bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
More Than Just Friends
Authors: McCuddy Timothy , Vogel Matt
Published: November 2014

The study of peer-group processes has a rich history in criminology. The dramatic growth in online social network websites has fundamentally changed peer-group interaction; however, relatively little research has considered how socialization processes observed in traditional interaction translate to online interaction. Using a sample of 583 undergraduate students from a mid-southern university, this study explores the concurrency between self-reported offending and exposure to criminal behavior in social network websites. Results demonstrate a strong, positive association between individual behavior and exposure to criminal behavior in online networks, suggesting that the processes underlying traditional social interaction also characterize online interaction. These results underscore the importance of online networks for understanding the etiology of criminal behavior.
The Nature and Frequency of Cyber Bullying Behaviors and Victimization Experiences in Young Canadian Children
Authors: Holfeld Brett , Leadbeater Bonnie J.
Published: November 2014

As access to technology is increasing in children and adolescents, there are growing concerns over the dangers of cyber bullying. It remains unclear what cyber bullying looks like among young Canadian children and how common these experiences are. In this study, we examine the psychometric properties of a measure of cyber bullying behaviors and victimization experiences. We also examine the frequency of these behaviors and experiences among fifth- and sixth-grade Canadian children at the beginning ( n = 714) and end ( n = 638) of a school year. Children’s cyber bullying behaviors and victimization experiences were relatively stable across the school year and were highest for sixth-grade students who reported greater access to and use of technology. Cyber bullying behaviors representing joking around were endorsed more frequently than aggressive types of behaviors (i.e., spreading rumours or posting embarrassing pictures online). Implications for school-based prevention efforts are discussed.
Neonatal Neurocritical Care Service Is Associated With Decreased Administration of Seizure Medication
Authors: Wietstock Sharon O. , Bonifacio Sonia L. , McCulloch Charles E. , Kuzniewicz Michael W. , Glass Hannah C.
Published: November 2014

This cohort study examines medication use in term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and seizures before and after implementation of a Neonatal Neurocritical Care Service (N = 108), which included increased seizure monitoring. Nearly all neonates received phenobarbital (96% pre– vs 95% post–Neonatal Neurocritical Care Service) and total loading dose did not vary among groups (33 [95% confidence interval 29-37] vs 30 [26-34] mg/kg). After adjustment for seizure burden, neonates managed during the Neonatal Neurocritical Care Service era, on average, received 30 mg/kg less cumulative phenobarbital (95% confidence interval 15-46 mg/kg) and were on maintenance 5 fewer days (95% confidence interval 3-8 days) than those who were treated prior to implementation of the service. In spite of the enhanced ability to detect seizures because of improved monitoring and increased vigilance by bedside practitioners, implementation of the Neonatal Neurocritical Care Service was associated with decreased use of potentially harmful phenobarbital treatment among neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
Myelination Delay and Allan-Herndon-Dudley Syndrome Caused by a Novel Mutation in the SLC16A2 Gene
Authors: La Piana Roberta , Vanasse Michel , Brais Bernard , Bernard Genevieve
Published: November 2014

Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome is an X-linked disease caused by mutations in the solute carrier family 16 member 2 ( SLC16A2) gene. As SLC16A2 encodes the monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8), a thyroid hormone transporter, patients with Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome present a specific altered thyroid hormone profile. Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome has been associated with myelination delay on the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of affected subjects. We report a patient with Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome characterized by developmental delay, hypotonia, and delayed myelination caused by a novel SLC16A2 mutation (p.L291R). The thyroid hormones profile in our patient was atypical for Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome. The follow-up examinations showed that the progression of the myelination was not accompanied by a clinical improvement. Our paper suggests that SLC16A2 mutations should be investigated in patients with myelination delay even when the thyroid function is not conclusively altered.
“Strength at Home” Intervention for Male Veterans Perpetrating Intimate Partner Aggression
Authors: Love Allison R. , Morland Leslie A. , Menez Ursula , Taft Casey , MacDonald Alexandra , Mackintosh Margaret-Anne
Published: November 2014

