bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Every Student Succeeds Act: Strengthening the Focus on Educational Leadership
Authors: Young Michelle D. , Winn Kathleen M. , Reedy Marcy A.
Published: November 2017

Purpose: This article offers (a) an overview of the attention federal policy has invested in educational leadership with a primary focus on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), (b) a summary of the critical role school leaders play in achieving the goals set forth within federal educational policy, and (c) examples of how states are using the opportunity afforded by the focus on leadership in ESSA. Findings: Through the examination of federal policy and existing research in this arena, we review the level of attention paid to educational leadership within Elementary and Secondary Education Act, its reauthorizations, and other federal education legislation. ESSA provides an enhanced focus on educational leadership and acknowledges the importance of leaders in achieving federal goals for education. Furthermore, ESSA acknowledges the importance of developing a strong leadership pipeline and, thus, allows states and districts to use federal funds to support leadership development. In this article, we delineate this focus on leadership within ESSA and offer examples of how states are planning to support leadership development. Implications and Conclusion: The important role that school leadership plays in supporting student, teacher, and school-wide outcomes warrants its inclusion within federal education policy. However, the opportunity to realize ESSA’s intended goals around leadership development could be undermined by forces at both the state and federal levels.
Effects of Professional Development on Preschool Teachers’ Use of Embedded Instruction Practices
Authors: Snyder Patricia , Hemmeter Mary Louise , McLean Mary , Sandall Susan , McLaughlin Tara , Algina James
Published: November 2017

We conducted a randomized controlled potential efficacy trial to examine effects of two variants of the Tools for Teachers (TfT) professional development (PD) intervention on preschool teachers’ implementation of embedded instruction practices and children’s developmental and learning outcomes. Thirty-six preschool teachers recruited from three school districts were randomly assigned within each district to one of three PD conditions. Preschool children with disabilities ( N = 106) from enrolled teachers’ classrooms participated in the study. Results showed that, compared with business-as-usual PD teachers, teachers who received either PD intervention wrote higher-quality learning targets for study children. Teachers who received the PD intervention that included on-site coaching implemented more embedded instruction learning trials compared to teachers in the other two conditions. Compared with children whose teachers participated in BAU PD, children whose teachers received either PD intervention had greater developmental and learning gains as measured by standardized assessments.
Flexible careers across the life course: Advancing theory, research and practice
Authors: Tomlinson Jennifer , Baird Marian , Berg Peter , Cooper Rae
Published: November 2017

This introductory article sets out a framework for conceptualizing flexible careers. We focus on the conditions, including the institutional arrangements and the organizational policies and practices, that can support individuals to construct flexible and sustainable careers across the life course. We ask: What are flexible careers? Who are the (multiple) actors determining flexible careers? How do institutions and organizational settings impact upon and shape the career decisions and agency of individuals across the life course? We begin our review by providing a critique of career theory, notably the boundaryless and protean career concepts, which are overly agentic. In contrast, we stress the importance of institutions, notably education and training systems, welfare regimes, worker voice, working-time and leave regulations and retirement systems alongside individual agency. We also emphasize the importance of various organizational actors in determining flexible careers, particularly in relation to flexible work policies, organizational practices, culture and managerial agency. Finally we argue for the importance of a life course framing taking into account key transition points and life stages, which vary in sequence and significance, in the analysis of flexible careers. In concluding remarks, we urge researchers to use and refine our model to the concept of flexible careers conceptually and empirically.
Investigation of the aerodynamic parameters simulation method of a guided rocket
Authors: Chen Yong-Chao , Gao Xin-Bao , Gao Min
Published: November 2017

Orthogonal design method is adopted to investigate the aerodynamic parameters simulation method of a canard guided rocket, in order to obtain one simulation method which can calculate the aerodynamic parameters quickly, reliably, and accurately. The turbulence model, mesh size, [Formula: see text]value and flow field size, which are regarded as the main factors in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, are divided into three levels for comparative analysis. Nine simulation combination schemes, which are representative and comprehensive, are singled out based on orthogonal table. The axial force coefficient and normal force coefficient in subsonic, transonic, and supersonic conditions are respectively calculated with these nine simulation combination schemes. The best simulation combination schemes in subsonic, transonic, and supersonic conditions are respectively picked out by intuitive analysis and synthesis balance analysis. The aerodynamic parameters in different velocities and attack angles, which were obtained by corresponding best simulation combination schemes, prove that the best simulation combination schemes are accurate. The results provide basis for the aerodynamic characteristic study of the canard guided rocket, and this research method can be used for the investigation on aerodynamic parameters simulation method of projectiles with different configurations.
Control-theoretic adaptive cache-fair scheduling of chip multiprocessor systems
Authors: Arslan Huseyin G , Tian Yu-Chu , Li Fenglian , Peng Chen , Fei Min-Rui
Published: November 2017

