bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Attitudes towards days worked where Sundays are scheduled
Authors: Martin James E , Lynn-Senter Wittmer Jenell , Lelchook Ariel M
Published: March 2011

Over the last two decades in Europe and North America, many more employers have been requiring Sunday work. The current study examines attitudes towards days worked in a North American retail sample where most employees had to work on Sunday. We use Exchange Theory to develop hypotheses examining how factors related to working Sundays, such as organizational tenure, pay premiums, scheduling control, and scheduling flexibility, are associated with attitudes towards days worked. To test the hypotheses, employees were categorized into groups based on whether they worked Sundays and the premiums they received for working Sundays. Organizational tenure, higher premiums for Sunday work, and greater scheduling control were related to more positive attitudes towards days worked. In addition, employees more willing to work Sundays for scheduling control and flexibility had more negative attitudes towards their days worked. We discuss the practical implications in relation to work schedule management.
Beyond the enterprise: Broadening the horizons of International HRM
Authors: Delbridge Rick , Hauptmeier Marco , Sengupta Sukanya
Published: March 2011

In this article we argue that International HRM research will benefit from an extended research agenda that moves: i) beyond the enterprise, ii) beyond managerialism, and iii) beyond universalism. This will require both a wider range of theoretical resources to be brought to bear and a greater attentiveness to the interpenetrating levels of the empirical worlds that are subject to evaluation and explanation. The article reflects on the opportunities for drawing on theoretical frameworks from proximate research areas and advances a multi-level approach in order to achieve a more holistic and situated understanding of HRM in its international and comparative contexts.
The effects of environmental conditioning on tensile properties of high performance aramid fibers at near-ambient temperatures
Authors: Abu Obaid A. , Deitzel J.M. , Gillespie J.W. , Zheng J.Q.
Published: March 2011

Aramid and aramid copolymer fibers are used in a wide variety of military and civilian applications; however, the long-term effects of environmental exposure on tensile properties are still not well understood. The current effort investigates the effect of hygrothermal conditioning on the tensile properties of Kevlar® KM2 ®, Twaron®, and the newly available Russian copolymer, Armos® high performance fibers. Moisture uptake studies show that at room temperature, water diffuses more slowly into the copolymer Armos ® (D = 8.7 × 10-13 cm2/s) compared to the Kevlar® KM2® and Twaron® homopolymers (D = 2.16 × 10-12 cm2/s and D = 1.8 × 10 -12 cm2/s, respectively). Tensile properties have been measured for these aramid fibers that have been conditioned in water at 40°C, 60°C, 80°C, and 100°C for periods of 17 and 34 days. For both aramid and aramid copolymer fibers, hygrothermal conditioning did not significantly change fiber tensile properties below 80°C. At the most extreme condition of 100°C, 34 days, aramid fibers showed significant loss of tensile strength (58% for KM2 and 34% for Twaron®), while a reduction in tensile strength of 13% (Armos®) was observed for aramid copolymer (Armos®) fibers. Conditioned fibers exhibited no significant change in mass as a result of the conditioning procedure and FTIR spectroscopy results did not indicate signs of chemical or thermo-oxidative change due to hygrothermal conditioning. These results suggest that in aramid fibers, the primary mechanism of degradation at temperatures between 80°C and 100 °C is due to the ingress and egress of moisture in the highly ordered core structure of the fiber. The presence of water in the intercrystalline regions of the fiber core enable segmental chain motion that can relax tie molecules, alter crystal orientation, and change apparent crystallite size. Because of differences in molecular architecture and phase morphology, the aramid copolymer, Armos®, is less susceptible to degradation of tensile properties under these conditions.
Strength prediction of braided composite plates with a center hole
Authors: Hwan Chung-Li , Tsai K.-H. , Chen Wen-Liang , Chiu Chang-Hsuan , Wu C.M.
Published: March 2011

In this study, the notched strengths of three kinds of braided composite plates with a center hole were investigated. Both point stress criterion (PSC) and average stress criterion (ASC) were first applied to find the characteristic length of each braided composite plate with different sizes of the hole. It was found that the characteristic lengths predicted by both criteria are not constants. Based on the concept of three-parameter criterion, the characteristic lengths obtained by both criteria were then proposed to be expressed as functions of hole size as well as width of the plate. The notched strength of braided composite plates was then predicted. Finally, it was shown that both modified PSC and modified ASC gave better predictions of the notched strength than traditional PSC and ASC for all the kinds of braided composite plates.
Assessment of Dental Fluorosis in Mmp20+/− Mice
Authors: Sharma R. , Tye C.E. , Arun A. , MacDonald D. , Chatterjee A. , Abrazinski T. , Everett E.T. , Whitford G.M. , Bartlett J.D.
Published: March 2011

