bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ГЕРБАРТІАНСТВО І СОЦІАЛЬНА ПЕДАГОГІКА: ЗАБУТІ СТОРІНКИ
Authors: Федчишин Н. О.
Published: June 2015

У статті проаналізовано вплив ідей гербартіанства на соціальну педагогіку; розкрито зміст дискусійних питань соціальної педагогіки представниками цієї течії; з’ясовано, що гербартіанці запропонували педагогіку, яка окреслила форми індивідуальної організації навчання, зорієнтованої на релігію, мораль та національність.
Safe Limits of Contrast Vary With Hydration Volume for Prevention of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy After Coronary Angiography Among Patients With a Relatively Low Risk of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy
Authors: Liu Yong , Chen Ji-Yan , Tan Ning , Zhou Ying-Ling , Yu Dan-Qing , Chen Zhu-Jun , He Yi-Ting , Liu Yuan-Hui , Luo Jian-Fang , Huang Wen-Hui , Li Guang , He Peng-Cheng , Yang Jun-Qing , Xie Nian-Jin , Liu Xiao-Qi , Yang Da-Hao , Huang Shui-Jin , Ye Piao- , Li Hua-Long , Ran Peng , Duan Chong-Yang , Chen Ping-Yan
Published: June 2015

Background—

Few studies have investigated the safe limits of contrast to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) based on hydration data. We aimed to investigate the relative safe maximum contrast volume adjusted for hydration volume in a population with a relatively low risk of CIN.

Methods and Results—

The ratios of contrast volume-to-creatinine clearance (V/CrCl) and hydration volume to body weight (HV/W) were determined in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Receiver–operator characteristic curve analysis based on the maximum Youden index was used to identify the optimal cutoff for V/CrCl in all patients and in HV/W subgroups. Eighty-six of 3273 (2.6%) patients with mean CrCl 71.89±27.02 mL/min developed CIN. Receiver–operator characteristic curve analysis indicated that a V/CrCl ratio of 2.44 was a fair discriminator for CIN in all patients (sensitivity, 73.3%; specificity, 70.4%). After adjustment for other confounders, V/CrCl >2.44 continued to be significantly associated with CIN (adjusted odds ratio, 4.12;
P
<0.001) and the risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.62;
P
<0.001). The mean HV/W was 12.18±7.40. We divided the patients into 2 groups (HV/W ≤12 and >12 mL/kg). The best cutoff value for V/CrCl was 1.87 (sensitivity, 67.9%; specificity, 64.4%; adjusted odds ratio, 3.24;
P
=0.011) in the insufficient hydration subgroup (HV/W, ≤12 mL/kg; CIN, 1.32%) and 2.93 (sensitivity, 69.0%; specificity, 65.0%; adjusted odds ratio, 3.04;
P
=0.004) in the sufficient hydration subgroup (HV/W, >12 mL/kg; CIN, 5.00%).

Conclusions—

The V/CrCl ratio adjusted for HV/W may be a more reliable predictor of CIN and even long-term outcomes after cardiac catheterization. We also found a higher best cutoff value for V/CrCl to predict CIN in patients with a relatively sufficient hydration status, which may be beneficial during decision-making about contrast dose limits in relatively low-risk patients with different hydration statuses.
Genetics of Sudden Cardiac Death
Authors: Bezzina Connie R. , Lahrouchi Najim , Priori Silvia G.
Published: June 2015

Sudden cardiac death occurs in a broad spectrum of cardiac pathologies and is an important cause of mortality in the general population. Genetic studies conducted during the past 20 years have markedly illuminated the genetic basis of the inherited cardiac disorders associated with sudden cardiac death. Here, we review the genetic basis of sudden cardiac death with a focus on the current knowledge on the genetics of the primary electric disorders caused primarily by mutations in genes encoding ion channels, and the cardiomyopathies, which have been attributed to mutations in genes encoding a broader category of proteins, including those of the sarcomere, the cytoskeleton, and desmosomes. We discuss the challenges currently faced in unraveling genetic factors that predispose to sudden cardiac death in the setting of sequela of coronary artery disease and present the genome-wide association studies conducted in recent years on electrocardiographic parameters, highlighting their potential in uncovering new biological insights into cardiac electric function.
Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Patil Kaustubha D. , Halperin Henry R. , Becker Lance B.
Published: June 2015

