bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selective Enrollment, Race, and Shifting the Geography of Educational Opportunity
Authors: Quiroz Pamela Anne , Lindsay Vernon
Published: October 2015

We have increasingly witnessed a movement toward neoliberalism, an ideological and economic system that promotes aggressiveness in the public environment and shifts the attention of states from addressing the needs of their citizens to exhorting citizens to address their own needs. Beyond deregulation, the reduction of government’s role in the economy, and the dominance of market-oriented ideas, neoliberalism prioritizes education as a mechanism for producing human capital and advancing the global knowledge economy. However, the acquisition of human capital is left largely to individuals (and families). Decoteau (2013) observes that in such a context members of a society become “responsibilized” and “entrepreneurialized” as consumers of public goods. This is observed in Chicago’s discursive constructions of schooling where school choice is the dominant narrative and parents are now presented as responsible consumers who select the best educational alternatives for their children. Such constructions also merge market-oriented school reform with new attempts to achieve racial/ethnic integration as shifting demographics and attention to the role of educational institutions to promote equity have been redefined. In this context, a number of experiments are used to attract enrollment and achieve diversity. Our article draws from a four-year study of a student diversity initiative at an elite public high school during a transition from federal and district supported racial integration to integration based on economic class. The article argues that shifting demographics and educational policies coalesced with tax increment financing, an urban development tool, to manage diversity and accommodate an increasingly affluent clientele at the expense of minority groups, particularly African Americans.
Twenty-Five Years of Research on the Lived Experience of Being Gifted in School
Authors: Coleman Laurence J. , Micko Karen J. , Cross Tracy L.
Published: October 2015

Through a synthesis of 25 years worth of studies concerning the lived experience of children who are gifted and talented within the context of school, a more comprehensive picture can be presented. The intent is to provide information for teachers, parents, administrators, and psychologists to better understand and support advanced development. How students experience and relay issues concerning identity, passion, labeling, stigma, culture, schooling, academic resistance, and bullying are discussed through analyzing phenomenological qualitative research conducted over the past 25 years.
Social informatics as a concept: Widening the discourse
Authors: Smutny Zdenek
Published: October 2015

This contribution examines the different concepts known as social informatics that have historically been separate. The paradigm that is preferred worldwide (based on Kling) is well described and often promoted, with a strong base both in the USA and Europe. This article, however, introduces lesser-known paradigms (based on Sokolov and later Ursul) that originated in the era of the USSR and have so far been employed chiefly in post-Soviet countries, including Russia. These paradigms have been neglected in English-written scientific literature, mainly because of the limited number of articles available in English. Other approaches are also introduced and related, which were historically named or classified as social informatics (American, British, Norwegian, Slovenian, German and Japanese). The present article introduces and further discusses the origin, historical development and basic methodological grounding of these approaches. All the approaches are then discussed and their differences as well as their similarities are pointed out. The aim is to create connections across the current generation of researchers, which includes the formation and conceptualization of different approaches and an exploration of possible areas for future cooperation.
Environmental governance in a contested state:the influence of European Union and other external actors on energy sector regulation in Kosovo
Authors: Obradovic-Wochnik Jelena , Dodds Anneliese
Published: October 2015

This article examines environmental governance in Kosovo, with a particular focus on the energy sector. The article considers the degree to which the emerging model of environmental governance is characterised by hierarchical and non-hierarchical modes of coordination. We examine the roles of a number of domestic institutions and actors – ministries, agencies, and regulatory bodies– and the influence of external actors, including the European Union, the United States, and Serbia. The European Union is building Kosovo’s own hierarchical governance capacity by strengthening domestic institutions, whilst the United States focuses primarily on market liberalisation, whilst simultaneously supporting European Union efforts. Moreover, environmental policy change is not wholly or predominantly driven by domestic actors, which can partly be attributed to Kosovo’s limited domestic sovereignty. We conclude that the emerging model of environmental governance in Kosovo is characterised by a weak hierarchy, partly as a result of external actor involvement, which disincentivises the government from responding to domestic non-state actor pressure.
Municipal climate reporting: gaps in monitoring and implications for governance and action
Authors: Robinson Pamela , Gore Christopher
Published: October 2015

For over two decades, municipal climate progress has been inventoried and analysed using a common reporting framework. While useful for highlighting the extent of municipal engagement in greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, we know little about how comprehensive this reporting framework is. Are municipal governments engaging in mitigation activities outside this framework? And what about climate adaptation activity for which no long-standing milestone reporting framework has existed? Based on results from a national survey of municipal governments in Canada, the paper reveals that municipal governments are engaged in many climate activities and processes that common inventories and reporting systems do not capture. The paper argues that these ‘in between activities’ – the not-yet counted climate actions that take place between and outside of milestone initiation and completion – have practical importance for future climate action and theoretical importance by complementing growing evidence about the nature of municipal climate activities and climate governance.
Environmental rulemaking across states: Process, procedural access, and regulatory influence
Authors: Crow Deserai A , Albright Elizabeth A , Koebele Elizabeth
Published: October 2015

