bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
General practitioner opinion of weight management interventions in New Zealand
Authors: Claridge Rosemary , Gray Lesley , Stubbe Maria , Macdonald Lindsay , Tester Rachel , Dowell Anthony
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Internationally, a number of studies have investigated general practitioner (GP) opinion of weight management interventions. To date there have been no similar studies carried out in New Zealand. This study aimed to explore GP opinion of weight management interventions in one region of New Zealand. Understanding GP opinion is important, as rates of obesity are increasing and GPs are front-line health care service providers. The data collected could be used to guide health service development in New Zealand, and to inform training and support of GPs in obesity management. METHODS: A qualitative study using inductive thematic analysis of a series of 12 semi-structured interviews with GPs in the Wellington region of New Zealand. FINDINGS: Five key themes were identified: 1) GP perceptions of what the GP can do; 2) the roots of the obesity problem; 3) why the GP doesnt succeed; 4) current primary care interventions; and 5) bariatric surgery. CONCLUSION: The GPs interviewed felt responsible for treatment of obesity in their patients. They expressed a sense of disempowerment regarding their ability to carry this out, identifying multiple barriers. These included: a society where overweight is seen as normal; complex situations in which weight management is rooted in personal issues; stigma associated with overweight and its management; lack of efficacious interventions; and low resource availability. Bariatric surgery was viewed cautiously in general, though some examples of positive results were reported, as well as a desire for increased access to this treatment option. KEYWORDS: Body weight change; general practice; obesity; primary health care; therapy
Cardiovascular disease risk management for Maori in New Zealand general practice
Authors: Gu Yulong , Warren Jim , Kennelly John , Neuwelt Pat , Harwood Matire
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Maori are overrepresented in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and morbidity statistics in New Zealand (NZ). AIM: To examine cardiovascular risk (CVR) assessment and management for Maori, utilising Caring Does Matter (CDM) initiative data. METHODS: Using 16 general practices? electronic medical records ? which include ethnicity data ? the rate of CVR screening, CVD medication treatment and adherence levels, and physiological measures for Maori patients at high CVR (=15% five-year risk of a cardiovascular event) were compared to findings for Pacific and non-Maori/non-Pacific patients. RESULTS: Records for 72 351 adults (10 358 Maori; 14%) showed that Maori patients have a poorer CVR assessment rate (46% at guideline-indicated age) than Pacific and non-Maori/non-Pacific groups; when assessed, a greater proportion of Maori patients (38%) were at high CVR. The proportion of high-CVR Maori patients being treated with oral antidiabetic medication (42%) was lower than for Pacific patients but higher than for non-Maori/non-Pacific patients. Lower rates of antihypertensive adherence were found for high-CVR Maori patients than for non-Maori/non-Pacific patients (although higher than for Pacific patients). The high-CVR Maori patients who adhered to CVD medications had lower blood pressure, total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio and HbA1c than non-adherers. DISCUSSION: The association between higher medication adherence and better control of risk factors suggests that adherence should be further promoted by clinicians. More active CVR assessment, treatment and support of medication adherence in Maori attending general practices is justified, given their high mortality rate from CVD in comparison to the overall NZ population. KEYWORDS: Antihypertensives; blood pressure; cardiovascular diseases; haemoglobin A, glycosylated; medication adherence
Midwifery-led care embedded within primary care: consumer satisfaction with a model in New Zealand
Authors: Pullon Susan , Gray Ben , Steinmetz Monika , Molineux Claire
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Providing quality maternity care for high-needs, socially deprived women from ethnic minority groups is challenging. Consumer satisfaction with maternity services is an important aspect of service evaluation for this group. This pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using focus groups and interviews to gauge consumer satisfaction of maternity care by high-needs women, and to explore their perceptions of the Newtown Union Health Service (NUHS) model of a midwifery-led service embedded in primary care in Wellington, New Zealand (NZ). METHODS: Following a previous audit of consumer satisfaction surveys collected over a six-year period, a qualitative pilot study using a thematic analytic approach was conducted at the NUHS in late 2011. The study assessed use of focus groups and interviews, interpreted where necessary, and considered the experiences reported by women about the model of care. FINDINGS: Interviews and focus groups were successfully conducted with 11 women: two NZ European (individual interviews), six Cambodian (five in a focus group, one interview), and three Samoan (focus group). Using a thematic analytic approach, key themes identified from the focus group and interviews were: issues with survey form-filling; importance of accessibility and information; and relationships and communication with the midwifery team. CONCLUSION: Interviews and focus groups were well received, and indicated positive endorsement of the model of care. They also revealed some hitherto unknown concerns. Good quality feedback about satisfaction with a range of maternal and child health services helps service providers to provide the best possible start in life for children in high-needs families. KEYWORDS: Interprofessional; maternity care; New Zealand; patient care team; primary health care
Polycystic ovary syndrome: a review of cases from general practice
Authors: Lawrenson Ross , Gibbons Veronique , Nair Poornima , Keenan Rawiri , Lack Liza , Harford Clare , Porter Denise , Das Zitendra , Hussain Haseena , Varma Raj , Fernandes Roshan
Published: November 2018

