bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crystallization behavior of bamboo shoot shell/high-density polyethylene composites
Authors: Wang Hualin , Chu Hongliang , Ding Man , Min Sun , Jiang Suwei , Jiang Shaotong
Published: February 2012

The BSS/HDPE (BSSP) composites with different BSS contents were prepared by melt-compounding method. The non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of HDPE and BSSP were investigated by DSC at various cooling rates. Jeziorny and Liu methods were employed to describe the non-isothermal crystallization process of HDPE and BSSP. The results showed that, when the relative degree X( t) of crystallinity is approximately 71.6% or more, the Jeziorny method is invalid to describe the non-isothermal crystallization process, while the Liu method is successful in doing so for HDPE and BSSP. The addition of BSS can accelerate the overall non-isothermal crystallization process of HDPE, but does not change the nucleation mechanism and dimension of spherulite growth of HDPE matrix. The crystallization rate for both HDPE and BSSP increases with the increasing cooling rate, but it is quicker for BSSP than HDPE at a given cooling rate. Moreover, the addition of BSS decreases the crystallization activation energy Ea calculated by Kissinger equation.
Therapeutic effects of ivabradine on hemodynamic parameters and cardiotoxicity induced by doxorubicin treatment in rat
Authors: Colak MC , Parlakpinar H , Tasdemir S , Samdanci E , Kose E , Polat A , Sarihan E , Acet A
Published: February 2012

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of ivabradine against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity in rats using hemodynamic parameters (electrocardiogram, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure), biochemical markers of oxidative stress, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, creatine kinase-MB, and histopathological analyses both in serum and tissue specimens. A total of 28 female rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups: (a) control ( n = 6 rats), (b) DOX group ( n = 7 rats), (c) DOX + ivabradine–treated group ( n = 8 rats), and (d) ivabradine group ( n = 7 rats). When the means of the four groups were compared, there was only a significant difference in the level of HR ( p < 0.05). DOX treatment caused more HR elevation when compared to the control group, whereas ivabradine application after DOX treatment significantly reduced HR levels. Cardiomyocytes were revealed as normal histology in the light of both hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunostaining methods (caspase-3 and bcl-2) in all groups. The present study reported the therapeutic effects of ivabradine against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity accompanied by the hemodynamic and biochemical parameters.
Dynamic modeling of electromagnetic suspension system
Authors: Kim Nam H , Ge Long
Published: February 2012

Characteristics of magnetic-levitation systems are studied using dynamic models that include motion-dependent lift, drag, slip, and roll motions. The contact constraint between the vehicle and the track is modeled using a compliant contact model, and inelastic restitution is modeled using damping. Unknown numerical parameters are identified using an optimization technique and experimental data. The numerical tests are focused on the damping characteristics, stability in lifting and slip motions, the lifting efficiency, and the contact behavior with the track. It turns out that the suspension system does not have any inherent damping in the lifting direction. However, a stable behavior is observed in the traveling direction. The model also shows that the system has a strong concentric force that stabilizes the vehicle in the slip motion as well as in the rolling motion.
Reviewing Hegemonic Masculinities and Men in Sweden and South Africa
Authors: Hearn Jeff , Morrell Robert
Published: February 2012

The concept of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ continues to be used widely in gendered studies of men and masculinities, though this does not signify consensus on its meaning and conceptual value. In this article we introduce some different ways in which the concept has been used theoretically, and compare two different political and conceptual locations in which it has been employed, namely South Africa and Sweden. This arises from a collaborative project between teams of researchers based in these two countries. The goal of this project is to review critically and reflexively the use of the concept and associated concepts in the gendered, largely feminist and profeminist, national literatures in the two countries. While both countries have strong feminist traditions, they are distinguished by marked differences in history, geopolitical location and socio-economic structure. This in turn raises more general questions around the relation of the traveling of theory and concepts, and national and transnational context.
Effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on relapses, disease progression, and measures of function in persons with multiple sclerosis: exploratory outcomes from a double-blind randomised controlled trial
Authors: Kampman Margitta T , Steffensen Linn H , Mellgren Svein I , Jørgensen Lone
Published: February 2012

Background:

High vitamin D levels may reduce the risk of relapses and disease progression in multiple sclerosis.

Methods:

This 96-week randomised controlled trial was designed to assess the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on bone mineral density in persons with multiple sclerosis. Supplementation with 20,000 IU vitamin D3 weekly raised median serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[OH]D) to 121 nmol/L. The modified intention to treat analysis included 35 persons in the vitamin D3 group and 33 in the placebo group. Participants were age 21 to 50 years and fully ambulatory (median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 2.5). We studied the effect of supplementing vitamin D3 on the exploratory outcomes annualised relapse rate (ARR), EDSS, multiple sclerosis functional composite (MSFC) components, grip strength, and fatigue.