Rulemaking is central to policymaking in the United States. Additionally, regulatory authority is devolved to the states in many instances. However, our knowledge of state-level rulemaking is not as advanced as that related to federal rulemaking. To advance the scholarship on state rulemaking, this study compares environmental rulemaking across three environmental issues (renewable portfolio standards, concentrated animal feeding operation regulations, and hydraulic fracturing disclosure rules) in five states (California, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) to understand procedural and stakeholder participation commonalities among the cases. Using data from public rulemaking documents, stakeholder comment during rulemaking, and in-depth interviews with agency staff and stakeholders, the findings suggest that there are common patterns of pre-process informal stakeholder consultation, public comment and outreach mechanisms, and corollary issues related to stakeholder access across these cases. These findings advance our knowledge of state-level rulemaking as it relates to public input and procedural equity for stakeholders.
Environmental uncertainty and interorganizational information sharing
Authors: Kim Kyung Kyu , Ryoo Sung Yul , Lee Ho
Published: October 2015

The relationship between environmental uncertainty (EU) and interorganizational information sharing (IIS) remains equivocal. Existing research has investigated the phenomenon from only one partner’s perspective, based on either resource dependence theory (RDT) or transaction cost economics (TCE). This study assesses the relative strengths of RDT and TCE simultaneously by accommodating both partners’ perspectives in the same dyad. Our results show that TCE has greater explanatory power for the manufacturer position, but not for the supplier. Supplier EU does not influence supplier information sharing. RDT arguments are not fully supported for the whole paths. Interestingly, supplier EU influences joint dependence negatively.
Beneficial effect of zinc chloride and zinc ionophore pyrithione on attenuated cardioprotective potential of preconditioning phenomenon in STZ-induced diabetic rat heart
Authors: Jamwal Sumit , Kumar Kushal , Reddy B V Krishna
Published: October 2015

Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) is well demonstrated to produce cardioprotection by phosphorylation and subsequent inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSk-3β) in the normal rat heart, but its effect is attenuated in the diabetic rat heart. This study was designed to investigate the effect of zinc chloride and zinc ionophore pyrithione (ZIP) on the attenuated cardioprotective potential of IPC in the diabetic rat heart. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced by a single intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin (STZ) (50 mg/kg; i.p). The isolated perfused rat heart was subjected to 30 minutes of ischemia followed by 120 minutes of reperfusion. Myocardial infarct size was estimated by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and cardiac injury was measured by estimating lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) in the coronary effluent. Also, GSK-3β was measured and neutrophil accumulation was measured by estimating myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels. IPC significantly decreased the myocardial infarct size, the release of LDH and CK-MB, the GSK-3β levels and the MPO levels in the normal rat heart. Pre- and post-ischemic treatment with zinc chloride and zinc ionophore pyrithione (ZIP) in the normal and diabetic rat hearts significantly decreased the myocardial infarct size, the level of CK-MB and LDH in the coronary effluent and GSK-3β and MPO levels. Our results suggest that pharmacological preconditioning with zinc chloride and ZIP significantly restored the attenuated cardioprotective potential of IPC in the diabetic rat heart.
Reterritorializing economic governance: Contracts, space, and law in transborder economic geographies
Authors: Potts Shaina
Published: October 2015

All large firms exploit regulatory variation across jurisdictions by exporting activity to strategic locations around the globe. Less well known are the ways major economic players bring other jurisdictions to them without moving at all. The use of governing law clauses by which parties select which jurisdiction’s laws will apply to their contracts, means that many commercial contracts today, especially in finance, have little or no significant connection to the jurisdictions that govern them. In this article, I explore 20th-century transformations in US choice of law practices to argue that changing conceptions of freedom of contract and the public–private distinction have been intimately linked to increasingly flexible economic geographies and a reterritorialization of economic governance. The results have been far from homogeneous; governing law clauses have become an important tool of competition among jurisdictions, with some losing control of economic activity within their own borders, while others, like New York and England, have gained influence far beyond theirs.
Achievement Goal Orientations and Self-Reported Study Strategies as Predictors of Online Studying Activities
Authors: Adesope Olusola O. , Zhou Mingming , Nesbit John C.
Published: October 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether achievement motivations influence the adoption of learning strategies and learning strategies influence studying behavior in an online learning environment. The Goal Orientation Questionnaire was used to measure achievement motives, and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire was used to assess learning strategies. In addition, data on how learners tagged and annotated the learning materials were collected using software designed to aid studying and to examine studying behavior. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on Goal Orientation Questionnaire data from 170 university students who used the learning software to study a chapter from a textbook. Results showed that task value and effort regulation subscales from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire positively predicted the number of notes created. In addition, mastery and performance goals positively predicted task value, and work-avoidance goals negatively predicted effort regulation and task value.
Mesenchymal stem cells-conditioned medium protects PC12 cells against 2,5-hexanedione-induced apoptosis via inhibiting mitochondria-dependent caspase 3 pathway
Authors: Li Shuang-yue , Qi Yuan , Hu Shu-hai , Piao Feng-yuan , Guan Huai , Wang Zhe-min , Chen Ruo-lin , Liu Shuang
Published: September 2015

