bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crisis managers but not conflict resolvers: Mediating ethnic intrastate conflict in Africa
Authors: Quinn David , Wilkenfeld Jonathan , Eralp Pelin , Asal Victor , Mclauchlin Theodore
Published: July 2013

Instability and conflict within African countries are on the rise. What are the best means for third parties to promote short-term crisis management and long-term conflict resolution in these situations? Often, these two tasks are at odds with one another, and certain approaches to intervention may be more or less effective. This study grapples with these issues by focusing on one particularly difficult set of cases—violent crises that are rooted in ethnic divisions and are part of protracted conflicts in Africa during the post-Cold War era—and one approach to intervention—mediation. We also view mediation as a multidimensional strategic process, and we test a series of hypotheses linking specific mediation styles to various crisis outcomes. The data and analyses reported in this study grew out of a new project named Mediating Intrastate Crises that is focused on uncovering the dynamics of successful mediation efforts during crisis situations at the intrastate level, which are important but understudied phenomena. Our findings indicate that mediators are highly effective at managing crises in the short term, particularly when they adopt a more intrusive approach. However, they have insignificant effects on long-term conflict resolution, showing little ability to stem the tide of recurrent violence.
Teaching Students With Intellectual Disability to Integrate Reading Skills
Authors: Allor Jill H. , Gifford Diane B. , Al Otaiba Stephanie , Miller Saralyn J. , Cheatham Jennifer P.
Published: July 2013

This multiple baseline study investigated the effectiveness of text-based reading lessons for students with intellectual disability (ID). Three students were selected who had not responded well to explicit and systematic reading instruction. They were provided with individual instruction in daily 45-min sessions for 14 weeks (approximately 70 sessions). All three students increased the number of words read from baseline (ranging from 5 to 20 words correct) to the final intervention session (ranging from 40 to 75 words correct), though one student’s data were less conclusive due to growth during the baseline phase. Regression discontinuity revealed the intervention caused statistically significant growth. The intervention is promising given that students with ID who initially did not respond to systematic instruction improved their ability to sound out and unitize (i.e., read with automaticity) words.
Unique Cerebrovascular Anomalies in Noonan Syndrome With RAF1 Mutation
Authors: Zarate Yuri A. , Lichty Angie W. , Champion Kristen J. , Clarkson L. Kate , Holden Kenton R. , Matheus M. Gisele
Published: July 2013

Noonan syndrome is a common autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorder caused by gain-of-function germline mutations affecting components of the Ras-MAPK pathway. The authors present the case of a 6-year-old male with Noonan syndrome, Chiari malformation type I, shunted benign external hydrocephalus in infancy, and unique cerebrovascular changes. A de novo heterozygous change in the RAF1 gene was identified. The patient underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography angiography, and magnetic resonance angiography to further clarify the nature of his abnormal brain vasculature. The authors compared his findings to the few cases of Noonan syndrome reported with cerebrovascular pathology.
Executive Function and Cerebrovascular Reactivity in Pediatric Hypertension
Authors: Ostrovskaya Maria A. , Rojas Mary , Kupferman Juan C. , Lande Marc B. , Paterno Kara , Brosgol Yuri , Pavlakis Steven G.
Published: July 2013

Primary hypertension is associated with decreased performance on neurocognitive testing and a blunted cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia. Parents of 14 children with hypertension and prehypertension completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions. Children underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and transcranial Doppler with reactivity measurement using time-averaged maximum mean velocity and end-tidal carbon dioxide during hypercapnia-rebreathing test. Comparing the reactivity slope for the patients to historical controls showed a statistically significant difference ( t = –5.19, df = 13, P < .001), with lower slopes. Pearson correlations of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions scores with the reactivity slopes showed a statistically significant inverse relationship with Behavioral Regulation Index ( r = –.60, P = .02), Metacognition Index ( r = –.40, P = .05), and the Global Executive Component ( r = –.53, P = .05). Children with hypertension have decreased executive function, and this correlates to low transcranial Doppler-reactivity slopes, suggesting that the brain is a target organ in hypertensive children.
A Novel c.1135_1138delCTGT Mutation in CLN3 Leads to Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis
Authors: Drack Arlene V. , Miller Jake N. , Pearce David A.
Published: July 2013

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis is the most common childhood neurodegenerative disorder in the world, with an incidence of 1 in 100 000 live births. More than 400 mutations in at least 14 different genes are linked to multiple clinical variants. These progressive genetic disorders primarily manifest in the central nervous system due to an extensive loss of neurons, primarily in the cerebral and cerebellar cortices. Juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis is the most common form and is primarily due to mutations in CLN3, which encodes a protein of unknown function. The most common such mutation in CLN3 is a 1.02-kb deletion that results in a frameshift and subsequent premature termination codon. Here we describe a patient with juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis who has a novel c.1135_1138delCTGT mutation in CLN3. This deletion induces a frameshift and premature termination codon in CLN3 messenger ribonucleic acid that is likely recognized by nonsense-mediated decay and degraded, subsequently leading to decreased CLN3 protein abundance.
Close But Not Too Close
Authors: Owton Helen , Allen-Collinson Jacquelyn
Published: July 2013