The modern treatment of cardiac arrest is an increasingly complex medical procedure with a rapidly changing array of therapeutic approaches designed to restore life to victims of sudden death. The 2 primary goals of providing artificial circulation and defibrillation to halt ventricular fibrillation remain of paramount importance for saving lives. They have undergone significant improvements in technology and dissemination into the community subsequent to their establishment 60 years ago. The evolution of artificial circulation includes efforts to optimize manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation, external mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices designed to augment circulation, and may soon advance further into the rapid deployment of specially designed internal emergency cardiopulmonary bypass devices. The development of defibrillation technologies has progressed from bulky internal defibrillators paddles applied directly to the heart, to manually controlled external defibrillators, to automatic external defibrillators that can now be obtained over-the-counter for widespread use in the community or home. But the modern treatment of cardiac arrest now involves more than merely providing circulation and defibrillation. As suggested by a 3-phase model of treatment, newer approaches targeting patients who have had a more prolonged cardiac arrest include treatment of the metabolic phase of cardiac arrest with therapeutic hypothermia, agents to treat or prevent reperfusion injury, new strategies specifically focused on pulseless electric activity, which is the presenting rhythm in at least one third of cardiac arrests, and aggressive post resuscitation care. There are discoveries at the cellular and molecular level about ischemia and reperfusion pathobiology that may be translated into future new therapies. On the near horizon is the combination of advanced cardiopulmonary bypass plus a cocktail of multiple agents targeted at restoration of normal metabolism and prevention of reperfusion injury, as this holds the promise of restoring life to many patients for whom our current therapies fail.
Early and Late Electrophysiological Effects of Distractor Frequency in Picture Naming: Reconciling Input and Output Accounts
Authors: Riès Stephanie K. , Fraser Douglas , McMahon Katie L. , de Zubicaray Greig I.
Published: June 2015

The “distractor-frequency effect” refers to the finding that high-frequency (HF) distractor words slow picture naming less than low-frequency distractors in the picture–word interference paradigm. Rival input and output accounts of this effect have been proposed. The former attributes the effect to attentional selection mechanisms operating during distractor recognition, whereas the latter attributes it to monitoring/decision mechanisms operating on distractor and target responses in an articulatory buffer. Using high-density (128-channel) EEG, we tested hypotheses from these rival accounts. In addition to conducting stimulus- and response-locked whole-brain corrected analyses, we investigated the correct-related negativity, an ERP observed on correct trials at fronto-central electrodes proposed to reflect the involvement of domain general monitoring. The whole-brain ERP analysis revealed a significant effect of distractor frequency at inferior right frontal and temporal sites between 100 and 300-msec post-stimulus onset, during which lexical access is thought to occur. Response-locked, region of interest (ROI) analyses of fronto-central electrodes revealed a correct-related negativity starting 121 msec before and peaking 125 msec after vocal onset on the grand averages. Slope analysis of this component revealed a significant difference between HF and low-frequency distractor words, with the former associated with a steeper slope on the time window spanning from 100 msec before to 100 msec after vocal onset. The finding of ERP effects in time windows and components corresponding to both lexical processing and monitoring suggests the distractor frequency effect is most likely associated with more than one physiological mechanism.
How Does the un Security Council Control States or Organizations Authorized to Use Force?
Authors: de Guttry Andrea
Published: June 2015

Various circumstances have brought about an increase in authorizations by the un Security Council of different types of military operations to be carried out by external actors, on the basis of a prior request by the State hosting the activities, or against that State. This practice raises several problematic issues which are connected with the need to find a proper balance between the interests of the Council and those of the implementing actors, who always act on a voluntary basis. This contribution aims to investigate how the Security Council has organized the sensitive task of monitoring the behaviour of the authorized or delegated institution in order to guarantee consistency between the activities performed and the mandate given. The manner in which the monitoring mechanism is organized is of pivotal importance to prevent abuses and to make the whole exercise more credible and capable of preventing additional disputes, as the recent case of Libya demonstrates. The author reaches the conclusion, on the basis of the practice of the Security Council and of member States, that the need to guarantee a more efficient and sophisticated un mechanism of control has not yet been met, and that there is still much to be done in the interest of transparency and increased overall credibility of un-mandated operations.
On the Notion of Precarious Employment in International Organizations
Authors: Mosquera Andrés Muñoz
Published: June 2015

International civil servants form part of the essential fabric of international organizations, but some of the hiring modalities of these institutions appear at first glance to pursue an endemic employment malpractice. However, the practice referred to in national labour markets as ‘precarious employment’ appears to be necessary for international organizations to carry out their constitutional mission, and which is essential if they are to adapt and evolve. Both constitutionalist and functionalist standpoints recognise that precarious employment is an existing phenomenon within international institutions. Nevertheless, such hiring practices also arguably have the effect of partially severing the loyalty of an international organization’s staff, which is seen as a fundamental component supporting the effective functioning of an international institution. A functionalist approach therefore largely explains this hiring reality among international organizations; but international administrative tribunals and the limits established by them also play a part, indicating that more constitutionalist elements of control are also present. This paper presents the axiomatic elements of the hiring practices of international organizations, and seeks to unearth an apparent meeting point between the understandings of constitutionalists and functionalists that indicate that international law is evolving.
The Law of International Organizations and the Art of Reconciliation
Authors: d’Aspremont Jean
Published: June 2015