Studies suggested that the conditioned medium of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-CM) inhibited the increased apoptosis in various cells. However, there are no reports underlying the protection of MSC-CM against 2,5-hexanedione (HD)-induced apoptosis in neural cells. In the present study, the viability was observed in PC12 cells that received HD alone or with MSC-CM by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Apoptosis was estimated by Hoechst 33342 staining and flow cytometry. Mitochondrial transmembrane potential was examined by rhodamine 123. Moreover, we investigated the expression of Bax and Bcl-2, cytochrome c translocation, and caspase 3 activity by real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunochemistry. Nerve growth factor (NGF) was examined in MSCs and MSC-CM. Our results showed that MSC-CM promoted cell survival and reduced apoptosis in HD-exposed PC12 cells. Moreover, MSC-CM significantly reversed disturbance of Bax and Bcl-2, ameliorated disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, and reduced release of cytochrome c and activity of caspase 3 in HD-exposed PC12 cells. In the meantime, NGF was detected in MSCs and MSC-CM. These findings demonstrate that MSC-CM protects against HD-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells via inhibiting mitochondrial pathway. Our results indicate that NGF in MSC-CM may be involved in the protection of MSC-CM against HD-induced apoptosis. Our study clarifies the protection of MSC-CM on HD neurotoxicity and its underlying mechanism.
Changes to the Intestinal Microbiome With Parenteral Nutrition
Authors: Demehri Farokh R. , Barrett Meredith , Teitelbaum Daniel H.
Published: October 2015

Parenteral nutrition (PN) dependence, while life sustaining, carries a significant risk of septic complications associated with epithelial barrier dysfunction and translocation of gut‐derived microbiota. Increasing evidence suggests that PN‐associated changes in the intestinal microbiota play a central role in the breakdown of the intestinal epithelial barrier. This review outlines the clinical and experimental evidence of epithelial barrier dysfunction with PN, the role of gut inflammatory dysregulation in driving this process, and the role of the intestinal microbiome in modulating inflammation in the gut and systemically. The article summarizes the most current work of our laboratory and others and describes many of the laboratory findings behind our current understanding of the PN enteral environment. Understanding the interaction between nutrient delivery, the intestinal microbiome, and PN‐associated complications may lead to the development of novel therapies to enhance safety and quality of life for patients requiring PN.
Breastfeeding Is Associated with Decreased Risk of Hospitalization among HIV-Exposed, Uninfected Kenyan Infants
Authors: Ásbjörnsdóttir Kristjana H. , Slyker Jennifer A. , Maleche-Obimbo Elizabeth , Wamalwa Dalton , Otieno Phelgona , Gichuhi Christine M. , John-Stewart Grace
Published: October 2015

Background:

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–exposed uninfected (HEU) infants are a growing population in sub-Saharan Africa, with higher morbidity and mortality than HIV-unexposed infants. HEU infants may experience increased morbidity due to breastfeeding avoidance.

Objectives:

We sought to describe the burden and identify predictors of hospitalization among HEU infants in the first year of life.

Methods:

Using a retrospective cohort of HIV-infected mothers and their HEU infants in Nairobi, Kenya, we identified infants who were HIV-uninfected at birth and were followed monthly until their last negative HIV test, death, loss to follow-up, or study exit at 1 year of age. Incidence, timing, and reason for hospitalization was assessed overall as well as stratified by feeding method. Predictors of first infectious disease hospitalization were identified using competing risk regression, with HIV acquisition and death as competing risks.

