bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
White Privilege
Authors: Perlow Olivia , Fuller Laurie
Published: December 2015

White privilege generally refers to the system of unearned social, psychological, and material benefits overtly and covertly granted to persons by virtue of their membership in the white racial category. Particularly relevant to the US context, this concept has historically undergone a series of shifting definitions as a result of the changing dynamics, manifestations, and understandings of white supremacy in US society. From its original conceptualization put forth by abolitionists seeking to end legal privileges granted to whites to its contemporary version heavily influenced by Peggy McIntosh, white privilege has become one of the most diversely and widely used concepts regarding race.
Philippines
Authors: Espiritu Augusto
Published: December 2015

Racial consciousness in the Philippines emerged out of a long history of colonialism. For four centuries, a succession of western empires established their hegemony over the country. The two longest rulers, Spain and the United States, imposed their systems of racial hierarchy, which encompassed economic, political, and cultural realms as well as daily encounters that reinforced racial oppressiveness. Racial consciousness became especially acute in the diaspora when colonized Filipino travelers to the colonial metropole experienced prejudice, discrimination, and violence firsthand. The stories of such encounters heightened anticolonial sentiment and led to campaigns for Philippine independence. Still, even after independence, the Philippines has failed to escape the legacy of colonial racial hierarchies. Moreover, as globalization has led to the extension of the Filipino diaspora on several continents, overseas Filipinos have faced new racial conditions, which have led to a heightening of racial consciousness.
Nation‐States and Nationalism
Authors: Cox Lloyd
Published: December 2015

Despite much eulogizing about the death of the nation‐state and nationalism, these political forms continue to flourish amid intensified globalization. The growth of nationalist contentions since the end of the Cold War has been reflected in heightened scholarly interest in nationalist phenomena. Drawing upon this literature, this entry disentangles some of the conceptual confusion that surrounds these topics, as well as introducing some of the key debates, namely debates about the nature of nations and nationalism, their causes, and their periodization, which are all canvassed in the second half of the entry.
Maquiladoras
Authors: del Rosio Barajas Escamilla María
Published: December 2015

This entry analyzes the
maquiladora
export industry (Industria maquiladora de exportación, IME) in Mexico from 1965 until its conclusion (in compliance with the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, the United States, and Canada) as a temporary import regime in 2006. The IME has been the most important form of industrial development in northern Mexico, and particularly during the 1980s and 1990s this industry underwent significant changes, mainly in terms of the coexistence of assembly and manufacturing activities. Currently, though its legal standing has changed, it remains as an export industry linked to global production chains.
Hierarchy, Racial
Authors: Bashi Treitler Vilna
Published: December 2015

Races are categories of human groups that loosely relate to phenotype. Humans are assigned to racial categories by onlookers who draw upon some racial common sense that describes the criteria for assignment, and also ranks the categories hierarchically. Racial hierarchy exists in order to afford the members of each race certain privileges or certain demerits—this inequality is the very definition of racism, which is structural as well as interpersonal. The logic of racial hierarchy is ensconced in a racial politics and a culture that dictate behaviors expected of the members of racial categories of humans and establish appropriate boundaries for interracial encounters and sanctions for violators of the racial order. Racial paradigms are the organizational structure for the set of specific racial practices and logics (racial categories, racial hierarchies, racial politics and common sense, and racial sanction) that operate in a given time and place.
I
celand
Authors: Olafsdottir Sigrun
Published: December 2015

Iceland is an island located between the United States and Europe. It has a population of approximately 320,000. Until recently, the population was homogeneous and levels of immigration were low. Since the late 1990s, Iceland has experienced a significant increase in immigration. This entry provides an overview of immigration trends in Iceland as well as a discussion of the experiences of immigrants in Iceland and on the attitudes of Icelanders toward immigration.
Paternalism
Authors: Schram Sanford F.
Published: December 2015

Paternalism is the belief in the idea that the father knows best. John Locke famously suggested that while paternalism was appropriate for the family it was not best for the state. Paternalism has continued to exist as a legitimate philosophy in projects where the Global North assists the lesser developed South. There remains a strong element of paternalism in domestic assistance programs designed to uplift the poor. Since the 1980s, the United States has led the way in promoting a “new paternalism” when it comes to domestic programs to aid the poor. Increased political polarization has left the situation on hold. In response governments have turned to the private sector to help fund social welfare programs. These marketizing, neoliberal innovations in social welfare programming risk enhancing the power of the corporate class in deciding social welfare policy in ways that may create an even more problematic form of paternalism.
Marxism
Authors: Galabuzi Grace‐Edward
Published: December 2015