The molecular mechanisms that underlie dental fluorosis are poorly understood. The retention of enamel proteins hallmarking fluorotic enamel may result from impaired hydrolysis and/or removal of enamel proteins. Previous studies have suggested that partial inhibition of Mmp20 expression is involved in the etiology of dental fluorosis. Here we ask if mice expressing only one functional Mmp20 allele are more susceptible to fluorosis. We demonstrate that Mmp20+/− mice express approximately half the amount of MMP20 as do wild-type mice. The Mmp20 heterozygous mice have normal-appearing enamel, with Vickers microhardness values similar to those of wild-type control enamel. Therefore, reduced MMP20 expression is not solely responsible for dental fluorosis. With 50-ppm-fluoride (F−) treatment ad libitum, the Mmp20+/− mice had F− tissue levels similar to those of Mmp20+/+ mice. No significant difference in enamel hardness was observed between the F−-treated heterozygous and wild-type mice. Interestingly, we did find a small but significant difference in quantitative fluorescence between these two groups, which may be attributable to slightly higher protein content in the Mmp20+/− mouse enamel. We conclude that MMP20 plays a nominal role in dental enamel fluorosis.
The Location and Global Network Structure of Maritime Advanced Producer Services
Authors: Jacobs Wouter , Koster Hans , Hall Peter
Published: March 2011

Within research on world cities, much attention has been paid to advanced producer services (APS) and their role within both global urban hierarchies and network formation between cities. What is largely ignored is that these APS provide services to firms operating in a range of different sectors. Does sector-specific specialisation of advanced producer services influence the economic geography of corporate networks between cities? If so, what factors might explain this geographical pattern? This paper investigates these theoretical questions by empirically focusing on those advanced producer services related to the port and maritime sector. The empirical results show that the location of AMPS is correlated with maritime localisation economies, expressed in the presence of shipowners and port-related industry as well as APS in general, but not by throughput flows of ports. Based upon the findings, policy recommendations are addressed.
Social critique in the totally socialized society
Authors: Benzer Matthias
Published: March 2011

The article examines Adorno’s conviction that a critique of concepts inevitably entails a critique of society. Some commentators, notably Cook, read Adorno’s idea of the seamless transition from conceptual to social critique as dependent on the use of normative concepts. According to this ‘Marxist’ reading, a critique of unfaithful concepts provokes a persuasive and constructive critique of society for failing to fulfil concepts. This line of argument creates problems. Adorno’s inquiries into society’s resistance to decipherment imply that the progression from conceptual to social critique via normative concepts leads to advocating misguided, potentially dangerous social standards. In response to this dilemma, the article proposes an alternative interpretation of the transition from conceptual to social critique. The focus shifts from normative concepts to Adorno’s examinations of society as a condition of false consciousness and suffering. From this perspective, conceptual critique entails a convincing — albeit no longer constructive — critique of society.
Perceived Mattering to the Family and Physical Violence Within the Family by Adolescents
Authors: Elliott Gregory C. , Cunningham Susan M. , Colangelo Melissa , Gelles Richard J.
Published: March 2011

Mattering is the extent to which people believe they make a difference in the world around them. This study hypothesizes that adolescents who believe they matter less to their families will more likely threaten or engage in intrafamily physical violence. The data come from a national sample of 2,004 adolescents. Controlling for respondents’ age, gender, race, religiosity, and family socioeconomic status, structure, and size, logistic regression reveals that mattering to family is a strong contributor to violence. The effect of mattering is mediated by self-esteem and attitude toward violence. Females are more violent than males. Compared with the average respondent, Hispanics are less likely than Whites to commit violence. Children from larger families increasingly use violence. Religiosity diminishes family violence. Children whose responding parent did not finish high school are less likely to turn to violence compared with those whose parent did postcollege study.
Mediators of the Relationship Between Stable Nonresident Households and Toddler Outcomes
Authors: Fagan Jay , Lee Yookyong , Palkovitz Rob , Cabrera Natasha
Published: March 2011

The present study examined the associations between stable nonresidence among never married parents (compared with coresident parents) and outcomes for toddlers using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey–Birth Cohort. The authors found small to medium negative associations between stable nonresidence and toddlers’ positive social behavior and small negative associations between stable nonresidence and toddlers’ cognition. The associations between stable nonresidence and positive social behavior and cognition were explained by mothers’ supportiveness during interactions with the child. The findings suggest that toddlers in stable nonresident families are at greater risk for lowered school readiness because of diminished quality of maternal interactions with the child. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.
Early implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in health and social care
Authors: Boyle Geraldine
Published: March 2011

This paper discusses the early implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in health and social care in England. The author examines the research evidence to date, particularly monitoring data from the Department of Health, in order to review the progress made in implementation. The extent to which the Act is achieving its overall aim of facilitating decision-making by people lacking capacity is discussed, focusing on people with dementia. The author concludes that the initial implementation of the Act (and the related Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) has had only limited effectiveness in facilitating decision-making by people lacking capacity, promoting their best interests and protecting their liberty. Future implementation needs to ensure that the rights of people lacking capacity, particularly people with dementia, are taken more seriously in health and social care and are better protected.
Disclosing the loan officer’s role in microfinance development
Authors: Siwale Juliana N. , Ritchie John
Published: March 2011