Results:

After 96 weeks, there was no significant difference between groups in ARR (absolute difference 0.10, 95% CI -0.07 to 0.27; p = 0.25), EDSS (absolute difference -0.01, 95% CI -0.35 to 0.35; p = 0.97), MSFC components, grip strength, or fatigue.

Conclusion:

Supplementation with 20,000 IU vitamin D3 weekly did not result in beneficial effects on the measured multiple sclerosis-related outcomes. This study was not powered to address clinical outcomes, but none of the results were suggestive of an effect in this unselected population of fully ambulatory persons with multiple sclerosis.
Estimating the prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis in the Lorraine region, France, by the capture–recapture method
Authors: El Adssi Haritina , Debouverie Marc , Guillemin Francis ,   on behalf of the LORSEP Group
Published: February 2012

Objective:

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Lorraine region, in France.

Methods:

Data from three sources – Regional Health Insurance System, medical records departments and the Lorraine registry of MS – and a capture–recapture method with log-linear models were used to estimate the prevalence and incidence of MS.

Results:

We identified 7193 records of reported MS corresponding to 4299 unique suspected cases of MS existing on 31 December 2008, in Lorraine. On the basis of the 4001 validated cases, the observed crude prevalence of MS was 170.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (95% confidence interval [CI]: 165.7; 176.3), and the observed annual crude incidence of MS was 4.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI: 3.6; 5.4). With the capture–recapture method, the estimated prevalence of MS was 4405.7 (95% CI: 4261.5; 4629.7), so an estimated 405 cases were not identified by the three sources. The estimated prevalence was 188.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI: 182.7; 193.8), and the estimated annual incidence was 8.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI: 7.3; 9.7).

Conclusions:

The capture–recapture method allowed us to estimate an additional 10.1% of unobserved prevalent cases and to anticipate 47.5% of unobserved incident cases.
Re-imagining youth justice: Cultural contestation in the Kimberley region of Australia since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
Authors: Blagg Harry
Published: February 2012

Twenty years on from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in Australia the picture appears bleaker than in the early 1990s. This article adopts a post-colonial stance to examine emerging Aboriginal strategies on youth justice in Western Australia that focus on building forms of Aboriginal ‘cultural capital’ and ‘community owned’ justice mechanisms on Aboriginal country as an alternative to failed strategies of incarceration and ‘community based’ justice. Aboriginal contestation, or what I call, after Edward Said, ‘contrapuntality’ increasingly takes place through subtle ‘inter-cultural’ work in various ‘engagement spaces’ in-between Aboriginal and mainstream cultures. These practices challenge mainstream government to practise what it preaches in relation to its claimed respect for Aboriginal cultural rights. The article reports on Aboriginal owned and controlled cultural processes in the Kimberley region of Western Australia that are contrapuntally challenging established ideas about the meaning of justice for Aboriginal youth.
EEG Source Localization of Interictal Epileptiform Activity in Patients with Partial Complex Epilepsy: Comparison between Dipole Modeling and Brain Distributed Source Models
Authors: Santiago-Rodríguez Efraín , Harmony Thalía , Fernández-Bouzas Antonio , Hernández Adtiana , Martínez-López Manuel , Graef Alicia , García Juan Carlos , Silva-Pereyra Juan , Fernández Thalía
Published: February 2012

The precision between dipole Brain Electric Source Analysis (BESA) and brain distributed Variable Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (VARETA) models for the localization of brain sources of interictal epileptiform discharges in patients with partial complex epilepsy was compared. The localization of brain sources calculated with dipole analysis and variable resolution electromagnetic tomography in 20 interictal recordings was analyzed. The origin of the dipoles was temporal in 18 cases, frontal in 1 and occipital in another. One dipole was enough in 7 cases, whereas two dipoles were necessary in 13 cases. The localization of paroxysmal activity was the same with BESA and VARETA in 17 patients. BESA and VARETA are useful methods for EEG sources analysis; BESA has more precision for the localization of punctate epileptogenic regions, and VARETA provides more information concerning the extension of the epileptic zone.
Ictal Nystagmus in a Newborn Baby after Birth Asphyxia
Authors: Cherian P. Joseph , Swarte Renate M. C. , Blok Joleen H. , Bröker-Schenk P. M. M. , Visser Gerhard H.
Published: February 2012

Ictal nystagmus (IN) is an uncommon phenomenon characterized by rhythmic saccadic eye movements occurring during epileptic seizures. We report a newborn baby with severe birth asphyxia, undergoing long-term video EEG monitoring with electro-oculogram (EOG), who showed irregular IN when eye movements crossed the midline from left to right and vice versa, resulting in large amplitude of the nystagmoid movements. The nystagmus was followed 15 to 29 seconds later by ictal discharges in the occipital regions. MRI of the brain showed features suggestive of periventricular leukomalacia. This interesting combination of findings suggests a complex mechanism for IN of cortical or subcortical ictal rhythms, which results in (a) the generation of subcortical electrical discharges in the pons and midbrain, causing nystagmoid eye movements, and (b) subsequent occipital spiking. We conclude that this clinical manifestation supports the existence of functioning cortical-subcortical connections between the brainstem ocular motor centers and the occipital cortex at birth.
Transient MRI Abnormalities in a Case of Occipital Lobe Epilepsy with Favorable Outcome
Authors: Barba C. , della Marca G. , Colosimo C. , Silvestri G. , Mazza S. , Tonali P.
Published: February 2012