The entry approaches the discussion of Marxism in relation to racism and nationalism from four points of view. The first is the extent to which race‐based studies are informed by the Marxian method and structure of analysis. The second is the connection between race and class and its implications for the respective social collectivities associated with them. The third is the ability of Marxism to take on board or integrate a racial analysis. The fourth relates to nationalism and the extent to which the state, in its role as regulator of national sovereignties, identities, and capitalist relations, is implicated in race and class formation. The entry explores these and broader notions of how they account for a better understanding of the corresponding intersections and their contribution to the emancipatory projects that are the focus of the theoretical traditions they are associated with.
MiddleEast andNorthAfrica
Authors: Shoup John
Published: December 2015

Nationalism and recognition of ethnicities began in the nineteenth century as a result of European interference in local affairs. The Tanzimat movement in the Ottoman empire attempted to redefine citizens and include all ethnicities and religions as “Ottomans.” The success of the Tanzimat movement was cut short by Sultan Abd al‐Hamid, who dissolved parliament and ruled by decree. The concept of nationalism grew among the various ethnicities of the empire, as did broader pan‐Islamic ideas. The result was the establishment of a number of independent states in the Middle East and North Africa shortly after World War I. Arab nationalism and Jewish nationalism collided in Palestine, and this dispute helped define much of post‐World WarIInationalism in the Arab world. Other countries in the region developed nationalism, often a foil to European imperialism. In recent decades pan‐Islamic concepts have proven to be highly attractive to many in the region.
UrbanLeague
Authors: Stauch Michael
Published: December 2015

The Urban League is a voluntary organization dedicated to ameliorating, through research and public policy advocacy, the social, political, and economic inequality facing African Americans in the United States. Founded at the height of Progressive Era social reforms, the Urban League utilized in‐depth sociological research into processes of urbanization to craft programs that acclimatized recent African American migrants to city life. Throughout the twentieth century, the League has been at the forefront of efforts to overcome the racial discrimination that has plagued African American attempts to improve their standing in the United States.
Netherlands
Authors: van Wichelen Sonja , de Leeuw Marc
Published: December 2015

The concepts of race, ethnicity, and nationalism have a specific history in the Dutch context. As many scholars argue, the concepts carry significant moral weight and are often avoided or conveniently ignored rather than seriously confronted or examined in the public and political sphere. The reasons for this collective avoidance can be located through the prism of three key terms—Dutch tolerance, Dutch liberalism, and Dutch identity—that correspond with certain historical periods. The golden age projected the idea of tolerance and precipitated with the Enlightenment the foundations of modern Dutch liberalism, which characterized the post‐World War II period until the end of the twentieth century. In post‐9/11 Netherlands, the assassination of Pim Fortuyn and the murder of Theo van Gogh cultivated a collective fear of an Islam that was “culturized,” ethnicized, and racialized and also contributed to reframing Dutch identity in terms of freedom and civilization.
Affirmative Action
Authors: Bills David B. , Kaufman Erin
Published: December 2015

The concept of affirmative action encompasses a broad range of voluntary and mandated policies and procedures intended to provide equal access to educational and employment opportunities to members of historically excluded groups. Foremost among the bases for historical exclusion have been race, ethnicity, and sex, although consideration is sometimes extended to other groups (e.g., Vietnam veterans, the disabled). Both the concept of affirmative action and its application have undergone many transformations and interpretations. These shifts have contributed to considerable ambivalence in public support for and opposition to affirmative action policies.
M
ays,
B
enjamin (1894–1984)
Authors: Dennis Kimya N. , Dennis Rutledge M.
Published: December 2015

Benjamin Elijah Mays was a gifted educator and religious leader born to tenant farmers who were former slaves. The youngest of eight children, Mays was determined to chart a new course for himself that would intricately link him to the collective black population as well as the larger American nation. Mays made a mark in society both with black Americans and white Americans, exemplifying good character, hard work, and determination. Such positive attributes and success in educational and religious institutions helped Mays pave a way in a society that demeans racial and ethnic minorities.
Separate but Equal
Authors: Travis Toni‐Michelle C.
Published: December 2015

The “separate but equal” legal doctrine holds that, as long as facilities are equal, blacks may be separated from whites.Plessy v. Ferguson, a Louisiana case in 1896, is based on the 1848–49 Boston school case ofRoberts v. City of Boston. ThePlessycase allowed southern states to separate blacks from whites by law.Brown v. Board of Educationin 1954 struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine in public education.
Ayodhya Issue
Authors: Jaffrelot Christophe
Published: December 2015

The Ayodhya issue has been prominent on the Indian political scene since the 1980s. In this town of Uttar Pradesh (North India), Hindu nationalists want to (re)build a temple at the birthplace of God Ram, on a site where a mosque had been constructed in the sixteenth century. The mosque was destroyed in 1992.
Muslims, Migration and Settlement of
Authors: Malik Iftikhar H.
Published: December 2015

