseases are associated with defective ciliogenesis, reflecting the ubiquity of the function of cilia and the number of proteins required for their assembly. Proper cilia length is necessary for cilia signaling and is regulated through a poorly understood balance of assembly and disassembly rates. FHDC1 is a unique member of the formin family of cytoskeletal regulatory proteins. Overexpression of FHDC1 induces F-actin accumulation and microtubule stabilization and acetylation. We find that overexpression of FHDC1 also has profound effects on ciliogenesis; in most cells FHDC1 overexpression blocks cilia assembly, but the cilia that are present are immensely elongated. FHDC1-induced cilia growth requires the FHDC1 FH2 and microtubule-binding domain and results from F-actin–dependent inhibition of cilia disassembly. FHDC1 depletion, or treatment with a pan-formin inhibitor, inhibits cilia assembly and induces cilia resorption. Endogenous FHDC1 protein localizes to cytoplasmic microtubules converging on the base of the cilia, and we identify the subdistal appendage protein Cep170 as an FHDC1 interacting protein. Our results suggest that FHDC1 plays a role in coordinating cytoskeletal dynamics during normal cilia assembly.
The kinase domain of CK1 enzymes contains the localization cue essential for compartmentalized signaling at the spindle pole
Authors: Elmore Zachary C. , Guillen Rodrigo X. , Gould Kathleen L.
Published: May 2018

CK1 protein kinases contribute to multiple biological processes, but how they are tailored to function in compartmentalized signaling events is largely unknown. Hhp1 and Hhp2 (Hhp1/2) are the soluble CK1 family members in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. One of their functions is to inhibit the septation initiation network (SIN) during a mitotic checkpoint arrest. The SIN is assembled by Sid4 at spindle pole bodies (SPBs), and though Hhp1/2 colocalize there, it is not known how they are targeted there or whether their SPB localization is required for SIN inhibition. Here, we establish that Hhp1/2 localize throughout the cell cycle to SPBs, as well as to the nucleus, cell tips, and division site. We find that their catalytic domains but not their enzymatic function are used for SPB targeting and that this targeting strategy is conserved in human CK1δ/ε localization to centrosomes. Further, we pinpoint amino acids in the Hhp1 catalytic domain required for SPB interaction; mutation of these residues disrupts Hhp1 association with the core SPB protein Ppc89, and the inhibition of cytokinesis in the setting of spindle stress. Taken together, these data have enabled us to define a molecular mechanism used by CK1 enzymes to target a specific cellular locale for compartmentalized signaling.
Input Use under Crop Insurance: The Role of Actual Production History
Authors: Mieno Taro , Walters Cory G. , Fulginiti Lilyan E.
Published: May 2018

The impact of crop insurance on changes in input use has attracted much attention by economists. While there are a number of studies on this topic, they frame moral hazard in inputs use in a static model. However, when agricultural producers are forward‐looking, they would make input allocation decisions realizing that their decisions would affect their future actual production history. This, in turn, affects the probability and size of future indemnity payments. Thus, moral hazard should be framed in a dynamic input use decision model. We first show theoretically that under certain feasible conditions, a static analysis always results in lower optimal input use when compared to a dynamic one with endogenous actual production history. This is because static models fail to recognize the role of actual production history. We then run numerical simulations using nitrogen application rates as a case study. We find that static models indicate significant reduction in nitrogen use compared to the no‐insurance scenario, whereas the dynamic models with a role for actual production history indicate almost no reduction in applied nitrogen. The dynamic analysis not only suggests a near absence of moral hazard, but, for low coverage rates, it results in an optimal nitrogen rate higher than that under the no‐insurance scenario. These findings illustrate the importance of recognizing the role of actual production history in mitigating moral hazard possibilities in crop insurance and the dynamic nature of moral hazard in crop insurance.
Regulatory variants: from detection to predicting impact
Authors: Rojano Elena , Seoane Pedro , Ranea Juan A G , Perkins James R
Published: May 2018