After submitting that most scholarly and practical debates about the law of international organizations can be construed as a battle between arguments based on the idea of a contract and those based on the idea of a constitution, this article discusses international legal scholars’ ability to turn the foundational dichotomies between contractualism and constitutionalism into a dynamic and dialectic framework. It makes the argument that international legal scholars, and especially legal academics, while unanimously acknowledging the existence of such paradigmatic tensions, are regularly tempted to iron them out through the promotion of a series of dialectical concepts or moves.
Morphology and anatomy of the exine in Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae)
Authors: Gornall Richard J. , Zhang Zhuoxin , Chen Shilong
Published: June 2015

Details of exine morphology (SEM studies of 132 species) and anatomy (TEM studies of 25 species) of Saxifraga are reported. The variation observed was compared with that found in an earlier survey. We suggest modifications to known types and subtypes and the addition of new ones, making a total of nine exine types and subtypes in Saxifraga. Taxonomic conclusions include the following. A novel exine type (Type 2.3), in which the single tectum has numerous microchannels, is a putative synapomorphy for sects. Heterisia and Irregulares. At least three species from sect. Ciliatae, viz., S. lychnitis, S. oresbia from ser. Lychnitidae, and S. nigroglandulifera from ser. Nutantes, have a novel type with a perforate-reticulate or perforate-rugulate tectum. Species from the rest of the section are uniformly finely striate. Section Saxifraga has Type 2.1, with a single tectum, Type 4.3, with a double tectum, and Type 2.2, which is intermediate to various extents. The origin of Types 2.1 and 2.2 from Type 4.3 is suggested. Within sect. Saxifraga subsect. Triplinervium, S. wahlenbergii is unique in possessing pollen with a secondary tectum (Type 4.3), resembling the exine of S. androsacea in subsect. Holophyllae. On this and other grounds, we support the transference of S. wahlenbergii to the latter subsection. Himalayan species with opposite rather than alternate leaves that were formerly assigned to sect. Porphyrion subsect. Oppositifoliae, have exines with supratectal ornamentation similar to that in subsect. Kabschia; in this respect they are unlike the European species with opposite leaves, which lack this ornamentation. Among the species with chalk-glands, exines lacking supratectal ornamentation are restricted to European species, viz. those in sect. Porphyrion subsects. Engleria and Oppositifoliae, and S. florulenta, offering morphological support for the transfer of the latter species to sect. Porphyrion. Saxifragella is recognised as a new section of the genus.
Neotypification of Fleminigia rollae (Leguminosae)
Authors: Gavade Sandip K , Lekhak Manoj M
Published: June 2015

The genus Flemingia Roxburgh ex Aiton (1812: 349) (Leguminosae) comprises ca. 37 species and seven varieties distributed in the world (The Plant List 2013). In India, 17 species and one variety are reported, of which five species and one variety are endemic (Sanjappa 1992).
The impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on prescribing for mental health
Authors: Beaglehole Ben , Bell Caroline , Frampton Christopher , Hamilton Greg , McKean Andrew
Published: June 2015

Objective:

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on the mental health of the local population by examining prescribing patterns of psychotropic medication.

Method:

Dispensing data from community pharmacies for antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and sedatives/hypnotics are routinely recorded in a national database. The close relationship between prescribing and dispensing provides the opportunity to assess prescribing trends for Canterbury compared to national data and therefore examines the longitudinal impact of the earthquakes on prescribing patterns.

Results:

Short-term increases in the use of anxiolytics and sedatives/hypnotics were observed after the most devastating February 2011 earthquake, but this effect was not sustained. There were no observable effects of the earthquakes on antidepressant or antipsychotic dispensing.

Conclusion:

Short-term increases in dispensing were only observed for the classes of anxiolytics and sedatives/hypnotics. No sustained changes in dispensing occurred. These findings suggest that long-term detrimental effects on the mental health of the Canterbury population were either not present or have not resulted in increased prescribing of psychotropic medication.
First-Line Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Escherichia coli in Children With Urinary Tract Infection in Emergency Department and Primary Care Clinics
Authors: Ahmed M. Nadeem , Vannoy Debby , Frederick Ann , Chang Sandy , Lawler Elisabeth
Published: June 2015

Objective: To identify risk factors for antibiotic resistance to Escherichia coli ( E. coli) in children with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in emergency room and primary care clinics. Method: This is a cross-sectional study of children 0 to 18 years of age reported to have E coli–positive UTIs whose medical and laboratory records were systematically reviewed. Result: Compared with girls, boys were 2.29 times (confidence interval [CI] = 1.30-4.02) more likely to have E coli isolates resistant to ampicillin and 2 times more likely (CI = 1.13-3.62) to have isolates resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX). Patients with genitourinary abnormalities were 1.57 times more likely to be resistant to ampicillin (CI = 1.03-2.41) and 1.86 times to TMP/SMX (CI = 1.18-2.94). Conclusion: Higher rates of ampicillin and TMP/SMX resistant urinary E coli isolates were observed among boys and children with a history of genitourinary abnormality. Age and recent antibiotic prescription are also potential risk factors for resistance.
Lifestyle and mental health correlates of psychological distress in college students
Authors: Knowlden Adam P , Hackman Christine L , Sharma Manoj
Published: June 2015

Objective:

College students are at an increased risk of mental distress. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mental and lifestyle factors differed according to self-reported levels of psychological distress.