We describe the case of a 13-year-old boy, in good health, with transient occipital MRI abnormalities just after one generalized seizure and the appearance of macropsia. The EEG showed a 3–5 Hz sub-continuous left occipital activity, with sporadic sharp waves. Macropsia disappeared in 2 years. This case may suggest that the presence of transient MRI abnormalities does not exclude a favorable prognosis.
Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus Causing Prolonged Stupor after Intraventricular Hemorrhage: Report of a Case
Authors: Fernández-Torre J.L. , Agirre Z. , Puchades R. , De Lucas E. Marco , Oterino A.
Published: February 2012

We describe the case of an octogenarian woman who experienced a severe alteration of mental state due to non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) complicating an intraventricular hemorrhage. Our report emphasizes that NCSE may be the cause of unexplained neurological deterioration in elderly patients with acute brain injury.
Vertebrobasilar Artery Insufficiency and Electroencephalogram
Authors: Niedermeyer E.
Published: February 2012

This is a renewed diagnostic approach to vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency (VBI) — a condition which stood in the focus of this author's interest several decades ago. The time for a revisitation has come.

The EEG findings consist mainly of generally reduced voltage output and enhanced photic driving response. There is also some theta activity over anterior temporal and midtemporal region, but this finding is common in the early stage of all cerebrovascular disorders. Dysfunction of the pontine portion of the ascending reticular formation might be the cause of the lowered voltage output. The enhanced photic driving might be due to very light hypoxia of the visual cortex.
Amygdala Lateralization at Rest and during Viewing of Neutral Faces in Major Depressive Disorder Using Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography
Authors: Farahbod Haleh , Cook Ian A. , Korb Alexander S. , Hunter Aimee M. , Leuchter Andrew F.
Published: February 2012

Neuroimaging experiments of amygdala activity during rest have shown abnormal amygdalar lateralization in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The current study is an exploratory investigation of the use of the neuroimaging technique Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) to measure current source density (CSD) in the amygdala. We examined seven adults with MDD and nine healthy control subjects at rest, and while they viewed images of emotionally neutral faces. The primary purpose was to compare the findings of LORETA with published findings using other neuroimaging techniques. Four frequency bands were examined: delta (1–3 Hz), theta (3–7 Hz), alpha (7–11 Hz), and beta (11–29 Hz).

Results showed that for both MDD and control groups, the right amygdala displayed higher overall activity (across frequencies) than the left, both at rest, and while viewing neutral faces. Results also showed that controls displayed significant differences between resting and viewing neutral images across all four bands in the right amygdala, with all four bands having higher CSD values in the right amygdala. There were no significant differences in CSD values between rest vs. viewing neutral images in the MDD group. Findings suggest a more pronounced lateralization effect in normal healthy controls than in MDD subjects when changing from a resting (eyes-closed) condition to viewing faces without emotional valence.
High-Frequency Oscillations in Schizophrenia
Authors: Uhlhaas Peter J.
Published: February 2012

Neural oscillations and their synchronization may represent a versatile signal to realize flexible communication within and between cortical areas. There is extensive evidence that cognitive functions depending on coordination of distributed neural responses are associated with synchronized oscillatory activity, suggesting a functional mechanism of neural oscillations in cortical networks. In addition to their role in normal brain functioning, there is increasing evidence that altered oscillatory activity may be associated with certain neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, that involve dysfunctional cognition and behavior.

In the present paper, the focus is on the role of high-frequency oscillations for cortical computations through establishing correlations between the modulation of oscillations in the β/γ frequency range and specific cognitive processes during normal brain functioning and in schizophrenia. Specifically, it is suggested that in addition to oscillations in the low (30–60 Hz) γ-band range, γ-band oscillations > 60 Hz may have a crucial role for the understanding of cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Perspectives for future research will be discussed in relationship to methodological issues, the utility of neural oscillations as a biomarker and the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia.
Utility of the Electroencephalogram in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Millichap J. Gordon , Millichap John J. , Stack Cynthia V.
Published: February 2012

An electroencephalogram (EEG) has not been routinely utilized in the evaluation of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The utility of the EEG in ADHD is unclear. A recent study in our laboratory using sleep and sleep deprivation routinely found one in four non-epileptic children evaluated for attention deficit disorder has epileptiform discharges in the EEG, more than half focal. The majority of abnormalities (97.5%) occur in sleep and sleep-deprived records compared to 7% in prior wake only records. A review of eight publications showed that laboratories using awake only as routine EEG recordings report a relatively low prevalence of epileptiform discharges, whereas the higher prevalence of epileptiform discharges is seen in those with more prolonged sleep recordings. We have determined that sleep deprivation and sleep are essential to rule out an abnormal EEG in attention deficit disorder.

