bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resisting and Persisting: Identity Stability Among Adolescent Readers Labeled as Struggling
Authors: Glenn Wendy , Ginsberg Ricki , King-Watkins Danielle
Published: December 2017

This phenomenological case study explores the persistence of high school readers labeled as struggling as they described their responses to recurring, consistent, externally originating challenges to positive reading identities growing from their experiences in a Young Adult Literature (YAL) course. Through application of Weinreich’s identity theory, the article examines three challenges that emerged: the home environment, friend influence, and school norms and practices. Findings drawn from student-generated oral reflections gathered through Seidman’s interview protocol suggest that participants possessed the power to dissociate from perceived negative reading identities and enact agency over identities that conflicted with their desired reading identities. However, participants were particularly vulnerable to the influence of school-ascribed reading identities they defined as negative. Given the perceived validity of these ascribed labels, readers were challenged more significantly in their attempts to persist in the self-construal of their desired identity conceptions in response to in-school, rather than out-of-school, challenges.
“I Do Want to Stop, At Least I Think I Do”: An International Comparison of Recovery From Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among Young People
Authors: Kelada Lauren , Hasking Penelope , Melvin Glenn , Whitlock Janis , Baetens Imke
Published: December 2017

Phenomenological and cultural understandings of recovery from the perspective of individuals who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) are rare. The primary study objective was to understand similarities across three samples in (a) how young people define recovery from NSSI and (b) what they consider helpful approaches taken by parents and professionals to assist their recovery. Using a cross-national sample of young people ( n = 98) from Australia ( n = 48), Belgium ( n = 25) and the United States ( n = 25), we assessed their perspectives on NSSI. Consistent across all samples, young people defined recovery as no longer having the urge to self-injure when distressed, often displayed ambivalence about recovery, and reported it was helpful when parents and professionals were calm and understanding. Acceptance of recovery as a process involving relapses may need to be emphasized in NSSI treatment, to ease the pressure young people often place on themselves to stop the behavior outright.
“She Calls Me by My Last Name”: Exploring Adolescent Perceptions of Positive Teacher-Student Relationships
Authors: Yu Mark Vincent B. , Johnson Haley E. , Deutsch Nancy L. , Varga Shannon M.
Published: December 2017

Interpersonal relationships during adolescence can be powerful avenues for personal development. As school is a universal context for youth, positive teacher-student relationships (TSRs) are one potential source for such developmentally promotive relationships. Unfortunately, research has shown a decline in the quality of teacher-student interactions as students progress through PK-12, which suggests a missed developmental opportunity. More research is needed to identify factors that contribute to positive TSRs, especially during adolescence. Utilizing qualitative methods, this study explores adolescent perceptions of TSRs in order to identify and understand key interactions and characteristics of high-quality, positive TSRs. We identified two overarching themes that emerged from our qualitative analysis: teacher noticing and teacher investment. Within these themes, we also examined the role of “free” and “same-level” conversations in promoting positive TSRs. Our findings contribute to research aimed at understanding specific processes that occur within positive youth-adult relationships. Specifically, we find promise in key teacher-student interactions that fulfill adolescents’ developmental needs including autonomy, competence and connection. Our findings emphasize the importance of the student perspective and that capitalizing on positive TSRs during adolescence can be a powerful way to promote positive youth development.
Identity and Intimacy: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study of Young Australians
Authors: Laughland-Booÿ Jacqueline , Skrbiš Zlatko , Newcombe Peter
Published: December 2017

In many industrialized countries, the transition into adulthood has become prolonged and complex. The consequence is that the process of identity formation within various life domains is often being delayed. This study applies a qualitative longitudinal research strategy to track the experiences of 28 young Australians as they undergo the process of identity development within the domain of romantic relationship formation. We explore their experiences and the strategies they have employed to negotiate any challenges faced. This study makes two significant contributions to current literature. First, it provides qualitative insight into some challenges contemporary young Australians are facing with respect to identity formation in this life area, and how they are responding to those challenges. Second, it suggests how theoretical understandings of the processes of identity formation, both in this domain and others, might be expanded in order to acknowledge instances when young people might choose to enter an identity development hiatus.
Repression in Residential Youth Care: A Qualitative Study Examining the Experiences of Adolescents in Open, Secure and Forensic Institutions
Authors: de Valk S. , Kuiper C. , van der Helm G. H. P. , Maas A. J. J. A. , Stams G. J. J. M.
Published: December 2017