Migration is both a historical and a contemporary Muslim experience, and it has been caused by religious, denominational, personal, familial, political, and economic determinants. While early Muslim communities evolved due to the prophetic tradition of migration (hijra), recent ones are largely political and economic in nature, resulting in a rather diverse, expansive, and visible diaspora across the world. Muslims in North America and Australia–New Zealand are largely professionals who came as students and developed family networks. Early Muslim migrants in Western and Northern Europe were semiskilled workers with a small sprinkling of political and religious exiles. Imperial countries such as Britain, France, and Holland were no strangers to Muslim soldiers, sailors, and Sufis whereas Russia and the Balkans have some of the oldest Muslim communities outside Asian and African regions. Unlike several exaggerated hypotheses, the demographic increase in the Muslim population in Europe and other Atlantic regions is in sync with similar trends among other communities.
T
ubman,
H
arriet
R
oss (1822–1913)
Authors: Clifford Larson Kate
Published: December 2015

Harriet Ross Tubman—fugitive slave, abolitionist, spy and scout during the US Civil War, suffragist, and community activist—was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She is best known as one of the most famous leaders on the Underground Railroad. Her dangerous, covert missions during the 1850s to rescue enslaved women, men, and children from her home area in Maryland earned her the biblical name “Moses” and a place among the United States' most celebrated historical figures.
Multinational Corporations
Authors: Johansen Douglas L.
Published: December 2015

The multinational corporation is formed through direct investment of a parent firm in productive foreign assets. As a result of foreign direct investment, multinational corporations can achieve significant size and scope in terms of their operations. In consequence, multinational firms play a prominent economic and social role in the economies of many nations. The multinational form of organization has its roots in the merchant trading firms of the sixteenth century and has come to be a prominent feature of today's global business landscape.
M
exican
A
mericans
Authors: Lomeli Arlett
Published: December 2015

“Mexican American” is a complex, historically changing term. Its complexity derives from a history of social construction through political periods, legal decisions, and cultural understandings of race and ethnicity within the United States. Mexican Americans became established in the United States at the end of the Mexican American War, after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. As the identity of the United States developed, with the expansion of its borders new questions of inclusion, rights, and citizenship forced the government to define its own racial project and, as a result, that of others—including Mexican Americans. This racial project continues today and is altered, reinforced, and transformed by the political, legal, and cultural forces of the time.
Twice Migrants and Multiple Migrants
Authors: Bhachu Parminder
Published: December 2015

This entry examines the concepts of “twice migrants” and “multiple migrants” as important components of general migration patterns. East African Asian postcolonial migrations are one example of these processes, which have been found among other groups and diverse societies around the globe. Such migrants acquire skills and networks that facilitate their ability to integrate into new environments or to move on to seek further opportunities in other states.
Religion and Business
Authors: Flanagan Patrick
Published: December 2015

Historically, religion and business have influenced each other although, admittedly, sometimes they have interacted in an antagonistic manner. From the religious perspective, there is a cache of teaching, particularly from the world's three monotheistic religions, on what is right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust. Drawing upon wisdom from their sacred texts, religions have critiqued significant business issues such as fiscal systems, labor conditions, economic disparities, and corporate decision‐making policies and actions, to name a few. With the rise of a more lively interest in business ethics over the past fifty years, the role of religion in the corporate world has become an important reference point. Criticism of religion from business, however, has tended to focus on religion's lack of strategic business plans and lack of proper skill sets to manage its organization.
Workforce Diversity, Internal Labor Market Approach to
Authors: Nalbantian Haig R. , Guzzo Richard A.
Published: December 2015

For several reasons, securing an ethnically, nationally, and gender‐diverse workforce and maintaining an inclusive environment for it are increasingly important objectives for many organizations. This entry offers an internal labor market view of organizational workforce diversity. The article begins by reviewing the core concept of an internal labor market and applies it to workforce diversity. The internal labor market approach is a data‐rich approach that both describes organizational “talent flows” (such as hires, promotions, and attrition) and analyzes them through statistical modeling to identify the factors that most influence those flows and ultimate representation outcomes. Applied to workforce diversity, the approach enables organizations to better understand their internal workforce dynamics and provides the basis for prioritizing and aligning interventions to better achieve diversity objectives. A case example is presented to illustrate the approach.
Armstrong, John A. (1922–2010)
Authors: Leoussi Athena S.
Published: December 2015

This entry examines the “myth and symbolism” theory of nationalism developed by John A. Armstrong. Neither primordialist nor modernist but a perennialist, Armstrong's theory of nations and nationalism reaches back into the “night of time” and forward into the present day. Armstrong's path‐breaking and monumental work,
Nations before Nationalism
, published in 1982, expressed his
longue durée
approach to the emergence of ethnic groups as incipient nations, in Europe and the Middle East. Armstrong adopted a social constructivist approach to the formation of premodern ethnic groups and modern nations, inspired by the sociologists Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann as well as the anthropologist Fredrik Barth. He saw nationalism as a doctrine advocating the formation and defense of national states that could be dated back to the sixteenth century.
Diversity in Work Teams
Authors: Ostroff Cheri , Perera Sanjeewa
Published: December 2015

