bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deadly virtues: Inner-worldly asceticism and karôshi in Japan
Authors: North Scott
Published: March 2011

This article explores the relationship between Japanese workers’ persistent inner-worldly asceticism and today’s globalizing economy. The interplay of values and corporate cultural practices, global market forces and individual health outcomes is illustrated in the case of an Osaka stockbroker killed by overwork (karôshi) during the 1990 Gulf War and resultant collapse of Japan’s ‘bubble economy’. The analysis centres on corporate documents and events which publicly valorized the broker as the embodiment of the ideal employee. The tradition of discipline, dedication and deference that he came to symbolize interacted with inequalities in the global division of labour to produce tragic consequences for him and his family. Viewed through historical, micro and macro lenses, the negative potential of such ascetic work ethics comes into focus. But the analysis also shows how such cases become catalysts for social movements that emphasize the value of care.
Towards multicultural societies: The European experience
Authors: Barbieri Masini Eleonora
Published: March 2011

Migration at present produces, and will in the future, the encounter of populations belonging to cultures more diverse than ever before. Hence we are moving towards multicultural societies in different parts of the world. The article focuses on Europe and multicultural societies, as well as on the possibility of projects for intercultural societies. In such societies people belonging to different cultures learn to create dialogue by recognizing their own identity and that of other cultures. The article analyses the issue from the conceptual basis of unity and diversity. It also adopts a future-oriented perspective related to the capacity to devise ‘seeds of change’ which may generate visions and projects of and for multicultural or intercultural societies. It searches for evidence of European changes in relation to sociocultural dialogue among bearers of different identities and values leading to possible alternative sociocultural futures.
Values and the conditions of global communication
Authors: Schulz Markus S
Published: March 2011

This article examines the role of values in the shaping of futures from the perspective of global communication. It argues that the prospects for a democratic world society depend on the creation of global deliberative publics as a necessary, albeit not sufficient, condition. It explores how the new media that facilitate globalization of trade and production can also provide technical infrastructures for grassroots dialogue across borders. The contrast between alternative trajectories is used to indicate the stakes and available value choices. Rejecting resilient notions of technological determinism, the article analyses how different social actors create the new mediascapes according to diverging values and abilities of involvement. Corporate interests command more resources and better access to law-makers and treaty negotiators, but users and civil society initiatives can increase leverage through imaginative practices and value appeals.
Trends and Directions in Reformed Theology
Authors: Smit Dirkie
Published: March 2011

It is notoriously difficult to describe Reformed theology, due to the nature of the tradition itself, namely plural and diverse, self-critical and changing. Globally, the Reformed story is a story of many stories, with two thirds of its members today living in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and with intimate ties to the historical, social and cultural realities of diverse societies and communities. The Reformed tradition is confessional, but understood in an open, historical and contextual way. It is even difficult to list typical Reformed doctrinal positions, although attempts are common. Perhaps it is more appropriate to focus on the Reformed ethos and to understand the tradition as a way of being the Christian community in the world, in an awareness of the living God.
Earthquakes, Nongovernmental Organizations, and Governance in Haiti
Authors: Pierre-Louis Francois
Published: March 2011

On January 12, 2010, the Haitian people suffered the most dramatic and unimaginable catastrophe in the Caribbean in recent times. More than 222,570 citizens perished as a result of a 7.0 earthquake, and over 1.3 million are currently homeless. The city of San Francisco, in California, United States, had a similar earthquake in the 1990s, and fewer than 100 people were killed. Chile a few months ago had an earthquake that was far stronger than Haiti’s, but fewer than 1,000 people were killed. So why did a 7.0 earthquake on the Richter scale cause so much destruction in Haiti? In this article, the author argues that the historical boycott of Haiti’s government in the 19th and 20th centuries by the international community, the constant internal struggle among the members of the elite for the control of state power, and the weakening of state structures through the creation of nongovernmental organizations have weakened the government’s capacity to deal with major catastrophe and meet the needs of its citizens.
A Commitment Amidst Shared Hardship: Haitian Transnational Migrants and Remittances
Authors: Orozco Manuel , Burgess Elisabeth
Published: March 2011

This article analyzes the role of Haitian migration and Haitian transnational engagement in the past 20 years. Of particular interest are the various forms that this engagement has taken, its impact on the country’s economy, and the implications of Haitian migrants’ continued commitment to their home country. The article shows that dependency on Haitian migrants’ economic flows into their country has historically not been met by public policy lever-aging these flows and that under the current economic recovery period, opportunistic views aside, it is unrealistic to expect a strategy drastically different from that of the pre-earthquake period.
Dietary Vitamin D Intake Among High-Risk Adolescents With Insulin Dependent Diabetes
Authors: Janisse Heather C. , Cakan Nedim , Ellis Deborah , Brogan Kathryn
Published: March 2011

Purpose

The purpose of the present study was to describe the dietary intake of vitamin D in an urban, low income, predominantly African American sample of adolescents with insulin dependent diabetes.