Repression in residential youth care institutions can manifest itself openly in coercive measures or may be concealed in staff behavior that is endemic to residential youth care, such as soft power and strict behavioral control (i.e., structure), which threatens rehabilitative goals and might even violate children’s rights. To increase awareness of particularly the more hidden aspects of repression, this qualitative study follows the framework method to examine processes that cause adolescents to experience repression. Semistructured interviews were conducted with an ethnic diverse sample of 32 adolescents from open, secure, and forensic (i.e., youth prisons) residential youth care institutions in the Netherlands. Results indicated that adolescents tend to accept structure, rules, coercion, and punishments, and that they expect staff to use their power to create order and safety. However, results also showed that restrictive measures may be approved by adolescents to cope with repression, taking the form of rationalization. Staff behavior perceived as unfair or excessive by the adolescents was conceived of as repressive. Respect for autonomy and providing treatment that is experienced as meaningful by the adolescents seem to decrease experienced repression.
Supporting Students: A GRADE Analysis of the Research on Student Wellness and Classroom Mental Health Support
Authors: Rodger Susan , Bourdage Renelle , Hancock Kaitlin , Hsiang Rebecca , Masters Robyn , Leschied Alan
Published: December 2017

Recommendations derived from research evidence regarding program implementation in school-based mental health [SBMH] require knowledge of the intervention outcomes as well as the potential to translate program components into schools. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) analysis was applied to major areas of the SBMH literature in addressing the areas of effectiveness and the strength of recommendation in implementation. Nine areas were addressed: emotional intelligence, stigma reduction, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, addictions, suicide prevention, trauma, and eating disorders. Ninety-eight studies were retrieved across the nine areas. Effect sizes based on reported outcomes and estimates on the strength of recommendation were generated in each of the nine areas of interest. These results provide an overview of the quality of the evidence that will be of relevance to school personal in making program selections.
Low Levels of Physical Activity During Critical Illness and Weaning: The Evidence–Reality Gap
Authors: Connolly Bronwen A. , Mortimore Jessica L. , Douiri Abdel , Rose Joleen W. , Hart Nicholas , Berney Susan C.
Published: December 2017

Background:

Physical rehabilitation can benefit critically ill patients during intensive care unit (ICU) admission, but routine clinical practice remains inconsistent nor examined in prolonged mechanical ventilation patients transferred to a specialist ventilator weaning unit (VWU). Behavioral mapping is a sampling approach that allows detailed reporting of physical activity profiles. The objective of this study was to characterize the physical activity profile of critically ill patients in a UK ICU and VWU.

Methods:

Single-center, prospective observational study in a university teaching hospital. Patient observations, conducted Monday through Sunday from 08:30 am to 08:00 pm and for 1 minute every 10 minutes, included data points of patient location, people in attendance, and highest level of activity. Descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze and report data.

Results:

Forty-two ICU and 11 VWU patients were recruited, with 2646 and 693 observations, respectively, recorded. In the ICU, patients spent a median (interquartile range) of 100% (96%-100%) of the day (10.5 [10.0-10.5] hours) located in bed, with minimal/no activity for 99% (96%-100%) of the day (10.4 [9.7-10.5] hours). Nursing staff were most frequently observed in attendance with patients irrespective of ventilation or sedation status, although patients still spent approximately two-thirds of the day alone. Bed-to-chair transfer was the highest activity level observed. In the VWU, patients spent 94% (73%-100%) of the day (9.9 [7.7-10.5] hours) in bed and 56% (43%-60%) of time alone. Physical activity levels were higher and included ambulation. All physical activities occurred during physical rehabilitation sessions.

Conclusions:

These profiles of low physical activity behavior across both patients in the ICU and VWU highlight the need for targeted strategies to improve levels beyond therapeutic rehabilitation and support for a culture shift toward providing patients with, and engaging them in, a multidisciplinary, multiprofessional environment that optimizes overall physical activity.
Effectiveness and Safety of Magnesium Replacement in Critically Ill Patients Admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit in an Academic Medical Center: A Retrospective, Cohort Study
Authors: Hammond Drayton A. , Stojakovic Jelena , Kathe Niranjan , Tran Julie , Clem Oktawia A. , Erbach Kristina , King Jarrod
Published: December 2017

Background:

“Rules of thumb” for the replacement of electrolytes, including magnesium, in critical care settings are used, despite minimal empirical validation of their ability to achieve a target serum concentration. This study’s purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety surrounding magnesium replacement in medically, critically ill patients with mild-to-moderate hypomagnesemia.

Methods:

This was a single-center, retrospective, observational evaluation of episodes of intravenous magnesium replacement ordered for patients with mild-to-moderate hypomagnesemia (1.0-1.9 mEq/L) admitted to a medical intensive care unit from May 2014 to April 2016. The primary effectiveness outcome, achievement of target serum magnesium concentration (≥2 mEq/L) compared to expected achievement using a “rule of thumb” estimation that 1 g intravenous magnesium sulfate raises the magnesium concentration 0.15 mEq/L, was tested using 1-sample z test. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the effect of infusion rate on target achievement.