“Friendship as method” is a relatively underexplored—and often unacknowledged—method, even within ethnographic inquiry. In this article, we consider the use of friendship as method in general, and situate this in relation to a specific ethnographic research project, which examined the lived experience of asthma amongst sports participants. The study involved researching individuals with whom the principal researcher had prior existing friendships. Via forms of confessional tales we explore some of the challenges encountered when attempting to negotiate the demands of the dual researcher-friend role, particularly during in-depth interviews. To illustrate our analysis, four sets of tales are examined, cohering around issues of: (1) attachment and when to “let go”; (2) interactional “game-play”; (3) “rescuing” participants; and (4) the need for researcher self-care when “things get too much.” The need to guard against merger with research participants-as-friends is also addressed. In analysing the tales, we draw upon insights derived from symbolic interactional analyses and in particular upon Goffman’s theoretical frameworks on interactional encounters.
Paying Employers to Hire Local Workers in Distressed Places
Authors: Dewar Margaret
Published: July 2013

Many tax incentive zones encourage employers to hire workers in distressed places. A well-developed literature on hiring low-skilled workers has much to say about why such zones have resulted in little employment for nearby residents of distressed areas but has not informed evaluation or policy for zones. Using the Detroit Empowerment Zone experience as a case, this article finds that referrals, usually from employees, determined hiring, resulting in industrial districts with few local workers and retail districts with many more, with workplaces segregated by race and ethnicity. Although skill requirements and screening approaches should not have excluded many qualified local workers, employers in industrial areas had negative stereotypes of workers from nearby neighborhoods. Trusted intermediaries such as community-based organizations may enable tax incentive zones to produce jobs for local workers by breaking down stereotypes and inserting a new “mouth” in the word-of-mouth hiring practices.
Association of Passive Smoking With Cognitive Impairment in Nonsmoking Older Adults
Authors: Chen Ruoling , Hu Zhi , Orton Sophie , Chen Ruo-Li , Wei Li
Published: July 2013

Association of passive smoking with cognitive impairment in older adults is unclear. We carried out a systematic literature review and a new study to determine the association. There were 3 cross-sectional studies published, showing a significant association of passive smoking with cognitive impairment (a relative risk (RR) of about 1.30-1.90). In the new cohort study, we interviewed 1081 never-smoking participants aged ≥ 65 years in China using a standard method of the Geriatric Mental State–Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy and found a significant association with dose response; multivariate adjusted RR was 1.02 (95% confidence interval 0.67-1.55) in >0 to 49 exposure level years of passive smoking, 1.57 (1.00-2.47) in 50 to 99, and 2.12 (1.24-3.63) in ≥100, trend P = .008. The relationship seems not to be a reverse causality of the effect. Passive smoking could be considered an important risk factor for cognitive impairment in older adults. Avoiding exposure to passive smoking would help to preserve cognitive decline in later life.
Development of a young persons’ HIV clinic in a District General Hospital: a case note review resulting in informed change
Authors: Ellis Jayne , Norrish Gabrielle , Elgalib Ali
Published: July 2013

In recognition of the increasing number of HIV-infected young people attending the HIV department at a district general hospital, a case note review was conducted. There was a high prevalence of psychosocial problems and medical complexity among this cohort. As a result, tailored young persons’ services were developed. Effective utilisation of the existing skill-mix and resources were key to success.
Intentional Harms Are Worse, Even When They’re Not
Authors: Ames Daniel L. , Fiske Susan T.
Published: July 2013

People and societies seek to combat harmful events. However, because resources are limited, every wrong righted leaves another wrong left unchecked. Responses must therefore be calibrated to the magnitude of the harm. One underappreciated factor that affects this calibration may be people’s oversensitivity to intent. Across a series of studies, people saw intended harms as worse than unintended harms, even though the two harms were identical. This harm-magnification effect occurred for both subjective and monetary estimates of harm, and it remained when participants were given incentives to be accurate. The effect was fully mediated by blame motivation. People may therefore focus on intentional harms to the neglect of unintentional (but equally damaging) harms.
‘Focus on feet’ – the effects of systemic lupus erythematosus: a narrative review of the literature
Authors: Williams AE , Crofts G , Teh LS
Published: July 2013

Background

The manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) vary between individuals, from the severe and life-threatening renal and central nervous system involvement, to the involvement of skin, musculoskeletal and vascular system, and the complications of infection influencing the quality of life. However, as specific manifestations affecting the lower limb are perceived as receiving little focus, the purpose of this narrative literature review is to identify the specific factors associated with SLE that may have implications for lower limb and foot morbidity.

