bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leviathans Restrained: International Politics for Artificial Persons
Authors: Forcehimes Andrew T.
Published: October 2015

This essay challenges the analogy argument. The analogy argument aims to show that the international domain satisfies the conditions of a Hobbesian state of nature: There fails to be a super-sovereign to keep all in awe, and hence, like persons in the state of nature, sovereigns are in a war every sovereign against every sovereign. By turning to Hobbes’ account of authorization, however, we see that subjects are under no obligation to obey a sovereign’s commands when doing so would contradict the very end that motivated the authorization of the sovereign in the first place. There is thus an important disanalogy between natural and artificial persons, and this accordingly produces different reactions to the state of nature.
Trauma: The Impact of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Authors: Davidson J. R. T.
Published: October 2015

Trauma has an enormous impact on both individuals and society as a whole. Recognition of the extent of this impact by the medical profession has been relatively slow but, with our growing appreciation of the prevalence of trauma exposure in civilian as well as combat populations, the true scale of trauma-related psychiatric consequences is beginning to emerge. It has been reported that more than 60% of men and 51% of women experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetimes. Of these, 8% and 20%, respectively, fall victim to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) indicating that more women are at risk for developing PTSD. Individuals experience severe psychiatric stress that is compounded by significant comorbid illness. This impacts critically upon quality of life resulting in grave functional and emotional impairment. In addition, there is a detrimental cost to society with high financial and social consequences from the significantly elevated rates of hospitalization, suicide attempts and alcohol abuse.
Optimization of working parameters on wear behaviour of the sinter-forged plain carbon steel
Authors: Kandavel TK , Sravanesh R , Karthikeyan P
Published: October 2015

Powder metallurgy plain carbon steel (Fe–0.5% C) replaces gradually the conventional C45 steel in all industrial sectors due to its comparable strength and better metallurgical properties. This research investigates the influence of density/porosity of powder metallurgy plain carbon steel on wear characteristics and optimizes the wear working parameters to establish minimum wear loss and coefficient of friction during wear using Taguchi-grey relational optimization analysis. The sintered steel preforms were subjected to uni-axial compressive load (cold upset) to obtain various percentage theoretical densities. The wear test specimens made out of various densities of the sinter-forged plain carbon steel were used to conduct wear tests as per the test plan generated by the Design Expert software. The optical and scanning electron microscope images taken from the worn test specimens were used for the investigations of wear mechanisms of the alloy steel. It is observed from the wear test results that the porosity in the powder metallurgy plain carbon steel has a vital role in wear properties of the steel. It has also been found that the optimized working parameters such as speed and load are found as same irrespective of the densities of the plain carbon steel.
Psychiatric Prescribers’ Experiences With Doctor Shoppers
Authors: Worley Julie , Johnson Mary , Karnik Niranjan
Published: October 2015

Doctor shopping is a primary method of prescription medication diversion. After opioids, benzodiazepines and stimulants are the next most common prescription medications used nonmedically. Studies have shown that patients who engage in doctor shopping find it fun, exciting, and easy to do. There is a lack of research on the prescriber’s perspective on the phenomenon of doctor shopping. This study investigates the experiences of prescribers in psychiatry with patients who engage in doctor shopping. Fifteen prescribers including psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners working in outpatient psychiatry were interviewed to elicit detailed information about their experiences with patients who engage in doctor shopping. Themes found throughout the interview were that psychiatric prescribers’ experience with patients who engage in doctor shopping includes (a) detecting red flags, (b) negative emotional responding, (c) addressing the patient and the problem, and (d) inconsistently implementing precautions. When red flags were detected when prescribing controlled drugs, prescribers in psychiatry experienced both their own negative emotional responses such as disappointment and resentment as well as the negative emotions of the patients such as anger and other extreme emotional responses. Psychiatric prescribers responded to patient’s doctor shopping in a variety of ways such as changing their practice, discharging the patients or taking steps to not accept certain patients identified as being at risk for doctor shopping, as well as by talking to the patient and trying to offer them help. Despite experiencing doctor shopping, the prescribers inconsistently implemented precautionary measures such as checking prescription drug monitoring programs.
Developing Theory to Guide Building Practitioners’ Capacity to Implement Evidence-Based Interventions
Authors: Leeman Jennifer , Calancie Larissa , Kegler Michelle C. , Escoffery Cam T. , Herrmann Alison K. , Thatcher Esther , Hartman Marieke A. , Fernandez Maria E.
Published: October 2015