This paper reports a review of 55 cases of polycystic ovary syndrome by general practice registrars in the Waikato region of New Zealand. In addition to demographic data, presenting symptoms, diagnostic tests, associated conditions and treatment post-diagnosis are discussed. The majority of cases (76%) were first diagnosed by the general practitioner. The review suggests there may be a need for better recording of key diagnostic criteria and that ultrasound is being widely used as a diagnostic test despite local guidelines discouraging its use if other appropriate diagnostic criteria are met. KEYWORDS: Case reports; diagnostic tests; general practice; polycystic ovary syndrome
Rural women’s perspectives of maternity services in the Midland Region of New Zealand
Authors: Gibbons Veronique , Lancaster Gytha , Gosman Kim , Lawrenson Ross
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION
Rural women face many challenges with regards to maternity services. Many rural primary birthing facilities in New Zealand have closed. The Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) model of maternity care, introduced in 1990, has moved provision of rural maternity care from doctors to independent midwifery services. Shortages of rural midwives in the Midland region led to rural maternity care being seen as a vulnerable service.

AIM
To understand the views and experiences of rural women concerning maternity care, to inform the future design and provision of rural maternity services.

METHODS
Participants were drawn from areas purposively selected to represent the five District Health Boards comprising the Midland health region. A demographic questionnaire, focus groups and individual interviews explored rural women’s perspectives of antenatal care provision. These were analysed thematically.

RESULTS
Sixty-two women were recruited. Key themes emerging from focus groups and interviews included: access to services, the importance of safety and quality of care, the need for appropriate information at different stages, and the role of partners, family and friends in the birthing journey. While most women were happy with access to services, quality of care, provision of information, and the role of family in their care, for some women, this experience could be enhanced.