Method

A structured search of databases was conducted. The inclusion was restricted to publications in the English language, those that specifically investigate the feet as affected with SLE. No restriction on year of publication was imposed to reduce publication bias and to capture as many publication in relation to feet.

Results

Eleven papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There were seven additional papers that made observations related to the articular or vascular complications of the feet. This narrative review provides some information on how SLE affects the lower limb and foot in relation to the musculoskeletal and vascular systems. However, there is a lack of literature that specifically focuses on all the manifestations of SLE and the complications associated with its management.

Discussion

There are indications that SLE affects lower limb and foot morbidity but the scale of these problems is unclear and this is partly because of the absence of research and the lack of a ‘gold standard’ framework for the assessment of the lower limb and foot. In addition to clinical foot health assessment, ultrasonography may be a useful alternative to plain film radiography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in capturing the extent of articular and extra-articular manifestations. Further, the Ankle Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI) may be useful in identifying those with atherosclerosis and ischaemia.

Conclusion

There are indications that SLE affects lower limb and foot morbidity but the scale of these problems and effective management of them is unclear. Therefore, further research is warranted in order to better understand the impact of SLE on the foot and lower limb and its impact on quality of life.
Pulling threads: Intimate systematicity in The Politics of Exile
Authors: Inayatullah Naeem
Published: July 2013

The achievements of Elizabeth Dauphinee’s (2013) The Politics of Exile are highlighted by means of two juxtapositions. First, Dauphinee’s book invites a contrast to novels because it takes the form of a story. Specifically, Dauphinee’s portrait of the vilified ‘Serbs’ is compared with how the Taliban are treated in Khalid Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Nadeem Aslam’s The Wasted Vigil. Second, The Politics of Exile is examined as it emerges from Dauphinee’s efforts to overcome the limits of her more academic work. The advantages of Dauphinee’s approach relative to our standard research are presented along five dimensions: the responsibility of closure, the purpose of narration, the transparency of the message, how the work is shown, and the role of generosity. This article critiques Dauphinee’s silence on the purpose of travel. It closes by suggesting what social theory can glean from The Politics of Exile. Social theorists can learn how to theorize more systematically, to weigh the relationship between the form and content in writing more judiciously, and to probe the deeper purposes of our intellectual life-work more fully.
Writing as hope: Reflections on The Politics of Exile
Authors: Dauphinee Elizabeth
Published: July 2013

This article engages in a reflection on the author’s recently published book, The Politics of Exile. Of central concern are questions surrounding how restrictions on writing constrain the creative process; how we can access the lives and deaths of those with whom we share no temporal space; and how we can enact responsibility toward the pasts that we inherit and that shape our contemporary lives in other times and places. At stake are the issues of what social science does, for whom, and for what purposes. The author contends that, while not all personal or narrative writing is reflexive or transformative, social scientists have the opportunity to rethink writing in fundamental ways with the purpose of offering up alternative sites and forms of inquiry.
On The Politics of Exile
Authors: Muppidi Himadeep
Published: July 2013

The promise of Elizabeth Dauphinee’s The Politics Of Exile lies most prominently in its ability to exile us from an international relations scholarship trapped in an economy of colonial truth. It is this economy of colonial truth, also readable as Europe, that produces an international relations scholarship and pedagogy that not only self-consciously cleanses the academic world of other ways of learning and knowing but also induces an indifference or an instrumental orientation in its recipients. Reading Dauphinee’s text alongside the transcript of a child detainee’s interrogation in Guantánamo Bay as well as Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, this article explores the ethical relations of responsibility that emerge as Dauphinee’s novel sets out to move writers, researchers, and teachers of international relations away from an economy of colonial truth.
Needs, Concerns, Strategies, and Advice of Daily Home Hemodialysis Caregivers
Authors: Welch Janet L. , Thomas-Hawkins Charlotte , Bakas Tamilyn , McLennon Susan M. , Byers Doris M. , Monetti Catherine J. , Decker Brian S.
Published: July 2013