Design and setting:

A self-report questionnaire comprising the Kessler-6 Psychological Distress Scale, Revised Life Orientation Test, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and 24-hour recall of lifestyle behaviours was administered to 195 undergraduate college students at a Midwestern US university.

Methods:

Respondents were grouped into categories of low, moderate and severe mental distress using established cut-points for the Kessler-6 Psychological Distress Scale. Between-group differences were assessed to determine whether the mental and lifestyle variables under investigation differed according to magnitude of mental distress.

Results:

Significant differences were found between the three categories of mental distress and amounts of optimism, self-esteem and social support. Analysis of the lifestyle variables suggested groups were different for behaviours pertaining to computer screen time, fruit consumption and sugar-sweetened beverage intake when categorised into the three-tier groupings. No significant differences were found for the remaining lifestyle variables or for body mass index. Regression analysis found low levels of optimism, self-esteem and social support significantly predicted mental distress.

Conclusion:

Results of this study suggested higher amounts of optimism, self-esteem and social support were associated with decreased levels of mental distress in a sample of college students. Additional research is required to determine the role of lifestyle variables in mental distress.
Nonviolent mobilization between a rock and a hard place
Authors: Høigilt Jacob
Published: June 2015

Recent research on contentious politics in the Middle East emphasizes the importance of repression and its effect on social movements, often manifested in demobilization and so-called ‘nonmovements’. This case study of West Bank Palestinian activism seeks to go beyond such outcomes. The current, youthful nonviolent Palestinian grassroots activism in the West Bank is persistent, despite repeated violent repression. Focusing on the interplay between context, practices, and networks, this article shows how an increasingly vocal and visible popular resistance movement has asserted itself despite facing double repression – from the occupying Israeli state and the Palestinian National Authority. In a highly repressive context characterized by widespread demobilization, especially among young people, the impetus for mobilization is not perceived opportunity, but rather existential threats. The analysis focuses on how long-term repression from the external occupier and the internal elite contributes to forming specific kinds of contentious practices and networks among young Palestinian grassroots activists. By deploying new and creative contentious tactics they partly succeed in challenging the Israeli occupation without risking sanctions from the internal Palestinian elite. They are also able to criticize this elite implicitly, bringing popular pressure to bear on it. However, while the strategic use of nonviolence has provided these activist environments with a degree of resilience in the face of repression, they are unable to mobilize on a wide scale as long as the Palestinian political elite does not support them.
Where Broken Windows Should Be Fixed
Authors: Steenbeek Wouter , Kreis Christian
Published: June 2015

Objectives:

Introduce a systematic method to identify areas with similar levels of disorder (from serene, to “tipping,” to crime-ridden) which is crucial for a valid empirical test of Broken Windows Theory (BWT).

Methods:

Systematic social observation data are used of almost 2,000 locations in the city of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Spatially constrained hierarchical agglomerative clustering is used to aggregate individual observation locations to form homogeneous areas. Davies–Bouldin index and intraclass correlation coefficient are used to objectively identify the optimum number of clusters.

Results:

The newly identified areas differ from administrative neighborhoods as well as hot spots of disorder. The regionalization method provides a tentative solution to both the “zonation” and “aggregation” problems of the modifiable areal unit problem liable to affect empirical studies of BWT.

Conclusions:

Hot spot analysis fails to identify areas with moderate levels of disorder, which impedes testing the basic precept of BWT. Our results may partly explain why the evidence on the effectiveness of order maintenance policing remains inconclusive. We suggest that randomized controlled trials of order maintenance policing should be performed on these new areas rather than in hot spots of disorder.
Reimagining Broken Windows
Authors: Welsh Brandon C. , Braga Anthony A. , Bruinsma Gerben J. N.
Published: June 2015

This article serves as a substantive introduction and guiding post for the journal’s special issue on “Reimagining Broken Windows: From Theory to Policy.” It describes the core concepts of the broken windows perspective, examines its theoretical underpinnings, and sets out priorities for future research and policy development. Important advancements have been made in the intellectual development and programmatic application of the broken windows perspective over the last 30 years. Some of these advancements include the measurement of disorder and experimentation of community and problem-solving strategies for policing disorder. There are also many challenges, including the need for a more consistent operationalization of disorder, a better understanding of potential mechanisms, and concerns about policy overreach in the name of broken windows. We predict that the broken windows perspective will be around for many more decades to come—its enduring qualities far exceed a smartly coined phrase.
Joining Soka Gakkai in Cuba: Affiliation patterns and factors influencing conversion careers
Authors: Rodriguez Plasencia Girardo
Published: June 2015