CONCLUSION
Midwives are the frontline service for women seeking antenatal services. Support for rural midwives and for local birthing units is needed to ensure rural women receive services equal to that of their urban counterparts.
Feasibility of an after-school group-based exercise and lifestyle programme to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and health in less-active Pacific and Maori adolescents
Authors: Chansavang Yongchie , Raina Elley C , McCaffrey Brighid , Davidson Chloe , Dewes Ofa , Dalleck Lance
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Obesity and low levels of physical activity are increasing among Pacific and Maori adolescents in New Zealand. AIM: To assess the feasibility of an after-school exercise and lifestyle programme to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, health and usual activity in less-active Pacific and Maori adolescents over six weeks. METHODS: Eighteen less-active secondary school students participated. The six-week programme included 3 x 1.5 hour exercise and healthy lifestyle sessions per week. Outcomes included estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2 max), insulin resistance (Homeostasis Model Assessment), physical activity, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose, blood pressure, waist circumference and fasting lipids, measured at baseline and six weeks. Programme attendance and qualitative comments were also recorded. Student?s t-tests were used. RESULTS: Of the 18 students enrolled, 16 (89%) completed six-week follow-up, 14 (78%) were female, 13 (72%) were Pacific ethnicity and 5 (28%) were Maori. At baseline, mean age was 16.3 (standard deviation [SD] 1.0) years, body mass index (BMI) 35.2 (SD 6.7) kg/m2 , VO2 max 31.5 (SD 4.3) mL/kg/min, systolic blood pressure 125.0 (SD 12.9) mm Hg, HbA1c 39.9 (SD 3.8) mmol/mol, fasting serum insulin 28.3 (SD 27.8) �U/mL. At follow-up, improvements had occurred in VO2 max (3.2 mL/kg/min; p=0.02), systolic blood pressure (-10.6 mm Hg; p=0.003), HbA1c (-1.1 mmol/mol; p=0.03) and weekly vigorous (4 hours, p=0.002) and moderate (2 hours, p=0.006) physical activity, although waist circumference increased (p=0.005). Programme attendance was over 50%. Comments were mostly positive. DISCUSSION: The after-school exercise and lifestyle programme and study methods were feasible. Such programmes have the potential to improve health outcomes for Pacific and Maori adolescents. KEYWORDS: Adolescent; diabetes mellitus; ethnic groups; exercise; physical fitness; primary prevention
Chlamydia trachomatis screening in pregnancy in New Zealand: translation of national guidelines into practice
Authors: Wise Michelle , Sadler Lynn , Ekeroma Alec
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI), and routine antenatal screening to reduce the risk of vertical transmission is recommended in New Zealand (NZ). AIM: To determine the proportion of pregnant women who have been screened for C. trachomatis in selected hospitals since the 2008 NZ Ministry of Health Chlamydia Management Guidelines were published, and to examine variation by age and ethnicity. METHODS: Clinical audits were undertaken at four NZ hospitals, using electronic databases to determine if C. trachomatis screening had occurred. RESULTS: Only 24%, 31%, 35% and 61% of pregnant women were screened in Tauranga (2010), Auckland (2013), Waikato (2013) and Middlemore (2011) hospitals, respectively. DISCUSSION: Despite increases in the proportion of pregnant women screened in Auckland and Middlemore compared to pre-2008, and higher proportions of young women and Maori women screened, overall antenatal screening for C. trachomatis remains suboptimal. Several strategies are presented to support universal screening in pregnancy, as recommended by the NZ Ministry of Health. KEYWORDS: Chlamydia trachomatis; mass screening; medical audit; pregnancy
Optimising neurosurgical outpatient care: a paradigm shift?
Authors: Kamat Ameya , Parker Andrew
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: The Wellington Regional Hospital (WRH) neurosurgical service has noted a substantial increase in patient volumes over the last decade, with referrals to the neurosurgical outpatient clinic appearing to have increased even more substantially. AIM: To quantify the increase in referrals to the WRH neurosurgical outpatient service and to determine whether this has translated into an increase in the number of neurosurgical procedures performed. METHODS: All referrals to the WRH neurosurgical department from the lower North and upper South Islands of New Zealand spanning 10 years were collected. Key outcome data were the number of interventions performed. In addition to GP referrals, all specialist referrals to the WRH neurosurgical outpatient service were also analysed as a comparison. RESULTS: In total, 19 201 patients were referred to the WRH neurosurgical service over the 10 years of the study. Within this timeframe, 7105 patients were referred by GPs and 12 096 were referred by specialist teams. Only 348 patients (4.9%) referred by GPs underwent some form of therapeutic intervention, compared to 3489 patients (28.8%) referred by specialist teams. DISCUSSION: Our data shows that specialist referrals result in a proportionally greater number of therapeutic interventions than GP referrals. This is in part due to the wider array of diagnostic tests available to specialists compared to GPs. The development of relevant guidelines for primary care referral to a neurosurgical service appears warranted and could facilitate initiation of appropriate investigations in primary care. KEYWORDS: Neurosurgery; outpatients; primary health care; referrals
Potion or Poison? Olive leaf
Authors: Martini Nataly
Published: November 2018

SUMMARY MESSAGE: Olive leaf has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and pancreatic beta-cell function, although the mechanism by which it does so is not fully elucidated. Its effects on lipids and blood pressure are less clear and further research is required to substantiate these claims. No interactions have been documented; however, care should be taken with blood pressure?lowering medicines and hypoglycaemic agents, and olive leaf should not be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women in amounts greater than that found in food.
The price of ‘free’. Quantifying the costs incurred by rural residents attending publically funded outpatient clinics in rural and base hospitals
Authors: Fearnley David , Kerse Ngaire , Nixon Garry
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION
Rural living is associated with increased costs in many areas, including health care. However, there is very little local data to quantify these costs, and their unknown quantity means that costs are not always taken into account in health service planning and delivery.

AIM
The aim of this study was to calculate the average time and travel costs of attending rural and base hospital outpatient clinics for rural Central Otago residents.

METHODS
A survey of 51 people attending rural hospital outpatient clinics. Individual costs in terms of travel and time were quantified and an average cost of both rural and base hospital attendance was calculated.

RESULTS
The average travel and lost time cost of attending a rural outpatient clinic was NZ$182 and 61% of respondents reported this cost had a significant effect on their weekly budget. The average cost incurred by residents associated with a base hospital attendance in Dunedin was NZ$732.