In patients with attention deficit disorder complicated by epilepsy, stimulant therapy is generally safe, provided seizures are controlled by antiepileptic medication. Patients with epilepsy or subclinical electrographic abnormalities not treated with anticonvulsants are at increased risk of seizures when stimulant therapy is introduced, especially extended-release methylphenidate. Apart from an increase in risk of seizures and need for caution in use of stimulants, studies show that epileptiform discharges in the electroencephalogram are linked to a better response of attention deficit to methylphenidate and a higher cognitive performance. Transient cognitive impairment related to sub-clinical electrographic abnormalities responds to antiepileptic medication. An EEG is important in selected cases of attention deficit disorder and is useful in choice of medication, especially in children with lack of awareness and transient cognitive impairment.
A Micro-Electrocorticography Platform and Deployment Strategies for Chronic BCI Applications
Authors: Thongpang Sanitta , Richner Thomas J. , Brodnick Sarah K. , Schendel Amelia , Kim Jiwan , Wilson J. Adam , Hippensteel Joseph , Krugner-Higby Lisa , Moran Dan , Ahmed Azam S. , Neimann David , Sillay Karl , Williams Justin C.
Published: February 2012

Over the past decade, electrocorticography (ECoG) has been used for a wide set of clinical and experimental applications. Recently, there have been efforts in the clinic to adapt traditional ECoG arrays to include smaller recording contacts and spacing. These devices, which may be collectively called “micro-ECoG” arrays, are loosely defined as intercranial devices that record brain electrical activity on the submillimeter scale. An extensible 3D-platform of thin film flexible microscale ECoG arrays appropriate for Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) application, as well as monitoring epileptic activity, is presented. The designs utilize flexible film electrodes to keep the array in place without applying significant pressure to the brain and to enable radial subcranial deployment of multiple electrodes from a single craniotomy. Deployment techniques were tested in non-human primates, and stimulus-evoked activity and spontaneous epileptic activity were recorded. Further tests in BCI and epilepsy applications will make the electrode platform ready for initial human testing.
Antibody-induced nonapoptotic cell death in human lymphoma and leukemia cells is mediated through a novel reactive oxygen species-dependent pathway
Authors: Honeychurch Jamie , Alduaij Waleed , Azizyan Mahsa , Cheadle Eleanor J. , Pelicano Helene , Ivanov Andrei , Huang Peng , Cragg Mark S. , Illidge Tim M.
Published: February 2012

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have revolutionized the treatment of B-cell malignancies. Although Fc-dependent mechanisms of mAb-mediated tumor clearance have been extensively studied, the ability of mAbs to directly evoke programmed cell death (PCD) in the target cell and the underlying mechanisms involved remain under-investigated. We recently demonstrated that certain mAbs (type II anti-CD20 and anti-HLA DR mAbs) potently evoked PCD through an actin-dependent, lysosome-mediated process. Here, we reveal that the induction of PCD by these mAbs, including the type II anti-CD20 mAb GA101 (obinutuzumab), directly correlates with their ability to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human B-lymphoma cell lines and primary B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells. ROS scavengers abrogated mAb-induced PCD indicating that ROS are required for the execution of cell death. ROS were generated downstream of mAb-induced actin cytoskeletal reorganization and lysosome membrane permeabilization. ROS production was independent of mitochondria and unaffected by BCL-2 overexpression. Instead, ROS generation was mediated by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase. These findings provide further insights into a previously unrecognized role for NADPH oxidase-derived ROS in mediating nonapoptotic PCD evoked by mAbs in B-cell malignancies. This newly characterized cell death pathway may potentially be exploited to eliminate malignant cells, which are refractory to conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Emerging regulatory mechanisms in ubiquitin-dependent cell cycle control
Authors: Mocciaro Annamaria , Rape Michael
Published: February 2012

The covalent modification of proteins with ubiquitin is required for accurate cell division in all eukaryotes. Ubiquitylation depends on an enzymatic cascade, in which E3 enzymes recruit specific substrates for modification. Among ~600 human E3s, the SCF (Skp1–cullin1–F-box) and the APC/C (anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome) are known for driving the degradation of cell cycle regulators to accomplish irreversible cell cycle transitions. The cell cycle machinery reciprocally regulates the SCF and APC/C through various mechanisms, including the modification of these E3s or the binding of specific inhibitors. Recent studies have provided new insight into the intricate relationship between ubiquitylation and the cell division apparatus as they revealed roles for atypical ubiquitin chains, new mechanisms of substrate and E3 regulation, as well as extensive crosstalk between ubiquitylation enzymes. Here, we review these emerging regulatory mechanisms of ubiquitin-dependent cell cycle control and discuss how their manipulation might provide therapeutic benefits in the future.
Free probability of type B : analytic interpretation and applications
Authors: Belinschi S. T. , Shlyakhtenko D.
Published: February 2012