The exclusion of the poor in developing countries requires radical enterprising solutions. Hence, microfinance was originally developed to intermediate through tailored double-bottom line initiatives, which would first supply more appropriate credit and, then other ‘financial services’, in an essentially participatory, ‘bottom-up’ way. This would support local, small-scale economic activity while enhancing well-being and social/gender justice. However, frontline local officers, originally recruited into microfinance institutions to help ‘empower’ the poor towards this end, have in practice been found to adopt unexpectedly different roles. Using original data from Zambia this article examines how this occurred in a frontier field situation. Here loan officers performed multiple, ambiguous and changeable roles while their home institution at first sought to decouple, and then prioritized its own immediate survival over their other founding aspirations. Where they acted more like ‘loan repayment agents’ and ‘debt collectors’ than genuinely participative ‘facilitators’ supporting the poor, further, unintended consequences resulted. Any further decoupling and retreat from committed double-bottom line working could bear heavily upon the further/future development prospects of microfinance.
How firms grow and the influence of size and age
Authors: Hamilton Robert T.
Published: March 2011

The growth process is revealed by tracing the diachronic paths followed by sixty growth firms over the period from 1994 through 2007. Initial employment size, rather than age, was found to have some bearing on the nature of the growth path. Smaller firms grew more often and with more continuity than larger firms. In the larger firms, growth occurred in relatively large isolated steps with little continuity. These findings have important implications for how this vital process is conceptualized and managed.
Young firm internationalization and survival: Empirical tests on a panel of ‘adolescent’ new technology-based firms in Germany and the UK
Authors: Coeurderoy Regis , Cowling Marc , Licht Georg , Murray Gordon
Published: March 2011

This paper uses a unique, longitudinal data set of UK and German new technology-based firms (NTBFs) to investigate the determinants of internationalization and firm survival. Specifically, it tests the influence of absorptive capacity, inter-firm specific relationships and international exposure on survival. Its key findings are that high absorptive capacity increases survival probabilities; specific customer–supplier relationships enhance survival; and the greater the firm’s exposure to internationalization activity, the higher its subsequent chance of survival. Thus, the paper provides evidence that young firms are more likely to survive when they pursue an internationalization strategy based on resource consolidation.
Socio-cultural factors and transnational entrepreneurship
Authors: Urbano David , Toledano Nuria , Ribeiro-Soriano Domingo
Published: March 2011

This article addresses theoretical and empirical issues concerning the emergent field of transnational entrepreneurship. We discuss issues regarding the antecedents of transnational entrepreneurship focusing specifically on the socio-cultural factors affecting this phenomenon in the Spanish context. Entrepreneurship, ethnic and transnational entrepreneurship literature is combined with institutional approach to explain what and how different socio-cultural factors influence the emergence and development of transnational entrepreneurship in Catalonia (in the north-east of Spain). We do this by looking at four case studies of transnational entrepreneurs with different ethnicity (Ecuadorian, Latin American; Moroccan, North African; Chinese, Asian; and Romanian, Eastern European). Important differences between socio-cultural factors that affect the emergence of transnational entrepreneurship (role models, immigrants’ entrepreneurial attitudes) and those that facilitate the development of transnational entrepreneurial activities (transnational networks and immigrants’ perceptions of the culture and opportunities of the host society) are found.
Freedom to Divorce or Protection of Marriage? The Divorce Laws in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the Early Twentieth Century
Authors: Le Bouteillec Nathalie , Bersbo Zara , Festy Patrick
Published: March 2011

In the period 1909—1927, new laws concerning divorce and marriage were enacted by the Scandinavian countries. Both at the time and more recently, these laws were considered as ‘‘liberal’’ as they promoted greater freedom to divorce based on individuality and gender equality. In this article, the authors first analyze the changes in these Family laws in the early twentieth century. Then, the authors study the effect of these laws on divorce and marriage patterns. As these laws did not modify the trend in divorce rates, the authors ask why this was the case. The authors’ conclusions are that the laws were more concerned with preserving the sanctity of marriage and maintaining social order than with promoting individual freedom and gender equality.
Divorce and Social Class During the Early Stages of the Divorce Revolution: Evidence From Flanders and the Netherlands
Authors: Kalmijn Matthijs , Vanassche Sofie , Matthijs Koenraad
Published: March 2011

In times of low divorce rates (such as the nineteenth century and early twentieth century), the authors expect higher social strata to have the highest divorce chances as they are better equipped to break existing barriers to divorce. In this article, the authors analyze data from marriage certificates to assess whether there was a positive effect of occupational class on divorce in Belgium (Flanders) and the Netherlands. Their results for the Netherlands show a positive association between social class and divorce, particularly among the higher cultural groups. In Flanders, the authors do not find this, but they observe a negative association between illiteracy and divorce, an observation pointing in the same direction.
They Would if They Could: Class, Gender, and Popular Representation of English Divorce Litigation, 1858-1908
Authors: Savage Gail
Published: March 2011