DISCUSSION
This study data show that costs are substantial and probably higher than most people might expect for both rural and base hospital attendances. It seems likely that these costs are a potential barrier to service access. However, the full implications of the personal costs incurred by rural residents in accessing health services are largely unstudied and therefore remain unknown in New Zealand.
Setting the scene, setting the targets. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS prevention targets of 2016 and estimating global pre-exposure prophylaxis targets
Authors: Coleman Rosalind
Published: November 2018

Commitment to ambitious and time-bound targets for HIV interventions has been part of the response from the beginning of the HIV epidemic. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) HIV primary prevention workA is built on five pillars that include offering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to population groups at substantial risk of HIV infection. After a slow start, countries are now setting coverage targets for PrEP, but the weakness of epidemiological, demographic and behavioural data at subnational level in many countries where there is a high burden of new HIV infections, makes it difficult to define the locations and populations where to offer PrEP. This article reviews the history and challenges of PrEP target setting and suggests some possible ways of strengthening the process. Reviewing program data will identify gaps in reaching key and other priority populations for whom coverage targets were set and help to refine the offer of PrEP.
Degrees of population-level susceptibility of Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species to predation by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus)
Authors: Radford James Q. , Woinarski John C. Z. , Legge Sarah , Baseler Marcus , Bentley Joss , Burbidge Andrew A. , Bode Michael , Copley Peter , Dexter Nicholas , Dickman Chris R. , Gillespie Graeme , Hill Brydie , Johnson Chris N. , Kanowski John , Latch Peter , Letnic Mike , Manning Adrian , Menkhorst Peter , Mitchell Nicola , Morris Keith , Moseby Katherine , Page Manda , Ringma Jeremy
Published: November 2018

Context Over the last 230 years, the Australian terrestrial mammal fauna has suffered a very high rate of decline and extinction relative to other continents. Predation by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus) is implicated in many of these extinctions, and in the ongoing decline of many extant species. Aims To assess the degree to which Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species are susceptible at the population level to predation by the red fox and feral cat, and to allocate each species to a category of predator susceptibility. Methods We collated the available evidence and complemented this with expert opinion to categorise each Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species (extinct and extant) into one of four classes of population-level susceptibility to introduced predators (i.e. ‘extreme’, ‘high’, ‘low’ or ‘not susceptible’). We then compared predator susceptibility with conservation status, body size and extent of arboreality; and assessed changes in the occurrence of species in different predator-susceptibility categories between 1788 and 2017. Key results Of 246 Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species (including extinct species), we conclude that 37 species are (or were) extremely predator-susceptible; 52 species are highly predator-susceptible; 112 species are of low susceptibility; and 42 species are not susceptible to predators. Confidence in assigning species to predator-susceptibility categories was strongest for extant threatened mammal species and for extremely predator-susceptible species. Extinct and threatened mammal species are more likely to be predator-susceptible than Least Concern species; arboreal species are less predator-susceptible than ground-dwelling species; and medium-sized species (35 g–3.5kg) are more predator-susceptible than smaller or larger species. Conclusions The effective control of foxes and cats over large areas is likely to assist the population-level recovery of ~63 species – the number of extant species with extreme or high predator susceptibility – which represents ~29% of the extant Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal fauna. Implications Categorisation of predator susceptibility is an important tool for conservation management, because the persistence of species with extreme susceptibility will require intensive management (e.g. predator-proof exclosures or predator-free islands), whereas species of lower predator susceptibility can be managed through effective landscape-level suppression of introduced predators.
Intrinsically ultrastrong plasmon–exciton interactions in crystallized films of carbon nanotubes
Authors: Ho Po-Hsun , Farmer Damon B. , Tulevski George S. , Han Shu-Jen , Bishop Douglas M. , Gignac Lynne M. , Bucchignano Jim , Avouris Phaedon , Falk Abram L.
Published: November 2018

Significance

Carbon nanotubes, each a cylindrical nanocrystal of carbon atoms, can be crystallized into monolithic, two-dimensionally ordered films through a simple vacuum filtration technique. A particularly fascinating property of these crystallized nanotube films is that they function as a unique type of antenna whose excitations comprise intrinsically ultrastrongly coupled plasmons and excitons. This type of intrinsic coupling contrasts to the many existing demonstrations of strongly coupled hybrid systems, in which emitters are coupled to external photonic or plasmonic cavities. Technologically, crystallized nanotube films could provide a materials-driven pathway from fundamental concepts in quantum electrodynamics to advanced telecommunications hardware. Their applicability could also extend to battery anodes, high-ampacity conductors, and microelectromechanical systems.
Pattern recall, decision making and talent identification in rugby union
Authors: Sherwood Sebastian , Smith Tiaki , Masters Rich S. W.
Published: November 2018