Why do Cubans convert to Soka Gakkai (SGI)? What factors influence their religious choice? Based on fieldwork conducted in Havana, three main affiliation patterns are identified: the pursuit of practical benefits, spiritual quests and the irreligious paths. At the micro level, these are explained by the converts’ perceived congruence between their own (non-)religious worldview and SGI. Next, at the meso level, it is shown that a major institutional factor is SGI’s capacity to supply simultaneously a utilitarian religious perspective, an alternative spirituality and a non-theistic humanistic message. Finally, individual and institutional factors are linked to the socio-cultural context.
Individual choices revisited: Non-heterosexual Christians in Poland
Authors: Hall Dorota
Published: June 2015

Drawing on qualitative research among highly educated Polish lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians who do not wish to deny their sexual inclinations, seeking instead to integrate their sexuality and religiosity, the author addresses (1) their decision whether to continue to follow Roman Catholicism or seek religious traditions that support such integration, and (2) the choices related to participation in Penance and Eucharist sacraments by those who continue to follow Roman Catholicism. These decisions and choices are structurally conditioned: Christian seekers raised in multidenominational settings and people who are geographically and socially mobile are most ready to challenge the dominant Catholic views on homosexuality and its proscription of the participation of those who are homosexually active in certain aspects of religious practice. The author calls for recognition that, following Bourdieu, the religious field should be interconnected with other social fields, specifically with regard to the analysis of the relationship between religiosity and homosexuality.
What do Argentine people believe in? Religion and social structure in Argentina
Authors: Mallimaci Fortunato , Esquivel Juan Cruz , GimÉnez BÉliveau Verónica
Published: June 2015

This article analyses Argentina’s contemporary religious field. On the basis of a statistical study on beliefs and religious attitudes, the authors reflect on a wide range of issues. They address the consequences of secularization in Argentine society, new configurations in how people believe and practise religion, shifts in religious identification, the religious diversification process, in which believers fall off the institutional frame, and, finally, people’s on religious intervention in public issues (such as education, sexual health and family planning).
Socioeconomic status, family-related variables, and caregiver–adolescent attachment
Authors: Rawatlal Nishola , Pillay Basil J , Kliewer Wendy
Published: June 2015

Associations between financial disadvantage, family structure, and indicators of the caregiver–adolescent relationship and family functioning were examined in a sample of 206 families recruited from low socioeconomic status (SES) communities in Durban, South Africa. Participants included a maternal caregiver and an adolescent (65.5% female) from each family; adolescents were in Grade 7 ( n = 175) or Grade 10 ( n = 31). Data were collected via home interviews. The sample was diverse in terms of race. One-fifth of the sample reported a household income of R1500 or less; two-thirds of the sample earned R5000 per month or less. Median level of caregiver education was Grades 9–11. Just under half (45.1%) of the adolescents lived with both parents. Indicators of SES were household income and maternal education. Since financial resources and family structure are associated, a series of regression analyses with household income, parental education, and family structure as the predictors were used to examine associations with adolescent- and parent-reported family functioning and with youth reports of caregiver support and attachment. In the models predicting adolescent attachment, income was the only unique predictor, with higher household incomes associated with less anxious attachment relationships. For the model predicting perceived support from mother, maternal education was the only unique predictor. Higher maternal education was associated with more perceived support. The models predicting support from father, or parent- or adolescent-rated family functioning were not significant. These data contribute to our understanding of linkages between structural indicators and family relationships.
Through the prism of seamen’s left-behind wives: Imagination and the culture of migration in Ilocos, Philippines
Authors: Galam Roderick G.
Published: June 2015

Discussions of a culture of migration in the Philippines present it to mean a predisposition to migrate and focus on the migrants. Through the prism of the experiences of seamen’s wives in an Ilocos town, experiences narrated through interviews, this article aims to cut a conceptual space in which to examine the relationship between left-behind women and the culture of migration. Examining the women’s persistent references to settlement migration to Hawaii against which their husband’s labor migration as seafarers is compared, this article provides a discussion of a culture of migration among Ilocanos that has been vitally shaped by the socio-economic possibilities brought about by Ilocano migration to Hawaii beginning in the early 20th century. Consequently, it offers historical and cultural specificity to scholarly discussions of the Philippines’ culture of migration, which remains pitched at the national level.
Variations in village migration profiles in rural China: An analysis based on the Second National Agricultural Census data
Authors: Wu Bin , Robinson Bernadette , Long Wenjin
Published: June 2015