Work teams comprised of members from different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups are increasingly prevalent. Understanding the impact of diverse teams is complex. Considerable research has demonstrated that individuals working in a team composed of similar others have more positive attitudes and responses and are less likely to quit. In contrast, teams comprised of diverse members have a greater range of perspectives and expertise to draw upon, which can foster creativity, innovation, and better team outcomes. The paradox that individuals prefer similarity and have more positive outcomes in teams of similar others yet diversity can foster more positive outcomes for teams highlights the challenges faced in effectively managing diverse teams. Research on diversity in work teams aims to understand how the benefits of diversity can be achieved through positive team dynamics, social integration, the overcoming of status differences, task interdependence and effective communication, and leadership processes.
Mulatto (Mixed Race)
Authors: Fritz Catarina
Published: December 2015

The term “mulatto” was commonly used during slavery, to describe an offspring of two racially defined groups: white and black. In the United States, until today, many people of European ancestry still identify themselves racially as white. People with parents from Africa and Europe no longer refer to themselves by the term mulatto, which is often deemed offensive. The
US
census after 1920 no longer included this form of categorization, but in the last two censuses (2000, 2010) a multiracial category was included, although most respondents with African ancestry identified themselves as black.
A
fghanistan
Authors: Barfield Thomas
Published: December 2015

Afghanistan's estimated population of thirty million people is divided into six major ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaq, and Turkman. The population outside these groups constitutes a much smaller proportion and consists of Baluch, Pashai, Nuristani, Pamiri, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur and Brahui. Thirty different language communities have been identified in Afghanistan, and multilingualism is common. Dari (Persian) and Pashto function as the country's two main linguae francae, Dari playing an outsized role in government administration, commerce, and education. The population in each ethnic group and its proportion to the whole is subject to controversy. No Afghan government has ever published a comprehensive census. As a result, representatives of ethnic groups tend to inflate estimates of their own numbers while minimizing the population of rival groups. Thus the ruling Pashtuns insist that they constitute the country's majority, while the disadvantaged Hazaras claim their population has always been deliberately underestimated.
Z
naniecki,
F
lorian (1882–1958)
Authors: Bulmer Martin
Published: December 2015

Florian Znaniecki was a distinguished Polish American sociologist who made notable contributions to both American and to Polish sociology. He held leading positions in both countries and was president of the American Sociological Association in 1944. He is best known as coauthor, with William Isaac Thomas, of
The Polish Peasant in Europe and America
(1918–20), a work that was one of the earliest empirical studies made in American sociology and helped to establish the study of ethnicity as a central part of the discipline.
War, Collective Memory, and Identity
Authors: Tinsley Meghan
Published: December 2015

Collective memory is the understanding of the past developed and shared by members of a nation, religion, or ethnic group in the present. It may be used either to legitimize existing configurations of power or to challenge the dominant understanding of the nation. These dynamics are apparent in the collective memory of war: the way a nation remembers a particular war both reveals and shapes its sense of self. Within a nation, marginalized groups may appeal to the collective memory of war in various ways in order to stake a claim to the nation.
T
ocqueville,
A
lexis
de
(1805–59)
Authors: Stone John , Hou Xiaoshuo
Published: December 2015

Known especially for his pioneering analysis of liberal democracy and the dynamics of revolution, Alexis de Tocqueville also provided some important insights into slavery, racism, and colonialism. His two most famous books,
Democracy in America
(1835–40) and
The Old Regime and the Revolution
(1856), focused primarily on the origins and consequences of liberal democracy and of the forces that generate and sustain revolutionary change; but there are sections in his first masterpiece and among his extensive other writings that attempt to analyze the subjects of racism, racial slavery, conquest, colonialism, and ethnic stratification. While Tocqueville's travelling companion and fellow magistrate, Gustave de Beaumont, wrote more explicitly on American slavery in the 1830s, Tocqueville's assessments of the state of play on these questions anticipate many subsequent debates around them.
Z
uma,
J
acob (1942–)
Authors: Calland Richard
Published: December 2015

Born in Nkandla, South Africa, on April 12, 1942, Jacob Zuma capped a successful and yet controversial political career with his election in 2009 as the president of the Republic of South Africa. Zuma became the fourth democratically elected president of post‐1994 South Africa. He was elected by parliament following the Africa National Congress's decisive victory in the 2009 general election. President Zuma's career has in recent years been blighted by a number of legal scandals, the most recent involving the use of public resources to fund part of the building of his private homestead, known as Nkandla. President Zuma was reelected in the May 2014 general election to serve a second and final term as president.
Conflict
Authors: Stone John , Rizova Polly S.
Published: December 2015