The ability to make fast, accurate decisions is an essential skill for all who play sport. However, measuring this ability has proved difficult for coaches and talent identification practitioners. Pattern recognition (a key factor in decision making) has commonly been measured using pattern recall tasks. This study aimed to understand whether accuracy when recalling rugby union patterns is a valid measure of on‐field decision making performance. In Study 1, professional players recalled structured patterns of players from still images (N = 20) viewed for 5 s. On‐field decision‐making markers, including coaches’ rankings of decision‐making ability, playing position, number of years playing professionally and total number of years playing rugby union, were used as predictor variables of recall accuracy. Results showed that only total number of years playing rugby union was correlated with recall accuracy, suggesting that caution is necessary when adopting these tasks for talent identification purposes. The structured stimuli used in Study 1 were not representative of a true rugby union game, so Study 2 tested novice and expert players on a pattern recall task that included structured, semi‐structured and unstructured rugby union patterns. Experts were significantly more accurate than novices when recalling structured and semi‐structured patterns; however, there were no differences when recalling unstructured patterns. It was concluded that structured and semi‐structured patterns should be used in future studies to test whether pattern recall tasks can be used for talent identification in rugby union.
IgM’s exit route
Authors: Reversat Anne , Sixt Michael
Published: November 2018

In this issue of JEM, Thierry et al. (https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20180344) demonstrate that, once secreted by freshly activated plasmablasts, IgM leaves the lymph node via the microarchitecture of the fibroblastic reticular cell conduit. This work demonstrates how the very peculiar stromal compartment of lymphatic organs optimizes the systemic distribution of immune effectors.
Media Technologies in Communication and Critical Cultural Studies
Authors: O'Gorman Ned
Published: November 2018

Media technologies are at the heart of media studies in communication and critical cultural studies. They have been studied in too many ways to count and from a wide variety of perspectives. Yet fundamental questions about media technologies—their nature, their scope, their power, and their place within larger social, historical, and cultural processes—are often approached by communication and critical cultural scholars only indirectly. A survey of 20th- and 21st-century approaches to media technologies shows communication and critical cultural scholars working from, for, or against “deterministic” accounts of the relationship between media technologies and social life through “social constructivist” understandings to “networked” accounts where media technologies are seen embedding and embedded within socio-material structures, practices, and processes. Recent work on algorithms, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and platforms, together with their manifestations in the products and services of monopolistic corporations like Facebook and Google, has led to new concerns about the totalizing power of digital media over culture and society.
Paulo Freire and Communication Studies
Authors: Ramalho Tania
Published: November 2018

For Paulo Freire, the Brazilian activist educator and philosopher of education, communication is at the heart of pedagogy, teaching, and learning through praxis that involves reflection and action ultimately to address social injustice and dehumanization. Dialogue is at the center of his pedagogical approach, as means to individuation and humanization. Dialogue assumes participants to be on an equal level even in the presence of difference. In his literacy work, Freire required teacher-facilitators to co-investigate the most important themes in the lives of students. These themes were codified into pictures and brought to dialogue that animated the re-creation of knowledge of participants’ world and themselves in it and, in the process of learning how to read, achieving knowledge of the word. The objective of this approach was not to reproduce “banking” education but to promote revolutionary emancipation of individual and society. Freire developed his work in the context of life in the state of Pernambuco, in the challenging circumstances—socially, historically, and geographically—of the Brazilian Northeast Region. He experienced poverty and hunger and was lucky in his access to education thanks to the efforts of his mother. He rose through the ranks of civil service, serving at state and national levels, addressing the literacy and emancipatory needs of the population, particularly adults in rural areas. Exiled during the military dictatorship in Brazil, Freire lived in Chile, the United States, and Switzerland, where he worked on education projects worldwide.
Decolonization and Collaborative Media: A Latin American Perspective
Authors: Schiwy Freya
Published: November 2018

The six-month-long occupation of the historic city center of Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006 became one of the first social uprisings to be thoroughly intermeshed with the creation of old and new media. Graffiti, performance protest, and independent radio proliferated and found its way into the many digitally recorded activist videos shown in community centers, on occupied television, distributed on DVD, and streamed on the Internet. Such media activism attests to continuities and discontinuities with what has been known as “New Latin American Cinema,” that is, the militant and social realist films made in analogue formats that were gaining world attention in the 1960s and 1970s. Oaxaca’s media activism also signals links among diverse leftist social movements and community and collaborative video in indigenous languages from throughout Latin America and beyond. Often called “indigenous video,” these works, like the New Latin American Cinema, have also spawned diverse scholarly interpretations. Although the Mexican student brigades and Super 8 video movement are not usually included in the critical scholarship on New Latin American Cinema, they, too, constitute important precursors for Oaxaca’s media activism and for collaborative and community media in the region. How to understand media militancy and anticolonial struggle, in turn, has changed. These changes reflect technological shifts from analogue film to digital video and the growing impact of indigenous social movements on the political left. Audiovisual militancy has shifted from the denunciation of U.S. neoimperialism and a Marxist-Leninist vision of revolution to broader, more open-ended, antiauthoritarian alliances among filmmakers, anarchists, feminists, indigenous organizations, and diverse other social movements that embrace decolonization. In contrast with anticolonial struggles, decolonization does not necessarily seek to oust a colonizing military force but aims to change colonial relations and their postcolonial aftermath under settler colonial conditions through prefigurative politics.
Use of Foraminifera in Climate Science
Authors: Schmiedl Gerhard
Published: November 2018