Results:

Of 152 days on which magnesium replacements were provided for 72 patients, a follow-up serum magnesium concentration was checked within 24 hours in 89 (58.6%) episodes. Of these 89 episodes, serum magnesium concentration reached target in only 49 (59.8%) episodes compared to an expected 89 (100%; P < .0001). There was no significant association between infusion rate and achievement of the target serum magnesium concentration (odds ratio: 0.962, 95% confidence interval: 0.411-2.256).

Conclusions:

Medically, critically ill patients who received nonprotocolized magnesium replacement achieved the target serum magnesium concentration less frequently than the “rule of thumb” estimation predicted.
Empowerment in a Bureaucracy? Survivors’ Perceptions of Domestic Violence Shelter Policies and Practices
Authors: Bergstrom-Lynch Cara A.
Published: December 2017

Ten qualitative focus groups were conducted with 31 survivors of domestic violence living at an emergency shelter to study survivors’ perceptions of whether shelter policies and practices felt empowering or restrictive. Five themes emerged: (1) shelter monitoring and privacy; (2) transportation and mobility; (3) managing chores, cleaning, and shopping; (4) relationships with staff; and (5) feelings around leaving the shelter. Themes were shaped by larger economic and social forces, including (1) financial constraints and (2) the bureaucratization and professionalization of the shelter system that led to hierarchical relations between staff and residents. Recommendations for improving shelter experiences are addressed.
Decoding the Code of Silence
Authors: Kutnjak Ivković Sanja , Haberfeld Maki , Peacock Robert
Published: December 2017

The code of silence—the informal prohibition of reporting misconduct by fellow police officers—has long been viewed as a serious obstacle in control of police misconduct and achievement of police accountability. The purpose of this article is to study the key correlates of police officers’ reluctance to report. Relying upon a theory of police integrity and the accompanying methodology to study the code, a police integrity survey was administered in 2013 and 2014 to measure the contours of police integrity among 604 police officers from 11 police agencies located in the Midwest and the East Coast of the United States. The questionnaire contains descriptions of 11 scenarios describing various forms of police misconduct, each followed by seven questions measuring officer views of scenario seriousness, the appropriate and expected discipline, and willingness to report misconduct. Multivariate analyses reveal that the key factor related to the police officers’ reluctance to report is the perception that the other officers would not report. The code is also negatively related to familiarity with the official rules, evaluation of misconduct as serious, and the expectation of harsher discipline. The methodology can be used either by the police agencies themselves or by the civilian oversights to assess the nature and extent of the code in the police agency.
Student Hunger on Campus: Food Insecurity Among College Students and Implications for Academic Institutions
Authors: Payne-Sturges Devon C. , Tjaden Allison , Caldeira Kimberly M. , Vincent Kathryn B. , Arria Amelia M.
Published: December 2017

Purpose:

To estimate the prevalence of food insecurity among students at a large mid-Atlantic publicly funded university; examine the association between food insecurity, demographic characteristics, potential financial risk factors, and self-reported physical and mental health and academic performance; and identify possible risk factors for food insecurity.

Design:

Cross-sectional survey.

Setting:

Large, public mid-Atlantic university.

Participants:

Two hundred thirty-seven undergraduate students.

Measures:

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) and questions on demographics, student status, economic factors, housing stability, living arrangements, academic performance, and self-rated physical health and depression symptoms.

Analysis:

Multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results:

Among students surveyed, 15% were food insecure; an additional 16% were at risk of food insecurity. Students who were African American, other race/ethnicity, receiving multiple forms of financial aid, or experiencing housing problems were more likely to be food insecure or at the risk of food insecurity (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 4.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.83-8.71, P value < .0001; AOR = 5.26, 95% CI = 1.85-14.98, P value = .002; AOR = 3.43, 95% CI = 1.85-6.37, P value <.001; AOR = 8.00, 95% CI = 3.57-17.93, P value < .0001, respectively). Food secure students were less likely to report depression symptoms than at-risk or food insecure students.

Conclusion:

Food insecurity among college students is an important public health concern that might have implications for academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. Universities that measure food insecurity among their students will be better positioned to advocate for policy changes at state and federal levels regarding college affordability and student financial assistance.
Exploring Lived Heat, “Temperature Work,” and Embodiment: Novel Auto/Ethnographic Insights from Physical Cultures
Authors: Allen-Collinson Jacquelyn , Vaittinen Anu , Jennings George , Owton Helen
Published: December 2017