In chip multiprocessor scheduling, cache memory awareness is critical. However, most existing cache-aware multiprocessor scheduling methods are static and open-loop and thus do not work well in dynamic environments. To address this challenging problem, a control-theoretic approach is presented in this paper for adaptive cache-fair multiprocessor scheduling. The adaptive cache-fair multiprocessor scheduling uses process models to estimate the shared cache size requirements and the instruction count variations of the threads running on multiprocessor cores. Then, it feeds the estimated information back to an adaptive controller. Designed from the process models, the controller decides processor cycle re-allocation through model computation to maintain the instruction counts of the multiple threads at their desired values. The effectiveness of the adaptive cache-fair multiprocessor scheduling is demonstrated through examples.
Dynamic global proportional integral derivative sliding mode control using radial basis function neural compensator for three-phase active power filter
Authors: Chu Yundi , Fei Juntao , Hou Shixi
Published: November 2017

An adaptive dynamic special global sliding mode controller that is based on proportional integral derivative (PID) sliding surface using radial basis function (RBF) neural network (NN) for a three- phase active power filter (APF) was presented in this paper. To overcome the problems associated with the schemes of the conventional sliding mode control, a global PID sliding manifold is introduced to realize the whole process of robustness and inhibition of the steady state error, accelerating the system response meanwhile. In addition, the nested dynamic sliding mode controller can reduce the influence of chattering that may lead to malfunction of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) caused by sign function in the control law, achieving a better property. Moreover, owing to the parameter uncertainties and the external disturbances, a RBF neural estimator is added to eliminate the chattering phenomenon that further optimizes the performance of the system. Eventually, simulation studies in the MATLAB/SimPower Systems Toolbox verify the outstanding performance of the designed RBFNN dynamic global PID sliding mode controller in three different conditions, and some comparisons are made at the same time to demonstrate the excellent properties of the raised control method.
Three-dimensional shape measurement for thin objects based on hue-height mapping using color-encoded fringe projection
Authors: Wan Yingying , Cao Yiping , Chen Cheng , Fu Guangkai , Wang Yapin
Published: November 2017

Three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement based on hue-height mapping using color-encoded fringe projection is proposed for thin objects. The projected color-encoded fringe pattern is encoded by three sinusoidal fringe patterns with 2π/3 shift phase in between into red (R), green (G) and blue (B) channels, separately. It is found that the hue component is of periodicity with the same period as the sinusoidal fringe pattern in the R channel of the color-encoded fringe and the hue distribution in a period is of monotonicity. While this color-encoded fringe pattern is projected onto an object, as long as the deformation of the captured deformed color fringe pattern is not out of a period, the 3D shape of the measured object can be reconstructed directly by hue-height mapping. This method is concise and fast with no color calibration to remove color crosstalk and no time-consuming phase extraction or phase unwrapping. The experimental results show the feasibility and the practicability of the proposed method.
Event-triggered H∞ position control of receiver coil for effective mobile wireless charging of electric vehicles
Authors: Deng Weihua , Li Kang , Deng Jing
Published: November 2017

The emergence of dynamic wireless charging technologies brings about new possibilities for on-road real-time charging of electric vehicles in solving the battery bottleneck for the mass roll-out of electric vehicles worldwide. In this new area, charging efficiency is one of the most important issues to be addressed for on-road wireless charging. While most current research mainly focuses on the electronic power design of the charging system, little has been done to improve charging efficiency through real-time mechanical control. In this paper, a switch control strategy based on an event-triggered mechanism is proposed, to improve the charging efficiency when an electric vehicle moves along a power supply road track. An [Formula: see text] control problem is formulated and sufficient stabilization criteria are derived in the form of linear matrix inequalities when the electric vehicle derails from the effective charging range. Numerical simulation confirms that the proposed control approach outperforms the general state feedback control method. The developed control strategy is applied to control a newly built electric vehicle wireless charging test platform with desirable control performance.
Insecurity in the Ivory Tower: Direct and indirect effects of pay stagnation and job insecurity on faculty performance
Authors: Benson Wendi L , Probst Tahira M , Jiang Lixin , Olson Kristine J , Graso Maja
Published: November 2017