Veteran and active duty populations evidence higher rates of intimate partner aggression (IPA) than comparable civilian groups, perhaps due in part to their unique service-related experiences. IPA offender treatment programs that take military background into consideration are not widely available, and it is unclear to what extent there is a perceived need for them among clinicians who serve service members and Veterans. Strength at Home (SAH) is a promising 12-session cognitive-behavioral group intervention designed to address IPA perpetration in military populations. While clinical support for SAH is emerging, the extent to which service members and Veterans find it appropriate and helpful is not yet known. Goals of the current study were threefold: (a) assess the perceived need for a military-specific IPA program among Veterans Administration and community domestic violence (DV) program providers; (b) conduct a pilot study to examine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of SAH in a sample drawn from a diverse, multicultural community; and (c) conduct focus groups to obtain participant feedback on the SAH protocol. Findings from the provider survey suggested a need for specialty programs to treat military personnel who perpetrate IPA of mildtomoderate severity. Results of the SAH pilot study ( n = 6) indicated decreased psychological aggression and increased anger control from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Focus group feedback indicated participants found the program to be helpful and appropriate across a wide variety of ethno-cultural variables. As more service members and Veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan war era reintegrate into our communities, it will become increasingly important for providers in both private and public sectors of care to understand the unique needs of this treatment population, and to have access to effective IPA treatment programs.
Rape as an Economic Crime
Authors: Loya Rebecca M.
Published: November 2014

This article examines how isolated instances of sexual violence affect adult female survivors’ employment and economic well-being. This study draws on data from 27 in-depth, qualitative interviews with sexual assault survivors and rape crisis service providers. The findings suggest that sexual assault and the related trauma response can disrupt survivors’ employment in several ways, including time off, diminished performance, job loss, and inability to work. By disrupting income or reducing earning power, all of these employment consequences have implications for survivors’ economic well-being in the months or years following the assault. In addition, I argue that for many survivors, these employment consequences compound one another and ultimately shift survivors’ long-term economic trajectories. By highlighting survivors’ lived experiences of the financial aftermath of sexual assault, these findings help to illuminate the processes by which sexual violence decreases survivors’ income over the life course. Understanding the financial effects of sexual violence can help researchers better understand and predict the recovery process, while helping practitioners to design more effective interventions for survivors.
Elder Mistreatment and Health Status of Rural Older Adults
Authors: Chokkanathan Srinivasan
Published: November 2014

There is limited information on the nature of and health factors associated with elder mistreatment in rural areas. To address this gap in the literature, the current study described the nature of such mistreatment and investigated the association between different types of mistreatment and health factors among 897 randomly selected elderly persons in rural India. The results show that elder mistreatment was widely prevalent (21%). Furthermore, the higher frequency of and simultaneous occurrence of multiple types of mistreatment (83.4%) suggest that mistreatment was a continuous stressor. The presence of overall mistreatment was positively associated with depression symptoms and subjective health status. The higher levels of chronicity and multiple mistreatments further increased depression symptoms and lowered the health status of those who were mistreated. Although women, more than men, were more likely to experience mistreatment, chronic mistreatment, and multiple mistreatments, there were no significant gender differences in the mistreatment-health relationship. These findings suggest that older adults with depression symptoms and poor health should be screened for mistreatment.
Vulnerability and Mimicry as Predictive Axes in Cyberbullying
Authors: Cuadrado-Gordillo Isabel , Fernández-Antelo Inmaculada
Published: November 2014

The co-occurrence of bullying and cyberbullying in a dual society like the present calls for specific measures of intervention to be able to forestall the emergence of new problems and slow the increase and diversification of violent behavior. This study’s objective was to determine whether the gender of those involved as well as the forms of aggression experienced both in presential and virtual scenarios are predictive indicators of the violent behavior of aggressive-victims. The participant sample was 1,648 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years (48.9% girls). The instrument used was a questionnaire. The results show the existence of four categories of aggressive-victims resulting from the co-occurrence of presential and cyber contexts: aggressive-victims of bullying, cyberaggressive-victims, aggressive-cybervictims, and cyberaggressive-cybervictims. Furthermore, three predictive indicators of the abusive behavior of the aggressive-victims in their different categories were identified: continuity between contexts, type of abuse suffered, and the gender of those involved. These indicators allow one to extract individual profiles of the different types of aggressive-victims, which facilitate, on one hand, the understanding of the processes of victimization and aggression that adolescents experience in both presential and cyber contexts, and, on the other, the design of programs and specific actions based on the characteristics of the adolescents and their previous experiences of victimization or cybervictimization.
Survivor-Defined Practice in Domestic Violence Work
Authors: Goodman Lisa A. , Thomas Kristie , Cattaneo Lauren Bennett , Heimel Deborah , Woulfe Julie , Chong Siu Kwan
Published: November 2014