In this paper we give an analytic interpretation of free convolution of type $B$, and provide
a new formula for its computation. This formula allows us to show that free additive
convolution of type $B$ is essentially a re-casting of conditionally free convolution.
We put in evidence several aspects of this operation, the most significant being its
apparition as an ``intertwiner'' between derivation and free convolution of type $A$.
We also show connections between several limit theorems in type $A$ and type $B$ free
probability. Moreover, we show that the analytical picture fits very well with the idea
of considering type $B$ random variables as infinitesimal deformations to ordinary
non-commutative random variables.
Motives of reductive groups
Authors: Biglari Shahram
Published: February 2012

Our aim is to prove that the geometric motive with rational coefficients of a split reductive
group $G$ over a perfect field decomposes as the symmetric co-algebra object of certain split mixed
Tate motives which are computable in terms of the root data of $G$. Moreover the isomorphism respects
the Hopf algebra structures in a weight graded sense. We will also provide explicit decompositions in
the case of classical groups.
Sex on Capri
Authors: Champlin Edward
Published: February 2012

This paper discusses words notoriously coined to convey the "dark pleasures" of Tiberius Caesar in his last years on Capri (27-37 C.E. ). The OLD defines them thus: sellarium "A privy"; sellarius "A type of male prostitute"; spintria "A type of male prostitute." These definitions are both wrong and misleading. Sellaria ( sic ) should be taken as a proper noun connoting "The Brothel"; sellarius does not exist; and spintria should be understood as "bracelet worker," including both males and females. Real prostitution is not involved, but rather an extreme form of traditional elaborate private theatricals.
Exploring Regime Instability and Ethnic Violence in Kyrgyzstan
Authors: McGlinchey Eric
Published: February 2012

This article explores the causes of Kyrgyzstan's enduring political instability and periodic ethnic violence.
Taking Intimate Publics to China: Yang Jiang and the Unfinished Business of Sentiment
Authors: Field Jesse
Published: February 2012

Readings of two autobiographical essays by Yang Jiang (1911–) suggest that Confucian conventions of intimacy exert a major force on personal memories of the Chinese twentieth century. To resolve the anxieties of a life that extends over the entire Chinese era of revolution, Yang Jiang reinvents the values of the Confucian intellectual and the Confucian family. This work certainly draws on the business of sentimentality in Chinese popular literature, which begs the question: is Yang Jiang part of a Chinese intimate public?
The Tale Retold: Feminist Fairy Tales
Authors: MacDonald Ruth K.
Published: February 2012

Feminists have been concerned that traditional fairy tales represent women who inevitably consider the handsome prince as husband as their just reward. There are three options for feminists who are dissatisfied: to write new tales, to retell old ones, or to stay with the original versions. This paper reviews the three different options and representatives of their solutions. The conclusion reached is that, at least for the time being, the old tales are the best.
Censorship and the Black Child: Can the Real Story Ever Be Told?
Authors: Mikkelsen Nina
Published: February 2012

In its broadest definition, censorship of the black child in American children's literature has meant the neglect, misrepresentation, or a limited picture of the black child through the decades; in its more specialized definition it has meant the rejection, banning, or revision of books. Real stories are being told today, just as they were as early as 1932 when black writers wrote the scripts, but we need to know more about the black child and more about workable alternatives to censorship. One possibility, the historical perspective, can assist in disseminating the knowledge about themselves and one another that children so greatly need.
Joe Swanberg, Intimacy, and the Digital Aesthetic
Authors: Christian Aymar Jean
Published: February 2012

LOL (Joe Swanberg, 2006) is a product of Internet and early twenty-first-century cultures. Responding to its time, the film posits a distinct vision and artistic practice, one espousing a digital aesthetic intended to create a radical sense of intimacy.
From Exhibition to Genre: The Case of Grind-House Films
Authors: Church David
Published: February 2012

Boasting cheap tickets and lurid films, grind houses complicated Hollywood’s hold on the distribution chain during the studio era. To manage this economic competition, grind houses were increasingly coded as “bad objects” through industrial and critical discourse, leading to the “genrification” of so-called grind-house films during the post-studio era.
Memories of Memories: Historicity, Nostalgia, and Archive in Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder
Authors: Jeon Joseph Jonghyun
Published: February 2012

This paper reads Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder (2003) as a commentary on the possibilities of historicity at the proverbial end of history. It argues that the film ultimately instantiates a kind of spectral historiography that comments on the archive's possibility as well as its limits.
Jim Brown: From Integration to Resegregation in The Dirty Dozen and 100 Rifles
Authors: Gleich Joshua
Published: February 2012