Improved patient outcomes have led to increased international interest in daily home hemodialysis as a kidney replacement therapy. Daily home hemodialysis often requires the assistance of a caregiver during and between treatments. Understanding the needs and concerns of caregivers of persons on daily home hemodialysis will inform the design of supportive interventions to improve caregiver retention and maintain their health and well-being. Using a descriptive qualitative design, the purpose of this study was to identify and describe the needs, concerns, strategies, and advice of family caregivers. Twenty-one caregivers were interviewed; five of these individuals were former caregivers of patients who had returned to outpatient hemodialysis. Data were collected via audio-recorded telephone interviews following a semistructured interview guide with five open-ended questions. A content analysis approach was used to code and analyze the data. Caregivers described needs, concerns, and strategies and offered advice in five predetermined major categories. Major findings included a need for respite services and a need for interventions to manage the emotional responses to caregiving. This study provides valuable information about relevant areas to consider when developing an intervention program for daily home hemodialysis caregivers.
Extended homeostatic adaptation model with metabolic causation in plasticity mechanism—toward constructing a dynamic neural network model for mental imagery
Authors: Iizuka Hiroyuki , Ando Hideyuki , Maeda Taro
Published: July 2013

This study presents an extended dynamic neural network model of homeostatic adaptation as the first step toward constructing a model of mental imagery. In the homeostatic adaptation model, higher-level dynamics internally self-organized from sensorimotor dynamics are associated with desired behaviors. These dynamics are regenerated when drastic changes occur, which might break the internal dynamics. Due to the weak link between desired behavior and internal homeostasis in the original homeostatic adaptation model, adaptivity is limited. In this paper, we improve on the homeostatic adaptation model to create a stronger link between desired behavior and internal homeostasis by introducing a metabolic causation in a plasticity mechanism and show that it becomes more adaptive. Our results show that our model has three different time scales in the adaptive behaviors, which are discussed with our cognition and mental imagery.
The transformation of product development process into lean environment using set-based concurrent engineering: A case study from an aerospace industry
Authors: Al-Ashaab Ahmed , Golob Matic , Attia Usama M , Khan Muhammad , Parsons Jon , Andino Alberto , Perez Alejandro , Guzman Pablo , Onecha Asier , Kesavamoorthy Sivatharan , Martinez Gabriel , Shehab Essam , Berkes Agota , Haque Badr , Soril Mikel , Sopelana Amaia
Published: July 2013

This article presents a transformation process towards lean product development in an aerospace industry. This transformation was achieved in two main stages: the first was to integrate the principles of set-based concurrent engineering into an existing product development model of an aerospace company. This stage included defining activities and associated tools. The second stage was to implement the developed model in a research-based industrial case study, a helicopter engine in this case. Three main outcomes were realised from this work. First, it presented an industrial case of lean transformation in product development, where the leanness of an existing model was enhanced by embedding set-based concurrent engineering principles. Second, the developed model was structured into a set of well-defined activities and associated tools that were previously scattered or redundant. Finally, the developed model was trialled in an industrial project of a helicopter engine, tested to evaluate its value in enhancing the innovation level and reducing risk. The work presented in this article focused on early stage system level design, and future work will extend the implementation of set-based concurrent engineering to sub-system and component levels.
MicroRNAs as Neuronal Fate Determinants
Authors: Åkerblom Malin , Jakobsson Johan
Published: July 2013

Since the discovery of short, regulatory microRNAs (miRNA) 20 years ago, the understanding of their impact on gene regulation has dramatically increased. Differentiation of cells requires comprehensive changes in regulatory networks at all levels of gene expression. Posttranscriptional regulation by miRNA leads to rapid modifications in the protein level of large gene networks, and it is therefore not surprising that miRNAs have been found to influence the fate of differentiating cells. Several recent studies have shown that overexpression of a single miRNA in different cellular contexts results in forced differentiation of nerve cells. Loss of this miRNA constrains neurogenesis and promotes gliogenesis. This miRNA, miR-124, is probably the most well-documented example of a miRNA that controls nerve cell fate determination. In this review we summarize the recent findings on miR-124, potential molecular mechanisms used by miR-124 to drive neuronal differentiation, and outline future directions.
The Importance of Clinical Severity in the Measurement of Hospital Readmission Rates for Medicare Beneficiaries, 1997-2007
Authors: Press Matthew J. , Scanlon Dennis P. , Navathe Amol S. , Zhu Jingsan , Chen Wei , Mittler Jessica N. , Volpp Kevin G.
Published: July 2013

In the coming years, assessing the impact of efforts to reduce hospital readmissions will be important to policy makers and hospitals. To inform such assessments, we sought to define preexisting trends in readmission rates for patients by level of clinical severity using a difference-in-differences analysis of Medicare inpatient claims data from 1997, 2002, and 2007 for patients with acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. We also examined trends in length of stay, in-hospital mortality, and postdischarge mortality by severity level to provide additional context for interpreting readmission rate trends. From 1997 to 2007, the difference in readmission rates between the highest and lowest severity quartiles increased. Length of stay and in-hospital mortality decreased for all patients; however, postdischarge mortality increased for the highest-severity patients and decreased for the lowest-severity patients. Assessments of recent policy reforms and quality improvement programs should account for underlying differential trends in readmission rates based on patient severity.
The Multiple Causal Pathways Between Performance Measures’ Use and Effects
Authors: Contandriopoulos Damien , Champagne François , Denis Jean-Louis
Published: July 2013