Drawing on sociological and anthropological theorizations of the senses and “sensory work,” the purpose of this article is to investigate via phenomenology-based auto/ethnography, and to generate novel insights into the underresearched sense of thermoception, as the lived sense of temperature. Based on four long-term, in-depth auto/ethnographic research projects, we examine whether thermoception can be conceptualized as a distinct sense or is more appropriately categorized as a specific modality of touch. Empirically and analytically to highlight the salience of thermoception in everyday life, we draw on findings from four auto/ethnographic projects conducted by the authors as long-standing insider members of their various physical–cultural lifeworlds. The foci of the research projects span the physical cultures of distance running, mixed martial arts, traditionalist Chinese martial arts, and boxing. While situated within distinctive physical–cultural frameworks, nevertheless, the commonalities in the thermoceptive elements of our respective experiences as practitioners were striking, and thermoception emerged as highly salient across all four lifeworlds. Our analysis explores the key auto/ethnographic findings, centering on four specific areas: elemental touch, heat of the action, standing still, and tuning in. Emerging from all four studies were key findings relating to the valorization of sweat, and the importance of “temperature work” involving thermoceptive somatic learning, and physical–culturally specific bodily ways of knowing and sense-making. These in turn shape how heat and cold are actually “felt” and experienced in the mind–body.
The “Caddie Question”: Why the Golf Caddies of Bangalore Reject Formal Employment
Authors: Inglis Patrick
Published: December 2017

The mainly poor and lower-caste caddies who carry the golf sets of wealthy members at exclusive golf clubs in Bangalore, India, are not employees. Still, they must hand over personal identification to the clubs, sign an attendance register, wear uniforms, attend training sessions, and submit to managerial oversight. Despite laboring under conditions that mimic regularized employment, however, the caddies are ambivalent about prospects of formalizing ties with the clubs. The paper interprets this position as a rational response to the indiscriminate and arbitrary application of disciplinary measures outlined in minutes to meetings, annual reports, and other documents. In practice, not all caddies, all of the time, are subject to the same strict rules regarding when to work, and with whom. This leaves most caddies open to develop working relationships with individual members who provide wages and tips at the end of a round, plus additional support in paying children’s school fees, medical costs, and other expenses. Though wages, tips, and extras still only amount to a paltry sum, a majority of caddies prefer the status quo over initiating a struggle to win low-wage formal employment that would further restrict their autonomy. These findings challenge scholarship and activism that assumes formal employment is a universally desired, if not always viable, objective among precarious workers in the global south.
Effect of gamma irradiation aging on mechanical and thermal properties of alfa fiber–reinforced polypropylene composites
Authors: Noura Hamour , Amar Boukerrou , Hocine Djidjelli , Rabah Yefsah , Stephane Corn , Roland El Hage , Anne Bergeret
Published: December 2017

Recently, the interest in plant fiber composites has considerably increased due to the new environmental legislation as well as consumer pressure that forced manufacturing industries to search substitutes to the conventional materials. The aim of this article is to assess the effects of different does of gamma irradiation on the physico-mechanical properties of the composites PP / alfa fiber treated and untreated. The Young’s modulus of composites increases in the presence of alfa fiber and it was more pronounced with untreated ones resulting by the cross-linking, whereas elongation and maximum strain decreased as dose irradiation raised. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results showed that the virgin PP has better stability to gamma irradiation than treated and untreated composites. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the addition of the treated and untreated fiber greatly improves the thermal stability of the polymer matrix before and after gamma irradiation. Composites based on treated and untreated fiber have better storage modulus than virgin matrix.
Untangling the Processes of Leaving a Member-Abusive Organization
Authors: Garner Johny T. , Peterson Brittany L.
Published: December 2017

Prior to its dissolution, Mars Hill, a former megachurch, developed a reputation for abuse and dictatorial control, creating an organizational environment from which many sought to exit. However, for those members desiring to leave, exit was far from straightforward. Our interpretive analysis of former members’ stories revealed tension as Mars Hill cast out members who wanted to stay ( involuntary exit) while pressuring those who wanted to leave ( involuntary staying). Former members used a form of faith-based reasoning ( spiritual rationality) to manage this tension. Finally, members described ways they simultaneously experienced identification and disidentification with the organization in the face of abuse and control, a phenomenon we characterize as uncoupled identification. We discuss these findings in light of the literature on employee-abusive organizations and identification.
Learning About the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict Through Computerized Simulations
Authors: Kampf Ronit , Stolero Nathan
Published: December 2017

This study investigates the learning outcomes of a computer game, called Global Conflicts, simulating the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The research compares learning outcomes of Israeli–Jewish, Palestinian, Turkish, and American undergraduate students, differentiating between direct and third parties to the conflict. Learning is measured by (1) knowledge acquisition about the conflict and (2) attitude change regarding the conflict. Findings show that participants acquired knowledge about the conflict after playing the game. The game minimized the knowledge gap between third parties to the conflict (Americans and Turks) but not between direct parties to the conflict. In addition, direct parties to the conflict did not change their attitudes toward the conflict and the Gaza operation of 2012, while the attitudes of third parties became more balanced. This study has implications for the scholarship on pedagogy and teaching assessment in the context of peacebuilding. It is part of a series of studies analyzing the effects of computerized simulations on peacebuilding, and further research is necessary to understand under what conditions technology can be used as an effective peacebuilding intervention.
Intervening to Reduce Satisficing Behaviors in Web Surveys
Authors: Zhang Chan , Conrad Frederick G.
Published: December 2017