Methods

Participants were 99 adolescents diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes. Vitamin D intake was estimated from dietary recall data. Blood glucose levels were also assessed.

Results

The average daily vitamin D intake estimated from dietary recall data was 102 IUs (SD = 64.4) with 70% of adolescents consuming less than 50 IUs of vitamin D in their day. Level of vitamin D intake was a significant predictor of HbA1c levels in the current sample.

Conclusions

Results indicate a need for the assessment of vitamin D levels in this at-risk population, as supplementation may be indicated.
Standardized Analysis of Mandibular Osteoradionecrosis in a Rat Model
Authors: Tamplen Matthew , Trapp Kelley , Nishimura Ichiro , Armin Bob , Steinberg Michael , Beumer John , Abemayor Elliot , Nabili Vishad
Published: March 2011

Objective

To develop a rat model of mandibular osteoradionecrosis (ORN) that uses novel micro‐computed tomography bone volume analysis and detailed histology to provide a more effective, quantifiable, and standardized way to study ORN in vivo.

Study Design

Animal model.

Setting

Academic medical center.

Subjects and Methods

Modifications to our previously published rat model of mandibular ORN were done to develop an ideal protocol consisting of 10 rats (6 experimental and 4 controls) with their left middle mandibular molar removed 7 days after either 20 Gy high dose rate brachytherapy or sham irradiation. Rats were sacrificed 21 days after extraction for landmark defined bone volume and histologic analysis.

Results

A standardized method of quantification was achieved in all samples. The radiated group (XRT) had a mean bone volume/total volume (BV/TV) of 13.8% compared to 65.9% for controls (P <. 001). There were increases in osteoclasts and fibrosis, decreases in osteoblasts, and less bone in radiated samples with a mean (SD) of 5.91 (3.77) osteoclasts/high‐powered field (HPF) and 4.00 (1.83) osteoblasts/HPF in XRT samples compared to 1.08 (1.08) osteoclasts/HPF and 22.49 (6.00) osteoblasts/HPF for controls (P <. 001).

Conclusion

Our updated model continues to be clinically analogous to human mandibular ORN and improves the radiologic and histologic analysis of bony defects, providing a method for quantification of bone loss. Further cell‐specific staining, including immunohistochemistry, can be used with this model to study potential cellular mechanisms of mandibular ORN and test any future therapeutic options.
Intervention for childhood apraxia of speech: A single-case study
Authors: Martikainen Anna-Leena , Korpilahti Pirjo
Published: March 2011

The underlying nature and diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) still requires clarification. However, the label ‘CAS’ or ‘suspected CAS’ continues to be assigned to a group of children with speech problems, and speech and language therapists need to be aware of effective treatment for these children. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the combination of two motor intervention methods, Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) and the Touch-Cue Method (TCM), on a child with CAS. SS, a girl aged 4 years and 7 months (4;7) whose speech characteristics fulfilled the criteria of CAS received a 6-week treatment with MIT, and following a 6-week treatment-free period, a 6-week treatment period with TCM. Speech sound errors decreased and sequencing abilities increased significantly after the MIT period, and the positive progression continued during the TCM period. SS made substantial gains in producing whole words correctly during the TCM block. Improvement was maintained during the 12-week follow-up. Our findings suggest that the combination of MIT and TCM was an effective way to address the child under study.
Baby talk home visits: Development and initial evaluations of a primary prevention service
Authors: Smith Clare , Gibbard Deborah
Published: March 2011

Language delay is a common developmental difficulty. Research indicates that it is influenced by environmental factors, particularly social deprivation, but that a parent’s interaction protects children’s language development against these factors. It is hypothesized that by supporting parents’ interaction, language development may be facilitated. This study aims to evaluate a preventative intervention for language delay. The Babytalk Home Visiting (BTHV) service was developed and delivered in Portsmouth, UK from 2003 to 2007. Two separate evaluations of the BTHV service were carried out, the first using parent questionnaires and the second using a comparative evaluation of parent ideas and child-language outcomes. In the first evaluation parents indicated that they valued the information given in the BTHV service, and 72.5% stated they would change their communication behaviour according to advice given. In the second evaluation, parents who reported receiving the BTHV service gave a significantly greater number of ideas on how to encourage language development, and reported a significantly higher child word count than parents who had not. The results of these evaluations suggest that this preventative initiative may be beneficial; however, limitations of the evaluation findings are discussed, and it is concluded that controlled comparative research is required to establish the effectiveness of such approaches.
What We “Say” and What We “Think” About Female Managers
Authors: Latu Ioana M. , Stewart Tracie L. , Myers Ashley C. , Lisco Claire G. , Estes Sarah Beth , Donahue Dana K.
Published: March 2011