Conflict sociology is one of the major schools of sociological theory and the study of race and ethnic relations relies heavily on its insights. While the early development of the discipline tended to focus on the conflicts generated in the political realm by the French Revolution and in the economic sphere by the transformations flowing from the industrial revolution, conflict theories are just as relevant to race relations, ethnicity, and nationalism. Marx, Weber, Pareto, and Simmel all constructed conflict models of society, even if their primary focus was on groups demarcated by class and status boundaries. These boundaries can be repositioned to explain the basic causes and dynamics of group conflicts based on race, ethnicity, and nationalism.
K
ing,
M
artin
L
uther,
J
r. (1929–68)
Authors: Stanfield John H.
Published: December 2015

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a theologian, social activist, lecturer, and author. Born into a middle‐class family of generations of ministers in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. King represented and was spokesman for the social, moral, and political aspirations and struggles of millions of black Americans throughout the decades of the 1950s and 1960s during the age of segregation. He would become the leader of the civil rights movement, which was generally organized in black churches and supported largely by middle‐ and working‐class blacks throughout the South. Later, as white resistance in the South organized to oppose desegregation at all levels and violence against blacks and Northern whites who traveled to the South to support desegregation increased and intensified, the movement took on both national and international significance.
Exploitation, Cultural Appropriation, and Degradation
Authors: Thompson Sheneese
Published: December 2015

Cultural appropriation, a new term in popular culture, has typically been discussed as a “profound offense” that is inevitable but not necessarily harmful. Of particular interest is the unapologetic and continued appropriation of black culture. In the twenty‐first century, an increasing number of nonblack participants have become representatives of, as opposed to participants in, a cultural aesthetics that is fundamentally rooted in the black American experience. From the return of the booty to the growing population of white rappers and the appearance of decidedly urban apparel in high society, it begins to look as if black culture is increasingly profitable for everyone except blacks. While cultural appropriation is neither new nor unique to black Americans, this phenomenon has not been adequately treated as a form of exploitation, and certainly not as the latest iteration of the exploitative relationship that exists between black America and mainstream America.
Integration
Authors: Physic Gina , Abdi Saida
Published: December 2015

The concept of integration has become increasingly salient as immigration is changing the face of the west. Yet its importance did not start with the current waves of population movement. In the United States, for example, the issue of integration has been present since the birth of the nation. At the simplest level, integration is an act of combining into an integral whole. For groups of people, it is most commonly associated with racial, religious, or ethnic minority groups becoming a part of the mainstream culture and institutions of the majority. Different groups have different modes of integrating into the wider society, which are often determined by what the majority group will allow. The dominant group's acceptance of the minority group's mode of integration enables it to share in the dominant culture and social life. Such policies reflect the government's attempts to create a more cohesive and just society.
Black Aesthetics
Authors: Dennis Rutledge M. , Dennis Kimya N.
Published: December 2015

Questions related to the definition of art, the function of art, the role of creative artists (in music, painting, sculpture, and literature), and the population to whom the works of art are directed have been the subject of much debate and criticism, from Plato to the present. The concept of black aesthetics addresses and delineates the meanings, interpretations, goals, and objectives asserted by black artists engaged in the process of creating and producing. The aesthetic idea also focuses on the meaning and interpretation of cultural works when received by the intended audience. The concept of black aesthetics considers not only how and why cultural works are produced, but the cultural, political, and economic contexts in which this happens and the issues and events prompting such creative works.
Australia
Authors: Inglis Christine
Published: December 2015

This entry explores the relationship between the Indigenous population of Australia and successive waves of migrants, starting with the British colonization in the eighteenth century.
A
l‐
A
fghani,
S
ayyid
J
amaal ad‐
D
een (1838–97)
Authors: Petin Mika'il A.
Published: December 2015

Sayyid Jamaal ad‐Deen al‐Afghani was a political agitator, a religious reformer, a skilled orator, an intellectual, and a revolutionary who sought cultural, political, and societal change in Muslim countries. He pursued these changes at a time when a deep chasm existed between Muslim countries and Europe on issues relating to knowledge and learning, science, technology, and commerce. Al‐Afghani was preoccupied with Islamic education, traditions, and religion in an increasingly rational, scientific, modernizing world.
Social Networks and Racial and Ethnic Boundaries in Organizations
Authors: Rizova Polly S. , Stone John
Published: December 2015

In the era of globalization, researchers and practitioners alike advocate racial and ethnic diversity in organizations as a way of increasing equality, creativity, and productivity as well as in order to enhance the quality of decision making. Nevertheless, organizations, both domestic and global, remain less diverse than anticipated, especially in the context of a mobile global world. This entry employs the analytical concepts of group boundaries and social closure to better understand racial and ethnic diversity in organizations. In particular, we examine the role social networks play in maintaining ethnic and racial boundaries and how they act as a potent mechanism by which power and status dynamics are continuously reproduced in organizational contexts. Some of the immediate manifestations of those power and status dynamics are discussed, as well as their implications for the management of a diverse workforce.
3D Bicontinuous Nanoporous Reduced Graphene Oxide for Highly Sensitive Photodetectors
Authors: Ito Yoshikazu , Zhang Wenfeng , Li Jinhua , Chang Haixin , Liu Pan , Fujita Takeshi , Tan Yongwen , Yan Feng , Chen Mingwei
Published: December 2015