Relatively little attention is paid to variations in rural migration at the village level, even though labor-supplying villages present considerable diversity in economic and development profiles. This paper examines the relationships between labor and household migration at the village level and the factors associated with different migration patterns through an analysis of data from China’s Second National Agricultural Census. The study identified four types of village migration profiles based on labor and household migration data from 4,482 villages in 10 counties across five provinces. The key characteristics of four types of village migration profiles are highlighted and implications for researchers and policy-makers are discussed.
The postcolonial ambiguities of Eurasian pan-ethnicity in Singapore
Authors: Lowe John , Mac an Ghaill Mairtin
Published: June 2015

There is a need to critically address the latent conceptual ambiguities in the pan-ethnic Eurasian label, and how it functions within the Singapore nation state’s ethno-racial regimes of representation. In response, this paper provides conceptual clarity by discussing the reaches and limits of this term as a floating signifier, as well as how it can be better operationalized as a modality of research. As a prelude to calling for a departure from understanding subjectivities within the city-state’s containment categories of ethnicity that have been legally institutionalized as ‘races,' it is argued that the monolithic racial label ‘Eurasian,' as well as the variegated cultural identities it is assumed to represent, need to be critically interrogated.
The discursive construction of discrimination: The representation of migrants in the Korean public service broadcasting news
Authors: Joo Jaewon
Published: June 2015

This paper focuses on the ways in which Korean society, which is seen by its members as a homogeneous nation, produces media discourses that reaffirm an ideological system of stratified racial order. Furthermore, it examines the vital role of public service broadcasting (PSB) in Korean society where migrants have increasingly become visible. To fulfill the research objectives, the texts of reports dealing with migrants in Korea, which were aired on KBS News 9 from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2008, were examined. The findings suggest that the PSB has failed to fairly represent the culturally diverse groups in Korean society. This demonstrates that PSB gives a concrete form to ideological constructions of Otherness, sometimes transforming subtle cultural or social differences into fundamental and oppositional ones. A key conclusion is that the Korean PSB appears to be ideologically biased toward nationalism. News about migrants reflects underlying ideological systems of social and racial stratification, with migrants being constantly represented as the ultimate Others.
Adaptive fuzzy fractional-order sliding mode controller for a class of dynamical systems with uncertainty
Authors: Ullah Nasim , Han Songshan , Khattak MI
Published: June 2015

A sliding mode control (SMC) strategy is proposed for a second-order non-linear system using fractional calculus and adaptive fuzzy compensator, named fuzzy fractional-order SMC (FFOSMC). The major contribution of this research includes the formulation of a robust fractional-order controller based on a novel non-integer sliding manifold. The proposed controller utilizes reduced discontinuous switching gain using a fuzzy logic system. A fractional-order adaptation law is derived to update the fuzzy logic system, which has more degrees of freedom to achieve the desired performance. The stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed using fractional-order Lyapunov theory. The parameters of the proposed control method are optimized using Simulink response optimization. Finally, the performance of the FFOSMC is fully investigated and compared with a conventional SMC controller and an integral SMC controller. From simulation results, it is concluded that the proposed algorithm is effective and more robust.
Joint R&D Subsidies, Related Variety, and Regional Innovation
Authors: Broekel Tom , Brachert Matthias , Duschl Matthias , Brenner Thomas
Published: June 2015

Subsidies for research and development (R&D) are an important tool of public R&D policy, which motivates extensive scientific analyses and evaluations. This article adds to this literature by arguing that the effects of R&D subsidies go beyond the extension of organizations’ monetary resources invested into R&D. It is argued that collaboration induced by subsidized joint R&D projects yield significant effects that are missed in traditional analyses. An empirical study on the level of German labor market regions substantiates this claim, showing that collaborative R&D subsidies impact regions’ innovation growth when providing access to related variety and embedding regions into central positions in cross-regional knowledge networks.
The relationships between shyness and unsociability and peer difficulties
Authors: Chen Bin-Bin , Santo Jonathan Bruce
Published: June 2015

The main purpose of the study was to examine the moderating role of the insecure mother–child attachment in the relations between social withdraw and peer difficulties. Participants were 487 urban children (247 boys, 240 girls) in elementary schools in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China. Data on attachment-relevant coping styles in insecure relationships with mother were collected from children’s self-reports. Information concerning social withdrawal (i.e., shyness and unsociability) and peer difficulties (i.e., peer victimization and rejection) was obtained from peer nomination. Among the results, both shyness and unsociability were positively related to peer victimization and rejection. However, several interaction effects were also observed. Both avoidant and ambivalent attachment served an exacerbating role for peer difficulties for shy and unsociable children, with these patterns differing by gender. Implications for the contributions of attachment to socially withdrawn children’s peer adjustment are discussed.
Policy choices in tough times: The case of democratization and currency defense
Authors: Son Byunghwan
Published: June 2015