Public health and other community-based practitioners have access to a growing number of evidence-based interventions (EBIs), and yet EBIs continue to be underused. One reason for this underuse is that practitioners often lack the capacity (knowledge, skills, and motivation) to select, adapt, and implement EBIs. Training, technical assistance, and other capacity-building strategies can be effective at increasing EBI adoption and implementation. However, little is known about how to design capacity-building strategies or tailor them to differences in capacity required across varying EBIs and practice contexts. To address this need, we conducted a scoping study of frameworks and theories detailing variations in EBIs or practice contexts and how to tailor capacity-building to address those variations. Using an iterative process, we consolidated constructs and propositions across 24 frameworks and developed a beginning theory to describe salient variations in EBIs (complexity and uncertainty) and practice contexts (decision-making structure, general capacity to innovate, resource and values fit with EBI, and unity vs. polarization of stakeholder support). The theory also includes propositions for tailoring capacity-building strategies to address salient variations. To have wide-reaching and lasting impact, the dissemination of EBIs needs to be coupled with strategies that build practitioners’ capacity to adopt and implement a variety of EBIs across diverse practice contexts.
Epiphenomenology of the closet: Feeling and fashioning sexuality in everyday life
Authors: Davis Alexander K
Published: October 2015

Clothing is an essential means through which social actors construct, perform, and negotiate their sexualities in their everyday lives. Existing research about dress and sexual performance suggests that social actors carefully balance institutional demands, their sexual identities, and their erotic desires when determining what to wear. Yet broader theories of culture and cognition point out that the majority of everyday social action is much more rapid and automatic than cautiously and deliberately considered. How can these accounts be reconciled? Drawing from interviews with young adults comprising a variety of sexual identities about the contents of their closets, I find that my respondents are sometimes strategic about how they present their sexual identities and desires with their clothes. But much more often, they articulate connections between emotions and temporalities: how particular items have made them feel in the past, how they expect certain outfits will make them feel in the future, and what sorts of feelings emerge when they wear clothing in the present. Moreover, they link those affective understandings to specific recollections of face-to-face interaction. Their memories of previous interactions drive their anticipations about future face-to-face interactions, and those same memories further imbue particular articles of clothing with an emotional charge that innervates affective states for them in the present moment. Thus, I argue that the intersection of emotion, interaction, and temporality crucially informs how social actors use their clothing to manage their sexualities, and more importantly, how they experience their sexual desires and identities in the first place.
The Impact of Integrated Maneuver Guidance Information on UAS Pilots Performing the Detect and Avoid Task
Authors: Rorie R. Conrad , Fern Lisa
Published: October 2015

Nine active unmanned aircraft system (UAS) pilots were tasked with flying a simulated UAS in civil airspace and instructed to maintain safe separation (i.e., well clear) from surrounding traffic. Pilots’ task of maintaining separation (referred to here as ‘Detect-and-Avoid’, or DAA) was facilitated by four different traffic displays, each differing in the level of maneuver guidance they presented to the pilot. Pilots were found to spend the least amount of time implementing a maneuver when provided with an integrated form of directive guidance, but were found to subjectively prefer a maneuver guidance tool that allowed them to test self-derived maneuver options and then receive feedback as to that option’s predicted safety level. The results of this study are related back to previous research and to the task of identifying the minimum information requirements for UAS pilots performing the DAA task. Limitations and future research are also discussed.
Effects of Delayed Radar Information on Distance Estimation
Authors: Hua Lesheng , Ling Chen , Thomas Rickey
Published: October 2015

Data-linked radar images can be delayed and more than 14 minutes old by the time they reach the cockpit for use by pilots (Elgin & Thomas, 2004; Novacek et al., 2001; Yuchnovicz et al., 2001). Unfortunately, pilots may not be fully aware of the delay (Yuchnovicz etc., 2001) and that it may adversely affect their decision-making and cause fatal accidents (Chamberlain and Latorella, 2001; NTSB, 2011). This study evaluated the effects of the amount of time delay (short, medium or long), movement speed of storm cells (slow, medium, of fast), and display format (animation or static) on the pilot’s distance estimation accuracy. 31 student pilots and pilots completed the task of current proximity estimation to the storm cells. As expected, delayed radar information affected the pilots’ proximity estimation and deteriorated their weather situation awareness. The participants routinely underestimated the current distance. When the time delay was long or the storm movement was fast, the proximity estimation was more accurate. Interaction effects existed between the amount of delay and display types. This could be due to use of perceptual cues on the display to support proximity estimation. Pilots were observed to take a conservative approach in face of uncertainty caused by delay.
A Pilot Study for Investigating Factors That Affect Cognitive Load in the Conceptual Design Process
Authors: Sun Ganyun , Yao Shengji , Carretero Juan A.
Published: October 2015

Previous studies have observed that cognitive overload has a negative impact on idea generation. However, the effect of cognitive load on idea generation has not been well studied. As the first step of addressing this issue, the present study is a pilot investigation of the factors that affect cognitive load in the conceptual design process. The factors include task characteristics and subject characteristics, such as the level of task difficulty, the level of expertise, cognitive style, and motivation. The relation between the factors and cognitive load was examined, and suggestions for future work were made. The results are expected to clarify the construct of cognitive load and provide suggestions on managing cognitive load during the conceptual design process.
Artificial Intelligence and Human Teams
Authors: Jones Rashaad E.T.
Published: October 2015