Results:

Among 388 infants, 113 hospitalizations were reported (35/100 infant-years [the combined years of observation contributed by all infants in the study]; 95% confidence interval [CI], 29-42). Ninety hospitalizations were due to 1 or more infectious diseases (26/100 infant-years; 95% CI, 21-32)—primarily pneumonia (n = 40), gastroenteritis (n = 17), and sepsis (n = 14). Breastfeeding was associated with decreased risk of infectious disease hospitalization (subhazard ratio = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.24-0.64), as was time-updated nutrition status (subhazard ratio = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.61-0.89). Incidence of infectious disease hospitalization among formula-fed infants was 51/100 infant-years (95% CI, 37-70) compared to 19/100 infant-years (95% CI, 14-25) among breastfed infants.

Conclusion:

Among HEU infants, breastfeeding and nutrition status were associated with reduced hospitalization during the first year of life.
Signaling and perception in international crises: Two approaches
Authors: Kurizaki Shuhei
Published: October 2015

This study contrasts the rationalist and psychologist approaches to information failure as the cause of crisis escalation and war. Building on the psychological insights on misperception, it presents a simple game-theoretic model of crisis bargaining, where signals are subject to perceptual errors and thereby multiple interpretations. The model allows us to analyze the interplay between the problem of misrepresentation in sending signals and the problem of misperception in forming beliefs. The analysis offers a rationalist logic of signaling and perception, which links Bayesian learning, incentive problems, misperception, and war. The analysis also shows that misperception generates more than pathologies in crises—misperception, under the right condition, makes signals fully informative, reduces the risk of war, and attenuates the adverse impact of incomplete information on the risk of crisis escalation and war.
Integrated chassis control with adaptive algorithms
Authors: Yim Seongjin
Published: October 2015

This paper presents the application of adaptive algorithms to integrated chassis control. Integrated chassis control uses electronic stability control and active front steering as actuators. In order to generate the control yaw moment using electronic stability control and active front steering, and to coordinate the relative magnitude of the tyre force generated by active front steering with that generated by electronic stability control, a fast and simple yaw moment distribution procedure is needed. For this purpose, adaptive methods, namely the least-mean-square algorithm, the sign–sign least-mean-squares algorithm and the leaky least-mean-square algorithm, are applied. To coordinate active front steering and electronic stability control in the leaky least-mean-square algorithm, a particular weight set is selected. To check the effectiveness of the adaptive algorithms in integrated chassis control, simulations using the vehicle simulation package CarSim® were carried out.
Decoding Visual Location From Neural Patterns in the Auditory Cortex of the Congenitally Deaf
Authors: Almeida Jorge , He Dongjun , Chen Quanjing , Mahon Bradford Z. , Zhang Fan , Gonçalves Óscar F. , Fang Fang , Bi Yanchao
Published: October 2015

Sensory cortices of individuals who are congenitally deprived of a sense can exhibit considerable plasticity and be recruited to process information from the senses that remain intact. Here, we explored whether the auditory cortex of congenitally deaf individuals represents visual field location of a stimulus—a dimension that is represented in early visual areas. We used functional MRI to measure neural activity in auditory and visual cortices of congenitally deaf and hearing humans while they observed stimuli typically used for mapping visual field preferences in visual cortex. We found that the location of a visual stimulus can be successfully decoded from the patterns of neural activity in auditory cortex of congenitally deaf but not hearing individuals. This is particularly true for locations within the horizontal plane and within peripheral vision. These data show that the representations stored within neuroplastically changed auditory cortex can align with dimensions that are typically represented in visual cortex.
Televisual waiting: Images of time and waiting in CSI
Authors: Lam Anita
Published: October 2015

As a massively popular crime drama, Crime Scene Investigation has circulated influential images and narratives that suggest that the processing and analysis of forensic evidence can be done in a swift and timely manner. The claim of such a CSI effect is based on the relative absence of waiting scenes within the series. This article examines the series’ multiple representations of time and waiting, linking the absence of waiting to the construction of forensic scientists as powerful figures of moral authority. In the episode Grave Danger, however, waiting is notably imagined as something that must be experienced and endured as a result of conviction. It is made analogous to death, and embodied through horizontality as well as by feminized waiters. Because the feminization of waiters also characterizes the representation of television viewers, I end by examining how the role of waiting in Crime Scene Investigation is intertwined with the viewer’s experience of watching the planned flow of network television. Ultimately, this article argues that the study of televisual waiting requires a recognition that images and narratives on network television emerge out of and depend on waiting as representation, experience, and performance.
What Is the Return on Investment for Implementation of a Crew Resource Management Program at an Academic Medical Center?
Authors: Moffatt-Bruce Susan D. , Hefner Jennifer L. , Mekhjian Hagop , McAlearney John S. , Latimer Tina , Ellison Chris , McAlearney Ann Scheck
Published: September 2015