A systematic sample of the petitions presented to the English Divorce Court from 1858 through 1908 makes it possible to assess the differential contribution of discrete social and economic subgroups to the litigation the Court oversaw. An examination of four of these—the titled aristocracy, those employed in the theater, those in receipt of financial aid, and laborers—shows that English divorce litigants exhibited a broader social profile than commonly attributed to it by the newspaper coverage of divorce litigation, which gave a skewed impression of its social profile. Analysis of these cases underscores the gendered, class, and geographically inflected demand for divorce in a judicial setting that imposed severe restrictions on access to divorce as a remedy for marital breakdown.
An Oral History of First-Generation Leaders in Education of Children With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, Part 2: Important Events, Developments, and People
Authors: Zabel Robert H. , Kaff Marilyn S. , Teagarden Jim M.
Published: March 2011

As the second part of an oral history of education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders, 15 first-generation leaders were asked about the events, policies, and people that have had the most influence on their professional lives and to identify the most positive and most negative influences. Their videotaped responses to these questions were transcribed and analyzed and are reported here together with discussion of several themes that emerged. Among the most cited positive influences were passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (precursor to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) in 1975, development and application of behavioral approaches, contributions of talented people, and involvement in professional organizations and activities in the field. The most often identified negative influences were the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, zero-tolerance policies, inadequate federal definitions of serious emotional disturbance, isolation from other disciplines with potentially relevant knowledge and practices, and resistance to prevention and early intervention approaches .
An Oral History of First-Generation Leaders in Education of Children With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, Part 3
Authors: Kaff Marilyn S. , Zabel Robert , Teagarden Jim
Published: March 2011

In this the third part of an oral history of education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders, 15 first-generation leaders were asked to forecast the future of the field and to advise persons entering the profession. Their videotaped conversations were transcribed, were analyzed, and are reported here together with some discussion of apparent themes. They forecast a mixed, and sometimes discouraging, future of the field and believe that the challenges and frustrations they encountered will continue and become even greater. Although they recognize that prevention and early intervention are the best intervention, they are not optimistic about society’s willingness to invest in policies that promote prevention. Despite the challenges, they believe that the work is important, rewarding, and even fun. They encourage people to join the profession with realistic understandings of the children, conditions, roles, and challenges they will encounter and a willingness to find and cultivate professional support.
Does Local Government Fragmentation Reduce Local Spending?
Authors: Hendrick Rebecca M. , Jimenez Benedict S. , Lal Kamna
Published: March 2011

This study uses multiple measures of fragmentation and decentralization to assess the effects of these conditions on total local spending in 126 metropolitan regions and 538 counties in the same regions in 2002. The measures are derived from a recognized scheme that distinguishes among total, horizontal, and vertical dimensions of these conditions, and the models control for other causes of total local spending, including sprawl and interlocal spending. The study finds support for the claim that total spending by local governments is higher in regions and counties with more single purpose governments (vertical fragmentation), but also jurisdictions where a greater percentage of spending is done by counties (centralization). Findings also vary by unit of analysis and type of special purpose government, which suggests that the effects of governing structure are not as straightforward as theory suggests.
A simple formula for dynamic spherical cavity expansion in a compressible elastic perfectly plastic material with large deformations
Authors: Katzir Z. , Rubin M.B.
Published: March 2011

Simple analytical expressions are obtained for the contact pressure applied to a spherical cavity that is expanding with constant velocity in an infinite compressible elastic perfectly plastic material with large deformations. The solution is obtained by using the kinematics of isochoric flow with a modified value of the shear modulus and with a physical boundary condition on the radial stress at the location of the precursor wave associated with compressible response. Comparison of the predictions with those of full numerical simulations and non-linear similarity solutions indicates that this modified incompressible solution predicts reasonably accurate results for the transient decay of the contact pressure from its shocked value to its asymptotic value.
Periodic hierarchical load balancing for large supercomputers
Authors: Zheng Gengbin , Bhatelé Abhinav , Meneses Esteban , Kalé Laxmikant V.
Published: March 2011