In two studies, we investigated implicit gender stereotypes of successful managers. Using an adaptation of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) named the Successful Manager IAT (SM-IAT) in Study 1, we found that male participants were more likely to implicitly associate men with successful manager traits and women with unsuccessful manager traits compared to reversed pairings. Women, individuals high in internal motivation to respond without sexism, and those low in external motivation to respond without sexism showed positive implicit associations between women and successful manager traits. In contrast, all participants showed positive views of women on workplace-contextualized explicit measures of gender stereotypes. The findings of Study 2 also revealed that implicit gender stereotypes predicted hypothetical workplace outcomes, such that a greater implicit association of men with successful manager traits, and women with unsuccessful manager traits, was linked to increased workplace rewards assigned to male managers by both male and female participants. The findings of our studies have important implications for both gender stereotyping researchers and workplace practitioners. Theoretically, our studies suggest that explicit and implicit stereotypes of female managers diverge, with implicit stereotypes being more likely to highlight traditional, often negative, views of female managers. Our findings point toward a better understanding of female managers' challenges in the workplace.
Emancipatory Sexuality Education and Sexual Assault Resistance
Authors: Senn Charlene Y. , Gee Stephanie S. , Thake Jennifer
Published: March 2011

The current study examined whether adding emancipatory sexuality education, which encourages the exploration of women’s own sexual values and desires, to a sexual assault resistance program would improve women’s resistance to sexual assault by known men. The participants were 214 first-year university students. A randomized experimental design evaluated the effectiveness of a basic and sexuality enhanced version of a sexual assault resistance program against a no-program control. Both programs, compared to the control group, increased women’s perception of their own risk, their confidence that they could defend themselves if attacked, and their use of more effective methods of self-defense in hypothetical situations of acquaintance sexual assault. Effects were maintained from 3 to 6 months after program completion. No significant reductions in completed sexual assault were found. The sexuality enhanced program was superior in several areas, particularly risk detection and initiation of sexual activity, which may be important to women’s integration of the program’s content to their lives. Future research will need to strengthen and continue to evaluate the promising programs for women which now exist. Until effective programming for men on campus is developed and implemented widely, our best hope to improve the health and safety of female students lays in comprehensive women-only multi-unit sexual assault resistance education.
Stigma-Threat Motivated Nondisclosure of Sexual Assault and Sexual Revictimization
Authors: Miller Audrey K. , Canales Erika J. , Amacker Amanda M. , Backstrom Tamika L. , Gidycz Christine A.
Published: March 2011

The purpose of the study was to assess sexual assault survivors' nondisclosure motivations, including stigma threat, and their impact on revictimization risk. The authors describe data from a prospective study of 144 female, undergraduate sexual assault survivors, most of whom had been assaulted by acquaintances and only one of whom had officially reported her experience to police. As part of a large-scale investigation, participants described during individual interviews why they had not reported their experiences to law enforcement authorities. Open-ended responses were coded into five reliable content themes, one of which was stigma-motivated nondisclosure, or stigma threat. Results indicated that stigma threat prospectively predicted sexual revictimization during a 4.2-month follow-up period. Moreover, results of mediation analyses suggested that decreased posttraumatic growth during the course of the study accounted for the relationship between stigma threat and survivors' revictimizations. Discussion focuses on advances to the sexual revictimization research (e.g., the importance of assessing subjective/perceptual in addition to objective/factual characteristics of assaults and their social repercussions) and to posttraumatic growth research, with data highlighting for the first time an important health correlate (i.e., sexual revictimization) of sexual assault survivors' perceived (lack of) posttraumatic growth. In addition, recommendations are provided for primary (social-level) prevention as well as for secondary prevention, that is, formal and informal support provided to sexual assault survivors.
“If You’re Fat, Then I’m Humongous!”
Authors: Salk Rachel H. , Engeln-Maddox Renee
Published: March 2011

Fat talk (women speaking negatively about the size and shape of their bodies) is a phenomenon that both reflects and creates body dissatisfaction. Our study investigated the content, frequency, and impact of fat talk among college women. Participants (168 female students at a Midwestern U.S. university) completed online surveys containing fat talk-specific questions and measures of body dissatisfaction and thin-ideal internalization. Most participants reported engaging in fat talk with one third reporting frequent or very frequent fat talk. Evidence indicated a strong third-person effect wherein participants thought they engaged in fat talk less than other college women. Self-reported frequency of fat talk was associated with greater body dissatisfaction and internalization of the thin-ideal but not body mass index (BMI). Despite the association between fat talk and body dissatisfaction, over half of the participants reported that they believe fat talk makes them feel better about their bodies. The most common response to fat talk was denial that the friend was fat, most typically leading to a back-and-forth conversation where each of two healthy weight peers denies the other is fat while claiming to be fat themselves. Results are discussed in terms of the ways in which fat talk may act as an injunctive norm, reinforcing women’s body-related distress.
Female Leaders
Authors: Hoyt Crystal L. , Simon Stefanie
Published: March 2011