Most online surveys still look and feel much like paper questionnaires. In particular, although the web is an interactive medium, web surveys rarely exploit this interactive capability. One exception is a series of demonstrations that online survey respondents seem to become more conscientious when prompted (usually with a brief textual message) in response to behaviors like item nonresponse, nondifferentiation, and answering very quickly. While these earlier studies have found that interactive intervention can reduce the occurrence of these behaviors, the underlying mechanism—why the intervention works—remains unclear. To shed light on this, we conducted two experiments to explore why respondents might change their behavior after being prompted. Part of the explanation lies in whether the benefits of the intervention are specific to the targeted behavior or lead to a general increase in conscientious responding. The findings show that intervention can lead to genuine improvement in respondent behaviors, but it also runs the risk of producing socially desirable bias in survey answers.
How Social Anxiety and Reduced Self-Efficacy Induce Smartphone Addiction in Materialistic People
Authors: Lee Yu-Kang , Chang Chun-Tuan , Cheng Zhao-Hong , Lin You
Published: December 2017

Recent research has suggested that materialism influences consumers’ usage of technological communication devices, especially smartphones. The current study contributes to this evolving research stream by examining more closely the dynamics of mechanisms that might potentially cause smartphone addiction. We propose self-efficacy and social anxiety as two underlying mechanisms and further test whether their mediating effects are consistent across people with differing levels of power distance belief (PDB). We also examine the moderating role of PDB at the cultural level (Study 1: China vs. the United States) and at the individual level (Study 2: Taiwan). The empirical data are analyzed using the parallel multiple mediator model proposed by Hayes. The results confirm that these two mediators explain the relationship between materialism and smartphone addiction. The mediating effects are stronger for people with a high level of PDB than for their counterparts with low PDB. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Reassessing Twitter’s Agenda-Building Power
Authors: Conway-Silva Bethany A. , Filer Christine R. , Kenski Kate , Tsetsi Eric
Published: December 2017

This study examined the relationship between elite news media agendas and campaign agendas during the 2016 presidential primary season. Computer-assisted content analysis was used to assess issue emphasis within Twitter feeds of U.S. presidential primary candidates and their campaigns as well as the nation’s top newspapers. The relationship between the overall Twitter agenda and that of newspapers, as well as the influence of front-runners Clinton, Cruz, Sanders, and Trump, was investigated using time series analysis. Aggregate and candidate-specific findings reveal some reciprocal relationships, but overall greater influence of newspapers on the Twitter agenda was detected. Findings suggest that Twitter has the potential to break free from and influence traditional media gatekeeping.
The Goal Paves the Way
Authors: Schuesslbauer Annika F. , Volmer Judith , Göritz Anja S.
Published: December 2017

To cope with a changing work world, organizations look for job applicants who rate high on career adaptability. The present study investigates whether leadership influences employees’ career adaptability. Specifically, we investigated whether inspirational motivation fosters career adaptability and whether employees’ future temporal focus mediates this impact. With a time lag of 3 months, 766 employees working in various branches answered two questionnaires. Inspirational motivation by their leaders predicted employee career adaptability, mediated by employee future temporal focus. Findings yield implications for personnel recruitment and development.
An Integrated Model of Work–Study Conflict and Work–Study Facilitation
Authors: Owen Mikaela S. , Kavanagh Phillip S. , Dollard Maureen F.
Published: December 2017

The rise in working university students is a global phenomenon with more than half of the student population working while studying at university. Within this trend of dual participation, working students face unique stressors such as work–study conflict and facilitation. Work–study conflict drives students’ poor health, whereas work–study facilitation drives positive academic outcomes. In this article, we review and critique several work–study interface models proposed to explain the development and consequences of these stressors. The review uncovers important omissions and limitations of the models, reducing their utility and generalizability. Therefore, we propose a new work-to-study model, which addresses the omissions of the previous models. The work-to-study model builds on the current literature and models and integrates psychosocial safety climate theory, as it relates to the extended job demands–resources model to advance our understanding of the development and consequences of work–study conflict and facilitation.
Teachers’ Cognitive Interpretation of U.S. Global Education Initiatives
Authors: Siczek Megan M. , Engel Laura C.
Published: December 2017

Scholars and policymakers in the United States argue that developing global competence is essential to preparing K-12 students for the increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. Given this increased focus, considering implications for teachers is critical. This qualitative-interpretive study applies a sensemaking framework, drawing on interview data from teachers in the Washington, D.C. metro area to understand their cognitive interpretation of increasing calls to internationalize U.S. schooling. Findings present a multilayered picture of the ways in which a small group of invested teachers negotiate their own understandings, and grapple with policy and political messages related to internationalization and global education.
Democracy in Action and the Creation of Colorado’s School Finance Gordian Knot
Authors: Ramirez Al
Published: December 2017