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) is an important graphene derivative for applications in photonics and optoelectronics because of the band gap created by chemical oxidation. However, most RGO materials made by chemically exfoliated graphite oxide are 2D flakes. Their optoelectronic performance deteriorates significantly as a result of weak light‐matter interaction and poor electrical contact between stacking flakes. Here we report a bicontinuous 3D nanoporous RGO (3D np‐RGO) with high optoelectronic performance for highly sensitive photodetectors. 3D np‐RGO demonstrates a over 40 times higher light absorption than monolayer graphene materials and at least two orders of magnitude higher electron mobility than conventional RGO from discrete RGO flakes. The np‐RGO with an optimal reduction state shows ultrahigh photoresponse of 3.10 3 104 A W−1 at room temperature, approximately four orders of magnitude higher than graphene and other graphene derivatives at similar levels of light intensity radiations, and the excellent external quantum efficiency of 1.04 3 107% better than commercial silicon photodetector. The ultrahigh capability of conversing photons to photocurrent originates from strongly enhanced light absorption, facilitated photocarrier transport, and tunable oxygenous defects and reduction states in the 3D interconnected bicontinuous RGO network.
Core–Shell Ge@Graphene@TiO2 Nanofibers as a High‐Capacity and Cycle‐Stable Anode for Lithium and Sodium Ion Battery
Authors: Wang Xiaoyan , Fan Ling , Gong Decai , Zhu Jian , Zhang Qingfeng , Lu Bingan
Published: December 2015

Germanium is considered as a promising anode material because of its comparable lithium and sodium storage capability, but it usually exhibits poor cycling stability due to the large volume variation during lithium or sodium uptake and release processes. In this paper, germanium@graphene nanofibers are first obtained through electrospinning followed by calcination. Then atomic layer deposition is used to fabricate germanium@graphene@TiO2 core–shell nanofibers (Ge@G@TiO2 NFs) as anode materials for lithium and sodium ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs). Graphene and TiO2 can double protect the germanium nanofibers in charge and discharge processes. The Ge@G@TiO2 NFs composite as an anode material is versatile and exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance for LIBs and SIBs. The capacity of the Ge@G@TiO2 NFs composite can be maintained at 1050 mA h g−1 (100th cycle) and 182 mA h g−1 (250th cycle) for LIBs and SIBs, respectively, at a current density of 100 mA g−1, showing high capacity and good cycling stability (much better than that of Ge nanofibers or Ge@G nanofibers).
Highly Disordered Array of Silicon Nanowires: an Effective and Scalable Approach for Performing and Flexible Electrochemical Biosensors
Authors: Maiolo Luca , Polese Davide , Pecora Alessandro , Fortunato Guglielmo , Shacham‐Diamand Yosi , Convertino Annalisa
Published: December 2015

The direct integration of disordered arranged and randomly oriented silicon nanowires (SiNWs) into ultraflexible and transferable electronic circuits for electrochemical biosensing applications is proposed. The working electrode (WE) of a three‐electrode impedance device, fabricated on a polyimide (PI) film, is modified with SiNWs covered by a thin Au layer and functionalized to bind the sensing element. The biosensing behavior is investigated through the ligand–receptor binding of biotin–avidin system. Impedance measurements show a very efficient detection of the avidin over a broad range of concentrations from hundreds of micromolar down to the picomolar values. The impedance response is modeled through a simple equivalent circuit, which takes into account the unique WE morphology and its modification with successive layers of biomolecules. This approach of exploiting highly disordered SiNW ensemble in biosensing proves to be very promising for the following three main reasons: first, the system morphology allows high sensing performance; second, these nanostructures can be built via scalable and transferable fabrication methodology allowing an easy integration on non‐conventional substrates; third, reliable modeling of the sensing response can be developed by considering the morphological and surface characteristics over an ensemble of disordered NWs rather than over individual NWs.
Synthesis of B/P/N Containing Flame‐Retardant Additives and UV Curable Hybrid Coating Applications
Authors: Ocakoĝlu Melike , Şen Ferhat , Kahraman Memet Vezir
Published: December 2015