The research presented in this paper examined the impacts decision-aids have on team decision-making. To conduct this examination, the research first developed the NeoCITIES simulation, an emergency crisis game that requires human users to defend a city against terrorism by working in teams and making resource allocation decisions. Second, the research developed Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) models for each team that facilitate human users in their decision-making tasks. The study measured if the presence of AI support improved resource allocation decisions made by the teams during the game. Experimental sessions were conducted with undergraduate students enrolled at a large northeastern university. Quantitative data that assessed team performance and qualitative data that assessed team mental model alignment were collected and analyzed. The research findings suggested that the decision-aids may have had a negative influence on teams. These findings could provide insight on how to implement decision- aids to better support human teams.
A Cognitive Systems Engineering Evaluation of a Tool to Aid Imagery Analysts
Authors: McDermott Patricia L. , Ries Anthony J. , Plott Beth , Touryan Jonathan , Barnes Michael , Schweitzer Kristin
Published: October 2015

A cognitive systems engineering evaluation of an imagery analysis system was conducted to capture baseline performance and workload and compare it to performance with advanced filtering capabilities. Experienced Imagery Analysts searched for and annotated targets of interest in full-motion video in Army- relevant scenarios. Measures of performance included percent of primary targets found, time to find primary target, total targets found, and interactions with the system (via mouse clicks). Performance metrics were augmented with continuous physiological and behavioral measurements in order to capture more accurate cognitive state fluctuations during human-system interaction. The findings suggest that in time-pressured situations, analysts were able to identify more targets with the advanced filter capabilities than in the baseline condition. The findings were used to suggest specific design changes to address workflow deficiencies. The study also developed and implemented a multi-aspect approach to estimate operator functional state during system evaluation.
The Discipline of Innovation
Authors: Pacione Chris
Published: October 2015

As design and engineering professionals you are no-doubt familiar with lots of tools and techniques that you can employ in your work like task analysis and usability testing. But did you realize there are over 900 design and innovation methods at your disposal? But which ones are worth mastering and incorporating into your daily work? Are there methods that are more indispensable and better suited for today’s design and business challenges?

CEO and Co-Founder of LUMA Institute, Chris Pacione, will discuss the research he and his team conducted on design methodology and a new framework that emerged from this research called “A Taxonomy of Innovation”. He will share what they learned and then facilitate a quick hands-on workshop designed to highlight some specific ways of leveraging these methods to deliver more useful, usable and desirable solutions, more often.
Calibrating a Contrast-Sensitivity Test Chart for Validating Visual Representations
Authors: Ayres Thomas J , Kubose Tate
Published: October 2015

Because of differences between how a human and a camera (or digital recording system) acquire and process information, a representation (e.g., a photograph) of a scene may vary in how accurately it portrays what a human would perceive, particularly at low illumination levels. Ayres (1996) described a methodology by which a representation can be matched to observations made at the scene. Central to this process is the utilization of a reference chart to validate the representation. The efficacy of the original chart has been documented empirically; however, its utility can be restricted under certain lighting and viewing conditions. The current paper introduces and tests new reference charts designed to offer a wider range of applicability and with finer gradations of contrast. The new charts were found to be useful at illumination levels ranging from approximately 0.05 to 10.0 footcandles. Potential applications for the charts, including forensic purposes, are discussed.
Tactile Interfaces for Dismounted Soldiers
Authors: Katzman Nuphar , Oron-Gilad Tal , Salzer Yael
Published: October 2015

In military operational environments, an overflow of information along with rapidly changing conditions has the potential to reduce soldiers’ performance and mission success. Performance has been improved by technologies that make use of integrated means of information transfer, but there remains an increase in commanders’ workload and information processing demands. Most of the communication between commanders and their soldiers is handled by audio and visual devices. Less common is the use of tactile interfaces. The tactile modality allows a fast, intuitive, secured, and silent channel of communication. The main goal of the current study was to determine soldiers’ requirements and needs and based on those establish the characteristics of an experimental infrastructure for future experiments to test the efficiency of tactile interfaces in operational settings. To this end, questionnaires were distributed among infantry officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Analysis of the collected data provided insights into soldiers’ view of the tactile display usage in the battlefield. The results of this study lay the foundations for further research and development of an effective tactile channel to be used by soldiers in operational environments.
Measurement of Mental Workload Changes during Laparoscopy with a Visual-Spatial Task
Authors: Warvel Levi , Scerbo Mark W.
Published: October 2015