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in the design and implementation of systems using public reporting of performance measures to improve performance. In their simplest form, such interventions rest on the market-based logic of consumers using publicly released information to modify their behavior, thereby penalizing poor performers. However, evidence from large-scale efforts to use public reporting of performance measures as an instrumental performance improvement tool suggests that the causal mechanisms involved are much more complex. This article offers a typology of four different plausible causal pathways linking public reporting of performance measures and performance improvement. This typology rests on a variety of conceptual models and a review of available empirical evidence. We then use this typology to discuss the core elements that need to be taken into account in efforts to use public reporting of performance measures as a performance improvement tool.
Natalizumab inhibits the expression of human endogenous retroviruses of the W family in multiple sclerosis patients: a longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Arru Giannina , Leoni Stefania , Pugliatti Maura , Mei Alessandra , Serra Caterina , Delogu Lucia Gemma , Manetti Roberto , Dolei Antonina , Sotgiu Stefano , Mameli Giuseppe
Published: July 2013

Background:

Several viruses were reported as co-factors triggering the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), including the endogenous retroviruses of the HERV-W family, that were also proposed as biomarkers of disease progression and therapy outcome.

Objective:

The objective of this article is to clarify whether in MS patients treatment with natalizumab has effects on MSRV/syncytin-1/HERV-W expression and the possible relationship with disease outcome.

Methods:

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from 22 patients with relapsing–remitting disease, at entry and after three, six and 12 months of treatment with natalizumab. The cell subpopulations and the expression of MSRV env/syncytin-1/HERV-W env were analyzed by flow cytometry and by discriminatory env-specific RT-PCR assays.

Results:

By flow cytometry the relative amounts of T, NK and monocyte subpopulations were shown to remain fairly constant. A relative increase of B lymphocytes was observed at three to six months ( p = 0.033). The MSRV env and syncitin-1 transcripts were reduced at six to 12 months of therapy ( p = 0.0001). Accordingly, at month 12, the plasma-membrane levels of the HERV-W env protein were reduced ( p = 0.0001). B cells, NK and monocytes but not T cells expressed the HERV-W env protein. None of the patients relapsed during therapy.

Conclusion:

Effective therapy with natalizumab downregulates MSRV/syncytin-1/HERV-W expression.
The stereoscopic attraction
Authors: Gurevitch Leon
Published: July 2013

While the commonly received wisdom in scholarship of early stereoscopy asserts that it fell victim to photography’s success and eventually ‘died’ in the late 1930s, this article calls for a less determinist reading of stereoscopy’s place in media culture. Such a change requires the recognition that stereoscopy is a technique applicable across media, not a continually dying and reborn medium. Arguing that the stereograph laid some of the groundwork for the ‘cinema of attractions’ before it suffered from cinema’s capacity to supply precisely such spectacular modes of visual engagement on a grander sale, this article suggests that there is much to be taken from understanding early stereoscopy as a prototypical attraction. In the current context, in which not just three-dimensional (3D) cinema but also 3D television and 3D gaming all offer new forms of stereoscopic attraction, the content of early spectacular stereocards offers a wealth of source material with which to understand a newly resurgent form.
Stereoscopic visuality
Authors: Ross Miriam
Published: July 2013

Stereoscopic cinema and new media ask us to consider the screen; not just the screen in the movie theatre auditorium but also the hard-bodied screens of computer monitors, television sets and hand-held devices that can produce three-dimensional (3D) images. While stereoscopy’s multiple optical illusions suggest that objects are within reach of our fingertips or that we are situated in 3D landscapes that stretch back to infinity, these embodied moments are fleeting, ephemeral and transitory. In each case, there is no longer a viewing body opposite, and at a distance from, the screen but constant reconfigurations of a shared screen space. Through particular attention to moments of negative parallax (wherein the content of the moving image appears to come towards the audience), this article addresses the implications that these points have for a fundamental ontology of the 3D film.
Religious diversity and reasonable accommodation in the workplace in six European countries
Authors: Bader Veit , Alidadi Katayoun , Vermeulen Floris
Published: July 2013