The aim of this study is to synthesize flame‐retardant additive by using B/P/N and to investigate this additive's performance in the ultraviolet (UV) curable system. Therefore, in the first stage, borate ester (triethanolamine borate, TEAB) was synthesized by the reaction of boric acid and triethanolamine. In the second stage, phosphate salt of borate ester (triethanolamine borate polyphosphoric acid, TEAB‐PPA) was synthesized by the reaction of borate ester (TEAB), which synthesized in the first stage and PPA. Thermal stability and flammability of the samples were evaluated by thermal gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and limiting oxygen index. The samples were characterized with the following analyses: Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, UV transmittance, gel content, water absorption capacity, and stress–strain test. Hydrophilicity of the samples was determined by the contact angle measurements. Moreover, the surface morphology of the samples was investigated by a scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometer mapping. The obtained results prove that boron, nitrogen, and phosphorus increased the flame retardancy property of the synthesized additive and suggest desired flame retardancy using various resins and different ratio of additives.
Synthesis of (+)‐trans‐Dihydrolycoricidine by an Organocatalytic Enantioselective Friedel–Crafts Reaction
Authors: Kato Masaru , Yasui Koji , Yamanaka Masahiro , Nagasawa Kazuo
Published: December 2015

The amaryllidaceae alkaloid (+)‐trans‐dihydrolycoricidine (1) was synthesized by asymmetric organocatalytic Friedel–Crafts reaction of sesamol with nitro‐olefin followed by an intramolecular Henry reaction for construction of the C ring system. Construction of the B ring was achieved by a microwave‐assisted palladium‐catalyzed CO insertion reaction. Finally, regio‐ and stereoselective introduction of the third hydroxyl group (at C3) on the C ring afforded 1.
An evaluation of sex‐ and ancestry‐specific variation in sacral size and shape using geometric morphometrics
Authors: Rusk K.M. , Ousley Stephen D.
Published: December 2015

Objectives

Sex estimation using the human sacrum has primarily been limited to the use of non‐statistical, visual observations of sacral size and shape with no quantifiable measure of certainty. Qualitative sex estimates rely primarily on generalizations of two aspects of sacral morphology: dorso‐ventral curvature and the S1/alae breadth ratio. Additionally, the use of sacral morphology for ancestry estimation has largely been ignored. The goals of this study are to detail sex‐ and ancestry‐specific variation in sacral form using geometric morphometrics and to evaluate the contributions of dorso‐ventral curvature and the S1/alae breadth ratio to such variation.

Materials and Methods

Twenty‐five sacral landmarks were digitized from a sample of 201 human individuals of known sex, age, and ancestry at the Hamann‐Todd Osteological Collection. Three‐dimensional coordinate data were used to calculate independent measures of shape and size using generalized Procrustes analysis. We computed discriminant functions using two configurations of Procrustes coordinates, representing disparate aspects of sacral morphology, centroid size, and interlandmark distances to evaluate the classification potential of each dataset.

Results

Cross‐validated classification accuracies ranged from 60.2 to 98.0% for sex estimation and 60.0 to 95.8% for ancestry estimation depending on the variables and aspects of sacral morphology represented by each dataset. Our results confirm the important role of the S1/alae breadth ratio for sex estimation, while dorso‐ventral curvature shows more utility in estimating ancestry than sex, contrary to traditional use. Discussion: Sex estimations based on vague, “eyeballed” observations ignore the amount of variation within sexes and may produce incorrect estimates. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:646–654, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Who were they really? model‐free and model‐bound dental nonmetric analyses to affirm documented population affiliations of seven South African “Bantu” samples
Authors: Irish Joel D.
Published: December 2015

Objectives

For bioarchaeological biodistance analyses it is common to “assume” that skeletal samples are representative of the populations to which they are attributed. Here, alternatively, samples with “known” attribution in the Raymond A. Dart Collection are assessed regarding their suitability for use in such analyses. Prior curation issues may call their ascribed identities into question.

Materials and Methods

These 20th century samples ostensibly derive from South African Ndebele, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Venda, Xosa, and Zulu populations. First, the mean measure of divergence (MMD) is used to obtain among‐sample dental phenetic distances for comparison with documented population relationships. Second, the Mantel test evaluates fit of the isolation‐by‐distance model between MMD and geographic distances, i.e., among the historic homelands. Third, R‐matrices and minimum and estimated Fst from MMD distances give an indication of genetic micro‐differentiation.

Results

Output from these model‐free and model‐bound analyses suggest that five and perhaps six samples are representative of their attributed populations—presenting differences along population lines and evidence of more ancient ancestry.

Discussion

Other than the Swazi and perhaps Nedebele, the among‐sample variation: 1) mirrors documented population history, 2) reveals a moderately positive correlation between phenetic and geographic distances, and 3) although evidencing much homogeneity, provides measures of genetic distance in support of the phenetic distances. Therefore, with the two noted exceptions—perhaps from collection issues, swamping of past genetic structure, or both, most samples appear suitable for bioarchaeological analyses. On this basis, results are offered to supplement published findings concerning the biological relationships of these peoples. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:655–670, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Isobutylaluminum aryloxides as metallocene activators in Homo‐ and copolymerization of olefins
Authors: Faingol'd Evgeny E. , Bravaya Natalia M. , Panin Andrei N. , Babkina Olga N. , Saratovskikh Stanislav L. , Privalov Victor I.
Published: December 2015