Despite unprecedented cuts to public funding of state universities, little research has examined economic stressors in academia. This study addresses this gap in research by examining the direct and indirect relationships of pay stagnation and job insecurity to performance among a sample of 355 faculty members from a public university in the United States undergoing major budget cuts. In line with job stress and psychological contract breach theories, among tenured faculty, both job insecurity and pay stagnation were indirectly related to lower performance via job satisfaction. Among non-tenured faculty, only pay stagnation had a significant adverse relationship with job satisfaction. Given the difficulty of guaranteed job security or pay raises during times of austerity, organizational interventions designed to improve job satisfaction may be more efficacious. Such interventions might help ameliorate the negative impact of economic stressors on the performance of tenured faculty.
The role of the state in shaping zero hours work in an atypical liberal market economy
Authors: O’Sullivan Michelle , Turner Thomas , Lavelle Jonathan , MacMahon Juliet , Murphy Caroline , Ryan Lorraine , Gunnigle Patrick , O’Brien Mike
Published: November 2017

Zero hours work typifies work where there are no guaranteed hours offered by the employer. This article examines the relationship between the state and the emergence of zero hours work in an atypical liberal market economy, Ireland. Based on interviews with informed stakeholders with a focus on four sectors – retail, health, education and accommodation/food – the article concludes that the actions of the state have created a weak regulatory environment that has facilitated the emergence of zero hours work. The findings are discussed with a theoretical frame using the concepts of accumulation and legitimation.
The Changing Politics of American Federalism
Authors: Conlan Timothy J.
Published: November 2017

This article synthesizes and interprets contemporary research on the changing relationships between American federalism and the U.S. political system. It does so by examining how three important political trends—nationalization, polarization, and delegitimation—have affected intergovernmental relations and intergovernmental policy across a range of venues: electoral politics, policymaking, and public administration. In each of these areas, traditional scholarly perspectives on the relationship between federalism and the political system are contrasted with the findings of contemporary research and analysis.
Médecins Avec Frontières and the making of a humanitarian borderscape
Authors: Pallister-Wilkins Polly
Published: November 2017

This article makes the case for the consideration of a humanitarian borderscape. The article analyses the recent humanitarian responses to irregular migration in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Greece and argues that processes of im/mobility produce specific times, spaces and types of care. The argument transcends recent discussions on the shrinking and/or expanding of humanitarian spaces, suggesting instead that a focus on the specific setting of the border and the dynamics of mobility are more useful to understanding humanitarian responses to mobility and immobility. In addition, the article contributes to the emerging literature on borderscapes by offering an interpretive analysis of the creation of a particular humanitarian borderscape made up of specific features and activities, which are undertaken by a multiplicity of actors in multiple places. Building on a consideration of this multiplicity, the article focuses specifically on the work of Médecins Sans Frontières.
Development and evaluation of the Dignity Talk question framework for palliative patients and their families: A mixed-methods study
Authors: Guo Qiaohong , Chochinov Harvey Max , McClement Susan , Thompson Genevieve , Hack Tom
Published: November 2017

Background:

Effective patient–family communication can reduce patients’ psychosocial distress and relieve family members’ current suffering and their subsequent grief. However, terminally ill patients and their family members often experience great difficulty in communicating their true feelings, concerns, and needs to each other.

Aim:

To develop a novel means of facilitating meaningful conversations for palliative patients and family members, coined Dignity Talk, explore anticipated benefits and challenges of using Dignity Talk, and solicit suggestions for protocol improvement.

Design:

A convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Dignity Talk, a self-administered question list, was designed to prompt end-of-life conversations, adapted from the Dignity Therapy question framework. Participants were surveyed to evaluate the Dignity Talk question framework. Data were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods.

Setting/participants:

A total of 20 palliative patients, 20 family members, and 34 healthcare providers were recruited from two inpatient palliative care units in Winnipeg, Canada.

Results:

Most Dignity Talk questions were endorsed by the majority of patients and families (>70%). Dignity Talk was revised to be convenient and flexible to use, broadly accessible, clearly stated, and sensitively worded. Participants felt Dignity Talk would be valuable in promoting conversations, enhancing family connections and relationships, enhancing patient sense of value and dignity, promoting effective interaction, and attending to unfinished business. Participants suggested that patients and family members be given latitude to respond only to questions that are meaningful to them and within their emotional capacity to broach.

Conclusion:

Dignity Talk may provide a gentle means of facilitating important end-of-life conversations.
Communication about palliative care: A phenomenological study exploring patient views and responses to its discussion
Authors: Collins Anna , McLachlan Sue-Anne , Philip Jennifer
Published: November 2017

Background:

Communication about palliative care is a complex task frequently delayed until otherwise unavoidable. There is a need for discussion of palliative care to be viewed as a distinct communication task that is guided by empirical data. However, little is known of patient views and responses to these encounters.

Aim:

To explore patient views surrounding communication about palliative care and their responses to its discussion.

Design:

Cross-sectional, prospective, exploratory qualitative design, involving narrative-style interviews and underpinned by an interpretative phenomenological framework.