This policy study traces the history of school finance in Colorado over four and a half decades and describes how the available levers of direct democracy in the state have led to a seemingly insurmountable political logjam that is restricting budgets for all essential government services. Precollegiate education is particularly affected as evidenced by continuously declining per-pupil expenditures, as compared with the national average, and growing funding inequities among school districts. The study primarily analyzes how state constitutional amendments, initiated by the legislature or citizen groups, have created a school finance system in Colorado that is inadequate, inequitable, and seemingly intractable, while at the same time continues to consume a growing percent of the state budget.
Evaluating the Accuracy of Productivity Indicators in Performance Funding Models
Authors: Horn Aaron S. , Lee Giljae
Published: December 2017

This study illustrates a method for evaluating the accuracy of performance metrics and identifies potential institutional and student attributes that may increase the likelihood of classification errors. Longitudinal data were obtained from the Integrated Postsecondary Eduation Data System for public 4-year institutions ( N = 558) to evaluate various performance metrics based on graduation rates, total credentials conferred, and total credentials per 100 full-time equivalent students. A value-added measure defined as the difference between an institution’s actual and predicted graduation rate served as the reference standard. The results revealed that 18% to 56% of institutions were misclassified as effective or ineffective when using unadjusted performance metrics. Mean comparisons indicated that institutions misclassified as ineffective frequently had input disadvantages (e.g., low admissions selectivity). Some performance metrics may thus yield unacceptably high error rates in classifying institutions as effective or ineffective, which may hinder efforts to identify best practices and reward institutions that promote state and federal attainment goals.
Textbooks and Culture Wars: An essay review of Charles Eagles, Civil rights culture wars: The fight over a Mississippi textbook. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017. Pp. 298. ISBN 9781469631158.
Authors: Apple Michael W.
Published: December 2017

The politics of collective memory, over what counts as “official knowledge,” is crucial in education. With its primary focus on the politics of memory and how this works in the politics of school knowledge as its primary focus, Civil Rights Culture Wars gives us a rich historical picture of this process as it played out in a significant battle over a specific textbook in Mississippi. As some readers may already know, there have been a large number of interesting case studies of textbook controversies over the years, as well as a long history of studies that critically focus on the political and educational issues surrounding textbooks. As Eagles documents in great detail, this book became a center of ideological conflict and many conservative groups were clear that they would seek to block its approval. The conflict over the book in the courts, in the press, and in government agencies took years. There were defeats, partial victories, and then ultimately a vindication. Even though the implications of his analysis to more general issues of political and cultural theory are always there, Eagles’s account is not about the abstraction called the “state.” It reads more like an anguished drama, filled with real characters, biographies, and movements, from the authors of the textbook themselves, to state legislators, to educational administrators and state textbook adoption commission members, to judges, to members of the public who held varied political positions on the battle over inclusion and exclusion, over the epistemological fog, amnesia and memory, and so much more.
Twilight of Work: The Labor Question in Nietzsche and Marx
Authors: Roberts Michael James
Published: December 2017

This essay is an intervention into the debate regarding the possibility and/or desirability of articulating Nietzsche with Marx as a means to expand upon the foundations of critical social theory. Critics who oppose such an articulation do so because they see Nietzsche’s political views as elitist, if not reactionary, and therefore incompatible with any Marxist-influenced theoretical project. On the other hand, theorists who do attempt such an articulation focus upon the critique of epistemology at the relative exclusion of politics. By focusing upon the labor question, the following pages present a new way to articulate Nietzsche’s cultural analyses with Marx’s structural ones. Both thinkers argued for the separation of work from leisure through a critique of the capitalist work ethic. This way of approaching the labor question is largely neglected in much of Marxist theory that seeks the liberation of work rather than the liberation from work. Reading the two thinkers together on the labor question provides an alternative way to understand Nietzsche’s perceived aristocratic pretensions while jettisoning the labor metaphysic that plagues much of Marxist theory. A rigorous critique of the work ethic points toward a new way of life beyond the workplace, made possible by the radical reduction of working hours.
Leaping Into Real-World Relevance: An “Abduction” Process for Nonprofit Research
Authors: Taylor Rachel , Torugsa Nuttaneeya (Ann) , Arundel Anthony
Published: December 2017