Variants within non-coding genomic regions can greatly affect disease. In recent years, increasing focus has been given to these variants, and how they can alter regulatory elements, such as enhancers, transcription factor binding sites and DNA methylation regions. Such variants can be considered regulatory variants. Concurrently, much effort has been put into establishing international consortia to undertake large projects aimed at discovering regulatory elements in different tissues, cell lines and organisms, and probing the effects of genetic variants on regulation by measuring gene expression. Here, we describe methods and techniques for discovering disease-associated non-coding variants using sequencing technologies. We then explain the computational procedures that can be used for annotating these variants using the information from the aforementioned projects, and prediction of their putative effects, including potential pathogenicity, based on rule-based and machine learning approaches. We provide the details of techniques to validate these predictions, by mapping chromatin–chromatin and chromatin–protein interactions, and introduce Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-Associated Protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) technology, which has already been used in this field and is likely to have a big impact on its future evolution.

We also give examples of regulatory variants associated with multiple complex diseases. This review is aimed at bioinformaticians interested in the characterization of regulatory variants, molecular biologists and geneticists interested in understanding more about the nature and potential role of such variants from a functional point of views, and clinicians who may wish to learn about variants in non-coding genomic regions associated with a given disease and find out what to do next to uncover how they impact on the underlying mechanisms.
Counting One-Sided Simple Closed Geodesics on Fuchsian Thrice Punctured Projective Planes
Authors: Magee Michael
Published: May 2018

We prove that there is a true asymptotic formula for the number of one-sided simple closed curves of length $\leq L$ on any Fuchsian real projective plane with three points removed. The exponent of growth is independent of the hyperbolic metric, and it is noninteger, in contrast to counting results of Mirzakhani for simple closed curves on orientable Fuchsian surfaces.
Management of children with congenital nephrotic syndrome: challenging treatment paradigms
Authors: Dufek Stephanie , Holtta Tuula , Trautmann Agnes , Ylinen Elisa , Alpay Harika , Ariceta Gema , Aufricht Christoph , Bacchetta Justine , Bakkaloglu Sevcan A , Bayazit Aysun , Cicek Rumeysa Yasemin , Dursun Ismail , Duzova Ali , Ekim Mesiha , Iancu Daniela , Jankauskiene Augustina , Klaus Günter , Paglialonga Fabio , Pasini Andrea , Printza Nikoleta , Said Conti Valerie , do Sameiro Faria Maria , Schmitt Claus Peter , Stefanidis Constantinos J , Verrina Enrico , Vidal Enrico , Vondrak Karel , Webb Hazel , Zampetoglou Argyroula , Bockenhauer Detlef , Edefonti Alberto , Shroff Rukshana
Published: May 2018

Background

Management of children with congenital nephrotic syndrome (CNS) is challenging. Bilateral nephrectomies followed by dialysis and transplantation are practiced in most centres, but conservative treatment may also be effective.

Methods

We conducted a 6-year review across members of the European Society for Paediatric Nephrology Dialysis Working Group to compare management strategies and their outcomes in children with CNS.

Results

Eighty children (50% male) across 17 tertiary nephrology units in Europe were included (mutations in NPHS1, n = 55; NPHS2, n = 1; WT1, n = 9; others, n = 15). Excluding patients with mutations in WT1, antiproteinuric treatment was given in 42 (59%) with an increase in S-albumin in 70% by median 6 (interquartile range: 3–8) g/L (P < 0.001). Following unilateral nephrectomy, S-albumin increased by 4 (1–8) g/L (P = 0.03) with a reduction in albumin infusion dose by 5 (2–9) g/kg/week (P = 0.02). Median age at bilateral nephrectomies (n = 29) was 9 (7–16) months. Outcomes were compared between two groups of NPHS1 patients: those who underwent bilateral nephrectomies (n = 25) versus those on conservative management (n = 17). The number of septic or thrombotic episodes and growth were comparable between the groups. The response to antiproteinuric treatment, as well as renal and patient survival, was independent of NPHS1 mutation type. At final follow-up (median age 34 months) 20 (80%) children in the nephrectomy group were transplanted and 1 died. In the conservative group, 9 (53%) remained without dialysis, 4 (24%; P < 0.001) were transplanted and 2 died.