A visual-spatial secondary task was used as a measure of mental workload during the performance of a simulated laparoscopic surgical task. Task demands were manipulated by an increase in the degree of camera angle. NASA-TLX scores were used to corroborate changes in task demands. Results indicated that performance on the visual-spatial secondary task decreased with the increase in task demands associated with the increase in camera angle. NASA-TLX scores were consistent with the performance measures revealing that participants felt the laparoscopic task was more demanding when camera angle increased. The use of similar workload assessment methods may allow for more accurate estimates of the mental demands imposed by laparoscopy. These results show that the spatial secondary task used in this study can provide an objective index of mental workload that can complement traditional measures.
Mental and Physical Workloads in a Competitive Laparoscopic Skills Training Environment
Authors: Yu Denny , Abdelrahman Amro M. , Buckarma EeeLN H. , Lowndes Bethany R. , Gas Becca L. , Finnesgard Eric J. , Abdelsattar Jad M. , Pandian T.K. , El Khatib Moustafa , Farley David R. , Hallbeck Susan
Published: October 2015

Surgical trainees undergo demanding training to achieve high surgical task proficiency. Abounding clinical and educational responsibilities mandate efficient and effective training. This research measured resident workload during laparoscopic skills training to identify excessive workload and how workload impacted task performance. Twenty-eight surgical trainees performed a standardized surgical training task and completed a workload questionnaire while observers measured physiological stress, posture risk assessment, and task performance. Participants self-reported mental demands, physical demands, temporal demands, performance, effort, and frustration. Effort (12±4) and frustration (12±5) were the highest subscales while physical demand (8±4) was the lowest. All participants were observed performing the task in at-risk postures, with 21% exhibiting risk levels requiring immediate intervention. Physical demand was associated with posture risk assessment scores (p<0.05). Mental demand was positively (R2=0.20, p<0.05) and frustration was negatively (R2=0.18, p<0.05) associated with skin conductance range. A point increase in physical demand was associated with a six second increase in performance time (β=6.0, p=0.01). These results support the fact that human factors and ergonomic tools can be used to relate surgical skills performance with workload, stress, and posture risks.
Team Task Switching
Authors: McDonald Joseph D. , DeChurch Leslie A. , Asencio Raquel , Carter Dorothy R. , Mesmer-Magnus Jessica R. , Contractor Noshir S.
Published: October 2015

Modern work environments are technologically and socially rich, requiring individuals to manage multiple tasks that involve different technologies and varying degrees of interdependence. Individual and team performance hinge on functional work shifts that can involve changing tasks (multi-tasking), technologies (multi-tooling), and/or teammates (multi-teaming). We extend research on task switching to explain how the social and technological dimensions of tasks affect switch costs. The task switching literature identifies lateral shifts that occur when individuals change tasks. We also consider vertical switches that occur when individuals change from independent (i.e., working alone) to interdependent work (i.e., as part of a team) or from interdependent to independent work. We then integrate personological, social, task, and technological factors into one conceptual framework. Our framework lays the groundwork for understanding the effect of functional work shifts on task and team performance in modern-day work environments.
Lessons learned in adapting a lab-based measure of working memory capacity for the web
Authors: Leidheiser William , Branyon Jessica , Baldwin Natalee , Pak Richard , McLaughlin Anne
Published: October 2015

The purpose of this project was to document the challenges in adapting a measure of complex working memory span for delivery over the web. Automated operation span (AOSPAN; Unsworth, Heitz, Schrock, & Engle, 2005) is one of the most widely used tests for measuring working memory capacity. However, AOSPAN is a computer-based test that runs locally and thus is only suitable for lab-based studies. We have recently created a web-based version of AOSPAN that runs on a much wider variety of platforms (e.g., mobile phones and tablets). Conclusions and recommendations are applicable to researchers who are thinking of conducting studies online and developing web-based measures of which are traditionally used in the laboratory.
Investigating Benefits of Likelihood Alarm Systems in Presence of Alarm Validity Information
Authors: Wiczorek Rebecca , Balaud Magali , Manzey Dietrich
Published: October 2015

Providing operators additional information helping them to validate alarms has been found to be a countermeasure for problems related to the cry wolf effect (i.e., operators ignoring alarms). Adding information can be realized with likelihood alarm systems (LAS) or with access to alarm validity information (AVI). The two studies presented here examined behavior and performance consequences of the combination of LAS and AVI in multi-task settings. It was investigated to what extent concurrent task performance and alert task performance depend on characteristics of the LAS (i.e. proportion of different alert types) and cost of cross-checking AVI. Results suggest that those LAS characteristics varied here do not influence participants’ performance. Secondly, no benefit of LAS over binary alarm systems (BAS) emerged when increasing the cost of accessing AVI. Results are further discussed with regard to participants’ response patterns.
Dismounted Soldier System Considerations – User Feedback from Three Field Studies with Two Variants of a Hand-Held GPS Support System
Authors: Svensson Jonathan , Johansson Björn J.E. , Oskarsson Per-Anders , Hellgren Charlotte
Published: October 2015