Survivor-defined practice, characterized by an emphasis on client choice, partnership, and sensitivity to the unique needs, contexts, and coping strategies of individual survivors, is an aspirational goal of the domestic violence (DV) movement, assumed to be a key contributor to empowerment and other positive outcomes among survivors. Despite its central role in DV program philosophy, training, and practice, however, our ability to assess its presence and its presumed link to well-being has been hampered by the absence of a way to measure it from survivors’ perspectives. As part of a larger university–community collaboration, this study had two aims: (a) to develop a measure of survivor-defined practice from the perspective of participants, and (b) to assess its relationship to safety-related empowerment after controlling for other contributors to survivor well-being (e.g., financial stability and social support). Results supported the reliability and validity of the Survivor-Defined Practice Scale (SDPS), a nine-item measure that assesses participants’ perception of the degree to which their advocates help them achieve goals they set for themselves, facilitate a spirit of partnership, and show sensitivity to their individual needs and styles. The items combined to form one factor indicating that the three theoretical aspects of survivor-defined practice may be different manifestations of one underlying construct. Results also support the hypothesized link between survivor-defined practice and safety-related empowerment. The SDPS offers DV programs a mechanism for process evaluation that is rigorous and rooted in the feminist empowerment philosophy that so many programs espouse.
Please Tell! Barriers to Disclosing Sexual Victimization and Subsequent Social Support Perceived by Children and Adolescents
Authors: Münzer Annika , Fegert Jörg M. , Ganser Helene G. , Loos Sabine , Witt Andreas , Goldbeck Lutz
Published: November 2014

The present study examines barriers to disclosing sexual victimization and perceived social support after disclosure from the perspective of children and adolescents. Forty-two children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years participated in semistructured interviews about their history of sexual victimization, the delay of disclosure, barriers to disclosure, informal and formal recipients of disclosure, as well as abuse-specific social support as perceived by the recipients. The participants disclosed their victimization with a delay of approximately 17 months, ranging from immediate reporting to 10 years of nondisclosure. The most frequent reasons to withhold the information were feelings of shame and threats by the perpetrator. A majority felt that people believed and supported them after disclosing, but a considerable proportion of study participants reported a lack of perceived protection against recurring victimization. The results underline the importance of educating children and adolescents about sexual victimization and of encouraging the immediate reporting of critical incidents. Possibilities to address the barriers identified in this study are discussed.
Enacted Sexual Stigma, Stigma Consciousness, and Subjective Happiness Scale Adaptation
Authors: Strizzi Jenna , Fernández-Agis Inmaculada , Parrón-Carreño Tesifon , Alarcón-Rodríguez Raquel
Published: November 2014

Violence against people due to their sexual orientation is a phenomenon that exists within a framework of sexual stigma and sexual prejudice that can result in enacted stigma. The present study primarily aimed to validate the Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; for lesbian, gay, and bisexual [LGB] populations) in the Spanish context by using samples from two countries (Spain [ N = 157] and the United States [ N = 83]). Also, to examine how the construct of stigma consciousness correlates with anti-LGBQ (anti–lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer) hate crime victimization and violent incidents, as well as examine whether the former influences subjective happiness. The population from the United States reported higher stigma consciousness and received more anti-LGBQ threats and insults. Hate crime victimization was the same across the two samples and positively correlated with violent incidents in both samples. Subjective happiness was negatively correlated with SCQ, although its subscales it did not correlate with enacted stigma measures.
Is Routine Screening for Intimate Partner Violence Feasible in Public Health Care Settings in Kenya?
Authors: Undie Chi-Chi , Maternowska M. Catherine , Mak’anyengo Margaret , Askew Ian
Published: November 2014

More than a third of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) or non-partner sexual violence. The short- and long-term health effects of violence can be disabling if left undetected. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report indicates that Africa is one of the regions with the highest prevalence of physical and/or sexual IPV among ever-partnered women. Routine screening for IPV can potentially improve the care and treatment of women suffering from violence. Although routine screening is commonplace in European and American countries, health systems barriers in developing countries have deterred introduction of this practice. Results from this feasibility study indicate that providers are willing and able to incorporate IPV screening into their practice and that IPV screening in a variety of health care settings in a public hospital is feasible and welcomed by clients. Referral uptake by women suffering from IPV was low compared with provider referral rates, but ways in which referral and management services could be improved were identified.
Determinants of Intimate Partner Violence Among HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Women in India
Authors: Chakraborty Hrishikesh , Patted Shobhana , Gan Anita , Islam Farahnaz , Revankar Amit
Published: November 2014