Conclusion

An individualized, stepwise approach with prolonged conservative management may be a reasonable alternative to early bilateral nephrectomies and dialysis in children with CNS and NPHS1 mutations. Further prospective studies are needed to define indications for unilateral nephrectomy.
Pediatric Supratentorial Ependymoma: Surgical, Clinical, and Molecular Analysis
Authors: Lillard Jock C , Venable Garrett T , Khan Nickalus R , Tatevossian Ruth G , Dalton James , Vaughn Brandy N , Klimo Paul
Published: May 2018

BACKGROUND

Pediatric supratentorial ependymomas (SEs) have distinct molecular and behavioral differences from their infratentorial counterparts.

OBJECTIVE

To present our experience with pediatric SEs over a 24-yr period.

METHODS

Clinical, operative, and radiographic information was abstracted retrospectively. Our primary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Detection of C11orf95-RELA rearrangement was performed using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (iFISH).

RESULTS

Seventy-three patients were identified (41 female, 32 male); median age was 6.7 yrs (range, 1 mo-18.8 yr); median follow-up was 8.3 yrs (range, 2.0-26.3). Fifty-eight (79.5%) of 73 patients underwent gross total resection (GTR); no patient with subtotal resection had greater than 1 cm3 of residual tumor; 42 patients (57.5%) experienced subsequent disease progression with 17 patients ultimately dying of their disease. Median PFS was 3.7 yrs. Molecular analysis was available for 51 patients (70%). On bivariate analysis, PFS and OS were not statistically affected by age, tumor grade, or extent of resection, although there was a clinically significant trend for the latter in favor of aggressive resection on PFS (P = .061). Children with RELA fusion had significantly higher PFS (P = .013) than those without, although there was no difference in OS when compared with those with no C11orf95-RELA fusion or C11orf95 gene rearrangement alone.

CONCLUSION

In our series, GTR may be associated with better PFS, but did not impact OS. Surprisingly, RELA fusion was not found to be a negative prognostic factor, raising the possibility that the deleterious effects may be overcome by aggressive resection.
Research and Practice in Language Policy and Planning
Authors: Tollefson James W. , Pérez-Milans Miguel
Published: May 2018

The opening chapter of The Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning addresses many of the current questions that researchers face under contemporary conditions of change tied to so-called late modernity, with an ambition to better understand the current period in which the field of language policy and planning (LPP) operates. Against the background of the academic journey of the editors of the Handbook, the chapter first provides an overview of the foundations of the field of LPP. After this, it details the specific questions that have guided the organization of this volume. In the final section, the chapter maps out some of the different threads of recent LPP research evident in this Handbook, highlighting the issues that scholarly analysis seeks to understand and the approaches to research used in the investigation, and anticipating some of the generalizations that emerge.
Revitalizing and Sustaining Endangered Languages
Authors: McCarty Teresa L.
Published: May 2018

This chapter explores the processes and prospects for revitalizing endangered and minoritized languages, drawing on international language policy and planning research and practice. These processes are framed as sustaining, rather than preserving or maintaining, to emphasize their dynamic, heteroglossic, and multi-sited character. A key assumption is that revitalizing and sustaining endangered languages is political work that challenges dominant language ideologies and linguistic inequalities. The chapter begins with definitions of key terms, followed by a discussion of endangerment classificatory schemes. Three language-in-education movements are then examined across a diverse range of national and regional contexts: the new speaker movement, Indigenous revitalization immersion, and bi/multilingual education through endangered/minoritized languages and languages of wider communication. The chapter concludes by considering how language endangerment can be disrupted, the relationship of local revitalization efforts to global movements, and the implications for linguistic human rights.
Language Rights and Language Repression
Authors: May Stephen
Published: May 2018