The impact of female role models on women’s leadership aspirations and self-perceptions after a leadership task were assessed across two laboratory studies. These studies tested the prediction that upward social comparisons to high-level female leaders will have a relatively detrimental impact on women’s self-perceptions and leadership aspirations compared to male and less elite female leaders. In Study 1 ( N = 60), women were presented with both female and male leaders before serving as leaders of ostensible three-person groups in an immersive virtual environment. This study established the relatively deflating impact of high-level female leaders, compared to high-level male leaders and the control condition, on participants' self-perceptions. Using a similar methodology, Study 2 ( N = 57) further demonstrated that the impact of elite female leaders on participants' self-perceptions in turn adversely affected their leadership aspirations. This study also showed more positive responses to nonelite female leaders with whom participants more strongly identify and who increase counterstereotypic thinking. Taken together, these studies point to a potential dark side of elite female leaders as role models in a domain where individuals are possible targets of a negative stereotype. However, they also point to the relatively more beneficial impact of female role models who disconfirm the negative stereotype.
Are Contemporary Media Images Which Seem to Display Women as Sexually Empowered Actually Harmful to Women?
Authors: Halliwell Emma , Malson Helen , Tischner Irmgard
Published: March 2011

There has been a shift in the depiction of women in advertising from objectifying representations of women as passive sex objects to agentic sexual representations where the women appear powerful and in control (Gill, 2007a, 2008), and there is substantial evidence that these representations have a negative impact on women’s body image. However, to our knowledge, this study is the first experimental research that aims to compare passively objectifying and more recent sexually agentic representations. British undergraduate women ( N = 122) participated in an experiment in which they were randomly assigned to view sexually passive, sexually agentic, or control print advertisements. Exposure to both types of representations of women, compared to viewing control images, was associated with increased weight dissatisfaction. The sexually agentic representations were singularly associated with increased state self-objectification. Media exposure research tends to focus on the models (e.g., their thinness) shown in advertising and pay little attention to the framing of the image. Our results highlight the powerful impact different framings can have on women’s body image concerns as well as suggest that recent shifts in advertising may be particularly problematic because contemporary images increased both weight concern and self-objectification. Therefore, these images may have a more powerful impact on psychological well-being and disordered eating behaviors than traditional images.
Awkward or Amazing
Authors: Walsh Jennifer L. , Ward L. Monique , Caruthers Allison , Merriwether Ann
Published: March 2011

Although research continues to highlight significant gender differences in first coital experiences, developmental approaches suggest that some of these patterns may be age-related. Therefore, this study investigated both gender and age differences in first intercourse experiences. Open-ended responses regarding reasons for, and descriptions of, first vaginal intercourse were provided by 323 sexually active undergraduate students (65.3% female; 75.7% White; Mage = 19.87) and coded into a range of categories. Several gender and age differences emerged, such that women’s descriptions were generally less positive than men’s, and women’s reasons were more likely than men’s to emphasize relationships and emotions. However, there were also a number of similarities in women’s and men’s experiences. Those who first experienced coitus during early adolescence were more likely to describe it as awkward, were less likely to describe it as positive, and differed in their reasons from those whose first coitus occurred later. Importantly, gender differences were less pronounced among older versus younger initiates, suggesting that commonly-identified gender differences may be developmentally specific. Future research focusing on subjective aspects of first intercourse experiences should carefully attend both to age or developmental stage and to gender similarities.
Embodiment Feels Better
Authors: Impett Emily A. , Henson James M. , Breines Juliana G. , Schooler Deborah , Tolman Deborah L.
Published: March 2011

In a five-year longitudinal study, we investigated the role of body objectification in shaping girls' self-esteem and depressive symptoms over the course of adolescence. Multivariate Latent Growth Curve Modeling (MLGM) was used to test the association between body objectification and both self-esteem and depressive symptoms with data from 587 adolescent girls who began the study at age 13 and completed the study at age 18. Results revealed that body objectification decreased, self-esteem increased, and depressive symptoms remained relatively steady across adolescence. Girls who experienced decreases in body objectification also tended to increase in self-esteem and decrease in depressive symptoms over the course of adolescence, even after accounting for several factors known to be associated with positive youth development including race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, educational achievement, religiosity, and body satisfaction. Practical implications for reducing objectification and enhancing girls' well-being through health, physical, and sexuality education, as well as through media literacy programs are discussed. Directions for future research are also discussed, including a greater focus on the role of race/ethnicity, research on boys, and the need for more experimental studies of body objectification.
Investigating Motivations for Women’s Skin Bleaching in Tanzania
Authors: Lewis Kelly M. , Robkin Navit , Gaska Karie , Njoki Lillian Carol
Published: March 2011