To reduce the many adverse health outcomes associated with intimate partner violence (IPV), high-risk groups need to be specifically targeted in the fight against domestic violence in India. This study aims to examine the prevalence and correlates of IPV in HIV-positive and HIV-negative women from India. A convenience sample of HIV-positive and HIV-negative women responded to questionnaires to assess their experience and perception of violence. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to model the association between IPV and age, education, employment status, contraception use, age at first marriage, and HIV status. Although adjusting for age, education, employment status, contraception use, age at first marriage, and HIV status, women who are employed were 3.5 times more likely to suffer IPV (confidence interval [CI] = [1.5, 8.5]), women aged 18 or above at first marriage are 0.3 times less likely to face IPV (CI = [0.1, 0.6]), and women who use contraception are 7 times more likely to suffer IPV (CI = [1.4, 30.2]). Also, HIV-positive women are 3 times more likely to face sexual violence compared with HIV-negative women (CI = [1.1, 7.6]).
Toxic Knowledge
Authors: Sigad Laura I. , Davidov Jonathan , Lev-Wiesel Rachel , Eisikovits Zvi
Published: November 2014

The purpose of the present article is to examine the multiple ways in which the private lives of professionals are affected by involvement with child abuse intervention and prevention. Using a descriptive-phenomenological perspective and 40 in-depth interviews with professionals to present a model based on qualitative data, we studied the ways in which child abuse professionals conceptualize, understand, and integrate their experiences into their personal and family lives. We find that the process of internalizing child abuse knowledge occurs in two domains: One affirms or denies the existence of the phenomenon; the other concerns the strategies used to contend with the effects of working in abuse. Knowledge of child abuse is toxic, in the sense that it serves as a catalyst leading to the alteration of one’s self-perception and parental identity. We present a typology of self-alteration resulting from child abuse knowledge and describe the mechanism of this change.
A Patient-Centered Decision-Support Tool Informed by History of Interpersonal Violence
Authors: Grasso Damion J. , Ford Julian D. , Lindhiem Oliver
Published: November 2014

The Probability of Treatment Benefit (PTB) chart is a decision-support tool that quantifies, in absolute terms, the probability that an individual patient will benefit from a psychological treatment based on the individual’s pre-treatment characteristics. The demand for such a tool has increased with the growing emphasis on personalized medicine and the need for selecting a treatment from an expanding list of evidence-based models. This method has the potential to provide clinicians and mental health consumers with a practical and interpretable means of comparing treatment options for individuals whose benefit from a particular treatment may differ substantially. We provide a practice update and demonstrate how to develop a PTB chart using data from a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of two approaches for treating posttraumatic stress disorder based on patients’ pre-treatment exposure to multiple types of interpersonal violence. Step-by-step instructions for applying the PTB method are provided.
Delinquent and Aggressive Behavior and Social Desirability Among Roma and Non-Roma Adolescents in Slovakia
Authors: Kolarcik Peter , Madarasova Geckova Andrea , Reijneveld Sijmen A. , van Dijk Jitse P.
Published: November 2014

Rates of aggression and delinquency are assumed to be higher among Roma and other minorities, but sound evidence of this is lacking. Our aim was to assess delinquent and aggressive behavior among Roma and non-Roma adolescents and the effects on ethnic differences of parental education and social desirability. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Roma from separated and segregated settlements in the eastern part of Slovakia ( N = 330; Mage = 14.50; interview) and non-Roma adolescents ( N = 722; Mage = 14.86; questionnaire). The effect of ethnicity on antisocial behaviors was analyzed using linear regression (crude) and adjusted for gender, parental education, and social desirability. Adjustment for social desirability diminished the ethnic differences in delinquency ( B = 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [2.12, −0.04]), led to an increase in the differences in hostility ( B = 2.43; 95% CI = [0.87, 3.99]), and led to the disappearance of differences in physical aggression ( B = 0.45; 95% CI = [1.14, 2.07]). Parental education did not affect the associations in an important way. Our findings indicate that Roma are not that much different from non-Roma, in terms of antisocial behavior, which contradicts the general perception of Roma. Our findings should be confirmed in other settings.
Correlates of Self-Report of Rape Among Male School Adolescents in Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Authors: Ogunfowokan Adesola A. , Olagunju Oluwayemisi E. , Olajubu Aanuoluwapo O. , Faremi Funmilola A. , Oloyede Ajoke S. , Sharps Phyllis W.
Published: November 2014

This study examined male adolescents’ self-report of rape of adolescent girls and the socio-demographic variables that correlated with self-report of rape. Descriptive-correlational design was used and the study was conducted in five public senior secondary schools in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Three hundred and thirty-eight male adolescents participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings from the study revealed the mean age of the adolescent males to be 16 years, with the majority (73%) of them in the middle adolescent stage. Six percent of the adolescent males reported they had raped an adolescent girl in the past. Among the boys who reported rape, 55% reported they had raped their sexual partners, and 55% reported they had perpetrated gang rape. Smoking ( p = .0001), alcohol consumption ( p = .001), and birth order ( p = .006) predicted self-report of rape. The coefficient of birth order showed that odds of self-report of rape by first-born male increases by 6 times compared with other children. Study findings also provided evidence that adolescent males are moving from lone rape to gang rape in intimate partner relationships. Male adolescents are important group to target in rape prevention programs.
Factors Mediating the Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence and Cervical Cancer Among Thai Women
Authors: Thananowan Nanthana , Vongsirimas Nopporn
Published: November 2014