The Dirty Dozen and 100 Rifles marked the beginning and the beginning of the end of Jim Brown's Hollywood stardom. Brown's powerful persona pushed and quickly exceeded the limits of Hollywood's representation of black masculinity, thus precipitating and necessitating blaxploitation.
The Tango on Broadway: Carlos Gardel's International Stardom and the Transition to Sound in Argentina
Authors: Navitski Rielle
Published: February 2012

Tango singer Carlos Gardel's international career, including his 1931-1935 appearances in seven Paramount musicals that helped consolidate an audience for Argentina's nascent sound film industry, exemplifies the role of emerging media technologies—radio, phonography, sound film—in the renegotiation of cultural hegemonies within and beyond the nation.
Remembering Cinema "Elsewhere": From Retrospection to Introspection in the Gallery Film
Authors: Fowler Catherine
Published: February 2012

Since 1990 a body of gallery films has remade cinema's past using remembered rather than memorable images. This essay connects examples such as L'ellipse (Pierre Huyghe, 1998), Deadpan (Steve McQueen, 1997), and Zoo (Salla Tykkä, 2006) to cinephilia and the ideas of Maya Deren, Stanley Cavell, and Victor Burgin, so as to theorize introspective and circumspective uses of cinema's past that challenge our understanding of "the image" in exciting ways.
US "Indie-Horror": Critical Reception, Genre Construction, and Suspect Hybridity
Authors: Sexton Jamie
Published: February 2012

This essay explores the troublesome relationship between horror cinema and American independent cinema, with particular emphasis on the reception of Nadja (Michael Almereyda, 1994) and The Addiction (Abel Ferrara, 1995), ultimately arguing that the continued opposition between "horror" and "art" that exists within a number of film critics' frameworks leads to US "indie-horror" cinema being articulated as a quasi-generic field within which horror tropes are largely absent.
Language, Lamentation, and Power in Sophocles' Electra
Authors: Nooter Sarah
Published: February 2012

This paper examines the language of the heroine in Sophocles' Electra and the effects of her language. Though Electra is initially rendered powerless by circumstances, she nonetheless imposes her priorities on other characters and on the shape of the tragedy itself. I focus particularly on two scenes in which Electra's character is expressed through lyrics and lamentation: her opening entrance and her mourning over the urn that supposedly holds her brother's ashes. I then argue that Electra uses these tools of speech and song to direct the course of vengeance at the end of the play.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts
Authors: Casini Silvia
Published: February 2012

The essay examines the configuration of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the scientific laboratory and in selected artworks. By drawing upon fieldwork undertaken in MRI labs and artists' ateliers, I argue that MRI has a "look" in the same way that the portrait has—that is, it has the capacity of being performative, thus resisting its being regarded as a transparent window onto the self. As will be shown, the look of MRI is acoustic more than visual, for it is based on the aural components of the examination, rather than on MRI images alone.
Full Range Advising: Transforming the Advisor-Advisee Experience
Authors: Barbuto John E. , Story Joana S. , Fritz Susan M. , Schinstock Jack L.
Published: February 2012

Drawing from the leadership literature, a new model for advising is proposed. Full range advising encompasses laissez-faire, management by exception, contingent rewards, and transformational behaviors. The relationships between full range advising and advisees' extra effort, satisfaction with the advisor, and advising effectiveness were examined. Four hundred and seven advisee/raters were sampled. Results indicated that contingent rewards and transformational advising behaviors were highly effective as rated by students.
How the First Year of College Influences Moral Reasoning Development for Students in Moral Consolidation and Moral Transition
Authors: Mayhew Matthew J. , Seifert Tricia A. , Pascarella Ernest T.
Published: February 2012

Understanding the developmental issues first-time college students face is critical for scholars and educators interested in learning and development. This purpose of this study was to investigate the differential impact of first-year college experiences on the moral reasoning development of 1,469 students in moral transition versus those in moral consolidation. Results demonstrated that developmental gains in moral reasoning varied as a function of students' moral phases; some students may be more developmentally ready to face and resolve the educational challenges that often characterize first-year programs and curricula, such as diversity courses. The results have implications for educators and moral psychologists.
This Was Your Life: The Year of the Biopic
Authors: Dickstein Morris
Published: February 2012

Much more than modern writing, which grew more fragmented and experimental in the early years of the last century, movies were the heir to nineteenth-century traditions of storytelling. Whether exploring matters of fact or fiction, movies, like the novels that preceded them, have always been interested in the arc of individual lives, the intricate unfolding of relationships and careers, and the tensions between our inner feelings and the face we put on for the world at large. The nineteenth century was a great era for novels and biographies but an iron discretion kept them in separate spheres.
Democratizing the Demand for Workers' Rights: Toward a Re-framing of Labor's Argument
Authors: McCartin Joseph A.
Published: February 2012