Large parallel machines with hundreds of thousands of processors are becoming more prevalent. Ensuring good load balance is critical for scaling certain classes of parallel applications on even thousands of processors. Centralized load balancing algorithms suffer from scalability problems, especially on machines with a relatively small amount of memory. Fully distributed load balancing algorithms, on the other hand, tend to take longer to arrive at good solutions. In this paper, we present an automatic dynamic hierarchical load balancing method that overcomes the scalability challenges of centralized schemes and longer running times of traditional distributed schemes. Our solution overcomes these issues by creating multiple levels of load balancing domains which form a tree. This hierarchical method is demonstrated within a measurement-based load balancing framework in Charm++. We discuss techniques to deal with scalability challenges of load balancing at very large scale. We present performance data of the hierarchical load balancing method on up to 16,384 cores of Ranger (at the Texas Advanced Computing Center) and 65,536 cores of Intrepid (the Blue Gene/P at Argonne National Laboratory) for a synthetic benchmark. We also demonstrate the successful deployment of the method in a scientific application, NAMD, with results on Intrepid.
Parallel solution of the obstacle problem in Grid environments
Authors: Chau M. , Couturier R. , Bahi J. , Spiteri P.
Published: March 2011

The present study deals with the solution of the obstacle problem defined in a three-dimensional domain. In order to solve a large-scale obstacle problem, the use of parallelism is necessary. In this work we present a parallel synchronous iterative algorithm to solve this problem and its asynchronous version. For the considered problem, the convergence of parallel synchronous and asynchronous algorithms is analysed in a general framework. Finally, computational experiments on GRID’5000, the French national grid, are presented and analysed. They allow us to compare both synchronous and asynchronous versions with local and distributed clusters.
Finding Your Feedback Fit: Strategies for Designing and Delivering Performance Feedback Systems
Authors: Barton Erin E. , Kinder Kiersten , Casey Amy M. , Artman Kathleen M.
Published: March 2011

LaRaisha had spent several extra hours throughout the week preparing her sroom for today, when her n ty supervisor, Gladys, came for evaluation. She knew that she s a good teacher, but it was still v e-wracking to have someone m e and watch her. As she sat o ss from Gladys during naptime, R aisha held her breath as she k ed through her evaluation and all the rows of check boxes r ked “satisfactory.” Truthfully, s e forms never seemed to have a c k box for what she really n ted help with in her classroom, h as how to implement all those a t ideas from the workshops she attended over the summer and w to help Fletcher, the little boy h er room who has autism, n sition between activities without a v i ng a tantrum. Was she doing those things right? What could she do differently? With Gladys coming in only once a year, there seemed to be no one to talk to about these things. After the evaluation was finished, LaRaisha sighed. Another evaluation came and went without any real professional growth . . . just a lot of paperwork. What else could she do?
Resources Within Reason
Authors: Maude Susan P. , Catlett Camille
Published: March 2011

High-quality programs make time to explore questions related to program quality, such as “How are we doing?” or “How can we improve?” Early childhood programs should work to embody the same reflective practices that we try to instill in our teachers by embedding an effective and useful evaluation approach into their day-to-day functioning. The following resources offer a variety of ways that programs can collect and review data (e.g., child progress, family involvement, consumer satisfaction, standards alignment) as a regular part of ongoing management and continuous improvement.
Telomere Shortening in Formerly Abused and Never Abused Women
Authors: Humphreys Janice , Epel Elissa S. , Cooper Bruce A. , Lin Jue , Blackburn Elizabeth H. , Lee Kathryn A.
Published: March 2011

Recent studies suggest that chronic psychological stress may accelerate aging at the cellular level. Telomeres are protective components that stabilize the ends of chromosomes and modulate cellular aging. Women exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) experience chronic stress and report worse health. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine telomeric DNA length in women who have experienced chronic stress related to IPV. We hypothesized that IPV exposure would be associated with shorter telomere length. The investigation used a cross-sectional design to study telomere length in women with a history of IPV exposure and control women who reported no prior exposure to IPV. Advertisements and public notices were used to recruit a convenience sample of healthy women. Mean leukocyte telomere length was measured in DNA samples from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay (qPCR). Telomere length was significantly shorter in the 61 formerly abused women compared to the 41 controls ( t = 2.4, p = .02). Length of time in the abusive relationship and having children were associated with telomere length after controlling for age and body mass index (BMI) ( F(2, 99) = 10.23, p < .001). Numerous studies suggest that women who experience IPV have poorer overall health. It is often presumed that the stress of IPV may be causing greater morbidity. Findings from this descriptive study suggest a link between IPV exposure, duration of IPV-related stress, and telomere length molecular mechanisms that regulate cellular aging.
Effects of Indomethacin, Nimesulide, and Diclofenac on Human MG-63 Osteosarcoma Cell Line
Authors: Díaz-Rodríguez Lourdes , García-Martínez Olga , Morales Manuel Arroyo- , Rodríguez-Pérez Laura , Rubio-Ruiz Belén , Ruiz Concepción
Published: March 2011