Previous research suggests that intimate partner violence (IPV), particularly physical or sexual violence, was associated with cervical cancer. However, there is less work examining the mechanism of the relationship between IPV and cervical cancer. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine psychosocial factors (e.g., stress, social support, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms) as mediators of the relationship between IPV and cervical cancer among 532 Thai women with gynecological problems. About 21.1% of participants reported any type of IPV (e.g., physical, sexual, or emotional violence) in the past year and 22.2% had cervical cancer. IPV was significantly positively associated with stress, depressive symptoms, and cervical cancer but negatively correlated with social support and self-esteem. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that not only did IPV exhibit significantly direct effects on social support, stress, and depressive symptoms, and indirect effects on self-esteem, but it also had a significant, positive, total effect on cervical cancer. IPV exhibited the significant indirect effect on cervical cancer through social support, self-esteem, stress, and depressive symptoms. The model fitted very well to the empirical data and explained 9% of variance. The findings affirmed that those psychosocial factors were mediators of the relationship between IPV and cervical cancer. Health care protocols for abused women should include screening for and treatment of IPV-related psychosocial factors. Interventions that provide social support and protect self-esteem should reduce stress and depressive symptoms among abused women, thereby reducing the risk of cervical cancer.
Individual-and Setting-Level Correlates of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Rape Crisis Center Staff
Authors: Dworkin Emily R. , Sorell Nicole R. , Allen Nicole E.
Published: November 2014

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is an issue of significant concern among providers who work with survivors of sexual assault. Although STS has been studied in relation to individual-level characteristics of a variety of types of trauma responders, less research has focused specifically on rape crisis centers as environments that might convey risk or protection from STS, and no research to knowledge has modeled setting-level variation in correlates of STS. The current study uses a sample of 164 staff members representing 40 rape crisis centers across a single Midwestern state to investigate the staff member-and agency-level correlates of STS. Results suggest that correlates exist at both levels of analysis. Younger age and greater severity of sexual assault history were statistically significant individual-level predictors of increased STS. Greater frequency of supervision was more strongly related to secondary stress for non-advocates than for advocates. At the setting level, lower levels of supervision and higher client loads agency-wide accounted for unique variance in staff members’ STS. These findings suggest that characteristics of both providers and their settings are important to consider when understanding their STS.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Authors: Murphy Marie
Published: November 2014

Mounting evidence that sexual minority status is linked to stigma, stress, and health disparities necessitates critical analysis of medical sex education. In this article, I use ethnographic data to show how normative understandings of sexuality were produced at a top twenty medical school in the United States. Although non-normative sexualities were never overtly denigrated within the curriculum at Buena Vista Medical School, a hidden curriculum of heteronormativity repeatedly positioned some sexualities as normal, natural, and obvious, while others were quietly excluded. This research shows the particular utility of ethnographic methods for revealing how sexuality-related stigma may be produced even within settings in which participants are motivated to help others and have been exposed to norms of egalitarianism that discourage overt homophobia and sexuality-related discrimination. This research also demonstrates possibilities for closer communication between the sociological subfields of medicine and sexuality.
The Two-Step Flow of Communication in Twitter-Based Public Forums
Authors: Choi Sujin
Published: November 2014

This study explores how a piece of information flows in social media–based public forums, whether opinion leaders emerge from this flow of information, and what characteristics opinion leaders have in such forums. Using network analysis and statistical measures to examine two Twitter-based discussion groups centered on political discussions in South Korea, we found that the discussion network was concentrated but relatively inclusive and that the two-step flow of communication model still had explanatory power in online public forums. Opinion leaders were found to be influentials but not content creators. These findings provide implications for the dynamic of a public sphere, two-step flow of communication model, and structural approach to online public forums.
Engaging siblingships
Authors: Gulløv Eva , Palludan Charlotte , Winther Ida Wentzel
Published: November 2014

Inspired by sociological and anthropological family studies, our point of departure is that there is neither a given nor an unequivocal prototype of sibling relationships. On the basis of qualitative interviews, dialogues and filmed observations of everyday life, we investigate how children and young people in contemporary Denmark engage emotionally in sibling relationships. It emerges that siblingships inevitably involve frictions in various forms. In the article, we analyse the impact frictions have on social relations and discuss how such dynamics in sibling relationships both reflect and influence family constitutions and dynamics.
“Adults talk too much”: Intergenerational dialogue and power in the Peruvian movement of working children
Authors: Taft Jessica K
Published: November 2014