Setting/participants:

Purposively sampled, English-speaking, adult patients with advanced cancer ( n = 30) recruited from cancer services at a tertiary metropolitan hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

Results:

Three major themes evolved. (1) Death as unspeakable: death was expressed using only implicit, ambiguous or technical terms and perceived to be outside the parameters of medical interactions. (2) Palliative care as a euphemism for death: the term ‘palliative care’ was perceived to be used by health professionals as a tool to talk about dying and understood by patients as a euphemism for death. (3) Palliative care as unspeakable: ‘palliative care’ was personified by patients to mean not just death, but my death, in turn, also becoming unspeakable.

Conclusion:

This study provides important new patient insights and responses to the discussion of palliative care. Results demonstrate that the task of discussing palliative care remains complex, difficult and limited by our language. Greater consistency, sensitivity and sophistication are required when talking about palliative care to patients who may benefit from this care.
What is the role of community at the end of life for people dying in advanced age? A qualitative study with bereaved family carers
Authors: Gott Merryn , Wiles Janine , Moeke-Maxwell Tess , Black Stella , Williams Lisa , Kerse Ngaire , Trussardi Gabriella
Published: November 2017

Background:

New public health approaches to palliative care prioritise the role of community at end of life. However, little is known about community support for the increasing numbers of people dying in advanced age.

Aim:

To explore the role of community at end of life for people dying in advanced age from the perspective of their bereaved family caregivers.

Design:

A constructionist framework underpinned a qualitative research design. Data were analysed using critical thematic analysis.

Setting/participants:

A total of 58 participants (19 Māori and 39 non-Māori) who cared for 52 family members who died at >80 years of age participated in semi-structured interviews.

Results:

A reduction in the social networks and community engagement of the older person was identified in the end-of-life period. Numerous barriers to community engagement in advanced age were identified, including poor health (notably dementia), moving into an aged care facility and lack of access due to transport difficulties. An active withdrawal from community at end of life was also noted. Carers felt limited support from community currently, but identified that communities could play a particular role in reducing social isolation and loneliness among people of advanced age prior to death.

Conclusion:

Our study provides strong support for public health approaches to palliative care that advocate building social networks around people who are dying and their family carers. However, it also indicates that strategies to do so must be flexible enough to be responsive to the unique end-of-life circumstances of people in advanced age.
The experiences of patients with advanced cancer and caregivers presenting to Emergency Departments: A qualitative study
Authors: Philip Jennifer , Remedios Cheryl , Breen Sibilah , Weiland Tracey , Willenberg Lisa , Boughey Mark , Jelinek George , Lane Heather , Marck Claudia , Weil Jennifer
Published: November 2017

Background:

Despite being a common event in the course of an advanced cancer illness, there is little understanding of patients’ perceptions of hospital Emergency Department presentations.

Aim:

To explore the experiences and perceptions of Emergency Departments held by patients with advanced cancer and their informal caregivers.

Design:

Cross-sectional study involving semi-structured interviews with advanced cancer patients and their informal caregivers. Qualitative data analysis was underpinned by a phenomenological approach utilising a data-driven inductive thematic frame.

Setting/participants:

In total, 19 patients with advanced cancer who presented to Emergency Departments in the previous 6 months and 10 informal caregivers from an Australian public hospital and community palliative care service were interviewed.

Results:

Patients reported that Emergency Department presentations were largely prompted by worsening symptoms or were a means to expedite hospital admission, with many instructed to attend by their health care provider. The experience in the Emergency Department was described as a time of anxiety and uncertainty with concerns over communication, the general environment and delays in the symptom management highlighted. Long waits were common. Despite this, patients described relief at receiving care. While the Emergency Department was viewed as a safety net for the health system, many believed advanced cancer patients should have alternative options.

Conclusion:

Relatively simple changes of regular communication updates and early symptom relief would improve patient experience of Emergency Department care. However, since an Emergency Department presentation is frequently serving as a default to access medical care, a significant re-orientation of the health care system is required to meet patient needs.
Prevalence, incidence and associated factors of pressure ulcers in home palliative care patients: A retrospective chart review
Authors: Artico Marco , Dante Angelo , D’Angelo Daniela , Lamarca Luciano , Mastroianni Chiara , Petitti Tommasangelo , Piredda Michela , De Marinis Maria Grazia
Published: November 2017

Background:

Terminally ill patients are at high risk of pressure ulcers, which have a negative impact on quality of life. Data about pressure ulcers’ prevalence, incidence and associated factors are largely insufficient.

Aim:

To document the point prevalence at admission and the cumulative incidence of pressure ulcers in terminally ill patients admitted to an Italian home palliative care unit, and to analyse the patients’ and caregivers’ characteristics associated with their occurrence.

Design:

Retrospective chart review.

Setting/participants:

Patients ( n = 574) with a life expectancy ⩽6 months admitted to a palliative home care service were included in this study.