Why do many African women continue to use damaging skin-bleaching cosmetics that contain dangerous chemicals (e.g., mercury) that may increase their rates of infertility, skin cancer, and serious skin/brain/kidney disease? To address this question, our study investigated motivations driving the preservation of skin-bleaching practices in Tanzania. We conducted qualitative interviews with 42 urban women in Dar es Salaam who reported engaging in skin-bleaching practices and who were a subset of a larger sample of women from a study investigating the prevalence of skin bleaching in Tanzania. Results yielded six thematic motivations behind the practice of skin bleaching: (a) to remove pimples, rashes, and skin disease; (b) to have soft skin; (c) to be White, “beautiful,” and more European looking; (d) to remove the adverse affects of extended skin bleaching use on the body; (e) to satisfy one’s partner and/or attract male mates; and (f) to satisfy and impress peers. These findings provide empirical support for skin bleaching being linked to self-objectification, colonialism, and Westernization. Skin bleaching is discussed in the context of other potentially harmful body modification practices in which women participate as a result of external and internalized standards of beauty. Implications for future research and potential practice and policy interventions are discussed.
Women Are More Likely Than Men to Use Tentative Language, Aren’t They? A Meta-Analysis Testing for Gender Differences and Moderators
Authors: Leaper Campbell , Robnett Rachael D.
Published: March 2011

Robin Lakoff proposed that women are more likely than men to use tentative speech forms (e.g., hedges, qualifiers/disclaimers, tag questions, intensifiers). Based on conflicting results from research testing Lakoff’s claims, a meta-analysis of studies testing gender differences in tentative language was conducted. The sample included 29 studies with 39 independent samples and a combined total sample of 3,502 participants. Results revealed a statistically significant but small effect size ( d = .23), indicating that women were somewhat more likely than men to use tentative speech. In addition, methodological moderators (operational definition, observation length, recording method, author gender, and year of study) and contextual moderators (gender composition, familiarity, student status, group size, conversational activity, and physical setting) were tested. Effect sizes were significantly larger in studies that (a) observed longer (vs. shorter) conversations, (b) sampled undergraduates (vs. other adults), (c) observed groups (vs. dyads), and (d) occurred in research labs (vs. other settings). The moderator effects are interpreted as supporting proposals that women's greater likelihood of tentative language reflects interpersonal sensitivity rather than a lack of assertiveness. In addition, the influence of self-presentation concerns in the enactment of gender-typed behavior is discussed.
Augmentation of Achilles Tendon Repair With Extracellular Matrix Xenograft
Authors: Magnussen Robert A. , Glisson Richard R. , Moorman Claude T.
Published: March 2011

Background: Achilles tendon rupture is a frequent injury in athletes and the general public. Cases of chronic rupture or poor tendon quality secondary to tendinopathy are challenging to repair primarily. Commercially available extracellular matrix materials have been utilized in recent years to augment tendon repair.

Hypothesis: Augmentation of Achilles tendon with extracellular matrix xenograft results in reduced repair site gapping and increased peak failure load in a cadaveric model featuring simulated physiologic loads.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Methods: Ten matched pairs of fresh-frozen human lower extremities amputated just below the knee were obtained and each Achilles tendon was sharply tenotomized. One randomly selected specimen from each matched pair underwent Achilles repair using a 4-strand Krackow technique with extracellular matrix xenograft augmentation (TissueMend Soft Tissue Repair Matrix), while the opposite tendon underwent suture repair alone as a control. Each tendon was then subjected to 1000 sinusoidal tensile loading cycles to 86 N during which repair site gapping was monitored, followed by distraction to failure. One pair was used to evaluate the effects of graft orientation and not included in the analysis.

Results: Significantly less gapping was noted in the augmented tendon group at all time points after the 10th load cycle ( P < .05). The mean repair site gapping after 1000 cycles of loading was 4.0 mm (range, 3.1-5.0 mm) in the augmented group and 6.5 mm (range, 4.1-8.6 mm) in the suture-only group. The ultimate failure load was 821 N (range, 613-1021 N) in the augmented group and 392 N (range, 322-481 N) in the suture-only group ( P < .01).

Conclusion: The augmentation of Achilles tendon repair with extracellular matrix xenograft decreases gapping and increases load to failure immediately after surgery in a cadaveric model.