Recent work on children’s participatory rights has suggested the need to pay attention to adult–child relationships and foster intergenerational dialogue. Drawing on ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews with the Peruvian movement of working children, this article explores the ambiguous and complex status of adult voice in organizations that have taken up children’s participation. The ideal of egalitarian intergenerational collaboration is incredibly difficult to implement given the broader social context of age-based inequality. Despite good intentions and a deep commitment to children’s agency and authority, adults and children in this movement continue to replicate deeply structured patterns of behavior that give adults greater power.
Handicaps to improve reputation
Authors: Glazer Amihai
Published: November 2014

An agent may be able to address a task at different times, with the state of nature more favorable to the task in some periods than in others. Success on a task will therefore more greatly improve the agent’s reputation if he is constrained in choosing when to address the task than if he enjoys flexibility in timing. These considerations can explain why presidents emphasize achievements in their first 100 days in office, and why performance of the economy in only some periods of a president’s term affect elections.
Effects of foam structure and material on the performance of premixed porous ceramic burner
Authors: Shakiba Sayed A , Ebrahimi Reza , Shams Mehrzad , Yazdanfar Zeinab
Published: November 2014

An experimental setup was developed to investigate the physical characteristics of ceramic foam, used in reaction layer, on the performance of a porous burner. This premixed burner included mainly four sections: premixed, preheating, combustion zone and an integrated heat exchanger. The objective of this work was to investigate effects of different kinds of ceramic foams with various porosity, pore density and materials on the burner performance. The combustor was operated with natural gas and diverse structures of alumina and silicon carbide foam utilized in the reaction layer. Temperature distribution along the centerline, thermal efficiency, emission concentration and pressure drop were thoroughly investigated. Results showed a decrease in the porosity of ceramic foams, causing emission and pressure drop to increase while efficiency declined. More stable combustion was achieved by using finer foams with higher pore density. These foams indicated lower pollution and higher efficiency in low excess air, while coarser foams—ceramic foams with low pore density—resulted in lower pollution and higher efficiency in high excess air. Investigation effect of material exhibited silicon carbide foams causing higher temperature of the combustion and more temperature variation through the burner. Generally, material effect was negligible in terms of efficiency. But role of material highlighted in pollution where silicon carbide resulted in higher amount of NO.
Natural antisense RNAs are involved in the regulation of CD45 expression in autoimmune diseases
Authors: Rong J , Yin J , Su Z
Published: November 2014

CD45 is a transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase that is specifically expressed in hematopoietic cells and can initiate signal transduction via the dephosphorylation of tyrosine. Alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene encode distinct isoforms, which indicate different functional states of CD45. Among these variants, CD45RO, which contains neither exon 4, 5, or 6, is over-expressed in lymphocytes in autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and type I diabetes. The CD45 RO serves as a marker of the immune response activity and lymphocyte development. Previous studies have indicated that exon splicing is generally correlated with local hypermethylated DNA and acetylated histone modification, while autoimmune diseases are commonly associated with global hypomethylation and histone deacetylation in lymphocytes. Thus, the question arises of how exons 4, 5, and 6 of CD45RO are excluded under the status of global DNA hypomethylation and histone deacetylation in these autoimmune diseases. On the basis of the analyses of the context sequence of CD45 and its natural antisense RNA in GenBank, we proposed that the long noncoding RNA encoded by the natural antisense gene of CD45 contributes to the expressional regulation of the CD45RO splicing variant via recruitment of DNA methyltransferase and histone modification modulators specific to the sense gene CD45; thus, it is associated with the over-expression of CD45RO and the functional regulation of lymphocytes in the pathogenic development of autoimmune diseases.
Making sense of Islamic creationism in Europe
Authors: Hameed Salman
Published: November 2014

Islamic creationism has been noted as a serious concern in Europe. There have been reports of boycotts of university evolution lectures and, in one extreme case, even a threat of violence. While religious objections are indeed at play in some cases, our understanding of the rise of Islamic creationism should also take into account socioeconomic disparities and its impact on education for Muslim minorities in Europe. Furthermore, the broader narrative of rejection of evolution in Europe, for some Muslims, may be bound up in reactions to the secular culture and in the formation of their own minority religious identity. On the other hand, the stories of Muslim rejection of evolution in media end up reinforcing the stereotype of Muslims as “outsiders” and a threat to the European education system. A nuanced understanding of this dynamic may benefit those who support both the propagation of good science and favor cultural pluralism.
Resilience, war, and austerity: The ethics of military human enhancement and the politics of data
Authors: Howell Alison
Published: November 2014