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide and serve as treatment of some degenerative inflammatory joint diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of different concentrations of three NSAIDs on cell proliferation, differentiation, antigenic profile, and cell cycle in the human MG-63 osteosarcoma cell line, incubated for 24 hr. All NSAIDs had an inhibiting effect on osteoblastic proliferation. Treatments for 24 hr had small but significant effects on the antigenic profile. No treatment altered osteocalcin synthesis. Indomethacin and nimesulide treatments arrested the cell cycle at G0/G1. These results suggest that indomethacin, nimesulide, and diclofenac appear to have no effects on osteocalcin synthesis and a slight effect on the antigenic profile. They may delay bone regeneration due to their inhibiting effect on osteoblast growth. Therefore, these drugs should only be used in situations that do not require rapid bone healing.
Effectiveness of Qigong in Promoting the Health of Wheelchair-Bound Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities
Authors: Kuan Shu-Chien , Chen Kuei-Min , Wang Chi
Published: March 2011

Institutional wheelchair-bound older adults often do not get regular exercise and are prone to health problems. The aim of this study was to test the effects of a 12-week qigong exercise program on the physiological and psychological health of wheelchair-bound older adults in long-term care facilities. Study design was quasi-experimental, pre–post test, nonequivalent control group. Participants comprised a convenience sample of 72 wheelchair-bound older adults (qigong = 34; control = 38). The qigong group exercised 35 min/day, 5 days/week for 12 weeks. Measures for physical health (blood pressure, heart rate variability, and distal skin temperature) and psychological health (Brief Symptom Rating Scale-5) were collected before and during study Weeks 4, 8, and 12. The qigong group participants’ blood pressure, distal skin temperature, and psychological health were significantly improved (all p < .001). These findings suggest that qigong exercise is a suitable daily activity for elderly residents in long-term care facilities and may help in the control of blood pressure among older adults.
The internet as a cultural forum: Implications for research
Authors: Jensen Klaus Bruhn , Helles Rasmus
Published: March 2011

Twenty-five years ago, Horace Newcomb and Paul Hirsch proposed a model for studying television as a cultural forum, as the most common reference point for public issues and concerns, particularly in American society. Over the last decade, the internet has emerged as a new communicative infrastructure and cultural forum on a global scale. Revisiting and reworking Newcomb and Hirsch’s classic contribution, this article: first, advances a model of the internet as a distinctive kind of medium comprising different communicative genres — one-to-one, one-to-many as well as many-to-many communication; and, second, the article presents an empirical baseline study of their current prevalence. The findings suggest that while blogs, social network sites and other recent genres have attracted much public as well as scholarly attention, ordinary media users may still be more inclined to engage in good old-fashioned broadcasting and interpersonal interaction. Despite a constant temptation to commit prediction, future research is well advised to ask how old communicative practices relate to new media.
Virtual property in China: The emergence of gamer rights awareness and the reaction of game corporations
Authors: Chew Matthew M.
Published: March 2011

This study focuses on the social formation of game virtual property through analyzing two of its major stakeholders in China: online gamers and game corporations. Based on analysis of the opinions, stakes, and demands of the Chinese gamers, I argue that they are developing an incipient ‘gamer rights’ awareness composed of gamers’ entitlements to virtual property ownership as well as to virtual property rights protection by the state and game publishers. Based on analysis of the stakes and strategic actions of Chinese game publishers, I show that these corporations promulgate a self-serving version of gamer rights protection campaigns and pass the social responsibility of virtual property governance to the state. This study’s findings provide empirical evidence to support theoretical and legal recognition of virtual property, government involvement in virtual-world governance, and the ‘right to play’ critique.
Digital skills of internet natives: Different forms of digital literacy in a random sample of northern Italian high school students
Authors: Gui Marco , Argentin Gianluca
Published: March 2011

This article outlines the main results and methodological challenges of a large-scale survey on actual digital skills. A test covering three main dimensions of digital literacy (theoretical, operational and evaluation skills) was administered to a random sample of 65 third-year high school classes, producing data on 980 students. Items include knowledge questions, situation-based questions and tasks to be performed online. A Rasch-type model was used to score the results. In agreement with the literature, the sample performed better in operational skills, while showing a particularly poor performance regarding evaluation skills (although for this dimension the test shows reliability issues). Through a robust regression analysis we investigate if a skills divide based on ascriptive differences, gender and family cultural background, exists among the students. It emerges that cultural background has a significant effect, which is stronger on operational skills, while gender shows a more definite impact on theoretical knowledge.
Factory, dialogue, or network? Competing translation practices in BBC transcultural journalism
Authors: Podkalicka Aneta
Published: March 2011

Drawing on interdisciplinary theories of translation and empirical research into the BBC World Service, I propose a set of three conceptual metaphors to model media-based translation work. ‘Factory’, ‘dialogue’ and ‘network’ can each serve as a metaphor for the processes of interlingual and transcultural journalism by international broadcasters. Rather than periodizing these historically, I propose that all three metaphors, from the Fordist centralized factory via the user-friendly dialogue rhetoric to the seemingly power-free digital network, can best be seen as concurrent and competing journalistic processes in daily dynamic interaction, whether they concern centralized practices or user-generated contents.
Ethnic entanglements: The BBC Tamil and Sinhala services amidst the civil war in Sri Lanka
Authors: Thiranagama Sharika
Published: March 2011