Many historical and contemporary conflicts in the world today, while often ostensibly framed in ethnic terms, actually involve language—and by extension, language policy—as a key catalyst or concern. This chapter charts how the widespread practice of enforcing linguistic homogeneity within modern nations-states, based on the view that this will minimize ethnic and linguistic conflict, actually exacerbates it, forcing linguistic minorities increasingly into avenues and means of dissent. More broadly, it explores how this preoccupation with linguistic homogeneity at the level of the nation-state is an unhelpful artifact of a combination of the negative ascription of ethnicity, the politics of nationalism, and the promotion of an individualist conception of citizenship and human rights. It concludes by arguing that language policies that actively accommodate minority language rights are more, rather than less, likely to ensure political stability—promoting not just political democracy but ethnocultural and ethnolinguistic democracy as well.
Security and Language Policy
Authors: Charalambous Constadina , Charalambous Panayiota , Khan Kamran , Rampton Ben
Published: May 2018

This chapter draws critical security studies into the investigation of language policy for two reasons. First, it provides informative commentary on how the concept of security is being reconfigured, with developments in digital technology, large-scale population movements, and the privatisation of public services. Second, it is increasingly attentive to how geopolitics permeates the everyday. Accordingly, critical security studies can generate considerable scope for connection with research on language in society. This chapter provides two case studies of security and language policy in which “enemy” and “fear” have been active principles in language policy development. The first case shows how security has become an increasingly influential theme in the United Kingdom. The second case, focusing on Cyprus, describes how legacies of large-scale violent conflict can generate rather unexpected ground-level enactments of language education policy.
Language Education Policy and Sociolinguistics
Authors: Jaspers Jürgen
Published: May 2018

Language education policies are pivotal in nation-states’ negotiation of a globalizing economy and a diversifying population. But certainly in urban, non-elite schools, where pupils’ linguistic diversity is pronounced, the fixation on language separation and multi-monolingualism produces salient sites of linguistic friction. Much scholarly work has successfully problematized this friction, producing an avalanche of criticism and ample calls for changes in schools’ approach to pupils’ primary linguistic skills and mixed language use. This chapter argues that while such calls are pedagogically exciting and justified on principle, a significant number of them reproduce some of the main assumptions behind the policies that they denounce, or invite problems of their own. Consequently, many calls for change may underestimate the difficulties of policy implementation, exaggerate their own effects, and overstate their critical character. This necessitates a reconsideration of the received relation between sociolinguistics and language education policy, and a revision of reform initiatives.
Language Policy and New Media
Authors: Lenihan Aoife
Published: May 2018

New media and the new communication spaces they bring are often heralded as revolutionary contexts of language use. This chapter aims to look beyond this hype to consider the effects of this recent context of use on existing language policy theory. An initial case study is Facebook and its Translations application, which I examine using virtual ethnographic methods. In this context, the commercial entity Facebook and the individuals of the Irish language Translations application are the primary language policy actors, developing the de facto language policy of this domain and affecting the multilingual World Wide Web. It is concluded that commercial entities, technological developments, and individuals are not merely agents or actors in language policy processes. Instead, the author adopts the concepts of media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence to understand how media producers and consumers act in new and unpredictable ways in language policy processes online.
Language Ideologies in the Text-Based Art of Xu Bing
Authors: Jaworski Adam
Published: May 2018

Contemporary art has been a site of intense linguistic production for several decades. Visual artists experiment with new ways of displaying or enframing language that contest or subvert dominant language ideologies. Thus artists produce new regimes of language that regulate or unsettle moral or political visions, shaping attitudes and behaviour. The works of the contemporary artist Xu Bing, as well as interpretations of his work by the artist and commentators, demonstrate how artistic production and criticism contribute to language ideological debates about Chinese—in particular, about Chinese writing—and the nature of language more broadly. This chapter discusses aspects of Xu Bing’s biography and artistic practice related to his use of language. It discusses the language ideological positions underpinning four of his major works. It concludes with reflections on what language policy and planning scholars might learn from extending the scope of their interest to text-based art.
Critical Discourse–Ethnographic Approaches to Language Policy
Authors: Wodak Ruth , Savski Kristof
Published: May 2018