Results:

The prevalence and incidence rates were 13.1% and 13.0%, respectively. The logistic regression models showed body mass index ( p < 0.001), Braden score at risk ( p < 0.001), Karnofsky Performance Scale index <30 ( p < 0.001), patients’ female gender, patients’ age >70 and >1 caregiver at home as the dichotomous variables predictors of presenting with a pressure ulcer at time of admission and during home palliative care.

Conclusion:

The notable pressure ulcers’ incidence and prevalence rates suggest the need to include this issue among the main outcomes to pursue during home palliative care. The accuracy of body mass index, Braden Scale and Karnofsky Performance Scale in predicting the pressure ulcers risk is confirmed. Therefore, they appear as essential tools, in combination with nurses’ clinical judgment, for a structured approach to pressure ulcers prevention. Further research is needed to explore the home caregivers’ characteristics and attitudes associated with the occurrence of pressure ulcers and the relations between their strategies for pressure ulcer prevention and gender-related patient’s needs.
Experimentally constrained circuit model of cortical arteriole networks for understanding flow redistribution due to occlusion and neural activation
Authors: Bollu Tejapratap , Cornelius Nathan R , Sunwoo John , Nishimura Nozomi , Schaffer Chris B , Doerschuk Peter C
Published: November 2017

Computations are described which estimate flows in all branches of the cortical surface arteriole network from two-photon excited fluorescence (2PEF) microscopy images which provide the network topology and, in selected branches red blood cell (RBC) speeds and lumen diameters. Validation is done by comparing the flow predicted by the model with experimentally measured flows and by comparing the predicted flow redistribution in the network due to single-vessel strokes with experimental observations. The model predicts that tissue is protected from RBC flow decreases caused by multiple occlusions of surface arterioles but not penetrating arterioles. The model can also be used to study flow rerouting due to vessel dilations and constrictions.
Hybridity, possibility: Degrees of marketization in tradeable permit systems
Authors: Bigger Patrick
Published: November 2017

Tradeable permit systems for allocating rights to impact the environment have become an important part of the regulatory toolkit over the last 35 years. Informed by elegant neoclassical economic thought, these regulatory markets promise lowest-cost environmental benefit by delegating decision-making to market participants. This article examines tradeable permits systems, including cap-and-trade carbon markets, tradeable water quality permits, and individual transferable quotas for fisheries, to understand the actual outcomes of attempts to transfer environmental governance to markets. Drawing on heterodox economic thought and the neoliberal natures literature, this article examines the institutional forms tradeable permit systems engender in conjunction with a neoclassical definition of ‘market’ to provide an internal critique of environmental marketization. In general, tradeable permit systems do not facilitate highly liquid financial markets that might signal the increasing importance of regulatory markets as an accumulation strategy for capital. Instead, market-based regulation tends to behave rather differently, acting as performance standards, quotas, or environmental taxes. The article concludes by reflecting on the political possibilities afforded by the recognition that regulatory markets, for the most part, bear little resemblance to high-flying financial markets.
The geographies of social finance: Poverty regulation through the ‘invisible heart’ of markets
Authors: Rosenman Emily
Published: November 2017

The global financial and anti-poverty industries are embracing an investment philosophy called social finance, which claims that private profit-making can create positive benefits for society. Attempting to resolve the problems of capitalism from within the system, social finance reframes finance as a force for engendering, rather than disrupting, the public good. This article argues that social finance raises theoretical concerns for geographical research on finance, poverty, and neoliberalizing capitalism. I outline a typology of social finance’s forms and propose a geographical research agenda, arguing that social finance practitioners’ simplistic framings of geography belie many other geographies that constitute what is both an emerging financial marketplace and a logic of poverty regulation.
Experimental and theoretical investigation of mixed mode I/III brittle fracture of U-notched polystyrene components
Authors: Torabi A.R. , Saboori Behnam
Published: November 2017

Brittle fracture of components made of the general-purpose polystyrene and weakened by an edge U-notch under combined tension/out-of-plane shear loading conditions (mixed mode I/III) has not been studied yet experimentally or theoretically. In this research, a recently developed loading fixture is employed for experimentally investigating the fracture of U-notched general-purpose polystyrene samples with various notch tip radii of 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mm when they are subjected to different combinations of tension/out-of-plane shear. The samples are fabricated with four different notch tip radii with the purpose of assessing the influence of this geometrical parameter. The experimental values of fracture load and out-of-plane fracture angle are theoretically predicted by the two stress-based criteria of point stress and mean stress lately extended to general loading case of mixed mode I/II/III. It is shown that both the point stress and mean stress criteria provide acceptable predictions to fracture behavior of U-notched general-purpose polystyrene specimens. The critical distances needed for the point stress and mean stress criteria are determined based on the experimental results of the U-notched samples tested under pure mode I loading. No meaningful difference is found between the fracture loads and fracture initiation angles predicted by the point stress and mean stress criteria. It is also observed that as the mode III contribution in the applied mixed mode I/III loading increases, a larger total external load is needed for the fracture of U-notched general-purpose polystyrene specimens to occur.
A learning object ontology repository to support annotation and discovery of educational resources using semantic thesauri
Authors: Koutsomitropoulos Dimitrios A. , Solomou Georgia D.
Published: November 2017