Dismounted soldier systems (DSS) are developed for armed forces around the world, and several usability issues need to be considered. Feedback from soldiers after field studies provides critical insight into user needs, problems and possibilities, guiding the development towards efficient future DSS design and recommendations for procurement. Three field studies were performed with armed forces personnel, using two variants of a GPS system as a DSS. Feedback was collected in the form of questionnaire answers and focus group discussions. Most soldiers agreed upon large benefits of a DSS for platoon and squad leaders, but found it unnecessary for individual soldiers. Benefits of a DSS with evolved functions for navigation and battlefield spatial awareness were mentioned in all studies. Major concerns were battery life, information security, light emission when used in darkness, compatibility with other systems, developing tactics, and the need for sufficient training.
Behavioral Economics Methods
Authors: Zaltzman Jay , Leafe Abby
Published: October 2015

As part of PDTG’s annual invited guest series, two market researchers have been invited to talk. Jay Zaltzman and Abby Leafe’s presentation will demonstrate specific qualitative market research techniques that can help human factors researchers obtain greater value from the research they are currently conducting.
Fixing Flaws in Engineering Anthropometry, Ears and All
Authors: Roebuck John A.
Published: October 2015

This document reports on four years of work on improvements in documentation of anthropometry involving human ears and the whole body. The results have led to several new concepts for enhancing dimension titles, titles and abbreviations for landmarks and other origins and terminations and codes for constraints of paths between them. Included are recommendations for improved text descriptions, new formats, labels and view planes for illustrations and improved data tables. These approaches are intended to fix frequently found errors and vaguely defined aspects of anthropometry as previously practiced for developing engineering design requirements and for planning plastic surgery. The goal has been to create crisply clear, accurate documents. The fixes are based on ergonomic principles and successful methods from aerospace engineering, chemistry and business accounting, combined into an integrated system. Development of the system is traced through a series of documents, including bibliographies, guidelines for recommended common terminology and illustration formats, illustrated dictionaries, translations, trial applications, and a history of errors and other problems uncovered in surveys spanning more than a hundred years. The process has inspired breakthrough concepts for ear anthropometry reference planes and for extensions of concepts for point landmarks into formal titles and abbreviations for reference planes and surfaces. The system will be exemplified in two statistical databases now in work that will demonstrate many improvements applicable to whole-body anthropometry, though they are focused on human ear dimensions. These data bases were compiled from reports on surveys of more national populations than have previously been available in one document. One will be limited to as-published documents related primarily to plastic surgery planning and client consultation. The other will include many newly derived and estimated dimensions to benefit digital modeling and ergonomic design of ear-related devices.
A Survey of Expert Elicitation Practices for Probabilistic Risk Assessment
Authors: Boring Ronald Laurids
Published: October 2015

Risk and reliability analyses of human errors or hardware failures sometimes need to enlist expert opinion in areas for which adequate human performance or hardware operational data are not available. Experts enlisted in this capacity provide probabilistic estimates of reliability, typically comprised of a measure of central tendency and uncertainty bounds. Formal guidelines for expert elicitation are readily available, but the methods are often time-consuming and costly to implement. This paper reports the first phase of a research effort to combine disparate formal methods of expert elicitation into a streamlined method. Fourteen reliability analysts were interviewed to identify current practices in expert elicitation.
The Angle of Inclination of Extension Ladders
Authors: Knox Erick H. , Van Bree Michael P.
Published: October 2015

For extension ladders and other non-self supporting ladders, setting the angle of inclination of the ladder is a critical step in the set up process. The angle of the ladder influences: 1) the potential for a ladder to slide out at the base, 2) the overall strength of the system, and 3) the biomechanics of the climber/user on the ladder. A field study was conducted where over 120 real world ladder installations were documented, including angle of inclination, site conditions, and use. The average angle of inclination in the field study was 67.7 ± 4.9 degrees. Research was further conducted to assess the effectiveness of existing ladder labels for setting the ladder at the instructed 75.5 degree angle of inclination. 45 participants set up extension ladders following the “anthropometric” label (appendices of current ANSI A14 ladder safety standards), and/or the backward “L” label (historic ANSI A14 label). The average set up angle for the “anthropometric” label was 74.1 ± 3.2 degrees. This is consistent with calculations of the expected angle of inclination using anthropometric data. The calculated angles ranged from 74.9 to 75.2 degrees. The average angle of inclination for the backward “L” label was 72.7 ± 2.7 degrees. These results indicate that the current “anthropometric” label resulted in a set up angle consistent with anthropometric calculations and significantly higher than documented in real world ladder use.
Improving Maritime Distress Signals
Authors: Rothblum Anita M. , Reubelt Vincent A. , Lewandowski M. J.
Published: October 2015

Pyrotechnic flares are the traditional maritime distress signals. But flares can injure users, and they contain environmentally-hazardous materials. The U.S. Coast Guard is looking for an alternative to flares. This paper summarizes a series of experiments to determine the characteristics of conspicuous distress signals. It provides four take-aways to improve visual distress signal design.
Integration of innate into adaptive immune responses in ZAP-70–positive chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Wagner Michaela , Oelsner Madlen , Moore Andrew , Götte Frederik , Kuhn Peer-Hendrik , Haferlach Torsten , Fiegl Michael , Bogner Christian , Baxter E. Joanna , Peschel Christian , Follows George A. , Ringshausen Ingo
Published: October 2015