This chapter focuses on the synergy that researchers in language policy have developed by integrating two other subfields of sociolinguistics: critical discourse analysis and critical ethnography. The chapter begins by discussing the meanings of the three key concepts used in these approaches, albeit sometimes in significantly different ways: critique, ethnography, and discourse. It then examines how these concepts are relevant to contemporary analyses of language policy, focusing particularly on their potential to open new and innovative avenues of research. To demonstrate how an integrated critical discourse and ethnographic approach can be applied in concrete empirical research, the chapter presents an analysis of language policy and practice in the European Union before providing an overview of other relevant studies in the area.
Nationalism and National Languages
Authors: Kamusella Tomasz
Published: May 2018

This chapter focuses on the use of languages by Europe’s nation-states in the twentieth century, particularly after 1989. The ethnolinguistically homogeneous nation-state became the norm of legitimate statehood in Europe. At the level of rhetoric, the Soviet Union was an exception, but it was replaced by ethnolinguistic national polities. The idea of the normative isomorphism (tight spatial and symbolic overlapping) of language, nation, and state still obtains in Europe, as exemplified by the parallel breakups of Yugoslavia and its Serbo-Croatian language, so that each successor state (with the exception of Kosovo) has its own national language. The widespread normative insistence that languages should make nations and polities, and nation-states should make languages, is limited to Europe and parts of Asia, prevented elsewhere by the imposition of colonial languages. Interestingly, should the European Union persist in its official polyglotism, the normative thrust of ethnolinguistic nationalism may be blunted in the future.
The Analysis of Social Capital in Digital Environments
Authors: Kwon K. Hazel
Published: May 2018

This chapter introduces a social capitalization framework to promote an investment-oriented understanding of social capital in digital environments. While studies of Internet social capital have enriched the understanding of the outcomes of digital sociability, less discussion has been devoted to social networking as a social investment process underlying social capital production. The framework highlights the purposive nature of social networking and views Internet social capital as a product of the interplay among agency, social structure, and platform affordances. The chapter argues that online actors’ social investment decisions are based on three dimensions of cost–benefit assessments: cost of uncertainty, cost of persistence, and cost of mutuality. Based on the three cost dimensions, a social investment taxonomy is presented in conjunction with a few networking principles widely learned from offline network literature. The empirical utility of the social capitalization framework and future research areas are then discussed.
Our Stage, Our Streets
Authors: Lingel Jessa
Published: May 2018

Forming a convergence of digital media, urban life, and queer identity, Brooklyn’s drag community provides a case study for thinking about different means of theorizing space. Space not only matters for the content of communication, but also shapes practices of and different needs for communication. Drawing on participant observation and focus group interviews with drag queens in Brooklyn, New York, the chapter describes the narratives and practices of representation that emerge in accounts of how their community came to be and what their collective identity work means in a larger context of queerness, media, and the urban. The discussion focuses particularly on the ways that authenticity and visibility are bound up in practices of mediated representation and identifies the different scales (neighborhood, city, and countercultural imaginary) that emerge in practices of queer identity work as tied to space.
Unintended Consequences of Using Digital Methods in Difficult Research Environments
Authors: Pearce Katy E.
Published: May 2018

Some argue that digital methods may be a safer alternative for conducting research in difficult research environments because they allow a researcher to avoid physical danger. However, because of the increased visibility of the association between researcher and participant, as well as greater opportunities for a participant to be identified, digital methods may in fact increase risk for both participants and researchers. Difficult research environments are places where daily life is unpredictable, uncertain, or permeated by fear. Normal existence in these places is rampant with risk, regardless of efforts to avoid or mitigate it. Such research sites can include conflict zones, politically repressive environments, authoritarian states, “terrorist” or ideological groups, and more. Recommendations made in this chapter could be extended to studies of other vulnerable or marginalized populations, activists, social movements, or criminal or stigmatized groups. A set of best practices for researchers attempting to use digital methods in difficult environments is presented.
Responsible Research on Social Networks
Authors: Crowcroft Jon , Haddadi Hamed , Henderson Tristan
Published: May 2018