The article describes that sterically hindered isobutylaluminum aryloxides with bulky tBu substituents at 2,6‐ positions of aryl fragment, i.e. (2,6‐di‐tBu,4‐R‐C6H2O)AliBu2 (R = H (1‐DTBP), Me (1‐BHT), tBu (1‐TTBP)) and (2,6‐di‐tBu,4‐R‐C6H2O)2AliBu (R=H(2‐DTBP), Me(2‐BHT)) can serve as cocatalysts for metallocene complexes. Isobutylaluminum aryloxides have been applied for activation of rac‐Et(2‐MeInd)2ZrMe2 in homopolymerization of ethylene, propylene, copolymerization of ethylene and propylene, and terpolymerization of ethylene, propylene, and 5‐ethylidene‐2‐norbornene at Al/Zr = 300 mol/mol. The type of R substituent at 4‐position has a significant effect on catalyst activity. The catalytic system with 1‐TTBP showed the highest activity in all homo‐ and copolymerization processes. Diisobutylaluminum aryloxides provide much higher activity to the systems in all polymerization processes and stronger ability for propylene incorporation in copolymer than diaryloxides. The activities of the systems with isobutylaluminum aryloxides are similar or exceed that of the system with MAO as activator as have shown for propylene polymerization. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43276.
Thermal and mechanical behavior of poly(vinyl butyral)‐modified novolac epoxy/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites
Authors: Kavita  , Mordina Bablu , Tiwari R. K.
Published: December 2015

The effects of poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) and acid‐functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube modification on the thermal and mechanical properties of novolac epoxy nanocomposites were investigated. The nanocomposite containing 1.5 wt % PVB and 0.1 wt % functionalized carbon nanotubes showed an increment of about 15°C in the peak degradation temperature compared to the neat novolac epoxy. The glass‐transition temperature of the novolac epoxy decreased with increasing PVB content but increased with an increase in the functionalized carbon nanotube concentration. The nanocomposites showed a lower tensile strength compared to the neat novolac epoxy; however, the elongation at break improved gradually with increasing PVB content. Maximum elongation and impact strength values of 7.4% and 17.0 kJ/m2 were achieved in the nanocomposite containing 1.5 wt % PVB and 0.25 wt % functionalized carbon nanotubes. The fractured surface morphology was examined with field emission scanning electron microscopy, and correlated with the mechanical properties. The functionalized carbon nanotubes showed preferential accumulation in the PVB phase beyond 0.25 wt % loading. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43333.
One‐pot synthesis of monodispersed phosphazene‐containing microspheres with active amino groups
Authors: Li Zhenke , Wang Guanghui , Zhang Aiqing , An Liang , Tian Yongsheng
Published: December 2015

An amine‐terminated nucleophile Hexakis (4‐aminophenoxy) cyclotriphosphazene (HACP) was synthesized. Its chemical structure was identified by 1H NMR and 31P NMR. Novel monodispersed phosphazene‐containing microspheres with active amino groups on the surface have been successfully prepared through a one‐pot precipitation polymerization of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene with HACP. Just by single step, the microspheres were synthesized without stirring, surfactant and ultrasonic irradiation. The diameter of the obtained microspheres ranged from 0.1 to 0.5 μm with the rough surface. And, the onset of the thermal‐degradation temperature was 460°C, which is attributed to the highly cross‐linked structure and the introduced of the cyclotriphosphazene rings. Moreover, the products at variable stages of polymerization were measured by TEM. The formation mechanism was proposed which is corresponding with an oligomeric species absorbing mechanism. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43336.
Whole‐cell biocatalytic and de novo production of alkanes from free fatty acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Foo Jee Loon , Susanto Adelia Vicanatalita , Keasling Jay D. , Leong Susanna Su Jan , Chang Matthew Wook
Published: December 2015

Rapid global industrialization in the past decades has led to extensive utilization of fossil fuels, which resulted in pressing environmental problems due to excessive carbon emission. This prompted increasing interest in developing advanced biofuels with higher energy density to substitute fossil fuels and bio‐alkane has gained attention as an ideal drop‐in fuel candidate. Production of alkanes in bacteria has been widely studied but studies on the utilization of the robust yeast host, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for alkane biosynthesis have been lacking. In this proof‐of‐principle study, we present the unprecedented engineering of S. cerevisiae for conversion of free fatty acids to alkanes. A fatty acid α‐dioxygenase from Oryza sativa (rice) was expressed in S. cerevisiae to transform C12–18 free fatty acids to C11–17 aldehydes. Co‐expression of a cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenase converted the aldehydes to the desired alkanes. We demonstrated the versatility of the pathway by performing whole‐cell biocatalytic conversion of exogenous free fatty acid feedstocks into alkanes as well as introducing the pathway into a free fatty acid overproducer for de novo production of alkanes from simple sugar. The results from this work are anticipated to advance the development of yeast hosts for alkane production. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 232–237. © 2016 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.