Clinical Relevance: Tendon repair augmentation may allow more aggressive early rehabilitation, particularly in cases of chronic rupture or poor tendon quality. Further work is necessary to define indications for extracellular matrix graft augmentation of tendon repairs.
Security in the 21st Century
Authors: Henson Billy , Reyns Bradford W. , Fisher Bonnie S.
Published: March 2011

In the last decade, online social networking websites have become immensely popular worldwide, with the number of users growing exponentially. With a social network account, users can post an array of personal information and link their profile to those of other users, forming virtual communities. In the last few years, security and protection of private information posted on social networking sites has piqued the interest of researchers. Generally, the focus of this research has been limited to describing the type of information posted by users, with few studies examining the relationship between users' adoption of security measures for their social networking sites and negative online experiences, such as online interpersonal victimization. Our examination of the relationship between users' online social network activity, online social network security, and online interpersonal victimization found that users who engaged in risky online behaviors, such as opening numerous social network accounts and adding strangers as friends, were more likely to be victimized online.
All Conflict is Local
Authors: Aas Rustad Siri Camilla , Buhaug Halvard , Falch Åshild , Gates Scott
Published: March 2011

Most quantitative assessments of civil conflict draw on annual country-level data to determine a baseline hazard of conflict onset. The first problem with such analyses is that they ignore factors associated with the precipitation of violence, such as elections and natural disasters and other trigger mechanisms. Given that baseline hazards are relatively static, most of the temporal variation in risk is associated with such precipitating factors. The second problem with most quantitative analyses of conflict is that they assume that civil conflicts are distributed uniformly throughout the country. This is rarely the case; most intrastate armed conflicts take place in the periphery of the country, well away from the capital and often along international borders. Analysts fail to disaggregate temporally as well as spatially. While other contributions to this issue focus on the temporal aspect of conflict, this article addresses the second issue: the spatial resolution of analysis. To adequately assess the baseline risk of armed conflict, this article develops a unified prediction model that combines a quantitative assessment of conflict risk at the country level with country-specific sub-national analyses at first-order administrative regions. Geo-referenced data on aspects of social, economic, and political exclusion, as well as endemic poverty and physical geography, are featured as the principal local indicators of latent conflict. Using Asia as a test case, this article demonstrates the unique contribution of applying a localized approach to conflict prediction that explicitly captures sub-national variation in civil conflict risk.
Anthropogenic Climate Change, Political Liberalism and the Communion of Saints
Authors: Northcott Michael S.
Published: March 2011

Political liberals refuse that there are biophysical limits to human wealth accumulation. Coal fuelled the first liberal political economy — England’s — for 800 years before coal smoke was legally regulated in London. The English also have an enduring love for the diverse and scenic quality of their island nation, and a long history of commons governance that predates the acts of land theft which accompanied the emergence of political liberalism. By contrast the United States is a modern liberal polity with little collective memory of commons. American political economists therefore refuse that commons can be collectively governed, or even that atmospheric pollution may be conceived as a problem of commons governance. The historically unsituated character of North American liberals — and liberalism more generally — also explains their inability adequately to describe moral connections between past, present and future generations implicated in anthropogenic climate change. The Christian account of the spiritual communion of saints remains a more powerful intergenerational narrative than political liberalism. As interpreted by Tolstoy, Gandhi and John Howard Yoder, true spiritual communion is characterised by the Christ-shaped refusal to render evil for evil. This refusal is an essential corrective to the realist and violent frame of international relations in which the international implications of climate change is conventionally conceived.
Doom, Gloom and Empty Tombs: Climate Change and Fear
Authors: Smith Byron
Published: March 2011

Anthropogenic climate change represents a deep and credible threat to human society in a variety of ways. The particular shape of this threat is historically novel and commonly associated with experiences of fear mixed with both guilt and impotence. What is the moral significance of this fear in a faithful Christian response to anthropogenic climate change? How is the Christian ethicist to locate fears of climate change? How can such fears become constructive for, rather than destructive of, ethical thought? Taking Hans Urs von Balthasar’s short text, The Christian and Anxiety, as a dialogue partner, this paper will explore healthy and unhealthy modes of alarm in the face of an increasingly disrupted climate. Balthasar argues that Christ’s own anxiety during his passion liberates believers from certain kinds of fear, and then opens the creative possibility of entering into the fears of one’s neighbour as an expression of love.
Synthesis and characterization of novel poly(aryl ether ketone)s containing sulfone and imide linkages in the main chains
Authors: Li Jianying , Xi Qin , Cai Mingzhong
Published: March 2011