The understanding of past changes in climate and ocean circulation is to a large extent based on information from marine sediments. Marine deposits contain a variety of microfossils, which archive (paleo)-environmental information, both in their floral and faunal assemblages and in their stable isotope and trace element compositions. Sampling campaigns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were dedicated to the inventory of sediment types and microfossil taxa. With the initiation of various national and international drilling programs in the second half of the 20th century, sediment cores were systematically recovered from all ocean basins and since then have shaped our knowledge of the oceans and climate history. The stable oxygen isotope composition of foraminiferal tests from the sediment cores delivered a continuous record of late Cretaceous–Cenozoic glaciation history. This record impressively proved the effects of periodic changes in the orbital configuration of the Earth on climate on timescales of tens to hundreds of thousands of years, described as Milankovitch cycles. Based on the origination and extinction patterns of marine microfossil groups, biostratigraphic schemes have been established, which are readily used for the dating of sediment successions. The species composition of assemblages of planktic microfossils, such as planktic foraminifera, radiolarians, dinoflagellates, coccolithophorids, and diatoms, is mainly related to sea-surface temperature and salinity but also to the distribution of nutrients and sea ice. Benthic microfossil groups, in particular benthic foraminifera but also ostracods, respond to changes in water depth, oxygen, and food availability at the sea floor, and provide information on sea-level changes and benthic-pelagic coupling in the ocean. The establishment and application of transfer functions delivers quantitative environmental data, which can be used in the validation of results from ocean and climate modeling experiments. Progress in analytical facilities and procedures allows for the development of new proxies based on the stable isotope and trace element composition of calcareous, siliceous, and organic microfossils. The combination of faunal and geochemical data delivers information on both environmental and biotic changes from the same sample set. Knowledge of the response of marine microorganisms to past climate changes at various amplitudes and pacing serves as a basis for the assessment of future resilience of marine ecosystems to the anticipated impacts of global warming.
Authority, Authoritarianism, and Religion
Authors: Burge Ryan P.
Published: November 2018

Since around the 1950s, hundreds of articles have been published in social science that are concerned with the concept of authority and authoritarianism and how both relate to religion. Despite this tremendous volume of research, two camps have emerged that have failed to incorporate the ideas of the other. Psychologists contend that deference to authority is primarily a personality-driven variable and is often shaped by subconscious and undetected psychological processes that are unchangeable once established. In contrast, sociologists contend that authoritarianism is largely a product of interaction in a social environment. This perspective suggests that religion is one of many factors that help to shape the authoritarian outlook of individuals, along with political and economic variables. Neither of these approaches has managed to synthesize their perspectives into a unified whole.

In addition, while many scholars have included some aspect of religion in their analysis, little scholarship has placed it at the center of the inquiry. As a result, there has been no well-defined and thoroughly tested theory of religious authority, despite the fact that authority has driven two of the most important recent religious movements in the United States: the Religious Right and the Emergent Church Movement.

Several suggestions are offered as means to make measurable progress in the field of religion and regard for authority. One way forward is to generate and test a battery of questions that measures authority from a uniquely religious perspective. Another opportunity lies in scholars measuring the deference to authority levels that exist in different religious traditions. These comparisons could be between Jews and Catholics, or even inside the larger Protestant tradition. Finally, scholars should make a concerted effort to connect clergy with their congregations as a means to discern if perceptions of authority are congruent between a religious leader and his or her parishioners.
Polish Political Sciences in a Global Context
Authors: Warczok Tomasz , Zarycki Tomasz
Published: November 2018

Looking at the contemporary Polish political sciences in a wider international perspective—and specifically analyzing their location within the global hierarchies of academic knowledge production—may not only shed new light on the field but will also provide interesting insight to workings of social sciences in peripheral context. The position of the Polish political science, as measured in terms of international rankings or indexes of citations, is rather low. Moreover, its dominant intellectual schools and most commonly used methodological approaches may be considered old fashioned from the perspective of leading Western centers of the discipline. Descriptive analysis and traditional institutionalism dominate, while more sophisticated behavioral approaches or new institutionalism are rare. On the other hand, the field as such may be seen as quite strong, especially given its visibility in the national media, its considerable institutional and human resources, or high numbers of students attracted each year. Moreover, it can be argued that the field has achieved considerable autonomy from the global political science system and has successfully endured post-Communist transformation, retaining most of its staff and institutional assets from the previous regime (which was not the case in most other central European countries). At the same time, one can find within it a smaller faction of internationally oriented scholars. They contest the dominant, locally oriented majority of the field and are well connected to global academic networks. In effect, an interesting duality within Polish political science may be observed and interpreted as a phenomenon typical for many peripheral countries, understood in terms of the world systems theory. Relying on Wallersteinian perspective on the global system of social sciences coupled with Bourdieusian field analysis allows for reconstruction of the genesis and underlying structures of the contemporary field of political sciences in Poland, which may be interpreted as a case of successful autonomy building of a peripheral field of social sciences.
Finance Crime
Authors: Reurink Arjan
Published: November 2018