Researchers have found online social networks a goldmine for research into various aspects of social behavior and interpersonal communication. For example, observing social interaction between individuals and their engagement in conversations, or performing sentiment analysis on these communications, is often carried out for research in a number of disciplines such as health, sociology, or politics. Such studies introduce many challenges for conducting research in a responsible manner. Data may be repurposed or cross-correlated in ways that participants may not have anticipated or desired, private information may be collected, or legal requirements may not be met. This chapter explores some of the challenges and dilemmas faced by industry, academia, regulators, privacy advocates, and ultimately the individuals using these services. It discusses the pros and cons of the collection, analysis, and archiving of personal data for digital research. The chapter concludes by discussing theoretical and practical approaches that target these dilemmas.
Digital Trace Data and Social Research
Authors: Menchen-Trevino Ericka
Published: May 2018

Digital and mobile technologies keep users from being lost, bored, or disconnected; they also collect unprecedented amounts of data about user behavior. These digital traces are being analyzed to enable companies to sell more and governments to identify terrorist or criminal activities. Academic social scientists are just beginning to imagine and test how these data can be used to further understanding of contemporary social life. Researchers are beginning to incorporate trace data into their studies. This chapter provides a discussion of the ethical issues particular to designing such methods, such as understanding the role of corporate data providers. It covers quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches. Methods innovators must consider the ethical norms they are creating, not just the legal and ethical protocols imposed upon them. It is also essential that academic work using digital traces continue and flourish apace with the society it intends to understand and illuminate.
Contractualism, Disability, and Inclusion
Authors: Hartley Christie
Published: May 2018

This chapter considers why social contract accounts may seem particularly ill-suited to address justice for all persons with impairments or illnesses. Two variants of social contract theory are discussed: contractarianism and contractualism. It is argued that while contractarian theories may be able to address certain basic needs and interests of persons with impairments or illnesses, such theories are, nonetheless, unacceptable if one holds that (nearly all) human beings are owed justice because of their own value or intrinsic worth. Although Rawls did not address justice for those with impairments in his theory in any detail, it is argued that contractualists can develop quite inclusive theories. Two strategies for developing an inclusive contractualism are discussed, both of which focus on a capacity for cooperative contribution possessed by nearly all human beings and in which we can understand the intrinsic value of persons as inhering.
Disability, Rationality, and Justice
Authors: Begon Jessica
Published: May 2018

Is disability disadvantageous? Although many assume it is paradigmatically so, many disabled individuals disagree. Whom should we trust? On the one hand, pervasive mistrust of already underrepresented groups constitutes a serious epistemic injustice. Yet, on the other, individuals routinely adapt to mistreatment and deprivation and claim to be satisfied. If we take such “adaptive preferences” (APs) at face value, then injustice and oppression may not be recognized or rectified. Thus, we must achieve a balance between taking individuals’ preferences and self-assessment as definitive, and ignoring them entirely. Furthermore, current accounts of APs suffer from an ambiguity: are APs an unreliable guide to individuals’ interests, or to just policy? This chapter argues that we should distinguish between those that are unreliable in the former sense (“well-being APs”), and the latter (“justice APs”). Although all APs are nonautonomous, only well-being APs are irrational. Thus, preferences may be diagnosed as unreliable from the perspective of justice without impugning individuals’ rational capacities.
Prioritization and Parity
Authors: Wilkinson Dominic JC , Savulescu Julian
Published: May 2018