Key Points

Activation of innate immune receptors induces an antiapoptotic signal and proliferation in ZAP-70–positive CLL dependent on Syk activation. TLR9 activation autonomously induces BCR signaling in ZAP-70–positive CLL based on an auto/paracrine feedback loop involving immunoglobulin M.
An emerging role for prdm family genes in dorsoventral patterning of the vertebrate nervous system
Authors: Zannino Denise A. , Sagerström Charles G.
Published: October 2015

The embryonic vertebrate neural tube is divided along its dorsoventral (DV) axis into eleven molecularly discrete progenitor domains. Each of these domains gives rise to distinct neuronal cell types; the ventral-most six domains contribute to motor circuits, while the five dorsal domains contribute to sensory circuits. Following the initial neurogenesis step, these domains also generate glial cell types—either astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. This DV pattern is initiated by two morphogens—Sonic Hedgehog released from notochord and floor plate and Bone Morphogenetic Protein produced in the roof plate—that act in concentration gradients to induce expression of genes along the DV axis. Subsequently, these DV-restricted genes cooperate to define progenitor domains and to control neuronal cell fate specification and differentiation in each domain. Many genes involved in this process have been identified, but significant gaps remain in our understanding of the underlying genetic program. Here we review recent work identifying members of the Prdm gene family as novel regulators of DV patterning in the neural tube. Many Prdm proteins regulate transcription by controlling histone modifications (either via intrinsic histone methyltransferase activity, or by recruiting histone modifying enzymes). Prdm genes are expressed in spatially restricted domains along the DV axis of the neural tube and play important roles in the specification of progenitor domains, as well as in the subsequent differentiation of motor neurons and various types of interneurons. Strikingly, Prdm proteins appear to function by binding to, and modulating the activity of, other transcription factors (particularly bHLH proteins). The identity of key transcription factors in DV patterning of the neural tube has been elucidated previously (e.g. the nkx, bHLH and pax families), but it now appears that an additional family is also required and that it acts in a potentially novel manner.
Russian migrants to Russia: assimilation and local labor market effects
Authors: Lazareva Olga
Published: October 2015

As a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, five million Russian and Russian-speaking people repatriated to Russia during 1990–2002. I use this natural experiment to study labor market assimilation of migrants and their effect on the employment and wages of the local population. I show that male immigrants were fully integrated into the labor market, while female immigrants faced significant wage and employment gaps upon arrival, and their assimilation was slow. Using an IV strategy to account for the endogenous choice of location, I find a negative effect of the inflows of immigrants on the local population’s employment but not on wages. The initial displacement effects are particularly large for men, but they disappear after about ten years after the peak of migration wave.
Active Off-Road Seat Suspension System Using Intelligent Active Force Control
Authors: Gohari Mohammad , Tahmasebi Mona
Published: October 2015

Transmitted vibration from vehicles to driver body generates some problems in the long term. Passive and active seat suspensions are used in heavy duty vehicles to reduce unwanted vibration and prevent health problems due to oscillation. Seat suspension must minimize the driver's body displacement and acceleration to increase riding convenience. Active force control (AFC) method is a new technique which is used in active controllers and makes them more accurate. Therefore, this work represents the possibility of applying AFC strategy for an active seat suspension control to increase its robustness. An AFC-based scheme is designed and simulated in MATLAB software. In addition, artificial neural network (ANN) is integrated into the AFC loop to approximate estimated mass of the seat and human body for the proposed controller. The training of ANN with multi-layer feedforward structure is carried out using Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm. To evaluate the neuro-AFC control system robustness, the seat is subjected to various types of disturbances. The results of the present study illustrate that the neuro-AFC technique is computationally simple and efficient compared to the classic proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller in suppressing undesired vibration of heavy duty vehicles' seat. The neuro-AFC scheme is found to demonstrate superior performance for various road profiles compared to pure PID controller, and it can be successfully utilized in heavy duty vehicles such as industrial and agricultural tractors.
Conservation in the face of climate change: recent developments
Authors: Lawler Joshua , Watson James , Game Edward
Published: October 2015

An increased understanding of the current and potential future impacts of climate change has significantly influenced conservation in practice in recent years. Climate change has necessitated a shift toward longer planning time horizons, moving baselines, and evolving conservation goals and targets. This shift has resulted in new perspectives on, and changes in, the basic approaches practitioners use to conserve biodiversity. Restoration, spatial planning and reserve selection, connectivity modelling, extinction risk assessment, and species translocations have all been reimagined in the face of climate change. Restoration is being conducted with a new acceptance of uncertainty and an understanding that goals will need to shift through time. New conservation targets, such as geophysical settings and climatic refugia, are being incorporated into conservation plans. Risk assessments have begun to consider the potentially synergistic impacts of climate change and other threats. Assisted colonization has gained acceptance in recent years as a viable and necessary conservation tool. This evolution has paralleled a larger trend in conservation—a shift toward conservation actions that benefit both people and nature. As we look forward, it is clear that more change is on the horizon. To protect biodiversity and essential ecosystem services, conservation will need to anticipate the human response to climate change and to focus not only on resistance and resilience but on transitions to new states and new ecosystems.
Phylogeny and taxonomy of Archilejeunea (Marchantiophyta: Lejeuneaceae) based on molecular markers and morphology
Authors: Shi Xue-Qin , Gradstein S. Robbert , Zhu Rui-Liang
Published: October 2015