This article traces the rise of military psychological resilience training, focusing on the US Army’s Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program, which seeks to assess and instill resilience in soldiers and their families through techniques developed in the discipline of positive psychology. In maximizing the happiness, optimism, and mental fitness of soldiers, military resilience training has two aims: (1) to produce a fit fighting force capable of winning complex wars, and (2) to cut costs, not by averting war, but by ostensibly reducing the need for costly healthcare through a claim to prevent soldiers’ ‘pessimistic’ responses to war. The architects of military resilience are also exporting this model to the civilian sphere of social security, using their military experiment as ‘proof of concept’ of the scientific validity not only of resilience training, but also of positive psychology more generally. The article thus illustrates that ‘social security’ cannot be held separate from inter/national security, because these domains are, in practice, imbricated. It is argued that resilience is not merely a response to war and austerity, but a means for producing these forms of precarity through a fantasy of indomitability. The article concludes by considering the broader ethics of psychological resilience.
A First-Degree Relative With Diabetes Mellitus Is an Important Risk Factor for Rural Thai Villagers to Develop Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Muktabhant Benja , Sanchaisuriya Pattara , Trakulwong Mantana , Mingchai Rumpai , Schelp Frank P.
Published: November 2014

The screening of 609 villagers in rural areas of northeastern Thailand resulted in the detection of 110 (18.1%) new cases of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The diagnoses were made on the basis of a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) value ≤6.5%. Among all those screened, 243 (40%) reported having a father or mother with T2DM. Among the new cases, 66 (60%) reported a first-degree relative, predominantly their mothers, who had the disease. Together with age and the body mass index, a mother or father with DM was strong risk factor for the development of T2DM (adjusted odds ratio = 2.9, 95% confidence interval = 1.84-4.57) when compared with the absence of a first-degree relative with DM. It is concluded that family history of a first-degree relative is an important additional information that might improve the validity of the screening procedure.
‘French football needs more women like Adriana’? Examining the media coverage of France’s women’s national football team for the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 Olympic Games
Authors: Ravel Barbara , Gareau Marc
Published: November 2014

As reflected by the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, global women’s participation in sports seems to currently be at its highest levels ever. However, equality between men and women has not yet been reached when one examines how men and women involved in sports are represented in the media. Sportswomen have appeared to be typically portrayed as feminine individuals and not systematically referred to as ‘just athletes’. France’s women’s national football (soccer) team was followed during the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 Olympic Games through two different French websites: the official website of the French football federation and a website devoted to sports news. Using a feminist Foucauldian discourse analysis, this paper presents how these important websites for the media coverage of football in France portrayed the women’s national team and its players during two major international competitions, oscillating between gendered individuals and ‘real’ or legitimate athletes. It also highlights how cultural context and nationalism contributed to such (re)presentations of Team France.
Same same, but different? Exploring the organizational identities of Swedish voluntary sports: Possible implications of sports clubs’ self-identification for their role as implementers of policy objectives
Authors: Stenling Cecilia , Fahlén Josef
Published: November 2014

The aim of this study is to contribute to the ongoing discussion of sports clubs’ propensity to act as policy implementers. Theoretically, we conceptualize this propensity as contingent on an alignment between a sports club’s organizational identity and the cultural material, that is, ends and means of a given policy. Building on data from short, qualitative interviews with representatives of 218 randomly selected sports clubs, we construct 10 organizational identity categories. Between these categories, there is a variety of clubs’ core purposes, practices and logics of action. The implications of this heterogeneity, in terms of sports clubs’ propensity to act as policy implementers, is discussed with reference to what clubs in each category might ‘imagine doing’. Also discussed are three avenues by which institutional conditions might affect the formation and change of sports clubs’ organizational identity, in turn having implications for their role as implementers.
‘It is passable, I suppose’ – Adult Norwegian men’s notions of their own bodies
Authors: Hervik Stein Egil , Fasting Kari
Published: November 2014

The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of how men aged 40–90 years with different educational and ethnic backgrounds talk about their own bodies, and how social dimensions, especially masculinity and age, are reflected in their talk. Eighteen men from a small rural town in Norway were interviewed. The findings indicate that the men have a complex relationship to their own bodies. Three main themes were found in the way they talked about their own bodies: functionality in relation to their everyday life and in relation to sport and physical activity; physical and mental health; appearance both in relation to how their bodies were perceived by others and in relation to their own perception of their body. The three themes were not mutually exclusive and were often interwoven in terms of how they were talked about. The results are discussed in relation to theories of masculinity with a focus on Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity. One of the conclusions that can be drawn from the project is that the men expressed their relationships with their bodies in conflicting and complex ways, including concerns which can be interpreted as gendered and age-related.
Climate change and the premises for a New Society
Authors: Amdekar Shachi , Singh Ajit
Published: November 2014