Crew Resource Management (CRM) training has been used successfully within hospital units to improve quality and safety. This article presents a description of a health system-wide implementation of CRM focusing on the return on investment (ROI). The costs included training, programmatic fixed costs, time away from work, and leadership time. Cost savings were calculated based on the reduction in avoidable adverse events and cost estimates from the literature. Between July 2010 and July 2013, roughly 3000 health system employees across 12 areas were trained, costing $3.6 million. The total number of adverse events avoided was 735—a 25.7% reduction in observed relative to expected events. Savings ranged from a conservative estimate of $12.6 million to as much as $28.0 million. Therefore, the overall ROI for CRM training was in the range of $9.1 to $24.4 million. CRM presents a financially viable way to systematically organize for quality improvement.
Loading system and control strategy for simulating wind turbine loads
Authors: Yin Xiu-xing , Lin Yong-gang , Li Wei , Ye Hang-ye
Published: October 2015

A novel loading control system is proposed to accurately simulate the five-degree-of-freedom loads experienced by a real wind turbine. For this system, the real wind rotor and blades are replaced by an equivalent rotating disc and driven by an electric motor. A set of loading actuators are uniformly placed around this disc and are regulated to accurately create these turbine loads. In this paper, the five-degree-of-freedom turbine loads are defined in blade and hub reference frames. A load-decomposition based loading control strategy is presented to decompose such loads into reference loading forces for each actuator. An axial loading actuator is used for system modeling and analysis. Experimental results have validated that the proposed loading system and control strategy can accurately simulate the representative turbine loads with a good confidence level.
A Replication of “Political Influence behind the Veil of Peer Review” (Journal of Law and Economics 2009)
Authors: Hannum Randall J.
Published: October 2015

Using U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant panel data, Hegde and Mowery and Hegde look at political influence at the US congressional level on the allocation of these funds. Their key finding is that members of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee and former New York Senator Al D’Amato as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee were able to indirectly steer NIH grant money to organizations in their home states. A reexamination of their evidence does not support that conclusion.
Stereotyping – Predispositions, activations and applications in cross-cultural service interactions
Authors: Cheok Jason , Aleti (né Watne) Torgeir , Hede Anne-Marie
Published: September 2015

The aim of the article was to explore for stereotyping patterns in crosscultural service interactions. This research was set within the context of luxury hotel in Malaysia, where most of the service providers are non-Western. In-depth interviews and written diaries were used to develop deep narratives for the patterns of stereotyping adopted by the service providers. Predispositions, activations and applications of stereotypes were examined considering implicit theory and power distance. Associations between the service providers’ culture and position and their tendency to activate and apply stereotypes were found. The findings highlight the increasing complexity in cross-cultural service interactions within the South East Asian region. This study provides management with insights into service interactions in the contemporary context of Asia, where socio/economic and cultural boundaries are blurring. Practical and theoretical recommendations are made for both management and further academic research on this issue, which has potential to influence guest satisfaction and ultimately business viability.
The tourism Web acceptance model
Authors: Sahli Alia Besbes , Legohérel Patrick
Published: September 2015

The tourism Web acceptance model (T-WAM) is a model of consumers’ acceptance of information technology designed for e-tourism. The model aims to explain intention to book tourism products online better than other models do. Results from a survey collected from 389 Tunisian consumers show that the T-WAM is more robust than other models and theories (e.g. technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior (TPB), decomposed TPB model, and flow theory) to explain behavioral intention in the context of e-tourism. The explained variance of intention to book is about 51% ( R2 = 50.6%). Results are discussed in detail, and recommendations, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.
What positive encounters with healthcare and social insurance staff promotes ability to return to work of long-term sickness absentees?
Authors: Olsson Daniel , Alexanderson Kristina , Bottai Matteo
Published: September 2015

Aims: Previous studies suggest that positive encounters with healthcare and social insurance staff may be important in promoting return to work among long-term sickness absentees. This study aimed to identify more specifically what positive encounters are important for promoting ability to return to work. Methods: A questionnaire about different types of encounters was sent to 10,042 people in Sweden on sick leave for 6–8 months (58% responded). For each positive encounter, we estimated the marginal probability difference (PD) of return to work, adjusting for age, sex, education, sick-leave diagnosis, and the sum score of all other encounters. Adjusting for the other encounters is important since of the observed variables these were the strongest confounders. Results: The positive encounters with both healthcare and social insurance staff significantly associated with promoting ability to return to work after adjusting for the other positive encounters were “Believed in my work capacity” PD=16.9 (95% CI: 12.0, 21.9) and 12.0 (6.3, 17.7), respectively; “Supported my suggestions for solutions”: 9.5 (3.1, 15.9) and 11.6 (5.7, 17.4); “Was supportive and encouraging”: 10.1 (3.6, 16.7) and 7.3 (1.7, 12.8). Additionally, the encounter with healthcare staff most strongly associated with promoting return to work was “Let me take responsibility” 14.8 (7.2, 22.3); and with social security staff: “Showed that she/he liked me” 10.4 (5.4, 15.4). Conclusions: Healthcare and social security staff being supportive, encouraging, and believing in the sickness absentee’s work capacity may be very important for increasing the probability for long-term sickness absentees’ ability to return to work.
Building material naturalness: Perceptions from Finland, Norway and Slovenia
Authors: Burnard Michael D. , Nyrud Anders Q. , Bysheim Kristian , Kutnar Andreja , Vahtikari Katja , Hughes Mark
Published: October 2015