The evidence is clear: fifty-six years after the United States helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.S. workers do not enjoy the right proclaimed in Article 23: "to form and to join trade unions." Independent observers confirm as much. Recently, Human Rights Watch issued a report that found rampant violations of U.S. workers' rights. Such violations "have systematically stolen the freedom to organize from workers," argues AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. With the December 2003 protests, labor began to fight back. On one level, the protesters aimed to build support for reform legislation introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative George Miller (DCA)that would simplify the union recognition process and stiffen penalties against lawbreaking employers. But on a deeper level they meant to frame labor's struggle as an effort to secure human rights. As AFL-CIO organizing director Stewart Acuff put it, "We want to get into a real fight for the rights of American workers to freely form unions . . . which is a fundamental human right."
Worse Than You Thought: Bush's Budget and the Gutting of Social Security
Authors: Levinson Mark
Published: February 2012

The economic consequences of the worst government in U.S. history are starting to emerge. The number of people living in poverty has increased three years in a row; the share of total income that goes to the bottom two-fifths of households has fallen to one of its lowest levels since the end of the Second World War; wages for most workers are stagnant or falling; the number of people lacking health insurance is at a record forty-five million; the budget deficit has climbed to $427 billion (this during an economic recovery); and the world's largest economy, not to mention preeminent military power, is also the world's largest debtor.
Who Polices Scholarship?
Authors: Gordon Linda
Published: February 2012

Scandals about historians have grabbed public attention lately, most of all the plagiarism by popular pundits Doris Kearns Goodwin and the late Stephen Ambrose. Academic scholars followed the coverage closely, and more than a few will admit to a smidgen of schadenfreude that such financially successful and celebrated writers were embarrassed. More serious charges, of fraudulent claims, dishonesty, and harassment, have received less publicity. Jon Wiener argues that powerful conservative interests silence academics they don’t like and promote those they do and that the professional organizations, such as the American Historical Association, do not sufficiently defend intellectual integrity. Wiener makes no claim to have surveyed or taken a fair sample of these allegations, but the stories he tells are sobering. They reveal not only scholarly misdeeds but also recent increases in threats to free debate and intellectual integrity. Yes, of course, universities have always been influenced by politics. The cold war, for example, dampened free inquiry and shut off whole subjects from scrutiny; and in the 1960s and 1970s, radical social movements demanded and won more diverse and inclusive curricula in American universities and even many high schools.
The Author of Liberty: Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy
Authors: Judis John B.
Published: February 2012

As the U.S. occupation of Iraq dragged on, George W. Bush declared in April 2004 that the United States is "the greatest power on the face of the earth," and that "we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom. . . . That is what we have been called to do, as far as I'm concerned." In his inaugural address in January this year, Bush declared that the United States had been given a "mission" by the "Maker of Heaven" and "Author of Liberty" to spread freedom and democracy. And in May, Bush again asserted that encouraging "freedom's advance" is the "calling of our time. And America will do its duty."
Can Marriage Be Saved?
Authors: Furstenberg Frank
Published: February 2012

A growing number of social scientists fear that marriage may be on the rocks and few doubt that matrimony, as we have known it, has undergone a wrenching period of change in the past several decades. Andrew Cherlin, a leading sociologist of the family, speaks of "the de-institutionalization of marriage," conceding a point to conservative commentators who have argued that marriage and the family have been in a state of free-fall since the 1960s.
Is Marriage Dead?
Authors: Rosen Ruth
Published: February 2012

Richard Nixon is justly famous for opening up China, covering up Watergate, vetoing a comprehensive child care act, and passing some of the most protective environmental legislation in our nation's history. But until I read Stephanie Coontz's engaging and provocative history of marriage, I did not recall that he had predicted—as early as 1970—that we would have to wait until 2000 before gay marriage would be acceptable to the American people.
After the Election
Authors: Jefferson Thomas
Published: February 2012

Thomas Jefferson's comments on the 1798 passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts apply just as well to the 2004 election.
Michael Walzer Replies
Authors: Walzer Michael
Published: February 2012

Michael Walzer responds to James Rules' piece on Iraq.
A War Against Boys?
Authors: Kimmel Michael
Published: February 2012

Doug Anglin isn't likely to flash across the radar screen at an Ivy League admissions office. A seventeen-year-old senior at Milton High School, a suburb outside Boston, Anglin has a B-minus average and plays soccer and baseball. But he's done something that millions of other teenagers haven't: he's sued his school district for sex discrimination. Anglin's lawsuit, brought with the aid of his father, a Boston lawyer, claims that schools routinely discriminate against males. "From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades," he told a journalist. "Men naturally rebel against this." He may have a point: overworked teachers might well look more kindly on classroom docility and decorum. But his proposed remedies—such as raising boys' grades retroactively—are laughable.
Teaching Political Theory in Beijing
Authors: Bell Daniel A.
Published: February 2012