After a period during which many in the West, especially Europe, expected religion to progressively fade away from public life, for various reasons religion has, over the last two decades, re-established itself as a phenomenon to be reckoned with in the globalized West. It has also become a favoured research topic for, amongst others, social scientists and legal scholars. While the European Union (EU) has a limited competency when it comes to matters of religion, in 2000 an important Directive was adopted, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion or belief in the area of employment. The EU’s interest, however, extends beyond the anti-discrimination framework, explaining why in 2010 it funded a three-year multidisciplinary project on religious diversity and secularism in Europe (RELIGARE). One of the areas of investigation, illustrating the various tensions that arise when religious claims are formulated in 21st-century Europe, concerned the area of employment and labour relations. This article provides an introduction – philosophical, legal and sociological – to a special issue with six contributions drawing from sociological data collected within the RELIGARE project. From a sociological perspective, these contributions illustrate the challenges and tensions raised by religion and belief both in secular workplaces ( the individual religious freedom cluster) and in faith-based or religious ethos workplaces ( the collective religious freedom cluster) in England, the Netherlands, Denmark, Bulgaria, France and Turkey.
On the ethics of interviewing for discourse analysis
Authors: Hammersley Martyn
Published: July 2013

The focus is an ethical dilemma that arises, in an acute form, in interviews for studies using constructionist forms of discourse analysis. Informants typically assume that researchers are aiming to document their experiences, feelings, perspectives, etc., as features of a collectively shared world; an assumption that is probably reinforced by the rationales researchers provide, and by their behaviour. Yet, in such studies, the purpose of interviews is actually to generate displays of discursive practices, rather than to elicit information about the world or about people’s individual subjectivities. This discrepancy amounts to deception, but attempts to remedy it are likely to be counterproductive because of the gap between the natural attitude and a constructionist analytic orientation. From the perspective of some currently influential views about ethics, relating to informed consent and doing research ‘with’ rather than ‘on’ people, this would disqualify such research. However, these views are by no means beyond challenge. In these terms, discourse analysis poses important questions about currently accepted views of research ethics.
Equality, opportunity, ambiguity
Authors: Sreenivasan Gopal
Published: July 2013

I distinguish four different interpretations of ‘equality of opportunity.’ We get four interpretations because a neglected ambiguity in ‘opportunity’ intersects a well-known ambiguity in ‘equality.’ The neglected ambiguity holds between substantive and non-substantive conceptions of ‘opportunity’ and the well-known ambiguity holds between comparative and non-comparative conceptions of ‘equality.’ Among other things, distinguishing these four interpretations reveals how misleading ‘equal opportunity for advantage’ formulations of luck egalitarianism can be. These formulations are misleading in so far as they obscure the difference between two separate claims about which inequalities are consistent with true equality. Luck egalitarianism claims that inequalities that have been chosen in some suitable sense are consistent with true equality, while the traditional ideal of equality of opportunity only claims that inevitable inequalities that have been determined through fair competitions are consistent with true equality. Obscuring the difference between these two claims therefore serves both to arrogate the rhetorical advantages of the traditional ideal to luck egalitarianism and to cover over a limitation to luck egalitarianism’s ambition to provide a comprehensive principle of distributive justice.
Damage detection in plates using two-dimensional directional Gaussian wavelets and laser scanned operating deflection shapes
Authors: Xu Wei , Radzieński Maciej , Ostachowicz Wiesław , Cao Maosen
Published: July 2013

Mode shape analysis by wavelet transform has been used effectively for vibration-based damage detection in plates. As an extension of previous studies, this study focuses on an improved method for damage detection in plates: scrutiny of operating deflection shapes by two-dimensional directional Gaussian wavelet transforms. With this method, the proposed two-dimensional directional Gaussian wavelet can characterize directional information about damage; moreover, the operating deflection shapes can be used to address the real-time dynamic characteristics of a plate. To identify damage, the local surface of the plate is scanned using a scanning laser vibrometer to generate the local operating deflection shape, which is interrogated by two-dimensional directional Gaussian wavelets for damage. The feasibility of the method is numerically demonstrated using a low-magnitude operating deflection shape of a two-sided clamped plate, incorporating white noise with signal-to-noise ratio of 40 dB. The applicability of the method is then experimentally validated by detecting a cross-like notch in a suspended aluminum plate with the operating deflection shapes measured by a scanning laser vibrometer. Numerical and experimental results show that the method is capable of revealing directional features of small damage with high precision and strong robustness against noise. It appears that this damage detection method is related only to the spatially distributed measurement of vibrational responses in local critical regions of the plate. With this local property, the method requires no numerical or physical benchmark models for the entire structure in question nor any prior knowledge of either the material properties or the boundary conditions of the structure. (The Matlab code performing directional Gaussian wavelet transform can be provided by the corresponding author as per request.)
Academy on Violence and Abuse
Authors: Cronholm Peter F. , Ismailji Tasneem , Mettner Jeanne
Published: July 2013