Finance crime, that is, white-collar crime that occurs in the markets for financial goods and services, appears to be pervasive in 21st-century capitalism. Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, virtually all established financial institutions have been implicated in finance crime scandals, ranging from the mis-selling of financial products to money laundering and from insider dealing to the rigging of financial benchmarks. The financial stakes involved in such scandals are often significant, and at times have the potential to destabilize entire economies. This makes the phenomenon of finance crime a highly relevant topic for white-collar crime researchers. A major challenge, however, for those studying the phenomenon of finance crime is to engage with the complex mechanics of finance crime schemes. These often involve esoteric financial instruments and are embedded in arcane market practices, making them seem impenetrable for those unfamiliar with the intricacies of financial market practices. A helpful way to make the empirical universe of finance crimes intelligible is to construct a typology. This can be meaningfully done by distinguishing finance crimes by the different rationales that underlie the laws and regulations they violate. Doing so renders five main types of finance crime. These are (i) financial fraud, (ii) misuse of informational advantages, (iii) financial mis-selling, (iv) market price and benchmark manipulation, and (v) the facilitation of illicit financial flows.

White-collar crime scholars have taken various theoretical and analytical approaches to the study of finance crime. Some scholars have studied finance crimes in the light of their macro-institutional contexts. Such approaches are based on the premise that actors find meaning—motivations and rationalizations—and opportunities for their actions in the cultural and institutional environments in which they are situated and that such environments can be criminogenic in the sense that they structurally facilitate or even promote illegal behaviors. Others have studied the organizational dimensions of finance crime, looking at both the social networks through which finance crimes are perpetrated as well as the ways in which these networks are embedded in broader organizational and industry structures. Still others have studied the costs, consequences, and victims of finance crimes. Finally, some white-collar crime scholars have studied the ways in which societies create legal regimes that prohibit certain financial market practices as well as how these prohibitions are subsequently enforced by regulatory agencies, public prosecutors, and the courts.
Early African Pasts: Sources, Interpretations, and Meanings
Authors: Schoenbrun David
Published: November 2018

Writing Africa’s history before the 10th century almost always means relying on sources other than written documents, which increase in number especially from the 16th century onward. Archaeology (including the study of art objects), the comparative study of historically related languages, paleo-environmental studies, and oral traditions provide the bulk of information. Writing Africa’s early history ideally involves collaboration among experts in using each kind of source, an increasingly common practice. Despite the challenges of analysis and interpretation posed by this base of sources, early African history has a depth and breadth akin to the histories made from the written sources in archives. Even so, whereas written documents provide details about individuals and precise dates, the sources for writing early African histories more often provide detail about conceptualization, for example, of time, hospitality, and individualism and about larger, environmental contexts shaping those concepts and shaped by the actions of the people who held them. Translating such concepts and scales of action into accounts accessible to those—including many historians—not steeped in the methodological conventions underlying the analysis of each source is a major challenge facing historians of Africa’s earlier past.
Reading the Archives as Sources
Authors: Gordon David M.
Published: November 2018

Archives used in Africanist historical research include those of the colonial state, postcolonial national archives, missionary archives, personal papers, political party archives, and the archives of corporations and international agencies involved in African affairs. Africanists historians generally accept that these archives are not transparent renditions of the past; they represent and even reproduce power relations related to colonialism and its legacies. Nonetheless, careful readings have enabled Africanist historians to understand the structural order and logic these archives (the archival grain), and thus demonstrate colonial (or other) power relations implicated in the collections. Reading archives against the grain can also reveal alternative voices and agents, however. Even as discussions of archival methodologies have been limited, archives have remained crucial sources for key trends in Africanist historical writing, including the representation of colonial hegemonies as well as African voice and agency. To advance such readings, Africanist historians develop post-positivist readings of archives that appreciate silences, dissonances, and conflicts within archives and documentation. Through a process of archival fieldwork, including a careful combing of archives, reading of files, and transcribing of select documents, historians have become adept at appreciating the grain of archives and reading the archive against this grain. The digitization of archives and digital research methods, including electronic search engines, full-text searches, online archives, and digital photography, challenge aspects of traditional archival fieldwork, holding benefits and potential setbacks for the critical appreciation of archival documentation. These challenges have sharpened with the changing role of physical documentation along with an increase in smaller archives that enable serendipitous and hodgepodge archival investigations.
The Dakar School of African History
Authors: Coquery-Vidrovitch Catherine
Published: November 2018