Natural elements, life and life-like processes, as well as representations of them, can produce positive experiences within the built environment. Over the past decade, a number of empirical studies have found experiencing nature, both actively and passively, can reduce stress, increase human well-being, and produce positive emotional experiences. Therefore, in this study, user perceptions of building material naturalness in three European countries, Finland, Norway, and Slovenia were investigated. A survey was conducted in each country to gather user perceptions of the naturalness of 22 building materials. Perceptions were collected in three ways: a binary decision task (e.g. natural or not natural), a seven-point scale from not natural to natural, and an ordered ranking of all specimens from most natural to least natural. The building materials included solid wood, engineered wood-based products, masonry, stone, wallpaper, ceramic tiles, metal, and plastic. Solid wood, stone, and brick were clearly considered more natural than their counterparts with greater degrees of processing. Similarly, wood-based composites with greater degrees of processing were identified as being less natural than materials with less processing. Furthermore, the study found there was agreement between regions on building material naturalness, despite some minor differences.
The use of genetic algorithm and self-updating artificial neural network for the inverse design of cabin environment
Authors: Zhang Tian-hu , You Xue-yi
Published: October 2015

The inverse process of computational fluid dynamics was used to explore the expected indoor environment with the preset objectives. An inverse design method integrating genetic algorithm and self-updating artificial neural network is presented. To reduce the computational cost and eliminate the impact of prediction error of artificial neural network, a self-updating artificial neural network is proposed to realize the self-adaption of computational fluid dynamics database, where all the design objectives of solutions are obtained by computational fluid dynamics instead of artificial neural network. The proposed method was applied to the inverse design of an MD-82 aircraft cabin. The result shows that the performance of artificial neural network is improved with the increase of computational fluid dynamics database. When the number of computational fluid dynamics cases is more than 80, the success rate of artificial neural network increases to more than 40%. Comparing to genetic algorithm and computational fluid dynamics, the proposed hybrid method reduces about 53% of the computational cost. The pseudo solutions are avoided when the self-updating artificial neural network is adopted. In addition, the number of computational fluid dynamics cases is determined automatically, and the requirement of human adjustment is avoided.
Animals in the world: A materialist approach to sociological animal studies
Authors: York Richard , Longo Stefano B.
Published: October 2015

The connections between nonhuman animals and human societies have become an increasingly prominent topic of sociological research over the past decade. A focus on animals in sociological research raises a variety of conceptual and epistemological challenges, since sociological methods and theories were developed to analyze humans. We outline these challenges and elaborate a realist approach to animal studies, which focuses on the materiality of the animals in the world and does not confuse them with social constructions of animals. We examine the potential to combine methods focused on understanding human meaning, such as ethnography, with methods aimed at scientifically studying animal behavior from ethology, or a political ethology approach. We also assess how the materiality of animals can be incorporated into quantitative macro-comparative analyses as well as historical studies. We argue that increasingly incorporating animal studies into the domain of sociology can expand our understanding of the world and generate new questions for sociologists.
Welfare rights, self-help and social enterprise: Unpicking neoliberalism’s mess
Authors: Gerrard Jessica
Published: October 2015

Neoliberalism is often represented as a fundamental intrusion of individualism into post-war welfare policy settlements. This article seeks to unpick this understanding through a case study of the intersections between the welfare rights and self-help approaches of the homeless and community sectors in the 1970s and 1980s, and the emergence of social enterprise and The Big Issue in the 1990s. First, I outline the development of a dedicated ‘homeless sector’ in the 1970s. Second, the ways in which this sector developed in relation to challenges to state authority in social welfare is examined. Finally, I explore the discursive intersections between the critiques of the welfare state, and the rise of neoliberalism and social enterprise. I suggest the emergence of social enterprise is emblematic of wider claims to individual agency, while also interwoven with the rise of neoliberalism and the capitalist recuperation of self-help and welfare rights challenges to state strategies.
Empowering the dividual
Authors: Rohatynskyj Marta
Published: October 2015