Do policymakers under financial and political distress make undesirable policy choices? This paper attempts to answer this question by studying the relationship between democratization and currency devaluation under speculative pressures. The central argument is that young democracies exhibit relatively high probabilities of succumbing to speculative attacks, as the political cost of economic adjustment needed for defense is relatively high for these nascent regimes. The paper further contends that this relationship is stronger when the regime can mobilize fewer resources to defend their currencies. To test these arguments, this paper uses monthly data for 117 countries from 1975 to 2008. The results from statistical analysis provide corroborative evidence for these arguments.
Normalizing Rejection
Authors: Conn Vicki S. , Zerwic Julie , Jefferson Urmeka , Anderson Cindy M. , Killion Cheryl M. , Smith Carol E. , Cohen Marlene Z. , Fahrenwald Nancy L. , Herrick Linda , Topp Robert , Benefield Lazelle E. , Loya Julio
Published: June 2015

Getting turned down for grant funding or having a manuscript rejected is an uncomfortable but not unusual occurrence during the course of a nurse researcher’s professional life. Rejection can evoke an emotional response akin to the grieving process that can slow or even undermine productivity. Only by “normalizing” rejection, that is, by accepting it as an integral part of the scientific process, can researchers more quickly overcome negative emotions and instead use rejection to refine and advance their scientific programs. This article provides practical advice for coming to emotional terms with rejection and delineates methods for working constructively to address reviewer comments.
Depression, Language, and Affect
Authors: Bernard Jared D. , Baddeley Jenna L. , Rodriguez Benjamin F. , Burke Philip A.
Published: June 2015

Literature suggests that depression influences how individuals communicate. However, no studies examine the impact of affective state on language. The current study examined the influence of depression and affective state on linguistic style. Findings suggest that depression and temporary negative moods both affect pronoun use, but depression influences use of first-person pronouns, whereas negative affect influences use of third-person pronouns.
Exploring the potential relationship between eye gaze and English L2 speakers’ responses to recasts
Authors: McDonough Kim , Crowther Dustin , Kielstra Paula , Trofimovich Pavel
Published: June 2015

This exploratory study investigated whether joint attention through eye gaze was predictive of second language (L2) speakers’ responses to recasts. L2 English learners ( N = 20) carried out communicative tasks with research assistants who provided feedback in response to non-targetlike (non-TL) forms. Their interaction was audio-recorded and their eye gaze behavior was tracked simultaneously using the faceLAB system. Transcripts were coded for characteristics of the feedback episodes (linguistic target, feedback type, intonation, prosody) and types of response (no opportunity, no reformulation, non-TL response, TL response). Eye gaze length for the researcher (when producing the feedback move) and the L2 speaker (when responding to feedback) were obtained in seconds using Captiv software. Following data pruning to reduce the data set to clausal recasts in response to grammatical errors, a logistic regression model revealed that both L2 speaker and mutual eye gaze were predictive of TL responses. Methodological issues for eye-tracking research during L2 interaction are provided, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Palliative care costs in Canada: A descriptive comparison of studies of urban and rural patients near end of life
Authors: Dumont Serge , Jacobs Philip , Turcotte Véronique , Turcotte Stéphane , Johnston Grace
Published: June 2015

Background:

Significant gaps in the evidence base on costs in rural communities in Canada and elsewhere are reported in the literature, particularly regarding costs to families. However, it remains unclear whether the costs related to all resources used by palliative care patients in rural areas differ to those resources used in urban areas.

Aim:

The study aimed to compare both the costs that occurred over 6 months of participation in a palliative care program and the sharing of these costs in rural areas compared with those in urban areas.

Design:

Data were drawn from two prior studies performed in Canada, employing a longitudinal, prospective design with repeated measures.

Setting/participants:

The urban sample consisted of 125 patients and 127 informal caregivers. The rural sample consisted of 80 patients and 84 informal caregivers. Most patients in both samples had advanced cancer.

Results:

The mean total cost per patient was CAD26,652 in urban areas, while it was CAD31,018 in rural areas. The family assumed 20.8% and 21.9% of costs in the rural and urban areas, respectively. The rural families faced more costs related to prescription medication, out-of-pocket costs, and transportation while the urban families faced more costs related to formal home care.

Conclusion:

Despite the fact that rural and urban families assumed a similar portion of costs, the distribution of these costs was somewhat different. Future studies would be needed to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of costs incurred by families taking care of a loved one at the end of life and the determinants of these costs in urban versus rural areas.
Prevalence of dynamic magnetic resonance imaging-identified pelvic organ prolapse in pre- and postmenopausal women without clinically evident pelvic organ descent
Authors: Cimsit Canan , Yoldemir Tevfik , Akpinar Ihsan Nuri
Published: June 2015

Background

Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is an imaging tool that can be used to evaluate and stage pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Greater understanding of the incidental detection of POP in asymptomatic patients is needed.

Purpose

To evaluate the prevalence of dMRI-detected POP in pre-and postmenopausal women who were imaged for reasons unrelated to pelvic floor dysfunction.