The Dakar School, as the historians of Cheikh Anta Diop University (the University of Dakar) were called, had a brief French antecedent in Yves Person, whose teachings communicated to students the importance of African oral sources. He himself worked primarily on such sources from the 19th century. The Dakar School was then taken over and given its name by the young Guinean historian Boubacar Barry, who had been based in Senegal since the 1960s. Research collaborations between Cheikh Anta Diop University and the University of Paris 7 (today known as Paris-Diderot) then became active through exchanges involving both instructors and doctoral students. The Senegalese department strengthened over time, thanks to well-established historians, a number of them being non Senegalese scholars expelled from their own country by dictatorial regimes such as Boubacar himself or others who taught several years in Dakar such as Sekene Mody Cissoko, a well known Malian historian, or Thierno Moctar Bah from Guinea. After Boubacar Barry, the department was headed successively between the years 1975 and 2000 by Mbaye Gueye, Mamadou Diouf, Mohamed Mbodj, Penda Mbow, Ibrahima Thioub, and Adrien Benga, among others. They and their colleagues understood how to maintain and reinforce the quality and cohesion of an original and diverse research department over the course of many years, one that was simultaneously independent of any political power and rather opponent to any authoritarian State and tolerant toward its colleagues. Among them, several scholars are currently enjoying late careers in the United States, while Ibrahima Thioub has become vice chancellor of Cheikh Anta Diop University. However, their succession has been consistently assured by their own doctoral students. Nowadays, does the “Dakar school” still exist? Yes because historians remain proud of and faithful to this innovative past, no because Senegalese historians are now part of the world wide international community of historians.
Gambling in the Northern City: 1800 to 2000
Authors: Vaz Matthew
Published: November 2018

While American gambling has a historical association with the lawlessness of the frontier and with the wasteful leisure practices of Southern planters, it was in large cities where American gambling first flourished as a form of mass leisure, and as a commercial enterprise of significant scale. In the urban areas of the Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, and the upper Mid-West, for the better part of two centuries the gambling economy was deeply intertwined with municipal politics and governance, the practices of betting were a prominent feature of social life, and controversies over the presence of gambling both legal and illegal, were at the center of public debate. In New York and Chicago in particular, but also in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, gambling channeled money to municipal police forces and sustained machine politics. In the eyes of reformers, gambling corrupted governance and corroded social and economic interactions. Big city gambling has changed over time, often in a manner reflecting important historical processes and transformations in economics, politics, and demographics. Yet irrespective of such change, from the onset of Northern urbanization during the 19th century, through much of the 20th century, gambling held steady as a central feature of city life and politics. From the poolrooms where recently arrived Irish New Yorkers bet on horseracing after the Civil War, to the corner stores where black and Puerto Rican New Yorkers bet on the numbers game in the 1960s, the gambling activity that covered the urban landscape produced argument and controversy, particularly with respect to drawing the line between crime and leisure, and over the question of where and to what ends the money of the gambling public should be directed.
Climate Change and the American City
Authors: Hurley Andrew
Published: November 2018

American cities developed under relatively quiescent climatic conditions. A gradual rise in average global temperatures during the 19th and 20th centuries had a negligible impact on how urban Americans experienced the weather. Much more significant were the dramatic changes in urban form and social organization that meditated the relationship between routine weather fluctuations and the lives of city dwellers. Overcoming weather-related impediments to profit, comfort, and good health contributed to many aspects of urbanization, including population migration to Sunbelt locations, increased reliance on fossil fuels, and comprehensive re-engineering of urban hydrological systems. Other structural shifts such as sprawling development, intensification of the built environment, socioeconomic segregation, and the tight coupling of infrastructural networks were less directly responsive to weather conditions but nonetheless profoundly affected the magnitude and social distribution of weather-related risks. Although fatalities resulting from extreme meteorological events declined in the 20th century, the scale of urban disruption and property damage increased. In addition, social impacts became more concentrated among poorer Americans, including many people of color, as Hurricane Katrina tragically demonstrated in 2005. Through the 20th century, cities responded to weather hazards through improved forecasting and systematic planning for relief and recovery rather than alterations in metropolitan design. In recent decades, however, growing awareness and concern about climate change impacts have made volatile weather more central to urban planning.