The utility of the term ‘dividual’ in the evaluation of a microenterprise project mounted by a major transnational corporation in Madhya Pradesh, India, is considered. Aimed at the empowerment of poor rural women and deployed across India as well as in several other countries, the project itself challenges the constraints of poverty and traditionalism on women's agency, particularly within the husband/wife relationship. Melanesian and Indian versions of the concept of the ‘dividual’, as formulated by anthropologists working in the two areas, are tested against a current formulation in South Asian development literature of women's empowerment through participation in local self-help groups. It is found that although the Melanesian version of the ‘dividual’ allows for transformation through the creation of a new reference point for innovative agency, it fails to take into account hierarchy in the form of the public/private divide typical of state societies and necessary to the formulation of empowerment strategies.
From monuments to megapixels: Death, memory, and symbolic immortality in the contemporary United States
Authors: Bennett Jeffrey , Huberman Jenny
Published: October 2015

This article explores transformations in the American way of death from the Victorian period to the present. It asks: What do recent shifts in mortuary practice and memorialization reveal about larger changes in American culture and society? And what is at stake in charting and understanding these changes for anthropologists interested in technology and culture change more generally? We argue that the move away from the lavish Victorian funeral to cheaper, less traditional ways of caring for the dead is productively conceptualized as a shift in differing memorial paradigms. In the case at hand, we characterize this paradigm shift as one from ‘monuments’ to ‘megapixels’, the former being ascendant at the beginning of the era of film photography and the latter becoming ascendant with the rise of social and digital media. We trace the development and central features of these two memorial paradigms, showing how the rise of film photography played a central role in facilitating the transition between them, and we explore how these memorial paradigms have provided Americans with alternative ways of combatting death anxiety since the 19th century. Ultimately, we argue that today’s virtual memorials and online cemeteries have arisen to provide a growing number of Americans with a sense of symbolic immortality that has become increasingly difficult to realize by more traditional means. However, we also consider how these new means of digital memorialization might be altering the memorial landscape in new ways and changing how the bereaved cope with object loss.
Pierre Smith’s mind traps: The origin and ramifications of a theory of ritual efficacy
Authors: Halloy Arnaud
Published: October 2015

The Belgian anthropologist Pierre Smith was a perceptive ethnographer and a forward-thinking theorist whose insights provided the fertile ground out of which grew influential anthropological approaches to ritual, ritual efficacy, and art some 30 years later. In this article, I trace the genealogy of the ‘mind trap’, a key concept in Smith’s theoretical writing and a true analytical gem in itself. The appeal of Pierre Smith’s theory lies with how ritual action (or art) might produce such entrapment of the mind, and why this might be a key process in ritual (and art) efficacy, i.e. ‘operations’ liable to trigger a transformation. I then go on to review the many reverberations and ramifications of his concept as reflected in two recent theoretical approaches to ritual and ritual efficacy, as well as the possible connections between Smith’s ‘mind trap’ and certain aspects of Alfred Gell’s anthropological theory of art. Pierre Smith points ethnographers and ritual theorists in the right direction to answer questions about the transformational nature of many rituals (and art works) around the world. While mind traps cannot fully explain ritual efficacy, they can serve as a starting point for a strong and ethnographically-grounded theory of ritual efficacy.
Effects of axial preloading displacement and off-sized balls and raceway error on mechanical performance of angular contact ball bearings
Authors: Chen Sijia , Ma Fangbo , Ji Peng , An Qi
Published: October 2015

Taking the off-sized balls and raceway error into account, the effects of axial preloading displacement on the mechanical performance of angular contact ball bearings are investigated in this paper. Through the geometric analysis of the angular contact ball bearing and the force balance, the contact load-deformation expressions of ball-to-raceway, the expression of load zone and their relation to axial preloading displacement are derived. By numerical calculation for a concrete example, we found the influences of preloading on the loading zone and maximum ball load and found the influences of off-sized balls and raceway error on the minimum preloading displacement, ball load distribution, inner ring centre trajectory and inner ring vibration frequency. Some curves about these influences are obtained and discussed.
‘Well, we’re going to kindergarten, so we’re gonna need business cards!’: A story of preschool emergent readers and writers and the transformation of identity
Authors: Tolentino Efleda Preclaro , Lawson Lauren
Published: October 2015