A new monomer, bis[4-(p-phenoxybenzoyl)-1,2-benzenedioyl]-N,N,N′,N′-4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (BPBDADPS), was prepared by the Friedel–Crafts reaction of bis(4-chloroformyl-1,2-benzenedioyl)-N,N,N′,N′-4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (BCBDADPS) with diphenyl ether (DPE). Novel poly(aryl ether ketone)s containing sulfone and imide linkages in the main chains (PAEKSI) were synthesized by electrophilic solution polycondensation of terephthaloyl chloride (TPC) with a mixture of DPE and BPBDADPS under mild conditions. The copolymers obtained were characterized by different physico-chemical techniques. The copolymers with 10–30 mol% BPBDADPS are semi-crystalline and had remarkably increased Tg values over commercially available PEEK and PEKK due to the incorporation of sulfone and imide linkages in the main chains. The copolymers III and IV with 20–30 mol% BPBDADPS had not only high Tg values of 180–187 °C, but also moderate Tm values of 338–341 °C, having good potential for the melt processing. The copolymers III and IV had tensile strengths of 100.7–104.2 MPa, Young’s moduli of 2.31–2.44 GPa, and elongations at break of 12.2–14.7% and exhibited high thermal stability and good resistance to organic solvents.
Studying a creative act with computers: Music performance studies with automated discovery methods
Authors: Widmer Gerhard
Published: March 2011

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how advanced computer methods may be able to provide new insights into a complex creative activity such as music performance. The context is an inter-disciplinary research project in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods are used to analyse patterns in performances by human artists. In asking how the computer can take us closer to an understanding of creativity in music performance, we identify two pertinent research strategies within our project: the use of machine learning algorithms that try to discover common performance principles and thus help separate the “rationally explainable” aspects of performance from the more genuinely “creative” ones, and the use of data mining methods that can discover, visualise and describe performance patterns that seem to be characteristic of the style of particular artists and thus may be more directly related to their individual creativity. Some preliminary results are briefly presented that are indicative of the kinds of discoveries these algorithms can make. Some general issues regarding (musical) creativity and its relation to Artificial Intelligence are also briefly discussed.
Interpretation and performance in Bryn Harrison's être-temps
Authors: Clarke Eric , Cook Nicholas , Harrison Bryn , Thomas Philip
Published: March 2011

The majority of studies of performance focus on the tonal and metric music of the common-practice period, studied at the moment of performance rather than over a period of rehearsal, and usually divorced from the context of real rehearsal and performance (schedules, audiences, auditoria). This paper reports part of a larger project in which three newly commissioned works for solo piano have been studied from the moment that the performer received them, through a period of preparation and rehearsal, to their first public performance. The data consist of interview and diary data, audio recordings, and MIDI data taken from the piano at rehearsals and the public premiere. The paper is a collaboration between one of the composers (Bryn Harrison), the performer (Philip Thomas), and two analysts (Nicholas Cook and Eric Clarke). The paper demonstrates the stability of the performer's approach to this complex music from a very early stage in the rehearsal process; some interesting attributes of his approach to rhythm and tempo; the function of notation as a “prompt for action” rather than as a recipe for, or representation of, sound; and the concealed social character of solo performance and apparently solitary composition. The paper concludes with a discussion and critique of the “communication” model of performance that prevails in psychological studies of performance.
Mastery through imitation: A preliminary study
Authors: Tânia Lisboa , Williamon Aaron , Zicari Massimo , Eiholzer Hubert
Published: March 2011

A paradox exists between the long history of teaching music through imitative strategies and the demand to possess original artistic insight. This article addresses this paradox by investigating the general musical and educational implications of imitative learning strategies. In the first study, five advanced violinists were divided into an Experimental Group (n=3) and a Control Group (n=2). All violinists were asked to prepare and perform the Adagio from J. S. Bach's Sonata for Solo Violin in G minor, discussing with the researchers their views on how they felt this composition should be interpreted. The violinists in the Experimental Group were subsequently asked to study a Target recording of the piece by Jascha Heifetz (the duration of study was unspecified) and to perform a “perceptually indistinguishable copy” of it. This was followed by interviews and a final, non-imitated performance approximately one month later. The results of detailed analyses of timing profiles from the performances and interviews show that the participants were able to imitate expressive features of the Target recording. The results also reveal that the imitation process directly influenced their conceptions of how the piece could be interpreted (as observed in the final performances) but that the extent of this influence was highly individual-specific. In the second study, listeners (n=30) were presented with recordings of all three performances given by the violinists in the Experimental Group and with the Target recording; they were asked to rate the overall quality of each performance and their similarity to the Target on 7-point scales. The results show that the imitation process did produce perceptually salient changes in the violinists' performances but the direction of change in terms of overall quality (positive or negative) was also individual specific. The results from both studies are discussed in relation to their pedagogical implications.
Creativity in performance
Authors: Clarke Eric F.
Published: March 2011