Positioned in the midst of the heated debate about the production of relevant and usable knowledge for practitioners in the nonprofit sector and a serious shortage of high-impact research that speaks to practice, the purpose of this Research Note is to direct nonprofit scholarship toward embracing “abduction,” which is the initial creative stage in scientific inquiry that facilitates the formulation of testable explanatory hypotheses and makes new discoveries in a sensory and logically structured way. We use an emerging interest in social innovation by the nonprofit sector as an illustrative example to show the advantages of using abductive reasoning as the primary method of reasoning for discovering new knowledge of a nascent but vital phenomenon. The novel contribution of this Research Note lies in encouraging scholarship on the nonprofit sector to an applied “practice-led” research process that is intellectually relevant and has the potential to bridge the scholar–practice divide.
Transnational Labour Migration and the place of Reproductive Labour: Trailing Wives and Community Support in Boddington
Authors: Mayes Robyn , Koshy Paul
Published: December 2017

This article addresses the need for critical attention to families and place in the labour migration literature. Through examination of the experiences of trailing wives, it highlights the interconnected roles of state regulation, industry practice and destination communities in the gendering of transnational labour migration. Specifically, we attend to the experiences of trailing wives accompanying partners who migrated to Boddington in rural Western Australia to take up skilled work in the nearby gold mine, and incorporate (inter) related perspectives of local community members, in particular the provision of substantive migrant support by a key local figure. This research extends the labour migration literature in two ways. First, it develops understandings of how transnational labour migration fortifies gendered divisions of reproductive labour and, importantly, can encompass unpaid reproductive labour in local communities. Second, this article foregrounds the ways in which complex configurations of unpaid and paid reproductive labour – in households, community spaces and work-camp – underwrite economic globalization.
Rational instrument or symbolic signal? Explaining coordination structures in the Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the European Commission
Authors: Wenzel Bertolt
Published: December 2017

This article examines the reorganization of formal coordination structures in the Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the European Commission. While rational approaches in organization theory emphasize functional efficiency as an explanation for organizational design and coordination structures, the findings of this study indicate that the reorganization was not driven primarily for reasons of efficiency and to increase the coordination capacity of the organization. The study demonstrates that, even in a highly technical policy area such as fisheries management in the European Union, the (re-)design of formal organizational structures does not follow primarily a technical–instrumental rationale. Instead, the formal coordination structures have also been adapted to live up to changing expectations in the institutional environment, to modern management concepts in marine governance, and to ensure the legitimacy of the organization. However, although the empirical findings of this study substantiate the theoretical assumptions of an institutional perspective, institutional explanations alone are insufficient to comprehensively understand why organizational structures are reorganized and changed.
Synthesis and characterization of three different structures of polyacene quinone radical polymers
Authors: Guo Wenfeng , Mao Xin , Li Chengzhang , Yang Jie , Du Lirong , Tang Xianzhong
Published: December 2017

Three types of polyacene quinone radical (PAQR) polymers were synthesized by the step-growth polymerization of naphthalene, anthracene, or anthraquinone reacting with pyromellitic dianhydride via solution polymerization under a temperature gradient. Zinc chloride was used as the catalyst, and nitrobenzene was the solvent. The different structures of PAQR polymers were analyzed by infrared, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The thermal properties of PAQR polymers were described by thermal gravimetric analysis, and the electrical performances were investigated by a precision LCR meter and a digital high insulation meter.
Gas transport properties of polyimide membranes based on triphenylamine unit
Authors: Song Guangliang , Wang Lina , Liu Dandan , Yao Jianan , Cao Yiming
Published: December 2017

A series of polyimide (PI) membranes were prepared based on three triphenylamine-based diamines, namely 4,4′-diaminotriphenylamine, 4,4′-diamino-3′′,5′′-dimethyltriphenylamine, and 4,4′-diamino-3′′,5′′-ditrifluoromethyltriphenylamine, via thermal imidization procedure. The PI membranes displayed good thermal properties, with glass transition temperatures of 279–341°C and 5% weight loss temperatures above 515°C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The gas permeation properties of the membranes were investigated and interpreted from the viewpoint of the PI backbone structure. The gas permeation coefficients increased as the substituent pendant groups at the 3′′,5′′ positions of the triphenylamine varied from –H to –CH3 and –CF3, and the permselectivity of gas pairs (including hydrogen/nitrogen (N2), oxygen/N2, carbon dioxide (CO2)/N2, and CO2/methane) decreased in this order. The diffusion coefficients and solubility coefficients were calculated, and the results revealed the variation of the substituted triphenylamine units principally influenced the diffusion coefficients, indicating that the substituted triphenylamine affected the gas transport properties by “diffusivity-controlled” modification.
A new high performance novolac-based polytriazole resin
Authors: Ye Lvyuan , Wan Liqiang , Huang Farong
Published: December 2017

A novolac-based polytriazole (NPTA) resin was synthesized using 4,4′-diazidomethylbiphenyl and a propargylated novolac resin through catalyst-free click polymerization. Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared analysis results demonstrate that the NPTA resin can be cured at 80°C. The glass transition temperature of the cured NPTA-88 resin is 202°C. The thermal degradation temperature of the cured NPTA resin is 352°C under nitrogen. The composite of the resin exhibits good mechanical property.
Investigation of thermal and tensile properties of poly(benzimidazole-imide) composites incorporating salicylic acid–functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes
Authors: Takassi Mohammad Ali , Zadehnazari Amin
Published: December 2017