Archilejeunea, a pantropical liverwort genus of about 22 species, has not been revised worldwide and recent phylogenetic study showed that the genus is not monophyletic. We addressed phylogenetic relationships of Archilejeunea by using nuclear (ITS) and chloroplast (rbcL, trnL‐F) DNA regions. Bayesian, likelihood and parsimony phylogenetic analyses of a broad sampling of the group resolved the species in three robust clades, which are morphologically distinct. Based on our molecular phylogenetic results, we split Archilejeunea into two distantly related genera, Archilejeunea s. str. with six species and Dibrachiella stat. nov. with nine species. Both groups have tropical Afro‐American distributions but the range of Archilejeunea is much more restricted than that of Dibrachiella. Archilejeunea is sister to Verdoornianthus from Amazonia and Dibrachiella is member of a clade together with the paleotropical Ptychanthus and Tuzibeanthus, and the pantropical Spruceanthus. Five species previously placed in Archilejeunea (A. abbreviata, A. amakawana, A. kiushiana, A. olivacea, A. planiuscula) are resolved in Spruceanthus, which is morphologically very similar to Dibrachiella. Fifteen new combinations and one replacement name are proposed. Ancestral state reconstruction showed that morphological characters traditionally used to define genera of Ptychanthoideae are highly homoplasious. Spruceanthus differs from Dibrachiella in possessing homogeneous oil bodies.
Lectotypification and combination of Festuca apennina (Poaceae)
Authors: Ardenghi Nicola M.G. , Foggi Bruno
Published: October 2015

The name Festuca apennina is discussed and lectotypified using a specimen held at FI. A new combination, Lolium apenninum, is proposed.
East Asian origin and Northern Hemisphere diversification in the Brachythecium novae‐angliae‐complex (Bryophyta)
Authors: Huttunen Sanna , Kuznetsova Oxana , Li Min , Wang You-Fang , Ignatov Michael S.
Published: October 2015

Cool climate biomes in the Northern Hemisphere have evolved relatively recently. Temperature decline between the late Eocene and the Pliocene contributed to the evolution of many plant groups in modern cool climate biomes, such as mosses belonging to the Brachythecium novae‐angliae‐complex. The Brachythecium novae‐angliae‐complex comprises three species that have a disjunct distribution in temperate and boreal regions in the Northern Hemisphere. The core species in the complex have only recently been transferred from Bryhnia to Brachythecium and the delimitation of the complex and of species within it still remains uncertain. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of the group using molecular data and estimated the timing of the diversifications in the tree. In addition, we examined the morphology and compared morphological diversification with genetic diversity. The Brachythecium novae‐angliae‐complex diversified in East Asia in the middle Miocene, 9.1 Ma (HPD 95% 3.9–14.8 Myr). Bryhnia trichomitria and B. graminicolor were revealed not to be close relatives of the complex and are therefore transferred to Brachythecium and Koponeniella gen. nov., respectively. Both morphology and molecular data supported the position of Asian Brachythecium noesicum as sister to the Brachythecium novae‐angliae crown clade that includes two species, B. hultenii and B. novae‐angliae. The crown clade diverged at the end of the Miocene, 6.4 Ma (HPD 95% 2.4–11.6 Myr) and its taxa have a disjunct distribution in cool temperate and boreal areas in the Beringia region (B. novae‐angliae subsp. hultenii), and eastern North America and northwestern Europe (B. novae‐angliae subsp. novae‐angliae). In the crown clade the majority of populations belong to one common haplotype present in all three disjunct parts of the distribution area. Despite low variation in DNA sequence data, morphology allows the distinction between B. novae‐angliae subsp. hultenii and B. novae‐angliae subsp. novae‐angliae. Because of weak morphological and genetic differentiation, European Bryhnia scabrida is treated here as a synonym of Brachythecium novae‐angliae subsp. novae‐angliae. Glacial survival during the Quaternary and climatic oscillations during the late Tertiary and Quaternary in East Asia may have resulted in diversification of the complex and enabled adaptation to cool temperate and boreal climates.
PROVIDING ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON THE ACTIVITIES OF STATE AUTHORITIES AND LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Authors: Силаев  , Silaev Pavel
Published: October 2015