Public healthcare systems face challenging questions about how to allocate limited medical resources. Which patients should receive treatment? Could it be ethical to ration treatment on the basis of a preexisting disability? This chapter focuses on newborn infants and uses as an example one highly intensive and costly treatment—extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). It distinguishes treatment-level from patient-level prioritization. Triage decisions (where two or more patients present simultaneously) are compared with threshold decisions (a determination for a single patient that treatment is worth providing). A central ethical question raised by patient-level prioritization is whether it is possible to balance fairness with benefit. The chapter describes one way of balancing principles through the concept of parity and explores ways to develop practically applicable parity thresholds. It is argued that disabled patients with a predicted benefit of treatment above the parity threshold should receive equal access to treatments like ECMO.
Bioethics, Disability, and Selective Reproductive Technology
Authors: Munthe Christian
Published: May 2018

This chapter explores disability-based criticism against what is here called selective reproductive technology (SRT) such as prenatal screening programs in light of recent calls for disability theory, as well as political activism based on that, to accommodate for an intersectional turn across all types of critical social identity studies (class, disability, gender, LGBT, queer, race, etc.). Applying intersectionality to the disability SRT critique generates complex and provoking implications, not invalidating it but radically transforming its shape and direction. Most notably, it inserts a wedge between the identity-based experience that SRT unjustly discriminates and oppresses disabled people and the identity political call for SRT programs to be shut down or at least not publicly supported. Intersectionality steers the justification toward politically addressing structural factors explaining injustice independently of identity-based experience, and SRT programs may have to be allowed for such action to be sustainable also from a disability identity standpoint.
Procreation and Intellectual Disability
Authors: Kerstein Samuel J.
Published: May 2018

This chapter probes the implications of Kantian ethics concerning procreative decisions that involve offspring with intellectual disability. The chapter argues that selecting against embryos or early fetuses that would develop intellectual disabilities does not typically fail to respect persons’ dignity, according to one partial reconstruction of Kant’s Formula of Humanity. The chapter then disputes Paul Hurley and Rivka Weinberg’s contention that in some “nonidentity” cases involving offspring with disability parents treat their child merely as a means and thereby wrong her. David Wasserman claims inspiration from the Formula of Humanity in developing a necessary condition for morally permissible procreation. The chapter urges rejecting this condition for embracing it sometimes implausibly implies that in producing a child with intellectual disability, parents contravene the spirit of the Formula of Humanity.
The Shifting Politics of Sustainable Seafood Consumerism
Authors: Bush Simon R. , Roheim Cathy A.
Published: May 2018

Seafood has emerged as a key testing ground for understanding the role of different value chain actors in driving sustainability. The conventional view, developed in the late 1990s, is that sustainable seafood is driven by the choices and practices of consumers in major importing markets, such as the United States and the European Union. This view led to the development of a range of boycott and buycott initiatives in the 2000s. Many of the buycott initiatives have been formalised into consumer-facing tools, such as certification, recommendation lists, and traceability. More recently celebrity chefs have also joined in, shaping sustainable seafood as cuisine. While these initiatives and tools initially assumed a demand-shapes-supply mode of political consumerism, they have all broadened to include multiple modes of political consumerism. The future of the sustainable seafood movement is therefore dependent on a clearer articulation of diverse modes of political consumerism.
Political Consumerism in the Oil and Mining Extractive Industries
Authors: Stoddart Mark C.J. , Chewinski Max , Burt B. Quinn , Stewart Megan
Published: May 2018

This chapter draws on a range of cases where boycotts, buycotts, and discursive tactics have been used to target oil and mineral extraction. The chapter provides an overview of the key actors, strategies, and political and structural factors that facilitate political consumerism around oil and mining. In doing so, it offers insight into the possibilities and limitations of political consumerism for addressing the environmental and social justice harms of resource extraction industries. Mobilizing political consumerism against oil and mining is facilitated where there are particularly dramatic examples of violations of social or environmental wellbeing. However, flows of oil and minerals are so diffuse and pervasive throughout twenty-first-century consumer culture that targeting a single stage of the commodity chain, a single company, or a particular resource type may prove too narrow a strategy for a holistic approach to sustainable development.