The BBC has a major presence within the Sri Lankan media landscape and is a critical commentator on its long-standing ethnic conflict. In this article, the BBC’s two regional language services in Sri Lanka, BBC Tamil and BBC Sinhala, are examined. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in BBC Tamil and Sinhala Services at Bush House in London, and archival research at the BBC’s Written Archives Centre (WAC) in Caversham, UK, the article suggests that the BBC, far from being a global dispassionate observer, is imbricated in Sri Lanka’s fractured ethnic landscape. It argues that the two services became both ethnicized and also ethnicizing ‘love objects’. The two audiences, and the exchange of confidences between diasporic journalists and audiences, are analysed as constituting separate ‘knowable communities’, in Raymond Williams’ terms. Through an analysis of a mutual mirroring — or the ways in which BBC journalists imagine Sri Lanka, and how Sri Lanka’s ethnically segmented audiences imagine the BBC — I explore how the BBC World Service both mediates and is structured by local cultural and ethnic identities.
The BBC World Service in the Middle East: Claims to impartiality, or a politics of translation?
Authors: Jaber Michael , Baumann Gerd
Published: March 2011

As the World Service’s first foray into foreign-language broadcasting (Guardian, 1938) and its first initiative to branch out into non-English-language television (1994—96; 2008 to present), BBC Arabic has played a central role for the Corporation. Distrust of its claims to impartiality, however, persists. To assess both claims and critiques, we examine its politics of translation under four headings: transporting data from the field to the broadcaster; translating from one language into another; transposing data and message by inflexions of tone; and transmitting the result to selected audiences at selected times. We do so from both an etic (‘outsiders’) analysis of BBC output and an emic (‘insiders’) analysis of what audiences perceive and react to by way of critical receptions and reactions.
Remediating jihad for western news audiences: The renewal of gatekeeping?
Authors: Hoskins Andrew , O'Loughlin Ben
Published: March 2011

Digitization creates an ontological challenge to broadcast-era metaphors (gate, channel, flow), not least to understandings of who news gatekeepers are, where gates lie, the presumed audience, community or culture gatekeeping is done for, and what it means to gatekeep. Analysing how jihadist speeches by bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri and others are translated and remediated from their original websites, languages and contexts by various intermediaries and by western mainstream news, including the BBC, illuminates an apparently simple, settled gatekeeping model that produces systematic patterns of translation, selection and omission. Western news creates an obstacle to understanding why such texts may be appealing to some audiences by ignoring intermediaries such as terrorism-monitoring sites, Arabic media, and jihadist websites’ own self-monitoring services, delimiting a ‘mainstream’ understanding. A focus on multilingual, multiplatform gatekeeping demonstrates how loci and forms of power and authority are changing in the ‘connective turn’, to which media practitioners and scholars must adapt.
Changes in renal vessels following the long-term administration of an angiotensin II receptor blocker in Zucker fatty rats
Authors: Nakanishi Kazushige , Nagai Yohko , Honglan Piao  , Akimoto Tatsuo , Kato Hirohito , Yanakieva-Georgieva Nadezhda , Ishikawa Yukio , Yoshihara Kastunori , Ito Kinji , Yamanaka Nobuaki , Oite Takashi
Published: March 2011

Introduction: The nephro-protective effects of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are widely known; however, there are few reports of long-term effects focusing on the renal vessels. We studied afferent arteriolar changes induced by the long-term administration of an ARB.

Materials and Methods: Thirty-two 6-week-old male Zucker fatty rats (ZFRs) were divided into following four groups ( n = 8 in each): ZFR Group and ZFR+High Group fed a standard or high-salt diet, respectively; ZFR+ARB Group and ZFR+High+ARB Group fed a standard or high-salt diet with ARB (Olmesartan, 5 mg/kg/day), respectively. Blood pressure, proteinuria, morphological examinations and glomerular haemodynamics in vivo were studied.

Results: Marked proliferative changes in the afferent arteriolar smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were frequently observed in the two groups given ARBs; in the ZFR+ARB group (77.3±10.3%) compared with the two groups without ARB (1.7%, p < 0.005; 1.2%, p < 0.0005) and 37.4±15.6% in the ZFR+High+ARB group. Proteinuria markedly decreased in the groups treated with ARBs, but the glomerular erythrocyte velocities showed no differences.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that long-term ARB administration induced unusual proliferative changes in SMCs of afferent arterioles of ZFRs. These changes could narrow arteriolar lumens and reduce intraglomerular pressure, but they could cause also irreversible damage to the arterioles.
The economic costs of hypoglycaemia
Authors: Frier Brian M
Published: March 2011