In April 2011, the Academy on Violence Abuse (http://www.avahealth.org/) convened a network of experts for its second annual conference, “Developing the Science of Violence and Abuse: Toward a New Understanding.” The conference served as a forum for highlighting the growing body of research regarding the biological consequences and adverse health consequences of abuse. In doing so, it underscored an important scientific premise: By evaluating the impact of violence and abuse from birth to death, one can better evaluate the social, behavioral, psychological, and biological context and pathways that result in the morbidity, mortality, and quality of life of all affected individuals and communities. In this article, we summarize content presented by the conference's keynote speakers and provide citations that speakers have submitted to support their statements.
Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Cigarette Smoking
Authors: Crane Cory A. , Hawes Samuel W. , Weinberger Andrea H.
Published: July 2013

The current meta-analytic review represents the first comprehensive empirical evaluation of the strength of the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and cigarette smoking. Thirty-nine effect sizes, drawn from 31 peer-reviewed publications, determined the existence of a small to medium composite effect size for the victimization–smoking relationship ( d = .41, 95% confidence interval = [.35, .47]). Results indicate that victims of IPV are at greater smoking risk than nonvictims. Subsequent moderator analyses indicated that the association between victimization and smoking is moderately stronger among pregnant compared to nonpregnant victims. The strength of the victimization–smoking relationship did not differ by relationship type or ethnicity. More research is needed on the smoking behavior of male victims, victims of psychological violence, and victims who identify as Latino/Latina. It would be useful for professionals working with IPV victims to assess for smoking and incorporate smoking prevention and cessation skills in intervention settings.
Bridging Intimate Partner Violence and the Human Brain
Authors: Wong Janet Yuen-Ha , Fong Daniel Yee-Tak , Lai Vincent , Tiwari Agnes
Published: July 2013

Past studies mainly focused on the physical and structural brain injuries in women survivors with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV), but little attention has been given to the biological impact and cognitive dysfunction resulting from such psychological stress. In this article, we aim to establish the connection between IPV and the brain by reviewing current literature examining (1) the biological mechanisms linking IPV, stress, and the brain; (2) the functional and anatomical considerations of the brain in abused women; and (3) the abused women’s behavioral responses to IPV, including fear, pain, and emotion regulation, by utilizing functional neuroimaging. The major significance of this study is in highlighting the need to advance beyond self-reports and to obtain scientific evidence of the neurological impact and cognitive dysfunction in abused women with a history of IPV, an area in which current literature remains at a descriptive level.
Measuring Children’s Perceptions of Parental Involvement in Conjoint Behavioral Consultation
Authors: Rogers Maria , Markel Clarisa , Midgett Jonathan D. , Ryan Bruce A. , Tannock Rosemary
Published: July 2013

Practitioners of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation rely on several sources of information to assist in planning and evaluation of consultation efforts. Parental involvement in the home is an important aspect in Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, yet there are few questionnaires available to practitioners to assess this important construct, particularly those that target children’s self-report. This study examined the factor structure and reliability of a new questionnaire to measure children’s perceptions of their parental involvement in learning. The Parental Support for Learning Scale: Child Form (PSLS) was administered to a sample of 231 children (aged 10–13 years). Exploratory factor analysis supported a four-factor structure representing parental involvement behaviors and emotional tone: (a) Parental Management of the Learning Environment, (b) Parental Participation With Homework, (c) Controlling Parental Involvement, and (d) Supportive Parental Involvement. Analysis showed satisfactory reliability coefficients. The four factors are discussed in relation to the relevant literature and Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, and future directions for further validation of the PSLS are discussed.
Nationally Certified Educational Diagnostician
Authors: Sutton Joe P. , Montani Teresa O. , Frawley Patricia A. , McElroy Patricia A.
Published: July 2013

Growing a national certification program requires systematic research to determine its impact on certificate holders and effectiveness in serving the public. Launched in 2007, the literature to date on the efficacy and value-added effect of the Nationally Certified Educational Diagnostician (NCED) credential is virtually nonexistent. Increased awareness of the educational diagnostician profession coupled with heightened job prospects, however, warrants the need for research on the NCED. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether professional practices of educational diagnosticians holding national certification differed significantly from those without national certification. Researchers administered a 24-item questionnaire to 262 educational diagnosticians which elicited self-ratings of six domains of professional practices. Analysis of variance results showed that NCED holders had significantly higher mean self-ratings than their non-NCED counterparts in the areas of leadership/policy and collaboration. Acknowledging NCED’s value-added potential, researchers offer explanations for these findings in light of related research on other national credentials, as well as limitations to the study and implications for future research.
What to Automate
Authors: Taylor Grant S. , Reinerman-Jones Lauren E. , Szalma James L. , Mouloua Mustapha , Hancock Peter A.
Published: July 2013