Teacher research yields a plethora of insights about creating a meaningful curriculum for children. In this article, we describe the experience of preschool children who participated in Kindergarten Club, a space that afforded them opportunities to shift roles from being preschoolers to being kindergarteners. Kindergarten Club became a catalyst for engaging in a dialogue about kindergarten, experimenting with print and experiencing literacy learning. Within this context, preschoolers embarked on an investigation that centered around business cards. Business cards ignited interest on the part of preschoolers as they explored their potential for social networking and sharing information. The business card investigation evolved into a curriculum that sparked enquiries into the use of print as mediator for self-representation. Assisted by their teacher and members of the community, preschoolers engaged in collective action to create business cards that would bear imprints of their identity. In the process, young children used their writing abilities, proactively utilizing tools and resources to ensure that their business cards bore authentic representations of themselves. The article conveys the importance of listening on the part of the teacher and trusting children to take the lead in navigating their paths as literacy learners. Documentation in the form of artifacts, images and dialogue reveals how young children naturally incorporate emergent knowledge about literacy and their social worlds into their work as learners. The article provides a gentle reminder of how literacy learning is a joyful process that can be made meaningful and engaging by building upon children’s enquiries into the world.
Using simple technology to prompt multistep tasks in the home for people with dementia: An exploratory study comparing prompting formats
Authors: Boyd Hazel C , Evans Nina M , Orpwood Roger D , Harris Nigel D
Published: October 2015

Objectives

To investigate the relative effectiveness of different prompts for people with dementia during multistep tasks in the home, to inform prompting technology design.

Methods

Nine pairs of participants (one with dementia and a partner or relative) participated at home. The participants with mild to moderate dementia (5M/4F, aged 73–86 years) functioned at the Planned or Exploratory levels of the Pool Activity Level instrument. A touchscreen computer displayed different prompts during two set tasks: “card-and-envelope” and “CD player.” The trials were scored to establish the relative effectiveness of the prompts. Individual tasks were also explored.

Results

Text and audio prompts were each more effective than video or picture prompts for a card-and-envelope task, but this was not seen in a CD player task. The differences may be related to the type of actions within the tasks; the card-and-envelope actions were easier to convey verbally; the CD player actions lent themselves to visual prompts.

Conclusions

Designers of technology-based prompts for people with dementia should consider that the effectiveness of different prompts is likely to be task dependent. Familiar, unambiguous language can increase the success of tailored prompts. There are significant practical challenges associated with choosing and deconstructing everyday tasks at home.
Exercise Training and Cognitive Rehabilitation
Authors: Motl Robert W. , Sandroff Brian M. , DeLuca John
Published: September 2015

The current review develops a rationale and framework for examining the independent and combined effects of exercise training and cognitive rehabilitation on walking and cognitive functions in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). To do so, we first review evidence for improvements in walking and cognitive outcomes with exercise training and cognitive rehabilitation in MS. We then review evidence regarding cognitive–motor coupling and possible cross-modality transfer effects of exercise training and cognitive rehabilitation. We lastly present a macro-level framework for considering mechanisms that might explain improvements in walking and cognitive dysfunction with exercise and cognitive rehabilitation individually and combined in MS. We conclude that researchers should consider examining the effects of exercise training and cognitive rehabilitation on walking, cognition, and cognitive–motor interactions in MS and the possible physiological and central mechanisms for improving these functions.
Grassroots humanitarianism on YouTube: Ordinary fundraisers, unlikely donors, and global solidarity
Authors: Pantti Mervi
Published: October 2015

Social media have become important channels for directing humanitarian communication. Aid organizations increasingly use social networks and simultaneously we have seen the emergence of self-organizing volunteers who take on a variety of humanitarian tasks that previously belonged to institutional agents. The focus of this study is on user-created disaster appeal videos on YouTube, which are a type of citizen communication that occurs in the aftermath of a disaster. Appeal videos aim to raise funds for the disaster victims by acting as intermediaries between humanitarian organizations and the public. The study explores how these appeals try to create solidarity with the plight of disaster victims, and how viewers respond to these appeals from ordinary humanitarians. The article argues that this peer-to-peer moral education may help to get round the distrust of humanitarian organizations and may also be able to cultivate the idea of global solidarity within the everyday lives of YouTube viewers.
(Extra)ordinary portraits: Self-representation, public culture and the contemporary British soldier
Authors: Parry Katy , Thumim Nancy
Published: October 2015

This article explores the contemporary image of the British soldier, especially where the opportunity for soldiers to tell their own stories is highlighted as the core justification in the presentation of co-produced materials. The authors consider the particular generic affordances, constraints and aesthetics of two recent projects, Our War (BBC 3) and War Story (Imperial War Museum), both of which hope to offer a ‘direct’ insight into soldiers’ experiences in Afghanistan, albeit through the lenses of public institutions which inevitably come with their own interpretive frameworks. At the heart of the study are the concept of self-representation and the idea of the portrait. The article examines recurrent themes, styles of portrayal and notable absences, asking, for example: how do the different dimensions of mediation constitute the soldiers as ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’? The authors argue that it is theoretically and empirically productive to analyse the two projects together as interconnected forms of a ‘genre of self-representation’.