Open educational resources are currently becoming increasingly available from a multitude of sources and are consequently annotated in many diverse ways. Interoperability concerns that naturally arise can often be resolved through the semantification of metadata descriptions, while at the same time strengthening the knowledge value of resources. SKOS can be a solid linking point offering a standard vocabulary for thematic descriptions, by referencing semantic thesauri. We propose the enhancement and maintenance of educational resources’ metadata in the form of learning object ontologies and introduce the notion of a learning object ontology repository that can help towards their publication, discovery and reuse. At the same time, linking to thesauri datasets and contextualized sources interrelates learning objects with linked data and exposes them to the Web of Data. We build a set of extensions and workflows on top of contemporary ontology management tools, such as WebProtégé, that can make it suitable as a learning object ontology repository. The proposed approach and implementation can help libraries and universities in discovering, managing and incorporating open educational resources and enhancing current curricula.
Blood Is Thicker than Water
Authors: Vidacs Bea
Published: November 2017

The research took place in two time periods thirty years apart (in 1980–1981 under socialism and in 2009–2010 under the emerging market economy, following the regime change of 1989). It documents the shift from choosing godparents from a combination of relatives and nonrelatives to practically always relatives. After a brief literature review, the article discusses the place of godparenthood in the village in the 1980s, including how godparents were “recruited” and the introduction of the socialist, civil “name-giving ceremony.” Compadres acquired in the civil ceremony were treated similarly to those acquired through baptism, and the “name-giving” system was integrated into the overall system of godparenthood in terms of terminology, obligations, honors, and cooperation in rituals and labor exchange. The latter was an important part of village life: relatives, neighbors, and compadres participated roughly equally. It also contributed to the synergies developed between the production cooperative and peasant household production under socialism. Following 1989, the cooperative closed and labor opportunities declined; labor exchange was replaced by market relations in all aspects of life. The results of a questionnaire on choosing godparents show that the switch from unrelated friends to relatives as godparents was long in the making, slowed somewhat by the contrary trend under the oppressive political circumstances of the early 1950s, indicating that the villagers tried to cement their networks by choosing unrelated compadres. By now, as more and more people are leaving the village, they choose relatives exclusively as if to try to strengthen family ties in the face of modernization and globalization.
Risking Debt for Honor
Authors: Cash Jennifer R.
Published: November 2017

Research on godparenthood has traditionally emphasized its stabilizing effect on social structure. This article, however, focuses attention on how the practices and discourses associated with marital sponsorship in the Republic of Moldova ascribe value to the risks and uncertainties of social life. Moldova has experienced substantial economic, social, and political upheaval during the past two decades of postsocialism, following a longer period of Soviet-era modernization, secularization, and rural–urban migration. In this context, godparenthood has not contributed to the long-term stability of class structure or social relations, but people continue to seek honor and social respect by taking the social and economic risks involved in sponsoring new marriages.
Upskirting
Authors: McCann Wesley , Pedneault Amelie , Stohr Mary K. , Hemmens Craig
Published: November 2017

“Upskirting” or video voyeurism involves the use of video cameras in public spaces to record underneath women’s clothing. This activity became commonplace with the advent of cell phones cameras and other small video recording devices. A prior 2006 analysis of statutes aimed at criminalizing the practice of upskirting revealed that two thirds of the statutes require that a violation of privacy occurs before a crime has been committed. Some state courts have held that this was not a crime since there were no statute specifically prohibiting such behavior. This article examines state and federal statutes related to upskirting in an effort to determine how these laws have evolved in the 10 years since the original study.
Visual Invention and the Composition of Scientific Research Graphics: A Topological Approach
Authors: Walsh Lynda
Published: November 2017

This report details the second phase of an ongoing research project investigating the visual invention and composition processes of scientific researchers. In this phase, four academic researchers completed think-aloud protocols as they composed graphics for research presentations; they also answered follow-up questions about their visual education, pedagogy, genres of practice, and interactions with publics. Results are presented first as narratives and then as topologies—visualizations of the communal beliefs, values, and norms ( topoi) that connect the individual narratives to wider community practices. Results point toward an ecological model of visual invention and composition strategies in the crafting of research graphics. They also suggest that these strategies may be underrepresented in scientists’ education. More explicit attention to them may help improve STEM visual literacy for nonexperts.
Impact of a Home Hospice Visit Program on Third-Year Medical Students: A qualitative analysis of student reflections
Authors: Strano-Paul Lisa , Lane Susan , Lu Wei-Hsin , Chandran Latha
Published: November 2017

Aim

This study evaluates the impact of an interprofessional home hospice visit (HHV) on third-year medical students’ attitudes toward, and understanding of, end-of-life care and the visit's effect on students’ views of their emerging professional roles and identities.