The article provides an analysis of the Russian legislation regulating access to information about the activities of public authorities. The author investigates the mechanism for implementing access to information about the activities of state and local authorities, as well as concludes the need for further improving the regulatory framework in this area. Some proposals on the need to fix clearly at the legislative level in electronic form are made in the article.
RURAL SETTLEMENTS AS MICRO MODEL OF CIVIL SOCIETY WITHIN MUNICIPALITIES
Authors: Нечаев  , Nechaev Dmitriy
Published: October 2015

This article provides an approach where rural settlements within municipalities are considered as micro model of civil society. The author gives some results of the expert survey performed as a part of the presidential grant.
FEATURES OF BUDGETARY PROCESS IN CLOSED ADMINISTRATIVE TERRITORIAL ENTITIES
Authors: Боренштейн  , Borenshteyn A. , Позднякова  , Pozdnyakova E.
Published: October 2015

The article raises the problem of financial dependence of closed administrative territorial entities of the Federal Center, as well as absence of strict regulation of the process of formation of budgets of closed administrative territorial entities in the current Federal legislation.
Minimization problems for certain structured matrices
Authors: Liu Zhongyun , Ralha Rui , Zhang Yulin , Ferreira Carla
Published: October 2015

For given Z, B â C^{n\times k}, the problem of finding A â C^{n\times n}, in some prescribed class W, that minimizes ||AZ â B|| (Frobenius norm) has been considered by different authors for distinct classes W. Here, this minimization problem is studied for two other classes, which include the symmetric Hamiltonian, symmetric skew-Hamiltonian, real orthogonal symplectic and unitary conjugate symplectic matrices. The problem of minimizing ||A â AË||, where AË is given and A is a solution of the previous problem, is also considered (as has been done by others, for different classes W). The key idea of this contribution is the reduction of each one of the above minimization problems to two independent subproblems in orthogonal subspaces of C^{n\times n}. This is possible due to the special structures under consideration. Matlab codes are developed, and numerical results of some tests are presented.
Growth, development and morphology of gametophytes of golden chicken fern (Cibotium barometz (L.) J. Sm.) in natural media
Authors: PRAPTOSUWIRYO TITIEN NGATINEM , PRIBADI DIDIT OKTA , RUGAYAH RUGAYAH
Published: October 2015

Praptosuwiryo TNg, Pribadi DO, Rugayah. 2015. Growth, development and morphology of gametophytes of golden chicken fern (Cibotium barometz (L.) J. Sm.) in natural media. Biodiversitas 16: 303-310. The golden chicken fern, Cibotium barometz (L.) J.Sm., is an important export commodity for both traditional and modern medicine. To understand the reproductive biology of thisspecies, spore germination, gametophyte development, morphological variation, and sex expression were studied by sowing spores onsterilized natural media consisting of the minced roots of Cyathea contaminans and charcoaled rice husks (1: 1) mix. Spores ofC. barometz are trilete, tri-radially symmetrical, non chlorophyllous, and golden-yellow with a perine. Six stages of gametophytedevelopment (rhizoid stage, rhizoid/protochorm stage, filament stage, spatulate stage, young heart stage, mature heart stage) wereobserved between 24-45 days after sowing. Spore germination of C. barometz is Vittaria-type. Prothallial development of C. barometz isDrynaria-type. Five morphological types of adult gametophyte were recorded: (i) irregular spatulate shape (male), (ii) fan shape (male),(iii) elongated heart-shape (male), (iv) short heart or butterfly shape (female), and (v) normal heart shape (bisexual). The presence ofmorphological variations is presumed to be related to the population density, which significantly affects the sexual expression ofgametophytes. The variation of sex expression in C. barometz also indicates that this species may has a mixed mating systems thatresulted in genetic diversity within population and among populations.
From the Margins to the Spotlight: Diverse Deaf and Hard of Hearing Student Populations and Standardized Assessment Accessibility
Authors: Cawthon Stephanie
Published: October 2015

designing assessments and tests is one of the more challenging aspects of creating an accessible learning environment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), particularly for deaf students with a disability (DWD). Standardized assessments are a key mechanism by which the educational system in the United States measures student progress, teacher effectiveness, and the impact of school reform. The diversity of student characteristics within DHH and DWD populations is only now becoming visible in the research literature relating to standardized assessments and their use in large-scale accountability reforms. The purpose of this article is to explore the theoretical frameworks surrounding assessment policy and practice, current research related to standardized assessment and students who are DHH and DWD, and potential implications for practice within both the assessment and instruction contexts.
Shadowland: Swiss Identity and Urs Faes’s Ombra
Authors: Knapp Thyra E.
Published: October 2015

Published as the discussion of stolen wealth and Switzerland’s complicity in the events and aftermath of the Holocaust had begun in earnest, Urs Faes’s 1997 novel Ombra is read here as an intricate critique of Switzerland’s long-held identification as a neutral power. This article argues that the three intertwined narratives featuring ekphrastic explorations of fifteenth-century paintings by Piero della Francesca bring attention to the duality of Switzerland’s complicated contemporary identity.