The implementation of automation relies on the assumption that automation will reduce the operator’s cognitive demand and improve performance. However, accepted models demonstrate the multidimensionality of cognitive resources, suggesting that automation must support an appropriate resource dimension to have an appreciable effect. To evaluate this theory, the present study examined the impact of various types of automation on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) operator’s performance, workload, and stress. The use of a visually demanding task allowed for comparison between an auditory alert (supporting the heavily burdened visual dimension) and a driving aid (supporting action execution, a relatively unburdened cognitive dimension). Static and adaptive (fluctuating based on task demand) levels were implemented for each automation type. Those receiving auditory alerts exhibited better performance and reduced Worry, but also increased Temporal Demand and Effort relative to those receiving driving automation. Adaptive automation reduced workload for those receiving the auditory alerts, and increased workload for those receiving the driving automation. The results from this research demonstrate the need to consider the multidimensionality of the operator’s cognitive resources when implementing automation into a system. System designers should consider the type of automation necessary to support the specific cognitive resources burdened by the task.
Diablogging about asylum seekers: Building a counter-hegemonic discourse
Authors: Fozdar Farida , Pedersen Anne
Published: July 2013

New technologies provide new forums for the expression and challenging of racism. This article explores the potential of an interactive blog about asylum-seekers to serve as part of the Habermasian ‘public sphere’, facilitating debate between those with opposing views. We offer evidence that pro- and anti-asylum seeker arguments made in blogs construct a binary between those in favour and those against. Arguments are collectively constructed producing relatively coherent discourses, despite being articulated by different individuals. We then explore the ways in which pro-asylum seeker postings utilize strategies which social scientists have identified as effective in challenging racism. As such, the blog is a site where what has come to be called ‘bystander anti-racism’ is being practised, producing a counter-hegemonic discourse. Our evidence suggests that despite arguments to the contrary, blogs are potentially useful sites for the development of communicative consciousness in relation to race issues, particularly the challenging of racism.
Long-term function after pseudo-pollicization of the little finger
Authors: Medina J. A. , Elliot D. , Giesen T. , Foucher G.
Published: July 2013

This article presents a technique for facilitating use of pinch between the ring and little fingers for use in rare cases of congenital absence, or severe hypoplasia, of the thumb in which pollicization of the index finger is impossible, or not advised because the child is already pinching by scissor action between the ring and little fingers. The technique avoids drawing attention to the hand, as is the case after true pollicization of the little finger. The technique was used in five hands in five children. Three of the patients could only be followed for under 2 years. Two patients were available for longer follow-up of 6 years and 2 months and 3 years after surgery. The surgery was shown to facilitate opening of the web and pinch between the little and ring finger tips, and continues to be of functional value to the children as they grow.
Cubital tunnel syndrome: a comparison of an endoscopic technique with a minimal invasive open technique
Authors: Bolster M. A. J. , Zöphel O. T. , van den Heuvel E. R. , Ruettermann M.
Published: July 2013

Both open and endoscopic methods for ulnar nerve decompression have been described. The purpose of this study is to compare the 6-month results of a minimal invasive open technique with an endoscopic technique. We treated 60 patients with unilateral ulnar neuropathy at the elbow, employing both techniques. Six months postoperative we found no differences in treatment effect on pain and disability scores between both groups, but both techniques resulted in an early postoperative relief of symptoms and good patient satisfaction.
Press Effects, Public Opinion, and Gender
Authors: Miller Melissa K. , Peake Jeffrey S.
Published: July 2013

The press had great potential to influence perceptions of Sarah Palin during the 2008 campaign, given her relative obscurity when picked to be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. Prior literature on press treatment of women running for national office suggests that Palin was likely to receive coverage that disadvantaged her due to her gender. We scrutinize press coverage of Palin’s campaign for evidence that she was treated differently and that these differences affected public opinion. Our sample of over 2,500 individual newspaper articles published during the campaign is paired with the 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey. We demonstrate that Palin’s coverage differed in significant ways from that of her male counterpart. Her gender, appearance, and family status were disproportionately mentioned in her coverage, and such mentions tended to dampen public opinion about her. In addition, the tone of Palin’s coverage was markedly negative, increasingly so over time, and was significantly related to reader opinion about her. While Palin was a unique candidate for national-level office, these findings should give pause to those concerned with equitable press treatment of women on the campaign trail.
Recurrent Syncope Due to Refractory Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis and Transient Elevations of Intracranial Pressure
Authors: Larimer P. , McDermott M.W. , Scott B.J. , Shih T.T. , Poisson S.N.
Published: July 2013

Chronic paroxysmal intracranial hypertension leading to syncope is a phenomenon not reported previously in patients with refractory cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. We report a case of paroxysmal intracranial hypertension leading to syncopal episodes in a patient with idiopathic autoimmune hemolytic anemia and venous sinus thrombosis. This case demonstrates that intermittent elevations in intracranial pressure can lead to syncope in patients with venous sinus thrombosis and emphasizes the importance of considering this potentially treatable etiology of syncopal episodes.