This paper examines different ways in which the notion of creativity has been used in relation to performance, and discusses psychological research on the topic. A considerable amount of this research is concerned with the creative use of expression in score-based performance, but a more conspicuous demonstration of creativity in performance is found in improvised performance. Having considered representative examples of the relatively small amount of cognitive research in this domain, the paper discusses rather different approaches, some based within ethnomusicology, that have looked at improvisational practices in a more embodied, as well as more socially and culturally embedded, manner. The paper concludes with some general recommendations for the way in which future research might bring together the rather disparate perspectives that currently characterise this complex domain.
Suppressing reflexive behaviour: Saccadic eye movements in musicians and non-musicians
Authors: Gruhn Wilfried , Litt Friederike , Scherer Annette , Schumann Till , Weiß Eva Maria , Gebhardt Christine
Published: March 2011

Musicians who practice from notation and sight read every day can be said to perform a special eye training and could therefore possibly be distinguished from non-musicians. If a difference between both groups could be demonstrated it would be interesting to know whether this difference remains stable over the entire life span. In a cross-sectional study we tested 115 participants of three age groups (36 pupils M = 11.5 years, 41 university students M = 23.1 years, 38 adults M = 55.6 years) and varying degrees of musical training (57 were musicians) with respect to their saccadic eye movements (overlap and anti gap paradigm). An infra-red beam helmet (Express Eye) was used to collect data for the reaction time of pro and anti saccades, mean distribution, percentage of express saccades, correction time, and percentage of directional errors. Data were analyzed separately for each age group and served as factors for fixation and voluntary control. Data from measures of general intelligence (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices), music aptitude (Gordon's Advanced Measures of Music Audiation), handedness, and sight reading were used as covariates. The data exhibit an advantage for musicians regarding those parameters that involve involuntary control and fixation. But in general there is no evidence to show that music aptitude and saccadic behavior interact.
Modelling of scales in traditional solo singing
Authors: Ambrazevičius Rytis
Published: March 2011

Background in psychoacoustics

The scale in freely intoned music is characterised by pitch “zones” resulting from and reflecting categorical perception. Usage of the zones depends on aspects of performance as well as on melodic context. The central pitches and pitch zones corresponding to musical scale steps can be determined from frequency histograms. This approach, however, is generally not applicable in the case of floating tonality, i.e., if the pitch of the reference tone (e.g., pitch of the tonic) is slightly altered in the course of performance.

Background in ethnomusicology

Archaic traditional solo singing features pre-diatonic scales which deviate from equal temperament. For instance, Alexeyev classifies embryonic scales of solo singing into three groups based on (a) contrast of voice registers and timbre (α-type), (b) gliding pitches (β-type), and (c) made of approximately equidistant steps (γ-type). Similar conceptions are also well known from early comparative musicology studies. There have been many acoustical investigations of musical scales; however, scales of archaic traditional solo singing, characterized by wide zones of intonation as well as somewhat floating tonality, have not yet been thoroughly studied.

Aims

This paper aims (1) to develop mathematical-statistical models based on regularities of scale perception (categorical perception and neglect of floating tonality) to quantitatively describe of an insider's emic musical scale; and (2) to study, by means of the models, the regularities of musical scales in one idiolect.

Method

Three mathematical-statistical models based on different assumptions of the nature of floating tonality were developed. Pitches of tones in songs belonging to one idiolect of Lithuanian traditional male solo singing were measured and reevaluated by means of the models.

Results and conclusions

Approximately equidistant scales as well as modern diatonic scales are found in the samples under investigation. This suggests that there are different historical layers of musical thinking manifested in the idiolect.
Impact of melodic organization on perceived structure and emotional expression in music
Authors: Lindström Erik
Published: March 2011

The traditional view of tonality has been criticized for being static in neglecting the impact of other musical features such as melody, rhythm and loudness on tonality. The purpose of this paper was to investigate a dynamic view of melodic organization which may have implications for listeners' perception of both structure and emotional expression. It was hypothesized that unstable/tense notes in the melody promote perception of instability and anger, stable/relaxed notes promote perception of stability and tenderness, notes important for major mode promote perception of happiness whereas notes important for minor mode promote perception of sadness. If these notes are emphasized and activated by means of accent structure they will affect listeners' judgements in rating scales. In order to achieve variation in accent structures, 72 computer-generated versions of the well-known tune Frère Jacques were produced by systematic manipulations of tonal progression, rhythm, melodic contour, and melodic direction. Melodies were assessed by listeners on scales “stable - unstable”, “simple - complex”, “relaxed - tense”, “happy - sad”, “tender - angry”, and “expressionless - expressive”. ANOVA and inspection of maximum contrasts in ratings showed evidence for the dynamic impact (stress) of accent structures on certain notes, according to the predictions. Further evidence was found in stepwise multiple regression analyses, where predictor variables called “Non Triad” and “Triad”, representing accents on tense (non triadic) and relaxed (triadic) notes, significantly entered the models usually next after mode, harmony and rhythm.