Methods

All third-year medical students at Stony Brook School of Medicine in Stony Brook, New York, USA, participated in an HHV. A didactic session preceded the HHV. Subsequently, students were required to submit a piece of reflective writing detailing the impact of the visit. We conducted a qualitative analysis of a random sample drawn from the 467 submitted reflections.

Results

Six themes emerged from the student reflections: three were related to the students’ direct observations during the HHV, and three were related to the reflective learning of the students based on their HHV experience.

Conclusion

The qualitative analysis of the reflective writings showed that the students gained a deep appreciation of the human identity of hospice patients and a humanistic understanding of their own role as future physicians.
Development of a User-Friendly Graphic Tool to Estimate Individualized Survival Curves for Advanced Cancer Patients in Hospice Care
Authors: Chiang Jui-Kun , Koo Malcolm , Kao Yee-Hsin
Published: November 2017

This prospective study aimed to develop an individualized prognostic tool for predicting the survival probability at any given point for a hospice patient with advanced cancer. A total of 286 patients with advanced cancer were included in the study. Median observational time was 18 days (range: 1 to 60 days). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that faster heart rate (hazard ratio [HR]=1.01), jaundice (HR=2.32), poorer performance status (HR=2.01), and antifungal treatment (HR=1.62) were independent predictors of shorter survival time. Patients with infections who received aminoglycoside treatments (HR=0.45) were associated with longer survival times. Based on this model, we could construct a covariate-adjusted individualized survival curve for a given patient according to his or her clinical condition. This user-friendly tool for estimating the survival probability of patients with advanced cancer in hospice settings could facilitate clinical decision making and medical care planning.
Evaluation of the Utility of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (revised) Scale on a Tertiary Palliative Care Unit
Authors: Beddard-Huber Elizabeth , Jayaraman Jyothi , White Laura , Yeomans Wendy
Published: November 2017

Aim

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS-r) Scale on a tertiary palliative care unit.

Method

There were 92 admitted patients who participated in the study; the scale was administered to those able to participate on day 1 (n=35, 38 percent), on day 4 (n=20, 21 percent), and weekly. Patient comfort level with the ESAS-r tool was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) on day 4. Nurses’ and physicians’ perceptions of clinical assessment pre- and postimplementation of the scale were surveyed using a 5-point Likert scale.

Results

Of the participating physicians, 75 percent (n=3) found that the ESAS-r Scale did not enhance clinical assessment; the proportion of nurses with that response was 37.5 percent (n=6). Among these care providers, 50 percent of the physicians (n=2) and 62 percent of the nurses (n=10) thought that the scale was burdensome to patients; but 60 percent of the patients who were able to complete the comfort-level survey (n=12) indicated that they did not find the scale burdensome.

Conclusion

Patient acuity, team expertise, perceived burden to patients, and time commitment all influenced staff's recommendation not to implement the ESAS-r tool on the palliative care unit.
Barriers to, and Facilitators of Physical Activity in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer: An exploratory study
Authors: Mas Sébastien , Quantin Xavier , Ninot Grégory
Published: November 2017

Aim

Physical activity (PA) has a positive effect on the cardiorespiratory fitness, lung cancer symptoms, and quality of life of lung cancer patients. The aim of our study was to identify barriers to, and facilitators of PA in lung cancer patients.

Methods

We collected data from five patients diagnosed with primary, advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were receiving chemotherapy. Choosing a qualitative approach, we conducted an exploratory analysis using the thematic analysis technique to process the data.

Results

Seven barriers to, and facilitators of PA were identified and grouped into four categories. We found that psychological and social factors affect patients’ willingness and ability to engage in PA, while physiological and environmental factors have an impact on the duration, intensity, and regularity of their PA.