This work describes a novel aromatic poly(benzimidazole-imide) (PBII) with amino salicylic acid (ASA) segments in the main chain by melt/solid polymerization method under solvent-free conditions and its composites reinforced with ASA-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-ASA). The polymer was obtained in high yield with an amorphous morphology, was soluble in various organic solvents, such as N,N′-dimethylacetamide, N,N′-dimethylformamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and dimethyl sulfoxide, and could afford flexible and tough film via solution casting. MWCNT-ASA/PBII composite films were also prepared by casting a solution of precursor polymer containing different fractions of MWCNTs-ASA into a thin film (1, 2, and 5 wt%). The cast films exhibited good mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 90.00–128.3 MPa, elongation at break of 4.6–7.9%, and tensile modulus of 1.6–2.9 GPa. They were reasonably stable up to a temperature above 400°C for the PBII and above 450°C for the composites. Structural and morphological evaluation of the composites was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Dispersion of MWCNT-ASA in the polymer matrix was investigated by field emission scanning and transmission electron microscopy.
Eaton’s reagent in polybenzimidazole synthesis
Authors: Olvera-Mancilla Jessica , Palacios-Alquisira Joaquín , Alexandrova Larissa
Published: December 2017

The polycondensations of 3,3′-diaminobenzidine with two acids, 4,4′-oxybis(benzoic acid) and hexafluoroisopropylidene bis(benzoic acid), were conducted in Eaton’s reagent at the unusually high temperature of 180°C and under microwave irradiation at 90°C. Both protocols resulted in soluble polybenzimidazoles, OPBI and CF3PBI, of high molecular weights in very short reaction times. The synthesized polybenzimidazoles exhibited high thermostability and excellent mechanical properties. The influence of the reaction conditions on the polymer structure and molecular weights was studied. The “microwave effect” was demonstrated by comparison of the polycondensations conducted under microwave irradiation and conventional heating.
Curing behaviors and properties of epoxy and self-catalyzed phthalonitrile with improved processability
Authors: Jiang Mingli , Lei Yangxue , Liu Xiaobo
Published: December 2017

The curing behaviors for high-performance resin system phthalonitrile-containing benzoxazine and epoxy (BA-Ph/EP), particularly the effect of the binary system composition and processing conditions on their processabilities were investigated and discussed in this article. Results indicated that all BA-Ph/EP prepolymers exhibited low initial processing viscosity (<0.3 Pa s) and have kept stable low viscosity until gel transition. The suitable molding temperature (ranged from 150°C to 180°C) and molding time (ranged from 20 min to 80 min) could be selected for practical applications of BA-Ph/EP systems. The studies of curing behaviors and gelatinization for BA-Ph/EP systems give further understanding of the curing kinetics and guidance for the fabrication of high-performance copolymers/polymers. The introduction of EP could significantly improve the cross-linking density of BA-Ph/EP polymers, and the appropriate content of EP is the key fact for the improvement. In addition, the effects of postcuring conditions on thermal properties and the adhesive property of BA-Ph/EP polymers were monitored. The thermal stabilities and adhesive property of various polymers also showed an obvious influence with the introduction of EP. The systematic study of BA-Ph/EP system could enable a broadened industrial application, especially in the areas that require high-temperature resistance.
Performance evaluation of a tungsten carbide–based self-lubricant cutting tool
Authors: Muthuraja Ayyankalai , Senthilvelan Selvaraj
Published: December 2017

Tungsten carbide cutting tools with and without solid lubricant (WC-10Co-5CaF2 and WC-10Co) were developed in-house via powder metallurgy. The developed cutting tools and a commercial WC-10Co cutting tool were used to machine cylindrical AISI 1020 steel material under dry conditions. The cutting force and average cutting tool temperature were continuously measured. The cutting tool flank surface and chip morphology after specific tool life (5 min of cutting) were examined to understand tool wear. The flank wear of the considered cutting tools was also measured to quantify the cutting tool life. The surface roughness of the workpiece was measured to determine the machining quality. The developed cutting tool with solid lubricant (WC-10Co-5CaF2) generated 20%–40% less cutting force compared to that of the developed cutting tool without solid lubricant (WC-10Co). In addition, the finish of the workpiece surface improved by 16%–20% when it was machined by the solid lubricant cutting tool. The cutting tool with solid lubricant (WC-10Co-5CaF2) exhibited a 15%–18% reduction in flank wear. Curlier and smaller saw tooth chips were generated from the WC-10Co-5CaF2 cutting tool, confirming that less heat was generated during the cutting process, and the finish of the machined surface was also improved.