The starting point for this article is the excellent article by Professor Marglin on the dangers of climate change. He outlines a broad remedial prescription, a new economics based on ecological concerns and a broadly based cultural revolution to change people’s thinking. We agree with Marglin that the prevailing neoclassical analysis is fundamentally flawed because inter alia it adheres to individuals’ independent (rather than inter-dependent) utility functions. It is argued that ultimately the problem of the ecosystem, and indeed violent threats of mass destruction that we constantly face cannot be solved without the insights that community and spiritual thinking bring us.
Quo vadis: Does economic theory need a sustainability makeover?
Authors: Bradford Wylie
Published: November 2014

Prof. Marglin argues for a new economics and a new conception of welfare as part of the move to a sustainable future. However, the typical criticisms of the treatment of welfare in economics appear wide of the mark, and there are good reasons to regard this treatment as accurate enough for the job at hand. The critics appear to miss how demanding the job of reshaping economics in their (implicit) desired image would be, and how unproductive it might turn out to be to insist on such a reshaping as a precursor to serious action.
Earth-grab by corporate feudalism and how to go about resisting it
Authors: Bagchi Amiya Kumar
Published: November 2014

The need for a new economy is great and the obstacles are many: growing inequalities within and between nations and regions, new complicity between corporations and non-democratic political regimes and failure of workers worldwide to make common cause. There are alternative models, indicating that a more egalitarian approach does not necessarily reduce living standards. Environmental degradation cannot be addressed by a technological fix: the threat to our long-term survival is pre-figured in the impact of climate change and corporate rapacity on the land and sea resources of the indigenous minorities who live as humanity has lived for most of its existence. A 10-point plan for a follow-up to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals is suggested, but it will work only if solidarity networks can be built across divides of ascribed race, religion and nominal income levels, to express the will of the people in place of the government representatives who are prepared to gamble the future of humanity for corporate profit and power.
Redistribution as social justice for decarbonising the global economy
Authors: Fischer Andrew Martin
Published: November 2014

Although the issue of redistribution is glossed over by Marglin, there are three reasons why decarbonisation must be accompanied by a massive scaling up of redistribution from the global North to South if the agenda is to be founded on a social justice approach. First, constructing a capital infrastructure in the South in a manner that maximises the potential for decarbonisation would tend to be very import-intensive. Hence, it would require external financing or else risk running aground through balance of payment constraints. Second, there is already a tendency in the global economy of siphoning resources from South to North, in particular through the increasing control over flows of value and wealth by Northern corporations from their commanding positions within international networks. Southern productivity needs to be contextualised from this perspective given the risk that climate negotiations lock in the subordination of Southern countries within these global networks, rather than seeking ways for Southern producers to leverage more value for the output and carbon emissions they are already producing. Third, population and labour transitions in the South place relatively greater pressure than in the past on employment generation in tertiary (service) sectors, in which distributive and redistributive processes play essential roles in bolstering labour demand. The neglect of global redistribution could undermine the capacity of Southern countries to face these broader development challenges, which are already immense even in the absence of decarbonisation. A key question is how to organise global redistributive transfers in a manner that does not continue to subordinate Southern populations to Northern interests. The challenge for decarbonisation is the forging of a political will for redistribution that is motivated by climate change rather than geopolitics, and that respects national ownership and self-determination.
A feminist response to Stephen Marglin’s Premises for a New Economy
Authors: Harcourt Wendy
Published: November 2014

In response to Stephen Marglin’s call for new economies, the article points to the strong and vibrant tradition of feminist scholarship inside and outside academe, which is exploring alternatives to capitalism. The article takes up the concepts of meshworks, politics of place, feminist political ecology and community economies. It argues that feminist approaches are contributing to a new analytic that goes beyond developmentalism and recognises the importance of building a new economics based on the many progressive alternatives that are being imagined and articulated in local economic practices.
Climate change response: Linking research, policy and action
Authors: Troy Patrick
Published: November 2014

We are now close to reaching what climate scientists advise is a ‘tipping point’ when the injuries we have visited on the planet will become self-reinforcing and produce an ecosystem that is alien to human life. The mal-distribution of consumption within and between nations is a major reason why there is little agreement on appropriate remedial action. Ensuring planetary survival while reducing inequity is made the more difficult, because the richest one-seventh of the world’s population has already reached consumption levels beyond the capacity of the planetary ecosystem to accommodate it.