Material and Methods

A total of 227 women who had diagnoses that did not include POP underwent abdominal/pelvic dMRI. Patients with a positive gynecological examination for or a clinical history of POP ( n = 11), hysterectomy ( n = 4), or gynecologic-oncology surgery ( n = 2) were excluded, as well as patients who were unable to strain during MRI ( n = 11). A total of 199 patients without visible prolapse were enrolled in the study. An H-line, M-line, pubococcygeal line (PCL), and mid-pubic line (MPL) were used to detect and grade prolapse.

Results

The prevalence of dMRI-identified POP was higher in postmenopausal subjects. The PCL led to a greater frequency of prolapse detection than the MPL. The frequency of middle compartment descent was similar regardless of whether the PCL or MPL was used as a reference line. There was a higher incidence of prolapse in the posterior compartment. Using an H-line and PCL as references, the anterior and posterior compartments were found to significantly differ between pre- and postmenopausal subjects. The MRI parameters that were used to define POP were not correlated with parity, vaginal birth, BMI, or fetal birth weight. With respect to the MPL, age was correlated with both the presence of an elongated H-line and with descent.

Conclusion

Dynamic MRI identified incidental pelvic organ prolapse in asymptomatic patients. The prevalence of dMRI-detected POP was higher in postmenopausal women without visible prolapse. These findings suggest the need for further studies to identify how to modify the currently used dMRI thresholds for postmenopausal women.
Gellner’s genealogy of the open society
Authors: Ryan Kevin
Published: June 2015

A decade before Foucault began to work with the related concepts of biopolitics and biopower, Gellner posed a series of questions which are suggestive of a similar line of inquiry. Gellner did not pursue this strand of his thought as an historical sociologist however. Instead he packaged it into a functionalist account of how industrial society reproduces itself. In Gellner’s writings, biopolitics is both present and absent, like a redacted text. This is the focus of this article, which locates Gellner’s method of inquiry within a corpus of genealogical studies that includes the work of Polanyi, Weber and Foucault. What distinguishes Gellner is that the history he reconstructs is a story of achievement in the face of terrible historical odds, but this culminates in a normative genealogy that limits the scope for critical analysis. The article concludes by adopting an alternative – yet still Gellnerian – approach to the question of social reproduction, thereby using Gellner to critique Gellner.
Is secularism history?
Authors: McLennan Gregor
Published: June 2015

In recent years, the intellectual tide has moved strongly against the kind of secular thinking that characterized Gellner’s work. Whether couched in terms of postcolonialism, multiculturalism, genealogy, global understanding, political theology, or the revival of normative, metaphysical and openly religious perspectives, today’s postsecular and even anti-secular mood in social theory seems to consign Gellner’s project to the dustbin of history: a stern but doomed attempt to shore up western liberal rationalism. Under some revisionary lights, it has even become pointless to distinguish flexible secular thinking which still retains some firm ‘bottom lines’ from what is routinely portrayed as rampant ideological secularism. Unconvinced by key assumptions and motivations on this terrain, I reactivate Gellner’s essential concerns and propositions around secularity and secularism, feeding these into the current debates. Whilst Gellner’s stringent, unrivalled exposure of intellectual cant continues to be hugely valuable, and his sense of the utter historicity of social life and thought indispensable, Gellner’s critical positivism could not, by his own admission, produce a coherent cultural politics.
Exploring Factors That Contribute to Positive Change in a Diverse, Group-Based Male Batterer Intervention Program
Authors: Holtrop Kendal , Scott Jenna C. , Parra-Cardona J. Rubén , McNeil Smith Shardé , Schmittel Emily , Larance Lisa Young
Published: June 2015

Although batterer intervention programs (BIPs) are often mandated for perpetrators of intimate partner violence, the precursors and mechanisms of change operating within these programs remain unclear. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions and experiences of participants in a diverse, group-based male BIP to better understand factors facilitating positive change. Data were gathered through individual interviews with 15 men and were analyzed using grounded theory. Findings suggest that change is taking place through a reciprocal process in which change occurring via the group context facilitates change within participants and vice versa. The specific benefits of the group context and value of group diversity were emphasized. Factors supporting this change process include the role of group facilitators and providing group members with access to ongoing support. These results are useful for informing the continued implementation and adaptation of BIPs with the goal of reducing and ultimately terminating abusive behaviors.
Posttraditional Migrants
Authors: Zifonun Dariuš
Published: June 2015

This article analyses the participation of migrants in sport. Based on the case study of a Turkish soccer club in Germany, it scrutinizes the structural and processual features of ethnic self organization. The club responds to the problems of social order in modern complex societies—problems emanating from the pluralization of social life-worlds—by employing a number of characteristic answers. Among them are the segmentation into sub-worlds, the composition of an integrative ideology of friendship as well as the creation of a soccer style. In processes of legitimation and delegitimation, questions of belonging and recognition are being negotiated. All of this allows for the management of ambivalence in everyday life and contributes to the distinctively posttraditional character of community. The article suggests that a sociology of social worlds approach can substantially contribute to the study of the interactive social structures of society.