Conclusion

Our study highlighted some of the effects that the barriers to PA have on the practice of it in our patient group. Our findings may be used by professionals to design adapted PA programs.
Evidence-Based Palliative Care 13 Years On: Has anything changed?
Authors: Kindl Korana , Good Phillip
Published: November 2017

There is a paucity of data on whether interventions in individual palliative care units are evidence-based. Thirteen years ago an initial study evaluated the evidence base of interventions in palliative care. Using similar methodology in the present study, we evaluated the evidence for interventions performed in an inpatient palliative care setting, looking at level of evidence as well as quality and outcome of evidence. More than half of all the interventions (47 interventions, 59 percent) we looked at in a Brisbane, Australia, inpatient palliative care setting were based on a high level of evidence in the form of systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (level I or level II). There were only a few interventions (10 percent) for which no evidence could be retrieved. Our results show that the evidence base for interventions in palliative care continues to evolve, but that there are still areas for which further high-quality studies are needed.
Palliative Medicine—Becoming a Subspecialty of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Authors: Pilkey Jana , Downar James , Dudgeon Deborah , Herx Leonie , Oneschuk Doreen , Schroder Cori , Schulz Valerie
Published: November 2017

The discipline of palliative medicine in Canada started in 1975 with the coining of the term “palliative care.” Shortly thereafter, the provision of clinical palliative medicine services started, although the education of the discipline lagged behind. In 1993, the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (CSPCP) started to explore the option of creating an accredited training program in palliative medicine. This article outlines the process by which, over the course of 20 years, palliative medicine training in Canada went from a mission statement of the CSPCP, to a 1 year of added competence jointly accredited by both the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada, to a 2-year subspecialty of the Royal College with access from multiple entry routes and a formalized accrediting examination.
Transgenerational Inheritance of Familial Lipomyelomeningocele
Authors: Larrew Thomas , Eskandari Ramin , Holden Kenton R. , Chen Amy , Spellicy Catherine J. , Jones Julie R. , Lee Jennifer A. , Lyons Michael J.
Published: November 2017

Lipomyelomeningocele is a type of neural tube defect characterized by lipomatous tissue causing a defect in the vertebrae, infiltrating the dura, and tethering the spinal cord. Despite significant neurologic consequences, the underlying etiology remains poorly understood. We present a father and son with remarkably similar presentations of lipomyelomeningocele. Genetic testing did not reveal an underlying cause but whole exome sequencing identified variants in the ARHGAP29 and RADIL genes in the proband and his affected father. Genetic analyses of asymptomatic family members revealed several carriers of the ARHGAP29 or RADIL variants, but only the proband and his father carried both variants, suggesting a possible shared genetic mechanism. Rare cases of siblings affected with lipomyelomeningocele have suggested the possibility of autosomal recessive or germline mosaicism. We present the first documented cases of transgenerational lipomyelomeningocele with important implications for family counseling about the recurrence of lipomyelomeningocele.
A Case of KCNQ2-Associated Movement Disorder Triggered by Fever
Authors: Dhamija Radhika , Goodkin Howard P. , Bailey Russell , Chambers Chelsea , Brenton J. Nicholas
Published: November 2017

The differential diagnosis of fever-induced movement disorders in childhood is broad. Whole exome sequencing has yielded new insights into those cases with a suspected genetic basis. We report the case of an 8-year-old boy with a history of neonatal seizures who presented with near-continuous hyperkinetic movements of his limbs during a febrile illness. Initial diagnostic testing did not explain his abnormalities; however, given the suspicion for a channelopathy, whole exome sequencing was performed and it demonstrated a de novo pathogenic heterozygous variant in KCNQ2. There is an expanding phenotypic spectrum of heterozygous alterations in KCNQ2; however, this report provides the first description of a pathogenic KCNQ2 variant fever-induced hyperkinetic movement disorder in childhood. We also review the literature of cases previously published with the same pathogenic variant.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Epilepsy and Primary ADHD: Differences in Symptom Dimensions and Quality of Life
Authors: Ekinci Ozalp , Okuyaz Çetin , Erdoğan Semra , Gunes Serkan , Ekinci Nuran , Kalınlı Merve , Teke Halenur , Direk Meltem Çobanoğulları
Published: November 2017

Purpose:

We aimed to (1) compare quality of life (QOL) among children with epilepsy, epilepsy and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and primary ADHD and (2) compare ADHD symptom dimensions and subtypes between children with epilepsy-ADHD and primary ADHD.

Methods:

A total of 140 children; 53 with epilepsy, 35 with epilepsy-ADHD, and 52 with primary ADHD were included. KINDL-R (quality of life measure), Turgay DSM-IV Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale (T-DSM-IV-S), and Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) were completed. Neurology clinic charts were reviewed for epilepsy-related variables.

Results:

Children with epilepsy-ADHD had the lowest (poorest) KINDL-R total scores. Epilepsy-ADHD group had more inattentiveness symptoms, whereas primary ADHD group had more hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms. The frequencies of ADHD combined and inattentiveness subtypes were 60% and 40% in children with epilepsy-ADHD and 80.7% and 19.3% in children with primary ADHD, respectively ( P = .034).

Conclusion:

ADHD in epilepsy is associated with a significantly poor quality of life and predominantly inattentiveness symptoms.