The costs associated with hypoglycaemia can be subdivided into costs to the patient and those to the healthcare system. It is very difficult to estimate the economic costs for an individual patient and surveys estimating the costs of hypoglycaemia have focused on direct costs to the healthcare system. Severe hypoglycaemia imposes a major economic burden on healthcare systems, with the highest proportion of direct costs resulting from the small number of patients who are admitted to hospital. Furthermore, because subsequent follow-up also incurs costs, hypoglycaemic episodes requiring professional attendance outside hospital generate greater costs than those treated in the community by relatives or friends. Although people with type 2 diabetes are often perceived to be at low risk of developing severe hypoglycaemia, studies have shown that increasing duration of insulin treatment is the important factor that determines the risk of experiencing severe hypoglycaemia.
Hypoglycaemia: Its pathophysiology in insulin treated diabetes and hypoglycaemia unawareness
Authors: Heller Simon R
Published: March 2011

The limitations of current subcutaneous insulin delivery mean that hypoglycaemia is an inevitable side-effect of treatment of insulin-treated diabetes. Early after diagnosis, severe episodes of hypoglycaemia are relatively rare as physiological responses to hypoglycaemia are intact, the most important of which is the release of glucagon. This response, together with the activation of the sympathoadrenal system, oppose the glucose lowering effect of insulin. Autonomic activation generates symptoms which alert patients when their blood glucose is low. As duration of diabetes increases, the glucagon response becomes impaired and this delays the recovery of blood glucose from hypoglycaemic to normal levels. Protection from hypoglycaemia then depends upon sympathoadrenal activation and the release of circulating adrenaline which itself diminishes as the duration of diabetes increases. Sympathoadrenal activation is also impaired by periods of tight glycaemic control due to repeated episodes of hypoglycaemia itself. These acquired pathophysiological changes lead to a high risk of severe hypoglycaemia, in part due to hypoglycaemia unawareness. Avoidance of hypoglycaemia can partly restore hypoglycaemic responses and some symptomatic awareness. Insulin analogues, pump therapy and high quality skills training in insulin self-management may also reduce hypoglycaemic risks. Rates of hypoglycaemia are generally lower in type 2 diabetes although patients become increasingly vulnerable as endogenous insulin secretion declines. Until insulin can be delivered more physiologically, a major challenge, hypoglycaemia will remain the chief barrier to achieving glycaemic targets in insulin-treated diabetes.
Revealing the experience of children and teachers even in their absence: Documenting in the early childhood studio
Authors: Parnell Will
Published: March 2011

Inspired by the educational approach in the municipal pre-primary schools and infant-toddler centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy, two studio teachers and a researcher participant in Portland, Oregon capture classroom work, make investigations and interpretations in the studio as a laboratory space of learning, help children represent thinking, and collaboratively share their ideas with colleagues, parents, and their local community. Through their work of documenting young children’s learning, a researcher-participant aims to liberate the studio teachers’ narrative-episodes with a fundamental question: what meaning can be found in the studio experiences of documenting young children’s learning? The research results are phenomenological in nature and cascade into three narrative-episodes and discussions. Conclusions and implications for future research follow. In the end, the team finds the importance in their studio practice as a way to create meaning in everyday experiences.
A Test for Bias of Inherent Characteristics in Betting Markets
Authors: Dare William H. , Dennis Steven A.
Published: March 2011

The authors develop a model to investigate potential biases of inherent characteristics in betting markets. The test requires only that there be both a sides (“spread”) market and a totals (“over/under”) market for the game. The authors utilize the model to test for the well-documented “home-underdog” bias in the National Football League (NFL). They show that the bias specifically favors the offense (or defense) of home underdogs (away-favorites), with no bias against the offense (defense) of away favorites (home-underdogs).
Safety of the NiTi EndoCAR Following Chemoradiation in a Porcine Model
Authors: Chun Jonathan , Parikh Parag , Lee Dooseok , Fleshman James
Published: March 2011

Purpose. To assess the safety of anastomosis ring (EndoCAR) following chemoradiation. Methods. A total of 10 pigs received radiation to a bioequivalent dose of 4500 cGy with 4 doses of 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m2 and leucovorin 20 mg/m2 intravenous bolus. On day 21, each animal underwent 2 rectal anastomoses, 10 cm apart, using a 27-mm EndoCAR device and a 29-mm circular stapler. Burst pressures, desmosine and hydroxyproline levels and radiographic leaks were assessed at 2 weeks. Results. In all, 8 pigs were included in the analysis (1 pig died, 1 specimen damaged at harvest). Leaks occurred in 6 (170-300 mm Hg) stapled and 2 ring anastomoses (150-200 mm Hg; P = .13). Internal circumferences were similar (5.5 vs 5.2 cm; P = .5). Desmosine and hydroxyproline levels were similar between groups. Conclusion. Rectal anastomosis, after chemoradiation to the pig rectum using a ring (EndoCAR), is similar to stapled anastomosis. Further trials are needed in humans to determine any clinical advantage associated with these findings.