Few Western academics would aspire to teach political theory in an authoritarian setting. Surely the free, uninhibited flow of discussion is crucial to our enterprise. When I tell my Western friends that I gave up a tenured, high-paying job in relatively free Hong Kong for a contractual post at Tsinghua University in Beijing, they think I've gone off my rocker. I explain that it's a unique opportunity for me: it's the first time Tsinghua has hired a foreigner in the humanities since the revolution; Tsinghua trains much of China's political elite, and I might be able to make a difference by teaching that elite; the students are talented, curious, hardworking, and it's a pleasure to engage with them; the political future of China is wide open, and I'll be well placed to observe the changes when they happen. Still, I do not deny that teaching political theory in China has been challenging. This has to do partly with political constraints. But it's not all about politics. Even if China became a Western-style liberal democracy overnight, there would still be cultural obstacles to deal with. In this essay, I will discuss some of these political and cultural challenges.
Split to Win?: Assessing the State of the Labor Movement
Authors: Freeman Joshua , Later Gordon , Merrill Michael , Weinbaum Eve
Published: February 2012

More than A decade ago, John Sweeney ousted Lane Kirkland and promised to revitalize the labor movement. He put a greater emphasis on organizing and more militant action on behalf of America's working families. Sweeney and his team brought many positive changes to the AFL-CIO—a willingness to reach out to students and the broader progressive community, a new approach to the international economy free of cold war concerns, a robust political program—yet labor's decline continued. Last year, seven unions with a combined membership of six million workers left the AFL-CIO to form a new labor federation called Change To Win (CTW). The unions in CTW argue that the AFL-CIO as currently structured, a loose federation of independent unions, each responsible for organizing in its own jurisdiction, is incapable of addressing the crisis of American labor. Modeled, in part, on the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), the new federation promises a single-minded focus on organizing. It plans to mount large-scale, multi-union organizing campaigns focused on jobs—such as retail, building services, hospitality, health care, food service—that cannot be outsourced. Labor's revitalization remains a prerequisite for a progressive politics. Its steady decline has led to lower living standards for millions of workers, a frightening growth in inequality, a weakening of liberalism. We have asked some close observers of the labor movement to evaluate these recent developments. Does Change to Win represent a new approach to dealing with labor's crisis? Was the split necessary? Is the labor movement weakened by the split? What will be the political impact of the split?
Liberating Pachamama : Corporate Greed, Bolivia, and Peasant Resistance
Authors: Eviatar Daphne
Published: February 2012

The statements in this dingy auditorium in El Alto, Bolivia, reflect a growing sentiment across South America, where anger at the unfulfilled promises of the "Washington Consensus"—the neoliberal economic model imposed on much of the continent in the late 1980s and 1990s—has led to a succession of left-leaning governments, from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva ("Lula") in Brazil, Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, and, most recently, Evo Morales in Bolivia. But for all the fanfare over Morales's election and an apparent shift to the radical left, the growing popular desire for radical change in Latin America may well be crushed before it gets off the ground.
From Real Estate to Nation-State: Who Will Lead Afghanistan?
Authors: Norchi Charles
Published: February 2012

Khans, Kings, and conquerers--these are te leaders Afghans have mostly known. The legacies of Alexander the Macedonian, Genghis Khan, the Soviet Army, the Mujahadin, and finally the Taliban and Osama bin Laden share one feature: leadership based on power and divroced from authority--or with only the Qur'an as the authorizing symbol of governance. Invariably, the otucomes have been cumulative human rights abuses and what I call disvelopment, that is, the unraveling of the little development that existed. A common denominator in the repetitive failures of governance, human rights, and economic development in Afthanistan has been bad leadership.
Can Social Democracies Survive in the Global South?
Authors: Sandbrook Richard , Edelman Marc , Heller Patrick , Teichman Judith
Published: February 2012

To succeed, social-democratic movements in the global South must steer a course toward a society without poverty or social exclusion, avoiding two current utopian projects. The first utopia is a neoliberal fantasy, the self-regulating market. In the words of Karl Polanyi in The Great Transformation, this "would result in the demolition of society," with humanity "robbed of the protective covering of social institutions." The second utopia, subscribed to by some tendencies in the global justice movement, advocates "delinking" and "localization" as "post-growth" strategies for achieving environmental sustainability, grass-roots democracy, and genuine community. In contrast, social democracy constitutes what the disillusioned Yugoslav communist, Milovan Djilas, approvingly called an "unperfect society." The pursuit of perfection leads to despotism, Djilas warned; far better, then, to opt for perpetually "unperfect" societies—like those in Scandinavia—that pragmatically strive to reconcile liberty, equity, and community with the demands of a market economy.
Young Intellectuals Making Movies
Authors: Mattson Kevin
Published: February 2012

When I think about intellectuals and movies, I think of Susan Sontag. For Sontag, movies were the most promising form of modernist expression, in part, because they elided the domineering and interpretative hubris of the intelligentsia. "In good films, there is always a directness that entirely frees us from the itch to interpret," she wrote in 1964. By allowing surface aesthetics and everyday existence to linger on camera and providing a "direct experience of the language of faces and gestures," films could force us to experience life in a way the written word never could.